SNOW REMOVAL... and storage will soon become a problem as the Tri-City Area has seen 20-25 inches in areas in the last seven days. High winds adding to the amounts of lake effect dropped on Monday made for a hard travel day and on Tuesday high winds made travel nearly impossible at times. Tri-City Area schools were open Tuesday and Wednesday hoping to finish the week strong, before another potential storm moves through on the weekend! (TCR photo by Amy Loshbough)

Model train town, courtesy of the Pullman Train Club

Watervliet Public Schools Board Of Education held their regular monthly meeting and the yearly organizational meeting on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in the high school auditorium. The meeting started with the organizational portion. Interim Superintendent Kevin Schooley kicked off business getting right into asking the board for nominations for the President. Board member Jim Tyler nominated John Oliphant for school board president. This was supported by other board members and t

On Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, celebration highlighted the Watervliet City Commissioners business meeting.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN… (Above) At the sound of the referee’s whistle, tipoff of the Watervliet and Lawrence varsity boys basketball game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on New Year’s Day came into action. Watervliet Panther Kyle Domingo-Sturgeon was pitted against Lawrence Tiger Alex Gardner in the battle of the heights. In a game that went into overtime, the Panthers fell to the Tigers, 49-45. #32 Daijahnae Hatcher (right) of the Lady Panthers shoots over the head of the d

TIME TRAVEL AT THE MUSEUM… On Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, area children had the opportunity to participate in an interactive program to learn about the Civil War era. Peter Cook, Executive Director of the North Berrien Historical Museum, portrayed a Union soldier while interpreters Sheila Schultz (left) and Carole Kiernan (right) represented the life of a soldier’s wife and a mother of soldiers serving in the Civil War. Children had the opportunity to make butter, shell corn, and

CROWNING MOMENT… 2025 Miss Watervliet, Emma Ferguson, places the crown on contestant Emma Birkhead at the Watervliet Scholarship Pageant on Saturday, Jan. 3 at the high school, as she officially passes on the title during the coronation moment that names Birkhead as the new 2026 Miss Watervliet. (TCR photo by Angela Widdis) Saturday night, January 3, from the auditorium stage at the Watervliet High School, Emma Ferguson, Miss Watervliet 2025, crowned her successor during the

SWOLLEN... is the Paw Paw River in Coloma after unseasonable temperatures and rain on Sunday, during what weather outlets are calling a Bomb Cyclone. Temperatures in the 50s Sunday and high winds and snow Monday morning causing heavy snow and blizzard like conditions. (TCR photo by Amy Loshbough)

WATERVLIET ON SAFARI… Contestants for the 2026 Watervliet Blossomtime Royalty will be vying on Saturday, January 3, 2026, to find out who will be Miss and Mr. Watervliet 2026, at the conclusion of the Scholarship Pageant held in the high school auditorium. The pageant begins at 6 p.m., doors open at 5:30 p.m. These young women and men will travel from Nairobi to Watervliet where this safari-theme contest meets the stage. This year’s hopefuls to represent the community of Wat

EDITOR’S NOTE: Now that we are ushering in the New Year, please take a few minutes to recall all of our relatives, friends and neighbors who died in 2025.