Traverse City Record-Eagle

Opinion

November 12, 2012

Editorial: Cheers and Jeers: 11/12/2012

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-- To the hundreds of individuals locally and thousands statewide who worked the polls on Election Day, making it possible for Michigan residents to cast a ballot. Many of them put in a long day filling out forms, directing traffic in polling places and in general helping democracy work. They deserve a big thanks.

-- To the two local Red Cross volunteers who were among 30 West Michigan residents deployed to the East Coast to support emergency response efforts during Superstorm Sandy.

-- To the Grand Traverse Bay YMCA for breaking ground on its new campus off North Silver Lake Road, the first phase of the multiphase, 101,664-square-foot, $12 million project. It will include a main building, tennis facility and aquatics area. A year ago, the Y completed a drive to raise $4 million in six months, led by a $2 million donation from the late Rob Foster and his wife Phyllis, of Benzie County.

-- To the organizers of the Iceman Cometh mountain bike race from Kalkaska to Traverse City, which has grown from a race among a few locals to a massive annual event with more than 5,000 riders. The Nov. 3 field was met by a trail made muddy by some early-season snow, just the way riders like it.

-- To Joe Johnson, of Traverse City, an 18-year military veteran, who donated his grandfather's 1939 American flag, with 48 stars, to the Traverse City Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic. The flag, which flew over the Michigan state Capitol on Pearl Harbor Day, was treasured by Johnson's grandfather, Ronal Bauder, who served in World War II and received it from his best friend.

-- To bowler David Knowles Jr., of Fife Lake, for rolling an 867 series at Lucky Jack's Nov. 3 to break the Traverse City record. He had games of 268, 300 and 299 — at one point rolling 23 straight strikes. It bested the 857 set by Jim Vezina Sept. 5, 2004. Knowles and his 21-year-old brother Justin set the Traverse City doubles mark with a 1,503 last year.

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