Ferry and/or Bridge (Update)

Moroun revives Harsens Island bridge plan

Execs: No state money needed for project

By Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki and John Gallagher Free Press Staff Writers

   Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun may build a second bridge after all. But this one wouldn’t be to Canada.

   Moroun’s Detroit International Bridge Co. announced Wednesday it was ready to resurrect plans to build a bridge to Harsens Island, now that the owner of the island’s lone car ferry service has said he plans to retire and shut his business down.

   The bridge company already owns the necessary land on the mainland and the island, as part of an aborted plan to build a bridge about five years ago, said company President Dan Stamper. The company had talked to state officials and done most of the preliminary work, including pulling most of the necessary permits, Stamper said.

   Then the economy crashed and the plans were shelved. But not forgotten.

   “The issue is, is the economy strong enough to go forward?” Stamper said. “I think the economy has been replaced by the threat of no service to the island.”

   The ferry, operated by Champions Auto Service, is the only year-round link to the mainland for Harsens Island’s 1,200 permanent residents. It transported more than 275,000 vehicles in 2011, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission.

   Stamper said it would take about 18 months to build the bridge across the North Channel to the island, which sits at the mouth of the St. Clair River in St. Clair County’s Clay Township.

   The North Channel is about a quarter of a mile wide, according to Clay Township Supervisor Tom Krueger.

   Stamper said his company would build a bascule bridge, which is a drawbridge that opens in the middle, so it would not hamper boat traffic.

   Stamper said the toll bridge would charge rates comparable to Champion ferry’s current rate of $7 per round-trip ride for a car. No state money would be used to build the bridge, Stamper said.

   Moroun, 85, who with his family owns the Ambassador Bridge, has battled Michigan and Canadian officials for years over his proposal to build a second span over the Detroit River next to the Ambassador. He has spent millions of dollars trying to block plans backed by Gov. Rick Snyder to build a competing public bridge about two miles downriver from the Ambassador.

   The legal wrangles over the proposed public bridge form only part of a web of lawsuits and other legal entanglements.

   Moroun and Stamper, his top aide, were jailed for a night earlier this year for civilian contempt of court stemming from the long-running dispute with the Michigan Department of Transportation over construction of the Gateway project.

   Gateway was a joint project with MDOT to ease congestion at the Ambassador Bridge by connecting it directly to nearby interstates through a series of new roads and ramps.

   In addition, Moroun has either filed lawsuits or been sued in local, state, federal and Canadian courts in multiple disputes involving, among other things, control of the City of Detroit’s Riverside Park near his bridge and the demolition of houses near his bridge in Windsor.

   Several years ago, the Morouns also proposed building a bridge between Buffalo, N.Y., and Ft. Erie, Ontario, but that proposal came to nothing.

   Ferry owner David Bryson notified the Michigan Public Service Commission in July that he intends to retire. The MPSC posted the news on Tuesday, stunning the island community, which swells to about 5,000 during the summer months.

   There is only a smattering of island businesses. All goods and supplies come via ferry, and islanders rely on it to get to everything from shopping to visiting doctors on the mainland. Even the school buses must travel by ferry.

   A bridge would probably be welcome news to the islanders, Krueger said.

   “I think the people on the island are looking for some stable ingress and egress to get on and off the island,” Krueger said.

   Several years ago, a survey found islanders split about 50-50 on whether they wanted a bridge. But Krueger said he thinks recurring issues such as rates and now the ferry owner’s retirement have likely changed that in the bridge’s favor.

   “It’s kind of a fantasyland for a lot of people,” Krueger said of Harsens Island. “It’s kind of a throwback to days gone by.”

   Bryson gave no date for his retirement in his letter to the MPSC.

   MPSC spokeswoman Judy Palnau said the Harsens Island Transportation Authority informed the state agency that the bridge company planned to build a bridge to the island when the ferry operators applied for a rate hike in 2011 that was denied.

   The MPSC has given Champions Auto Service 120 days to submit a proposal for transportation to and from the island. After that is submitted, the agency’s staff will write a report with recommendations by March 1.

   • CONTACT PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI:

   MMWALSH@FREEPRESS.COM  

Manuel (Matty) Moroun’s bridge company already owns the necessary land on the mainland and Harsens Island.

Free to retire ferry service

   In the Aug. 15 article “Harsens Island fears for ferry service,” we learned that David Bryson, the operator of the service, wants to retire. Bryson reportedly sought a rate hike in May but was rebuffed, and apparently feels that it’s no longer worth it for him to keep working. But township supervisor Tom Krueger opines that “even though he’s a private business … I don’t believe the MPSC would let him just shut down.”

   As far as I can tell from the article, Bryson is a free citizen, which precludes enslaving him, even for an essential service. It sounds as if the Harsens Island community had better buy and operate a public bridge or ferry. And, by the way, don’t ask the rest of us to belly up to the bar to help pay for it; we didn’t ask you to live on an island.

   Ralph Emmons Dearborn

FILE PHOTO BY MARY SCHROEDER/DETROIT FREE PRESS

   The operator of the Harsens Island ferry service said he wants to retire.

THINK! (Bridges of Every Ilk!)

Harsens Island fears for ferry service

Owner planning to retire, shut down

By Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki Free Press Staff Writer

   For the 1,200 full-time residents of Harsens Island, the car ferry run by Champions Auto Service is their only year-round link to the mainland.

   They use it to get to work, travel to doctor appointments and go shopping. Children depend on it to get to school.

   So residents of the island at the mouth of the St. Clair River were shocked Tuesday when news began to trickle out that Champions’ owner wants to retire and shut down the ferry service.

   David Byson didn’t give the Michigan Public Service Commission a date for when he would end the ferry service.

   “That’s awful. We have to have a way to get across,” said Adele Raska, a 25-year island resident. “Everybody has to go across, whether you want to or not. We have to go to shop, we have to go to doctors, we have to go for everything.”

   Although many residents have small boats and there is a tiny airstrip on the island, the ferry service is the only publictransportation to the mainland, operating even in the midst of winter.

   There is only a scattering of restaurants and small businesses on the 16-square-mile island, which is part of St. Clair County’s Clay Township. The island’s marshy interior is ringed by both year-round and vacation homes, with its population swelling to about 5,000 in the summer.

   Byson, who couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, notified the MPSC in a July 28 letter that he intends to retire.

   On Tuesday, the MPSC announced it was launching an investigation into transportation to the island. The MPSC wants to ensure a smooth transition from the current service to whatever service may replace it, said spokeswoman Judy Palnau.

   The commission gave Champions Ferry 120 days to submit a proposal for transportation to and from the island, Palnau said.

   After that is submitted, the agency’s staff will write a report with recommendations by March 1.

   Even the township wasn’t notified of Champions’ intent until the MPSC posted its notice.

   “It took us by surprise to us here at the township. We didn’t know anything about it,” said Clay Township Supervisor Tom Krueger. “The only information we have is on the MPSC website.”

   There have been threats to close the ferry in the past, Krueger said. Champions also sought a rate hike in May from the MPSC, but was denied.

   Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun has talked about building a bridge between the island and mainland, but Krueger said that idea seems to have died as Moroun fights to stop a second bridge to Canada.

   “Even though he’s a private business, I do believe he’s an essential service, and I don’t believe the MPSC would let him just shut down,” Krueger said of the ferry service.

   • CONTACT PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI:

   MMWALSH@FREEPRESS.COM  

2005 PHOTO BY J. KYLE KEENER/DETROIT FREE PRESS

   Aferry makes the trip to Harsens Island. Ferry service is the only public transportation to the mainland.

"Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace!" (Digital Learning Model)

Schools of Choice bill coming

Legislature likely to get proposal this week as foes from Detroit, suburbs gear for fight

By CECIL ANGEL FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

   An education reform package that includes mandatory Schools of Choice and cyber schools could be introduced in the state Legislature as early as Wednesday, the chairman of the state Senate Education Committee said.

   “It’s a good possibility on Wednesday, the 24th, we’ll have part of the package ready for introduction,” said state Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township.

   The education package also addresses charter school caps and school aid. The package is part of Gov. Rick Snyder’s proposed “Any Time, Any Place, Any Way, Any Pace” public school learning model.

   Education Committee hearings on the package will begin Sept. 7, Pavlov said.

   Mandatory Schools of Choice is emerging as the most controversial part of the education package.

   Opposition is strong in the heavily Republican Grosse Pointes. In heavily Democratic Detroit, three legislators have said they are opposed to state-mandated Schools of Choice because, they said, it will negatively impact Detroit Public Schools.

   “I don’t want the state to help usher children from one community to another at the expense of the community where they are,” said state Sen. Bert Johnson, D-Highland Park, whose district includes the Grosse Pointes and part of Detroit.

   State Sen. Coleman A. Young II, D-Detroit, said every proposal out of Lansing that was supposed to help DPS has hurt it. He cited the 1999 state takeover that was supposed to improve the district academically.

   At the time, the district had 180,000 students, a $93-million fund balance and a $1.5-billion bond project. Under state control, DPS wound up with a $200-million deficit, he said.

   “I don’t think the state should be imposing another mandate on the city or any other city,” Young said.

   State Rep. Lisa Howze, D-Detroit, said mandatory Schools of Choice “would further impact DPS’s ability to stabilize.”

   Last week, the Grosse Pointe Woods City Council passed a resolution against mandated Schools of Choice.

   The Grosse Pointe Woods-based Michigan Communities For Local Control has set up a Web site at www.miclc.com   and is contacting other school districts to build opposition.

   Peter Spadafore, assistant director of government relations for the Michigan Association of School Boards, said the MASB has been talking with the Snyder administration and legislators about the bill.

   Based on the ongoing discussion, the bill likely will include “universal choice K-12 up to capacity. The problem is how to define capacity,” he said.

   Spadafore said the MASB is opposed to mandatory Schools of Choice. “We feel that decision should be made by the local school district,” he said. “By mandating Schools of Choice, it’s just a solution looking for a problem.”

21st Century Digital Learning Environments & Studios (2)

2nd Annual Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival (A BIG Hit!)

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Models our Practice (Real-World Learning by Doing!)

Sunday: August 14, 2011 12:00PM to 2:00PM (Channel #4 MSNBC A Stronger America: "Making the Grade")

Clickondetroit.com
http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/28851709/index.html

2nd Annual Harsen's Island Bluegrass Festival TODAY!

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21st Century Digital Learning Environments & Studios

Mark YOUR Calendars (Can't Miss!)

FOR IMMEDITATE RELEASE
Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival Returns    Festival Fast Facts...  ~ Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival  ~ Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011 Noon - 9 p.m.   ~ Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille, 2669 Columbine Road, Harsens Island, Mich. 48028 ~ Featuring Outstanding Regional Bluegrass Bands  & a Bluegrass Jam ~ Local vendors and food celebrating a back-to-basics lifestyle  ~ Admision is $20, Kids under 12 FREE - proceeds to Harsens Island Lions Club with proceeds going to to the Harsens Island Lions Club Family Emergency Fund, Readers Cove Island library and the Schoolhouse Grille Scholarship Fund for Island residents ~ Tickets are on sale online and at select local businesses  ~ Online Tickets@ http://2011harsensislandbluegrassfestival.eventbrite.com/ ~ Parking is FREE ~ Producer: Kate Hart, 810-748-3204, katehart@speakeasy.net ~ Media Contact: Peggy Blue 586-291-2018, bluehorizonmedia@gmail.com   Bluegrass Festival has something for everyone  (HARSENS ISLAND, MICH - JULY 22) -- You don't have to look like George Clooney in the movie Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? - long, fuzzy beard and tweed cap - or dress like Jed Clampett from "The Beverly Hillbillies" to enjoy a little old-time Bluegrass music. If you love a lively tune, enjoy a bit of dancing or just like tapping your foot to the beat, you're qualified to become a bona fide Bluegrass fan. So grab your kinfolk and come on out, 'cause the Second Annual Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival is almost upon us! The Harsens Island Bluegrass Festival will play out on the playground of the former two-room schoolhouse Saturday, Aug. 13 from noon until 9 p.m. The old school, now home of Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille, is located at 2669 Columbine.Tickets are $20, with proceeds going to island charities.  A ferry ride away from Algonac and just across the river from Canada, the festival offers close-to-home fun for families with a full day of music by great regional bluegrass bands, slow-roasted barbecue beef and veggies, plus organic, natural and handcrafted goods from vendors in a beautiful island setting. Festival producer Kate Hart was drawn to the island for its natural beauty and historic charm. After more than 40 years on the road traveling with the best in blues, Hart - a Grammy-nominated blues singer and songwriter - settled on Harsens Island three years ago with her husband Joe Veler. "This island instantly makes you feel connected to nature," explained Hart. "It is absolutely breathtaking here. We love it and wanted to share the experience with others. For us, music is a way of connecting. That's how this festival came about." Kristin and Tony Bane, the owners of the Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille, quickly adopted Hart's vision and began work to transform the playground into the perfect festival grounds and plan a mouth-watering menu. Festival goers seemed to love the result. Nearly a thousand Islanders and visitors came out last August and had a foot-tapping, thigh-slapping good time. Families spent the day listening to the music while enjoying ice cream cones and kettle corn. Others stopped in after church and strolled the old schoolyard, catching up with old friends. Still others shopped at the vendor show, picking up paintings, handcrafted flutes, pottery and jewelry. And island resident John Horvath worked with the Banes, slow-roasting beef on an open flame filling the air with an aroma that made the mouth water in anticipation. And now they're ready to do it all again! 	GET TICKETS: Online @ Eventbrite.com Just click the image above. Or visit one of these convenient locations... Harsens Island Schoolhouse Grille 2669 Columbine Road, Harsens Island, MI 48028  Delta Hardware 3062 S. Channel Dr. Harsens Island, MI 48028 The Spiritwear Shop 5297 Pointe Tremble Rd Algonac, MI 48001  Sue's Coffee House 201 N Riverside Ave St Clair, MI 48079  Holistic Voice Institute 2769 Coolidge Berkley, MI 48072 An arial view of the island.    An Island Paradise  For those who've never beenthere, Harsens Island is a real surprise. Only about an hour from Detroit or Port Huron, the Lake St. Clair island feels like a secluded rural island teeming with wildlife -swans, ducks, foxes, deer, raccoons, even an American Bald Eagle has a nest there. Its crystal waterways and canals are dotted with quaint wood-framed cottages and elegant Victorian homes. The only way to access the island is a  ferry ride (in your car!) or traveling by boat. The ferry ride across is $7.
It's About the Music! Organizers have worked hard to find the best regional bluegrass bands around. So count on the air sizzling with lively traditional bluegrass and a bit of gritty newgrass. At the end of the day, festival goers will be invited to join in a jam session entitled Jammin' With Jerry's Kids, which is a tribute to Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead.   Hart said the jam session was added as a way to draw the crowds further into the music. Each of the bands is expected to play a tribute to Garcia or the Dead. If crowds choose to jam too, Hart said she'll be pleased. "We'd love it if people brought their instruments and joined in," Hart said. "Bluegrass really lends itself to improvisation. From the music to the food to the vendors, this festival will be organic - growing naturally into whatever it is supposed to be."   Goldmine Pickers Goldmine Pickers is a young, passionate, four-piece band weaving together roots and inspiration in bluegrass, jazz, folk and Irish traditions to create an energetic new space in Americana music. With memorable acoustic performances, the group has mesmorized audiences in intimate clubs and expansive concert halls; at festivals and on live radio shows with inspiring interplay between guitar, mandolin,upright bass, a fiery fiddler and soaring, heartfelt vocal harmonies. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN Bill Bynum & Co. With songs both traditional and original, and a sound that's at once as comfortable as old jeans and as fresh as a new blade of grass, Bill Bynum & Co. is a band that's easy to love and hard to quit. The band's core of guitar, pedal steel, fiddle, bass and harmony vocals can lean into country, veer toward bluegrass, or take listeners on a unique journey through Bill's original songs. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN   Lonesome County Back by popular demand, Lonesome County, has long been known as Michigan's finest bluegrass band and one of the finest anywhere. They have been garnering loads of attention since their 2002 inception. From concert halls to many large bluegrass festivals throughout the U.S., they can be found playing their distinctive style of bluegrass - a lively mixture of traditional Bill Monroe style music to energetic originals. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN    New County Grass This quartet out of the Flint area -yes Flint -bangs out hard-driving traditional bluegrass music with a  Nine Pound Hammer and still has plenty of energy left to create cutting edge originals. One festival critic says New County Grass is a band with "one of the most eclectic blends of modern and traditional bluegrass to take the stage" in years. Since their inception three years ago, the band has been playing festivals around the Midwest and has released its first CD - Start the Whole Thing Over. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN    VENDOR VILLAGE Hart made a concerted effort to attract vendors and artists who celebrate a back-to-nature, hand-crafted or organic lifestyle. The result has been pretty impressive. Below is a sampling of some of our vendors.   Photography by Island resident Brenda Thomas focuses on natural beauty. Award-winning collectible - or usable - handmade fishing lures by Ron Cracchiolo. And yes, the ones meant for fishing catch some impressive fish! Check out www.bluewaterbait.com to see more lures and the fish they helped catch.   Distinctive, custom-made jewelry and crystal writing instruments by Debbie Irvine and gorgeous pieces made by another talented artisan - Michelle Yinger - will be available at the festival.   Watercolor paintings, photographs and notecards by Mary Jo Beranek and pottery by Sondra Maryon focus on natural beauty and whimsy. Be sure to bring some extra spending money because not every vendor accepts credit cards and you don't want to miss an opportunity!	OUR SPONSORS         Sunset Harbor Marina 1784 N. Channel Drive    Harsens Island, MI 48028 810-748-3082 Planning on coming to the festival by boat? Call Sunset for information on a slip for the day. Trolley service will take you from Sunset to the HarsensIsland Schoolhouse Grille.   Preferred Charters  3233 Dove Road Port Huron, MI 48060 (810) 982-7433    This year, in addition to theTrolley transportation from the Ferry, Preferred Charters is offering Festival Packages with rides from Port Huron, St. Clair and MarineCity for $30, including festival ticket. Call today to make your reservations.     Spiritwear Shop  5297 Pointe Tremble Rd  Algonac,  MI 48001  810-956-9032    Holistic Voice Institute  2769 Coolidge  Berkley, MI 48072  248-460-356  UPDATES We'll be posting regular updates about the festival on Facebook. So won't you 'Like' our page?

Just one example of an universally organic pedagogical learning environment

The GELT-ART of the LINCHPIN!

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LINCHPIN by Seth Godin





A linchpin, as Seth describes it, is somebody in an organization who is indispensable, who cannot be replaced—her role is just far too unique and valuable. And then he goes on to say, well, seriously folks, you need to be one of these people, you really do. To not be one is economic and career suicide. 

No surprises there—that’s exactly what one would expect Seth to say. But here’s where it gets interesting. 

In his best-known book, Purple Cow, Seth’s message was, “Everyone’s a marketer now.” In All Marketers Are Liars, his message was, “Everyone’s a storyteller now.” InTribes, his message was, “Everyone’s a leader now.” 

And from Linchpin? 

"Everyone’s an artist now." 

By Seth’s definition, an artist is not just some person who messes around with paint and brushes, an artist is somebody who does (and I LOVE this term) “emotional work.” 

Work that you put your heart and soul into. Work that matters. Work that you gladly sacrifice all other alternatives for. As a working artist and cartoonist myself, I know exactly what he means. It’s not what you do, it’s the way that you do it. 

The only people who have a hope of becoming linchpins in any organization, who have any hope of changing anything for the better in real terms, are those who have the capacity to do “emotional work” at a high level—to be true artists at whatever they set their minds on doing. The guys who just plod around the office corridors, just turning up for their paycheck.... Well, those guys don’t have a prayer, poor things. The world is just too interesting and competitive now. 

And Seth then challenges us, the readers, to become linchpins ourselves. To make the leap. To become artists. To do emotional work, whatever the sacrifice may be. It’s our choice, and it’s our burden. Seth won’t be there to catch us if we fall, but to become the people we need to be eventually, well, we probably wouldn’t want him to, anyway. 

Congratulations, Seth. You have penned a real gem of a book here. Rock on. 

--Hugh MacLeod