Entries by editor

Lake Street Studios Center Gallery hosts Carol Spaulding

Maple City artist Carol C. Spaulding will conduct a painting demonstration on June 8 at 1 p.m. at the Lake Street Studios Center Gallery, 6023 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. This demonstration is open to the public as part of the artist’s exhibition, “Color of Light,” at Center Gallery through June 26.

League of Women Voters examines “Changing Dynamics of Leelanau County”

The League of Women Voters Leelanau County (LWVLC) will present a seminar titled “The Changing Dynamics of Leelanau County: What are the Opportunities and Challenges in our Corner of Michigan” at noon on Wednesday, June 4, in the lower level public meeting room of the Leelanau County Government Center.

National Park hosts June 4 open house for Kettles Trail Plan

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Kettles Trail Plan and Environmental Assessment (EA) is now available for public review and comment. This document evaluates alternatives for developing a trail system (“Kettles Trail”) on federal lands in the Bow Lakes area of the National Lakeshore. A public open house on the project is scheduled for June 4, from 5-7 p.m. at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center Auditorium in Empire.

Empire to charge for beach parking in 2014

The Empire Village Council last night upheld its initiative to charge visitors who want to park at the town’s prized Lake Michigan beach this summer. Anyone parking at one of the beach’s 87 spots, who doesn’t live in Empire Village or Empire Township, will pay $1 per hour at one, centrally located machine that accepts credit cards.

Friends of Sleeping Bear seeks Trail Ambassadors

Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Sleeping Bear Dunes National will host a kickoff meeting for Trail Ambassador volunteers on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail Saturday, June 7 at 1 p.m. in the DH Day Log Cabin in DH Day Campground. Please park at Glen Haven and ride your bike or walk the trail to the cabin.

National Park Ranger Lachowski a local hero

U.S. Park Ranger Henry J. (Joe) Lachowski was presented with an award for valor by the Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel in a ceremony on May 8 in Washington, D.C. The Valor Award honors employees of the Department of the Interior who risk their own lives while attempting to save the life of another.

Adopt-A-Beach within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will host a kickoff meeting for Adopt-A-Beach volunteers on Saturday, May 31, at 1 p.m. in the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center on M-72 in Empire.

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Waste not, want not: Bay Area Recycling for Charities

Andy Gale of Cedar is one such seeker who has made “waste not, want not” his personal and professional mission. The founder of Bay Area Recycling for Charities (BARC) discusses his visionary goals and the extraordinary growth of his six-year-old venture. BARC collects a wide variety of recyclable materials from both residential and commercial customers, offering both convenience and a cost-effective way to make their detritus “disappear.”

Bolton, Kibby win “Kick Your Ass-paragus 5K Run”

The coveted prize to the winners of the Asparagus Festival 5K race wasn’t available this year, so we made the best substitution. The event is appropriately called the “Kick Your Ass-paragus Run” because it starts at the beach and in the first mile rises to peak elevation above Empire, the top of Wilco Road at the parking lot for Empire Bluffs. That’s a huff and a puff for anyone and this year we had one contestant of the 120 with a competition baby stroller, complete with baby inside. I warned her of the steepness of Wilco Road and examined, if she made it to the top, whether her three-wheeled device had brakes or not. It did so we felt she (and the baby) had a chance of making it back down without injury.

The doctor, the knitter, the bookstore owner and the boy who came home

Worried about the viability of this aging community without its long-term doctor and without a prescription shop, the Glen Lake Chamber of Commerce took the proactive step in late April of circulating an email that explored whether it should go out and recruit a new, young doctor to Glen Arbor. But the response from Chamber members was resounding: there was no need—for an energetic and dynamic young doctor had just arrived in Empire.