A Deerfield Township couple and their cat are safe but their home on Garno Road just west of Sisson Highway was destroyed by fire Thursday afernoon.
Fire crews responded shortly before 2 p.m. to the blaze. Both Ridgeway and Summerfield townships fire departments assisted Deerfield.
As of 3:15 p.m. crews remained on the scene. A complete story will be in the March 4 edition of The Advance.

RIGA — Due to the extreme cold, the Riga Township Fire Hall is open as a warming center 24 hours a day until further notice. Riga Township Fire Chief Mike Norman said arrangements can be made for the fire department to pick township residents up at their homes if they are having trouble keeping it warm. Norman said if any elderly people need chores done outside that they are concerned about doing in the cold, they can call the fire department
“We encourage them to call us if they need help.”
Norman said if anyone needs assistance getting to the fire hall from the township they can call him at 517-673-6283. The telephone number at the fire hall is 517-486-5023. If anyone has an emergency at this time or any other time … Read More »

Janie Bunge had a grand ole’ time Tuesday night.
She hit the 1000-career-points mark in a 45-25 loss to Ida. Bunge recorded the milestone with 7:01 remaining in the game with an and-one at the free-throw line to cut the Ida lead to 28-18.
Overall, she scored 14 points in the loss – more than half her team’s total, bringing her career total to 1005 after tonight’s game.
For the complete story, please see the Feb. 25, 2015, edition of The Advance.

Whiteford Superintendent Larry Shilling announced he will be stepping down from the district.
“I am retiring effective June 30, 2015,” he said.
Shilling has been Whiteford’s Superintendent since 2009. He previously served as Deerfield’s superintendent from 2002-2009 and was principal before that. Shilling also taught and coached in the Summerfield Schools.
Please look for the whole story in the Feb. 25 edition of The Advance.

If you want to know what’s happening in eastern Lenawee County and western Monroe County, these are the headlines in the Feb. 18, 2015, edition of The Advance…
1. Johnson named Blissfield superintendent
2. Suspect in BHS threat faces count of ‘threat of terrorism’ as juvenile
3. August farm event to herald new ag museum, with a photo and info as the museum committee makes a down payment on land which is to be the site of the proposed farm museum
4. BCS in-service training seeks to thwart school intruders
5. Wind farms meeting goals
6. Palmyra Township reviewing proposals from cemetery commission
7. Road millage sought by Palmyra Township
8. BD may add bus service for town students
9. Council hears of DDA capital progress brochure
10. Blood drive honors Dressel
11. A rash of rashes hit Lenawee County
12. Miss River Raisin Festival contestants sought
…and that’s just the major news … Read More »

Blissfield High School Principal Jerry Johnson was approved in a unanimous 7-0 board decision during the Monday night, Feb. 16, Blissfield Board of Education meeting to be named as the Blissfield district’s next superintendent. The position of superintendent would begin July 1 officially.
Johnson was one of three candidates who interviewed for the interim superintendent position last summer after the board of education voted not to renew its contract with former Superintendent Scott Moellenberndt. Along with Johnson at last summer’s interview were former Pittsford Superintendent Andrew Shaw and current Blissfield Interim Superintendent David Pray.
Pray’s interim contract with the district expires this July.
President Dave Brewer motioned to approve Johnson as Blissfield’s next superintendent to begin July 1 and run for a two-year contract term with salary and an immediate title change to assistant superintendent now, and … Read More »

Even though a threat made by a teen to do harm to Blissfield High School students through a post on a computer app that was received in an email by the superintendent was found not to be credible Wednesday, Feb. 11, police and prosecutors are taking his actions seriously.

The youth, who has not been identified by authorities, was formally charged in Lenawee County Probate Court, that handles juvenile matters, with a single count of threat of terrorism.

Blissfield Interim Superintendent David Pray received an email from the After School App officials and read it early Wednesday morning that informed the school of the post on their program which alleged violence against students.

Blissfield Village Police were called and protocols were put into place early on to assure student safety.

Pray said by the time the school was aware of the potential threat, many … Read More »

As winds howl and the snow blows, it is making travel treacherous for area drivers on Saturday. Police are reporting near whiteout conditions throughout the county.

At approximately 2:45 p.m. police reported several vehicles stuck in the roadway on Deerfield Road near Palmyra Road. It was unclear if they were struck in the snow as the road was down to one lane in that area or if they weren’t moving due to the extremely low visibility. Tow trucks were also having a hard time getting down the road.

The Lenawee County Sheriff and the Ridgeway Township Fire Department have M50 east of the village of Britton shutdown as several vehicles have slid off the road in that area. A separate minor personal injury crash occurred at Downing and M50 as well possibly due to the near whiteout conditions. Another minor injury crash … Read More »

A winter weather road advisory has been issued as of 3:35 p.m. by the Lenawee County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Lenawee County Emergency Management Office and the Lenawee County Road Commission.

Lenawee County will be under a wind chill warning through noon tomorrow, is one of the reasons for the advisory. Many areas of the county are already experiencing white-out conditions. The forecast is for temperatures to be as low as -9 with wind chills as low as -25. The forecast is for winds to be 13 to 22 mph with gust as high as 36 mph with additional scattered snow flurries.

The Lenawee County Road Commission will have two trucks out throughout the night however, keeping up with the conditions is difficult a joint press release said. There are many roads in the county that will become impassable. Trucks … Read More »

A teenage suspect is in custody at the Maurice Spear Campus in Adrian just hours after parents in the Blissfield School district were alerted about a threat to the school today (Feb. 11, 2015).
According to Blissfield Police Chief Dale Greenleaf, a full confession was obtained from the suspect who was not named. He said it did not appear that the youth had the means to carry out the alleged threat nor that anyone else was involved.
Police were called in around 7 a.m. when Interim Superintendent David Pray read the email, and parents of students in Blissfield Public Schools were alerted mid-morning by Pray of a threatening email regarding Blissfield High School. High security mode had already been put in place by that time.
“I was sent an email (not … Read More »