The Fourth of July holiday has always made Crystal Motor Speedway a very busy place and this Independence Day was no different. Fresh off a race June 30th, racers and fans gathered again at the speedway on the eve of the national holiday and then again on Saturday a mere four days later.

The Vestaburg Wolverines softball team is undefeated for a reason. The Wolverines are a talented, hard hitting team with great pitching and defense. They displayed their talent during a 17-2 and 8-1 doubleheader sweep over the Central Montcalm Green Hornets on Monday night.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “The report of Carl Paepke’s death was an exaggeration.”

A former high school baseball coach in the area was given an assistant coach of the year honor last month. Warren Kent Jr., who had head coaching stints at Greenville, Montabella and Vestaburg, was named the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association assistant coach of the year Jan. 14.

The Belding Redskins baseball team is planning to head south this spring. To help do so they are willing to get cold or at least let others get cold.
The Redskins are hosting a winter softball tournament on Feb. 11 at Demorest Field to help raise spring training funds for the program. Belding will travel to Cocoa Beach, Fla. for a week of practice this spring.

The Daily News, using the Freedom of Information Act, acquired the audio from the 16-minute 911 call made on Jan.5, 2012, during the robbery of the Family Dollar in Greenville. This video includes an 8-minute portion of that audio, which has been edited to protect the individuals involved.

Football players from all over central Michigan will get a chance to see what an NFL training camp is really like during the Ionia Free Fair. Former NFL players Clarence Love and Damian Gregory joined David Badder of Belding to promote the Gridiron Institute, which is set for July 22 at the fairgrounds.

Right now there is snow and ice on the streets and trials. Not the best conditions for running outdoors.
Come April, hopefully, that will not be the case.

Montabella wrestling coach Shaun Balhorn has his team sitting at 7-2 in dual meets so far this season. If the Mustangs win their next dual meet, it will be a milestone victory for him.

A 2010 season-ending four game winning streak set the wheels in motion for a record breaking Montabella Mustang football season in 2011. Finishing 4-5 overall last year ended the Mustangs run of two straight playoff appearances and was the first missed postseason under coach David Clay. The losing record gave the Mustangs new motivation and dedication to return to the playoffs.