The horrific events on Wednesday, January 6, in Washington, D.C., and the pain of the past four years with Donald Trump in the White House prompted the Glen Arbor Sun to ask Bill Smith for his political analysis on a path forward. Smith is a children’s book author who wrote the acclaimed Chickadees at Night and Four a.m. December 25. He is also a retired elementary school principal who worked at Suttons Bay and Eastern Elementary. And Smith is a political moderate who has voted for both political parties. On Facebook, Smith resists the temptation to yell and instead appeals to reason and common ground. In this essay, he calls for: election reforms, both to examine claims of voter fraud and to expand the voting franchise; prosecution of rioters and riot inciters; generosity in spirit; nationwide education about modern propaganda, and allowing time to heal.

Glen Arbor’s iconic Old School house, rebuilt in 1932 and in service as a school until 1967, has been purchased by Carl Ballou, who plans to convert the iconic red brick building into a two-unit vacation rental.