Douglas Lake eNews 08/01/2020

August 4^th - State of Michigan Primary Election

Tuesday, August 4, 2020 is Primary Election Day in the State of Michigan. Polls are open on Election Day from 7:00am-8:00pm for all elections. For those Michigan residents voting by mail (absentee ballot), ballots must be received by the clerk of the voter’s district by 8:00 pm on Election Day. Note this is not postmarked on Election Day – but actually received by the Clerk by 8:00pm. Some folks have recommended that if you have not mailed your ballot by now, you should not trust that the Postal Service will be able to get your ballot to the Clerk by 8:00pm on Tuesday. If you vote in Munro Township, you may hand carry your completed ballot to the Munro Township Hall, 8016 Brandau Road (at corner of Bonnett Road and Brandau Road), Levering on August 4^th and hand it in to an election inspector or the Munro Township Clerk to assure that your vote is counted. These are, of course, primary elections. Your primary ballot must be either Democratic or Republican – you cannot cross over or split you votes between candidates of both parties. That opportunity comes in November! Your vote is important. Please VOTE.

2020 DLIA Officers “Elected”

Sometimes you need a vote, sometimes you don’t. (Apologies to Cadbury’s) Suzanne Witthoff, Chair of the DLIA Nominating Committee, has reported that there were no nominations “from the floor” for President, Vice President or Secretary. Consequently, the slate approved by the Executive Board, as recommended by the Nominating Committee, is declared elected: Mary Ellen Sheridan, President; Bill Foster, Vice President; and Barb Huey, Secretary.
Mary Ellen and Barb are serving their second terms in their offices. Bill is a first term Vice President. (Treasurer, Suzanne Witthoff, is in the second year of her first term.) The newly-elected officers and the broader Executive Board appreciate the confidence and support of the membership. Please remember, DLIA is a voluntary Association– all of its projects and committees offer opportunities for new volunteers. If you are interested in being more involved with DLIA at any level, drop a note to president@douglaslake.org.

I-75 Construction in Cheboygan County

Another construction update: MDOT is beginning concrete joint repairs on nearly 5.6 miles of northbound I-75 from Topinabee Road to Riggsville Road in Cheboygan County on Monday, August 3 with an estimated end date of Saturday, October 3, 2020. This work will require lane closures and traffic shifts.

For project details and a map visit: Mi Drive

High Water Level Resources

Throughout Michigan, recent high water levels have caused millions of dollars in damage to private property and public infrastructure, including roads and Michigan State Parks. The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council has new resources available to assist property owners with rising high waters. They have developed multiple fact sheets covering Great Lakes Water Levels, shoreline protection measures, home moving, and inland lake flooding concerns, such as septic system failure and drinking water contamination.
All the Individual topic fact sheets are available for download on the Watershed Council’s website www.watershedcouncil.org/high-water-levels . Several topical links are noted below:

High Water Levels: Frequently Asked Questions & Answers

High Water Levels: Inland Lake Risks

Off Road Vehicles (ORV)

Illegal use of ORVs is almost as pesky as the ubiquitous Douglas Lake mosquito. Unlike the mosquito, however, both the State and County have rules regulating ORV usage in Munro Township and the DLIA area. The State Rules are Act No. 240 P.A. of 2008 and the County’s are Ordinance No. ORV of 2009.
Key requirements:

An ORV may be operated on all county primary and county local roads, which means all roads in Munro Township;
If the operator is:
1. 18 or older they must have a valid driver’s license;
2. between 16 to 18 must have valid driver’s license or safety certificate or under direct adult supervision;
3. between 12 to 16 must be under direct visual supervision of an adult;
4. if under 12 only on property of supervising adult;
The ORV must be operated with the flow of traffic, on the far-right portion of the road, in a single file, which does not interfere with the flow of traffic;
1. On a paved county road, far-right means on the shoulder;
2. On a gravel road it means on the extreme right area of the open road, i.e. not down the middle;
Maximum speed is 25 mph or not “at a rate of speed greater than is reasonable and proper”;
When operated, the ORV must have a lighted headlight and taillight;
The operator and any passenger must wear a helmet and eye protection, unless the vehicle has seat belts and a rollover crash bar;
Exhaust noise shall not exceed 82Db(A);
The operator must have a valid Department of Natural Resources license permanently attached to the vehicle;
A civil fine up to $500.00 may be imposed and a person causing damage may have to pay full restitution;
The County Road Commission does not have to specifically maintain its roads for ORV usage, travel at your own risk;
Sheriff Deputies are designated to enforce the Ordinance;
Cheboygan County shall post signs on all county boundary roads informing the public where ORV operation is permitted.

Article submitted by Bill Hartwig
[Photo credit: Editor thanks a Levering couple recently road testing their relatively new ORV at Lancaster Lake who agreed to let their new toy be photographed for this article.]

New DLIA Donations Form

Occasionally situations arise where DLIA is contacted about how to make donations to the Association in honor of, or in memory of a DLIA member, or to support a particular activity/project DLIA is undertaking or has completed. We are grateful for the thoughtfulness of those making the donations and to those requesting that memorial donations be directed to DLIA . To facilitate the proper recording and acknowledging of donations,a new Donations Form has been added to the DLIA web site www.douglaslake.org

Link to Donations Form

pictures@douglaslake.org!!

Are you confused about where to send those fabulous photos of Douglas Lake sunsets, sunrises, boating, fishing, wildlife, family, friends and pets – in the neighborhood and in the water and those much-admired shots, paintings and creative art work showing all the good reasons we love living on Douglas Lake. Well, apparently we were too. We sorted out the mixed guidance between ‘pictures’ and ‘calendar’ and now request that you send all photo contributions to pictures@douglaslake.org.

Next Douglas Lake Merchandise Sale August 15^th

Still time to shop Douglas Lake merchandise! As usual the sale is from 10 a.m.-noon at the Pellston Locker just off Douglas Lake Rd and US 31. Social distancing and masks, please.

Click Here for the Douglas Lake Buoy UMBIO data.

Our Advertisers are waiting to serve you.
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by Category
On our website, click the advertiser for more information.

Douglas Lake Improvement Association ─ Dues are $25 a year
Mailing address: DLIA, PO Box 472, Pellston, MI 49769

See the new Membership tab for the
New Member/Update Member Form
or send membership updates to membership@douglaslake.org

Send News Articles and Obituaries to info@douglaslake.org
Send pictures/photos for DL calendar to pictures@douglaslake@.org
The eNews is published twice a month on-season and
as needed (once a month) off-season.
The DLIA Newsletter is published twice a year - Fall and Spring.
The Spring Newsletter is distributed approximately mid-May. Deadline for news and obituaries for Spring Newsletter has passed..
Note: We appreciate the obituaries being brief (300 words or less)
and relevant to Douglas Lake. News articles should not exceed 700
words unless approved by the editor. Please be aware
that any article or obituary may be edited to fit into the layout.

Please add these two addresses to your contacts list to ensure that DLIA electronic communications are delivered to your email Inbox and are not marked as spam or junk mail-->
membership@douglaslake.org
info@douglaslake.org

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