Fabius Township Newsletter

Issue 9 | April 2026

Township Information

Fabius Township
13108 Broadway
Three Rivers, MI 49093
269-244-5376
www.fabiustownship.org

Drop-Off Recycling

Saturday mornings, 7:30-11:30 a.m.
Westside Landfill RDF, Roberts Road

Single Stream Recycling

Paper: newspaper, magazines, phone books, boxboard (like cereal boxes), corrugated cardboard (please put boxes in the separate cardboard bin in front of building), copy paper, mail and other office paper without wax liners, plastic or carbon sheets, lamination or bindings

Commingled Recycling

Metal: cans, aluminum trays & foil
Glass: bottles & jars—no plate glass, vases, ceramic
Plastic bottles: rigid narrow neck or screw top bottles & jugs (any number) such as milk jugs, water bottles, shampoo bottles—please no motor oil bottles
#1 and #2 plastic containers: such as microwave trays, tubs and molded liners, no film plastic is accepted including plastic bags or plastic sheeting

All containers must be empty, with caps removed, & preferably crushed or flattened to save space & resources to haul bins to material recovery facility.

Special Items

Metal/tires: special recycling bins at landfill entrance; fees apply
Styrofoam: May 9; two more dates TBD—visit township website

Meeting Schedule

At fire station, 15149 Broadway:
Fire Board—1st Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.

At township hall, 13108 Broadway:
EWPAC (Wetlands)—[meets quarterly] 1st Thursday, 6:00 p.m.
Planning Commission—2nd Tuesday, 6:00 p.m.
Township Board—2nd Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.

Why Fabius, Why Solar, Why Now?

We find ourselves operating under undesirable circumstances. These circumstances were not made undesirable by EDP or by the landowners willing to lease their land to a solar company. These landowners are not the enemy or the problem. They are good people with long standing roots in this community who care deeply about their land. The problem here is the State of Michigan. It started with Governor Snyder signing PA 341 into law in December of 2016. This law created a false demand for alternative energy systems in the state. It forced power generating companies to invest in renewable energy. This is a complete violation of our nation’s free market principles. When free market principles are violated, things always go badly. Look no further than the recent attempts by the federal government to mandate electric vehicle production, and then attempting to use financial incentives to get consumers to purchase electric vehicles they never asked for. It is ending in a disaster.

In November of 2023, PA 233 was signed into law by Governor Whitmer. This law allows the Michigan Public Service Commission to overrule local ordinances under the guise of “ensuring a reliable electric grid for Michigan residents.” This law had a severely negative impact on a township’s ability determine its own destiny regarding renewable energy projects. Do you see what is missing? Local control is intentionally limited. We are left with no good options. The first choice is undesirable and the second choice is worse.

It should be noted that I have heard from many residents over the years concerning this topic. It might surprise you to know that approximately half of them are pro-solar, and I’m not talking about the landowners in the solar district. There are quite a few residents who want this project to move forward. Their voices count too.

In my opinion, renewable energy projects should be competing in a free market. The same free market and economic principles that have created the wealthiest country in the world. Instead we have politicians in Lansing meddling with anti-capitalist mandates, backed up by intentional erosion of local controls. The end result is rural Planning Commissions, Township Boards and the residents they serve are being fed a manure sandwich, with the State of Michigan insisting it will taste good.

Public Acts 341 and 233 are bad legislation and they need to be rescinded.

Finally, Fabius Township has been immersed in solar related issues for six years. The time has come to turn the page. We are moving on.

—Dan Wilkins, Fabius Township Supervisor

Resident Profile: Maxine Kennedy

Maxine Kennedy - St Joseph County Victim Services

“I just try to help in the community,” Fabius resident Maxine Kennedy says.

And what a helper she has been over the past 26 years as a founding member of St. Joseph County Victim Services.

She and the other 21 volunteers on her team provide a calming presence to stunned and grieving residents of St. Joseph County, who may have just watched their home go up in flames or learned that their family member suddenly passed away.

Serving at the will of the sheriff and supported by the St. Joseph County United Way, the Victim Services team is dispatched by Central Dispatch when requested by emergency personnel, fire, police, or hospitals.

They respond to homicides, suicides, fatal car accidents, natural deaths, baby deaths, drownings, fires, and missing persons—“whenever there’s a victim going through a difficult situation, we work with them to start them on their healing journey,” she said.

Their work also involves making death notifications (as police are frequently busy at scenes), feeding people who participate in searches, and offering family members the resources to take their next steps.

A particularly memorable incident for her occurred 15 years ago, when Victim Services responded to a boating accident in Corey Lake in which a young lady lost her life. They spent two days out searching, providing food for the family and workers, and sitting with the family until the girl’s body was discovered.

“After that you kind of become a part of them,” Kennedy said. She remains in touch with the family, and participates in the ways they memorialize their daughter and sister.

“Everyone I meet, there’s a bond with them afterward—‘you were there; you helped me,’” she said.

Kennedy, who works as the secretary for St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, lives at Pleasant Lake on the property where she grew up. She and her husband Mac—retired after 24 years as a milkman and 25 years as a sprinkler man—have two children and five grandchildren.

Who is Fabius Township?

There are some similarities between an NFL quarterback and a township board. They both tend to be the most visible people in an organization. They seem to get too much credit when things go right and too much blame when the team takes a step back. They both have a team of unsung heroes behind them. Here in Fabius Township (FT) we have a planning commission, a zoning board of appeals, a board of review, an environmental and wetlands protection committee and a recreation authority. Each of these groups are staffed by local residents who have made a conscious decision to serve their community. They each desire to give something back. They serve to build their community up. They know they can assist in making it better. They know that without their service and commitment the township could not function. They do it selflessly, not for kudos or accolades. Quite the contrary, they serve to the best of their abilities and then endure verbal attacks or insults from unsatisfied customers. These positions come with difficult decisions and sometimes more stress than they should. Nonetheless, they press on, continuing in their quest to build up Fabius Township.

We are seeing an unfortunate trend. Not just here in FT but in surrounding communities as well. A small number of people, attempting to disguise themselves as “concerned citizens,” are actually perpetually disgruntled individuals. Not content to wallow in their own misery, they actively work to tear down their community, by any means, from any angle. When a board member is accused of “breaking the law” because they voiced their opinion in a public meeting during board member comment time-the issue is not a legal one but a deliberate attempt to silence her voice. When a typo or clerical errors are characterized as unlawful or fraud, this is not concern for the law, this is defamation. Allegations of “illegality” must be taken seriously by the township, resulting in frequent consultation with our attorneys who are specialists in municipal law. The township board is responsible for every dollar under our care and we take that responsibility very seriously. When a “concerned citizen” wants to scrutinize every penny we spend, we have no issue with that. But when they do it all the while costing the township and its residents thousands of dollars in legal fees, this is not concern for fiscal responsibility, this is hypocrisy. What I’ve noticed about this small group of “concerned citizens” is they all have one thing in common. They all have hidden personal agendas. The real irony here is they hoist the banner of “TRANSPARENCY” and attempt to hide their personal agendas behind it. We see them, we see all of them. There is quite the contrast here between those who actively work to build their community up and those who attempt to tear it down. I recently heard someone say “social media has become the sewer of human communication.” I cannot disagree.

It is my personal belief that on my appointed day and time, I will stand before my Creator and give an account for the life I have lived. The only thing that’s going to matter is how I treated others. Did I spend my life building people up, or did I spend it tearing people down. We all have a choice. I choose to build. I hope you will join me.

—Dan Wilkins, Fabius Township Supervisor

Contact Your Local Officials

Children playing instruments at Camp Wakeshma Band Camp program

Band Camp at Camp Wakeshma which celebrated 100 years in 2025!

Newsletter Credits

newsletter editor Dan Wilkins
layout and photos Elena Meadows
more information available at www.fabiustownship.org