Month: February 2016

Golden Eagles spoil Royals’ home win streak

A tougher competitive basketball game would have been hard to find than the Blissfield and Columbia Central women’s matchup Thursday evening, Feb. 4, in the Royals’ gym.

When time ran out, the Royals finished short on the 59-57 scoreboard ending their  record 44-game winning streak at home and likely will result in them finishing second in the Lenawee County Athletic Association. The Royals’ only two losses on the season both came at the hands of the Golden Eagles.
“I thought it was an incredible basketball game between two very solid basketball teams that featured big shots, great defensive plays and both teams playing with tremendous passion,” varsity coach Ryan Gilbert said.
“It was a great game to be a part of, the bad thing was that we were on the lower end of the point total,” he said.

For Melissa Burnor’s full story, please see the Feb. 10, 2016, edition of The Advance.

Seeburger – and a good breakfast – help keep Blissfield Lenten tradition alive

By Melissa Burnor

 

Liz Seeburger prepares bacon for the first Lenten Breakfast of the year in Blissfield. (Copyright 2016, River Raisin Publications, Inc.)
Liz Seeburger prepares bacon for the first Lenten Breakfast of the year in Blissfield. (Copyright 2016, River Raisin Publications, Inc.)

Tradition is important and when that tradition has united women of several Christian denominations for nearly a century it is something sacred enough it shouldn’t be allowed to disappear.
For Liz Seeburger the Lenten Breakfasts with the highlighted World Day of Prayer  that women of faith in the Blissfield have been attending since 1933 was one of those traditions.
But in 1998 the tradition might have gone by the wayside.

“Attendance was down and churches dropped out,” Seeburger said.  At the time, 65 years of local women gathering to pray had passed.
“I didn’t want to see it end, not under my watch,” Seeburger said. So she did what she could do to help. She had retired from her second-shift job in Toledo, Ohio just a few years before and was involved in catering. Providing a nice meal was something she could do. That is what she does for one of the breakfasts during the Lenten season with other churches providing breakfasts at their own events.
This year the Lenten Breakfasts began with the first one at the First United Methodist Church. St. Paul’s Lutheran, Emmanuel United Methodist, Riga Trinity Lutheran and Light of Christ each hosted a breakfast. The World Day of Prayer event will be March 4, the first Friday in March at the First Presbyterian Church this year.
All events are at 9:30 a.m. on Thursdays. The public is invited to attend.

For the complete story, please see the Feb. 10, 2016, edition of The Advance.

Blissfield’s water unlike that of Flint

By Melissa Burnor

Metals leaching from lead or copper pipes is not likely to be a situation customers of the Blissfield water plant would find in their drinking water.
In recent months the City of Flint has come under fire due to high lead levels in children believed to be at least in part a result of the municipality’s switch from the Detroit water supply to the  Flint River.  Both the Michigan Attorney General’s Office and the federal government have launched investigations seeking to find out who is responsible and if any laws have been broken .
Village Administrator James Wonacott said the village does the same state required tests for lead and copper that all municipalities furnishing water in Michigan must do.
“We have never had a problem,” Wonacott said.
Wonacott said the River Raisin, Blissfield’s drinking source is much more alkaline than the Flint River and has a higher PH. Sometimes the water has to be treated to bring the PH down.
However, the water is still treated with polyphosphates which combats the effects of corrosiveness in the water.

For the complete story, please see the Feb. 10, 2016, edition of The Advance.

Hope Venema

BLISSFIELD – Hope M. J. (Hanson) Venema, age 90 of Blissfield, passed away Tuesday, February 9, 2016, at her daughter’s home.

She was born at home in Wakefield, Michigan, September 3, 1925 to Albert and Olga (Thompson) Hanson.

Hope earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics from Michigan State University, and started her career in teaching in Niles, Michigan. After moving to Blissfield and starting a family, Hope was a substitute teacher for many years.

On June 25, 1949, Hope married Jacob Venema, and he preceded her in death in 1979, having shared 30 wonderful years together.

Hope was a 72 year member of the Tecumseh Order of the Eastern Star. She attended St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, served as a 4H leader and a Campfire Girls leader. She kept busy with knitting and crocheting and was a talented seamstress. She loved music and dancing. Hope also devoted time to her beautiful rose garden. As a member of the Hitch Up and Go camping club, Hope and Jacob enjoyed many camping adventures.

She is survived by two daughters, Christine Venema of North Branch and Elizabeth (Jeffrey) Kafer of Palmyra; a brother, Carl Hanson of Jamestown, NY; grandchildren, Temira, Elijah, Natasha and Matthew and a great-granddaughter, Makayla.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by brothers, Alvin and Arnold Hanson and a sister, Faith Laurila.

Funeral services will take place at 1 p.m., Friday, February 12, 2016 at Wagley Funeral Home, Tagsold Chapel in Blissfield, with Rev. Gary Leking officiating. Private burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery in Wakefield, Michigan. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Contributions in memory of Hope may be made to Lenawee Humane Society. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.WagleyFuneralHomes.com.

Columbia Central edges Royal women again

Billed as the game of the week, hopes were high in the Blissfield High School gym Thursday night, and the Lady Royals played hard, but dropped a heartbreaker to Columbia Central 59-57.

This is only the second loss for the Royal women this year, both at the hands of CC. And to make this loss more difficult, the loss also broke the team’s long home win streak.

For the complete story, please see the Feb. 10, 2016, edition of The Advance.

Madison treats homecoming crowd to win

The Madison Trojans men’s basketball team pulled off a 56-48 homecoming victory over the Morenci Bulldogs Friday night in a packed house.

But it didn’t start out like that. The Trojans were down big to the Bulldogs in the first half, but slowly they brought the game back to their standards and sealing the win.

Kendall Hudson and Colin Anschuetz were crowned winter homecoming queen and king respectively.

For Brad Heineman’s full story, please see the Feb. 10, 2016, edition of The Advance.

Kathryn Breitner

BLISSFIELD – Kathryn A. Breitner, age 55 of Blissfield, passed away January 27, 2016.

She was born in El Paso, Texas the daughter of James and Helen (Collingsworth) Jaqua, and grew up in the Petersburg area.

Always cheerful, Kathryn showed her family how to live with great joy. She shared this joy with her treasured grandsons who lovingly called her “Yaya”. She attended Light of Christ Parish in Blissfield. Kathryn was dearly loved by many people who will miss her fun and energetic spirit.

Surviving are her children: Kandace (Archie Nieswander) Breitner of Blissfield, Corbin (Holly) Lucas of Petersburg, and Cody (Gabby) Libstorff of Milan; grandsons, Kaleb and Kalon; siblings: Frank (Heidi) Jaqua, Deb (Karl) Knerr, Edward Jaqua, and Susan (Richard) Brown; and a very special friend, Ronnie Clegg.

She was preceded in death by her mother.

Mass of the Resurrection for Kathryn was at 11:00 a.m., Friday, February 5, 2016 at Light of Christ Parish in Deerfield with Fr. Jeffrey Poll as Celebrant. Burial will follow at St. Alphonsus Cemetery in Deerfield. The family received friends at the church from 10:00 a.m. until the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Kathryn’s family to assist with expenses. Arrangements have been entrusted to Wagley Funeral Home, Tagsold Chapel in Blissfield where online condolences and memories may be shared at www.WagleyFuneralHomes.com.