Letters 11-09-2015

Nov. 6, 2015

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Sensibility From Hardy

Scott Hardy writes sensibly about growth in Traverse City in your October 26th issue. Stephen Tuttle describes the lunacy and non-responsiveness of city commission members around the paint-laden joke that Traverse City roads are becoming under their supervision. Some of those commission members are delusional enough to think they have the competency to be mayor.

Can we start a Scott Hardy for mayor movement?

John Michael Casteel, Traverse City

Dredging a River Mouth In A National Lakeshore

For most of the past 45+ years the DNR and the National Park Service have been dredging the mouth of the Platte River to make it easier for small boats to access Lake Michigan. They usually dredge in September for Salmon season. The accumulation of an estimated 10,000+ cubic yards of dredged material has prevented the river mouth from finding its natural course and has changed a low lying sandy beach into an elevated gravel bank.

The National Lakeshore has begun a process to address the future of the river mouth on a permanent basis. They have proposed five alternative courses of action: 1. Continue dredging and depositing dredged material on the banks of the river. 2. Cease dredging and remove the previously dredged material. Alternatives 3-5 in summary: Remove the dredged material and install another boat launch, road and parking lot at one of three areas east of the river mouth on the beach. The type of boat launch the Lakeshore is considering already exists approximately 9 miles north in Empire.

The Platte River mouth is one of the last natural river mouths on the west side of Michigan. It is located in a National Lakeshore and is being dredged and altered by that same Lakeshore.

The Lakeshore will be taking comments until November 15. I encourage you to learn more and comment at parkplanning.nps. gov/platte and then link to "Document List," then "Background Scoping Information," then "Platte Scoping Brochure." Please make your voice heard. You can also contact the Lakeshore biologist @ 326-4750.

Gary Gielczyk, Honor

Celebrating Scott

Traverse City is going to lose one of its most amazing residents in a few days and it shouldn’t be ignored. Scott Fallick is a devoted husband, caring father, model employee, champion of gin, a master of storytelling, a steward of wine, a promoter of humor, a bringer of happiness, a lover of animals, a huge fan of great music, a Cubs die-hard, an educator, leader, follower of politics both locally and nationally, a friend to many and enemy of none, a Northern Express reader, and soon enough he will no longer be a part of this community.

We all need to take a break from the madness of life and send Scott (and his family) off on their new journey with good vibes, peace, and love.

George Nemetz, Lake Ann