CITY NEWS
A6 12 Feb. 2015
www.hillsdalecollegian.com
Vaping in Hillsdale Natalie deMacedo News Editor
Tucked into the strip mall across the street from McDonalds lies Mr. Darcy’s Vapor Emporium, the new e-cigarette shop in Hillsdale. Barb Bollier, an Angola, Indiana resident, opened the store on Oct. 8, 2014. She owns another store in Angola called “Not Your Grandma’s Vapors.” She said she fell in love with Hillsdale while researching where to open her next store. “I used to live in Houston, so I know cool,” Bollier said. “This is cool.” that Hillsdale housed a liberal arts college, she thought of literature and naturally, Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. Her employee, Nathan Harris, said the store sells basic pens as well as supplies to build mods, which are high-powered vaping tools. Although Mr. Darcy’s has been confused as an illicit drug store, Bollier said vaping isn’t associated with that culture. Most customers are looking to wean themselves off cigarettes. Harris said many people smoke as a habit — the same way they would chew tobacco or a toothpick. “This replaces it. It is better because there are fewer ingredients and you can use it in the house,” Harris said.
The vaping liquid is essentially condensed water, consisting of propylene glycol, vegetathose who still need nicotine, it can be added to the liquid. However, for smokers looking to stop using nicotine, Bollier said they can incrementally reduce the amount they put in the liquid over time. “I started at 10 in March and
Additionally, Bollier said vaping is cheaper than conventional smoking. A $6 bottle of vaping liquid lasts as long
as a carton, or 10 packs, of cigarettes. Harris added that although the start-up price is higher, vaping pays for itself in
several price ranges. Harris said people should be careful about where they buy their vaping liquid, however. ferent, dangerous chemicals to try and make them addictive. “This is not Chinese nicotine. We use pharmaceuticalgrade propylene glycol, RDA
“I know cool. This is cool. ” — Barb Bollier now I’m down to three,” Bollier said, adding that Harris went from 12 to zero. Sophomore James Andrew bought a cheaper vape pen about a year ago to wean himself off cigarettes and just recently purchased a better one. He hasn’t visited Mr. Darcy’s yet, but said it will be the next place he goes. “I use this almost exclusively. I’ve had a couple cigarettes, but this is a pretty effective substitute,” Andrew said. “My
Barb Bollier sits behind a tray filled with various vape liquid flavors including Dutch Apple Pie and Pickle. (Natalie deMacedo/Collegian)
Broad Street Downtown Market & Tavern
Ramona Tausz Assistant Editor
Feb. 13 5 p.m. & 8 p.m.
“Lots of people enjoy listening to Sinatra, that’s why we chose to have Matt perform. We were thinking along the lines of something unique.”
Feb. 14 | Feb. 14 | Feb. 14 | mid-scale casual; it’s not formal.”
Feb. 14 | date or Valentine’s Day. It’s more intimate, there are no TVs, and you can sit down and have a good conversation —Manager Tammie Zimmerman —Compiled by Hannah Leitner
Ramona Tausz Assistant Editor
Hillsdale’s Dial-A-Ride program received a $100 Social Isolation Grant from the Area Agency on Aging to provide transportation services to senior citizens in Hillsdale County. Dial-A-Ride offers transportation in and around the city of Hillsdale for a small fee. Seniors often use Dial-A-Ride for rides and other places where they otherwise could not travel alone. County Commissioner Ruth Brown, who represents Hillsdale County on the AAA board in Region 2, learned that the agency had extra money to give away and suggested that it go to Dial-A-Ride.
“Occasionally, we have older people in need of a ride here and there that don’t have enough money,” Dial-A-Ride dispatcher Judy Buzo said. She said the money will go to an account which Dial-A-Ride can draw from to help seniors who need rides but cannot pay. Buzo added that this amount of money will not help in a sigshe understands. “I’m trying to get them some more,” Brown said. “They need more than that.” The grant came just as DialA-Ride celebrated its 40th anniversary Tuesday.
people who bake. We make it as safe as possible,” Harris said. Bollier added that local ingredients aren’t as dangerous as the public believes. There is formaldehyde in tomatoes and propylene glycol in asthma inhalers and antimicrobials. Despite efforts to regulate it, vaping has become more mainstream, Harris said, citing the example of Zac Efron vaping in the recent movie, “Neighbors.” “It’s more the norm,” Harris said. “It’s ok to vape in a movie.” Recently, Bollier and Harris went to a Vape Fest in Grand Rapids, with more than 600 people. “You couldn’t see,” Bollier said describing the cloudy atmosphere of the festival. She encourages students to come down and check out the store and is considering hosting workshops about building mods, as well as vape meets on Fridays. She added that a few
local establishments, like El Cerrito restaurant, Cavoni’s Pizza and Grinders, and the bowling alley are vape-friendly. She said that last semester she sent two of her college-aged employees to campus to vape and see if anyone was interested, but was asked by one of the deans to leave. Neither dean recalls the event, but Dean of Men Jeffery Rogers said he has approached two students about vaping in the buildings. “One student was smoking an e-cigarette in Galalarm went off,” Rogers said. He said that although he doesn’t want students walking around smoking e-cigarettes, they are treated on campus like conventional cigarettes — you can use them out of doors.”
Commissioners discuss FOIA, closure policies
Local restaurants sweeten Valentine’s weekend
Dial-A-Ride receives grant
a month. The pens and mods range from $20 to $70, depending on the quality, and Mr. Darcy’s
Problems with the county’s emergency alert system during last week’s severe weather prompted the County Department Heads to review alert policies at the Hillsdale County Commissioners’ meeting Tuesday. Chairman Mark Wiley expressed concerns about the county’s system of alerting residents to school and workplace closures during bad weather, such as last Monday. “Monday was a bit of a mess,” he said. “Radio stations were reading off school closings of all kinds. I think we need to update our policy.” He said that although all those registered with the program Code Red through the website alerts.hillsdale.us should get an update on closures during bad weather, he believes the county should create a call list to inform employees of closures. Information Technology Services Director David Holcomb agreed, adding that many in his department did not get a message through Code Red. Wiley, after saying that deposits can be required of citizens requesting Freedom Of Information Act reports, called for a clear, written policy regarding rules for FOIA deposits. “I think a policy about that should be written and put on
our website, so everyone’s fully understanding,” he said. “As a county, we need to have a written policy in place, so there are no discrepancies from one person to another.” a FOIA request are free but a person can be charged for copy materials, photos, and any labor over that two-hour period. During Holcomb’s report, the board discussed issues with the county’s computer systems. Holcomb said his department is working on moving the sheriff’s system so that those in the offrom home. He alerted the commissioners that he was updating contact information on the website. After the department heads’ reports, an open hearing was held, in which representatives from the Village of North Adams requested annexment of three properties in Hillsdale County to North Adams. The annexment, which is to be promoted for business and industrial development, was approved without dissent. At the end of the department heads’ meeting, Caswell told the department heads about budgetary problems. “We’re overspending this year,” he said. “There will have to be cuts next year. Keep that in mind going forward.”
Grounded in Grace opening draws coffee lovers Jordan Finney Collegian Reporter
More than 200 visitors visited the Grounded in Grace coffee house’s kick-off event at its new location, the First Presbyterian Church in Jonesville Saturday. Amazing Grace played in the background while 24 local vendors and crafters shared information and sold artisan goods, and community members chatted over fresh coffee, hot chocolate, crepes, and soup. “We have been swamped. We served more than 120 crepes — and that’s a lot for us,” volunteer Kathi Boyle said. “We have been non-stop turning out crepes, and we’re out of half our soup. It’s been a wonderful day — a huge success. I am so delighted.” Grounded in Grace coffee house has chocolate to visitors free of charge since
it opened in June 2013. Visitors can opt to donate money for their coffee and food, which is donated to local charities. Hillsdale resident Marla Bowen said she likes to visit the coffee house because it’s a quiet place to talk to a friend or grade papers. “I think it’s a really neat idea, and I think there’s just a fun group of people here,” Bowen said. “I prefer the environment here because it’s lighter. I don’t really go to other coffee shops, but I can justify donating a dollar to get a coffee or crepe sometimes.” Hillsdale College alumna Sumer Wells ‘06, attended Saturday’s event as a vendor selling Norwex cleaning products. She said she was impressed by the atmosphere and charitable donations the volunteers can make to local organizations. “It’s genius — a great idea,” Wells said. “I learned about their charity work, the food was delicious, and the people have been really nice. It’s been a great day with
a lot of fun conversations, and I’ve been way busier than anticipated.” The shop serves coffee 9 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays. Crepes and coffee are served 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays. Volunteers say they will consider expanding hours to include evenings and weekends depending on the community’s interest. “We weren’t exactly sure what was going to happen when we moved next door but it’s been wonderful,” Boyle said. “Our hours will extend as demand grows. It’s still just an outreach for our church. We just want to serve the community and are so overjoyed to see people here.”