Caughtcha being Good!

Mike who wears a Short's ski cap

Louise Haley’s day was not working out the way she wanted. Finally cleared to drive after leg surgery, she was on her way to a doctor’s appointment when she noticed that the tire pressure in her car was seriously low. Pulling into the Village Market gas station, she attempted to get gas and put air in her tires without using her walker. Hopping around precariously on one leg in the blowing wind and cold she struggled to get the air pressure nozzle off the tire. Suddenly she heard a man’s voice behind her, asking how he could help her. Soon this man that she would only know as Mike had settled her back into her car and put air in all her tires. “I just had a rough two weeks recovering from two surgeries, said Louise. Noting that so many people aren’t nice to each other anymore, Louise thanked him for his kindness and said, “May all your Christmas wishes come true.” Mike reached into the car window and gave her a big hug and said, “They already have!” So, if Mike who wears a Short’s ski cap reads this, Louise would like to say thanks again and take you to lunch

Elk Rapids Chamber of Commerce
Chamber welcomes the reopening of Chef Charles

The Elk Rapids Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting on Saturday, January 28 to celebrate the re-opening of Chef Chuck’s. John, Dan, and the staff are carrying on the tradition of Chef Charles making great pizzas, sandwiches, and salads. Chef Charles, 147 River Street, Elk Rapids.  231-264-8901.
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Heather Granger (holding ribbon), Erin and John Conrad (owner holding scissors), Megan Nemac (holding certificate), Dan Rowe (owner), Dave and Linda Egeler (brother and sister-in-law of Chef Charles), Pamela Williams, Kathy Peterson, Matt Conrad, surrounded by family, friends, and pizza lovers, all continuing the legacy of Chef Charles. Courtesy photo

Elk Rapids Schools 
From the Superintendent’s Desk

Dear Families and Community Members:

As we reflect on the life and impact that village resident Joe Yuchasz had on our communities, I also recall the kind human being that graced the halls as a substitute teacher for Elk Rapids Schools, handed out popcorn at the Elk Rapids Cinema to us kids, and never missed a chance to share a snippet of history over a cup of coffee. For me, Joe’s legacy is summarized by his service in the Rotary Club of Elk Rapids. Rotary functions under four basic principles of which Joe embodied over his 60+ years as a Rotary member. These four principles are the same I try to follow as an educator, parent, daughter, and fellow human by asking:

1.    Is it the Truth? Our world is an informational highway filled with never-ending communication via social media. We have access to more information than we have ever had. We have a responsibility to vet and then share only the truth. 

2.    Is it Fair to All Concerned? I pause and ask myself if what is being handled is fair to all parties involved. Sometimes fair is not equal. Sometimes fair is not without conflict. At the end of the day, being fair means to hear all sides, respect differences, and find common ground.

3.    Will it Build Goodwill and Better Friendships? Even in the most trying of times, we can leave a complex situation in a way that maintains the dignity and respect of all involved. At the end of the day, the storm passes, and we all have to continue working together.

4.    Will it be Beneficial to All Concerned? When decisions have to be made, what solution most benefits the greater community? Every one of us has a vision, beliefs, and a way we want things done. Considering, again, all sides, what is the most beneficial for the greater good of our communities?

We cannot forget the “extra” principle that the Rotary Club of Elk Rapids incorporates: “Is it fun?” No doubt, Joe’s life included experiences that brought him joy, whether teaching, playing music, serving Rotary, or running the cinema.

Carrying on these simple guidelines in our work, homes, and times of leisure, we will leave the world a better place: just as Joe Yuchasz has. He enriched the life of everyone he encountered. Memories are fond. His legacy is one to be emulated. 

As I continue my career in education, while not every day is a picnic, I know I am doing what I was put on this Earth to do. I find joy in each day. I continually remind myself how fortunate I am to have a career that allows me to serve so many people. To share the principles that will make this world a better place. To model for the next generation the gifts of service and gratitude. Just like Joe. – Julie Stolowski-Brown

Going PRO Talent Fund grants awards

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to announce $47,000,000 in Going PRO Talent Fund grants to nearly 750 Michigan businesses to support their in-demand, high-skill talent needs, and help approximately 27,000 workers across the state secure employment, industry-recognized credentials and strong wages.

“The Going PRO Talent Fund helps workers get the skills they need to build their lives and advance their careers in Michigan,” said Gov. Whitmer. “Today’s grants will help nearly 750 businesses get the high-skill, in-demand talent they need and empower 27,000 workers earn credentials or certificates to help them land stable, good-paying jobs. Since launching in 2014, the Talent Fund has helped 6,000 businesses and 170,000 workers, and today we are keeping that momentum going. Let’s keep our foot on the accelerator as we grow our economy, create unparalleled economic opportunity, and empower more people to Make it in Michigan.”

Talent Fund has supported approximately 170,000 workers with training over the years.

“Through programs like the Going PRO Talent Fund, we can ensure Michiganders have a path to good-paying jobs and businesses have the resources they need to stay competitive in today’s economy,” said Susan Corbin, director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO). “It’s investments like this that will result in a better economy, one that expands economic opportunity by driving educational attainment, increasing workforce participation and creating equal prosperity for all.”

LEO makes Going PRO Talent Fund awards to employers through Michigan Works! Agencies (MWAs). Participating employers play an integral role in defining their key training needs, then work with their local MWAs and other partners to develop strategic training plans.
A full list of grant recipients for the 2023 fiscal year, per MWA, is available online at Michigan.gov/TalentFund.

Additional funding will be available through the second cycle of Talent Fund awards, which will open late spring. Employers are encouraged to apply as Industry-Led Collaboratives starting in March 2023.
To learn more about the Going PRO Talent Fund and its application cycles, visit Michigan.gov/TalentFund.

47th Annual Vasa volunteer call 

The weather conditions are perfect for the 47th staging of the North American Vasa Festival of Races. Events will be conducted February 11 and 12 at Timber Ridge Resort in Acme. Events will include cross country ski races and a tour, as well as two fat bike races, a snowshoe race and a Jr. Vasa kid’s ski medley of races. Event organizers are seeking a few more volunteers for both inside and outside positions. 

It is easy to volunteer by going to the Vasa website, www.vasa.org, and look for the green “SIGN UP” button on the home page. All the open positions are listed along with position descriptions, times and spot availability or filled. You can also call Ed Crippen at 248-925-0271 or Fran Alfs at 248-320 3651 for more information. Your assistance in this “Traverse City Tradition” will be greatly appreciated.

Career and Technical Education Month

With an average of more than 520,000 Michigan job openings projected annually through 2030, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joins the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) in proclaiming February as Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month.

CTE offers high school and college students hands-on learning experiences that can be applied to real-world training and career pathways. During the month of February, students of all ages are encouraged to explore viable programs across the state that prepare them for successful career entry, advancement, and/or continuing education.

“Career and Technical Education programs prepare Michiganders of all ages for high-skill, good-paying, and in-demand careers,” Governor Whitmer said. “CTE programs also support our state’s businesses by preparing the talent they need to fill jobs and grow our economy. Let’s continue creating paths for people to get the skills they need to build a bright future in Michigan including CTE, Michigan Reconnect, and the Michigan Achievement Scholarship.”

High schools, colleges and some universities across Michigan offer CTE programs that are aligned with in-demand, high-wage careers in fields such as business, information technology, healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing. Most high school programs also offer early college credit opportunities to provide a seamless transition to postsecondary education.

“Those who participate in Career Technical Education programs are more engaged, earn degrees and industry-recognized credentials, and have careers that are both rewarding and self-sustaining,” said Stephanie Beckhorn, Director of LEO’s Office of Employment and Training. “That’s why we’re working hard to ensure all students have equitable access to CTE opportunities.”

MDE also offers Early Middle Colleges (EMCs), in which students can earn high school and college credit while pursuing a program of study at the college level. 

“All Michigan students should have access to a wide range of CTE programs, which help make learning relevant, help students develop career interests and skills, and help prepare students for college and the workplace,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice. “We need to expand CTE programs in areas that have limited offerings. It’s a matter of fairness, career development, and workforce development.”

In celebration of CTE Month, a virtual event will be held on February 22 at 10 a.m. to share information about how career and technical education benefits Michigan’s employers. To learn more and to register for the free event, visit MDE’s CTE Month website.
Students, parents, educators and life-long learners interested in exploring career options, training, wages and projected openings should visit Michigan’s free online career exploration tool, Pathfinder. Additional high school CTE resources and information may be found on MDE’s website.

Also MiSchoolData.org, the State of Michigan’s official source for pre-K, K-12, postsecondary and workforce data, helps residents, educators and policymakers make informed decisions to improve student success.

VILLAGE OF ELK RAPIDS
Council prepares to replace several members of village staff

By Douglas P. Marsh, Contributing Writer

The Village Council of Elk Rapids held a special meeting on the evening of January 25 to consider appointing interim staff and employing the services of human resources consultants. The mayor of Traverse City, Richard Lewis, was selected to act as interim village manager upon the exit of current manager Bryan Gruesbeck.

Council members Charlie Pryde and Tracy Fosdick performed interviews of two candidates and recommended Lewis for the position of interim manager. The council held a brief discussion before unanimously approving Lewis to assume the position. Gruesbeck’s resignation is currently set to take effect March 1. Pryde said Lewis is prepared to step in at any time, on a temporary and transitional basis.

“We found that Richard has an extensive resumé and lot of breadth in his experience. He knows our area quite well,” said Fosdick.

“One of the primary things we need to do is get a new village manager,” said Pryde. “Richard is the present mayor of Traverse City. He has extensive local government experience – as city manager, as mayor, as staff. He also has very close ties with Michigan Municipal League.”

The MML will provide candidates for the permanent village manager position to the council, said Pryde.

“We’ve lost our city manager, we’ve lost our clerk, and we’ve lost our city treasurer,” said Pryde. “He needs to be able to help us with that, with a gentle hand, and to keep us moving forward.”

Village Council meetings will be moved to a different day of the week when Lewis takes over, as his mayoral duties in Traverse City include municipal meetings on Monday every week, Pryde added.

The council also voted 6-1 to hire a human resources consulting firm to generate training guidelines and conduct salary reviews. Council member Barb Mullaly cast the dissenting vote. Village Council President Karen Simpson stressed the need for improved policies and practices around hiring, job descriptions, and performance expectations. The decision comes as treasurer Kristine Davis and clerk Kaitlyn Szczypka have also announced their resignations. 

“I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the numerous members of the Village Council, staff, stakeholders, and community members for reaching out and showing support during this time,” Szczypka said in a statement provided to The Elk Rapids News. “It is my sincere hope that this community finds success as we plan for our future. It has been an honor serving the Village.”

Davis’ resignation became public through an announcement in the Planning Commission’s meeting on January 24 and was acknowledged in exchanges between council members and staff during the special meeting of the council. Her resignation will be effective on February 8, said Mullaly in an email to The Elk Rapids News.

As of Wednesday morning, Davis and Gruesbeck did not respond to requests for statements. Kerri Janisse is the village’s current planning and zoning administrator and was village treasurer in October of 2021, when erroneous overpayments were made to village employees. The subsequent handling of the overpayments has been a cause of controversy and has prompted the ongoing changes in leadership and staff. 

Janisse has returned to work at the village offices, according to deputy clerk Lori Dawson, following a two-week suspension without pay. Janisse was not present at the most recent regular meeting of the Village Council on January 18 and also did not respond to requests for a statement.

Immediately following the special meeting, the council held a budget workshop. They decided unanimously not to increase water and sewage service rates and to earmark a 3% raise for village staff, except for the police, whose union contract specifies a 2.75% raise. The council discussed both issues, including tracking progress on water and sewer line development and the relative merits of uniform versus performance-based raises. At the treasurer’s request, the council agreed to budget for a 3% overall raise while awaiting data from the HR consulting firm’s upcoming analyses and other potential market research.

Davis presented broad strokes and major decisions for the next year’s budget and assured the board that she would assist in the transition past her official resignation date if necessary. “I don’t want people not to get paid,” she said.
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During the discussion of staff wages it also came to light that two full-time and four part-time staff are not anticipated to repay the overpayments from October 2021. Gruesbeck noted that the village’s attorney, Scott Howard, advised against withholding raises or garnishing wages from those employees.

FILING YOUR OWN INCOME 
TAX RETURN

Tax season is here, and once again you will be able to use the IRS Free File option.  A taxpayer with income of $73,000 or less can use the Free File software for individual income tax preparation and electronic filing, and anyone, regardless of income, can use their Fillable Forms, an electronic version of IRS paper forms to be filled in and submitted electronically. To begin, go to HTTPS://WWW.IRS.GOV.  In the search box, type Free File.  Select Free File: Do Your Federal Taxes for Free. Then in the blue box, select Use Free Guided Tax Preparation, or scroll down and select Use Free File Fillable Forms, then follow the directions.  Both free file options are currently open.  Free state individual income tax return options are also available. Despite being run by private companies, the service is completely free and supported by IRS.  IRS has a toll-free Telephone Assistance Hotline to answer questions from individuals filing their federal income taxes. To access, call 1-800-829-1040, which is available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

At the top of the 2022 Form 1040, US Individual Income Tax Return, is the following question, again related to virtual currency and virtual assets:  At any time during 2022, did you receive (as a reward, award, or payment for property or services) or sell, exchange, gift, or otherwise dispose of a digital asset such as Bitcoin (or a financial interest in a digital asset)? A taxpayer selling virtual assets must recognize capital gain or loss on the sale. The virtual currency received in exchange for performing services is ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the virtual currency (in US dollars) when received. IRS is closely monitoring the activity within the virtual asset platform for sources of undeclared income.

For 2022, some credits have been eliminated while others returned to 2019 levels: 
1.  The Recovery Rebate Credit, available for individuals that were not issued a third Economic Impact Payment or issued less than the maximum amount, is not available for 2022.  You must file a 2021 federal income tax return to claim the credit for the missed payment.  
2.  The Child and Dependent Care credit, made more favorable by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, reverts to pre-Covid levels for 2022. The maximum amount of the credit has returned to $2,100 instead of the $8,000 allowed for 2021.  It is also non-refundable again, which means the credit cannot reduce your total tax owed below zero.
3.  Many changes to The Credits for Qualifying Children and Other Dependents have expired for tax year 2022. For 2022, the initial amount of the credit is $2,000 for each qualifying child. The child must be under age 17 at the end of 2022 to be a qualifying child.   
4.  The enhancements for taxpayers without a qualifying child that applied for 2021 to the Earned Income Tax Credit do not apply for 2022.  This means, to claim the credit without a qualifying child in 2022, you must be at least age 25 but under age 65 at the end of 2022.

By doing a little research and knowing where to look, it’s simple and easy for any individual, regardless of experience, to file their own taxes and make the most out of their refund.  Don’t let the big-name companies trick you into paying them a premium for something you can do yourself; let the free resources from the IRS—who aren’t as scary or as heartless as they sometimes seem—help you take charge of your own taxes.  

For more information about the tax changes to expect for this tax year, go to WWW.IRS.GOV and in the search box type What’s new and what to consider when filing in 2023.   
-Submitted by Char Kirchner, CPA, MSA and Rex Rudolph, CPA

Elk Rapids District
​Library Happenings

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•    Tech Help with Aaron on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. and Thursdays from 1:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m. 
•    Busy-Bodies Story Time takes place on Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. and Sensory-Friendly Story Time on Fridays at 10:30 a.m.

Don’t forget! The Elk Rapids District Library has a “Library of Things” collection. You can check-out items such as a metal detector, a sewing machine, board games, crafting items, and cake pans. You also can check out tools such as a Skil saw, leak detector, levels, stud finder, staple gun, jig saw, cordless drill, brad nail gun, and an orbital sander! Wow, just think of all the cool projects you can do!

Elk Rapids Almanac

PictureSwans and cignets on the northern end of Elk Lake. Photo by Corky Crimmins
January 5 –When left uncut during the winter, perennial grasses provide small creatures shelter as well as beautiful landscape texture and color. Some perennial grass species also increase the amount of carbon that can be stored in the soil. Soil carbon storage is another way to mitigate climate change. – Julie Farrell

January 20 – Here are pictures we took on January 20, 2023, on the northern end of Elk Lake, just north of the golf course. The swans came by our home heading north and a few hours later they came back heading south. They stopped back by the next morning, but I didn’t get a picture. They do appear to have black bills, so I am hoping they are native trumpeter swans. I couldn’t find anything about mute swans’ beaks turning black in the winter, so hopefully they are trumpeters. – Corky Crimmins

January 23 –This is a good time of year to appreciate our native coniferous species, which are so important to a wide variety of wildlife in the area for food and shelter, like Balsam fir, Abies balsamea, a slow-growing tree of the boreal forest that reaches its southern extent of its range in northwest lower Michigan. The spire-shaped tops of balsam fir are quite distinctive from a distance, and it can grow in a wide variety of habitats. Balsam fir is interesting for a variety of reasons, including its ability to grow in wet soils, its slow growth, and its ability to grow in the understory of dense forests. The oldest known balsam fir was recorded to be 245 years old, and it generally takes 20-30 years for a balsam fir to produce seeds. Balsam fir is well known as a popular Christmas tree, with fragrant needles and is an important tree for wildlife, water quality and many other uses. Unfortunately, like our native hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis), the tree can be impacted by a non-native introduced insect called the Balsam wooly adelgid.
 More information:   https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/abies/balsamea.htm and https://www.conifers.org/pi/Abies_balsamea.php
https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev2_043667.pdf  
– Angie Bouma, Senior Land Steward, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy

January was known as the Wolf Moon among several Indian tribes when the first English settlers arrived, and the calendar system used by naturalist Hal Borland in his writings in the New York Times over nearly 40 years of exploring the ways human life was bound to the greater world of plants, animals, and natural processes. January was “The time of the hungry wolf pack, the howling wind, and a snug house and warm fireside.” Hal Borland’s Twelve Moons of the Year. 1979; (Barbara Dodge Borland, 2020)