Times Updates
(part five) WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER — Shop Local First
We’re beating the virus... now let’s restore our local economy! Your favorite local retailers can still deliver the goods! Visit their website or call today! • Bob’s Pies & Baked Goods Allenton 586-615-0197 • Edward Jones, Almont Andy Roosa 810-673-7883 • FineLine...
Lapeer COVID numbers stay low, St. Clair County sees a jump in cases and deaths
TRI-CITY AREA — It’s been another quiet week on the COVID-19 front for Lapeer County. Since last Tuesday, May 12, there’s just been five new confirmed cases and zero deaths related to the virus. There’s been a total of 30 deaths among Lapeer County residents with the...
News
Fair, other summer events still on hold
TRI-CITY AREA — With COVID-19 restrictions still in place, uncertainty remains about the status of several local events scheduled for this summer of 2020. Cancellations Organizers of Imlay City’s Busker Fest (June 12-13), Almont’s Homecoming Festival (Aug. 8), and...
Imlay City’s Top Ten in the spotlight
IMLAY CITY — It’s tradition for family and friends to file in to the Imlay City High School gymnasium every spring to see the graduating class receive their diplomas. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, those ceremonies will look different for the Class of 2020....
Susie Desk: Nurse on the front lines
Imlay City native helped battle TB, served in France during World War I Editor’s note: The following history about Imlay City native Susie Desk was written and graciously provided by Marilyn Swihart of the Imlay City Historical Society. Our country has faced many...
Youatt resigns as manager
City leader announces plan to step down on June 30th IMLAY CITY — City Manager Tom Youatt has announced that he is resigning his position, effective June 30. Youatt said he advised Imlay City commissioners of his decision on Friday, May 15, via email and telephone...
Sports
Seeding changes in store for sports
EAST LANSING — The addition of seeding at the regional level in ice hockey and adjustment to providing byes for top-seeded teams in basketball and soccer were among the most notable actions taken by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic...
Teagan Norman to take her track and cross country skills to Lansing
DRYDEN — Dryden standout Teagan Norman signed a letter of intent to run on the Lansing Community College cross country and track teams recently. This past fall she got their attention when she provided a 21:28 time en route to a 15th during a Division 4 regional...
Bobowski plays well for Harvard
ALMONT — Macomb’s Lauren Bobowski, a Dakota High School graduate, finished her debut campaign with the Harvard University women’s softball team recently. The freshman out- fielder wound up with eight hits in 28 official trips to the plate, leaving her with a batting...
Keller steps down as Frankenmuth coach
Capac grad guides team to 240 wins CAPAC — Tom Keller, a 1992 graduate of Capac High School, wrapped up a lengthy run as the Frankenmuth varsity girls’ basketball coach recently. He stepped down from the post after spending 14 years in the position following the...
Columns
The scent of rainfall
Iris Harkins, the only other Iris in our large church congregation, often sat behind my family of five during Sunday’s worship service. A friendly woman with a British accent, early on she said her husband Frank gathered with our pastors on the platform. Reverend...
Staying confident we’ll see you in September
From Detour to Detroit, from Saline to St. Ignace and Traverse City to Tawas, all are ghost towns today. COVID-19 has seen to that. These are the most challenging of times and its full impact remains to be known. “Just stop what you’re doing, go home and stay there,”...
The full moon reminds me
Moonlight cast mullion shadows upon my bedroom floor. The Man in the Moon had sneaked up on me again. Thirty-one years sleeping in the same place, I’ve learned lunar cycles from my southward view. Yet, somehow I’d lost track of the moon’s waxing and waning. “No...
Back in the driver’s seat
I’ve never driven a car in all of the long spells I’ve spent overseas. Due to my not having an International Driving Permit, as well as a general lack of opportunities in the countries I’ve visited and lived, I’ve only gotten the rare opportunity to ride in someone...
Opinion
Marking a solemn day with silence
In our sound-bite and notification-dependent society, silence isn’t all that common in our daily lives. Although this current reality has its pitfalls, it might make silence—when we can achieve it—all that more momentous. Considering that most local Memorial Day...
Mental health professionals stand ready to help
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The current pandemic has likely made many of us take a renewed interest in or our own mental health and that of our friends and family. The loss of routines and personal connections, changes to our incomes and sometimes empty...
Supporting the most vulnerable post-pandemic
At the outset of the coronavirus outbreak, a certain meme was being circulated on social media that had a simple but pretty powerful message. It said, with some variation, “Your grandparents were called to war. You’re being called to sit on your couch. You can do...
Census 2020: Be counted for the sake of this place we call home
It’s a Census year and it’s important that everyone who lives in our country gets counted. Obviously, most of you feel the same way. Residents in Lapeer and St. Clair counties are being responsible and completing their 2020 Census forms at a higher rate than the state...
Obituaries
Esther Ramirez, 70
Esther Ramirez, 70, of Imlay City, MI died Thursday, May 14, 2020 at home. Esther Contreras was born August 20, 1949 in Sandusky, OH. She was the daughter of the late Lino C. and the late Juana (Granado) Contreras. She married Ernesto Juan Ramirez in 1969 in Imlay...
Irma Herrera, 81
Irma Herrera, 81, of Imlay City, MI died Saturday, May 16, 2020 at Lapeer County Medical Care Facility (Suncrest). Irma Nieves was born December 19, 1938 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She was the daughter of the late Isaac N. and the late Clotilde Diaz (Montalvo) Nieves....
Modesta Rodriguez, 84
Modesta Rodriguez, 84, recently of Cass City, MI died Friday, May 15, 2020 at Medilodge of Cass City. Modesta Nunez Rendon was born March 28, 1936 in Waco, TX. She was the daughter of the late Pedro and the late Reyes (Nunez) Rendon. Molly grew up in the Capac area...
Verne A. Nickolaus, 83
Verne A. Nickolaus, 83, of Allenton, passed away Sunday, May 17, 2020 at Ascension Providence Hospital in Rochester Hills. He was born October 23, 1936 in Hamilton, NE, the son of Arno and Helen Margaret (Hunter) Nickolaus. He moved with his family to Michigan when he...
