Guest editorial

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Seems Mother Nature has an eye on the calendar and has noticed that September 22 was the autumnal equinox commonly known as the first day of Fall.? Already the weather has changed from the longer daylight days we experienced which meant that in our part of the country the sun did not set until around 9:15PM.? And of course going out in the morning to retrieve the daily fish wrap meant we did so in daylight.? As the raven would state: ‘Nevermore?.
We are now in the throes of cooler days, much colder nights and an almost complete change in lifestyle.? Let me share with you just a couple of issues that impact my daily routine now that Fall has arrived.
No longer am I going sockless while wearing my deck shoes and I have returned my Bermuda shorts to the back closet.? Short sleeve shirts will have to wait until next Spring to make an appearance.? Our furnace was checked out by the heating and cooling company and the sounds of the motor humming in the morning at 6:15AM when it comes on now takes the place of the alarm clock.? It also meant the installation of new filters ? one for the furnace and another for the humidifier.
The trees in the woods behind our home have started to change colors and I’m sure many of the leaves will find a place on our lawn.? That means weekly raking but we do have the advantage of pushing the leaves back into the woods ? I’m not into the bagging process.
The heater in the car has made its appearance along with the heated seats.? In the trunk there is a snow/ice scraper along with a couple of blankets and a couple of coats.’Attending outdoor sporting events for grandchildren sometimes means those blankets and extra coats will come in handy.
No longer will I be ordering iced lattes but have switched to hot pumpkin lattes.? Our weekend trips will take us to some cider mills.? What with the apple shortage in Michigan this year due to the early spring freeze, I’m anxious to see the price of a gallon of cider which I understand is up $2 a gallon in some places.? Ouch.
On a more positive note, there will be fewer road construction cones on the highways ? yippee! And of course we will make our annual trek to Greenfield Village for the pumpkin festival ? 800 carved and lighted jack o? lanterns dotting all the roads and trails in the Village ? a wondrous site.
So while we mourn the exit of Summer and gear up for Fall and Winter maybe we should take a lesson from the hundreds of hummingbirds that no longer grace our window feeders and fly off to some remote sun filled location in the south.? But then we would miss handing out treats on Halloween, building snowmen with our grandchildren, ice skating on the canals in our subdivision, watching for the lone turkey that always seems to appear on our deck this time of the year, and taking long walks in the new fallen snow.? You know ? all in all maybe Fall isn’t so bad after all.
Bill Kalmar
Orion Resident

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For over one hundred years now, Labor Day’has been a day to celebrate equality and respect for every working man and woman. That is, equality for every working heterosexual.
Under Michigan law a person can still be LEGALLY fired, demoted, or refused a raise because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. There are no statewide or national nondiscrimination policies to protect members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender community from unjust firing, demotions, or pay inequities.
The number of statewide municipality policies that demonstrate equal non-discrimination values is 15: Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, East Lansing, Lansing, Ferndale, Oak Park, Huntington Woods, Grand Ledge, Grand Rapids, Douglas, Saginaw, Flint, Birmingham, and Saugatuck Township. Because there are nearly 800 municipalities in Michigan, statewide non-discrimination protection laws are critical.
Three of the major federal laws regarding work discrimination and harassment are: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin and is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This would be a case of equality if people’s sexual orientation was not legally permissible to be exploited.
What’s funny to me is, even though a person may not actually be a member of the GLBT community, the perception that they are is still enough for them to lose their job. And what’s more ironic, though certain opposition believes that giving legal protection to gays and lesbians and bisexuals is immoral, they may not realize that these laws would protect THEM TOO!
There are several GLBT employers in the state of Michigan and across the nation, and because sexual orientation and gender identity are not factors of statewide non-discrimination policies in public accommodations, housing, and employment, even heterosexuals can be denied rights solely on their sexual orientation’not to say that the members in the GLBT community have anything against heterosexuals. It’s just a hypothetical.
This Labor Day, many men and women will celebrate their hard work with a day off and will mark the end of their summer with a new year of work ahead of them. Until legislation banning discrimination against people’s actual or perceived sexual identity gets passed, these men and women will continue celebrating this first Monday of September as a pleasant day of rest, while others mark the end of summer as the end of their employment.
I challenge you to be the one to give discrimination a pink slip. Be above the law and celebrate EVERYONE’S contribution, not just your own. Some people don’t even get a fair chance to contribute. I challenge you this Labor Day to be thankful that you do.
— Kyle Goodall

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