UPcoming Specialty Weekends on WQXO – AM 1400 – Munising – May 2012

• 5/4-5/6…”The Rock & Roll Diner Weekend.” We’ll be dishing out every oldie we can  think of with some kind of food or drink in the title.  Listen for songs like “Bread And Butter,” “Sugar Sugar” and “American Pie.”  It’ll be songs you can really sink your teeth  into!5/11-5/13…”The Mothers Day Wonder Women Of Rock & Roll Weekend.” On this special weekend for ladies, we’ll spotlight the greatest ladies of Rock & Roll.  From the women of the 60s like Aretha Franklin, The Supremes and Petula Clark…to 70s greats like Linda Ronstadt, Carole King and Carly Simon, we’ll feature them all weekend long.

  5/18-5/20…”The Rock & Roll Zoo Weekend.” From the Animals to the Yardbirds and from “A Horse With No Name” to “Hound Dog.”  We’ll feature artists with animal names and songs with an animal in the title.

  5/25-5/28…”The Memorial Day Summer Blast-Off Weekend.” It’s a long 4-day holiday weekend and the unofficial start of summer.  We’ll feature the greatest party songs and memories from summers gone by.  You’ll hear great artists like The Beach Boys, Wilson Pickett, The Stones, James Brown, The Beatles and more.

This weeks church of the week is Faith Baptist here in Munising on Onota street. Pastor Ben Boeshaar will be preaching out of the book of John on the subject of Christ picking His disciples.

This Saturday and next Saturday park ranger Andrea will be guiding walks at the Miners Castle area. These are leisurely strolls observing wild flowers and hardwoods as well as invasive species.  To hear more go to our archieves and give a listen to our interview. george

Munising – The Munising City Commission will meet on Monday, May 21 at 6 p.m. in City Hall.

Munising – The Alger County Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, May 21 at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the county building, 101 Court Street, Munising.

LANSING, Mich.–The Michigan Senate passed measures on Wednesday that would end the unfair practice of double taxation on used boats and vehicles, said co-sponsor Sen. Howard Walker.

Senate Bills 126 and 127 would allow consumers to pay sales tax on the price of a new boat or vehicle only after the value of a trade-in has been subtracted.

“In the last year, we have taken many steps to provide a fairer and more competitive tax structure to help job providers. These bills will address an unfair situation impacting our residents by preventing double taxation when they purchase a new car or boat,” said Walker, R-Traverse City. “This is just what we need to provide relief to our residents and a boost to tourism and other industries.”

SB 126 would exclude taxation on the trade-in values of used cars and boats when the trade-in value is being applied to a new or used car or boat.

SB 127 would create a six-year phase-in for the program. In 2012, only $2,500 would be exempt, and this amount would increase by $2,500 each year until 2017, when it would reach $15,000. After that, the trade-in value would be uncapped.

For example, after the law is fully implemented, if a five-year-old car valued at $5,000 is traded in and the owner of the car applies the trade-in value to a new or used car valued at $25,000, the car being purchased would be taxed at $20,000–the difference between the value of the new car and trade-in value of the old car.

Michigan is the only Great Lakes state and one of only six states nationwide that tax trade-in values.

“This legislation puts us on a level playing field with surrounding states,” Walker said. “It makes it easier for everybody to make purchases that will increase their quality of life while at the same time benefiting the state as a whole.”

SBs 126-127 now advance to the House of Representatives for consideration.

MUNISING, Mich.  On Saturday, May 19 and May 26, please join a naturalist
on a Wildflower and Woodlands Walk at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
The program begins each Saturday at 1 p.m.

Meet at the Miners Castle Information Center, located six miles north of
H-58 at the end of Miners Castle Road.

During this leisurely 50-minute stroll through the May woodlands with
Ranger Andrea Chynoweth, we will discover wildflowers, learn about northern hardwood forest ecology and discuss the impact of invasive species.

For more information, please contact the Interagency Visitor Center at
906-387-3700, or Ranger Andrea at 906-387-2602.

Fur and Feather Swap 2012 – Trenary, Michigan

Date:   05/26/2012   -  Start Time:  10:00 AM – End Time:  01:00 PM

Great Northern Poultry and Livestock Connection (GNPLC). Is having
there first of four swaps for 2012 season

It will be at Holmquest Feed Mill, Trenary MI Sat May 26 from 10:00 AM – 1:00PM est.
GNPLC members are free, Non-members fee is $5 to sell.

Membership is $15 per year/per family. A silent auction will run from 10:00 AM till noon. Donations for auction are accepted and appreciated. Bake sale
and concessions available

Contact Eileen for information (906) 225-9920.
Public welcome! rain or shine

Saturday the 19th Hiawathaland District, Bay Lakes Council will be hosting a charity golf tournament. This will be at the Red Fox Run Golf Course. It is a 4 person  scramble. Cost is $75.00 per person which includes 18 holes of golf, cart, lunch and prizes.Start is 10 o’clock shotgun start. There will be a silent auction as well. for more information contact Mike Alberts at 906-748-0764. or Michael. Alberts @scouting.org.

All proceeds go to help fund scouting programs, such as camps and outings.

Friday evening I had the privilege of  attending the one man performance of “Snowflake”. Gayle LaJoye was spectacular in portraying his character of a once, local known individual. Gayle’s pantomime performance  kept our attention riveted towards the stage waiting for the next antic.

This play surely contained every quality description  that the press release said it would present plus so much more. I have never seen a stage play before and I would definitely go see this performance again. If you missed it you owe it to yourself to find out where the next performance  will be and go see it. You won’t be disappointed, I wasn’t.

Thanks to the Munising Bay Arts Association and the Harger family for bringing this classic here to our town. george

Gayle Lajoyie's Snowflake

Munising – The Committee of the Whole of the Alger County Board of Commissioners will meet on Monday, May 14 at 4 p.m. in the conference room of the county building, 101 Court Street, Munising.

Bears at Bird Feeders - Photo Courtesy Michigan DNR

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Press Release – Each spring as hibernating bears leave their winter dens and resume daily activity, wildlife officials in northern Michigan receive many calls about bears hanging around and even destroying man-made food sources such as birdfeeders, trash cans and grills. This year has been no exception, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

“At this time of year, bears are on the move and are looking for food,” said DNR bear specialist Adam Bump. “They are hungry after spending months hibernating, and will often resort to finding food in unnatural places, such as residential backyards.”

Bird seed is especially attractive to bears because it is a high-energy food and relatively easy to find. Once birdfeeders are discovered, bears will keep coming back until the seed is gone or the feeders have been removed.

“The majority of complaints we receive about nuisance bears this time of year involve a food source. The easiest thing people can do to avoid creating a problem is to temporarily take in their birdfeeders and store other attractants, like grills, trash cans and pet food, in a garage or storage shed,” Bump said. “Once the woods green up, bears tend to move on to find more natural sources of food, as long as they haven’t become habituated to the bird seed or garbage cans.”

Bears can become habituated to man-made food sources, which can create an unsafe situation for the bear, and a nuisance situation for landowners if they have a bear continuously visiting their yard during the day and repeatedly destroying private property in search of food.

DNR Wildlife Division staff members are unable to respond directly to each nuisance bear complaint, and instead ask that landowners do their part to help reduce potential food sources in their yards first before calling for further assistance. The trapping of nuisance bears is only authorized by DNR wildlife officials in cases of significant property damage or threats to human safety.

Anyone experiencing problems with nuisance bears (who has taken the appropriate action to remove food sources for a period of two to three weeks but has not seen results) should contact the nearest DNR office and speak with a wildlife biologist or technician for further assistance.

For more information, go to www.michigan.gov/bear.

This weeks church of the week is Calvary Free Lutheran out in Eben. Pastor Tom Schierkolk will be preaching. The title of his sermon is “Look up and be Saved”. there will be a women”s appreciation dinner after the service. Service times are Sunday school 9:30, Morning Worship at 10:30.

Yesterday and today we ran an interview with Kelly and Kathy. Kelly runs a rescue shelter for small dogs and Kathy is the new manager of the Alger Animal Shelter. These ladies were involved in a recent rescue of over 350 dogs from a puppy mill gone real bad.

Some of the animals died, others were weak, malnourished, and diseased. They were infested with every parasite you can think of and some you can’t.  Some of the rescued dogs were brought up here for placement in good homes. We discussed what can be done about these mills which are just breeding nightmare, and how to get involved.

Please,  if you missed this interview,  look it up on the interview archives and listen to what these ladies had to say. Thank you. george

Northern Michigan University will host the 2012 Marquette-Alger Young WomenvMath and Science Conference on Friday, May 4. Attendees will include more than 150 girls in 5th and 6th grades, along with professional educators and guidance counselors. The keynote speaker will be NASA engineer Sheila Bailey.

Women are traditionally underrepresented in the STEM (science, technology,
engineering and math) fields. The goal of the conference is to expose girls to these rewarding and potentially lucrative professional opportunities through hands-on activities led by women currently working in STEM careers. Meanwhile, teachers will engage in professional development designed to enhance their knowledge about best practices in programming, mentoring and encouraging girls to consider STEM disciplines.

The conference begins at 9:30 a.m. in Jamrich 103 with introductory remarks and the keynote presentation. Students will then disperse to the Seaborg Center in West Science for three sessions of hands-on activities with a physicist, mathematician and electrical, mechanical and environmental engineers. A noon luncheon will follow.

Today I played an interview with Ruth Snyder of the Lions Club here in Munising. They are having a 75th Anniversary Celebration at Sydney’s this Saturday, May 5th from 5 to 9.  Ruth shared some of the history of the Lions Club: discussing when and how the Lions started here and what kind of activities and events they sponsor. If you missed it, you can go to the interview archives and play it. She is always a delightful personality to interview and very compassionate about the Lions club. george

Munising Lions