A d o m i n a n t p e r f o r m a n c e b y Ta r s Anchor Bay cruises to homecoming victory, 31-0 / Page 18 Stay up to date at
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER SERVING CHESTERFIELD, NEW BALTIMORE, NEW HAVEN & THE ANCHOR BAY AREA
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Downtown development focus of NB Meet the Candidates session Candidates express concerns about areas needed to help the city grow BY COURTNEY FLYNN ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Eight potential New Baltimore City Council candidates fielded a variety of questions, many of which focused on downtown development, in the community center at the New
Baltimore Police Department on Oct. 12. On Nov. 8 the city of New Baltimore will hold an election to fill three four-year term seats and one two-year term. Current council members Ken Butler, Florence Hayman and David Duffy are running
Photo by COURTNEY FLYNN
for another four-year term. Zack Stanton, Stan Russell and Frank Krause are also vying to fill those seats. Karl Rutledge and Jim Morisette Sr. are seeking an unexpired two-year term first filled by Carlos Aprea. Mayor Larry Smith is running unopposed for another two-year term.
Eight New Baltimore City Council candidates attended a question and answer session on Oct. 13 at the New Baltimore Police Department. There are three incumbents and five other candidates vying for four spots.
See MEET on page 10
NH schools finalize deals with three bargaining groups BY ANDREW BENOIT VOICE STAFF WRITER
The New Haven Community School District recently got another step closer to erasing the budget deficit that has hampered the district for the last few years. The school board ratified new three-year contracts for the district’s secretaries, central office personnel and transportation employees. All three agreements included similar concessions to what the teachers agreed to earlier this school year. District Superintendent Dr. Keith Wunderlich said the contracts included a 3 percent salary reduction and an increase in insurance co-pays, which makes the district qualify for an additional $100 per student in state funding. Wunderlich said only two employee groups have yet to settle their contracts, food service personnel and para-professionals, but he anticipates having those contracts settled at the board’s Oct. 24 meeting. “We’re doing well. The deficit elimination plan had us out of the deficit by the 2013-14 school year and that is still going to happen,” Wunderlich
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said. Board president Ken Thompson was a bit more overt with his feelings on having the contract negotiations finished for these groups. “How do you spell relief?” Thompson joked. He said he was happy to see the groups agree to new contracts and feels the teacher negotiations were the catalyst for finalizing the other contracts. “Those three groups agreed to just about the same as the teachers,” he said. With the district expecting to get its audit report back in the next few weeks, Wunderlich said a special board meeting would likely be called early next month to discuss the report and to reassess the deficit elimination plan. The newly ratified contracts, along with increased enrollment numbers and additional revenue from the state, should all help to reduce the district’s deficit. Contact Andrew Benoit by phone at (586) 7168100, ext. 303 or andrew. benoit@voicenews.com. You can also reach him on Facebook or Twitter @VoiceofBenoit.
Michigan-made businesses unique to New Baltimore Locally made products a growing trend in the state BY COURTNEY FLYNN ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Photos by COURTNEY FLYNN
Washington Street Wine House and Moon River Soap Company, the green colored building next to the winery, are two other locally based businesses.
50¢
By NewBody
See MICHIGAN on page 21
Special education millage could mean growth for AB services Chesterfield residents show interest in ballot question BY COURTNEY FLYNN
Vol. XXVIII, Issue 42 Contact us: 586-716-8100 1-800-561-2248 www.voicenews.com
Despite its small size, downtown New Baltimore has a large and unique offering of Michigan-made products. Homemade and chemical free skin products can be found in one brightly colored store; a variety of art pieces in another; furniture gets a new look in a quaint downtown home; and locally made wine and baked goods can be found in between. Moon River Soap Company, Celtic Sisters Candles and Candies, Re-HAB-u-lous Alley, Washington Street Wine House and Stahl’s Bakery all make and sell local products. “It’s all you need in life really,” Moon River Soap Company owner Liz Aprea said of the locally based options residents have. Aprea started her business as a way to provide environmentally friendly products in a local economy. She said protecting the environment and stimulating the local economy are two ways of life she tries to live by; this is a growing trend she said she sees all over the state too. Dave Lorenz is a spokesman for Travel Michigan, the company behind the Pure Michigan campaigns, and he said the fact that New Baltimore has so many locally
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A special education millage for the Macomb Intermediate School District will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot and Anchor Bay School District employees say they see the possibility of an additional $1.2 million toward special needs programs as a vital component to helping these children build their future. The ballot question is asking MISD residents for a 1.2 mill property tax increase. According to information provided by the
MISD at its website, that translates to about $71.56 a year, or 20 cents a day, for the average homeowner. A MISD homeowner’s true cost can be calculated at mytaxcalc.com/MacombISD. If approved the millage would provide an estimated $27 million to help fund special education programs, according to the MISD. Of this $27 million, Anchor Bay School District Business Director Kyle Anderson said about $1.2 million will go toward to the Anchor Bay special education programs. These include programs for autistic children, speech therapy and remedial work. “This funding provides services to kids who need it the most,” Anderson said. Currently Anchor Bay serves
about 830 special needs students, which makes up about 13 percent of the district’s population. Elementary Education Director Marie DeWitte said in order to best serve those students, efficient and developed programs need to be in place and properly trained staff need to be available to direct such programs. “This (millage) would allow the continuance of much staff development in the area,” DeWitte said. “I think it’s all a matter of maintenance.” In addition to the millage helping fund special education programs in Anchor Bay, and 20 other districts in Macomb County, Anderson said it could also help free up some general fund dollars for other items. “As a result of recent state
funding reductions, we have reduced our general fund budget by over $8 million coming into this school year, and over $70 million over the last 10 years” he said. “The bulk of this year’s reductions come from reduced wages and benefits to our employees.” The $785 per pupil cut passed down from the state earlier this year cost Anchor Bay about $5 million, Anderson explained. As cuts continue to grow deeper, Anderson and DeWitte both said the number of children who need special education services also continues to grow. DeWitte said there are two reasons for this. “There has been an increase in See MILLAGE on page 17
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