Child abuse charges were dismissed Thursday against the mother of a toddler who remains on life support. Samantha Slater and Benjamin Wilkins, both 26 and both of Greenville, were each charged with first-degree and second-degree child abuse of Slater’s 2-year-old daughter Brooklyn Weimer, who has been hospitalized in intensive care with severe abdominal and head injuries since March 24.

A child abuse court hearing was adjourned again today after a witness passed out while testifying on the stand in 64B District Court. Samantha Slater and Benjamin Wilkins, both 26 and both of Greenville, are each charged with first-degree and second-degree child abuse of Slater’s 2-year-old daughter Brooklyn Weimer.

A longtime local Greenville business that continues to make comeback after comeback has officially opened its doors again after recovering from a devastating fire nearly one year ago. There were no ribbons to cut, no flashing lights and little evidence of any kind that a grand-reopening was occurring at Nelson’s Speed Shop at 4566 N. Greenville Road, north of Greenville Saturday afternoon.

A Spectrum Health United Hospital project that started in October 2011 was celebrated with a grand opening on Thursday. The United for Health expansion and renovations have been completed and officially opened to the community.

Two-year-old Brooklyn didn’t want to play with her toys. According to court testimony, that’s why her mother’s boyfriend put the toddler in the bathroom for a timeout, which ended with an ambulance rushing to the home of the little girl who was barely clinging to life.

Saturday’s Spring Fling for Women event was not only a success, but fulfilled a purpose to empower women. Style, health and empowerment were the key themes for the more than 600 local women to experience during the first Spring Fling for Women event held at the Greenville High School.

When Tabitha Schaub put on her backpack for the very first time, she did so like everyone else, full of wonder, excitement, fear and every other emotion that goes through a young child’s mind as they take their first steps into the world of education. The 16-year-old junior from Lakeview High School made friends, learned from teachers, played on the playground and eventually made her way to where she is now as she prepares to enter the world of adulthood.

The idea that each human life is of intrinsic worth is not a new one. The Founding Fathers penned it into the Declaration of Independence with the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

The first really perfect day of spring couldn’t have come at a better time for kids and parents attending this year’s Touch a Truck event, sponsored by the Greenville Parks and Recreation Department. Held Saturday afternoon at the Meijer parking lot on Washington Street, the event featured fire trucks, ice cream wagons, dump trucks, ladder trucks, sky cranes, military transports and a host of other four (or more) wheeled vehicles.

Nearly one year ago, the first shovel was planted firmly into the ground of the former Montcalm County 4-H Fairgrounds to make way for an historic endeavor undertaken by Montcalm Community College (MCC). After months of construction, community input, government assistance and many donations, the MCC Greenville Campus officially expanded Thursday with the opening of the new Bill Braman Family Center for Education, named after the former MCC Trustee and pioneering fruit farmer and located at 1315 Yellow Jacket Drive.