The Three Rivers City Commission Tuesday held the first of two scheduled public hearings to discuss proposed amendments to the city code that would allow marijuana facilities within city limits as special exception uses, and get further public input on the matter. Following a lengthy discussion and public comments from a handful of citizens, a thin majority of commissioners expressed support for the proposed changes.

Glen Oaks Community College will hold its 52nd and 53rd Annual Commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 7, in Ken Schuler Court (Glen Oaks gymnasium). The Nursing Pinning ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 8 at 10 a.m. and the Allied Health pinning ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 8 at 2 p.m. with both pinning ceremonies also taking place in the gym.

Helen McCauslin writes, “Our newspapers are filled these days with the news of the surge in Coronavirus cases requiring hospitalizations in local Michigan institutions. Three Rivers Health, the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, and pharmacies are working daily to test and vaccinate against this evolving virus. Just a little over 100 years ago we faced a similar challenge in the Flu Epidemic of 1918. How prepared were we to care for the sick then?”

WSV’s Amy East writes, “Two years ago when we bought our place in beautiful Cass County, I dove into the county’s and my own family’s history, discovering that my ties to the area went deeper than I’d known. There is a richness to the county’s intertwined Potawatomi, European, and African American history that I’d never learned in school, or maybe never appreciated.

“Earlier this year, the Cass County Board of Commissioners saw fit to appoint me to the Historical Commission. As part of the publications committee, I’ll be editing and updating books that share our history with anyone who cares to read about it. Will there be an opportunity for more archaeology, maybe here at home? I’d like to think so, I hope so. There are many, many questions to be answered and stories to be told. Give me a couple years and we’ll see what I can do.”

Following a lengthy discussion Tuesday, Three Rivers City Commissioners set the first of what is expected to be at least two public hearings on amendments to the city code that would allow marijuana facilities within city limits as special exception uses. Commissioners had previously discussed the possibility of presenting the proposed amendments and ordinance language to the citizens of Three Rivers on a future ballot but according to Mayor Tom Lowry, City Attorney J. Patrick O’Malley determined it wasn’t possible from a legal standpoint.

Doug & Alek are joined by Watershed Voice Columnist and Office Manager Steph Hightree to discuss parenting during a pandemic, how paramount in-school counseling has been for her daughter Cadence, the trials and triumphs of her son Nathan, the joys of camping and her dogged pursuit of a Playstation 5 for her husband in the first of two back-to-back episodes with Ms. #MomLife herself.