Another year has come and gone, but before we close the book entirely on 2023, let’s look back on the top articles of December. The No. 1 article of the month also made the top ten for the year while three of the others pertained to local government news. Rounding out the top five was a feel-good story about how one local family is giving back.
Here were the most-read articles, based on website views, during December 2023.
5. Planning Commission Recap: Greenridge Proposes 72-Unit Development
After a year full of long meetings related to a development proposed for the east side of town, the Planning Commission had a relatively subdued December schedule. The biggest news was a presentation about a 72-unit development being proposed for land between Main Street and Bowes Road and behind the Greenridge Realty office. Rick Seese, representing Greenridge at the meeting, said the presentation to the Planning Commission was just the first step of what is expected to be a long process and one that will include meeting with residents of adjoining properties on West Street.
4. Shannon Witherell Named Lowell Area Fire Department Chief
This article is old news from 2020 and was published after Shannon Witherell was named successor of Ron van Overbeek as Chief of the Lowell Area Fire Department. This story likely got a resurgence of views as a result of other news related to Witherell. More on that in a moment.
3. Lowell Family Collects Nearly $7,000 in Toys for Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
Published in the final days of December, this article quickly proved itself to be a reader favorite. Five years ago, the Scharphorn family learned that daughter Alice had a rare form of liver cancer. Today, Alice is a healthy six-year-old, but the family hasn’t forgotten the support they received from the Child Life program at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. For the past three years, the family has held a Christmas toy drive for the program, and this year, they collected nearly $7,000 worth of toys.
Even if you’ve already read this article, click over to see some new photos provided by the family that show Alice then and now.
2. Lowell Fire Chief Resigns Amid New Criminal Charges
This was big news but not much has been said publicly about it. In November, it was mentioned at a Lowell Township meeting that Fire Chief Shannon Witherell had been placed on leave for misdemeanor charges against him. That was a domestic violence charge with a hearing scheduled for mid-December. When checking back on the Michigan Courts website after that date, three felony charges for criminal sexual conduct appeared as well. In following up on that information, we were sent a statement confirming that Witherell had resigned his post prior to the second arraignment.
A probable cause hearing on the criminal sexual conduct charges was scheduled for Dec. 27, and the court website now shows that case is closed. The domestic violence charge is scheduled for a settlement conference next week. Currently, Cory Velzen is serving as interim fire chief, according to an update given at a Lowell Township meeting.
1. Los Portales Now Open in Downtown Lowell
The top article from December was so popular that it was one of the most read articles of the year. Los Portales is a new Mexican bar and grill located on the Main Street bridge over the Flat River. It took over the spot of the former Rio Plano Taqueria and serves up a menu that falls somewhere between authentic Mexican and Tex Mex, according to the owner.
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