Smoke-free bowling
It's nice to see Wilderness Crossing in Grawn break the mold by making their bowling center smoke-free. The bowling alley is only a small part of the facility they are building, but making a stand and putting health and family first is a big step in today's society.
Being an avid bowler, I have refrained from bowling in a league for the past three years since I am sick of coming home smelling like smoke. My wife and I have a 2-year-old son who would love to bowl, but I have not participated in this activity with him because we don't want to put him in a situation where he can breathe in second-hand smoke. It's great to see that we finally have a smoke-free bowling center in northern Michigan.
In recent months, the city of Traverse City has made the push to become a smoke-free city. As much as this might repel smokers or those who are given money by tobacco companies (see: Allen, Sen. Jason), it's a step in the right direction to ensure the safety of non-smokers in public. Nothing kills the mood of a pleasant night out than stale smoke in a restaurant.
Mathew Branch
Traverse City
Use conservative logic
This is concerning the Feb. 27 editorial, "There's a silver lining in Federated's rain cloud."
Once again, the Record-Eagle has to "Dan Ratherize" a local politician whose job is to "look out for all of us," and Jason Allen did so, but gets "demonized" by your liberal press. In your own words, "Allen, quietly stepped behind closed doors." Then you had to cast aspersions on his ethics by suggesting that he did so because of a political donation. "Shenanigans," "unwittingly"? These are your words, "negative" and "divisive" words to describe an elected official who is just doing his job to benefit all taxpayers.
You and your staff seem to have all been educated at an "ultraliberal" institution. You would be surprised at how your readership and circulation would increase if you employed just "a little" conservative common sense and logic.
Ron Hatt
Traverse City
Appalled and horrified
What is our world coming to?
I was so appalled and horrified after reading about a couple from Grand Rapids who got a table from eBay and in the package was a severed head and a liver. These body parts were en route to Corcoran Lab in Traverse City.
The lab plasticizes body parts and supplies them to Premier Exhibitions -- a touring exhibit that goes all over the U.S. It is even at the Cincinnati Museum Center. It better never go to Dennos Museum!
ABC's 20/20 has investigated this and it looks like many cadavers are China's executed prisoners! I can't even comprehend this! These poor people deserve a dignified burial and not to be shown in body parts all over the world! How can our beautiful city have such an inhumane and corrupt place of business such as Corcoran Lab?
This business needs to be shut down! How can someone have a conscience to do this to the dead?
Something needs to be done, now!
Nancy Wright
Maple City
Accountability failure
It seems a disgrace that money vanished without a trace from the inmates of the Grand Traverse County Jail; and what's worse is that $16,000 took a long time, with many transactions to build that kind of amount. I commend the State Police for trying to find out where the cash went, but the evidence is gone.
So I ask, is Scott Fewins in charge of the jail and, if so, why has he not come out and taken responsibility for his massive failure in accountability? Who paid the money back, and did the victims get their money? I would offer to finance the cost of a strategic accounting firm to find where the money went, because they are trained to follow every cent.
Scott Fewins should take some responsibility for his lack of leadership.
Mark Hergert
Traverse City
Rude and offensive
This free-market capitalist, small-government conservative is entirely in favor of government avoiding one of its many demonstrated core incompetencies -- business micro-management. However, for the same reason that we zone pig farms, loud industrial noise, sewage treatment plants, and other public (but necessary) nuisances out of cities, we should also ban smoking in public buildings.
Public smoking is a public nuisance. Never mind the (legitimate) health concerns, it's just rude and offensive. It stinks, burns the eyes and throat, and makes the people in the same building and their clothes stink long after they leave. Similarly offensive behavior is called disorderly conduct and is a misdemeanor nearly everywhere.
Long ago, in politer times, when smokers were about to impose upon non-smokers, they tacitly admitted their offense and asked forgiveness by asking, "Do you mind if I smoke?" and their victims politely lied saying, "No, go ahead." Now, to hear the protests, one might think the Constitution declares smoking a patriotic duty.
Enough is enough. The polite should not have to suffer the rude. Ban public smoking now. And if our elected representatives won't act, then "throw the bums out," starting with Jason Allen.
William R. Davy
Traverse City
No responsibility, pride
Brownies and Girl Scouts: Whatever happened to real Scouts?
I recently overheard a Girl Scout talk to another adult in a local restaurant about selling cookies. The woman declined, but I told the Girl Scout I'd buy three boxes from her. She told me that she doesn't sell them and that Mom does at work. She also said they don't deliver, either.
What on Earth happened to going door to door in any weather selling our cookies? Are kids so lazy they don't make any effort anymore? And what is the parent teaching the child? We used to earn our Scout badges ourselves with the Troop, not the parents.
I was a Scout from first grade through eighth grade as a Cadet Scout. I was very proud for all the hard work and knowledge I learned from each badge as it was displayed on my uniform sash. Kids today are used to having everything done for them and it's the parents' fault raising them. They learn nothing this way. No ethics, no responsibility and no pride. I feel this is very sad.
Sandy Heater-Pouzar
Traverse City
Boaters are not to blame
I'm tired of being a scapegoat.
The E. coli problem on West Bay that was reported in the Fresh Water Focus is a waterfowl and stormwater problem.
I have been on the Great Lakes for 40 years. David Olson (letter Feb. 27) claims it is boaters. Has he seen people wading out bellybutton high to relieve themselves? How about the little one with a soggy diaper at water's edge. Where do you think it goes? How about the hundreds of ducks in the Boardman River behind Front Street, and people who are feeding them?
The city of Traverse City will not let you hunt them (ducks) in West Bay under Department of Natural Resources rules but they (may) pay to let dogs run them off.
My family and I swim and eat the fish out of the bays. We and people who boat and fish do not ... in the bay!
Stephen Huston
Traverse City
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