There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, but “P, L and A” are three the teachers and administrators at Lakeview High School intend to never see again, at least not in that order and not when they’re referring to the school’s ACT test scores. On Aug. 16, 2010, those letters, which stand for Persistently Low Achieving, were used by the state to describe Lakeview High School students, along with students from 92 other schools throughout Michigan.

For the past 39 years the Wheatland Music Organization has brought some of the world’s most outstanding musical artists to the small town of Remus and this year was no exception. Friday through Sunday, the spacious grounds of the Wheatland Music Festival — the organization’s annual flagship event — played host to singers, artists, musicians and craftsmen from around the world.

Since the 1950s, the Lincoln family home stood at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Sixth Street in Lakeview. Surrounded by stately maple trees and situated on the west edge of Lakeside Park, it was one of the nicer-looking homes on the block. In July, that house came down after being purchased by the village with Downtown Development Authority funds to make way for the expansion of the park. The demolition upset a few village residents until they learned the park expansion is exactly what the Lincoln family wanted, particularly Ruby Lincoln, the last of the Lincoln clan to reside there.

The 34th annual Trufant Jubilee will take place this weekend in honor of a longtime Montcalm County commissioner. “This year our Jubilee is dedicated to Carl Paepke,” said festival organizer Virginia Christensen. Paepke of Pierson died April 18 at the age of 86. He was the District 5 commissioner for Montcalm County.

The milky-white whorls of October mist holding court over the early-morning waters of Tamarack Lake are a thing of beauty and an endless fascination for those lucky enough to live there. Deep in the low-lying fog, images of mythical beasts, unicorns, maybe, are easily conjured into existence and the imagination runs free, untethered from the dull pragmatism of real life. For the geese who call the lake home during the summer months, the fog also signals the time to move on has come. The south beckons with its siren song and the long flight to warmer climes waits close at hand. It is from this annual autumnal ritual that local author Dallas Lincoln drew inspiration for his most recent children’s book, “Gladys, the Tamarack Goose (That was Left Behind).”

When Bob Huttinga began his career in the medical field back in 1976, his practice was fairly traditional. As a certified physician assistant working in Lakeview, Bob examined patients, dispensed prescriptions and performed all the duties common to a typical medical practice. It wasn’t until years later, when he began to experience stress related to his work in the occupational health field that Bob first began to consider the advantages of alternative medicine. A relaxation class and study of the Silva Method of Mind Development of Stress Control gave him the tools to eliminate his stress-related health issues.

More than a dozen candidates participated in the Meet the Candidates event Saturday in Trufant. Steve Davis, a volunteer who helped organize the event, said he thought it went really well.

The war in Vietnam was in full swing when Roy Burmeister, who grew up in the Rothbury area, reached draft age. Though he had never considered a career in the military, when his papers came, Roy — like so many young men of the era — answered the call. Even now, after serving with the military for over 40 years, Roy remembers his thoughts on the day his draft notice arrived.

A record total of 108 properties will be sold to the highest bidder at the annual Montcalm County public land auction Aug. 6. The properties include 72 vacant parcels, 21 homes and six mobile homes.

The German author and playwright Goethe once wrote, “One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste.” That’s a philosophy recently taken to heart by Lakeview Village Manager James Freed while producing a promotional video for the town.