Standish to mark 100-year anniversary with day-long celebration this Saturday

From the Bay City Times comes this story of the anniversary of the city of Standish to be celebrated this Saturday:

If not for John D. Standish's insistence, the Arenac County city would still be called Granton - as the town was first named in the 1800s. Standish incorporated as a city in 1904. The move came more than a decade after John D. Standish, a local lumber mill owner who once owned the land that is Standish today, lobbied the Michigan legislature to change Granton's name to reflect Standish's role in the city.

"One of Standish's original advertising gimmicks was 'the place where the summer trail divides,"' recalls Standish history buff Albert Fales. "One route runs northwest, toward the central part of the state. The other runs northeast, right up the shoreline to Mackinaw City."

Old-time family events, coupled with displays of Standish history and progress, run from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Fall Color Coming on Strong - 25%

A AAA Michigan press release dated today provides a nice rundown of where the fall colors are. It has this to say about the Oscoda area:

In the Lower Peninsula, the northwest and northeast quadrants are beginning to show some patches with as much as 30 percent color.

The best reports in the northeast Lower Peninsula are 30 percent in the Rifle River Recreation Area near Rose City and Wilson State Park near Harrison. Areas reporting 25-percent color include Harrisville, East Tawas and Rogers City.

In addition, a nice Fall Color FAQ page can be found here.

Michigan Proposal 1 - Gaming

I was looking for a description of Michigan's proposal 1 and came across this article from the Saginaw News dated September 15, 2004. The proposal -- on the ballot for the Nov. 2 election -- would require approval of most new forms of gambling including video lottery games, by Michigan voters and those in the community targeted for the expansion. If approved, any form of gambling authorized after Jan. 1, 2004 would require a statewide vote and a local vote.

This aricle provides additional info on the funding behind both the pro and con sides as well as a good summary of what it means:

The proposal began as a reaction to the Legislature's passage of "racinos," which allows the state to install video slot machines at nine race tracks in the state, including one in Saginaw County. Anti-gambling forces and existing casino interests who would prefer to not have more competition are the odd alliance behind Prop 1's passage. Pro-gaming interests, including those who want to see racinos in Michigan, want the proposal to fail. So do Michigan Lottery officials. They fear the proposal would limit the lottery's ability to introduce new games in the future.

Prop 1 would put a limit on new forms of gambling in Michigan. It would also put a crimp on the state lottery's ability to introduce new games, although exactly what the amendment would limit is open to legal interpretation. The ballot wording says it would limit "any new state lottery game utilizing table games or player operated mechanical or electronic devices."

The question voters will have to answer is whether they think Michigan has enough gambling or not, and whether they want to take a crapshoot on cutting off the lottery from new games.

Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1972 for the lottery. Detroit and state voters approved an amendment in 1996 to allow three casinos in the Motor City. Native American casinos fall under federal jurisdiction.

Read the whole article for more info.

The proposal as it will appear on the ballot is located here. I'm not sure what to make of the last clause which says "... the voter approval requirement does not apply to Indian tribal gaming or gambling in up to three casinos located in the City of Detroit." I get the Indian tribal gaming exclussion since Indian gaming falls under federal jurisdiction, but what about the exclussion for the three Detroit casinos?

Low water levels causing a delay in salmon runs, DNR says

News has been pretty light lately. Here's a fishing report from the Macon (Georgia) Telegraph:

Low water levels are causing a delay in the salmon runs this year, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday. Warm water temperatures also are contributing to the slow start. Cooler temperatures along with much needed rain will help improve conditions, the DNR said in its weekly fishing report.

The fishing at Harrisville and Oscoda has improved some. Salmon were caught at both ports. However, the catch varies daily from fair to good. The best time to fish is early mornings or late evenings from the shoreline to waters 35 feet deep. J-plugs in both silver and green ladder-back patterns have caught fish. Lake trout still can be found in 100 feet of water though not many anglers are targeting them. Those targeting salmon also are catching an occasional walleye.

At Tawas, boats are trolling and taking fair catches of chinook and brown trout in 45 to 55 feet of water on spoons tipped with cut bait. Pier anglers are catching chinook and smallmouth bass on a variety of spoons, spinners and body baits. Shore anglers are fishing along the mouth of the Tawas River and catching salmon after dark. Chinook, brown trout and steelhead have been caught when surf casting spoons or spawn near the Singing Bridge and the lower end of Whitney Drain. Stream discharge is low due to recent dry weather.

Fight over access to Great Lakes shoreline playing out in courts

The San Louis Obispo Tribune (and others) has this update on the court case regarding owners rights and beach access. Two points that I draw from this article are that beach front owners are at risk of loosing property rights from waters edge up to the high water mark and that public access means access via motor vehicles as well as walking.

The Michigan dispute started four years ago in Alcona County, 200 miles north of Detroit. [Joan] Glass trimmed bushes in her easement along the Lake Huron shore. Neighbors Richard and Kathleen Goeckel objected to the bush trimming and told Glass she was no longer welcome to walk the beach in front of their home. Glass sued, had her beachcombing rights restored by a local court, but lost those rights again with the appeals court ruling.

The Michigan case and another in Ohio have grown into a fight over public access to hundreds of miles of picturesque Great Lakes shoreline. "People are all of a sudden moving here and saying, `This is mine! This is mine!'" Glass said. "The whole thing is ridiculous."

Jean Hauflaire, a 77-year-old Chicago native who owns a home along Lake Michigan in New Buffalo, Mich., supports the ruling. Too often, she said, spillover visitors from a neighboring public beach have spoiled the view. "This is our back yard," Hauflaire said. "Would you want people sitting and drinking in your back yard?"

Environmentalists "make it out like we want to put fences up to the water's edge - and that's not the intent at all," said Ernie Krygier, president of Save Our Shoreline, a property rights group boasting some 2,000 members throughout the Great Lakes basin. "It's all about principle," said Krygier, who lives on Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay. "If there are 100 homes on the water, you might have one goofy enough to want to keep people off the beach."

In Ohio, Lake Erie cottage owners are suing the state Department of Natural Resources to end public ownership claims up to the high-water mark, or gain compensation for the state "taking" of beaches.

So far, the debate has not resulted in an uptick of trespassing cases, authorities said. But after the latest ruling, one beachcombing supporter received a ticket for driving his truck on the beach in front of private homes near the scene of the Glass vs. Goeckel dispute, said Glass' attorney, Pamela Burt.

2004 Annual Meeting Summary

Last Sunday was the 12th annual owner meeting of the association. We had 22 owner units present. Here's a brief review of the proceedings:

Jerry openned the meeting with introductions and the roll-call.

Jay presented the Finance report. The annual expense summaries were distributed and discussed. The consensus of the board is that there are no plans to increase the monthly dues. All maintenance and insurance obligations are able to be paid by the dues collected. Jay reminded those present that major projects will be funded by special assessments.

Jerry reviewed the status of various maintenance projects undertaken during the past twelve months including the deck staining and the additional work put into the sprinkler system.

Bob ran the election process for the terms expiring in 2004. Jay and Sam announced they would be not seek re-election. Bob canvased for nominees and the votes were counted. Elected to the board for two years were: Bob Adams, Mike Kovach, and Bill Braun.

Thanks to all who were able to attend. In addition to the business of the board it's enjoyable to meet and chat with such nice people.

'Legally Blonde' beau

Local boy does good in this story from The Bay City Times:

Bruce Thomas didn't plan on becoming an actor. But since that's where he ended up, he's not complaining about it. "I have a house in southern California. I'm not doing too badly," he laughs.

After a string of guest appearances on shows like "Ellen" and "Wings" and recurring roles on "Beverly Hills 90210," "Enterprise" and the "Army of Darkness" series, it's a couple of films he made in 2001 and 2003 that are getting the actor noticed. Thomas is the UPS guy in "Legally Blonde" and "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde."

Getting noticed is happening right here in the area. He and his wife, Stephanie, purchased Thomas Parkside Cottages on the shores of Lake Huron in Oscoda from Thomas' parents, Clark and Rita Thomas this year.

"Young girls recognize me in Oscoda," he said. "They stop by with DVDs, have me sign them. They are very cute and very charming. It's a good feeling."

I looked for a picture but didn't find one. If young girls can spot him just look for a crowd and sneak a peak.

Veteran pursues idea of war museum

Although the Vietnam/Korean War museum at Wurtsmith is now just history, there seems to be some new effort in starting one up. As reported in the Bay City Times, this new museum would be independant and local.

Even though a national Korean War museum probably isn't coming to the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Stephen Pappas still sees merit in the idea. "I'm taking the idea and going to run with it," Pappas said Monday. But Pappas said it will take the support of state government, veterans groups and area veterans to make the plan a reality.

Pappas said he has just started making contacts to see if there is interest in forming a steering committee to pursue bringing a second museum to Wurtsmith. The museum would not be owned or run by the township, he said.

He invites area veterans interested in the project to contact him by e-mail at pappaspound@famvid.com.

Still seems like a good idea to me -- especially with outside exibits.