Month: April 2016

By Melissa Burnor

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This week’s Advance – April 13 – has the wrong filing deadline in the story and in the headline. The filing deadline is definitely April 19. We regret the error.)

With a few days left until the deadline for filing a petition to run for local and state offices, very few local races have yet to materialize. The deadline for filing to seek township, county and some state offices is 4 p.m. April 19. All township board seats are up for grabs as well as the county jobs such as sheriff, prosecuting attorney, treasurer, clerk, surveyor, drain commissioner and county commission seats. The only county races so far that appear to be in the making are a primary race for Lenawee County Prosecutor and a race for the District 4 county commission seat that includes Madison Township. Incumbent prosecutor Burke Castleberry and challenger Rodney Leon have both filed as Republicans in that race. Republicans Dawn Bales, who was appointed to fill out the remainder of Cletus Smith’s term, and Randy Swander have both filed for that seat. Harvey Schmidt, owner of Schmidt and Sons Pharmacy filed as a Democrat last week for the 57th district seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Republican candidate Bronna Kahle has also filed a petition.

(For the rest of this story, please see the April 13, 2016, edition of The Advance. Again, the date in the newspaper, however, is incorrect. So sorry about that!)

By Melissa Burnor

There will be no swimming lessons, no hanging out at the outdoor pool or water aerobics this year. Blissfield village officials have closed the  Gail Giles Pool indefinitely due to concerns over its condition and the uncertainty of whether it can be repaired or will need to be replaced. Until engineers can determine the extent of the deterioration and whether it can be replaced or repaired village officials are uncertain what the expectations are.  Unfortunately, officials say that no matter what the engineers say should be done with the pool, how they will proceed is questionable.
“We don’t have the money to do it right now,” village administrator Jim Wonacott said, “regardless of the option.” Village officials said they may have to ask taxpayers whether they may be willing to fund the renovations and repairs or perhaps a new pool through a millage.
Wonacott said there is  deterioration of the concrete shell and liner. The extent of the deterioration of the shell can’t be established unless the liner is peeled away . But Wonacott said several months ago that the deterioration can be felt by pressing into the liner.
The second area of concern is the pump for the main filtration system of the pool. The apparatus was damaged during the flood last summer causing the pool to be shut down for several weeks while the  pump was repaired. It was hard for the company who repaired it to find parts for it due to the age of the equipment.

(For the complete story, please see the March 30, 2016, edition of The Advance.)

Blissfield tot, Brooks Seeburger, will be the center of attention this coming Monday at Lena’s Italian Restaurant.
For the entire serving day at the restaurant, food purchased, either dine-in or carryout  will have 10 percent of all sales made go to Seeburger and his family.
Brooks, 2, has been diagnosed with Type I diabetes and his parents, Aaron and Ashley Seeburger, have been in the process of raising funds to purchase a diabetic alert dog for their young son.
Blissfield State Bank, one of the main supporters of the event will match any amount of the Monday event, as will businesses TLC Community Credit Union, Iott Insurance Agency, Dr. Christopher Mallow D.D.S and Knapp Motors. Miss River Raisin Festival Olivia Miller, whose platform is “Don’t Stop for Diabetes” will make an appearance at the event.