The Montcalm County 4-H Fair Association will receive a $20,000 grant for a 4-H livestock barn. The grant, which was announced by Rep. Rick Outman and Sen. Judy Emmons, is part of the County Fairs Capital Improvement Program that provides Michigan’s county fairs with funds for enhancements.

Montcalm County is teaming up with a Grand Rapids business to bring electronic recycling to the area. Because electronic waste is a growing concern in the environment as it leaks harmful toxins into soil and water, Montcalm County Resource Recovery Coordinator Jacob Rytlewski said it’s important to bring an electronic recycling option to the county.

The Greenville Public Schools Board of Education took a step closer to the Early College proposal. During its regular scheduled meeting on Monday, the board of education authorized Superintendent Pete Haines to reach an agreement to provide additional opportunities for Greenville students through the Early College program. However, the decision came after much discussion from the board on whether the benefits outweighed the risks.

The 2013 Many Hearts One Mission Charity Ball was a night spent at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids honoring a man who has made a huge impact on the community and raising money for a cause that affects 4,500 adults and 40 children in Montcalm County. The Fred and Lena Meijer Spirit of Caring Award was presented to the Rev. Jerry Jones during the annual charity ball.

As most public school administrators will tell you, state and federal lawmakers are terrifyingly efficient when it comes to creating mandates for schools, yet somehow manage to disappear when it comes time to fund those mandates. With each mandate comes a new set of criteria; rules with which each school system must comply. Schools must provide each special education student a certain number of hours each day with a social worker, a para-professional, a speech therapist.

See Jay. See Jay run. Jay likes to run, especially during games of tag during recess. But don’t tag Jay. Jay does not like to be touched. For Jay Lockwood, even a simple game of tag has its problems. Aversion to physical contact is just one of Jay’s many “quirks,” the odd mannerisms that in an earlier age would likely have branded the charming second-grader an outcast.

A normal day for fifth-graders would include classroom lessons, having fun and being loud with friends while worrying about what was being served for lunch. That was not the case on Thursday. For fifth-grade students at Lincoln Heights, Baldwin Heights and Cedar Crest elementary schools, the students spent the day quietly focusing on “patients,” acting older than their age and worrying about who was performing the next surgery to save the “patient’s” life.

A taxi-cab service has received permits from the Greenville City Council to start and operate its business in and around Greenville. During Tuesday night’s regular scheduled meeting, a recommendation from Greenville Assistant City Manager Cameron Van Wyngarden was presented to the council to approve a permit for Busy Bee Taxi LLC.

Montcalm Community College (MCC) strives to have students succeed and helps to provide options for more high-education options. For the past several years, MCC has worked with other colleges and universities to put into place articulation agreements allowing students to easily transfer to obtain their baccalaureate degree.

The Greenville Department of Public Safety is investigating an embezzlement involving the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) at Walnut Hills Elementary School in Greenville. On Jan. 11, information was brought forward about the PTO’s financial record-keeping, which led to the police investigation.