Dexter

Dexter’s Adair wins gold award for comic book

By Newsroom

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June 10, 2009

Dexter's Adair Digital Services has been talking about branching out into different segements of the printing world for a while, but now it’s starting to pay off in more ways than one.The printing firm received the Gold Printing Award from the Detroit Club of Printing House of Craftsman for a comic book created by Detroit-based Monolith. The special edition comic book ("Rapid City Comic Book B-Sides") went to a select group of fans in what was a once unheard short-run for the company."This comic book was so well done," says Kim Kachadoorian, creative project manager for Adair Digital Services.It also cemented Adair's new-found place in comic book publishing. Before the company just printed things like leaflets and owners manuals. Now the 77-year-old, family owned company is spreading out into other areas, like comic and children's books using its new digital press."The truth is if you want to survive in this economy you need to have a new innovative approach," Kachadoorian says.Source: Kim Kachadoorian, creative project manager for Adair Digital ServicesWriter: Jon Zemke

Dexter residents collect enough signatures to forward cityhood petition

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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June 10, 2009

Little two-stoplight Dexter is playing around with the idea of becoming a not-so-big city.Excerpt:Dexter residents have already collected enough signatures to move forward in their quest to turn the village into a city.Supporters of cityhood say they've gotten 140 signatures since the end of April, exceeding the 117 needed, and will forward the paperwork to the state Boundary Commission.Read the rest of the story here.

Fawns pop up in backyards around Washtenaw County

By Newsroom

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Environment & Sustainability

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June 3, 2009

Bambis are popping up in backyards almost everywhere in Washtenaw County these days.Excerpt:Fawning season has arrived, and with it, the likelihood that well-meaning suburbanites will encounter a seemingly abandoned youngster curled up on a back lawn.But wildlife rehabilitators say odds are that Junior is just fine, and holed up in a safe spot until Mom returns from foraging. Fawns spend the first several weeks of their life huddled where they are born. They can't run quickly enough to evade predators, so the mother deer caches the newborn in a safe spot and stays away, so as not to attract potential trouble. And because fawns are well-camouflaged with spots and are virtually without scent during their first weeks, "a coyote would literally have to trip over it to find it," said licensed wildlife rehabilitator Karen O'Connor of Dexter, who is the only licensed deer rescuer in Washtenaw.Read the rest of the story here.

Dexter residents to circulate petitions for cityhood

By Newsroom

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General

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May 6, 2009

The city of Dexter? Some local residents think that has a nice ring to it.Excerpt:Joe Ciaravino was the first Dexter resident to pick up a cityhood petition packet Wednesday night at the Dexter District Library.A resident of the village since 1983, he vowed to get signatures in support of the Dexter's incorporation as a home rule city."We're held for ransom by Washtenaw County, Webster Township and Scio Township," Ciaravino said. "We don't have the say of where our money goes."Read the rest of the story here.

Bearclaw continues to grow and grow and grow

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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April 29, 2009

One of Washtenaw's best growth stories doesn’t necessarily have to do with Ann Arbor or one of its new economy high tech staples, like Google.Excerpt:It's too simplistic, too formulated and too cliche to call this story, "from tragedy to triumph." Because Debi Scroggins' enthusiasm - no, make that her passion - for life didn't come from a tragedy and it's far reaching aftermath. This kind of zest for jumping out of bed and leaping with both feet into life's biggest challenges starts at an early age. It's something that's always there. She talks fast. And with an exclamation point after every sentence. Her voice bounces off the wood walls and around the corner. And it's infectious. Boy, is it ever infectious. Still, the eyes turn red and fill with tears. How can they not. It's almost 10 years to the day when the ultimate heartbreak stopped Debi on her joyful ride through life. It was a sucker punch that she admits knocked her on her butt and dared her to get up again.You see, when Debi loves you. She loves you for life. And to take away something she loves is devastating - especially when it's your son.Debi is the energetic, go-get 'em owner of Bearclaw Coffee, a company her and her husband, Doug, started in 2002 in a cornfield in Dexter. "Our first store in the cornfield supported our family and grew through this franchise brand," says Debi. "After a year and a half of very hard work we were able to support our family and grew this franchise from sales at our stores. We've never had investors."Read the rest of the story here.

Location scout talks about Michigan’s Hollywood close up

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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April 8, 2009

Detroit is known as the Paris of the Midwest, but could Washtenaw County become the Hollywood of the 'Great Flyover'?Excerpt:Michigan's subsidy for filmmakers has been a great success, as evidenced by California's passage earlier this year of its own $500 million tax incentive to retain productions that have been fleeing the Golden State for places like the Great Lakes State.A 42 percent refund for in-state spending is a difficult lure to resist, but Innocence Production Inc.'s George Constas says it's only a start.Constas is a location scout for the Ann Arbor based production company. He is largely why places like Dexter, Chelsea, Jackson, Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti were included in the roster of locations around mid and eastern Michigan.Read the rest of the story here and the YpsiNews' April Fools story about the porn industry setting up shop in Ypsilanti here.

Thomson-Shore prints books, wins award, invests in Dexter

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 8, 2009

Thomson-Shore isn’t growing in Dexter as much as it is investing in the town it has called home for 37 years.The company downsized from 260 to 245 people since last year, but has invested about $10 million in its book-printing business. Thomson-Shore prints lots of short-run books, ranging anywhere from 500-20,000 copies, that are usually special orders for universities or religious institutions."The last year has been a lot about installing new equipment and focusing on our core products and customers," says Kevin Spall, the president and CEO of Thomson-Shore.The new equipment includes three new sewing machines, web press and multi-color press. This is the type of equipment that will allow the company to perform its job more efficiently and effectively.Thomson-Shore is also looking at breaking into some new markets. These range from graphic novels and comic books to digital printing and ebooks. "We'll be looking at a lot of new markets," Spall says.The company expects to use its organic growth from it core products and expansion into new markets to expand its payroll within the next year or two by a handful of people. Spall estimates it could be 2-3 new people for every million dollars in growth.The employee-owned company also recently won the 2008 ESOP Company of the Year Annual Award for Communications Excellence from the ESOP Association. The award recognizes outstanding communications and educational programs.Source: Kevin Spall, the president and CEO of Thomson-ShoreWriter: Jon Zemke

Work nearly done on Broad St storefronts in Dexter

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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April 1, 2009

The road to renovation hasn't been the easy for two storefronts on Broad Street in downtown Dexter, but the bottom line is what really counts. The good news is that work on the storefronts, 3126 and 3115 Broad, is nearly done. The owner is putting the finishing touches on them."It turned out a lot better that I thought it would," says Randy Willis, owner of 3115 and 3126 Broad. "My masonry company went bankrupt halfway through the job."That means it took many times longer to finish the new façade and awning job than expected, but Willis says everyone is paid and happy and the job is "98 percent finished." The new occupants of the late 19th Century industrial buildings are also 96-98 percent moved in, filling up the space."I'm 100 percent leased," Willis says.The diverse group of businesses are occupying them. An off-Broadway musical company is in 3126 Broad 8,500 square feet while several other businesses are in 3115 Broad. They include Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales and Dexter School of Martial Arts in the 3115 Broad's 12,000 square feet.The two buildings have had varied pasts, serving as the home for bus garages, beer-and-wine distributors, a dye-and-stamping shop and a bean sprouts grow house. Source: Randy Willis, owner of 3115 and 3126 Broad StreetWriter: Jon Zemke

Work set to begin again on Dexter Main Street bridge

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 25, 2009

Think of this as the home stretch for the Main Street bridge project in downtown Dexter.The Washtenaw County Road Commission plans to begin work on the bridge reconstruction in early April and wrap the whole project up before the end of May. "We expect to be completed with the work in approximately 4-6 weeks," says Aaron Berkholz, construction superintendent with the Washtenaw County Road Commission.Last year workers spent their time removing the 100-year-old dam underneath the bridge, tearing out the old bridge and putting in a replacement -all while allowing traffic to pass. This spring is all about tying up the loose ends.Work crews will be sealing and staining the exterior concrete surfaces, putting the ornamental steel rail on the concrete barrier walls and placing ornamental sandstone caps on the wall columns. Grading, landscaping and remaining road work will also be done this spring. The new $2.5 million bridge will accommodate both motorized and non-motorized traffic. There will still be two-lanes for cars, along with bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians. Source: Aaron Berkholz, construction superintendent with the Washtenaw County Road CommissionWriter: Jon Zemke

Moving week is one for the books in Dexter

By Newsroom

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General

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February 25, 2009

Library books are moving into a new home in downtown Dexter.Excerpt:Chelsea Anderson, of Dexter, was surprised to find the Dexter District Library closed Monday morning, but the closure wasn't for President's Day.Returning books and CDs, she walked right through the open front door before she was told that the library was closed for the move to its new location just off Main Street in downtown Dexter.Read the rest of the story here and how the Ypsilanti District Library won an award here.