Dexter

Washtenaw County invests $3M in trail network expansion

Dexter’s Good Harbor Golden Ale receives some golden press

Local beer is famous in these parts, but some brews in Dexter are gaining big-time mainstream attention. This time The New York Times is providing the recognition.Excerpt:The diversity of these beers also makes their appeal very personal. I mentioned a beer that reminded me of a lambic — that was the No. 4 beer of our top 10, the Good Harbor Golden Ale from Leelanau, brewed in Dexter, Mich. We loved this beer, but it has an unusual flavor that some may find off-putting at first. I recommend sticking with it, though, because once you begin to like these sorts of beers you can’t help but seek them out.Read the rest of the story here.

Renovation planned for old Dexter Pharmacy building

Dexter Pharmacy won't be coming back to downtown Dexter, but that doesn't mean something bigger and better won't replace it soon.The Schmid family, owners of a number of local pharmacies in the Dexter-Ann Arbor area, plans to consolidate its Dexter-area pharmacies into one new location on Dexter Road. In the mean time the old Dexter Pharmacy retail space is being cleaned up and prepared for a new tenant."We don't want to leave it as a boarded up building in downtown any longer than we have to," says Marni Schmid, director of operations for Dexter Pharmacy.The building at 8059 is being renovated on the exterior right now and is being prepared for an exterior renovation complete with brick façade and big windows. The 3,500-square-foot building has served as a pharmacy for its entire life. Originally it was McLeod's Pharmacy until the early 1980s when Marni Schmid's father Fred Schmid bought it.The family is now consolidating its Village and Dexter pharmacies to a 2-story building on Baker Road near Bates Elementary School. The stand-alone building comes complete with a drive-thru, the pharmacy on the ground floor and medical office space on the second floor. Work on that project began in December and should be finished by October.Source: Marni Schmid, director of operations for Dexter PharmacyWriter: Jon Zemke

Dexter prepares for 1st phase of Mill Creek Park project

The village of Dexter is making preparations for construction on the first phase of the Mill Creek Park project this summer.The village has roped in a $450,000 grant and is working out the permit process with the state so it can begin construction. Look for shovels to start digging into the ground in July."It's moving forward," says Donna Dettling, village manager for Dexter.The plan calls for a combination of urban park with recreational resources and natural areas filled with trees, shrubs and small woodland creatures. The concept is the work of Ann Arbor-based JJR. The first phase calls for working on the section by downtown between the Dexter-Pinckney Road bridge and the cemetery.The park will run alongside approximately one mile of the east bank of Mill Creek between Warrior Creek Park and Shield Road. It will be integrated into the city's proposed river walk, highlighting the section of Mill Creek that borders downtown.The idea behind the park is to open up the creek to more village residents and downtown patrons. Source: Donna Dettling, village manager for DexterWriter: Jon Zemke

Legacy Land Conservancy expects big year in 2010 for green belts

The Legacy Land Conservancy finished 2009 strong but expects to easily out flex that performance early this year.The conservancy --think of it as the non-profit greenbelt for Washtenaw and Jackson counties-- closed five deals in the closing weeks of 2009. That means a little less than 200 acres of woods, farms and wild areas are now protected from development because the conservancy controls their development rights."We have projecting moving forward now," says Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land Conservancy, formerly the Washtenaw Land Trust. "In the first quarter or half of 2010 we expect to make or exceed that number."Those deals will protect high-priority acreage, meaning property that is farmland, near the Huron River or near the Pinckney and Waterloo recreation areas.Source: Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land ConservancyWriter: Jon Zemke

Local libraries see uptick in popularity with down economy

Dexter and Saline's libraries are watching more and more people take advantage of their services these days. Those free DVD rentals are an obvious hook, but could it mean we'll see an uptick in literary appreciation?Excerpt:Library directors across the area are reporting increases in usage, in part, they say because of the economy, and in some cases because of new or expanded buildings.Computer usage is at an all-time high in area libraries with people job hunting or applying for unemployment benefits.Read the rest of the story here.

AATA pilot project gets real-time bus info to riders

Few things are as depressing as waiting and waiting and waiting in inclement weather for a bus named Godot, ...except, of course, watching your bus pull away just as you get to the bus stop.The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority is trying to eliminate such things with a new pilot program via Shepherd Intelligent Systems. The University of Michigan spin-off is testing technology that would let users see exactly where buses are located in real time."This iis really focused around the riders," says Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligent Systems.The mobile technology lets bus riders see the real-time location of the bus they want to catch through active maps on a website or smart phone application. It also supplies accurate predictions (within a minute) of when a bus will arrive at its stop using text messages. The technology comes from the Magic Bus program U-M uses for its buses.The pilot program will focus on Route #6 for the rest of this year. It could be spread throughout the rest of the AATA bus system next year.Source: Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligent SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Video Dexter Does Research Too

Dexter Research doesn't live in A2's shadow but rather thrives alongside the city that U-M made famous. And even as the economy has struggled this 70 person Dexter-based company has hit a comfortable stride, finding new applications and industries for its thermal detectors.

VANGUARD USA hires 2, plans to continue staff expansion

One of the leading photography accessory manufacturers calls Whitmore Lake home, and continues to grow in the small lake town just north of Ann Arbor.VANGUARD USA has just hired two new people for its local U.S. headquarters, expanding its payroll to 21 people. It plans to hire a handful more people within the next year as it continues to revamp and upgrade its product portfolio."It appears to be nothing but growth on the horizon," says Jody Lamb, marketing manager for VANGUARD USA.The company got its start in 24 years ago when Anne Lee, a native of Taiwan, began making tripods and ball heads for cameras. One of her colleagues had ties to Ann Arbor and persuaded to open up her U.S. office in Dexter shortly after she started the firm. A few years later it moved to Whitmore Lake and expanded its portfolio to include more photography equipment, such as camera bags.The company went international in the 1980s, expanding into the Japanese and European markets. It even started offering hunting/outdoors equipment in 1997. Today VANGUARD USA employs 3,000 worldwide. The company recently overhauled its product line, causing it to focus more on advertising and getting the word out about its new products. That has prompted the recent expansion of the Whitmore Lake office."There has been a great need to focus on marketing and customer outreach," Lamb says.Source: Jody Lamb, marketing manager for VANGUARD USAWriter: Jon Zemke