Coloma Watervliet Chamber of Commerce and North Berrien Community Development Business Recognition

By Christina Gelder

The Coloma Watervliet Chamber of Commerce and North Berrien Community Development hosted their annual Business Recognition on Thursday, December 8 at the Fairfield Inn in Watervliet. According to organizer Chana Kniebes, it was the largest turnout they have ever had for the event.

AWARD WINNERS… Pictured at the recent Business Recognition hosted by Coloma Watervliet Area Chamber of Commerce and North Berrien Community Development are (from the left): Karla Smothers and Chana Kniebes of the two organizations; Ed Nash and David Coyle of Arclight Brewing Co.; Nancy Cibula of Paw Paw Lake Golf Course; Jody Davis, President of the Glad-Peach Festival Board; and Alan and Christy Stockdale of Wil-O-Paw Animal Hospital. (TCR photo by Christina Geld-er)

During the presentation, they celebrated many events and activities that were sponsored by the organizations including, but certainly not limited to the water drive for Flint, a sign recognizing Ashley Sipla as Miss Blossomtime, Paw Paw River clean up, Halloween in the Park, Medley in the Park, St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and so much more. The chamber has also grown to 149 members at the present time which is an increase from 135 in 2015.

The first of four awards was the Community Investment Award presented to Arclight Brewing Company. David Coyle and Ed Nash opened the brewery in July of 2014, utilizing the former Brookfield Chrysler building. They not only produce and serve a wide variety of popular beverages but they have become a spot for community gatherings. The partners were pleased to accept the award and thankful for the support.

The Community Excellence Award was presented to Paw Paw Lake Golf Course. Patrick and Nancy Cibula are the current owners of the business that will be celebrating 100 years in 2018. Cibulas have owned and operated the course for 32 years but continue to make changes and improvements. They employ up to 20 people during the busy season and are very much looking forward to celebrating the 100th year.

Wil-O-Paw Animal Hospital was award for their Community Impact. Owned by Doctors Alan and Christy Stockdale, the practice has grown larger than they expected over the last 25 years. They opened in 1991 and expanded in 1994 and 1998. They now have 16 employees and treat over 2000 animals annually. Karla Smothers presented the award saying, “Thank you for your commitment to the community and for your care and love of the animals.”

The Community Service Award was presented to the dedicated volunteers who run the Glad-Peach Festival. The festival is an entire weekend full of family friendly events in August and will be celebrating its 50th year in 2017. The Glad-Peach Board and committee are made up strictly of volunteers and they said that they are always in need of more help. President Jody Davis accepted the award and expressed her gratitude to all in attendance for their support every year.

Each business was also presented with a tribute from Congressman Fred Upton, State Senator John Proos and State Representative Al Pscholka. These were presented by Adam Mensinger of John Proos office. He also gave a tribute to Jeff Little and Kris Richardson of JnK Gift Shop for their recent opening in Watervliet.

Decision to pay volunteer rescinded by City of Coloma; St. Joseph St. will remain closed the entire winter

By Christina Gelder

The Coloma City Commission voted to rescind a motion that was made and approved at the previous meeting during the Monday, December 12 meeting. On Monday, November 28 it was approved by the commission to begin paying Stuart Thurlow for his help with the Department of Public Works. During that vote, Commissioners Jason Hicks and Julie Smith abstained.

It was stated that he had been volunteering his assistance but was definitely needed during this time, so the answer was to pay him $8.50/hour as contract labor. This would include no benefits and was based on him working 20-25 hours weekly. Commissioner Marsha Hammond who presented the issue, said she appreciated all of his work but felt they were beginning to take advantage of Thurlow.

During the December 12 meeting a motion was made by Commissioner Linda Freitag to rescind that decision. Commissioner Smith said that there were points that needed to be clarified. The motion was passed with Commissioner Hammond and Mayor Jim Polashak voting no.

The issue has now been tabled until a future meeting.

Open burning in the City

Following up on an issue presented this fall by Bob Howell, Commissioner Jason Hicks said that there is already an ordinance in place that addresses open burning. In the Fire Prevention and Protection section, chapter 26 it states that there should be no open burning within the City limits with the exception of leaves. It does make a provision for contained fires but they are expected to have a screen to keep sparks from flying.

While it does technically allow the burning of leaves, it is expected that residents will take advantage of the leaf pick up done each fall by the Department of Public Works. Public Works also has a yard waste dumpster in place to take small brush (2” in diameter, 4’ long) as an alternative to burning.

That ordinance is not under review at this time but Commissioner Hicks said it may be revisited in the future.

Cold weather reminder

Mayor Polashak urges residents who received a letter asking them to run their water this winter, to please do so. With the extreme cold forecasted the mayor was adamant that he did not want to hear of anyone’s water freezing. The extra usage will be taken off of bills in an effort to keep everything in running condition.

St. Joseph Street construction project

Unfortunately, the weather and timeline for the St. Joseph Street project did not cooperate like the commission had been hoping and the street will remain blocked off for the remainder of the winter. If there are a couple of days that are workable the sewer connections will be completed but other than that they will be waiting for spring.

It was approved to pay an invoice to MDOT on the project for $97,479.87. This is the first invoice and it is so high because none of the infrastructure updates are covered by MDOT. It was also approved to pay $19,781.30 to Midwest Civil Engineers for engineering fees on the project.

In other news Berrien County Commissioner Bill Smith gave a brief update on the county. He also thanked the commission for their support during his time serving on the board. Commissioner Freitag in turn thanked him for coming to the City’s meetings and keeping them updated.

Due to the Christmas holiday the next meeting of the commission will be held on Wednesday, December 28.

Kristen De Haan joins staff at North Berrien Historical Museum

The North Berrien Historical Museum has welcomed a new addition to the team this December. Kristen De Haan of Rockford joins the museum as the new Director of Programs. Kristen graduated from Rockford High School in 2009. She then attended Grand Valley State University and graduated with honors in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in History and Spanish. Outside of school, Kristen worked at a local apple orchard and later in retail and also volunteered in various elementary classrooms within her community. Following graduation from GVSU, she moved to Europe and spent two years teaching English in Spain’s public school system. While overseas, Kristen was able to combine her passion for history with her love of traveling. Some of the highlights of her time abroad were visiting a Roman amphitheatre in Croatia, touring the remains of a Viking longhouse in Iceland, and exploring the extensive medieval town right in her backyard. Recently returned to the United States, Kristen is ready and excited to work with the North Berrien Historical Museum staff in their mission to preserve and share the area’s rich history. “This area has a very interesting history and such welcoming people. I can’t wait to explore the area and interact more with the local community,” she said. Drop by the museum to meet Kristen, if you have not yet already, and be on the lookout for new programs she will be hosting at the museum soon. Information about upcoming programs and events can be found at the museum’s website northberrienhistory.org and on Facebook at facebook.com/NorthBerrienHistory.