Residents of Edmore will soon see a slight jump in their water and sewer rates, adding about $2.59 per quarter to their water bill. The increase was set to go up automatically to keep pace with the consumer price index, which rose 1.7 percent during the past year. According to Village Manager Karl Kluwe, the incremental increases are designed to prevent sudden, larger spikes in Edmore water bills.

Area residents stopping by the Greenville Secretary of State’s Office on Tuesday had the chance to learn a little bit about Michigan’s Gift of Life organ donor program, thanks to the efforts of local volunteer Larry Alman. Alman, a Greenville resident who suffers from glaucoma, has received six cornea transplants, procedures without which he would be totally blind.

The issue of possible pay raises for some village employees was an unexpected entry under the “new business” portion of Sheridan’s village council meeting Tuesday evening. Although some employees received 2 percent raises earlier this year, Councilman Pete Gehoski contends those raises — when considered in tandem with increased insurance premiums — actually constituted a pay cut. Gehoski said he has contacted several other area municipalities and all of them pay their Department of Public Works employees significantly higher wages than does the village of Sheridan.

Outgoing Edmore village manager and chief of police Karl Kluwe has announced his choice for his replacement on the Edmore Police Department. When Kluwe retires at the end of April, Luke Sawyer — a two-year veteran of the department — will step into the chief’s shoes.

Along with water, coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world and one with a richly storied history. Its origins date back to the 13th century, possibly earlier. First drunk in Ethiopia, it spread to Egypt, the Middle East, Europe, and eventually, America. Coffee houses — establishments where friends could gather to discuss the issues of the day — followed soon after. In recent years, coffee houses have gained a popularity unseen since Allen Ginsberg sipped espresso with Jack Kerouac in some basement shop clouded with cigarette smoke and political upheaval.

The “Take Back the Night” event was held to highlight the fact that April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

A diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease is never good news. The degenerative disease cases movement-related problems such as tremors, stiffness and difficulty walking. And that’s in the early stages. Later, cognitive functions may be effected, followed by dementia. A host of other symptoms accompany the disease, none of them pleasant.

Blame it on the president, fears of a coming zombie apocalypse or a public easily influenced by Facebook rumors; for one reason or another, ammunition is getting hard to find, both locally and across the nation.

The conversation threatened to spiral out of control during the question-and-answer period of a contentious seminar on hydraulic fracturing Monday evening at Rockford High School. More than 100 area residents turned out to hear from author Maryann Lesert, who extensively studied the topic while doing research for an upcoming novel.

For more than 20 years, members of the Stanton Lions Club could be spotted each winter in various locations throughout town; buckets, spigots and hammers in hand, tapping the city’s abundant maple trees for their sap. Every spring, that sap would be boiled down and reduced into some of the finest maple syrup you’ve ever tasted. The sale of that syrup went to fund Lions Club projects throughout the year.