The 2010 Chair Affair began on June 21 and will remain downtown on Broadway, University, and Main Streets until the conclusion of the Downtown Mt. Pleasant Street Festival on July 24. There are 45 benches and adult and junior Adirondack Chairs that local artists and art students have primed, painted, and polyurethaned for the event. At Art Reach on Broadway you can vote for your favorite chair to win the “People’s Choice Award” and bid in a silent suction if you like to have one (or two) of them for your home. Proceeds will support Art Reach programs and provide scholarships for children’s art classes. Maps including artist’s names and chair locations, sponsors, lumber donations, and builders will be available at participating shops and businesses. The photo shows one of the benches on Broadway.

Allison (Allie) Boyer is the new Program Coordinator for Art Reach of Mid Michigan. Allie just graduated from CMU with a degree in Public Relations. She was born in Birch Run and has a twin brother, Phillip. While at CMU she had internships with the Red Cross, in Lansing as an assistant to a state representative, and also worked extensively with University Communications. She is very creative and enjoys writing, so was looking for a job that would allow her to use those skills. Allie will have many opportunities to put those talents to good use.

A chalk drawing has appeared at the corner of Broadway and University. It seems to be a preliminary work of Chalk artist, Lee Jones.She will return for the third time to re-create a master painting during the festival from July 22-24. She has chalked all over the country from the 2010 Super Bowl to Yellowstone National Park. There will be a “Learn to Chalk Workshop” on Monday, July 19 from 5:30-8:30 pm. If you wish to participate, the total cost for the workshop, chalk, and a 5’ x 5’ square on a sidewalk is $25. To reserve a space, call Art Reach at 989-773-3689 or resister on line at www.artreachcenter.org. The City of Mt. Pleasant is sponsoring this event.

Regardless of your political persuasion, the President was correct yesterday in relieving General Stanley McChrystal. The general's behavior defied the oath he took on entering the service. He disgraced not only his troops in the field, but every member of the armed forces.

The president was kind in his press conference announcing his decision by lauding McChrystal's 35 years of outstanding service.

The long struggle in Iraq and now Afganistan have taken severe tolls on the strength and morale of those active in the military who have served in these treacherous areas, but not on their courage or devotion to duty.

Every officer must constantly remember that he or she serves America and is subordinate to the civilian authority specified in our legal system. No one is indispensible. If one truly believes the mission given him or her is truly wrong, the only honorable opening is to resign from the service

YUP – THEY’RE PROBABLY SMARTER!

I was amused recently as I read an article that may partially explain much about our current world situation.

It seems, a “study shows”, that the current younger generation is receiving higher I.Q. scores than any group in recorded history! (At least that’s what it said!) So – that means they are the smartest group ever, right?!?!

I recall when I was a member of the “younger generation” and I recollect our age group (me included) felt we were pretty smart and pretty much had all the answers. At the time, we felt that our “older generation” (our parents) really “didn’t have a clue”.

I was really astounded how much smarter my parents were when I returned from four years in the United States Air Force. I don’t know about their I.Q. scores – but they certainly had become wiser.

Perhaps I might humbly suggest that the current self proclaimed smartest group ever might be thankful for their high I.Q. scores – and then test themselves to see if they have developed any C.S. (COMMON SENSE).

Bert

The July issue of Scientific American includes a map of profitable shale deposits containing natural gas. Much of the lower peninsula of Michigan is included. A particular practice of extracting the gas has become controversial: hydraulic fracking.

A borehole is drilled down to and through the shale. A pipe is inserted and cemented in place. A pressurized fluid (about 6,000 pounds per square inch) is forced down the pipe causing the shale to fracture, releasing the gas.

Unfortunately, the shale is below the aquifer, allowing the remaining gas to leak through the cracks in the shale and potentially contaminating the water.

Industrial leaders indicate there are no confirmed cases of such contamination, but critics argue about the limited nature of the data which does not include the entire fracking process, such as seapage from holding ponds of the fluid.

The article ends, "The country needs energy. It also needs drinking water. Whether it can have both remains an open question."

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has tried to develop safety standards as wells in that state have risen from two wells in 2005 to 768 in 2009. The industry is fighting any regulation. Protesters in Michigan continue to ask the state to protect the valuable potable water.

This year Summer begins on June 21 at 11:28 am. At that time we will be farthest from the sun for the year, but because of the Earth's tilt the Sun's rays will be shining most on the Northern Hemisphere, making this the longest day of the year The Sun will reach its northern most in the sky.

Scientists have their precise instuments and have determined the time and day of each Summer Solstice; it's not always June 21. In 2012 for example the Summer Solstice will be on June 20.

In ancient times every seasons' start was a holiday and important to determining various events, such as planting and harvesting crops. At Stonehedge in Great Britain the sun rises and reflects on a specific marker at dawn this day. In some cultures this Solstice is called Midsummer (as in Shakespeare's "Midsummer's Night Dream").

At the Arctic Circle the sun seems, on this day to circle the horizon all day long. There is a six week period where there is light all day long (though the Sun will occasionally dip below the horizon its rays will still make the land seem bright. My wife and I witnessed this when we were in St. Petersburg in 2004.

However you celebrate the end of Spring and the start of Summer enjoy it while you can: the days start getting shorter on June 22.

Chris Moutsatson is setting up shop at 1014 S. Mission in Mt. Pleasant. The Book Shelf is next to Auto Zone and across the street from Black Tie. She hopes to fully stocked in a few weeks.

The store will carry new books, magazines, and special orders. It will be open Monday-Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm. The phone number is 989.317.3067 and the email address is bookshelfmountpleasant@gmail.com.

One year ago this summer, nine city of Clare police officers put their heads together and discussed the up and coming closure of a 100 year old bakery that has been a city land mark. The original nine did not want to see a store front vacant on their beloved cities main street, so they discussed taking a chance and investing their money and purchase the store and to continue it as a bakery. This involved nine officers taking hard earned money from their families and personal retirement funds and this involved them taking off their blue uniforms after their shifts and putting on a white apron and baker’s hat.

Any police officer who has worked at Clare PD always remembers their employment with warm memories, the police department and the citizens have always supported each other. There seems to be a sense of trust for each other. For the Grand Opening last year, the original nine made contact with and invited retired chief of police, and all but one made the event, also one came from the East Coast.

Good feelings continue to grow between the citizens and the police department, and now with the success of their enterprise know as Cops and Doughnuts, the original nine have seemed to hit it off many people outside their fair city.

My guess is, few if any will ever leave the City of Clare, because it is what they say, “CLARE THE ORIGINAL NINE CALL HOME”.

My hat goes off to the original nine for a job well done not only for your own personal investments and your family’s sacrifice, but the investments in your city of Clare.

If you are a retired CMU faculty member and received a letter from MESSA dated June 10, 2010 indicating that "(MESSA) benefits provided by your employer have been cancelled effective 06/30/2010" you must take quick action.

Call 1.888.888.4167 today. MESSA mistakenly sent the letter to some CMU faculty, but you should ask for confirmation that the action has no affect on your benefits.

On June 9, Art Reach of Mid Michigan had a farewell party for two unique individuals at Art Reach on Broadway. Many members attended to say goodbye to these wonderful people.

Linda Ferreira is moving to be near her grand children, Ben and Sophie in Beaverton, OR. As president from 2008-2010 she displayed strong leadership in expanding the capabilities of the organization by making it possible to move to new quarters on Broadway. She was a docent in the Art Reach Picture Program, and worked on the Education Committee.

Beaverton is noted as the #1 "dog friendly city" (her dog Juju, a standard brown poodle will appreciate that); #1 bicycle city, and has twelve vegan restaurants.

Heather Lynn Lipe is a CMU graduate who has worked for Art Reach for two years as a computer designer for the many programs, newsletters, and website so important to communicating with the community. She, her husband Jason and son Sebastian are moving to Indiana, Pennsylvania.

Mt. Pleasant has many forms of entertainment. Some people think opera is "high brow" and "not for me." If you fall into this group ask yourself why you believe this myth. It may be that you have never given it a try.

Many in the area have been enjoying opera at Celebration Cinema. If you have never seen a performance this is an ideal opportunity to sample them. To see them is to love them. There is a summer series of operas from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Greg Howell, the manager of Cinema has provided the following information:

Six performances, listed below will be available at $18 each (no discounts). They are 6:30 pm shows:

June 16 - Aida
June 23 - Romeo and Juliet
July 7 - Eugene Onegin
July 14 - La Boheme
July 21 - Turandot
July 28 - Carmen

You should get your tickets early, since some performances sell out quickly.

If you have questions call Gisela Moffit at 772-1602.

Lately I have noticed an advertisement that is being paid for and printed in the Morning Sun newspaper. I have no complaint with the paper accepting an advertisement, without ads, we won’t have a paper.

My complaint is with the ad. The ad talks about a school that will teach people the laws and to qualify them for a CCW permit which is still ok; the part that I object to is that within the ad, it advises people that the contact location will be at the Sherman Township Marshals office.
Let me explain. First of all, whoever is putting on this school appears to be a public servant and when it’s mentioned that the location is at that person’s office. Even if, the office happens to be owned by a private person, the fact that a public office is mentioned is unethical. Now if this person was doing the training as a public service that would be different, but that’s not the case within the ad it talks about the fee’s that are charged and the service provided.

It is unethical for a public servant to use their title and their office for gainful employment. If they used their own name and the address of their private home, that would be the difference. As the ad stands now, it’s very unethical and the township board should correct this. What really is the policy of the Sherman Township Board toward its Marshal?

These are stressful economic times. Everyone watches for a penny's difference per gallon for gas. Well, this afternoon I got mt hair cut at Bob's Barbershop at 211 East Michigan Street as usual. I like an eighth-inch butch and settled back. Bill Cook, the owner buzzed and gave me a rundown of downtown happenings per usual.

A standard haircut at Bob's is $11, about as low a price as you can find in MP, so I gave him $20 and waited for change: he gave me $15 back! He, Nate Darrow, and Brian Walton will cut a butch (you name the length) for a flat $5. I couldn't believe it.

Bill suggested at that price people will come in more often. I think he's on to something.

Some time during the last eight weeks one of Mt. Pleasant's many allies has disappeared! It used to exist. South of Broadway, half a block down Michigan there was Cats' Meow Alley. It was short and plain and not doing harm to anyone. It was protected by several cats that lived in murals along its north side.

Now the entire wall is a blank, non-descript color. Even the street sign,"Cats' Meow Alley" has been painted out.

The cats protected all who walked that grim silent place. Now no one is as safe because the cats have disappeared.
Anyone knowing details of this mystery, please comment in the box below.

When I initially read that the Recycling Center Director was laid off, I assumed it was a cost saving measure as suggested in the story. A week later (6/2/10) I read that the savings of the layoff to the county was a mere $25k. In the same story I read that county commisioners were wondering how the facility could continue to "expand or promote" the facility without a "department head" or basically, a leader. It was also said that it was originally intended to be an "enterprise department" within the county which means that it was to be a self funded department. Apparently, this has only occurred once and was more related to a change to the fiscal year and not any real profit.

Now that I've summarized the issue, I have some questions that I believe have been overlooked. I will start by saying the layoff of the Director is a poor decision and short-sighted, especially because of the very small salary involved - I am amazed that they had a person who I personally know had dedicated herself to the job the way she did for such a small salary. She visited numerous K12 classrooms in the area and assisted many teachers with thoughts and ideas for Earth Day and other "green" studies. I am responsible for the all of the technology used in MPPS and have worked with Amy on the proper disposal of many very obsolete and dead technology assets that would have been real simple to just throw into a dumpster.

Any department/orgainization needs a leader to provide vision and do the daily leg work to keep the operation running smoothly. A leader is always looking for the best deals on purchases and in this case, best prices for the materials recovered. The current staff that are left after the layoff of the leader will most likely not operate with those types of priorities and will quickly become a much bigger loss to the county in ways that will only be discovered a year from now.

Sometimes things make sense by comparing extreme possibilities. What if we eliminated the recycling program all together. This would be a huge mistake and take Isabella county backwards in my view and the views of potential communty members and businesses that use that type of information when considering a new home.

Regardless, how many additional tons of trash would be added to current landfills by the elimination of the recycling facility? I am certain that the county administrator did not consider that additional cost which is currently being picked up by the recycling center. Also, how much of that trash will take thousands of years to decompose and basically, take up that much more space in the landfill which in turn will force future expansions of the landfills, which costs?

Although the facility was intended to be an "enterprise" department, even if it requires additional support to operate, the money received for it's materials now would be money lost if it were all dumped into a landfill. I haven't even mentioned the huge health cost to the communities in Isabella county that consumes water from landfills polluted with heavy metals and all of the other chemicals associated with most of the rectyclable materials currently being collected and re-used. How about a drink of leaded battery water after a good run?

Lastly, the economy is turning around and I personally believe that there will be a boom in the building industry which I believe is a large consumer of recycled materials for things like deck boards and posts. One of the CNN financial experts has predicted a housing shortage in 2011. This will add up to increased demand for building materials, especially for recycled goods and with increased demand you get increased value.

Finally, I would not predict that the Isabella County Recycling Facility will ever become a profit center for the county, but I do wish that true benefits and costs are considered for the facility, both tangible and intangible. I think if a complete analysis is performed, it will become obvious that the Isabella County Recycling Center is an asset that needs to be maintained with a true leader at the helm and not operated remotely from the county administrators office.

You and I have read Sound Off gripes about "wasting" tax payer money: "Why did they waste $10,000 on that new sidewalk instead of filing all those potholes?" Priorities aside, has the money been wasted?

Google defines the multiplier effect as the cumulative reinforcing interaction between consumption, production, factor payments, and income that amplifies changes in investment, government spending, exports, and taxes.

In our example the city has given the contractor $10,000. What does the contractor do? He pays for material (concrete), wages and salaries to employees, pays off some debt and keeps some on the books for taxes and income for the stock holders.

What do the workers do with their wages? They pay bills, pay off some debt and mortgage, and (hopefully) put some in the bank for the future and taxes. The stores take their money, buy more inventory, pay their personnel, pay off some debt and keep some on their books for taxes and income.

The creators of goods and services receive money, generate more of what they do, pay overhead and their personnel, pay off some debt and keep some on their books.

The banks receive return of loans plus interest that can then be loaned out for new projects. They also pay overhead and their personnel and keep some on their books.

The government collects taxes from all these sources to pay for the sidewalk and all the other things they do.

The process continues with the buyers and sellers increasing the use of the original money several fold.

Mondays Memorial Day parade, was rainy and a little chilly, the clouds had covered the entire sky. However it was one of best civilian audience attended one that I remember for a long time. It did my heart good to see the public attendance again.A couple of years ago, the Honor Guard consisted of the mixed units of the local veteran’s originations as well as the Saginaw- Chippewa Honor Guard. That was really special, and I for one would love to see them combined again every year. Talk about solitary of the entire area.GOD BLESS ALL THE TROOPS