Carol Everet eyes Art Prize as next step in journey as a local artist See Page 4-A

Karen Parker Moeller among Grand Rapids Art Prize competitors See Page 4-A

Democrats rally to decry school funding cuts See Page 8-A

VOL. 129, NO. 37

Milan News-Leader
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012 Weave the Web:
Make sure to click on www.heritage.com around the clock for the most in-depth coverage. See our Most Viewed story, Sons of Anarchy revs up for a blistering Season 5.

The

75

City considers economic development website

Website to be geared toward newcomers
By Jim Pruitt
Heritage Media

City leaders continue to work on a brand for the community, but they are looking for some outside help to keep the ball rolling. The city already has posted two videos touting the town and its people on its government website, paying $6,000 to air 1,005 commercials on cable systems in Ann Arbor and Monroe. The problem, officials say, is a lack of way to track the success of the ads. We have some anecdotal responses, City Administrator Benjamin Swayze said, but not a lot of hard evidence. To get that information, City

Council discussed branding and promoting the city last month at a work session and created a committee consisting of council members Michael Armitage, Doug Gilson and Brett Moyer with Swayze to develop some ideas on how to proceed. The commercials were produced and directed by Milan transplant Ezekiel Alexander Enriquez at the behest of Mayor Kym Muckler, Armitage said. They are very good quality commercials, he said. I am very happy with them. My concern is that if we are going to do these great commercials, we need to have an audience and a mission in mind. That means knowing who the city needs to market to and why and how to know whats being watched, he said. And instead of directing people at the end of the ad to the citys website, Armitage proposed and got the councils backing for creating a new website. The new site would be an

economic development site or a visitors site, Armitage said. With such a site, the city would be able to track how many people are coming to the site after a commercial, he said. Whatever you are doing to promote Milan, you know if its having an effect, he said, because youll be able to see them coming to the website. The site could be akin to sites used in Saline and Chelsea, Swayze said. The benefit is the city would have a reliable way of tracking interest generated by the commercials. Realistically, we are not going to get these kinds of stats, he said about the current arrangement. Thats why we want a separate website. The new site would allow the city website to continue to serve residents with important matters and services, Armitage said. A new website would be geared strictly for newcomers,
PLEASE SEE MARKETING/7-A

Check out our video:

ABOVE: Milan City Councilman Michael Armitage is a member of a marketing committee for Milan. BELOW: City Administrator Benjamin Swayze also serves on the committee.
Your Spot youth program offers activities, positive support

Click on the jobs tab on the home page of our website ror a g edirectly to h e i t go . c o m http://jobs.heritage.com.

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The new Milan Center for Innovative Studies will be open for the community to tour from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The open house will include a short ribbon-cutting ceremony and presentation.

Residents win awards for landscaping

By Joyce Ervin
Special Writer

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Milan innovative studies center hosts open house

Voter-approved bond issue pays for facility
By Lori Maranville
he Milan Center for Innovative Studies will open its doors to the community during an open house from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Milan High School seniors already are making use of the new 23,000-square-foot space, an addition to the high school paid for through a voter-approved bond in 2009. This amazing space is full of cutting-edge technology and its a cutting-edge learning experience for the seniors in the Milan Area Schools, said the centers coordinator, Kevin Upton. A project-based learning approach is at the heart of the buildings design, as students earn math, science, English, and social studies credits in an integrated learning environ-

Special Writer

Photos by Lori Maranville

The Milan Center for Innovative Studies incorporates an open design to coincide with a project-based learning curriculum for students. The new center will be used by Milans 12th-grade students.
PLEASE SEE MILAN/7-A

Milan Beautification Awards were presented to winning homeowners for the month of September by the Milan Beautification Commission and the Milan Garden Club. The commission recognizes See photos, residents within Page 9-A the city limits and the garden club recognizes those who reside outside of the city limits. Chairwoman Barbara Gardinier encourages everyone to take a driving tour to view the winners homes. The commission places a sign in the winners yards and they are presented with a letter of recognition from the city of Milan. An awards certificate is presented to each winning home or business owner. The contest is held by the organizations to encourage residents to help keep Milan and the surrounding area beautiful.

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Local ads are just a hop away at the MIcentral.com marketplace. While you are there, you can check out all the special supplements of Journal Register Co. newspapers in Michigan. Click on marketplace on the home page of our Web site or go directly to www.marketplace. micentral.com.

WHATS INSIDE
Printed on recycled paper

Community Calendar . . . . 1-C Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-A Death Notices . . . . . . . . 13-A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-B

News Tip Hotline 429-7380

www.milannews.com
present Scoop to Nuts: Brainstorming story ideas and crafting the nut graph so readers know why the story is of value to them, from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 27; Leslie McGraw will present Blogging for writers, journalists and photographers, from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 4; Doug Bauman, photographer and videographer at The Oakland Press, will present a workshop on photography and video from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 12; Blogging for nonprot and community organizations will

E-mail: editor@milannnews.com
be presented by McGraw from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 18; and freelance editor Sarah Rigg will present Navigating local media, from a journalist and editor from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 31. The lab offers help on writing press releases, setting up social media accounts, blogging, editing video and creating photo slideshows, among other things, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Email communitymedialab@heritage.com or call 1267-229-6037 for more information.

BRIEFLY...
Workshops set at Community Media Lab: The Community Media Lab, located at 215 W. Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti, is offering free workshops through October. Krista Gjestland, editor of the Ypsilanti Courier and Manchester Enterprise, will lead Social media for journalists and businesses from 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 19; Kevin Devine, adviser to The Eastern Echo, will

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