Lowell Bridge Construction 2010

Eastbound M21 closed for 6 hours.

2010-11-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

TOTAL CLOSURE - Map - Wed 12/1/10, 12 AM to Wed 12/1/10, 6 AM

Eastbound M-21 over the Grand River.
Details:
Eastbound M-21 is closed between Midnight and 6 AM for bridge deck repairs. Motorists should use the following detour.
Detour:
South (right) on Ada Drive. East (left) on Thornapple River Drive. South (left) on Buttrick Avenue. East (left) on Grand River Avenue. North (left) on Segwun Avenue. Continue north on Hudson Street to M-21.
Work will take place at night
Work is weather dependent (no rain, cold temps, etc.)

Contact:

Grand Rapids TSC 616-464-1800

Kent County

Bridge Construction in Ada

2010-11-01T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ada Business Association
PO Box 629 •
Ada, MI 49301
adabusinessassociation.com

M-21 Bridge Replacement Update

Traffic access across the river will be maintained at all times!

After several months of dialogue between the Michigan DOT, Ada Township, the Ada Township Downtown DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) and the Ada business community, a plan and schedule are now in place to replace the M-21 bridge in a manner that maintains traffic access across the river at all times.The Michigan DOT has made a commitment that THE M-21 BRIDGE WILL NOT BE CLOSED TO TRAFFIC AT ANY TIME DURING THE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT.

Temporary bridge span to be constructed.

In order to maintain traffic access across the river during the bridge replacement project, a temporary, 2-lane bridge (one lane in each direction) will be built across the river, immediately adjacent to and south of the existing bridge. Following completion of the new bridge, the temporary bridge will be removed.

Lane closures to begin in September, 20 I 0 and last until November, 20 I I

Michigan DOT anticipates the following construction sequence and schedule for the project:

September, 20 I 0:

Lane closures will begin on the highway in the vicinity of the bridge, while preparations are made

for construction of the temporary bridge,

April. 20 II:

The temporary, 2-lane bridge will be completed. and traffiC will be diverted onto the temporary

bridge. Posted traffic speeds will be reduced to 35 mph or less.

April, 20 II:

Removal of the existing bridge will begin. Following removal of the current bridge, construction

of the replacement bridge will occur.

October, 20 I I:

Construction of the permanent bridge will be nearly complete, and traffic will be shifted to the

new bridge, with one lane in each direction. Work will begin on removal of the temporary bridge.

November, 20 I I: Following removal of the temporary bridge, the new bridge will be placed in full operation, with 2 traffic lanes in each direction open. May, 2012: Final cleanup and restoration of the area will be completed, and the pedestrian/bicycle lane on the bridge will be open.

There will be some traffiC congestion and delays during peak traffic times (morning and afternoon commuting hours) at the bridge. Outside of these brief periods, it is expected that there will be no delays or traffic congestion for those who use the bridge.

What you can do to minimIze traffic congestion, delay and inconvenience crossing the river.

¥ Adjust travel times slightly so that trips across the bridge are either before or after peak traffic times. Consider leaving earlier for work, or delay the trip home after work by 15 or 20 minutes to avoid peak travel time on the bridge, and allow traffic to clear.

¥ If you find that traffic is delayed at the bridge on your morning or evening commute, consider stopping and patronizing local businesses while you wait for traffic to clear.

For future updates visit www.adatownshipmi.com

TEMPORARY BRIDGE

The Ada Business Association wishes to thank Ada Township, the DDA and MDOT for working together to better our community!

Information about the bridge construction on M-21 in Ada.

2010-10-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

The following announcement is from the Ada Business Association.
PO Box 629 • Ada, MI 49301
adabusinessassociation.com

More updates: www.adatownshipmi.com

M-21 Bridge Replacement Update

Traffic access across the river will be maintained at all times!

After several months of dialogue between the Michigan DOT, Ada Township, the Ada Township Downtown DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) and the Ada business community, a plan and schedule are now in place to replace the M-21 bridge in a manner that maintains traffic access across the river at all times.The Michigan DOT has made a commitment that THE M-21 BRIDGE WILL NOT BE CLOSED TO TRAFFIC AT ANY TIME DURING THE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT.

Temporary bridge span to be constructed.

In order to maintain traffic access across the river during the bridge replacement project, a temporary, 2-lane bridge (one lane in each direction) will be built across the river, immediately adjacent to and south of the existing bridge. Following completion of the new bridge, the temporary bridge will be removed.

Lane closures to begin in September, 20 I 0 and last until November, 20 I I

Michigan DOT anticipates the following construction sequence and schedule for the project:

September, 20 I 0:

Lane closures will begin on the highway in the vicinity of the bridge, while preparations are made

for construction of the temporary bridge,

April. 20 II:

The temporary, 2-lane bridge will be completed. and traffiC will be diverted onto the temporary

bridge. Posted traffic speeds will be reduced to 35 mph or less.

April, 20 II:

Removal of the existing bridge will begin. Following removal of the current bridge, construction

of the replacement bridge will occur.

October, 20 I I:

Construction of the permanent bridge will be nearly complete, and traffic will be shifted to the

new bridge, with one lane in each direction. Work will begin on removal of the temporary bridge.

November, 20 I I: Following removal of the temporary bridge, the new bridge will be placed in full operation, with 2 traffic lanes in each direction open. May, 2012: Final cleanup and restoration of the area will be completed, and the pedestrian/bicycle lane on the bridge will be open.

There will be some traffiC congestion and delays during peak traffic times (morning and afternoon commuting hours) at the bridge. Outside of these brief periods, it is expected that there will be no delays or traffic congestion for those who use the bridge.

What you can do to minimIze traffic congestion, delay and inconvenience crossing the river.

¥ Adjust travel times slightly so that trips across the bridge are either before or after peak traffic times. Consider leaving earlier for work, or delay the trip home after work by 15 or 20 minutes to avoid peak travel time on the bridge, and allow traffic to clear.

¥ If you find that traffic is delayed at the bridge on your morning or evening commute, consider stopping and patronizing local businesses while you wait for traffic to clear.

For future updates visit www.adatownshipmi.com

TEMPORARY BRIDGE

The Ada Business Association wishes to thank Ada Township, the DDA and MDOT for working together to better our community!

Final Bridge Buck Winners

2010-10-09T04:03:00.001-07:00

We want to thank all of you for participating in our Bridge Bucks program and most of all for being loyal to our business through the long construction project!

$50 – Sue Lindhout
$20 – Louise Kamphuis, Carol Dreath, Sue Sova, Judy Pinckney & Mary Wittenbach
$10 – Bruce Friesner, Aaron Putnam, Marcia Banfill, Leo Pfaller and Sharon Johnson

Another group of winners.

2010-10-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the next to last group of Bridge Buck winners:

$50 – Don Schneider

$20 – Joy Sargent, Susan Lambke, Kara Krieg, Rex Crout and Jerry Young
$10 – Howard Achesan, Rick Valentine, Janet Krueger, Ginny Gauger and Beth VanProoyen

Don't forget to claim your prize bucks at the Chamber office. Thanks to everyone for supporting Lowell during the construction.

Bridge is done - but the winning continues.

2010-09-28T06:29:00.001-07:00

More Bridge Buck winners - these were chosen 9/24/10.
$50 – Carrol Kelly

$20 – Jamie Schwartz, Mary Himpler, Sue Merchant, Mary Lang, & Linda Aksamitauski
$10 – Bev Zandstra, Dona Geiger, Lin Beenen, Don Morgan & G. Hathaway

Their work here is done!

2010-09-25T11:56:00.000-07:00

They finished one week early - just in time for the Homecoming Parade. M-21/Main Street is open in BOTH directions.

The Entire Complete and Unabridged Troll Story.

2010-09-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

CHAPTER 1

Once upon a time in a far, far away land known as the UP, Upper Peninsula, of Michigan there lived a troll. This particular troll was a very kind, lovely troll. This little troll was always laughing...smiling, whistling a tune...rather off-key...but a truly happy guy was our troll. However, he was quite young and quite alone in the vast open spaces of the U.P. Everywhere he would go, he would try to find other trolls to whilst away his days with...but he always, always ended up alone... He looked everywhere for a place to belong.
This particular troll grew very sad because he was so alone. He smiled less and less...he rarely laughed anymore and he stopped whistling altogether.
One fine sunny day a passerby noticed the sad little troll sitting alone with his chin resting in his upturned hands. The passerby heard the troll let out a rather large, and heavy sigh! Now it was unusual for the passerby to get involved in other folks business. Yet the trolls' down trodden look tugged at the heartstrings of the passerby.
"Whatever is making you so sad on this fine and glorious day, young troll?” the passerby asked in a gentle voice.
So lost in his thoughts was he that our troll almost did not respond..but finally he noticed the man and with tears in his eyes he looked up and replied, "Why I have looked high and I have looked low but I cannot find anyone who is like me..."
"Ha ha ha...is that all that is bothering you my friend?" the man laughed. "Do you not know that Trolls live below the bridge?"
"What? What is that you say? Trolls live below a bridge? Oh my! Oh my, I have not looked below a bridge for a friend!" And with that bit of encouraging news our troll popped up, hugged the stranger, did a bit of a dance, and started to whistle a little tune! "Thank you, thank you, I know I can find just the right bridge!"
So thus began our troll's search for the perfect bridge...the perfect home...a place to live!
Well, as you may have guessed by now...our troll journeyed many, many days and had a many great adventure. But this troll being oh so smart, and oh so clever wouldn't settle for just any home. Our troll wanted to find the perfect bridge in a perfect town. Our troll went looking for the "next place to be!" A magical town where anything was possible...a town where people took pride in their homes, their stores, their schools, their community, and their bridges!
And that is how our troll came to live in, none other than Lowell, Michigan. Our troll set up his home under the bridge at 000 Main Street.
Little did our troll know what was in "store" for him in the future. Join us each week to learn about the adventures of our Lowell troll....

CHAPTER 2

Last week we met a very fine, happy troll who moved to Lowell, Michigan and built a wonderful home under our very own bridge on Main Street. Our troll enjoyed many, many fine years under his bridge in Lowell. Our troll met a very fine and lovely lady troll and they were soon married. Together, they enjoyed years of Riverwalk Festivals, Football games, parade after parade, visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus...and all the wonderful magic that goes along with living in a small town. Their family grew and grew over the years. Life was the best! Our troll was heard laughing...he was seen smiling and his whistling was so very constant that it bordered on annoying to the townspeople. But no one complained because the troll and his family was loved by all!
This went on for years and years and the troll thrived....but word slowly got out that our troll was blissfully happy and a very odd thing started to happen. Daily the troll family was "surprised" by friends and distant family members "stopping by" for a visit. These visits grew more frequent and they lasted longer and longer each time!
Nine out of ten times these troll visitors agreed that Lowell was indeed the next place to be and they decided to stay in Lowell. They all...yes, all, just moved in with our troll under the bridge!
Well of course the inevitable happened. Our troll outgrew his home under the bridge. Try as he might, he could just no longer squeeze his own children, his friends, aunts, uncles...even his in-laws into his little home under the bridge. So what was a troll to do?
Well...our troll did what any fine homeowner would do in such a dilemma...he decided to REMODEL. Try as the townspeople did into talking the troll into not tearing up their Main Street....the troll had no other options...
Alas, that takes us to our present day situation...and like any good townspeople...the good people of Lowell stood behind their troll and supported him as work got underway in the "remodeling" of their beloved troll's home, 000 Main Street...the bridge. Immediately, Mrs. Troll rushed to enlist the aid of Liz Baker at the Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Troll needed help in temporarily finding homes for all of her children and for all of her house guests. Anyone who knows Lowell's Chambers of Commerce knows that Mrs. Troll was going to be in very good hands and Mrs. Liz was going to be most helpful. After a brief meeting at the Chamber of Commerce all of the merchants wholeheartedly agreed to pitch in and adopt a troll...temporarily while the troll's home was being remodeled. The merchants left the meeting all smiles. They were feeling pretty darn good about themselves for being so helpful, noble, and generous by helping out the 45 or so trolls needing a new home. Ha! AND... this is where it all gets a little goofy...a little dicey...and somewhat crazy! Maybe no one really told the merchants what living with a troll could be like, maybe no one really reminded the merchants how much mischief a troll could cause, maybe...well no use pointing any fingers...stay tuned to learn how these trolls adapted to their new homes. You just won't believe some of the stories..

CHAPTER 3

Last week we learned that all of our trolls would be in need of a place to live while their home, under the bridge, was being remodeled. We learned that Mrs. Troll was infiltrating the Lowell Chamber of Commerce where she could control everything. Mrs. Troll was busy with maps, charts, highlighters, graphs, clip boards, and anything she could get her hands on to help her, in the placement of her family members with various local merchants. Liz Baker, who really runs the Chamber, was last seen throwing her hands in the air, biting her tongue, and hiding from a rather bossy Mrs. Troll. In the meantime, several of the trolls took it upon themselves to find their own temporary lodging! Wasting not one second of time, Cookie, a level headed and practical troll, headed over to King Milling headquarters and staked her claim! Cookie was an amazing baker and it was no coincidence that she always had a bag of flour with her. Cookie was clever enough to set up camp in the very place that she had been sneaking flour from for years.
This really was a "sweet deal" because Cookie lavished the fine workers at King Milling with bakery daily...she soon had them eating out of her hands...so to speak! Cookie loved baking but she also had a sweet tooth for something other than bakery.... Cookie had her eye on Walt, a wickedly handsome younger troll that she heard a rumor would be residing with the folks at Dovetail Antiques...right across the street from King Milling!
Well our wickedly handsome Walt was also wickedly smart and very wise. Walt was not immune to the flirtatious ways of Cookie, nor was he immune to her talents in the kitchen. He loved her cookies! Truth be known...he secretly loved Cookie. However, Walt was also a pretty busy guy helping the Dovetail folks search out the perfect pieces for their store! Walt had a gift for finding the diamond in the rough...for finding that special old collectible, or that one of a kind hutch. Walt was a little too busy to get tied down just yet. In his spare time he was seen fishing, spinning a story to whomever would listen, or just rummaging through estate sale after estate sale. Walt was feeling pretty grand about his new digs at Dovetail Antiques and it sure wouldn't hurt if he could occasionally help himself to a cookie or two!
Would Cookie bake her way into Walt's heart forever or would she have to be content just baking for her friends at King Milling? Would Walt ever commit to Cookie or would he always be too busy finding treasures for Dovetails? And would Liz Baker ever get her office back or would Mrs. Troll be the new chief in charge at the Chamber? See you next week as the tale unravels...

CHAPTER 4
Last week, Dovetail Antiques acquired the helpful, hunky Walt to help in their store. King Milling adopted a resident baker in Cookie, and poor Liz at the Chamber of Commerce lost her office to Mrs. Troll. There have been many new developments in the on going saga of the trolls since last week. Mrs. Troll found homes for 2 of her younger children and more importantly she found someone to take in her disgruntled, crabby father known as Grampa Boyle. Pete or PT, her rowdy 10 year old, moved in with the people at Dery Physical Therapy. Lola, the sassy and spunky 12 year old(ahh hmm that is 12 and 1/2) "beach bum" is hanging out with the folks at Harding Enterprise, when she wasn't playing down by the boat launch, that is! Grampa Boyle was graciously allowed to reside at Keiser's Kitchen if he agreed to stay away from the customers and if he would agree to help cook and if he would agree to not yell at the wait-staff and if he would agree to smile at least once a day and if he would agree...well you get the picture! Keiser's was definitely taking one for the team when they "agreed" to welcome Grampa Boyle into their establishment. Anyway, let's meet PT, who considered himself the number one fan of all things Lowell Red Arrows! PT could be seen in the front row of any and every sporting event. You couldn't miss PT because he would be the one cheering the loudest! PT also kept a vigilant eye on all the athletes, watching for any injuries what so ever. He always made sure that a hurt player knew that he/she could receive excellent physical therapy at Dery Physical Therapy! PT also informed the good townfolk of Lowell that the people at Dery were the best! PT was a great kid...but he had his moments...like all children do. A rumor was circulating that PT could sometimes be found bungee jumping off the bridge, using the thera-bands. Definitely not a stunt to be tried! His big sister Lola would knock him in the head if she ever caught him pulling such a reckless stunt! Lola liked to be near the water 24/7. She adored anything to do with beaches, fish, ducks or the river. Lola also knew she could keep an eye on her punk brother PT from her vantage point by the boat landing. Lola begged the City of Lowell to haul in sand and build her a "ginormous" beach at the landing. Well of course, that was out of the question. So Lola looked around the parking lot at the boat landing and decided what it really needed then was some new asphalt! And she knew just the people who could make that area look brand new again! You guessed it-Harding Enterprises could fix it right up! Harding Enterprises could handle any job that had to do with asphalt! They had a knack of making the old look new again! If only they could work that magic on her old, grouchy Grampa Boyle Lola often thought. Lola went in search of her little brother and thought today might be the perfect day to pay Grampa Boyle a visit.(She and PT secretly adored the old bear) Besides she was craving a plate of Texas Hash and she just loved the waitresses and the energy down at Keiser's!
When they arrived at Keiser's they could definitely pick up the vibe that something was wrong! Everything looked fine on the surface, customers were chatting over delicious home cooked breakfasts and piping hot coffee. BUT Trudy's face said it all. (She's the owner). Her usual bubbly, bright and welcoming smile was replaced with a bunch of those worry wrinkles between her eyes. Lola dared to flat out ask her what was wrong? Trudy rolled her eyes to the heavens and suggested that Lola should ask Grampa Boyle! Oh oh. That couldn't be good!
Lola found Grampa pacing behind the restaurant muttering something about, "he had it coming...oh he had it coming!". Well we have run out of time and Lola had just begun to scratch the surface on this dilemma...plus she could have sworn she got a glimpse of Aunt Cookie whispering and carrying on in what looked like a "heavy" conversation with her best friend Faith Fitness, from the YMCA. What was she up to???

CHAPTER 5
Soooo, do you remember that Grampa Boyle was pacing in the parking lot of Keiser's Kitchen last week. Remember he was muttering and quite honestly, cursing about someone under his breath? Well it is all true and it happened...but why and to whom?
Grampa Boyle was angry with Blair and Trudy Cahoon (the owners of Keiser's) because they had to return 3 dishes of food that Gramps Boyle made! See he really needs glasses and is too proud to admit his sight is going and he accidently put black olives in the blueberry pancakes. Kind of an honest mistake...he thought. After all, black olives tasted good too...so what was the big deal? Blair, Trudy and the customers thought differently. While Gramps was cooling off, Lola, his beloved grandchild ran inside to fetch Faith Fitness. Faith had a calming effect on Old Man Boyle...always had since she married his "favorite" son, Moolah years ago. Faith excused herself from Cookie and their deep conversation on how to snag Walt. Faith hurried to the rescue with Grampa Boyle. Faith took one look at Grampa and immediately she hugged the big bear and sat him down for one of her "gentle" lectures!
First of all she told Boyle that she hadn't seen him working out at the YMCA for weeks, perhaps months and she urged him to get back in there. She reminded him that everything at the YMCA was designed to help him be calmer, lower his blood pressure and add to his enjoyment in life! Faith explained that she had new work-out routines that he would love! Faith had been employed by the YMCA for years and she was constantly learning about new ways to help people get in shape. Then Faith asked him when was the last time he had his eyes checked. Of course Boyle sheepishly admitted that it had been years...like 10 probably. Well, Faith's little brother Optic joined the group down at Advanced Eyecare Professionals and he was just the person Boyle needed to see. Without even listening to Boyle protest, Faith gripped him by the arm and dragged him to her car. She whisked Gramps off to see her brother Optic, knowing he would take care of her beloved father-in-law. Optic was the friendliest of trolls and he welcomed Grampa Boyle, immediately putting him at ease. It was quickly decided that Boyle was as blind as an old bat! Many of the trolls were having problems adjusting to the bright sun-light after having lived under the bridge for so many years. Optic told Boyle all about the new custom lenses available, like "computer-wear", "drivewear",or high definition to name a few. As you would guess grampa Boyle opted for a basic pair of glasses with ordinary frames. As you probably guessed that process alone took several excruciating hours...and of course Optic smiled the whole time! The service at Advanced Eyecare was second to none!
The final stop to cure Grampa Boyle's foul mood was a visit to his favorite son, Moolah, Faith's husband. Moolah was the favorite of many because he had moved into Edward Jones Investments. Moolah had a way of turning everything he touched into "gold"! Of course, Grampa Boyle had entrusted all of his financials to Moolah years ago and now he was able to reap the benefits of excellent financial planning. Moolah was always a good listener and he knew what his clients hoped to accomplish in their retirement years. He had helped many a people in Lowell create wealth, accumulate wealth, and disperse wealth! Grampa Boyle was instantly relaxed and happy upon seeing his son and his portfolio! What a nice "nest egg" could do for a persons' mood! Leave it to the great folks at Edward Jones to remind Boyle of the great things in life, like golf, hunting, fishing and travel...all things he could enjoy because he had trusted them to help him plan for his retirement.
Well old man Boyle was feeling greatly improved and ready to face Keiser's Kitchen with new eyes! He could stick it out for a few more months... However, that got him thinking about just how long would his house be under construction anyway? The only one who would really know what was going on was that darn son-in-law of his and no one had been able to find him in nearly 4 weeks! Where had that lad run off too? Hmmmm, come back next week to find out!

CHAPTER 6
Sooo, everyone has been looking everywhere for Troll Daddy for the past several weeks. He's the fella that started the whole story, the troll who moved from the UP years ago and fell in love with Lowell.
The troll who ended up with every cousin, friend, niece, nephew, and in-law moving in with him under the bridge! Where could the happy-go-lucky Troll Daddy be hiding?
As it happens our delightful Troll Daddy has been so blissfully happy because Mrs. Troll has been kept busy...busy...busy....finding all her friends and family members places to live. Last he heard his beloved
wife had completely taken over the Chamber of Commerce offices and so our Troll Daddy knew exactly where NOT to be seen. He instead planned to take advantage of his new-found freedom and live it up a
little...wee...bit!
Of course, being the social guy that he is, Troll Daddy wasn't going to "live it up" alone....no sir! AND he knew just the fellas that were going to help him have a great time....sort of a celebration....a time to enjoy his freedom! The first pal on his list to recruit into his scheme of FUN was none other than his best friend and old college roommate....Brewski. Now Brewski was bunking down with Bob the new owner of The Lowell Beer Store. The Lowell Beer Store was the perfect place for Brewski because he knew everything there was to know about wines, beers, fine whiskeys, cigars....and so forth. Brewski knew exactly which wine should go with which main dish...he knew exactly how much alcohol a family should order for reunions, weddings, and any other such celebrations. Brewski was the smartest troll that Troll Daddy knew! Besides, Troll Daddy just liked going into The Lowell Beer Store since it was under new management to see all the changes
that were taking place in the store. The shelves were now fully stocked and Bob, the new owner, was adding new products to the store daily! Yes, Brewski would be the first friend Troll Daddy would enlist in his plans to have a fun-filled weekend.
The second troll to be targeted for a weekend of mad-cap chaos was Shamus! Shamus could always be counted on for a good time! Shamus was somehow a very distant cousin to Troll Daddy and they more or less crossed paths while growing up. So Brewski and Troll Daddy headed down to Larkin’s, where Shamus now lived, to snag their friend for a day of craziness. Shamus loved it down at Larkin’s and was right at home in his new "home away from home". Larkin’s had some of the best food he had ever eaten and the HAPPY HOUR specials always left him feeling very "happy" and very "special"! As an added bonus, Shamus was able to tell his famous Irish Tales, dance a little and generally carry on with the good folks of Lowell. So it wasn't long before Troll Daddy, Shamus and Brewski were huddled around a pitcher of icy cold beer at Larkin’s....telling stories....entertaining the crowd, and adding to the magic of the nightlife of Lowell.
At some point in the night their fourth and fifth side-kicks joined in the fun. As our trio made their way down to Sneakers, they met up with Boris. Boris was old....we are talking ancient, but he could still be counted on for a rip-roaring good time. Boris took up his residence at Sneakers, we suspect because he hadn't met a cheeseburger he didn't love and Sneakers never had a shortage of delicious cheeseburgers! Boris told his younger buddies to head on over to have a few burritos, cheeseburgers, nachos and a cold beer with him once they finished up at Larkin’s. Now Boris didn't have to ask the guys twice because just the thought of more beer and food and Happy Hour specials had the guys running down to Sneakers.
On their way down the block, it so happened that they stumbled upon Troll Daddy's first cousin, Billy Bob. Describing Billy Bob as a "redneck" may seem cruel, but that is how he introduces himself to everyone. "Hi my name is Billy Bob and I am the redneck that cooks up one of da meanest breekfists down der atta BackWater Café!", he has been overheard saying to just about anyone he meets. Billy Bob drove his pick-up truck into Lowell about 20 some years ago...give or take and has lived here ever since. He is the first cousin to Troll Daddy and he is the one person Mrs. Troll absolutely would not allow to move into their home under the bridge. No bother to Billy Bob, no offense...he simply lived outta his pick-up truck. Billy Bob could out-cook, out-drink, out-cuss, out-last any of his troll buddies. So no party was complete without dear old Billy Bob. Billy Bob also claims family ties to Shamus...third, fourth or even a fifth cousin.....but even Shamus would rather see Billy Bob live in his old pick-up then have him invade his space.
Well the folks at the BackWater Cafe have agreed to put up with all Billy Bob's "Billy Bobness" and his "redneck" ways just as long as he would continue to whip up the delicious breakfasts and lunches that he
is so famous for making.
So the party was complete....Troll Daddy, Brewski, Shamus, Boris, and Billy Bob were out on the town for a night of total fun, food and carousing.... They even planned to have a 6 in the morning breakfast at the Back Water cafe the next day! Nothing would get in the way of these mischievous trolls and their night on the town! Nothing would turn their jovial moods upside down! Nothing could stop them.....uh.....who was that stomping toward them down Main Street with her hands on her hips and steam coming out of her ears????
Who turned them in to the one person who could destroy their carefully laid plans? How could their evening turn south so quickly? Tune in next week to see if our trolls have the night they were hoping for....or if their night out is "water under the bridge" so to speak.....

CHAPTER 7

Rumors, rumors, rumors! So many rumors, truths, half-truths, lies, and gossip have been floating around in the Troll world that someone has to set "most" of it straight. So here's the skinny on the scoop you may...or may not be hearing! It is in fact true that PT is grounded "forever" for having been caught bungee jumping off of the bridge and he currently hates his sister Lola for ratting him out.
Grampa Boyle caused another ruckus at Keiser’s...something about "dancing at the Prom when he should have been cooking". Faith and Moola are indeed expecting their first little baby troll. Uncle Optic plans to be the baby's god father. Cookie seems to be snagging her man, Walt...someone saw them smooching at Sneakers! It is absolutely false that our Fearsome Five tore up the town last weekend...it was more like the "not quite so fearsome" four had a few beers and trudged home, saddened that their night was a debacle. Troll Daddy's evening was cut totally short by a very, very, very unhappy Mrs. Troll. Did I mention that
Mrs. Troll was not pleased? Well you may have heard her launch into an hour lecture to Troll Daddy about how he just wasn't involved or around since their home was under construction. Like any good husband
who has been married FOREVER, Troll Daddy promised to rectify the situation and he even agreed to meet with the heating, cooling, plumbing, window, and designer guys...and gal!
Mrs. Troll muttered something about "believing it when she saw it"...and something about Pigs and flying...well never mind, Troll Daddy was bound and determined to make peace, if for no other reason
than to plan his next escape!
So in keeping with his spirit of peace Mr. and Mrs. Troll planned to meet with Ms. Faucet regarding the plans for their kitchen. Ms. Faucet was a rather creative and delightful troll who was living at the Hearthstone Design Studio on Main Street. Ms. Faucet had already taken the liberty of sketching up several preliminary kitchen plans based on numerous conversations she had already had with Mrs. Troll. Troll Daddy was actually feeling pretty smug and a little confident interjecting an occasional "ahha" and "hmmm nice" at what seemed to be all the appropriate places in their meeting as they perused the plans for the kitchen. He really thought this Faucet lady knew her stuff and he was grateful that very little was required of him. Those folks at
Hearthstone Design Studio were top notch in his book and he could tell that Mrs. Troll would be more than pleased with the plans for her new kitchen. By the end of the meeting Mrs. Troll was all smiles and she even gave a little hug to her Mr. Troll. Life seemed to be getting back on course.
With kitchen plans in hand the two headed down to All Weather Seal to discuss windows. Scott, over at All Weather Seal had allowed Pickles McTroll to live in his storefront while the bridge was being remodeled. Scott felt it was fitting for Pickles to assist Troll Daddy and Mrs. Troll in the selection of their windows. Pickles was extremely organized, bossy and opinionated so there could be a potential clash between himself and Mrs. Troll. Troll Daddy knew he would have to keep on his toes to keep things running smoothly with
this meeting. Fortunately, Scott, Jim, Jason and all the helpful salespeople at All Weather Seal were in tune to the Troll's needs and they quickly measured, discussed, and priced the best windows for Troll Daddy.
Poor Pickles and Mrs. Troll were deep into a very heated argument and didn't even know all the decisions had been made and Troll Daddy was quietly sneaking out of the building! Actually, everyone was quietly
sneaking out of the building, leaving Pickles and Mrs. Troll in a near shouting match! The two never noticed! They just kept going round and round the discussion of double hung windows versus casement windows.
They moved into a loud discussion about roofing too! A Metal roof is what Mrs. Troll wanted. Mrs. Troll had no idea she could get her windows, roof and entry doors all from All Weather Seal. She was actually elated because she was also getting the Energy Saving Tax Credit for everything she purchased with them! Little did Pickles or Mrs. Troll know that Troll Daddy and Scott had already closed the deal on the windows, roof and entry doors and they were over at Sneakers celebrating all their wise decisions. Ha!

By the time Mrs. Troll realized her husband was gone she had run out of time for her meetings with Artic Heating and Cooling and Canfield Plumbing and Cooling. Speaking of time.... so have we...run out of
time that is...so we will continue this saga next week! Will Troll Daddy drop out of circulation again? Will Mrs. Troll make it to her meetings? Will they be able to pay for all these improvements? See you next week...with some answers....and some rumors!

CHAPTER 8
Are you wondering what all the fuss is about with the Trolls? Are you thinking we have lost our minds in Lowell??? Are there really Trolls? Do they exist? I am here to tell you that the Trolls are alive and well and are taking over store after store after restaurant after library after bank after...well you get the idea here. If you don't believe me, then get your "doubting self" down to the shops and see for yourself. Sixty-four merchants, yes you heard me...64 merchants, have opened their doors to these magical Trolls and they are all waiting to meet you!
(Yea...and that means we have a whole lotta chapters to write too)
AND if you have missed any of these hard to believe, silly little chapters then head to the Chamber of Commerce and Ms. Liz will get you copies of the tales you have missed! Well, she will do her best but be
prepared to be bossed around by Mrs. Troll...remember she lives in Lizzie's office.
Speaking of bossy Mrs. Troll... Last week we left her knowing that her Troll Daddy was once again on the lam...oh and was she angry. However, rather than wasting too much time looking for the rascal she
decided to meet with Jim the plumber at Canfield's Plumbing and Cooling. She actually thought Jim was the hardest working troll she knew and they had been friends since elementary school. Jim was just a great guy who would make sure that Mrs. Troll's new home was equipped with all the latest and greatest plumbing advances! Jim had been in the business since...well since forever and no one knew more than he did about how to get water from point A to point B! Mrs. Troll knew her meeting with Jim would go beautifully and it would be brief. Jim didn't waste anyone's time and he was a straight shooter who just loved to get back to work. Mrs. Troll had promised Jim a delicious home-cooked meal in her new home just as soon as it was complete. Mrs. Troll was also holding out hope that she would be marrying Jim off to one of her many available sisters. But that is a story for next week.
Mrs. Troll's next stop was to see her uncle from the Netherlands, Old Dutch! It was hard for her to find Old Dutch because he was always traveling off to some exotic destination. Old Dutch lived with the folks over at Arctic Heating and Cooling. Mrs. Troll was going to hire her uncle to install the heating system for her new home. Dutch would do a terrific job for his niece and he was happy to take care of all her heating needs. Lowell was lucky to have two wonderful places to choose from for heating and cooling with both Canfield's and Arctic Inc. Mrs. Troll felt blessed to live in a community filled with such hard workers!
Speaking of hard workers...reminded her that her husband wasn't one of those and just where had Troll Daddy gone off to this time???
Unbeknownst to Mrs. Troll, her husband was actually at Firstbank of West Michigan applying for a loan to cover all the additional expenses their new and improved home would cost. Troll Daddy was meeting with
his sister-in-law Suzie Banks, a real financial guru! Man, Suzie was a total money geek! Her blackberry was always, always, always in the palm of her hand so she could constantly read "up to the minute" banking trends. Suzie was also a great resource for anyone wanting advice on business growth opportunities. Troll Daddy knew she was the perfect person for him to talk with regarding a home equity loan.
Besides, Suzie was a crazy coin collector and it was a well know fact that Troll Daddy dabbled in coin collecting himself! The two could talk for hours about unique and rare coins they had discovered around
the Lowell area. Yes, Troll Daddy was spotted heading into Firstbank-West Michigan and it would be hours before he would be seen exiting the building.
Well life was fairly calm this week...no trauma, drama, or angry mama... Calm before the storm? Perhaps. Or maybe everything was just blissful in Lowell...maybe. See you next week

CHAPTER 9
When we last visited our troll characters we were all pleasantly surprised to read that they were having a rather calm, sedate week!
Love was in the air as well as peace and harmony! A regular "hippie fest" ha-ha.
This week we notice that the children have a great deal more free time. School is winding down and their freedom is revving up. Except of course for Pete, who is still grounded! However, Pete's older brother, Charlie (twin to Lola) is not grounded but he is busy, busy, busy! Charlie is a delightful 12 year old living over at the Lowell Area Arts Council. Charlie is the polar opposite of Pete. Don't get me wrong, they are both super kids, but Charlie would rather be painting, drawing, creating, or displaying artwork! The kid is flat out talented. He just wrapped up the show for the Alto, Cherry Creek and Murray Lake Elementary Schools. A fine show it was! A fine show indeed!
Charlie's next project was to get ready for the Summer Concert Series starting in June. Charlie felt he was so very helpful that he often wondered what Ms. Lorain and Ms. Elaine would do without him. He would
like to meet all of you and if you haven't had the chance, please head to the Lowell Area Arts Council to say hello to Charlie.
Did we mention that Charlie is also a face book geek! He is always checking everyone's wall and status and updated photos on face book. Charlie happened to notice that his very best friend in the world had found herself the perfect home at Daisy's Floral and Gifts.
Ironically, his friend's name is Daisy and she is working at Daisy's and he thought maybe the Art Council folks might rename their place...Charlie's. Hmmm he would have to bring up the subject with Ms. Lorain when he got a chance. In the meantime he thought he would wander over to Daisy's and check up on Daisy.
Charlie knew from the minute he entered the Flower Shop that his pal had to be somewhere nearby because everyone was smiling and humming and in a great mood. Daisy had that effect on anyone she was around.
People just loved being with her and she made any workplace more cheerful and colorful. Daisy heard Charlie talking and she skipped out to the front of the store to see her friend. It wasn't long before the two were deep in conversation about how much they were helping their respective businesses! Daisy and Charlie...Charlie and Daisy...always making their surroundings more beautiful and more colorful!
Daisy and Charlie decided all their talking and patting each other on the back was making them hungry. A trip to Ball's Softee Creme was just what they needed! Seeing Daisy's "older", "sophisticated" cousin Molly was always worth the trip to Ball's Softee Creme anyway.
When the two got to Softee's, Charlie and Daisy stared at the menu for what seemed like hours. (They knew the menu by heart). The two were actually stalling because they had a front row seat to watch Molly in action. Molly was flirting with two rather handsome trolls and it was bordering on down right obvious! Now what you must keep in mind, is that Ball's Softee Creme is ALWAYS crowded with folks wanting delicious cones, banana splits, chili dogs, chili nachos, ham sandwiches...why my mouth is watering just listing the many goodies on their menu! "Flirting on the job" can be a capital offense and Charlie and Daisy were wondering just how long their diva friend would get away with such behavior. Now the two fellas were totally taken with Molly's batting eyelashes and her sweet giggling...but Molly's Uncle Jim was not so impressed. Uncle Jim ran Softee's and from the looks of things...he might just run Molly out the door! To find out how this situation gets resolved you will need to tune in next week...

CHAPTER 10

Oh my do you remember that last week we left a situation brewing at Ball's Softee Creme? Let us refresh your memory. Molly, our 21 year old vixen niece of Mr. Jim's was holding up the line at Softee's. Molly
was flirting outrageously with two of the most handsome trolls she had ever laid eyes on! Now the crowd was getting a tad restless as they tried to patiently wait for their turn to order an ice cream. But c'mon, enough was enough already!
Uncle Jim did what any good boss would do who has an employee that is just not getting the job done! He sent her on "break". What did you think he would do??? We did mention that Molly was his niece! Ha-ha
So Molly quickly fled outside to learn more about these two amazingly good looking trolls. Their names were Turk and Timmy. Ohhhh she might be in love...with both of them!
Turk was working at the new batting and pitching facility called Spring Training. Turk was fresh out of college, where he had had a college scholarship playing baseball. Turk figured he knew absolutely everything there was to know about baseball, did he mention he played baseball in college? He told Molly that she ought to come down to Spring Training where she could get a "one on one lesson" from Turk on how to hit a baseball. Taking a baseball lesson was absolutely the last thing Molly needed to do but she looked over at her cousin Daisy's friend Charlie and you could actually see her plotting about how she could enlist Charlie's help! Charlie would be taking baseball lessons for several weeks and that would work out just fine with Molly!
Well Timmy sat back listening to all the plans and knew that Molly would swoon as soon as he decided to join in the conversation. You see Timmy was the new troll in town...fresh from Ireland. And his accent would melt any lassie’s heart! Timmy had been a stow-away in Dr. Reagan's luggage over the past summer. Timmy saw the bags at the airport and knew he had to figure out a way to get to the US of A!
What better way than in luggage that had a tag advertising, Lowell Michigan...the Next Place to Be! So far Lowell turned out to be everything Timmy had hoped it would be. Timmy stayed in Dr. Reagan's offices and he even got a dazzling new smile from Dr Reagan! Things were awesome for Timmy. He spent his winter skating all over the Flat River...well all over the frozen parts and he was looking forward to the summer here as well. Finding the lovely Molly was "icing" on the cake. Sure enough...the minute Timmy uttered his first sentence, Molly was smitten.
Oh whatever was Molly to do? Two handsome, eligible trolls and just "one" Molly...hmmm. It got her thinking, Molly wondered what her great friend Ginger was doing these days??? Ginger was Molly's friend and she was the beautiful, exotic troll over at Glass House Design! Let's see what she thinks of our two bachelors next week!

Chapter 11

Last week our younger, hipper trolls were making their presence felt in Lowell. Molly at Ball's Softee Creme was juggling 2 handsome trolls and trying to figure out what to do about "so many men-trolls...so little time!"
Molly decided to enlist the help of her younger friend Ginger. Now Ginger was an outgoing, mischievous, gorgeous troll who had very little time for all the nonsense of tracking down a boy troll-friend!
Ginger listened to Molly, as any dear friend would do...but then she simply changed the subject and asked Molly if she had seen all the beautiful new sparkly things she had made at Glass House Design?
Ginger loved creating treasures for Glass House and she was quite pleased with her latest creations! Molly had to admit the jewelry, dishes, and little knick knacks that Ginger made were truly special and it wasn't long before Molly was buying up everything in the store! You better hurry and see all Ginger's trinkets at Glass House Designs before Molly wipes out the place!
While the two gals were oohhing and ahhing over every piece of jewelry in Glass House Designs, in walked their goofy friend Doughboy! Doughboy was a happy-go-lucky troll who loved any and everything to do with making and eating pizzas! Doughboy lived at Jet's Pizza and he was a regular magician in the kitchen. He was always happy and nothing could ever bring him down. Now we did say Doughboy was a "magic man" in the kitchen but the only problem was that he made the pizzas the way he wanted them made, not necessarily the way the customer ordered them. Consequently, Doughboy was constantly giving away a bunch of free-messed-up pizzas! The guys at Jet's loved Doughboy, but decided to limit his kitchen time to save themselves
money.
When Ginger saw her buddy Doughboy, she immediately knew that she and Molly would soon be eating a delicious Jet's Pizza. Ginger smelled the pizza aroma before she even saw Doughboy. Soon the three trolls
sat in friendly silence munching on their Jet's Pizza. Each one lost in their own thoughts... Molly dreaming of her two favorite men-trolls, Ginger thinking about glass, beads, and jewelry, and Doughboy just savoring the delicious pizza pie, wishing his mom could make pizzas like this for him...oh NO! His MOM!!!! He forgot!!! He was supposed to pick her up at Salon 206 an hour ago! He was a dead-troll. He raced off without even a backwards glance at his friends!
Tune in next week to learn if Doughboy was a "dead-troll". Had he indeed eaten his last pizza on this earth? Would his mom tear him limb from limb? See you at Salon 206 to learn the fate of our beloved Doughboy!

Chapter 12

Hmmm....so did Doughboy land in a heap of trouble for neglecting to pick up his mother at Salon 206? His fear of getting grounded was quickly replaced by his fear of, "what happened"?, as he made his way to Salon 206 only to find it surrounded by ambulances, police cars, and a fire truck! What in the world was going on???
Doughboy inched his way through the gathered crowd to peer into the salon to see if he could learn what was the cause of all the commotion. Sure enough, the place was packed! It was wall to wall trolls and regular folks in what appeared to be a rather heated debate! It looked to him like a rally taking place but upon closer
inspection it became clear that Mrs. Troll was in a dead away faint on the floor. He also saw that Iris, from D and L Tax Service was in a state of shock, with what looked like shocking PINK hair, and Ms. Gertrude from Alliance Insurance Agency looked to be missing her hair altogether! There was even smoke emanating from Ms Gertrude's head...what was that about????
Doughboy spotted his mom in all the chaos and rushed to her side to learn what was happening in her salon! Hairy-it, Doughboy's mom had been styling the troll's hair successfully for the past 15 years and had never had a day like the one that was unfolding around her! Usually Salon 206 was a tranquil place filled with laughter, stories, and a place to be pampered! Clearly today was an exception. Hairy-it started to tell her son the crazy tale of the past few hours.
It all started when Iris came to her appointment carrying a stack of the latest IRS publications regarding all the tax law changes for 2010. Now Iris is a sweetheart, but Hairy-it knew she had to try to talk her "too serious" friend into shaking things up a bit! Iris could make tax season seem like a vacation for all her clients because she knew the laws inside and out! There wasn't a tax return that Iris couldn't tackle when she helped at D and L Tax Services! She was a genius...not so much a genius when it came to "cutting loose!"
Soooo, Hairy-it finally talked Iris into changing her look altogether! She had Iris convinced a new "cut" and "color" were in order! Iris bravely allowed Hairy-it to work her magic and she sat patiently with a head full of color foils when Ms Gertrude walked in for her weekly wash and set.
Ms Gertrude was an older troll, somewhat set in her ways. She was muttering about the "crazy", "reckless" teen drivers in Lowell when she made her way back to Hairy-its station. Hairy-it gently reminded Ms Gertrude that she had a "teen" son herself and that they weren't all bad drivers. Her reminder fell on deaf ears and Ms Gertrude took the opportunity to tell Hairy-it that she should have Doughboy head over to Alliance Insurance Agency to have Ms Gertrude work up a "safe driver" quote for him...if he was indeed such a safe driver! She was convinced she could save all the teens in town money!
Hairy-it was quite used to listening to Ms Gertrude just ramble on and on. Ms Gertrude was right, however, Alliance Insurance did have some great rates and it was worth getting a quote. It was just difficult letting Ms Gertrude know she was "right" about anything.
So, it seemed like things were moving along smoothly...a typical day in the Salon. Hairy-it moved on to start removing the foils from Iris's hair and asked her co-worker to do the comb-out on Ms Gertrude. When she removed the first foil from Iris's hair and saw the shocking fuchsia color...well Hairy-it knew something was very wrong! Hairy-it quickly rotated Iris's chair so the Iris could not see her reflection in any mirror. Iris could however read the expressions on the other patron's faces and she herself sensed a problem. Then Ms Gertrude caught a glimpse of Iris and in an attempt to drown out Ms Gertrude's shrieks, her stylist quickly turned on her blow-dryer. As luck would have it, the blow-dryer shorted out and a spark landed in Ms Gertrude's hair!
The spark somehow ignited because the spray they were using had been clearly tampered with!
Yep...you guessed the reason the fire truck was there! Ms Gertrude's hair was ablaze! At that particular moment, Mrs. Troll rushed into Salon 206 screaming about stolen blueprints. Mrs. Troll took in the scene of "fuchsia-haired" Iris and "fire-head" Ms Gertrude and Mrs. Troll flat-out fainted...hence the ambulance! Oh, and everyone was convinced that these accidents were not "accidents" at all...but perhaps foul play! Ergo, the police!
Huh...so Doughboy now knew why the emergency vehicles were all parked outside Salon 206. What he did not know was how this would all play out...and neither will you...unless you tune in next week!

Chapter 13

Oh my goodness! What a perfectly, messed up, out of control week the trolls just completed! Hairy-it has been meeting with the police officers all week trying to solve the mystery of who tampered with her beauty products. Gertrude is actually enjoying a little time off from Alliance Insurance as she tries to re-grow her hair. Iris has decided she loves the attention her new fuchsia hair color is bringing her. All in all, it could be worse.
Of course, every troll has an opinion about who was behind all the tom-foolery at the Salon. Most fingers have been pointing to the down right devious troll they all call Butch! Now Butch is a very, very hardworking troll and that is why Gary, Aaron, Chad and Jody invited him into their workplace to live in the first place. They all especially wanted Butch around during the summer months when folks would be flocking to Gary's Meats for all their summertime grilling needs. The quality of their choice steaks, burgers, chicken and chops just can't be beat and having a troll around who was willing to get his hands dirty and help with all the work appealed to everyone at Gary's! What they didn't know when they took Butch in was just how down right naughty he could be. This author can attest to the fact that there is no place better to stock up on all ones meat products (I happen to be there once or twice a week!) but I can also tell you that I have seen Butch...and well...my money is on him that he was the mastermind behind all the chaos at Salon 206!
Now Butch has a few loyal friends that enjoy a prank as well as the next guy and they swear that Butch is NOT GUILTY. Nauga Hyde totally backs his buddy Butch and says the two have been so gosh-dang busy muck-running and cruising around in Nauga's tricked-out El-Camaro that Butch could not possibly have had time to pull any pranks. Nauga Hyde loves fixing up cars and he spends all his time at L.A. Trim where he more or less tries to run the show. Nauga Hyde is great at what he does and he has a certain charm about him that attracts all the trolls. He kind of lives on the edge himself, but he never, ever crosses that line so many trolls believed him when he voiced the opinion that Butch was innocent.
Butch and Nauga Hyde were heading out to Bernard’s Ace Hardware for like the millionth time when they both did a HUGE double take at a troll lady with neon fuchsia hair strolling down the sidewalk followed by an impish little troll. The little troll Sparkle was decked out in everything PINK. Sparkle works at Gilda' Club of Lowell and she does her best to bring joy and laughter into everyone’s life. Sparkle was desperately trying to catch up with Ms Iris to learn where she got the fabulous color for her hair. Butch and Nauga Hyde both chuckled and continued on their way to Bernard's Ace Hardware.
Tune in next week to find out if the mystery of Salon 206 ever gets solved. Find out why Mrs. Troll was screaming about stolen blue prints last week. (We haven't even touched on that subject yet) Learn why Butch and Nauga spend so much time at Bernard's Ace Hardware. Discover if Iris is on to a new craze of full-fuchsia hair and will Sparkle dye hers??? So much unfinished business...so many questions.

Chapter 14

Chapter 13 left us with more questions than answers. Things are certainly getting goofy in Lowell and if you haven't met all these delicious characters, well then might we suggest you take a trip to Main Street and introduce yourself to all of Lowell's Trolls.
For those of you who may have just decided to tune into these Tales of Troll...you can go to the Chamber of Commerce and Mrs. Troll and Liz will be happy to make you copies of any Chapters you may have missed.
So now we must try to clear up some of the current loose strings with some of our more zany trolls. Sparkle, from Gilda's Club, did indeed get her hair fashioned after Ms Iris and there are now two fuchsia-haired friends walking the streets of Lowell. Perhaps they will get all the female trolls to dye their hair in time for the upcoming PINK game in the fall!
Nauga Hyde and Butch have practically set up shop at Bernard's Ace Hardware. Now I know that Bernard's has just about EVERYTHING a homeowner needs when it comes to home maintenance and repair. I also happen to know that they have the most helpful staff on earth, but I have never felt the urge to "live" there. So what the heck were Butch and Nauga Hyde up to???
Upon further investigation it has been discovered that a rather sophisticated, worldly and gorgeous troll by the name of Bernadette has moved into Bernard's. Now Bernadette is not only unbelievably beautiful, she is also "brainy" to boot! Bernadette has a master's degree from New York Troll University in bridge building. Nauga Hyde was quite accustomed to the lady trolls falling all over themselves to be noticed by him. However, this Bernadette creature left him completely speechless and dumbfounded. Nauga Hyde could barely get near the New Yorker because there was always a line of M-DOT workers waiting to ask her this or that about their bridge.
Bernadette never went anywhere without her set of blueprints, her blackberry or her hard hat! As a matter of fact, it happened that Mrs. Troll saw the coveted blue-prints in Bernadette’s hands one day. Without much thought Mrs. Troll tackled poor Bernadette to the ground and snatched up the blueprints while shouting, "Ah HA!"
Bernadette, staggered into the first store she could find to assess the damages to her poor disheveled, tackled body. Bernadette quickly forgot about her pain and torn clothing as she looked around at the lovely store she had entered. Bernadette was quite speechless as she took in the pure beauty of her surroundings at Fire and Water ART! She actually felt as if she were in a gallery back in New York. She was staggering around the show place when she bumped into the most interesting and special troll she had ever laid eyes on. Joy gently placed her hands on Bernadette and guided her to a small bench to help her in her confused state.
Bernadette and Joy became instant kindred spirits and Bernadette knew she would be visiting Fire and Water ART often to take in all the spectacular works of art (by local artists) that literally covered the magnificent building. If you haven't been to Fire and Water ART it is a MUST-SEE!
So...we still have no idea why Mrs. Troll wanted the bridge blueprints. We do however, know that Nauga Hyde is over the top in love! And we are no closer to learning who caused all the troubles at Salon 206. Next week will undoubtedly just bring more confusion...but it’s all so FUN! See you then!

Chapter 15

Alright, alright, alright already! We need to know why on earth Mrs. Troll has been acting so out of control about blueprints. As it turns out, Mrs. Troll had to apologize for tackling poor, gorgeous Bernadette when she returned the blueprints to her. You see, those were Bernadette’s blueprints and not the blueprints that were "stolen" from Mrs. Troll. Apologizing was hard work for Mrs. Troll and it was something she seldom did; just ask Troll Daddy her beloved husband. Mrs. Troll needed her blueprints because her blueprints held the secrets of too many hidden little passageways in her new home. In the hands of the wrong troll those secrets could all be revealed! Where were those plans???? What were the secret passageways for anyway?
Well Mrs. Troll in an effort to be nice (and hopefully to avoid being sued) gave Bernadette a gift card to Eja Salon where she could get her hair repaired from the mess that the tackling had caused. A shampoo and styling would certainly help. Bernadette felt that maybe some pampering was just what she needed so she headed over to Eja Salon to use her gift card. Much to Bernadette’s delight she met the most outrageously, outgoing, friendly, and bordering on obnoxious (in a good way) troll she had met yet in Lowell. Mini Meme or Meme as her friends all called her worked at Eja's and embraced Bernadette in a huge bear hug upon meeting her. The two quickly got to know one another and became fast friends by the time Bernadette’s hair was shampooed, cut, and styled. Meme quickly established herself as the "troll in the know" to her new friend. The two were chatting away making plans for a night on the town, when none other the Butch stormed into the Salon.
It was immediately apparent that Butch had something on his mind and Meme was going to hear all about it! Butch took Meme's elbow and quickly guided her outside where he could speak with her in private. Did the two forget that they were now standing smack-dab on Main Street in front of floor to ceiling windows of every store in town? Not one to miss any excitement, Bernadette stationed herself in a prime spot to view the exchange between these two rather electric trolls!
Bernadette wasn't the only curious observer to the entertainment Butch and Meme were sure to provide. Soon many trolls were peeking out their storefronts to catch a glimpse of the two raising all the ruckus! Gertie, from Springrove pretended to be sweeping the front sidewalk. LillyAnna from Nightforest Jewelry pretended to wash her windows to get a bird's eye view of the two. And on and on it went up and down Main Street as Butch and Meme argued, whispered, shouted, pointed fingers at each other, and generally carried on!
No sooner had Butch and Meme started their fireworks of a conversation when their shouting just stopped. Jaws dropped everywhere as all the trolls looked to see why the two had stopped fighting. Butch and Meme were locked in each others arms in a full blown kiss of passion that caused everyone watching to blush! What was going on???
When Butch finally released a startled and confused Meme there wasn't a sound in Lowell. Time stood still. No one and nothing moved for an eternity...or so it seemed. Then Meme, lips trembling burst into tears and ran back into her Salon. Butch snarled at all of the lookie-loos and grumbled some obscenities and everyone snapped out of their trances-and moved! Doors were heard slamming up and down Main Street and not one troll dared to look at Butch as he stomped off down the street.
Hmmm...wonder what that was all about...Tune in next week to find out what Gertie and LillyAnna know or heard the two discussing. See you then!

Chapter 16

Last week caused many tongues to wag in the troll world. Butch from Gary's Meats was seen in a lip-lock with Meme from Eja Salon. Those two had been known to be somewhat controversial over the years and were often seen arguing one topic or another. I guess it should have been obvious to everyone that their volatile relationship would have to one day end in a kiss. But on Main Street??? In front of all the judging eyes??? Was nothing sacred?
Meme blubbered to her new friend Bernadette that no one would understand what just happened! Butch asked his buddy Nauga Hyde to just get in the El Camaro and take him anywhere...anywhere that he wouldn't have to confront why he kissed Meme.
Well...Gertie at Springrove was pushing her broom that day and heard it all! She was also pushing 80 plus and might not have heard it exactly as it really happened. But no matter, she was delighted to tell anyone who would listen to her what she saw happen between Butch and Meme. Now Gertie also had a store to run but she still managed to pretty much spread the rumors between helping her customers pick out their yarn or painting supplies. Gertie was well loved by all the trolls and her tales were known to hold some kernels of truth to them. So trolls flocked to Springrove to learn what Gertie thought she knew! They also flocked to Springrove because it was also the coolest Five and Dime Store around. Springrove had absolutely any and everything anyone could want or need. And right now they had Gertie-the troll who witnessed the KISS.
Meanwhile, across the street LillyAnna a spunky troll who had recently moved back to her hometown of Lowell was re-telling a much different version of the KISS. LillyAnna was living in Nightforest Jewelry where she helped create costume jewelry and assisted in picking out accessories of all kinds. Nightforest was a newer store in Lowell and if you haven't been there you really should check it out. Nightforest holds many surprises and wonderful gift ideas for all. LillyAnna loved her store and loved her Lowell friends. She was happy to tell anyone that listened what she saw the day Butch and Meme were having their "discussion". So it went that trolls were seen running back and forth from Springrove Variety to Nightforest Jewelry getting two very different versions of one very explosive encounter.
Now trolls were very concerned about Butch and Meme because there was a long history between the two. High School sweethearts the two were supposed to have been long married by now. Everyone still recalled how beautiful Meme looked when she was in her bridal gown waiting for Butch to arrive at the church. That was 10 years ago but the memory was still vivid of the shock that rumbled through the town when it was learned that Butch would not be showing up at the church on that fateful day. Butch was seen boarding a plane to Las Vegas with Meme's best friend and maid of honor. Cliché but true. Butch had left Meme at the altar for her best friend.
Ten long years had passed and Butch had returned home...alone. He had been trying ever since to prove he was a changed troll. But some things never change...like the gossip in a small town.
So one version of the KISS is that Butch begged Meme to finally forgive him and she said she would rather die than forgive him. The other version is that Meme was heard crying that she would always love Butch! Whichever is the real story will have to wait until the two stubborn trolls reveal the truth.
There is however, one troll in town who knows EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything! Gemmy, from Chimera Designs, always seems to know what is "really" happening in Lowell. Let's plan to see if she can tell us what is going on with Butch and Meme. Maybe she has some insights about who tampered with the products at Salon 206. Hopefully she knows where Mrs. Troll’s blueprints are. And Gemmy always seems to know where Troll Daddy is hiding out. Let's ask Gemmy....next week

Chapter 17

This week Bernadette promised to head over to see if she could ask the "all-knowing" Gemmy at Chimera Design if she had any insights to all the strange happenings in Lowell. Bernadette had learned from Meme that Gemmy knew things...maybe even more than Meme herself knew about the trolls in Lowell. However, asking Gemmy what she knew was easier said than done. Gemmy was a wonderfully creative troll but she was also somewhat grumpy, opinionated and a bit dramatic! So one had to catch her in the right mood if one was to get any information from Gemmy at all. Gemmy hid out under the floorboards of the jeweler’s bench at Chimera Designs. She had a knack for turning any objects into valuable jewelry but she was always looking for that one special elusive pearl to create her one of a kind masterpiece. Gemmy figured that pearls would simply wash up to her along the Flat River which is why she lived under the bridge in the first place. Eventually, Gemmy decided she might have better luck if she actually lived where the town jeweler was...at Chimera's. She knew Cliff and Julie (the store proprietors) would be suspicious if their pearls started to disappear...so she patiently waited under the floorboards hoping Julie would "drop" a pearl Gemmy's way.
Julie and Cliff were known all over town by the townsfolk and by the trolls as the premier place to find engagement rings, wedding rings, high school class rings and any other ring anyone could want. Chimera's also had the reputation of creating some of the most unique, exclusive necklaces, bracelets and earrings ever seen. Julie was said to be magic with precious and semi-precious stones. However, they also had to be very, very discreet at Chimera's because they often knew before everyone who might be asking for someone's hand in marriage. They often knew when their customers would be celebrating milestones, like 25th, or 50th Wedding Anniversaries. Yes...discretion was key! Ahhh, but not so for Gemmy! Gemmy often knew before anyone else all these juicy bits of gossip as well but Gemmy was also very selective about whom she would share such information.
So...after speaking with Gemmy about the strange recent events in Lowell, the only thing that was learned was that Cliff and Julie had three very large pieces of jewelry they were working on that were top secret for some of the trolls! Two of the pieces were indeed engagement rings and the third was unknown. But that was all Gemmy knew! Try as Bernadette might to get more information from Gemmy...that was all she was giving up at this time.
So like any good detective/newcomer, Bernadette took it upon herself to do the next logical thing... And in Bernadette’s opinion much could be learned if she were to head over to The Flat River Grill and spy on the coming and goings at Chimera's.
And that is precisely what Bernadette did. She first talked her new best friend, Meme to join her. Now Meme was still feeling bruised from her encounter with Butch, but a night out sounded like just what she needed! So the two of them went out in search of clues about just what was "really" happening in Lowell.
Wait until you find out who they saw going into Chimera's! What could that mean anyway? Find out soon!

Chapter 18

What a day! And what a night it would be! Anyone who was anyone in the Troll World had decided to dine at the Flat River Grill at the very time that Bernadette and Meme planned to spy on the coming and goings at Chimera Design.
Fortunately, Bernadette was able to snag great seats right in the front window! She was feeling pretty smug when Meme slid into the open seat next to her and they gazed out the window to see if they could learn who was wandering in and out of Chimera Design. Two engagement rings were in the works at Chimera Design and it was the divas mission to find out who would be getting them!
Looking out the window turned out to be not nearly as exciting as what was taking place inside the Flat River Grill. The place was packed. Trolls were everywhere! Cookie, remember her from King Milling, was sitting with a large group of rowdy women. Faith from the YMCA was there. There had to be a dozen troll women seated at a large table on the patio telling stories. Curvaceous, from Curves was in the middle of an animated tale about several new members at Curves. Curvaceous had just enrolled 35 new members at Curves and each of these women held a special place in her heart. She would do everything in her power to help each gal reach her individual goal at Curves. However, all the women at her table tonight were trying to out talk each other and the volume was getting louder and louder. It was sure to be a great time for them!
Curvaceous always dressed so fashionably and took such pride in her darling appearance. But...she had added a few pounds and the new 30 minute work-out at Curves was just what she needed. She needed that and for Spot from Curtis Cleaners to finally put a ring on her finger.
Now Spot was seated inside the restaurant and seemed to be a million miles away. He was a terrific looking older gentleman who dressed impeccably. His suits were always crisp and his shirt and tie were always just so. Owning the best cleaners in town didn't hurt either. He was always guaranteed to look his best because he had an image to uphold as one of the best business-trolls around. But something was up with Spot tonight. It didn't take Curvaceous long to suspect that her man was troubled about something. Spot was starring intensely at Bernadette...which seemed a bit disturbing because Bernadette was actually young enough to be Spot's daughter.... Was there something that Spot might know about this newcomer to town? She seemed soooo familiar to him... She reminded him of the first troll he ever loved, but that was years ago...and he hadn't heard from Petunia or thought of her in years. Hmmmmm
Well Meme and Bernadette were having a grand time and the food was delicious, as always! C.J. was the troll-chef in charge tonight so the food would be perfection! The Flat River Grill added a degree of sophistication to Lowell, as well as a place to meet friends and dine on exquisite food. The prices were reasonable and the experience was second to none. Meme and Bernadette were batting their eyelashes and fawning over C.J. while complimenting his dishes this evening when they were all startled by an explosion on the bridge!!!!
What? An explosion on the bridge??? Every single troll jumped out of their seats and ran to the side windows or to the patio to see what happened.
In all the chaos no one saw Butch and Walt and Nauga Hyde walk into Chimera Design. No one saw Peppy run across the street to Salon 206 carrying a bag of hair chemicals and no one saw Gemmy scurry through the streets with a blueprint tucked under her arm!
Find out next week what happens to all these characters! Find out what blew up!!!

Chapter 19

Have you seen the trolls? Have you heard about the mischief the trolls are causing? Have you started to piece these mysterious happenings together? If you are just tuning into the Troll Tales you might want to head over to the Chamber of Commerce and ask for copies of the earlier Chapters. You also might want to walk around Lowell and meet all of the trolls. They are absolutely everywhere and they are fun, crazy, and out of this world!
Sooo for those of you who are up to speed...the explosion of last week was caused by an overwhelming amount of left-over fireworks being lit next to the bridge. Thank goodness no one was hurt and nothing was damaged...a real pro set up this diversion. And a diversion it was because all troll eyes were on the fireworks rather than on the trolls sneaking into Chimera Design and Salon 206.
So it would seem that Butch and Walt might be thinking engagement...
And maybe Peppy from PepTalk might be the one who inadvertently tampered with the beauty products at Salon 206. She innocently wanted all the trolls to have fuchsia colored hair for the big Pink Game coming up. Now Peppy has a heart of gold and she is a High School Senior, Captain of the Cheerleaders and PepTalk's top employee. PepTalk helps sell "pink" t-shirts each year to raise money for Gilda’s House. Peppy thought if she put a special mixture in the hair-dye she could turn everyone’s hair pink. She didn't mean for Gertrude's hair to completely catch fire! Oh well... Peppy loves anything to do with her High School and that is why she loves to help out at PepTalk. If you haven't been to PepTalk lately you need to check out all the fabulous changes made by the new proprietors Hollie and Dave Jordan! PepTalk has everything you would ever need to wear to any Lowell Area School event! Hollie and Dave have expanded their clothing line and they have a state of the art embroidery machine that they can use to embellish your clothing. Peppy loves to run the embroidery machine and sew on your business logo or any of the hundreds of Lowell Logos PepTalk has to choose from! Visit them soon.
Peppy felt so sad about burning old Gertrude's hair that she trudged over to visit her calm and wise Grandpa Yoda at AIC Insurance Services. Of course getting to see her Grandpa was proving to be a challenge because he had several customers waiting to see him. Yoda was such a knowledgeable troll regarding insurance needs that he had many trolls waiting to see him so they could switch over their insurance providers. Peppy didn't mind waiting because she loved to listen to Grandpa Yoda talk. His voice was so soothing and she loved seeing all the trolls leave his office happy and secure that their insurance needs were being taken care of.
Finally, when Yoda was ready to call it quits for the day he had to nudge his sweet little granddaughter awake and offered to take her to her favorite place to eat...the Flat River Grill.
Unbeknownst to Yoda and Peppy they were about to walk into a place brimming over with excitement from the explosion and all the high gossip! Ahhh the fun continues! Next week...

Chapter 20

Last week Grandpa Yoda and his grand daughter Peppy headed over to the Flat River Grill to have a nice quiet dinner. Well on that particular night it proved to be anything but "quiet"!
After the hair-raising explosion was determined harmless and all the trolls returned to their dinners, things seemed to settle down for a bit. BUT they only settled for a bit. No sooner had Meme and Bernadette returned to their perch in the window then they spotted Butch slinking out of Chimera Design. Meme was floored! What was that dirty-rotten two timing, womanizing, scum of the flat river up to??? Meme popped out of her seat and marched across the street to confront the devil-in-trolls-clothing! Bernadette tried to scurry after her friend but was blocked by an older gentleman who she had been noticing had been staring at her all night. Spot gently asked Bernadette to sit back down and he asked her if she knew a troll lady by the name of Petunia Garden. Bernadette's voice quivered as she choked out the words that her very own mother was named Petunia Garden. Spot looked to be in shock and grabbed the back of the booth and had to collapse into the seat across from Bernadette. The two stared at each other and the silence grew. Slowly Spot started asking Bernadette questions about her mother. And the silence faded.
Petunia Garden was a carefree spirit that had left Lowell years ago and had returned recently to her native town. Petunia was now a master gardener and worked so very hard beautifying the Showboat with flowers. She was a member of the Lowell Showboat Garden Club. Her next project was to work with a team at Gilda's House to blanket the grounds with as many beautiful flowers as they could plant and grow.
Spot got all of this information from a somewhat perplexed and confused Bernadette and he asked her where she thought her mother might be at this very minute. Bernadette thought she was at Gilda's House. Spot ran out of the restaurant and looked across the street to see Butch and Meme locked in a hug, laughing, crying(well Butch wasn't crying) and kissing each other. What was that about?
He had other things on his mind however, as he raced to Gilda's House. Spot wondered just how old Bernadette was as he ran out of the restaurant in search of Petunia.... Next week even more answers will be shared. See you then!

Chapter 21
Lots going on! Lots going on! Oh my goodness where do we go first???
Let's go back to the Flat River Grill.
Butch swept Meme into his big, strong arms, he marched across the street and he muscled his way through the front door of the Flat River Grill. He announced to the whole troll-packed crowd that Meme had once again agreed to be his wife and he promised to make her very happy...this time! Jaws dropped, silence prevailed and then Nauga Hyde jumped up on the table and started to clap! The place erupted!!!! Trolls were shouting, whistling, cheering, clapping, and chanting..."ABOUT TIME!!!"
The town of Lowell was rocking...trolls were reeling! Happiness was brimming over and if you weren't at the Flat River Grill that night, then you missed a night to remember. Even Mrs. Troll was all smiles as she reflected on the night Troll Daddy had asked her to marry him. Troll Daddy and she were on a much needed date and a break from the construction on their home under the bridge.
Butch, Meme, and Nauga Hyde slid into the booth with Bernadette and toasted their happiness. (Except Bernadette was very preoccupied with her recent conversation about her mom with the mysterious gentleman, Spot)
The happy foursome waved Butch's father over to join them. Butch's father Harold, though everyone called him Uncle Harold, was the polar opposite of Butch.
Uncle Harold is a quite well-to-do millionaire who just so happens to be in charge of most things at Huntington Bank. He could immediately predict that his sister, Mrs. Troll would need a bigger loan to build Harold’s sons corner under the bridge even bigger since Butch would soon be a family man. Huntington Bank was a fine institution and Uncle Harold knew that he would be able to help make everything happen and he was confident that Huntington had just the kind of loan his sister would need.
Uncle Harold sat back and relished in the joy and happiness of the young people moving forward with their lives. Secretly, Harold was hoping Meme would be able to help his son settle down a bit.
Now if only he could find a wife for his other "interesting" son Bob....but that's for next week.
Before we leave this week let's peek in on the conversation between Spot and his long, lost love Petunia... Spot found Petunia up to her arms in flower beds at Gilda’s House. He stayed in the shadows and just starred at the beautiful troll he loved so long ago. Unfortunately, he also saw she was with her dear old friend Lydia. Spot remembered how those two were inseparable years ago. He also remembered that Lydia could chew up a man and spit him out before he could get a word out. She was pure fire and one tough chick! She currently was a member of the Lowell Women’s Club and Spot thought they let her be a member in case anyone needed a body guard.
Ahhh man Spot needed to talk with Petunia...but would Lydia let him?
And with one son getting married was it even possible that Uncle Harold could dream that another of his sons could find happiness?
I guess anything is possible in the world of trolls. See you next week. Oh and don't get too comfortable about Meme and Butch...they have one more little wee, but explosive obstacle in their way.
Next week then!

Chapter 22

Problems are being resolved! Troll land is brimming over with love. Romance and spice and all that is oh so nice is everywhere in Lowell.
Well almost everywhere. The exact opposite of "love" was happening on the grounds of Gilda’s House as Lydia spied Spot gazing at Petunia! Spot stood dumbstruck as Lydia marched up to Spot and demanded to know what he was doing even looking at Petunia! Lydia was enraged and out of control as she shouted and screamed at Spot to leave and stay away from Petunia. (Oh how he had hurt her all those years ago!)
Petunia gently whispered to her friend that it would be alright and that she and Spot needed to have a conversation that was some twenty years overdue. (It was Petunia who had now hurt Spot!)
Lydia hesitated leaving them alone...but finally she gave in and wandered away...but not too far, in case she might be needed. They didn't call her the "enforcer" at the Lowell Women's Club for nothing! Ha
Spot looked into Petunia's eyes with something between bewilderment and outrage. Petunia knew that Spot had seen Bernadette. Petunia knew he needed an explanation.
But...how did you tell someone that you had robbed them of being a father? How did you explain that you honestly thought you were doing what was best by keeping his daughter’s identity a secret?
Years ago Spot had been a regular jackal! A player, a scoundrel. He was young and on top of the world, breaking hearts in every port. Spot had breezed in and out of Petunias life with hardly a backward glance. He never even knew that together they had created a life. He was never even given a chance to be a father. Petunia's eyes flooded with tears as she begged his forgiveness. They sat and talked for over three hours, it was decided that it was time to "right" all the "wrongs". They would tell Bernadette the truth...together! Besides if anyone saw Spot with Bernadette, the resemblance was remarkable. They were father and daughter and it was plain as the noses on their faces!!!
So that situation would more than likely work out...but Spot wasn't the only father in Lowell who didn't know he had a troll child roaming the streets. I did tell you that Meme and Butch weren't quite home-free, didn't I? (Next week)
Ahhh and back to Uncle Harold and his trouble-some sons. So Butch might finally be getting his act together! But would Bob, one of the twins, ever stop pretending to be Batman? And would Ansel, the other twin, ever stop working around the clock and start to enjoy life?
Bob was a zany, crazy, spur or the moment kind of troll that everyone loved to be around! He spent his days immersed in gaming, hanging with friends and reading comic books at his favorite store in town, Rookies. It wasn't totally clear if Bob truly believed he was Batman or if he were merely playing a role for his fellow trolls. Regardless, it was always a good time when Bob was around...but it drove his banker father insane! Uncle Harold just wanted Bob to take life a bit more seriously and for crying out loud...lose the CAPE!!!
Harold last saw Bob fully "caped out" heading into Modern Photographics to visit his twin Ansel.
Next week will see how that encounter played out! See ya

Chapter 23

Things are starting to wind down in Lowell.... The beautiful, sweltering summer heat is being eased out by fresh, crisp autumn evenings and life is good.
Troll Daddy and Mrs. Troll have been seen wandering around the rooms of their newly, improved, almost completed new home under the bridge. The secret rooms in the "stolen or lost" blueprints have turned out to be nothing more than extra rooms for all the new trolls that have been collected by Mrs. Troll. Mrs. Troll thought her Troll Daddy would go through the roof when he learned that she had the additional rooms built for all these new troll-friends.(We think Ms.Liz, from the Chamber of Commerce, welcoming and friendly attitude may have rubbed off on Mrs. Troll over the past several weeks!)
And everyone knew that Troll Daddy loved a crowd and his motto was, "the more the merrier". (Duh...that is why they outgrew their home below the bridge in the first place.)
The store owners have loved having these miscreants reeking havoc, chaos and creating tons of fun in their places of business all summer long.
The good townsfolk of Lowell have been out in record numbers to meet the trolls and to support their local businesses as their downtown bridge has been disposed of for close to twenty-three weeks!
But let's not get ahead of ourselves! There are still trolls to meet, marry, argue with, date, admire, fall in love with and figure out what is happening with their lives!
Last week we were describing Bob from Rookies, one of the more colorful trolls in Lowell. Remember him? Son of Uncle Harold from Huntington Bank? Thinks he is Batman...wears the cape? Well, he was heading into Modern Photographics where his workaholic shutter-bug twin, Ansel worked. Ansel had an eye for capturing pictures like none other. He was terrifically talented and managed to capture the personality of every subject he photographed. He was always in demand, which was why all he ever did was work. Currently his studio was brimming over with trolls. Walt and Cookie were booking their wedding shoot for three weeks from now. (Walt works over at Dovetail Antiques and Cookie was keeping shop at King Milling). We met them in the early chapters and they were indeed tying the knot!
Ansel's brothers, Butch and Bob along with Meme were also taking up space at Modern Photographics...booking the photos for Butch and Meme's wedding...also three weeks away.
Yep...Ansel was definitely going to be a busy, busy troll and Modern Photographics was the place to be! Things were humming along however and everyone seemed to be working out the conflicting time table. When all of a sudden, the door opened and in walked Meme's favorite Aunt Goldie from Cousins Hallmark! She had the most darling, little, dirt covered troll in tow with her. When Griffin, the grimy ten year old spied his mom, Meme, he about tackled her in a huge bear hug and shouted, "Mom!".
All color drained from Butch's face. "Huh...wha...?" He stammered. Meme caught Butch's eye over the top of Griffins head.
Everyone else just stood around speechless...except Bob.
As only a troll dressed as Batman could do...Bob reached down and ruffled Griffins hair and said, "Gee kid you look just like my brother Butch did when he was your age!"
I bet at that moment everyone in Modern Photographics wished they could borrow the batman cape and fly far away from the scene that was sure to unfold!

Chapter 24

The banner announcing the marriage between Butch and Meme would definitely be needed! Game on! Nothing was getting in the way of their happiness and learning that Butch had a 10 year old son named Griffin only added to the moment!
Huh? You have no idea what I am talking about? Well then you need to get online or go see Liz at the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce and she will get you on track.
Anyway, for those of us caught up...we know a wedding for Walt and Cookie...and for Butch and Meme is just around the corner. We know that Bernadette learned that she is the product of a long ago love affair between Spot and Petunia. We know that Peppy was dying everyone’s hair Fuchsia at PepTalk and Salon 206! We know that the troll’s home is almost done! We know that the troll invasion has changed Lowell forever.
What you may not know is that Griffin is absolutely the coolest 10 year old around and that he dresses like he is the coolest dude around too!!! Where does he get his clothes? Well, you may not know that Giggles and Gumdrops is a new consignment store in town and they have ALL the latest and greatest fashions around. Griffin of course works there so he gets first pick of all newly arriving clothes, but there are plenty of clothes left over for all the kids in Lowell. Giggles and Gumdrops opened up in the old State Farm building and you have to drop in if you haven't already done so.
Another thing you may not know is that Butch, Bob, Ansel, and Nauga Hyde are all car buffs. Each one of them has a super-sweet souped up car that they plan to drive in Butch's wedding! Now each car needs a little tweeking/repair work before the big event so they all decided to go see Nauga Hyde's pop at Showboat Automotive...where he worked. Dadgum Nasty was what everyone calls Nauga Hyde's dad...where do they get these names??? I guess his was a nickname from his younger years but it somehow stuck. Anyway, Dadgum really knew his cars...all cars and he made sure Showboat Automotive was always fully stocked with everything needed to repair your vehicle. Showboat has been in business forever and they are truly helpful folks who will get you what you need! Not to mention that they are always helping sponsor this team or that team at the High School! Shopping at Showboat Automotive is really keeping it local and it is the preferred place of all the trolls!
The guys were busy getting the needed supplies to repair their cars while Meme was at 5/3rd Bank talking with Lowella about opening savings/checking accounts for her and Butch. Meme was also talking to her friend, Lowella about setting up a college savings plan for Griffin. Lowella had worked for 5/3rd forever and was helping Meme with all of her banking needs.
What a calm week...no drama...just smooth sailing. Whew...Lets cross our fingers! Oh and let's all get down to Lowell to meet all of these trolls! See you there and see you next week!!!
Chapter 25

Hmmmm is this the FINAL CHAPTER??? Is it true that all of our trolls have moved back to their new and improved "bridge-home"? Did the town of Lowell survive the agonizing months of construction and did Lowell survive the invasion of the trolls???
I need to take time here to tell you that Lowell has never looked so good and that the town is thriving! However, there are a few more loose ends we need to tie up before we leave you!
First off, it has come to my attention that I have not formally introduced myself? Okay so better late than never. Ha-ha. They call me Historic Harry. I work at the Lowell Museum and I make it my business to know "everything" that is happening in Lowell. I keep track of all the prominent news...I keep track of what has been and what will be. I have volunteered countless hours designing the displays at the museum...that is why they call me HISTORIC HARRY. Lowell's museum is truly amazing and there are some humans who help me there too...and they all do a super job.
It is key that we continue to tell the story of Lowell and it is key that we keep people who have passed on alive through our stories at the Museum. So please continue to visit me at the museum.
That being said I really need to tell you how this Troll Tale ends.
Sooo we were hanging out at the real cool new antique store, Journeys Time Antiques, you know the one next to Dovetail Antiques? Oh it is a great antique store and you should check it out! Anyway, my best buddy Upton C. Downing, from the Lowell’s Englehardt Library met there before heading over to the weddings.
Upton and I grabbed our suit coats and headed out to the gala event of the season! We didn't want to miss a second of Walt and Cookie’s wedding! And Butch and Meme's wedding was directly after! It promised to be a night to remember!
Of course, the trolls were exchanging their vows on none other than the Lowell Showboat. Every troll had pitched in to decorate the Showboat in regal fashion. The Showboat twinkled with sparkling lights, white linens, iced champagne and fresh flowers! A fairy tale setting for a fairy tale event!
Everyone was there! Gemmy grabbed a front row seat where she could see the wedding rings she designed up close. Ansel set up his photography equipment to capture every moment. Petunia, Spot, and Bernadette sat huddled together sharing a moment as a "family". Griffin looked handsome in his little tux as Butch's Best Man.
The laughter and buzz of excited chatter filled the evening sky! A magical time was unfolding and Lowell seemed truly enchanted. Clapping and cheering broke out when Walt swept Cookie into his arms and kissed her...and they were pronounced husband and wife!
The mood was joyous, festive, and filled with love. All trolls settled down as the second wedding began. Butch and Meme were so happy!
Finally, after ten long years Butch and Meme had found their way back to each other. A hush fell on the crowd as the two shared their vows. Tears of joy were running down faces, and couples were sitting closer as they remembered their own vows. A beautiful ending to a Troll Tale...or was it???
Mrs. Troll was heard yelling, "No...you can't go in there! No please...please! Not again!!!"
A collective gasp was heard when all the trolls turned their heads to see Adaella! Adaella, the still gorgeous, still heart stopping vixen that had come between Butch and Meme ten years ago was back! BUT no one could have anticipated the complete stunned silence that fell on the crowd as they saw a little boy peek out from behind his mother, Adaella. The child looked EXACTLY like Butch! EXACTLY like Griffin! Oh lordie! A collective groan escaped from the entire crowd of trolls.
Well, I am Historic Harry, but I just cannot speculate further...I cannot gossip. We may never know the outcome of this wedding. Did Meme and Butch get married in spite of this newest development? Who was the father of Adaella's darling boy? Was Butch ever going to be able to live down his "wild" youth? Would peace ever be restored to the world of the trolls?

Hmmm. Maybe we will find out these answers when our neighboring town of Ada remodels their Trolls’ bridge on M-21. Maybe someone in Ada will pick up this tale where we end....We hear that Adaella lives under the bridge in Ada. We hear the bridge in Ada is next to be remodeled. Until then... Remember to shop local, support local, and as always......God Bless and Good Bye!

WINNNAHS!

2010-09-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

$50 – Bonnie Vezino

$20 – Gail Thomet, Elaine Denton, Bailey Van Amburgh, Jill Pietrzak and Lori Smith
$10 – Linda Gidley, Kathy Kooy, Brandi Bledsoe, Christy Valentine and Deb DeHaan

Thanks to all of you for the continued support of your Lowell businesses. The bridge is ALMOST done!

Pink Arrow Pride Day -

2010-09-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen this video - you need to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9ODFloTL0

More Winners.

2010-09-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

$ 50.00

Amy Pearson

$ 20.00
Kim Kropf
Rachel Allen
Gladys Alexander
Mary Gringhuis
Jeremy Barber

$ 10.00
Sandra Logan
Diane Kleczynski
Linda Perdok
Dick Hart
Esther Gordon

Latest Winners - thanks for supporting Lowell.

2010-08-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

$ 50.00 Velma Perry

$ 20.00
Melanie DeLoy
Greg Ball
Natalie Wierenga
Dan Mayhew
John Neubecker

$ 10.00
Karen Coulson
Bonnie Lasater
Nola Bryan
Melissa Bussell
Shirley Heiman

The Chamber of Commerce is still giving away Bridge Bucks:

2010-08-23T05:27:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest group of winners:

$50 – Sally Wojciakowski

$20 – Jennifer McMyler, Nathan Swift, Melissa Patyi, Roger Stauffer and Bob VanNoller
$10 – Brian Spraque, Beverly Gallagher, Roberta Rowe, Amanda Heiman & Gay Pfaller

Troll Story Chapters 15 - 16

2010-08-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Alright, alright, alright already! We need to know why on earth Mrs. Troll has been acting so out of control about blueprints. As it turns out, Mrs. Troll had to apologize for tackling poor, gorgeous Bernadette when he returned the blueprints to her. You see, those were Bernadette’s blueprints and not the blueprints that were stolen" from Mrs. Troll. Apologizing was hard work for Mrs. Troll and it was something she seldom did; just ask Troll Daddy her beloved husband.
Mrs. Troll needed her blueprints because her blueprints held the secrets of too many hidden little passageways in her new home. In the hands of the wrong troll those secrets could all be revealed! Where were those plans???? What were the secret passageways for anyway?
Well Mrs. Troll in an effort to be nice (and hopefully to avoid being sued) gave Bernadette a gift card to Eja Salon where she could get her hair repaired from the mess that the tackling had caused. A shampoo and styling would certainly help. Bernadette felt that maybe some pampering was just what she needed so she headed over to Eja Salon to use her gift card. Much to Bernadette’s delight she met the most outrageously, outgoing, friendly, and bordering on obnoxious (in a good way) troll she had met yet in Lowell. Mini Meme or Meme as her friends all called her worked at Eja's and embraced Bernadette in a huge bear hug upon meeting her. The two quickly got to know one another and became fast friends by the time Bernadette’s hair was shampooed, cut, and styled. Meme quickly established herself as the "troll in the know" to her new friend. The two were chatting away making plans for a night on the town, when none other the Butch stormed into the Salon.
It was immediately apparent that Butch had something on his mind and Meme was going to hear all about it! Butch took Meme's elbow and quickly guided her outside where he could speak with her in private.
Did the two forget that they were now standing smack-dab on Main Street in front of floor to ceiling windows of every store in town?
Not one to miss any excitement, Bernadette stationed herself in a prime spot to view the exchange between these two rather electric trolls!
Bernadette wasn't the only curious observer to the entertainment Butch and Meme were sure to provide. Soon many trolls were peeking out their storefronts to catch a glimpse of the two raising all the ruckus!
Gertie, from Springrove pretended to be sweeping the front sidewalk. LillyAnna from Nightforest Jewelry pretended to wash her windows to get a bird's eye view of the two. And on and on it went up and down
Main Street as Butch and Meme argued, whispered, shouted, pointed fingers at each other, and generally carried on!
No sooner had Butch and Meme started their fireworks of a conversation when their shouting just stopped. Jaws dropped everywhere as all the trolls looked to see why the two had stopped fighting. Butch and Meme
were locked in each others arms in a full blown kiss of passion that caused everyone watching to blush! What was going on???
When Butch finally released a startled and confused Meme there wasn't a sound in Lowell. Time stood still. No one and nothing moved for an eternity...or so it seemed. Then Meme, lips trembling burst into tears
and ran back into her Salon. Butch snarled at all of the lookie-loos and grumbled some obscenities and everyone snapped out of their trances-and moved! Doors were heard slamming up and down Main Street
and not one troll dared to look at Butch as he stomped off down the street.
Hmmm...wonder what that was all about...Tune in next week to find out what Gertie and LillyAnna know or heard the two discussing. See you then!

************************************************************************

Last week caused many tongues to wag in the troll world. Butch from Gary's Meats was seen in a lip-lock with Meme from Eja Salon. Those two had been known to be somewhat controversial over the years and were often seen arguing one topic or another. I guess it should have been obvious to everyone that their volatile relationship would have to one day end in a kiss. But on Main Street??? In front of all the judging eyes??? Was nothing sacred?
Meme blubbered to her new friend Bernadette that no one would understand what just happened! Butch asked his buddy Nauga Hyde to just get in the El Camaro and take him anywhere...anywhere that he
wouldn't have to confront why he kissed Meme.
Well...Gertie at Springrove was pushing her broom that day and heard it all! She was also pushing 80 plus and might not have heard it exactly as it really happened. But no matter, she was delighted to tell anyone who would listen to her what she saw happen between Butch and Meme. Now Gertie also had a store to run but she still managed to pretty much spread the rumors between helping her customers pick out their yarn or painting supplies. Gertie was well loved by all the trolls and her tales were known to hold some kernels of truth to them.
So trolls flocked to Springrove to learn what Gertie thought she knew! They also flocked to Springrove because it was also the coolest Five and Dime Store around. Springrove had absolutely any and everything
anyone could want or need. And right now they had Gertie-the troll who witnessed the KISS.
Meanwhile, across the street LillyAnna a spunky troll who had recently moved back to her hometown of Lowell was re-telling a much different version of the KISS. LillyAnna was living in Nightforest Jewelry where
she helped create costume jewelry and assisted in picking out accessories of all kinds. Nightforest was a newer store in Lowell and if you haven't been there you really should check it out. Nightforest holds many surprises and wonderful gift ideas for all. LillyAnna loved her store and loved her Lowell friends. She was happy to tell anyone that listened what she saw the day Butch and Meme were having their "discussion". So it went that trolls were seen running back and forth from Springrove Variety to Nightforest Jewelry getting two very different versions of one very explosive encounter.
Now trolls were very concerned about Butch and Meme because there was a long history between the two. High School sweethearts the two were supposed to have been long married by now. Everyone still recalled how beautiful Meme looked when she was in her bridal gown waiting for Butch to arrive at the church. That was 10 years ago but the memory was still vivid of the shock that rumbled through the town when it was
learned that Butch would not be showing up at the church on that fateful day. Butch was seen boarding a plane to Las Vegas with Meme's best friend and maid of honor. Cliché but true. Butch had left Meme at
the altar for her best friend.
Ten long years had passed and Butch had returned home...alone. He had been trying ever since to prove he was a changed troll. But some things never change...like the gossip in a small town.
So one version of the KISS is that Butch begged Meme to finally forgive him and she said she would rather die than forgive him. The other version is that Meme was heard crying that she would always love Butch! Whichever is the real story will have to wait until the two stubborn trolls reveal the truth.
There is however, one troll in town who knows EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything! Gemmy, from Chimera Designs, always seems to know what is "really" happening in Lowell. Let's plan to see if she can
tell us what is going on with Butch and Meme. Maybe she has some insights about who tampered with the products at Salon 206. Hopefully she knows where Mrs. Troll’s blueprints are. And Gemmy always seems to know where Troll Daddy is hiding out. Let's ask Gemmy....next week

Troll Story Chapter 13 & 14

2010-08-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! What a perfectly, messed up, out of control week the trolls just completed! Hairy-it has been meeting with the police officers all week trying to solve the mystery of who tampered with her beauty products. Gertrude is actually enjoying a little time off from Alliance Insurance as she tries to re-grow her hair. Iris has decided she loves the attention her new fuchsia hair color is bringing her.
All in all, it could be worse.
Of course, every troll has an opinion about who was behind all the tom-foolery at the Salon. Most fingers have been pointing to the down right devious troll they all call Butch! Now Butch is a very, very hardworking troll and that is why Gary, Aaron, Chad and Jody invited him into their workplace to live in the first place. They all especially wanted Butch around during the summer months when folks would be flocking to Gary's Meats for all their summertime grilling needs. The quality of their choice steaks, burgers, chicken and chops
just can't be beat and having a troll around who was willing to get his hands dirty and help with all the work appealed to everyone at Gary's! What they didn't know when they took Butch in was just how down right naughty he could be. This author can attest to the fact that there is no place better to stock up on all ones meat products (I happen to be there once or twice a week!) but I can also tell you that I have seen Butch...and well...my money is on him that he was the mastermind behind all the chaos at Salon 206!
Now Butch has a few loyal friends that enjoy a prank as well as the next guy and they swear that Butch is NOT GUILTY. Nauga Hyde totally backs his buddy Butch and says the two have been so gosh-dang busy
muck-running and cruising around in Nauga's tricked-out El-Camaro that Butch could not possibly have had time to pull any pranks. Nauga Hyde loves fixing up cars and he spends all his time at L.A. Trim where he
more or less tries to run the show. Nauga Hyde is great at what he does and he has a certain charm about him that attracts all the trolls. He kind of lives on the edge himself, but he never, ever crosses that line so many trolls believed him when he voiced the opinion that Butch was innocent.
Butch and Nauga Hyde were heading out to Bernard’s Ace Hardware for like the millionth time when they both did a HUGE double take at a troll lady with neon fuchsia hair strolling down the sidewalk followed by an impish little troll. The little troll Sparkle was decked out in everything PINK. Sparkle works at Gilda' Club of Lowell and she does her best to bring joy and laughter into everyone’s life. Sparkle was desperately trying to catch up with Ms Iris to learn where she got the fabulous color for her hair. Butch and Nauga Hyde both chuckled and continued on their way to Bernard's Ace Hardware.
Tune in next week to find out if the mystery of Salon 206 ever gets solved. Find out why Mrs. Troll was screaming about stolen blue prints last week. (We haven't even touched on that subject yet) Learn why
Butch and Nauga spend so much time at Bernard's Ace Hardware. Discover if Iris is on to a new craze of full-fuchsia hair and will Sparkle dye hers??? So much unfinished business...so many questions.

Chapter 13 left us with more questions than answers. Things are certainly getting goofy in Lowell and if you haven't met all these delicious characters, well then might we suggest you take a trip to Main Street and introduce yourself to all of Lowell's Trolls.
For those of you who may have just decided to tune into these Tales of Troll...you can go to the Chamber of Commerce and Mrs. Troll and Liz will be happy to make you copies of any Chapters you may have missed.
So now we must try to clear up some of the current loose strings with some of our more zany trolls. Sparkle, from Gilda's Club, did indeed get her hair fashioned after Ms Iris and there are now two fuchsia-haired friends walking the streets of Lowell. Perhaps they will get all the female trolls to dye their hair in time for the
upcoming PINK game in the fall!
Nauga Hyde and Butch have practically set up shop at Bernard's Ace Hardware. Now I know that Bernard's has just about EVERYTHING a homeowner needs when it comes to home maintenance and repair. I also happen to know that they have the most helpful staff on earth, but I have never felt the urge to "live" there. So what the heck were Butch and Nauga Hyde up to???
Upon further investigation it has been discovered that a rather sophisticated, worldly and gorgeous troll by the name of Bernadette has moved into Bernard's. Now Bernadette is not only unbelievably beautiful, she is also "brainy" to boot! Bernadette has a master's degree from New York Troll University in bridge building. Nauga Hyde was quite accustomed to the lady trolls falling all over themselves to be noticed by him. However, this Bernadette creature left him completely speechless and dumbfounded. Nauga Hyde could barely get near the New Yorker because there was always a line of M-DOT workers waiting to ask her this or that about their bridge.
Bernadette never went anywhere without her set of blueprints, her blackberry or her hard hat! As a matter of fact, it happened that Mrs. Troll saw the coveted blue-prints in Bernadette’s hands one day.
Without much thought Mrs. Troll tackled poor Bernadette to the ground and snatched up the blueprints while shouting, "Ah HA!"
Bernadette, staggered into the first store she could find to assess the damages to her poor disheveled, tackled body. Bernadette quickly forgot about her pain and torn clothing as she looked around at the lovely store she had entered. Bernadette was quite speechless as she took in the pure beauty of her surroundings at Fire and Water ART! She actually felt as if she were in a gallery back in New York. She was staggering around the show place when she bumped into the most interesting and special troll she had ever laid eyes on. Joy gently placed her hands on Bernadette and guided her to a small bench to help her in her confused state.
Bernadette and Joy became instant kindred spirits and Bernadette knew she would be visiting Fire and Water ART often to take in all the spectacular works of art (by local artists) that literally covered the magnificent building. If you haven't been to Fire and Water ART it is a MUST-SEE!
So...we still have no idea why Mrs. Troll wanted the bridge blueprints. We do however, know that Nauga Hyde is over the top in love! And we are no closer to learning who caused all the troubles at Salon 206. Next week will undoubtedly just bring more confusion...but it’s all so FUN! See you then!

Bridge Buck Winners

2010-08-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to these winners for their continued support of Lowell - the BEST place to be!

$50.00 winner is Maegan Malone

$ 20.00 Wendy Vriesman, Karen Noreen, Alecia Straub, Shantell Ford, Julia VanVeldhuizen
$ 10.00 Lisa Spraque, Jen Estes, Harriet Latel, Pat Smith, Maddy Schram

Bridge Buck Winnahs!

2010-08-06T14:08:00.000-07:00

$50 – Jill Moore

$20 – Rose Ennis, Doris DeMarce, Rex Crout, Ted Mager & Dick Brailey
$10 – Ernest Barnes, Morrison Raymond, Alex Steinbrenner, Sharon Van Timmer and Rose Brailey

Thank you for supporting Lowell!

Latest Bridge Buck Winners

2010-08-03T06:12:00.001-07:00

$50 – Jean Matyczyn

$20 – Tamara Brubaker, Cheryl Runstrom, Jill Pietrzak, Tiffyany DeGraaf and Phil Janowski
$10 – Jamie Schwartz, Dick Hart, Dianna Kranenberg, Diana Bittrick and Sandy Kowalczyk

The Bridge Buck winners keep coming!

2010-07-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Winners -
thanks to everyone who supports Lowell businesses - we appreciate you very much.

$50 – Linda Aksamitowsia

$20 – Roxanne Teitsma, Stacey Irwin, Tonya Phillips, Amanda Clouse & Donna Cody
$10 – Beverly Yonkers, Sharon Van Timmer, Pam Anderson, Patty Wade & Justin Fuller

July 16th Bridge Buck Winners

2010-07-16T14:02:00.001-07:00

$50 – Missy Tichelaar

$20 – Diana Kranenberg, Patti Cross, Auntie Diana Risner, Chuck Hudson and Scott Gendeman
$10 – Chris Holliday, Deb Apol, Crystal Sefton, Rose Botsford and Darlene Fegel

Winners!

2010-07-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

$50 – Ann Marvin

$20 – Tiana Peavey, Kevin Homrick, Mary Banghart, Helen Vezino, Natalie Blunt

$10 – Natalie Blunt, Jordan Schaewzle, Dick Noskey, Marck Batchelor, Annette Wicks, Jen Borrello

Bridge Buck Winners drawn July 2

2010-07-06T06:24:00.001-07:00

$50 – Tamara Brubaker

$20 – Amy Cande, Nancy Dood, Bill Dommer, Laurie Blough and Kris Rickert.

$10 – Carol Chamberlin, Norma Noall, Alexis French, Ruth Thurlo and Bonnie Nyman.

More Bridge Buck Winners!

2010-06-28T08:47:00.001-07:00

$50 – Kathy Ogrodzinski

$20 – Ruth Wise, Simon Kelley, Terri Holst, Susan L. Kline & Judy Potter
$10 – Stephanie Sherman, Sue Clay, Tammy Petersen, June Jolerig and Ann Marie Roth

These names were drawn 6/25/10

North side is COMPLETE!

2010-06-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

The North side of the bridges are done! Whooo-hooo. Much better looking than the South side. Traffic is still only open for one, Eastbound lane.
A tip of the construction helmet to MDOT and everyone who has been working on our bridges - thanks very much for moving right along.

Troll Story - Chapter 11

2010-06-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Last week our younger, hipper trolls were making their presence felt in Lowell. Molly at Ball's Softee Creme was juggling 2 handsome trolls and trying to figure out what to do about "so many men-trolls...so little time!"
Molly decided to enlist the help of her younger friend Ginger. Now Ginger was an outgoing, mischievous, gorgeous troll who had very little time for all the nonsense of tracking down a boy troll-friend!
Ginger listened to Molly, as any dear friend would do...but then she simply changed the subject and asked Molly if she had seen all the beautiful new sparkly things she had made at Glass House Design?
Ginger loved creating treasures for Glass House and she was quite pleased with her latest creations! Molly had to admit the jewelry, dishes, and little knick knacks that Ginger made were truly special and it wasn't long before Molly was buying up everything in the store!
You better hurry and see all Ginger's trinkets at Glass House Designs before Molly wipes out the place!
While the two gals were oohhing and ahhing over every piece of jewelry in Glass House Designs, in walked their goofy friend Doughboy!
Doughboy was a happy-go-lucky troll who loved any and everything to do with making and eating pizzas! Doughboy lived at Jet's Pizza and he was a regular magician in the kitchen. He was always happy and nothing could ever bring him down. Now we did say Doughboy was a "magic man" in the kitchen but the only problem was that he made the pizzas the way he wanted them made, not necessarily the way the customer ordered them. Consequently, Doughboy was constantly giving away a bunch of free-messed-up pizzas! The guys at Jet's loved Doughboy, but decided to limit his kitchen time to save themselves money.
When Ginger saw her buddy Doughboy, she immediately knew that she and Molly would soon be eating a delicious Jet's Pizza. Ginger smelled the pizza aroma before she even saw Doughboy. Soon the three trolls sat in friendly silence munching on their Jets Pizza. Each one lost in their own thoughts... Molly dreaming of her two favorite men-trolls, Ginger thinking about glass, beads, and jewelry, and Doughboy just savoring the delicious pizza pie, wishing his mom could make pizzas like this for him...oh NO! His MOM!!!! He forgot!!! He was supposed to pick her up at Salon 206 an hour ago! He was a dead-troll. He raced off without even a backwards glance at his friends!
Tune in next week to learn if Doughboy was a "dead-troll". Had he indeed eaten his last pizza on this earth? Would his mom tear him limb from limb? See you at Salon 206 to learn the fate of our beloved Doughboy.

Troll Story - Chapter 10

2010-06-23T10:45:00.000-07:00

Oh my do you remember that last week we left a situation brewing at Ball's Softee Creme? Let us refresh your memory. Molly, our 21 year old vixen niece of Mr. Jim's was holding up the line at Softees. Molly was flirting outrageously with two of the most handsome trolls she had ever laid eyes on! Now the crowd was getting a tad restless as they tried to patiently wait for their turn to order an ice cream. But c'mon, enough was enough already!
Uncle Jim did what any good boss would do who has an employee that is just not getting the job done! He sent her on "break". What did you think he would do??? We did mention that Molly was his niece! Haha.
So Molly quickly fled outside to learn more about these two amazingly good looking trolls. Their names were Turk and Timmy. Ohhhh she might be in love...with both of them!
Turk was working at the new batting and pitching facility called Spring Training. Turk was fresh out of college, where he had had a college scholarship playing baseball. Turk figured he knew absolutely everything there was to know about baseball, did he mention he played baseball in college? He told Molly that she ought to come down to Spring Training where she could get a "one on one lesson" from Turk on how to hit a baseball. Taking a baseball lesson was absolutely the last thing Molly needed to do but she looked over at her cousin Daisy's friend Charlie and you could actually see her plotting about how she could enlist Charlie's help! Charlie would be taking baseball lessons for several weeks and that would work out just fine with Molly!
Well Timmy sat back listening to all the plans and knew that Molly would swoon as soon as he decided to join in the conversation. You see Timmy was the new troll in town...fresh from Ireland. And his accent would melt any lassy's heart! Timmy had been a stow-away in Dr. Reagan's luggage over the past summer. Timmy saw the bags at the airport and knew he had to figure out a way to get to the US of A!
What better way than in luggage that had a tag advertising, Lowell Michigan...the Next Place to Be! So far Lowell turned out to be everything Timmy had hoped it would be. Timmy stayed in Dr. Reagan's offices and he even got a dazzling new smile from Dr Reagan! Things were awesome for Timmy. He spent his winter skating all over the Flat River...well all over the frozen parts and he was looking forward to the summer here as well. Finding the lovely Molly was "icing" on the cake. Sure enough...the minute Timmy uttered his first sentence, Molly was smitten.
Oh whatever was Molly to do? Two handsome, eligible trolls and just "one" Molly...hmmm. It got her thinking, Molly wondered what her great friend Ginger was doing these days??? Ginger was Molly's friend and she was the beautiful, exotic troll over at Glass House Design! Let'ssee what she thinks of our two bachelors next week!

Troll Stroy - Chapter 9

2010-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

When we last visited our troll characters we were all pleasantly surprised to read that they were having a rather calm, sedate week! Love was in the air as well as peace and harmony! A regular "hippie fest" haha.
This week we notice that the children have a great deal more free time. School is winding down and their freedom is revving up. Except of course for Pete, who is still grounded! However, Pete's older brother, Charlie(twin to Lola) is not grounded but he is busy, busy, busy! Charlie is a delightful 12 year old living over at the Lowell Area Arts Council. Charlie is the polar opposite of Pete. Don't get me wrong, they are both super kids, but Charlie would rather be painting, drawing, creating, or displaying artwork! The kid is flat out
talented.
He just wrapped up the show for the Alto, Cherry Creek and Murray Lake Elementary Schools. A fine show it was! A fine show indeed!
Charlie's next project was to get ready for the Summer Concert Series starting in June. Charlie felt he was so very helpful that he often wondered what Ms. Lorain and Ms. Elaine would do without him. He would like to meet all of you and if you haven't had the chance, please head to the Lowell Area Arts Council to say hello to Charlie.
Did we mention that Charlie is also a face book geek! He is always checking everyone's wall and status and updated photos on face book. Charlie happened to notice that his very best friend in the world had found herself the perfect home at Daisy's Floral and Gifts.
Ironically, his friend's name is Daisy and she is working at Daisy's and he thought maybe the Art Council folks might rename their place...Charlie's. Hmmm he would have to bring up the subject with Ms. Lorain when he got a chance. In the meantime he thought he would wander over to Daisy's and check up on Daisy.
Charlie knew from the minute he entered the Flower Shop that his pal had to be somewhere nearby because everyone was smiling and humming and in a great mood. Daisy had that effect on anyone she was around.
People just loved being with her and she made any workplace more cheerful and colorful. Daisy heard Charlie talking and she skipped out to the front of the store to see her friend. It wasn't long before the two were deep in conversation about how much they were helping their respective businesses! Daisy and Charlie...Charlie and Daisy...always making their surroundings more beautiful and more colorful!
Daisy and Charlie decided all their talking and patting each other on the back was making them hungry. A trip to Ball's Softee Creme was just what they needed! Seeing Daisy's "older", "sophisticated" cousin Molly was always worth the trip to Ball's Softee Creme anyway.
When the two got to Softee's, Charlie and Daisy stared at the menu for what seemed like hours.(They knew the menu by heart). The two were actually stalling because they had a front row seat to watch Molly in action. Molly was flirting with two rather handsome trolls and it was bordering on down right obvious! Now what you must keep in mind, is that Ball's Softee Creme is ALWAYS crowded with folks wanting delicious cones, banana splits, chili dogs, chili nachos, ham sandwiches...why my mouth is watering just listing the many goodies on their menu! "Flirting on the job" can be a capital offense and Charlie and Daisy were wondering just how long their diva friend would get away with such behavior. Now the two fellas were totally taken with Molly's batting eyelashes and her sweet giggling...but Molly's Uncle Jim was not so impressed. Uncle Jim ran Softee's and from the looks of things...he might just run Molly out the door! To find out how this situation gets resolved you will need to tune in next week...

Troll Story - Chapter 8

2010-06-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

Rumors, rumors, rumors! So many rumors, truths, half-truths, lies, and gossip have been floating around in the Troll world that someone has to set "most" of it straight. So here's the skinny on the scoop you may...or may not be hearing! It is in fact true that PT is grounded "forever" for having been caught bungee jumping off of the bridge and he currently hates his sister Lola for ratting him out.
Grampa Boyle caused another ruckus at Keisers...something about "dancing at the Prom when he should have been cooking". Faith and Moola are indeed expecting their first little baby troll. Uncle Optic plans to be the baby's god father. Cookie seems to be snagging her man, Walt...someone saw them smooching at Sneakers! It is absolutely false that our Fearsome Five tore up the town last weekend...it was more like the "not quite so fearsome" four had a few beers and trudged home, saddened that their night was a debacle. Troll Daddy's evening was cut totally short by a very, very, very unhappy Mrs. Troll. Did I mention that Mrs Troll was not pleased? Well you may have heard her launch into an hour lecture to Troll Daddy about how he just wasn't involved or around since their home was under construction. Like any good husband who has been married FOREVER, Troll Daddy promised to rectify the situation and he even agreed to meet with the heating, cooling, plumbing, window, and designer guys...and gal!
Mrs. Troll muttered something about "believing it when she saw it"...and something about Pigs and flying...well never mind, Troll Daddy was bound and determined to make peace, if for no other reason than to plan his next escape!
So in keeping with his spirit of peace Mr. and Mrs. Troll planned to meet with Ms. Faucet regarding the plans for their kitchen. Ms. Faucet was a rather creative and delightful troll who was living at the Hearthstone Design Studio on Main Street. Ms. Faucet had already taken the liberty of sketching up several preliminary kitchen plans based on numerous conversations she had already had with Mrs. Troll. Troll Daddy was actually feeling pretty smug and a little confident interjecting an occasional "ahha" and "hmmm nice" at what seemed to be all the appropriate places in their meeting as they perused the plans for the kitchen. He really thought this Faucet lady knew her stuff and he was grateful that very little was required of him. Those folks at
Hearthstone Design Studio were top notch in his book and he could tell that Mrs. Troll would be more than pleased with the plans for her new kitchen. By the end of the meeting Mrs. Troll was all smiles and she even gave a little hug to her Mr. Troll. Life seemed to be getting back on course.
With kitchen plans in hand the two headed down to All Weather Seal to discuss windows. Scott, over at All Weather Seal had allowed Pickles McTroll to live in his storefront while the bridge was being remodeled. Scott felt it was fitting for Pickles to assist Troll Daddy and Mrs. Troll in the selection of their windows. Pickles was extremely organized, bossy and opinionated so there could be a potential clash between himself and Mrs. Troll. Troll Daddy knew he would have to keep on his toes to keep things running smoothly with
this meeting. Fortunately, Scott, Jim, Jason and all the helpful salespeople at All Weather Seal were in tune to the Trolls needs and they quickly measured, discussed, and priced the best windows forTroll Daddy.
Poor Pickles and Mrs. Troll were deep into a very heated argument and didn't even know all the decisions had been made and Troll Daddy was quietly sneaking out of the building! Actually, everyone was quietly sneaking out of the building, leaving Pickles and Mrs. Troll in a near shouting match! The two never noticed! They just kept going round and round the discussion of double hung windows versus casement windows. They moved into a loud discussion about roofing too! A Metal roof is what Mrs Troll wanted. Mrs. Troll had no idea she could get her windows, roof and entry doors all from All Weather Seal. She was actually elated because she was also getting the Energy Saving Tax Credit for everything she purchased with them! Little did Pickles or Mrs Troll know that Troll Daddy and Scott had already closed the deal on the windows, roof and entry doors and they were over at Sneakers celebrating all their wise decisions. Ha!
By the time Mrs. Troll realized her husband was gone she had run out of time for her meetings with Artic Heating and Cooling and Canfield Plumbing and Cooling. Speaking of time.... so have we...run out of time that is...so we will continue this saga next week! Will Troll Daddy drop out of circulation again? Will Mrs. Troll make it to her meetings? Will they be able to pay for all these improvements? See you next week...with some answers....and some rumors!

Bridge Buck winners 6.19.10

2010-06-19T09:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday Bridge Buck Winners!

$50 – Jeff Eckstrum
$20 – January Friesnan, Louise Kamphuis, Huver, Michele DeHaan & Kristy Bem
$10 – Nancy Haga, Tom Dawson, Sally Cloud, Shirley Chadwick & Sharon Brandner

Thanks to all of you for continuing to support Lowell.

Bridge Buck winners 6.12.10

2010-06-12T11:02:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to these latest WINNERS:

Bravard Helms $50

$20 Lisa Shenk, Pat Drake, Del Rockwell, Fran Clouser, Angie Gillett
$10 Pam Clark, Mike Wilzewski, Dale Valentine, Anne Amodeo, Jan Thompson

2010-06-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Are you wondering what all the fuss is about with the Trolls? Are you thinking we have lost our minds in Lowell??? Are there really Trolls? Do they exist?
I am here to tell you that the Trolls are alive and well and are taking over store after store after restaurant after library after bank after...well you get the idea here. If you don't believe me, then get your "doubting self" down to the shops and see for yourself. Sixty-four merchants, yes you heard me...64 merchants, have opened their doors to these magical Trolls and they are all waiting to meet you!
(Yea...and that means we have a whole lotta chapters to write too)
AND if you have missed any of these hard to believe, silly little chapters then head to the Chamber of Commerce and Ms. Liz will get you copies of the tales you have missed! Well, she will do her best but be
prepared to be bossed around by Mrs. Troll...remember she lives in Lizzie's office.
Speaking of bossy Mrs. Troll... Last week we left her knowing that her Troll Daddy was once again on the lam...oh and was she angry. However, rather than wasting too much time looking for the rascal she decided to meet with Jim the plumber at Canfield's Plumbing and Cooling. She actually thought Jim was the hardest working troll she knew and they had been friends since elementary school. Jim was just a great guy who would make sure that Mrs. Troll's new home was equipped with all the latest and greatest plumbing advances! Jim had been in the business since...well since forever and no one knew more than he did about how to get water from point A to point B!
Mrs. Troll knew her meeting with Jim would go beautifully and it would be brief. Jim didn't waste anyone's time and he was a straight shooter who just loved to get back to work. Mrs. Troll had promised Jim a delicious home-cooked meal in her new home just as soon as it was complete. Mrs.Troll was also holding out hope that she would be marrying Jim off to one of her many available sisters. But that is a story for next week.
Mrs. Troll's next stop was to see her uncle from the Netherlands, Old Dutch! It was hard for her to find Old Dutch because he was always traveling off to some exotic destination. Old Dutch lived with the folks over at Arctic Heating and Cooling. Mrs Troll was going to hire her uncle to install the heating system for her new home. Dutch would do a terrific job for his niece and he was happy to take care of all her heating needs. Lowell was lucky to have two wonderful places to choose from for heating and cooling with both Canfield's and Arctic Inc. Mrs. Troll felt blessed to live in a community filled with such hard workers!
Speaking of hard workers...reminded her that her husband wasn't one of those and just where had Troll Daddy gone off to this time???Unbeknownst to Mrs. Troll, her husband was actually at Firstbank of West Michigan applying for a loan to cover all the additional expenses their new and improved home would cost. Troll Daddy was meeting with his sister-in-law Suzie Banks, a real financial guru! Man, Suzie was a total money geek! Her blackberry was always, always, always in the palm of her hand so she could constantly read "up to the minute" banking trends. Suzie was also a great resource for anyone wanting advice on business growth opportunities. Troll Daddy knew she was the perfect person for him to talk with regarding a home equity loan.
Besides, Suzie was a crazy coin collector and it was a well know fact that Troll Daddy dabbled in coin collecting himself! The two could talk for hours about unique and rare coins they had discovered around the Lowell area. Yes, Troll Daddy was spotted heading into Firstbank-West Michigan and it would be hours before he would be seen exiting the building.
Well life was fairly calm this week...no trauma, drama, or angry mama... Calm before the storm? Perhaps. Or maybe everything was just blissful in Lowell...maybe. See you next week.

Bridge Buck winners 6.4.10

2010-06-04T13:26:00.000-07:00

Bridge Buck Winners for this week.

$ 50.00 Stacey Irwin
$ 20.00 Alicia Skibbe, Jennifer VanHal, Marilyn Oldenkamp, Sharon Depew, Deb Bogner
$ 10.00 Sharon Lesky, Colleen Myers, Ray Zandstra, Larry M. Peavy, Kya Sparks

More Bridge Buck Winners

2010-05-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks for supporting Lowell. Congratulations to:

$50 – Melissa Roth

$20 – Aguda Vera, Lisa Callier, Sue Huffman, John Bialczak & Pat Essig
$10 – Tim Rogers, Mallory K, Gay Pfaller, Keven Krieger and Melissa Mittelstadt

Word is getting around Lansing about our positive attitude!

2010-05-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

More buzz amongst the MDOT people in Lansing regarding the POSITIVE attitude we are working to maintain while Main Street is torn up has reached Liz at the Chamber. It seems the folks working on the Trails project are impressed with Lowell as well. (Thanks everybody - Lowell Rocks!)

Liz:

See the note below from our MDOT grant coordinator for the LARA trail. I think all the credit he is offering goes to you!

Dave Austin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Michael Smith [mailto:SmithM13@michigan.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 10:33 AM
To: dpasquale@ci.lowell.mi.us; Austin, Dave
Subject: Lowell

Gentlemen, I don't know if you were in on this article already or not, but it is so nice to see positive information in our Monday Memo, which is an MDOT employee newsletter. With this kind of positive approach to public infrastructure, I'm sure the Lowell Area Rec. Authority trail project will go very well next year. (I'm still getting the paperwork done for the changes you requested to the grant.) Nice job!

City of Lowell in Grand Region celebrating MDOT project

Instead of complaining about construction, the city of Lowell has embraced the replacement of the M-21 bridge over the Flat River. A Web site with project details, detour information, store promotions and much more has been created to unite the town in the name of progress. Over 60 Lowell businesses are working together to keep things lively downtown during the project. Anytime you patronize a Lowell business between April 5 and Oct. 1, you can enter to win Bridge Bucks in a weekly drawing. Lowell, home of the Red Arrows and orange barrels.... it almost rhymes. The Chamber of Commerce site is www.discoverlowell.org.

Michael Smith, Grant Coordinator
MDOT Office of Economic Development
P.O. Box 30050, Lansing, MI 48909

Bridge Buck winners for 5.21.10

2010-05-22T07:40:00.001-07:00

$50 – Sharon Kyser

$20 – Brenda Raymor, Robert Vanden Toorn, Ralph Clouser, Jamie Heim & Jackie Morgan

$10 – Michele DeHaan, Joan Hunter, Linn Marvin, Norann DeLoaf & Laurie Blough

A pat on the back to everyone for their work/attitudes during construction.

2010-05-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

Lowell Chamber Director Liz Baker shared these words of praise she received in an email with me and I thought everyone might want to take a look. It seems we are facing the Bridge Project with the right attitude and people notice!

Liz,

I just wanted to let you know what a phenomenal job you are doing dealing with the bridge construction. As someone who has listened to nearly every community predict that construction will run everyone out of business when a large project is under way, I am amazed at the great work you and the members of the Chamber of Commerce are doing. You can bet that when I do my next bridge project in a city, I will recommend they follow your example. GREAT WORK!

Jennifer Dougherty
Cogent Civil Engineering LLC
Alto, MI 49302

More Bridge Buck Winners!

2010-05-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everyone who keeps shopping and supporting Lowell businesses. Here is the most recent list of winners. Congratulations to:
$50 – Dale Valentine

$20 – Velma Perry, Melody Kastanek, Dar Bilski, Victer VanderWarf & Luke Merigian
$10 – Wendy Morris, Isabel Remar, Marea Hoat, Luanne Kaeb & Cheryl Runstrom

Concrete is being poured.

2010-05-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Roving Reporter and Chamber Director Liz Baker got these action shots when the concrete began to pour on our new bridge.

Bridge Project doesn't stop Super Heroes or comic book lovers.

2010-05-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Lowell was full of Super Heroes last week. Take a look at the group Jack from Rookies hangs with:

Rookies hosted another Free Comics Day - as they do every year. According to this letter to Liz at the Chamber, the construction didn't hinder Rookies customers at all:

"Saturday was great for us! Rookies was bustling all day. And I think I had more people than last year despite the bridge construction). In fact, there was a line at the register with people BUYING quite a lot (most the morning). I had people waiting when I got there at 9:30 (for a 10am opening). That's a first. It was one of my biggest sales days ever."
Jack

Thor put his muscles to work and helped out with some destruction on the Bridge!

People from Celebration Cinema were impressed with Rookies even though the road was torn up, as this letter demonstrates:
Jack,

I wanted to thank YOU for letting us come and join your festivities. Rookies was the highlight of our Comicbook tour. I only wish we could have stayed longer.
Sadly, I won't be interning here for any more promotions, but if it is okay by you, I would like to recommend Rookies (with you as our contact) for any further promotions on Comicbook-related films. As I'm sure you know, there are a number of releases every year and you clearly know how to draw attention to your store.
Thanks,
Dave VerMerris
Marketing Intern
Celebration! Cinemas

Diane Smith is pleased.

2010-05-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

This letter to the editor appeared in the May 12 edition of the Lowell Ledger:

"I want to thank everyone involved in the bridge construction project: the construction workers, those that organized and executed the detour, the Chamber and businesses, and all that did things like: think of and put up the parking signs, business is open signs, the Thank You sign on the east side of town, creating activities with construction as the theme, all of the other multitude of details, and raising the river when promised. Lowell is continuing to get better! Lowell is the NOW place to be."

Sincerely,
Diane Smith

Family Fun - Trolls n Treats.

2010-05-12T07:16:00.000-07:00

Trolls & Treats for Kids

Sponsored by the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce

Preschool through 5th grade!

The fun begins at 10 am Sharp!

Saturday, May 22 – Riverwalk Plaza by the Lowell Showboat.

The first 500 youngsters that arrive will receive a numbered goodie bag containing
$2 in Bridge Bucks *** Troll Magnet *** Sweets
200 bags will contain collectible Troll Necklaces!

The kids will enjoy Face Painting & Sidewalk Chalk
While you wait to see if your goodie bag has the lucky number to win one of the
10:30 AM Special Giveaways:
One Foot Vintage Troll ** Three Nine Inch Vintage Trolls ** 10 Troll T-Shirts
Five - $10 Bridge Buck Winners

It pays to shop in Lowell… Ask about Bridge Bucks!
For more info call the Chamber at (616) 897-9161 or info@lowellchamber.org

Latest Bridge Buck winners:

2010-05-08T04:24:00.000-07:00

Congratulations:
$ 50.00 - Cora Yeiter
$ 20.00 - Terry Tahvonen, George Reagan, Diane Kenman, Jim Eckelstafer, Linda Waldee
$ 10.00 - Jason Marr,Tara Mutschler, Dan DesJarden, Jan Boerema, Kya Sparks

Bridge Buck Winners for this Week.

2010-05-03T04:06:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to this group of winners:
$50 – Craig Teadusrth

$20 – Rick Polhill, Gale Fonger, Dale Bergy, Myra Huser and Marcie Kusto
$10 – Adam Balabuck, Melody Kastanek, Keith Patterson, Becky Reagan and Greg Pietrzal

Troll Story: Chapter 6

2010-04-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Chapter 6

Sooo everyone has been looking everywhere for Troll Daddy for the past several weeks. He's the fella that started the whole story, the troll who moved from the UP years ago and fell in love with Lowell. The troll who ended up with every cousin, friend, niece, nephew, and in-law moving in with him under the bridge! Where could the happy-go-lucky Troll Daddy be hiding?

As it happens our delightful Troll Daddy has been so blissfully happy because Mrs. Troll has been kept busy...busy...busy....finding all her friends and family members places to live. Last he heard his beloved wife had completely taken over the Chamber of Commerce offices and so our Troll Daddy knew exactly where NOT to be seen. He instead planned to take advantage of his new-found freedom and live it up a little...wee...bit!

Of course, being the social guy that he is, Troll Daddy wasn't going to "live it up" alone....no sir! AND he knew just the fellas that were going to help him have a great time....sort of a celebration....a time to enjoy his freedom! The first pal on his list to recruit into his scheme of FUN was none other than his best friend and old college roommate....Brewski. Now Brewski was bunking down with Bob the new owner of The Lowell Beer Store. The Lowell Beer Store was the perfect place for Brewski because he knew everything there was to know about wines, beers, fine whiskeys, cigars....and so forth. Brewski knew exactly which wine should go with which main dish...he knew exactly how much alcohol a family should order for reunions, weddings, and any other such celebrations. Brewski was the smartest troll that Troll Daddy knew! Besides, Troll Daddy just liked going into The Lowell Beer Store since it was under new management to see all the changes that were taking place in the store. The shelves were now fully stocked and Bob the new owner, was adding new products to the store daily! Yes, Brewski would be the first friend Troll Daddy would enlist in his plans to have a fun-filled weekend.

The second troll to be targeted for a weekend of mad-cap chaos was Shamus! Shamus could always be counted on for a good time! Shamus was somehow a very distant cousin to Troll Daddy and they more or less crossed paths while growing up. So Brewski and Troll Daddy headed down to Larkins, where Shamus now lived, to snag their friend for a day of craziness. Shamus loved it down at Larkins and was right at home in his new "home away from home". Larkins had some of the best food he had ever eaten and the HAPPY HOUR specials always left him feeling very "happy" and very "special"! As an added bonus, Shamus was able to tell his famous Irish Tales, dance a little and generally carry on with the good folks of Lowell. So it wasn't long before Troll Daddy, Shamus and Brewski were huddled around a pitcher of icy cold beer at Larkins....telling stories....entertaining the crowd, and adding to the magic of the nightlife of Lowell.

At some point in the night their fourth and fifth side-kicks joined in the fun. As our trio made their way down to Sneakers, they met up with Boris. Boris was old....we are talking ancient, but her could still be counted on for a rip-roaring good time. Boris took up his residence at Sneakers, we suspect because he hadn't met a cheeseburger he didn't love and Sneakers never had a shortage of delicious cheeseburgers! Boris told his younger buddies to head on over to have a few burritos, cheeseburgers, nachos and a cold beer with him once they finished up at Larkins. Now Boris didn't have to ask the guys twice because just the thought of more beer and food and Happy Hour specials had the guys running down to Sneakers.

On their way down the block, it so happened that they stumbled upon Troll Daddy's first cousin, Billy Bob. Describing Billy Bob as a "redneck" may seem cruel, but that is how he introduces himself to everyone. "Hi my name is Billy Bob and I am the redneecke that cooks up one of da meanest breekfists down der atta BackWaters Cafee!", he has been overheard saying to just about anyone he meets. Billy Bob drove his pick-up truck into Lowell about 20 some years ago...give or take and has lived here ever since. He is the first cousin to Troll Daddy and he is the one person Mrs. Troll absolutely would not allow to move into their home under the bridge. No bother to Billy Bob, no offense...he simply lived outta his pick-up truck. Billy Bob could out-cook, out-drink, out-cuss, out-last any of his troll buddies. So no party was complete without dear old Billy Bob. Billy Bob also claims family ties to Shamus...third, fourth or even a fifth cousin.....but even Shamus would rather see Billy Bob live in his old pick-up then have him invade his space.

Well the folks at the BackWater Cafe have agreed to put up with all Billy Bob's "Billy Bobness" and his "redneck" ways just as long as he would continue to whip up the delicious breakfasts and lunches that he is so famous for making.

So the party was complete....Troll Daddy, Brewski, Shamus, Boris, and Billy Bob were out on the town for a night of total fun, food and carousing.... They even planned to have a 6 in the morning breakfast at the Back Water cafe the next day! Nothing would get in the way of these mischievous trolls and their night on the town! Nothing would turn their jovial moods upside down! Nothing could stop them.....uh.....who was that stomping toward them down Main Street with her hands on her hips and steam coming out of her ears???? Who turned them in to the one person who could destroy their carefully laid plans? How could their evening turn south so quickly? Tune in next week to see if our trolls have the night they were hoping for....or if their night out is "water under the bridge" so to speak.....

Troll Story: Chapter 5

2010-04-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5

Soooo do you remember that Grampa Boyle was pacing in the parking lot of Keiser's Kitchen last week. Remember he was muttering and quite honestly, cursing about someone under his breath? Well it is all true and it happened...but why and to whom?

Grampa Boyle was angry with Blair and Trudy Cahoon (the owners of Keiser's) because they had to return 3 dishes of food that Gramps Boyle made! See he really needs glasses and is too proud to admit his sight is going and he accidently put black olives in the blueberry pancakes. Kind of an honest mistake...he thought. After all, black olives tasted good too...so what was the big deal? Blair, Trudy and the customers thought differently.

While Gramps was cooling off, Lola, his beloved grandchild ran inside to fetch Faith Fitness. Faith had a calming effect on Old Man Boyle...always had since she married his "favorite" son, Moolah years ago. Faith excused herself from Cookie and their deep conversation on how to snag Walt and Faith hurried to the rescue with Grampa Boyle.

Faith took one look at Grampa and immediately she hugged the big bear and sat him down for one of her "gentle" lectures!

First of all she told Boyle that she hadn't seen him working out at the YMCA for weeks, perhaps months and she urged him to get back in there. She reminded him that everything at the YMCA was designed to help him be calmer, lower his blood pressure and add to his enjoyment in life! Faith explained that she had new work-out routines that he would love! Faith had been employed by the YMCA for years and she was constantly learning about new ways to help people get in shape.

Then Faith asked him when was the last time he had his eyes checked.

Of course Boyle sheepishly admitted that it had been years...like 10 probably. Well, Faith's little brother Optic joined the group down at Advanced Eyecare Professionals and he was just the person Boyle needed to see. Without even listening to Boyle protest, Faith grapped him by the arm and dragged him to her car. She wisked Gramps off to see he brother Optic, knowing he would take care of her beloved father-in-law.

Optic was the friendliest of trolls and he welcomed Grampa Boyle, immediately putting him at ease. It was quickly decided that Boyle was as blind as an old bat! Many of the trolls were having problems adjusting to the bright sun-light after having lived under the bridge for so many years. Optic told Boyle all about the new custom lenses available, like "computer-wear", "drivewear",or high definition to name a few. As you would guess grampa Boyle opted for a basic pair of glasses with ordinary frames. As you probably guessed that process alone took several excrutiating hours...and of course Optic smiled the whole time! The service at Advanced Eyecare was second to none!

The final stop to cure Grampa Boyle's foul mood was a visit to his favorite son, Moolah, Faith's husband. Moolah was the favorite of many because he had moved into Edward Jones Investments. Moolah had a way of turning everything he touched into "gold"! Of course, Grampa Boyle had entrusted all of his financials to Moolah years ago and now he was able to reap the benefits of excellent financial planning. Moolah was always a good listener and he knew what his clients hoped to accomplish in their retirement years. He had helped many a people in Lowell create wealth, accumulate wealth, and disperse wealth! Grampa Boyle was instantly relaxed and happy upon seeing his son and his porfolio! What a nice "next egg" could do for a persons mood! Leave it to the great folks at Edward Jones to remind Boyle of the great things in life, like golf, hunting, fishing and travel...all things he could enjoy because he had trusted them to help him plan for his retirement.

Well old man Boyle was feeling greatly improved and ready to face Keiser's Kitchen with new eyes! He could stick it out for a few more months... However, that got him thinking about just how long would his house be under construction anyway? The only one who would really know what was going on was that darn son-in-law of his and no one had been able to find him in nearly 4 weeks! Where had that lad run off too?

Hmmmm come back next week to find out!

Troll Story: Chapter 4

2010-04-29T10:43:00.000-07:00

Chapter 4

Last week, Dovetail Antiques acquired the helpful, hunky Walt to help in their store. King Milling adopted a resident baker in Cookie, and poor Liz at the Chamber of Commerce lost her office to Mrs.Troll.
There have been many new developments in the on going saga of the trolls since last week. Mrs. Troll found homes for 2 of her younger children and more importantly she found someone to take in her disgruntled, crabby father known as Grampa Boyle.

Pete or PT, her rowdy 10 year old, moved in with the people at Dery Physical Therapy. Lola, the sassy and spunky 12 year old(ahh hmm that is 12 and 1/2) "beach bum" is hanging out with the folks at Harding Enterprise, when she wasn't playing down by the boat launch, that is!

Grampa Boyle was graciously allowed to reside at Keiser's Kitchen if he agreed to stay away from the customers and if he would agree to help cook and if he would agree to not yell at the wait-staff and if he would agree to smile at least once a day and if he would agree...well you get the picture! Keiser's was definitely taking one for the team when they "agreed" to welcome Grampa Boyle into their establishment.

Anyway, let's meet PT, who considered himself the number one fan of all things Lowell Red Arrows! PT could be seen in the front row of any and every sporting event. You couldn't miss PT because he would be the one cheering the loudest! PT also kept a vigilant eye on all the athletes, watching for any injuries what so ever. He always made sure that a hurt player knew that he/she could receive excellent physical therapy at Dery Physical Therapy! PT also informed the good townfolk of Lowell that the people at Dery were the best!

PT was a great kid...but he had his moments...like all children do. A rumor was circulating that PT could sometimes be found bungee jumping off the bridge, using the thera-bands. Definately not a stunt to be tried! His big sister Lola would knock him in the head if she ever caught him pulling such a reckless stunt!

Lola liked to be near the water 24/7. She adored anything to do with beaches, fish, ducks or the river. Lola also knew she could keep an eye on her punk brother PT from her vantage point by the boat landing.

Lola begged the City of Lowell to haul in sand and build her a "ginormous" beach at the landing. Well of course, that was out of the question. So Lola looked around the parking lot at the boat landing and decided what it really needed then was some new asphalt! And she knew just the people who could make that area look brand new again!

You guessed it-Harding Enterprises could fix it right up! Harding Enterprises could handle any job that had to do with asphalt! They had a knack of making the old look new again! If only they could work that magic on her old, grouchy Grampa Boyle Lola often thought.

Lola went in search of her little brother and thought today might be the perfect day to pay Grampa Boyle a visit.(She and PT secretly adored the old bear) Besides she was craving a plate of Texas Hash and she just loved the waitresses and the energy down at Keiser's!

When they arrived at Keiser's they could definitely pick up the vibe that something was wrong! Everything looked fine on the surface, customers were chatting over delicious home cooked breakfasts and piping hot coffee. BUT Trudy's face said it all.(She's the owner).

Her usual bubbly, bright and welcoming smile was replaced with a bunch of those worry wrinkles between her eyes. Lola dared to flat out ask her what was wrong? Trudy rolled her eyes to the heavens and suggested that Lola should ask Grampa Boyle! Oh oh. That couldn't be good!

Lola found Grampa pacing behind the restaurant muttering something about, "he had it coming...oh he had it coming!".

Well we have run out of time and Lola had just begun to scratch the surface on this dilemna...plus she could have sworn she got a glimpse of Aunt Cookie whispering and carrying on in what looked like a "heavy" conversation with her best friend Faith Fitness, from the YMCA. What was she up to???

Oh just wait till text week! Some of these hot topics will be cleared up...and some will just get hotter! See you next week!

Troll Story: Chapter 3

2010-04-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3

Last week we learned that all of our trolls would be in need of a place to live while their home, under the bridge, was being remodeled. We learned that Mrs. Troll was infiltrating the Lowell Chamber of Commerce where she could control everything. Mrs. Troll was busy with maps, charts, highlighters, graphs, clip boards, and anything she could get her hands on to help her, in the placement of her family members with various local merchants.

Liz Baker, who really runs the Chamber, was last seen throwing her hands in the air, biting her tongue, and hiding from a rather bossy Mrs. Troll.

In the meantime, several of the trolls took it upon themselves to find their own temporary lodging! Wasting not one second of time, Cookie, a level headed and practical troll, headed over to King Milling headquarters and staked her claim!

Cookie was an amazing baker and it was no coincidence that she always had a bag of flour with her. Cookie was clever enough to set up camp in the very place that she had been sneaking flour from for years.

This really was a "sweet deal" because Cookie lavished the fine workers at King Milling with bakery daily...she soon had them eating out of her hands...so to speak!

Cookie loved baking but she also had a sweet tooth for something other than bakery.... Cookie had her eye on Walt, a wickedly handsome younger troll that she heard a rumor would be residing with the folks at Dovetail Antiques...right across the street from King Milling!

Well our wickedly handsome Walt was also wickedly smart and very wise. Walt was not immune to the flirtatious ways of Cookie, nor was he immune to her talents in the kitchen. He loved her cookies! Truth be known...he secretly loved Cookie.

However, Walt was also a pretty busy guy helping the Dovetail folks search out the perfect pieces for their store! Walt had a gift for finding the diamond in the rough...for finding that special old collectible, or that one of a kind hutch. Walt was a little too busy to get tied down just yet. In his spare time he was seen fishing, spinning a story to whomever would listen, or just rummaging through estate sale after estate sale. Walt was feeling pretty grand about his new digs and Dovetail Antiques and it sure wouldn't hurt if he could occassionaly help himself to a cookie or two!

Would Cookie bake her way into Walt's heart forever or would she have to be content just baking for her friends at King Milling? Would Walt ever commit to Cookie or would he always be too busy finding treasures for Dovetails? And would Liz Baker ever get her office back or would Mrs.Troll be the new chief in charge at the Chamber?

See you next week as the tale unravels...

Troll Story: Chapter 2

2010-04-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2

Last week we met a very fine, happy troll who moved to Lowell, Michigan and built a wonderful home under our very own bridge on Main Street. Our troll enjoyed many, many fine years under his bridge in Lowell.

Our troll met a very fine and lovely lady troll and they were soon married. Together, they enjoyed years of Riverwalk Festivals, Football games, parade after parade, visits from Santa and Mrs. Clause...and all the wonderful magic that goes along with living in a small town.

Their family grew and grew over the years. Life was the best! Our troll was heard lauging...he was seen smiling and his whistling was so very constant that it bordered on annoying to the townspeople. But no one complained because the troll and his family was loved by all!

This went on for years and years and the troll thrived....but word slowly got out that our troll was blissfully happy and a very odd thing started to happen. Daily the troll family was "surprised" by friends and distant family members "stopping by" for a visit. These visits grew more frequent and they lasted longer and longer each time!

Nine out of ten times these troll visitors agreed that Lowell was indeed the next place to be and they decided to stay in Lowell. They all...yes, all, just moved in with our troll under the bridge!

Well of course the inevitable happened. Our troll outgrew his home under the bridge. Try as he might, he could just no longer squeeze his own children, his friends, aunts, uncles...even his in-laws into his little home under the bridge. So what was a troll to do?

Well...our troll did what any fine homeowner would do in such a dilemna...he decided to REMODEL. Try as the townspeople did into talking the troll into not tearing up their Main Street....the troll had no other options...

Alas, that takes us to our present day situation...and like any good townspeople...the good people of Lowell stood behind their troll and supported him as work got underway in the "remodeling" of their beloved trolls home, 000 Main Street...the bridge.

Immediately,Mrs. Troll rushed to enlist the aid of Liz Baker at the Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Troll needed help in temporarily finding homes for all of her children and for all of her house guests.

Anyone who knows Lowell's Chambers of Commerce knows that Mrs.Troll was going to be in very good hands and Mrs. Liz was going to be most helpful.

After a brief meeting at the Chamber of Commerce all of the merchants wholeheartedly agreed to pitch in and adopt a troll...temporarily while the troll's home was being remodeled.

The merchants left the meeting all smiles. They were feeling pretty darn good about themselves for being so helpful, noble, and generous by helping out the 45 or so trolls needing a new home.

Ha! AND... this is where it all gets a little goofy...a little dicey...and somewhat crazy! Maybe no one really told the merchants what living with a troll could be like, maybe no one really reminded the merchants how much mischief a troll could cause, maybe...well no use pointing any fingers...stay tuned to learn how these trolls adapted to their new homes. You just won't believe some of the stories...

Lowell: A Troll Story Chapter 1

2010-04-29T10:28:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1

Once upon a time in a far,far away land known as the UP, Upper Penninsula, of Michigan there lived a troll. This particular troll was a very kind, lovely troll. This little troll was always laughing...smiling, whistling a tune...rather off-key...but a truly happy guy was our troll. However, he was quite young and quite alone in the vast open spaces of the U.P. Everywhere he would go, he would try to find other trolls to whilst away his days with...but he always, always ended up alone... He looked everywhere for a place to belong.

This particular troll grew very sad because he was so alone. He smiled less and less...he rarely laughed anymore and he stopped whistling altogether.

One fine sunny day a passerby noticed the sad little troll sitting alone with his chin resting in his upturned hands. The passerby heard the troll let out a rather large, and heavy sigh! Now it was unusual for the passerby to get involved in other folks business. Yet the trolls' down trodden look tugged at the heartstrings of the passerby.

"Whatever is making you so sad on this fine and glorious day, young troll?"the passerby asked in a gentle voice.

So lost in his thoughts was he that our troll almost did not respond..but finally he noticed the man and with tears in his eyes he looked up and replied, "Why I have looked high and I have looked low but I cannot find anyone who is like me..."

"Ha ha ha...is that all that is bothering you my friend?" the man laughed. "Do you not know that Trolls live below the bridge?"

"What? What is that you say? Trolls live below a bridge? Oh my! Oh my, I have not looked below a bridge for a friend!" And with that bit of encouraging news our troll popped up, hugged the stranger, did a bit of a dance, and started to whistle a little tune! "Thank you, thank you, I know I can find just the right bridge!"

So thus began our troll's search for the perfect bridge...the perfect home...a place to live!

Well, as you may have guessed by now...our troll journeyed many, many days and had a many great adventure. But this troll being oh so smart, and oh so clever wouldn't settle for just any home. Our troll wanted to find the perfect bridge in a perfect town. Our troll went looking for the "next place to be!" A magical town where anything was possible...a town where people took pride in their homes, their stores, their schools, their community, and their bridges!

And that is how our troll came to live in, none other than Lowell, Michigan. Our troll set up his home under the bridge at 000 Main Street.

Little did our troll know what was in "store" for him in the future. Join us each week to learn about the adventures of our Lowell troll....

2010-04-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to these Bridge Buck Winners:

$50 – Dean Degrote

$20 – Linda Willaid, Sandy Pitchford, Carl Franks, Mary Lou Gooding and Addie Grohman
$10 – Krishne Garn, Jonathan Getz, Bob Mchinney, Wendy Zeigler Hesche and Judie Greene

Anybody seen this Troll???

2010-04-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

Have you spotted this troll??

Here is the first round of Bridge Buck Winnahs!!

2010-04-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

CONGRATULATIONS to the first round winners of Bridge Bucks:

$50 – Karen Perkins

$20 – Tom Field, Teresa Kenyn, Carol Johnson, Michelle Oesch and Regina Vander Klok
$10 - Denise Kroph, Mary Castro, Tamara Brubaker, Peggy Covert and Molly Johnson

Girls Night Out Winner - Lori Depuydt, Ada, MI

We received some grant money for a permanent Troll sculpture.

2010-04-14T08:42:00.000-07:00

The Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce received a Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural affairs Minigrant (administered through the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids) to support the making of a permanent Troll sculpture to be created by Nathan Galusha. This troll will be unveiled at the completion of the bridge construction during the Harvest Celebration.

Here are some of the comments from the panel who awarded the Minigrant:

Wonderful effort by and for the community.
All age groups are involved in this project.
The community impact will be seen daily.
Very creative take on the bridge project and implementation of the community "trolls".
The arts are acting as a solution to this economic problem.

Thanks to Lorain and the Lowell Area Arts Council for persuing this minigrant on behalf of Lowell (and all of our trolls!).

Car's eye view through Lowell - to find PARKING spots.

2010-04-09T07:18:00.000-07:00

Here is how things look if you were in front of Larkins at the West end of town traveling East.

As you can see from this picture, you can still turn left at Springrove Variety - that way you can pull in behind the shops and park.

The block long parking lot behind Cousins Hallmark is designated for Public Parking.

This is just past Springrove as we approach the dam by King Milling.

Once you are over the river there is more public parking in the lot across from the Showboat - right by Salon 206. The only thing that has changed here is that you can ONLY turn right (East) when you exit the parking lot.

Here we are looking west from Hudson and M-21/Main Street. You can turn left on Hudson to park in behind Gary's, Pep Talk, Flatriver Grill, and the Lowell Beer Store, etc.

If you turn left on Hudson (by City Hall) you can pull into MORE public parking. Remember, once you park on either side of the river/bridges you can walk across the bridges to get to businesses on the opposite side of the river from where you parked. MDOT has assued us that there will always be a pedestrian walkway open to cross the river during construction.

Girls Night Out will go on in spite of the construction!

2010-04-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

Wear your hard hats n safety vests for Girls Night Out Thursday April 15 - from 5 to 9 pm. Good times n treats n sale prices from one end of M-21/Main Street to the other.

Take a look at the list of everyone who is participating!!

Here is a look at the detour for West bound traffic.

2010-04-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is the detour for westbound traffic that will remain in place for the entire project.

Parking during construction. (Yes, Virginia - you can park here!)

2010-04-07T10:14:00.000-07:00

Here are the parking lots that are still available for you during the construction.

Shoppers - look for these entry forms in the next few days.

2010-04-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Now that they have started making a mess of the Bridges - we are going to start giving away Bridge Bucks. Just in time for Girls Nite Out - you should start seeing these entry forms all up and down M-21/Main Street by next week. We are going to give away $200 every week until the bridges are complete. There will be one $50 winner, five $20 winners, and five $10 winners. You have ELEVEN chances to win every week!

Message from the Lowell Police Department

2010-04-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Traffic Message has been issued by the City of Lowell, MI Police Dept..
Monday April 5, 2010 8:56 AM EDT

Bridge project on Main St has begun over the Flat River. Detour is mandated
for WB traffic only.
The bridge project on Main Street has begun this morning over the Flat
River. Detour is in place for WB traffic and EB traffic will be able to
continue through the downtown area. Businesses will remain open as usual,
please refer to the Lowell Chamber website for parking details and
promotions.
For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/1741663/.
Contact Information:
James Hinton
616-897-7123 jhinton@ci.lowell.mi.us

Thanks to WZZM - TV13 for some exposure last night.

2010-04-01T07:32:00.000-07:00

TV13 responded to a Press Release from the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce by sending Angela and Tony out to find out about trolls, bridge bucks, and bridge construction. Follow the link to see the report that they aired (I had trouble with the audio - hope it works for you!)

Lowell Merchants on TV13

Notes for Progress Meeting #1 3/24/10

2010-03-31T13:36:00.000-07:00

MINUTES
Planning and Progress Meeting No. 1 for M-21 over the Flat River Bridge Rehabilitation
PROJECT: BHT 41043-78623A
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 – 1:00 p.m.
PLACE: Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, 113 Riverwalk Plaza, Lowell, MI
ATTENDANCE: Liz Baker, LACC (616) 897-9161
Steve Bukala, Lowell Police (616) 897-7123
Dave Frogner, Anlaan Corp. (616) 842-8442
Mike Hickey, MDOT (616) 464-1800
Jason Guikeman, MDOT (616) 464-1800
Darrell Heuker, MDOT (616) 464-1800

I. REVIEW OF CPM SCHEDULE & PROJECT PROGRESS TO DATE:
• Dave Frogner of Anlaan Corporation provided details regarding the items recently completed, in-progress, or upcoming:

Pre-Stage: Traffic Signal Work at M-21 and Hudson:
• DVT will make the required signal changes on the morning of April 5, prior to Anlaan placing barrier wall and detouring westbound M-21 traffic.

Temporary Sewer Connection:
• Kentwood Excavating plans to excavate a hole in the sidewalk in front of the dentist office on April 1 to install a temporary septic tank to maintain sewer service during construction. Kentwood Excavating will have the septic tank pumped as required for the duration of its use.
• D. Heuker indicated that it may be possible to use the existing structure just west of the Serenity Club as a temporary holding area in a similar fashion as the septic tank would be used. The Contractor would need to repair the mortar inside the structure to make it water tight. The Contractor would also need to obtain DPW approval for this method of maintaining the sewer. D. Frogner indicated he would present this information to Kentwood Excavating as an option for further review.

Miscellaneous Removals:
•DVT anticipates removing the 6 light poles on the north side of M-21 on March 29.

Vibration Analysis:
•D. Heuker will review the vibration analysis plan and reply to D. Frogner with any comments or approval.
•Soils and Structures, Inc. (SSI) has completed the preliminary video taping of the buildings near the construction site. One resident at 101 ½ W. Main Street refused to allow the crew to video tape his residence.
•SSI submitted the preliminary video tape to Anlaan and the Grand Rapids TSC on 3/19/10.
•SSI will be setting up the vibration analysis equipment the week of 3/29/10 to obtain the baseline readings prior to construction beginning.

Stage I:
•Bridge Demolition: River Drawdown – Anlaan anticipates the first drawdown beginning 4/1/10. D. Heuker indicated that a meeting will be held on 3/30/10 with the DNRE and the consultant that will perform the mussel survey.

After the temporary concrete barrier wall is placed on 4/5/10, Anlaan will install the temporary pedestrian crossing with the temporary fences. D. Heuker reminded Anlaan that the temporary pedestrian facility will need to be wheelchair accessible.
Anlaan anticipates removing the existing metal railing on 4/5/10 & 4/6/10
After the metal railing is removed, the bridge deck will be sawcut and removed.
•Dave Frogner to provide status of additional work items to be completed by Anlaan or their subcontractors:
• Anlaan anticipates working 10 hour days, Monday through Friday, with 8 hour days on Saturdays as required to stay on schedule.
•The staking is complete for the detour signing. D. Frogner acknowledged receiving the detour signing changes from MDOT. Give ‘Em a Brake Safety (GEBS) will install the detour signs the week of 3/29/10.

II. REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION:
•D. Frogner provided a list of RFI’s. D. Frogner will provide updated RFI lists a summary sheet throughout the life of the project.

III. TRAFFIC CONTROL & SAFETY ISSUES: D. Heuker reminded the Contractor of the following items:
•All temporary signing and portable changeable message boards (PCMS’s) must convey a current and accurate message with respect to the present or upcoming work operations.
•All PCMS messages need to be submitted to MDOT for approval prior to posting the message.
•Traffic will NOT be stopped unless a proper flagging sign sequence is in place and trained flaggers with the proper STOP/SLOW paddles are performing the flagging.
•All on site personnel are reminded that there shall be no trucks or equipment pulling into oncoming traffic. It is understood that access to the work area is required, but construction vehicles are required to safely merge into and out of traffic.
•Plastic drums and Type III Barricades need to be properly placed and realigned at the end of each work day.
•All Workers and equipment SHALL remain behind the plastic drums or barricades while performing work.
•Anlaan is reminded of the requirement to inspect and maintain a Traffic Control Inspection Report Binder as provided by MDOT for the duration of this project. D. Frogner will check if Anlaan has a traffic control inspection form and submit a copy for approval. If Anlaan does not have a form, D. Heuker will provide one.
•All personnel on site shall wear reflective clothing when working inside the right-of-way.
•All contractors need to ensure equipment has proper conspicuity tape and/or lighted beacons.
•Upcoming lane/ramp closures and/or detours:
•Anlaan will set up signing for a flag control sequence in case on is needed during the pre-stage work.
•D. Heuker will review the plans to determine if a wide load restriction will be required during the stage work.

IV. SOIL EROSION & SEDIMENTATION CONTROL ISSUES:
•Anlaan is reminded that they must keep copies of ALL NPDES reports on site. Anlaan has a copy of the current NPDES permit and reports located in the project superintendent’s vehicle.
•Anlaan is reminded that they have five (5) calendar days to correct any S.E.S.C. problems not directly impacting a surface water body or drainage feature. Any S.E.S.C. problems that directly impact surface water or drainage features require that corrections are completed within twenty-four (24) hours.
•NPDES reports are current as of: 3/25/10.
•Mike Hickey is designated as the Certified Storm Water Operators for this project.
•Contractors reminded to be careful of tracking material onto road ways.

V. SUBMITTALS AND SHOP DRAWINGS:
• D. Frogner provided a list of submittals and shop drawings. D. Frogner will provide updated submittal and shop drawing lists a summary sheet throughout the life of the project.

VI. OUTSTANDING ISSUES:
•Mussel Survey – MDOT is in the process of scheduling a meeting with the consultant that will be performing the mussel survey for the end of the month. D. Heuker will pass on further information to D. Frogner as it becomes available.

VII. UTILITIES:
•D. Heuker will check on the status of the temporary water main work that needs to take place prior to construction.
•AT&T has relocated the aerial line that crosses M-21. D. Frogner indicated that he has had discussions with John Driscoll at AT & T regarding installing a conduit across M-21. D. Heuker will contact Mr. Driscoll and provide information regarding obtaining a permit for the proposed conduit.
•The DPW has reviewed the street lighting near the site and is prepared to disconnect the lights as necessary.

VIII. CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS &WORK ORDERS:
•None to Date

IX. PAY ESTIMATES/PAY ISSUES:
•Pay estimate No. 1 will be generated on Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

X. OTHER DISCUSSION & ITEMS TO BE ADDRESSED:

XI. NEXT PROGRESS MEETING: 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 113 Riverwalk Plaza, Lowell, MI.
Minutes of Progress Meeting No. 1 were distributed by D. Heuker on 3/26/10.
Please submit any changes via email (heukerd@michigan.gov) within 7 days.

The Official Word from MDOT.

2010-03-31T08:23:00.000-07:00

Single Lane Closure
Westbound M-21 (Main Street) between Jackson Street and Hudson Street, in the city of Lowell.
Mon 4/5/10, 7 AM to Fri 10/1/10, 7 PM

MDOT Map is here

Details: Westbound M-21 will be closed between Jackson Street and Hudson Street for bridge replacement over the Flat River beginning April 5 until October 1. Westbound M-21 traffic should follow the posted detour route. Eastbound M-21 traffic will be maintained throughout the project.

Detour: South (left) on Jackson Street to Grand River Drive. West (right) on Grand River Drive to Hudson Street. North (right) on Hudson Street to M-21.

Contact: Grand Rapids TSC 616-464-1800

Some good news on the bridge repair front.

2010-03-24T18:17:00.000-07:00

According to the latest issue of the Cadence, the bridge on M-21 in Ada will NOT be closed during repairs next year. It seems MDOT has figured a way to keep one lane open each way during construction.
Read about it here: MDOT decides M21 bridge can stay open after all.

Ada business owners are breathing a sigh of relief and I would venture that a good many in Lowell are as well. Phew!!! Kudos to the Ada folks for not taking the first report as gospel - guess you can fight city hall sometimes. A tip of the contruction hat to MDOT for re-thinking their position and coming up with something more to everyone's liking.

62 Lowell Businesses are working together!!

2010-03-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

A Big Shout Out and Thank You Kindly to all of the business owners who are participating. As you can see, the list keeps growing, we are up to ~~48 55 56~~ make that 59 ~~60 61~~ 62 now. They include:

Advanced Eyecare Professionals
AIC Insurance Services
All Weather Seal
Alliance Financial and Insurance
Arctic Inc. Heating & Cooling
Backwater Café
Ball's Softee Crème
Bernard's Ace Hardware
Canfield Plumbing & Heating Inc.
Chimera Design Fine Jewelry
City of Lowell DDA
Collector's Korner
Computer Rehab
Cousins' Hallmark/River Hollow
Curtis Cleaners
Curves for Women-Lowell
D & L Tax Service & Bookkeeping
Daisy Floral
Dery Physical Therapy Services PC
Digital Image Signs & Graphics
Dovetail Antiques
Edward Jones Investments
eja` Salon, Inc.
Fifth Third Bank
Fire and Water Art!
Firstbank
Flat River Cottage
Flat River Grill
Friends of the Englehardt Library
Gary's Country Meats
Giggles n Gumdrops
Gilda's Club
Glass House Designs
Harding Enterprises
Hearthstone Design Studio, LLC
Hunan Garden's La Te Da's
Huntington Bank
James E. Reagan D.D.S.
Jets Pizza
Keiser's
King Milling Company
L.A. Trim
Larkin's Fine Food & Cocktails
Lowell Area Arts Council
Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce
Lowell Area Historical Museum
Lowell Area Schools
Lowell Beer Store
Lowell Ledger/Lowell Litho/Buyers Guide
Lowell Showboat Garden Club
Lowell Women's Club
Modern Photographics
Nightforest Jewelry
Pep Talk
River Valley Credit Union
Rookies Sportcards Plus
Salon 206
Showboat Automotive
Sneaker's
Spring Training
Springrove Variety
YMCA - Lowell

Weekly Bridge Progress Meetings will be at the Chamber.

2010-03-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Once construction gets underway - there will be weekly progress meetings at the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce every Wednesday between 1:00 and 2:30 pm. This would be the time to bring your questions, comments, and complaints.

We need more trolls!! Want to help make some?

2010-03-15T04:32:00.000-07:00

Businesses in Lowell from one end of M-21/Main Street to the other are joining together to combat the possible loss of business from the 6 month long Bridge Project with a small army of Trolls. A team of folks has crafted a great story about Trolls who came to settle in Lowell and who have enjoyed The Next Place to Be for decades. (Their story will begin to appear in a weekly serial form in the Ledger soon.) However, with the MDot crews scheduled to tear apart their bridges, in the interest of safety for everyone concerned, the trolls have been adopted by Lowell area businesses. Each participating business will have their very own Troll to dress up and decorate as they choose.
The Trolls have been one tool in our arsenal to keep people interested in, and supporting, business in Lowell through the Bridge Project. We have even applied for grant money to construct a permanent Troll to mark the end of the construction. We are hoping to turn the Troll Story into a book when everything is said and done in the fall.
Our goal initially was to get 25-30 Lowell businesses involved in the Troll Project, but the latest tally puts participating businesses at 48 with the potential of even more getting involved before the deadline at the end of March. The fact is - we need more Trolls! To that end we are hosting a Troll building marathon on Saturday March 20th at the Chamber building from 10 am to 3 pm.
Contact Liz at 616-897-9161 to let her know you are coming.

Here is a map showing available parking during the project.

2010-03-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

The new total is 48!

2010-03-10T13:17:00.000-08:00

Here is the latest tally of Lowell businesses that are working together to keep things lively in Lowell during the Bridge Construction Project. We are up to 48! Whooo-hoooo - thanks to everyone for getting on board.

Shoppers/Customers/Clients - this is the list of participating businesses. Anytime you do some business with any of them between April 5 and October 1 you can enter to win Bridge Bucks in our weekly drawing.

Business Owners - there is still time to get on board. You have until March 31st to sign up for the Business Investment Package (Information here ). Add your name to this list for just $50 a month - a total of $300 for the six month period.

Advanced Eyecare Professionals

AIC Insurance Services
All Weather Seal
Alliance Financial and Insurance
Arctic Inc. Heating & Cooling
Backwater Café
Bernard's Ace Hardware
Canfield Plumbing & Heating Inc.
Chimera Design Fine Jewelry
Collector's Korner
Computer Rehab
Cousins' Hallmark/River Hollow
Curtis Cleaners
D & L Tax Service & Bookkeeping
Daisy Floral
Dery Physical Therapy Services PC
Dovetail Antiques
Edward Jones Investments
eja` Salon, Inc.
Fifth Third Bank
Fire and Water Art!
Flat River Cottage
Flat River Grill
Friends of the Englehardt Library
Gary's Country Meats
Glass House Designs
Harding Enterprises/Diamond Plate Works
Hearthstone Design Studio, LLC
Hunan Garden Bar & Grill
Huntington Bank
Keiser's
King Milling Company
L.A. Trim
Larkin's Fine Food & Cocktails
Lowell Area Arts Council
Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce
Lowell Area Historical Museum
Lowell Beer Store
Modern Photographics
Nightforest Jewelry
Pep Talk
River Valley Credit Union
Rookies Sportcards Plus
Salon 206
Sneaker's
Springrove Variety
YMCA - Lowell

Momentum is building.

2010-03-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Merchants met again this morning and the momentum and enthusiasm is building (the Trolls are getting built as well). Here are some of the highlights of the meeting:

Deadline for businesses to get involved is March 31st.
We established a rate for non-profits of $150
Yellow hard hats are on their way for use at Expo & Girls Nite Out
Mike Springer found 250 trolls for the Troll Drop
Greg VanStrein will handle the airborne duties in his powered paraglider.
Troll Drop propsed date is Saturday April 17th.
We are going to drop trolls, candy bars and at least $200 in Bridge Bucks
Police Chief Hinton has secured a closure of M-21 from 8am to 6pm for the Harvest Celebration
Amy and the Troll Story Team are working hard
There will be weekly progress meetings during the contruction at the Chamber of Commerce building every Thursday from 1 to 2:30pm beginning March 25th. Bring your questions.
There are 41 businesses who are involved and several more "maybes". Thank you to everyone for co-operating in this. It speaks volumes for our community.
High School artists have laid a foundation of trolls for the participating businesses.
Troll making workshop will be at the Chamber Saturday March 20th - come and make your own troll or help put the finishing touches on others.

Bridge Construction = An Art Project with Fire and Water in June

2010-03-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

The artists at Fire and Water are getting creative with the Bridge construciton:

Attention Artists -- of all levels! ART Bridge June 21 1-4pm ! Meet at 1:00 at Fire and Water ART 219 West Main in Lowell to spend a fun afternoon sketching and/or photographing the under construction bridge in Lowell. Secret spots have been identified and special arrangements have been made for a wonderful drawing and/or photographic experience. Bring your own materials and supplies, camera, chair, and sun hat. Rain or shine! Reservations encouraged 616-890-1879 or via the contact page at http://www.fire-and-water-art.com/ .

Liz and I met with the DDA yesterday - SUCCESS.

2010-03-05T07:51:00.000-08:00

Business owners - here is a piece of good news and further indication of the cooperation we enjoy here in Lowell. Chamber Director Liz Baker and I went to the DDA yesterday in an attempt to secure some extra funding for marketing and promotion during the 6 month construction process.
FYI - the DDA has supported the marketing campaign to the tune of $25,000 a year for the past 3 years. This has enabled the marketing committee to promote "Lowell - the Next Place to Be" with billboards, print, cable television, direct mail, and radio.
The DDA approved an extra $5,000 from this year's budget to enable us to give away a MINIMUM of $200.00 a week in Bridge Bucks EVERY WEEK during the 6 months of construction.
Everybody loves to win - and we are going to have a lot of them in the upcoming months.

Here is a list of all the participating businesses (so far).

2010-03-05T07:22:00.000-08:00

As of this morning, these are all the businesses who are working together to make the Bridge Project fun for Lowell shoppers and patrons:
AIC Insurance Services, All Weather Seal, Alliance Financial and Insurance, Artic Inc. Heating & Cooling, Backwater Cafe, Bernard's Ace Hardware, Canfield Plumbing & Heating, Chimera Design, Collector's Korner, Computer Rehab, Cousins Hallmark/River Hollow, D&L Tax Service, Daisy Floral, Dovetail Antiques, eja Salon, Fifth Third Bank, Flat River Cottage, Flat River Grill, Gary's Country Meats, Glass House Designs, Hearthstone Design Studio, Hunan Garden, Huntington Bank, Keiser's, King Milling, L.A. Trim, Larkins Fine Food & Cocktails, Lowell Beer Store, Modern Photographics, Nightforest Jewelry, Pep Talk, Rookies Sportscards, Salon 206, Sneakers, Springrove Variety, YMCA.

Attention business owners - it is not too late to join in the fun. You have until the end of March to make your commitment to Lowell.
Attention shoppers - every time you do any kind of business with any of the establishments listed above, you can enter for the weekly drawing of Bridge Bucks. We will be giving away $200 a week - every week during the construction.

Comment: On behalf of the Chamber, the marketing committee and the merchants group, I would like to say how pleased I am to see participation from the big variety of businesses in Lowell. This kind of cooperation is hard to come by these days. No wonder Lowell is The Next Place to Be!

MDOT Stakeholders meeting this morning.

2010-02-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

It was a relatively quick and informative meeting with the people from MDOT this morning (where were YOU??). They gave us an overview of the planned repairs, the detour, and specific dates. Some of this is review, but I am just working from my notes.
The last time the two bridges were re-built was in the 1940's. We were shown a couple slides of how they look underneath the roadway - yup, we want these babies repaired. Only the "top" of the bridges will be repaired - the road deck and substructure, the sidewalk, and bridge railing. No pilings will be replaced or added
There are several reasons the construction will be taking so long, one of which is the fact that the DEQ (Dept of Environmental Quality) will only issue permits to draw down the water in the river for specific time periods. King Millings operations were also considered regarding drawing down the water (King Milling owns/operates the dams over which the bridges pass.) Another factor that adds to the construction time is the fact that many untilities run underneath the bridges and have to be re-routed during construction. We were assured that every effort will be made to prevent power outages - especially during business hours of operation.

Here are some bullet points:

Traffic volume = 19,000 vehicles a day (3% of which is commercial).
Stage 1 - North side April 5-July 5.
Stage 2 - South side July 6 - October 1.
Completion date in contract is October 1.
River draw down dates: 4/6-4/30 and 7/15-8/8
River will go down approximately 2 feet
River will be "up" for Riverwalk Festival
Left turn only lanes will be added on Hudson/M-21 intersection
MDOT is producing a Project Brochure
They are planning weekly/bi-weekly progress meetings
The bridges will be open to pedestrian traffic during the whole project.

MDOT has a website with information at www.Michigan.gov/drive .
I left with the impression that everyone involved wants to minimalize the negative impact on Lowell businesses and service providers and that the lines of communication will be open.

Attention Business Owners - Look what you receive for just $50 a month.

2010-02-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Business Marketing Investment

Attention Lowell Business Owners - in the next couple of weeks, you will be invited to join in a marketing plan designed to encourage our customers to continue to support all of us through the 6-7 month construction period. We are asking that you invest ONLY $50 a month for six months (April-September)- that is only $300 total. We wanted to make the amount small enough so that any business on Main Street/M-20 can participate.

The merchants have been meeting twice a month and are working with the Chamber Marketing Committee to create something positive out of the bridge construction project. This money from you is less than the amount of one good sized newspaper ad per month; but together our $50 will enjoy the power of multiplication and allow us to do many things.

What you get for your investment:

Your business name on the Detour/Parking Map
Your Business will be highlighted in one of the weekly “Troll” stories in the Ledger.
2’ X 2’ Troll in your location (custom made for your business)
Name on Bridge Bucks, Bridge Construction Blog, and Chamber Website
Weekly Drawing (26) of Bridge Bucks in your location (expires October 14)
Inclusion in both Girls’ Night Out events (GNO) – April 15 and October 14
Harvest Celebration aka Bridge Celebration!
Giant Troll Sculpture (Harvest Celebration)
Billboards/Blackboards
4 Direct Mailings throughout the Project (2 GNO, 1 Troll Project and 1 Harvest Celebration)
Increased radio, cable and broadcast marketing targeting Lowell

Your investment is just part of a larger pot of funds that the Marketing Committee of the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce is working with. Our plans include seeking funding from the DDA, LACF, Look Fund and possibly the Lowell Cable Fund. A couple of the funding sources love to match funds, so the more businesses we have committing to the $50 per month ($300 total) the better chance we have of getting more money to keep folks supporting Lowell during construction.

For the past 3 years the Chamber has received funding from the DDA and LACF to market Lowell. We have had a billboard on 1-96 Highway, produced a high quality ad for Lowell, ran radio, cable and broadcast ads as well as paper ads in the Grand Rapids Kent County Visitor’s Book and several small papers. We re-designed our website to make it user friendly for visitors and members. We have purchased promotional materials that include magnets, T-shirts, canvas and Kraft paper shopping bags and water with our slogan on it. We also have given away over $6000 ($2000 redeemed) in Shop Lowell Gift Certificates and exhibited in the Grand Rapids Women’s Expo.

Our marketing plan is simple but we feel that it has had a great impact, driving people to website and marketing around all ready established events.

Mission of the Marketing Committee

To strengthen the Greater Lowell Community through the development of a Community-Wide Business Marketing Plan, which will promote Lowell as an attractive area to work, start a business, relocate a plant, go to school, raise a family, shop, dine and enjoy its many other amenities.

______________________

This summer we are going to experience a new issue, the rebuilding of the M-21 Downtown Bridge over the Flat River. A group of Merchants have decided that we should take on the project and embrace it! So that is what we are going to do – together; we ask that you protect your business investment by investing in this plan.

Contact Liz at the Chamber (897-9161) or Cliff at Chimera (897-9480) and tell one of them you want to be a part of this plan.

Some more details about the bridge construction timing.

2010-02-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

This morning at the Chamber Board meeting, Dave Pasquale (city manager) told us that he has met with MDOT and the company handling the construction. They gave him some more information. They plan on starting construction March 15th - but the detour will not go into effect until Monday April 5th (the day after Easter). They will start on the North side of the bridge(s) and plan on having that side done by the middle of July which should put them on track to have everything complete by October 1.

Another upbeat planning session.

2010-01-28T04:45:00.000-08:00

There was another positive meeting full of ideas at the Chamber yesterday. In addition to the merchants, Dan Desjarden was there from the City along with Chief Hinton and Dave Pasquale. They brought maps of proposed parking areas for customers which will appear here as soon as they are tweaked.
Some of the fun being planned include:

A troll drop-hundreds or thousands of trolls air dropped at the Fairgrounds.
The story of our bridge trolls - how they got here and what they are doing. The story will run in serial form on this blog and in the Ledger.
Weekly give-a-ways of Bridge Bucks that can be spent anywhere in Lowell.
Cooperation between the City, Lowell Schools, the Chamber and merchants to make this construction period FUN for business owners and shoppers.

Just wanted you to know that we are NOT sitting around moaning about the construction - we are working and planning to turn this pain in the backside into something exciting for Lowell residents, business owners, and visitors. Stay tuned - more details to come.

Stakeholders meeting with MDOT.

2010-01-15T08:35:00.000-08:00

This is NOT set in stone, yet. But there is a meeting with MDOT set for stakeholders on Thursday February 18th at 8 am in the City Council room at City Hall. Bring your self and your questions. The meeting will take place on the second floor. This is your opportunity to ask questions of the MDOT people - so don't miss it.

What we know so far.

2010-01-12T13:55:00.000-08:00

Work is scheduled to begin in April, but it might start sometime in March depending on the weather.
The contract specifies that work will be completed by October 1, 2010.
East bound traffic will remain on M-21 (Main Street) no matter which side of the bridge is being repaired.
West bound traffic will be routed over to Grand River and then they will have the option of turning back North into Lowell and coming over the bridge on M-50 or continuing to Ada on Grand River. (One reason we need fun stuff going on - to keep folks coming into Lowell!)
Speaking of Ada, we have heard from multiple sources that the reconstruction of the bridge on M-21 in Ada WILL NOT be going on at the same time as our Bridge Project. (can I get an AMEN?)
Monroe Street will remain open during the construction.
A left turn light will be installed at Main and Hudson (M50 and M21) for the west bound traffic returning to M-21.
The water level in the river will be normal during the Riverwalk Festival (much more visually attractive and MUCH, much less stinky!).
Construction workers will have designated parking areas.
We are working with the city to provide designated "Customer Only" parking areas as well.
The Marketing Committee is working hard to provide extra funding (asking for help from the DDA, Lowell Area Community Fund, all merchants on Main Street, and the Look Foundation) to provide signage, maps, advertising and promotion, "Bridge Bucks" to give away and other things to help lessen the impact of the Bridge Project on Lowell.
We are experiencing a great deal of co-operation from the City, Lowell Schools, the Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce, the Lowell Arts Council, merchants and business owners on Main Street, and from the Lowell Ledger/Buyers Guide. Everyone is rolling up their sleeves and jump starting their creativity in order to make this massive construction project a small bump in the road.
Stay tuned!

Welcome to the Bridge Blog.

2010-01-08T07:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks for checking in. The destruction and re-construction of our bridge on M-21 is going to make 2010 a challenging year for Lowell residents and businesses. Your Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce has created this blog to provide you with up to the minute information about the Bridge Project.
Even though construction is not set to begin until March or April, the business owners are hard at work dreaming up fun ways to make the best of the estimated 6 to 7 months during which the streets of Lowell are going to be torn up. Some of the things in the pipeling include a Monopoly-style game (Lowellopoly?) and other games that will provide you the chance to win Bridge Bucks - we want to give away some every month during construction in order to encourage everyone to brave the dirt and machines and continue to support your Lowell businesses.
We are going to call ourselves BRIDGE BUSTERS - cuz we ain't afraid of no bridge! We can use the rallying cry: Where you gonna shop? Bridge Busters!
We are committed to making the best of a dirty situation and we look forward to the continued support of all of our customers. Sign up as a follower of this blog and you will get all the latest information as soon as it goes up. You are more than welcome to toss in your two cents - you can put some encouraging words here or pass along any suggestion you might have to lessen the impact and increase the FUN during the upcoming months.