• Poor Kids in the Spin Cycle: Deunionizing Day Care

    REP RAP: RAY FRANZ By Eric Pyne OUR STATE HOUSE representative, Ray Franz (R–101st District), has introduced three bills in Lansing. The first was a law to declare June 8 “Remember the USS Liberty Day,” honoring the U.S. spy ship that was torpedoed by Israeli forces during the Six-Day War of 1967. What really happened to that ship is still a matter of controversy, but 34 American sailors were killed. Another new law that Mr. Franz has asked for would prohibit the building of wind generators offshore in Lake Michigan. It’s the third piece of legislation, House Bill 4157, that… More

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  • Frankfort, Tree City, Celebrates Arbor Day

    The Alert spoke with Bonnie Warren of the Frankfort Tree Board and Jim Grabowski, tree wrangler extraordinaire, ahead of the 8th Annual Arbor Day event at 9:30 a.m. this Friday, April 29. With children, parents, and city officials looking on, a maple will be planted at Frankfort–Elberta Elementary School, where the first of these sylvan celebrations took place in 2004. Frankfort has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City again this year for the seventh time, and it’s the sixth year they’ve earned a foundation Growth Award. The 2011 Tree City poster was made from… More

  • Agenda: April Council Meeting

    At Thursday’s council meeting this week, the Village’s annual auditor, Dave Wilson (CPA), will be on hand to address concerns over our scary 8 status, the state of our finances, and how the Village leadership has been addressing our $700K-plus reserve deficit over the past few years. Come out and find out what’s what, at 7 PM. President Reg Manville is away, so the meeting will be run by president pro-tem Jinx Jenks. Here’s the rest of the agenda, courtesy of Sharyn Bower at the Village Office Council Meeting Agenda 4/21 Call to order Attendance Approval of minutes Approval of… More

  • Elberta Placed on State Government Fiscal Watch List

    On the front page of today’s Record-Patriot, below the fold, appeared a headline no less disturbing for being not entirely surprising: “Elberta ‘Working Diligently’ on Financial Woes Cited by State.” According to a chart released on the Detroit Free Press website on April 6, Elberta has been placed on a state financial watch list and is “flagged for possible state intervention.” We scored an 8 out of 10 based on our fiscal 2009 audit. Frankfort, meanwhile, scored an impressive 2, placing it in the category “neutral—no action necessary” (view the breakdown for Benzie County here). Elberta did remarkably worse than… More

  • Foghorn: Sign of the Times

    Observant travelers near the junction of M-22 and M-168 may have noted that the Welcome to Elberta sign is missing. The Parks Committee of the Parks and Rec Commission removed it Saturday, April 9, for renovations. Jennifer Wilkins of the Parks Committee remarked that at least one of the several Village amenities listed on the sign no longer exists—the public restrooms. Keep your eyes peeled for the sign’s sparkling return, along with more new and improved signage around the Village. More