Letters to the Editor: 10.14.26

‘Yale will always have a place in our hearts’: Visiting Aussie parents thank community

I have enjoyed reading your newspaper since arriving in Yale from home in Australia.

This message is to publicly thank and congratulate the staff and student body of Yale High School for putting on the greatest day in high school history I have ever witnessed. 

We have none of this back home and credit should be piled on those organized spirit week, the pep rally, the magnificent street parade with student-built floats and of course the game. 

The result did not go the way we had hoped, but this young varsity team is in very good hands under Coach Grundman, who is teaching these boys much more than just football but to be good men.

On a personal note, I wish to thank God for people like the Hart family and local business Tubbs Brother for the convertible that drove our son, Isaac, and his lady, Lillian Bender, to the park, where they were to be later crowned Homecoming king and queen.

It was a remarkable moment for a kid from Down Under and as parents we pay homage to your Mayor Brenda Kryzk who brought him to this great city and to the kindness of the greater Yale community for accepting him as one of your own. 

Yale will always have a place in our hearts.

Craig Wheatley
Australia

Last-minute government, shifting meeting labels: Residents deserve better

On Sunday, Aug. 9, residents learned Speaker Township’s Aug. 10 regular meeting had been canceled and rescheduled as a “special” meeting. Yet the same notice also described conducting regular monthly business and serving as the regular August board meeting. Which was it — a special or a regular meeting? Does it even matter? Was proper notice given under the Open Meetings Act?

On Aug. 10, one trustee was absent, yet the board conducted regular monthly business at the meeting designated “special.” The notice identified one ballot-language matter, but two sets of November ballot language were presented, followed by an amended proposal. What authorized those changes?

The board acted with the county certification deadline approaching, although election deadlines are known months in advance. Why were major ballot decisions again left until the 11th hour?

On Feb. 10, the board unanimously voted to place road-and-dust and fire-protection millages on the August ballot. In May, specific fire-millage language was approved. But what happened to the road millage? Where is the documented board action rescinding, postponing, withdrawing or moving the February decision? Residents deserve a clear record.

At the Aug. 10 meeting, attendees shared roughly one agenda among four or five people, without supporting packet materials on the business under consideration. Yet the supervisor distributed color-printed carbon-sequestration seminar handouts to attendees. According to subsequent correspondence from the deputy clerk, those handouts were not included in the board packet or provided to board members. That contrast raises questions about the priorities for sharing meeting information.

Earlier this year, the board unanimously adopted Michigan Townships Association governance principles emphasizing openness, transparency, stakeholder involvement and compliance with law. Those commitments should be reflected in clear notices, timely information and documented decisions.

Government should not operate with “special,” “regular,” “rescheduled,” and “cancelled” meeting labels all within the same notice. Residents and board members alike deserve to know what meeting is being held and what is being decided.

Abraham Lincoln described government as “of the people, by the people, for the people.” Speaker Township residents deserve government that remembers all three.

Susan L. Davies
Speaker Township