Letters 06-08-2015

June 5, 2015

Our simple rules: Keep your letter to 300 words or less, send no more than one per month, include your name/address/phone number, and agree to allow us to edit. That’s it. Email info@northernexpress.com and hit send!

The Truth In Acme 

I write in response to your article " Meijer Appears In Acme but the Fight Rages On," which reported on the fact that this massive development adjacent to a designated cold water trout stream was fined $40,000 by the DEQ for the pollution to the stream and East Bay due to clay and nutrient runoff after several storms last fall.

What I find incredible was the reported defense of the developers mounted by the Acme Supervisor Zollinger and Trustee laPointe. I expected the developer’s attorney to blame the massive sludge event on an act of God rather than his client. I didn’t expect our elected officials to side with them as well. I guess this is what the term "pro development board" means. The developers have spent more than $1,000,000 "so this doesn’t happen again." Excuse me, but a DEQ fine and $1,000,000 spent in remediation lead the average person to conclude that something serious happened here. As to the comment by Mr. Reilly, the developer’s consultant, that " this is a lot more elaborate and extensive a storm water management system than you would see being installed at just about any retail site" I can only ask in response, "How many 180 acre retail sites have you developed that are located immediately adjacent to a trout stream?". Maybe this wasn’t the best site to locate the largest mall north of Grand Rapids. I commend VGT for stepping up to the plate and fixing what was obviously wrong here. However, defending what happened and blaming it on God doesn’t help us learn from our mistakes. We need to defend the watersheds, not the developers when something like this occurs.

Bob Garvey, Acme

Don’t Destroy Leelanau’s Beaches

 Many Grand Traverse area residents enjoy traveling up the Leelanau Peninsula to enjoy the orchards, wineries and beaches. They may be concerned, as am I, about the development plan conceived by the Leelanau Township Board of Supervisors for the pristine, natural public beach at Christmas Cove. Of chief concern is the plan to drive steel pilings or sheet metal into the dune in front of the parking lot. According to the state of Michigan’s DEQ report, State of the Great Lakes 2014, "when hardened structures are erected"¦the lakes respond by scouring away the "˜public trust beaches’ that all enjoy and that exemplify the Great Lakes State itself."

Furthermore, the proposed plan includes thousands of square feet of additional development, including decks, a gazebo, a pedestrian bridge, paved walkways and an even larger paved parking lot.

I support improved accessibility to this gorgeous beach for township residents and visitors alike. I support a sustainable solution that will save the beach. This plan will destroy the natural character of this gem and may ruin the beach for generations to come.

Karen Mulvahill, Northport

Ignorance, Stupidity & Racism 

Jack Dancer’s letter of May 25 stating his view that people of color do not like Traverse City because they don’t like or tolerate the cold is significantly the most ignorant and racist remark I can recall reading in a northern Michigan publication. Maybe Mr. Dancer should consider the words of a historic man of color, W.E.B. DuBois, "Before taking steps the wise man know the object and end of his journey."

I assume our friends of color would see no object or end in a journey to northern Michigan only to encounter the ignorance and stupidity of the likes of Mr. Dancer.

Michael Dettmer, Traverse City

Offensive Letter Vs. Real Truths 

In the May 25th issue letter "Cold Paradise," the author proposed that northern Michigan is full of diversity, which in his mind consists of white northern Europeans the author’s conclusion was that there are no African Americans because of the cold climate. The author went on to make dangerous assumptions about race and culture while presenting a viewpoint that does nothing but enforce and point out the systemic racism and lack of historical understanding ever-present in our society.

The article that Northern Express published attempted an honest effort to ask questions about why our region is nearly 95% white and came to solid conclusions regarding lack of industrial jobs during migrations of African Americans and lack of familiar culture. This article was relevant to the current national mood regarding the events in Ferguson, Baltimore and what is happening all over the county in low-income communities of color with regards to police brutality, privatization of education and poverty.

We need to start having honest conversations about history, race, culture and its relevance to the present in order to ever achieve a fair and just society. The author of that letter failed to understand something that I think a lot of people don’t understand; from the perspective of many not from white European descent, the U.S. was founded on the basis of colonization, imperialism, genocide and slavery. America is a wonderful country, but we’re not all bald eagles and red, white and blue. Let’s be honest here.

Parker Laubach, Honor

My Pipeline Solution 

Reading Mr. Tuttle’s article about the aging pipeline infrastructure in the United States and what that means for getting natural gas delivered to our homes and oil delivered to refineries so I can fuel my car, tractor and lawn mower, I was struck by the difficulty in finding a reasonable solution. Since there are about 2,000,000 miles of pipelines, just talking about it seems a bit silly. How about a solution that we all will pay for, one way or the other?

Perhaps a productive solution is possible and could accomplish two worthy goals at the same time. We could mandate that all future pipelines be laid on the ground in full view so any defect can be easily seen and fixed. And, we can hire a lot of new workers to look at the fully exposed pipes providing legitimate work for those who need full-time work. Eventually, with the success of this idea, we would be able to address the replacing of all existing pipelines and, presto, problem solved.

Bill Deneau, Traverse City

Correction: Last week’s profile of Vintage restaurant at Bay Harbor contained a misspelling. The chef’s name should have been Barbie Papi. We apologize for the error.