Former classmates and friends gathered at the high school rock Wednesday July 25th to paint it in remembrance of Colin Kendra. Colin, 21, graduated from Manchester High School, and worked at the Mobil station in town, as well as at Menard’s in Ann Arbor. He died in a car accident in the early hours of July 20th.

His friends, some coming from more than an hour away, took turns painting the rock, making sure everyone had a chance to participate in the memorial. Colin was a University of Michigan fan, so they used blue and yellow paint. He enjoyed fishing, so they made sure to add a fishing hook. Lastly they placed handprints with their names and special messages. “He was a brother to everyone he met,” remembered Jesse Dunny, Colin friend and co-worker.

The evening of Saturday April 21st, eight Masonic Lodges met at Tecumseh Masonic Lodge #69 for dinner, fellowship and to receive coins developed by the Grand Lodge of Michigan to honor members for their service to the country. Manchester #18, along with Clinton #175, Tecumseh #69, Brooklyn #169, Palmyra #184, Chelsea #159, Stockbridge #130 and Cement City #435 all participated in this tribute to Masonic Veterans.  Sixty-five beautiful coins designed and minted by the Grand Lodge of Michigan were presented to each attending veteran by Grand Master Joshua M. Woodwyk.

Easter Bunny with two Easter egg searchers at the Manchester Mens Club 2018 Carr Park Easter Egg Hunt. Photo courtesy of Sue LaRocque.

The Manchester Mens Club held their Annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday in Carr Park. Kids scrambled and in a matter of minutes found thousands of hand-dyed hard-boiled eggs.

Two Hundred and ten dozen eggs waited in Carr Park as the wind picked up and a chilly rain fell. Families arrived nearer to the 1 pm start time then usual. By the time the 2-3 year olds were released to grab as many of the rainbow of eggs as their little hands could hold, the park had filled almost as many kids as years with nicer weather. Forty seconds later the last group of children, 3rd-4th, were given to go. Minutes later all 210 dozen eggs were cleared from the field.  Grey skies and damp weather didn’t dampen the kids’ enthusiasm for this annual tradition!

Thanks to the Mens Club for their dedication to the community.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Eklics.

Photo courtesy of Mark VanBogelen.

Photo courtesy of Mark VanBogelen.

Photo courtesy of Sue LaRocque.

Photo courtesy of Sue LaRocque.

MHS Varsity Soccer

After making it to the Elite 8 by defeating Plymouth Christian 2-1 in overtime, Manchester high school’s Lady Dutch soccer team lost to Lansing Christian 1-4. Rayna Edwards put up Manchester one goal. The Lady Dutch had faced Lansing Christian early in the season, also losing 1-4.

It is an end to an impressive season, which saw the Lady Dutch winning 15 games in a row, winning Conference Champs, and fighting hard to become District Champions. They finish the season 20-5.

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

MHS Varsity Soccer

Manchester Lady Dutch high school girls soccer won the District Championship last Thursday. In the first game Manchester routed Lenawee Christian School 6-0, with goals by

In the championship game, the Lady Dutch faced Ann Arbor Greenhills, which had similarly shut out Rudolph Steiner 8-0 earlier in the day. Greenhills scored first with an early goal. Manchester responded with Delanie Osborne taking advantage of a Mikayla Ball corner kick, to tie the score at 1-1 going into halftime. A few lineup changes were made during halftime, which ended up paying off with a Delanie Osborne assist to Lauren Sprau, pulling Manchester ahead 2-1. Manchester stayed strong on defense, and kept Greenhills scoreless in the second half. The Lady Dutch took home the District Title with their 2-1 win against Greenhills.

Their win takes them to the 2017 MHSAA IV Regional Championships at Spring Arbor University. Manchester will play first in the semi-finals Tuesday, June 6th at 5 pm against Plymouth Christian (14-5). Admission is $5.00.  If victorious, the Lady Dutch will play in the final Friday, June 9th at 7 pm. Manchester goes into Regional Championships with a strong 17-4 record. Their 4 losses were mostly within 1-2 points, and they twice vindicated themselves against Clinton after an early season loss.

�ճ����Oil and Gas Ancillary Activities Ordinance will be open for public hearing at 6:30 pm. Supervisor Peter Psarouthakis said this ordinance has been in the works for two years, and Sharon Township will be one of the few municipalities in Michigan to have an ordinance of this kind.

The official meeting will begin at 7 pm, where a draft of a noise ordinance will be presented.

On May 16th at 6 pm there will be a meeting of the Medical Marijuana Committee. According to Psarouthakis, the committee was formed to become educated in what the new medical marijuana laws passed in December 2016 at the state level might mean for the Township. Of specific interest is House Bill no. 4209 sec. 2205 (1), which states, “A marihuana facility shall not operate in a municipality unless the municipality has adopted an ordinance that authorizes that type of facility.”

All meeting times, descriptions, and previous meeting minutes can be found on the Sharon Townships website.

After the songs, guests were introduced to the Lighthouse Team, a special group of students who applied and were accepted to fill a leadership role. The team was made up of mostly 4th graders, but two members were from 2nd grade and one was from 1st. After the introduction, visitors were broken up in to 4 groups and lead through 4 activities. Lighthouse students were positioned at points throughout the school to read special essays they had written about their favorite of the 7 habits. Lighthouse member Olivia’s favorite habit was “Be Proactive”, because it reminded her to “sit crisscross, hands together, without being told.”

On the wall, down one of Klager’s sloping hallways, guests could hold their phone or a borrowed iPad, over a QR code and listen to essays, written and read by Mrs. Fielder’s 2nd grade class, about how the 7 Habits effect their lives. Third graders also showed posters about their favorite habits that they created in groups.

In the cafeteria, students from 1st-4th grade let visitors look through their leadership notebooks. The notebooks held their scores, achievements and creative writings. Most students were especially proud of the writing they had done.

The most active part of the day was in Mrs. Haeussler room, where 1st grade classes played a teamwork game, sinking sheets. Two “life rafts” (sheets) full of students and visitors had to navigate shark infested waters to find land. Life rafts got eaten and wrong directions were taken, but through quick thinking, working together, and making choices for everyone’s good, dry land could be found.*

The morning ended back in the media center where the Lighthouse Team took questions from the guests. The guests included Washtenaw County Sheriff Department officers, local business owners & employees, and visiting teachers from Onsted. “We want to be leaders all through out our life,” responded Lighthouse member Sara to a question from a guest, “if you aren’t a leader your life might not be as fun some times.”

Leadership Day is suggested as part of Steven Covey 7 Habits Leader in Me program, originally conceived to allow other schools to observe the Leader in Me curriculum. With the area saturated with Leader in Me schools, (there are 2,000+ schools worldwide who implement this holistic program) Klager opened the day to local community leaders. The 7 habits are 1. be proactive, 2.begin with the end in mind. 3. put first things first, 4. think win-win, 5. seek first to understand, then to be understood, 6. synergize and 7. sharpen the saw. These habits create a shared vocabulary of words and actions. Students at Klager are encouraged to incorporate the habits into every part of their school day, and to take what they have learned home.

*This guest had her sheet sink and was eaten by adorable sharks.

The Manchester Men’s club organized another fantastic egg hunt in Carr Park. This year Cultural Art Strings played before the hunt began and set a festive mood. Slightly fewer kids rushed the field this year to collect the colored eggs, so it took 5 minutes for all the eggs to be found instead of 4!

Five of the six Manchester kids who participated in the K of C Free Throw regional competition:  l-r Peyton Fether, Jase Punches, Lila Harvey, Canon Duffing and Elizabeth Taylor. (Mckenna Marsh also participated but is missing from the photo)

The Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition held its regional competition on February 25th in Brighton. Six Manchester children participated, and three qualified for the State competition. The three who qualified are Jase Punches, 9, Lila Harvey, 9, and Peyton Fether, 10. Mckenna Marsh and Canon Duffing also participated. Elizabeth Taylor, 11, made runner up for her age group.

The State Competition will be held on March 12th in Mt. Pleasant from 12-4 pm.

Photo courtesy of Betty Cummings, Secretary of the MASCC, Inc. Board of Directors

submitted by Betty Cummings, Secretary of the MASCC, Inc. Board of Directors

Yoga for Seniors classes, sponsored by the Manchester Area Senior Citizens Council, Inc. are held Tuesdays from 9:30 until 11 am at the Manchester United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall. Preregistration is not required. Drop in at the beginning of any class find out what it is all about, and stay for a class. Ten sessions are held during the fall, ten sessions during the winter, and six sessions are held during the spring/summer semester. An average of 19 seniors have been working on strength, flexibility, and balance for a number of years.

Our instructor, Sandy Hines, teaches age-appropriate classes and is very good at helping get the maximum benefit from a pose without doing damage. Information on classes is published in The Trumpeter, the newsletter of the Manchester Area Senior Citizens Council, Inc.

Washtenaw Community College (WCC) offers senior focus classes throughout the county. They are available to all county residents who are 65 years or older.