Fairgrounds ‘We Will Sustain
Campaign’: Believing in our youth
With the devastation from
COVID and the cancellation
of events and fundraisers at
the Calhoun County
Fairgrounds in 2020, long-
term members and patrons
were concerned about the
sustainability of serving our
youth. With no carryover
funds from a 2020 fair that
was not meant to be, last fall
the Calhoun County
Fairgrounds, on behalf of the
Calhoun County Agricultural
and Industrial Society,
launched the “We Will
Sustain Campaign.” Through
the years, the fairgrounds has
supported our youth in their
endeavors as they learn the
basics of agriculture and
home economics and to
believe in themselves.
Although not always easy,
the fairgrounds has perse-
vered through the ages, and
they need to continue serving
kids to ensure youth whowork hard on fair projects
will continue to be rewarded
with trophies, ribbons and
recognition. Through local
donors and a grant from the
Battle Creek Community
Foundation, the fairgrounds
have raised funding to assist
with costs related to judging
and rewarding youth at the
2021 Calhoun County Fair.
However, funding is not yet
complete - we still need help
to meet the goals and ensure
our kids know that the com-
munity supports them and
their efforts.
The fairgrounds is asking
for your help to help them
sustain so they can preserve
the future of the fair and con-
tinue teaching Calhoun
County youth a lifetime of
values.
Join them for one last push
as they make final prepara-
tions to again host Michigan’s
oldest fair, the 2021 Calhoun
County Fair, Aug. 15-21. All
funds raised in the We Will
Sustain Campaign are tax
deductible and will be used
exclusively towards the cost
of ribbons, trophies and
youth programs.
Questions may be directed
to the Calhoun County Fair
office at 269-781-8161 or to
lyonlake@cindylthomas.
com.Repairs over $250.
SERVICE
WILD CARD
Most vehicles. Expires 7/30/21. Plus tax if applicable. Please contact us for
more information.Expires7/30/21. Please contact us for more information.10
%
OFF
$
79
95
Expires 7/30/21. Plus tax if applicable. Please contact us for more information.Expires 7/30/21. Plus tax if applicable. Please contact us for more information.FRONT END
ALIGNMENT
FUEL SYSTEM
CLEANING
$
159
95
Get Ready For Summer Travel
WITH SPECIALS
FROM CARON!
Includes cleaning
throttle body, fuel injectors
and additive in tank.OIL CHANGE &
TIRE ROTATION
SPECIAL
$
49
95
(Most Vehicles)Spencer,
Service Managerhttp://www.caronchevrolet.com
1201 W Michigan Ave - Marshall, MI 49068
Local 269-781-5154 • Toll Free 866-781-Open
House
Sunday,
July 25
Clint Burghdorf
REALTOR®
269-317-105 W. Michigan Ave., Suite A
Marshall, MI 49068
269 789 0140414 N Marshall Ave,
Marshall, MI 49068
$204,500 | 12:00-1:
4 BEDS | 2 BATHS
MLS: 21019616 | Marshall Schools
Fantastic 2 story home on the North side
of Marshall City. 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths,
dining room and living room - plenty of
living space.The location of Schroeder DeGraw PLLC located at 203 East Michigan Ave. in
downtown Marshall was once an A&P store.
ence of the Chicago Tribune,
not the Detroit News and on
Abraham Lincoln’s birthday,
there was a political cartoon
on the front page,” he said.
“It showed a log cabin that
looked a lot better than the
house I lived in and there was
a ladder up into the clouds
along with the White House
and it read ‘The ladder’s still
there.’ I asked my mother
what that meant, and she told
me about Lincoln and how he
was raised in a log cabin and
how he was a lawyer and
became president. I then
decided I’d be a lawyer and
then be president.”
Ron said whatever politi-
cal ambitions he had fell by
the wayside once he got to
law school.
“When I met some of the
people there, I figured there
was no way I’d want to spend
the rest of my life with them,”
he said. “If they could get
your notes and burn them,
they’d do that to help the
class average. If there were
10 reference books in the
library, one guy would check
them all out. And if there was
one page in a book that was
important, that page would
be missing. It was really cut-
throat, and I just didn’t want
anything to do with it.”
Shortly after Ron’s arrival
to Marshall, the firm moved
from its location on JeffersonStreet (where the Fountain
Clinic is located today) to its
current location in 1962
where it has been a down-
town fixture for nearly 60
years.
“Earl Goodrich operated a
business across the street and
voiced his concern when the
firm took residence on
Michigan Avenue,” said Ron.
“He was really upset because
he said the law office was
going to harm the customer
traffic. After about two years,
he came over one day and
told me that we were the best
thing to ever happen, because
we increased the foot traffic
considerably.”Calhoun County launches
broadband survey
During the COVID-
pandemic, Mac McCullough,
a librarian at Battle Creek’s
Willard Library, saw how
lack of access to the internet
impacted patrons who typi-
cally used the library to con-
duct business online. With
others who recognized this
need, he developed the
Digital Equity Coalition,
which raised the issue at var-
ious meetings and researched
broadband efforts globally.
“What we found was uni-
versal recognition that this is
an issue that we need to
address for our residents and
also for the economic oppor-
tunities that broadband
access brings,” said
McCullough.
Calhoun County
Government has now taken
the formal lead on this proj-
ect, recognizing that ensuring
all county residents have
affordable internet access is a
critical priority. In May 2021,
the Calhoun County Board of
Commissioners established
the Broadband Task Force,
an 11-member advisory com-
mittee, and named
McCullough as chair. County
administration and its com-
munications division are
staffing the Task Force. For
more information about the
Calhoun County Broadband
Task Force, including its
membership, please visit cal-
houncountymi.gov/broad-
band.Accurate and detailed data
demonstrating the gaps in
internet coverage is neces-
sary in order to satisfy state
laws outlining the process for
local governments to work
with the private sector to pro-
vide internet services. This
information will also be used
to request state and federal
funding for building out the
broadband infrastructure.
To obtain the needed inter-
net coverage data, Calhoun
County is contracting with
Merit Network, Inc. to seek
input from all county resi-
dents, in the form of a survey.
The county already recog-
nizes that in some areas,
high-speed Internet is not
available. The survey devel-
oped by Merit Network is
available in formats includ-
ing online completion,
request for paper surveys,
and mobile phone text mes-
saging. It is being conducted
through a partnership with
the Michigan Moonshot ini-
tiative, which aims to bridge
the digital divide in Michigan.
Learn more about the
Michigan Moonshot at Merit.edu/Moonshot.
The survey has been paid
for entirely by community
organizations that recognized
the importance for all resi-
dents to have access to
affordable, high-speed inter-
net. Those include Albion
College, Kellogg Community
College, the Calhoun County
ISD, Battle Creek Unlimited,
Battle Creek Community
Foundation, and the Public
Health Department CARES
Funding.
Information gathered will
ensure individual privacy
and will only be used to sup-
port broadband Internet
expansion efforts in Calhoun
County.
Residents are being asked
to visit MichiganMoonshot.
org/Calhoun to complete the
brief survey, whether they
pay for internet access at
their property or not.
Calhoun County urges all
residents to participate in this
survey to help measure
broadband access. Their goal
is full connectivity provi-
sioning for all of Calhoun
County by the year 2024.“What we found was universal recognition
that this (lack of internet access) is an issue
that we need to address for our residents
and also for the economic opportunities that
broadband access brings.”Mac McCulloughFrom previous page