Upon the retirement last summer of Dick DeVinney, the Summer Singers director for many years, Patrick Kuhl, will be the new director of the Glen Arbor Summer Singers. Patrick is a summer resident of Northport where he has been the organist for the Omena Presbyterian Church since 1993. He has also been involved in other Leelanau activities including Artistic Board of Directors for the Depth Foundation (Development of Educational Practices and Theories) and has taught drama and music at the Learning Center in Leland.
He has taught vocal music in Detroit and Troy Public schools for the past 35 years and has a long career accompanying many Detroit Metro choral groups including the General Motors Chorus.
“I am excited to be working with the Summer Singers, a valued community group on the Leelanau. This year’s program will be a celebration of American composers and the 175th anniversary of Michigan’s statehood.”
All interested singers are welcome to join the Summer Singers for rehearsals on Tuesdays beginning June 19 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Glen Lake Community Reformed Church. The Summer Singers free concert is part of the GAAA Manitou Music Festival on Tuesday, August 7 at 7 p.m.
To show our appreciation for those who serve in the U.S. Military, on Saturday, May 19 – Armed Forces Day – the National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents.
“We all owe a debt to those who sacrifice so much to protect our country,” said Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Dusty Shultz. “We are proud to recognize these brave men and women and hope that a visit to this or any national park will offer an opportunity to unwind, relax, rejuvenate, and just have fun with their families.”
Active duty members of the U.S. Military and their dependents can pick up a pass at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center (VC) in Empire MI between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Beginning Friday, May 25, the pass will be available at all fee collection stations located around the park, including; Platte River Campground Office, Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive Entrance Station, Dune Climb Entrance Station, and D.H. Day Campground Office. Also beginning May 25, the VC will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Active duty members of the U.S. Military and their dependents must show a current, valid military identification card to obtain their pass. More information is available at www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm.
This military version of the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass also permits free entrance to sites managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Forest Service. The pass is also available at these locations.
“Through the years, military members, especially those far from home in times of conflict, have found inspiration in America’s patriotic icons and majestic landscapes, places like the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Canyon that are cared for by the National Park Service and symbolize the nation that their sacrifices protect,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “This new pass is a way to thank military members and their families for their service and their sacrifices.”
National parks and the military have strong ties going back to the establishment of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872. The U.S. Cavalry watched over America’s national parks and did double duty, serving as the first park rangers until the National Park Service was created 44 years later. During World War II, many parks were set aside for the training and care of military personnel. Today, dozens of national parks commemorate military battles and achievements.
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
Don’t miss the ninth annual Empire Asparagus Festival May 18-20 in the cozy village in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This annual rite of spring, dubbed among the weirdest festivals in the world by MSN.com, brings the locals out of hibernation and precedes the tourism pilgrimage “up north” on Memorial Day weekend.
View the Asparagus Festival’s schedule of events here. Check out the Empire Chamber’s new promotional video below — narrated by famed local writer Anne-Marie Oomen — and don’t forget to submit your entry to the Asparagus Festival Poetry Contest here.
Get your asparagus stalk on!
This GlenArbor.com story is sponsored by Bay Lavender, where Cookie Thatcher prefers to think of her blends of lavender soaps as “flavors”.
In late April, Leelanau’s newest one-of-a-kind vehicle carried the Glen Lake Odyssey of the Mind (OM) team to a state championship in Grand Rapids. As part of a twist on the Wizard of OZ, the GL Tor”o”nado had to incorporate at least two propulsion systems, carry a team member, fit inside a designated area, move backwards and forwards 14 feet AND show emotions in the process. The team’s vehicle accomplished all that and more as it motored through the Traverse City regional and on to the state finals.
Now, as state champions, the team is automatically qualified for the world finals on May 23 at Iowa State University. But to get there, the team needs to raise $6,000 by May 7. The OM Team seeks donations to help its vehicle compete at the highest level.
Odyssey of the Mind does not distinguish between size or type of school, so the Glen Lake team (with an average class size of 64 students) typically competes against schools many times its size. View this short prezi, which tells the team’s story. You can also follow the current GL OM team through its blog, and keep the ball rolling for future teams.
Please send any donation via check to:
Kim Wright, Principal
Glen Lake Schools
3375 W. Burdickville Road
Maple City, MI 49664
Memo field: OM Account – WORLDS
Democrat Derek Bailey, the popular chair of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, who launched a run last year for U.S. Congress, has switched gears and will now go after State Rep. Ray Franz, a self-identified “conservative Republican” who won a seat in Lansing in 2010. The Traverse-City Record Eagle reported the news today. Follow GlenArbor.com for more news in the coming days.
“After a six-month campaign where we were successful in reaching out to many voters in the District, we are withdrawing from the congressional race,” Bailey said in a statement. “There are several factors that went into my decision. The biggest one is that my campaign got into the process late in the game, resulting in not having enough time to effectively raise dollars in a campaign that is going to require a million-plus dollars to be competitive.”
If successful, Bailey would have been only the ninth Native American in Congress in U.S. history. The former high school basketball star wears his hair in a ponytail, rides a motorcycle, and sought to connect with both Native and Caucasian voters on environmental and economic issues. Read our feature from last November on Derek Bailey.
The 39-year-old charismatic leader faced an uphill climb, though, in his effort to unseat Democratic party insider Gary McDowell in the race to beat Tea Party-backed Congressman Dan Benishek. McDowell will now have a rematch against Benishek, who bested him as part of the Republican party’s 2010 landslide election. The 1st Congressional District was previously held by longtime Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak.
The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a Great Lakes Invasive Plant Management Plan (IPMP) for the following 10 parks located in the Great Lakes region: Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS), Grand Portage National Monument (GRPO), Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IATR), Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU), Isle Royale National Park (ISRO), Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS), Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (PIRO), Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SLBE), St. Croix National Scenic River (SACN) and Voyageurs National Park (VOYA).
Proposed treatment measures identified in the Great Lakes IPMP/EA are based on sound integrated pest management. Integrated pest management is defined as a decision-making process that coordinates knowledge of pest biology, the environment, and available technology to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage, by cost-effective means, while posing the least possible risk to people and park resources. Integrated pest management can also include reducing the risk of new introductions, determining acceptable levels of infestation, use of multiple techniques for control, and continued monitoring and management.
When completed, this Great Lakes IPMP/EA would provide strategies for park staff to manage terrestrial and emergent wetland invasive plants on both NPS and NPS managed lands within the designated boundaries of the ten Great Lakes parks. Another primary goal of the IPMP/EA is to serve as a programmatic NEPA document for invasive plant management within each of the 10 parks. That is, future invasive plant activities addressed by this EA would not require additional analysis under NEPA for park-specific actions, so long as the impacts of these specific actions have been adequately addressed in the Great Lakes IPMP/EA.
Public Comment Opportunities The Great Lakes IPMP/EA is now available for public review and comment. Please visit the NPS website at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/ipmpea to retrieve the EA, or view a hardcopy at any of the ten Great Lakes parks headquarters.
Comments should be submitted electronically using the “Open for Comment” link at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/ipmpea. Alternatively, comments may also be mailed to: Great Lakes IPMP, c/o Kleinfelder, 300 E. Mineral Avenue, Suite 7, Littleton, CO 80122-2655. Comments must be received by, time-stamped, and/or post-marked by May 15, 5 p.m. eastern standard time (EST).
For more information, please visit the project website at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/ipmpea or contact Carmen Chapin at (715) 682-0631 ext. 230.
Actually, there are hundreds of places (and reasons) to stop in and around Glen Arbor. But now that the busy M-22/M-109 intersection (where Anderson’s Market, Boone Docks and the Glen Arbor Bed & Breakfast are located) has added a stop sign for those traveling westbound, your automobile-bound trip around town will be safer, and less confusing.
Detroit-Grand Rapids-Traverse City voyage highlights potential and challenges of state’s skeletal public transportation systems
Dozens of policy experts, elected officials, advocates and citizens are embarking on a three-day Michigan Transportation Odyssey that started Wednesday in Detroit, is snaking through West Michigan and concludes Friday in Traverse City.
The group, led by the Transportation for Michigan (Trans4M) coalition, will use seven distinct brands of public transportation, cover roughly 350 miles and take 56 hours. Media, advocates and residents are invited to join all or part of the adventure.
“The Odyssey highlights the many positive developments including enhanced speed passenger rail, voter-approved transportation improvements in Grand Rapids and momentum around a regional transit authority for Southeast Michigan,” said Tim Fischer of the Transportation for Michigan coalition. “It also calls attention to the need for coordination of public transportation in all areas of the state.”
Odyssey transportation modes will include Amtrak passenger trains; several bus services including Indian Trails, DDOT and SMART; bicycles; the Detroit People Mover; and old-fashioned bipedal power (walking).
“This gives our transportation experts a good first-hand look at how our cities and regions are connected by bus and rail,” said James Bruckbauer of the Michigan Land Use Institute. “We think it will be enlightening.”
Panel discussions, speakers and receptions will take place at various events along the route. Officials participating in part of the Odyssey include Birmingham Mayor Mark Nickita, Peter Rogoff of the Federal Transit Administration, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell, and other local, state, county and chamber of commerce officials.
“The Odyssey is one of several creative ways that Trans4M is spotlighting the dialogue around transportation in Michigan,” said Hayley Roberts of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance. “By encouraging wide participation, collecting and sharing stories along the way, and interacting with followers in real time, we’re inviting everyone—not just those entrenched in transportation policy—to consider and comment on our state’s transportation network.”
For more information, contact Tim Fischer, Michigan Environmental Council, (734) 255-9206, James Bruckbauer, Michigan Land Use Institute, (616) 318-9632, or Hayley Roberts, Michigan Suburbs Alliance (866) 960-8803.
In northern Michigan, and across the United States, farming the land is our heritage. Most of us may no longer till the soil or milk the cows with our own hands, but we’re proud to have grandfathers and great grandfathers who did so, and we strive to carry on their work ethic.
Farming communities around the world boast a similar love of their land and deep connection with the food that their land harvests — just as we do in Leelanau County. The same goes for farmers who speak different languages and practice different religions and customs than we do — such as farmers in the Palestinian West Bank. They cherish and need their olive trees just as we love our cherry orchards.
That’s the message that Traverse City filmmaker Aaron Dennis and I will try to convey as we travel to Israel and Palestine next month to document the “Run Across Palestine”, a northern Michigan-organized effort to raise money and awareness around the challenges facing Palestinian fair-trade olive farmers. This is a place where the history, economy, culture and identity are rooted in the ancient olive tree. Forty-five percent of the agricultural land in the West Bank is used for growing olives, employing 100,000 Palestinians. And yet their trade is in danger as water and access to land disappear.
“The olive tree plays a very important role as a symbol of our perseverance,” said Vivien Sansour of Canaan Fair Trade and a Run Across Palestine coordinator. “Planting an olive tree is a huge message of hope. When you plant an olive tree, you’re planting a vision for the future.”
Half a dozen runners — most from northern Michigan — will run a marathon each day for five consecutive days, Feb. 4-8, from Hebron in the southern part of the West Bank to Jenin, with visits to holy sites in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Along the route they’ll stay in villages and interact with local farmers, creating a cultural exchange. Josh Davis, lead vocalist of the popular Michigan band Steppin’ In It, will join them, and record an album together with local Palestinian musicians.
The Run Across Palestine follows on the heels of last year’s Run Across Ethiopia, which featured 10 U.S. athletes running 250 miles to raise over $200,000 to build three schools in coffee-growing communities in the Yirgachefe region, where coffee was first harvested. Both runs are projects of On the Ground, the brainchild of Higher Grounds Trading owner Chris Treter, and both support fair-trade farmers.
“Olive farming is their economic livelihood,” said Timothy Young,” a board member of On the Ground and president of Food for Thought in Honor, Mich. “As a result of the political situation in this region, many have lost access to their livelihood. They came to us and told us ‘Our children will not survive if they don’t have trees to harvest’.”
“We want to make sure there will be farmers to nurture those trees 30 years from now, so we’re providing scholarships to children of these farmers to make sure they can go to school.”
The Run Across Palestine will team up with Canaan Fair Trade, the first fair-trade and organic certified olive growing cooperative in the world today.
“Fair trade puts a face on the food, and fair trade gives us access to those faces,” said Young. “We can see the people who grow our products and we can ensure that there are mechanisms in place that those people will be treated fairly.”
Dennis and I will embed ourselves with the runners, and produce a daily video series that features Palestinian olive farmers. I’ll also post daily blog updates on GlenArbor.com (just as I did during the Run Across Ethiopia), MyNorth.com and other outlets, and write a feature story for the California-based Jewish spiritual magazine, Tikkun.
The Run Across Palestine comes at a unique time, as Palestinian leaders vie for statehood recognition at the United Nations, and as democratic uprisings across the Arab Middle East give Israelis and Palestinians an opportunity to reexamine their complex relationship. In lieu of daily mainstream media coverage that exposes violence and fault lines, we intend to focus on Palestinians’ and Israelis’ common love for the agricultural land, and the food it has provided them for centuries, and how it offers the potential to unite them.
“This is not just a running expedition, and it’s not just a fundraiser,” said Treter. “At the heart of this is an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the rich culture and peaceful people that exist in Palestine, and that’s something we don’t see enough in our news.”
This GlenArbor.com story is sponsored by Misers Hoard in Empire, which recently expanded its business to include new items.
yterian Church since 1993. He has also been involved in other Leelanau activities including Artistic Board of Directors for the Depth Foundation (Development of Educational Practices and Theories) and has taught drama and music at the Learning Center in Leland. 
