On the edge of the city near a heavily wooded border of trees sits a garden where students, teachers and residents of Belding come together to share and enjoy in the experiences that come with growing fruits and vegetables and beautiful flowers and plants. That little garden, known as the Belding Community Garden, is now receiving statewide attention after taking top honors at the Michigan Municipal League (MML) 2013 Capital Conference in Lansing, winning the MML Region 3 Community Excellence Award (CEA).

BELDING — It’s been a year of adjustments at Belding High School with the construction of a new gymnasium, auditorium, band room and other various additions to the school. But as of last week, the final touches of interior construction were completed with the opening of the new spacious high school cafeteria and commons area. [...]

Members of the Belding Area Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to approve spending the remaining funds of a $38 million bond project that was approved by district voters in 2010. According to Belding High School Assistant Principal Leslie Mount, of the $1,412,313.02 that sits in the unallocated contingency fund, approximately $1,234,632,95 will be used for additional projects not previously included in the bond plan.

For 10 seconds, Cliff Fry thought about calling it quits. On vacation in Florida on Feb. 20, Fry sat heavy in his chair as he watched live security camera video of his golf cart repair business burning to the ground. A fire that started in the back of the facility at 5575 S. Mt. Hope Road, likely from a golf cart battery explosion, consumed the storage facility that Fry and his employees operated out of.

From the opening note of the first performance to the final wave of the director’s baton, this year’s 24th annual Greenville High School Collage Concert is offering up a variety of musical performances that will make it difficult to walk away picking out a single favorite act.

Whether you call it a variety show, comedy show, or collection of skits performed entirely by students, there’s one thing the Belding High School Band Follies show is guaranteed to be — entertaining.

Last November, just two weeks before resigning from Belding City Council, Jon Bunce gave an emotional statement at the end of a meeting declaring, “I will fight on to have the clock tower saved.” Five months later, and the Belding clock tower is quickly becoming one of the last remaining structures to remain on the 4-acre site at the corner of Main and Bridge streets. The tower will inevitably come down, there is no stopping that, but Bunce says now that he is no longer on the city council, he will dedicate time and effort to forming an official committee with the interest of collecting money and rebuilding the clock tower at a future date.

When students attend Montcalm Community College this fall, they’ll now be doing so at a higher cost than what has been paid in previous years. On Tuesday evening, the MCC Board of Trustees voted unanimously to increase tuition rates at the college by approximately 4 percent, beginning in the 2013-2014 school year, an effort that President Robert Ferrentino says will help keep tuition at the school near the statewide average.

When visitors attend this year’s 17th annual Belding Community Showcase, it is guaranteed to take on the feel of a brand new event thanks to a completely remodeled high school facility. This time last year, parking was limited and hallways were crowded, but with construction having finally having wrapped up at Belding High School, visitors to this year’s showcase will be in for an experience not seen in any previous year.

When Linda Ruble walked out of her front door Sunday morning, she was struck with horror when all she could see was smoke coming from her neighbor’s home across the street.