Archive - Jun 18, 2008

Robert Amick, 76, of Britton, died on June 17, 2008, a home.  His body was donated to the University of Michigan.  A memorial tribute will be held in California where he resided most of his life.  Contributions my be made to Arbor Hospice.  A full obituary will appear in the next week’s issue.  Arrangements were made by the Ochalek-Stark Funeral Services in Milan.

Donald “Bondo” Moore, 70, of Anaheim, Calif., passed away Monday, June 16, 2008.  A memorial

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. raised his arms in victory after winning NASCAR’s LifeLock 400 on Sunday at Michigan International Speedway. It was his first Sprint Cup series win on the same track where he once raced his father, Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and his brother Kerry Earnhardt in the same race. See today’s Sports for a complete story and photos.

By DEB WUETHRICH

City residents will pay a flat rate to repay a $2 million SRF bond over the next 20 years to fund tertiary treatment improvements at the wastewater treatment plant following a 4-3 vote by Tecumseh City Council members Monday night. A May 19 vote by council on how to repay the bonds was tied, with member Dick Johnson absent. Johnson, along with council members Jack Baker, Pat Housekeeper and Mayor Harvey Schmidt voted for the flat rate over a per unit charge, which would have been based at 45 cents per unit of water sold.

At the May 19 meeting, some members stated that they believed the plant improvements, required by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, was a purchase of a fixed asset, the cost of which should be borne by all resident users, while others said they would prefer to have higher users bear more of the cost. Tecumseh City Manager Kevin Welch said the city had surveyed what other communities did.

“There were slightly more that used the flat rate and didn’t give a compelling reason why other than they felt it was a fixed asset and it was more appropriate,” Welch said. He said the only thing that would sway his own preference one way or another was that with a flat rate system, the computerized system of accounting already was in place, whereas it might have been necessary to delay billing beyond the July 1 goal to develop a payment plan for the per unit charges.

Based on meter size, residents can expect to pay the following: 1-inch or smaller, $6.76 per quarter; 1.5-inch, $31.98; 2-inch, $60.22; 3-inch, $136.29; 4-inch, $120.04; and multifamily, $55.51.

In other business, the council members:

• Heard an annual report from Tecumseh Police Chief Mack Haun.

By BENJAMIN RAY
Herald Special Writer

When one thinks of Michigan art galleries, places like Lansing, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids spring to mind.

Add Tecumseh to that list.

Not only has Whitney Studio been open since February, owner Susan Whitney-Johnson continues to add work from local artists and offer workshops for would-be painters. A dozen or so artists from Tecumseh, Manchester, Ann Arbor and the like are selling and exhibiting their work in the 113 W. Chicago Blvd. gallery.

This is work that encompasses Michigan. Vivid colors and serene landscapes share wall space with portraits of animals and historical scenes from the Tecumseh area. Glass-blown crafts and cute wool animals — the “warm fuzzies” — sit next to haunting acrylic paintings of people and abstract oil work conveying different emotions to different viewers.

“I was so happy that a gallery opened up in Tecumseh. The response shows there’s enough of an artist community here to support it,” said Amy Sowers, a local resident and creator of the aforementioned abstract oil paintings. “(Whitney-Johnson) is providing the outlet for some of us who would not have been able to show our stuff otherwise.”
A destination

Unlike many art galleries around the state, Whitney Studio is pretty much devoted to art, making it a destination for the more serious fan. The entire right wall is covered in a myriad of paintings, charcoal drawings, sculptures and prints.

Off to the left is Whitney-Johnson’s studio, which boasts a number of almost-finished paintings, which she will get around to soon. In the middle of the studio is an open space with a table for artists to work or congregate.

THS Girls Softball Team Does It Again with Back-to- Back State Titles.
See story and pictures in today’s Sport