Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/author/limbojin/)
Basketball is back, but it’s not what you think. Intramural basketball has been absent for nearly a year because of the pandemic. “It’s great, we haven’t experienced it since freshman year,” said Andrew Vogel, an MSU Freshman. “I can’t imagine without it. It’s given us a great thing to look forward to.”
For the people behind the scenes at IM sports, they made sure to take a stepback for a clear shot this season.
On Monday, Governor Whitmer extended the statewide partial shutdown order until December 20, keeping many businesses and public facilities closed for the time being. However, because elementary schools were not included in this order, many school districts are actively trying to formulate plans to resume in-person classes. In Oakland County, the Walled Lake Consolidated School District and Farmington Public Schools are two districts on opposite ends of the spectrum, with WLCSD planning to transition to in-person learning quickly, while FPS has continuously delayed the return of students due to rising COVID-19 numbers in the community.
Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
The home of Walled Lake Consolidated Schools,
located at 850 Ladd Rd., Building D., serves as the
meeting place for the Walled Lake Board of Education,
as well as the headquarters for district administrators. Credit: Lance Limbo
The Walled Lake Consolidated School District returned to in-person learning last month then paused given Whitmer’s orders. The district returned in November, paused and will return this Wednesday.
The President has been decided, but young voters are still talking about the presidential election. Undecided
“They should have known coming into this election the mail in ballots would be a lot more popular due to COVID-19,” said Aaron Ross, a Michigan State University student. “We should have been prepared and ready to receive and count each ballot properly and ensure everything is correct on time.”
A ballot drop box location in Commerce Township. One of the many drop box locations in Oakland County that can be dropped in. Credit: Lance Limbo
Oakland University student Ethan Talampas agrees.
Residents of Walled Lake, Michigan are spooked about a Halloween with the COVID-19 pandemic. Home to 7,000 residents, parents students and doctors are preparing for a safe holiday. Halloween and COVID-19
“Very interesting,” said Dr. Alka Jain when asked. “I have a 12-year-old (who) wants to go trick-or-treating, so we had to figure out a plan for her. Everyone is on a different spectrum with COVID-19.
Several students in Walled Lake, Michigan, a city about 20 miles northwest of Detroit, said they have been put through the fire when classes moved online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, leaving them stressed out and voicing their opinions on the workload they have been getting these past few weeks. College students in Walled Lake, which has about 7,000 residents, said they’re like many students in Michigan who are stressed with the added work this semester has given them. Tasks at hand
“I feel like in some ways my workload has doubled even though I’m taking the same amount of credits as I usually do,” said, Emily Goins, an Oakland Community College student. “Learning in a remote environment is very different from learning face-to-face, and personally it is a lot more difficult to retain the information when I am teaching it to myself.”
Oakland Community College (OCC) – Highland Lakes Campus located in Waterford has remained closed for months only allowing calls to the offices of OCC. Credit: Lance Limbo
Oakland University student Sophia Borruso agrees.
Long Family Orchard, Farm & Cider Mill in Commerce Township opened its play area for the first time last weekend, according to its Facebook page, allowing visitors to start a new tradition, while continuing an old one, eating donuts and cider. Love for cider
Vittorio Vassilev, a Commerce resident, is a loyal customer. “I have been going to Long’s cider mill since I was 6 years old,” Vassilev said. “The donuts and cider (are) what I come for, it is one of the best feelings and you know it’s fall once they have those two things together.”
“The consistency of loyal customers returning every year is one of the reasons the Long family keeps their business running,” said Bobby Long. “To see the joys on the customers’ faces,” Bobby said.
An investigation into what caused a house to explode a couple weeks ago in Commerce Township continues across multiple police and fire departments, pointing to the use of recreational drugs.