To view or leave comments on this story, click HERE.
Here’s a roundup of recent news and photos around the Old Mission Peninsula.
Natural Gas Lines in Old Mission. If you live in the village of Old Mission and have been waiting for natural gas to arrive, you’re in luck. The crews are currently installing natural gas lines around the village, including near Haserot Beach. A few photos…
Old Mission Gazette is Reader Supported.
Click Here to Keep the Gazette Going.
Brinkman Road Flowers. For anyone following along with the Brinkman Road flowers story, we spotted a few flowers there. The Manigolds, who are farming that parcel for the owners, planted perennial flowers there as part of a program to attract bees and butterflies. Jeff Manigold said the weeds sort of overtook them this year, but we did see a few flowers there this weekend and will hopefully see more next year, similar to their flower field near the corner of Center Road and Swaney Road.
Got Mangy Fox? If you’re seeing mangy fox around your neighborhood, contact OMP resident Cosette Simon, [email protected]. “If you have a fox with mange visiting your property and are willing to help, please let me know,” she says. “It’s not difficult, and there is no cost to you. We will feed him hot dogs for a couple of days, and once hooked, we’ll add the medicine (Bravecto).”
She notes that mange is a debilitating condition that will ultimately result in a very painful death unless the animal is treated. She is part of a wildlife advocates group where she lives in the winter and is looking to possibly start such a group here. If you’re interested in learning more, let her know.
Library News. Peninsula Community Library is back to requiring masks for staff and those attending programs in the meeting rooms and community room. For general use of the library, masks are strongly encouraged, but not required.
Two new employees have joined the staff – Denise Olson, a former Paraprofessional Library Media Aide at East Middle School, and Kim Lakes-Morman, a former high school math teacher and retired bank officer. “Both are proficient in technology, people friendly and excited to be part of our team,” says Library Director Vicki Shurly in her staff report to the Town Board this month.
The Book Sale is going well and continues through this week (see our OMP Community Calendar for dates and times). Here’s a photo of the Peninsula Township Fire Department staff who helped Madelyn Ryan put the sign up at Fire Station 2.
Smokey Hollow Road Erosion. This week’s “Crumbling Roads of OMP” story stars the south end of Smokey Hollow Road, where traffic cones have once again been spotted in the same location as last year.
Here are a few photos of the erosion on the bank and under the road. We’ll keep you posted on any fixes from the Grand Traverse County Road Commission (they did do some work there last year).
Update on Bluff Road Erosion/Closure. In other erosion news, the Mission Hills Home Owners Association has asked the Peninsula Township Board to approve a resolution to be sent to the Grand Traverse County Road Commission (GTCRC) regarding the erosion and road closure on the north end of Bluff Road (closed since January 2020).
The resolution is included in the packet for tonight’s meeting, and is on the agenda for the business section of the meeting. In summary, the resolution notes the importance of Bluff Road opening again and specifies:
“That the Peninsula Township Board of Trustees finds that re-opening of Bluff Road to afford critical north-south access on the Old Mission Peninsula is in the best interests of the public.” And…
“That the Peninsula Township Board of Trustees publicly requests the GTCRC to fulfill its statutory duties to repair and reopen Bluff Road to restore the critical north-south access it provides to members of the public, of which the GTCRC serves.”
Read about the recent studies done on the road closure here.
SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.
Because Old Mission Gazette is a "Reader Supported Newspaper" -- meaning it exists because of your financial support -- I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks our way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. In a time when local news is becoming a thing of the past, supporting an independent community newspaper is more important now than ever. Thank you so much for your support! -Jane Boursaw, Editor/Publisher, Old Mission Gazette
To keep the Gazette going, click here to make a donation.
To view or leave comments on this story, click HERE.
Jane,
We live close to the Smokey Hollow road erosion. Last year the road commission fixed the road and erosion issue. Part of their solution was to build a “curb” along side the road to guide the water to a specific area to drain. However, over the winter the same road commission snow plows plowed away those curbs and the water quickly created the same erosion issue. Not sure how the road commission will mark those curbs along side the road so the plow drivers don’t remove them?
Fix Bluff Rd.? Are you kidding me…Probably never happen…The mental giants in charge of that mess can’t even fix the speed limit on Bluff Rd..My wife Carol and I have lived on N. Bluff Rd.since 1972 and have watched constant growth in residency…What was was the speed limit then in front of our house? 55 mph..Multiple petitions have been submitted to the proper authorities in hope that the speed limit reduced to 35mph…What has been the response? ” No fatalities in that section of Bluff Rd. Request Denied”..Duh…….and you really think the erosion issue will be fixed? Don’t be surprised if the final response you get is “Well there haven’t been any fatals yet”…Next…Have a nice day..TBC..JO
Who is the ” proper authority” that decides the final speed limit for Bluff Rd?
Was county road commission..
The speed limit was 55 when you purchased your house.
I find that with Bluff Rd being basically a dead end, speeding is much less of an issue. To be honest, while a bit inconvenient, I would rather they just shore up the bluff so no further erosion takes place and make it a culdesac. Allow bikes, walkers to pass through like the current situation and those who need access to their beach fronts. There is much less transient traffic.
[…] 2 p.m. There are still a lot of great items so come load up for winter reading! Many thanks to booksale chair Madelyn Ryan and her […]
[…] today, Old Mission Gazette field reporter Cosette Simon sent along a note about some hijinks involving masked bandits in the 9500 block of Peninsula […]