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He was born on March 3, 1960, in Flint, the son of Jerry and Carrie (Davidson) Papineau. He had lived most of his life in Montrose before moving to the Gladwin area in the past year.

Mr. Papineau was a 1978 graduate of Montrose Hill-McCloy High School, and the University of Michigan. He served for a number of years as Montrose Township Supervisor He married Kathy Phillips on Feb. 22, 1985. He had owned and operated DDP Police Services for the past 20 years.

He leaves behind his wife, Kathy; children, Erika Papineau (Chris Caris), of Bridgeport, and Kaley (Thomas) Visser, of Gladwin; grandsons, Kadon and Jacob; mother, Carrie Papineau, of Clio; brother, Tom (Audrey) Papineau, of Burton; sister, Raeann (Barry) Salter, of Cheboygan; father- and mother-in-law, Jerry and Mary Phillips, of Greenbush; brothers-in-law, Kevin (Seann) Phillips, of Dexter, and Randy (Tammy) Phillips, of Davison.

He was preceded in death by his father, Jerry, on April 20, 2007, and his grandson, Jonah.

Funeral services were held on Saturday, Oct. 20 at the O'Guinn Family Funeral Home in Montrose. Rev. Daryl Burt officiated, with a private burial at Montrose Township Cemetery.

Brady Township residents to cast votes on one issue Recall of Board Trustee on November 6 ballot

DEB MILLER

The Tri-County Citizen

BRADY TWP. - Residents in Brady Township will face only one issue when they head to the polls on November 6.

Voters will cast their ballots to decide whether or not to remove Board Trustee Sue Peterson from office.

Peterson is facing recall based on accusations by a group calling themselves the citizens for the protection of Brady Township.

A recall petition filed with, and approved by, the Saginaw County Clerk's office states that "Brady Township Trustee Sue Peterson willfully and with malice voted to pay the Green Creek Drain bill without reading the written opinion of the Brady Township attorney at the May 3, 2006 board meeting."

The more than $5,000 bill was paid by the township to the Saginaw County Drain Commission for the cleaning and maintaining of drains.

The group claims that the bill was incurred by a former supervisor and was not legal. Paying the bill meant that all property owners whose property connects to that drain had to pay a portion of the bill which cost Green Creek property owners over $40,000 with some paying up to $1,800 each.

Peterson said she does not understand why she is the one being targeted when she was not the only board member who voted to pay the bill.

Township Treasurer Patty Goodrich made the motion to pay the bill and three of the five members supported paying it.

Peterson believes the trouble began when the board voted to remove Oakley Brady Police Chief Larry Briggs and that the situation would not have gone this far had the police department not been dissolved.

"I don't understand why I am the only one being targeted when I was only one of three votes to pay the bill," she stated.

"I know it would have never gone through had we not dissolved the police department. But the bottom line is we were elected to do a job and part of our job is paying township bills and that is what we did. The cleaning of drains and paying bills is normal township business," she added.

"Now I have to pay for signs and materials for this election. I am the only thing on the ballot and if I don't get enough people to get out to the polls to vote in my favor I'm out."

Goodrich, who has served as treasurer for more than 30 years, said she made the motion to pay the bill after discussion with Saginaw County Drain Commissioner Jim Koski and after reading the attorney's written opinion prior to the meeting, which stated that the bill was the township's obligation.

"The facts are the drain was cleaned and we owed our share." stated Goodrich.

"We would have accumulated interest and penalties had we not paid it."

Other accusations by the group include that Peterson conspired with the clerk and supervisor to dissolve the township police department, violated the open meetings act by having secret meetings with the supervisor and clerk, and failed to perform duties of her office including not attending meetings she was obligated to attend.

Petitions for the recall of Township Supervisor Ron Gasper and Township Clerk Bev Wenzlick were also filed but were not approved by the county clerk's office due to the lack of valid signatures.

Those petitions stemmed from the cancellation of the police contract with the village stating that Gasper and Wenzlick "Willfully and with malice voted to break the police contract with the Village of Oakley at the May 11, 2007 special township board meeting."

In order to file the petitions with the County Clerk's office, petitioners had to gather at least 245 signatures, an amount equal to twenty-five percent of the number of Brady Township votes cast for the office of governor in the November 2006 General Election.

If the recall efforts against Peterson fail, her term on the board is due to expire in November of 2008.

Spreeman joins Citizen staff as manager

CHESANING - Joe Spreeman, of Metamora, joined the Tri-County Citizen staff this week as general manager and advertising director. He will oversee operations at the Chesaning office.

Spreeman brings a wealth of experience to the 25-year-old weekly newspaper. He started his advertising career with a shopper in the mid-1970s in Lapeer County. He has since worked for several newspapers throughout Lapeer and Oakland Counties as a field rep and a sales manager.

He also owned a graphic design agency and sign business for over 10 years, working with accounts from signage for the Detroit Zoo to printed sales and dealer material for the automotive industry.

"I'm excited about the opportunity here at The Citizen," he said. "We have an excellent staff here, and we look forward to guiding the paper on its way through the next 25 years."

Spreeman has lived in Metamora for 20 years with his wife and family. He has three daughters - two in high school and a third graduated and getting ready to attend Oakland Community College.

Community mourns loss of library advocate

DEB MILLER

The Tri-County Citizen

CHESANING - Chesaning resident Max O'Rourke, who was well known in the community as the Chesaning Public Library's most active advocate, passed away suddenly on Monday, October 22 at the Memorial Healthcare Center in Owosso. He was 75.

Library Director Erin Schmandt said Max was very passionate about the library and was devoted to issues surrounding it.

"He was definitely our most active advocate, he was so passionate about helping the library," stated Schmandt.

"He was especially passionate about the sidewalk project. He attended every village council meeting for two and a half years making sure the need did not get forgotten because he was concerned about the safety of library patrons. He was very proud when it was finished," she added.

"Max was a very generous person with a bright personality who always brought a smile to your face."

Max was elected President of the Chesaning Public Library Board of Directors in 2000 and has served in that position for the past seven years.

He also sat on the building committee that has been making plans to relocate the library to a new facility.

Max was also currently serving as the Vice President of the Chesaning Area United Appeal Board of Directors.

Born in Chesaning on April 12, 1932 the son of Charles and Marion (Richards) O'Rourke, Max was a graduate of Chesaning Union High School and Central Michigan University where he earned a degree in education.

He began his teaching career at Our Lady Catholic School in Chesaning in 1963 where he was a teacher and coach for seven years before taking a teaching position at St. Paul Catholic School in Owosso. He remained at St. Paul for 23 years serving as Principal for 14 years before retiring in 1994.

Max was well regarded by members of his staff who note that he was a great boss who always had time for people, and to help, who cared about his employees and always made sure they put family first, and that he was a "great Irishman" who had a vibrant personality and was full of joy, jokes, and was "just a sweetheart of a person."

"He was there to support us during our lowest times and our families were special to him as if they were his own," said Rose Craft, retired St. Paul teacher.

"He touched a lot of lives in a very special way," she added.

And according to those who knew him well along with those who came into contact with him briefly, Max had the gift of "putting people at ease" with his gentle nature.

Max enjoyed people, teaching, telling stories, reading, all kinds of music, and going for rides in the car with his wife.

He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Donna, three sons, Michael and Karen O'Rourke of Farmington, Timothy and Gloria O'Rourke of Midland, and Patrick and Krista O'Rourke of Madison, Wis., along with four grandchildren, one sister and one brother.

Chesaning Lions Club celebrates 40 years of service

CHESANING -- The Chesaning Lions Club celebrated its 40 year anniversary on Oct. 16, 2007. The club hosted a celebration dinner at the Lions hall on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m.

Since the club's chartering in 1967, its members have worked on a variety of projects in the local community, such as Lions Easter Egg Hunt, M-52 roadside cleanup, handicap access ramps, and school equipment. Proceeds from past fundraising events have gone to Chesaning Senior Center, Rehmann Health Center, United Appeal, Chesaning Public Library, Chesaning High School graduate scholarships, eyeglasses for the needy and many special requests.

The club is currently fundraising during summer/fall events at their concession trailer, selling Lions mints and numerous other activities to support the mentioned and future projects.

According to Jim Amman, club president, "We are proud of our club's 40 years of service to the community. The Lion club members thank everyone who contributes to this important work. You are truly helping Lions make a difference in our community."

The Chesaning Lions Club has 26 members with more joining monthly and meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Lions hall located at 17200 Corunna Rd.

Lions clubs are a group of men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs. For more information or to get involved with the Chesaning Lions Club, please contact Jim at 989-845-3404 or Tonya 989-295-8484 or Chesaningmi.lionwap.org.

Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organization with nearly 1.35 million members in approximately 45,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographical areas around the world. Since 1917, Lions clubs have aided the blind and visually impaired and made a strong commitment to community service and serving youth throughout the world. For more information about Lions Clubs International, visit the Web site at www.lionsclubs.org.