UAW, FCA donate two semi trucks to Food Bank




FLINT – As a crowd of about 65 United Auto Workers union members stood and cheered, two factory-refurbished Navistar semi trucks roared up the driveway to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan on Friday morning, making a grand debut as the new, industrial-sized “grocery getters” for serving the Flint area. Thanks to the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the […]

Mayor, council at odds over city employee contract negotiations




BURTON – The Burton city council and Mayor Paula Zelenko are embroiled in a standoff regarding the negotiation of city employee contracts with various labor unions. Zelenko and her staff contend that it has long been practice and the mayor’s duty to negotiate contracts with the various unions that city employees belong to. For example, this year agreements must be […]

Sean Astin, actor, visits MCC for mental health lecture




FLINT – Sean Astin, best known for his portray of Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger in the 1993 film “Rudy,” came to Mott Community College yesterday to speak on his passion outside of acting: mental health issues. Astin is the son of Anna Marie “Patty” Duke, a television star who […]

For-Mar to host Arbor Day celebration



BURTON — When J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day back in 1872, his idea was simple—set aside a special day for tree planting. Trees are a beneficial part of our ecosystem in so many ways. They can reduce topsoil erosion, cut heating and cooling costs in our homes, moderate surface temperatures, clean the air, produce life-giving oxygen, and provide habitat […]

In brief



Mom2Mom Sale on April 30 BURTON – There will be a Mom2Mom sale at Christ United Methodist Church, 4428 Columbine Ave., April 30 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The church needs moms. Outside rental $15. Inside rental $20 (8-foot table included). All rental fees are donated to The American Cancer Society through our Relay for Life team. Details: Call 810-515-2507. – […]

MDHHS issues update to 2015 Legionnaires’ disease report for Genesee County



LANSING – As part of the ongoing investigation into the increase of Legionnaires’ disease (LD) in Genesee County, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today issued an updated summary for 2015. The update includes three additional LD cases (two deaths) identified since the last report. Legionella is a type of bacteria commonly found in the environment that […]

Police Blotter



Burton police investigating rental scam The Burton Police Department received a call from a former Burton resident warning of a possible rental scam. The caller said he has lived in Arizona for three years but still owns a home in Burton, which is empty and has no one living in it. He stated that the home is currently for sale, […]

Searching for my namesakes



I was in fourth grade when a fad blossomed for girls to wear personalized name tags similar to those now found in abundance at souvenir and gift shops. My best friend Karen had one. So did Doris, Donna, Linda and even Miriam. But Rhonda was nowhere to be found and believe me I searched hard. To this day, finding anything […]

Training K-9s is all in a day’s work



GRAND BLANC — Spud Software has always been a supporter of the Grand Blanc Township Police Department and therefore, we invited Police Sgt. Matt Simpson to come tour our new facility. What was initially just a tour transpired into much more based on what Sgt. Simpson noticed with our new building. “When I took the tour, I noticed they had […]

Teddy Bear Patrol donation



100 Women Who Care is a Grand Blanc club that has been meeting for 50 years this year; bringing together women from all different walks of life who commit to giving money to charity. At the March meeting of the Grand Blanc Chamber of Commerce, club president Melissa Schummer (left), presented a check to Chamber President Jet Kilmer (right) for […]