News & Events

The process to establish a Montessori daycare at Clark Lake took a step forward at last night's Columbia Charter Township Planning Commission meeting.  The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of Diane and Brad Smith's site plan and special use...

Jefferson Road will be closed to traffic tomorrow (Fri 5/31), 9 am to 12 noon, between Hewitt and Constitution.  Traffic will pass through for the funeral of a Jackson County Sheriffs deputy who perished in an accident on Saturday, May 25th.   The funeral for Chris...

A signing ceremony took place this morning on Clark Lake's North Shore.  With pen in hand was Ralph Mahalak Jr., inscribing a contract and writing a check to Jim Cole of the Jackson County Department of Transportation.  The result? Greatly improved roads are ahead on...

The Columbia Township board revisited the possibility of allowing commercial cannabis activity - growing, manufacturing, transporting and its sale within the Township (Mon 5/20).  Previously, the planning commission had presented a plan to allow limited commercial...

Big rain bombarded Clark Lake yesterday (Sun 5/26) afternoon, and again in the early morning hours today, totaling 2 1/4 inches. By 8:30 am, lingering sprinkles did not deter the spirit of Michigan's Biggest Little Parade - the Memorial Day Parade at Clark Lake.  The...

When the Brokerage House opened an office at Clark Lake this March, Jenifer Scanlon said to expect activities to take place at the building.  So, how does that play out?  Saturday morning could be an example.  The Brokerage House is putting on an event Saturday from...

Clark Lake Yacht Club Sunday sailboat races begin Saturday.  The purpose of the Saturday run-through is to ensure everyone understands the rules and protocols.  The Club welcomes non-members to participate in the races.  They also encourage all sailors, members or...

"It's like living next to a motel," said Susan Sweierzbin.  Addressing the Columbia Township board on Monday (5/20), that's how she described an airbrb next door, on Lakeview West.  In the video below, you'll hear her comments, and the concerns of another neighbor,...

An important part of Memorial Day Monday is the salute to those members of the military who fell in service to our country.  At Clark Lake, it takes the form of Michigan’s biggest little parade at the west end. Thanks to the Clark Lake Lions Club, the tradition...

The Columbia Charter Township board voted last night to rezone a portion of the north shore Hitt property from agricultural to residential suburban. When this originally came before the planning commission in January, it drew a crowd.  Some neighbors worried that the...

Clark Lake has an underwater wonderland.  Not everything beneath the surface ought to be there. That's what Clark Lake Clean Up focused on yesterday (Sat 5/18).   This short video tells the story. https://youtu.be/KwQ5dtyV96w The crew reports they only scratched the...

The Underwater Wonderland is part of what makes Clark Lake Beautiful.  But not everything below the surface ought to remain.  That's why today is the culmination of this year's Clean Up Clark Lake project.  Bill Vinson has the talking trash details in this video....

Weekly Hobie races are about to begin for summer 2024.  Hobie Fleet 58 Commodore Chance Winnie says the first race will take place on Thursday, May 23nd and continue each Thursday through September 12th with one exception, July 4th.  Like last year, there will be two...

It was 146 years ago that Ella Sharp introduced an innovation - an escape from the home. The formation of the Tuesday Club came at a time when women were mostly housebound.  Men went to work, women stayed home.  That had to be a challenge even for the most devoted...

The operator of a motorcycle drifted over the centerline of Wamplers Lake Road near the 100 block, went over an embankment, and into a creek, according to Columbia Charter Township Police Chief Jay Niles on Monday, May 13th.   49-year-old Paul D. Hoover of Van Buren,...

Columbia Charter Township Police responded to a vehicle vs structure crash at Riverside and Brooklyn Road on May 9th just before noon. On arrival at the scene of the crash officers discovered that there were no injuries to the occupant of the truck nor anybody within...

With cloud cover rolling in at Clark Lake, seeing the NOAA-promised northern light show seemed dubious.  Not so for Diane Deming.  She caught four awesome photos last night (Fri 5/10).  But it didn't start that way.  Standing on the dock at around 10:30 pm, she...

But why, Bill? Lurking in Clark Lake's Underwater Wonderland are things that shouldn't be there - poles, stakes, cement blocks, cans, bottles, lawn chairs, abandoned boats, and maybe those sunglasses you lost two summers ago.  Bill Vinson is one of the volunteers...

NOAA is forecasting a major geomagnetic storm.  According to the Weather Channel, this is the first time a Severe Geomagnetic Storm Watch has been issued since January 2005.  On a scale of 1 to 9, this is an 8.   NOAA warns at least five Earth-directed coronal mass...

Once again, Brooklyn Kiwanis is launching the annual program that ensures you can easily display an American flag on each patriotic occasion through the year.   These dates include Armed Forces Day through July 4th, Labor Day through September 11, and Election Day...

Twenty-seven years ago big things were taking place at Clark Lake.  Crews were mounting the Graziani cottage on a barge where it would soon be floated to its new forever home in the County Park at the east end.  A news hand-out titled "Spirt of the Lakes," published...

"We went through 48 hours of sadness," says Diane Smith.  For months, Brad and Diane Smith have been on a mission to establish a Montessori daycare in what was formerly the Clarklake Community Church on Hyde Road.  On Thursday, the Columbia Charter Township Board of...

"The kids lost tonight," says Diane Smith.  She and her husband, Brad, have spent months in their effort to convert the former Clarklake Community Church into a Montessori daycare, ages 3-12.  That process involved carefully developing plans to convert the building to...

Thanks to fifteen donations, the Clark Lake Memory Fund is underway and partway to the goal.  The fund will make possible the repair of broken, tipped over, or out of place headstones in the Clark Lake Cemetery.  They will then be gently cleaned.  The work will be...

A visit to the cemetery on Hyde Road connects you to Clark Lake's Memory.  You first notice familiar names like Vermeulen, Adkins, Jackson, Anderson, and Reed.  Look further and you find reminders of the area's earliest settlers.  George Stranahan, his son George Jr.,...