GCCARD director Matthew Purcell resigns, Stephanie Howard named interim director
By Madeleine Graham Genesee County Community Action Resource Department (GCCARD) director Matthew Purcell resigned suddenly effective Aug. 5, 2020. Purcell has been GCCARD director since November 2015. Stephanie Howard will act as the interim director of GCCARD. Howard has served as deputy director of GCCARD prior to Purcell’s resignation. “We expect that she will continue to steer our ship in a positive direction so as...
Review: Flint native filmmaker’s latest production puts pandemic focus on frontline workers
By Harold C. Ford “Private industry really stepped up.” –Erin Brennan, emergency room physician “On the Line” is a refreshing antidote to a steady stream of stories about a chief executive who mishandled a pandemic and lied to the nation about its worst health crisis in a hundred years. A short film, lasting less than nine minutes, its lens is squarely focused on frontliners who have gone above and beyond the call of duty during...
Village Life: A reclaimed piano reclaims grace in a time of plague
By Jan Worth-Nelson Some days, no matter how hard you try to stay sane, it’s just too much. Picture me roaming around my house — a sprawling old place with several routes for pacing and hiding — where we’ve been mostly cloistered, like any reasonable oldsters shrinking away from COVID-19, since March. Picture me agitated, limbs sort of flapping, arms akimbo from time to time. Picture me muttering and cussing. Picture my pandemic...
New Police Chief Terence Green sworn in
By Tom Travis Flint’s new Chief of Police, Terence Green sworn in today on the recessed court yard behind City Hall. Circuit Court Judge David Guinn administered the oath of office. In Mayor Neeley’s remarks before the swearing in, he referred to Chief Green as a “true police officer” who is “committed to leading and serving the residents of Flint. A person who has dedicated his life to law enforcement....
“No longer will the City of Flint be an arms dealer” – Mayor Neeley; 384 guns destroyed today
By Tom Travis A total of 384 guns were destroyed today, the first day on the job for Flint’s new Chief of Police Terence Green. In July Mayor Neeley had declared, “We will no longer put these weapons back out on the street. It’s just not worth it.” Today that promise was fulfilled by sending confiscated weapons to an incineration facility. The City of Flint stated in a press release today, “The huge load of weapons...