Structure still an inspiration
ST. IGNACE (July 1) — Its white towers and green cables arch majestically above the Straits of Mackinac, where for 50 years it's spanned Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas.
Nearly 141 million vehicles have crossed the Mackinac Bridge since it opened to traffic in November 1957, replacing car ferries that operated there for about three decades.
Today, the Mighty Mac is many things to many people.
Some call it a symbol of Michigan and a national landmark, a destination for millions of tourists. For others, it's the passageway to family, friends, workplaces and vacation spots, a beloved superstructure revered for its beauty.
Meijer, Gaylord reach deal
GAYLORD (July 1) — If you build it, they will come.
That's the mantra for Meijer company officials and their planned store in Gaylord, where the retail giant and city officials recently inked a development agreement.
"It's a community we've been trying to put a store in for a while and it would be a new market for us," said Stacie Behler, spokeswoman for Meijer, Inc.
The company agreed to pay $1.27 million to extend water and sanitary sewer utilities to the 141 acres it owns at the corner of M-32 and South Townline Road in Bagley Township, west of town.
The land eventually must be annexed into city limits, according to the development agreement.
William Giles, township supervisor, said he's confident an annexation deal can be reached with city leaders.
Queen reflects on past 50 years
TRAVERSE CITY (July 2) — It's been 50 years — a half-century — since Kay Jerome won the title of National Cherry Queen.
"I keep thinking, good heavenly days, how could the years have gone by that fast?" Jerome said.
The year was 1957, and Kay Lahym, then 18, sat on stage at Thirlby Field in Traverse City dolled up in an aqua dress with white dots and trim. All Jerome remembers thinking at that moment is despite the fact Miss Harbor Springs was not wearing stockings, she would still win because she was so beautiful.
"I can remember her as well as if she was sitting next to me today," Jerome said.
As a fresh high school graduate about to start at the University of Michigan, Jerome never anticipated winning the title.
"I truly was not expecting to win at all," Jerome said. "It was not in my plan."
But win she did, and over the next year she traveled to Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York City.
"I look back on it and still sort of smile and say, 'Oh my gosh, I can't believe that really happened,' but it was great fun," Jerome said.
GT Resort works file $1M lawsuit
TRAVERSE CITY (July 3) — A lawsuit alleges the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa could be liable for more than $1 million withheld from employees' paychecks between 2000 and 2006.
The Acme-based resort, one of the county's largest employers, violated state employment and wage laws when it imposed $150 bi-weekly paycheck deductions on scores of health spa employees to help fund marketing efforts, according to a class-action lawsuit filed in 13th Circuit Court.
Traverse City attorney Enrico Schaefer, who represents over 150 current and former employees involved in the dispute, alleged the resort also likely docked spa workers' tips and product commissions — a violation of the Michigan Sales Representatives Commission Act. Under the law, the resort could be liable for up to twice the amount of the commissions plus attorney's fees.
City to TCAPS: Keep ours open
TRAVERSE CITY (July 4) — Neighborhood schools make a community tick and those in the city should stay open, city commissioners told Traverse City Area Public Schools officials as a decision looms on which of the district's elementary buildings will close.
"It's not good for a community when your schools start closing," city Commissioner Deni Scrudato said on the heels of a resolution unanimously approved by the commission that supports keeping all public schools open within the city limits.
"This is to send a message to all the parents who have kids that go to TCAPS schools in the city that we're on your side and we would like to see them stay open as well," Scrudato said.
The city's action came one week before TCAPS board members will hear a recommendation from district administrators on closing up to three elementary schools in fall 2008.
Snafu almost douses fireworks
TRAVERSE CITY (July 4) — An apparent snafu between Grand Traverse County's Veterans Affairs office and the state Department of Natural Resources threatened to make a dud out of this year's Independence Day fireworks show.
Charles Lerchen, director of the county Veterans Affairs office, spent the morning before the show calling DNR officials in Cadillac to inquire about a needed permit for the Fourth of July fireworks that never arrived at his Traverse City office.
DNR officials faxed Lerchen a copy of the permit, which carries several conditions. That's when he learned he had to publish a notice in the local newspaper to warn boaters of the event.
"They required six conditions ... and the publication to boaters was the only one that potentially could have been detrimental," Lerchen said. "If I would have got this at four in the afternoon we most likely wouldn't have been able to get it in the newspaper."
Lt. Dean Molnar of the DNR office in Cadillac doesn't know why the permit never made it to Traverse City, but said the state would have worked with Lerchen to ensure the fireworks didn't fizzle.
TC businesses gear up for festival week
TRAVERSE CITY (July 6) — Downtown businesses experience a rush of customers streaming through their doors as downtown streets teem with crowds generated by the National Cherry Festival.
The festival remains a headache for some, a bonanza for others. Many area hotels are sold out, including Holiday Inn West Bay. Its 179 rooms were booked by June with most reservations made a year in advance, and Bayshore Resort has only a few rooms available for the festival weekends.
Other downtown businesses, like Harbor Wear and Evergreen Gallery and Floral, also are gearing up for a week of booming business.
Nora Wiser, Harbor Wear's owner, extends her store's hours to cater to souvenir hunters. She stays open until 10 p.m. instead of closing at 9 p.m.
Evergreen Gallery and Floral can't wait for the crowds, after moving several blocks east.
"The traffic through our store has already been beyond expectations," co-owner Charles Thayer said. "We expect to be swamped."
Local painter wins recognition
TRAVERSE CITY (July 6) — A watercolor painting by Williamsburg artist Paul LaPorte won the Detroit Institute of Arts Award recently at the opening of the Michigan Water Color Society's 60th annual exhibition.
Gladys Nillson of Chicago, juror for the competition, presented the award at the Community Arts Center on the campus of Wayne State University.
There were 349 pieces submitted by 188 artists from around Michigan; Nillson accepted only 60 pieces for the show. The Graphic Arts Council of The Detroit Institute of Arts sponsors the $250 award, selected by the juror.
LaPorte's painting, "Small Town Neighborhood," is in a colorful, fantasy animated checkerboard format, depicting houses, buildings, gardens and other architectural elements typical in a small town.
LaPorte is a member of the Art Center in Traverse City.
It's Vos, Norris, Loomis
TRAVERSE CITY (July 7) — The closing of Bertha Vos Elementary would deal a blow to Derek Christenson's family and neighbors.
Christenson's children attend the east-side school in Acme Township, one of three elementary buildings that Traverse City Area Public Schools Superintendent James Feil will recommend for closure in fall 2008.
"I think it's a bad decision," Christenson said, noting the proximity of Bertha Vos to other public school districts. "I know that there are a lot of parents that will send their kids to Elk Rapids. It's a sad day for us and for the community."
Other schools singled out for closure are Glenn Loomis, located on Oak Street in Traverse City, and Norris on Cherry Bend Road in Leelanau County's Elmwood Township.
School closings are part of a long-range strategy to help TCAPS maintain programs and small class sizes in the face of budget shortfalls and declining enrollment.
City to consider future of zoo site
TRAVERSE CITY (July 7) — City commissioners will consider how far to swing the wrecking ball at the former Clinch Park zoo when they take a field trip there.
An evening study session will include a walking tour of the former zoo property along Grandview Parkway, where demolition of some old zoo structures is set to begin this fall. Much of the focus will center on the zoo's former administration building, a structure that interests National Cherry Festival officials as a new home, though city leaders haven't expressed similar enthusiasm.
"It doesn't really serve any purpose for anybody long-term," city Public Services Director Bob Cole said of the nearly 3,000-square-foot structure on the bay side of the zoo complex.
A royal start to festival
TRAVERSE CITY (July 8) — The 81st National Cherry Festival began with a bang of confetti poppers and a snip of a cherry red ribbon.
Ecstatic parents furiously waved at their young princes and princesses, and shy royalties responded with joyful smiles, donning their oversized crowns.
Jennifer Archibald of Traverse City came to support her daughter, Rayna, 6, the Pathfinder princess.
"She's thrilled that it's going to be OK to spit," said Archibald, whose daughter will participate in the Cherry Pit Spit.
Many parents of junior royalty started work on their floats in early May but now can relax and enjoy some exclusive activities, including a State of Michigan boat tour.
Classic events, like the Junior Royale Parade, and new changes, like the reconfiguration of the Open Space, indicate a new direction for the festival.
"I like it a lot better, spread out like this," Konstanzer said. "It brings a whole new meaning to 'Open Space.'"
It's polka time
CEDAR (July 9) — Depending on who's talking, Cedar's annual polka festival is about so much more than music and dancing.
It's about community, kielbasa and bratwurst, pretzels and parades, Polish heritage and the American flag-raising.
For longtime Cedar resident Joe Janik, it's about tradition.
A Polish native, he says he always awaits the return of Cedar's annual polka festival. The sight of the Polish flag waving in the rafters of an events tent fills him with a sense of pride and longing.
It was no different this year at the 26th Annual Cedar Folk Fest.
"I feel good about my old country," said Janik, who emigrated from a town outside Krakow to Cedar in 1961.
"This is my country now," Janik said. "It is my home. I''m happy that some of Poland's traditions are here, too."
Board to borrow $700,000
BEULAH (July 10) — The Benzie County Board of Commissioners is preparing to borrow $700,000 to complete a courthouse renovation project that voters declined three years ago.
This time voters won't be asked to pay any more in taxes, officials said.
To pay for phase II, the county board applied for a 30-year loan at an interest rate of 4.25 percent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program. County Administrator Chuck Clark said the county plans to pay back the loan in 20 years and has budgeted about $50,000 a year to make payments.
Work halted while financing sought
PETOSKEY (July 11) — Construction is on hold at the sprawling Petoskey Pointe project because developers haven't paid bills totaling more than $2.1 million.
Three construction firms, including general contractor JM Olson Corp., filed liens on 13 parcels owned by project developers, including two parcels the city of Petoskey gave developers for credit toward a slice of a planned parking deck.
Development partners David Jankowski and James Wilson of Farmington Hills-based Lake Street Petoskey Associates also haven't paid any property taxes on the parcels for tax year 2006. They owe more than $33,750 in back taxes, according to Emmet County records.
Construction liens were filed in May, but Steven Braun, president of JM Olson, said the company continued to work until the end of June.
Buckley at 100
BUCKLEY (July 12) — Buckley, which was incorporated as a village in 1907 so that it could receive fire protection, will observe the 100th anniversary of that occasion with a three-day celebration.
People of the town have come together to organize the centennial, coordinator Sheila Gokey said.
School children were involved with a centennial logo competition. Sixth-grader Shelby Weber won it with a design that incorporates the Manistee River, woods, railroads and the number 100.
Buckley was originally a railroad town, growing up around a stop on the Manistee and Northeastern Railroad line that was established in 1904.
The town grew to about 700 people by about 1910, and had three forest-products manufacturers in its first decade, said Steve Harold, president of the Grand Traverse Heritage Center who is helping compile a book on Buckley's history.
At the time of the 2000 census, it had a population of 550.
"Like so many railroad towns, it was never as large again," he said.
Trail travels from Gaylord to Mac City
GAYLORD (July 13) — Nancy Tripp is looking forward to a fancy new recreational trail that runs right past her house.
"I'm happy that it's cleaned up and it should be nice," she said during a morning walk on a recently graded trail near Gaylord that will have a smooth surface within a couple of weeks.
Construction is under way at the southern end of a planned 62-mile improved trail in Gaylord that eventually will stretch through several northern Michigan towns and end up in Mackinaw City.
A $1.48 million federal transportation grant was awarded for the project to build a 10-foot-wide multipurpose recreational trail with a crushed limestone surface, part of the state's rails-to-trails program.
Danielle Moss is the new Cherry Queen
TRAVERSE CITY (July 14) — Danielle Moss remembered all the basics when she heard her named announced as the 2007-2008 National Cherry Queen.
She extended her arms in surprise, her face etched in disbelief. Tears formed at the corner of her eyes. She even tried to hug former queen Kaley Schroeder when Schroeder placed the crown on her head.
But she forgot to breathe.
"I thought I was going to hyperventilate," Moss, 21, said.
Schroeder passed on her crown to Moss amidst the tears at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa.
"I can finally breathe, smile and relax," Moss said. "We had fun this week, but I was nervous. The contest is always in the back of your mind."
Church strikes deal for former plant
TRAVERSE CITY (July 15) — The Rev. Peter Semeyn sees a gaping hole in the community's safety net, and his church is trying to do something about it.
Faith Reformed Church in Traverse City signed a $1.85 million purchase agreement for the former Lear plant on South Airport Road in Garfield Township. Church officials want to use it to consolidate administrative operations presently split among several locations and create a "hub" campus for expanded ministry and outreach programs.
The seven-acre site includes the spacious ex-auto parts plant with around 92,000 square feet of indoor space. The church's leadership council approved the deal in late June and the sale is subject to full membership approval, Semeyn said.
Vietnam Memorial replica on display
PESHAWBESTOWN (July 16) — They came to "The Wall" alone, in couples, as a group, and some as a family. They came for a variety of reasons. Some just to look, some to touch, some to cry, some to make an etching of a name, some to leave a flower.
"I just came here to say thanks," said Bill Morrison as he reached up to touch the name of Greg Felker, a childhood friend who lost his life during the Vietnam War.
Officially called the American Veterans Traveling Tribute, the replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was on display at Peshawbestown. Its visit was sponsored by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
"This is my first time to the Wall," said Don Morris as he and wife Sharon made an etching of his high school buddy's name, Jack Elenbaas.
"It's very heartwarming."
Wire theft puts damper on fair
TRAVERSE CITY (July 17) — Northwestern Michigan Fair officials will finally see years of fundraising efforts culminate with the completion of the fairgrounds' much-needed Haberlein building.
But the recent theft of hundreds of dollars in copper wire for the mixed-use facility has tainted its opening at this year's 99th annual fair.
"The fair association doesn't get any money from the state or the county so everything we do there we have to raise the money ourselves," said Mike Zerbe, a Four-H Club leader and volunteer who organized the fundraising. "My thought was I hope they needed (the wire) worse than we did. They don't realize this isn't a government-owned deal here.
"They stole it from a bunch of kids," he said.
Thieves took the $200 in bare copper wire from the unlocked fairgrounds, part of a recent surge across the state in the theft of copper wire from construction sites. Executive fair board member Laura Robinson reported the burglary to the sheriff's department the next day. Grand Traverse County sheriff's officers investigated the incident, but Undersheriff Nathan Alger said the crime may go unsolved.
Alpenfest Swooshes In
GAYLORD (July 17) — Sue Ballantyne sat in her kitchen twisting little, white silk flowers onto a wreath, one of more than 7,000 "blumen kranz" she's made over the last 36 years of Alpenfest celebrations.
"They are kind of tedious to make, so a lot of the florists don't have time for it," Ballantyne said.
Hundreds of colorful flower wreaths, or "blumen kranz" in German, hung from racks in Ballantyne's Gaylord home, highlighted with white ribbons and baby's breath petals. Her cluster of flowered crowns will be taken to downtown Gaylord today to be sold at the Alpenstrasse, the open-air arts and crafts show at the 43rd annual Alpenfest.
Pond draw-down continues
TRAVERSE CITY (July 18) — Five property owners' last chance to stop a draw-down at the Boardman Dam impoundment drained away when a judge declined to issue a restraining order against dam owner Grand Traverse County.
County officials have dropped the pond by about two inches per day since spring, after Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality ordered them to lower it by 17 feet before the end of August.
Property owners allege the eight-foot drop in the pond has drained wetlands, eroded banks, killed fish and driven away wildlife.
But Grand Traverse County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power decided the harm was not "irreparable" because the pond can be reflooded if homeowners are successful with their pending circuit court lawsuit.
Power said the alleged environmental damage does not outweigh the risk of dam failure.
Kolke settlement crumbles
GAYLORD (July 19) — State officials reneged on a settlement with a conservation group and riparian property owners in a case that involves a northern Michigan stream and an energy company's plan to dump wastewater into it.
A tentative settlement agreement fell apart among the energy company, the state and plaintiffs in a legal battle over Kolke Creek and a groundwater pollution cleanup project in Otsego County's Hayes Township.
Merit Energy received state approval to daily dump 1.15 million gallons of treated wastewater into the creek, but the Anglers of the Au Sable group and two nearby property owners filed a lawsuit to halt that disposal method.
Judge Dennis Murphy, of the 46th Circuit Trial Court, ruled against the state and Merit. He later awarded $155,000 in expert witness fees to the plaintiffs.
Now the state and Merit are appealing the judge's ruling and backing out of the $125,000 settlement, negotiated just last week. Both filed appeal claims with the Michigan Court of Appeals.
'Serious work to be done'
ACME (July 21) — Innovation and education are the keys for states to compete in the global economy, the head of the National Governors Association said at the kick-off of its four-day summer meeting.
Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, president of the NGA, said the event will center on how innovation can invigorate aging economies like Michigan's sagging manufacturing sector and how improving educational opportunities will better position the country to be a leader in the changing global economy.
"There's a lot of thought that's been going on in those areas over the past months," Napolitano said of the work put into planning the event. "There is some serious work to be done by the nation's governors."
Charter school set to open
TRAVERSE CITY (July 21) — Organizers of a new public charter high school hope to stake a claim in the Grand Traverse region's competitive education market.
The Traverse City College Preparatory Academy plans to enroll between 200 and 250 students before classes start on Sept. 4, said school leader Cameron Owens.
The four-year high school will join two other charters in the Traverse City region — Grand Traverse Academy and Traverse Bay Community School — along with Traverse City Area Public Schools and numerous private schools.
"We understand that it is an incredibly competitive situation," Owens said. "However, choice is good and the opportunity is good."
Bikers gather to help foundation
TRAVERSE CITY (July 23) — Father Edwin Thome made a hasty exit from church to greet the 500-plus tattooed and leather-clad Harley-Davidson riders gathered for the 15th annual Father Fred benefit ride through Traverse City and up Old Mission Peninsula.
"It's a two-way street: as you give, you will get in return," Thome intoned, hand raised in prayer as members of the Northern Chapter Harley Owners and motorcycle enthusiasts from around northern Michigan bowed their heads.
The local Harley chapter puts on the annual ride. Pre-ride bikers sprawled across the parking lot of Classic Motor Sports in Traverse City and drank coffee and munched doughnuts.
Each of the estimated 600 riders on 400 bikes donated $15 to ride. Event organizers estimated a $13,500 total.
About 90 percent of that goes directly to those in need, said Thome.
Budget reality takes shine from meeting
ACME (July 24) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm basked in the glow of her role as host of the 99th annual National Governors Association summer meeting, but political gridlock over a myriad of Lansing issues promises tough days ahead.
Granholm gushed with praise for the Traverse City area's efforts in hosting the nation's governors for a four-day policy meeting in Acme.
A wide range of topics — from education to innovation to health care — gave the governors plenty of ideas to take back to their states, while near-perfect weekend weather put the best face on the Grand Traverse region.
"This was a great, great, great conference," Granholm said.
But the event won't change the political realities in Lansing, where lawmakers remain locked in a battle over next year's state budget. Granholm fears some legislative leaders are ready to take the fight all the way to a potential state government shutdown if the issue isn't resolved by the new fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
Board votes 4-3 to close three schools
TRAVERSE CITY (July 24) — Julie Puckett relied on her years as a math teacher in explaining to Traverse City Area Public Schools officials why they shouldn't close Bertha Vos Elementary.
"I often come across problems that have more than one solution," she said.
Puckett was one of more than 100 parents and community members who argued that a recommendation from Superintendent James Feil to close Bertha Vos, Glenn Loomis and Norris elementary schools in fall 2008 was the wrong solution for TCAPS.
Parents took issue with the board's decision-making process and urged them to consider other factors, including student achievement and community involvement.
Board members voted 4-3, with Fred Tank, Alice McNally and Suzann Brooke opposed, to close the three schools.
Developer, frontman Uzelac sever ties
TRAVERSE CITY (July 25) — Michael Uzelac, the face of a massive West Front Street development plan that flopped with local voters and struggled to gain traction in the months since that defeat, is out as frontman for Federated Properties.
Uzelac left or was removed from the company, but Federated CEO Louis Ferris Jr. refused to say why.
"We really don't want to discuss that aspect of it. It's something we don't want to talk about," Ferris said. "When somebody leaves a company, there's two sides to every story."
Federated attorney Richard Roble informed Traverse City Manager Richard Lewis and Grand Traverse County Brownfield Redevelopment director Jean Derenzy that Uzelac was no longer working on either W. Front St. project.
He gave no reason for Uzelac's departure, Lewis and Derenzy said.
Officials plan to upgrade Rugg Pond trail
KALKASKA (July 27) — Two trumpeter swans sat on a log in the middle of a rural Kalkaska County pond, where a jumping fish broke the still surface.
Rugg Pond formed more than a century ago when a dam was built on the two branches of the Rapid River to create hydroelectricity for the surrounding areas.
Today the pond is a quiet place northwest of Kalkaska, where fishermen come to cast their lines and hikers tread through the overgrown brush.
Local officials are eyeing the spot for the next improved trail in the Kalkaska Area Recreation and Transportation Trail System.
An improved three-quarter-mile trail is planned to encircle the pond, including some blacktop, crushed limestone and boardwalk bridges across wetland areas.
Happy Birthday, Mighty Mac
ST. IGNACE (July 27) — There's a party going on at the Straits of Mackinac shoreline, in the shadow of the 50-year-old Mackinac Bridge.
"This anniversary should be celebrated. It's one of those things. This place is important," said Ginny Smoot, a summer resident of Mackinac Island.
She and friend Lois Tower took a ferry ride to the Upper Peninsula to check out the birthday party events, which kicked off with the dedication of a new commemorative bridge token, honoring renowned bridge designer David Steinman.
Chief bridge engineer Kim Nowak said Steinman was a master of suspension bridge aerodynamics and the Mackinac Bridge was his crowning achievement among the more than 400 bridges he worked on around the globe.
Dick Nesgoda, of Tawas, said he well remembers the bridge being built. He's among the original ironworkers who toiled on the project five decades ago.
"I wouldn't miss this for the world. It's fantastic. It's a tribute to the ironworkers. That bridge is spectacular, just magnificent," he said.
The rush to the start
TRAVERSE CITY (July 27) — Oscar award-winning film director, Birmingham native and part-time northern Michigan resident Christine Lahti is the second recipient of the Traverse City Film Festival's Michigan Filmmaker Award.
The University of Michigan alum is expected to accept the award at opening ceremonies for the festival in front of the State Theatre, said festival founder Michael Moore — and hopefully this time she won't be in the bathroom.
Lahti, also an actress, was famously occupied when she won the Golden Globe in 1998 for her role in TV's "Chicago Hope." It was one of several awards she has received during her long stage, film and television career, including the Academy Award for best short live-action film for 1995's "Lieberman in Love," which she directed and starred in.
"She's really a fine actress and someone we're all very proud of, being from Michigan, and we're honored that she's coming to accept the award," said Moore, Lahti's Torch Lake neighbor.
Theme park hearing set
GRAYLING (July 29) — Local officials will consider a rezoning request at a coming public hearing for a planned theme park in Crawford County's Grayling Township.
Amusement park planners requested a change from a planned industrial and commercial site to a planned unit development zone for a $160 million theme park called Main Street America on state land near Interstate 75.
"We're excited. This is part of moving forward with the development," said Patrick Crosson, project manager for Axiom Entertainment of Rochester.
The company requested four major components as part of the PUD, including commercial, recreational, leisure and agricultural areas.
Planned attractions include roller coasters, a water park, indoor surfing, snowmobile and race car tracks, snowboarding areas, a working farm, a 200-acre campground, an amphitheater, resort hotels and plenty of shopping.
Cuts hit prison work crews
TRAVERSE CITY (July 30) — A state cost-cutting move will put an end to prison work crews that created dozens of hiking trails and repaired and restored hundreds of eroding stream banks in the Grand Traverse region.
The Michigan Department of Corrections cancelled all public works contracts across the state, including most of the 27 work crews coming out of the Pugsley Correctional Facility in Kingsley. Crews working for state agencies will be continued.
Among the casualties is the Grand Traverse Conservation District and its 23-year history of using the crews for stream restoration projects.
Steve Largent, the district's director of land management services, said prison crews have done outstanding work all over the region, from the trail system on Kids Creek behind Kohl's Department Store, the TART Trail's Mitchell Creek Crossing, to bank stabilization projects all along the Boardman and Manistee rivers.
It's Showtime
TRAVERSE CITY (July 30) — The city's Open Space was beginning to look like the National Cherry Festival all over again with its panel trucks, orange cones and measuring tape marking off spots on the lawn, as Bob Deutsch's Outdoor Movies crew got ready to install a giant inflatable movie screen in time for the Traverse City Film Festival.
The festival kicked off with a Friends of the Film Festival potluck party and a founders party for festival sponsors. That party featured a sneak preview of "The Valet," one of the 10 most popular films at this year's festival.
In anticipation of the throngs expected to descend on the city, the festival's 750 to 850 volunteers picked up their festival credentials and gray "crew" T-shirts, said volunteer manager Anne McEnany. First-time venue managers were scheduled to attend orientations, while other managers and their assistants were to receive training in festival merchandise and concessions. A volunteers-only screening of one of this year's festival films — one of a handful of volunteer perks, along with the T-shirt and a beach party — was scheduled for later in the evening.
MSU to help village design future
NORTHPORT (July 31) — Residents in Northport will team up with students from Michigan State University to design the village's future.
The effort is part of MSU's Small Town Design Initiative, a program where landscape architecture students create concepts for projects based on community input.
Northport resident Bill Collins is leading a local steering committee that is guiding the effort in the Leelanau County community. He said the program offers a chance for the public to help build a more attractive, thriving and connected village.
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