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www.newbuffalotimes.com THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2022www.newbuffalotimes.com
New Buffalo Times
THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF NEW BUFFALO • SINCE 1944 THE OFFICIAL NEWSPAPER OF NEW BUFFALO, MICHIGAN • SINCE 1942
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CHICAGO • LONG BEACH • MICHIANA SHORES • GRAND BEACH • NEW BUFFALO • UNION PIER • THREE OAKS • LAKESIDE • HARBERT • SAWYER
issue 35, volume 81 www.newbuffalotimes.com Thursday, September 1, 2022
‘Clear the Shelters’ encourages others to give animals their second chance PAGE 6
Raiders show fight in season opening
loss PAGE 7
Bison volleyball rising to next level PAGE 10
Lakeside Goods joins Michigan Mercantile development in New
Buffalo PAGES 12-13
DILL WITH IT...
PICKLEBALL COURTS UNVEILED TO THE PUBLIC IN NEW BUFFALO
New Buffalo Times
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE — SINCE 1942 —
ETHICS SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM MICHIGAN PRESS ASSOCIATION MEMBER PROPRIETOR NEW BUFFALO TIMES, INC. EDITOR NEW BUFFALO TIMES INTELLIGENCE EDITORIAL BOARD CREATIVE DIRECTOR JOE DURK REPORTERS/WRITERS THERESE DONNELLY FRANCESCA SAGALA LAWRENCE VON EBELER KURT MARGGRAF ALEXANDER FATOUROS SOPHIA ROSE FATOUROS STAN MADDUX KRISTIN E. FATOUROS NEW BUFFALO TIMES INTELLIGENCE NEW BUFFALO TIMES POLITICS GUESTS QUOTES DINO N. FATOUROS PROOFING FRANCESCA SAGALA BROADCAST/ADVERTISING JANINE ADAMSKI (630) 370-0820 OR JANINEADAMSKI@GMAIL.COM SUGGESTIONS, CRITICISM, IDEAS MEDIA@NEWBUFFALOTIMES.COM ADVERTISING MEDIA@NEWBUFFALOTIMES.COM CLASSIFIED ADS CLASSIFIEDS@NEWBUFFALOTIMES.COM SUBSCRIPTIONS SUBSCRIPTIONS@NEWBUFFALOTIMES.COM COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH NEW BUFFALO TIMES INFO@NEWBUFFALOTIMES.COM Periodical Postage paid in New Buffalo, MI. Postmaster, please send address changes to
NEW BUFFALO TIMES PO BOX 369, New Buffalo, MI 49117 ©2022 NEW BUFFALO TIMES, INC. PUBLICATION NUMBER 377960 CIRCULATION 5,000+ WEEKLY NEW BUFFALO TIMES distribution: Milda’s Corner Market • Customs Imports Sawyer Garden Center • The Whistle Stop David’s Delicatessen • Grand Variety Barney’s • Knoll Bros. • Stray Dog Infusco Coffee Roasters Black Currant Bakehouse The Marina Grand • Redamak’s Outpost Sports • Big C Lumber Between Casey’s and Nancy’s Sawyer Hardware • The Harbor Grand Froehlics . Three Oaks Journeyman Distillery . Three Oaks The Acorn Theater . Three Oaks The Lakeside Inn
Green light given for new interchange development
BY STAN MADDUX
People traveling from Michigan could encounter new development after crossing into Indiana next year. other venues. The estimated $22 million plans also include 10,000 square feet of space for restaurants along with
The door has opened for construction of a 100 room hotel and restaurants near an Interstate 94 interchange outside Michigan City.
The LaPorte County Council on Aug. 23 approved $1.5 million to run water and sewer lines to the site also close to U.S. 20 and U.S. 35.
The utility service will be provided by the Michigan City Sanitary District.
Matt Reardon with the LaPorte County Office of Economic and Community Development said access to water and sewer service there could spur more growth to an under developed area west and east of U.S. 35.
He said the hotel will contain banquet space for weddings and some office space. The interchange is the first one in Indiana for travelers coming for Michigan. “We’re going to do everything we can to make this look welcoming,” Reardon said.
Reardon said construction probably won’t begin until the spring of 2023.
“We got a lot of work to do to get the utilities done, designed and bid for the project,” he said. The site was placed into a tax increment financing district earlier this year to further assist with the cost of developing the site. That money will be from taxes generated by the value of the property rising because of the development.
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PROVIDING 1 N. Whittaker Street A FULL LINE OF Suite A HOME MEDICAL New Buffalo, MI 49117
EQUIPMENT 269.469.3636 He said the hotel www.hometownpharmacy.com will contain “Just what the banquet space for weddings and doctor ordered!” other venues.
Bath Safety
Canes Crutches Maintenance and repair services Incontinence Items available.
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FOR YOU AND
Maintenance YOUR FAMILY and repair services available. 1 N. Whittaker Street, Suite A New Buffalo, MI 49117 269.469.3636
Local Government Meetings
New Buffalo Times
Democracy Requires Transparency
CITY OF NEW BUFFALO JOHN HUMPHREY, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL LOU O’DONNELL, IV. MARK ROBERTSON, JOHN HUMPHREY, ROGER LIJESKI, BRIAN FLANAGAN City Council meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 6:30PM CITY OF NEW BUFFALO PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS to be determined NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP BOARD PETE RAHM, MICHELLE HEIT, JUDY H. ZABICKI, PATTY IAZZETTO, JACK ROGERS Board meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 7PM NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month at 6:30PM
NEW BUFFALO AREA SCHOOLS BOARD CHUCK HEIT, PRESIDENT HEATHER BLACK, VICE PRESIDENT JOHN HASKINS, TREASURER LISA WERNER, SECRETARY JOYCE LANTZ, TRUSTEE FRANK MARGRO, TRUSTEE PATRICIA NEWSTON, TRUSTEE CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP BOARD DAVID BUNTE, PAULA DUDIAK, LIZ RETTIG, RICHARD SULLIVAN, BILL MARSKE Chikaming Board meets on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 6:30PM CHIKAMING TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION Meets on the 1st Wednesday of each month at 6:30PM THREE OAKS THREE OAKS TOWNSHIP BOARD Meets on the 2nd Monday of each month at 7PM VILLAGE OF THREE OAKS BOARD Meets on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7PM GRAND BEACH Meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 7PM MARY ROBERTSON, CLERK DEBORAH LINDLEY, BLAKE O’HALLORAN, JAMES BRACEWELL, PETER DOERR, PAUL LEONARD, JR. MICHIANA VILLAGE OF MICHIANA COUNCIL Meets on the 2nd Friday of each month at 1PM
BY FRANCESCA SAGALA
Members of the local pickleball community were in high spirits the morning of Saturday, Aug. 27, when the long awaited six pickleball courts located near the transportation garage across from New Buffalo Middle/High School were unveiled to the public.
Like clockwork, the pickleball players had gathered for their daily round of pickleball.
“We meet every single morning…People show up at 7, as soon as it’s light,” Kris Jacobs, a member of the community, said.
Jacobs said she “planted the seed” for a pickleball community several years ago.
“I put it in the New Buffalo Times probably about 10 years ago that if anyone is interested in playing pickleball that we were going to meet at the tennis courts on Tuesday and Thursday and I’d teach them to play,” she said.
About eight or 10 people showed up to play every day. Soon, the high school gave them the skate park, where temporary nets were put up. For the last six to eight years, the pickleball players gathered there, meeting in the gym at the former St. Mary of the Lake Catholic School in the winter.
“And then, through lots of efforts of different people, the high school and the community, we were able to secure some new courts,” Jacobs said.
In the winter, Jacobs heads south to The Villages in Florida, where there are 300 pickleball courts.
“I moved there about 12 years ago, and it was huge then, so that’s why I wanted to bring it back here,” she said.
Jacobs describes pickleball as a combination of table tennis, ping pong and tennis.
A view of the new pickleball courts
“It’s played on a half size tennis court with a paddle and what looks like a whiffle ball, so it’s very quick - your reactions have to be quick, but you don’t run as much as you do with tennis,” she said.
Les Wycoff, who counts himself as one of the over 200 members of the local pickleball community, said it’s a “quick game up front.”
“If you’re playing good pickleball, everything on that white line - the kitchen line - all four people are playing on that line,” he said.
A ping pong player, Wycoff also likened pickleball to the sport “except you’re on a court instead of a table.”
A pickleball player for four years, Wycoff was introduced to the sport by someone who told him he’d “be great at it.”
“I waited about a year before I even tried it,” he said.
Now, Wycoff rises at 7 a.m. with the other fellow players and plays until about 10 a.m. Others who work during the day play at night. Lights have been placed around the courts, so they can light them up when dusk falls.
“They’re awesome – they’re one of the best facilities in the state of Michigan, they’re top notch, no doubt,” Wycoff said of the new courts.
Experienced as well as newbie pickleball players gathered to play a game on the fresh courts that morning. Kristin Hillman, who’s been at it for a few months, said she hails from Washington State – the birthplace of pickleball. According to usapickleball.org, pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a “short ferry ride from Seattle, Washington.” “I’ve been playing a few months, now since December of last year - my husband and I had no idea pickleball existed, we started kind of playing on and off back where we live and just got hooked and we’ve been going much more consistently the past few months,” Hillman said.
She said she was very pleased with the new courts she was playing on that day.
“We’re really excited to be here on the first day that they’re open,” Hillman said.
Tom Hillman said he’s from Arizona (he’s lived in a cottage over in Woodlawn Beach for many years), where the sport is “huge.”
He added that this was his third or fourth time playing so he’s “kind of starting.”
He said that JV Peacock, the former owner of Outpost Sports in New Buffalo, told him about the new courts.
“What a nice facility to have in the community because it’s such a great sport for community building,” he said.
The pickleball courts are a part of a larger construction project taking shape across from the middle/high school, which involves a 10,000 square foot STEAM facility (projected to be completed by the end of this month), a larger skate park and a pavilion with bathrooms and a drinking fountain.
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New Buffalo Times
LOCAL INTELLIGENCE — SINCE 1942 —
Seventeen new trees have been planted in Harbert Community Park greatly enhancing the park. Plans are in place for a children’s discovery play area next to the existing playground equipment, along with a fern garden — all part of the Garth Taylor Grant project. The park grounds have been cleaned up with the removal of scrub brush and invasive plants. With the upcoming construction of pathways and a performance platform in the area now designated as The Meadow, the Township will have a lovely venue in which to hold small events, free of charge. The public will be invited to bring a blanket or lawn chair and sit in the new Meadow and enjoy musical performances, poetry readings, open mic events, puppet shows, story-telling, balloon shows and other fun activities for children and adults. The Grant project at HCP is on track to be completed this Fall.
On the urging of Union Pier residents and with the thoughtful actions taken by the Park Board a Miller Beach gate permit application was denied, and residents continue to have full uninterrupted access to the beach.
Parking at Cherry Beach is running smoothly with Assistant Josh Higgins as the parking attendant on weekends. All tire stops are placed and bolted into the ground, a directional sign is in place, a Lot Full sign is on hand and two parking spaces are designated and marked as handicap parking.
For the first time in several years, Pier Street Beach has new and improved stairs to the beach thanks to the efforts of the Park Board and the recruitment of volunteers to build the stairs using donated time and labor: a savings to the Township of $8-10,000.
Several maintenance projects have been completed including replacing the damaged posts on the gate at HRP and re-installing the gate, preventing unauthorized vehicle access to the preserve.
The fishing platform at Chikaming Township Park and Preserve is being repaired and brought up to code. The mountain bike trails have had one volunteer cleanup day with a second planned later this summer. The trails continue to be maintained and expanded and avidly used.
The Dog Park platform under the existing shelter is in the process of being constructed from composite decking material at the request of the many guests of the Dog Park. The addition of the platform will be a significant upgrade to the shelter.
The Little Free Library at HCP is well maintained and, with the help of the Bridgman Public Library, we are able to keep it regularly stocked with a fresh assortment of books.
The Park Board is made up of an elected group of hardworking, enthusiastic unpaid volunteers.
Jill Underhill, with over 6 years of experience on the Park Board including service as Secretary and Vice Chair, became Chair on May 1, 2022. She is committed to efficient and creative management of the Park Board with the best interests of the residents of Chikaming Township in mind. We urge all citizens to support her in this role.
The other members of the Park Board are Kathy Sellers (Treasurer), Shelly Taylor (Secretary), Steve Ellis, Garth Taylor and Sherri Curry. The Park Board is seeking one more board member to fill a vacancy. Interested? Contact parkboardchair@ chikamingtownship.org.
The Park Board is always in need of community volunteers to help with maintaining our beautiful properties. Volunteer opportunities include the removal of invasive plants and trees, trail cleanup, beach cleanup and other important maintenance tasks.
We would love to have your help! For more info about volunteer opportunities, please contact: Jill Underhill at parkboardchair@ chikamingtownship.org, Kathy Sellers at ksellers@ chikamingtownship.org or Shelly Taylor at staylor@ chikamingtownship.org.
Zoo temporarily closing for maintenance
BY STAN MADDUX
Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City will be temporarily closed next month for maintenance and repairs. The zoo at the lakefront is scheduled for closure from Sept. 19-23. According to park department officials, the reason is to make minor repairs and maintenance in the zoo’s Jungle Building. “Zoo management feels that the staff needs to focus on these tasks at hand and closing to the general public is the most efficient and safe way to accomplish their goals,” officials W LOCAL INTELLIGENCE New Buffalo Times — SINCE 1942 —
said.
Some of the animals at the zoo will be moved from their viewing habitats to other holding areas until the tasks are completed.
Construction work to expand the African Lion and Bengal Tiger habitats will continue during the closure, officials said.
The expanded habitats called Big Cat Canyon is scheduled to open April 1.
Officials said the new space will add around 3,000 square feet of space for the cats and bring guests up close to the animals with glass viewing windows and rock-faced walls replacing the current wire mesh. Wiggles and Giggles with Miss Ollie, New Troy Community Center’s Story Hour for preschoolers, will begin from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, and will continue weekly throughout the school year.
In addition to stories, children will do projects, games, crafts and other learning experiences with former elementary school teacher, Ollie Jane Rosenthal, who always provides for a fun,
New troy Community Center to host ‘Wiggle and Giggles’ story hour
enriching time. All children 3 years or older are welcome to attend. You do not need to be a resident of New Troy, but a parent or guardian is required to remain with the children. The New Troy Community Center is located at 13372 California Road in New Troy. For more information, call the community center at 269-4263909 or email friendsofnewtroy@ yahoo.com. — STAFF REPORTS
