St. Johns selects Mark Palmer as next Superintendent
The St. Johns Board of Education has extended an offer to current St. Johns High School Principal Mr. Mark Palmer to serve as their next Superintendent. The board voted unanimously to offer Palmer the position and enter into contract negotiations after completing second-round interviews Monday night. Members of the Board are scheduled to meet with Mr. Palmer within the next week to begin contract discussions.
Board President Scott Darragh told Palmer of the Board’s offer via speakerphone during the meeting, which was immediately followed by enthusiastic applause from the audience of over 25 who were in attendance. Mr. Palmer responded to the offer with, “I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve as Superintendent. I am almost speechless”. Palmer’s statement was followed by applause from the crowd.
Darragh said of Palmer, Mark is a great fit for the candidate profile we developed, and he made an excellent impression on those he met with during the process. We were very lucky to have two outstanding finalists each with great skills and talents, but in the end Mr. Palmer was clearly the best fit for what our district and community needs. We all look forward to working with him to move our district forward.”
Search Consultant Gary Rider, of the Michigan Leadership Institute, said “The Board did an outstanding job of listening to feedback from the public. They followed the process diligently and worked through difficult decisions as a team.”
Mr. Palmer has served as High School Principal for the St. Johns Public Schools for the past eighteen years. Prior to this work he was the High School Assistant Principal for the Lake Orion Schools for three years. Mr. Palmer has a Masters degree in K-12 Administration from Michigan State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Central Michigan University.
SJPD bids hail and farewell
The St. Johns Police Department hire a new officer and promoted two officers after the recent retirement of Lieutenant Robert Wilkie.
Eric Verlinde was promoted to Lieutenant.
Ben Helms was promoted to Sergeant.
New officer Stephen Pulling was sworn in by City Clerk, Mindy Seavy.
Congratulations to Lieutenant Robert Wilkie on his retirement from the St. Johns Police Department. Lt. Wilkie retired after 28 years of service.
St. Johns Big Boy Supporting Kids – March 28
On Wednesday, March 28th St. Johns Big Boy will donate 15% of all sales from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. to The Voice for Clinton County’s Children. This fun evening will kick-off The Voice for Clinton County’s Children’s 5th Annual Superhero 5K Run, Walk, or Fly! which will be on Saturday, April 28th.
Proceeds from these events support services provided to Clinton County’s abused and neglected children. More information is available at VoiceForClintonCountyChildren.org or by calling 989-640-5681. Don’t forget your Superhero cape!
Spring Clean-up scheduled – Saturday, May 12
The annual Spring Clean-Up is scheduled for Saturday, May 12, 2018. Please do not place items to the curb earlier then Saturday, May 5, 2018 but must be placed to the curb by 6 am on Saturday, May 12, 2018. Items placed after the contractor has passed through will not be picked up. This is for City residents only whom live in a one to five unit dwelling. City police will be monitoring non-city resident trash dumping. All violators will be prosecuted.
Do put out:
Appliances (Appliances containing any food will not be picked up. Doors must be removed from refrigerator or freezer unit); Electronics (T.V.’s, VCR’s, computer equipment); Lawn Mowers (must be drained of fuel and oil); Hub Caps
Copper and Brass tubing and wire; Large toys; Bicycles; Furniture (indoor and outdoor) and mattresses; Scrap Metal (bed frames, aluminum lawn chairs, file cabinets, etc.); Odd pieces of lumber under 4 ft. long (please bundle); Carpeting (bundles less then 6 ft. long)
Please bag, box, or bundle your items when possible. Limit bags, boxes or bundles to no more than 50 pounds in weight.
Do not put out:
Household trash or recyclables (cans, bottles, etc.); Liquids or hazardous waste; Automobile components; Yard waste including tree stumps; Batteries (lead acid or alkaline batteries can be recycled at City Offices or Bee’s Sports, 2138 S. US-127 BR, St. Johns 989-224-3201); Books, magazines, or newspapers (these can be recycled); Construction or demolition materials from major household repairs; Concrete, bricks, stone or blocks; Dirt piles; Latex paint (can be dried out by using saw dust or kitty litter and then placed into your weekly household green bag collection)
For questions, please contact City Offices at (989) 224-8944. Also please look for further information with your water/sewer bill which will be mailed in April.
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The City of St. Johns will be collecting used car and light truck tires from City residents on Monday, May 14, 2018. Tires must be placed by the curb by 7 am. Each household is limited to 8 tires. Tires must be removed from the rims. No large truck or tractor tires will be collected.
Tickets now available for Beauty and the Beast Jr.
The St. Johns Public Schools Theatre Department will host their production of Beauty and the Beast Jr. on
April 27 – 29.
Tickets are available at sjdrama.ludus.com
Logo Contest for St. Johns Mint Festival T-Shirts
In preparation for the 34th Annual St. Johns Mint Festival, the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce and Mint Festival Steering Committee are sponsoring a logo contest. They are looking for two designs–one for a Souvenir T-Shirt (shirts are sold throughout the festival) and the other for a Volunteer T-Shirt. A $50 Chamber Buck Gift Certificate will be awarded to each winning logo.
The committee invites all artists and creative people of all ages to submit logo designs. The theme for the 2018 St. Johns Mint Festival is “Mint City Rock & Roll”. The following guidelines should be kept in mind while designing a logo:
1. For the Souvenir T-shirt they are looking for a sophisticated design that will appeal to the shirt collector, while at the same time represent “mint” and the festival celebration. They are looking for a design that can be printed on a colored shirt (not white). Also, this design should not include Minty.
2. For the Volunteer T-shirt, they are looking for something fun that may or may not incorporate their mascot Minty. Because they want volunteers to stand out in a crowd, they would like something that will look great on a bright neon colored t-shirt.
All logo designs must be submitted to the Clinton County Chamber of Commerce at PO Box 61, St. Johns 48879 by Friday, April 20, 2018. For a complete list of rules and the application to submit with your entry, please call the Chamber at 989-224-7248 or print them off at www.clintoncountychamber.org/mint.
Friends of the CIS Trail hold Annual membership meeting – Wednesday, April 11
The Friends of the Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail will hold their annual membership meeting at 7 pm on Wednesday, April 11 in the Commission Chambers on the second floor of the Clinton County Courthouse in St. Johns, Michigan.
This year’s featured speaker will be Representative Ben Frederick. Mr. Frederick represents the 85th district (Shiawassee County and part of Saginaw County). Prior to his position in the house, Mr. Frederick served for the City of Owosso as a member of the city council and mayor. Representative Frederick is a long-time trail advocate and is working in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation and the City of Owosso to connect the FMCIS Trail to Owosso and to the Minor Trail. In addition, Trail Manager Barry Culham will provide a wrap up of 2017 maintenance activities and an update of possible solutions to the limestone surface issues.
Board elections will take place for 3 three-year positions with terms ending in March, 2021. Members that paid dues in 2017 are eligible to vote in these elections.
This meeting is open to all current, past and potential members of the Friends group and anyone else interested in the promotion and maintenance of this newly completed trail that follows the former railroad corridor running through the counties of Clinton, Ionia and Shiawassee. Admission is free.