---Volume 1, No. 38

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

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Downtown apartments to boost Leslie’s economyCity of Leslie receives MSHDA grant for downtown renovations

Photos by Jennifer ShusterALL ABOUT LOCATION - (above) The upstairs spaceabove Mid-Michigan Mechanical on Main Street, down-town Leslie will soon be renovated into two different onebedroom apartments. (right) The outside view fromMain Street of the building.

Photos by Jennifer ShusterA NEW FACE - Kim Lynch, owner ofthe Dress Maker’s Shoppe, spendsher holiday weekend painting the his-torical building on Main Street. Shesaid a colorful detailing is in store.

By Jennifer ShusterPublisherChris and Nanette Fuller said they are excited

about an opportunity that has been presented tothem and other downtown Leslie building owners.The City of Leslie has received a grant from the

Michigan State Housing Development Authority(MSHDA) totalling $256,100.According to Leslie City Manager Brian Reed,

the grant is to help land lords renovate spaces avail-able in downtown buildings to rent as apartments.The Fullers own the building which houses their

business, Mid-Michigan Mechanical, and alsoHeather’s Hair Design. Above the salon are twoapartments already occupied. The space above Mid-Michigan Mechanical is in the first stages of reno-vations to construct two-one bedroom apartments,utilizing some of the grant money.“We’re just excited to get people living in the

downtown community,” Nanette Fuller said.According to Fuller, the apartments under con-

struction have not been rented yet and will hope-fully be completed within the next 90 days.Reed said the city will continue to work with the

Ingham County Housing Commission to completethis project. Bruce Johnston, of the Ingham County Housing

Commission, attended the special Leslie City Coun-cil meeting held June 29 to discuss the grant.

Continued on Page 4.

‘Common Ground’ kicks off

Photos by Jennifer ShusterNITE ONE - (left) Kenny WayneShepherd and (above) HueyLewis and the News open theCommon Ground Music Festi-val in Lansing last night.

*Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - TheAmerican Legion Post 491 located at 422 Wood-worth Street in Leslie will now open its doors toanyone who would like to come down on Mon-days, Wednesdays or Fridays from 10 a.m.-Noonto play games and enjoy coffee and cookies.*Tuesday, July 7 - Sunday, July 12 - “CommonGround Music Festival” at Lansing’s AdadoRiver Front Park. Please call (517) 267-1502.*Tuesday, July 7 - The Leslie Library will pres-ent “Science Alive” at 11 am & 1 pm. A biologistoffers hands-on contact with parrots, turtles,snakes. Registration is required. Held in Wood-worth Elementary Cafeteria.*Tuesday, July 7 - The Leslie City Council willmeet in G.A.R. Hall at 7 p.m.*Thursday, July 9 - Informational gathering re-garding potential school board recall for Pat Foggand Bill Myers starting at 6 p.m. at 4924Onondaga Rd. in Onondaga. Please bring a pass-ing dish.

*Saturday, July 11 - Young Eagles Aviation Daywill be held from 10:00am until 2:00pm at theExperimental Aircraft Association Chapter 55hanger, Mason Jewett Airport in Mason.*Monday, July 13 - The Leslie Downtown De-velopment Authority will meet at 8 a.m. inG.A.R. Hall.*Monday, July 13 - The Leslie Board of Educa-tion will hold its meeting at 7 p.m. at LHS.*Mondays, July 13 - Ongoing - TOPS-1466,Leslie. Support Group for Taking Off PoundsSensibly. Weigh in from 5:15-5:45 p.m. at theFirst Baptist Church on the corner of Bellevue &Church Streets in Leslie. Meeting from 6-6:45p.m. Contact Coleen, 589-8145.*Tuesday, July 14 - The Leslie Library presentsMagician Jeff Wawrzaszek at 1 p.m. in the Wood-worth Elementary Cafeteria. This year, Jeffbrings us Be Creative—It’s Magic!, a celebrationof the arts using magic, humor, pantomime,music and creative reading routines. Loads of

laughter guaranteed! *Wednesday, July 15 - The Leslie TownshipBoard will meet at 6 p.m. in the Leslie TownshipHall.*Saturday, July 18 - Men’s Softball Tournamentin Leslie.*Saturday, July 18 - Street Dance in the park-ing lot next to the Leslie Event Center. There willalso be a food and beverage tent. 5 p.m. to Mid-night.*Wednesday, July 22 - The Leslie City PlanningCommission will meet at 6 p.m. in G.A.R. Hall.*Thursday, July 23 - Teen Game Night at theLeslie Library from 6-7:30 p.m. Join us for Wiiand Board game competitions.*Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 - GusMacker 3-on-3 basketball tournament downtownLeslie.*Monday, Aug. 3- Saturday, Aug. 8 - The Ing-ham County Fair will be held at the fairgroundslocated in Mason.

Community CalendarThe Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 2

Community

Your display advertising purchase is helping to support the continuation of Leslie community news. You canfeel confident with your choice to advertise in your own community’s newspaper, as the quality coverage willbe based solely on the Leslie area. Not only are you promoting your business, you are backing your own com-munity visibly. This publication will strive to tie the citizens of Leslie together through family-valued newscoverage. Without your patronage, this would not be possible.

Thank you for your purchase, but most of all your support!

Try advertising in . . .

Display Advertising Rates(As of November 2008)

** Price includes online ad, design services and COLOR **

Business Card Size….........$20¼ page horizontal…........$40¼ page vertical……..........$40½ page………………...........$60Full page……………............$80

Contract discounts:Every 4 weeks = 10% off

26 weeks in a row = 25% off52 weeks in a row = 50% off

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Leslie Family Chiropractic

Advanced Chiropractic Care

522 W. BellevueLeslie, MI 49251

589-5610

John Daniel Kribs, D.C.

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 3

CommunityClassifieds

ServicesSam’s Late Night Auto

(517) 812-4032111 S. Railroad in Rives Junction

Open Monday-Friday from 6 p.m.-11p.m.Saturday and Sunday from Noon - ?

DUPLEX FOR RENT Mason/Leslie Area

2 story-3 bdrm., l 1/2 bath, appliances, full basement with W/D hookup.

Deck off dining area, attached garage. Country setting, very nice.

Credit check, $800 dep., $800 mo. + utilities. No Pets/No Smoking

517-589-8362

Don’s Electric ServiceDoing all types of electrical work

in & around Leslie for over 30 years.Call (517) 663-4233

EmploymentINDEPENDENT BANKPART TIME TELLER

Independent Bank is currently accepting applications for part-timetellers at our Leslie and Mason branches. This entry level position in-volves a high degree of sales and customer service. The qualified can-didates will be outgoing, have cash handling as well as customer serviceexperience and be willing to work a flexible schedule. Please send re-sumes in confidence to Independent Bank, Attn: Angel McCliggott,2568 Heartland Blvd. Ionia, MI 48846, email amccligg@ibcp.com, ordrop off an application at any of our locations.

INDEPENDENT BANK IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER; M/F/D/V

VehiclesCAR for sale

The Leslie Area Museum will be closed INDEFINITELY

due to a flood in the basement of G.A.R. Hall.

Please call (517) 589-5220 formore information.

Want to place a classified ad?You won’t find a more competitive price thanright here in The Leslie Weekly Guardian!$5 for four weeks straight (up to 30 words).

Parents of Teen Drivers can earn $30The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute is con-ducting a focus group about Internet resources for parents of teen driv-ers ages 14-18 years of age. Each eligible participant will earn $30. Formore information please call toll free 1-877-615-6124 or e-mail: teen-driving@umich.edu.

Moving Sale412 Washington Street in Leslie

July 9-11 from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Furniture, appliances, re-frigerator, washer & dryer, Home Interiors pictures, books,toys, Little Tykes car bed, exercise bike, central air unitand much more!

Having a GARAGE SALE in July?Advertise your sale right here for FREE!All Garage Sale ads (up to 30 words) areFREE in The Leslie Weekly Guardian that

are held in the month of July.Contact us today with your information!

(517) 878-8006 orJennifer@theleslieweeklyguardian.com

POSITIO

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D! 1979 El Camino$6,500 - Great Shape!

(517) 769-2418

Young Eagles Aviation Daywill be held on Saturday, July11th, 2009 from 10:00am until2:00pm at the Experimental Air-craft Association Chapter 55hanger, Mason Jewett Airport,Mason, MI. Local pilots will beoffering area youngsters ages 8to 17 their first airplane flightFREE of charge. Young Eagles Aviation Day is

part of the National EAA YoungEagles Program, created to sparkaviation interest in young peo-ple. Since the program waslaunched in 1992, volunteerEAA pilots have flown over 1.5million young people who residein more than 90 countries. LocalChapter 55 pilots have flownover 2,000 youngsters from themid-Michigan area.

Flights will be on a first come,first served basis; approximately20 minutes in length. A parentor guardian MUST be present orprovide a signed permission slip.Advance reservations for largegroups are encouraged.

Following the flight, eachyoung person will receive a cer-tificate making them an officialYoung Eagle. Their name willthen be entered into the “World’sLargest Logbook,” which is onpermanent display at the EAAAir Adventure Museum inOshkosh, WI. The Logbook isalso accessible on the internet atwww.youngeagles.orgFor additional information call

Doug Koons 517-676-5001 orBill Bezdek 517-351-0448 orvisit www.EAA55.org.

Huntoon Creek Cleanup – August 21, 2009The Ingham Conservation District is organizing a cleanup of HuntoonCreek in Leslie as part of the Upper Grand River Implementation Proj-ect (UGRIP), a project designed to improve water quality in key areas ofthe Upper Grand River Watershed. Join us and your local Boy Scoutson August 21, 2009 from 6pm – 8:30pm. Please contact Michelle Be-loskur at the Ingham Conservation District by August 7, 2009 for moreinformation and to register (517) 676-2290 ormichelle.beloskur@macd.org.

The Water Wonderland Chorus ofSweet Adelines invites area women tocelebrate "Christmas in July" eachTuesday in July at Chippewa MiddleSchool in Okemos. Guests are invited tokeep cool by celebrating the holidayseason early with fun, friendship,Christmas goodies and singing favoriteChristmas songs in four-part a cappellaharmony.Guests will learn about barbershop-

style music and have a chance to singwith the award-winning women's cho-rus on July 7, 14, 21, and 28 at 7 p.m. Inaddition to learning Christmas music,

there will be Christmas goodies, fun,friendship, and educational breakoutsessions taught by Sweet Adelinescoaches and chorus leaders.

The Water Wonderland Chorus ofSweet Adelines has been entertainingmid-Michigan audiences for more than25 years and welcomes women aged 13and up to discover what "real women,real harmony, real fun" is all about byjoining them on the risers for Christmasin July.For more information, call 888-545-

SING or visit www.waterwonderland-chorus.org.

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 4

Community“I’m very pleased this has hap-

pened,” Johnston said. “It’s really afeather in the hat for a city the size ofLeslie.”According to Johnston, the grant

will help fund renovating approxi-mately six to eight rental units in thedowntown area. He said this willbring new people downtown Leslie tolive and shop.“It’s going to bring a lot of life and

vitality downtown,” Johnston said.Johnston added that for the first

five years, the land lords must com-ply with rules established byMSHDA. Those include renting tomoderate or low income individuals.After the first five years, they willthen be allowed to rent to whom everthey want.At the special meeting, Johnston

advised the council to document the

entire process. He also suggested holding open

houses and ribbon cuttings at theapartments when they are completed.

Johnston said that if the moneygranted to the city is expended by thistime next year, then it can apply foreven more funds to renovate evenmore downtown living space at thattime.According to Reed, $210,000 will

be granted out to downtown buildingowners who apply for the renovationsgrant. He added that there will be apriority for those owners who will becreating new housing. Reed said the remaining $46,100

will be used for administrative coststo the city and county.For more information regarding

this project, please contact the City ofLeslie at (517) 589-8236.

‘Downtown Apartments’ continued from Page 1

Photo by Jennifer ShusterREAR VIEW - The upstairs space above Mid-Michigan Mechan-ical on Main Street, downtown Leslie will be renovated into two -one bedroom apartments. This is view towards the back.

Free airplane rides for kids‘Christmas in July’ with Water Wonderland Chorus

Second School Board Recall Meeting to be held

Please come to the second informational gathering Thursday, July 9!

Join us at 6:00 p.m. Ask questions, get answers, sign a petition (or not) andshare your ideas! Bring your families and enjoy hot dogs. Please bring a sidedish or dessert to pass. Bring your own pop or soda if you prefer. (Please re-member this is a non-alcoholic beverage event.)Directions from Leslie: Take Bellevue Road west 6 1/2 miles. Turn left on

Onondaga Road and continue south through Onondaga (past Clone's gas sta-tion). It is the first farm on the right hand side across from Baldwin Park.

The address is 4924 Onondaga Road

Don’s Don’s Electric Electric ServiceService

Doing all types of electricalwork in & around Leslie for

over 30 years.No Job Too Small!Call (517) 663-4233

Don BiddingerOwner/OperatorState License& Insured

Leslie High SchoolHonor Roll

Third Trimester 2009

9th GradeAndrew Arras Alsatia Blaisdell-Lohr Christopher Brown*Emma Bunker *Richard BusheyLeah Carey Michael CareyKelsey CarrollJacob Chaban Raquel Ciucci*Chris CoppernollJason CoxGregory Culver Justin DunlapMadison EveryFaith Harrington Nolan Hook*Erica Howland Jamie Huff*Danielle Isham Brooke James*Nicholas Jansen*Jamie KlingerAlec Kruscke Kraig LindseyJordan Lorencen*Carolyn Manning *Kayla Martin Kenisaw Millikin Rachelle Motes Taylor Murphy Jenna Piper *Brooke Prieskorn Micaela ProcopioCourtney Ramsay Austin RhoadesAshleigh RickmanRyan SibsonBrendon Smith *Rachel Sonnenberg *Joshua Steckelberg Audrey Tremaine Vanessa Vogt*Hailey WillettJacob WiltonKayla Wulff

10th Grade*Autumn BarrattAlexandra Bennett *Ashley Blanchard Sarah CharlesChase CollinsMeaghan FarleyJacob Gould Tiffany Hardin*Hannah Harrington *Keri Heath Ariel HectorTrevor HoddSteven Howe Garrett Kanik *Emily Kennedy Amanda Knauff *Olexiy Kryvych Jeremy Kunze

*Victoria Malkowski Megan Martin *Caitlin McVay Taylor Oliver Abigail Orrick Mary Pulliam Dakota Riehl *Kelsey Ries Jenna RoarkCurrin Robinson-Lowry *Mariah RuddSoila Sauceda*Kayla Smith *Victoria Stetler Audrey Stoner Sydney Tremaine *Chase Tropf Taylor Ward *Kaitlyn Weinstein Samantha Welhusen Marlee Wetzel *Katherine Wilson *Kaitlyn WixsonRyan WrightDevin Young

11th GradeSchalla Benedict *Hannah Beson *Kelsey Blake *Jeremiah Cameron Ethan Couling Rachel Cruth *Linzee EvansSusan Gardner Crysta Harper Rachele Hayes James HermanJoe HuffOlena Kalachova Essa Knoblauch Tylyn LamphereAllison Littlefield Kassey McClymontCortnie Preston Ben Rickman*Lee Rumler *Miranda Sherrell Austin Sinderman Lindsay StanfieldPaxin SternCam TeagueElaney Toy Laura TurcotteJason Willsey Kate WiltseMariah Wright

12th GradeRachael Alcenius Holly Alleman Samantha Allen Wayne Ambs *Monique Baer Thomas BarrattTyler BarrattAbbey BennKalla Berlin *Ashley BeseyEric Beyer

Lindsey Bigg Emily Brink Hannah Budd *Audreya Cavender Nicole Chesney Jaimee Clark Eric Conklin*Brandon Coppernoll Kelsie Cox Tyler CoxRobert CraftBrooke CrosbyAustin Davis Daniel DavisonAaron Denison*Damon DisbrowBrittney Fancher Erika FedewaJoseph Harkness Ethan HartnettBradley HoedemanVictoria Howe Nathaniel Jansen Amy KevorkianBrent Kruscke Lacey LeonardJohn Lohrke*Daniel Lynch Cody Manthei *Courtney Matz Andrew McEachinJessica McKay Amanda McLainChad MinerTrent PageJennifer Parks Andrea PorterMichael Porter Raelynn Ries Anna Rudd Kaitlyn RuthigKaden Stern Austin Streeter Justin Swab Cree SwancharaEric Tippin *Devyn Twombley Katelyn VanAndel Jenna Waite Taylor Wardowski Kaitlyn Waskiewicz John Wheeler Danielle WinslowEric Wright-DoroskAllen YoungLeslie Middle School

Honor RollThird Trimester 2009

5th grade Nicole AndersonKyle BardenDillon BellJosiah BiggMorgan Bogart*Brendon Brown*Kristen CarrollVictoria CentenoBraiden ChappellBrittany Chmiel

*Haley DackKyle DankoTroy Davis*Chloe DeBrulerCourtney DeKettValerie EatonKaylee Fedewa*Jacob FifieldJustin HarringtonSeth HarringtonJacob HicksKylee Isham *Kylie James Leigha Kobus*Zachary Latter *Hunter Lewis Tamara Lovegrove *Katherine Maiville David Mays III Emily Mooney Annjel Moore *Carey Nichols *Jordan Pearsall Dakota Pier Allen PranshkaDanielle RobackGrant Schuen Presley Seavolt Sierra Simmons *Emily Smart *Krista SpearEmma SteckelbergCordell SweezyAubry Thiede *Melissa ThorntonLindsey Willett

6th gradeEvan Allard*Claudia Arnett *Kaitlin ArnettZachary BallKatelyn Bennett*Shelby Blackford Abigail Bowers*Evan BunkerJosie Burlison *Rachel BusheySara CampbellJamie CarlsonKatelyn Carroll Savannah ColtrainBrooke Corts *Shane Corts Collin CurtisAnnie DavisStacey-Alex Disbrow Alaina Dishman*Alyssa DroschaJoseph Durfee*Hailey Fajnor*Hannah FajnorHunter Fedewa Zoe FeighnerLauren Foltz Sydney ForemanDarby FracassaColleen GiltonAmber Goddard*Seth Halsted*Samantha Hamlin

*Emily HansonAllison Harrison*Brendan HookMitchell KanikKayla KentNicole Kibbey*Kayla KintCeleste Levario*Cera Locke *Rachelle Locke*Micah MantheiChelsea Mays *Ashley Medcoff *Conner Morrell*Matthew MoultonTrenton MulnixDarian Newman*Taylor OstranderAneishka PadillaJacey PlaceLevi Prater*Sarah PrieskornMyranda PughShayna RakietenCaitlin RathbunDakota RiddleJohn Rivera II*Jacob Shuster*Kylie Smith*Sheyanne SmithNicholas Teremi*Kaleb WeinsteinEli Westers*Daniel WheelerKelsea WulffCambrea Zimmerman

7th Grade*Joshua Babin*Emily Bean*Nicole BlivenMacayla BogartTyriek BugbeeTye Cavin*Faith Craft*Jessica CroelTyler DackGary DeKettLindsey Denison*Lauren DoaneLuke DunsmoreAustin FajnorVirginia Gilton*Mackenzie Glassford*Kristi GriebSteffanie Hampton*Britany Hanes*Kandra HarperKaren Haught*Joshua HayesNoah Jansen*Kody Jessup*Justin Keller*Austin LatterChase LeonardMikayla MatthewsThomas McHughHaleigh MooreHarley Moore*Katherine NavarroRebecca Orrin

Kelsey Phelan*Guy Procopio IICaleb RiceCarson RiehlAustin SeavoltSierra SmithEmerly StarnesBranden StetlerZehlin StorrMatthew Subject*Casey Swan*Carla Thomas*Stephen TremaineKendra WeeksAaron WiltonAlyssa Zalewski

8th Grade*Trevor AllemanPaige Babin*Aaron BesonHaley BlakeBrianna BradleyJonathon BrownChanler CarmerRobert Chesney IIICody DavisGregg DavisMichael DolbeeAron DollarhiteShannon DuffeySavannah DuncanKaleb DunnMarcus Fields*Randall FieldsKevin GormanBruce Hall, Jr.*Olivia HansonRodger HectorAbby HermanJacob HowardSydney KandellVictoria KinneyCrystal KlingerChelsey LaRockJessica LindsayKelsi MartinKayley MonroeHarvey MorrellSamantha OlneyNicole OrrinLynn Ostrom*Shannon Przygocki*Skyleigh Rathbun*Connor Rosier*Zachary Schiller*Huei Sears*Colin SkrommeRickie StierleyWyatt StreeterSarah Subject Melissa TindallJay Tropf *Kara WeinsteinNickole WixsonSamantha Wood

*Denotes All A's

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 5

CommunityLeslie High School & Leslie Middle School Honor Rolls

Submitted by the Leslie Public Schools District Office

By Michelle SpragueSpartan SpeedwayJohn Mamula made his

first visit to the Corrigan OilWinner’s Circle, Friday,July 3rd, for his win in theMOD 50 at the SpartanSpeedway. Eighteen Valvo-line Instant Oil ChangeModifieds timed in, withLeroy Ellis topping thespeed chart with a 13.655.Mamula and Ron Parish saton the front row for the start,and after the green, Mamulajumped out to the early lead,with Tom Hernly Jr. chal-lenging for the lead on laptwo, taking the spot away onlap three, and was sent to thepit on lap five with a smok-ing issue, thus turning thelead over to Mamula. EarlMiles quickly picked off acouple of cars to sit in thethird position ahead of BillButler and Leroy Ellis. Twonon-qualifiers got a littledicey and the caution wavedagain on lap 10, with bothretiring to the pits. On therestart, Mamula pulled awayleaving Parish and Miles toslug it out for second, asEllis jumped to the outsideof Butler to take away thefourth spot. Back in thepack, Sonny Coito andWayne Haughton battledside by side for seventh po-sition, while the leaderpulled away from Parish andMiles on lap 20. Ellis dove

under Miles to take awaythird on lap 27 but Mileswasn’t going to give up.Ellis went to work on Parishfor second as Miles seizedthe opportunity to make arun on Ellis. Ellis had hishands full but was able tokeep Miles at an armslength. Ellis took a lookunder Parish on lap 45 andthe two tangled in turn twoon lap 46, opening the doorfor Miles. Ellis and Parishwere able to gather both carsup. Miles dove under Ellis,attempting to make the passgoing into turn three, withMiles spinning into the in-field. Caution waved and onthe restart, it was a four lapshootout, with Mamula, ofOkemos, able to hang on forthe win over Parish, Butler,Larry Wallace, andHaughton. Mamula andRob Newman took heatwins. In one of the largest fields

of Performance AutomotiveNW Sportsmans yet thisseason, Dane Long, of Char-lotte, set the bar high duringqualifying with a time of14.353. On the start,Damon Place looked like hewas shot out of a cannon,leading the first four laps,but he had company, asJimmy Scavarda drove fromhis mid-pack starting posi-tion and into the lead by lapseven. Ron Heeney worked

his way up into the thirdspot while Dane Long andJack Koone Jr. battled forfourth. The top five werespread out on the track bylap 17 and Heeney was ableto make up some ground onPlace, but ran out of laps tochallenge for second. At theline, it was Scavarda withhis first win in a Sportsman,followed by Place, Heeney,Long, and Koone Jr.Heeney and Place won theirheats.The Spartan Speedway

Pure Stocks saw Ian Schaferin the Corrigan Oil Winner’sCircle twice with a heat and20-lap feature win. MarkChilders took the early leadafter the green flag waved,with Tyler Hawkins rightthere to challenge for the topspot. Schafer got aroundHawkins on lap four andwent to work on Childers,diving under Childers totake the spot away on lapsix. Mark Carson reeled inChilders by lap 10 who useda lapped car to slow Car-son’s advances. As Schafercontinued to drive awayfrom the field, Carson tookone last shot at Childers butChilders was able to holdhim off. At the stripe, it wasSchafer, Childers, Carson,Jamie Feguer and TylerHawkins.Patrick Denison was the

man on a mission in the

Boss Snow Equipment PonyStock division, driving to hisfirst win in the 20-lap fea-ture, as well as taking thefast heat win. Brad Harben-ski took the early lead over87-year old Art Kimbal andGeorge Wyers. Wyers tookover the lead on lap two,with Denison blasting upthrough the field, as cars ranthree- and four-wide. BrianBeckner jumped into themix on lap five but Denisonwas able to pull away. ToddMetz Jr. had worked his wayup to the third position bylap nine while Becknercaught Denison to challengefor the lead on lap 15. Beck-ner tried to dive under Deni-son for the lead, got intoDenison, and ended upstopped at the top of turntwo. This opened the doorfor Metz as caution bunchedthe field up. Denisonbrought the field down forthe restart at a snail’s paceand, at the green, was able topull away from Metz andEdson Rowley III. After 20laps, it was Denison, MetzJr., Rowley, Lex Jarecki, andWayne Beckner Jr. Wyerstook home a heat win for theevening. The Auto Value Bumper toBumper MI Legends Seriesmade its way to the SpartanSpeedway and put on awhale of a show for the fanson the holiday weekend.

Matt Todd led all 30 laps ofthe feature, making his longhaul from Birmingham, ALworth every mile. BrandonMahoney, Bryan Nuckles(also a heat winner), TonyMonge and Ben Rousterrounded out the top fiveafter 30 laps. Chance Ricewon the second heat race ofthe evening but experiencedmechanical difficulties inthe feature. Please join us each and

every Friday night at theSpartan Speedway for excit-ing, family-friendly, racingaction. Friday, July 17thwill feature the ShortTrack-Trucks.com series, alongwith Topless Night. Anyonearriving in a convertible getshalf-price general admis-sion. Featured divisions willbe the Short Track Trucks,Modifieds, Pure Stocks,Pony Stocks, and MCRDwarfs. A special Sundayshow with special showpricing will be run on Sun-day, July 19th, featuring theLate Model 75, Slugfests forSportsmans and PureStocks, and Double Figure-8’s featuring Pure Stocksand Pony Stocks. July 24this the “Chargin’ CharlieRyan Late Model 40”, witha total invert in honor ofCharlie. Vintage racers, theVROA, and Old TimersNight is on the docket. Asalways, see you at the races!

John Mamula races to the Winner’s Circle as a first-time Mod 50 winner

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 6

Sports

GUS MACKER3-ON-3 BASKETBALL

TOURNAMENTMark your calendar for the

3rd Annual Gus Macker Tournament

DOWNTOWN LESLIEJuly 25-26

Call Pete Zamora

for more details:

(517) 589-0324

Saturday, July 18Entry Fee is $150 per team

plus $12 umpire fee per game.Entry Deadline is July 13.

Contact Pete Zamora @ 589-0324.

Street DanceFood & Beverage Tent

to benefit the LAEFBlackhawk Summer Adventure Program

Saturday, July 185 p.m. to Midnight

Leslie Event Center Parking LotPerformances by:

Matt Thomas&

“Just Us”

Men’s So&ball Tournament

to benefit the LAEFBlackhawk Summer Adventure Program

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 7

CommunityLocal church changes its name and direction

Courtesy photoNEW LIFE - Pastor Terry French and his wife Joy standin front of the New Life Fellowship located at 4691 HullRoad in Leslie.

4691 Hull RoadLeslie, Michigan 49251

(517) 589-9011

New Life FellowshipSenior Pastor: Terry FrenchYouth Director: Kamanga Mwangi

Sunday: Fellowship Time: 9:15a.m. to 9:45 a.m.~ featuring Holy Grounds CaféSunday School: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ~ Children, Teens & AdultsMorning Service: 11 a.m. to NoonEvening Service: 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.Worship Team Practice: 7:15 p.m. to 8:15p.m.

Monday:Women’s Bible Study: 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday:Community Study Hall and Free Tutor-ing: 5:30 to 7 p.m.Bible Study: 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.Worship Team Practice: 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Thursday:Women’s Bible Study: 9 a.m.

Friday:Community Movie Nite: Free movie &popcorn monthly.

Service Times:

An Independent Baptist MinistryFormerly known as “Bible Baptist Church”

By Jennifer ShusterPublisherThe Bible Baptist Church in Leslie has

served as a place of worship for locals forover 50 years. However, the congregation has recently

made a mutual decision, with a non-con-tested vote to change the name of thechurch.As of June 28, the Bible Baptist Church

is now called New Life Fellowship. Theemphasis of the church will be “an inde-pendent baptist ministry.”“We’ve been growing and growing and

things keep getting better and better,” Pas-tor Terry French said. “The church hasgone through a metamorphosis.”French has served the 70-person con-

gregation on and off as an interim pastor,but in January, he became the official sen-

ior pastor of the church.Along with the name, French said the di-

rection of the church has also changed. “We’re trying to have people change

their view on the church,” French said.“We’re really excited because its more likefamily.”

According to French, there are fourmembers who have and continue to attendthe church since its existence.“Our music is contemporary and our

messages are biblical story based,” Frenchsaid. “We just love fellowship.”French said the dress code for the church

is to “come as you are.”“We are not concerned with how you

look,” he said.The New Life Fellowship is located at

4691 Hull Road in Leslie. For more infor-mation please call (517) 589-9011.

New Life Fellowship

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 8

Community

New Life Fellowship4691 S. Hull Rd.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-9011

Bunker Hill Seventh Day Adventist3820 Williamston Rd.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-0659

Children of Christ - Israelite Society100 S. Main St.Leslie, Michigan 49251(517) 403-4641

Child’s Bible Church3985 Crain Rd.Onondaga, MI 49264(517) 589-5731

Congregational United Ch. of Leslie114 W. BellevueLeslie, MI 49251(517) 589-5226

Faith Assembly of God4020 N. Main St.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-9121

Felt Plains United Methodist Church3523 Meridian Rd.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-0217

Grace Lutheran Church212 S. ShermanLeslie, MI 49251(517) 589-0250

Grand River Community Church2443 Olds Rd.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-5448

Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall 5290 Churchill Rd.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-8883

Leslie First Baptist Church204 E. Bellevue St.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-8541

Leslie United Methodist Church401 S. Main St.Leslie, MI 49251 (517) 589-9211

Maple Grove Baptist Church6508 Cooper Rd.Pleasant Lake, 49272(517) 769-2220

Orthodox Monastery of Dormition3389 Rives Eaton Rd.Rives Junction, MI 49277(517) 569-2873

Rives Baptist Church2800 W. Berry Rd.Rives Junction, MI 49277(517) 569-3147

SS Cornelius & Cyprian Church1320 Catholic Church Rd.Leslie, MI 49251(517) 589-8492

Leslie AreaChurch Directory

The Leslie WeeklyGuardian provides thislocal church directory asa community service tolocal religious organiza-tions. If you do not seeyour group listed, pleasesend us an e-mail with

the information.

Millions of Americans are strug-gling with debt, difficult marriagesand dead-end jobs. The wish to “startover” is almost universal and has re-sulted in an unprecedented number ofbankruptcies, divorces, and unem-ployment. But even after takingthese drastic measures, most peopleend up in the same situation again,and again. The reason is we changeour situation, but we don’t changeourselves. In his 1990 film “Total Recall”

Arnold Schwarzenegger is presentedwith an opportunity to go on a virtualvacation, but is faced with the sadfact that every vacation has one con-stant that always makes it blasé -himself. This vacation would be dif-ferent, because this time he would bedifferent. Of course this is sci-fi, butthe truth is there. If in the equation oflife, “you” never change, then theend result is always going to be thesame.So what is the answer? For your

life to change, you have to change!The Bible says (2 Corinthians 5:17)“Anyone who belongs to Christ is anew person. The past is forgotten,

and everything is new”. Jesus is will-ing to take your guilt and shame andpain and all the things you want toget free from and in exchange he willgive you love and forgiveness, heal-ing and hope. He fixes YOU andthen starts you off in the right direc-tion of a brand new life.New Life is a process, not a pill. It

is a journey, not a jaunt, but successis guaranteed and you will haveplenty of help along the way. Jesuscame to give you a new life; a rich,abundant NEW LIFE.Sound like something you’ve been

looking for? Then start the processright now. Make a list of all that youhate about your old life. Read thatlist out loud to God, asking Jesus totake all your ‘junk’ and give you anew life. He died on the cross androse again to do just that. If I can help, drop me an email at

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If you haven’t already, don’t forget to sign up foran e-mail subscription to

The Leslie Weekly Guardian!

You will receive a free reminder bye-mail every week when

“The Guardian” is updated. Just send your e-mail address toJennifer@theleslieweeklyguardian.com.

It’s that easy!

Picture Puzzler

This week’s Picture Puzzlerfeatures a woman who now livesin Leslie with her husband andthree children. She is a very ac-tive volunteer in Leslie PublicSchools and promotes earlychildhood education at the statelevel.

Those who think they canidentify the person pictured inthis week’s Picture Puzzler areencouraged to E-mail us at Jen-n i f e r@ t h e l e s l i e w e e k l y -guardian.com with their first andlast name.The contest deadline is Friday

at 5 p.m. Correct guessers willhave their names entered into arandom drawing with the winnerreceiving a $10 gift certificate toMeijer.

This week’s winner is Pat Wor-den! She was one of 12 people tocorrectly guess Bill Allender. Theother correct guessers were: KenWilliams, Tim Hendershot,Becky Hendershot, Don Hov-arter, Marcella Thayer, MarieCharnley, Janet Beyer, CorrinaRuthig, DJ Newman, Joyce De-Bruler and Brad Newman.

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 9

Family

LOCAL MAMA - Who is this woman pictured in the 1980’s?She didn’t grow up in Leslie, but now calls it her home.

Bill Allender

The Leslie Weekly GuardianThe Leslie Weekly Guardian

P.O. Box 22Leslie, MI 49251(517) 878-8006

Jennifer@theleslieweeklyguardian.com

Deadlines:Friday at 5 p.m. for news, display ads and classifieds.

Classified Ad Rates:$5 flat fee for 30 wordmax. ran for four consecutive weeks.

It will be .10 per wordafter that. Add a pic-ture for just $1.

Publisher/Owner:Jennifer Shuster

The Leslie Weekly Guardianis published weekly online

every Tuesday. E-mail reminders are sent toall subscribers when thenew issue is published.

Sports/ContributingWriter:Jeff Moss

We want to hear about your family news andshare it with the Leslie community!

Please send in your births, weddings, engagements, obituaries, anniversaries,

college news or military news.Include a picture...it’s included in the price!

Just $10(517) 878-8006

Jennifer@theleslieweeklyguardian.com

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Many of you may have heard already, but Iwanted to make sure my readers were some ofthe first to hear it from me. I have made the deci-sion to run for the Leslie City Council in thisyear’s election to be held in November.

First of all, let me assure you that if I’melected, it will in no way hinder my ability topublish The Leslie Weekly Guardian. However,Jeff Moss, our contributing writer, will covermeetings, events and issues concerning the LeslieCity Council. This will avert any conflict of in-terest.I want to thank all of my family and friends

who have encouraged me to pursue this endeavor.Now that I have that out of the way, lets talk

about the Leslie Board of Education. We’ve now passed the two year mark for our

teachers going without a contract at Leslie Pub-lic Schools. Another teacher was just laid off andEnviro-Clean, a Holland based company, has of-ficially taken over custodial services for the dis-trict. Shameful. Thank goodness there is a recall effort in ac-

tion for at least two of the board’s members. It’stime for new faces, new attitudes and new voices! There are budget cuts looming over the district

and it is unfortunate that our board members con-

tinue to make the cuts that ultimately affect ourstudents.Personally, I’m tired of the gloom and doom

that follows the school board. I’m ready for a pas-sionate group of people who research and debatedifferent ideas that will pull our district out of thedeep hole that has been created. It’s not all aboutbeing “unified,” it’s about getting the job doneright. We don’t need a group of best friends run-ning the school district, we need people who arewilling to stand out, say what they believe in andfight for our children’s educational rights.This recall effort may use some extra tax dol-

lars, as some have stated, but if it wasn’t a nec-essary act, do you think so many prominentpeople in our community would be involved inthis recall? I have yet, after NUMEROUS personal invita-

tions, seen an editorial or letter to the editor from

anyone on the school board this entire year. I sup-pose communication with the community is justanother goal that will continue to be shelved forthe next school year and the year after that ...If our school board worked as hard at closingthe district’s deficit as it does at hiding behind theskirt of our superintendent, we would be a lot bet-ter off.Besides the recall effort, there is one seat open-

ing on the board in November, that of currentPresident Randy Sherrell. No one, not even Sher-rell, has come forward to run yet.

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 10

Opinion/EditorialSmall

Town GirlBy Jen ShusterGuardian Publisher

The following is an editorial written by StateRepresentative Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga). Ifyou have questions about this commentary,please contact Rep. Byrum's office by calling(517) 373-0587.

In 2007, the budget for Michigan's general fund– the fund out of which most state programs arepaid – was based on $9.4 billion in revenue. Aswe stand today, we have seen those funds declineby 26 percent, an unprecedented drop that hascreated a $1.7 billion hole in our budget.In May, the Governor issued an executive order

which cut $300 million from this year's budget.These were painful cuts, which among otherthings, required state employees to take six un-paid furlough days, cut Medicaid by 4 percent,and lowered the amount of revenue sharing thatwent to local government. Here in the House,where our budget was unaffected by the Gover-nor's executive order, we voted to cut our budgetby 4 percent. This will be accomplished by re-ducing the office budgets for each Representa-tive, while requiring every employee at the Houseto pay more for their health care, among othercuts.I have also voted to make real cost-saving re-

forms, including voting to cut the pay of statelawmakers, including my own, by 10 percent andvoting to end the free lifetime health care pro-vided to legislators.

I would like to see a way to keep funding forall valuable programs that receive state funding.In reality many programs will see some level ofreduced funding. My hope is to spread the paininstead of hurting one program significantly morethan another. Here is where we stand on some of the impor-

tant budgetary issues:Michigan Promise Scholarship-Earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations

Committee voted to completely cut the $140 mil-lion Michigan Promise Grant Scholarship thathas assisted Michigan high school studentsachieve a post-secondary education. As we facethis budget crisis, education must remain one ofour top priorities. If we do not provide our chil-dren with the education that will prepare them forthe 21st century economy, we have no hope ofbringing businesses and jobs to our state. Cuttingthis important program is counterproductive and

I will fight to restore this funding for our students.Early Childhood Education-As a mother, I know the value of these pro-

grams, and the good they can do in preparing ourchildren to succeed in school and later in life. Un-fortunately, this is one of the programs that hasbeen targeted to be cut by the Senate. Again, wecannot turn our backs on our children at a timewhen they need us the most. We can find areas tostreamline and reduce the size of governmentwithout taking away from programs that work forour kids.Revenue Sharing-Revenue sharing provides funding for local

governments, money that goes into police, fireand public safety programs. The Senate has pro-posed taking away even more money from thesepublic safety programs, cutting more than $100million. I believe that any cuts that we make tothe state's budget must not threaten public safety,so when this plan came to a vote in the Houseyesterday, I voted to restore much of this fund-ing.Because we rejected these Senate budget cuts,

this and many of the other budgets will now go toa conference committee, which is made up ofboth Senators and Representatives in order towork out differences in these bills. If you have any questions or concerns regard-

ing Michigan's budget, please feel free to give mea call or send me an email.

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Shuster to run for Leslie City Council in November

Letters to the Editor Policy:Letters to the Editor are welcome to be

submitted to The Leslie WeeklyGuardian. All letters should be no morethan 300 words long. Please includethe writer’s name, e-mail address andphone number for confirmation beforeprinting. Only the writer’s name and lo-cation will be published with the letter.Typed letters are preferred for accuracy.All submitted letters are subject to edit-

ing and become property of The Leslie Weekly Guardian.

E-mail to:Jennifer@theleslieweeklyguardian.com

Dear Editor:

The Center for Public Education,an initiative of the National SchoolBoards Association and the NationalSchool Boards Foundation, writesthat the role of school boards is toFirst and foremost look out for stu-dents. Education is not a line itemon the school board’s agenda it is theonly item. Superintendent Netzleyand Board President Sherrell, intheir stale rhetoric, justify theboard’s decisions with tired plati-tudes: We will not be distractedfrom our core mission of providinga quality education for every childin Leslie Public Schools and Thisdecision [to lay off workers] wasmade to assure that Leslie PublicSchools can continue to provide aquality education to our students.But the results of the Board’s re-

cent decisions do not, directly or in-directly, look out for our students.Their decisions have been to:1. increase class sizes. Few vari-ables affect student learning morethan the ratio of students to teacher.To understand the impact of addingmore students to a classroom, imag-

ine adding more children to yourfamily. The needs of each one donot change, but the amount of atten-tion one person can provide de-creases significantly.2. eliminate the assistant principalswho interact daily with the studentsand maintain order and disciplinewithin the building. The principalcannot both oversee school opera-tions and handle discipline effec-tively. As for the superintendentlending a hand, that is laughablynaïve and a disingenuous proposi-tion to what will most assuredly be aserious problem in our buildings. 3. create an environment in whichseasoned, respected building-leveladministrators do not want to work,leading them to seek and sometimesfind better working conditions inother districts.4. summarily reject any changes inthe structure of central administra-tion, those with the least connectionto students, those with the leastknowledge (some with no appliedclassroom experience) so that littlechoice is left but to dismiss the max-imum of those who are connecteddaily with students.

5. eliminate the position of specialeducation director and combine herduties with that of a principal noless. Close to 200 students, approx-imately 14% of Leslie’s studentpopulation, are in the special educa-tion program. Adding her duties toprincipals or other administratorswho are already expected to take onthe duties of assistant principals inaddition to their own positions in-herent responsibilities does not pro-vide these students with theprofessional oversight they need andare entitled to.6. fire custodial and grounds work-ers, those with a vested interest inthe community and who providestructure, security, and familiarityfor our students, whose own chil-dren and grandchildren have bene-fited the district. In place of theseloyal employees, they have hired acompany with one concern in mind:making money.7. fail to participate themselves in,yet continue to pay an outside nego-tiator to handle, teacher contract ne-gotiations when negotiating withemployee unions regarding salariesand other conditions of employment

is one of the primary duties of alocal school board.8. fail at the very least to insist saidnegotiator negotiate. Will Derr,chief negotiator of the Leslie Edu-cation Association, states, “If theBoard had wanted to we could havesettled this contract a long, longtime ago. The board has chosen notto.” This obstinate negotiator is acase of the tail wagging the dog, andthe animosity and ill-will this hasgenerated, particularly since theboard thumbed its collective nose atthe very fact-finding they instigated,is unparalleled in my 35 years withthe district.This is a board with misguidedleadership, who are out of creativeideas and lack the resolve to findthem, allowing instead a businessmanager to dictate the priorities andsolutions to the problems we and alldistricts are facing. Leslie boardmembers, rather than looking out forstudents as is their mandate, aremaking decisions ultimately on thebacks of students.

Mr. BallLHS teacher

LHS teacher speaks out on ‘board with misguided leadership’Letter to the Editor

The Leslie Weekly Guardian - Tuesday, July 7, 2009 Page 11

Opinion/Editorial

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