Lawton News

Jerry Bowman, of Lawton, looks at Kalamazoo artist Steve Curl's piece "Robotland 2008" at the opening reception Friday for the 2008 West Michigan Area Show at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

Jack and Anne Branham, of Battle Creek, a daughter. Andrew and Kristy Brooks, of Otsego, a son.

Brooklyn indie rock band The Neverbeens will perform at the Old Hat Brewery at 6 p.m. June 22.

Dave and Lyndsay Berkenpas, of Bangor, a son. Patrick and Brenda Brink, of Kalamazoo, a son.

The driver of one of two vehicles involved in a crash June 11 has died. Connor McFarland, 16, of Marshall, died at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo on Tuesday, according to the Emmett Township Department ...

THREE HURT: Three people were hurt in a two-car crash Wednesday in Emmett Township.

Jesse and Jennifer Cook, of Portage, a daughter. Megan Kirkendall and Derek McNally, of Kalamazoo, a daughter.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008 BY ROD SMITH Special to the Gazette MATTAWAN -- The village of Mattawan has offered to chip in $100,000 toward a state project to widen the Main Street bridge over Interstate 94.

They are still cleaning up today in one of the areas hit hardest by the weekend storms, in Porter Township along Gravel lake in Van Buren County, where dozens of trees were knocked down, roads blocked, boats ...

VAN BUREN CO., Mich. - Friday's storm hit hard around many of West Michigan's inland lakes, and the Miracle Camp and Retreat Center just south of Lawton was no exception.

An apparent chemical reaction at Kalamazoo Stripping and Derusting Co. prompted the closing of several intersections in Portage this morning, police said.

Travis and Lindsey Born, of Scotts, a daughter. Brian and Jennifer DeVries, of Schoolcraft, a son.

The Van Buren County Chapter of the American Red Cross has scheduled three local blood drives in the next couple of weeks.

The Lawton Elementary School is "oversized, inefficient, impersonal, difficult to manage, inconsistent in appearance, condition and comfort," said Tom Kloosterman of TMP Architecture to the Lawton School Board ...

At the end of Memorial Day ceremonies at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Laura DeRoo, of Paw Paw, and Julia Edds, of White Pigeon, hugged each other, whispering into one another's ears.

Hadley's first day on the job will be June 23. He said his marching orders are an enhanced focus on community policing, a diverse command staff and an internal-affairs office that is "transparent." Click here ...

Better luck next year. That's about the best grape grower Mike Alaga can hope for after the April 30 freeze that left two of his fields devastated and a third, at his family-owned Alaga Farm on County Road 669, ... via Kalamazoo Gazette

Michael Bonofiglio of Grand Ledge and Laura Trout of Grand Ledge announce the engagement of their daughter Katherine Elvira to Jason Robert Miller. via Lansing State Journal

It seems to be open season on public school employees -- all under the guise of purported "fiscal responsibility." In Southfield, school board members this week fired 350 of their neighbors when they voted to ... via Detroit News Online

Public Act 106 was meant to allow school districts to shop around for better deals on employee health coverage. via WSJM-AM Saint Joseph