It was an extra-special Storytime session at the Schultz-Holmes Memorial Library Wednesday, July 28.
Storytime was led by New York Times bestselling children’s book author, Deborah L. Diesen. Diesen.
The Midland native opened Storytime by talking to the audience about book covers, and how kids too young to read can tell a lot about a book from its cover. She help up a copy of her latest book, the Barefooted, Bad-tempered Baby Brigade, and asked the audience what they could tell about about the book.
“The babies look mean,” shouted one child in the audience.
The grades are in and Jim Wonacott made the dean’s list. Wonacott, in his 16h year as village administrator, scored high grades in the annual evaluation conducted by members of Blissfield Village Council and tabulated by Blissfield Village President Jae Guetschow.
Using a five-point scale, with one being unsatisfactory and five being outstanding, each council member was asked to grade Wonacott in nine areas, ranging from profession skills to residential relations. When all the votes were tabulated, Wonacott received an average score of 4.6, which puts him a little closer to outstanding (a five rating) than above average (a four rating).
Wonacott’s top rating came in fiscal management, where he scored a 4.8 rating.
“(Wonacott) makes the best possible use of available funds (and he is) conscious of the need to operate the village efficiently and effectively,” wrote one of the council members, in the evaluation.
Lenawee County is under a tornado warning. The National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiach issued the warning at 5:45 p.m. Thursday. The warning is in effect until 7 p.m.
At 5:45 p.m. Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. This storm was eight miles west of Hudson and moving east at 30 miles per hour.
The storm is expected to be near Sand Creek at 6:25 p.m.
The warning includes surrounding areas such as Blissfield, Deerfield and Adrian.
People are cautioned to take cover, move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building and avoid windows.
In an effort to save more than $40,000 a year, Blissfield Community Schools has adopted a plan to share its business manager, Dan Garno, with the Lenawee Intermediate School District.
The Blissfield Board of Education approved a collaborative deal, by a 6-0 vote, with the LISD at Monday night’s meeting. Trustee Vicky Lombard was absent.
The Advance was unable to obtain specific details of the agreement Monday night. After the board meeting, Garno said that he moving to the LISD to do much of that had been done by former LISD executive director for staff resources, Jim Philp. Philp was appointed as interim superintendent of the LISD after Steve Krusich retired.
Garno called the move a “pilot project” that would need to be closely monitored by the LISD and Blissfield Community Schools.
RIGA — The Riga Twp. Planning Commission, in conjunction with the Riga Township Board, sponsored a presentation at a special meeting Monday night by John Deere, one of the corporations interested in developing wind energy. The program was part of the township’s effort to educate community members about the ramifications of allowing or prohibiting the construction of wind farms in the township.
The presentation was conducted by John Deere business development manager Doug Dulmering and consisted of a Powerpoint presentation explaining the effect that “wind farms” would have on residents.
Blissfield Village President Jae Guetschow said he hopes the village’s new status a “select-level” member of the Michigan Main Street program will help transform downtown. Guetschow made the remarks Wednesday afternoon as the village officially announced its selection in the Main Street program.
Guetschow said he hopes to see changes that will help the downtown be more appealing to local residents.
“For a period of time we’ve been advertising and courting outsiders to come in and spend their money here but we really need to have a good blend of visitors as well as residents,” Guetschow said.
Guetschow said that downtown centers, such as Blissfield’s, are more in demand after 60 years of sprawl and running away from urban centers.
The 27th Annual Blissfield River Raisin Festival concluded Sunday. Compared to the first two days of the festival, Sunday was quiet.
They day opened with a pancake breakfast and a church service.
Classic cars, souped up hot rods and motorcycles roared into Ellis Park around in the morning for the annual show, which featured motorcycles for the first time.
The River Raisin Festival Idol contest drew a big crowd Sunday afternoon. Activities continued at Kids Corner and at the Jules and Beck Carnival.
As the festival neared its end, the Cub Scouts 708 team defeated Team Sieler Construction in the annual Tug-o-War over the River Raisin Festival.
In the video above, Detroit police officer Greg Hudson wows the crowd with his winning performance at the Idol contest. In the video below, Blissfield resident Dean Cantrell performs in the Idol contest. Cantrell performed a song he wrote.
Saturday at the Blissfield River Raisin Festival opened with small town tradition and closed with a sci-fi light show.
The day began with the annual River Raisin Festival Parade through downtown Blissfield. In all, the 45-minute parade was one of the longest in history, featuring hundreds of entrants. The parade was so long that floats at the beginning of the parade completed the entire parade route and arrived back at the school before many had even begun the parade.
Former Village President Pat Hinde, owner of Frosty Boy, Home Run Pizza, Hinde Accounting and other businesses, was named the first-ever Grand Marshal of the parade. Over the years, Hinde has played a big role in Blissfield’s annual party. He ran the softball tournament and car show for years. Even today, Hinde allows the festival to use his property for the ever-popular beverage tent. Consumption of alcohol in the parks is prohibited.
Blissfield’s downtown parks were bursting Friday night as the River Raisin Festival rocked into action.
The first major event of the day Friday was the Miss River Raisin Festival Scholarship Pageant. When it was over, Tamara Korican, of was crowed the queen for 2010. She’ll compete in the 2011 Miss Michigan Scholarship. Rounding out the top five were Ashliegh Allen, Tiffany Korican, Nicole Taylor and Meagan Hauss.
Crowds flooded the park at dusk in preparation for the annual fireworks display, which lit up the sky and concluded with an exhilarating finale.
The carnival and the inflatable rides were finally up and running. Extremely warm weather early in the week and Thursday’s downpour had slowed the opening of the carnival.
The fun continues Saturday, starting with a parade at 10:30 a.m. There will be free music and entertainment on three stages Saturday. A sand volleyball tournament takes place Saturday morning and afternoon. There will be a laser show near the Gail Giles Memorial Swimming Pool Saturday night at approximately 10 p.m.
For a gallery from Day 1 of the festival, click here.
Early River Raisin Festival activities were scrapped due to the weather, but after looking at weather projections, organizers are forecasting good times and family fun for this weekend.
It was hoped that the carnival would be running by Wednesday, but the installation was slowed by intense heat Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday's early evening rain showers prevented the carnival from operating and caused festival organizers to cancel the free movie night planned for Thursday evening.
But organizers are thrilled, because the rain chased away the stifling heat that's kept many area residents indoors by their trusty air conditioners. This weekend's weather calls for sun and temperatures in the 80s.
"We're going to have a great weekend," said Joyce Fetzer, president of the River Raisin Festival's organizing committee. "The weather is going to be gorgeous. People are looking for an excuse to get out of the house and have fun and that's what we're all about."
The theme for the River Raisin Festival, July 9,10, and 11, is Rockin’ on the River. The theme is appropriate because the river will certainly be rockin’ but so will the parks and streets of Blissfield as the action gets underway, unofficially, on Wednesday, July 7, when the carnival comes to town. The Jules & Beck combined shows will be at 5 p.m. Wednesday and again at 5 p.m. on Sunday.
On Thursday, July 8, the pre-festival excitement continues at 9:30 p.m. with Movie Night at Ellis Park. Organizers have gotten their hands on a real retro gem, “Back to the Future,” rated PG and totally remastered in super-quality high definition. The open-air theater will be set up in Ellis Park in the vicinity of the outfield portion of the ballpark.
Catholics from eastern Lenawee and western Monroe counties celebrated the official birth the Light of Christ Catholic Parish on Thursday, July 1.
The new parish comprises nearly 700 area families who were members of Blissfield’s St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church and Deerfield’s St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. The two churches merged to form the new parish and will continue to serve their communities.
Leaders of the new parish celebrated the occasion with a bevy of events and activities.
The 28th annual Hospice of Lenawee Run, Walk and Bike Tour in the memory of Bruce Jones takes place Sunday, June 27.
The event offers courses of one mile, five kilometers and 10 kilometers to runners and walkers. There is also a non-competitive 50 kilometer bike tour. All events begin at Blissfield High School.
The registration fee for the bike tour and the 5 and 10K runs is $20. The cost for the one mile run is $10. Proceeds benefit Hospice of Lenawee, a non-profit, community-based hospice serving Lenawee County.
The National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiac has issued a tornado warning for Northern Lenawee County until 10 p.m. tonight. At 9:19 the National Weather Service Doppler Radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. It was near Brooklyn and moving east at 30 MPH. The storm is expected to strike Clinton at 9:40 p.m., Tecumseh at 9:45 p.m. and Britton at 9:55 p.m.
Residents are advised to take cover in an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building and avoid windows. If in a mobile home, vehicle or outdoors, move to the closest substantial shelder and protect themselves from flying debris.
The thunderstorm is expected to have winds of 60 MPH and three-quarters of an inch hail.
The brunt of the storm appears to be north of Blissfield.
Severe weather could be an issue for the next few hours.
LANSING -- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that the communities of Blissfield, Hart and Wayland were selected by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) to take part in the Michigan Main Street program.
As full fledged Michigan Main Street communities, Blissfield, Hart and Wayland will receive five years of intensive technical assistance, through the Michigan Main Street Center @ MSHDA, with a focus on revitalization strategies designed to attract new residents, business investment, economic growth and job creation to their central business districts.
"The Michigan Main Street program will help Blissfield, Hart and Wayland create opportunities for new development and economic growth just as it has in downtowns across our state," Governor Granholm said. " Michigan's economy will be stronger with thriving downtowns – big and small."
A severe thunderstorm for eastern Lenawee County and Monroe County has been issued by the National Weather Service in Detroit/Pontiac until 10:45 p.m.
At 9:23 p.m. the weather service Doppler radar indicated a line of severe thunderstorms capable of producing destructive winds in excess of 70 MPH. The warning also called for hail. These storms were along a line extending from Saline to Deerfield to 10 miles south of Blissfield and moving east at 40 MPH.
The National Weather Service warned that these storms presented an “extremely dangerous” situation and that people should seek shelter in a sturdy structure and stay away from windows.
A glitch in the triggering process of Blissfield’s tornado early warning system caused the village’s two remote sirens to remain silent during the critical minutes before the tornado touched down only 10 miles away in the early morning hours Sunday, June 6. The main siren at the fire station was activated and was audible to residents near the center of town.
As a result, many Blissfield residents did not hear the steady three- to five-minute uninterrupted wail of the siren that signals the sighting of a funnel cloud in the immediate area.
When reports from citizens of the malfunction surfaced the next day, Blissfield Township Fire Chief Gary Crist went to inspect the two remote sirens, one at the American Legion Post on the west side of town and one at Blissfield Manufacturing on the south side, both were found to be functional and to have full power.
In February, after receiving $3.1 million in state tax incentives, BioDri announced that it could begin operating in Blissfield as early as May.
Midway through June, the company which pledged to directly create 337 jobs in the next five years, BioDri is still technically without a home and hiring hasn’t begun.
Blissfield Village officials say that could change soon.
The development has stalled while awaiting the application for and processing of community development block grand funding through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. To qualify for a major tax break on a facility, BioDri was required to wait for the block grants to be approved before it could move into a building in Michigan.
Blissfield Elementary School's Purple and Gold Day went down to the wire last Thursday. After all of the students competed in all of the events, only a few points separated the Purple and Gold teams. So, school staff decided to have a Hula Hoop relay to decide what potato sack races, 50-yard ashes, long jump, high jump, soccer skills competitons and the other events couldn't.
The fifth grade Purple team finished the event just seconds ahead of their Gold counterparts, clinching the day's events for the students.
There were 72 students in Whiteford High School’s 51st graduating class.
The Class of 2010 said farewell to Whiteford Agricultural Schools during commencement exercises Friday evening while it eagerly greeted the future.
The exercises were highlighted by great musical performances from the school’s men’s and women’s ensemble, the senior ensemble members, the high school band, and a duet by graduating seniors Jacob Berry and Abby Deisler.
Remarks were made by Superintendent Larry Shilling, who is completing his first year as the district’s chief administrator. His comments often drew laughter of from the audience. He congratulated students for graduating, noting that a typical student has spent about 16,380 hours in school. Then he estimated that the graduating students can look forward to more than 40 years, or 88,000 hours of work.
“I guess knowing that, school wasn’t all that bad,” Shilling said. “And remember, starting tomorrow, no more fog delays or snow days.”
Communities honored the sacrifices of fallen American soldiers during Memorial Day programs Monday.
Chicken barbecues, pancake breakfasts and peppy parades in the hot sun made for wholesome family fun. But there were also ceremonies saluting the war dead at ceremonies in Palmyra, Deerfield, Blissfield and Riga.
“It’s very humbling to think of those who have come before us and have given their lives for this country,” said Pastor Tom Frantz, of Blissfield Baptist Church, addressing the crowd at the Riga Memorial Day program Monday afternoon. “I consider myself to be so unworthy to even speak on their behalf when they’ve given so much and I’ve enjoyed so much as a result of the privileges we have.”
Frantz said adults carry a tremendous responsibility to remind the younger generations of the selfless sacrifices that make America “the greatest country in the world.”
“We might not like everything the politicians do, but we have the ability to speak up or grumble about it, because men have gone before and given their lives so that we can have a country, such like we have,” Frantz said. “Let’s never forget the amazing sacrifice that was given, but also be reminded that it was by God’s grace.”
Here is a local roundup of local activities and events scheduled for Memorial Day, May 31: Blissfield
The parade will begin in downtown Blissfield at approximately 11 a.m. Those participating in the parade should line up at the library at 10:30 a.m.
Music will be provided by the Blissfield High School Marching Band and Scott Wilson of Ann Arbor Pipe & Drums.
There will be a service at Pleasant View Cemetery. Speaker is Bruce Caswell, former Hillsdale County State Representative. A prayer and salute will be provided by the VFW 10912, American Legion Post 325, Nash Hodges 43-4th Michigan Infantry Re-enactors and military re-enactors of various periods.
There will be a chicken barbecue at the Blissfield American Legion beginning at 11 a.m. The public is invited to attend.
Blissfield will have full control of the Home Canning property if its partners agree to execute the property acquisition and demolition agreement approved by village council Monday night.
Council voted 5=1 to pass a draft agreement which states that the village shall be “solely responsible for the pricing, marketing, and sale" of the 35-acre purchased for $150,000 at an auction April 9. Trustee Mark Burgermeister, who voted against the motion to bid on the property, was the lone dissenter.
Musicians from Blissfield Middle School and Blissfield High School performed in the second annual Collage Concert at BHS May 19. Led by Blissfield Bands Director Mark Hollandsworth, the bands peformed under a roving spotlight and in front of big video display in front of an audience of several hundred people.
