mount clemens | Michigan Radio

3 things a funeral director has learned about life and death

By Kyle Norris • Oct 29, 2014

You could say Mary Vick Spaulding has spent her entire life in the death industry.

Her father, Harold, was a funeral director in Mount Clemens and he began teaching her the trade when she was in first grade. Back then they would spend time together in the embalming room as he began showing her the ropes. Spaulding says death has been something that’s been normal to her for her entire life.

Spaulding became a licensed funeral director 38 years ago, and for 25 years she worked alongside her father. He died in 2001 and these days she manages the family business, the Harold W. Vick Funeral Home.

I asked her to share what she knows about life and death that the rest of us might not know. Here’s what she said:

Anatomy is beautiful.

Mount Clemens voters face a choice - a big tax increase or possible state takeover

By Steve Carmody • Aug 2, 2014

Voters in Mount Clemens face a difficult choice on Tuesday: Approve a big property tax increase or risk a state takeover of their city.

The recession of 2008 cost Mount Clemens more than a quarter of its property tax revenues. The city also saw a more than 40% drop in state revenue sharing between 2000 and 2012.

Robert Bruner is Mount Clemens' interim city manager. He says the city has only been able to balance its books in recent years by slashing employees and by dipping into the city’s reserves which are now nearly gone.

Two MRSA infections prompt closure of Mt. Clemens School District

By Michigan Radio Newsroom • May 7, 2013

The Mount Clemens Community School District is closed Tuesday due to reports of two methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infections. According to the Detroit Free Press, a teacher and teacher aide were diagnosed with MRSA on Monday.

School is expected to re-open on Wednesday after custodians disinfect buildings and buses today at the 1600-student district, today said Superintendent Deborah Wahlstrom.

Mount Clemens wins contest for best water

By The Associated Press • Oct 20, 2012

Mount Clemens in southeastern Michigan has been honored for the best drinking water.

The Macomb Daily says Mount Clemens recently received the nod from the Michigan branch of the American Water Works Association. The competition was conducted by a state engineer, and three judges graded the city's water and others on clarity, taste and odor.

Mount Clemens water comes from Lake St. Clair. The city has its own water department and doesn't rely on Detroit, a major supplier of water to the suburbs.