Castonia Ludington’s new mayor pro-tem

January 7, 2013

LUDINGTON — The Ludington City Council appointed Councilor Gary Castonia as its 2013 mayor pro-tem Monday night during its first meeting of the year.  Castonia was nominated by Councilor Nick Tykoski. Mayor John Henderson also made committee appointments. See related story and list here. The city also renewed its refuse, yard waste and recycling contract with Republic Services. The five…

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Scottville expected to rehire lawyer

January 7, 2013

SCOTTVILLE — The Scottville City Commission will decide tonight if it will continue the services of Thompson, Thompson & Glanville as its attorneys. City Manager Amy Williams is recommending the city extend its agreement with the Ludington firm. Tracey Thompson, from Thompson, Thompson & Glanville, serves as the regular attorney for the city. The firm is paid a $3,000 per…

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Franz supports elimination of ‘pop-up’ tax

January 7, 2013

LANSING — Property taxes won’t increase when real estate ownership is transferred within a family under legislation recently signed into law, state Rep. Ray Franz said today. Public Act 497 of 2012, formerly House Bill 4753, creates an exemption for property transfers between immediate family members, including by marriage and adoption, from the so-called “pop-up” tax that is applied when property…

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Grand Rapid artist to be featured at WSCC

January 7, 2013
Grand Rapid artist to be featured at WSCC

VICTORY TWP. – The work of Grand Rapids artist, Brenda Sipe, will open 2013 at the Manierre Dawson Gallery with an exhibit of sculpture and drawing. Sipe works with both traditional and explorative materials and is heavily influenced by nature. Recent sculptures display her background in fiber art and are “woven” from nature. Sipe received her master of fine arts…

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Cinderella in the kitchen

January 5, 2013
Cinderella in the kitchen

A blog by Stephanie Wagner. Eleven years ago, I hung up my sexy dresses, packed away my high heels, and gave up on toxic nail polish. I wore sweats dotted with snot and spit-up, and tennis shoes made for toddler chasing. When I went back to work, I still had very little contact with anyone over the age of 5…

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Personal property tax reductions mean loss for Scottville

January 5, 2013

SCOTTVILLE – Recent changes in personal property tax laws will mean an anticipated loss of $6,700 for Scottville, starting in 2014. Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed the Personal Property Tax Elimination bill which means businesses with a taxable value of less than $40,000 will be exempt from paying personal property taxes. The bill also means personal property tax for manufacturing…

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Mayor to appoint committees Monday

January 5, 2013

LUDINGTON — Mayor John Henderson is expected to make appointments to the city’s standing committees Monday during the city council’s first meeting of the year. Committees are as follow: Finance: Chair Wally Taranko, Wanda Marrison, Gary Castonia. Building and Licenses/Long Range Planning: Chair Kaye Holman, Wally Taranko, Nick Tykowski. Cemetery, Parks and Recreation: Chair Nick Tykowski, Dick Rathsack, Les Johnson.…

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Varenhorst scores 1,000th point

January 4, 2013
Varenhorst scores 1,000th point

FRUITPORT — Ludington Senior D’Erika Varenhorst scored her 1,000th career point tonight, helping the Orioles defeat Fruitport 37-13. She is,shown here with varsity coach Thad Shank. Photo compliments of Tyrone Collins. Ludington’s boys also defeated the Trojans 52-42.

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Fire chief, linemen rescue kitty from power line

January 4, 2013
Fire chief, linemen rescue kitty from power line

  RIVERTON TWP. – Thursday night was a first for Riverton Fire Chief Joe Cooper. He got to help rescue a cat – not from a tree but from a power pole. Cooper, along with Great Lakes Energy linemen Tom Mclouth and Rodney Herrema, saved a kitty that had been trapped on the pole for a couple days at the…

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District court

January 4, 2013

LUDINGTON – The following activity took place over the past week in the 79th District Court at the Mason County Courthouse. Sentences Raymond David Spyker, 29, 503 W. U.S. 10, Amber Twp., was found guilty on Dec. 18 for larceny. He was sentenced to 1 year discretionary jail for 2 years and given a $902.59 fine. An additional charge of…

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Chamber legislative roundtable

January 4, 2013

LUDINGTON — The Ludington & Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Relations Committee has scheduled a Business Roundtable with U.S. Representative Bill Huizenga and U.S. Representative Dan Benishek at the request of the office of Representative Huizenga. The Roundtable will take place in the new café room at the Book Mark in downtown Ludington on Friday, January 11th at 7:30am. Book Mark is located at the…

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Registration for kids ice fishing tourney

January 4, 2013

LUDINGTON — Registration for the Michigan Ice Open Kids Day will begin on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. Registrations will be accepted at the Ludington & Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce or by downloading the registration/waiver and release form from www.michiganiceopen.com and faxing it to 231-845-6857.  This is a free event for kids between the ages of 5 and 14. The Michigan Ice Open Kids…

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Ice fishing tourney registration open

January 4, 2013

LUDINGTON — Registration for the Michigan Ice Open Fishing Tournament is open. Registrations are being accepted at the Ludington & Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce or by downloading the application from www.michiganiceopen.com and faxing it to 231-845-6857.  The registration fee is $120 per two person team. The Michigan Ice Open Tournament is scheduled to take place on Feb. 2, 2013 on Hamlin Lake. …

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Ludington native may serve as interim superintendent

January 3, 2013
Ludington native may serve as interim superintendent

LUDINGTON – Ludington Area Schools board of education will interview a candidate for interim superintendent next Tuesday. The candidate, David Killips, is a Ludington native and has served most recently as the superintendent of Chelsea Public Schools from 2002 and retirement in 2012. Three Ludington Area Schools administrators have also applied for the interim superintendent position with the goal to…

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Twins are 2013 new year’s babies

January 3, 2013
Twins are 2013 new year’s babies

LUDINGTON — For the first time in memory, Ludington doesn’t have a single New Year’s baby, it has two newborns to celebrate. The first birth of 2013 is twin boys Christian and Arthur Hernandez. The brothers were born at Memorial Medical Center at 12:33 p.m. Thursday, January 3. Twins having the same time of birth is also highly unusual. Christian…

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Sheriff plans to increase U.S. 10 patrols

January 2, 2013
Sheriff plans to increase U.S. 10 patrols

LUDINGTON — Be warned Mason County drivers, there’s a new sheriff in town and one of the highest priorities for Kim Cole will be to increase patrols along the U.S. 10 corridor. Today was Cole’s first day in the office. He was sworn in as sheriff on Dec. 17 but Jeff Fiers remained in that capacity until Dec. 31. Cole…

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MDOT considering roundabout at U.S. 10 and Brye

January 2, 2013

AMBER TWP. — The Michigan Department of Transportation is considering building a round-about at the U.S. 10 and Brye Road intersection. The intersection is listed as one of the most dangerous in northwestern Michigan, along with the intersection at U.S. 10 and Pere Marquette Highway. A recent report from MDOT, stated 13 crashes resulting in injuries occurred at U.S. 10…

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Winter weather advisory issued

January 2, 2013

The National Weather Service in Grand Rapids has issued a winter weather advisory for Mason County from 10 p.m. this evening until 4 p.m. Thursday. The advisory is also for Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa and Allegan counties. Snow showers are expected to increase in coverage and intensity west of U.S. 131 toward midnight and may be heavy at times overnight. Total…

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Drive Safe, Drive Sober campaign saw 37% increase this year

January 2, 2013

The number of people in Mason County choosing to get rides instead of driving on New Year’s Eve increased by 37% this year, thanks to the 2012 Drive Safe, Drive Sober campaign. Ludington Police Chief Mark Barnett said the campaign was a great success again this year making the New Year’s Eve celebrations safe and enjoyable. “This success was due…

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Obit: Douglas Hill, 63

January 2, 2013

Douglas L. Hill, aged 63 of Custer, passed away early Sunday morning, December 30, 2012. Doug was born on December 30, 1949 in Hart to Howard N. and Lillian M. (LaPorte) Hill, and graduated from Pentwater High School. Following graduation, Doug enlisted in the United States Air Force, and served his country for 4 years. Doug was well known in…

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Happy 2013! Video

January 1, 2013
Happy 2013! Video

  Here is video of the Ludington Light Up the Lake New Year’s Eve ball drop and fireworks, welcoming 2013. We will have additional video on Tuesday.

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Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks