Features

Features Erin Crowell It’s ‘all Michigan’all the time for3 entrepreneurs
By Erin Crowell
In Michigan, we know how to use our hands – from hard labor and sipping
local spirits to geographically showing our location; yes, if you’re a
Michigander, at one point you’ve probably thrown up that palm for an
out-of-stater and pointed (whether a wrinkle or pinky) to where you live.
Thanks to its shape, Michigan is the hardest U.S. state to draw but likely
the most identifiable.

Features Patrick Sullivan When Jan Stuhlmann heard how much a company wanted to pay him for oil and
gas rights to his 80 acres in Kalkaska County, he couldn’t believe his
ears.
The 69-year-old and his wife stood to receive around $140,000.
For Stuhlmann, a retired community college pottery instructor and
carpenter who’s lived in the same house on North Crooked Lake in Blue Lake
Township with his wife, Janet, since 1973, the windfall would have been
life-altering.

Features Kristi Kates Built in 1812 in Fell’s Point, Maryland, the privateer Lynx was one of the first ships to defend American freedom in the War of 1812, and one of only 17 ships in the American Navy’s fleet.
The term privateer was given to the ships via a special permission, or “letter of marque,” which allowed private vessels to prey upon the enemy’s shipping. The Lynx, with its superior sailing abilities, was an inspiration to future ships in the fleet - but was captured early in the war.
Today’s privateer Lynx was inspired by that 1812 vessel, but was built starting in 1997 by Woodson K. Woods. His goal was to craft a ship that would educate the public through tours and sailings aboard the Lynx itself.
In 2001, the “new” Lynx was completed and launched in Rockport, Maine. Past and present met on July 28 of that year, and continues to this day with the Lynx’s sailings and tours.
“Lynx today continues to inspire,” says Jeffrey Woods, director of operations for the Lynx Educational Foundation, “Lynx sails as a living history museum dedicated to ‘those who cherish the blessings of America.’”

Features Patrick Sullivan STREET FIGHT
A man and his ex-girlfriend were arrested after a fight in Traverse City.
Police were called about a fight in progress Aug. 12 at around 2:20 a.m.
at the intersection of Newcomb and 17th Street but no one was there when
they arrived. A short while later they were called to Munson Medical
Center to interview a 20-year-old man with a broken jaw.
The man told police he and his girlfriend were headed to a residence when
they were interrupted by the woman’s ex-boyfriend. An argument ensued and
the ex-boyfriend came at him with a knife, he told police.

Features Kristi Kates What started as a jazz jam by the bay a decade ago has turned into Petoskey’s biggest summer bash.
“Nine years ago, it was suggested to the chamber that Petoskey develop a signature festival,” explains Kathy Bardins, Festival Coordinator. “Festival on the Bay was the result, and began as a jazz festival for the first two years. It developed into a regional/local music festival in the third year, with the goal to provide our visitors as well as our residents with a great three-day event.”

THREE DAYS OF FUN
‘A great three-day event’ is an understatement where Festival on the Bay is concerned. The event has grown exponentially since its inception, and in the past five years has brought in more than 7,000 attendees, Bardins says.
The wide range of events is likely the reason; in addition to plenty of live music, Festival on the Bay offers sporting and water events and a concession midway.
The entertainment tent, which has an admission fee of $2, has a full schedule, and will be featuring such local favorites as Larry McCray, the Jelly Roll Blues Band, Charlie’s Root Fusion, Brent James and the Contraband, and the always-popular Steel Drum Band from Petoskey High School.
Even though $2 is a steal for all that music, Bardin explains that there’s an even more economical way to take part in all that the festival has to offer.
“We will also be selling Festival on the Bay buttons for $5,” she says, “those will cover both the entertainment tent admission and the kids’ area admission for the weekend.”

Features Rick Coates Surf’s up on Lake Michigan? For that matter, all of the Great Lakes have
become a surfers’ paradise in recent years. While these salt-free waters
may not get the big waves enjoyed by surfers off the California, Hawaiian
and Australian coasts, one must not forget that the waves of the Great
Lakes have sunk hundreds of large ships.
Part of the surging surf scene in Northern Michigan is due to the growing
popularity of Stand-Up-Paddle-Boarding (SUP). This Saturday, August 20 at
the Open Space Bayshore Park in Traverse City the first ever TC Waterman
Stand Up Paddle and Expo will take place.
The event is being organized by Todd and Michelle Mackey and is open to
anyone.

Features Rick Coates Burlesque troupes are making a comeback all over the United States and
Northern Michigan appears to be next. The Bayside Bombshells Burlesque
troupe formed a couple of months ago and have made a few publicity
appearances in advance of their debut.
This Saturday, August 13, they will debut a mini version of their act at
Sidetraxx in Traverse City with their “Saving Ta-Ta’s With Tassels” event
to benefit the Munson Healthcare Breast Cancer Foundation. They will debut
their full burlesque act on Saturday, August 20 at the InsideOut Gallery
in the Warehouse District.

Features Patrick Sullivan She was the Sweetest Person in the World’:Benzie man faces trial in hammer death of Valerie Smith
By Patrick Sullivan
In retrospect, there was something creepy about the day Jerry Bolton was
called to a trailer park to fix a broken septic tank and a man peered out
of his trailer and stared at the workers.
It was only the next day, after the police arrived and put up crime scene
tape, that Bolton learned the man inside, Robert Lester Cheek, allegedly
spent days in the trailer with the corpse of his girlfriend, who Cheek is
now accused of killing.

Features Patrick Sullivan MAN RESCUED FROM LAKE
An unresponsive man pulled from Lake Michigan owes his life to the quick
actions of bystanders and emergency responders.
Mark Urness, 53, of Providence, New Jersey, was swimming in Lake Michigan
near the Lower Herring Lake outlet on Aug. 1 when he lost consciousness.
Bystanders pulled him from the water, Benzie County Sheriff Rory Heckman
said.

Features Rick Coates One has to wonder if school districts need to bring back corporal
punishment. This time, not for the students as they seem to be getting
punished enough by Lansing and Washington D.C., instead, perhaps, school
superintendents need to get out those old wooden paddles (the ones with
the holes in them) and deliver some corporal punishment on the legislature
and governor.

Features Mike Terrell The new 1.5-mile-long Bear River Valley Recreation Area, which splits
Petoskey down the middle, is a natural beauty.
Located just two blocks from the city’s famed Gaslight District, the
expansive 36-acre park features steep terrain, unpaved and paved trails,
boardwalks, forests and open meadows. You can bike, hike, fish, picnic,
nature watch and go whitewater rafting or kayaking in the newly created
Whitewater Park on the Bear River. It’s a real boon for area outdoor
enthusiasts.

Features Patrick Sullivan MARIJUANA DISPENSARY QUESTIONED
A judge signed a subpoena requested by Garfield Township that will force
the owners and landlord of the Green Things Plus dispensary to answer some
questions.
At issue is whether the marijuana store on South Airport Road opened
during a temporary moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries that went
into effect in the township in January.
The agents of the business claim they opened before the moratorium;
township attorney Scott Howard says permit applications and social media
posts from the company say otherwise, according to a circuit court file.

Features Patrick Sullivan Lovers of trout streams should long for the day when the Boardman River
flows north into Traverse City unobstructed by dams, as wild, free and
clear as nature intended.
But some trout fishermen worry about one consequence that could come with
the removal of the dams -- the Michigan Department of Natural resources is
considering allowing salmon or steelhead to swim upstream once the new
river configuration is in place.

Features Erin Crowell The hurler stares down the striker – a young chap who, to the
inexperienced rooter, would appear a Muffin; but the hurler knows better.
He considers his options: should he toss a dew drop for an easy pop or
send one fast and hard to his behind for his gardeners?
He hurls it against the timber.
Smack!

Features Kristi Kates It’s not often that youthful students have a chance to work with a Broadway director on their theatrical skills, but that’s what’s in store for kids participating in the Take It From the Top (TIFTT) workshops this summer at the Traverse City Opera House.
Poised to offer aspiring musical theater performers a wealth of personalized training and experience in music, dance, and theater, the TIFTT workshops, taught by Broadway professionals and helmed by director Paul Canaan, are enriching and focused, exposing their students to many different facets of on-stage life.
Currently, the workshops are limited to those aged 10 to 18; a teachers’ workshop took place in East Lansing, but that idea has yet to be developed in Traverse City, nor have adult theater workshops. But for the youthful students who are fortunate enough to be able to enroll, it’s a chance to see what the Broadway life is really all about.