Electric Cars
Dear editor,
I have several questions regarding electric vehicles. Maybe somebody has the answers.
Since electric vehicles have fewer parts and are less costly to build, why are they so expensive?
What will happen to the jobs of factory workers in parts companies?
How long does a electric car battery last? How much does the battery cost to replace? How will they dispose of used batteries? Lithium and Cobalt are  vital ingredients in electric car batteries and they are not renewable so how does this help the environment?
How much does a home hookup cost per vehicle? How much will electric cars increase our electric bills?
What will happen in a prolonged power outage?
Since power companies have trouble keeping up with power needs in extreme weather, how will power companies produce enough power if everybody owns an electric car?
Power companies can’t produce enough energy with windmills or solar power, what will they use for fuel? Natural gas? Nuclear energy? Coal?
Won’t consumers have to pay the additional cost of upgrading power to the power companies?
What will it cost to charge a car away from home?
If it is necessary to evacuate an area, due to an emergency, what will happen when some cars lose their charge blocking exit routes? Wouldn’t this be chaotic?
I’m sure that others have questions but these are a few of mine.
Walt Dilber

Pickle Ball Court Tradgedy
Dear editor,
Let me tell you a story about our town’s main sports park. It has two baseball fields, two basketball courts, a concession stand, and a former skate park area. The skate park area was shut down, and has been an empty cement slab for years. The good news is that this cement slab would provide and an excellent foundation to build two Pickleball courts. Pickleball is a smaller version of tennis and is very popular with all ages, and our senior citizens love it!
At our last Village Council meeting, I made a proposal to allocate $4,000 to build our Pickleball Courts. We could have the work done immediately this summer by our very qualified DPW staff, led by Bob Hauxwell, and would take a couple of weeks to complete. This would provide our town, especially our senior citizens a much needed recreational option. But, when I made the motion to proceed with this project, I could not even get one Council member to support it! We didn’t even take a vote.
Instead, led by Keith Dylus, the Council voted 6-1 to accept a counter proposal for a Community Development Block Grant of $16,000 to maybe take affect sometime next summer. Yes, that’s their plan – kick the can till next year and try get free money for the project. Maybe they should have first taken a look at our current $36,000 grant for our park’s Concession Stand, that’s been sitting idle for the last four years, without a single improvement even started. Why don’t we at least complete this project, before pursuing another bogus grant?
Here’s what lit my fuse! Tonja Brice, our current President was quoted as saying “This topic was a total waste of time and should not have even been on the agenda!” Really Tonja, thanks for your total lack of support for our town’s recreational needs and your backhanded insult at the lack of skills from our DPW staff to do a competent job, in timely manner.
People, let’s stand up together, like we did with trails, and put some heat on our current Council members to act now! Four of them that voted “No” on my proposal are up for reelection this November. We can replace them, just like we did with the “Fearful Foursome” that preceded them. But let’s not wait that long!!
Very Sincerely,
Pat George, Village Trustee

Water Infrastructure
Dear editor,
Summer’s approaching, and Michiganders are remembering the intense storms that ravaged the state last summer which caused thousands to suffer from flooding, water damage, and power outages.
The climate-change-induced damage was worsened by our state’s crumbling infrastructure, which was awarded a disgraceful D+ grade by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2018. Storms in the Great Lakes region will only become more extreme over the next 25 years, and our current sewage systems and water infrastructure are not equipped to handle it. If we don’t take action, we’ll be dealing with flooded basements and water damage for decades.
To avoid this fate, we must invest in water infrastructure, both here in Michigan and across the nation. I urge you to contact your representatives and insist that they fight for this cause- I refuse to suffer from summer flooding for the next 25 years, and you should too.
Ella Manino