Archive - Apr 2011

By DEB WUETHRICH

Some residents within the Tecumseh Public School district may still be confused about where to vote on Tuesday, May 3, for this year’s school election. Three candidates will vie for two board seats. Running are Kimberly Amstutz-Wild, Gregg Hardy, and Matt Oren.
Residents are reminded that the city of Tecumseh will not be holding the school board elections for the next two years. The polling sites will be in Raisin Township, with locations as follows: City of Tecumseh voters that normally vote in Precincts 1, 2 or 3 will vote in Precinct 1 at the Raisin Township Fire Meeting room, located at 5525 Occidental Highway.

The Raisin Community Center will accommodate City of Tecumseh voters that normally vote in Precinct 4, as well as Macon, Ridgeway, Franklin, Clinton and Tecumseh, and other Townships within the Tecumseh Public School District constituency. These voters will report to Precinct 2.

Precinct 3 will consist of Raisin Township residents. The Raisin Community Center is located at 3266 Gady Rd. From Tecumseh, voters would travel south on Occidental, turn left on Gady and watch for a sign to turn left into the Community Center drive.

Raisin Township Clerk Betty Holdridge said that signs will be posted to help direct voters to the correct sites.

“We know that there are people who will still be confused,” said Holdridge. “We’re going to do our best to help them out.”

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call the Raisin Township office at 423.3162.

Tecumseh’s spring sports season has had several scheduling setbacks with numerous postponements caused from the recent rains. Last week, on Thursday, April 21, Tecumseh was able to host a varsity track meet against Lincoln. Pictured (r) is John Terry during the boys 3,200-meter relay. Download our online edition for the complete story.

By JIM LINCOLN

A proposal to transfer $960 million from the state’s School Aid Fund (SAF) away from K-12 education to community colleges and higher education was addressed at Monday’s Tecumseh School Board meeting where members adopted a resolution opposing the plan set forth by Governor Rick Snyder.

The resolution cites funding increases of less than one percent per year for the past decade from the state while schools have faced cost increases, new mandates and standards. In response, Tecumseh Public Schools has been forced to reduce staff and budgets to maintain programs, the resolution states.

Supt. Mike McAran said the state is disregarding the intent of Proposal A, passed in 1994, to provide funding for public schools. Projected cuts will reduce per pupil funding by $300, on top of $170 cut this year.

“We as voters never intended for funding through Proposal A to be going to higher education,” said board president Dr. Edward Tritt.

The School Aid Fund issue was one of several topics discussed on Monday related to the TPS financial challenges. Currently, contract negotiations are underway with the teacher’s union, or Tecumseh Education Association, which may include discussions for a change in salaries and benefits. McAran said he was not at liberty to discuss the status of the ongoing negotiations.

“If we can’t cut our costs in two years, we may not have a school district,” McAran said.
Among certain changes coming in the next year will be the elimination of the popular block scheduling, which gives students more flexibility in scheduling classes and better one-on-one access to teachers. The cost, however, to provide block scheduling is substantial because in requires more staff, according to McAran, who said Tecumseh was one of the last schools to drop the format.

By DEB WUETHRICH

Residents and visitors to Tecumseh’s downtown will have a chance to “Celebrate Art” during the fourth annual Art Walk on Friday, April 29, from 6-9 p.m. The Tecumseh Economic Development Department will partner with downtown Tecumseh merchants, the Community Arts of Tecumseh (CAT), and regional artists to present the event.

Tecumseh Marketing Coordinator Linda Hewlett said the event keeps growing year after year.

“Everybody loves it,” said Hewlett. “We get a real good response to this, and some merchants will even have more than one artist.” She said Jean Lash, of the CAT organization helped coordinate some of the artists’ activities, and in some cases, the merchants do it themselves.

More than two dozen artists will display work in a variety of mediums including: origami, wood carving, linoleum and wood block printing, lamp bead making, painting of acrylic and watercolors, mixed media (metal), fiber arts, pottery, floral design, colored pencil, jewelry, and mosaics.

Some of the merchants will also provide refreshments as part of the event. Bad Hair Day? will have live entertainment, and Mar-tini Art will have a display at Evans Street Station.
Art Walk participating merchants also include: Purple Pear Tree, Timeless Stitches, Martin’s Home Center, Basil Boys, The Wild Iris, Burdick and Associates, Great Ideas Interior Design, Pentamere Winery, DGII, The Daily Grind, River Raisin Gallery, Black Door Gallery, Tilton and Sons Shoes, British Tea Garden and Rooftop Café, Boulevard Market, Classic Cabinets and Interiors, Artonic, Edward Jones Investments, Edison Chiropractic, Ground Zero Hair Studio, Evans Street Station, Grey Fox Floral, and Tecumseh Coins.

Maps will be available at all participating merchants, to help navigate a stroll through downtown Tecumseh and the 4th annual Art Walk. For more information, contact Paula Holtz, 424.6003 at the Economic Development Department.

Opal I. Dickinson, 92, formerly of Tecumseh, passed away Saturday, April 23, at Dussia House in Otsego, Mich. She was born Dec. 9, 1918, in Macon, Mich. to Raynor and Arlene (Coller) Kerr. On July 14, 1941, she married Frederick Dickinson. Sadly, he preceded her in death in July of 2005.

Opal was a lifelong resident of the area. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Tecumseh, Tecumseh Historical Society, and Tecumseh Service Club. She was branch manager at First Federal Savings and Loan, Tecumseh, for many years. She also worked along with her husband on project LEAD. While her sons were growing up, she was very involved in their activities and served as a den mother for their scout troop.

Opal is survived by her sons, Thomas (Patricia) Dickinson, D.O. of Lone Rock, Wis. and Timothy (Lori) Dickinson, M.D. of Allegan, Mich.; her sister, Clara (Mahlon) Sebring of Bristol, Va.; six grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband and her parents.

Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 28, at the Tecumseh Chapel of Handler Funeral Home. A Funeral Service will take place immediately following the visitation with the Rev. Richard Mortimer of First Presbyterian Church of Tecumseh officiating. Interment will follow at Brookside Cemetery, Tecumseh.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Presbyterian Church or to the Tecumseh Historical Society and Susan G. Komen-For the Cure.

Condolences may be offered to the family by visiting www.handlerfuneralhomes.com.

Mary Elizabeth Frolich-Miller, 77, of Battle Creek, formerly of Tecumseh, died peacefully on Friday, April 22, 2011, in Battle Creek, Mich., with her family at her side. She was born Feb. 8, 1934, in Adrian, the daughter of James J. and Rosalia J. (Pfeffer) Barrett. On Aug. 11, 1956, she was married to Fred Frolich and he preceded her in death on Dec. 22, 1989. She then married Otto Miller on May 20, 1995 and he preceded her in death on Nov. 18, 2002.

Mary was a graduate of St. Joseph Academy in Adrian. She was a life-long resident of this area and was a member of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Tecumseh. She worked as Home Health Care Aid in Lenawee County for several years. Mary was happiest when spending time watching birds and attending to her flower garden. She enjoyed collecting cardinals, square dancing, camping and traveling. She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother and will be dearly missed but always remembered by all those who knew and loved her.

Mary is survived by a son, Mark (Amy) Frolich of Adrian; a daughter, Rosanne (Tim) Eggleston of Battle Creek; a brother, Michael (Joan) Barrett of Ann Arbor, and six grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by husbands, Fred Frolich and Otto Miller and daughter, Martha.

Visitation was held Tuesday, April 26, at the Tecumseh Chapel of Handler Funeral Homes where a Vigil Prayer service took place. The funeral mass was celebrated on Wednesday, April 27, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Adrian, with Fr. David Hudgins as Celebrant. Rite of committal followed in St. Joseph Cemetery, Adrian.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church building fund.

Condolences and words of sympathy may be offered to the family at www.handlerfuneralhomes.com.