Leslie Kirkland (left) and Laura Billetdeaux (right) recreate Laura’s expression on the labels while holding their freshly bottled hot sauce at the Manchester Diner. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

by Sara Swanson

Manchester resident Laura Billetdeaux and her husband, Neil, are avid gardeners, but a quirk of their garden conditions has led Laura to start making hot sauce, and her very abundant harvest of hot peppers this year means you have the opportunity to try it yourself at Manchester Diner!

She explained, “For some reason, the soil grows really spicy/hot vegetables. We first noticed it with radishes. Then arugula. Both so spicy they were challenging in salads. So a few years ago, we planted different kinds of peppers — just curious about how they’d turn out. Holy moly, so very hot. We played with different varieties for a couple of years, and also played with a recipe for hot sauce. I started bottling it and giving it to friends.”

She gave Leslie Kirkland, proprietor of the Manchester Diner, a couple of bottles to try and Leslie loved it.

Laura stated, “She wanted to have it on hand all the time at the diner, but it needed to be made in-house in the diner’s kitchen for her to be able to offer it. So we made that happen!”

This first batch in the diner kitchen took about two hours, with Laura naming the most labor intensive parts as trimming the stem end and peeling the garlic, and made enough to have on hand for customers. Laura says that Leslie plans to make more batches and eventually there may be enough to offer bottles of it for sale at the diner.

Each batch of hot sauce makes enough for about a dozen bottles and uses 40 ounces of peppers, 25 cloves of garlic, about three cups of white wine vinegar, two cups of water, and a little salt. But what varieties of hot peppers, you ask? It is a mix and match of whatever peppers are ripe at the time, but Laura did have hot sauce in mind when deciding what to plant this year. 

She stated, “Last year, I planted 90 peppers of different hot varieties. I made over 100 bottles of hot sauce … and I froze enough peppers to make another 100 bottles. This year, I planted 50 pepper plants, but was pickier about the types: giant cayennes, regular cayennes, and Thai chili peppers are the main varieties. This year, I also have just a few habaneros and ghost peppers. For fun.”

The mix of peppers results in a very flavorful sauce, but it also has a kick! Leslie ranks it a little spicier than Frank’s RedHot when compared to commercially available sauces. Stop by the Manchester Diner at 112 Adrian St and order some breakfast or lunch, ask for the hot sauce, and try it for yourself!

If you are thinking about growing your own peppers, Laura says hot peppers seem to do well with Manchester summers as long as they don’t go in too early. She added, “They don’t like chilly air and they don’t like wet soil. … I just put them in the ground on June 1 and let them be.”

Regular cayenne pepper. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

Still ripening giant cayenne pepper. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

Laura’s first ripe habanero. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

Peppers destined for hot sauce. You can see the difference between the regular cayenne peppers in the bowl and the giant cayenne pepper on the very top. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

A batch of green hot sauce from last year made from unripe but still very hot, hot peppers. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

Hot sauce on the shelf at the Manchester Diner. Photo courtesy of Laura Billetdeaux.

Visualization of the equipment in its final layout. Image courtesy of the City of Manchester.

submitted by Michael Sessions, City of Manchester manager

The City of Manchester would like to inform residents that the City Hall offices will be closed to the public from Tuesday, August 25, through Thursday, August 27, 2026, for the KaBOOM! Playscape Build at Manchester City Hall. This three-day community build will bring volunteers together to transform the area at City Hall into a new recreational space for everyone. Due to the size of the project and the involvement of City staff, City Hall will be closed to the public August 25–27, and City staff will have limited office availability during this time.

Residents needing assistance may use the following options:

• Call the City of Manchester’s general phone number and leave a voice mail. Messages will be monitored, and your call will be returned as soon as possible.
• For matters requiring immediate attention, please email bkuhnle@city-manchester.org.
• Utility payments may be placed in the drop box outside City Hall throughout the closure.

Regular City Hall office hours will resume Friday, August 28, 2026.

The City appreciates everyone’s patience during the temporary closure and, most importantly, encourages the community to join us and be part of the KaBOOM! Playscape Build. Whether you are able to volunteer for one day or multiple days, we would love to have you join us. No special construction experience is necessary. This project is only possible because of the support and participation of our community, and we encourage anyone interested in being part of this exciting project to come out and help us build something that Manchester families will enjoy for years to come.

Editor’s note: The Manchester District Library, which is also located in the building at 912 City Rd, will be open during the KaBOOM! build and is holding its regularly scheduled programing. 

by Sara Swanson

The Dementia Friendly movement in Chelsea, part of Dementia Friendly Services (DFS), has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the 5 Healthy Towns Foundation (5HF) to continue spreading dementia friendliness through not only Chelsea, but also Dexter, Manchester, Grass Lake and Stockbridge.

This is the second 5HF grant that DFS has received. DFS states, “Under the grant, Dementia Friendly Services personnel will also work to develop dementia-friendly community efforts in the other towns covered by the Foundation: Manchester, Grass Lake, and Stockbridge. Much of this work in the western county meshes with Dementia Friendly Saline, Dementia Friendly Milan, and other efforts building toward a goal of Dementia Friendly Washtenaw County.”

Dementia Friendly Services, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2020 as Dementia Friendly Saline, offers a suite of a dozen programs all focused on the mission of helping persons with Alzheimer’s or other dementia and their caregivers live out in their communities with less difficulty and more dignity. Programs include education and awareness raising through classes, documentaries, and social impact theater productions. Also offered are several social engagement and support programs for persons dealing with dementia, such as the first-in-the-U.S. Dementia Friendly Movies at Saline’s Emagine Theatre, and a series of Memory Cafes in several locations.

Visit www.dfsmi.org for more information.

by Melissa Yekulis

The monthly School Board meeting for Manchester Community Schools was called to order at 6pm on Monday, August 17. Two board members were absent.

The meeting began with the approval of the agenda. The agenda was approved unanimously.

The agenda was followed by a presentation from teacher Joe Walsh and his STEM students sharing their recent summer field trip experience. Board President Sandra Wiitala expressed her pride in the students in going beyond Manchester to represent the school district. Andy Galicki and Jenna Kezelian also presented their plans for reviving the drama club this year, based on student interest. They will start the year teaching improvisation and how theater works. The second half of the year, they will build up toward producing a formal play.

There were no participants in Public Participation.

A recommendation was made to accept the Consent Agenda as it was presented. A motion was made to remove the Personnel Report from the Consent Agenda to vote on separately. The Consent Agenda was unanimously accepted without the Personnel Report.

The Personnel Report was reviewed in two layers. Resignations, Retirements, and Tenure were presented. The report was accepted unanimously. New Hires were presented, acknowledged, and accepted unanimously by the board. Each hire was completed through a roll-call vote, with one board member recusing himself from voting on one candidate.

There was no Old Business for review.

Under New Business, there were five topics of discussion for consideration.

The board needed to designate official delegates for the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) official meeting for 2026. Jennifer Caszatt was voted as the representative, with Sandra Wiitala serving as the alternate representative. The motions passed unanimously.

The Emergency Operation Plan for the district has been updated and was presented to the board. The board unanimously voted to accept the new plan.

The next phase of planning for the bond projects at the Junior/Senior High School were presented to the board for approval. They have reached the mid-point in the design process and have presented drawing for review and approval. The final designs will be prepared for approval by October to ensure bids can be placed in November. The new schematics include parking revisions, the addition of an auxiliary gym for community activities and Wellness Center support, auditorium upgrades, STEM wing upgrades, and more. Discussion was made around the budget and how the contingency budget factors into the process. It was explained that if there are funds left over from the initial bond work with all three buildings, transportation would become the next target for support, followed by general district needs. The proposal was approved, with one member declining their support for the measure.

The board voted to unanimously uphold the 2026–2027 South & West Washtenaw Consortium Agreement. Updates were presented around the Career Technical Education (CTE) millage within this presentation. No money has been received for CTE at this time. This will start coming in as summer tax money begins to be distributed. CTE is still in its planning stages, with an emphasis on districts complementing and supporting one another across the county at the K–12 level. This year, the lead CTE team will work to determine how funds will be equitably distributed across the county.

A discussion took place around Superintendent Contract Duties. At last Tuesday’s special meeting, the board voted to approve Tom Johns for the superintendent position for the district. A subcommittee of board members Jennifer Caszatt, Michael Tindall, and Sandra Wiitala will meet to develop the new contract agreement. The board plans to offer a three-year contract for the role of superintendent, with an annual renewal of the Riverside Principal role as an extra duty within that contract to allow for flexibility of job appointments. The contract will go through legal for final approval. The board voted to offer the dual role of superintendent and principal to Tom Johns, with one member declining support for the offer.

Building department reports have been posted and made available for viewing on the district website. Interim Superintendent Shannon Cajic took the time to go through the submitted reports and highlight the information shared from each building and department.

Cajic also presented her superintendent report. She expressed her sincere gratitude to the board for the time and effort they dedicated to completing the superintendent search. She also expressed her thanks to the outstanding internal candidates who stepped forward to apply for the position. She communicated that 8 weeks of summer camps have been completed, with over 200 student registrations for a variety of immersive experiences throughout the summer. Thanks was extended to Katie Altherr for her work in making the event a success. In closing, Cajic shared that the athletic and band fall season are underway. She also shared her joy in seeing the students back on campus again as the new year slowly resumes.

There was one participant in public participation. Theresa Herron, a teacher at Klager, has traditionally worked with the board and central office to facilitate an open forum for school board candidates before the November election and requested to continue the tradition. The board and office agreed to work with her again to arrange this event. It will most likely take place over two evenings at the end of October. Stay tuned for more information.

A public reminder was made of upcoming events:

• August 25: District Open House: 5pm–7:30pm
• August 31: First Day of School

The meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:20pm.

The next public board meeting will take place on Monday, September 21, at 6pm, in the Junior/Senior High School Media Center.

The section of Madison Street that will be repaved.

submitted by Michael Sessions, City of Manchester manager

The City of Manchester will begin a road paving project on Madison Street between the dead end next to the river and N Clinton Street beginning Tuesday, August 25, 2026. The project will begin with milling of the existing roadway, followed by paving.

Parking along this section of Madison Street will be temporarily closed while work is underway. Property owners, businesses, employees, and visitors are asked to remove vehicles from Madison Street before construction begins and to observe all temporary parking restrictions and construction signage. Access to back parking lots will remain for tenants of downtown apartments and businesses.

The City appreciates your patience and cooperation while this work is completed. Every effort will be made to minimize disruptions to the surrounding properties and downtown businesses. Questions regarding the project may be directed to the City of Manchester at 734-428-7877.

Illegal dumping at the WWRA bins at Manchester Township Hall. Photo courtesy of Manchester Township.

by Sara Swanson

Manchester Township reported last week that illegal dumping of furniture at Western Washtenaw Recycling Authority (WWRA) bins behind Manchester Township hall occurred on Saturday, August 15, at 6:38pm. Leaving these items or any trash in or by bins is illegal and may be subject to a $1,000 fine.

The WWRA does not accept furniture, refrigerators, construction waste, tires, or other non-recyclable items. They do not collect items to resell. The WWRA only accepts recyclable materials. Not only does illgeal dumping at the recycling bins block bins and make it hard to access them, the WWRA has to bear the cost of disposal for these items, wasting time, money, and resources.

WWRA also has bins next to Bridgewater Country Market and the same rules apply to those bins as well. The Manchester area used to have WWRA bins outside Freedom Township Hall, but those were removed because of repeated instances of abuse, including dumping.

If you are ever in doubt of what WWRA accepts or want to know how and where to dispose of items they don’t accept, visit their website at https://wwrarecycles.org/what-not-to-recycle/.

A recently rescued cat who needs a loving home. Photo courtesy of HVHS.

by Sara Swanson

We reported recently that the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) has made adoption of adult cats and barn cats free for a limited time. This is because HSHV has rescued 149 cats from four Washtenaw County homes within only two months on top of the large number of other cats and kittens they were already caring for.

You may remember that in late June, HSHV took in 43 cats from a Manchester home after the resident reached out to the shelter for help. What you may not know is that since then, they’ve taken in a 106 cats and kittens from three other homes in our county.

HVHS reports that at the beginning of July, HSHV rescued 17 cats from an abandoned home in Ypsilanti; at the end of July, HSHV took in 52 cats from a hoarding situation in a Northville home; and last week, HSHV investigators rescued 37 cats from an Ann Arbor Township residence. Cats rescued range from kittens to seniors and arrived in various states of health. Each will receive medical and behavioral care according to their needs and will be made available for adoption as soon as they are ready.

“Right now, the best thing our community can do is open their homes to a cat,” Tanya Hilgendorf, president and CEO of HSHV, stated. HSHV is also seeking donations to help meet the needs of the cats currently in its care. Community support provides the food, veterinary care, enrichment, and other resources these animals need while they wait for their families.

Interested adopters can view cats currently available for adoption at HSHV.org/adopt. Cats from the recent rescues will be posted as they become medically and behaviorally ready for adoption. Interested donors can contribute to the cats’ care at HSHV.org/donate.

Washtenaw Community College campus, Ann Arbor. Photo credit: J.D. Scott.

by Sara Swanson

The minimum age to qualify for the state of Michigan’s Reconnect program has once again been lowered from 25 to 21, in time for the Washtenaw Community College (WCC) fall semester.

This means that if you are at least 21 years old, have been a Michigan resident for a year or more, have a high school diploma or GED, and have not completed a college degree (associates or bachelor’s), you can attend community college as an in-district student for free. For Manchester residents, that is WCC.

If you live in the Manchester area and want to attend an out-of-district community college like Jackson College (or want to attend WCC but don’t live in Washtenaw County), Michigan Reconnect covers most tuition costs — up to the in-district rate. If you are not eligible, WCC’s tuition is already the lowest in the state, at $99 per credit for in-district students.

Contact WCC’s Office of Financial Aid to learn more about Michigan Reconnect and enrolling at WCC at finaid@wccnet.edu, 734-973-3523, online at www.wccnet.edu/reconnect, or stop by in person at 4800 E Huron River Dr, Student Center, SC 205, in Ann Arbor. 

Phone (front) found at the intersection of Duncan Street and Wolverine Street in the City of Manchester. Photo courtesy of Holly McDermott.

submitted by Holly McDermott, Executive Director Manchester Senior Center

A resident turned in a lost phone to the Senior Center today. She believes it may have been dropped by someone attending the fair as it was found near the intersection of Duncan Street and Wolverine Street. It is currently at the Manchester Senior Center. If this is yours, call 734‑212‑3080, email CenterDirector@MSCCinc.org, or stop in at the Senior Center located at 912 City Rd (lower level, back parking lot) during open hours.

Phone (back) found at the intersection of Duncan Street and Wolverine Street in the City of Manchester. Photo courtesy of Holly McDermott.