Although the Carson City-Crystal Area Schools Board of Education originally approved plans to add to restroom facilities to Carson City Elementary School, questions over the timing and the cost of the project have proved insurmountable at this time. The school board voted 6-1 on Wednesday to reject a bid for restroom renovations. Board President Tom Wilcox cast the lone dissenting vote.

A decline in student enrollment at Central Montcalm Public School can be blamed on fruit — or rather lack of it. A preliminary student enrollment count showed the district recorded 30 less students than expected for the 2012-2013 school year. This year’s poor fruit crop was mentioned as one of the reasons for the decline.

In the 1850s, Danish pioneer Christian Johnson wrote home from the settlement of Greenville, extolling the “good timber land, good wages, earnest people, good government and nice girls.” In 1856, his schoolmate, August Rasmussen, and his wife, Ane, ventured to the new land and by 1857, 40 Danish immigrants joined the settlers, beginning the influx of Danish settlers to the Montcalm County area. Danish researcher Lisabeth Pedersen will present “The Founders of Big Dane Settlement” at 7 p.m. Monday at the Greenville Area Community Center. She will present a historical and cultural perspective on Danish immigrants who arrived in Greenville more than 130 years ago. The free lecture will be followed with a meet and greet reception.

The general store at Heritage Village lodges the post office and, just like in days of old, is a place where children flock to buy their penny candy and homemade pickles from a crock. The store, located near Montcalm Community College, has a menagerie of historical artifacts on display and is one of 26 restored buildings in the quaint Heritage Village that aims to preserve the past.

Art and language arts students at Central Montcalm Public School will have the opportunity for a European trip. The school board voted 7-0 Monday night to approve a 10-day trip from March 27 to April 1, 2014.

For Sonny and Donna McNees, the annual Trufant Jubilee is more than a festival, it is a family reunion. Though the couple now resides in Sand Lake, Sonny grew up in Trufant and the entire family — five generations this year — all returned to the three-day festival over the weekend.

Six years ago, Emily Baird watched as her sister, Katy, competed in the Miss Trufant Jubilee queen pageant, and she knew that some day she too wanted to compete. Not only did Baird compete in the Trufant Royalty Pageant on Thursday night at the pavilion, she topped three other contestants to win the title of Miss Trufant. “I remember being in the sixth grade and watching, and thinking it was the coolest thing ever,” said Baird, 17, the daughter of Kamie and the late Ed Baird.

A new program for 4-year-olds will be on tap for children in the Central Montcalm Public School district following a 5-0 vote by the school board. The Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP), a state-funded preschool program, had a higher than expected response, leading to a need for additional staffing, according to Superintendent Kristi Teall.

Kendra Wekenman is facing a busy year as a senior at Belding High School. The 17-year-old is involved in National Honor Society, basketball, yearbook, student council and works two part-time jobs. After winning the title of Miss Belding 2012 at the Miss Belding Scholarship Pageant on Wednesday night, she is about to get even busier.

The Central Montcalm Board of Education approved revamping the food service department just two weeks prior to the beginning of the school year, due to budget issues. Superintendent Kristi Teall explained to the five attending board members at Monday night’s meeting that a recent audit showed a $93,000 deficit in the food service budget.