By Sterling McGinn
At next month’s Newberry Village Council meeting, a longtime council member will be missing. Dennis Hendrickson announced his retirement during the council’s June 16 meeting. He served on the board for 12 years.
Hendrickson’s resignation letter, which takes effect on June 30, will be approved at the July meeting. The news of Hendrickson’s departure from the board was received with regret, though he did get a round of applause and handshakes for his years of service from those in the room at the June 16 meeting.
Village president Catherine Freese said that his presence and knowledge will be missed and is irreplaceable to the board.
Hendrickson, a Newberry native and longtime resident, has decided to move from Newberry to the Negaunee area to be closer to family.
“I have been on the board for 12 years and we are in a good spot,” said Hendrickson. “It is time for someone else to step in.”
Hendrickson has lived in Newberry most of his life, excluding time spent in Detroit and Milwaukee. He worked at Barrett’s Service Station here in Newberry for 29 years until the business permanently closed. He then transitioned to working at Lynn’s Automotive until retirement.
Hendrickson said he became interested in joining the council when the village first began having discussions about reducing trustee seats from seven down to five. “I wrote an article against that, and a gentleman told me that the article was good, but the one thing missing is that I wasn’t on the council.”
The council was having significant issues during the same time, he said, and he decided it was time for him to step up and help. He was officially sworn-in on March 17, 2014.
Hendrickson continued to be a firm believer in Newberry having council representation and was a strong supporter in continuing with a seven-member governing board. The board did, however, vote to reduce that number a couple of years ago.
“It was brought up again and we voted to change it,” he said. “I understand why—nobody was running for office—we were having trouble getting a majority quorum when we needed it.”
Some of the highlights from Hendrickson’s career on the council include the village participation in Project Rising Tide, and Newberry establishing their first ever zoning ordinances. Dennis also served on the Planning Commission, which worked to create those ordinances.
Hendrickson said there are still large infrastructure projects that need to be addressed in the near future, like replacing the 89-year-old water tower and water line replacements.
In addition to his service to the Village of Newberry, Hendrickson is a Lions Club member who was originally part of the Newberry Club prior to its’ closure and is now a member of the Engadine/ Naubinway Club. He is also a board member of the Chippewa-Luce-Mackinac Community Action Agency.
“It has been fulfilling living in Newberry but there have been challenges,” he said. “Being on the Village Council changed my thoughts on a lot of things and I understand a lot more.”
Though leaving Newberry is hard, Hendrickson is looking forward to going to plays and music festivals and to get more into painting.
