Anti-Bullying Group Holds Walk in Memory of Linden Student Who Committed Suicide

Lake Fenton High School's Starfish Initiative holds its first public event.

A large group of walkers from the Fenton area and beyond braved cold temperatures Sunday to join Lake Fenton High School’s anti-bullying organization, The Starfish Initiative, in honoring the memory of Josh Pacheco, a bullying victim who committed suicide. The walkers started out at Andrew G. Schmidt Middle School, in the Fenton Area Public Schools district and hiked to Bush Park. Pacheco was 17 and a junior at Linden High School. He committed suicide on Nov. 27. His parents said bullying played a role in his death and said Pacheco was gay, which led to him being bullied both inside and outside of school, according to the Flint Journal. Lake Fenton High School senior Matt Wilson, who began The Starfish Initiative, said he was bullied as a …

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Parents of Bullied Linden High School Student Lose Son to Suicide

Student, 17, ends his own life on morning of Nov. 27.

5 Things to Know Today — Oct. 5

Don't miss out on this important news and other information.

The National Weather Service's forecast for today is a chance of showers (30 percent) with a high of 59 degrees. Tonight's forecast is mostly cloudy with a low of 37. The lowest gas prices in Fenton Tuesday evening were $3.69 per gallon, according to MichiganGasPrices.com. The station offering this price was Beacon & Bridge Market, 3011 W. Thompson Rd., in Fenton Township. The second-lowest price was $3.72 per gallon, at the Mobil at 1491 N. Leroy St., Fenton. Danny Leideker, who has Asperger Syndrome, a type of autism, has been befriended by his fellow Linden High School seniors, the Tri-County Times reports. Leideker makes them better people, one of his friends says. Michigan’s magnificent seasons are highlighted in the Michigan 4 art …

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Woman Running Fenton Kindermusik Business from Tokyo

Laura Blanchard handles Kindermusik website, business issues from Japan; Shelly Gillett-Behrens teaches the classes in Fenton.

Laura Blanchard's Kindermusik program is at Transfiguration Lutheran Church in Fenton Township, but Blanchard lives more than 6,376 miles away in Tokyo. That hasn't stopped her from running the business, however. She has been operating her Fenton business from overseas despite a 13-hour time difference, all made possible by Kindermusik teacher Shelly Gillett-Behrens, and their iPhones with FaceTime, she said. Blanchard, owner of Blanchard Music Studio, and her family are living in Japan while husband, Rob Blanchard, a manager in sheet metals, works on two global cars for Nissan. Rob Blanchard began his two-year assignment in Japan on April 1, the beginning of the school and work calendar for the Japanese. Laura and their daughters, Molly, …

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Hartland Mom Loses Eye During Son's Baseball Game at Linden High School

A fundraiser will be held on Friday night for Jenny Kesson who is undergoing surgery from an accident during a baseball game.

It was a rainy day during last Saturday’s Hartland varsity baseball game against Linden, when Jenny Kesson, who went to watch her son play, bent over to roll her wet pants up. As she went to stand back up, Kesson’s whole life changed in an instant, as a line-drive hit went foul. “It was such a freak, freak accident,” said Laura Simon, Kesson’s sister. “She stood up, a kid hit the ball-- a line drive-- and it hit her right in her eye.” Kesson was rushed to University of Michigan hospital where doctors told her she was lucky to be alive but then informed the Hartland mom that she would end up losing her eye. With all her eye socket bones fractured, Kesson will undergo eye removal surgery on Friday. She will then face months of facial …

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Orchard Lake St. Mary's Rolls Over Linden, 49-7, in Regional Final

Spencer McInnis leads the way for the Eaglets as they end Linden's historic season Saturday.

The score: Orchard Lake St. Mary's 49, Linden 7 The star: St. Mary's senior running back Spencer McInnis led the Eaglets with 163 yards rushing on 13 carries and three touchdowns, including touchdown runs of 47 and 74 yards. The turning point: On the first play of the second half, McInnis took a handoff from quarterback Dan Clements at his own 26-yard-line and faced a wall of Linden linemen on the right side. With one Linden Eagle grabbing at his jersey, McInnis moved deeper into the backfield toward the left sideline, found some daylight, and ran all the way for a score to put St. Mary's up 28-7. The quote: "It’s just a special play — a running back doing his thing. It’s not what you want — usually, you get a penalty out of it, but (…

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