Tennis portrait: Marla Beavers

Hillsdale High School senior Marla Beavers practices at the high school tennis courts Thursday afternoon.

Baseball hug, Color and B&W

Jonesville High School sophomore Ashlyn Lambright holds tightly as she hugs her best friend Jay Bearden on Thursday afternoon at Jonesville Middle School after the baseball game that won Jonesville the second consecutive Big Eight Championship title. Lambright and Bearden had not seen each other for just more than one week. "Oh he's good," she said."He has a good batting average and is good at pitching too."

Classic car show family

Three frames of a family at the car show. The first photo ran main on A1. The other two were in the photo gallery. I just like the idea of proximity to subject and exploring it in this series. The full gallery can be viewed here.



Jeremy Bolenbaugh of Jackson holds his daughter Victoria, 4, on his lap while his wife Elizabeth and daughter Abigail sit in the front seat of their 1929 purple Ford Model A car at the Classic Car Cruise-In on Friday night in downtown Jackson. "The girls love to wash it," he said, laughing. "It's what we use as a family car, so they know we get ice cream in it."



Seven-year-old Abigail Bolenbaugh of Jackson, left, smiles with her mother Elizabeth as the two people watch from the inside of their 1929 purple Ford Model A car at the Classic Car Cruise-In on Friday night in downtown Jackson.



Four-year-old Victoria Bolenbaugh of Jackson smiles as her father Jeremy tickles her while the two sit beside his 1929 purple Ford Model A car at the Classic Car Cruise-In on Friday night in downtown Jackson.

Last day of preschool

Brady Dillon of Jackson, 4, runs around the lawn Thursday morning outside of Sharp Park Academy playing with a ball celebrating the last day of preschool for the school year. The instructors put on a luau-themed party for the children to celebrate their final day of class. "It's sad to see it end," said paraprofessional Carol Bibbins. "It's been a wonderful year. It truly has and we had had just such a great group of kids. It's too bad it has to end."

Hillsdale baseball moments

Hillsdale outfielder Dan Vear smiles as he runs up and hugs coach Gary Wood after hitting an RBI homerun in the fifth inning of the semifinal game against Western High School. Vears homerun put Hillsdale in the lead 9-8 in the fifth inning. The team won the game 15-12, which puts them in the championship game today at Spring Arbor University.



Hillsdale outfielder Dan Vear smiles as he walks to the dugout after hitting an RBI homerun in the fifth inning of the semifinal game against Western High School. Vears homerun put Hillsdale in the lead 9-8 in the fifth inning. The team won the game 15-12, which puts them in the championship game today at Spring Arbor University.

Airplane!

Christopher Idzikowski of Jackson, 13, throws around a foam model airplane to pass the time just off of Horton Road while he waits for his father to finish a shift at Knight's Steakhouse and Grill. "I love this plane," Idzikowski said. "It's really easy to assemble and it's fun to watch it fly in circles."

Eagle Scout honors

Tyler Alvarado of Jackson, center, sneers as he his parents Cary and Misty applaud alongside the audience as he is named an Eagle Scout on Sunday evening during the Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mich. (Jackson Citizen Patriot)



Alan Goldfarb, right, and Ryan Haslett give the Boy Scout salute they recite an oath Sunday evening before the start of the Eagle Court of Honor ceremony at First Presbyterian Church, where five Jackson-area boy scouts were named to the organization's highest rank of eagle scout. (Jackson Citizen Patriot)

An elephant and a dentist

Jerry Booth, of Booth and Cardon oral surgery, smiles as he waits in his office between patients Friday morning. Booth is retiring from his career in oral surgery in Jackson County, which he has practiced since 1965. (Jackson Citizen Patriot)



Laura the elephant stands in a Leoni Township front lawn Friday afternoon as her owner Chuck Walters,, a former Jackson County resident, made a rest stop visiting an old friend Byron "Bosco" Smith. The elephant is nine-feet tall and weighs 8,000 pounds, and will be at 8260 E. Michigan Avenue until Tuesday.

Lematic (First Jackson Assignment)

Jackson resident Chad Phillips, 23, grins as he repairs part of a factory machine with a wrench Monday afternoon at Lematic. "I just like seeing everything get finished and watching them run. I see a lot of new stuff nearly every day."



Electrician Steve Bentley of Albion, a 24-year Lematic employee, looks through instructions while fixing a power box for a factory machine being assembled Monday afternoon at Lematic. "For me, it's the opportunity to do a lot ... to be a part of the whole operation from beginning to finish," Bentley said.



Engineering Director Gregory Brasic, left, CEO Dale LeCrone, mechanical engineer Aaron Weaver and Jerry Abbey, a design to build specialist, laugh while discussing layout options for factory-style machinery for a possible client, a bakery in Minneapolis, on Monday afternoon at Lematic. LeCrone said Lematic machinery, which slices and processes bread, can be found in about 75 percent of all McDonald's stores.

Read the story here.

Cascades Conference golf tournament

Nik Stetler of Manchester tees off at the fifth hole Wednesday morning at Cascade Golf Course for the Cascades Conference golf tournament. Stetler shot a 76, which he attributes to an eagle on the first hole and birdies on holes 11 and 18.



Johnny Brockie of Hanover-Horton sinks a putt on the fourth hole Wednesday morning at Cascade Golf Course for the Cascades Conference golf tournament. Brockie shot a 79 on the day.



Alex Wallace of Manchester peers through the trees after hitting his ball out of the rough on the 13th hole at Cascades Golf Course during the Cascades Conference golf tournament.



Eric Pietroytys of Vandercook Lake tees off on the 14th hole Wednesday afternoon at Cascades Golf Course during the Cascades Conference golf tournament.

My first golf assignment at the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Here's a link to the gallery online.

Welcoming 'Warriors'

Air Force Senior Airman Tyler Adams, a 2005 Grass Lake High School alumnus, kisses the forehead of his eight-month-old daughter McKynlee, who he holds closely as he was unable to see her birth and only just reunited with his wife and other daughter on May 1. Adams spoke Tuesday afternoon to Grass Lake Middle School's seventh grade class as one of the eight soldiers the school has been sending care packages to in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Not being there for my daughter's birth is one of the toughest things I've ever had to do in my life," he said. "Not only for me, but because I couldn't be there to help my wife through any of it. It's hard to see my wife struggle. It was the best feeling I've ever had when I saw her for the first time."



Cpl. Tom Niehaus, a marine of Grass Lake, laughs with seventh grade teacher Julie Alexander as she hands him the microphone to talk to the Grass Lake Middle School's seventh grade class Tuesday afternoon in the school's cafeteria. The class has been sending care packages and receiving letters from Neihaus while on active duty. "I always knew I wanted to be a marine," he said. "I've always known I wanted to serve my country and that's why I am doing what I am doing today."

This was my second assignment at the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Check out the story here.