It is often difficult to follow the proceedings of a public body such as the School Board. As we state at the beginning of the Clarkston Community Schools (CCS) Board meetings ? School Board meetings are to conduct the board’s business and are not a community hearing. While we are always interested in listening to our constituents, we are unable to directly respond to questions or engage in dialogue with them during these meetings. As the School Board president, I am happy to take this opportunity to share some of the important initiatives we have been working on this past year.
Strategic Plan. Last year, we were fortunate enough to work with Dr. Joan Sergent from Oakland Schools on creating and approving a 5-year Strategic Plan for our school district. This is the first time we have had a Strategic Plan since I have been a member of the board. I firmly believe without this type of plan, the board has no standard to evaluate proposals requiring our precious resources.
With guidance from Dr. Sergent, our Strategic Plan was a collaborative effort between the board, administrators and community. It has allowed us to think about the experiences we want our students to have to prepare them to be successful in a globally changing environment and reflect these ideas in a Strategic Plan that shapes all aspects of our district ? Student Performance, Technology, Finance, Human Resources and Communications.
This is a significant accomplishment for our district! Currently, we are working with the administration to identify priorities/initiatives for the 2014-2015 Annual Plan for each of the focus areas defined under the Strategic Plan. These include defining the objectives for the specific initiatives as well as a high level work plan including the human and financial resources required, critical dates, the communication needs and the measures to determine the initiative’s progress or success. Once the Annual Plan is adopted, the administration will then begin implementing these initiatives. Using this process each year will help us focus our limited resources on priorities and initiatives that will really make a difference for our students and that is a great achievement for our entire community!
Technology. Technology plays such an important role in all of our lives. We want our students to be well prepared to leverage technology in whatever career they decide to pursue. Technology is a main focus area in our Strategic Plan, and because it requires significant investment, the board has requested a 3-5 year plan specific to Technology.
This type of plan is also required by the Michigan Department of Education. The board initially engaged a small consulting firm to assist with a portion of the plan. At the end of the engagement, it became clear that the district really needed a plan that looked at all aspects of technology including the hardware, software, security, maintenance and training.
The consulting firm that was initially engaged chose not to pursue this larger, more intensive effort. Based on the recommendation of the administration, we have engaged a new consulting firm who has significant experience in assisting with these types of plans for other districts.
Using their expertise, we are confident they will be able to leverage the work that has already been done to create a long term technology plan to help us prioritize our needs and determine the investment we will need to make on an annual basis to support student learning and the operation of the District.
Employee Contracts. The board values its teachers and all its employees because without them, we would not have the great district that we have in Clarkston!
We utilize a collective bargaining process called ACCORD. Members of the administration who represent the board and members of the various unions meet on a regular basis to discuss issues throughout the year, including salary and other work-related issues. Our administrators worked very hard and we were fortunate to settle many of our contracts prior to June. Unfortunately, the Clarkston Education Association (CEA) contract was not settled prior to July 1.
When the ACCORD meetings were set to resume near the end of July, the CEA president had an accident, which pushed these meetings to late August. While we did not anticipate starting the school year without this contract being settled, we are pleased it could be settled quickly once the school year started.
Superintendent Evaluation and Contract. Here in Michigan, as part of the ongoing state level engagement in our educational system, legislation requiring evaluation of school district superintendents has been enacted and continues to evolve as new proposals regarding the evaluation tools and measurement criteria are being discussed. Also, taking the recommendation of the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB), the CCS Board changed its superintendent evaluation timeline from June to December to align with the law moving the school board election cycle to even years in November.
While we changed our superintendent evaluation timeline from June to December, the superintendent’s contract still runs from July 1 to June 30.
When the superintendent’s contract was raised in February, as the school board president, I wanted to give Dr. Rock the opportunity to think about any other contract changes he might want to request. During Dr. Rock’s evaluation in December 2013, the board also received a recommendation from our consultant that we should leave the contract action in June.
All of these circumstances unfortunately led to some confusion on the board as to when we should take action on the superintendent’s contract. Going forward, the board will need to revisit the evaluation tool and timeline for both the evaluation and the contract as there is potential legislation that will change the evaluation process again.
We owe it to our superintendent to have a clear, well-defined and fair process. For the current year, to ensure we are fulfilling our obligation as a board, we have sought assistance both from the district’s attorney, George Butler, as well as from Dr. Sergent. The district’s attorney has provided guidance that the board must do a superintendent evaluation prior to the end of the year to be in compliance with the law.
Dr. Sergent, who helped us with this process last year, has graciously agreed to help us again with the process this year. She was previously a superintendent and is now a consultant. Her services are provided to the CCS Board at no cost through Oakland Schools. We are fortunate to have Dr. Sergent’s expertise and guidance to ensure we conduct this process fairly and effectively.
In summary, the board and the superintendent set the vision and the direction of the district through the Strategic Plan, Annual Plan/Priorities and the budget. It is the responsibility of administration to execute the plan; and the responsibility of CCS Board to oversee and provide guidance regarding alignment of school initiatives to that plan.
This is important work for both superintendent and board. In fact, it is a critical success factor that makes learning the wonderful thing it is in Clarkston. Plans have to be developed, initiatives have to be funded, employees have to be trained and communication to all of the stakeholders including parents and students is necessary to be successful.
It takes every employee, volunteer, parent and student to perform our respective roles to keep Clarkston as one of the premier school districts in Oakland County and across Michigan. If there are topics you would like to know about or suggestions on ways the board can better communicate to the community, please let us know!
Rosalie Lieblang is president of the Clarkston Board of Education.

Libraries should no longer be funded by millage. If they are managed effectively and are truly a viable entity, they can exist as a non-profit with a Enterprise Fund.
The Clarkston Independence District Library is going to eventually lose its millage funding. Since most homeowners have access to computers and can download books, retrieve information, and just about anything else the library offers from the comfort of their homes, it’s just a matter of time.
I seriously doubt it will pass on Aug. 5, and even if it passes, it’s just a matter of time before it will eventually lose funding via the millage route.
Renters from within and outside of Independence Township, retired folks who like to congregate at the library, those individuals with low incomes, and/or those who don’t have computer skills and don’t have access to electronic media find the library a great deal.
Most of these folks don’t directly pay property tax and the proposed millage has little to no impact on them one way or the other.
Personally, I don’t use any library and I don’t want to subsidize their existence. Additionally, I don’t want to be tricked into paying for the library by some unethical voting scheme.
Our township supervisor and the library hierarchy need to rethink the library’s existence and develop funding arrangements to support the library without using the general fund or a millage.
On July 9, 2014, according to the ‘Independence Township Times,? a four-page set of somewhat biased articles inserted into The Clarkston News by the Independence Township supervisor, the library has provided significant services to many people both in and outside the boundaries of Independence Township.
They seemingly reference a very detailed count of services provided but say little to nothing about what the 1.25 mills represent in dollars and sense, nor do they detail how the money will be spent. I don’t think they really know and this millage request is just another trip back to the well.
Just recently, I listened in on a library board meeting and it reminded me of the previous trustee board meetings a couple of years ago (not nearly as bad) and everyone talked when they wanted with little to no control and the most dominant participants talking most of the time.
Robert’s Rules were used only to the extent needed to make viewers believe the meeting was being conducted in an orderly fashion.
One of the agenda items was the parking lot and a capital project that would cost approximately $300,000 to resurface the lot. I made a visit to that lot on July 13 and noticed more than 90 percent of this lot was in good condition.
The entrance drive had several spots that needed work as well as a 10-by-10-foot area about 50 feet beyond the driveway. There were also a dozen or so concrete curb problems to be repaired. As far as going in and tearing everything out and replacing the entire lot for $300,000 ? it just isn’t necessary!
I recommend this millage be turned down and library closed. Further, I recommend all monies/budget earmarked for the library be set aside until the library can be reopened as an enterprise fund.
The enterprise fund would require all services provided (such as those listed in the Independence Township Times) and probably a lot more could be discussed and implemented into this enterprise scenario.
Once a plan is complete and charges were established for the various services and activities, the plan could be blessed by the township board of trustees. The library could then be reopened. At this point, the users of the library, volunteers, sentimental citizens and/or donations and fund raising initiatives should be sufficient to operate the library and pay for its existence.
The good news is if the library was as good as advertised, it would flourish and if notm it would close as a result of insufficient support.
Michael G. Tynan is a resident of Independence Township.

As a taxpayer, retiree and patron of the Clarkston Independence District Library, I’m responding to a column in the June 11 edition of The Clarkston News, attacking the upcoming millage request to fund our library.
In it, the claim was made that the 1.25-mill library proposal is an ‘outrageous and unreasonably high request.? In fact, it is neither of those things.
Here’s why: In the past, our library was a township library — funded through the Independence Township’s general fund. But that funding ended 10 years ago.
So how has the library been paid for? Residents familiar with the library’s history say even when it was part of the township, officials realized ? decades ago, when there were far fewer residents ? that it would require a supplemental millage to operate it at a proper, functioning level.
A levy was set to help fund the library, but over the years that millage has been rolled back under state law to the current level of .691 mills. In recent times, this has generated about $1 million a year, the library’s (shoestring) budget.
Now, if someone can point to a library in a neighboring community being run at this millage level and funding ? specifically in a community comprising 35,000 residents ? I think we would all like to hear about it. But there isn’t one.
The nearest community of comparable size to Independence Township is Orion Township, where their fine library and its popular programs are supported with a 1.4-mill rate and a budget of more than $2 million.
So comparatively, the 1.25-mill proposal for a good, adequately funded Clarkston area library ? one that has been heavily utilized by residents ? isn’t ‘outrageous,? given the population growth that took place over the years and the increased demand for not just books, but eBooks, books on CD, DVDs, music CDs, large-print books, computers, access to genealogical and other data bases, and programs and services for children, teens, seniors citizens and others too numerous to mention here.
To sum up this history, township funding of the library has long since stopped, and the library made due on much less than the .75-mill rate set long ago as a supplemental source of funding, a rate that has been rolled back over the years. In the context of stagnant and diminished funding for the library over the years, an increase from .691 to 1.25 mills cannot be characterized as ‘huge.?
Now, let’s return to the point that the library is no longer a part of township government, but a district library. When the library was spun off, a committee of residents and local officials studied the matter and recommended that a 1.25 mill proposal be placed before voters.
They set a deadline in August of this year, by which time new funding had to be approved. The meetings on this were open and televised locally. Their recommendation ? and discussions on it by local officials and the public ? are a matter of record.
The committee that came up with the library funding request recognized that introducing a new levy to replace the old, inadequate system of funding the library could be a real chore, and it was.
There’s a history here that isn’t simple to explain, what with the changes in the library’s status and funding. Thus when the proposal was put before voters during the fall election of 2012, it lost by less than 30 votes. Not exactly a mandate to kill the library, was it?
Many will remember that huge ballot, with many candidates and several statewide ballot proposals. Most of those ballot questions were rejected, as was the library millage ? the very last question on the ballot. Having lost by a margin of a handful of votes, it is only right that library proponents be allowed to explain the measure and make a second ? and final ? bid for passage. If the levy is not approved, the library closes.
So to recap: The millage proposal is not some grandiose idea of a library Taj Mahal cooked up by unseen bureaucrats or empire-builders, but a reasonable plan from community members to put the library on a normal, solid level ? to restore operating hours, expand collections and make overdue improvements to better serve patrons.
No conspiracy, no deceit, no dark intention. It’s really a simple question: Do voters in Clarkston and Independence Township want a library, or not?
The suggestion in the June 11 column attacking the library proposal ? that Independence and Clarkston voters should save money by rejecting the levy and using the Springfield Township Library ? should not be taken seriously. Shutter the Clarkston area’s library to avoid paying what amounts to a few dollars more per month for the average taxpayer? Great idea ? if we are a community of deadbeats. But we are not, and we need to fund our community’s library, not someone else’s.
I don’t enjoy paying taxes any more than the next guy, but this library levy has my unqualified support. Clarkston and Independence Township residents have to step up and fund their library or say goodbye to it and all its programs and services.
For the record, I am not a member of the Friends of the Library or of the Library Yes committee, although I’m in complete agreement and support both. Please join me in voting for this crucial library millage on Aug. 5.
Kim Crawford is a Independence Township resident.

In response to those who support the second chance, stealth, library tax increase vote on Aug. 5, 2014, Independence Township district library supporters fail to mention that long before the library tax increase proposal was voted down on Nov. 6, 2012, the proposal was already set up for a second election if the first had failed.
It failed in an election that had the highest possible voter turnout, the Nov. 6, 2012 general election, where a majority of voters said ‘no.?
So hear we are again in 2014 holding a “save the library” second vote on the exact same tax increase proposal that failed less then two years ago.
But this time around it will go before the fewest amount of voters on Aug. 5, 2014, rather then three months later in November 2014 general election where the majority can speak again.
So much for the will of the majority, their vote will be ignored in favor of a vote of the minority on Aug. 5, 2014.
I disagree. as I did in 2012, that the library needs a 1.25 millage because the numbers as presented by district library officials show us that the library millage proposal is asking taxpayers for way too much of our money. What isn’t being told is the fact that this 1.25 tax increase proposal is an 81.69% increase over the .691 library millage now being collected!
Considering that a supporter claims that the library has lost 40% of it’s funding over the years, taxpayers should ask why the district library is asking for an 81% increase. Especially when you consider the numbers that came straight from library officials. Here they are:
In this paper, library director Julie Meredith said that in 2013 the library’s .691 millage will generate $1,030,798, and its expenditures were projected to be $1,038,316. Resulting in a $7,518 deficit.
But not to fear, the $7,518 deficit will be taken from the Library’s $219,569 fund balance (slush fund). And the previous year (2012) the .691 library millage brought in $1,135,600, the library spent $1,128,800. Resulting in a $6800 surplus.
Using the numbers that were presented to the public in this paper by Ms. Meredith, had the library’s 1.25 mill tax hike proposal been passed by voters on Nov. 6, 2012, the library’s 2013 revenue would have increased by 81.69% or $834,946.38.
The 2013 library revenue would have been $1,865,744.38. A $730,144 revenue increase over 2012, and a $834,946.38 revenue increase over the 2013 fiscal year. This tax increase proposal is approximately a $6 million dollar increase in revenue over it’s 8 year life. So considering that in 2013 the library had a $7,518 deficit and in 2012 it had a surplus, why is the library asking for such a huge $834,946 increase annually for the next 8 years?
In a March 20 News in Brief, library director Julie Meredith said the 1.25 library tax increase proposal “would be a 0.551 mill increase over the present .691 millage and would cost an average homeowner $125, a $56 per year increase.”
Meredith went on to say: “It’s replacement funding ? we still need to secure funding.” Yet the numbers tell a different story – 1.25 – .691 = is a 0.559 increase, not 0.551. Irregardless of that mistake, claiming that a whopping 81.69% tax increase is “replacement funding” completely ignores the fact that this proposal is a huge tax increase.
On April 3, 2014 – “One more chance for Library Millage” story in this paper, library officials said “we are asking taxpayers to pay about $125 per residence a year, which is $58 more than the average $67 paid now,” yet in the same story Marilyn Pomeroy, president of the library board said this about the $125 per residence tax: “We’re asking for about $52 a year increase from last year.”
Considering that we’ve been given numerous different cost scenarios, taxpayers should be asking why there are so many inconsistencies in the numbers being presented by library officials? Will this be a $56, $58, or a $52 per year tax increase? Taxpayers have a right to know.
Then on April 16, 2014 the district library announced that this tax increase will go from $29.20 per resident to $50.44 per resident. A $21.24 tax increase per resident.
Considering that property taxes are based on the assessed value of property and not on how many residents live in a home, why were taxpayers given a “per resident” tax comparison?
More deception – After the failure of the Nov. 6, 2012 library tax increase proposal Library Board trustee Kay Robertson said in this paper that: “Many chose to not even respond yes or no to the library proposal.” Proponents of this tax increase are beating the same drums this year claiming that “many people said they didn’t realize it was on the ballot.”
Yet the election results tell a much different story:
Results from the Nov. 6, 2012 election:
Trustees -14,728 votes.
Brown, Palatta, Kittle – 13,052, 13,561, 13,848 votes respectively.
The library millage proposal -18,918 votes.
18,918 – 14,728 = 4,190. As you can see over 4,000 more voters chose to be heard on the library millage proposal then voted for any of the candidates in the Nov. 6, 2012 general election, not less!
Taxpayers should question why the new township board is following the same sneaky path that the old board set them on to get this massive tax hike passed when they easily could have done the right thing and nixed the failed 81.69% library tax increase proposal and demanded that the library board propose a realistic library millage.
They could have renegotiated the district library agreement and moved the new proposal from the primary “stealth election” back to the general election in November 2014 where it belongs.
But, both boards chose to sit on their hands and let this massive tax hike proposal go forward unchanged knowing that it failed less then two years ago. Both groups did nothing to “save the library” from a funding proposal that had already failed.
As you can see the appointed library board and it’s director are asking taxpayers for way too much of our money. Until they come up with a reasonable and realistic library funding proposal our family will be forced to vote ‘no? again on Aug. 5, 2014.
A 81.69% tax increase is an outrageous and unreasonably high request to be making of taxpayers twice in less then two years!. Anyone who claims that this millage must pass or the district library will close fails to acknowledge the fact that it failed once and the township and the library board did absolutely nothing to change a proposal that a majority of voters found unacceptable.
Now that you’ve heard the truth and are armed with the knowledge that this proposal is asking you for far too much of your money, I’m sure that you’ll have no choice but to vote ‘no? again on Aug. 5, 2014!
An 81.69% tax increase is a totally irresponsible request to be making of taxpayers in any economy! “Securing funding” for the new district library is a reasonable request, however asking taxpayers for a 81.69% tax increase twice in less then two years is unreasonable and voters should once again deny it..
Tell the district library to go back to the drawing board and formulate a reasonable millage rate to “secure it’s funding”, If the library is forced to close until it secures that funding, contrary to the library directors claims Independence township residents can join a neighboring library such as Springfield township.
The cost for non-residents? $75 a year, according to www.springfield.lib.mi.us/index.php/about-us/borrowing/borrowing-privileges. A $50 dollar annual savings over the Independence township library tax hike proposal.
Vote ‘no? again on August 5, 2014. The Clarkston Independence district library is asking for too much!
Michael L. Powell is a resident of Independence Township.

By Mark Petterson

A new ramp should be furthest from the townships mind.
Independence Township has sat on Tri- party funds now for years and every year the township gets a letter from the road commission telling them to use it or lose it. Every year the township comes up with some wild unaffordable concept in order to delay the threat.
The township says the ramp idea is a free study from the township engineers, however, as we taxpayers know, nothing in life is for free. You, too, would do a study if you stood to make hundreds of thousands of dollars for engineering and construction over site.
The time is now for the township board to unleash taxpayers’ tri-party money and repair the roads they have. Our roads’ poor conditions are not the fault of the road commission, rather the fault of the township board. The commission has for years provided funds to repair roads and the township board refuses to use said funds for what the township feels is the county’s problem. Ultimately denying the taxpayers good safe roads and saving the money for pet projects like new construction that we can’t afford to maintain.
The township has been sitting on millions of taxpayer dollars for years as our roads crumble and now coming up with some grand unaffordable concept, a pressure release valve off Clintonville Road, is at best a complete disregard for the long term infrastructure of the township.
Pine Knob traffic is nothing new, especially to long time residents of the township. At least four board members live close to the Sashabaw and Clintonville corridor. The board already has a majority.
So, what about the rest of the township? Waldon Road west of Sashabaw to downtown, Maybee east of Sashabaw, Maybee at Spring to Lake just past Birdland, Sashabaw north of Clarkston Road to Oakhill, Parview. And let us not forget the Allen, Rattalee, Ellis, Hubbard, Cranberry, Perry Lake north and south, Hadley, Shoup, dirt roads that need gravel. Those residents don’t matter, right?
The fact is the hospital on Sashabaw Road, after losing in court, is not coming any time soon, so saying we need tri-party funds to add a lane to the bridge, create a round about at Sashabaw and Waldon, extra on and off ramps for I-75 at Sashabaw, would be putting taxpayers on the hook for something the hospital should be paying for. Taxpayers have already done our share. I strongly suggest they band together and demand their portion before the township runs out and spends their money. The uncrossable crosswalks on Sashabaw and streetlight costs should be the only upgrades the township concerns itself with.
We taxpayers are simply tired of our tax monies being redirected. We have spent millions on Sashabaw Road. The answer is simple, remove the Corridor Improvement Authority,return all CIA captures to the departments as promised, lower our millages in the amount they were raised to off set the loss of capture. Redirected funds from the fire department mill to fund sidewalks? To be sure, a well funded sidewalk is more important than new breathing tanks for those who save our lives. To the Township Board, get your priorities straight, remove your death grip on the tri-party funds, and fix the roads you have, and do it expeditiously, or you all may be the next meal in the Year of the Wolf.
Mark A Petterson is a former Independence Township trustee

If you’ve been watching what goes on in Washington and some statehouses across the country, you might wonder if there’s any issue that everyone should be able to agree on whether they are conservative or liberal or libertarian, Democrat or Republican, pro-this or anti-that.
There is: It’s the need for transparency in all levels of government.
As we observe Sunshine Week in Michigan and around the country to encourage openness in government, the Michigan Coalition for Open Government (MiCOG) is urging citizens and public officials to seek transparency in the operations of their local and state governments, their schools and universities, their federal government and their courts.
You can do this by supporting Michigan legislation that would amend the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to make government information more accessible by limiting fees and discouraging delays.
Or by supporting a bill that a Republican lawmaker proposed to create an Open Government Commission to hear FOIA appeals. Or by supporting a bill that two Democratic lawmakers proposed to expand FOIA coverage for the legislative branch so it is more in line with the broader coverage that applies to the executive branch.
MiCOG ? a non-profit, tax-exempt organization open to citizens, journalists and associations concerned with open government and freedom of information ? urges passage of that pending legislation.
You also can make a difference by letting your local officials ? from the mayor to school board members ? know that it’s important to you to know how your tax dollars are being spent and how they are making decisions about classrooms or parks or roads or snow removal or trash collection.
It’s important for you to know this so you can independently judge the soundness of those decisions, so you can suggest your ideas for improvements in programs or government actions, so you can evaluate government officials? performance, and so you can guard against corruption and conflicts of interest.
You can help by asking questions of your government officials and by encouraging openness.
Politicians and government officials are more likely to take the trouble to create open systems and practices if they know it is important to their constituents.
Tell them that your assessment of their performance includes their record on open government.
Let them know this should not be a partisan issue, and that you want information regardless of which party or group is in power. If you’re in New Jersey, you don’t have to be a Democrat to want to know more about a big bridge closure in that state. In Michigan and Louisiana, you don’t have to be a Republican to want information surrounding the corruption charges that resulted in convictions of mayors in New Orleans and Detroit.
Michigan has plenty of tough transparency and accountability challenges ahead, including how courts handle public access and fees for electronic records, whether juvenile criminal records should be public or secret, and how much secrecy should be allowed in new mental health courts, including convict records and data revealing rates of recidivism for the program.
Remember that you have a stake in Michigan’s freedom of information laws. How much you are permitted to know about your government directly affects the quality of your government, your schools, your courts, your job, your freedom and your life.
Charles Hill is a member of the board of directors of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government, www.miopengov.org, and a former Michigan bureau chief for The Associated Press.

The Clarkston News is doing its best to stoke controversy again. (‘Response heats up,? Feb. 26). Since City Manager Carol Eberhardt has declined to talk to the News, the News has embarked on an apparent crusade to retaliate against her. Last week it announced a project to investigate the city’s responses to Freedom of Information Act requests. This week is says it’s going to rehash the selection process for the city manager.
Let’s look at some facts. Eberhardt decided not to talk to the News because it has consistently provided a forum for Cory Johnston’s unwarranted criticism of city government. Although the News apparently views Johnston as an upright citizen simply expressing his views and raising legitimate questions, it apparently hasn’t seen how he operates and hasn’t been the target of his ire.
When I was on the city council, I and other council members and the city manager were the recipients of a constant barrage of vituperative ill-informed communications from Johnston criticizing virtually everything that Clarkston city government does. I’m confident that has continued, as exemplified by Johnston’s 25-page letter referenced in the February 5 article, ‘City spat unresolved despite many letters?.
In what passes for journalism now, the News repeats Johnston’s accusations without investigating whether they are well-founded. It’s one thing to print letters to the editor or opinion pieces. But representing unsubstantiated opinions as ‘news? is something else. I can’t blame Eberhardt for not wanting to participate in a process that encourages Johnston’s relentless crusade against city government.
The News and others criticize Eberhardt for cutting off communication with the News. Although I would prefer to see a continued dialogue with a reasoned response to the accusations that the News trumpets, the city manager’s job is not to have a dialogue with the News. It is to run the day-to-day business of city government. And Carol Eberhardt has done a great job of that in the short time she was been city manager. Among other things she has:
? Reduced DPW overhead by reorganizing the department and eliminating a less-than-productive position while continuing the same level of services.
? Found a competent, well-experienced replacement for the city clerk in a market where the city can offer only part-time employment without benefits.
? Instituted regular staff meetings to improve communication among staff members and coordinate their work.
? Cross-trained the office staff so that they can cover for one another when needed.
? Modernized the city’s phone system so that there is better access to city staff and less time spent answering questions that should be directed elsewhere.
? Instituted regular written reports of the city manager’s activities so that the council and public are aware of what is going on.
? Regularized the budgeting process so that the budget is more closely monitored and amended before instead of after unanticipated expenditures are needed.
? Enabled the council to establish a Freedom of Information Act policy.
? Sparked the organization of the Think Positive Clarkston group, which has already organized two well-attended community events in Depot Park.
There are probably a number of other things that don’t come to mind now. But the point is that she is doing her job and doing it well. If she chooses not to talk to the News, that’s a minor point in the overall picture. And its not as though there aren’t other channels of communication.
The village hall door is open and Eberhardt will talk to citizens who have concerns. She responds to emails. And posts information on Facebook. And instituted a periodic newsletter to residents. Don Rush’s insinuation that there is something to hide is unfounded.
Anyone can see what the council is doing by the material posted on the city’s web site, attending council meetings, or watching the meetings on cable.
And now the announced rehash of the city manager selection process: This was thoroughly discussed last year. I closely monitored the process, since it was something that I thought was crucially important for the proper management of the city’s business. I reviewed all the applicants? resumes and sat in on all the interviews. Did the News do that? Had I still been on the council, I would have voted for Eberhardt, who was best qualified for the position based on her past experience as a village council member, city council member, and business operator in the city, and her long-time residence in the city and familiarity with the issues the city faces.
Does the News want to ‘get concerns out in the open,? as Don Rush suggests? I’ve suggested more than once that the News institute a point-counterpoint discussion dealing with Cory Johnston’s criticism, since the News itself doesn’t seem to want to dig into the facts. No takers there.
In response to my criticisms of the News? coverage of city business last summer, Don Rush posed a series of questions to me, and I believe to Cory, on the city manager selection process and other city issues. I answered with five pages of detailed information, including some criticism of the manager selection process, that Don said would be run in July. Perhaps he lost it in the clutter on his desk. Or maybe he just forgot about it in the hurly-burly of stirring up controversy rather than reporting actual news. But now that the News wants to stir this pot again, perhaps it will pay attention to the facts.

I would like to respond to the concerns expressed about McLaren Hospital’s proposed project on Sashabaw Road .
I moved to this community over 30 years ago for probably many of the same reasons that attract many others. I was beginning my career right here in Clarkston, and felt this would be a perfect area to raise my family. I was close to work, good schools, and all the conveniences.
However, I wasn’t so naive to think there wasn’t ever going to be any growth. In fact, I hoped and embraced it. I will admit for selfish reasons, as it directly had an impact on my job security within this community. Secondly, from what I recall, the development along Sashabaw Road is exactly what the master plan calls for and allows.
A hospital would be a perfect fit; close to I-75, probably the most ideal location it could be for the community. Reliable and vital medical care and the economic benefit would be felt in many areas.
Jobs, retail support, not as many empty homes, just name a few. In the time I have lived here, I have seen this township grow from over 20,000 residents, to over 35,000 currently. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) predicts this to remain somewhat steady through 2040 (www.semcog.org/data/apps/comprof/profile.cfm’cpid=2115) leveling off at around 40,000. If you look at the population predictions, many will be seniors, and most will likely be remaining here. I’m sure in part because of the current services, conveniences, and projected medical care that is expected to be available.
Through the master plan, Sashabaw Road was designated several years ago to become the new development and business district for the Clarkston/Independence area. This was done to relieve the stress off downtown Clarkston and M-15, and to promote controlled growth and economy to this area so the residents weren’t saddled with the entire tax bill required to maintain the services needed for a growing community.
Oh, by the way, its proximity to I-75 is ideal for traffic control that a development like this will bring. I understand traffic is a concern, I have my share of frustrations, too, but McLaren has already promised to help improve the corridor and interchange at I-75 to help offset these problems.
As long as I have lived here, there has been very little said about all the residential and strip mall developments that were popping up all over the Clarkston area. Now that a project like McLaren’s who is trying to provide a vital service and jobs to the area, we want to shut the door, but we still allow the strip malls, and virtually anything else that comes along.
With all the improvements along Sashabaw, Dixie, and I-75 outside of Independence Township, it is only a matter of time before we see more people and businesses moving to this area as well, as projected by SEMCOG. I’m all for controlled growth. I get that, but as I see it, Independence Township is becoming an island to the development around us. We have to be burdened with what comes with that, but we get no real benefit from it. Why not allow it to come to us in a controlled manner, and reap as much benefit from it as we can?
As for the hospital issue on Sashabaw Road, I, for one, as I am sure you have surmised, am in favor of.
This would be a regional hospital, not just for Clarkston, but for the entire northern and northeastern communities, too. The reality is there isn’t anything actually close, and some would believe that they can wait the 20 to 30 minutes, and in most situations this is true.
However, this is way too long in true medical and traumatic emergencies. The reality is you only have minutes in the most critical situations.
In the best of circumstances, the nearest hospital to this area is at least 15 to 20 minutes away. Although they are all very good, they are still further than I’d like to be if I were severely injured, having a heart attack or a stroke.
The hospital being proposed for Sashabaw is planning to provide services for all of that. I guarantee if you were dying from one of these conditions today, you would appreciate a hospital that could take care of you properly within a few minutes, particularly when time is a critical element in your mortality.
Accreditation of any critical care hospital is all measured in minutes and how quickly interventional care can be provided. There is a term we use in the medical profession when it comes to survival of trauma, heart attacks and stroke ? time is muscle or time is brain. Keeping definitive care expedient and close is always going to win out over longer transport times.
Finally, in my opinion, the claim about beds and needs for Clarkston is all a bunch of hooey. I think it’s more about politics and the struggle for whose beds and how to fill those beds than anything else.
Why has Henry Ford in West Bloomfield and Providence in Novi been allowed to expand the way they have the last 10 years, particularly when you have many outstanding hospitals within a stone’s throw of each of those hospitals?
The argument about beds is an old one used against any hospital looking to expand. Long before Henry Ford and Providence, POH (now McLaren) wanted to build a hospital at Dixie and White Lake roads, and was stopped in that effort, and POH was forced to build across the street from their old hospital.
All because of a clause in the Certificate of Need provisions about the proximity a hospital under the same license can move beds within that proximity. I have never understood why there is such a clause.
If a hospital is licensed for a specific number of beds, what difference does it make if they are all in one facility or spread out over a wide area? Could it be to control competition? Hmm?
Frankly, I don’t really care whose name is on it, but it makes sense to allow a full care hospital to build here and move whatever beds they need from an area that may not need as many to a growing area to accommodate a shifting population and market.
Bob Cesario
Retired, Captain, EMS Coordinator, Independence Township Fire Department

A few days ago as I was driving along main street, there was a man ‘mowing? the leaves that were in the road, in what I assume was an attempt to make it easier for them to wash into the storm drain. Today, out walking my dogs, I passed several piles of leaves that homeowners had left in their ditch directly in front of the drain opening, seemingly so that they could be washed away into the storm drain. Out of sight, out of mind.
Clarkston and Independence Township both have stormwater permits. I’ll probably be called a zealot like I have been in the past, because if I’m known for anything, its harping about our improperly managed stormwater. Its not that ‘we? are any different than anywhere else in Michigan, and quite frankly, the ‘fault? does not lie with the individuals who have been vested in charge of these programs. The responsibility, the ‘fault? if you will, lies with the state. Possible also the federal government. And here’s why.
There are six minimum control measures that the MS4s (Municipal separate storm sewer systems) must identify BMPs (best management practices) with which to reduce impact and risk.One-third of the program,two of the MCMs are about educating the public and getting them to participate. They happen to be the most important aspect of the program.
Why? Because the individuals mentioned who are helping to wash the leaves into the storm drain, along with the home owners who fertilize their lakeshore properties or dig up river banks or any number of other activities that are harmful to watershed health, are not evil horrid people. They just don’t know that their actions are collectively serious impacts that will cost them thousands, possibly millions of dollars later on. And why is that? Because the way our programs are developed, and approved by the state, are paper pushing exercises that do not contain ‘meaningful? BMPs.
What is a meaningful BMP? Well, for instance, its educating homeowners to impacts specific to their community, such as that when they wash their leaf bits into the storm drain, one of two things happens. First, particulate that includes sediment along with the leaf bits settle out when the water carrying them is reduced and slows down. Water in this area has a high pH, around 8 to 8.5. It becomes ‘saturated relative to calcium?, or in homeowners terms, its hard water. What happens in your house with your pipes when the water is hard and you don’t have a water softener? The calcium builds up over time, sometimes rather quickly, and it reduces the capacity of your pipe. Sometimes, as in the case with sediment and leaves, it will eventually put so much pressure on the pipe as to cause it to break, like in the situation that happened with the Christie Homestead, where a sinkhole formed.
Another scenario is the sediment and leaf debris does actually get washed into the Mill Pond, or park lake, or some creek. As the debris decays, it uses up the oxygen available for aquatic life. It reduces the ability of the water body to be maintained as a habitat. As anyone who lives along the Mill Pond knows, the build up, when needing to be dredged, costs a pretty penny.
Add to that homeowners who really like their green lawns over fertilizing without understanding that they are reducing the value of their waterfront property because the added phosphorus or nitrogen is a significant cause of algal blooms. When this gets washed down the watershed, and eventually discharged into Lake Erie, we end up with a situation where the water becomes toxic and you can’t even swim in it. Western Lake Erie is in serious trouble, and if you fertilize your lawn along a water body, well, you’re part of the problem.
I’m not trying to point the finger at anyone. If someone doesn’t get it, they don’t get it. But if someone wants to get it, and wants to learn a better way of doing things, I just happen to specialize in watershed outreach and education. Oh, and in natural shoreline stabilization. If you don’t happen to like me, that’s ok. There’s plenty of work to go around and I can recommend several other local individuals who I highly respect. But if you want training, and want to learn a better way to reduce impact on your lake or waterbody, please feel free to contact me at tammie.heazlit@gmail.com
Tammie Heazlit is a hydrogeologist and stormwater specialist living in Independence Township

By Russ Burns
We are always complaining that there just isn’t enough time in our lives. We may be too busy with work, school, the kids, and other family matters. That’s understandable given how quickly things move in society today. But when there is a major event, we are forced to find the time to plan.
Months of careful preparation are spent creating the most memorable times of our lives such as marriage or the birth of a child; a significant anniversary or birthday. Indeed planning and preparation is the key to many of our successes. There are even professionals whose main role is to plan such events!
Why then do we put off those things we do not wish to plan for no matter how evident the need?
Preplanning for your estate and funeral is as important as any plan you will make this year. Sudden grief tends to confuse and cause a family to make rash decisions that they may regret later. Preplanning your arrangements for the cemetery and funeral assures your part in creating a dignified service of remembrance for your loved ones.
There is also a substantial cost savings when preplanning.
Funeral and cemetery costs have increased just like any other product or service over the years. On average, they double every eight to 10 years, depending on inflation. You will save hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars by preplanning now.
The most meaningful benefit is sparing your family from making difficult decisions at one of the worst times of their life. When preplanning, do your research and select reputable firms with solid reputations and financial stability.
All Saints Cemetery is a member of the Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association which has been in existence since 1841. Located in Waterford, we also have The Preserve, a natural burial cemetery adjacent to All Saints Cemetery. Both sit directly on Maceday Lake.
We invite you to call us at 248-623-9633 for a tour of our cemetery. We also provide seminars on preplanning for your church, club or organization.
Take the time now to plan what is one of the most important decisions you can make!

By Joette Kunse

As one of the five volunteer members of the Public Access Television Committee that was appointed by the township board to advise and make recommendations, I’d like to clarify what the monies received from the cable companies to the township are intended for including the rules of their use by local government.
Each year approximately $500,000 in public access franchise fees is paid to the township by Comcast and A T & T, for the right to lay cable in the area. These funds go directly to the township’s general fund and can be used however the township board wishes.
Each township resident who subscribes for cable services with Comcast or A T & T UVerse, pay two percent for PEG fees. PEG stands for Public, Educational and Government public access channels. The township receives about $200,000 in PEG fees each year.
PEG fees have restricted usage and currently the township has over a half million dollars of PEG fees in its treasury.
The township board and the school board each voted 7-0 to approve an agreement where the township would give $200,000 of PEG fees in a capital lease to the school district to combine the high school television studio and move the public access studio from its Maybee Rd. location to the high school. The public access citizen committee spoke at both meetings and requested that the boards take some time to plan before combining facilities. Why would the committee want to delay what looks like a good partnership?
One area of disagreement between committee members and the board is the restricted use of PEG fees and how they can be used. The committee’s recommendations have been based on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) federal statute that PEG fees may only be used for the capital costs (equipment and building facilities) incurred for PEG access facilities. The FCC statute was challenged in 2008 in the Federal Sixth Circuit Court and upheld. In other words, you can’t pay salaries or buy paperclips with this money.
The township board voted 7-0 to not obey this ruling. The township budget analyst said in a memo to the Independence Township board on October 23, 2012, that ‘any purchases related to equipment can be charged against PEG fee revenue whereas 2) any purchases related to operational expenditures cannot be paid out of PEG fee revenues. It is very important to keep these two activities separate to avoid any issues with the state of Michigan.?
Equipment can be purchased legally for the schools and given to school studio for use by students. The $200,000 that is proposed to be given to the school is to be used for salaries and costs for the studio and does not abide by FCC laws and has the appearance of a money laundering scheme. Doing this in the name of ‘for the student? is not a lesson that I would want my children to learn.
After both boards voted 7 -0 to approve the contract, the following morning board members and the committee received an email from the supervisor entitled Due Diligence. It appears that after the supervisor assured both boards everything was in order, he decides he needs to do due diligence or check the details.
The committee requested planning time with the schools versus, just getting a moving truck and dumping equipment in a small area of the high school. The committee believes in Ben Franklin’s quote ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.?
The public access channel can be a gem for this community, highlighting businesses, organizations, and events in Clarkston and Independence. Our neighbors in Orion, Waterford, Pontiac, Oxford and Bloomfield have bustling public access and government channels which broadcast all kinds of activities. Our committee is very concerned about the continued lack of programming on the school channel.
The committee members are residents of Independence Township who were asked to learn about public access television and make recommendations. We are diverse people with different backgrounds but we all agreed the decision to give PEG fees in a $200,000 capital lease to the school is against federal law and illegal. Legally, the township can give money for equipment to the school and we support that expenditure.

A certain level of controversy swirled around the City Council while they worked through the process of selecting a new city manager, after Dennis Ritter announced his retirement.
It was interesting to read the number of letters to the editor of this publication criticizing the process.
What I found interesting was most were written by Independence Township residents.
I was astounded to see people, who don’t live in the city, cite chapter and verse of the City Charter when those who live here probably have never even read the document.
Not one of the people from the township, who wrote the newspaper, asked to see the 13 resumes that were submitted, came to any of the interviews, or attended the council meeting when the final interviews was conducted.
Not one heard the explanation of law cited by city attorney Tom Ryan.
There are two ways to look at that type of situation. Was township residents spoon fed information from someone within the city that did not have enough nerve to put a name on a letter to the editor?
Or, and this is the position I’m taking, the critics who wrote so passionately about city politics identify with the city because it’s THEIR town.
It’s where their heart is. They want things right because they care. I choose not to think negatively but instead start a ‘Think Positively Clarkston? campaign and encourage people, not to stop criticizing, but to criticize with a solution. Be proactive and be part of an answer. Step up, raise your hand and ask a question from the actual source before you pick up the pen.
I’m beginning my tenure as city manager by starting a ‘Think Positive Clarkston? committee.
The purpose of this group is to ‘think,? ‘converse,? ‘brain storm,? about ways to move the city forward suggesting new ways of doing things, in essence creating a positive energy.
The committee is open to ANYONE who thinks of Clarkston as their town. I already have a spark of an idea and need some help.
Feel free to e-mail me at eberhardtc@villageofclarkston.org or stop by City Hall to volunteer.
Finally, I’d like to say that I am excited about working for the Clarkston community. I moved to Clarkston in 1972 and into the city in 1982.
I applied for this position because my heart is here and I wanted to make a difference in the Community I live in. I’m inviting you to join me in this exciting adventure called the City of Clarkston community.
Carol Eberhardt is city manager for City of the Village of Clarkston

Those of us who work own or operate small businesses, those who shop and travel on Dixie Highway in Springfield Township, those who walk or jog, mail carriers to UPS drivers; we are all affected by the road construction.
We waited, we persevered we continue to patiently move to and from our destinations as we maneuver getting through the orange barrels to direct us on our designated path.
The anticipation of how disrupting this whole project would affect our business is now a reality.
From this perspective the work seems to be moving along as smooth as possible.
We appreciate the slower traffic movements and hope some of you are noticing our store fronts, in hopes you will take a break and stop in, get acquainted with who some of us are; what we provide for our Clarkston, Waterford and surrounding communities.
The road crews have been diligently operating night and day in order to complete the project to allow our community to return to our daily travels to and from our destinations on improved, smoother roadways. New and improved systems seem to be implemented to make the work less intrusive to daily routine.
Michigan Department of Transportation, we appreciate your collaborated efforts to work in our community and respectfully taking in consideration the safety and well being of all those who are affected.
Many of us business owners and employees look forward to meeting new faces and continue welcoming familiar ones during our Dixie make over. We take this as a good omen toward an up-turn economy in progress.
This could be a new seed to re-start what Sam Moraco spearheaded in 2009 to unite businesses and township toward a beautification project on Dixie Highway.
If this is what was missing, then this is 2013, another beginning.
Thank you all, from the road crew, to Independence Township officials, Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, the entire business community and community at large for maintaining safety while folks move in and out of traffic flow.
With appreciation from Maria Rotondo Mark, MakeOver Place Salon, 5888 Dixie Highway, and Don Brose, Brose Electric/Lighting One, 5897 Dixie Highway, and the other businesses on Dixie Highway.

What do you need to kick off your spring outdoor exercise regimen? You have the motivation and desire. You have warmer weather and longer days.
Now think of a close, convenient location in a picturesque setting that is open early in the morning and doesn’t close until well after typical work hours. That’s exactly what All Saints Cemetery provides and we welcome you to join us.
You may not think of a cemetery being the ideal place to run, walk, ride your bike or even stretch. But All Saints Cemetery has newly paved roads that were completed last fall, open grassy spaces for stretching, a beautiful view of Maceday Lake and very little vehicle traffic to worry about.
Our gates open at 7 a.m. in the spring, summer and fall and you don’t need to make reservations or pay a monthly fee!
We also invite groups to join us. If you are part of an exercise group of walkers or yoga enthusiasts, we’d love to have you. Feel free to contact our office at 248-623-9633 and we can answer any questions you may have.
Those looking for a slightly more rigorous workout could visit The Preserve at All Saints located directly next to our main property adjacent to Nelsey Road. The Preserve is a natural burial (or ‘green?) cemetery with plants native to Michigan and a road made of millings from an old asphalt road on the property.
We invite all to enjoy the warm weather months in Oakland County with us. Our property is open to the public and available for all to enjoy. If you would like a tour of All Saints or The Preserve contact us directly. You can learn more at www.mtelliott.com/allsaints or www.mtelliott.com/thepreserve.
Russ Burns is director of All Saints and The Preserve cemeteries.

By Karen Head

If you do have a child in Clarkston Schools, you have been inundated with requests for you to sign-up your Kroger Community Rewards for your local school. But why Kroger Community Rewards?
Kroger is giving up to $2,000,000 to non-profit organizations this year. If you use your Kroger Rewards card, or alternate 10-digit phone number, to get the sale price on groceries and earn fuel points on gas already, all you have to do is register your charity of choice.
Every time you shop for groceries and swipe your card or use your phone number, your chosen charity will automatically start earning 1% of everything you spend.
It does not affect your Kroger Gas Rewards or your Upromise points.
So why not give your free money to your community. I did a quick search on Kroger to find out the different charities in Clarkston to give your Community Rewards to and there are about 17.
If you don’t want to give your Community Rewards to your public school, please consider giving it to one of these listed below.
Clarkston Cooperative Preschool, 82320; Clarkston Area Mothers And More 305, 82427; Clarkston Varsity Hockey, 82670; Clarkston Select Soccer Club, 82694; Clarkston Junior High School P.T.A., 82695; Clarkston United Methodist Church, 83350; Clarkston Elementary PTO, 83360; Clarkston Junior High Choirs, 83376; Clarkston Village Players, 84306; Clarkston High School PTSA, 84465; Sashabaw Middle School PTA, 90019; Clarkston Foundation For Public Education, 90290; Church Of The Resurrection-Clarkston, 90636; Clarkston Community Historical, 90960; Boy Scout Troop 185, 91052; Venture Crew 2185, 91053; Sarah’s Secret Closet, 90994; and Yellow Ribbon Fund, 83269.
To be fair and honest, I’m Clarkston High School’s PTSA president for the 2013-2014 school year. To help put this into perspective, Clarkston High School PTSA had 80 Kroger Reward Members signed up for the 2012-2013 school year and we raised over $5,000 to support our school, teachers and students.
This was the majority of our PTSA income. But there is currently 1,837 students attending CHS and this means less than 5% of our student body has signed up.
Of course being the president of the CHS PTSA, I would love to see you choose them. But my other favorites are Sarah’s Secret Closet which is a charity started last year by then ninth grader Sarah Head who single-handedly collects new and used clothing and new personal hygiene products for underprivileged Clarkston students and all the money raised goes directly to buying needed items and starting more Sarah’s Secret Closets in our schools.
She now has a Closet at CHS, CJHS, SMS and PKE. She started this as her Girl Scout Gold Project and she’s hoping to make this district-wide by graduation in 2015.
Another of my favorites is Boy Scout Troop 185 out of the Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club.
Half of the money raised from the Kroger Campaign goes directly to the troop to help with equipment costs and the other half goes directly into the Scout’s account and helps pay for summer camps and activities throughout the year.
Venturing Crew 2185 is also out of OCSC and is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts which is co-ed for guys and girls ages 14-21. They plan extreme summer activities and their Kroger Campaign helps fund their adventures.
The last charity listed above is for the Yellow Ribbon Fund. They are a national 501(c )(3) started in 2005 by private citizens to provide support for injured service personnel returning home from military hospitals with traumatic wounds sustained in the field of battle.
The YRF meets a tremendous range of critical and specific needs that fall outside the mandate of the government’s programs and helps provide transportation, recreation, entertainment and mentoring for the returning soldiers.
So please go to Kroger.com and sign-up today. It will take less than five minutes to complete the online registration and you will donate to your chosen charity for one year. Unfortunately, Kroger makes you re-affirm your Kroger Community Rewards every April so even if you’ve signed up before, you need to do it again every April 1.
It’s just one more hurdle they make you jump in order to get the free money. Once you’re signed up, it will appear on the bottom of your receipt as ‘Your Community Rewards are being given to …?.
Please, please, please give your free money to someone! You can help out more than you know!

‘School’s out for summer, school’s out forever…?
Seniors all over the country are looking forward to the end of bells, bus rides, marginal cafeteria food, getting up early, and freedom. After graduation, they’ll start the next chapter of their lives.
For the Clarkston High School Class of 2013, myself included, graduation is only a few weeks away and many of the seniors have begun countdowns leading up to the long-awaited day. While events like Prom and the All-Night Party are exciting, most students are focusing on graduation and what comes after it. A countless number of seniors will be attending college, both in-state and out, while others will be joining the military to protect our country.
For most, deciding on a college can be a difficult selection. For senior Alex Harrison, the choice was easy.
‘The environment and standards that are enforced and upheld by others at Brigham Young University-Idaho is something I’ve longed to experience,? she said when asked about her decision to attend BYU-I in Rexburg, Idaho. Her cousin, Stephanie, is the only family member to attend this campus. Many of her other family members attended BYU in Provo, Utah.
Harrison will be majoring in Communications with a focus in Public Relations. She is very enthusiastic about writing and was a staff member of the CHS Newspaper, Paw Prints, for the past three years.
‘I’m a social butterfly and always thrilled about meeting new people so I know this is the right career for me,? Harrison shared.
Like Harrison, senior Spencer McIntyre will be attending college outside of Michigan. Her school of choice? Arizona State University.
‘To make the decision for school there were a lot of factors, especially cost, school quality, and scholarship money,? McIntyre stated. ‘What it came down to was my strong desire to go out of state and the scholarship I received.?
What’s intriguing is McIntyre has no family in Arizona, only some family friends, which means this move will be a big step for her. But she’s very enthusiastic to start her journey into the world of public service. She plans to create a non-profit organization in the future.
‘I’m majoring in Business with a focus in Public Service and Policy while minoring in Music Performance,? McIntyre said. ‘I’m very passionate about helping other people while still maintaining my music career.?
McIntyre has been involved in drama and theatre since middle school. Some of her passions include singing and writing music. She recently starred as Mrs. Potts in Clarkston High School’s performance of Beauty and the Beast.
Senior Beth Chaney decided staying in-state was the best choice for her. She will be attending Michigan Technological University in the fall, where her parents are both alumni, to study Pre-Veterinary Science.
‘The campus is beautiful, and they had the program I wanted to pursue which was very important, of course,? Chaney said. ‘Plus, with an engineering school, I’ll have classmates who have the same goals and drive that I do.?
To achieve her desired career, Chaney will have to attend four years of undergraduate school and four years of graduate school to receive her Doctorate in Veterinary Science. But she is ready for the challenge and can’t wait to dive in.
Senior Alex Dicea, who has played football for Clarkston Schools for ten years, chose to stay closer to home and attend Western Michigan University, majoring in Business and Finance. One of the factors in Dicea’s decision to go to WMU was the number of friends from Clarkston also attending.
‘I’m really looking forward to starting school in September so I can get my degree and work on starting my own company,? Dicea stated.
As for me, I’ve decided to live at home, work, save money, and attend classes both at Oakland University and Oakland Community College. I plan on majoring in Business at OU while simultaneously taking classes at OCC to figure out where my interests lie.
Since I was a child, I’ve wanted to be a writer and I hope one day that dream will come true. In the next four years or so, I will further my education through schooling and traveling.
As teenagers, we have no idea how our future will turn out but finding our true passion and sticking to it will help us live the lives we deserve. Congratulations Class of 2013, you made it.

What is America?
America is an improbable idea, a nation divided by race and opinion but yet at the same time united as one.
America is uniquely original by design; there’never was a country quite like America and there still isn’t to this day.
While many other nations share the same ideas of democracy and liberty, none of them do so in the same way as America.
Forged out of the hopes and dreams of the colonist of a mighty empire of old, America came forth as a sovereign land conceived in freedom and justice for all people present and future.
America rose from 13 colonies under the control of a kingdom far away to become the greatest and most powerful nation in the world. A new country in a new land establishing new ideas to shape the future of our planet. The former citizens of an old empire came forth to establish a new empire.
But this empire was not like the other empires that have existed throughout our history.
America is an empire of ideology. Rather than an empire driven by the ideas of an autocrat, America is driven by the ideas of a people.
The ideas that have guided our county from its founding at Independence Hall to our position as a world power today.
The ideas that inspired craftsmen and farmers to take up arms and fight for their right to live in a land of liberty.
The ideas that make it possible for a poor child growing up in the inner city to one day become the CEO of his own business.
The ideas that truly make America the greatest country in the world. This path has not been an easy one, nor has it been one without mistake, but this path that we have chosen has been a worthy one none the less.
We have come together as a nation of many individuals with many different backgrounds and of many different heritages.
We have come together as a melting pot of individuals from every country and from every race.
We have come together to prove that the ideas that this nation was founded on are still alive today. Liberty and justice for all.
A nation made up of all the different peoples of this world coming together under one flag to live in a land of liberty with the freedom to make their own destiny.
That is what defines us as a nation. That is our America.
Christian Bodenmiller of Springfield Township, a 10th-grade student at Holly High School, wrote this essay on his own after a discussion with his English teacher on what America means to us.

This is a story that could only happen in a small town, and only because it was two days before Thanksgiving. I know it is true because it happened to me.
We’ve all been there: rushing through an already crazy busy day ? and it’s only 10am. I think that’s why our brains go into automatic with some of the daily routines that have become, well? routine.
So routine in fact, that after stopping at the bank, I went to the local market to get a sandwich for lunch, paid and left on my way. The next stop was to a recently added rehearsal before yet another meeting, and other mundane tasks (laundry.) Life. Routine. Normal for my day off.
Just like in the movies, it all changed with a phone call. Hailey at Clarkston State Bank was calling to let me know they had my envelope. Of money.
You see, when I left the bank and went into Rudy’s Market in downtown Clarkston; I was holding a plain light blue envelope in my hand. I picked up a hand basket and put the envelope inside while I gathered a few items.
I remembered to buy celery and a fresh sandwich. After putting everything on the counter, I remembered to replace the hand basket to it’s rack, then paid for my purchases, exchanged a few pleasant words, and left. It was all so automatic.
So imagine my surprise when Hailey called. She told me how KayCee at the check-out found the envelope and told Dawn, the other woman working at the checkout. They told Robert Essaki, the owner, and it was he who brought it to the bank. Of course I went to the bank and there was my envelope. I think I practically danced as I went into Rudy’s and thanked Robert and the ladies.
I was so excited I came home and posted this on FB:
“Why I love Clarkston: too much in my brain as I walked out of Rudy’s Market & Catering leaving behind an envelope with $200 inside. A little while later I got a call from Clarkston State Bank telling me Robert had brought it over to them. His checkout women saw the envelope, gave it to their boss who did the right thing and took it to where I bank. How cool is that??? Try that in a big city – not! Come to Clarkston on Small Business Saturday and you’ll see what makes this area so special – it’s the people! Happy Thanksgiving to all!”
And the comments came in, and one in particular caught my attention. Her thought was that this story could have happened anywhere. I beg to differ.
This is a small town story all right. The envelope contained $200 in CASH. My name was not on the envelope ? it was totally blank.
You see, on the eve of Thanksgiving, this is the story of relationships in small-town America. In our quest for bigger and faster, it is the story of slowing down to exchange a few pleasantries. Of knowing that the people in a small town look out for each other. Anyone who looked inside could have taken a few bills. At least four hands touched that envelope but every single dollar bill was there.
That’s why the big stores clamoring for your business don’t get it. Robert has been through some tough times just like all of us. No corporation to back him up through the ups and downs of the economy.
He’s just a small businessman, who like so many others make up the backbone of this fine country. He carries the load of responsibility to hire good and honest people, make payroll, pay for products, rotate perishables and keep an over 100-year old building looking sparkling clean. In other words ? Robert Essaki and Rudy’s Market are the essence of America at our best.
Do you long for a place like this? I can tell you it’s real. Come up to Clarkston to shop, dine and to remember what makes a small town more special with each passing year.
On Small Business Saturday and throughout the weeks and years ahead, I will continue to support Rudy’s Market. As for me, you know whom I will be praising on this Thanksgiving: two ordinary extraordinary women who work at Rudy’s, and the man behind the counter, Robert. God bless you, and prosper you, one and all.
Sherry Regiani lives in Clarkston and works at David W Regiani DDS PC Holistic General Dentistry in Ortonville

In the wake of the 2012 election, I question what we are doing to our fellow human beings?
Is raising the most money for the long campaign expenses really necessary or justifiable?
What characteristics constitute a good man or woman, a good leader, a good negotiator, even a good politician?
Is the killer instinct a qualifier for leadership? We say we need to stop bullying; yet we teach bullying tactics by example and possibly interpreted as courage and strength.
It’s been said ‘forgive them; they know not what they do.? I’ve learned on my journey of relationships, first forgive self and then forgive another, even if they ‘know what they do.? Forgiveness is the gift that keeps on giving.
Looking back more than 2000 years ago courage and strength was fought to the death, as the gladiators did. An arena filled with spectators cheering for the one who lived through the brutal battle.
Then came Jesus Christ, he was a humble human being, a good man, a man of courage because he dared to speak truth, he exemplified compassion, he loved all his fellow human beings, especially the perceived enemies and all life. His fortitude and ability to recruit followers threatened the emperors, leaders of the time and as history has it; he was accused, convicted, tortured, and crucified.
How far have we progressed from this form of bullying? What is power, what is character, what are values, what are human beings made of and capable of?
We are capable to be co-participants on this blessed earth; fully equipped to sustain life, not just for this century; many more countless centuries to come in the infinite time-less-ness.
Life as we know it is a gift, a borrowed gift to pass onto others in a shared respectful manner.
Love is all there is. All other methods are designed to keep love at bay, a commodity to be bought and sold; a form of marketing.
Love, just is; there is no dollar amount or gold attached to love. Yet, it is that and much, much more.
Love is taught and gifted upon us through inheritance and inherent labors of all humans and all life encompassing.
Maria Rotondo Mark lives in Independence Township

This year marks the 8th season of market Saturdays in Clarkston. Our new location on Waldon Road at the Renaissance High School parking lot provided an opportunity for the market to gather once more and celebrate the abundance of the Michigan Harvest of local fruits, flowers, vegetables and so much more.
Michigan is second to California in the ability to grow the wide variety of foods we are always hungry for.
This season had challenges beyond any other ? one being the early thaw after a mild winter that allowed for the budding of Michigan’s fruit trees and the early emergence of the honeybees from their hives. Many of us initially guessed this might be an overabundant year for these crops, however, the freeze that followed in late spring erased the possibilities of the maturity of these fruits and killed the blossoms.
Apples, peaches, plums, cherries, apricots ? you name it ? fruit and flowers in Michigan took a severe hit this season. As we are aware, honey production then, declined.Tomatoes though! Wow, we had more than we knew what to do with. They ripened faster than most people could can them.
In the move from the lot across from Depot Park, we lost a few farmers and a few shoppers who were miserable about losing the idea of the charm and ambiance and the way the market used to wind itself along the river. Most people don’t like change. Shoppers expressed missing the proximity of the market to the downtown businesses and the feeling of the market coming to life on Saturday mornings right up in town.
However an equally strong front of new people arrived at the market this season. Folks in wheelchairs, parents pushing strollers, and cyclists found the school site to be much more user-friendly and accessible. Many of our growers reported having a record year in sales.
I was born out West but since I grew up in Clarkston from the age of 4, went through the Clarkston Schools system, and loved being in town as a child. I felt the charm of both sites and even got to reconnect with my junior high computer teacher, Ray Cooper. Ray managed the building each Saturday this summer for us. I remember when Downtown Clarkston had our own little bookstore, ice cream shop, and apothecary.
I remember Tierra Arts and Daisy Chain Gifts, and the restaurant in the Old Mill Mall. I remember Rudy, feeding the pigeons and I fished and skated on the Mill Pond. I come from a lineage of farmers (as many of us do) and I’ve always loved fresh food.I am glad to have been a part of bringing a farmers? market to our town.
To my mind, a good farmers? market should be a win-win-win-win-win. A win for the farmers, the consumers, the city, the local ecology, and for the health and longevity of our children ? the next generation. Research suggests markets do best when they are given a space within the historic districts of the town they serve. Area farms are preserved and kept productive when a city creates the possibility of an outlet for their produce, either by funding a market or providing the resources for a market to thrive.
A Farmers? Market keeps money spent locally. Restaurants get more attention when a market is nearby because people are already thinking about food, and when humans are done eating they sometimes like to linger in local shops and parks.
Some systems of thought say eating locally grown goods and produce is healthier, and organic is of the highest quality. Our market welcomes both conventional and organic growers so people can choose the way their food was grown. We know what we feed our children has a direct impact on the quality of their lives.
Being a full-time elementary school teacher of 7-,8- and 9- year olds, and running the market in the summer, I get to see directly how nutrition supports our children’s growth from year to year.
I would like to again extend the reaches of gratitude to Ed Adler and Bob Roth for the use of their lot in the early years of the farmers? market. For even as I view the market through a different lens than they do, and know we cannot charge the farmers more than we currently do, I continue to hold an appreciation for Ed and Bob’s generosity displayed, in allowing the market to run on their empty parking lot on summer mornings at no charge.
Usually businessmen and women like to think in terms of compensation, but there was something very special about the way the market got to gain some footing in Clarkston has partially to do with them not thinking that way for a few years. When those of us with unused resources, allow those resources to be put to use by younger generations, we can creatively bring in delightful things. Now because of that and a lot of hard work and dedication by many others, Clarkston has a Farmers? Market that is still growing and still looking for support.
The charge of excellence goes to the Clarkston Community Schools this year, in seeing the value in the Clarkston Farmers? Market and offering their unused lot for the farmers and shoppers to gather ? thank you sincerely.
Next season is under construction. I continue to have many ideas for our market. Hopefully as the winter unfolds, those ideas will become clearer. Anyone who wants to offer opinions and ideas, please feel free to email me at info@clarkstonfarmersmarket.org.
Anissa Howard is founder and director of Clarkston Farmers? Market

Recently Independence Township Supervisor Dave Wagner has in these pages opposed the suggestion that the Township Board would consider some way to do something about his now seven-month total absence from his responsibilities to the township (“Wagner won’t go,” Oct. 3).
It is unfortunate that he is suffering serious health problems. However, his health problems do not excuse his responsibility to the township and its tax payers.
This news article was the first time during his seven-month total absence from his job that Mr. Wagner has provided government officials and the public with any insight into the nature and extent of the health problems that keep him from his responsibilities.
What we have learned only now is that his doctors still do not know what is wrong with him. That is unfortunate for him, personally.
It is obvious now that the current prediction by his doctor is at best a guess and certainly not a prognosis that he will be able to return to work anytime soon. His total disability will quite likely extend beyond Dec. 31st; so he will not be returning to his township responsibilities even then, if ever.
Nowhere in the article does Mr. Wagner acknowledge that during his seven-month total absence other elected officials and staff have gone above and beyond their normal responsibilities so that the township can ‘get by.?
During his seven-month absence from his job, he has not once inquired about the status of any aspect of township government.
Understandably, his focus has been on his health. The rest of us, the public and township officials, have been very patient. But with now that we know there is no end in sight, hasn’t this has gone on long enough?
Should we elected officials do nothing? To me that would be more irresponsible than the supervisor’s failure to understand the predicament for the township and do something.
We are faced with finding the money to pay someone to do this job for what will likely be the balance of his term because state law requires that we continue to pay him even though he is not working.
The solution would be for him to resign. No one reading this, if they found themselves disabled for more than seven months with no end in sight, would expect their employer to take no action in similar circumstances.
Would another elected official resign? Yes, to name one, earlier this year the Bloomfield Township supervisor resigned because of health. Vice President Dick Cheney’s health problems did not cause him to miss work for seven months or more.
There are some who have said the township has run better during Mr. Wagner’s seven-month absence. Perhaps, but that misses the point. There is much that could and should be accomplished with leadership.
Mr. Wagner has now made plain his motivation is to continue to collect his pay and to hold on long enough to qualify so the tax payers are forever responsible for medical insurance for him.
With this new information it seems to me there is a better solution (as called for the Clarkston News editorial) and no reason to delay.
Otherwise it is altogether possible that we could go another year with the supervisor.
It is apparent he thinks it can happen if the Township Board continues to indulge him and if the public does not clamor for a change.
The better course for everyone is to give him the retirement medical benefits now in return for his resignation. He can continue to collect disability payments. We will have shown compassion for his situation and the township can have what the Clarkston News editorial called a ‘fully-functioning supervisor.? Should we? What do you think?
And if he refuses to resign even then, should we move the qualifications for lifetime medical out to sixteen years, just like it is for the clerk and the treasurer?
Or should we just continue to do nothing? It may be that the Township Board needs to be prodded to action by public input. So let them know what you think.
Neil Wallace is an Independence Township trustee.

Dear Editor,
We walk a lot, partly for my own septuagenarian need for exercise and partly for hers. We take a series of prescribed paths in Clarkston.
When I walk with her, she’s the kind of dog that elicits villager comments such as: ‘What kind of dog is that?? or, ‘She looks like the dog in that movie ‘Winn Dixie.?? Truth is we don’t know what her breeding is ? part Irish Wolf Hound and part Border Collie, we think.
She has not been on the silver screen as far as we know. In fact, we know little of her prior five-year life before my wife found her picture on a Lansing, Michigan rescue league website and contacted the league about adopting her. Two years into her life with us has us asking ourselves how did we get so lucky?
She was within one day of being euthanized, we were told. She rarely barks. I only have occasion to hear her vocalize if another dog, either on our walks or in the local dog park, gets aggressive with her or threatens me.
She would eat all day, given the chance. Two schools of thought on that ? all dogs would or rescue dogs in particular, fearing that they will never eat again, are that way.
The Lansing league referred to her as a ‘Velcro? dog, for her need to be with people. On our walks, it’s not unusual to see a jogger interrupt his or her routine and stop to pet her. Nina always obliges.
While most dogs will eagerly chase a ball or Frisbee, Nina will have none of it. She is a ‘sight hound? though and will lunge on the leash in an effort to pursue an unwary squirrel, rabbit, or ground hog she might espy. My wife and I believe that play was denied her because she may have been tied up and left alone a good deal of her early life. In fact, one of the stipulations from the rescue league was that we not do that. She will play briefly with her few plush toys, but soon abandons them. In a vain effort to get her to fetch my walking shoes, she hears ‘toys? when I ask her to get my ‘shoes,? and she will attack her duck or alligator before we head out the door.
When Nina was introduced to our short-haired black cat, she accepted Wane right away. What we knew we had to do was feed Wane in a place high enough to keep his food away from Nina. Our kitchen counters are a little over three feet high and proved to be no challenge for Nina. We devised another cat food plan.
Nina is the most sociable of dogs. On our walks she will insist on greeting all, dogs in tow or not. She will even pause at some of the homes where some of her distant relatives live. That trait has allowed us to get to know a DogBook group of owners and their best friends.
We vary our route every day and the beauty of the small village/city of Clarkston is that we can do that. Across from my home lives a retired entrepreneur, who built up his tool and die company and then sold it for a price that allowed him to walk away. He has two labs, yellow and brown, Micky and Mocha.
A family of three Border Collie show dogs live a short distance up the street from me. When Nina and I are within sight of any one of them, they begin a chorus of loud barking and keep it up until we disappear up the road. I have dubbed them ‘The Barker? family.
Julie, a single mom, is a cancer survivor who is studying to be a RN. Her license plate reads:’LIVE4NW.? She owns two purebreds, a Bernese Sheepdog, Enzo, and an American Bulldog with a menacing underbite, Gibson.
We frequently encounter a big-time trial attorney, who before setting off to his Detroit office, walks his brown lab, in season and out, in the Clarkston morning. When Mollie spots us, she makes a bee line for us and greets us both with a slobbery nuzzling.
The most energetic dog we meet is a female Spuds McKenzie. She is a bundle of kinetic activity, a beautiful example of the breed. Her owner, Russ, a retired General Motors engineer, constantly apologizes to me for her behavior as he struggles to control her, but I tell him not to worry. Luna will quiet down as she matures, and in any case, Nina lets her know when she has frolicked too far.
Sometimes, our route takes us past the home of a middle-aged man recovering from his bout with bladder cancer. Jim doesn’t have a dog, but he keeps a box of dog biscuits in his garage on the chance that we will pass by. I think he uses contact with Nina as a form of therapy and a reminder of how much a good dog contributes to one’s life. That makes two of us.
Bill Byrne is a resident of Clarkston.

By Dr. James O’Neill
This is my favorite Jim O’Neill story and as one famous commentator said, the rest of the story.
After a few weeks in med school at St. Louis University in 1954, a sister school, Fontbonne University, had a reception for us. At this reception, three of us met our future wives to be. Of course, I met my beautiful wife, Mikel Werner. To me it was love at first sight, but to her it took some convincing.
We graduated in 1958 and also had our first child Mike. Life was hurried and hectic as we left St. Louis for studies at Henry Ford Hospital. After internship, a pediatric residency and some some post graduate ER work at Henry Ford Hospital we looked for a place to set up practice.
Again it was love at first site with Clarkston. We looked at other places, but Clarkston was the ‘gold standard? and in a short time we chose our beautiful village and, of course, we never regretted it.
It was ironic that the first and only house we ever looked at was the old Henry Ford place on Holcomb Road. It was perfect and close to the village. We could have cattle, horses, and farm, and grew trees and vegetables.
The practice grew by leaps and bounds and we outgrew four different buildings. The planning, devotion, and many times, financial sacrifices were always Mikel’s as our practice was 24-7 with a large number of patients seen at our house.
There were almost 4,200 lacerations and injuries treated on our kitchen table which eventually had to be replaced. We didn’t have cell phones. Mikel answered the phone and greeted patients 24-7 when I was between the hospital, office, and home.
We were blessed with six wonderful children, Mike, Kari, Megan, Devin, Danny and Timmy. All of the coordination of finances of the home, office and farm were under Mikel’s expert and watchful eye. After several years of 24-7, she said we need a 24 hour ‘care and caring center.? She predicted we would see 601 people after hours and weekends; it was 602 the first month.
All of our children were involved in the practice. Mike built, coordinated and became the go-to guy ? every task and need became a ‘Mike job.?
Kari returned from Chicago with a wonderful husband, Lennie, and children Joe and Elizabeth. She took over a fast growing practice and put it on a solid service-based 24 hour center. Megan and Devin were always there to fill in as they pursued their education.
Timmy came along 11 years later and contributed much love and comfort. He had four dads and three moms and eventually took over the practice.
It became difficult to raise cattle near, and sometimes on, I-75 so we moved the farm to Clare, Mich., with the Amish. There we developed a new paradigm in recycling animal waste and the reduction of artificial petroleum based fertilizers and chemical weed control. Kari, Mikel, Mike, Danny and his wife Karyn completed the ground work while Megan was involved in politics, trying to bring some fiscal sanity to our state and federal government.
Devin worked for BCBS trying to understand and learn more of the paradigm of patient care, cost and finances or lack thereof in healthcare.
We lost Devin in a tragic car accident. Mikel was up north at our cabin when I finally got through to her to tell her that Devin had died. Her first words were, did he suffer badly and then she said, ‘we were so fortunate that God loaned him to us for 23 years.? It was not how come us, why not someone else, but it was her great faith in God and His infinite love and wisdom that He only ‘loans our children to us? and to appreciate every one of them and cherish, nourish, and love them every day of their lives.
We moved to our new medical center with Kari’s expertise and long hours of planning and negotiation during a near national and state wide economic collapse. We perservered with the concept of 24-7 presence and excellent care.
The years have moved on. We have 14 beautiful grandchildren, two wonderful sons-in-law, Lennie Gorz and Rick Nini, and three beautiful daughters-in-law, Kathy, Karyn, and Gretchen.
Gretchen has been working at our office since high school. Danny and Karyn worked at the office for many years.
Kari’s children, Joe and Elizabeth, contributed to the office and performed many tasks. Mike’s boys, Mike, Jeffrey, and Jeremy, have added their assistance too, and his lovely daughter, Katie. Kari’s daughter, Rebecca, and Megan’s daughter, Adelena, have answered the phone and performed many unforeseen tasks for Grandma and Grandpa. Danny’s children Emilie and Riley have also answered the phone and helped Grandpa. Megan and Rick’s children Marla and Chad have also helped Grandma and Grandpa.
Gretchen is Timmy’s wife. Timmy was our special surprise 35 years ago and he and Gretchen with their two beautiful daughters, Branigan and Brecken, have picked up the mantle and carried the torch, but ‘Grandma? Mikel is still the ‘rock? of the family.
When I chose her I never dreamed of the love, care, wisdom and sacrifice she would bring to healthcare and ‘caring? in this community.
God bless you Mikel and with much love and affection, on behalf of Clarkston and thank you.
In honor of Dr. James O’Neill’s 50 years in practice, the Clarkston News is publishing patients’ and friends’ memories and tributes.

As the school year wraps up for Clarkston Community Schools it provides the community an opportunity to look in the rearview mirror to assess the performance of our new superintendent and our school board.
Regarding the superintendent, there are both positive and negative points to make concerning his performance and, while I don’t have all the facts, there are some observations that can be made.
On the positive side the superintendent has been a vocal advocate for students and staff.
As superintendent of Clarkston Community Schools and as president of Learning Forward Michigan, he has taken the opportunities these offices provide to heighten public awareness regarding the importance of K-12 education and the need for appropriate funding levels.
He has worked to encourage parents and members of the community to become engaged in the effort to ensure adequate funding. For this and for the many other day-to-day activities in which he participates on behalf of Clarkston Community Schools he is to be commended.
On the negative side, the superintendent has been unable to gain control of spending by staff members who use district credit cards.
From Sept. 2010 through April 2011, those charges totaled over $182,000. How many instructional aide hours at $15.36 per hour could have been preserved by reductions in the expenditures noted above?
In response to the State of Michigan’s decision to raise the passing scores of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP), the superintendent’s reaction was to call into question the efficacy of the test.
If the superintendent believes the test is not effective, he should work with the appropriate agencies to change or replace it.
In the meantime, the state’s decision to raise the passing scores should be looked upon as both a challenge and an opportunity to reassess school programs and methodologies to determine if there are alternatives that will improve student learning.
The superintendent’s first response to the governor’s proposed K-12 reductions was to equate the budget cuts to losses of 155 teaching staff.
As an advocate for both students and teachers it seems that teaching staff reductions would be a last resort, after examining all other possibilities.
Lastly, the superintendent made the point that he works for the school board not the governor.
More accurately the superintendent works for the community; the school board is the group elected by the community to be good stewards of the district on behalf of the community and to direct the superintendent’s daily activities.
With respect to the board, their disagreements are not serving the district well and have caused a split on many issues; in most cases the opposing parties are the same.
This has resulted in some motions being approved that clearly show a lack of judgment on the part of those voting with the majority.
Over the past several months, for example, the board very narrowly defined the responsibilities of its finance committee at a time when the committee should be actively and fully involved in district business because of a deteriorating financial situation and the presence of a new superintendent.
It voted to approve union contracts without reviewing their final form; and approved opening Project Lead the Way to students from other districts when the program itself had not been approved for the district.
It adopted procedures that, among other things, limit media access to district information by funneling all requests and responses through either the board president or the superintendent; adopted a requirement that each board member will ‘hold confidential all matters that, if disclosed, may have a negative impact on the district.?
What is it some members of the board do not want the community who elected them to know?
The superintendent remains on the learning curve but time is short. A lack of financial resources, if not already doing so, will eventually take its toll on the quality of education our students receive.
It is critical to evaluate each program ? particularly those that are narrowly focused and benefit relatively few, control each dollar ? especially any expenditures not contributing directly to classroom excellence, and continue to advocate for students and teachers in both words and action.
It is precisely at times like these that the district needs all board members and staff to be engaged, exercising good judgment, mindful of good practices, responsive to parents and the community and relentless in ensuring that scarce resources are spent wisely and to the benefit of students in the classroom.
The need is urgent and becoming more so each day.
Some members of the board have not yet reached this conclusion and choose to continue making ill-advised decisions and remaining at arms length from those whose activities they were elected to lead.
Lawrence Matta is a small-business counselor with SCORE and a resident of Independence Township

Michigan voters undecided on ballot Proposal One might ask themselves two questions: Are you unhappy with the current economic conditions in Michigan? Do you believe Michigan could do better? Yes answers mean you are a likely Proposal One supporter.
Every 16 years, our State Constitution requires that voters be asked if they wish to call a state constitutional convention to review our governing document. The next opportunity is coming Nov. 2, 2010 in the form of Proposal One.
Special interests opposed to Proposal One argue that we have the ability to amend the Constitution without a convention. But if the status quo is so effective, why are we in such poor shape?
Only a state constitutional convention will provide the forum we need to address the multiple structural problems holding back Michigan. Our highly partisan state legislature has been unable or unwilling to tackle politically sensitive issues which might interfere with their efforts to get re-elected.
For example, if change is so easy, why have our lawmakers never discussed adopting a part-time state legislature similar to what exists in 42 other states? Neighboring Ohio with one million more people that Michigan operates their state legislature with one-half the amount we budget for ours. This $50 million ANNUAL savings would more than cover the estimated ONE TIME costs of running a convention. This is an investment in our future. The cost of curing a patient increases if the condition is allowed to worsen.
At a convention, we could debate the value of term limits. We could consider increasing the term of state reps to four years similar to state senators. Then we could have one-half of each chamber elected every two years to avoid wholesale turnover. If we could improve the efficiency and transparency of our state legislature, we increase the opportunities for future reforms to take place.
Another example: Michigan one of only two states which delays the start of their fiscal year to Oct. 1. Why? We require all school districts, colleges and universities to have their budgets prepared by July 1 but we do not let them know how much they will receive from the State until our budget is passed, frequently on or even after Oct. 1. For decades we have lived with this “short-term” budget gimmick. Why has the status quo never corrected it?
Other items which could be discussed at a convention include: education reform, taxation, appointing instead of electing judges, etc. The agenda will be established by the 148 convention delegates elected from throughout the state. One of those delegates could be you or someone you support instead of the special interests fighting to protect the failed status quo.
Please vote YES For Michigan on Proposal One and help re-energize our great State.
By Henry Woloson, an attorney living in Independence Township.

To be announced, a public execution for the painting that scares children and a guillotine to chop off paint brushes. According to the city, the painting invited graffiti from vandals, and deserves justice (“Mural madness, Aug. 26, 2009).
So the city can’t do anything about removing the painting. How ’bout a public outcry that a painted tree and horses scare children and they can’t walk down Main Street?
I can’t speak for Mr. Sherman’s motivation, but I can speak for my own. I don’t have a publicist and apparently need one because I’m not a graduate of charm school. I’m only a painter. I call myself an artist because I paint ideas, not because I think I’m better than anyone. I went to IU and majored in art but find academic painting insufferable when it involves making others feel stupid. I’m not motivated by ridicule of anyone who doesn’t understand the value of this painting the way I do.
While it may be “only a wall” to many, by calling for and condoning its removal, some are not only undermining Mr. Sherman’s property rights and free speech position, but asking him as well to throw his gift to this community in the trash, not to mention setting a precedent for exclusivity and discretion with respect to imagination, AND disappointing a bunch of kids who made memories assisting in its production or sat for portraits drawn on the wall.
If we purport this much exclusivity and discretion for considering foreign ideas, how will we ever experience varied growth ? personal, and as a city? To some outsiders looking in, this city is a fortress, a sovereignty. Three hundred plus homes policed by its own law enforcement and coming soon a great big giant wall symbolic of “most ideas are welcomed here.”
I can hang my head down low and take my punishment like a good artist, excuse myself for offensive ideas and a meager budget for intentions, and watch painfully as some cheer while the executioner applies white paint on an idea labored over with heart. Or, I can call on many of you to recognize the implications of removing it with respect to Clarkston’s vision as a city, on behalf of supporters, and most importantly a handful of kids who cling like dryer sheets when I’m on an occasional walk in the village. They want to know if its true that the mural might be erased.
Sometimes paintings may get removed, fade, fall to new development or ideas, but it’s extraordinary if one gets covered for just not liking it, especially after this much work. We all know that everyone cannot be pleased and have prejudgments and have made fun of something, but when our judgments result in deconstructing something, annihilating it, taking it away from other people, by censoring it and our neighbors, isn’t it time to ask ourselves: “are we going too far?”
Regardless of anyone’s ability to wrap one’s head around a debate about “what is art,” or how long it takes, removing the painting sends a message to kids growing up here. If we complain enough, we get what we want. But will we ever really get what we want?
Is next time around gonna be easier? No more threats to boycott the newspaper?
For Mr. Sherman, there is a chance to give people something to believe in by standing behind this ? every person that gave a shout out from their car, sent supportive letters, or stopped in from “Ferndale” wants to see a vision succeed.
They want to see their kids faces memorialized. Show their kids by example that doing your best work and believing in yourself is the foundation for their dreams.
Who wants to see a picture of a property owner stomping on three years of someone’s work ? because some unsatisfied people perpetually complained?
Many of us can’t see beauty in art, or beauty in anything for that matter, when we won’t let go of what we think should be there and how it should be done, and we hate it when it’s not.
The image some want to preserve may not be appealing to others when it marginalizes growth and free thinking and may have more to do with empty store fronts and empty homes than whether or not we have a police patrol. We CAN have both, preservation and growth – and a picture that represents our tolerance and beauty as a city.
I know there are many people out there who want the painting to be shared. The ultimate decision is Mr. Sherman’s. While the prospect of covering it is troubling, I remain grateful for this experience and the support I have. This picture means a lot to me, why wouldn’t it? This is my hometown.
I would like Mr. Sherman and the people who live here to be proud of the painting, and my commitment to it. Mr. Sherman, I am asking you to continue to support the painting. A legacy doesn’t take something away, it keeps giving.
Michelle Tynan of Independence Township was hired in August 2006 to paint a mural on the side of 5 S. Main Street. Building owner Jim Sherman Sr. decided this past February to cancel the project.

Previously I discussed the importance of an effective outreach and education program for achieving successful stormwater management. The second of 6 minimum control measures is directly associated with the first. Public participation translates education and outreach into tangible actions that can benefit not just the watershed but the community as well by developing relationships. The average citizen becomes an active participant in governmental responsibilities through programs, that when designed well, can also provide opportunity to reduce personal tax obligations. Innovation is key to success, and the greatest advancements have sprung up in states with the tightest budgets.
In Vermont, the State water sampling program is conducted by citizens trained in a manner similar to what the Clinton River Watershed Council partakes. The difference is in the frequency and extent of the sampling and the level of responsibility adopted by the citizens participating. The CRWC has sprouted a proven program and only needs expansion to garner numbers of participants to achieve the level of success obtained by our brethren to the east.
In Oregon, citizens participate in the inspection process. This is something I’d like to see developed here. Individuals can be trained and certified to conduct construction sediment and erosion control inspections, including appropriate documentation and report preparation, generating job skills. In some cases, with additional training, they can become employed by the contractor to actually make the necessary improvements, at a savings to the contractor. Citizens, businesses, and organizations can participate, and receive tax breaks that are terraced according to level of participation. Boy and girl scouts can earn badges. Government becomes more effective and saves money.
Michigan is awash with retired engineers and a brilliant information base on manufacturing. Train them in due diligence/stormwater industrial inspections and you have a once bored populace now actively engaged in local industry, creating partnerships, and opportunities for innovation. Tapping these minds can only result positively for everyone, accomplishes a necessary task for appropriate management, results in a better protected watershed, and saves tax dollars. Everyone benefits.
One of the great benefits of living in Oakland County is the brilliant parks program, and in Independence we have a parcel of beauty that bears our name; Independence Oaks. What an economical means of recreation, stress release, eye candy, health benefits’right in our backyard!!! Being the headwaters of the Clinton River is a plus. Along the entry road, however, is a missed opportunity; the headwaters sign sits juxtaposed to approximately two feet of grass that discharges runoff directly into these once pristine waters. The center for watershed protection recommends a 100 ft setback to protect waters, 75ft would be acceptable, but two feet?
What if we sought philanthropical support to install an interpretive sign, constructed by the various boyscout troops that utilize the park, discussing stormwater’then, what if they planted native species, flowering plants, installing a beautiful rain garden to treat the runoff naturally? Teachers, parents could get involved, church groups, the list is limited only by imagination?.And then, what if, the township sponsored a River Day festival that included all the local regulatory agencies, conservation organizations, and invited in vendors to demo boats and bikes and held competitions all designed for family participation and to increase and enhance watershed understanding and stormwater awareness?.Now that’s public participation that everyone can get on board with and partake in!
Tammie Heazlit is a hydrogeologist living in Independence Township.

By Tammie Heazlit

The number one factor impacting water quality worldwide is stormwater runoff, aka; non-point source pollution, or contaminants that cannot be traced to a single specific point source, such as a factory. Effluent from our cities gets washed untreated, directly into local waterways.
Many people don’t realize that runoff discharged into a gutter is untreated. This process has resulted in greater than 40% of all U.S. water bodies failing to meet water quality standards. The purpose of the Stormwater program is to address this single largest threat to water quality. Thus, why communities such as Independence that reach population densities of >10,000/mi2 must obtain a permit, and fulfill 6 minimum control measures.
The first of these measures calls for public education and outreach, as the more individuals who understand stormwater impacts, the easier to obtain political support to address it properly. The tradeoff for being unfunded when municipalities are already strapped for cash is that proper management saves money on down the line. Flooding, erosion and watershed restoration gets expensive quick!
Under the federal program, communities are required to engage in activities intended to reach deeply and educate the individual least likely to obtain the information on their own. Educating those who would be interested independently does nothing to expand the knowledge base. The intent is to extend the eyes into all corners so that factors contributing to watershed degradation are recognized early on, decreasing impact. Reaching the ‘lowest common denominator? is essential for widespread success, and can supplement the paid workforce. Citizens becoming active in their neighborhoods can feel a sense of pride making a positive difference. Working confidently with local families and government creates a sense of community.
Wise municipalities put their Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWP3) on line as a pdf file so that citizens can access it, and give feed back for improvement. This indirect manner of outreach has proven an effective one, leading to stormwater coalitions, where members of a community can gather on a regular basis to discuss problems and brainstorm for workable solutions. It puts government back in the hands of the citizens, providing a sense of control.
Reducing impact through outreach also leads to decreased associated maintenance costs, increasing property values.
Creating a mascot to visit local schools brings children into the fold, enabling the educational system to expand applicable science programs. Understanding mechanisms of impact from a young age, developing tools for improvement, creates shift in the way we do things from the ground up.
The SW program, moving towards watershed based SWP3s, would strengthen the Clinton River Watershed Council. The CRWC publishes excellent reports, makes recommendations to communities, and creates many opportunities for individuals to get involved. But the job is way too big for them to be entirely effective on their own. These councils should be utilized for support of local programs, not as the source of them.
Water is our lifeblood, without which, none of us can survive. The entire intent of the SW program is to delegate down to the local level. This includes the specificity of outreach and education, because we all live downstream.

Tammie Heazlit is a hydrogeologist living in Independence Township

I’m disgusted by our government’s apathy re: their role in Cheshire Park.
My perspective? Former assistant stormwater coordinator for Utah, providing training, regulatory permitting and compliance oversite on Industrial, Construction and Municipal (MS4) permittees.
If administered as intended, the Stormwater Program is effective. Although unfunded, it’s comprehensive and balanced.
Appropriate training is absolutely essential as oversight and authority are delegated down to the local MS4s, becoming environmental managers. MS4s are the single largest contributor to physical, chemical and biological watershed degradation.
Independence is a Phase II permittee, population of 100,000, as of March 23, 2003. This incident involves multiple issues of non-compliance with our permit.
Under said permit, we’re required to meet six MINIMUM control measures: Public Education/Outreach; Public Participation; Illicit Discharge Detection/Elimination; Construction Site Runoff Control; Post Construction Runoff Control; Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping.
Appropriate attitude by those vested with the responsibility is essential for success. A dedicated budget and manager are required, frequently resulting in Stormwater Utilities.
Like the financial industry, oversite for environmental regulations has been whittled to nearly non-existent, and is particularly weak here in Michigan.
Returning to Michigan to caretake dad, it was overtly apparent there were widespread compliance issues so I offered consulting services to Linda Richardson, free of charge. My intent, to train her and the DPW staff like I had hundreds of other MS4s, was about creating a positive impact on my watershed, and protecting citizenry from potential fines. I was shot down cold.
Stormwater awareness here is nonexistent: The proposed Beaumont location opposes recommendations made by the CRWC. Township wide, there’s consistent drainage and flooding, sediment deposition and erosion issues are widely apparent.
I met with Mr. Richard Carlisle, to discuss concerns regarding non-compliant observations around the township. He acknowledged the issue existed, and believed the county to be responsible.
I contacted the county construction program to discuss concerns, and Independence was referenced as ‘a problem child.? Michigan only lists us as ‘minimally compliant.? Other states would not be so generous.
Since Fall ?04, I have not witnessed a single effectively managed construction site here. I have documented many violations, and at least three resulted in NOVs for significant pollutant discharge.
Appropriate inspections identify these prior to illicit release. Politicking for improvement since ?04, I’ve irritated even myself.
Inspection is our responsibility under our permit. Fines can be up to $25,000 a day, for each day an illicit discharge occurs. This isn’t the first or only incident: proper industrial inspection would’ve prevented coolant released from a boiler at Renaissance, directly into the storm drain/Clinton River, potentially lethal to pets and wildlife.
Per our fire department, that potential remains. At least two storm drains I’ve noticed run wet in dry weather, also likely illicit connections. There is an obvious pattern here.
Linda Richardson was quoted in The Clarkston News ‘we have no water problems here,? engaged the township in litigation fighting illicit discharge detection sampling (led by Dunn), complained about mapping drains, and stated that issues like Cheshire ‘happen all the time.?
Excuse me? Four years from two pipes means millions of gallons of raw sewage, because of negligence. Completely irresponsible, apathetic ‘management.? I use the term loosely.
Tammie Heazlit is a hydrogeologist living in Independence Township

Although I disagree with Mr. Fred Neumark’s recent letter criticizing township Trustees Dave Lohmeier and Neil Wallace for speaking out to protect the taxpayers of this community, I respect the right of Mr. Neumark to express his opinion.
But then why does Mr. Neumark believe that First Amendment Freedom of Speech rights do not extend to elected officials who uncover concealed payments and special deals and expose them for the public to decide if they are appropriate and if the violating officials should be recalled or voted out of office at the next election?
Mr. Neumark writes that Mr. Lohmeier and Mr. Wallace should, ‘Work with ? not against ? the rest of your fellow trustees and officers.?
Apparently that means even if ‘your fellow trustees and officers? are wrong and/or not acting in the best interests of the township.
Allow me to offer an example: for several months, I have been unable to get a majority of the township board to sign a simple note or mortgage verifying that nearly three million dollars was ‘borrowed? from the Township Water and Sewer Fund to pay for the new township hall.
The money was ‘borrowed? in this manner to override the two negative votes of a majority of the Township residents who opposed paying for a new hall.
The previous township board approved a resolution ‘borrowing? well over two million dollars from ‘surplus funds? and agreeing to pay the money over 30 years at an interest rate of five percent. So why does a majority of the township board refuse to execute a note, a mortgage, a used napkin from Paco’s Tacos, anything that would confirm an obligation to repay the money?
By the way, only Mr. Lohmeier and Mr. Wallace voted in favor of having some type of written document evidencing the nearly three million dollar loan. Once again, there goes those disruptive new trustees voting to protect the township taxpayers.
Especially when we are now told to expect a substantial increase in water and sewer rates because of the lower Fund balance. For confirmation, refer to the report from auditors Plante Moran dated Oct. 29, 2008 addressed to Supervisor Dave Wagner, Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen and Finance Director Susan Hendricks.
Why is a note important? No less than township attorney Steve Joppich has WRITTEN on May 8, 2009, ‘There is no note, nor is a note required or applicable. ? It (the nearly three million dollars from the Township Water and Sewer Fund) is technically not a loan.
It is actually a transfer from one Township fund to another, ? fund transfers do not have to be paid back.?
Not paid back? This is NOT what township residents were told last year. Supervisor Wagner has repeatedly referred to this transaction as a ‘loan? and a great investment paying five percent per year for thirty years. Check board minutes and multiple newspaper articles.
And now we have the township attorney writing that this ‘loan? is not a loan and that this ‘great investment? does ‘not have to be paid back? while our water and sewer rates go up?
Apparently the real township supervisor running our community is unelected township attorney Steve Joppich.
Township taxpayers need to be protected with a mortgage note evidencing an obligation to repay the well over $2 million.
As I mentioned to current Treasurer Curt Carson who has an extensive real estate background, would he ever participate in a real estate closing with a $2 million plus building being purchased and have absolutely no mortgage note be signed by the borrowers or lenders?
He too voted against having a note prepared. Very strange since the treasurer is supposedly in charge of township ‘investments? and one would assume a nearly three million dollar note would qualify as an investment that should be recorded.
Mr. Lohmeier and Mr. Wallace, please continue to voice your opinions to protect the taxpayers of this township.
I did not vote for all the Slate but I greatly appreciate your not caving in to the ‘township’s political group? (whatever THAT is) of which Mr. Neumark claims to be a part.
Henry S. Woloson is a resident of Independence Township.

By Michelle Tynan
What are we seeing on that wall? Well here it is, straight from the Drawingboard.
The Detroit News called the Clarkston controversy about the mural ‘a small town tale of good intentions gone awry? and in fact, it is not, as my intentions haven’t changed since the start of this project.
Early on I called for history about Clarkston. I walked and rode my bike around the village looking for stories from residents about their connections to Clarkston’s history and what many gave me were landmarks. I, or my patron, was never interested in creating a painting as advertisement for Clarkston’s commerce and tourism, past or present.
I called it before a ‘history painting.? History paintings cover a broad genre but some classical themes are heroic suffering, classical poses, and story telling. In this case a snap shot of today in small town USA, with a step off from my rendition of Clarkston’s pavement into a fictional world.
There are floating wooden horses and an aged tree holding back fiercely with hollowed armored limbs the distorted Main Street clock symbolic of changing times and oppositions to keep things the same.
There are Parisian street lamps reminiscent of my childhood in Europe, and a mysterious stairway that leads to an unseen carousel. The painting is about change’and fear of change and most certainly an imitation of life.
The clock is taking a metamorphic stature and ballooning into a bloated jest symbolic to me of enlightenment and an expanding universe. The tree is mangled around the clock as it has weathered its iron wrath for years and is now more hollowed than ever. The clock and the tree are both fierce, but I have my money on the clock.
In a sense this became a small town tale of a painting painting itself. The time in on this project adds to the meaning of the picture as the images become metaphors for life on Main Street in USA. It becomes a small town tale about a clock and a tree as it is not at all surprising to me that many who hate the ‘strange hanging tree? might in fact be those who are most resistance to change.
Contrary to the characterization of the notable tree in the mural as ‘dead? recently in a Detroit News article, I am not ready to call time of death on the tree as I have generally only referred to it as very old.
Growing up in Germany, I scaled numerous mysterious stairways leading to hulking castle fortresses atop mountains on holidays with my family and classmates.
The stairway in the picture calls up those childhood adventures and is symbolic of the climbing all of us do. Many times with no real idea of what we will find when we get to the summits of our own labors. The hope is there? that it will be a beautiful panoramic landscape and we can finally see what all the work was for’and we might take in a uniquely awe inspiring world.
Atop the staircase is the suggestion of the viewer’s landscape. I haven’t painted it. It’s up to the viewer to imagine. What I imagine is a gigantic carousel with wooden horses breaking free and springing into life and other fantastic images that stir up mildly macabre disappointment (because not all of our labors seem fruitful). Counter that with whimsy and it creates a dramatic moment in time.
The sky pans from left to right from dark clouds to a piercing sunset. There are flashes of this painted world magnified by a bright diffused setting sun, but the full panorama escapes the view that is obstructed by the stairway and the raised horizon. My intentions are all over this painting if you really look at it.
Mayor Steve Arkwright said ‘People would prefer something a little more understandable.? Yes, and we could all strive for mediocrity in our lives too.
I have no intention to make ugly work that insults Clarkston. This is a lovely place.
I’m very excited about the prospect for my work and what it will offer Clarkston when it is completed.
I am very grateful for the supporters of this project and understand that I cannot please everyone. While many may be disappointed at this time during the working stages, it is my hope that they may ultimately see its value. Its contribution to Clarkston’s appreciation for a deeper sense of its own evolution and enrichment for the arts, as it grows and prospers with new perspective and new vision.
On a quite personal note there have been numerous public attacks on my reputation and my business, my experience and qualifications by city council members, business organizations like the Chamber of Commerce, and residents.
They are futile as I have never claimed to be anything more than what I am, an artist.
I am nearly everything many say I am and more. I am not a master mural painter, or master business woman, or master anything, but I do aspire to be a master artist.
I am the authority on my work. I am extremely excited and grateful to be approaching another year, my third year, of painting this picture, as I will be for every year I get to do what I love, paint large scale pictures that tell stories.
Michelle Tynan will sell her work at the Oakland County Market on selected Saturdays during the summer. Check www.myspace.com/drawingboardstudios and click blog link ‘Art for Sale at Oakland County Market.? Her studio is in the village and she is available for design consultation and painting instruction, 248-410-6713.

I was reading an article by George Will in the Herald-Tribune, April 6, 2009, discussing what a failure it will be with the administration and federal government dictating what cars we consumers will want to buy in the future.
Absent $4 per gallon gas, small cars and hybrid sales have plummeted. American consumers are still buying larger vehicles such as the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Jeep Grand Cherokee and other SUV’s and Crossovers. These are the vehicles the people want and the automobile manufacturers actually make some money on. Light truck sales continue to be a main lifeline for Toyota, GM, Ford and Chrysler.
In September, near the end of the $4 per gallon price scam, I purchased a beautiful Saturn Aura. (Saturn being a division of General Motors). I can attest that it gets 34 miles per gallon on the highway and averages almost 27 miles per gallon overall. It is good looking and I have on several occasions, been accused of driving an expensive Lexus. The vehicle cost less than $20 thousand. The real secret is that I don’t want to drive an Aura and apparently my wife doesn’t either. Each morning we arm wrestle to see who gets to drive the Jeep!
The Administration in Washington has coupled itself with the financial sector to figure out how to fix the automobile industry. This relationship seems a little strange to me, since it was the financial folks that got us into all of this mess in the first place, by getting too deep into another area they knew nothing about ? the real estate business, remember?
After the firing of Rick Wagoner at GM, the head of the Treasury Department Timothy Geithner (who came from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a private banking institution, NOT a part of the Federal Government) proclaimed that he could and would fire any CEO that essentially did not go along with the program. Help me with this. Can anyone show me in the Constitution where it gives anyone in the Treasury Department this power or authority.
Over the years I have garnered that few places outside of Southeastern Michigan know, nor much care, about the big three, GM, Ford and Chrysler. These firms are off their radar screens. Detroit may have been the Arsenal of Defense in the countries hour of need, but now appears to be shown little respect.
The administration has taken an unprecedented move and encroached into the private sector and gotten rid of a man, who by almost all accounts was doing a great job in moving GM forward into the emerging markets of China, Russia, India and Brazil. This is not a wake up call to the automobile industry to straighten up and become profitable, but is a message to all in the private sector that we can and we will come after you if you do not do as we wish.
Every red blooded American, that believes in apple pie, hot dogs, Boss Mustangs, light bulbs, telephones, space shuttles and I-Macs should be paying close attention.
I end my comments with this quote, ‘I predict happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.? ? Thomas Jefferson
Curt Carson is an Independence Township resident and treasurer on the Township Board.

We hear discouraging and pessimistic comments about the economy every day, and many people are afraid of how long the current recession will last.
Michigan just got more bad news as its economic forecasters predicted that the unemployment rate will average 11.3 percent in 2009 and the state’s budget will overspend revenues by $1.6 billion.
But within the economic slowdown, there is actually plenty of good news if you take the time to look for it.
The precipitous drop in gas prices means that American consumers are expected to save $357 billion. Price changes like these soften the blow of a national recession.
Source: Energy Information Administration, GasBuddy.com
First, there are areas of the country that are actually doing quite well. As of November, the jobless rate was at or below 4 percent in four states and below 5 percent in 10 states, including states ranging from New Hampshire to Oklahoma to Hawaii.
Wyoming’s jobless rate is only 3.2 percent, and it actually experienced employment growth over the last year, along with five other states.
And just as there are some states that continue to prosper, there are some industries that continue to experience positive job growth.
For example, employment in the natural resources and mining industries increased by 8.7 percent over the year, and private-sector education and health services added 439,000 jobs over the same period, a growth rate of almost 3 percent.
But even those net job figures give us only part of the bigger employment picture. While the overall economy lost 2.9 million jobs from December 2007 to December 2008 (following five years of solid job growth that created almost 8 million jobs), there was also a huge amount of healthy job turnover in 2008.
According to government data, there were 7.1 million new jobs created in the first quarter of 2008 (the most recent period available), but also 7.4 million jobs lost. Despite a net job loss, the fact that there were so many jobs created in just the first three months of 2008 is an encouraging sign that new opportunities in the dynamic U.S. economy, even during a recession.
Going back to 1990, there has been an average quarterly job loss of 5.7 percent of total jobs, but an average growth in new jobs of 7.6 percent, and we’ll likely return to a period of positive, net job growth again in 2009 or 2010.
Second, retail prices for many consumer products have declined significantly, allowing Americans to stretch their dollars further and save billions.
For example, retail gasoline peaked in July 2008 at $4.12 per gallon, but then decreased substantially to the current average price of $1.81, translating into annual saving for consumers and business of more than $350 billion.
There have been industry trends and improved technologies over a long period that have helped consumers save money ? computers cost 88 percent less now than they did a decade ago ? and the same holds for televisions (78 percent less), cameras (63 percent less), cell phone service (30 percent less), clothes (10 percent less) and even new cars (8 percent less).
The combination of falling home prices and record-low mortgage rates has pushed the National Association of Realtors? home affordability index to record highs in recent months.
Mortgage rates are at near-historic lows, currently only 5.12 percent for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage – lower than any time since the 1960s.
While the lingering troubles in the real estate market have resulted in a large number of foreclosures, even this problem is largely regional.
According to RealtyTrac, more than half (53 percent) of all November foreclosures were concentrated in only four states ? California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona. Without those four states, foreclosures in the other states actually declined in November from October, and were up by only slightly from the same month in 2007.
There certainly are serious problems facing the economy, but these should be considered as temporary setbacks for the world’s largest and strongest economy. Economic conditions are not uniformly bad and opportunities still exist in many states, and in many industries and sectors.
Instead of arbitrary pump-priming from Washington, policies should reflect that the U.S. economy is both incredibly resilient and highly dynamic and, absent government meddling, the marketplace will correct and become even stronger on the other end of this slowdown.
James M. Homan is a fiscal policy research assistant at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a research and educational institute headquartered in Midland, Mich. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint and an adjunct scholar with the Mackinac Center. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the authors and the Center are properly cited.

If we are to co-exist on this planet, the only true medicine is to learn what the above words mean in action.
Acceptance is the realization we are part of a collective human existence.
From my perspective if I have accepted myself, it brings me one step closer to accepting another. Simple, yet one of the most complex phenomena of our time.
I learned from a question long ago in elementary school from my teacher: ‘if you were to meet Jesus, what would he look like??
That stuck between my ears and was felt by my heart. From that moment on, I chose to look at human beings and all life, as it could be Jesus, or a representation of Him?
This has and continues to guide my human journey humbly enjoying the fruits of this earth.
Tolerance calls for a pause and think in one’s consciousness. What the eye sees is not necessarily, what truly is.
This word calls for reflection time, communication, and understanding, as one looks from another viewpoint to shed light on any darkened corner of human behavior.
Again, each of us must learn to tolerate ourselves before one can relate or engage tolerance toward another.
Respect is one of my favorite (R) words. To respect, one must know the significance of choice and free will. Free will is stronger than man-made laws. Man made laws are based on forced respect imposed from outside in.
Until the inside is respected, there is no law that will prevail over the ‘interior choice. ? No human bond is stronger than the covenant or contract each of us has with our Source of life. I have not written on this subject matter until this moment.
An example of respecting man-made law is illustrated by one’s approach an amber light.
When it turns red, it allows others to proceed. This is a good time to pause, possibly re-evaluate, rest a moment, but not for long. Others will let you know time is up by honking, or other means. It all works toward respecting the process of the bigger purpose, respectful co-existence.
If one could take one word at a time and focus on it’s meaning and make it a habit. This could definitely change one’s perception of reality toward a greener, friendlier planet.
Maria Rotondo Mark is owner of MakeOver Place Salon in Independence Township.

By Mike Clark

Chicken Little, the puppet master, and his merry band of Al Gore ‘limousine liberals,? the slate, decided the state of government in Independence Township was ‘broken,? and they and their ‘manager? were just the ‘govern in lockstep? group to save us from ourselves.
Let’s examine just how flawed the premise for this drastic change in government actually was.
The state of government in Independence Township is actually quite good ? see the most recent Plante Moran audit. We are obviously living in trying financial times, but our financial house is in quite good order!
Our bills are paid, we have significant fund balances, rainy day funds, and we have set significant funds aside to fund long term dept, i.e., retirement health care. We recently managed to build and staff a modest, yet safe and secure senior center instead of that ultimately multi-million dollar facility with a $600,000 annual operating budget proposed by a member of this slate.
Kudos to Dave Wagner, Charles Dunn, Sam Moraco, and most of the current building and planning officials, Dave Belcher for bringing the concept of a new senior center, a $500,000 asset to the township for less than $250,000 with no increase in taxes.
That is not a ‘broken government? as the so-called slate would have you believe, but responsible, good governing by your current independent thinking township government.
As a candidate, Dan Travis, using what can only be described as ‘fuzzy math,? attempted to justify the cost increase of a manager government using an unqualified reduction in salary for the supervisor, clerk and treasurer, as well as a $150,000 salary and benefit package for the non-existent ‘deputy supervisor? position.
Of course, the terribly burdensome task of fulfilling the day to day duties of the full time positions would have been decreased so the supervisor could still work at Bass Pro Shop, the clerk could still take extended vacations, although she can’t take complete minutes, see ‘public comment? portion of the last six months? minutes, and the treasurer could continue to sell mortgages!
If you have a question for one of your full/part-time officials I guess you could ask the ‘manager.? The first question I would have is are full/part-time officials still entitled to the perks they now enjoy, such as medical, dental, or the car allowance policy, which has already been abused?
As you can see, there were numerous details of this proposed ‘radical change? on our municipal government not addressed or adequately explained. Chicken Little and his ‘slate? have yet to explain exactly how our current form of government is broken!
On a slightly different note, I find it interesting that the cub reporter for the Clarkston News was as enamored with the slate as the New York Times is with Obama. He thinks just because Wallace/Travis tried to silence criticism (see planning commission minutes of May 17, 1984), by not allowing a citizen to videotape a public meeting, in spite of the fact the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled a private citizen could video any public meeting, and they needed no permission of the township board or any other public body, is somehow not relevant because it is ‘old news.?
Personally, I think the puppet master Wallace and the puppet Travis acting in concert to deny the First Amendment rights to a citizen, at a public meeting is particularly onerous given their propensity to sweep ‘unpleasant issues? under the rug.
Thank God there were accurate minutes to verify this assertion. The cub reporter for the Clarkston News failed on several occasions to properly investigate serious allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse of township resources, because they involved members of the slate.
Specifically, Dan Travis and the insurance debacle; Shelagh VanderVeen and the car allowance vs. the use of township vehicles, you get one or the other, not both; and last but far from least, Neil Wallace representing the township on the Liberty Golf deal in 2000, then turning around and representing the developer of Liberty to get him increased density on a piece of township property the developer received in the ‘deal.?
Mr. Cub Reporter, do your job and don’t be afraid the individuals involved will be mad at you!
Finally, I am happy the primary election is over. I have not written a guest opinion, or letter to the editor, in three years. Because I was specifically referred to by name, by your cub reporter and by Mr. Travis, I felt compelled to set the record straight.
I look forward to being your ombudsman for the next 40 years, as I have for the last 40 years.