Top Ten

this week’s top ten

The North’s Newest VA Clinic: Adding Up the Impact

Until February 2020, northwest Lower Michigan veterans had only a few options for VA medical care: the VA medical center in Saginaw, or VA clinics in Grayling, Gaylord, or Cadillac. Then the Colonel Demas T. Craw VA Clinic opened its doors in Traverse City — just in time for the pandemic.

We checked in with the clinic, which offers primary care, physical therapy, women’s health, and lab services, to find out how many local vets the new facility has drawn. Tara Scheuer, public affairs officer at the Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Saginaw tells us that at last count, the Traverse City clinic has 7,081 enrolled veterans and has given more that 1,44O COVID-19 vaccines. (Their booster vaccine program, kicked off Oct. 30 and is expected to immunize 220+ veterans.)

Scheur adds that the Craw Clinic has conducted several local events each season, such as Brats and Shots curbside flu clinics and health screenings at partnering American Legion and VFW organizations, all of which have helped the clinic reach and sign up new veterans.

If you’re a veteran living in or near Traverse City who hasn’t yet signed up to be seen at the Craw clinic, you might find it worth your while — at least compared to other area clinics. According to Veterans Affairs’ Access to Care data, the TC clinic has a wait time of 18 days for new patients; the Cadillac VA, just an hour away, is currently at 30. Find the Colonel Demas T. Craw VA Clinic — named for Traverse City native and Medal of Honor recipient who died in World War II — at 701 US Highway 31 South, (231) 932-9720.

Treetops Trifecta

Enjoy a weekend of beautiful trail running during the Treetops Trifecta! Held at Gaylord’s Treetops Resort, the 5K fun begins at 10am Saturday, Nov. 6 on the newly crafted single track at the Treetops’ Main Campus. At 4pm is the 1K Hill Climb on the resort’s alpine ski area. The last event kicks off 9am Nov. 7 with a half-marathon at the Treetops North Campus, which also includes running the single track through the Headwaters Land Conservancy Sturgeon River Preserve and Treetops Project Nature. To register and get more info, click on Treetops Trifecta under the Michigan Races tab at www.greatlakesendurance.com.

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Hey, watch it Letterkenney

The little town of Letterkenney isn’t in northwest Lower Michigan, but after only a few viewings of this show set in its namesake town in Canada, you’ll wish it were. With deadpan humor that’s heavy on crude but even bigger in jaw-dropping wit, this fast-talkin’ capture of small-town life and characters — freakishly tough (and not-so-tough) hicks, meth heads, hockey bros, a creepily-horny bartender, and many more — is far from politically correct, but if you can handle the language (and the speed with which it’s delivered), you’re in for one of the funniest and most heartwarmingly weird shows and ensemble casts to grace the small screen since Schitts Creek and Arrested Development. Eight excellent seasons streaming on Hulu. Pitter Patter, get at ‘er.

tastemaker ERG! Choco-Cherry Bar

Whether you’re an endurance athlete or an unapologetically lazy person when it comes to packing yourself a lunch, you either know — or should know — ERG! Bars. The caloriedense, pocket-sized bars are cold-pressed, minimally processed, calorie dense bars are worlds apart from the gooey, chewy mass-produced bricks you’re used to. That might be because they’re made right here in our backyard, using ingredients that you can spell, like apples, cherries, dates, and blueberries. Bonus: ERG! doesn’t use any corn syrup or processed sugars — only honey made by Sleeping Bear Farms’ bees. As for the taste, let’s say it’s like comparing apples to paste. ERG!’s 12 flavor combos — Apple Ginger, Apricot P’Butter, Sunflower Fig, and Lemon Blueberry among them — are actually as good as they sound and, we suspect, will go even farther under the new ownership and imagination of world traveler Matt Dykema. The Great Lakes Culinary Institute grad, whose resume boasts some of NoMi’s top kitchens (The Boathouse, Lulu’s, The Good Bowl, 9 Bean Rows, The Cooks’ House … ), recently purchased ERG! from visionary founders Dennis and Katy Bean-Larson. While we anxiously await whatever he dreams up next, we plan to sate ourselves for the long haul with our hands-down favorite: the ERG! Choco-Cherry bar. PMS- and picky-toddler approved, this lazy lunch tastes like dessert, decadent and delish. Find one at your favorite local market or coffee shop (Leland Mercantile, Buritts, Anderson’s Market, Oryana, Tom’s, Olesons, and Cuppa Joe are just a few) or go full bore with a variety pack of 12 bars at www.erg–bar.com 4 • november 01, 2021 • Northern Express Weekly