The Benzie County Record-Patriot-August 18, 1982-3

Ludington wants Frankfort to give up

FRANKFORT Spirits run
high when it comes to protecting
jobs in your area even if it comes
down to telling falsehoods or
twisting the truth.
Studies have clearly shown
that the Frankfort-Elberta port
is better than Ludington.
The Benzie County port has
all necessary fuel storage facilities and the harbor and slips are
better than Ludington.
If the state is going to
subsidize cross-lake carferries,
Michigan owns the track running through Benzie County. If
the carferries were to run out of
Ludington under a state operated railroad, Michigan would
have to buy or lease C&O track.
The C&O already requested
to abandon its operation running to Ludington and its crosslake carferry operations.
Yet the people of Ludington
insist their port facilities and

carferry fleet are better and they

boast the Chessie is a "highly
successful, well-managed, profit-making company." According to their newspaper. The
Ludington Daily News.
Following is a copy of the
News' editorial, " F r a n k f o r t
Doesn't Quit:"
A few weeks ago it seemed
fairly safe to believe that Frankfort would no longer be a
carferry port. The ancient vessels that had provided crosslake service for Michigan Interstate were laid up at their docks
because the state would not
provide further subsidy.
That was in April. Now, three
months later, Michigan and
Wisconsin are aglow with praise
for the way Frankfort has pleaded its case, offered concessions
and proposed running the carferry on its own. Under the

Carferry employees
meet with MDOT
[Cont. from Front Page)
will take more in the neighbor- thing."
hood of $263,000 to keep things
The deputy MDOT chief said
running until then according to no other proposals to operate
MDOT figures.
the northern end of the railroad
The closest thing to a real or the carferry system are under
answer may have been in Kell- consideration by MDOT at this
ogg's statement. "There are no time.
monies beyond Sept. 30... (and
Asked if Ludington is still a
for that reason MDOT is) hesi- possible port for a single crosstant about starting up service."
lake carferry system all Kellogg
Kellogg said money is the would say is " n o final decision
main problem. While the object has been m a d e . " He did menof MDOT is " t o keep (carferry) tion the Chessie is not a state
service going, it's not an easy subsidized line.

Vander Jagt coming here

Aug. 30
WASHINGTON, D.C. Congressman Guy Vander Jagt is
scheduling his annual Congressional mobile office tour with
visits to 41 communities in both
the old and new Ninth District.
The mobile office tour will be

in Manistee 1:15 to 2 p.m. Aug.

30 and head north stopping from
2:30 to 3 p.m. in Bear Lake (U.S.
31 at Lynn); 3:30 to 4 p.m. in
Beulah (Benzie at Case); and
4:15 to 4:45 p.m. in Frankfort
(City Hall).

FRANKFORT

TWILIGHT SALE

|
k

August 19th.

* 1

7-10 P.M.

a * . 4 * -3K- a c a t m m m w m i a o a o w m

J Community Drugj

Frankfort scheme, the carferry

employees, currently unemploy
ed because of the shutdown,
would run the vessel and form
their own corporation.
For this, Michigan's Transportation Commission is falling
all over itself in an effort to give
Frankfort $47,000 a month for
the project and Wisconsin,
which has been cool to any

subsidy for the C&O, is willing

to give even more than that to
help Frankfort run its carferry.
Why does it seem so easy for
Frankfort, with old and inadequate carferries, to get state
help? Because the Frankfort
operation stems from a bankrupt railroad while at Ludington
we have a highly successful,
well-managed, profit-making

"A fine day this is . . .

they didn't take us to the

CAR FRARY
Restaruant
Anniversary!"
Serving 4 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Dave Spomy Jazz Quintet on
the lawn 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

CARn?AKV-

T "Your

Friendly

Corner

Drug Store"

J
1

10th. & Main across from boat launch

Frankfort, Michigan

Good News!
The Roycraft Calendars are in !

$6- 00each
Come to our autograph
party 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday, August 20th.,
where the artist,
Mr. Roycraft, will sign
your calendar.

Prescriptions
"Delicious" Murdick Fudge
J
Hallmark Cards
I Fast Quality Photo FinishingI
I
Package Liquor
J
Hrs. 9-8 Mon-Sat 10-1 Sun.

SATURDAY
AUGUST 21st.

Wisconsin Johnsonville BRATWURST Fry-Out

Hamburgers, Com, German Potato Salad,
Baked Beans

Frankfort

company that many government

officials find it hard to subsidize.
We agree that subsidizing an
operation such as the giant (CSX
(Chessie) is difficult to justify.
But that certainly makes more
s e n s e than throwing good
money after something as ill-run
as the old Ann Arbor or the
shaky Michigan Interstate.

616-887-5294

I I *

N
Next to the tracks In

;Downtown Beulah

HTh

20 Pages

Record-IPatriot

/May

19 19g2

Vol. 93, No. 3 6 / Twenty Cents

Tlh ff&w(px)[3xi>ff site H

* opt right 1W2. The RcvordTtrioi

School honor
rolls announced

New Yorker
faces life in prison

3 file so far
for commissioner

Page 2

Page 2

Page 4

DOT doing everything

to inhibit growth: Spaniola

' i ' Benzie County Sheriff Deputy Joe Barone escorts a 50-year-old
Benzonia man to a patrol car following his arrest last Friday
afternoon. The pair follow Deputy Ted Rineer as detective Lt.
Ronald Zielinski and a State Police trooper emerge from the house
where authorities say the man allegedly locked himself in an
upstairs bedroom and threatended to kill himself. Authorities said
the man was upset about pending criminal charges. Other photos
Page 3. [Photo by Roland Halliday]

By ROLAND HALLIDAY
LANSING While local Ann
Arbor railroad and carferry employees say money is available
from the state to get the line
running, a top Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT)
official says the railroad has not
applied for any funds.
James
Kellogg,
deputy
MDOT director, Tuesday told
the Record-Patriot his department has $900,000 in federal
funds available for railroad capital outlay this year.
Kellogg said his staff proposes programs how this money
is to be spent, but did not know
off hand if any is earmarked for
the Ann Arbor.
A second federal fund, called
loan funds, is available for
railroads Kellogg said, but the
railroad must apply directly for
this money.
This raises another issue Kellogg said which involves the
current dispute between MDOT
and Michigan Interstate, operator of the Ann Arbor line. This
point currently is subject to a
temporary restraining order
issued by U.S. District Court

J u d g e Stewart Newblatt
on
April 5.
At issue, is the carrier's
contention that its state subsidy
is not sufficient. MDOT officials
have said the state cannot afford
to increase the $453,000 a
month subsidy.
Kellogg said Michigan Interstate told him they could not
apply for the loan funds because
the company did not know if it
would continue to be operators
of the line.
When the state tried to contract with another operator
the Michigan and Western Railroad Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Green Bay and
Western, Michigan Interstate
blocked the move with the
temporary restraining order.

"Michigan Interstate has the

best of both worlds. The court
injunction prevents MDOT from
placing another operation on
that portion of that line north of
Ann Arbor jret they're shutting
it down to the detriment of
s h i p p e r s , " said Michigan Attorney General Frank Kelley.
Kelley petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to
require Michigan Interstate to
resume rail service between
Ann Arbor and Elberta and
cross-lake carferry service to
Wisconsin.
Kellogg said federal policy
under the current^Administration is phasing out subsidies to
railroads. While there may be
$900,000 in the capital outlay
fCont. on Page 2]

Benzie to pick principal

BENZONIA Hiring a new high school principal, employee
negotiations and a discussion of program cuts will highlight a
special meeting tonight (Wednesday) of the Benzie Central School
Board of Education.
The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Board of Education
office on Homestead Road, next to the high school.

Carferry captain says

Do something or kiss Ann Arbor good-by

owned Ann Arbor line, State
Rep. F r a n c i s S p a n i o l a (DCorunna), Frankfort City Councilman Rick Pringle, rail shippers and others.
Jewell said based on information available to the group
from various sources, money is
available for the railroad, but
the Michigan Department of
Transportation (MDOT) refuses
'It's important to do some- to release it.
thing now or kiss the Ann Arbor
Malanaphy ordered operagood-by,' said carferry captain tions north of the City of Ann
Bruce Jewell.
Arbor including carferry service
out of Elberta shutdown at
Jewell said he met Friday in midnight April 26.
Owosso
with
Vincent
Malanaphy said without inMalanaphy, chairman of Michi- creased subsidy from the state
gan Interstate Railway Com- he could not operate the railpany, operators of the state- road. He said the line was

By ROLAND HALLIDAY
FRANKFORT - About 200
people are expected to leave
here Thursday morning aboard
four buses bound for Lansing
where they hope to meet with
key decision makers in an effort
to get a definitive ruling on the
fate of the Ann Arbor railroad
and carferry.

ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS? Need an electrician in a

hurry? Call BENZIE ELECTRIC, 325-5013. 24-hour
service.

taking a loss of $20,000 a day.

Meeting back in Frankfort
Saturday afternoon in the Seafarers International Union hall,
Jewell, a number of SIU members and other rail and carferry
employees discussed organizing
a protest in Lansing this Thursday.
Purpose of this move, according to Jewell, is to apply
pressure on elected officials
(especially those up for reelection) to get a decision on the
fate of the Ann Arbor.
For a number of years, the
last in particular, the northern
operation of the Ann Arbor line
has had to live with a day-to-day
existance Jewel said.
He said if the railroad does

not start operations soon, it may

never have a chance of getting
shippers back.

Jewell has worked with the

railroad for 32 years, the past 15
as a carferry captain.

Buses going to Lansing Thursday

FRANKFORT Anyone interested in making the trip to
Lansing Thursday as part of an effort to get the Michigan
Department of Transportation to make a decision regarding the
future of the Ann Arbor rail and carferry service here is asked to
call 352-4441, the Seafarers International Union hall.
Those interested in making the trip also may call 352-4151, the
Ann Arbor office in Elberta, or 352-9150, Joyce May.
There is no charge for the bus trip.
Private donations are covering the cost of four North Star
buses which will hold 47 passengers on each.
Buses will leave 6 a.m. from the Frankfort boat launching
facility on the northeast end of Betsie Bay.

HULL'S of Frankfort If you registered for our

siiuirncr
^ P Incentive Plan, stop in and get
31st
weighed and claim your discount ucfjTC
"

JOIN THE WINNERS at CENTURY 21. America's

Number 1 Top Seller. Opportunities for experienced,
ambitious salespeople. Call Bob Denton for confiden.
882-4478.
tial lmervtv**. _

Record-Patriot
Copyright 1982 The Record-Patriot

Frankfort Art Show

32 Pages Vol. 93, No. 51- August 18,1982 - TWENTY CENTS

Frankfort Twilight
Shopping Spree

2 holes in 1

page J5.18

Youth rally set

for Aug. 28

Page 20

Page 14

Page 21

Frankfort firemen strike ends

FRANKFORT Firefighters
here are back on the job
following a dispute which resulted in a two-day walkout early
last week.
Most problems came to rest
during a special three-hour
meeting of the Frankfort City
Council Friday evening.
The council approved a motion by Mary Hoppock that
firemen be paid according to
their old pay scale of $7.50 a call
and $8 a meeting.
Also in her motion which was
supported by Marie Anderson,
the fire chief would be paid
51.500 a year payable on a
quarterly basis and retro active
to the first of last month.
The council action, which was
agreeable with firemen present
at Friday's meeting, actually
was a pay cut for the firefighters
and the establishment of an
annual stipend for the chief.
The volunteer firemen quit
their job with the city July 9 in a
show of support for chief Gene
Snyder , after the city council
refused to pay him a requested
$1,800 a year stipend.
If Snyder received what he
was asking, the council said it
would create a budget deficit for
the fire department.
And for that very reason,
running in the red, the council
reversed its July action which
voted firefighters a pay increase $7.50 an hour for fires
outside the city and $5 an hour
for fires within city limits.
Councilmember Rick Pringle
said based on the number and
duration of fires last year, the
city would be $5,700 in the red if
it paid according to that scale.
Another option the council
could consider Pringle said was
paying firemen a flat $150 a year
c l o t h i n g and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n
allowance. But even that method would leave the budget in the
red.
Also thrown out for consideration by the council was a move

which called for the reduction of

the fire department personnel
from 18 to 14 and chief.
Veteran firefighter Mel Pierce
said such a move would not
make sense. "If you cut the
roster, where are you going to
get the manpower to fight
fires," he asked.
Fireman Grant Sowa said two
men now on the roster are
leaving. If the number of men
was reduced to 14 he said that
would cut the " b u f f e r " of safety
and such a small number could
not adequately serve the community.
Sowa said the money was not
important to the men. He favored the old pay schedule. " W e
need our roster," he insisted.
During the meeting it looked
like " a s t a n d o f f ' as mayor Dan
Walenta put it. Pringle said it
could mean a complete restructuring of the fire department.
All agreed the safety and welfare of the firemen was top
concern.
The process wore down chief
S n y d e r w h o at one point
announced he resigned. It was
getting to be " t o o damn much
hassle." He said he would not
walk out on the city and did not
want to see any firemen quit.
" I ' m just drained...I can't
handle the p r e s s u r e . " No action
was taken on Snyder's resignation and he agreed to stay on.
Fire director Charles Kibby
made a low-key pitch that the
old pay scale be adopted and the
16-man roster and chief be
retained.
The importance of department numbers was illustrated
Sunday when only five men and
one policeman responded to a
call from Paul Oliver Memorial
Hospital. It turned out to be an
alarm malfunction.
Two other calls over the
weekend, including one just a
short time before Friday's council meeting, had nine and 10
firemen at the scene.

ATTENTION BUSINESSMEN AND HOME OWNERS

Are you now enjoying quality workmanship at LOW
PRICES with 24 hour service. Get the Best. Call
BENZIE ELECTRIC. 325-5013. Free estimates.

Frankfort fire chief Gene Snyder shows other

firemen and on lookers fire department budget
figures before last Friday's City Conntil meeting.

From left to right are Grant Sowa, Snyder, Ted

Rodal, Dave Gum, Red Reed, Larry Toms and
Bob Gum.

Ann Arbor carferry

employees meet with MDOT
ELBERTA Status of the
carferries out of this port remains the same old story
things are still up in the air.
Members of the Ann Arbor
Railroad Action C o m m i t t e e
Tuesday met with staff personnel of the Michigan Department
of T r a n s p o r t a t i o n ( M D O T )
according to J a m e s Kellogg,
chief administrative officer of
Urban and public transportation.

The employee group is trying

to work out an agreement with
the state which would allow
them to operate cross-lake carferry service.
Efforts earlier this month hit a
snag when it came to working
out details of the agreement.
Among " a number of technical requirements to be worked
o u t " according to Kellogg are:
legislative transfer of funds for
the rail and carferry operation;

HULL'S OF FRANKFORT Terrific oargins during

the Twilight Sale Thursday, August 19. See ad inside.

incorporation of the employee

group as a railroad; a 30-day
line of credit; revenue schedule
of fees for interchange, switching and surcharges; accounting
methods; organizational structure; listing of insurance coverage; and more.
Estimates to run carferry
service until Sept. 30 were put
at about $95,000 by the employee group Kellogg said, but it
[Cont'd on Page 3]

OPEN HOUSE
OPEN HOUSE
OPEN HOUSE
Sunday, 1 to 4. 763 Grace Road near Lake Michigan.
Take M-22 to Grace Road, watch for signs.