The Milford Village Council at its Monday, June 20 meeting voted to have the village offices close at 4 p.m. on Fridays, similar to the policy of Milford Township. In order to make up for the lost hour, the village employees will shorten two lunch hours earlier in the week. The vote passed by a 4-1 measure, with Councilman James Kovach voting against the measure because he said he was concerned about services to residents [...]

The Milford Township Planning Commission has approved sending an amendment to the township’s home occupation ordinance before the Board of Trustees for consideration at its Wednesday, July 20 meeting. The Planning Commission began discussing changes to the ordinance back in August 2010, with Commissioner and Township Board Liaison William Mazzara saying that the current ordinance is outdated and that revisions are in order. Other commissioners also noted that the current ordinance doesn’t address residents working [...]

The Huron Valley School District (HVS) is beaming with pride as it looks back at the list of accomplishments achieved over the 2010-11 school year. “I continue to say and am amazed by the number of achievements and marks of excellence we accomplish given we are a low-funded district,” said Huron Valley School Board President Sean Carlson. “Points of Pride” are a culmination of Huron Valley achievements by staff, administration, students and student groups throughout [...]

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is gearing up to begin multiple bridge reconstruction projects on a state highway in the lakes area at some point soon, given the structures’ “structurally deficient” conditions. Four-fifths of the overall costs will be provided by federal sources, with the remaining 20 percent covered by MDOT. Total project costs are estimated at $15.5 million. The bridges that require repairs are located in the I-96 corridor between Milford Road and [...]

From the Denise “Chip” Black, Milford: A state’s budget is both a moral statement and a vision for the future. The budget for next year reveals a failure to accept moral responsibility on the part of Gov. Rick Snyder and his cohorts in the state Legislature. Their budget offers a bleak vision for the future of Michigan. It demonstrates that corporations are valued over human beings, the rich are more worthy than the needy, and [...]

From the Donna Bothell, Wolverine Lake: I was delighted to read in the Spinal Column Newsweekly today (“Funding causes Wolverine Lake to scale back picnic,” June 22) that the annual Wolverine Lake Village Festival/Corn Roast was being scaled back and (that the village is instead) adopting a village appreciation theme with free corn, lemonade, etc. This was exactly what I had always hoped it would be — a simple community picnic. So many events that [...]

From Dave Waltz, Commerce Township: Pick up any newspaper these days and teachers are being portrayed as lazy and incompetent (people) who couldn’t care less about their students. Nothing could be further from the truth. By and large, teachers are extremely hard-working individuals who go the extra mile to help their students in and out of the classroom. What is true, however, is that people such as Gov. (Rick) Snyder, President (Barack) Obama, U.S. Secretary [...]

We’d like to see a large contingent of lakes area residents participate in an upcoming training session for volunteers interested in pitching in to help stop the spread of aquatic invasive species in Michigan’s lakes. The training session, to be held here in the lakes area, provides an opportunity for riparians and other regular lake users to do their part to protect waterways from damaging invasive species. Managed through the Michigan Sea Grant, Clean Boats-Clean [...]

The eco-friendly folks living in and visiting the village of Milford in the coming months will be able to charge their electric vehicles at one of six new charging stations slated to be installed by the fall. Not only is the effort good for those already owning electric vehicles, but it could help prompt other communities to consider such a move and perhaps even spur area residents to weigh the purchase of such a vehicle [...]

Walled Lake Central’s Bryan Bell (left) poses with Offensive Line Coach Robert Guttovz following the annual Michigan High School Football Coaches Association All-Star Game. Bell played most of the game and helped the East gain 353 yards of total offense, including 290 yards passing. (Photo submitted by Arnold Bell) Three of the lakes area’s best football players stood toe-to-toe with the best in the state at the 31st annual Michigan High School Football Coaches Association [...]