Leelanau Enterprise 9-6-12 Tragic by Pat Varley

Ser ving

America’s

Beautiful

Place

Vol. 135 — No. 49

Lake Leelanau, Michigan 49653

Thursday, September 6, 2012

TRAGIC

Three Sections

48 Pages

75¢

In less than 24 hours, Leelanau encounters two drownings and two near-fatal events

Warning lacking at beach From staff reports of the Leelanau Enterprise

they hung out in Leland at River & Main with the third Musketeer, Priest. “He was very funny. He could turn almost

Lake Leelanau resident Cathy Wurm, who was swimming with her two children at Van’s Beach last Thursday when one drowning and two neardrownings occurred, said changes are needed for the protection of swimmers. She said one man swam to near exhaustion before breaking loose of the grip of a strong rip current, then another man was washed away before being saved by two bystanders who commandeered a kayak from a nearby home. The rescue process was complicated when a cell phone call to 9-1-1 kept breaking up. It wasn’t until after two swimmers nearly lost their lives that Lake Michigan rip currents claimed the life of 16-year-old Lake Leelanau resident Brian Paul Rolston. “I kind of hope that through this, and through your paper, we could get some lifesaving devices there. Or maybe get a phone down there,” she said. Fire Board member and township trustee Susan Och said the township needs to learn from what

(Concluded on Page 19)

EMERGENCY RESPONDERS work to stablize a man rescued by bystanders who saw him get caught up in a rip current. Less than an hour later a 16-year-old Lake Leelanau man drowned near the same location. Photo by Lauren Klaus Habsburg.

Friends, teachers lament teen’s death By Amy Hubbell of the Enterprise staff

Brian Rolston would have began his first day of his junior year at Leland High School on Tuesday. Instead his friends and classmates are mourning the loss of the 16-year-old Lake Leelanau resident who died last week while swimming in Lake Michigan off Van’s Beach. About 50 students showed up Saturday at Leland Public School to talk about their friend who worked as a dishwasher this summer at Bella Fortuna in Lake Leelanau. The gathering, attended by the secondary staff, was part of the school’s crisis response procedure. “Brian was quiet, but had a group of kids Brian Rolston he liked to hang out with,” Superintendent called Jason Stowe said. The only male caring, quiet, child in the family of perceptive Steven and Jeri

Rolston, Brian was excited about attending the CareerTech Center in Traverse City this fall to study public safety. Rolston, referred to as “Bubba” by friends, had also been a member of the technical crew for Leland School’s musical theater productions. Silvio Ciccone, Brandon Priest and Rolston called BRIAN ROLSTON themselves the “Three Musketeers.” Ciccone was a first-year student at Leland when he met Rolston last year. “We’d hang out … walking around Lake Leelanau and the beach,” said Ciccone, who also worked at Bella Fortuna. “He wasn’t the greatest swimmer, but he could swim.” Rolston appeared shy to strangers, but was quite a joker to those closest to him. Ciccone last saw Rolston a couple days before his death when

Second drowning takes life of man who loved to fish By Amy Hubbell of the Enterprise staff

Scott and Kirk Ciaglaski enjoyed the evening of Aug. 29 with their father fishing on West Grand Traverse Bay. “We didn’t catch anything. We just spent time on the boat near Power Island talking about how great life is,” Scott Ciaglaski said.

Harvest the theme of successive busy weekends

INSIDE

By Mike Spencer Of The Enterprise staff

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annual Harvest Stompede and wine tour on tap. The tour, sponsored by MAG the80 NBARTHE NEWLY paved will .0104 BWA -0.0020 MAGLeelanau 80 NBAR .0104 BWATrail -0.0020 PALLET BOXES Leelanau Peninsula be showcased in theGIFT14th annual Vintners Association, is Leelanau Harvest Tour which will be considered one of the most held Sunday, Sept. 16. Pictured earlier scenic running and wine this summer on the Leelanau Trail near touring events in the Midwest. Festivities kick off with the Stompede run and walk starting at 9 a.m. Shady Lane are the Heitman family of at Cicconi Vineyard in Suttons Bay Township; the Elmwood Township. From left are Henry, Bill,20085 Nelly0 and Natalie.8 38413 10075 4 8 38413 (Concluded on Page 18) Encode: 838413200850 PU

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That was the last time the brothers saw their father, Gary Ciaglaski, alive. The 59-year-old Bingham Township man drowned Friday while salmon fishing near his home. Ciaglaski was a retired Ford Motor Company employee who worked nearly 29 years in the Wixom Assembly Plant painting automobiles. In (Concluded on Page 19)

Commissioners try to cut into 2013 red ink By Alan Campbell NOTICE: of theThis Enterprise DigiCode

file is considered original artwork It must be inspected and approved by the purch A proposed Leelanau County budget for 2013 this fileincrease confirms acceptance. callsUse for aofspending of nearly $500,000, See the back of the Symbology although the fiscal plan has a long wayinvoice to go for Limit before being adopted. “I wasn’t here last year, but it appears this year’s process is going fairly smoothly,” county administrator Chet Janik said. “The recommendation I gave to the County Board — and it got passed on to department heads — was to maintain the present levels into 2013.” While a goal, an assemblage of proposed spending for 2013 in a preliminary budget calls for expenses totaling $11,286,166, a 4.6 percent increase over the $10,791,338 spending level in (Concluded on Page 18)

Thursday, September 6, 2012

THE LEELANAU ENTERPRISE

Section 1, Page 19

Warning precluded drowning Lake Michigan, the sixth-largest freshwater lake in the world, is also home to the world’s largest freshwater dunes. The big lake holds another distinction: It’s by far the most dangerous of the Great Lakes for swimming, due to undulating rip currents that are impossible for even the best of swimmers to fight. From 2002-2011, rip currents were blamed for 69 drownings in Lake Michigan, according to statistics kept by the National Weather Service. Most were along the east coast of the lake. A distant second was Lake Erie with 22. The number of 2012 rip current-related drownings increased by one with the death of Lake Leelanau resident and Leland High School student Brian Paul Rolston, who was swept away last Thursday from the pier at the Leland Harbor.

Charlie Belanger, marine safety officer for the county Sheriff’s Department since 1973 recalls several rip current drownings. One stands out. “I can think of one that happened nearly 40 years ago when I first started, and that was on Christmas Cove. The waves knock them down, and that drowning reflex sets in, and that was it. There were two swimmers. One drowned and the other nearly drowned. A passerby grabbed a branch, and floated it out to the person to save him,” Belanger said. Rip currents are sometimes improperly called rip tides, which occur in the oceans, said Tom Kelly, executive director of the Inland Seas Education Association. They are the result of wave action that pushes water against shore; eventually, the water retreats. “You have places where, basically, the

2002-2011 Rip Current Incidents By Lake # of incidents 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

187

Deaths Rescues 69 22 16

Michigan

Erie

Superior

Huron

Ontario

water has to get out. It is just trying to balance out the water level. It makes a sort of river, and it usually has something to do with the underwater topography where these things form, or a feature like a point or a breakwater that would funnel it out,” said Kelly. He added that swimmers often underestimate the strength of lake currents, and then put their lives in danger when trying to swim upstream. Instead, swim parallel with the shore and with the current until it subsides. “People shouldn’t be swimming in big seas, but people do that anyway,” said Kelly. “If they do get in a rip current and start to get carried offshore, remember that these things are relatively narrow. In a little while, you’ll be out of it, and you can swim back to shore. If you have no clue as to what is happening, you’ll panic.” Kelly said rip currents can be observed from shore. “You’ll see a disturbed area on the surface that looks like a current going out,” he said. Conditions were ripe for strong rip currents last Thursday, according to Tim Locker, a meterologist with the National Weather Service who is stationed in Gaylord. The Weather Service started issuing warnings for impending strong rip currrents two days prior. Locker said winds were running perpendicular to the Lake Michigan shoreline off the Leelanau Peninsula at 20-25 knots with gusts over 30 knots. It was also a hot day with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, pushing swimmers to county beaches.

Series of calls draw responders One man saved. Another lost. That was the story Thursday in and around the water near Van’s Beach in Leland. At 4:08 p.m. bystanders on the beach called to report a man caught in the waves near the breakwall. Cathy Wurm of Lake Leelanau was on the beach at the time with sons Benjamin, 13, and Andrew, 9. “My boys ran down the pier trying to get some fishermen’s attention and that wasn’t working,” Wurm said, adding that the near-victim was not jumping from the breakwall. “From the pier view, I could see him going down and up and he was coming up less and less.” It was then that an unidentified couple, a male and female, commandeered a kayak from a nearby home and headed out to help the struggling swimmer. “They worked quickly, got the kayak to him and brought him ashore,” Wurm said. “The fellow who was drowning couldn’t let go of the kayak. He was in shock. He was white.” The unidentified near-drowning victim, estimated to be between 45 and 50

years of age, was still breathing. He was transported to Munson Medical Center for evaluation. The weather at the time of the incident was hot and a strong undercurrent was noted. “It was definitely like fighting a river,” Wurm said. “We went out to our waists and that was enough for us.” Forty-eight minutes after the first call was made, county dispatchers received a second call at 4:56 p.m. reporting that a swimmer was caught in a rip current, again at Van’s Beach. Simultaneously, dispatchers received a call that the exterior of a building in Fishtown had caught fire. The Sheriff’s Department, Leland Fire Department and Suttons Bay EMS responded to the beach. Leland Fire Department and Suttons Bay-Bingham went to the fire. Sixteen-year-old Brian Rolston of Lake Leelanau had been swimming in a group of four family members, which, included his older sister and her fiance, when he became caught in the strong current. Another member of his swimming party tried to help him, but was unsuc-

cessful, according to Sheriff’s Department Lt. Clint Kerr. He was able to make it to the beach but could no longer see Rolston. The search for the 16-year-old Leland junior began immediately, and was stopped due to darkness about 10:30 p.m. The following morning the search, which included the county Sheriff’s Department, Leland Fire & Rescue, the Glen Lake Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, resumed. A regional mutual aid dive team discovered Rolston’s body in six feet of water approximately 30 yards out of the mouth of Leland Harbor about noon. “This was in the vicinity of where he was last seen,” Kerr said. For her part, Wurm knew nothing of Rolston’s disappearance until speaking with others after she left the beach Thursday afternoon. “When we left we saw a couple of 10-year-olds walking to the beach,” Wurm said, adding that her younger son suggested she stop and tell them about the rip current. “I told them ‘It’s dangerous in the water today’ and told them to go home. At least I was able to warn them.” — by Amy Hubbell

Warning lacking at beach Continued from Page 1 happened. She spoke at a township Fire Board meeting Tuesday night. “We can’t let something like this go by without gleaning every lesson we can get out of it,” Och said. “It’s going to happen again.” A county 9-1-1 dispatcher called the Leland Harbor to request that swimmers be told to exit the water, Och said. Tragically harbor personnel have no authority to make such a demand, and the request went unheeded. Leland Fire and Rescue emergency service providers attended to a swimmer who survived. He was transported to Munson Medical Center. Geoff Niessink, interim acting fire chief, said signs should be posted at Van’s Beach warning people of the possibility of riptides during high winds. He would also like to see ring toss buoys on the break wall and at the beach. “When winds get up to 35 mph here … there’s not a single sign to tell anyone what to do,” Niessink said. Niessink also favored sending fire and rescue personnel to the beach during strong riptides to get people out of the water. The Leland Township Board will be taking up the issue of swimmer safety at Van’s Beach in the coming weeks, clerk Jane Keen said. Any changes in beach policy would come in the aftermath of

the drowning during strong — and predicted — rip currents. “We do need to talk about this as a Township Board and see what options are available for preventing something like this in the future,” said Keen. Keen also suggested that some type of system, perhaps flying a warning flag, could be used to tell swimmers about strong rip current events. “Certainly giving (swimmers) fair warning that it’s dangerous to be in the water is our job,” she said. Leland Township supervisor Harry Larkin did not return calls for this story. A flag warning system and beachclosing procedure were put in place two years ago at the one-half mile public beach in Ludington, according to city police chief Mark Barnett. Barnett said after consultation amongst himself, the parks department director, city manager and fire chief, the city may close down the beach to swimming. The process is triggered by reports of near-drownings, observations of a strong undertow, and National Weather Service warnings. Visitors may still use other portions of the city park. Ludingington also installed 11 safety centers along the beach that contain ringtoss buoys, flag poles and instructional signs explaining how to swim out of rip currents. Warning flags are flown when

rip currents pose a danger to swimmers. Barnett said theft of the life rings has been minimal. “Initially, we did have a problem, and people would pitch them in the harbor, and you would have to go out there and bring them back. But all in all, people have been respectful of them,” Barnett said. The city also keeps life rings on its piers. Barnett scoffs at suggestions that swimmers should be left on their own to take risks during strong rip currents. He said beaches need to be closed in dangerous situations to protect first responders. “It’s always a good theoretical position to take, but the reality is when someone is stupid enough to get themselves in that situation, then we need to send someone out to save them,” he said. The Ludington public shoreline has been closed off to swimming three times this summer, Barnett said. Leelanau County Sheriff Mike Oltersdorf said his office has no jurisdiction to force swimmers out of the water, and was not called in to assist at Leland. “The weather conditions change pretty fast on the big lake, and you have to take everything into consideration when you go into the water ... it was unfortunate in this particular case. The weather conditions were detrimental to this young man, and it’s very sad,” Oltersdorf said.

GARY CIAGLASKI of Bingham Township drowned Friday while fishing on West Grand Traverse Bay.

Second drowning Continued from Page 1 2008 he moved to Leelanau County where he first visited as a high school student to ski at SugarLoaf Resort. “Fishing is what he retired to do,” Scott Ciaglaski said. Ciaglaski was fishing alone in his boat shortly before 10 a.m. Friday morning when his sons believe he encountered “equipment problems” with his down riggers. “Somehow one of his rod holders snapped and started to go in the water,” Scott Ciaglaski said. “I know he wouldn’t have wanted to lose it,” Residents along the shore called the 911 dispatch center reporting that they heard a boater calling for help approximately 500 to 600 feet from the shore. When county marine deputies arrived, the boat was still under power with no one on board. County marine safety commander Charlie Belanger said Ciaglaski’s 16-foot-, stern drive boat was moving at a trolling speed when approached by a Sheriff’s Office rescue team. Deputies were able to pull alongside the boat, and Belanger stepped aboard. Belanger said it remains uncertain as to whether the cries for help started while Ciaglaski was aboard the boat, or while he was in the water. The search, which included the county Sheriff’s Department, marine patrol and dive team, the Michigan State Police Dive team and Suttons Bay Fire and Rescue, continued until

dark Friday. They resumed Saturday and continued into Sunday before Ciaglaski’s body was located at 3:40 p.m. in about 30 feet of water. Medical Examiner Matthew Houghton identified the cause of death as drowning. No foul play was suspected. Ciaglaski, a native of Redford, Mich., was known for painting “launch cars” exhibited by Ford in car shows. “He was proudest of his work on the GT 90,” his son said. Ciaglaski was also an artist, known for his work on custom business signs, which he did as a side business. Athletically, Ciaglaski was known for his skills playing GUTS frisbee, a team game in which participants throw and catch frisbees tossed at a high rate of speed. He traveled to London as a member of TEAM USA GUTS and was a member of the U.S. GUTS Players Association hall of fame. Although saddened by the loss of their father, Scott and Kirk Ciaglaski, ages 23 and 25 respectively, are comforted by the fact that the elder Ciaglaski died doing something he loved. “My grandmother had a lengthy illness and that’s something he never wanted to endure,” Scott said. “It couldn’t have happened in a better way. I just wish it could have been a couple years later.”

Friends, teachers lament Continued from Page 1 everything into a joke,” Ciccone said. A blue piece of paper hung on his locker yesterday where friends expressed their feelings of loss. “You’ll be missed. I can’t forget the laughs we’ve shared,” junior Jesse Serano wrote. “I know you’ll find peace and that you’ll be happy wherever you are man.” Other students acknowledged Rolston’s ability to sense when they were having a bad day, and his efforts to cheer them up. “Your presence made school better … I could always count on you for a high five,” classmate Elizabeth Wiesen wrote. Noa Yaakoby, also noted her late friend’s perceptiveness and caring personality. “You touched the lives of so many people. Though we only got to spend two years together, you were always

someone to talk to about anything,” she wrote. “You will be so greatly missed.” Joe Nedow was Brian’s seventh grade basketball coach. “He was quiet, very respectful and loved to have fun,” Nedow said. The coach remembered Brian making his teammates squirm by demonstrating his flexibility. “Brian was double-jointed. He could pull his arms over his back and could do the same with his legs,” Nedow said, adding he got a big response from his friends. Nedow, who has two children of his own who graduated from Leland, reflected on the loss of a former player who he was looking forward to seeing graduate and reach maturity. “Kids don’t realize how short life can be,” he said. “Everyone thinks they’ll live forever and then … boom, they’re gone.”