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 facili-ties and the harbor and slips are better than Ludington.

If the state is going to subsidize cross-lake carferries, Michigan owns the track run-ning through Benzie County. If the carferries were to run out of Ludington under a state operat-ed railroad, Michigan would have to buy or lease C&O track.

The C&O already requested to abandon its operation run-ning to Ludington and its cross-lake 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, pro-fit-making company." Accord-ing 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 Frank-fort would no longer be a carferry port. The ancient ves-sels that had provided cross-lake service for Michigan Inter-state 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 plead-ed its case, offered concessions and proposed running the car-ferry on its own. Under the

[Cont. from Front Page) will take more in the neighbor-hood of $263,000 to keep things running until then according to MDOT figures.

The closest thing to a real answer may have been in Kell-ogg's statement. "There are no monies beyond Sept. 30... (and for that reason MDOT is) hesi-tant about starting up service."

Kellogg said money is the main problem. While the object of MDOT is " to keep (carferry) service going, it 's not an easy

thing." The deputy MDOT chief said

no other proposals to operate the northern end of the railroad or the carferry system are under consideration by MDOT at this time.

Asked if Ludington is still a possible port for a single cross-lake carferry system all Kellogg would say is "no final decision has been made." He did men-tion the Chessie is not a state subsidized line.

Vander Jagt coming here Aug. 30

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Con-gressman Guy Vander Jagt is scheduling his annual Congress-ional 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).

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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 Trans-portation 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 in-adequate carferries, to get state help? Because the Frankfort operation stems from a bank-rupt railroad while at Ludington we have a highly successful, wel l -managed, prof i t -making

company that many government officials find it hard to subsid-ize.

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

Carferry employees meet with MDOT

Serving 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. Dave Spomy Jazz Quintet on the lawn 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Wisconsin Johnsonville BRATWURST Fry-Out Hamburgers, Com, German Potato Salad,

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10th. & Main across from boat launch Frankfort, Michigan

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Next to the tracks In Downtown Beulah

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Record-I Patriot 20 Pages / M a y 1 9 1 9 g 2

Vol. 93, No. 3 6 / Twenty Cents

Tlh© ff&®w§(px§)[3xi>ff site® H®®® * opt right 1W2. The Rcvord«T«trioi

School honor rolls announced

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3 file so far for commissioner

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New Yorker faces life in prison

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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 em-ployees say money is available from the state to get the line running, a top Michigan Depart-ment of Transportation (MDOT) official says the railroad has not applied for any funds.

J a m e s Kel logg, d e p u t y MDOT director, Tuesday told the Record-Patriot his depart-ment has $900,000 in federal funds available for railroad capi-tal outlay this year.

Kellogg said his staff pro-poses 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 Kel-logg said which involves the current dispute between MDOT and Michigan Interstate, opera-tor of the Ann Arbor line. This point currently is subject to a t e m p o r a r y r e s t r a i n i n g o rder issued by U.S. District Court

Judge 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 Inter-state 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 con-tract with another operator— the Michigan and Western Rail-road Co., a wholly owned sub-sidiary 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 shippers ," said Michigan Attor-ney General Frank Kelley.

Kelley petitioned the Inter-state 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^Administra-tion 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 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.

' I t ' s important to do some-thing now or kiss the Ann Arbor good-by,' said carferry captain Bruce Jewell.

Jewell said he met Friday in Owosso with Vincent Malanaphy, chairman of Michi-gan Interstate Railway Com-pany, operators of the state-

owned Ann Arbor line, State Rep. F ranc i s Spaniola (D-Corunna), Frankfort City Coun-cilman Rick Pringle, rail ship-pers and others.

Jewell said based on infor-mation available to the group from various sources, money is available for the railroad, but the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) refuses to release it.

Malanaphy ordered opera-tions north of the City of Ann Arbor including carferry service out of Elberta shutdown at midnight April 26.

Malanaphy said without in-creased subsidy from the state he could not operate the rail-road. He said the line was

taking a loss of $20,000 a day. Meeting back in Frankfort

Saturday afternoon in the Sea-farers International Union hall, Jewell, a number of SIU mem-bers and other rail and carferry employees discussed organizing a protest in Lansing this Thurs-day.

Purpose of this move, accord-ing to Jewell, is to apply pressure on elected officials (especially those up for re-election) 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.

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Record-Patriot Copyright 1982 The Record-Patriot 32 Pages • Vol. 93, No. 51- August 18,1982 - TWENTY CENTS

Frankfort Art Show Frankfort Twilight Shopping Spree

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2 holes in 1

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Youth rally set for Aug. 28

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Frankfort firemen strike ends FRANKFORT— Firefighters

here are back on the job following a dispute which result-ed 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 mo-tion 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 in-crease— $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 lo thing and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n allowance. But even that meth-od would leave the budget in the red.

Also thrown out for consider-ation 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 com-munity.

Sowa said the money was not important to the men. He favor-ed the old pay schedule. " W e need our roster ," he insisted.

During the meeting it looked like " a s t andof f ' as mayor Dan Walenta put it. Pringle said it could mean a complete restruc-turing of the fire department. All agreed the safety and wel-fare of the firemen was top concern.

The process wore down chief Snyder who at one point announced he resigned. It was getting to be " too 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 pressure ." No action was taken on Snyder's resigna-tion 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 depart-ment 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 coun-cil meeting, had nine and 10 firemen at the scene.

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 re-mains the same old story— things are still up in the air.

Members of the Ann Arbor Railroad Action Commi t t ee Tuesday met with staff person-nel of the Michigan Department of T r a n s p o r t a t i o n (MDOT) according to James Kellogg, chief administrative officer of Urban and public transporta-tion.

The employee group is trying to work out an agreement with the state which would allow them to operate cross-lake car-ferry service.

Efforts earlier this month hit a snag when it came to working out details of the agreement.

Among " a number of tech-nical requirements to be worked ou t " according to Kellogg are: legislative transfer of funds for the rail and carferry operation;

incorporation of the employee group as a railroad; a 30-day line of credit; revenue schedule of fees for interchange, switch-ing and surcharges; accounting methods; organizational struc-ture; listing of insurance cover-age; and more.

Estimates to run carferry service until Sept. 30 were put at about $95,000 by the employ-ee group Kellogg said, but it

[Cont'd on Page 3]

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