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Editorial Page 6-A

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Death Notices Page 10-A

Sports Page 1-C

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INDEX

VOL. 142, NO. 6 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 201275¢

THE

DEXTER LEADER

Connexions to hold open house

Page 7-A

INSIDE

Commission supports engineering standardsBy Christy Vander HaagenSpecial Writer

The Dexter Planning Commission voted unani-mously to support the recent draft of the purpose and intent statement for engineering standards.

According to material provided by the Planning Commission, the Village Council recently directed village staff and consul-tants to draft a purpose and intent statement for the Engineering stan-dards.

Though there is general Council support for the Engineering Standards,

Council determined there was still a need to under-stand the purpose and intent for the standards as well as the process by which the standards will be used.

The draft plan states the purpose of Engineering Standards is to provide guidance in “infrastruc-ture design and construc-tion for both private and public projects within the Village of Dexter.” Standard practices ensure reliable and sustainable systems that help protect the public health and safety as well as improve the quality of life.

Community Development Manager Allison Bishop said the draft of the Engineering Standards will help “clear up some of the gray areas of how to improve existing (infrastructure) yet still add new.”

The commission reviewed the standards at Monday’s meeting and, after brief discussion, unanimously supported the draft.

The draft Engineering Standards will be present-ed to Council at a future meeting.

Jewelry Box Boutique is open for businessBy Ashley WoodrumSpecial Writer

Dexter residents may know Melissa Duncan as owner of The Cleaning Goddesses, but it’s time to put another notch in her belt with the opening of The Jewelry Box Boutique.

The Jewelry Box Boutique opened for busi-ness Feb. 1, in the front room of the house at 7940 Ann Arbor St., where Duncan oversees her other business.

Duncan, who has been making jewelry since she was about 5 years old out of colored wire that her dad would bring home, started to get more serious about it when she was in her 20s.

“I started taking some classes that included learning silver-smith and glass-making,” Duncan said.

She then started teach-ing her mother, Connie Bade, how to make jewelry herself.

“She kept bringing boxes of jewelry to me of all the stuff that she had made,” Duncan said. “It got to the point that we needed to do something.”

Duncan and Bade have been doing jewelry shows for the past few years, trav-eling on weekends to do fairs, bazaars, and holiday expos, and Duncan is tired of traveling.

“We had space here at

Parents prep for all-day kindergartenBy Christy Vander HaagenSpecial Writer

Throngs of parents packed Cornerstone Elementary’s cafe-teria Tuesday night for Kindergarten

and Young 5’s information night.

The meeting, facilitated by Cornerstone principal Craig McCalla and Bates principal Tim Authier, was designed to help prepare parents for their students’ transition into kindergarten or the Young 5’s program.

Dexter’s board of educa-tion recently approved the start of all-day kindergar-ten for the 2012-’13 school year.

Parents learned specif-ics about curriculum such as music, physical education, art and library components.

The group discussed the pacing of a typical

day, transportation to and from school and how the selection process for school assignments works. According to McCalla, students are assigned randomly to either Cornerstone or Bates. Students with a sibling at a specific school will be assigned to that school, according to McCalla.

Both Cornerstone and Bates schools were open prior to the meeting so parents could tour the classrooms and meet some faculty members as well as the principals.

The principals dis-cussed parents’ options to enroll their children in one of the schools’ Young 5’s programs which is a more play-based pre-kin-dergarten program for students who, according to their parents, may still need a little time to devel-op socially, academically or emotionally.

Cornerstone’s Young 5’s teacher Stephanie Coy dis-cussed the program with parents.

“Young 5’s focuses on social and emotional development,” Coy said. “We also focus on self-care as well and help them get ready for kindergarten.”

Coy said many parents wrestle with whether to send their child to Young 5’s versus starting kinder-garten.

“You know your child better than anyone,” she said.

Young 5’s will still be a half-day program. According to Authier, par-ents will have the option to enroll their students in either morning or after-noon Young 5’s classes. Enrollment will be on a first-come, first-served basis and will take place during regular kindergar-ten registration April 11

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Community Development Manager Allison Bishop said the standards will “clear up some gray areas.”

Photo by Christy Vander Haagen

Cornerstone Elementary’s Young 5’s teacher Stephanie Coy talks to parents at Tuesday’s Kindergarten Information Night at Cornerstone.

Faith in Action honors volunteers

Page 9-A

INSIDE

Jewlery Box Boutique owner Melissa Duncan stands with some of the store’s items.

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