News

DeWitt’s Family Barber Shop: what’s all the buzz about?

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Bill Sermak, owner of DeWitt’s Family Barber Shop and Family Barber Shop II, said it can be a challenge to keep up with his regular clients’ lives, but it’s also a joy. For Bill Sermak, owner of downtown DeWitt’s Family Barber Shop and Family Barber Shop II, cutting hair was, somewhat ironically, not the family business. There were no uncles, grandpas or fathers to pass down the family clippers; it was a curiosity he took up all his own. That’s not to say, however, that he doesn’t have a story to tell. Sermak distinctly remembers a guy in high school, his brother’s buddy, who would have the basketball team over at his house to cut their hair.

News

Bath’s Bengel Wildlife Center uses weddings, events to pay for conservation efforts

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The Bengel Wildlife Center markets its outdoor wedding space as the “biggest covered patio in Michigan,” said Burdette Pombier, director of marketing and development. Photo by David Reinke. The connection between wildlife conservation and weddings may not be apparent to some, but in the last few years the two have become inextricably linked for the staff of Michigan Wildlife Conservancy’s Bengel Wildlife Center. Located in Bath Township, the nonprofit organization has to focus on raising funds through events, donations and food and beverage operations like that of its Wildlife Pub in order to support conservation work. The covered patio is a huge draw for wedding clients especially.

City of DeWitt

Meeting planned to discuss 2020 road, sidewalk construction in DeWitt

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Clinton County Road Commission, DeWitt Township and the City of DeWitt are holding a meeting Nov. 13 for the public to discuss and explain plans for the road and sidewalk construction set to begin next year. The construction will be a significant undertaking, affecting residents who live in areas around major roads like Airport Road, Herbison Road and Coleman Road, among others. Construction will also affect three major bridges in the DeWitt area. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, as the meeting is focused on “informing the public in regards to the timing of each one of those projects,” said Brett Wittenberg, the community development director of DeWitt Charter Township.

Bath

Competitors see Dollar General as sign of Bath’s growth

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Spagnuolo’s Party Store manager Jon Spagnuolo said the “odds and ends” that Dollar General has to offer won’t compete too much with his store. “There are some things they are very dynamic with, and I applaud them for it,” he said. Photo by David Reinke. Spagnuolo’s Party Store manager Jon Spagnuolo. Photo by David Reinke.

News

DARA creates scholarship fund for 2020 summer camp

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Kids who attend the summer camp are taken on field trips. Each week has activities that correspond to a theme of the week. Photo courtesy of Chad Stevens. Starting in 2020, the DeWitt Area Recreation Authority (DARA) is offering scholarship funds for families in need of financial help with sending their kids to its growing summer camp program. DARA Executive Director Chad Stevens announced at the Sept.

News

Possible developer sparks hope for downtown DeWitt’s vacant corner lot

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The only thing occupying the empty corner lot in downtown DeWitt is a stage that the city sometimes utilizes for events like the DeWitt Memorial Association’s Ox Roast. Photo by David Reinke. Downtown DeWitt’s vacant corner lot, once Hovey’s gas station and now a space sometimes used for recreational events, has another potential buyer after four to five years of searching for someone with the right business plan. “We will see,” DeWitt City Administrator Daniel Coss said. “I think they are very interested, but with commercial development there can be lots of ups and downs.