Allison Scarbrough

Pirate News is a presentation of Hart Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.   By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor HART — Jaykob Gallop, a 2014 Hart High School graduate, has found his dream job as head of grounds at Hart Public Schools, and the school property has never looked better. Thanks to Gallop’s hard work coupled with technology, the athletic fields and school lawns stay well maintained.   The 29-year-old is a one-man show who began the job just over a year ago. “I do the whole campus — all lawn mowing, irrigation, prepping for games, taking care of athletic fields, picking up garbage around the campus after events — everything is me.” He mows 27 acres every week, which takes at least 2 ½ days to complete. He also handles snowplowing during the winter months. Hallack Contracting, Inc. of Hart uses its large snow removal equipment, but Gallop handles the sidewalks and entrances — arriving at 3:30 a.m.  Prior to working at the school, Gallop worked at Double L Enterp

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor GOLDEN TOWNSHIP — Following an hours-long manhunt in Mears that locked down Silver Lake area residents and businesses Sunday, Aug. 17, shooting suspect 59-year-old Don Albert Stapel, Jr., was shot by an officer. A trailer Stapel co-owned  at 7408 W. Fox Rd. burned down just days prior to yesterday’s events on Monday morning, Aug. 11. According to equalization records, Stapel owned the property with Otto A. Stapel. The cause of the fire has not yet been released by fire investigators. However, Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast said it appears that Stapel may have played a role in igniting the blaze. “It’s all associated — it all plays a part in this,” said Sheriff Mast Monday, Aug. 18. “It’s very likely that Don played a part in lighting that fire. It’s extremely likely that his situation played a part in that fire. I’m not saying he tried to do it on purpose.” The Michigan State Police emergency support team found Stapel in an outbuilding Sunday evening

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP — A fire that destroyed the David Allen Racing Motorsports business at 9589 S. Maple Island Rd., July 26, may have been caused by a lightning strike. Insurance investigators and Oceana County Sheriff’s Office fire investigators have determined “the fire appears to be not manmade — not suspicious at this time,” said Oceana County Sheriff Craig Mast. “It appears to be accidental and/or environmental. “We’re still checking on lightning strikes in the area, because there was a potential for a lightning strike,” said the sheriff. Investigators are gathering lightning strike data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. “If it could have been a lightning strike, we believe it took place in the attic of the building near several wires. Because of the location, the investigators felt that it was extremely unlikely that any sort of accelerant was used.” A total of 18 fire departments from three counties battled the massive blaze f

Pirate News is a presentation of Hart Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.   By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor HART — Hart High School Principal Ken Byard has resigned, and the district is seeking a new principal. Byard was hired as interim principal for the remainder of the 2023-2024 school year after principal Troy Moran died ‎and was hired last summer as the permanent principal. He and Moran were close friends, and Byard stepped in to help the district immediately following Moran’s unexpected death. “Ultimately, I made the decision to go to Hart, because I know if Mr. Moran was in the same situation, he would have done the same thing for me,” said Byard. “That made that decision pretty easy even considering that I had to resign from a position that I quite frankly enjoyed. But it was worth it — I knew he would do it for me and I felt I had to do it for him. I knew that it was going to be temporary. My time in education has come and gone. I’ve done the things I’ve wan

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor GOLDEN TOWNSHIP — A fire damaged a vacation rental home on Silver Lake Monday evening, July 14. The blaze ignited at 1488 North Shore Dr. around 5:30 p.m., and firefighters remained on scene for about three hours, said Hart Area Fire Department Public Information Officer Troy Maloney, who is the Oceana County Emergency Manager. “It is a vacation rental property that was occupied by a couple families,” said Maloney. “Smoke detectors alerted them, and they evacuated.” No one was injured. “Hart fire units arrived to find heavy fire in a utility room and bathroom. They got a good knock-down on it and kept the damage to those rooms and light smoke damage in the rest of the house. It was a great stop.” There was also some minimal damage to the exterior siding of the house. “There was an extensive overhaul in those rooms, because the original fire was in the crawl space, which wasn’t accessible. So firefighters had to use chainsaws to cut out the flooring to get d

Chief Roy Strait turns 88 years old July 3 By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor NEW ERA — New Era Police Chief Roy Strait is hanging up his police officer hat after a 61-year career in law enforcement. Chief Strait’s last day on the job will be Thursday, July 3, which is also his 88th birthday. The chief’s long career in law enforcement began when he served in the military police for the US Marines. He served in the Marines from 1956-1959. After his military service, the Traverse City native worked in a machine shop for about five years. The Grand Traverse County sheriff at the time, Richard Weiler, stopped into the machine shop where Strait was working and asked him if he was interested in working as a deputy. “That’s how I got started.” He worked for the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years. “When I started in law enforcement, I didn’t go on the road right away. We became a dispatcher, a jailer and a patrolman. When you came in at night, you didn’t know what you were going t

Wildcat News is a presentation of Walkerville Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor WALKERVILLE — Kendra Walker’s first grade students at Walkerville Public Schools have been eagerly learning about the sun, moon and stars through creative and fun instruction. “Today was the culmination of our Sun, Moon and Stars packet we have been studying for the past couple of months,” said Walker. “It starts with books — we read books about the sun and the moon; and then we move into the next section where it is more non-fiction; and then we go into the next section where we write about the sun, moon and stars.” “My favorite book is ‘Summer Moon Rising.’ It’s about a boy and his family and what happens on their farm at different parts of the day.” The story ties in with the Walkerville community’s strong agricultural roots. “We wrote a poem together first about the sun with a template, and then we used the same template and wrote a poem indivi

WSCC News is a presentation of West Shore Community College in partnership with Mason County Press and Oceana County Press. By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor SHELBY — Shelby High School senior Bryn Adams recently won a 2015 Chevrolet Malibu through the Ride With Pride program. Meyers Chevrolet in New Era procured the car and donated toward its purchase, along with other donors. Several area businesses also donated prizes.  “We had several donors in this community foundation account where they donated $1,000 a year for three years,” said Oceana County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Simon, who is Shelby’s school resource officer. Simon and Principal Zach Fricke launched the Ride with Pride program at Shelby High School. “We started working on it in February of 2024.” In addition to the car, prizes included a fishing charter, pontoon boat rentals, TVs, AirPods and more. “Zach Fricke was very instrumental in getting this together with all the organizations. He also got a grant that helped with some of the

Herman Moore, Rob Rubick, Cory Schlesinger, Brock Guiterrez, Scott Conover and George Jamison will battle the Hart teachers Pirate News is a presentation of Hart Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.   By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor  HART — Retired Detroit Lions football players are coming to Hart High School this weekend to compete against Hart school district faculty members in an epic hoops showdown. The game is slated for this Sunday, May 4, at 1 p.m. in the Hart High School gym. The Lions All-Star team includes Herman Moore, Rob Rubick, Cory Schlesinger, Brock Guiterrez, Scott Conover and George Jamison.  The Pirate team includes Dean DeVries, Bud Giddings, Madison Meek, Ken Byard, Mark Fralic, Kara Baker, Joe Tanis, Anthony Brinkman, Calvin Ackley and Sarah Pioli. Hart’s Spitler Elementary School Principal Brandon Bruce came up with the idea for Hart to host this unique and fun event. “I’ve known Rob Rubick for about 20 years,” said Bruce. “He’s from Newberry (in

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor SHELBY TOWNSHIP — At least two dogs died in a house fire at 3990 W. Baker Road Saturday afternoon, April 26. The two-story house was “fully involved” when firefighters arrived at the scene around 3:30 p.m., said Shelby-Benona Fire Department Cpt. Mark Burmeister. No humans were injured in the blaze. The American Red Cross and Oceana County Victim Services were called to assist the family displaced by the fire, said Burmeister. Firefighters from Shelby-Benona, Hart, Grant Township and Ferry Township battled the blaze. Life EMS was called in for standby, and the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control. Baker Road at Oceana Drive was closed in the vicinity of the blaze. Great Lakes Energy also responded. It was not immediately known what caused the fire or if the house was insured. More information will be provided when it is available. Please Support Local News Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Y