Notte: Hackel robbing the cradle

At today's annual Heritage Tri-Community luncheon, where Sterling Heights, Utica and Shelby Township officials gave their "State of ..." messages, County Executive Mark Hackel had the misfortune of gaining a lot of attention by showing up late.
As he entered the banquet room at the Cherry Creek Golf Club in Shelby, Sterling Heights Mayor Richard Notte, Utica Mayor Jackie Noonan and Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Stathakis were already on stage, discussing the issues facing them in 2013.
Notte spotted Hackel making his way to a seat and he told the audience to recognize the county exec and give him some congratulatory applause on his recently announced engagement.

Damschroder

Ever the jokester, Notte noted that Hackel had proposed to his girlfriend, Tracie Damschroder, 19 years younger than he, after dating her for eight years.
"The reason why it took so long, he had to wait until she got out of high school before he could ask her to marry him," Notte said, drawing an eruption of laughter from the crowd.