2020: A year in review in Ann Arbor
Meredith Bruckner, Community News Producer, All About Ann Arbor
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Happy Friday!
It’s the first day of 2021 and many are looking to this year as one of hope. Though we’re still in the same pandemic as we were yesterday, there is something about Jan. 1 that instills a sense of reset and fresh focus. My New Year’s resolution is to get out of the house as much as possible once it is safe to venture outdoors unmasked again it’s almost hard to imagine, isn’t it?
Being cooped up inside has made me think of all the events and trips I’ve passed up over the years. Even small things like taking my daughters to weekday storytimes or Dancing Babies classes at AADL I won’t take that for granted when it all returns.
The ‘heart of the Treasure Mart.’ Popular store owner remembered as loving, outgoing person
Updated Dec 28, 2020;
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ANN ARBOR, MI On a Friday night in September 1968, Carl Johns met his soulmate.
It was at a party at Michigan State University that he spotted a “pretty cute” woman with a friend. After pursuing the friend, Carl quickly realized there just was no chemistry there, so he asked the “pretty cute” woman to dance.
They hit it off. And Elaine Johns became the woman Carl chased for a date during Christmas break in 1968, and who he eventually married.
Called “the heart of the Treasure Mart” for her longtime ownership of Treasure Mart, the popular, eclectic Ann Arbor resale store, Elaine died on Saturday, Nov. 21, after battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. She was 70.
These Ann Arbor-area businesses closed in 2020, some due to COVID-19
Updated Dec 24, 2020;
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ANN ARBOR, MI Several longtime Ann Arbor-area businesses have closed this year for various reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic.
Businesses flexed their creative muscles to try staying afloat during a year of stay-at-home orders, government-mandated closures and social distancing brought on by COVID-19. Others shut down completely after finding their business was not feasible without daily traffic.
Here’s a list of several Ann Arbor-area businesses that have closed throughout the year.
\aut\ BAR, located at 315 Braun Court in Ann Arbor, opened as a gay bar in 1995. In February 2019, BarStar Group announced it had bought the bar.
Carolyn Rodgers
A local community member received recognition from AARP after taking home an honoree position for the Oklahoma AARP Andrus Award for Community Service for all that she does within the City of Duncan.
The Andrus Award, named after AARP Founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, is the highest honor presented by AARP. This yearâs 2020 Andrus Award was presented to Elaine Johns, of Enid, with Martin Abbott and Duncanâs own Carolyn Rodgers selected as honorees.
Rodgers, who received $1,000 that went to the charity of her choice, selected Color Duncan Beautiful to receive the funds.
âI plan to buy crapemyrtles in the spring that will be planted along the Crapemyrtle Trail,â Rodgers said. âIâll buy as many as I can and give them to individuals free of charge to plant in their front yards. My purpose since 2007 has been to beautify Duncan and help to make it a community that we can be proud to call home.â
Enid News & Eagle Editorial Board Dec 12, 2020
Thumbs up people running for office in our local election early in 2021.
Enid voters in Wards 3, 4 and 6 will elect commissioners in the Feb. 9 election, along with a winner in the Ward 3 recall election for Commissioner Ben Ezzell, who would then term out in May.
All three Enid City Commission ward races â excluding the Ward 3 regular election â will have at least three candidates on the ballot.
On the Enid Public Schools Board of Education, Offices 1 and 6 are up for reelection.
School board elections are slated for other public school districts in Garfield County, including Drummond, Waukomis, Autry Technology Center, Cimarron, Chisholm, Covington-Douglas, Garber, Kremlin-Hillsdale and Pioneer-Pleasant Vale.