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Winter fun guide

NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • DECEMBER 10 - december 16, 2018 • Vol. 28 No. 49 Photo courtesy of Boyne Mountain

Treat your family to Great Wolf Lodge’s® Breakfast with Santa.

Sunday, December 16th, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. $26.00 for adults, $19.00 for teens 11-15, $13.00 for children 4 -10 and free for children 3 and under.

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Join us a breakfast buffet with and his Join us for for a kid inspired Breakfast Buffet with SantaSanta and his Reindeer andreindeer the Great Wolfand Lodgethe Characters.

Santa will read oneCharacters. of his self-authoredVisits books, followed by visits andwith photos.Santa.

Music, live Great Wolf Lodge and photos reindeer, balloon animals, glitter tattoos and more during the event.

Music, live reindeer, balloon animals and more during the event!

Farm fresh scrambled egg bar, grilled bison sausage, smoked bacon, lodge potatoes, Dearborn smoked pit ham, pumpkin spice waffles with Michigan maple syrup, Bay Bread Cherry Sourdough Space limited, reserve today at 231.534.9047 french toast, cerealsiswith infused milk, fresh fruits and pastries, hot chocolate and coffee bar.

or azehner@greatwolf.com for more information www.greatwolf.com/traverse-city

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Doors will open at 9:45 a.m., event activities start at 10:00 a.m. and story time with Santa at 11:00 a.m.

2 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

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They Know Not What They Do There is a lot of bad, evil crap going down in Lansing right now, brought to us by the Republicans. Let’s recap! They want to gut the minimum wage law (that they accepted in September to keep it off the ballot), want to gut our new legalization law (Sen. Arlan Meekhof introduced a bill on Nov. 29 to stop all home-grow operations), want to gut Prop. 2 and Prop. 3, want to protect Pipeline 5 to make sure it stays in place, other various evil crap, and finally, want to strip power from our future governor, attorney general, and secretary of state so that they can’t undo anything passed in the lame duck session. The question here is, will we who call Michigan home let them get away with this? It may get ugly in Lansing between now and December 21, when the lame duck session is supposed to be over! Shame on the Republican Party and may God forgive them, because I don’t believe that Michigan voters will!

Rev. Steven B.Thompson, Benzonia In the Nick of Time We rarely believe those who detect dangers from warning signs before others see it. Examples of ignoring such warnings include the following: the invasion of Kuwait the 2008 recession, the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, and even the rise of ISIS and 9/11, which have been disastrous in terms of lost lives and capital.

Despite warnings based on solid evidence, they still might be ignored. Often the decisionmakers have their own agenda and don’t want to be diverted from their projects. Sometimes individuals don’t want the responsibility of telling the decision-maker the bad news.

Other times, the regulators of an industry are so vested in the industry’s success that they fail to criticize the organization’s actions. To avoid or mitigate a disaster, a response might require violating ideological positions, such as an increase in government spending, or larger government will reject the warning altogether.

To overcome these obstacles, a warning needs to include a solution that coincides with the agenda of the decision-maker. In addition, the solution needs to respect the ideological constraints of the administration that is able to enact the solution.

Thankfully, we do have the solution to our warming planet — one that creates

jobs, promotes clean and efficient energy, and lowers premature deaths. It is a market approach that uses price to influence industries to self-regulate, encourages households to reduce their carbon footprint, and increases investment in green energy.

Fees collected are returned to households by an existing government agency, so there is no government expansion. Since the fees are distributed equally regardless of income, the most vulnerable are protected. Ask Jack Bergman to be a co-sponsor on the bipartisan carbon price bill, The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, HR 7173.

A Brain, Gutted In a Nov. 26 Washington Post interview, Donald Trump, in a response to the citing of various expert opinions, was quoted as stating “My gut tells me more than anybody’s brain.”

By replacing the word “anybody’s” with the word “my,” his statement becomes suddenly viable.

Bob Ross, Pellston

CONTENTS features Crime and Rescue Map......................................7

How Much Trash Gets Recycled?........................10 Get Ready to Shred, Sled, Skate and Swoosh....14 Still Shredding After All These Years..................18 The Vollars’ Big Get.......................................21 Mode’s Bum Steer.........................................27 Tune in, Toyko...............................................24 The Ski Resort’s Secret Cemetery....................26

Ronald Marshall, Petoskey

Meet Northern Seen

dates................................................28-31 music FourScore......................................................34

Nightlife.........................................................36

Like nothing you’ve seen before A real-time, 24/7 online feed of social media posts we love from throughout northern Michigan Incorporating Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter An endless scroll of posts, accounts, friends and hashtags we follow Also now available: secure one of the top three positions for your company (ask us at info@northernexpress.com)

columns & stuff Top Ten...........................................................4

Spectator/Stephen Tuttle....................................6 Weird...............................................................9 Chef’s Notes..................................................13 Modern Rock/Kristi Kates................................33 Film................................................................35 Advice Goddess...........................................37 Crossword...................................................37 Freewill Astrology..........................................38 Classifieds..................................................39

Check out Northern Seen at northernexpress.com

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase 129 E Front Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Executive Editor: Lynda Twardowski Wheatley Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Mike Bright, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Matt Ritter, Randy Sills, Kirk Hull, Kimberly Sills, Gary Twardowski, Kathy Twardowski Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Ross Boissoneau, Jennifer Hodges, Kristi Kates, Janice Binkert, Geri Dietze, Anna FallerAl Parker, Michael Phillips, Meg Weichman, Steve Tuttle Copyright 2018, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 3

this week’s

top ten the nutcracker The Crooked Tree Arts Center School of Ballet presents Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” at Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor, on Sat., Dec. 15, at 3pm and 7pm, and Sun., Dec. 16, at 3pm. Tickets: $25 adult, $10 student for the evening performance; $25 adult, $5 student for matinee performances. greatlakescfa.org

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A Christmas Light Display Coming to an End Over the past dozen or so years, Mike Siler’s Christmas light display has grown progressively larger. And larger. And larger. So huge, in fact, that Siler can’t estimate how many lights it includes.

“I couldn’t even fantasize how many. A lot. I just don’t know,” Siler said.

This year, though, will be the last one that Siler sets up the vast sparkling display that covers his home, garages, and upper and lower yards. It takes a tremendous amount of labor over two and a half months to pull off, and he’s over 70 now.

“As much as everybody’s got a good heart and says they’ll help, the days you need it, there isn’t anybody around,” Siler said.

So, on Jan. 1, he’s going to start giving away his lights away to family. Beginning Jan. 2, he plans to give them away to anyone who wants them.

In the meantime, you can catch Siler’s final Christmas LED light display at 10401 E. Carter Rd., just outside of Traverse City, in Leelanau County. He turns them on at 5:30pm and off at 10:30pm; as it gets closer to Christmas, he will leave them on later. In order to really appreciate the lights, he recommends visitors pull into his driveway, get out of their cars, and stroll the yard.

That’s what Siler said he’s going to miss most — meeting new people face-to-face.

“The smiles on everybody’s faces, I’ll miss all that,” he said.

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Hey, read it!

The Witch Elm

Just in time for the holidays, celebrated American-Irish novelist Tana French is bringing it home — to Dublin, that is — with a rare standalone psych-thriller that will leave you shivering until New Year’s. (Granted, winter in Michigan might also be to blame.) “The Witch Elm,” French’s latest release, revolves around Toby: a typical 20-something whose life, up to now, has been nothing short of charmed. Blessed with good looks, an enviable job, a devoted girlfriend, and a supportive family, to call Toby ‘lucky’ would be an understatement. That is, until a break-in gone bad fractures his skull and his state of mind. At the behest of his family, Toby ships off to Ivy House, an ancestral manse, to aid his ailing Uncle Hugo. But, when human remains are found hidden at the base of an elm tree, Toby is forced to reevaluate everything he thought he knew about his upbringing, his family, and ultimately, himself. Agatha Christie, take a seat — from the bestselling author of “In the Woods” and “Faithful Place,” “The Witch Elm” is the perfect dose of whodunit to keep those holly jollies grounded.

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Bottoms up The Awesome Coffee

Some people require only a crackling fire to warm their holiday. But for those of us who want to burn this Christmas party down, only a spark-shooting caffeinated cocktail will do. And that’s why we are positively melting for City Park Grill’s aptly named Awesome Coffee. A blend of Kahlua, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Grand Marnier, this sweetie’s rimmed and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, then caramelized by another hot combo: Everclear and a flame. Post-ignition, the Everclear is evacuated and the glass topped with whipped cream and a cinnamon stick.

Joe Keedy, City Park Grill manager, calls it the perfect warm-you-up winter drink; we call it just plain perfect. 432 E Lake St., (231) 347-0101, www.cityparkgrill.com

4 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

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Another Mountain Bike Trail Planned for Boyne City

Top of Michigan Mountain Bike Association and the Walloon Lake Trust and Conservancy hope to add 40 acres to an already vast trail network, enabling them to offer a total of 20 miles of mountain bike trails.

The groups have launched a fundraising campaign to purchase the parcel, which is adjacent to an 80-acre parcel owned by Boyne City.

“This new WLCT parcel not only plays a vital role in the protection of habitat and forested land in the Walloon Lake Watershed, it also presents an opportunity to build trails that will connect the existing Boyne School Forest Trail to the City of Boyne City property,” the group said in a press release.

Mike Cortright, a trail building committee member of TOMMBA, said the new parcel will offer an additional four miles of trail.

The current fundraising campaign goal to purchase the property and build the trail is $150,000 with a deadline of April 1. To make a donation, visit www.tommba.org, or www. walloon.org and make sure to designate the Boyne School Forest Expansion Project.

Erlewine Dance Party in Leland, Petoskey, More For the third year in a row, May Erlewine will elevate the state during the holiday season. Eschewing her typically tender Americana songstress persona, she’ll front the Motivations, playing music designed to get the audience out of their seats and onto the dance floor. Expect music from her new EP, In the Night, as well as rhythm and blues favorites like “Mr. Big Stuff,” a and “Stand By Me,” plus rockers like “I Wanna Be Your Lover” by Prince.

“I grew up listening to that [music], and people love it,” said Erlewine. She came up with the idea as an antidote to the sadness some feel around Christmas. “It’s a hard time for some people. I was reaching out to people who were grieving. It’s a place they can feel celebratory.” Erlewine and company perform at the Old Art Building in Leland on Dec. 14, and at Beards Brewery in Petoskey on Dec. 15, followed by dates downstate. For ticket info, visit www.mynorthtickets.com [Leland] or www.beardsbrewery.com.

stuff we love Downtown Petoskey’s Elf on … the Street?

Downtown Petoskey has a new visitor. You’ll find him opening doors, feeding meters, even buying coffee for unsuspecting shoppers. But you’d better look quick, because the red-and-white-clad #PetoskeyElf will disappear after the holidays. Unlike the Elf on the Shelf, the popular imp that hides in homes, the #PetoskeyElf is anything but mischievous.

Just ask Eric Huffman, who said the #PetoskeyElf is “something we could do downtown to spread happiness, maybe pay it forward.” Huffman admitted he has a close personal relationship to the #PetoskeyElf, which is only natural since he helped create him. “The elf was a concept by a team,” says the manager at Grandpa Shorter’s, the Michigan-themed gift shop. Owner Jennifer Shorter, Huffman and the marketing folks came up with the concept as a way to showcase the spirit of the holidays. And who else but Huffman could fill those red boots? “Before the conversation was over I was online looking for an elf suit,” he said. Folks can even win prizes by taking a selfie with him. For more about the #PetoskeyElf, visit www. grandpahorters.com or its Instagram or Facebook pages.

Michael Poehlman Photography

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tastemaker Glen Haven Canning Co. Preserves Fresh from the “Dang, why didn’t we think of that?” file: The reborn Glen Haven Canning Co. is preserving the North’s natural bounty of fruits and veggies in cans almost too cute to open. Oh, but when you do — each reveals a harvest plucked and preserved at its ripest peak and absolutely perfect for wowing friends and family with embarrassingly easy-made pies.

A relation only in name to the original Glen Haven Canning Co., whose bright red 1920’s-era cannery still stands on the shores of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the bornagain company has reawakened the spirit of the past in a classy and truly tasty fashion. Find Glen Haven Canning Co.’s preserves — and soon, soups — plus the markets around the North that sell ’em at glenhavencanningco.com.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 5

GOOD-NATURED FUN AHEAD.

VOTER FRAUD CLAIMS MOSTLY A FRAUD spectator

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C RYS TA L R I V E R OU T FI T T E R S T HE C YC L E RY . M 2 2 . COA S TA L

by Stephen Tuttle Another election, another series of claims of fraud and other shenanigans.

This started in 2016 when we were told “millions” of fraudulent votes had been cast in California, mostly by non-citizens. To be fair, they did find half a dozen attempts by non-citizens to vote, two of whom were in the country illegally. A little weak as scandals go.

But the cries of fraud were shrill, especially coming from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who made himself a national figure by claiming illegal immigrants were regularly voting pretty much everywhere. President Trump appointed Kobach to head his Commission on Voter Fraud, to significant fanfare. They were, finally, going to get to the bottom of this.

They met twice, then disbanded, having discovered nothing. Kobach lost his bid to become governor of Kansas in November, citing unusually high voter turnout as the cause of his demise. No fraudulent ballots were discovered.

Even Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who surely knows better, got into the act, claiming he didn’t understand how California counts ballots, and he found the process “bizarre.”

He wondered aloud how they could have been ahead in all those congressional races on election night, only to lose a day or two or more later. A Californian who is a member of the Republican National Committee went a step further, claiming nefarious doings.

Good grief.

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Several states, including California since 2015, allow anyone to vote by mail. (California calls it “voting at home.”) As long as the ballot is postmarked on election day and arrives at its destination within three days of the election, the ballot is counted. More than 13 million Californians voted by mail, and that’s a lot of signatures to verify by hand and then feed into the tabulators.

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Which is not to suggest no voter fraud ever occurs. A relative handful of incidents occur every election.

Texas recently convicted a woman in the country illegally for having voted in several elections, and four other shady voters await their fates. She was sentenced to eight years in prison, after which she will be deported. The sentence is being appealed for being unduly harsh, but a non-citizen here illegally has to commit a series of crimes in order to vote: She would need fake ID, a stolen Social Security number, and one would be committing perjury when swearing she was a U.S. citizen. It’s why so few

Just 11 cases out of the tens of millions of votes cast since 2006 is a pretty strong endorsement of the integrity of the system and those who work in it.

None of which stopped the whining this year.

We were told of voting irregularities occurring in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, and California. When Republicans actually won the allegedly fraudulent votes in Florida, Georgia, and Texas, they magically stopped complaining, and it was the Democrats’ turn to cry foul.

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It’s a simple trade-off voters in those states, and now Michigan, have made: easier to vote but slower election results. There’s nothing bizarre about it.

The late counts also happened in the primary and general elections in 2016. Washington state, Arizona, and Oregon have the same experience every election. Everyone knows the elections there will not be over on election night, ever. One Washington election official said the only people who complain are candidates who lose, and the media, which has to delay its reporting.

non-citizens even make the effort to cheat; the consequences are severe.

Michigan is not immune. The Heritage Foundation keeps track of election fraud with a nifty map, and they’ve found 11 criminal convictions for election/voter fraud here since 2006, most of which involved shady petition gatherers. Just 11 cases out of the tens of millions of votes cast since 2006 is a pretty strong endorsement of the integrity of the system and those who work in it.

Then there’s the Ninth Congressional District in North Carolina. The integrity of that election is in serious question.

Republican Mark Harris currently holds a 905 vote lead over Democrat Dan McCready, but something untoward has occurred with the absentee ballots. The problem goes back to the May primary, in which Harris defeated an incumbent by less than 600 votes.

In one county in November, Republican Harris won 61 percent of the absentee ballots, despite Republicans submitting only 19 percent of those ballots. The Democrat garnered more absentee ballot votes in every other county. Two people have already admitted they were paid to gather absentee ballots, and it is alleged that not all of those ballots were completely filled out or sealed.

All of it is illegal in North Carolina and most everywhere else.

The state’s Board of Elections has refused to certify the results and may order a new election.

That election is an outlier that needs fixing, but a few dunderheads trying to game the system aren’t really much of a threat. The constant claims of fraud where none exists do far more damage.

Crime & Rescue DOMESTIC ARREST GET COMPLICATED Traverse City Police were called to a house on the 800 block of East Front Street about a man attempting to break into a home through a window.

When officers arrived at 1pm Dec. 2, they found five witnesses who each said that the suspect trying to get into the house had slapped his girlfriend in the face several times and then had been asked to leave, said Chief Jeffrey O’Brien.

Officers arrested the suspect, a 34-yearold Traverse City man, on suspicion of domestic violence and being drunk and disorderly, and they arrested the girlfriend, a 31-year-old Traverse City woman, because she was out on bond on a domestic violence charge, and she was not supposed to have contact with her boyfriend.

During the arrest, the suspect at one point bolted from police toward his girlfriend and needed to be tackled and placed into the patrol car, O’Brien said. That likely will get the man charged also with resisting arrest.

Everyone involved in the case, including suspects and witnesses, had been drinking, O’Brien said.

HIT-AND-RUN SUSPECT CHARGED A man who turned himself in following a hit-and-run crash that injured a 51-year-old Cedar woman faces charges.

The suspect, 40-year-old Michael Harley Moore, turned himself in at the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office almost 24 hours after the crash, which occurred Nov. 28 in Cedar. Moore was interviewed, and his vehicle was seized to be processed for evidence.

A woman had stopped her car on the southbound shoulder of South Kasson Street and gotten out to remove an injured animal from the road. As she did so, a pickup struck her and then fled the scene. The woman suffered non-lifethreatening injuries.

Moore faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted of leaving the scene of an injury accident.

WOMAN CHARGED WITH CHECK FRAUD A Sterling Heights woman is accused of counterfeiting and cashing checks from a Kalkaska business.

Carley Clark, 23, faces fraud charges in Macomb County following a state police investigation that was launched when representatives of Kalkaska Screw Products complained that someone was cashing their checks downstate.

Employees of the company used Facebook to identify Clark as a suspect, police said.

Investigators gathered bank records and surveillance video and built a case, which was sent to the prosecutor in Macomb County.

Clark is accused of writing over $2,500 worth of fraudulent checks.

INJURIES SERIOUS IN DOMESTIC CASE A 33-year-old Manistee woman suffered serious injuries when she was attacked in a case of domestic violence.

by patrick sullivan psullivan@northernexpress.com

On Nov. 29, Manistee Police were called to the 400 block of First Street, where the woman had suffered serious injuries. The investigation led to a suspect, whose residence was then raided with a search warrant.

Police arrested Richard Allen Anderson Jr., 40. He faces two counts of assault with intent to do great bodily harm, charges that carry up to 10 years in prison, and a charge of third-offense domestic assault, which carries five years.

CALL LEADS TO DRUNK DRIVING ARREST Leelanau County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to a “disorderly person” complaint arrested a witness for drunk driving.

Deputies were called at 7:20pm Nov. 30 to a Cleveland Township residence on East Sullivan Woods Road where several people were involved in a landlord-tenant dispute.

One of the people had just arrived a short time earlier and appeared to be intoxicated, deputies said. After an investigation, they arrested a 64-year-old Cedar man on suspicion of drunk driving.

DRUGS FOUND AFTER FOOT CHASE A report of a stolen vehicle led police to a suspect who allegedly possessed a mason jar full of marijuana and 30 bindles of heroin.

Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s deputies were on the lookout for a stolen vehicle when they saw one that matched the description at Kings Court mobile home park at 8pm Dec. 2, Lt. Chris Barsheff said.

As the deputy handcuffed the 28-year-old Kalkaska man suspected of taking the Jeep earlier that day, the deputy spotted someone crouching nearby in an effort to hide, Barsheff said.

That person ran away, and once the Kalkaska man was secured in the patrol car, the deputy took off after the runaway man, eventually catching up and finding him hiding behind a tree. Barsheff said the 28-year-old Detroit man was eating marijuana from a mason jar, apparently attempting to dispose of it. Later, when deputies checked the area where the suspect had been crouching, they found 30 bindles of what appeared to be heroin.

T h e man faces possession with intent to deliver drugs and resisting and obstructing charges.

POLICE INVESTIGATING DEATH Manistee Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the drowning of an 82-year-old man who was found dead on a beach.

Police and firefighters responded after the body was discovered Nov. 25. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning.

The man was identified as Stuart Donald Johnston, who owned Stu’s Pub in Manistee for 27 years until he retired.

Police would like to talk to anyone who visited the area of the Ninth Street boat launch on Nov. 24 or 25; officers can be contacted at (231) 7232533.

SNOW CAUSES CRASHES A winter storm posed challenges for motorists and kept Cheboygan County Sheriff’s deputies busy.

Several cars went into the ditch on I-75 Dec. 2 when snow and ice covered the roadway.

“In the late morning hours we were dispatched to six vehicles in the ditch along I-75, from the south county line up to Mackinaw City, all from driving too fast for conditions,” said Sheriff Dale Clarmont.

“Fortunately, there were no injuries and minimal damage.”

People need to slow down and watch for emergency vehicles and tow trucks during winter weather, Clarmont said.

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Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 7

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HOW CIVILITY SPREADS opinion

bY Isiah Smith Jr. “So let us begin anew — remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is subject to proof.” — President John F. Kennedy, Jan. 20, 1961, inaugural address

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For the third year in a row, the incidence of reported hate crimes in America grew. Incredibly, in 2017 alone, hate crimes grew by 17 percent.

Our actions are outward manifestations of our thoughts. How we speak reflects how we think.

If you want to know what a person thinks about, watch what he does. Hateful words lead to hateful actions.

National incivility and hate crimes did not begin with the 2016 election. But they have grown at an alarming rate since then.

American history provides a Master Class in incivility. It might even be said that the Founding Fathers invented incivility and fostered hate speech. But what we are witnessing today is unprecedented: Now, instead of verbally attacking other politicians, our so-called leaders turn their venom against the very people they are supposed to represent! Then, increasingly, we turn that venom against each other.

As the saying goes, a fish rots from its head and spreads downward.

A cognitive theory of incivility explains how ideas infect and spread. Ideas spread similar to the epidemiological factors that cause diseases to spread: Through contact with a host in whom the disease already exists (i.e., a carrier), the disease is contracted and passed along.

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Those ideas weaken the synaptic connections of a healthy brain. After that, we witness more and more instances of aberrant behavior.

These infestations threaten all of us to some degree. What results is a public health crisis that weakens our intellectual functioning such that previously abnormal behavior comes to be seen as normal. We become less civil, more hateful, and more meanspirited, exclusionary, and distrustful — especially toward those we view as “the other.” If left unchecked, hateful speech will become the Lingua Franca of our political and social discourse.

Experience teaches that for diseases and viruses to be transmitted, they must find a hospitable host. Once attached to a hospitable host, they propagate and replicate and infect other unwitting but hospitable hosts.

That’s how uncivil behavior spreads: by finding other minds susceptible to being infested by harmful messages, demagogy, and fear mongering. Those so infected find their way into various echo chambers that feed upon our seemingly innate tribalism. In such a place, new information or ideas are rejected if they do not reflect what we already believe. This is the place where rational thought comes to die.

Darkness blinds and binds such infected minds, and it hides them off from the sunlight, which we know to be the best disinfection.

Thus begins the death of civility.

But what is civility? And does it matter?

The Institute for Civility in Government (ICG), a grassroots, and nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to building civility in

8 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

society (yes, such a group does exist), says that civility is claiming and caring for one’s identity, needs, and beliefs without degrading someone else’s in the process. It is about more than politeness (although that is a necessary first step); it is disagreeing without disrespect, and somehow finding common ground.

ICG says that civility is the ability to engage in dialogue about (and despite) differences, and the ability to listen past our preconceptions. It requires staying present even with those with whom we have deeply rooted and passionate disagreements. If we practice civility, we might develop strong interpersonal powers that respect other opinions even if we disagree with them.

The Fifth Annual Civility in America survey found that more than 90 percent of Americans feel incivility is increasing and has reached a crisis level. Research indicates that incivility provokes the fight or flight response, which adversely affects our health and our inability to make good decisions. Impaired decision-making skills exact an enormous burden on our society with devastating, often fatal, consequences.

Neuroscientist and psychologist Mark Leary, author of “Interpersonal Rejection,” suggests that embracing the “humility of uncertainty” — the ability to step into another’s shoes and see things from their points of view — promotes “intellectual humility.” Then we develop the ability to receive and evaluate broad ranges of evidence, and become less defensive when confronted with conflicting evidence.

Historically, leaders at the highest level have set positive examples. Ronald Reagan, a Republican, and Tip O’Neil, Democratic Speaker of the House, enjoyed a civil relationship despite vast ideological differences.

America’s first diplomat, Benjamin Franklin, wrote a humorous piece setting forth “Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion,” a humorous look at how incivility harms our relationships. Franklin wrote: “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”

Presidents Jefferson and Kennedy also spoke and wrote passionately about the need for greater civility in American life.

Look around. Do you see a Franklin, Jefferson, Kennedy, or Reagan anywhere in sight? Or do you see mindless name-calling, oafish and embarrassingly vulgar behavior, and verbal attacks?

We can no longer rely on our leaders to set good examples of civility. What I fear is that this type of behavior will become the norm, and that we’ll continue to elect, and emulate, persons lacking in basic decency and restraint.

There might be no turning back the tide.

Isiah Smith Jr. is a former newspaper columnist for the Miami Times. He worked as a psychotherapist before attending the University of Miami Law School, where he also received a master’s degree in psychology. In December 2013, he retired from the Department of Energy’s Office of General Counsel, where he served as a deputy assistant general counsel for administrative litigation and information law. Isiah lives in Traverse City with his wife, Marlene.

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Wait, What?

Akihiko Kondo, 35, of Tokyo, spent $18,000 on a Nov. 4 wedding ceremony to marry the love of his life, Hatsune Miku -- a computer-generated hologram with big eyes and long, turquoise hair. Kondo told Reuters he found Hatsune Miku, who has thousands of fans around the world, singing on the internet.

The wedding ceremony included traditions such as the exchange of rings (hers was placed on the finger of a stuffed doll created in her image) and friends and relatives in attendance, although Kondo’s parents did not attend.

“I believe the shape of happiness and love is different for each person,” Kondo said.

Christmas Comes Early A Bank of America ATM in Houston was the scene of a near-riot on Nov. 25 when it began dispensing $100 bills instead of $10s, reported Click2Houston. After the first lucky driver posted his score on social media, a crowd showed up and stood in line, with a few fights and arguments breaking out over about two hours, until police were summoned and the free money was shut down. Bank of America released a statement the next day that would have galled Ebenezer Scrooge: “Customers will be able to keep the money dispensed.” Turns out the blame lay with a vendor who incorrectly loaded $100 bills into the $10 slot. There was no report of how much money was withdrawn.

Least Competent Criminals -- Richard Robert Langely, 46, of Kansas City, Missouri, was working part time for the Platte Woods Police Department in October when he decided to take part in the department’s drug take-back program.

Except, according to court documents, Langely wasn’t disposing of drugs; he was helping himself to pills that had been collected in Lake Waukomis. And to make matters worse, the Kansas City Star reported, his own body camera captured evidence enabling prosecutors to charge him with felony theft of a controlled substance. Langely is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 10.

-- Wesley Glenn Bost, 27, of Birmingham, Alabama, made quite the impression when he fell through the ceiling of a Waffle House in Tuscumbia on Nov. 4, not least because he wasn’t wearing pants. Bost apparently went into the restaurant’s bathroom and used his pants to tie the door shut, then, said Tuscumbia police Detective Sgt. Wes Holland, climbed into the ceiling with the intent of robbing the office. WHNT News reported that video of the incident shows Bost shoving other restaurant patrons on his way to the door, which was being held shut by people outside, before hitting the door with his shoulder and falling to the floor. Finally he managed to flee ... without his trousers ... which held his driver’s license.

Compelling Explanations It happens all the time: A vehicle crashes into a building, causing damage and sometimes injury, because brakes don’t function or a driver steps on the wrong pedal.

In the case of Keith Rio Cavalier, 28, however, there was more to the story. WLOX reported that Cavalier drove his 1997 Toyota Tacoma into a glass wall at the Harrison County courthouse in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Nov. 10 at around 6 a.m. The building was empty, so there were no injuries, and Cavalier can be clearly seen on surveillance video climbing out of the truck and leaving the scene. When

police caught up to him, Cavalier told them he intentionally struck the building in order to report drug paraphernalia had been stolen from him. It will come as no surprise that Cavalier was found to have been driving under the influence and arrested; he was held at the county jail on $25,000 bond.

Picky, Picky A referee in a Women’s Super League soccer match in Manchester City, England, stayed cool at the start of the televised game on Oct. 26 when he realized he’d forgotten his coin for the kickoff coin toss. Thinking quickly, David McNamara had the captains of the Manchester City and Reading teams play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” instead. But the Football Association, soccer’s governing body in England, was unamused, and on Nov. 26, McNamara began a 21-day suspension after accepting a charge of “not acting in the best interests of the game,” according to the BBC. An FA refereeing manager said: “He should have been more prepared. ... It’s very unprofessional.”

What Is Fame?

Former Toronto Blue Jays star Jose Bautista has another honor to add to his resume, thanks to entomologist Bob Anderson of the Canadian Museum of Nature. On Nov. 22, reported the Associated Press, Anderson named a newly discovered species of beetle after the star third baseman and right fielder.

Sicoderus bautistai is a small black weevil found in the Dominican Republic, where Bautista hails from. “I thought what a great way to kind of recognize (Bautista’s) contributions to Blue Jays baseball and to Canadian baseball, really, as a whole,” said Anderson. The scientist has named about 120 weevils over his career.

Awesome!

-- Katherine Leigh Mehta, 26, of Arlington, Texas, accepted a gig to photograph a wedding at The Springs Event Venue in Weatherford on Nov. 24. But she became the star of the show when wedding guests discovered her having sex with another guest in a room at the venue, according to WSRZ Radio. A security guard summoned Parker County Sheriff ’s deputies, who found Mehta yelling by a fountain on the property, according to their report. She then walked to a tree and urinated. While she waited in the back of the patrol car, Mehta screamed: “Y’all families will be dead by Christmas. Y’alls daughters are dead. My dad is going to find out about this, and y’all are ... dead. D-E-A-D.” At the jail, officers found a bottle of anxiety pills, which they believe she mixed with alcohol, causing her erratic behavior. She faces charges of public intoxication and obstruction/retaliation.

-- All good things must come to an end, and so it seems for Robert Craig Davis, 70, of Key Largo, Florida. Drivers in South Florida had reported seeing a Chrysler Pacifica minivan rigged with a clever device that lowered a black cloth over its license plate each time it drove through an automated toll plaza.

But on Nov. 17, according to FLKeysNews. com, an off-duty Florida highway patrolman spotted the vehicle as it passed through the Bird Road toll plaza and he alerted his fellow troopers. Sgt. Carlos Vanegas soon stopped Davis, according to the arrest report, and found a remote control device used to operate the license plate cover. “The actions of the defendant showed an ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud the SunPass toll system,” trooper Dennis Gallo wrote in his report. Davis was charged with organized fraud and petit theft.

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HOW MUCH NORTHERN MICHIGAN TRASH GETS RECYCLED? Bill Roush, maintenance supervisor at Bay Area Recycling for Charities, at the nonprofits TC Plant.

By Patrick Sullivan Depending on where you live, you might have curbside recycling, or you might have to drive to a drop-off location. In some places, you might have to drive to a nearby township to properly get rid of your recyclable paper and plastic and metal debris; what’s accepted varies from place to place. The rate of recycling around the North is as high as above 40 percent of waste in Emmet County, and as low as below 15 percent in Manistee County.

Hard and fast numbers are hard to come by because the State of Michigan doesn’t keep track. That might change by the end of the year — if a proposed bill is passed into law in the lame duck session. Northern Express talked to some of the people in charge of recycling throughout our region, in an attempt to sort out the real state of recycling Up North and discover what’s on the horizon.

WHEN CHINA DECIDED TO STOP TAKING OUR TRASH Emmet County Recycling is considered one of the best programs in Michigan. The county recycles more than 40 percent of its trash, compared to the state average of 15 percent.

Emmet County never sent any of its waste to China, which until recently accepted tons of waste from other areas around America, but Emmet County Recycling offers a good explanation on its website of how China came to shut the door: “The upshot was that some ‘recyclables’ exported to China were so contaminated they were essentially trash.

And just like Michiganders have protested being a dumping ground for garbage from neighboring states and provinces, the

Chinese didn’t want to take the world’s trash anymore.”

So the market for some kinds of plastic has deteriorated or collapsed.

Andy Gale, president and general manager of Bay Are Recycling for Charities in Traverse City, said the exports to China were bad for the world’s environment anyway.

Gale said some low-end plastic would be purchased cheaply and then pile up in U.S. warehouses until there was enough to load onto a cargo ship and send to China.

The piles included a lot of junk that would have to be removed once the ships reached their destination.

used to make milk jugs, among other things.

The other, problematic plastics — for example, grocery bags (type 3), cling wrap (type 4), diapers and yogurt containers (type 5), to-go food containers (type 6) and miscellaneous (type 7) — are harder to recycle.

Gale said finding a way to manage that troublesome plastic is going to be a challenge for recyclers now that China is no longer an option.

“A lot of the stuff will soon start getting landfilled if we don’t do things today to figure out our way out of this conundrum,” Gale said.

“A lot of the stuff will soon start getting landfilled if we don’t do things today to figure out our way out of this conundrum,” Gale said.

“And so it would go back to China, and they would attempt to sort it using their labor to get to the plastics that they did want. A lot of material would wind up in the ocean, whether it fell off the ship on the way there or whether it was because of them doing their cleaning on open rivers,” he said.

“They are trying to change, and that’s a good thing.”

There are some kinds of plastic that are relatively easy to recycle, like type 1 plastic, the stuff of drink bottles, or type 2 plastic, which is

10 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

PLASTIC INTO FUEL? Gale said he discovered a possible use for that challenging, undesirable, no-longerwelcome-in-China plastic — he wants to heat it in a vacuum chamber and turn it into methane, and then use the methane to power an internal combustion engine to make electricity that could be returned to the grid. Gale said that energy would count as “renewable” because it’s produced from waste.

The process is called pyrolysis. It involves heating up plastic to a temperature of 600°F or 800°F or 1,100°F degrees — depending

on the product you want to create — and it’s a technology under development at Michigan Tech in Houghton. Gale is working with the university to purchase a pyrolysis chamber that he hopes to have online sometime in 2019.

A BARC committee dedicated to waste energy is working on a business plan for the pyrolysis chamber, which is expected to cost a half million dollars.

BARC would use the device to demonstrate how companies with waste stream problems could set up systems of their own to use waste to generate power. There could also be uses from the heat of the internal combustion engine that’s used to generate electricity in the scheme, Gale said, whether that’s heating a warehouse, dehydrating food waste, or some other useful way to concentrate and use the heat.

Gale said the plastic is turned into fuel without pollution because the plastic is heated in a vacuum and nothing escapes into the air, meaning it doesn’t cause the kind of toxic air pollution that would result from burning plastic out in the open.

The end result, however, is fossil fuel.

Gale sees pyrolysis as an imperfect solution to a difficult problem — something that can be done with that troublesome plastic.

“I frankly don’t see it turning into a recycling market,” he said. “I don’t see somebody coming around and saying, ‘Hey, we can take all those 3 through 7s and make a really crappy plastic material with it. I mean, they might be able to make it into large bulky items, like replacement of the cement blocks for parking, or pallets, or something like that, but plastics are so different.”

Eliza Seltzer, head of Emmet County’s

recycling program, disagrees. She doesn’t think pyrolysis is a good option.

“We are strongly invested in taking raw materials into their highest and best use,” she said.

That means, ideally, finding a way to recycle a plastic container into the same kind of plastic container.

Seltzer said there are other things to do with those difficult plastics. Emmet County’s 3–7 plastic goes to a recycler in Sarnia, Ontario, where the provincial government has dedicated itself to making sure there are markets to recycle as much as can be recycled. In Sarnia, the 3–7 plastic is recycled into a product.

She said that’s an option open to any place that takes recyclables.

“Everyone could do that if they processed their recyclables so that they stayed clean and dry,” Seltzer said. “It’s absolutely available to others; we’re very transparent about our market.”

David Schaffer, director of recycling for Grand Traverse County, is more open to the idea of melting plastic to turn it into fuel, as long as people don’t see it as some kind of final solution.

“I’ll be interested to see how that works out. It’s pretty cool. I don’t want to say that I have concerns, but I hope that we realize that our resources are finite and, while it is great to reuse and recycle, I think the most important part of the ‘three Rs’ [reduce, reuse, recycle] is to reduce.”

Schaffer said he thinks it would be dangerous if people saw plastic as a renewable resource; people should be looking for ways to use less plastic and how to change consumption habits.

“It always circles back to, we wouldn’t have these problems if we didn’t create them in the first place,” he said.

SORTING THROUGH THE CONFUSION People are recycling more in recent years, Gale said. At home, given the variety of packaging that comes through people’s lives, it remains daunting sometimes to know what should be put in recycling and what shouldn’t.

Consumers should know what’s broadly recyclable, he said, and separate all of it from garbage, and then let their hauler sort it out.

“If it’s a number 1 through 7 plastic, it goes in the bin. If it’s a glass material, it should go in the bin; if it’s cardboard or paper or metal, it should go into the bin. And that material, once it gets to me or to the waste haulers or to the downstream markets, that’s where that decision needs to be made of whether or not they can recycle it, because if they are dealing with this material as it comes into their recycling stream, and it’s making it to them, once they see enough of it on the floor, they’ll figure out a market for it,” Gale said.

Bay Area also recycles lots of household items for a fee, like mattresses, televisions, computer equipment, and batteries.

Seltzer agrees that well-informed consumers make recycling work. She credits the success of her program to education and community outreach. Residents of Emmet

County have gotten good at cleaning and sorting their recyclables.

“It’s been 29 years. We have invested in and been committed to community education and outreach,” Seltzer said. “People love recycling.

It’s become a social norm.”

That’s because they’ve successfully made the case of the economic and environmental benefits of recycling: that good recycling programs not only create jobs and improve the economy but also help the environment by cutting down on pollution and reducing waste.

“People know it’s the right thing to do, and it feels good to do it,” Seltzer said.

There is another category of recycling that often gets overlooked — food waste. Seltzer and Gale are advocates of composting.

“Americans throw away 40 percent of our food supply — 35 percent of what we landfill is organic material,” Gale said.

BARC takes food waste from 45 compost clients, including Grand Traverse Resort, Great Wolf Lodge, Northwestern Michigan College, and many area restaurants and bars. The waste is taken to a farm near Kingsley and composted.

Gale noted that composting is something people can do themselves, or in some places they can turn to a small business, like Carter’s Compost in Traverse City. Carter’s introduced many people in Traverse City to the concept.

“Places like Carter’s Compost. I mean, they did so much to diffuse the fears over backyard composting,” Gale said. “It’s good that people can learn from that and realize that it’s not going to turn into some sort of mouse or rat population that’s going to be out of control.”

Snyder launched a task force to increase recycling in the state.

“The recycling rate is increasing. Based on two years of data, we went up about a half percent. We’re not sure exactly how much because the data is just now coming in,” Flechter said. “There’s much, much more work to do.”

The bill would require landfills to pay more than 10 times what’s currently required per ton of waste they collect, a tipping fee that’s expected to bring $69 million in revenue to the Clean Michigan fund per year, money that’s to be spent cleaning up Brownfields and encouraging recycling.

Gale supports the legislation. Gale said the reason Michigan has such a low recycling rate is because landfill space is so cheap.

Emmet County’s celebrated recycling program could serve as a model for what could happen if the bill becomes law.

Flechter said Emmett County’s recycling program is a leader in the state.

“We love it. It’s got great leadership, it’s got political support, and it’s wellfunded,” he said. “It has all of the elements of a strong recycling program.”

Seltzer was hired 29 years ago to start Emmet County’s recycling program. She’s helped turn it into one of the leading programs in the state, bolstered early on by state grant funding, which enabled Emmet County to build a recycling transfer station before she was hired.

“That building sat empty for two years while they realized it was going to take more than a building,” Seltzer said.

Seltzer got the job, she said, because she had “from-the-ground-up” experience; she’d already worked at a recycling nonprofit in Ann Arbor for a couple years.

Seltzer credits her program’s longevity and success to the kind of grant funding that SB943 could provide to programs throughout the state. She said she worries, though, that too much of the money raised has been earmarked for other purposes, like Brownfield cleanup and landfill closure, and not enough has been allocated to expand recycling in the state.

“That is one of our concerns with the bill,” she said. “It’s really not enough to do everything that needs to happen in this state.

But it’s more than we’ve seen in a long time.”

In April, the conservative Emmet County board of commissioners passed a resolution in support of the bill.

The resolution noted how cheap landfill space is in Michigan compared to other Great Lakes states and how, as a result, that’s made the state a dumping ground for out-ofstate and Canadian garbage.

For instance, while the bill would raise

“Americans throw away 40 percent of our food supply — 35 percent of what we landfill is organic material,” Gale said.

HOPE ON THE HORIZON: SENATE BILL 943 A Michigan Senate bill that’s been in the works for years could become law this month. It would increase landfill fees across the state and generate more money for recycling programs.

Matt Flechter, recycling market development specialist with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said the state’s recycling programs badly need the funds that would be set aside through Senate Bill 943. Michigan’s recycling regime is so badly funded, the state hasn’t been able to keep track of recycling rates throughout the state.

“We have not updated our planning process for over 20 years, so a lot of counties have not submitted that information,” he said.

Recycling in the state has been underfunded and under-prioritized for a long time, Flechter said. Since a lack of resources has prevented the state from collecting data, it’s impossible to say whether Michigan’s lowly recycling rate of 15 percent has increased much since 2012, when Gov.

Michigan’s tipping fee from 36 cents per ton to $4.44. The fee in Wisconsin is already $13 per ton; in Pennsylvania, $6. 25; in Ohio, $4.75; and in Indiana, 60 cents.

MYSTERY IN GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY Grand Traverse County’s recycling rate has not been measured since 2014, when it was 34 percent, well over twice the statewide average. Still, David Schaffer said there was once a goal to get the number to 50 percent by 2017, and even though he doesn’t have 2017 figures, he knows that didn’t happen.

“I can tell you right now that we’re probably still in that 30 percent range,” said Schaffer, the director of Grand Traverse County’s recycling program since April.

Prior to that, he was director of recycling in Benzie County for two years.

In Grand Traverse County, two things happened between 2010 and 2017 that might tell the story of the relationship between tipping fees and landfill use.

In 2010, according to data provided to the DEQ, 162,018 cubic yards of waste from the county went to landfills, Schaffer said.

In 2017, that amount more doubled, with 382,735 cubic yards hauled to landfills.

Schaffer said he doesn’t know why there was such a steep increase.

“That is something that I don’t have a quick answer to,” he said. “Each year that number increases, with the exception of 2012, [when] we saw a decrease.”

During the same period, the Grand Traverse County board of commissioners reduced the tipping fees waste haulers have to pay to haul waste to a landfill from Grand Traverse County, lowering it from $7.50 per ton in 2010, to $1.50 per ton in 2017.

Schaffer said the tipping fees were lowered gradually over those years by commissioners who determined that the tipping fees were raising more money than the county needed to run its recycling program.

“From what I’ve looked at, they studied it quite a bit,” he said. “The department had a significant fund balance. It was money that wasn’t utilized for whatever reason.”

Now Schaffer finds his department underfunded.

“The $1.50 per ton, it limits our ability to offer services to the residents,” he said.

Schaffer said he isn’t certain that the lower tipping fees caused more waste to be taken to landfills, though there isn’t another obvious explanation. For instance, the county’s population has not doubled.

He said it is possible that as American Waste took over much of the trash hauling in in the county, they reported more accurately, and that could account for the increased numbers.

However, American Waste opened an automated waste sorting center in 2012, a development that should have reduced the amount of waste bound for a landfill. The co-owner of one of the biggest recyclers in northern Michigan, Mike Ascione of American Waste, did not return repeated messages for comment.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 11

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Chef’s notes a local chef’s recipe we love, brought to you by fustini’s

When I was cooking in restaurants, about every 15th recipe I wrote included oil and vinegar. Now that I work for Mr. Fustini, every recipe I write has to include oil and vinegar. It can be quite difficult to successfully retrofit old recipes that rely on accurate measurements.

I oftentimes will use just enough of an oil or vinegar to flavor or complement the dish. I have done this with the sticky toffee pudding recipe from long ago, adding blood orange and cranberry to give it a new flavor profile. I really like what the oil and vinegar have done to this classic dessert. It is best served warm but can be good at room temperature, or even cold. Enjoy!

– Andy Stewart, Fustini’s Corporate Chef

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING with Cranberry Cream

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Chef Sam Brickman, Fustini’s Traverse City Pudding: 5 oz. pitted dates 1 tbsp. Fustinis espresso balsamic vinegar 1 1/4 C. water 4 tbsp. softened butter 1/2 C. brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tsp. Fustinis blood orange EVOO 3/4 C. self-rising flour 1/2 tsp. baking soda

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Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place dates into bowl. Bring water and vinegar to a boil and pour over dates.

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Photo courtesy of Boyne Highlands

GET READY TO SHRED, SLED,

SKATE, AND SWOOSH Your 2018-2019 ski resort report

By Ross Boissoneau Amid the seasonal offerings of song, likely nothing beats the Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne classic for skiers and snowboarders: “Let It Snow” is close to the heart of those in charge of or heading out to the area slopes.

From Cadillac to Gaylord, over to Harbor Springs and back south again, the slopes are snow covered and awaiting the onslaught of schussers. Here’s what to expect at your favorite parks and mountains: 7

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Boyne Highlands Harbor Springs A new Pistenbully ParkPro will shape Boyne Highlands Resort’s four terrain parks.

The ParkPro is tailored to the needs of park builders in allowing for exceptional park experiences for skiers and riders. The resort is also planning a major modification to its halfpipe, the only halfpipe in Michigan and one of just three in the Midwest, which will enable it to open earlier in the season.

Renters can choose from 45 sets of new ski and boot packages featuring HEAD’s V-Shape V6 men’s skis, Absolut Joy women’s skis, and Advant Edge 85 and 75 boots.

Hungry after a day on the slopes? The Country Club of Boyne is offering an exclusive Chef ’s Table Dinner Series limited to 14 guests and featuring a five-course dinner with rotating menus. Guests may also book a private Chef ’s Table Dinner Series throughout the winter. The Country Club

of Boyne is also offering Wine, Bourbon/ Whiskey Pairing, and Snowshoe Dinners once per month, plus weekly Thursday Night Trivia.

Boyne Highlands is rolling out four new pass products for the season: the Ski Three Pass, Four Fun Pass, High Five Pass and Dust Off The Rust Pass are designed to take the edge off single-day passes. For travelers, the Ikon Pass connects riders the most iconic mountains across North America and Australia, delivering authentic, memorable snow adventures. Launched in January 2018, it is a collaboration of industry leaders including Boyne Resorts, Alterra Mountain Company, Aspen Skiing Company, POWDR, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and many others.

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Boyne Mountain Boyne Falls New to Boyne Mountain and one of only two in the Midwest, the PistenBully 600 Polar is designed to create the ultimate groomed surface for optimal skiing and riding conditions. Boyne Mountain has also added 1,000 feet of new 12-inch ductile iron pipe on Ramshead, increasing volume and snowmaking infrastructure.

Getting around should be easier, thanks to new wayfinding trail signage providing guidance for cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and fat tire snow bikers.

New LED trail signage at the base and top of the Mountain Express lift will improve

14 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

communication of trail and lift openings and closures; guests can also find this information synced with the resort’s website and the resort channel in resort accommodations.

Tune your skis with the new Mercury WINTERSTEIGER’s automated service station, and Boyne Mountain also is providing more lockers this year.

First time on the slopes? Terrain Based Learning is a fun-first approach to the onsnow experience, utilizing shaped snow.

Novice skiers and snowboarders can learn on features that include a mini-pipe, roller, banked turns, and the perfect slope. Like the Highlands, Boyne Mountain is a participant in the Ikon Pass.

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Caberfae Peaks Cadillac Just west of Cadillac on M-55, the bywords at Caberfae might be more, newer and better. More and better parking will make it easier to get to the slopes, where patrons will find a renovated beginner area, including a gradual, more gentle grade to the slope and brand new Green Mountain Flying Carpet Lift.

Let it snow? Three new fixed snowmaking towers, four new SMI Super Pole Cat snowmaking guns and nine new SMI Polecat snowmaking towers, along with 1,000 feet of larger diameter snowmaking pipe, to allow for better flow and less friction loss, will let it snow indeed, whether or not Mother Nature cooperates.

Newer? Caberfae has invested in brand new cross country ski rental equipment from Rossignol. Now Nordic skiing enthusiasts can now rent equipment at the Peaks and immediately access 15 km of groomed trails right from the resort. And if you’re tired of schlepping your gear to and from the resort, Caberfae has also installed more seasonal lockers for rent in it Ski & Snowboard Rental Facility.

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Crystal Mountain Thompsonville Are you getting chilly? So is Crystal’s ice rink, where a new chiller will keep the rink frosty cold, even if the temperature approaches 32 degrees. Alongside the rink is a new bonfire area to get toasty.

The sun won’t only light the slopes during the day, its energy is being harnessed to power the lights on the Otter Trail, thanks to new solar-powered lights. A new retail line of Atomic skis, poles and boots, classic and skate, will be available in the shop this winter.

Crystal Mountain’s NASTAR course hasn’t changed, but the name has. What was once Cheers is now Cheers to Lou in memory of the legendary Lou Batori, who passed away last winter at 107. Batori skied until the age of 106 and raced into his triple digits. In fact, the oldest racer at the NASTAR National Championship now receives the Lou Batori Award.

Once you’ve had enough of the slopes, new to the menu of services at Crystal Spa

Photo courtesy of Crystal Mountain

are the Barrel-aged Body Treatment, Winter Wheat Massage, and Tawney Port Pedicure, all of which feature special product infused with spirits from nearby Iron Fish Distillery.

Table Thai and Thai Foot Reflexology are also new, modern versions of the 2,500-yearold traditions of Asian bodywork, using the whole body to treat the whole body.

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Hickory Hills Traverse City The city-owned property and its nonprofit partner put over $4 million into Hickory Hills, so there’s a lot that is new and improved, from the maintenance facility to the new lodge, a learner’s facility with a magic carpet lift and new tow rope. There are two new lifts, creating more space to ski and snowboard.

At 6,900 square feet, the new lodge is more than twice as large as its predecessor and will feature floor-to-ceiling windows, a fireplace, a large dining space, a bigger retail area, and a commercial kitchen. It’s also located in close proximity to the learner’s area, so parents can keep an eye on their kids from the safety (and warmth) of the lodge.

The improvements continue outside, with expansion of both the Nordic trail and alpine terrain, snow-making expansion, even a new sledding hill. The new slopes offer more intermediate and advanced terrain, while the Nordic loop is a significant upgrade.

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Mt. Holiday Traverse City The community non-profit recreation area on Traverse City’s east side will feature a new lift by Christmas, part of improvements to keep families active in the winter.

Doubling the number of lifts will lessen wait times and keep young skiers engaged.

Its ski school is a cost-effective program for school-age kids to get on the slopes midweek, while the scholarship program and rental programs are all designed to be an affordable alternative to other such operations. The family-oriented ski hill has been in existence since the 40s and has been a non-profit since 2002.

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Otsego Resort Gaylord Last year, for the first time ever, the Otsego Club opened to the public. This year it has undergone another major transition, with its purchase by Gary and Kathie Vollmar (see story, p. 21) This year the resort has added tubing to skiing and snowboarding, an activity General manager Mike Bedells said was needed for those who want to be active and outdoors but may not want to incur the time and expense (and learn the necessary skills) to ski or snowboard.

It will host an open house the day after Christmas as a way to showcase all it has to offer, including both winter sports and summer activities. Due to the pending sale, this year the Classic Golf Course didn’t open and the Tribute was open for only a few weeks. Bedells said this will be a chance for

patrons, locals and guests to see what’s new and planned for the resort, from golf and skiing to food and beverage.

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Shanty Creek Resorts Bellaire Apparently it was time to upgrade, and the resort will offer all new rental equipment from Rossignol, including skis, ski boots, snowboards and snowboard boots. This iteration provides the latest, greatest technology designed to create butterysmooth turns and carving; no word on whether it will prevent falls.

Cross-country skiers will find a number of improvements. To start with, the Nordic Center is now located in Schuss Village where the Schuss pro shop is during the summer, providing out-the-door access to easier, flatter trails, while offering connection to the more challenging trails leading to the Cedar River and Summit villages. Crews have excavated extensively to widen the trails to nearly 20 feet, allowing for side-by-side track set trails and plenty of room for skate skiing as well.

New equipment helps. To make the expanded trails project a reality, a Prinoth Bombadier MP is creating the wider, double track-set trails. A new Prinoth Bison X has been added to the fleet that grooms the slopes and leaves trails of corduroy on Schuss and Summit Mountains, and thousands of trees have been removed to improve the glades sections of Schuss Mountain.

A new cold water source, pumps, and other infrastructure will increase efficiency and make more snow faster in order to open terrain as

early as possible in the early days of the season.

Slopes enthusiasts will be able to get on the snow a little faster by purchasing lift tickets from the new self-serve “vending machines” at Ivan’s and The Lodge at Cedar River.

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Treetops Resort Gaylord The resort has reinvented its cross -country Trails at the main property and that’s now where the Skiable Feast will take place. What is a skiable feast? This Gourmet Winter Adventure takes you on a 6 km (3.8 miles) cross-country ski excursion, while enjoying five gourmet food and beverage stations along the way. In addition, the resort now boasts snowmaking on 1.2 km of its cross country trails.

During the holiday week between Christmas and New Year, Treetops will host a Heikki Lunta party to welcome guests every other night during holiday week, which will continue on Friday nights during the rest of the season. The celebration asks the Finnish snow god (created by a radio station in the Upper Peninsula in 1970) for abundant snowfall — in this case, for all the winter fun at Treetops Resort. Guests can enjoy a big bonfire, entertainment by Tommy Tropic, s’mores, hot chocolate, a tube-pulling contest, and of course, the famous song (yes, there’s a song that goes along with it).

New Ski Operations Manager Brad Jacobson said the resort like others has already begun to make snow on the slopes and he hopes to be open in late November or early December if the weather continues to cooperate.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 15

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Lafonte, who now calls Boyne Mountain home, is shown here holding her personalized board, one of three that K2 markets in her name.

world champ snowboarder comes home

By Geri Dietz Former world champion snowboarder Morgan Lafonte learned to ski at Nubs Nob, near Harbor Springs, but it wasn’t until she was introduced to the nascent sport of snowboarding in Colorado that she found her métier on the slopes. By the late 1980s, Morgan was breaking all the rules as the one of the world’s few women extreme snowboarders.

In a decade, she managed to rack up an impressive — and lengthy — list of accomplishments: She was the national and the female world champion extreme snowboarder in 1993 and 1995. Her colorful thrift store skiwear and her giant flips — she is widely considered to be the first woman snowboarder to nail a double back flip — made her a standout on the slopes. She’s tackled remote and dangerous peaks around the world; she’s jumped out of a helicopter hovering precariously on one skid. She’s been featured in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, on MTV, and in many films; she was featured in commercials for Mountain Dew and Minute Maid; she has K2 snowboards marketed in her name; she was the featured expert on Chevy Truck Ski World with Bob Beattie. And — no surprise — in 1999 she was the focus of an NBC Dateline segment about adrenaline junkies. Knowing when to quit, she eventually phased out of extreme snow sports. As she says: “It’s hard to reinvent yourself from a wheelchair.”

Thankfully, it’s easier to come home.

Less than a decade ago, Lafonte returned to northern Michigan to be closer to her family.

She didn’t hang up her board, however. She continues to shred even today, where it all began. Northern Express caught up with Lafonte to talk adrenalin, Alaska avalanches, and what it’s like to be a first among firsts.

THE EARLY YEARS Northern Express: What’s your first memory of being a daredevil?

Morgan Lafonte: I was always looking for things to throw myself off of. When I was a kid,

I would do back flips off of picnic tables and things like that. In fact, if there was something more than two feet off the ground, chances were, I was flipping off of it. My family had a cottage at Point Nipigon in Cheboygan, so I would spend time jumping off the top of the Cheboygan lighthouse. When I was around 15, I started borrowing my father’s boat to go over to Mackinac Island, where I could do back flips off of the ferry piers.

Express: What else were you up to at that age?

Lafonte: I used to take my sailfish out alongside the freighters that would go through the Straits. You had to go right to the middle part so as not to lose your wind. The guys on board would yell at me over the side to get away. Also, I loved running my sailfish under the Mackinaw Bridge.

Express: All of this sounds reckless and downright dangerous. What were you thinking?

Lafonte: There was a fire I felt inside, but it wasn’t like burning a candle at both ends. I didn’t perceive any of it as danger, but rather, as more of a challenge.

Express: You once said that after high school graduation in 1985 [from Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills], you spun a globe and put your finger on a spot, which turned out to be Colorado. What if it had been, say, New Jersey? Ohio?

Lafonte: Luckily I didn’t have to Mulligan the spin — I would have respun the globe. My parents had visions of college, while I had other plans. I got on a bus with a small duffle bag of clothes and $400 in my pocket, and headed out to Colorado. I got a job at Club Med at Copper Mountain and started skiing every chance I got.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGHS (AND LOWS) Express: You were already a seasoned skier by the time you moved to Colorado, but then you met radical pioneer snowboarder Shawn

18 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

Farmer, who introduced you to snowboarding.

What was that first ride like?

Lafonte: Shawn Farmer had been snowboarding for a few years, and he made it look so easy, so I knew I had to try it. He took me to the top of Peak 9 at Breckenridge and told me to stay low, and he’d see me at the bottom. I eventually made it down — but not before I broke my coccyx. I was laid up, flat on my back, for three weeks. As soon as I felt better, I got back on and tried again. Never give up the want — but don’t let your boyfriend show you how to snowboard.

Express: Shawn Farmer was a true original in the world d of snowboarding, and he’s still widely respected as a pioneer in the sport. How did that affect your career?

Lafonte: Shawn set the standard for everyone who came after. He was a bit more of an outlaw. Because I was with Shawn, I was categorized with him. It was a clique, and you had to know somebody. Shawn was my platform. Back then, the world of snowboarding was pretty small, so I was able to network pretty rapidly and establish myself as a backcountry snowboarder.

Express: Who else made up that group of pioneers?

Lafonte: I rode with Jim Rippey, Tom Burt, Noah Salasnek, Nick Perata, Shawn Farmer, Victoria Jealouse, DaveHatchett, Craig Kelly, Tex Davenport, and Matt “Ox” Maloley.

Express: Did you experience sexism when you were starting out?

Lafonte: I was one of the guys. I did whatever they did, and it didn’t matter. When you came right down to it, we were all standing around waiting for the same thing. But, you had to know what you were doing to run with that crowd.

Express: How did snowboarding begin to become a viable sport?

Lafonte: Some boarders formed the first

video companies — Fall Line Films and Standard Films, for example — and their movies brought the sport into fruition.

Then the magazines like Snowboarder and Transworld came along, and that further publicized the sport. It was like the Big Bang, and snowboarding was birthed.

Express: Was Breckenridge welcoming to snowboarders? Did you find discrimination against the sport in the early days?

Lafonte: I never experienced that because we showed up with a camera crew, and so we weren’t labeled as troublemakers. Alta and Aspen didn’t want snowboarders, but we didn’t want to go there anyway.

ON THE JOB Express: Can you describe the early competitions?

Lafonte: The first event I can recall was the PSTA [Professional Snowboarding Tour of America] series in Colorado. A small group of us travelled around the state, occasionally picking up friends hitchhiking with their snowboards. The venues were a series of gates and a “ditch,” what we now know as a halfpipe.

My experience was, I either won or came in dead last. There was never an in-between for me, never. One of my important national wins was in 1993 when I did a giant backflip off Granite Chief at the Squaw Valley extreme competition.

Express: How did your career evolve?

Lafonte: It began for me when I started to actively seek out sponsors for product and payment. I started to film with my own company, and I was getting more sponsorships, and different doors were opening for me.

Sponsors wanted you to get exposure wearing their products, and so you were always looking for ways to promote them. I was a snowboarding billboard, and I had many great sponsors over the years including but not limited to Roxy, Oakley, Helly Hansen, Quicksilver, K2, Arbor, DaKine, and Arcteryx.

Lafonte’s backcountry daring and success as a national and world champion prompted extensive coverage of her career in magazines in the United States and abroad.

I would get calls for appearances, and I’d get in my car or on a plane and show up.

Express: What were your “firsts” as a female professional snowboarder?

Lafonte: I was one of the first females to get paid to play. I was in that top group. I was one of the first females to get filmed from a helicopter, to be featured in a Sony PlayStation video game, and to have a finger snowboard with my graphics and picture and all of my stats.

Express: And what about that famous double back flip? You are credited with being the first woman to do it.

Lafonte: Everybody has their own version of that story, but I was definitely the first to have it captured on film for a movie segment.

The film was called No Man’s Land, and my segment was filmed in the Wasatch range in the Utah backcountry.

Express: You’ve done so much in your career. Is there a most memorable moment?

Lafonte: There were so many, but one thing that really stands out was getting contacted by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A terminally ill girl named Natalie wanted to snowboard with me, so I flew to Seattle and surprised her at her school. We went to the local mountain and spent the afternoon snowboarding.

GOING UP THE (BACK)COUNTRY Express: In the late 1980’s, there weren’t many women snowboarding, let alone going into the backcountry. How did it all come together?

Lafonte: In the beginning it was a trial and error. In the backcountry, you didn’t know what you were going to come across. Our group came together by accident; we were just doing what we loved. Being a free agent from the

beginning, I was treated like one of the guys. It was all camaraderie and no competition at that time, and there were only three or four women who did backcountry. My crew was all men except for Victoria Jealouse.

Express: Was extreme or backcountry so new that no one could foresee what it would become as a business, or was there a big scramble to start building careers?

Lafonte: Nobody could see that it could be the huge business that it is today, but we were starting to build a lifestyle around it.

Express: How did you get around the mountains at this time?

Lafonte: We started by hiking where we wanted to go, then we moved to snowmobiling, and then transitioned into cat skiing. Over time, we ended up flying. As we progressed, so did our means of travel.

Express: Describe an average day when you were at your peak as a backcountry snowboarder.

Lafonte: There was a photographer and two cameramen at all times. We would wake up at 4am in order to film in the best light of the day, usually at sunrise, and then at sunset. I spent 85 percent of my day outside watching the sun go up and come down, chasing snow and the perfect light.

Express: Talk about the danger of boarding in the backcountry. How did you prepare?

Lafonte: First, we would take Polaroids from the helicopter to study the descent. On the mountain we would use walkie talkies to communicate. On several occasions, I’d have someone on an opposite peak communicating with walkie talkies, because you had to be aware of hazards of the job, the “sleepers”

(rocks and other elements hidden under the snow). I had a big bulky walkie talkie clipped to my collar. Nothing was streamlined like it is today. But even the most conscious of safety measures is no guarantee. I’ve tumbled down steep pitches, been swept down chutes in Class 2 avalanches, fallen off of broken cornices, and wrapped myself around trees.

NORTH TO ALASKA Express: You were among the real pioneers when it came to Alaska.

Lafonte: At that time, backcountry skiing in Alaska was traveling into the unknown and getting to know it, where every descent was a first descent. The one contest that truly set me apart from the rest was winning the World Extreme contest in 1995 in Valdez, where I also placed 10th in the men’s division.

Express: Talk about those Vietnam [War] copter pilots.

Lafonte: They had a lot of nerve. They would take us anywhere we wanted — something that the pilots will not do today. One pilot, named Chet, flew out of Valdez, and he was not scared to drop you off on any peak. Sometimes he would nudge a skid into the snow or just hover, and we’d jump out, grab our gear from the basket, and hunker down.

Express: You mentioned that the whole attitude started to shift, and areas that were once undiscovered were not so quiet anymore.

Was that because it was discovered by seasoned snowboarders or just hotdoggers who were a danger to themselves and others?

Lafonte: Our sleepy little secret soon turned into a sideshow, and the ski tourists were coming out of the woodwork. In Valdez we had an influx of people wanting to see the places the magazines were talking about,

and pretty soon you did not know the people sitting across from you on the helicopter. You didn’t know if they had an avalanche beacon or if they even knew how to use it. So, after six years of spending every April in Alaska, it was time to go back to the lower 48.

Express: When did you know it was time to quit your professional career?

Lafonte: I didn’t have injuries that kept me off my game for long, and I was able to put my concerns about personal safety on the back burner, but with experience comes wisdom, and it was time to start backing away. I had been in the business for 20 years, and I had come out unscathed. I had pinnacled in my career.

THOMAS WOLFE WAS WRONG: YOU CAN GO HOME AGAIN Express: When did you return to Michigan to live?

Lafonte: It was in 2009. All that time away from family was wearing heavily. I had missed so much: the holidays, watching my nieces and nephews grow up, not being there when my father passed. So I moved to Cheboygan and eventually to Boyne Falls, the location of Boyne Mountain. Now, family is my joy and focus.

Express: How did you feel as an adult coming home?

Lafonte: It was exciting to know that I was coming back to this area. As a kid, I remember how stoked I was about coming to Boyne Mountain and Nubs Nob, and I have to say that today I still get that same feeling. Whether its heli-skiing in Alaska or snowboarding down Hemlock at Boyne Mountain, it’s about enjoying the experience where you are, and I’m happy to be right here. It’s no less wintertime here than it is anywhere else on the planet.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 19

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Honey, We Bought a Ski Resort

Gary and Kathie Vollmar have watched Gaylord’s formerly private and long-struggling Otsego Club for 12 years. At an online auction in late summer, the downstate couple bid for — and nabbed — the property for $1.8 million, then opened one of its golf courses the next day. Gary Vollmar said they plan to spend more in renovations and upgrades than they did to purchase the property, and are working tirelessly to open multiple ski hills open this winter. What do they see in Otsego’s potential that few before them were able to realize?

By Ross Boissoneau Gary and Kathie Vollmar had long had their eyes on the Otsego Club, the scenic Gaylord golf and ski resort. So when the opportunity to purchase property in that area came up, they jumped on it. “If you look at a map of the Otsego Club, there are two pods in the center,” Gary Vollmar said. “We acquired those the day before bidding on the Otsego Club.”

So there was a start, but they knew from a previous effort to purchase the resort that there were no guarantees. “We looked at it back in 2005 or 2006. It was a little pricier than we wanted to face,” said Gary. But he didn’t give up. “We kept our eye on it.”

Looks like his wait-and-see approach worked out perfectly. The day after purchasing the acreage adjacent to the resort in June, the Vollmars won the online auction. They became the official owners of the Otsego Club when the sale closed Aug. 31. The day following the closing, the resort opened the Tribute golf course, which had been closed all summer pending the sale.

While they were hopeful they would also be able to immediately open the Classic course as well, storms made that impossible. “We lost 27 or 28 trees,” he said, necessitating a cleanup that in all likelihood means that course will not open until next year.

Though the resort mostly missed out on this year’s golf season, Gary Vollmar is already looking forward to next year. “It’s a little late to market golf, but we’ll attend the golf shows and build for next year,” he said.

Before heading out to the links, however, he said the resort will be gearing up for ski season. Last year was the first time the resort had been open to the public for skiing, It was a success, and Vollmar promises that will be the case going forward.

Vollmar plans to spend more than the $1.8 million purchase price in maintenance and upgrades as he rebuilds both the resort and

its image. That includes opening restaurants on the property prior to ski season. He is optimistic that business will follow, due in large part due to the outpouring of support and positive interaction he’s already had with the community. “They can’t wait, even with the trials and tribulations of the past five or six years. There’s a loyal base of customers out there,” he said.

Vollmar said that base goes back to the resort’s history with the current generation’s parents and grandparents. “There’s a lot of loyalty and history. They grew up there. At one time there were 500 members or more.”

That’s a number he’d like to see skiing on the weekends.

Vollmar said the size of the resort — it has 81 rooms — made it very attractive to him. He also touts its year-round appeal: With the slopes in the winter and golf courses in the summer, Otsego Club is attractive to potential customers whatever the season.

That is something he said the resort can and will build on, and is a contrast to his own home at Garland Resort in nearby Lewiston.

While Garland boasts four 18-hole courses, it doesn’t offer downhill skiing.

While he will be a hands-on owner, Vollmar said he will still spend the majority of his time on his other business interests.

“My day job is in the manufacturing business with AMI Industries. My time will be 60 percent on the manufacturing side, 40 percent on the resort,” he said.

He and his brothers also own a 2,000acre farm in Cass City; Vollmar said his responsibility there centers on helping with planting and harvesting.

Meanwhile, his wife and one of his brothers will be closely involved with the Otsego Club moving forward. “Kathie will be 100 percent at the resort, with planning and strategy. My brother, Randy, will be 50 to 60 percent at the resort, working on mechanical (systems), maintenance, and the grounds.”

Now that they’ve acquired the property and are readying it for customers, it’s all about learning the hospitality business. “We don’t know a thing about running a resort. We’ve got to learn,” he said. For that they’ll lean on the staff. “Many have been there 10-plus years. The assistant grounds superintendent has been there 40-plus years.” General Manager Mike Bedells will be continuing in his position. “Mike’s strength is on the marketing end of resort management, getting the word out to the public.

“We’ve got a good crew there. They have a lot of knowledge. They know where the sprinkler heads are, how the ski lifts work. Our responsibility will be more about strategy,” said Vollmar.

Oh, and that 200 acres he originally purchased? He said that property could be a perfect place to develop homes and condominiums, which will also help to boost the resort.

Knowledge, goodwill and support, and an increased attentiveness to the business. Vollmar hopes those are all keys to a successful tenure as the owner. And one other thing with which he is very familiar.

“It’s all about customer service. If you take care of the customers, you’ll be successful.”

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 21

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Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 23

Tune in,

Toyko Boyne City High’s Rambler Sports Network is getting play ’round the world

By Al Parker On the basketball court, football field, or volleyball court, teamwork is the key to success.

It’s no different with Boyne City High School’s student-produced sports broadcasts on the Rambler Sports Network, an awardwinning program that airs select football, basketball, and volleyball and other events live to viewers across the nation and all over the world.

“We got an in-game tweet from a couple that said ‘We’re watching in Venice, Italy. It’s 3 a.m. here. Keep it up, Ramblers,’” said teacher Randy Calcaterra , the RSN director. “We’ve also heard from viewers across the country and one who’s stationed in Iraq. They’re mostly family and alumni, but our circle is expanding.”

The RSN team is made up of some two dozen students in the school’s TV and Film Broadcast class, part of the Char-EM ISD tech program. It’s part of Boyne City Video Imaging, or BCVI. A live basketball broadcast involves a crew of 10 students working together smoothly to avoid glitches. Behind the scenes, they handle the wireless sideline camera, the parabolic ear to pick up game sounds, the replay system, graphics and more.

While the announcers are mostly Boyne City teachers, students who want to get in front of the camera act as sideline reporters.

Tune in to a Rambler basketball game and you’ll hear teachers Andy Bryant and Aaron Fritzsche describe the action. During football season, fourth-grade teacher Roger Coates teamed with Charlevoix County Sheriff Chuck Vondra, an avid BC football fan, in calling the games.

The heartbeat of a game broadcast is the 30foot, heated production trailer, a snowmobile hauler that has been converted into a mobile studio that can take the RSN team anywhere in the state to cover the Ramblers. It’s outfitted with monitors, laptops, cables and all the tech

gear needed to do a quality broadcast, complete with graphics, replays and remote cameras.

“It’s no different than an NBC production truck,” noted Calcaterra.

There’s seating for four students who handle all audio, graphics, technical direction and replay, plus a spot for Calcaterra who directs the production. Football takes about 14 crew members to do a game. The intensity of the live broadcast teaches the students about teamwork, thinking on the fly and grace under pressure.

“Putting on a production is nervewracking,” admitted senior Cliff Maginity who is in his second year with RSN and serves as Technical Director (TD), sort of a quarterback of the production, on game day. A self-described ‘technical person’, Maginity sees the program as a stepping stone to a potential career in broadcasting.

“It’s intense,” added junior Brooklyn Fitzpatrick, who handles replays. “If I do it right, I love it.”

In charge of the wireless camera is Olivia Knitter, a junior who got interested in RSN after her brother was involved. “It’s a lot of fun,” she noted. “And it’s cool to know how much effort goes into it.”

Like any other team, the RSN squad practices their broadcasts, but does it without a live game to cover.

“It’s super, duper, duper hard to practice what we do with no game going on,” explained Calcaterra. “They do practice, but it’s tough. It’s like practicing basketball without a ball.”

The lanky Calcaterra knows a bit about basketball. He played at Wayne State University as an undergrad and, in addition to his duties with RSN, serves as the Ramblers junior varsity hoops coach.

“The biggest skills in demand now are adaptability, problem solving in unique situations and working with technology,” he said. “We’re giving students the opportunity to do all three of those things and we’ve seen the results with students who have left the program and gone on to college.”

24 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

Graduates of RSN who have gone on to study digital broadcasting in college include: Jared Frank, former TD, now at Ball State University where he recently TD’d a Cardinals hoop game for ESPN+.

Anna Harmeling, a two-year TD, now at Stanford.

Jill Solomon, a two-year TD, who ran the Jumbotron at Spartan Stadium and the Breslin Center at Michigan State University, is now the TD for University of Michigan woman’s volleyball.

Andrew Deneau, now working on big budget films in California: “The Godfather of RSN … an amazing person, amazing talent,” said Calcaterra.

Funding for the RSN comes from Char-EM ISD, plus the support of sponsors, including Great Lakes Energy and Wolverine Power, along with local businesses.

In 2016, RSN began partnering with Cadillac-based MINEWS 26 TV, which rebroadcasts the students’ productions to cable TV viewers across northern Michigan. “This partnership is very exciting and is another vehicle in which RSN content is reaching viewers,” said Calcaterra.

In its early days, RSN broadcasts consisted of a sports talk show, similar to ESPN’s Sports Center. When it was decided to do game broadcasts, one of the concerns was that airing games for free would impact live ticket sales, an important source of revenue for school programs.

While Calcaterra acknowledged the concerns, he said the data shows there isn’t much of an effect either way. The two biggest factors in attendance, he said, were weather and the success of the team and that any impact broadcasting has is minor, if any.

The growth and popularity of RSN has not gone unnoticed and several other schools have contacted Calcaterra about starting their own program. “Tons of schools have called,” he said.

“But the barriers to doing this are hellacious.

You have to have an enormous amount of knowledge and money.”

Working behind the scenes to produce a game broadcast on the Rambler Sports Network are, from left, students Brooklyn Fitzpatrick, Cliff Maginity, and Olivia Knitter.

One of the challenges to operating RSN, or any similar program, involves the Michigan High School Athletic Association. As a body that oversees some 700 high school programs and sets policy that impacts them all, MHSAA is concerned with commercialization and exploitation of the athletes.

“What we’re both after is representation of high school athletics in a positive way, as an exciting educational endeavor that is a powerful learning tool,” said Calcaterra. “It’s something that brings kids, parents, teachers and the community together.”

That impact was evident in 2015 when the football team went 10-2 and last year when they were 9–1, losing only to Maple City Glen Lake 28–7 in the final game of the season.

“We usually have 1,100 to 1,500 [viewers] watching football, but when we got into the playoffs [in 2015 and 2017] it ramps up like crazy,” said Calcaterra.

RSN continues to grow slowly and steadily, adding new tech gear and upgrading items, such as a new heater for the production trailer making it more comfortable during wintry broadcasts. Calcaterra is quick to give credit to the school district, the ISD and the Boyne City community.

“Every time we’ve needed help, someone stepped up to give it to us,” he said. “That means a lot to us.”

And the program has an impact on Boyne City athletes too, according to Fitzpatrick, who plays basketball, volleyball and softball, when she’s not helping with a RSN broadcast. They are totally aware when one of their games is being sent live around the globe.

“Being in sports, I knew how cool [RSN] was,” said Fitzpatrick. “When your game is broadcast, it’s special. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, but it’s cool.”

To learn more, visit http://local.boyne.k12. mi.us/rsn/index.html.

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By Al Parker Atop a windswept hill west of downtown Grayling, an American flag stiffens in the breeze and stands as a lonely sentinel above perhaps the smallest military cemetery in the nation. Here, two Michigan soldiers lie for eternity.

The site, tucked deep in the woods of the popular Hanson Hills Recreation Area, is safeguarded by a chainlink fence topped with barbed wire and is nearly inaccessible to the public.

Buried there are Private First Class John A. Conroy and Private George A. Laine, both members of the storied 125th Infantry Regiment of the Michigan National Guard.

The 125th traces its beginning to before the Civil War and has seen action in World War I, World War II and, in the last decade, in Afghanistan.

The tiny cemetery is a virtual secret, unknown to few outside the Camp Grayling community and the staff of Hanson Hills.

“I grew up here in Grayling, and I never heard anything about it ’til I started working here,” said Tim DesMoines, who handles maintenance at Hanson Hills.

Very few details are available about the lives of Conroy and Laine. Born in Portland, Oregon, in 1902, Conroy was living in Detroit and serving in the National Guard at Camp Grayling when he died of pneumonia in August 1927.

Laine, who was born in the Upper Peninsula town of Gwynn and later moved to Detroit, drowned in tiny Frog Lake on July 14, 1939. More a pond than a lake, Frog Lake is just off Stephan’s Bridge Road, south of County Road 612.

Less than two months later, Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland launched World War II. Just over a year later, the 125th would be called to active service; Laine would not accompany his fellow soldiers to battle.

The graves of both Conroy and Laine are managed by Camp Grayling, which keeps the gate to the cemetery locked. There doesn’t seem to be any documentation why the cemetery was established or why that particular site was chosen, according to a letter from camp officials to Hanson Hills Director of Operations Justin Andre.

“In neither soldier’s case does it mention why they were interred here instead of someplace else,” said the letter. “However, since both soldiers were on duty with the State Militia, as opposed to the active Army, when they passed away, they would not have been eligible to be buried at a National Cemetery, such as Arlington.

“In the case of PFC Conroy, it does state that he didn’t have any relatives listed, so that would explain why he was buried here. In PVT Laine’s case, however, it states that he

The Ski Resort’s Secret Cemetery Why were two soldiers buried in a hidden cemetery at Hanson Hills? has a sister. Not sure why he was not buried closer to his family members. ” Following Laine’s internment in 1939, the graves were left for decades, all but forgotten and often neglected.

Two decades later, Captain Garland “Bud” Joyce was on a training mission when he found the cemetery, and the camp started taking regular care of it, according to Command Sgt. Major Harold “Tike” Golnick who served as Camp Grayling’s post sergeant major from 1985 to 1990 and was responsible for maintaining the miniature cemetery.

“Someone told me it was the smallest military cemetery in the United States,” Golnick later told a reporter. “They were forgotten for a while, we started taking care of it again … It’s kind of a lost secret, really.”

According to records obtained by the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, new headstones were purchased for both graves in 1958, followed by a service on Memorial Day of that same year. Since it is not a national cemetery, it does not accept additional internments.

Meanwhile, Hanson Hills has grown up around it. And like the cemetery, has a rich history as a rarity itself. Established in 1929, it was the first downhill ski area in Michigan and only the second in the Midwest. “Snow Trains” brought thousands of winter

26 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

enthusiasts to Grayling, where they would board flatbed trucks for the ride to what was the called “Grayling Winter Sports Park.”

“It was quite a place,” said Program Director Wendy Kelso. “There was an annual Winter Carnival with a Snow Queen and lots of activities.”

Attractions included elaborate ice carvings done by locals and a toboggan run and a 66-foot ski jump that was built in 1934.

Area lumber baron Rasmus Hanson willed the Hanson Hills land to the State of Michigan for military or recreational use, and it’s still controlled by the state’s military board. The Grayling Winter Sports Park evolved quickly, becoming “Bear Mountain” with 22 slopes for downhill skiing, a hotel, the “Little Smokey Railroad,” and the Fred Bear Museum.

However, when Hanson family heirs found that private individuals were making money on the property, they attempted to take the land back. A legal battle ensued, and a court ordered the area closed in 1973.

Volunteers came forward that winter to try to keep a few hills open for children to downhill ski. Soon the Grayling Recreation Authority was established to maintain and run the ski operation. That role has expanded to include a year-round sports program for youth and adults.

Winter activities today include downhill and cross-country skiing, tubing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, and fat tire biking. The snow sports school program helps beginners learn to ski.

“We’re kind of the winter babysitters,” joked Andre. “We get a lot of youngsters and high schoolers out here during their Christmas breaks.”

Spring, summer, and fall activities include two challenging disc golf courses, mountain biking trails, archery, softball, a playground, flag football and more.

New changes are afoot again: In the November election, Crawford County voters approved a one-time millage proposal to fund roughly $270,000 in repairs to Hanson Hills’ aging lodge. The building is more than 80 years old and was cobbled together over the decades. It houses a dining area, snack bar, ski rental shop, and offices. The aged wooden siding on the exterior of the building is deteriorating in several places, and the metal roof leaks in many spots.

“We’ll be doing new windows, electrical work, roofing and other improvements,” said Andre. “A lot of structural work.”

The work is expected to take place in the spring and summer of 2019. For more information about Hanson Hills, call 989348-9266 or visit www.hansonhills.org.

MODE’S BUM STEER Although today’s downtown Traverse City boasts a large and bustling bar and restaurant scene, things were quite different when Anita and Joe Mode opened Mode’s Bum Steer on State Street over 40 years ago.

Times and tastes have changed, the economy has had its ups and downs, and many food and beverage establishments have come and gone, but Mode’s has prevailed through it all.

By Janice Binkert “We started Mode’s back in 1975, and back then there were very few restaurants in town,” said Anita Mode. “We’re the longest-running restaurant under the same family ownership in Traverse City. We lived upstairs for the first five years, and it was great, especially in the beginning, because if something happened, we were right here.” Joe passed away 11 years ago, but Anita and their daughter, Skylar, who now serves as the restaurant’s manager, are continuing the legacy.

THE GOOD OLD DAYS The familiar tan brick façade of Mode’s, with its bright red awnings and the whimsical steer painted on the front, is almost as retro as its interior, which sports cushy red leatherette dining chairs, colorful faux Tiffany lamps, tufted green-backed bar stools, and red and green plaid carpeting. It’s part of the charm of Mode’s, giving it the feel of an old Chicago steakhouse. But it looked very different when the Anita and Joe took it over. For one thing, there was no kitchen in the building, which had previously housed a couple of different bars. There had also been a tack shop at the back at one time, and behind that a blacksmith. The basement was a coal chute — now it’s the restaurant’s banquet room.

“We moved the original bar down there and built the existing one in the dining room to replace it,” said Anita. “And eventually we built a kitchen, although it’s really small now that our menu has grown so much. We remodeled quite a bit over the years, a little at a time, because we couldn’t afford to do it all at once.”

The young couple was involved in every aspect of the business from the beginning.

“I was the bartender, cook, waitress, everything,” said Anita. “Bob was in the kitchen most of the time. Gradually, we

added more people and more menu items — it just kept growing, and it didn’t take very long. We were of course hoping for that, but we didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. We are very lucky to have longtime employees — some of them have been with us for 30 years or more.”

As the menu and staff grew, so did Mode’s clientele. Rattling off the names of many well-known Traverse City businesspeople and residents who frequented Mode’s through the years, Anita said, ““Everybody knew everybody in town back in those days.

It was like one big party. They’d come in for dinner, and they’d be all over the place, table hopping, and the waitresses would say, ‘Where are you sitting for dinner?’ It was actually really hard for me to even charge people for their meals, because I knew all of them, and they were friends.”

Looking back, one anecdote in particular sticks out in Anita’s mind. “During the big snowstorm of ’78, we were the only place open in town. Bob had a four-wheel-drive Chevrolet Blazer, and he had gone out and picked up waitresses and cooks and bartenders and brought them in here to work. And somehow word got around, and people were cross-country skiing and snowshoeing and snowmobiling to get here. It was so much fun!”

STEAKHOUSE FARE Mode’s menu was created around the available space and the kitchen’s ability to produce certain things, Anita explained. The website puts it in a nutshell: Steak. Seafood.

BBQ ribs.

“In the kitchen, we have the charbroil station and the fish station, with a cook assigned to each one. The salad and sandwich prep is done out front behind the bar on the electric grill. And everybody on the frontof-the-house staff is cross-trained. They all know how to serve, bartend, and cook.”

When you think of a traditional

steakhouse, you also think of traditional appetizers, and Mode’s has them: jumbo shrimp (with homemade cocktail sauce), baked brie (with pineapple-horseradish chutney), and Chicago specialty escargot deJonghe (snails coated in garlic-sherry bread crumbs), for example.

One section of the menu is labeled “On the Lighter Side,” which is apparently relative in the steakhouse world, since it includes the very popular Polish sausage (on a roll with hot mustard and onion), prime rib French dip, a “BBQ pig” sandwich, and the McMode Burger (a cheeseburger with Canadian bacon and special sauce). And speaking of burgers, since the beginning, Mode’s have been made to order with 92 percent lean sirloin from the local Oleson’s grocery store, ground fresh every day.

Mode’s Angus beef — prime rib, porterhouse, filet mignon and other cuts, charbroiled and served with a baked potato, wedge salad and Texas toast — is what the restaurant was built on and what brings in many old and new customers. Another signature dish is fresh walleye, sourced from the northernmost shore of Lake Superior.

“When we’re out, we’re out,” said Anita.

“And you want to run out. That’s how we keep it fresh.” Other popular entrées include Atlantic salmon (broiled with dill sauce and parmesan cheese or blackened), twin lobster tails (with drawn butter), and rack of lamb (baked in Grand Marnier sauce). Salad dressings, tartar sauce and cocktail sauce are all made in house, along with a host of other condiments.

The first establishment to occupy the space that is now Mode’s Bum Steer — Hoolihan’s Bar, way back in 1902 — is renowned for having gotten the first liquor license sold in Traverse City, which Mode’s still has today. “We’re not the oldest bar — that’s Sleder’s,” said Anita, “but we have the oldest liquor license. Back then, it cost

$416.67, which was a lot of money at the time!” In the modern era, Mode’s bartenders here have maintained a reputation for making excellent drinks of all kinds, especially steakhouse classics like martinis, Manhattans, sidecars, and whiskey sours.

SPREADING THE WORD “There are so many wineries, breweries, distilleries and new restaurants here now — but they bring a lot of visitors to Traverse City, which is good for everyone,” said Anita. “You know what’s really nice? Word of mouth, and we get a lot of it. People have come in, more often than you’d think, and say, ‘We didn’t know where to go to eat in town, and we were discussing it at the winery, or wherever. There were people around us who overheard us, and they all said, ‘Mode’s!’ And the Grand Traverse Resort and the other motels and hotels in the region send people here all the time. Because they know their guests are going to get a good meal. We’re very appreciative of that.”

Anita confessed that though it’s not always been easy operating a restaurant, and that doing it as a couple has its own challenges, she wouldn’t have done anything differently.

“I don’t know if the business will stay in the family when I decide to retire — time will tell — but Skylar does a wonderful job as our restaurant manager. She really runs the place now, and I’m in the background doing bookwork. And my grandson is coming up — wrapping potatoes just like Skylar and her brothers did when they were kids!”

Asked what she thinks is the secret to the restaurant’s popularity and longevity, Anita insisted that it’s no secret at all: “We’ve kept our prices pretty reasonable compared to a lot of places, and we serve good food. It’s place where people can come and relax, sit and talk, eat and drink, and linger. We don’t take any reservations, so they don’t have to feel rushed. We’ve had engagements, we’ve had breakups, we’ve had all kinds of stuff happen here. It’s a place that’s a little more intimate — it’s not rowdy and loud. Sure, we get busy, but everybody has their own space.

We just have a really wonderful clientele.

This place has been good to us. We’re very fortunate.” Mode’s loyal customers would no doubt say the same.

Mode’s Bum Steer is located at 125 East State St. in downtown Traverse City. (231) 9479832, modesbumsteer.com.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 27

dec 08

Cold?

IT’S 84°

IN HERE!

saturday

ART SHOW: 10am-4pm, Dec. 8-9. The Village at GT Commons, Bldg. 50, Community Room, TC. Seasoned illustrator, artist Robert K. Schewe will showcase his newest art, “TC Kaleidoscope.” A signing of these prints will be available, along with other original art.

---------------------CHRISTMAS MAGIC: Events start at 9am in downtown Beulah. Includes Breakfast with Santa & Frosty at Hungry Tummy, Benzonia Public Library Holiday Party, carolers, Christmas Magic Lighted Parade & more.

december

08-16

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

---------------------PANCAKE BREAKFAST: 9-11am, Banks Township Hall, Ellsworth. Choose a stuffed toy & take a picture with Santa & Mrs. Claus. Free.

---------------------30TH ANNUAL VICTORIAN SLEIGHBELL PARADE & OLD CHRISTMAS WEEKEND: 10am, Manistee. Includes caroling, lighting of the tree, Festival of Trees, The Nutcracker Ballet, Manistee Jingle Bell Jog 5K & much more. manisteesleighbellparade.com

---------------------CHRISTMAS IN THE VILLAGE: The Village at GT Commons, TC. Held Dec. 7-9. Enjoy music, Santa Claus, shopping specials, carriage rides & much more. Free. Find on Facebook.

---------------------SNOW KICK-BALL TOURNAMENT: 11am, The Blind Squirrel Bar & Grill, Gaylord. 989-448-2771.

---------------------AUTHORS SIGNINGS: Horizon Books, TC. 12-2pm: Chris Kassel will sign his book “A Being Otherwise.” 2-4pm: Tom Carr will sign his book “MI BAD: Robbers, Cutthroats & Thieves in Michigan’s Past & Present.” 4-6pm: Dean R. Feldpausch will sign his book “The Batman and the Ballerina.” horizonbooks.com

---------------------DOODLE ART DAY: 1-3pm, Twisted Fish Gallery, Elk Rapids. Bring supplies. Free. twistedfishgallery.com

---------------------SWAN LAKE, ARTS ACADEMY DANCE CO.: 2pm & 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Performed by the Interlochen Arts Academy Ballet. $29 full, $26 senior, $11 youth.

---------------------BENZIE COUNTY COMMUNITY CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERTS: 3pm, Frankfort United Methodist Church. Family friendly concerts to “Celebrate the Season.” Freewill offering. benziechorus.org

----------------------

COME WARM-UP

NOW!

COOKBOOK DINNER SERIES PRESENTS THE COMPLETE ROBUCHON: 5pm, amical, TC. French influencer of the hospitality world. Call 941-8888 for reservations. amical.com/robuchon

---------------------SINGLE MOMM DECEMBER EVENT NIGHT: 5pm, Church of the Living God, TC. Moms will “shop” in the Books-A-Million store for gifts for their kiddos (18 & under please) & enjoy a served meal together. There will also be a kids program. Must RSVP. Free. singlemomm.org/eventnightregistration

----------------------

BOYNE MOUNTAIN RESORT

877.218.1527 avalanchebay.com

BAYSIDE TRAVELLERS CONTRA DANCE: 9191 S. Kasson St., Cedar. Potluck at 6pm.

Bring your table service, beverage & a dish to share. Live music by Big Fun. Basic skills workshop from 7-7:30pm & dancing from 7:3010:30pm. Bring a white elephant gift for the traditional gift exchange dance. $11 adults, $7 students, free for members. dancetc.com

---------------------WARREN MILLER’S “FACE OF WINTER”: 6:30-8:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Presented by the GT Ski Club. gtskiclub.org

---------------------“A CHRISTMAS CAROL”: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Charles Dickens’ story, adapted by Doris Baizley. $28 adults, $15 youth under 18. oldtownplayhouse.com

28 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

Celebrate the season in a cozy, simple setting with hot cocoa, a warm bonfire, a winter hike through the woods, and an outdoor performance from Benzie Central High School Chamber Choir. “Winter Sounds” will be held at Michigan Legacy Art Park, Thompsonville on Sat., Dec. 15. The concert begins at 5pm, but arrive early to allow for the quarter mile hike to the amphitheater. $10 suggested donation. michlegacyartpark.org

16TH ANNUAL JINGLE BELL JAM: 7:30pm, American Legion Post #10, Manistee.

Featuring live music by Cheryl Wolfram, Ted Bounty, Sufferin Suckatash, Junk Monkey, & The Rock Supply. Admission is one new, unwrapped toy or cash donation.

---------------------AN EVENING WITH DON WHITE: 7:30pm, Historic Elk Rapids Town Hall. Enjoy this storyteller-comedian-author-troubadour-folk singer. Proceeds benefit HERTH. $20 advance; $25 at show. ertownhall.org

---------------------“THE LION IN WINTER”: 8pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. A modern-day classic about sibling rivalry, adultery & dungeons. $15 adults; $12 students (18 & under). ltct.org

---------------------COMEDY NIGHT - GOOD ON PAPER IMPROV: 8pm, West Bay Beach Holiday Inn Resort, TC. $10. westbaybeachresorttraversecity.com

dec 09

sunday

30TH ANNUAL VICTORIAN SLEIGHBELL PARADE & OLD CHRISTMAS WEEKEND: (See Sat., Dec. 8)

-------------

THE CHRISTMAS SHOP: 10am-4pm, The Ellison Place, Gaylord. Featuring over 100 vendors & crafters. Admission proceeds will be donated to a local charity. $1. nmievents.com

---------------------ART SHOW: (See Sat., Dec. 8) ---------------------BENZONIA PUBLIC LIBRARY HOLIDAY PARTY: 11am-1pm, Mills Community House, upper level, Benzonia. Christmas carols, crafts, stories, puppet show, gift making & wrapping workshop & more.

---------------------CHRISTMAS IN THE VILLAGE: (See Sat., Dec. 8)

---------------------CANCER FREE-DOMS SUPPORT GROUP:

12:15pm, West Side Community Church, TC. For all of those affected by cancer.

Learn about individual resources, emotional support, treatment research & review, hugs, recipes, love & support. Held every other Sun. Free. Find on Facebook.

---------------------GTHC HOLIDAY HIKE: 1pm, Muncie Lakes State Forest Pathway. The hike will be followed by dinner at Peegeo’s (optional) at 4pm. facebook.com/GTHikers

---------------------“A CHRISTMAS CAROL”: 2pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. Charles Dickens’ story, adapted by Doris Baizley. $28 adults, $15 youth under 18. oldtownplayhouse.com

----------------------

Land Conservancy, will also speak. Free. gthumanists.org

---------------------STORIES FROM THE PAST: 7pm, Peninsula Community Library, Old Mission Peninsula School, TC. Onalee Marsh & Ginny Johnson will share tales from their books about growing up during the Great Depression & WWII. Free. peninsulacommunitylibrary.org

dec 11

tuesday

FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: (See Mon., Dec. 10)

-------------

“THE LION IN WINTER”: 2pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. A modern-day classic about sibling rivalry, adultery & dungeons. $15 adults; $12 students (18 & under). ltct.org

GET CRAFTY: Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Christmas Tree on a Stick. Held at 11am & 2pm. greatlakeskids.org

NORTHPORT COMMUNITY BAND/THE VILLAGE VOICES CHRISTMAS CONCERT: 2pm, Northport Community Arts Center Auditorium. 231-386-5001. $25; students, $5.

4:45 CLUB: 4:45pm, Alpine Tavern, Gaylord.

For entrepreneurs in Otsego County. Share ideas & network.

------------------------------------------STRAITS AREA CHRISTMAS CANTATA: 2pm, St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Mackinaw City.

---------------------FREE FAMILY CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES: Beulah. 3-5pm: Beulah Trailhead: Art project, face painting, cookie decorating & Santa.

Downtown Beulah: Horse-drawn wagon rides.

4pm: Christmas carolers from Benzie Central High School Choir. 5:15pm: Christmas Magic Lighted Parade.

---------------------SANTA & MRS. CLAUS AT OAC: 3-5pm, Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. Enjoy seeing Santa & Mrs. Claus, as well as a holiday story time with Benzie Shores Library, holiday arts & crafts, a hot chocolate bar, & activities with Cognition Discovery Center. Free. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

---------------------THE LONG MEMORY PROJECT PERFORMANCE: 3:30pm, Kirkbride Hall, The Village at GT Commons, TC. Community elders gathered with MI-based artists to retell stories of the little-known social & environmental movements seen in the region’s past. Musicians Seth Bernard, Sam Cooper & Zach Watson, & writers Jaime Delp & Amber Edmondson will perform original pieces inspired by these stories. $20. thevillagetc.com

---------------------COOKBOOK DINNER SERIES PRESENTS THE COMPLETE ROBUCHON: (See Sat., Dec. 8)

---------------------BENZIE COUNTY COMMUNITY CHORUS CHRISTMAS CONCERTS: 7:30pm, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, Beulah. Family friendly concerts to “Celebrate the Season.”

Freewill offering. benziechorus.org

dec 10

monday

FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: 8am, Interlochen Public Library. Gift quality, good as new books. tadl.org/interlochen

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SOUP & BREAD: 6-8pm, The Little Fleet, TC. Enjoy soup & bread donated by local chefs. Donate what you can. This month’s proceeds benefit Northwest Michigan Ballet. thelittlefleet.com

---------------------GT HUMANISTS PRESENT TART TRAILS & GTRLC: 7pm, Traverse Area District Library, TC. Join the GT Humanists as they present a program on local efforts to preserve & enjoy natural resources. Brian Beauchamp, outreach & policy director with TART Trails, will speak about TART & their local nonmotorized trail network. Marissa Duque, campaign coordinator for the GT Regional

------------------------------------------CITIZENS’ CLIMATE LOBBY MEETING: 6:30-8:30pm, Central United Methodist Church, third floor, TC. If you’re new to CCL, arrive at 6pm for an intro. citizensclimatelobby.org

---------------------FREE TC COMMUNITY MEDITATION & SATSANG: 7pm, Higher Self Bookstore, TC. 941-5805.

dec 12

SEA SHANTY SING-A-LONG: 7pm, Maritime Heritage Alliance, TC. Join in with your instrument or voice or just relax & enjoy the music.

If possible, bring maritime sheet music to share. Free. maritimeheritagealliance.org

dec 13

thursday

FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: (See Mon., Dec. 10)

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INTERACTIVE STORY TIME: 11am, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “The Gingerbread Man” by Eric A. Kimmel. greatlakeskids.org

---------------------GT MUSICALE HOLIDAY PROGRAM & BAZAAR: 1pm, First Congregational Church, TC. Featuring the TC St. Francis High School Select Choir Ensemble & Soloists under the Direction of Scott Carter.

Tea & treats following the program. Free. gtmusicale.org

---------------------LEARNING FOR LONGEVITY: SMOKING CESSATION: 11am, MCHC, rooms A&B, TC. With Patti Moore, RN, BSN. Register. 9359265. Free. munsonhealthcare.org

---------------------PARKINSON’S NETWORK NORTH DAY SUPPORT GROUP: 11am, TC Senior Center.

Free Christmas lunch for PNN members.

947-7389. pnntc.org

---------------------BOOKS PROGRAM & DISCUSSION: 2pm, Leland Township Library. Featuring readings, discussions & interpretive questions with discussion leader Norm Wheeler. Includes writings by Sigmund Freud, Anton Chekhov, Isak Dinesen & Mary Lavin. Materials will be provided ahead of time... stop by the front desk at the Library to pick them up. Free. lelandlibrary.org

---------------------GT BAY AREA STROKE CLUB HOLIDAY POTLUCK PARTY: 2:30-4:30pm, The Presbyterian Church, TC. Bring a dish to pass.

935-6380.

---------------------T ‘N’ T CREATE! FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: 5-7pm, Interlochen Public Library. For ages 10-19 & their families. Featuring “elf.” tadl. org/interlochen

---------------------WOODEN SHOE FESTIVAL: 6pm, Banks Township Hall, Ellsworth. Enjoy the ceremonial lighting of the community tree, caroling, a pizza dinner, cookies with Grinch Punch & a hot chocolate bar, Pine Lake Winds concert & more.

“A WOMAN CALLED TRUTH”: 7pm, OTP Studio Theatre @ the Depot, TC. Presented by the OTP Young Company. The story of Sojourner Truth, who escaped slavery to become a popular & respected advocate for abolition & women’s rights. $15 adults, $8 under 18 (plus fees). oldtownplayhouse.com

---------------------“THE NUTCRACKER BALLET”: (See Thurs., Dec. 13)

---------------------A PETER BERGIN CHRISTMAS: 7pm, The Music House Museum, Williamsburg. Enjoy a holiday concert with MI-based ragtime artist Peter Bergin. $10 adults, $5 students. musichouse.org/upcoming-events

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STARTING A BUSINESS - TRAVERSE CITY: 8:30-11am, NMC University Center, Room 209, TC. Facilitated by MI-SBDC Northwest Regional Center. For individuals in the beginning stages of starting a business, in need of accessing capital, or considering self-employment. Free. clients. sbdcmichigan.org

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SOUNDS OF THE SEASON: ARTS ACADEMY BAND & CHOIR: SOLD OUT: 7pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. $21 full, $19 senior, $11 youth. tickets.interlochen.org

CHRISTMAS DINNER: 4-6pm, Crawford County Commission on Aging & Senior Center, Grayling.

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SWINGSHIFT AND THE STARS: 6:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Lip sync battle to benefit eight local non-profit organizations.

Tickets: cityoperahouse.org

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ARTS FOR ALL HOLIDAY ACCESS & OPEN HOUSE: 3-5pm, Arts for All Studio, TC. A monthly art & cultural outing for individuals with disabilities & their families & peers.

5-8pm, TruFit Trouser Building Plaza. Free.

Find on Facebook.

wednesday

NONPROFIT EXCHANGE MONTHLY COFFEE BREAK: 8am, Otsego County Community Foundation, Gaylord. An hour dedicated to nonprofit networking.

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BLISSFEST FOLK & ROOTS MINI CONCERT SERIES: 7pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey. Local fiddle & guitar duo Hannah Harris & John Warstler bring Irish traditional music & a few Celtic influences. They will present a program of tunes & stories that bring together a past & present musical journey. $10 advance; $15 night of. mynorthtickets.com

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BENZONIA ACADEMY LECTURE SERIES: 4pm, Benzie Area Historical Museum, Benzonia. “Passenger Service on Northern Lake Michigan 1850-1960 .” Presented by Steve Harold. 231.882.5539. Donation.

FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: (See Mon., Dec. 10)

& wine & over 125 silent auction items. $10 donation at door. 231-271-4630.

---------------------DOWNTOWN MEN’S SHOPPING NIGHT: 5-9pm, Downtown TC.

---------------------ELK RAPIDS BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, Cairn House Bed & Breakfast, Elk Rapids.

---------------------“THE NUTCRACKER BALLET”: 7pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. Presented by Company Dance Traverse & Dance Arts Academy. Featuring guest artists Sarah Wolff & Francis Lawrence. $20-$29. danceartstraverse.com/the-nutcracker.html

---------------------“THE LION IN WINTER”: 8pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. A modern-day classic about sibling rivalry, adultery & dungeons. $15 adults; $12 students (18 & under). ltct.org

dec 14

friday

FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: (See Mon., Dec. 10)

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DISCOVER WITH ME!: 10am, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Explore with Me. A time for touching, feeling & sharpening up the five senses. greatlakeskids.org

---------------------“FISHTOWN IN LIGHTS”: 5pm, Fishtown, Leland. Fishtown Preservation Society will light the rooftops of Leland’s Historic Fishtown with strings of white lights at 5:30pm.

The display will continue nightly through Jan. 6, 5-10pm. Leland resident Keith Burnham will turn on the lights. Keith will be recognized for his efforts to spread the word in 2006 that Fishtown needed saving, & for his continued devotion to Fishtown. fishtownmi.org

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ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY & FUNDRAISER: 5:30-8:30pm, Friendship Community Center, Suttons Bay. Featuring appetizers

------------------------------------------“THE LION IN WINTER”: (See Thurs., Dec. 13)

dec 15

saturday

TENNESSEE CRYSTAL CHRISTMAS: Country stars Crystal Gayle & Lee Greenwood will sing holiday favorites. 8pm, Leelanau Sands Casino Showroom, Peshawbestown.

Tickets: $65, $50, $40. startickets.com

---------------------FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: (See Mon., Dec. 10)

---------------------BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: 9am, GT Resort & Spa, Governors’ Hall, Acme. Featuring a family-friendly buffet, Jolly Ol’ Saint Nick, who will be on hand for photos & to visit with children, face painting, balloon artists, DJ music, a caricaturist, Christmas cookie design station & more. $0-25.50/person. grandtraverseresort.com/breakfastwithsanta

---------------------COOKIE WALK & CRAFT FAIR: 10am-4pm, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Interlochen.

Cookies will be $7/lb. Lunch will consist of 8 soups, bread & cookie choice. Beverages are free. The Craft Fair includes 16-20 crafters & a silent auction of crafter donated items.

Proceeds donated to local community & international projects. Free.

---------------------MAKE A GIFT SERIES: FELTED WOOL COOKIE CUTTER ORNAMENT: 10am-noon, Interlochen Public Library. For adults. Register: 231-276-6767. Free. tadl.org/interlochen

---------------------SLIFCO ELECTRIC CHRISTKINDLMARKT IN VILLAGE AT BAY HARBOR: 10am-7pm.

On Dec. 15-16 The Village at Bay Harbor will be transformed into a village of Christmas lights, shops, drink & song that creates the ambiance of olde world Germany, modeled after traditional holiday markets sprinkled across Europe. Includes the Santa Fun Run at 10am on Sat., Dec. 15: 3K for adults & 1K for kids. bayharbor.com

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 29

WREATH MAKING & HIKE: 10am-noon, Round Lake Nature Preserve, Harbor Springs. Join local artist & florist Katie Brines & Little Traverse Conservancy staff for a festive hike & wreath making workshop. Preregister: 231-347-0991. Free. landtrust.org

---------------------AUTHORS SIGNINGS: Horizon Books, TC. 11am-1pm: David Stendel will sign his book “Just Call Me Spaz.” 1-3pm: Beverly J. Porter & Jan Bower will sign their book “One Amazing Night.” 3-5pm: Heather Shumaker will sign her book “Saving Arcadia.” 5-7pm: Wendy Webb will sign her book “Daughters of the Lake.” horizonbooks.com

---------------------SHOP, DROP & JINGLE: 11am-5pm, Twisted Fish Gallery, Elk Rapids. Includes on-site artists, the Elk Rapids High School choir, poetry readings & sales. Free.

---------------------CHARLEVOIX ELKS HOOP SHOOT: 12:30pm, Charlevoix Elementary School. A free throw contest for boys & girls youth ages 8-13. Free.

---------------------“THE NUTCRACKER BALLET”: 2pm & 7pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. Presented by Company Dance Traverse & Dance Arts Academy. Featuring guest artists Sarah Wolff & Francis Lawrence. $20$29. danceartstraverse.com/the-nutcracker.html

---------------------FROST: A WINTER SHOW OF DANCE: 2pm & 7pm, TC Central High School Auditorium, TC. Presented by Design Dance Company. $15, $20. designdancestudio.com

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        



“THE NUTCRACKER”: 3pm & 7pm, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor.

Celebrate the holiday season with the ballet dancers of CTAC’s School of Ballet. Matinee: $25 adults, $5 students, $50 reserved. Evening: $25 adults, $10 students, $50 reserved. crookedtree.org

---------------------WINTER SOUNDS: 5pm, Michigan Legacy Art Park, forest amphitheater, Thompsonville.

An outdoor holiday concert featuring Benzie Central High School Chamber Choir. Enjoy a short winter hike, bonfire, hot cocoa, & holiday choral performance by area teens from Benzie County. Bring blankets or camp chairs to sit on. Suggested $10 donation. michlegacyartpark.org/events/winter-songs

---------------------A CHRISTMAS KEEPSAKE: 6pm, E-Free Church, Gaylord. Enjoy holiday humor, seasonal stories & memories. Free.

---------------------SANTA VISITS THE ROCK: 6pm, The Rock of Kingsley. Includes a photo opp with Santa for a suggested $5 donation. Christmas treats, crafts for kids & gift basket silent auction. Find on Facebook.

---------------------“A WOMAN CALLED TRUTH”: (See Fri., Dec. 14)

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SEASONAL Seasonal FAVORITES Favorites Taco Tuesdays - Walleye Wednesdays *Served all & day-Dine in only* Thirsty Thursday Cheap Burger Day All You Can Eat Friday Fish Fry

TACO TUESDAYS

Happy Tuesday - Friday 3-6pm So tacoHour shells; corn or flour, with your $1 off excluded) choice of Draft pork, beer beef,(PBR chicken, or perch. $1 off Well drinks - $3 Fireball Shots Topped with cheese and lettuce. $.50 of Beer bottles - $.50 of Wine glasses $2 each taco 116 Waukazoo Street - Northport - 231.386.1061 - tuckersnp.com $5 Margaritas

30 • December 10, 2018WALLEYE • NorthernWEDNESDAYS Express Weekly

Seasonally prepared walleye filet, served

TSO’S HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Guest conductor Lonnie Klein returns to the podium, joined by NMC Children’s Choir & Grand Traverse Chorale. Tickets start at $28. Students & first-time attendees eligible for a 50% discount. traversesymphony. org/concert/home-for-the-holidays

---------------------“THE LION IN WINTER”: (See Thurs., Dec. 13) ----------------------

SISTER’S CHRISTMAS CATECHISM: 8pm, City Opera House, TC. From the author of Late Nite Catechism, it’s “CSI: Bethlehem.”

Retelling the story of the nativity, as only Sister can, this is a hilarious holiday production. Tickets: $37.50, $25. cityoperahouse. org/sisters-christmas-catechism

dec 16

sunday

FRIENDS OF IPL HOLIDAY BOOK SALE: (See Mon., Dec. 10)

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BREAKFAST WITH SANTA: 10am-noon, Great Wolf Lodge, TC. Enjoy a breakfast buffet with Santa & his reindeer & the Great Wolf Lodge characters. $26 adults, $19 ages 11-15, $13 ages 4-10 & free for 3 & under. Reserve your spot: 231-534-9047.

---------------------SLIFCO ELECTRIC CHRISTKINDLMARKT IN VILLAGE AT BAY HARBOR: (See Sat., Dec. 15)

---------------------FREE CHRISTMAS BUFFET: The Blue Pelican Inn, Central Lake. Held at 11:30am, 1pm & 2:30pm. Donations to the Central Lake Community Food Pantry appreciated.

Reserve your spot: 231-544-2583.

---------------------AUTHOR SIGNING: Horizon Books, TC. 126pm: Karl Manke will sign his book “Harsen’s Island Revenge.” horizonbooks.com

---------------------“THE NUTCRACKER BALLET”: 1pm & 5:30pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. Presented by Company Dance Traverse & Dance Arts Academy.

Featuring guest artists Sarah Wolff & Francis Lawrence. $20-$29. danceartstraverse.com/ the-nutcracker.html

---------------------“A WOMAN CALLED TRUTH”: 2pm, OTP Studio Theatre @ the Depot, TC. Presented by the OTP Young Company. The story of Sojourner Truth, who escaped slavery to become a popular & respected advocate for abolition & women’s rights. $15 adults, $8 under 18 (plus fees). oldtownplayhouse.com

---------------------“THE NUTCRACKER”: 3pm, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor. Celebrate the holiday season with the ballet dancers of CTAC’s School of Ballet. Matinee: $25 adults, $5 students, $50 reserved. crookedtree.org

TSO’S HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS: 3pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Guest conductor Lonnie Klein returns to the podium, joined by NMC Children’s Choir & Grand Traverse Chorale. Tickets start at $28. Students & first-time attendees eligible for a 50% discount. traversesymphony.org/ concert/home-for-the-holidays

---------------------JINGLE BELL RUN: 5pm, The Workshop Brewing Co., TC. Annual festive 5K through downtown TC neighborhoods, presented by the TC Track Club. Features a non-competitive, costume jog through decorated TC, followed by Christmas cookies & hot chocolate. $25 adults/$15 students. tctrackclub.com

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HELL ON HEELS - CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR: 8-10pm, Red Sky Stage, Petoskey.

A lip syncing, dancing, & singing show with drag queens. Featuring host MercedesBenz-Over with stars Kelly Ann Jefferies & Vajojo Visage. $10 advance; $15 night of. mynorthtickets.com

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MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING: CARPENTERS’ CHRISTMAS: 8pm, Little River Casino Resort, Manistee. Starring Michelle Berting Brett. Enjoy holiday songs & classic Carpenters’ hits. $15, $25, $30. lrcr.com

EAST JORDAN GARDEN CLUB DONATES: Bring new hats, mittens, socks, scarves, etc.

Trees are located at East Jordan’s 4Front Credit Union, Charlevoix State Bank & Huntington Bank through Dec. 12. Care & Share

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FRIENDS’ 14TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY MITTEN TREE: Donate new mittens, scarves & hats.

Accepted Dec. 10 - Jan. 7 at Interlochen Public Library to benefit those in need within the Interlochen area. tadl.org/interlochen

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---------------------ANNUAL FOOD DRIVE: Coldwell Banker, 633 Willow St., Bellaire. Held to stock local food pantries. Runs through Dec. 15. Drop off your unopened non-perishables. Open Mon. through Fri., 9am-5pm & Sat., 10am-2pm.

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HARVEST FOOD & SUPPLY DRIVE: Help support women & children at the Women’s Resource Center of Northern Michigan’s (WRCNM) Safe Home who are seeking safety from domestic abuse. Donations include non-perishable foods, grocery gift cards, household goods & personal care items. Bring to the WRCNM main office at 423 Porter St. in Petoskey; Gold Mine Resale Shops in Petoskey; & WRCNM offices in Cheboygan, Gaylord & Mancelona. 231-347-1572.

---------------------PAPER ANGELS: Each year CFS matches donors in the community with people who need them through the Paper Angels Christmas Giving Program. Each person affiliated with a CFS program creates a wish list ranging around $100. Community members can call the Paper Angels desk & select a wish list to fulfill, Mon. through Fri., 10am-4pm.

Drop off day for gifts is Dec. 8, from 10am2pm at CFS on Veterans Dr. for Traverse City area gifts, & Fletch’s in Petoskey for northern counties. cfsnwmi.org/paperangels

---------------------THE GIVING TREE: This tree at McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey is decorated with ornaments representing the ages of children at the Safe Home, the domestic abuse shelter serving families in Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet & Otsego counties.

Shoppers may select an ornament on the tree which will help guide them in their purchase of an age-appropriate book or gift to donate & place under the tree. mcleanandeakin.com

ongoing

26TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF TRAINS: Dec. 16-31, Carnegie Library, TC. Presented by the Northern Michigan Railroad Club with proceeds benefitting the Great Lakes Children’s Museum. Hours: Mon.-Sat., 10am-6pm; Sun., 12-4pm. $5/person; $30/family, festival pass.

---------------------FREE PLAY WRITING COMPETITION: City Opera House, TC invites regional high school students to submit an original one-act play 9-12 pages with 4 characters or less - to the 8th Annual Young Playwrights Festival. The deadline is Fri., Dec. 14. Finalists are paired with national theater mentors, win $100 & see their play performed on the City Opera House stage. cityoperahouse.org/ypf

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“JUST GREAT ART”: City Opera House, TC. Presented by the Plein Air Painters of Northwest MI. Runs through Jan. 2; Mon.-Fri., 10am-5pm. cityoperahouse.org

---------------------BIG GROUP / SMALL WORKS ART SHOW: Runs through Jan. at Higher Art Gallery, TC. Over 40 artists, with nearly 200 small, affordable original works to choose from. higherartgallery.com

A Northern Michigan Tradition since 1964

Choose from a variety of holiday gift boxes

---------------------HOLIDAY ARTS & CRAFTS BOUTIQUE: Saturdays through Dec. 15, 10am-4pm. Up North Arts, Cadillac. upnorthartsinc.com

---------------------WINTER MEMBER EXHIBITION: Runs through Jan. 4 at Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

---------------------HOLIDAY ART MARKET: Runs through Dec. 22 at Gaylord Area Council for the Arts.

Hours: 11am-3pm, Tuesday through Friday; & 12-2pm on Saturday. Closed Sunday & Monday. Free. gaylordarts.org

Downtown Traverse City • 231-947-4841 murdicksfudge.com • 1-800-238-3432

---------------------DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC: - THE ART OF: THE OTHER TRAVERSE CITY: Local photographer Alan Newton will focus his lens on the opioid crisis affecting the TC region & beyond. Featuring about 11 portraits of people who are addicts in recovery, emergency responders, judges, families who have lost children, & others, along with their written stories based on interviews conducted by Newton. Runs through Dec. 30.

- HOMAGE: INSPIRED BY OUTSTANDING CANADIAN WOMEN: Runs through Jan. 20.

This exhibition features 40 framed neckpieces created as a celebration & tribute to Canadian women, past & present by jewelry artist Donald Stuart.

---------------------- PANGNIRTUNG WEAVINGS FROM THE DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER’S COLLECTION: Runs through Jan. 20. Featuring weavings from the Inuit art collection, by the artists of the Pangnirtung Weaving Cooperative.

- VISIONS OF AMERICAN LIFE: PAINTINGS FROM THE MANOOGIAN COLLECTION, 1850-1950: Runs through Jan. 20. From the Detroit Institute of Arts, this exhibition features 40 works by late-19th & early-20th century artists capturing American life, culture & identity in that time. Hours: 10am-5pm, Mon.-Sat.; 1-5pm, Sun,; & 10am-8pm, Thurs. dennosmuseum.org

Jewelry, Minerals & Fossils from Michigan & Beyond

NORMAN KLINE PAINTINGS: Martha’s Kitchen, Suttons Bay. Runs through Jan. A reception will be held on Dec. 18 from 5:308pm.

---------------------DETOX YOGA FLOW: Thursdays, 6pm through Dec. 27. Press On Juice, TC. Involves juicy twists & poses to help eliminate toxins from the body. Bring your own mat.

Email: townsendsar.yoga@yahoo.com with questions. eventbrite.com

---------------------RUN SABADOS: Run on the Civic Center Park track every Sat. at 9am until Preserve Hickory/Mt. Holiday opens. Meet at the Norte Wheelhouse, TC. elgruponorte.org

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BOYNE CITY INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 9am-noon, City Hall, Boyne City.

Dec. 8 features live music by Nelson Olstrom & Dec. 15 features live music by Lena Wilson.

Deadline for Dates information is Tuesday for the following week.

---------------------GAYLORD DOWNTOWN FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 10am-2pm. The Alpine Plaza, main hallway, Gaylord.

---------------------THE VILLAGE @ GT COMMONS, TC INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 10am-2pm. Held inside the Mercato. Enjoy local fresh produce, eggs, farm fresh cheese, local meats & more.

139 E. Front St. Traverse City, MI 231.941.2200 ontherockstc.com Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 31

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE! ...your neighborhood bake

ry

BREAD OF THE MONTH CARD

Good for one free loaf of their choice every month (no rules attached - no worries)

GORGEOUS RED GIFT BASKETS

Really surprise them - let us deliver it!

Fill it with freshly baked bread, pastries & spreads

Gaylord’s Premier Holiday Caterer • Christmas Parties • New Year’s Eve Celebrations • Weddings • Family Reunions • From cocktails to dessert, tableware to tents, let us take care of every detail so that your gathering is fun and stress-free

Book your Holiday Party today!

Contact Patty Binette @ 989-350-5024 • otsegograndeventcenter.com • Gaylord, MI

LUNCH CERTIFICATES

Relax upstairs watching the snow fall over the bay BABY BUNDT TOWERS! Chocolate, vanilla & red velvet mini bundt cakes tied together with a beautiful bow.

We make the best hostess & business gifts!

6 BLOCKS EAST OF I-75 IN DOWNTOWN GAYLORD

www.baybreadco.com 601 RANDOLPH ST. TC 922-8022 behind the Elks Club off of Division & Grandview Pkwy

PASTA

…for the 1st time at Corson Auditorium!

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32 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

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WHERE EVERY MEAL IS A GREAT CATCH

CALIFORNIA MESMERIZES WOLF ALICE London indie-rock band Wolf Alice has been named the 2018 Mercury Music Prize winner for its second album effort, the critically and fan-acclaimed Visions of a Life. The band recorded the album throughout 2017, having transplanted themselves temporarily to Los Angeles, California, for the project. The city made a big impression on the bandmates, who spoke to the press about the astonishing fact that you can “go skiing and then to the ocean, or out into the desert and then into the city” all in the same day. The record picked up some of that diversity, rocking between pop, punk, and more twee tunes, all of which helped Alice snag that Mercury prize …

Nearly 18 years after Almost Famous, the coming-of-age story of a soon-to-be Rolling Stone writer, hit theaters, the film is being reconfigured into a stage musical, set upon the foundations of the original story by acclaimed hipster director Cameron Crowe.

Tony-winning composer Tom Kitt is behind the musical’s music, while Crowe is cowriting the song lyrics for the musical’s tunes and penning a stage adaptation of the script.

The original movie starred Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. No word yet on who

MODERN

Wolf Alice

ROCK

BY KRISTI KATES

will take the boards for the stage version …

South Carolina banjoist and songwriter Kristin Scott Benson has been awarded the 2018 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, an honor Martin created after succeeding at his own banjo and bluegrass-music projects. (You might recognize his works with the Steep Canyon Rangers or his collaboration with singersongwriter Edie Brickell.) Benson, who has released three solo albums of banjo music between 2002 and 2016, will receive $50,000 as part of her award honor …

Oasis has been offered a “giant stack of cash” to reunite to perform a big show at Dublin’s Slane Castle. Oasis actually performed at Slane before its split (alongside R.E.M.), but the brother bandmates are reportedly holding out. Oasis’ main songwriter, Noel Gallagher, told the press he’d only reform the band for 20 million pounds. Whether or not he was joking about the millions, Gallagher definitely plans to start off his 2019 working on his next solo album, so the Slane gig will have to wait on the back burner either way…

LINK OF THE WEEK Looking for a not-too-far getaway next spring? Check out the Shaky Knees Music

Festival, taking place May 3–5 in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The 2019 event will feature live performances from Beck, Interpol, Cage the Elephant, Foals, Tame Impala, and many more. Get tickets and all the info at www.shakykneesfestival.com ...

THE BUZZ The Motown Museum in Detroit has announced that its fundraising efforts have just hit $16.5 million, one-third of the $50-million goal it has in place for an extensive expansion of the museum property …

The Backstreet Boys are heading back to

Detroit next year as part of its biggest tour in 20 years. The boy band will perform at Little Caesars Arena on Aug. 12 …

Mannheim Steamroller is heading back to the Motor City, too, but a lot earlier — catch it this Dec. 16 at the Fox Theater …

Traverse City’s adopted musical son Billy Strings will perform at Otus Supply in Detroit on Dec. 29 and 30 … and that’s the buzz for this week’s Modern Rock.

Comments, questions, rants, raves, suggestions on this column? Send ’em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com.

Vespa for Christmas! $72mo with $0 down, financing available at 1.99% 3938 Rennie School Rd. Traverse City 231.943.5858 www.natureandmerv.com

Piaggio and Vespa Scooters as low as $2499 Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 33

Mon - Ladies Night - $1 off drinks & $5 martinis with Jukebox Tues - $2 well drinks & shots

DOWNTOWN

TRAVERSE CITY

8:9:30 TC Comedy Collective then: Open Mic w/Matt McCalpin

Wed - Get it in the can for $1 w/DJ Fasel

by kristi kates

Thurs - $1 off all drinks & $2 Coors Lt. pints

with DJ Prim

Fri Dec 14 - Buckets of Beer starting at $8 (2-8pm)

Happy Hour: Joe Wilson Trio then: Turbo Pup Sat Dec 15 -Brotha James

SUN, MON & WED 1 • 4 • 7 PM TUE & THU 12:30 • 3:15 • 6 • 8:45 PM •••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••••••

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Sun Dec 16- KARAOKE (10PM-2AM) 941-1930 downtown TC check us out at unionstreetstationtc.net

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Merry Movie Month at the State!

Backstreet Boys – DNA – RCA

They’re not quite boys any more, but the Backstreet … er, men … are keeping a tight hold on the harmony vocals and danceable rhythms that brought them worldwide acclaim. Their latest set is poised to generate a resurgence of interest in the group once it hits outlets in a few weeks, from its initial buzzy single, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” to the sharp, studio-polished attack of “Chances,” as co-written by power songwriters Ryan Tedder and Shawn Mendes. This collection is probably best for die-hard fans, but it might draw in a few new pop listeners too.

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IN CLINCH PARK

Hanson – String Theory – 3CG

Two discs, a plethora of pop hits … and an orchestra? You read that correctly; with the help of David Campbell (Beck’s dad, and also an Academy Award-winning composer), the Hanson bros take a look back over the course of their career via new symphonic arrangements of their radio-friendly tunes. Might sound corny, considering the source, but these brothers are actually deft pop songwriters whose hooks you can’t fault — even if you’re not a fan of the cheesy production the original tracks were saddled with. Songs like “I Was Born” and even “Mmm Bop” take on new heft.

SUNDAY & MONDAY 1:30 • 4:30 • 7:30 PM TUE & THU 12 noon • 3 • 6:15 • 9 PM WEDNESDAY 12 noon • 3 • 6 • 9 PM 231-947-4800

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34 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

You can’t really mention the Backstreet Boys without thinking of their pop music timeline compatriots, N’Sync, the band that spawned one Justin Timberlake and set up a friendly rivalry between the two biggest boy bands of their era. This remastered collection, originally released in 1995, revives so many of the N’Sync hits beloved by both American Idol watchers and karaoke singers. You’ll get everything from “Bye Bye Bye” and “I Want You Back” to “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “It’s Gonna Be Me,” and your pop collection will be all the better for it.

Boyzone – Thank You and Good Night – Rhino/ WEA

Sometimes referred to as the “Irish Take That,” Boyzone, now a quartet, takes a more chill approach to the genre of boy band music, leaning on the likes of John Shanks and Gary Barlow for some of the co-writing. Opener “Normal Boy” starts the set off rough with a somewhat disjointed arrangement, but from that point forward, the collection takes an upward aim via tunes like the compelling “Love,” the arena-ready “Symphony of Hearts” (with massive string sections), and the heartfelt “Dream,” which perfectly features Boyzone’s wellbalanced vocals.

The reel

by meg weichman

green book

S

ometimes a film comes along that, while not without it’s shortcomings, is so heartfelt in its charms, so enjoyable in its journey, and so needed in this moment, you give yourself over to its irresistible pleasures. Green Book is such a film. And with its rich characters, fantastic performances, and classic storytelling, I’d be hard-pressed to name a more purely pleasant film this year. A mix of a buddy comedy, a road movie, fish-out-of water antics, and old school Hollywood “message movies,” it’s based on a true story so tailor made for Hollywood, the dream factory couldn’t have even made it up. It follows two diametrically opposed men turned unlikely friends on a 1962 road trip through the Jim Crow-era South. Set to embark on a concert tour in the deep South, the black, classically trained pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), was in need of driver who could also double as bodyguard of sorts. The man for the job? Tony “Lip” Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), a rough-around-the-edges, Bronx born and raised, Italian American. Touching, sweet, and inviting, Green Book is a crowd-pleaser. It’s unabashedly feel-good. And those needn’t be dirty words. This is a film that was a joy to watch. It’s humanity made me feel more connected, and in a world of so much cynicism (myself included), watching this felt like its own little weird act of rebellion. Bottom line: You’ll definitely laugh, you might cry, and you’ll enjoy the ride.

Roma I didn’t want to write this review. I didn’t want to A), sound like a complete weirdo for how much this film meant to me, and B), I didn’t think my words could possibly ever do it justice. Where does one begin with a film that makes you feel more alive for simply having seen it?

But hey, if this somehow encourages one person to see Roma — ’cause believe me, a film in black and white and in a foreign language still isn’t the easiest sell these days (c’mon people, there’s nothing to be afraid of!) — that’s worth however much of a fool I might look like.

Oscar-winner Alfonso Cuarón is the director of Roma, and you’re probably more familiar than you think with his varied filmography that moves through styles and genres with the most magical of ease. He’s done beautiful children’s films (A Little Princess), made a big fantasy blockbuster (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the very best of the franchise), and directed several arthouse foreign language favorites (Y Tu Mamá También), a virtuoso dystopian nativity (Children of Men), and a jaw-dropping, technical boundary-breaking space adventure (Gravity).

And Roma is the culmination of his remarkable and masterful career, a film that embodies both his intimate, artistic storytelling with his epic and wondrous filmmaking.

A true quotidian epic, Roma is a domestic drama that follows the everyday lives of a fairly average upper middle class family in Mexico in the 1970s and becomes something extraordinary — an exquisite and deeply felt look at relationships and the human experience, and a masterpiece of technique, vision, and emotion.

It’s also semi-autobiographical. The title is taken from the Mexico City neighborhood where Cuarón grew up, and the storyline mimics the changes his own family went through when he was a child. And while it is very much a monument to Cuarón’s memories of his childhood, what makes this so special is that it is not told through his own eyes, but through the women who made him who he is.

Most of the story focuses on Cleo (sublime newcomer Yalitza Aparicio), one of the livein maids for the family. You see this young indigenous woman’s rhythmic routine, her duties (cleaning up the excrement of Borras the dog in the too small garage, doing the laundry, etc.), the love she gives the family’s four kids (tucking them in at night), and how she spends her day off. And you realize she is the quiet force that the family revolves around and relies on, especially as their seemingly easy lives and her own are thrown into tumult.

I won’t say much more about the plot. After all, Cuarón kept the story and where it was going from even the cast until each day of shooting. I will say, however, that there’s not a lot of plot. And while not much happens at first, once you give yourself over to the film’s transportive power, you’ll get lost in its hypnotic pull as a fever dream of memories comes vividly into focus.

There also isn’t much exposition. As the story flows, you draw your own conclusions and fill in the details through its incredibly detailed visuals. Acting as his own director of photography, since his longtime collaborator, Emmanuel Lubezki (Birdman, The Revenant), was otherwise engaged, the tableaus Cuarón crafts will dazzle the eyes.

Shot in a neo-realist black and white and with a depth of field that is truly wild, you won’t believe all that is going on in the frame. And his trademark long, unbroken takes have never been put to better use. Every frame teems with vitality and aching joy. The cinematography here will long be remembered as some of the best and most beautiful in history. And the lyrical set pieces, like a New Year’s Eve Party that turns into a forest fire, or student protests that ends in a massacre, will stay with you long after the credits roll.

So while the level of detail with which he brings these recollections to life is breathtaking, with every little thing so thoroughly thought out (like the near-perfect recreation of his childhood home) this is never a self-indulgent exercise. It’s an example of a completely unsentimental nostalgia acting as a conduit to true feeling. You’ll feel everything so acutely, not because it’s at all familiar to you, but because it cuts through differences of class, language, time, and place, going straight to compassion.

Distributed by Netflix, it pains me to think a lot of people won’t experience this on the big screen, to take in these miraculous shots in their full glory. But it also buoys me to think that so many will have such easy access to it. One thing I’m not conflicted about? That seeing this film in the theater was one of the most profound cinematic experiences of my life.

I know I’m prone to hyperbole, but you could throw every grandiose adjective you can think of at this film, and it earns them all. And when it’s all over, you’ll cry, not necessarily because you’re sad, but because, when you’ve just been given a piece of a person in cinematic form all that emotion has to go somewhere.

Meg Weichman is a perma-intern at the Traverse City Film Festival and a trained film archivist.

widows

A

diverse group of women team up for a risky heist. Wait, is this Ocean’s 8? I assure you it is definitely not. In fact, it couldn’t be further from the frothy farce of that film. And while it’s definitely got a dazzling heist sequence, it ain’t no caper. It’s an epic crime drama, a potent social commentary, and a raw melodrama. Basically, it’s the perfect adult blockbuster, the kind of film we can only hope Hollywood would make more of: a prestige popcorn movie in the vein of The Fugitive or Inside Man that offers masterful craftsmanship, seething intelligence, and exquisitely enjoyable thrills. And that it straddles the worlds of arthouse and commercial filmmaking so successfully shouldn’t come as a surprise, because behind the camera is Steve McQueen, who is making his long-awaited follow-up to his Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave with this adaptation of a 1983 British miniseries about four women living disparate lives, unconnected until they discover their recently deceased husbands had accrued some hefty debt from the criminal underworld. And that’s just the beginning. Featuring one of the most stacked ensemble casts in recent memory — Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duvall, among many, many talent others — Widows is a dazzler.

the grinch

W

hile this certainly won’t replace Dr. Seuss’ treasured book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! or the classic Chuck Jones TV special from 1966 in anyone’s heart, just like The Grinch’s heart somehow manages to grow three times in size, I think you’ll be able to find some room in your own heart for this sweet and streamlined CG animation adaptation. We all know the story, a Grinch who hates Christmas, along with his loyal canine companion Max, decide to steal all of the presents, food, and decorations from the people of Whoville. It’s a quick read, a handful of pages, or 26 minutes if you faithfully put it to film. And unlike the travesty of the Ron Howard’s 2000 feature length adaptation, The Grinch manages to exercise some restraint in adding to the sparse source material. Voice

by Benedict Cumberbatch, the Grinch sneers, jeers, scoffs, and taunts the yuletide-infected people of Whoville. And while he is misanthropic, he is never mean spirited. The humor is also largely based in slapstick physical comedy. It has an ageless quality to it, doesn’t go for the easy jokes, and steers clear of kiddie film lamebrain bathroom humor. And while it does have its share of modern updates and changes, what makes this adaptation such a winner is that The Grinch never loses sight of the story’s message of love and kindness, delivering poignant moments of Christmas magic.

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 35

nitelife

dec 8 - dec 16 edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska

GT DISTILLERY, TC Fri. – Younce Guitar Duo, 7-9:30

STATE STREET MARKETPLACE, TC 12/14 -- Matt Mansfield, 8-11

KILKENNY'S, TC 12/7-8 – Broom Closet Boys 12/14-15 – Sweet J Tue -- Levi Britton, 8 Wed -- The Pocket, 8 Sun. -- Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 7-9

STREETERS, TC GROUND ZERO: 12/8 -- Uncle Kracker, 7 12/14 – Last Bash Club Reunion w/ Beats, Krutch, Ricky T, Vandelizm, Dominate, T-Minus, Rek, Fade & more, 9 12/15 -- Last Bash Rock Reunion w/ Scarkazm, Evershine & More, 8

LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC 12/10 -- Rob Coonrod, 6-9 12/14 -- Jeff Brown, 6-8 PARK PLACE HOTEL, TC BEACON LOUNGE: Thurs,Fri,Sat — Tom Kaufmann, 8:30

THE DISH CAFE, TC Tues, Sat -- Matt Smith, 5-7 THE HAYLOFT INN, TC Thu -- Roundup Radio Show Open Mic Night, 8 THE LITTLE FLEET, TC Wed -- Tiki Night w/ DJ, 3 12/16 -- Family Holiday Bash in The Yurt, 1-5; Miriam Pico plays from 3-5

RARE BIRD BREWPUB, TC 12/10 -- Sean Miller, 8-10:30 12/15 -- Barefoot, 9:30-11:30 RIGHT BRAIN BREWERY, TC 12/16 -- 78 Sunday, 2 ROVE ESTATE VINEYARD & WINERY, TC 12/12 -- Miriam Pico, 5-8 SAIL INN BAR & GRILL, TC Thurs. & Sat. -- Phattrax DJs & Karaoke, 9

THE PARLOR, TC 12/12 -- Wink, 7:30 12/13 -- Chris Smith, 8 12/14 -- Blue Footed Booby, 8 12/15 -- Blair Miller, 8

THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC 12/8 -- Winnow, 8 12/10 -- Rotten Cherries Comedy Open Mic, 8 Tue -- TC Celtic - Traditional Irish Music, 6:30-9 Wed -- Jazz Jam, 6-10 12/14 -- DJ Ras Marco D, 8 12/15 -- DJ Clark After Dark, 8 UNION STREET STATION, TC 12/8 -- EGI, 10 12/9,12/16 -- Karaoke, 10 12/10 -- Jukebox, 10 12/11 -- TC Comedy Collective, 8-9:30; then Open Mic w/ Matt McCalpin 12/12 -- DJ Fasel, 10 12/13 -- DJ Prim, 10 12/14 -- Happy Hour w/ Joe Wilson Trio; then Turbo Pup, 5 12/15 -- brotha James, 10 WEST BAY BEACH HOLIDAY INN RESORT, TC 12/8,12/15 -- DJ Motaz @ View, 10 12/12 -- David Chown @ View, 6 12/14 -- Sweetwater Blues Band @ View, 7 Thurs. – Jeff Haas Trio & Laurie Sears, 6-8:30

Otsego, Crawford & Central ALPINE TAVERN & EATERY, GAYLORD Sat -- Live Music, 6-9

BENNETHUM’S NORTHERN INN, GAYLORD 12/11 – Randy Reszka

Emmet & Cheboygan BEARDS BREWERY, PETOSKEY 12/8 -- Jon Archambault Band, 8-11 12/9 -- Owen James, 6-9 12/14 -- Brian McCosky & Holly Keller, 8-11 12/15 -- Motivations Winter Dance Party w/ May Erlewine, 9 12/16 -- Charlie Millard, 6-9

CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY 12/8 -- Polar Bear Recon, 10 12/14 -- Annex Karaoke, 10 12/15 -- T'was The OONST Before Christmas - Electronic Muzik Night w/ DJs Jofus & Franck, 10 KNOT JUST A BAR, BAY HARBOR Mon,Tues,Thurs — Live music LEO’S NEIGHBORHOOD TAVERN, PETOSKEY Thurs — Karaoke w/ DJ Micheal

Williford, 10 MICHAEL'S TAVERN & STEAKHOUSE, INDIAN RIVER Wed -- Dos Hippies, 6-8 SIDE DOOR SALOON, PETOSKEY Sat. – Karaoke, 8 THE GRILLE AT BAY HARBOR Nightly Music

Leelanau & Benzie DICK’S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU Sat. — Karaoke, 10-2 LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 12/11 -- Barefoot, 6:30-9:30 LEELANAU SANDS CASINO, PESHAWBESTOWN 12/11 -- 45th Parallel Polka Band, noon SHOWROOM: 12/15 -- Tennessee Crystal Christmas w/ Crystal Gayle & Lee Greenwood, 8

LUMBERJACK'S BAR & GRILL, HONOR Fri & Sat -- Phattrax DJs & Karaoke, 9 ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH 12/8 -- 3&2, 6-9 12/13 -- Open Mic w/ Jim & Wanda Curtis, 6 12/14 -- Maggie McCabe, 6-9 12/15 -- Jen Sygit, 6-9 STORMCLOUD BREWING CO., FRANKFORT 12/8 -- The Groove Suns, 8-10

12/15 -- Mitch & John G, 8-10 12/16 -- Barrels & Carols Holiday Sing-Along, 7-9 THE 231 BAR & GRILL, THOMPSONVILLE 12/15 -- Tim Thayer, 7 THE CABBAGE SHED, ELBERTA Thu -- Open Mic Night, 8-11 VILLA MARINE, FRANKFORT Tue -- Open Mic, 8-11 12/15 -- Ron Hernandez, 9:30

Antrim & Charlevoix

ELK RAPIDS OPEN ALL YEAR ETHANOLOGY, ELK RAPIDS 12/8 -- Miriam Pico, 8-11 12/15 -- Eric Engblade, 8-11 LAKE STREET PUB, BOYNE CITY Thu -- Poker Karaoke w/ DJ Lang, 8-11 RED MESA GRILL, BOYNE CITY 12/11 -- A Brighter Bloom, 6-9

SHORT'S BREWING CO., BELLAIRE 12/8 -- A Brighter Bloom, 8:30-11 12/14 -- Joshua Davis, 8-10:30 12/15 -- Don Julin "Plugged In,” 8:30-11

TORCH LAKE CAFÉ, CENTRAL LAKE 1st & 3rd Mon. of mo. – Trivia Tues. – Bob Webb, 6-9 Weds. – Dominic & Lee Thurs. – Open mic Fri. & Sat. – Live bands Sun. – Pine River Jazz, 2-5

Send us your free live music listings to events@traverseticker.com

UNIQUE EXPERIENCES. UNIQUE PLACES.

THURSDAY

LADIES’ NIGHT ⁞ THURSDAY 12.13.18

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FRIDAY FISH FRY

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FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS

36 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

**CORRECTED DATE**

Gather your girls and enjoy treats throughout town while playing Downtown BINGO to win Elk Rapids gift cards and spa packages Brought to you by the Elk Rapids DDA and the Elk Rapids Merchants Visit www.facebook.com/DowntownElkRapids for more information

the ADViCE GOddESS The Hand That Rocks The Ladle

Q

: I’m a 57-year-old twice-divorced man.

Though I never wanted to get to a point where romance wouldn’t be in my big picture, I’m feeling done with it. I’ve replaced dating and getting married again with gourmet cooking for one. I’m really enjoying it, but it worries me. Is it okay to be done?

— Single And Culinary

A

: Well, according to some research, married people do live longer. However, that’s sometimes just because they were unsuccessful at killing each other.

There’s this notion that your life is pretty much a black chasm of nothingness if you’re without a “significant other.” Psychologist Bella DePaulo blames this thinking on what she calls “the cult of the couple.” DePaulo, who researches the elements of being satisfyingly single, marvels at “the strange implication” (in a paper by noted marriage researchers) “that people without a stable sexual relationship are wandering adrift with open wounds and shivering in their sleep.”

Though we humans evolved to be interdependent — people who need people -we don’t have to be sleeping with those people on the reg for them to count. In fact, having good friends and close acquaintances you can rely on is associated with a whole bunch of physical and mental health benefits, including better cardiovascular health, increased happiness, and decreased stress and depression.

Interestingly, research increasingly suggests that providing social support may be even better for you than getting it — psychologically and physically. A study co-authored by psychiatrist Randolph Nesse on elderly people who regularly did generous acts for others in their lives is one of a number that find an association between being a “giver” and increased life expectancy. Conversely, Nesse theorizes that the rising tide of depression in our society has roots in how disconnected many of us are, leading to a deficit in the level of kindness we evolved to give and receive.

Well, you’re set up perfectly to extend yourself for others — like by handing them a plate of your gourmet chow. Consider using your newfound love of cooking to bring a social circle together around your dining room table.

Invite friends over every Friday or so to dine or even help you make dinner. The cool thing is, before they arrive, nothing’s stopping you from whispering the same seductive thing you would

BY Amy Alkon

to a woman: “So...what are you wearing?” The turkey: “The same little paper socks you put on me an hour ago, stupid.”

From Adhere To Eternity

Q

: I’m a 42-year-old woman, and I’ve been dating the guy in the town house next door for two years. I love him, and I’d like to get married, but he has always taken me for granted. My friends say I’m too available. Yes, I’m always there for him, always picking up the phone or texting back right away, etc. Why is this a bad thing? I’m loyal and caring. Also, I’m not sure how I could be less “available” when he lives next door.

— Undervalued

A

: Being neighbors is so convenient: “Hi... could I just borrow your stepladder until tomorrow and your vagina for, like, an hour?”

Unfortunately, being ready, willing, available and conveniently located is not exactly the launchpad to romantic longing. Consider that the restaurant everybody wants to go to is the one where getting a table requires Hollywood connections plus selling two-thirds of your soul to bribe the maitre d’. The food there might not be substantially better than that of the bistro up the street. But exclusivity — how tough it is to book a table — elevates the apparent value of a place.

There’s a related concept in relationships, “the principle of least interest.” The term was coined in the 1930s by a sociologist, Willard Waller, and it describes how the person who has the least interest in continuing a relationship has the most power over it. (Modern research by sociologist Susan Sprecher supports Waller’s theory.)

Sadly, your boyfriend most likely has a set opinion of your value, so your chances of getting more appreciation from him are probably blown.

Still, it’s important to note that in a relationship, you don’t have to keep up the “least interest” gambit forever; you should just hold off on being full-on loyal and caring till you have somebody who’s inspired to do that for you, too.

Ultimately, it’s important to work on yourself so you’ll be “hard to get.” But before you get to that point, you can act “as if ” — like by setting an alarm for four hours and returning texts then instead of 8.6 seconds after they hit your phone.

It’s sure to be seriously difficult at first. But you could probably get into a balanced, loving relationship if you’d just adhere to “the principle of least interest”: We pine for what’s slightly out of reach, not what’s all over us like an oil spill.

“Jonesin” Crosswords

"Ask Me How I'm Doing"--the circles will tell you. by Matt Jones ACROSS 1 Advanced degrees 5 Thesaurus innovator Peter Mark ___ 10 Hit all the buttons at once, in arcade games 14 Temptation 15 Saint Teresa’s home 16 “The Joy of Cooking” co-author Rombauer 17 Regular “QI” panelist Davies 18 Back-country 19 Phone feature, once 20 Side-to-side movement 21 Judge on two versions of “The X Factor” 23 Any miniature golf shot 25 ___ seat (air passenger’s request) 26 Went on sabbatical, perhaps 32 One who keeps their buns moving?

33 Hunk of dirt 34 Cheese with a red rind 38 Preferred pronoun, perhaps 39 Bullwinkle, for one 40 Hoppy drink 41 “99 and 44/100% ___” (old slogan) 43 1980 “Dukes of Hazzard” spin-off 44 Big name in kitchen wrap 46 Newton’s first, alternately 49 Pine tree substance 52 Listed thing 53 Historical peak 58 Have debts to pay 61 Shipmate of Picard, Riker, Worf, et al.

62 Notre Dame’s Fighting ___ 63 Diamonds, for one 64 “It slipped!”

65 Animal whose droppings are used for kopi luwak coffee 66 “___ Wonderful Life” 67 Russian refusal 68 Reflex test sites 69 “The Giving Tree” author Silverstein

DOWN 1 Tony candidate 2 Island dance 3 Texas hold ‘em, e.g.

4 JFK, once 5 Once-in-a-blue-moon event 6 Egg, to biologists 7 ___ d’Italia (cycling event) 8 Brio 9 Absorbent powder 10 Delivery assistant 11 First sign of the zodiac 12 Fries size 13 Berry scheduled to be in “John Wick 3” 21 Headliner 22 Bumbler 24 “Aloha Oe” instrument, for short 26 Shortening used in recipes?

27 Island of Hawaii 28 ___ Lodge (motel chain) 29 Cool and distant 30 “Arrested Development” actress Portia de ___ 31 It takes dedication to write 35 Only Ivy League school called a college (not a university) 36 Jai ___ (fast-paced game) 37 “American Pie” actress Suvari 39 Kitten’s sound 42 Supporter of the 1%, say 44 “Family Guy” creator MacFarlane 45 “Scooby-Doo, Where ___ You?” 47 “32 Flavors” singer DiFranco 48 Work shift for some 49 Sell out, in a way 50 George Jetson’s son 51 Ski area 54 Head Stone?

55 “___ Brockovich” (Julia Roberts film) 56 Apiary feature 57 “Oh, OK” 59 Informed 60 “And others,” briefly 63 “Pretty sneaky, ___” (Connect Four ad line)

Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 37

NEW LISTING!

BE HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

IN-TOWN CAPE COD CHARMER that’s been tastefully remodeled w/ an extra lot for privacy!

Updated, airy kitchen has newer appliances & beautiful beachy blue ceramic tile. Newly remodeled bathroom. Sizable family rm addition w/ ex120 feet ofNewer private frontage on allincluding sports Spider tra storage. windows throughout Lake.

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walk-out lower level. MLS#1798048 $220,000.

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lOGY

aSTRO

NEW LISTING! Unique Northern Michigan lakefront home.

alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?” Author John Green asked that question. I confess that I’m not entirely comfortable with it. It’s a bit pushy. I find I’m more likely to do remarkable things if I’m not trying too hard to do remarkable things. Nevertheless, I offer it as one of your key themes for 2019. I suspect you will be so naturally inclined to do remarkable things that you won’t feel pressure to do so. Here’s my only advice: up the ante on your desire to be fully yourself; dream up new ways to give your most important gifts; explore all the possibilities of how you can express your soul’s code with vigor and rigor.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1140, two

dynasties were at war in Weinsberg, in what’s now southern Germany. Conrad III, leader of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, laid siege to the castle at Weinsberg, headquarters of the rival Welfs dynasty. Things went badly for the Welfs, and just before Conrad launched a final attack, they surrendered. With a last-minute touch of mercy, Conrad agreed to allow the women of the castle to flee in safety along with whatever possessions they could carry. The women had an ingenious response. They lifted their husbands onto their backs and hauled them away to freedom. Conrad tolerated the trick, saying he would stand by his promise. I foresee a metaphorically comparable opportunity arising for you, Aquarius. It won’t be a life-or-death situation like that of the Welfs, but it will resemble it in that your original thinking can lead you and yours to greater freedom.

PIScES (Feb. 19-March 20): The National

Center for Biotechnology Information reported on a 15-year-old boy who had the notion that he could make himself into a superhero. First he arranged to get bitten by many spiders in the hope of acquiring the powers of Spiderman. That didn’t work.

Next, he injected mercury into his skin, theorizing it might give him talents comparable to the Marvel Comics mutant character named Mercury. As you strategize to build your power and clout in 2019, Pisces, I trust you won’t resort to questionable methods like those. You won’t need to!

Your intuition should steadily guide you, providing precise information on how to proceed. And it all starts now.

British mystery writers formed a club to provide each other with artistic support and conviviality.

They swore an oath to write their stories so that solving crimes happened solely through the wits of their fictional detectives, and not through “Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, or Act of God.” I understand that principle, but don’t endorse it for your use in the coming weeks. On the contrary. I hope you’ll be on the alert and receptive to Divine Revelations, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, and Acts of God.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When you’re

• Outdoor pool • Community lodge • Community activities • Pets welcome • City water and sewer • Snow removal, lawn & home maintenance services available • New, pre-owned & custom homes from the $70’s to the $100’s Better Living Homes (new & custom) 231.421.9500 • Cindy at 843 Woodcreek Boulevard cindy@betterlivinghomestc.com Woodcreek (pre-owned) • 231.933.4800 Lyndsay at 501 Woodcreek Boulevard www.woodcreekliving.com Conveniently located on South Airport Rd, a quarter mile west of Three Mile in Traverse City

38 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly

BY ROB BREZSNY

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “What is the point of being

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In 1930, some

COMMUNITY FEATURES

DEC 10- DEC 16

prescribed antibiotic pills to fight off infection, you should finish the entire round. If you stop taking the meds partway through because you’re feeling better, you might enable a stronger version of the original infector to get a foothold in your system. This lesson provides an apt metaphor for a process you’re now undergoing. As you seek to purge a certain unhelpful presence in your life, you must follow through to the end. Don’t get lax halfway through. Keep on cleansing yourself and shedding the unwanted influence beyond the time you’re sure you’re free of it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Danish scientist

and poet Piet Hein wrote this melancholy meditation: “Losing one glove is painful, but nothing compared to the pain of losing one, throwing away the other, and finding the first one again.” Let his words serve as a helpful warning to you, Gemini. If you lose one of your gloves, don’t immediately get rid of the second. Rather, be patient and await the eventual reappearance of the first. The same principle applies to other things that might temporarily go missing.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Cancerian

author Elizabeth Gilbert is a soulful observer whose prose entertains and illuminates me. She’s well aware of her own limitations, however. For example, she writes, “Every few

years, I think, ‘Maybe now I’m finally smart enough or sophisticated enough to understand *Ulysses*. So I pick it up and try it again. And by page 10, as always, I’m like, ‘What the hell?’” Gilbert is referring to the renowned 20thcentury novel, James Joyce’s masterwork. She just can’t appreciate it. I propose that you make her your inspirational role model in the coming weeks. Now is a favorable time to acknowledge and accept that there are certain good influences and interesting things that you will simply never be able to benefit from. And that’s OK!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): More than three

centuries ago, Dutch immigrants in New York ate a dessert known as the olykoek, or oily cake: sugar-sweetened dough deep-fried in pig fat. It was the forerunner of the modern doughnut. One problem with the otherwise delectable snack was that the center wasn’t always fully cooked. In 1847, a man named Hanson Gregory finally found a solution. Using a pepper shaker, he punched a hole in the middle of the dough, thus launching the shape that has endured until today. I bring this to your attention because I suspect you’re at a comparable turning point. If all goes according to cosmic plan, you will discover a key innovation that makes a pretty good thing even better.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I can’t believe

I’m going to quote pop star Selena Gomez.

But according to my analysis of the current astrological omens, her simple, homespun advice could be especially helpful to you in the coming weeks. “Never look back,” she says. “If Cinderella had looked back and picked up the shoe, she would have never found her prince.” Just to be clear, Virgo, I’m not saying you’ll experience an adventure that has a plot akin to the Cinderella fairy tale. But I do expect you will benefit from a “loss” as long as you’re focused on what’s ahead of you rather than what’s behind you.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Among the pieces

of jewelry worn by superstar Elvis Presley were a Christian cross and a Star of David. “I don’t want to miss out on heaven due to a technicality,” he testified. In that spirit, and in accordance with astrological omens, I urge you, too, to cover all your bases in the coming weeks. Honor your important influences. Be extra nice to everyone who might have something to offer you in the future.

Show your appreciation for those who have helped make you who you are. And be as open-minded and welcoming and multicultural as you can genuinely be. Your motto is “Embrace the rainbow.”

ScORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Are you a

gambling addict seeking power over your addiction? If you live in Michigan or Illinois, you can formally blacklist yourself from all casinos.

Anytime your resolve wanes and you wander into a casino, you can be arrested and fined for trespassing. I invite you to consider a comparable approach as you work to free yourself from a bad habit or debilitating obsession. Enlist some help in enforcing your desire to refrain. Create an obstruction that will interfere with your ability to act on negative impulses.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the fairy

tale “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the heroine rejects both the options that are too puny and too excessive. She wisely decides that just enough is exactly right. I think she’s a good role model for you. After your time of feeling somewhat deprived, it would be understandable if you were tempted to crave too much and ask for too much and grab too much. It would be understandable, yes, but mistaken. For now, just enough is exactly right.

NORTHERN EXPRESS

CLASSIFIEDS EMPLOYMENT

OTHER

MATH TUTOR Tutoring thru Algebra 1. $60/hr. email:therealcelticavenger@yahoo.com.

ACCOUNTANT Cherry Republic of Glen Arbor is seeking a fulltime Accountant who is responsible for the data entry of corporate sales and invoices.

Ensures accuracy and follow-up with purchase orders. Assists in the oversight and proper management of business transactions for all sales channels. Bachelor’s degree in Accounting preferred with a minimum of 3 years of experience in Finance. Please forward resume to the link below or contact HR Dept. directly at 231-3343150 ext: 2215. hr@cherryrepublic.com

TURN KEY SNOW REMOVAL and Landscape & Supply Company Retiring.

Snow removal, Landscape & supply company.

Design,construction, nursery garden center, bulk supplies and maintenance. Complete outdoor service. We are the only complete supply & service. 5 acres available, company is booked through 2019. Sales exceed cost.$389,00 equipment,stock, employees included blsofboyne@gmail or 231-675-0300.

SEWING, ALTERATIONS, Mending & Repairs.

Maple City, Maralene Roush 231-228-6248

HIRING SALES ASSOCIATES Local flooring store looking to expand their SALES TEAM. Seeking creative, high-energy people with prior sales or flooring experience. EXCELLENT PAY AND BENEFITS. Send us an email! kcassady@ floorcoveringbrokers.com JETS PIZZA HIRING flexible scheduling, competitive wages, apply within! Garfield, Chums Corner PETS NATURALLY IS HIRING Pets Naturally is looking for a part-time Baker to make our yummy dog treats. Flexible schedule. Must be 19 years old and be able to lift up to 50lbs. Detailed orientated.

REAL ESTATE GOT LAND? Our Hunters will Pay Top $$$ to hunt your land. Call for a FREE info packet & Quote.

1-866-309-1507 www.BaseCampLeasing.com

COLDS COUGH FLU have you down try Dry Salt Therapy @ Urban Oasis Salt Spa Urban Oasis Salt Spa 231 938-6020 Traverse City COTTAGE FOR RENT 1BR, Fully Furnished, Very Nice, Includes All Utilities, Washer/Dryer, Completely Equipped, Month-to-Month, Traverse City; $1,175 Per Month, 231-631-7512.

UPHOLSTERY AND SEWING Need to upgrade pillows, curtains or furniture for the holidays?

I can make bags and unique gifts too. Call Marcie for quality sewing and upholstery in TC at 231-342-0962.

REAL ESTATE APPRAISAL Service Scott Lowe - Advanced Appraisal 25+yrs experience “I Value Your Real Estate” Serving the 5 Co GT Area appraisaltc@gmail.com 231-645-7043 State License #1201000666 ART SALE 50 year collection of contemporary art. Regional artists from USA. No reasonable offer refused. Quality items glass, clay. 2 & 3 dimensional. Charlevoix 231-348-5906 anytime

TELESCOPIC IN-GROUND Pool Enclosure Purchasd for $31,000 from Aqua Shield for a 16X40’ pool...now $17,000. (231) 342-1891 PIANO LESSONS Piano lessons available for all ages, styles and levels. Elk Rapids,Mich.

248-648-9741

GALLYS - HOLIDAY BLESSINGS TO YOU ! We appreciate you! Please join us as we celebrate the season of gratitude at our Holiday Gala, Friday December 21st, 5:30-9pm. Gallys is located in TC at 710 Centre Street just off Woodmere Ave in the Work Centre Building.

Refreshments and holiday cheer provided!

Please call 855-STYLE-85 for more information.

FREON R12 WANTED: CERTIFIED BUYER will PAY CA$H for R12 cylinders or cases of cans.

(312) 291-9169; www.refrigerantfinders.com

BMI POLE BUILDINGS “Your Barn, Your Way, Your Price” Call 989-916-8668 McLaren.brad@ gmail.com CAR FOR SALE White Toyota Camry 2002 160,000 miles reliable transport $950 (231) 357-7804 WANTED OLDER MOTORCYCLES Any Makes Models.Also Used ATV’s & Snowmobiles Running Or Non. 810-775-9771

easy. accessible. all online.

COLDS COUGH FLU have you down try Dry Salt Therapy @ Urban Oasis Salt Spa Urban Oasis Salt Spa 231 938-6020 Traverse City KEYSTONE OUTBACK ULTRA lite Selling my 2013 Outback 34 foot travel trailer. $21500.

Arctic pkg. (231) 883-8173

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Northern Express Weekly • december 10, 2018 • 39

Holiday Buffet 40 • December 10, 2018 • Northern Express Weekly