New 2009 Lapeer Junior Golf League seeks players

A summer youth golf program – The 2009 Lapeer Junior Golf League - is in the process of forming and invites young people between the ages of 10 and 17 who live or go to school in Lapeer County to sign up for the program.

It is a fun and inexpensive way for young people to play and improve their golf game.

Depending on the number of entries, the LJGL will be divided into four divisions. Participants will be eligible to play four qualifying rounds of golf all leading up to a season ending tournament. The only cost for the program, including the golf, is a $50 entry fee.

The qualifying rounds will be played on Friday mornings, June 19, 26, July 10 and 17, with the tournament to be played on Friday, July 31. In the event of rain, the tournament will be held on Friday, August 7.

Tee times will be from 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. New participants and at least one parent or guardian should attend one of two preliminary rules meetings at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, or Tuesday June 9 at Lake Nepessing Golfland, 1125 Lake Nepessing Road.

Registration forms may be picked up at Lake Nepessing Golfland, 1125 Lake Nepessing Road or the Lapeer Country Club, 3786 Hunt Road, both in Elba Township. For more information call Mr. Steve Stearns at (810) 667-2418, ext. 3114.

Lapeer East art students score well in 2009 Michigan Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest

Lapeer East senior Travis Cushaway took third place in the 2009 Michigan Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest for the senior high age group with this artwork.

A copy of the entry is currently on display at Gallery 194 in downtown Lapeer.

East senior Camerin Levi, East junior Devin Verhulst and East junior Dawn Wesley received honorable mention in the same age group for the Statewide contest.

Lapeer West student Charles Verbeke wins OU Music, Theatre and Dance scholarship

Lapeer West High School senior Charles “CJ” Verbeke danced his way to a large scholarship to the Oakland University Dance Program following a recent audition at the school.

The scholarship is one of the largest, talent-based scholarships from the Oakland University Department of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Charles, who has been dancing since he was 3 years old, has been part of the opening acts for the Jonas Brothers, Radio Disney Dance Team, The Raven and a number of other celebrities as part of his repertory dance group from Deborah’s Stage Door Center for the Performing Arts in Rochester Hills.

Since 2004, Charles’ dance team at Deborah’s Stage Door has won consecutive national championships at an annual “Showstopper” competition at Myrtle Beach.

On Wednesday, May 13th, Charles was performing at another audition for the “Wannabes,” a television series to be shot in Michigan.

Charles is proficient in a number of dance disciplines, tap, ballet, modern, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary.

“Looking into the future I want to be a professional dancer,” Charles said.

When he’s not working on his dancing, Charles likes to run, bike and play basketball and “hang out” with his friends.

Charles lives with his mother and father, Pam and Charles Verbeke, in Elba Township.

“He’s just inspiring to watch and his stage presence has wowed a lot of judges,” said his mother, Pam Verbeke. “He has always loved dancing.”

Eddie West concert on May 29th to benefit Mayfield kindergartner Sydney Gavan

An Eddie West benefit concert, the first in more than a year, will help raise money for bone marrow drives in honor of Sydney Gavan, a Mayfield Elementary School kindergartner who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Sydney is currently awaiting a bone marrow transplant, but to date there is currently no match.

The concert will be at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 29th, at the Lapeer Country Club, 3786 Hunt Road, in Elba Township. Admission is $10 and will include the concert, a chance at some door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. All money earned will go to the SPG Fund (Sydney Page Gavan) for the National Bone Marrow Registry.

Eddie West is a group of musicians composed of current and former staff and students of Lapeer West High School, friends, and family members. The band performs songs from Motown, classic rock, to current hits.

Tickets are available at the Lapeer West High School office, the Mayfield office or from Eddie West band members. Checks should be made out to “Be the Match.” For further information call Kari Briggs at (810) 577-6778 or Paul Fernandez at (810) 441-6533.

Lapeer West's Troy Hillman wins Congressional Art Award

Lapeer West High School senior Troy Hillman said he “was more than excited to find out” he won first place in the U.S. Congressional Art Show.

“Troy’s piece will be matted, framed and be on display in the Cannon Tunnel at the U.S. Capitol for the next year,” said Nancy Barry, Hillman’s teacher. “When next year’s eight graders travel to Washington, D.C. they will be able to see his artwork on display there.”

“I made the piece using charcoal pencils,” Troy said. “I love the contrast you can create with the pencils while also having subtle grays to smooth out the piece. The medium can also be quite messy, but it’s exciting to take your time and be careful with the drawing.”

U.S. Representative Candace Miller is flying Troy to the Capitol for the awards ceremony.

Troy plans to attend the Art Institute of Chicago, School of the Arts, next fall.

“I’m not exactly sure of what I want to pursue there, but as long as I’m creating artwork, I’ll be happy,” Troy said. “It makes me feel good as an artist to have people enjoy my artwork as well as being recognized for it.”

Lapeer East, Lapeer West industrial arts students take home many MITES awards

Lapeer East and Lapeer West High School industrial arts students brought home a number of honors from the Michigan Industrial & Technology Education Society (MITES) convention and student competition last week at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.

Lapeer East students won 16 first place awards and Lapeer West students won 14 first place awards in the Region 10 industrial arts contest. East students won nine second place awards and West students won seven in the regional contest.

In statewide judging, Lapeer East won two first place awards and West won one first place. East students’ projects won second place awards in two categories and two West projects won second place awards. East students had one third place and West two third place projects in statewide judging.

A total of 35 East students and 30 West students won regional and/or state awards in the competition.

Students with first place awards in regional competition were: Lapeer East, Jordan Morris, Andrew Rydell, Nicole Medellin, Amber Mauk, Joel Meyers, Josh Poole, Jake Crateur, Rodney Fulcher, Ryan Dixon, Chris Iloncai, Kyle Woolner, David Barrett, Alec Mihm, Will Smith (2), Tyler Lemieux, Scott Henry, Daniel Pierce and Chris Gonzalez; Lapeer West, Adrianna Allen, Tom Blanton (2), Kyle Stoutenburg, Zach Brown, Kyle Dickson, Joey Gingiloski (2), Dennis Makowski, Jamie Discher, Alex Kooistra, Kaitlyn Becker, Clinton Cranick and Jacob Stone.
Second place winners were: Lapeer East, Korey LaCroix, Daniel Pierce (2), Will Smith, Zachary Sehn, Mat Gonzalez, Kyle Stickney and Lexie Crisp; Lapeer West, Kris Bauroth, Zach Brown, Jamie Discher, Garrett Kitts, Adam Pfeiffer, Dan Raymond and Sarah Clinton.
Third place regional winners were: Lapeer East, Joe Gibbons, Michael Fales, Corey Smith, Josh Strong and Jordan Fejedelem; Lapeer West, Kris Bauroth, Jon Boal, Joey Gingiloski, Jon Morelli and Adrianna Allen.

Statewide winners were: East, Will Smith (first - Pictorial Illustration- exploded assembly drawing) and Jordan Morris (first-architectural drawing – working drawing single family residential); West, Tom Blanton (first – fish sculpture); East, Will Smith (second - Pictorial Illustration- exploded assembly drawing) and Amber Mauk, Josh Poole and Joel Meyers (second – architectural presentation drawing – group); West, Kaitlyn Becker (third – Intarsia cat) and Jon Morelli (third – minibike).

In addition to architectural drawings, the variety of projects submitted by the students was impressive and included a model train, guitar racks, gun racks, bowls, three-dimensional drawings, wood furniture and wood and metal projects.

Pictured here is Kaitlyn Becker, a freshman, who made this Intarsia cat. Intarsia involves the cutting and shaping of a variety of woods into a solid wood sculpture. For more photos from the show go to our photo gallery.

School bus driving championship for Region 10 this Saturday at Lapeer West High School

For the second consecutive year, the Lapeer Community Schools will host the Michigan Association of Pupil Transportation (MAPT) Region 10, School Bus Driving Championship on Saturday, May 16th, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lapeer West High School.

School bus drivers from Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Huron and Sanilac counties are being invited to the event.

The event involves tight maneuvering and difficult backing on an obstacle course, safety checks and a written test.

Photo is from last year's competition.

Lapeer East, Lapeer West bands get high marks at Band, Jazz Festivals

Lapeer East and Lapeer West Jazz Bands participated in the recent District III Jazz Festival at Montrose High School, both schools bringing home first division ratings, the highest possible marks.

It was the first time that Lapeer Jazz Bands have participated in a judged event.

“Worth noting is that one of our major soloists, to be featured on an entire chart, was out sick,” said West Band Director Daniel Hundt. “Aidan Smith stepped up and became the unsung hero of the performance, filling in for the ill soloist at the last minute.”

The Lapeer East and Lapeer West Concert and Symphony Bands also performed at recent State Festivals.

Lapeer East’s Concert Band received a mixture of first and second division ratings and the East Symphony Band received straight first division ratings, the highest possible, at the May 2nd event at Warren Woods High School.

“One judge gave the Symphony Band ‘A+’s on his sheet,” said East Band Director Lyniece Fenner.

Lapeer West’s Concert and Symphony bands took first division ratings at their State Festival performance May 1st at Holly High School.

“One judge wrote, ‘even though I’ve been doing this since 9 a.m. your performance inspired me, I think that speaks,’” Hundt said.

New construction pictures from Rolland Warner Middle School

New photos were taken of the ongoing construction work at Rolland Warner Middle School today, Monday, May 11, 2009.

Photos are on the District's photo gallery.

Bone Marrow drive for Mayfield Elementary School student set for Saturday

A bone marrow drive will be held from 8 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 16th at Mayfield Elementary School, 302 Plum Creek Road in Mayfield Township to help find a donor for kindergarten student Sydney Page Gavan.

The school held a successful fundraiser for Sydney Friday night and invites anyone between the ages of 18 and 60 to come Saturday to see if they are a bone marrow donor match for Sydney.

Participants will be asked to fill out a brief health questionnaire, submit to a painless mouth swab and be in general good health. A $25 tax deductible fee is requested to pay for the processing, but financial aid is available to potential donors who need help paying the fee.

For further information call (810) 441-6088. Mayfield Elementary School is about ½-mile west of M-24 on Plum Creek Road.

Zemmer Junior High student, Braydin Walters, chosen for U.S./Canadian hockey team

Braydin Walters, a Zemmer Junior High School student, was recently selected to play on the Border City Bandits, a blended U.S. and Canadian hockey team. The team consists of players from Ontario and Michigan and will compete in elite AAA tournaments over the next three years during the spring and summer.

Scouts from the team identified Braydin and scouted him for a year before contacting his parents, Kevin and Candi Walters. Kevin Walters is principal at Lapeer West High School.

Braydin was recently named Most Valuable Player of the 2009 Bantam Spring Showcase Tournament in Port Huron.

Last season, Braydin scored 50 goals and had 28 assists (78 points) in 41 games.

“Braydin has been very blessed to be offered these opportunities at such a young age,” said Kevin Walters. “Candi and I are truly proud of him.”

Lapeer High School Class of 1949 invites classmate to a reunion on September 26

Where did 60 years go?

Come and find out at the Lapeer High School Class of 1949 60th reunion at Lenny Millers, 5800 Dryden Road in Dryden, on Saturday, September 26, 2009. Social hour begins at 3 p.m. and dinner at 5 p.m.

Cost of the evening is $25 per person and reservation must be made by September 1st.

Two members of the Class of 1949, Marie Cassidy Nolan and Edward Oyster, are parents of two current Lapeer Board of Education members, Mike Nolan and Gary Oyster.

For questions or reservations, please call Marie Nolan at (248) 628-2960.

Lapeer East Bus 4 students visit Pentagon Memorial

Lapeer East Bus 4 student visit the Pentagon Memorial this afternoon, Monday, May 11, 2009.

Lapeer West students and staff raise $478 for Cystic Fibrosis research on Friday

The Lapeer West High School National Honor Society's Cystic Fibrosis walk on Friday afternoon was great success!

More than 70 students and employees participated in the walk. The walkers raised $478.28.

"Thanks to all who participated," said West's Chris Sierakowski.

Lapeer East students visit the Jefferson Memorial

Lapeer East Bus 3 students visit the Jefferson Memorial today, Monday, May 11, 2009. Bus 3 students at the FDR Memorial and Lapeer East Bus 4 students in front of the White House.

More photos from Lapeer East Bus 3 in D.C.

We have received some new photos this morning (Sunday, May 10, 2009) from inside Bus 3. From the background it looks like a high rent section of Washington, D.C. or perhaps Georgetown.

Too many new photos to put them all on the blog, but you can see them in this album.

More pictures up on the photo album at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 10, 2009.

Photos from Six Flags on Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 4 p.m.