Northern People: Kroupa plants legacy 80 acres off Barney Road are now chockful of trees
On a blistering hot day, cooler air -- fragrant and piney -- wafted from the forest floor. Clarence Kroupa climbed behind the wheel of a purple 1948 Jeep and rumbled into the woods behind his Garfield Township home. The hilly 80 acres off Barney Road featured about 45 acres of hardwoods when Kroupa purchased it in three parcels in 1952, 1953 and 1954. The remaining acres were barren, undesirable farmland and depleted soil. It is hard to picture the place as Kroupa first saw it. He had a vision to restore and reforest the property, and now trees grow straight, sure and tall from all sides. In the early years, Kroupa estimated he planted as many as 2,000 trees annually. This year, he planted about 100. There's not much room left.
Acme voters endorse directed growth
The issue: Acme board prevails again; Our view: Voters demand the right to direct development in their community and to decide what the future will look like, as well as demand a township board that will represent their interests -- no matter what...
New round of lawsuits could crack Meijer's facade
A ruling that allows more Acme Township officials to sue Meijer Inc. for alleged harassment and intimidation may help finally reveal just how high in the Meijer organization the decision to make war on Acme really went. New revelations could also set the stage for an array of criminal charges against Meijer officials and/or its attorneys, its public relations firm and local citizens who aligned themselves with the big-box and recall efforts. What Acme residents must demand this time around is a full and final accounting of who at Meijer decided it was time to intimidate instead of negotiate, who decided to knowingly break the law, who decided to essentially try to overthrow an elected local government. Who put profit ahead of the law? (As the result of Meijer's legal activities brought against citizens and commissioners, a growing chorus of consumers in Michigan have begun a personal boycott against shopping at Meijer)
All aboard a sinking ship
If Meijer Inc. thinks it has new headaches now that seven Acme Township officials have been given the green light to sue the retail giant, wait till its former allies weigh in. Representatives of The Village, a proposed Acme mega-development, appear ready to place the blame for alleged wrongdoing against Acme officials on Meijer and its former attorneys, including Timothy Stoepker, law firm Dickinson Wright PLLC, and the Traverse City firm of Smith & Johnson Attorneys PC. It is a classic cop out. Next to "The dog ate my homework," "He made me do it!" may be the most popular alibi of all time.
Meijer gets judge to hide papers
Meijer Inc. convinced a state appellate judge to hide from public view documents related to Grand Traverse County's efforts to investigate the retailer's campaign finance violations. A motion to seal the appellate case was filed by John Pirich, a Lansing attorney hired by Meijer.
Acme Group was a Front for Meijer
TRAVERSE CITY -- Meijer Inc. secretly gave an Acme Township political group $12,400 to fund its operations, and paid a local law firm, Smith & Johnson P.C., $6,400 to perform campaign work that wasn't reported as required by state law. The latest revelations provide the strongest evidence to date that Meijer operated Acme Taxpayers for Responsible Government, formed in 2005, as a shell organization to carry out its financial and political goals. On Tuesday Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land said she reached a deal with Meijer over campaign finance violations regarding the retailer's efforts to manipulate two Acme Township elections -- a 2005 zoning referendum, and an unsuccessful 2007 recall election that targeted the township board. Land's deal requires Meijer Inc. to pay $190,000, the largest campaign finance violation fine in state history, but may well protect Meijer corporate officials and others from criminal charges.
Meijer to pay $190K in civil fines
Acme Trustee Frank Zarafonitis' day began on a good note, when he learned Meijer Inc. would pay a fine for illegal campaign acts in the township and that criminal charges could be pursued against the people who crafted that strategy. But reality struck late Tuesday, when Zarafonitis discovered that Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land's back room deal with Meijer Inc. -- civil fines totaling $190,138 for violations in 2005 and 2007 Acme elections -- undercut any possibility of state election law criminal cases against Meijer and its hired hands.
Meijer hadn't counted on Acme's Bill Boltres
Every uprising begins with one man or woman standing up and saying "enough." In Acme Township, that was Bill Boltres. The 72-year-old township treasurer lit a fuse back in 2006 when, after suffering two heart attacks and numerous sleepless nights over lawsuits filed against him by Meijer, Inc., he fought back. During depositions related to his counter-suit it was revealed that a law firm hired by Meijer had paid a public relations agency more than $30,000 to secretly orchestrate a failed recall election against the Acme board in 2007. A report done for Meijer also indicated the company made illegal contributions to a 2005 referendum on halting big-box development. The findings from the Boltres depositions prompted a blistering attack on Meijer's goonish tactics from across the state, Boltres not only didn't back down, he filed his own suit and Meijer was sent reeling. Boltres has since sued the Village at Grand Traverse LLC, the corporation behind the Village at Grand Traverse, claiming Meijer-like illegal harassment. Now other Acme officials are contemplating their own lawsuits. Bill Boltres didn't go looking for a fight. All he wanted was to serve his township, help guide development and keep the books balanced. Meijer, though, decided to declare war. MORE
Meijer Actions in Acme Township Causes Investigation
Meijer Inc. has acknowledged it probably violated state law by donating to an effort to recall seven elected Acme Township officials who objected to the chain's development plans, and by failing to report its activities. In a letter to Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, a Meijer attorney said the company also may have illegally contributed to a 2005 ballot initiative that overturned a moratorium on big-box store construction in Acme. Rich Robinson, executive director of the nonpartisan Michigan Campaign Finance Network, said what sets this case apart, is the apparent extent of Meijer's behind-the-scenes involvement in Acme Township politics. The company's role is detailed in documents made public in a lawsuit against the company. "For a corporation to secretly finance a recall campaign is pretty unique," Robinson said. [Editor: Acme Township was the recipient of this years NMEAC Profiles in Courage Award.] READ THIS STORY | VIEW AWARD
Elk Rapids also Honors NMEAC “Environmentalist of The Year in Education” : Kip Knight
Elk Rapids Honors NMEAC The NMEAC Environmentalist of The Year in Education Award Winner Kip Knight brought his students to the Elk Rapids Village Council Meeting on May 19th and was recognized by the village. Kip and the students set up water quality testing stations at the village hall as part of the evening. It seems these awards keep going and going and going spreading good will and education along the way.
Rewarding Project: Teacher among winners
TRAVERSE CITY RECORD EAGLE—Kip Knight has seen the benefits of engaging students when it comes to the environment. It took about a year for the Lakeland Elementary teacher to organize a day-long field trip for 85 fifth-graders to study water quality in downtown Elk Rapids. But the students' smiling faces as they stood knee-deep in the water was all he needed to know that his efforts weren't in vain. "They are discovering, thinking, wondering. You realize that it is all worth the anxiety of pulling something like this off," Knight said. "My reward is seeing the kids taking it on and knowing they will benefit from this now and hopefully later on." Knight received another reward Friday when he was named Environmental Educator of the Year by the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council
