Fire victim died on his birthday

December 31, 2012
Fire victim died on his birthday

BRANCH TWP. — Douglas Hill died in a house fire Sunday morning, on his 63rd birthday. He was a photographer, his specialty was scenic photographs that he displayed in a storefront in downtown Scottville. For many years, he worked for R&R Furniture, which later became Holden’s Home Emporium. Physical ailments prevented him from working, though; he had a heart condition,…

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Investigation of fatal fire continues; had been owner’s parents

December 30, 2012
Investigation of fatal fire continues; had been owner’s parents

BRANCH TWP. — Madonna Schulz was very tired and very saddened this morning over the death of Doug Hill and the loss of the house she grew up in. Hill, 63, died in the fire at 5825 E. Hansen Road. He was renting the house from Schulz who lives next door at 5895 E. Hansen Road. Firefighters were called to…

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Man who died in fire identified

December 30, 2012

BRANCH TWP. — MCP has been informed that Doug Hill, 63, was the man who died in a house fire on East Hansen Road this morning. Hill was renting the house from Madonna Schulz. Officials continue to investigate the cause if the fire.

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Man dies in fire

December 30, 2012

BRANCH TWP. — A 63-year-old man died this morning during a house fire in the 5800 block of East Hansen Rd. The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the fire which was called in about 2:30 a.m. Custer and Branch fire departments remain on scene. No cause has yet been determined. The man was the sole occupant of the house.

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The evolution of marriage

December 30, 2012
The evolution of marriage

A blog by Stephanie Wagner. Recently I celebrated 18 years of marriage. Not too long ago, I read somewhere that marriage is like waves. The good times come and go, and sometimes people forget to ride out the low spots before the next wave washes in. I will admit that the last 18 years – 22 counting the dating years…

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Waiting on the ice

December 29, 2012

Hamlin Time: A blog by Sally Olin.  Looking out over the dunes and the “Narrows” finds today cloudy, 30 degrees and a very lite breeze. Last Monday the lone fisherman motored by in his boat. He is a brave soul…burr, it was cold. He is waiting on the ice like everyone else out here. Today, December 27, 2012 finds 2 inches…

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Group donates time and money for New Year’s Eve fireworks display

December 28, 2012
Group donates time and money for New Year’s Eve fireworks display

LUDINGTON – Thousands of people are expected to be in downtown Ludington Monday night to ring in the new year. A lot of volunteer time goes into Ludington’s Light up the Lake New Year’s Eve Ball Drop celebration. Among those volunteers is a group that is responsible for the climax of the evening, the fireworks display. Bruce Pelletier, Matt Bryant,…

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Ludington school board to discuss superintendent search

December 28, 2012

LUDINGTON — The Ludington Area Schools board of education will hold a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 3 to discuss searching for a new superintendent. Superintendent Cal DeKuiper has accepted a position as superintendent of Zeeland Public Schools. LAS is working with Washburn & Associates to search for a new superintendent. Mike Washburn is expected to be at the meeting to…

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Arraignments

December 28, 2012

LUDINGTON – The following are the arraignments in 79th District Court for the previous week. David Duane Bothwell, 36, 610 E. Danaher St., Apt. 1, Ludington was arrested on Dec. 21 by Ludington Police Department for malicious destruction of property. Bail posted: $7,500. Pretrial conference: Jan. 14, 1:45 p.m. Christopher Mark Branning, 25, 1991 Cyrstal View Rd., Amber Twp., was…

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District court sentences

December 28, 2012

 LUDINGTON – The following people appeared in front of Judge Peter Wadel recently in 79th District Court. – Ernest Johan-Robert Daughtry, 28, 1798 W. U.S. 10, Amber Twp., was found guilty on Dec. 18 for domestic violence. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 93 days discretionary jail for 2 years, outpatient treatment and $580 in fines. A…

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Ludington resident receives prison time for probation violations

December 28, 2012

LUDINGTON — Harold Alan Snyder, 43, 115 E. Dowland St., Ludington was found guilty on Dec. 18 in 51st Circuit Court for a probation violation stemming from a breaking and entering conviction from Aug. 14, 2007. He was sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison and $9,167.50 in fines. He was also found guilty on Dec. 18 for a…

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Area had more air quality action days in ’12

December 28, 2012

LUDINGTON – There were 18 air quality action days issued here in 2012, after the region saw just five action days issued in 2011, according to data from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The DEQ program monitors ground-level ozone and fine particle pollution. Fine particle pollution, commonly called soot, is an air pollutant linked to premature death, heart and…

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Thanks for a great 2012, here’s to 2013!

December 27, 2012

As 2013 approaches, I wanted to take a few moments and reflect on 2012. MasonCountyPress.com was started in January 2012 with the goal of providing free news and information to the people of Mason County. I also wanted to create a news source which took advantage of social networking, giving people news now rather than 24 hours later. We started…

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Badger’s competitor owns coal mine; Sen. Durbin received financing from coal

December 26, 2012
Badger’s competitor owns coal mine; Sen. Durbin received financing from coal

Two very outspoken opponents to the S.S. Badger carferry’s use of coal seem to actually benefit financially from coal. The owner of the Milwaukee to Muskegon car ferry, owns stock in a coal plant while Illinois’ senior senator received nearly $53,000 in campaign contributions from coal-related industries. Sheldon B. Lubar, who owns Lake Express of Milwaukee with his sons, has…

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Scottville Main Street gets a new boost

December 26, 2012
Scottville Main Street gets a new boost

SCOTTVILLE — Scottville’s Main Street program got a new boost in recent weeks with the announcement that the program is being recognized as a Master program with the state. This is good news for the program, which was in jeopardy of losing its recognition with the state because it was not accredited last year. “We weren’t accredited in 2010/2011,” Main…

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Ahlgren pleas guilty to embezzlement from bank

December 25, 2012

GRAND RAPIDS – Stacy Lynn Ahlgren, a former employee of Northwestern Bank in Ludington, has pleaded guilty to embezzlement, according to Mlive.com. The longtime employee took nearly $900,000 from the bank over five years. Ahlgren made her first appearance in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan Thursday. She pleaded guilty as charged to embezzlement from an insured…

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Merry Christmas

December 24, 2012
Merry Christmas

  A story with a twist. By Pastor Henrik Lidman. I sometimes enjoy watching a movie more the second time then the first time, especially if it is a really suspense filled movie with a twist on the end. As I watch it the second time the bad parts seems more bearable because I know that the ending is going…

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Snowman season

December 22, 2012
Snowman season

CUSTER TWP. — It’s taken awhile for the snow to fall and stick, but we finally got some this week. Photographer Bonnie Chaltron found this snowman along U.S. 10 Saturday.

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