by Justin Gibson | Oct 9, 2018 | Schoolcraft, Sports
Ethan McIntyre, number 51, and Parker Lawrence, number 8, react to an official’s call.
By Mark Blentlinger
If you were in Schoolcraft on Friday, September 14th, and you were hoping to see a good Football game, you didn’t see a good game, you saw a great football game! Saugatuck came in with a 3-0 record, looking to make it 4-0. The Eagles, however, were looking to come back from a loss to Berrien Springs the week prior and make their record 3-1.
There was a total of 871 yards in offense between both teams. The Indians of Saugatuck having 505 yards, the Eagles with 366. The first TD of the game came at the 9:28 mark on the clock, with a 37 yards pass from Alex Thole to Kobe Clark. Kobe had a highlight reel run of dodging, weaving and breaking tackle after tackle to find himself in the end zone. With a good extra point kick, from Chandler Guiter, the score sat at 7-0. It didn’t take long for Saugatuck to be celebrating themselves, in the Eagle end zone, with a 49 yard run by Brad Dunn. A good extra point kick put the score at 7-7, with the clock reading 8:15 in the 1st quarter. Shortly thereafter, Dunn, of Saugatuck, scored again at the 3:33 mark, with a 24 yard TD run. The extra point was good, giving Saugatuck the 14-7 lead going into the 2nd quarter.
The 2nd quarter was a battle back and forth until Eagle, Trevor DeGroote, stepped in front of a pass from Dunn, to intercept and stop Saugatuck’s drive down field. At that point, Coach Ferency, was sending in play after play. The biggest one coming off of a pass from Thole to Jimmy Downs, going 41 yards. Clark capped off the drive by going the last 2 yards into the end zone. The kick from Guiter was once again right on, sending both teams into halftime, tied at 14.
The 3rd quarter saw both teams swapping off. Scoring first, a run from Nick Baumbach of Saugatuck, that went 73 yards. Next, Eagle Chris Cooper, snagged a 10 yards pass from Thole, knotting it up again at 21 each. Again, the teams swapped TD’s, bringing it up to 28 all. Brad Dunn of Saugatuck, showed his speed yet again, going 44 yards downfield. The Eagles answered with a great pass, right into the number on the chest of Jett Gott and the race was off! Thirty-nine yards later, the high fives and jump bumps started!
The fourth quarter started with the scoreboard reading 35 on each side. Both teams worked hard to add to the points, until time ran out, forcing OT #1. The Indians, with first possession, were able to drive Dunn around the defense of Schoolcraft for the score. The Eagles then got their shot from the 10 yard line. After a first attempt only gaining 3 yards, Clark, capped it off from 7 yards out, bringing the score to 42-42.
OT #2, the Eagles struck first with a nice 6 yard run up the middle from, Mark Fox, plus the extra point kick from Guiter, made the score 49-42 Eagles. Dunn then answered again, scoring from 5 yards out. The Indians decided to go for the 2 point conversion and the win. The Eagles built a stone wall and said, sorry, not today, and were able to hold off the conversion to win the game, 49-48!
The Eagles won convincingly on the 21st at Delton Kellogg.
by Justin Gibson | Oct 9, 2018 | Schoolcraft, Sports
Andelyn Simkins powers the ball over the net in a recent quad match. Kayla Onken, number 10, looks on along with Alisa Ertman in the lower right. Photo by Stephanie Blentlinger, Lingering Memories Photography.
By Mark Blentlinger
The Eagle Volleyball team was in action Sept. 18 at Schoolcraft High School for a quad match and home opener. The Eagles hosted Hackett Catholic Prep, Coloma and Martin. They started their opener with Hackett. The Eagles beat the Irish in three straight sets, 25-10, 25-8, and 25-11.
Court 2 had Coloma and Martin in action, going into a fifth set tiebreaker. Coloma took set one, 26-15. Martin came back, taking the next two sets 25-21 and 25-18. Coloma, however, won the fourth set 27-25 to force the tiebreaker. The fifth set belonged to Martin, 14-9, for the win.
It had been predetermined which teams would be playing one another for the night. The Eagles of Schoolcraft next faced off against the Comets of Coloma, while the Irish of Hackett played the Clippers of Martin. The long wait between matches didn’t have an effect on the Eagles. They played like they did in the first match – wherever the ball was, an Eagle was there. You did not want to be on the receiving end of Morris, Simkins or Feddema when their kill shots went into action!
The Eagles didn’t let up on the Comets at all, taking best out of three in just two sets, 25-8 and 25-10.
Maggie Morris and Andeelyn Simkins tied with 16 kills each, while Kelsey Feddema had 10. Kenzie Chrissman led the Eagles on digs with 33, Andelyn Simkins had 20 and Kayla Onken came in with 13. Aces were led by Simkins with 11 and Onken had eight.
Coach Onken said the girls played with enthusiasm. They controlled the first contact extremely well, allowing them to run their quick offense quite efficiently. Onken said all the players on the roster helped contribute to the two conference wins.
The team is at 17-3-1 this season.
by Justin Gibson | Oct 9, 2018 | Community, Schoolcraft
By Faye VanRavenswaay
The Schoolcraft Community Library is welcoming author Joann Puffer Kotcher to talk about her book “Donut Dolly: an American Red Cross girl’s war in Vietnam,” on Thursday, October 4 at 2 p.m.
During WWII, female Red Cross volunteers were sent out to serve soldiers coffee, donuts and play Victrola records; they were called Donut Dollies. In Korea and Vietnam, this role morphed into providing songs, games and conversation as well as spending time with the wounded in hospitals. Kotcher recounts the dangers of serving soldiers as a Red Cross Donut Dolly in the jungles of Vietnam. This includes multiple brushes with death as she found herself within foxholes and combat zones.
Kotcher was later awarded the Civilian Service Citation for merit and bravery for her service. Kotcher will join the Prairie Page turners for their book club meeting at the library to share her extraordinary experience at the library. This special author talk is open to the public.
by Justin Gibson | Oct 9, 2018 | Government, Schoolcraft
The Schoolcraft village council and its offices are being brightened up by Village Manager Cheri Lutz’ service dog she has named Teddy. Council member Todd Carlin is seated beside Lutz.
By Sue Moore
There’s been a lot of talk but no action over the years about a sewer system in Schoolcraft. That may be changing.
Alan Smaka, engineer from Portage-based Wightman Associates, filled in Schoolcraft village council members about an increasing possibility for increased funding through a federal loan/grant application.An application for the grant, funding a sewer system around Pickerel, Indian, Sugarloaf and Barton Lakes as well as the village, will be filed by the South County Sewer and Water Authority as early as this month. The area covered by the application can be scaled back at a later point if needed.
The Authority filed a pre-application with the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a grant back in 2015 when in-depth discussions were taking place for the lakes and the village. Since then, Smaka said, that USDA’s funding has been tripled at the Federal level, an allocation which passes through to the states. That means that Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also receives more money for projects that are slated for communities of 10,000 or less which can’t afford large public works projects on their own.
Smaka was at the meeting to explain this change and inform the group that the Authority had decided to go ahead and file the application for funding. He indicated that the Authority would know within 30 to 60 days through a letter of eligibility for the project. The next step would be a letter from the state agriculture department providing a statement of condition and obligation of funds. This would lock in the bond rate.
The chances of assistance are better this time for several reasons, Smaka said. Because of the income levels of the population to be included in the project, this area is eligible for a loan/grant of up to 45 percent of the total cost of the project. The application is being pared back to include just the lakes areas that want the sewer system and the village of Schoolcraft. It doesn’t include the village of Vicksburg which has decided to go on its own.
Smaka said they will ask for funding for the US 131 corridor and the entire village of Schoolcraft which would be the bigger project. However, it could be cut back to a smaller project if the entire village isn’t included and if just the US 131 corridor decides to go ahead. Barton Lake residents will again get a chance to approve or disapprove.
The Schoolcraft village council was not asked to take any action at the meeting.
While the Authority prepares the application, Smaka will be planning a public participation plan. This would include new costs with various ranges depending upon who actually wants to be included as a participant as well as more knowledge of USDA’s funding terms and potential for grants. The decision will come back to the Council as to who should be included in the sewer project, Smaka said.
by Justin Gibson | Oct 9, 2018 | Community, Schoolcraft, Vicksburg
The staff of Trust Shield recently got together in front of the building the company has purchased on N. Richardson Street in Vicksburg. It will house the Ralph Hayward Agency personnel that are a part of Trust Shield, along with some members of the Schoolcraft operation.
By Sue Moore
Trust Shield in Schoolcraft and Vicksburg is a family insurance business that has grown from a one-person shop to over 36 employees. It started in February 1993 in what today is the Subway shop on Grand Street in Schoolcraft.
Tom Olvitt, owner and head guru, after graduation from Western Michigan University, began his career in 1986 at Krum-Hallam Chevrolet in Vicksburg in sales. When he decided to leave after three years and go into the insurance business, Bud Hallam provided advice: “You will never make it. Everyone tries it.”
Today the independent insurance agency has just completed its purchase of Bobby’s Restaurant at the corner of N. Richardson and North Street in Vicksburg. Olvitt expects the building will house at least 18 employees, culled from both the Schoolcraft and Vicksburg’s Ralph Hayward agencies. In the meantime, remodeling is taking place to turn the former restaurant into a standard office building without the drive-in wings that identified it as a unique building. “Buying Bobby’s and expanding our Vicksburg operation represents a commitment to the community to stay here and grow,” Olvitt said.
Trust Shield is the new name Olvitt and his staff adopted for the several agencies that have become a part of the corporate name of the South County Insurance business. It covers Prairie Ronde and Wakeshma Townships as well.
The agency began after Olvitt left Farm Bureau Insurance in 1992. Initially the Schoolcraft office was affiliated with A.W. Ayres Agency in Sturgis. Olvitt and his partner bought the Mason Rice Agency in 1994. In 1999 they built the current office at 452 N. Grand St., across the street from the old one.
The Ralph Hayward Agency in Vicksburg was purchased from Kim Lathwell in 2005. Steve Brundige, as Olvitt’s partner, took over the management of this location. Jeff Olvitt, Tom’s son, opened an office in Harbor Springs to grow the business in the northern part of Michigan. They now write personal, farm, commercial and benefits business from Detroit to Grand Rapids, Traverse City to Mackinac Island to the home towns of Vicksburg and Schoolcraft.
“Insurance is all about intangibles,” Olvitt said. “It’s a necessary evil. You don’t need it until you need it! If you write the right coverage, the business will take care of itself. Our job is to build relationships and go the extra mile to advise people on what will serve them best.”
“It’s not so much about pricing as about the need,” said another son, Tanner Olvitt, who with brothers Dan and Jeff are the next generation looking to grow the agency. “The focus is on education in this agency. Insurance is confusing. It requires an agent that’s professional to keep track of the constantly changing dynamics by making sure a customer has the proper coverage. It feels good to give back to the community [in this way].”
Deana Bowman, an 18-year employee emphasized the feeling: “We care about people, so we write it right. Our staff cares about what we are doing.”
by Justin Gibson | Oct 9, 2018 | Schoolcraft, Schools
Schoolcraft senior English Language Arts class members from left to right: Autumn Fitzsimmons, Anna Gerfen, teacher Tracey Branch, Chandler Miller, Phillip Stafford, South County News reporter Linda Lane, and Abby Blodgett.
By Sue Moore
Over the next seven months, the South County News will be publishing a news story that has been researched and written by English Language Arts classes in the Schoolcraft school system. The work will start with the 12th grade and move down through each grade, finishing with students in middle school.
It’s a continuation of a program organized by Matt McCullough, innovation director for the school district, who has pioneered partnerships with businesses in the community to help solve problems a company might be experiencing and see it through a student’s eyes.
Students have been assigned tasks such as recommending a variety of potato to plant last spring at the Walther Farms, to working with the Schoolcraft Historical Society on a project. Now the English classes are excited to get into the act with their newspaper assignment, McCullough said.
Each class will decide a story it wants to cover and will work as a team to pursue various leads for the story. It may work out that more than one story gets written by a classroom.
They will submit them to the teacher and the editors of the South County News for consideration. The plan is to keep it a secret as to which composition is chosen until they see it in the newspaper. They have been allotted a half page for the story and pictures each month.
The end result is that students get to be published journalists and gain an understanding of the writing craft. The teachers and students will “own” this section and write something that fits their learning level and still entertain the public, said McCullough in designing the program.
