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A must-read set of stories in the Record-Eagle Sunday paper about Jason Allen's hidden campaign contributions. This kind of legal bribery is a rot that infests our national, state, and local politics.
You can read all the sorry details here, here, here, and here.
It's sad to think this man may be the next majority leader in our State Senate. Even sadder to think that he represents Traverse City.
On Memorial Day, it's worth reflecting on the sacrifices--some great, some small--made by those who have served our country in uniform.
This Freep story on three generations of a Northport family who have served in the military is worth a read.
The settling of what is now Leelanau County began with settlers arriving by the only way possible: water. With the State Road into Leelanau County not completed until 1862, boat traffic was the only means to bring the county's pioneers to the area, and with the boat traffic, it was necessary to build aids to navigation for the safety of the waterways. Congress had created the U.S. Lighthouse Service to carry out this important function, and Leelanau County has some of these beacons in its own jurisdiction. It should be noted here that the U.S. Lighthouse Service was consolidated with the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939, taking over the duty to care for these navigational aids.
The first lighthouse in what is now Leelanau County was built in 1839 on South Manitou Island. It was also the first lighthouse on the Great Lakes, and was a wooden structure. In 1858, it was rebuilt, and operated until 1958 when the lighthouse and Coast Guard Station, established in 1902 (as the U.S. Life Saving Service) were closed. Ironically, two years after the closing of the South Manitou Lighthouse, a freighter named the Francisco Morazan struck a shoal off the southern shore of the island and sank in a blizzard on the night of November 29, 1960. The crew was rescued, and what is left of the ship can still be seen today. The lighthouse is now operated as a museum by the National Park Service.
Leelanau County's second lighthouse, a 47 foot-high brick tower, was built in 1852 at Cat Head Point, the tip of the Leelanau peninsula. Originally called Cat's Head Light, it was later named Grand Traverse Lighthouse. The light and the lightkeeper's house were two separate structures until 1864 when the tower was replaced by a lighthouse and residence combined. In 1916, this structure was remodeled and was eventually replaced with an automated light. Grand Traverse Lighthouse today is a museum and gift shop, and as visitors climb the spiral stairway to the light tower they can see on the wall a piece of the SS Carl D. Bradley that went down in a storm on Lake Michigan in November 1958.
The third lighthouse in the county, a tower 90 feet high, was built in 1867 on South Fox Island, due to its proximity to the Manitou Passage. The U.S. Lighthouse Service rebuilt the structure in 1934, and the U.S. Coast Guard automated the light in 1959. The Coast Guard is still responsible for maintaining and operating it and all other automated lights today.
Lighthouse number 4 was built on North Manitou Island in 1878. 200 feet back from the shore, the tower was 50 feet high. In 1931 the light was automated. It was abandoned in 1935 when the South Manitou Shoal Light was built, known by its nickname 'The Crib'. Sadly, the North Manitou Island Lighthouse was wrecked and pulled into Lake Michigan by a strong late autumn storm in 1942, leaving only the lightkeeper's brick dwelling. In 1980, The Crib, which flashes a red light 80 feet above water level, became an automated light.
In 1934 and 1935, another aid to navigation was in place in the Manitou Passage. The Lightship Huron, a 'floating lighthouse' (also called Lightship 103) was assigned to the passage, assisting the automated light on North Manitou Island. The ship had a light mounted on the top of its mast, and also had a foghorn of some kind installed. When the South Manitou Shoal Light was completed, Lightship Huron was reassigned elsewhere, and is today a floating museum in Port Huron, Michigan.
~ Thomas Baird
The fallout from the septage treatment plant disaster continues. The anticipated revenues from the plant, which were based on estimates from the Gordie-Fraser engineering firm, have fallen far short. Representatives of the five townships financially committed to the plant, including Leelanau's Elmwood Township, are struggling with ways to fulfill their obligations to cover bond payments.
According to this this Record-Eagle article, the townships have agreed to raise permit costs on new septic systems, in some cases by hundreds of dollars, to cover the costs. Rejected alternatives included a special tax assessment and mandating the pumping of septic tanks.
The plant collapsed last June, a month after its opening. The plant was designed by the same Gordie-Fraser firm that provided the inaccurate estimates of the revenues it would generate.
Well, the campaign finance reports from the unsuccessful campaign to recall Elmwood Supervisor Deri Smith are in. And as expected the Elmwood Township Association, a shadowy group that sponsored at least two anti-Smith mailings, failed to file a report. In a maneuver that may be illegal and which certainly fails the smell test, the organizers of the recall effort are claiming that the ETA is exempt from campaign finance reporting requirements. What are they trying to hide?
Let’s begin with some facts. As we wrote back in late April when the story of the mysteriously multiplying committees first came to light, mailings slamming Smith were sent to township residents over the names of three different committees. One mailing, sent in early April, bore the name of Elmwood Citizens for Honest Government (ECHO). A subsequent mailing changed the name to Elmwood Citizens for Honest Officials (also ECHO). And two more mailings, sent in the final weeks of the campaign, were sent by a group calling itself the Elmwood Township Alliance. In every case the committees listed the same street address on Bayview Court in Elmwood as their home. The ETA group was registered by Chuck Lessard, former Elmwood Township Harbormaster. ECHO was registered by his wife, Ellie Lessard.
Why make things so complicated? Well, campaign finance laws specify that committees that spend over $1000 must file statements of campaign finances that include lists of all donors. A campaign organization that spends less than $1000, on the other hand, is excused from the requirement to report. The creation of the second committee, Elmwood Township Association, enabled the recall organizers to withhold the names of some of their contributors.
It is not hard to guess who the individuals whose names are being hidden are. One of the ETA mailings was addressed to "Township Citizens owning 5 acres of land and more." The mailing claimed—falsely--that the new zoning ordinance being developed at the Elmwood Planning Commission would make it impossible for landowners to give land to their children, or to create clustered housing developments, or to allow wineries in the township. In past Elmwood elections, the John Stanek / Noel Flohe group that was behind the recall received its biggest contributions by far from various Elmwood developers and developer wannabes. It seems likely that a similar group bankrolled the ETA mailings.
Those mailings were not cheap. It appears that each of the two ETA mailings was sent to all eligible Elmwood voter households—about 2700 addresses. At the commercial bulk rate, each piece would have cost $0.18 in postage. That adds up to about $972. If the printings were done at or near cost ($0.015 per piece), they would have cost at least $80; at commercial rates the printing cost would have been closer to $270 ($0.05 per piece). If the ETA expenses were under $1000, it was by a hairsbreadth.
It’s clear that ECHO and ETA were organized by the same people. They shared the same home address and the same organizers, and in many cases the content of their mailings was identical. It is difficult—perhaps impossible—to believe that the organization of ETA served any other purpose than to enable its contributors to hide behind the $1000 exemption.
State election officials are looking into the question of whether laws were broken by the apparent sleight of hand. If the law was broken, we hope that the violations will be speedily prosecuted. But in the meantime, the people behind the recall effort can defuse this controversy by taking one simple step. They can give a complete accounting of the finances of ETA, including a list of all its contributors. Anything less must suggest that the role of developer money in the recall effort is being deliberately covered up.
[Via the Leelanau News Blog] A Glen Lakeschool board member has written a letter to the Detroit Free Press asking the paper's suburban readership to help remedy the inequities in the way downstate and Leelanau County area schools are funded.
Jeff Smith of Cedar writes in this letter published in the Freep that while the Birmingham school district receives about $12,000 per pupil from the state, Leelanau school districts like Glen Lake receive only about $7,000 per pupil. Smith urges the Free Presses readers in Birmingham and other wealthy districts to help to raise the level of funding for Leelanau's students to a comparable level, citing the many benefits such funding would have for the area's financially strapped schools.
See here for an earlier Leelanau Post story on the same subject.
Campaign finance reports have been filed in connection with the recent recall election. Although pro-recall forces filed a report for one of the organizations behind its effort, Elmwood Citizens for Honest Officials, they declined to file for a second group, Elmwood Township Alliance. Both groups list the same address on their registrations, and critics (including the Leelanau Post) have charged that the second group appears to have been organized in order to hide the names of its funders. A third group whose name appeared on a pro-recall mailing, Elmwood Citizens for Honest Government, neither registered with the County Clerk nor filed. That group also listed the same address, that of former Elmwood Harbormaster Chuck Lessard and his wife Ellie, on its materials.
According to this Record-Eagle story, ECHO reported expenses of $1,149. Opponents of the recall, organized under the name of the Committee to Support Deri Smith, spent $2,442. It is not known how much was spent by the other two groups supporting the recall.
Are you shocked by the roller coaster price of gasoline?
Aren’t you glad your electric bill doesn’t change so dramatically for no apparent reason at all?
When you think about it, electricity is probably at least as important to our day-to-day living as gasoline. Maybe even more important.
Try going a couple of hours at home or work without electricity. I doubt that you’ll enjoy the experience. Sure, you could probably live without the TV, at least for a couple of hours. But what about your refrigerator? The lights? How many other gadgets in your home require electricity to operate?
Expanding on this, how would our schools, hospitals and government services operate if electricity weren’t affordable and reliable? One of the greatest modern marvels, the internet, wouldn’t be possible without reliable and affordable electricity.
In Northern Michigan, there are over 200,000 of us who get our electricity from a member-owned electric cooperative. In the Traverse City area, chances are you get your electricity from either Cherryland Electric or Great Lakes Energy.
Both of these organizations are different from most nameless corporate utilities. The beauty of this type of organization is that the “owners” of the utility are the customers, working to serve the needs of the community – not investors on Wall Street.
Each year, the cooperative “owners” elect a Board of Directors. The cooperative Board of Directors fulfills an important role – making sure that the cooperative serves the “owners” in the community. The Board of Directors acts very much like our local school boards or county commissioners. It oversees the delivery of an essential service to our community – electricity.
The Board of Directors is responsible to make sure that electric rates are fairly set, services are reliable and that any special needs are met in an equitable fashion. It makes sure that the management of the cooperative is focused on serving the needs of the “owners.”
For most of us in Northern Michigan, we have no choice when it comes to where we get our electric service. If we don’t like our natural gas or telephone services, most of us have alternatives. However, if we don’t like the electric service we’re getting from our electric cooperative, we’re stuck!
This is why it is so important for the “owners” of an electric cooperative to participate in the oversight of their electric utility. The best and easiest way to do this is to vote in your annual Board of Directors election.
Beyond just getting the cost and service levels right, the Board decides how to invest the “owners’” money. Big commitments of “owner” money are required to secure future electric power supplies. Right now, the Cherryland Board of Directors is contemplating very large financial commitments that will drive electricity rates for cooperative “owners” for the next 30 years or longer.
The last time the Cherryland Board of Directors was faced with major supply decisions like this it invested in nuclear power. That investment failed miserably and ended up costing cooperative “owners” well over $150 million dollars over 10 years. Ouch!
The Board of Directors also can invest the “owners’” money in non-utility activities. At Cherryland, the Board invested over $4 million in a cellular telephone business, an internet service provider and alternative heating and cooling ventures. Virtually all of this “owner” money was lost and written off. Ouch!
Getting back to the core mission of the electric cooperative, did you know that residential electric cooperative “owners” in northern Michigan pay the highest rates for electricity in Michigan? If you have a neighbor who is served by either Traverse City Light & Power or Consumers Energy, compare your electric bills. You’ll notice quite a difference in the cost of electricity. Ouch!
To add insult to injury, did you know that your cooperative Board members compensate themselves far more than other cooperative Board members pay themselves? Compared to national averages, Northern Michigan Directors reward themselves much more than other cooperative Boards around the county. Ouch! (Source data from 2004)
Some Board members even voted themselves a special deferred compensation scheme that will reward them for years, even after they are no longer members of the Board. Ouch!
Yes, just as in private industry (think of Enron or WorldCom), when an organization’s Board isn’t doing its job, the “owners” pay the price.
Sadly, at Cherryland, only about 2% of the “owners” get involved in the election of their Board of Directors. At Great Lakes Energy, the turnout is even lower. Think about how well our school boards or county commissions would run if only 1% of the “owners” came out to elect leaders. Almost certainly things would be run by a small group of “insiders” who cannot be relied upon to represent the needs of the “owners.” Ouch!
Are you interested in “green power”? Do you want to see your local utility improve service? Do you think that regional power supply solutions could benefit our region? As an “owner” of your local electric cooperative, you can get involved to promote your interests. You can start by voting in your cooperative Board of Directors elections each year.
Cherryland Electric’s election will be held this year on Thursday, June 15th at 5:30pm at the “owners’” offices in Grawn. Along with having a chance to meet the great folks who work at Cherryland, you’ll be served a nice BBQ dinner. You can meet the Board candidates at the meeting and let them know what you want to see happen at your cooperative.
You can also vote by mail-in ballot. Ballots have been distributed in the May edition of Country Lines, the monthly magazine sent to all cooperative “owners.”
For more information on your cooperative, call Cherryland Electric at 231.486.9200 or Great Lakes Energy at 1.888.485.2537.
Think about how important electricity is in your life. Please take a minute to get involved. It’s your cooperative and you don’t want to be shocked!
John Murray lives in Solon township. He served on the Cherryland Board between 2000 and 2004. He also sat on the Wolverine Power Cooperative Board, Cherryland's wholesale supplier, from 2002 to 2004. While serving on these Boards John's efforts were aimed at providing reliable electric service, managing costs carefully and communicating effectively with the community. John is an experienced business leader with a passion for service excellence, especially in how utility services are provided to our community. He is a candidate for the Cherryland Board and can be reached via email at: jmurray1@aol.com.
The vote on a farmland preservation millage for Leelanau County has been scheduled for Nov. 7 by the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners. The levy would be a 15-year, 0.5 mill tax.
According to this Record-Eagle story, a 0.5 mill tax equals 50 cents per year per $1,000 of taxable value and would raise almost a million dollars during its first year. George Wellman of Save Leelanau Farmland says that the tax could preserve more than 2,900 acres of farmland over the next 15 years.
Demolition of the burned out Orchard Creek assisted living facility has begun. The building burned in March in a fire apparently started by a discarded cigarette butt. Once demolition has completed, work will begin on a replacement facility.
According to this TV 7-4 story the new facility. called the Supportive Care Facility, should be functioning by fall
Once again, the Traverse City area's gas prices are the highest in the state.
Prices are up all over the state, according to this Freep article--but no place more than in the Cherry Capital. What gives?
The language of some of Leelanau's first residents--the Odawa ("Ottawa") people--is in danger of dying out altogether.
As this Record-Eagle article describes, Ray Kiogima of Harbor Springs is trying to save it, writing down for the first time a lexicon of Odawa words rendered in their English equivalents.
[Editor's note: Alice Van Zoeren's Piper Plover blog will be updated once a week with the latest doings from Platte Point. Newest entries on the top; oldest at the bottom. To see an enlarged version of any image, simply click on the thumbnail.]
8/13/06
This will be the last Plover update of 2006. The Piping Plovers have now left Platte Point and headed south for the winter. It was a pretty good year for the Great Lakes Piping Plovers but not for the Platte Point birds. This was the fist year since 1997 that BORX didn’t raise any chicks. He and gOOX did produce four eggs before gOOX disappeared, probably the victim of a predator.
These eggs were transferred to the University of Michigan Biological Station where they hatched and were captive-reared, then released at Sturgeon Bay. Unfortunately his superior parenting skills were unused this summer. Hopefully he’ll be back next summer, his thirteenth year, and have better luck.
Storms and predators took a toll on all the nests at Platte Point this summer except for one. BOXg and LXOL managed to successfully raise all four of their chicks.
Elsewhere at Sleeping Bear Dunes the story was much more upbeat. One North Manitou Island, twelve nests were completed and eleven of them hatched. A thirteenth nest was washed out in a storm May 11th. A record total of 31 chicks fledged from those nests. It was exciting to see flocks of juvenile Piping Plovers on the beaches together.
Now our beaches are empty of Piping Plovers, except for an occasional few passing through. They have all begun their migrations to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts where they will feed in small flocks until next April, when I’ll be watching the beaches for their return.
Until then…
7/21 –
The Plovers are leaving us now. Recently fledged juveniles are turning up all over along the shorelines. They are able to fly across Lake Michigan from North Manitou Island to the mainland. Today I saw a flock of 10 Plovers at Platte Point. Of the 10 four were from North Manitou. The chicks hatched here have been seen at Ludington State Park as well. There have already been reports of three Great Lakes Piping Plovers on their wintering grounds in the Carolinas and Georgia.
Earlier this week I found OO:X,B (two Orange bands on her left leg, a metal (“X”) and a dark Blue band on her right) at Platte Point. She was BO:RX’s mate at Platte Point last year and nested at Ludington State Park this year. It’s interesting that she came north to visit last year’s home after her chick-rearing duties were done.
Five unfledged chicks remain at Sleeping Bear Dunes tended by their fathers. They should begin flying sometime in the next week. The chicks are beginning to stretch their wings and jump up into the air. The females have all already left to begin their migrations.
6/30 – It’s been a while since I’ve been able to make a posting.
The Plovers on North Manitou Island are doing very well. All twelve nests have hatched. The nest mentioned in the 5/25 posting where the male had his own, egg-less nest, was two weeks past the hatch date when it was decided to move the eggs (apparently dead) to the Biological Station. 
Amazingly three of the four chicks had survived and they hatched on June 30th…2 ½ weeks late.
On the mainland two of the six nests have fledged. They are now able to fly proficiently. Their mothers have left to begin their journeys south and as is typical the fathers are watching over them as they build up the strength and ability to migrate to the Atlantic or Gulf coasts for the fall and winter.
BORX has been unable to find a new mate and I seldom see him any more. It’s too bad that his fathering skills aren’t being put to use this summer. The chicks he and gOOX produced have fledged at the University of MI Biological Station and were released with wild Piping Plovers. His son has raised all 4 of his chicks successfully. BORX already has had a large impact on the genetics of the Great Lakes Piping Plover population.
6/9 – Back to Platte. All is well. BORX is hanging out in his territory but I didn’t see any signs of him trying to attract a new mate. There is a new female - --:X,O/L (no bands on the left. A metal, “X” and an Orange and bLack split band on the right) hanging out at the point with g/O/gX:-- (light green, Orange, light green split band and metal “X” on the left. Nothing on the right). 
It looks like he will make a third nesting attempt this year after his first nest washed away in the storm on 5/11 and his mate disappeared during his second attempt, probably caught by the Merlin that has been hunting at Platte.
6/5 – 6/8 – I was out on North Manitou Island this week. There are now 12 active nests at Dimmick’s point. While we were out there five of them hatched. The little chicks don’t know about territory boundaries so they wander everywhere and cause many boundary disputes and fights among the adults.
6/1 – More chicks! BOX,g and LXOL are hatching their chicks at Platte this morning. When I arrived BOX,g was sitting on the nest. Nothing seemed different until I noticed part of an egg shell just outside the nest. In a moment when he stood up to turn around I could see one wet little chick and three eggs under him.
5/29 – CHICKS! The first nest was hatching when I arrived this morning. There were 3 chicks and one egg. The chicks are very cute. They move around and peck at things almost immediately. 
Plover parents don’t have to provide food for their babies, they do watch over them and protect them until they are able to fly. These new chicks are BORX’s grandchildren. BORX is now trying to attract a new mate.
5/25 – We spent the week camping on North Manitou Island while banding Plovers and building exclosures around their nests. This is the most active Piping Plover area in all of the Great Lakes. We currently have 11 active nests and there is at least one more to come soon. In most Plover couples incubation proceeds smoothly. Each parent spends one to two hours incubating the eggs then leaves to feed when their partner returns to take their place. One pair on North Manitou is having a problem. The female behaves like a normal Plover but when it comes time for her mate to take over he sits in his own separate nest scrape about 1 meter away from the real nest. Even smoothing out his scrape didn’t encourage him to sit on his eggs. It seems doubtful that his eggs will survive. This is his first year as a parent. It will be interesting to see if he does a better job in future seasons.
5/23 – I spent the day assisting the highly-trained bander, Mark who comes down from the University of Michigan Biological Station at Pellston to put identifying bands on nesting Piping Plovers. Each Plover wears a unique combination of color bands as well as an aluminum US Fish and Wildlife Service band. The color combination allows monitors and researchers to recognize each bird individually. Much information can be gained about their lives, where they spend the winters, where they nest, and with whom, how long they live, and much more.
5/21 – I checked on BORX today. He’s still incubating. Most Piping Plovers would have given up long before this. Perhaps he’ll stay long enough to get his eggs back for hatching. The rest of the birds at Platte are still there
5/19 -A sad day at Platte Point. When I arrived at 10:00 I was immediately concerned that neither BORX nor gOOX were on their nest. I found BORX feeding at the shore. It just isn’t like them to leave their eggs unattended. After almost 2 hours he returned to the nest to incubate. There was no sign of gOOX. At 12:40 a Merlin made several passes up and down the shore hunting for shorebirds. This time it was unsuccessful. I fear that gOOX may not have been so lucky. .
After 3 hours of incubating BORX left the nest to feed. In consultation with US Fish and Wildlife and University of Minnesota authorities the decision was made to remove their eggs, replace them with clay replicas and transport them to the University of Michigan Biological Station incubation facility staffed by volunteer professional zookeepers. If gOOX miraculously returns or BORX continues to tend his nest they can be replaced for hatching and raised by their dad. In most cases the remaining parent eventually gives up on waiting for their mate to return and leaves the nest to re-mate and re-nest. If he stopped incubating at a time when no one was monitoring, the eggs could cool and die.
I spent May 8th – 12th away from Platte Point working on North Manitou Island with the nesting Piping Plovers there. Thursday’s storm hit hard both on North Manitou and at Platte Point.
5/16 – Today a Merlin was hunting at Platte Point. A Merlin is a medium-sized falcon.
It flies along the shoreline just above the sand hoping to spook a shorebird into flight. All of the nesting Plovers have avoided capture so far but I didn’t see the female that –OX had finally attracted. He now has interested a new mate, X,L—(On the left leg a metal “X” band and below it a bLack one). I hope he is lucky in love this time.
5/11 – I woke up to rain and wind at 3am. When I got up at 7 and left the shelter of our campsite the wind was really starting to blow. The waves obliterated the formerly wide beach and washed out one of the Plover nests. Volunteers Janet and Nate tried to save the two eggs but unfortunately one was broken by rocks and the other was slightly cracked. The good news is that it is early in the season and the pair will probably re-nest.
On Platte Point waves and rain flooded the beach and filled the nest belonging to g/O/gX—(On the left leg a single band with stripes of light green, Orange and light green and a metal “X” band) and –O/g- (On the right leg a single band with Orange and light green)at the north end of the beach. All four eggs were lost. The rest of the nests were high enough to survive the storm.
5/4
We now have four nests with eggs. Today we built “exclosures” around the nests. Exclosures keep predators out of the nest area but allow the adult Plovers to run in and out to incubate their eggs. 
The exclosure must be built quickly but very carefully so that the nest isn’t disturbed and the parents can return to keep their eggs warm.
The male, --OX (no bands on his left leg “--“, On his right there is an Orange band and a metal “X” band) has been scraping out nest cups, displaying and hoping that a female would join him for three weeks now. Finally today one did. She is a very young bird. She hatched last summer at Ludington State Park. Perhaps his wait is over.
BORX and gOOX and BOX,g and LXOL have settled into their incubation routine. One adult sits on the eggs for an hour or two while the other feeds, and preens, then runs or flies back to the nest, and takes over the incubation duties while the mate feeds and preens. Both share equally in incubating the eggs.
April 29th – EGGS!!
Today I found the first nests of the year. When I arrived BOX,g and LXOL were courting right by the path. I sat and watched for awhile. 
They were quite persistent about visiting and displaying at one spot and when I stood up and looked with my binoculars I could see why. There was an egg there! They haven’t begun incubating yet…they won’t until their full clutch of 4 eggs is laid. That will cause all their chicks to hatch at about the same time…probably about June 2nd.
A little later on I
Its white and black-striped crown, pronounced bright yellow in front of the eyes, gray breast, and conspicuously outlined white throat make this bird easy to identify in the field or at your feeder.
They are primarily ground feeders, their diet consisting primarily of spiders, insects, and seeds.
For breeding they tend to seek out the edges, lowlands, and shrubby sections of conifer or mixed conifer-deciduous forests that are often within a riparian setting.
The clear, pleasing, and memorable song of the White-throated Sparrow is as vivid and distinctive as its rather striking coloration.
Michiganians would characterize its song as saying “Old Sam Peabody, Peabody, Peabody”. Our neighbors to the east, however, claim to hear the song saying, “Oh Sweet Canada, Canada, Canada”. They have been known to sing at night (both the birds and Canadians)
Though the clear euphonious quality of this bird’s singing is unmistakable, it is complicated a bit by the fact that it sings two variations of its mating-territorial song. One has a rising intonation and the other’s intonation is descending.
If, perchance, in June, you hear either variation, you know you are in the northern half of the lower peninsula.
The Michigan Breeding Bird Atlas indicates very few observations of this species breeding south of a line that extends from Pinconning in the east to Ludington in the west.
During migration they may be found almost anywhere throughout the state. Occasionally a few of this species do spend the winter in Leelanau County and other parts of Northern Michigan.
~bob c.
Monday night's meeting of the Elmwood Board of Trustees produced one interesting revelation: both Treasurer Debbie Street and Trustee Terry Lautner think the Planning Commission should have at least one member who "doesn't believe in zoning."
We're trying to think of a comparison here...wouldn't it be like a baseball umpire who believes the game of baseball should not be played? What could we expect from such an umpire, except an attempt to undermine the game itself?
Of course, planning and zoning are not a game--in fact, they are arguably the single most import function (and justification) of township government. If these members think that zoning and township government are a sham, perhaps they could set a good example by resigning themselves.
There has been a lot of coverage in the local media recently of the apparent shenanigans in the effort to recall Elmwood supervisor Deri Smith. It appears that two or perhaps three different committees were organized, each with a different name but all listing the same Elmwood street address as their home. Each filed for a waiver excusing the committee from reporting on its finances because it expected to spend less than $1000. Such an arrangement (now being investigated by state election officials) would enable the organizers of the recall campaign to hide the sources of their funding.
Now one of the groups, Elmwood Citizens for Honest Officials (ECHO) has apparently said that since it spent more than $1000, it is planning to amend its filing to include a list of its contributors.
That's not good enough. Such an arrangement, if allowed, would continue to hide the contributors behind the other committees. For example, the public would learn nothing about one of the other committees operating from the same Bayview Court address, the Elmwood Township Alliance. This committee is listed as having paid for the last two mailings sent by the recall group. We're willing to bet it was financed by some of Elmwood's biggest developers.
If, as seems certain, the different committees are just different names for the same organization, then that organization needs to file a report that includes all its expenditures and contributions, not just those made under the name of Elmwood Citizens for Honest Officials. Otherwise the recall organizers will have succeeded in what seems a transparent attempt to evade the law and the public's right to know who bankrolls a campaign like this one.
The Record-Eagle ran another editorial today concerning the apparent hanky-panky in the unsuccessful attempt to recall Elmwood supervisor Deri Smith first reported by the Post. They suggest that investigators bring "a big flashlight" to investigate various inconsistencies and rule-bending in the campaign committees which were behind the recall.
Four mailings critical of Smith were sent to Elmwood residents during the campaign from three different committee names. All three committees listed the same street address in Elmwood.
Elmwood Citizens for Honest Government (ECHO) was listed as the source of the first mailing in support of the recall. There is no registration for the group at the county clerk's office, as required by law. A second mailing was sent by Elmwood Citizens for Honest Officials (ECHO), whose treasurer is registered as Ellie Lessard. The third and fourth mailings came from the Elmwood Township Alliance, whose treasurer is Ellie's husband, former township harbormaster Charles Lessard.
According to the Record-Eagle, Lessard claims she never heard of the Elmwood Citizens for Honest Government group. However, the group's mailing address is the same as that on the other mailings, Lessard's home, and the content is largely the same as the other pieces.
Critics suspect that the multiple committees were organized in order to evade the requirements of campaign finance law, which allows groups spending less than $1000 to dispense with reporting on their finances, including donors. The arrangement made it possible for the recall forces to shield the names of its financial backers, but now state officials are questioning its legality.
The State Attorney General's office says that Leelanau County treasurer Vicki Kilway did not break the law when she accepted work on the side from a company her office had contracted to handle county title research.
Kilway netted about $1800 for 6 or 7 hours work on behalf of Title Check LLC of Kalamazoo. The contract Kilway granted to Title Check was worth about $30,000. According to this Record-Eagle article , County Prosecutor Joe Hubbell said that there is no law specifically prohibiting Kilway's arrangement, and that it is not an unusual one among county treasurers.
Apparently the matter was first brought to the attention of the sheriff's office by Deputy Leelanau County Treasurer Chris Mikowski.
A large crowd at the Cleveland Township Hall heard Tuesday night how the new owner of Sugar Loaf plans to turn the facility into a destination resort for snowboarders and extreme sports.
As the Enterprise story details, some audience members expressed scepticism about the ability of the resort's new owner to finance the project.
The buzz on the 2005 vintage just keeps growing. The first wines from last summer are being released, and the word is they're good.
This article from MLive details some of the highlights, including our own Black Star Farms.
It appears likely that the Jim Leyndyke, athletic director for Traverse City Public Schools, will serve as interim superintendent for the Suttons Bay school district.
Suttons Bay and TC have been discussing various collaborative arrangements in the aftermath of the departure this year of Suttons Bay superintendent Tom Harwood and the financial problems challenging both districts. Details at this Record-Eagle article.
Update: The Record-Eagle has a thoughtful editorial on this story.
The Glacier Bay water park in Elmwood township has withdrawn its application, according to Elmwood clerk Connie Preston. The news came at Monday night's meeting of the Elmwood Board of Trustees.
The massive project had encountered fierce community opposition at a public hearing last October. More recently, the Elmwood township Planning Commission had expressed doubts about whether the project would pass under the terms of the current Zoning Ordinance.
Update 5/10/06: The Record-Eagle has details.
The Leelanau Enterprise chimes in here.
Angela Macke of Leelanau County is growing, blending, and selling teas on her 12-acre Leelanau farm.
The Record-Eagle article tells about the physical and spiritual benefits of Macke's teas.
When the legislation that permitted Indian-run casinos like Leelanau Sands was passed in 1993, it was with the understanding that some portion of their profits would be shared with neighboring communities. But questions have been raised about how some of those monies have been allocated.
In this Freep story, instances of questionable uses are cited, including grants by the the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to send $101,000 to CMU Public Broadcasting in Mt. Pleasant to finance a documentary on the tribe's history, and $299,000 for Native American education programs at northern Michigan schools last year.
The Record-Eagle has run an editorial that goes to the heart what's going on in Elmwood township today. Correctly describing the recall effort turned back by Elmwood voters last Tuesday as a "smear campaign" and a cynical effort by failed politicians and their cronies, the editorial lays out a constructive agenda for the community.
The editorial calls upon John Stanek and Noel Flohe, the involuntarily resigned politicians behind the campaign, to find something constructive to do with their time. And it cautions that voters should keep an eye on the four holdover members of Elmwood Township Board of Trustees: clerk Connie Preston, treasurer Debbie Street and trustees Terry Lautner and Jim O'Rourke. These four individuals have been relentless in their efforts to thwart Deri Smith's efforts to clean up Elmwood, and many of the problems that the recall campaign tried to blame on Smith can be laid at their collective doorstep.
The editorial missed only one trick. That is the role played in the recall campaign by pro-development forces in the recall campaign, a role that became clear only in the group's last mailing. We suspect we will be hearing more about those players once the recall group is forced to reveal the information about contributors it has apparently tried to conceal.
Finally, we also agree with Record-Eagle editorial that the real point now is to move ahead in Elmwood. There are challenges, to be sure, but it is an exciting time as well as the township finally gets it together with a new zoning ordinance and exciting plans for the waterfront and along the Leelanau Trail. Let's just hope those who have tried to undermine the progress can find a more constructive outlet for their energies.
The mysteriously multiplying recall committees behind the failed effort to oust Elmwood superivsor Deri Smith continue to attract attention from state officials and local media.
As first reported by the Post, mailings to Elmwood residents were sent out over the names of at least two and possibly three different organizations, all of which shared the same street address. Opponents of the recall suspect that the multiple committees where intended to avoid the requirement that any individual committee spending more than $1000 report on its finances, including the sources of its donations.
Contacted for this Record-Eagle story, Ellie Lessard, who is listed as chairperson of one of the recall committees, denied any wrongdoing.
"There are two committees because there was a group of people interested in seeing her (Smith) recalled who didn't want to be part of ECHO," she said. "Some were interested in the recall for different reasons." As the Record-Eagle notes, however, the mailings from the two groups contain whole paragraphs of identical content.
The final anti-Smith mailing did differ from the earlier pieces in that it charged her with thwarting pro-development interests in the township. Developers have been prominent contributors to earlier campaigns by Smith's political opponents in the township.
Secretary of State spokesperson Kelly Chesney said the department would be reviewing the complaints against the recall forces.
Nothing benefits a community more than a good bookstore, unless it's a good used bookstore.
This Record-Eagle article gives an affectionate portrait of Dog Ears, in Northport. Well worth a visit.
Leelanau County Treasurer Vicki Kilway is being investigated by the county prosecutor concerning her employment by a title company to whom she gave a county contract.
According to this Record-Eagle story, Kilway gave a contract worth about $30,000 to Title Check, LLC of Kalamazoo to do county title research. Title Check subsequently hired Kilway to do title work for the company.
Title Check general manager Marty Spaulding said Kilway's work consisted of 30 to 40 "10-minute jobs." Kilway says that she was paid $1800 after taxes for the work.
Taking Spaulding's upper estimate of time spent, Kilway worked about 400 minutes, which is about 6 and one half hours. That works out to somewhere between $250 and $300 an hour. Nice work, if you can get it!
A military explosives unit from the Selfridge base had to be called in to detonate a device--apparently a large military flare--that was discovered on the shore of West Bay Wednesday. The flare, which was found just north of East Walters Drive, was thought to have fallen from "an unknown military aircraft," (!) according to a Leelanau Sheriff's department press release.
Recently fired Sheriff’s deputy Bruce Beeker had a lengthy record of disciplinary actions and scores of “inappropriate” contacts with a suspect in an assault investigation. Beeker blames departmental politics for his dismissal.
This Record-Eagle story details some of the disciplinary actions against Beeker, including two suspensions following sexual harassment allegations. In the most current case, Beeker allegedly convinced a junior co-worker not to arrest a domestic violence suspect, telling the officer “I’ll take the heat.” Beeker then had numerous phone calls, face to face meetings, and text messages with Shari Prevost, a suspect in a domestic violence case.
Lost in all the discussion about the financial crises facing area schools is the fact that Leelanau and other area schools receive much less per pupil than some downstate districts. Since school funding depends largely on a per-pupil allowance received from the state, of course enrollments are key. But how much a district gets for each pupil is also important.
Traverse City and Leelanau schools receive about $6700 per year per pupil. But some downstate districts like Bloomfield Hills and Farmington receive almost twice as much. It's an arrangement that can be "explained, not justified," according to this article in the Oakland Press.
Update 5/10/06: Update: The Record-Eagle has a thoughtful editorial on this issue.
Elmwood Township Supervisor Deri Smith enjoyed a 687-586 margin in turning back a recall effort mounted by her political foes. Former Supervisor Noel Flohe and former trustee John Stanek, both of whom had been ousted by Elmwood voters in 2004, had organized a campaign against Smith that included multiple mailings and yard signs.
"I am so very relieved that we can finally put this recall ordeal behind us," said Smith, who pledged to put the divisive campaign behind and to work together with all members of the community. "Its time for us to focus now on doing our jobs, to stop playing games, and to produce something constructive for Elmwood."
All seven members of the Northport village council retained their seats in a recall election that focused on a controversial new sewer system. President Michael Rogers Sr. and trustees William Brendel, Richard Burmeister, Steven Mattson, Fredrick Thomas, Stephen Wetherbee and Barbara VonVoigtlander all were affirmed by comfortable margins, according to this Record-Eagle story.
A complaint was filed today against the organizers of a campaign to recall Elmwood supervisor Deri Smith. Nancy Doughty, co-chair of the Committee to Support Derith Smith, filed papers with the Secretary of State alleging that recall supporters organized multiple committees in order to circumvent financial reporting requirements of the elections law.
As the Post reported yesterday, the organizers of the campaign against Smith have registered at least three committees with County Clerk Michelle Crocker, each claiming an exemption from campaign finance reporting requirements because less than $1000 was expected to be collected in donations. State officials contacted by the Post agreed that this seems like a transparent attempt to evade the requirement that those who collect more than $1000 must reveal the names of all donors, as well as other information. All three of the anti-Smith committees are listed as having the same street address in Elmwood Township, as well as the same organizer.
The anti-Smith mailings have been sent out under a number of names. The first mailing was from the Elmwood Citizens for Honest Government. Another mailing changed the name to the Elmwood Citizens for Honest Officials. Most recently, a mailing went out under the name of the Elmwood Township Alliance.
It took quite a while, but the people who are behind the attempt to recall Deri Smith have finally revealed to us what the campaign is really all about. And it doesn't have anything to do with the charges you will see on the ballot Tuesday.
Yet another mailing from yet another committee is addressed to "Township Citizens owning 5 acres of land and more." The mailing claims that the new zoning ordinance being developed at the Planning Commission will somehow make it impossible for landowners to give land to their children, or to create clustered housing developments, or to allow wineries in the township. All these claims are demonstrably false. On the contrary, Elmwood township is finally making real progress towards creating a zoning ordinance that implements the Master Plan by enhancing existing neighborhoods and preserving the rural character of the township.
But forget all that. The real news in this mailing is that it reveals--for the first time--the agenda of the people who have bankrolled this recall. It's not about the claims that were ginned up for the recall petitions. It's about land use--and about making sure that Deri Smith does not continue to make progress in implementing the policies that the great majority of Elmwood residents support. If the organizers of this recall could not be honest about the real reasons they want to remove Smith from office, why should we believe anything they say?