“That should horrify everybody in this community”: Lead found in water, dust particles in Okemos Public Schools

Parents and teachers expressed their concerns over the recent lead discovery found in several classrooms at Okemos Public Montessori at Central, an elementary school within the Okemos Public School District. Repeated testing found lead in both the drinking water and dust particles in various classrooms across OPM, and on Jan. 22 several teachers, parents, and community members spoke at the biweekly meeting of the Okemos Board of Education. A two-part test first took place on Oct. 19 and Nov.

Okemos School Board Meeting: Assistant Superintendent Unveils Academic Insights and Student Success Strategies

By Camila Bello

Oct 27, 2023

The scheduled bi-monthly evening meeting of the Okemos Board of Education took place Oct. 23 at the Administration Center. All board members were in attendance as Assistant Superintendent Stacy Bailey commenced the evening agenda by delivering the first assessment data for the school district for the current academic year. Since 2019, Bailey has served as the assistant superintendent for instruction at Okemos Public Schools. Prior to this role, she accumulated nearly seven years of experience working at Tecumseh Public Schools.

Crosswalk outside of Chippewa Middle School.

Residents concerned after multiple car accidents outside Okemos Schools

After two car accidents involving children occurred outside of Okemos schools at the start of the school year, parents reached out to the school board to voice their concerns. 

The first accident on Sept. 15, outside of Chippewa Middle School on Kinewa Drive, left one student in a wheelchair with a broken ankle and concussion. The second accident on Oct. 4 involved a child walking at the intersection of Kinawa Drive and Okemos Road. This prompted Superintendent John Hood to send out an email to parents reminding them about street safety. 

“It’s really disappointing because myself and some others in the room have spent a lot of hours and effort into putting together recommendations that would make it safer for our students to walk and bike to school, and it’s just going nowhere,” said Tim Potter while addressing the school board during its Oct.

Meijer emphasizes giving back to local communities

Grocery stores in almost every community have an important role. Customers recognize the value both outside and the inside the stores. 

Meijer, Inc. has 265 stores located throughout the country and 123 of those are in Michigan, the most of any state. Ron Colson explain what it’s like to be a store director and being a part of the Meijer’s foundation growing up. Ron Colson, store director of the Meijer store located in Okemos, Michigan, spoke about the Meijer and the best part about his position. “ I am the store director of Meijer (Okemos) meaning I am fully responsible for the operation of the store from morning, afternoon, and night.