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start planning flower beds for the season page 10A
APRIL 18, 2024 • Vol. 36, No. 8
Grant pays for Pitchford Park plants BY DEAN VAGLIA dvaglia@candgnews.com
See PLANTS on page 8A
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Macomb Dakota junior Luke DeMasse makes a stop at first base and gets the out in a matchup against Novi on April 13 at Novi High School.
‘WORK HARD WHILE YOU WAIT’ Dakota baseball looking to make a name for itself
MACOMB TOWNSHIP — There’s always a certain level of excitement when
a coach sees a large group of sophomores or juniors excelling because they know one day they’ll have a stacked senior group. That’s the time to make the state tournament run and lay the foundation for future classes when the majority of the team is veteran leaders, but what isn’t talked about enough are the players patiently waiting their turn and working hard be-
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BY JONATHAN SZCZEPANIAK jszczepaniak@candgnews.com
hind the scenes for their moment to shine. In the case of Macomb Dakota baseball, 12 seniors in the 2023 class led the Cougars to the Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 1 state semifinals with only four players currently on the roster taking the field in the 6-4 semifinals loss to Brownstown Woodhaven.
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See BASEBALL on page 4A
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MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Officials in Macomb Township look to make the most of April’s showers to grow May flowers, as the Board of Trustees on April 11 accepted grant funds to plant a hummingbird garden at Pitchford Park. Coming to the township as two grants — $1,600 from the county’s Green Macomb initiative and $4,900 from the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service — the township will plant 28 trees in the new park. The trees will be planted around a bridge that connects Pitchford Park to surrounding neighborhoods. “Getting the grant is just half the project,” Macomb Township Treasurer Leon Drolet said. “Somebody has to design the garden, and we’re very fortunate in our township to have some great volunteers that have stepped forward to design not just this project, but to volunteer on other tree planting, garden projects in other areas like old town hall.” Volunteers that have helped with the garden so far include Nethanya and Ramila Fonseka of Plant It Forward and Kathi Piepen-