MORENCI — First-year head cross country coach Tony Muzzi inherited a program returning only one athlete from its previous season and losing three runners to graduation. The Bulldogs finished the year with three high school athletes as well as three middle school athletes.
“And not just middle schoolers, they’re sixth graders,” Muzzi said. “So if they stick with it they will be in the program for seven years.”
ADRIAN — Community Action Agency is conducting a Community Needs Assessment to learn about the needs of everyone who uses, or might need to use, their services. The agency is seeking to learn if, and how, people’s needs may be changing, what barriers may exist to accessing services, and how they could be improved.
MORENCI — Municipal elections for the city of Morenci will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Mayor Tracy Schell is unopposed for re-election. Two incumbents are seeking re-election to the city council, and three additional candidates are vying for a chance to serve. There are three seats up for election this year.
The candidates are Kori Christle, Gail Cleghorn, Brad Lonis, Gary Pfund, and Kandice Speiser. Christle and Speiser are the incumbents.
MORENCI — Morenci City Hall will be open for voting from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 4. Residents may register to vote at City Hall during regular office hours, including on Election Day.
Additionally, City Hall will be open on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon for voter registration and absentee ballot submissions.
MORENCI — Stair District Library is now accepting donations during regular library hours for its upcoming used book sale. Donations will be accepted through the back door of the annex; notify library staff first.
MORENCI — If you noticed somebody walking down your street one day in September and taking careful note of all the trees, that was Steve Lane.
Lane, an urban forestry consultant, has been engaged by the city of Morenci to work on a 20-year plan for managing all of the trees on public property on the city. The grant-funded project aims to help the city be proactive, rather than reactive, about managing its tree population, and it includes a comprehensive inventory of all the trees on public land in Morenci — about 1,350 in total.
MORENCI — The Morenci City Council voted on Sept. 15 to approve the hiring of Nathan Adams as the city’s next police chief.
Michael Cresswell is retiring from that position and will move into the part-time role of deputy chief at the end of the year.
ADRIAN — Southern Michigan is full of little-known architectural treasures. Spotlighting those treasures was local author Paul Plassman’s goal when he published “Southern Michigan’s Castles, Churches and Courthouses,” a 400-page book profiling many of the region’s most beautiful and significant pieces of architecture.
Plassman, a native of Medina Township, will be the guest speaker for the October installment of the Weber Retreat and Conference Center’s “Lunch and Learn” series. He will discuss some of the amazing but often overlooked treasures that can be found throughout the towns and countrysides of southern Michigan.
MORENCI — The city of Morenci is still seeking community input as it moves forward with the update of its Master Plan.
A Master Plan is a community-driven policy document that helps guide local decisions about land use, housing, infrastructure, and economic development. State law requires Michigan communities to review their plans every five years to determine whether they reflect current priorities and conditions.
MORENCI — The Morenci Department of Public Works (DPW) has scheduled leaf pickup to begin in October.
Leaf pickup will start on Monday, Oct. 13, and continue until Friday, Dec. 12. Brush pickup is ongoing.