Dr. Jesse Hogue Coloma grad honored with Pharmacist of the Year award Jesse H. Hogue, Pharm.D., was honored as the 2018 Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP) Pharmacist of the Year at the Society’s Annual Meeting on Nov. 2 for his contributions to the practice of hospital pharmacy. Hogue is a 1995 graduate of Coloma High School. Dr. Hogue has undoubtedly given his time and energy for the advancement of health-system pharmacy practice since joining MSHP/Michigan Pharmacist Association (MPA) in 1998 as a student pharmacist. Over the years he has served in a number of leadership roles, namely as treasurer of the MSHP Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011 and 2012 to 2013, president-elect of the Board in 2015, president in 2016 and immediate past-president of the Society in 2017. Dr. Hogue is also involved in the Western Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists, serving as president in 2005.

Hometown Holiday Happenings

Last chance to participate in Coloma Schools’ Kindness & Compassion Drive

Coloma Elementary and Intermediate Schools continue to encourage and embrace a message of kindness and compassion throughout their campus, and among their student body and staff.  As part of their ongoing efforts to teach and model empathy, they are consciously focusing on the message of kindness and compassion which equips students and adults to create and sustain safe, caring and supportive learning environments essential for academic achievement.

In order to promote kindness and compassion within the school and community, specifically this holiday season, Coloma Elementary and Intermediate schools are encouraging participation in a collaborative Kindness and Compassion Drive that ends Friday, November 30.  Items they are collecting include:  New unwrapped toys to benefit the Mosaic Wonderland Toy Store, providing parents in financial crisis a way to shop for their children for Christmas; canned goods that will be donated to HOPE Resources (formerly known as the North Berrien Food Pantry) which is currently located at Coloma United Methodist Church; and waterproof winter gear that will benefit their students who are without weather appropriate snow gear (i.e., waterproof snow gloves and waterproof snow boots).

Watervliet’s Hometown Christmas 4th Annual Chili Cook-Off at Arclight Brewing Company Dec. 1

Registration must be submitted by November 30, 2018. There is NO entry fee and each registration will receive $20 to help pay the cost at the event. Registration will be accepted from everyday home cooks and professional cooks who are 21 years of age or older.

Each entry must include: registration form completed in full; by submitting your registration, you accept all contest rules and agree to be bound by the decisions of the cook-off judges, which will be final.

Contestants should arrive at Arclight Brewery on Saturday, December 1 with their Chili dishes at 5:30 p.m.; tasting open to the public at 6:30 p.m. It is the responsibility of cook-off contestant(s) to keep their entry properly heated; dishes must be warm upon arrival. Electrical outlets will be available. Ovens are not available prior to or during the event.

All ingredients must be posted and visible to the public. This is a requirement to ensure the safety of the contestants, judges, and public participants. Dishes will be judged by the public.

Any style of chili may enter. Prizes: 1st place receives a $75 Arclight Gift Certificate; 2nd Place – $50 Arclight Gift Certificate; 3rd – $25 Arclight Gift Certificate. Contestants can enter as many recipes as they want. A separate entry form must be filled out for each entry.

See official rules and entry form for complete registration information. The brewery is located at 544 N. Main St. in Watervliet.

It’s a Hometown Christmas in Watervliet Dec. 1-2

Please join us Saturday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018 to celebrate the holiday magic in Watervliet! There are some great events planned.

Saturday contests and entertainment

The weekend fun starts at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, weather permitting, with a Snowman Building Contest until 3 p.m. at the former site of the Watervliet Paper Mill (vacant lot across from Hays Park on M-140). From there the fun moves to Arclight Brewery on Main Street for a Cookie Decorating Contest from 3-5 p.m. with prizes for the winners.

A Chili Cook Off is being held at Arclight Saturday evening; tasting begins at 6:30 p.m. And for entertainment, the band Big Ben & The Burly Boys will play starting at 8 p.m.

Panthers Grill will be onsite at Arclight Brewery both Saturday and Sunday with food selections for purchase.

Snow Prince & Princess Contest

Voting boxes will be at Watervliet Wesco, Cool Tan, B&B Grocery, and Arclight Brewery leading up to the crowning ceremony for the Snow Prince & Snow Princess. A 4 p.m. crowning ceremony takes place this year on Sunday, Dec. 2 at Arclight Brewery for contestants in 6th through 8th grades with Hair by Elizabeth Eggert.

Toys for Tots

From Thanksgiving until the second week of December there will be a drop box at Arclight Brewery for community members to make donations of new unwrapped toys to the Toys for Tots program.

Hometown Christmas Parade begins Sunday’s celebrating and kicks off an evening of fun at Arclight Brewery

There will be a parade downtown starting at 5:30 p.m. from Watervliet City Hall and ending at Arclight Brewery. Mr. Mattson and his Watervliet Elementary Choir will lead the parade. Winner of the best entry will receive a $100 award.

New to the holiday celebration this year is a Pet Contest for non-aggressive dogs dressed as reindeer. A prize for the most creative will be awarded at Arclight following the parade.

Live reindeer (the real thing) will be at the brewery from 5-7:30 p.m.

Photographer Melanie Craig will be at Arclight from 6-8 p.m. to take pictures with Santa for purchase. The cost is $7 for a 5×7, $10 for two 4×6 prints or $9 for an emailed digital photo file.

During the Pictures with Santa from 6-8 children will receive hot chocolate and cookies for free.

For teens and adults, judging of an Ugly Sweater Contest will be at 7:30 p.m.

The Class of 2022 will conduct a fund-raiser on Sunday from 4-8 p.m. selling Wesco Popcorn Buckets for $12. In addition on Sunday during Watervliet’s Hometown Christmas Celebration Liz Eggert will be at Arclight with Holiday Hair and Glitter Tattoos for free.

Greens Workshop at Sarett on Dec. 1 & 8

Saturday, December 1 at 2 p.m. or Saturday, December 8 at 2 p.m. Sarett Nature Center is holding Greens Workshops. They will provide many varieties of natural greens to create wreaths, swags, baskets or centerpieces. Cost is $15 and includes greens and instructions. Call to register at (269) 927-4832.

Breakfast with Santa

The Coloma Rod and Gun Club is holding Breakfast with Santa on Sunday, Dec. 2 for area families. Santa visiting time is 9 to 11 a.m.

Children 12 and under are able to eat breakfast for free. They are also able to choose a free gift and candy.

The club is located at 6145 Angling Road in Coloma.

Watervliet’s Best Lighted House Contest Dec. 2-15

Watervliet’s Best Lighted House contest is sponsored by the City of Watervliet in coordination with their Hometown Christmas Celebration. It runs December 2-15, 2018.

To enter, participants must post a photo and/or video of their Christmas display on the Watervliet’s Best Lighted House Facebook event page. Then send the street address via Facebook Messenger to Katie Ann Muth so authenticity can be verified. Please do NOT post the address with the photo.

Entries can be made anytime between Dec. 2 and Dec. 15. No posts before Dec. 2 will be accepted.

Once the entry has been posted, then share the event and photo with all your Facebook friends. Be sure to “invite” friends and ask them to vote for your house on the event page. The three photos with the most “likes” and “shares” total will be eligible to win. At midnight on Dec. 15 “Likes and Shares” will be counted on the event page ONLY. Prizes for this contest are 1st place: $100 cash; 2nd place: $50 B&B Grocery gift card; and 3rd place: $20 Mill Creek Charlies gift card.

RSVP on the event page as “going” so that more information can be seen and contestants’ entries can be viewed.

Ribbon cutting at B&B Grocery on Tuesday Coloma Watervliet Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting at B&B Grocery in Watervliet on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. B&B Grocery Discount Outlet, formerly known as B&B Outlet, recently changed locations from Main Street in Watervliet to 337 E. St. Joseph Street (former location of Rookie’s Sports Bar & Grill). Community members are invited to attend the ceremony and welcome owners Ben and Beth Wagner to the new location of their business.