Traverse City Record-Eagle

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Archive: Monday

July 6, 2009

Editorial: Cheers: 07/06/2009

-- To all the organizers, set-up crews and volunteers who will help make the 83rd National Cherry Festival "generations of fun" for this week in July.

-- To Dr. Donald Fraser, of Traverse City, for earning a spot on the 2009 Michigan Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's "Dream Team." Fraser has been medical director of Munson's hospice and related programs since 2001, overseeing the care of about 100 patients in the Munson service area. He also treats patients no longer under the care of their family physician or specialist.

-- To organizers of the new Traverse City National Writer Series for bringing Peter Leonard and his famous father, best-selling crime writer Elmore Leonard, to the City Opera House. Traverse City author Doug Stanton said the June 28 event was one of about six planned. It is modeled on readings at the Iowa Writer's workshop, featuring lively conversations with prominent writers. Proceeds will benefit college-bound writing students in the Traverse City Area Public Schools and Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools.

-- To the Almira Citizens for Preservation for its fundraising to purchase 1.65 acres in the village of Lake Ann for a proposed lakefront park. The group needs only $28,000 more to reach its $200,000 match to purchase 175 feet of frontage from Gardner Klassen. The bulk of the funds will come from a $478,000 Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant. It is the township's first lakefront park.

-- To Joe Yuchasz for his newest renovations at the Elk Rapids Cinema, which he purchased in 1973 and has worked ever since to preserve in the village's downtown. Recent improvements to the Art Deco structure include 300 new seats, replastering, repainting and decorative drapes.

-- To local colleges and universities offering summer programs for high school students who want to load up on college credits. Northwestern Michigan College has 122 "guest" students and West Shore Community College has 33. NMC's total includes summer students who attend Grand Valley, Michigan State University and Central Michigan University classes at NMC's University Center.

-- To Erin Rosner and Kate Tabor, who are taking a 235-mile walk across Michigan to raise funds for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Rosner, of Traverse City, will walk from Empire to Oscoda along the Michigan Shore-to-Shore Trail in memory of her grandfather, James Clark. They hope to raise awareness about the neurobiological disease.

-- To the Michigan League for Human Services for its continued advocacy for prenatal services for pregnant teens and its recent "Right Start in Michigan" report, which details teen pregnancy rates in Michigan for the past 15 years. The reports showed fewer pregnant teens in the five-county Grand Traverse region but more unmarried moms.

-- To the Hagerty cycling team, which won the women's pro state championship at the Superior Bike Fest in Marquette.

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