Financial hardship continues to be a trend among area public school districts due to cuts in state funding and the status of the state economy and Belding Area Schools is no exception. Members of the Belding Area Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Monday evening to accept the 2013-2014 budget of the general and athletics funds for the district.

When Sara Shriver was selected as interim superintendent of Belding Area Schools one year ago, she stated, “I never want to stop learning and if I can help and be part of a solution here, then I want to do it.” When she was promoted to superintendent last December, she described her situation as, “a very welcome opportunity that I didn’t see coming.”

A driver and passenger escaped with bumps and bruises Thursday evening after the vehicle they were riding in rolled several times before landing upside down in a ditch on Storey Road (M-91) near Save A Lot in Otisco Township.

The Belding High School Pops Ensemble and Jazz Band kicked off the first “Music in the Park” event Thursday evening at East Riverside Park in Belding. Concerts will continue every thursday evening at 7 p.m. at the park throughout the summer, with the exception of July 4

Maintenance on the lagoons at Belding’s wastewater treatment facility to address a slow leak will be underway early this fall after Belding City Council members approved a proposal from an engineering firm to help perform the work.

As Belding resident Steve Hunt watched the numbers climb while he filled his truck with gasoline Wednesday afternoon, he had but one thing to say. “It’s ridiculous!” he exclaimed. “I haven’t seen prices this high before, and I drive every day.”

In an effort to save money for the city, Belding City Council members voted unanimously at Tuesday night’s meeting at the Pere Marquette Depot to change the City Council election cycle from odd to even years.

The Montcalm County Republican Party will be welcoming U.S. Congressman Dave Camp to the Annual Lincoln Day Event, to be held Saturday, June 15. Camp is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in Washington D.C. He is the representative for the 4th Congressional District of Michigan, which is headquartered in Midland.

For several veterans and residents in the Belding community, Monday was a step back in time. Several hundred members of the community gathered for the first of what will become many Memorial Day services at the new Freedom Wall and Veterans Park in downtown Belding.

This was a year of many firsts for graduating seniors at Belding High School. A new arena with an indoor track, auditorium, cafeteria and commons area, sports facilities — the list goes on and on. Through a year of constant transformation, where the very school they attended changed dramatically before their eyes, the 140 graduates experienced their final moment as members of the student body Thursday evening before walking out of the school one last time as official alumni.