Glavin purchase put on hold

HARBERT - The Glavin Property, located in between Chikaming Township Hall and the River Valley Senior Center in Chikaming Township, will remain under the same ownsership, at least for now.

A special meeting scheduled between the Chikaming Township Board and the Park Board regarding the township's possible acquisition of the Glavin Property, was scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 27, but cancelled two days earlier. Park Board secretary/treasurer Brad Williamson cited a pair of circumstances for the meeting's cancellation.

"It was a combination of the seller's asking price and the new Michigan Natural Resource Trust fund acquisition grant law that requires us to provide 40 percent matching funds for a grant," Williamson said. "We could have handles either one alone, but the decision was to put it on hold."

The park board will continue to work on developing Harbert Park with or without the grant, but Williamson said the board is hopeful someone in the township would purchase the property and donate the land to the township.

"The current price is $280,000," he said. "For some of these people that's not a lot of money and there is precedent for people buying and donating property to the park."

He added that the precedent was a number of local buyers bought and donated a portion of the Chikaming Park and Preserve near Warren Woods Road.

Photo: Chikaming Park Board member Dan Buckenmeyer laces up the skates before the grand opening of the Harbert Park rink on Friday, Jan. 28.

Beginning a new job

After two and a half years of great experiences, my time as the Sports Editor for the Clinton Journal in Central Illinois has come to an end. As a full-time employee of the Journal, I was given the chance to learn from great reporters about the field and expand my knowledge of community journalism. I believe that I now fully understand what the essence of a local newspaper is. 

My experience covering meeting, taking photographs and writing sports stories in Clinton has helped me attain my next job, as a staff writer for the Harbor Country News in New Buffalo, Michigan. 

The job in Michigan does not offer me the same freedom I had in Clinton and gives me a little less responsibility in dealing with people. Since I am not an editor, I can now focus on improving my writing ability and picture taking. Although the job may not be as prestigious as the one I had in Clinton, I am beginning the love it even though I have only been here for three days. I like the idea of being given assignments and meeting new people in an area that I love. 

The best benefit of the job is the area. I have had a connection to Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan my entire life, as my parents have owned a home there for longer than I have been around. New Buffalo has been a part of my life for as long as I remember, and now I can say that I am an important member of the community. 

I will do my best for the people of Southwest Michigan. It's always been a special area for me. And although I will always keep my mind open to new opportunities or the possibility of returning to school to get a Master's Degree, I could also see myself staying in the area for a long time. 

I'd like to thank HCN editor Dave Johnson for giving me this opportunity to continue my experience in journalism in another area.