BY GREG JOHNSON

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

GRAND LEDGE — Mike Hood learned to rock climb and love it at the sandstone ledges that rise 40 to 50 feet above the Grand River, the most dramatic rock formation in the Lower Peninsula.

The Lansing native eventually start-ed teaching the sport and used the ledges as a classroom for hundreds of others. He still teaches and works as a guide with his company, Vertical Ventures.

These days, though, he has stopped using the ledges and wants the rock climbing stopped because of environ-mental concerns. He laid off staff and now drives to Canada to teach.

“It’s really a shame,” he said, stand-ing in the city’s Oak Park, above the walls laced with more than 80 named climbing routes in less than a half-mile.

“It’s the love of my life, and watch-ing the love of my life get trampled to death is tough,” he said. “And knowing I was part of it at one time is sad to me — that I didn’t see it myself until now.”

Hood, who will be 50 this month, first climbed at Grand Ledge as a teen. These days, he is the most vocal among those who want the remark-able feature left alone.

A canoe trip down the river and a trail walk through two parks reveal dramatic contrasts.

At Eaton County’s Fitzgerald Park,

where rock climbing is prohibited, the walls are decorated with wildfl owers, wild strawberries, hair bell plants and bird nests, framed in old-growth trees and natural new saplings.

At Oak Park, where Hood estimates 8,000 people scale the walls each year, the trees frame sharp, bare slabs of rock.

Closer inspection reveals some area history, from days when a mill and stores advertised with painted murals on the rocks. Over the years, many have carved symbols and names in the sandstone.

Pottawatomi, Chippewa and Ottawa Native Americans used the Grand River shoreline to dig for clams and the ledges to mine for coal, long be-fore settlers arrived in the 1840s.

According to several sources they called it a name that in English is “big rocks.”

Settlers called it Grand Ledge and established a post offi ce in 1850, city records show. The railroad arrived in 1869, and the village was incorporated in 1871.

River waters have eroded some of the land and covered much of the is-lands. But Hood worries primarily about the trees.

SEE LEDGES, B2

BY JEFF ALEXANDER

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

LYONS — The crumbling Lyons Dam is little more than a speed bump on the Grand River. At just 9 feet high, it no longer holds back the water or powers grain mills.

Built in 1857 to drive industrial growth in this Ionia County village, however, the dam is symbolically huge.

River advocates be-lieve an effort to re-move the dam refl ects a shift in the values that communities in the heart of the Grand River — from Lansing to Lyons — place on a waterway that fueled bountiful growth.

Those communities, which har-nessed the Grand with dams and polluted its waters over the past two centuries now view it as a valu-able natural resource that still can drive healthy economic growth, en-vironmental expert Dave Dempsey said.

“Historically, there has been a close but varying relationship of Lansing to the river,” Dempsey said. “The river’s potential for mill power is one of the reasons the city was founded; then, the river became a convenient sewer for individuals and industry.”

Dempsey, an author and environ-mental adviser to former Gov. James Blanchard, said government-mandat-ed pollution reductions and projects such as the 13-mile Lansing River Trail have changed the way people perceive and treat the Grand.

“There are still problems, but the attitude and practice toward the river is 100 percent better than a few de-cades ago,” he said.

The fact that people now fi sh and paddle the winding stretch of the Grand that fl ows through Michigan’s capital city is a small miracle, given the river’s tortured past.

James MacLean, a historian at the Capital Area District Library , said newspaper ads for blocks of ice in the early 1900s, before the advent of refrigerators, were indicative of the river’s putrid condition.

“There were ads that told people to buy ‘upriver ice’ — from upstream of Lansing — because the river water was cleaner there,” MacLean said.

Lyons: The Grand divideThe village of Lyons, population

742, marks the divide between the up-per and lower Grand River watershed. The river gains most of its strength downstream of Lyons, where several major tributaries fl ow in: the Maple, Flat, Thornapple and Rogue.

In Lansing, however, the Grand fi rst fl exes its hydrologic muscle.

Nourished by the Red Cedar River, SEE BARRIERS, B3

REGIONTHE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

SECTION

SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010

FORMER MAYOR, KNOWN AS ‘MR. ROCKFORD,’ DIES AT AGE 95, B5

ADA TO ZEELAND B5OBITUARIES B7WEATHER B10

B

THE GRAND TOURDISCOVERING OUR GRAND RIVER

AROUND THE BEND: GRAND LEDGE

PRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN

Climb on: Michael Hood, owner of Vertical Ventures, used to guide rock climbers on the ledges in Grand Ledge. Now, he advocates banning the sport there because of damage to the ledges and trees.

POLPOURRIA ROBOCALL ASKS

Patty Birkholz for lieutenant gov?

Talk of state Sen. Patty Birkholz as a gubernatorial running mate for Rick Snyder intensified last week after the senator fielded a robocall that asked: Would you support Patty Birkholz on the Snyder ticket? “I was surprised by it. I’ve been getting a fair number of candidates calling or different organizations calling,” said Birkholz, a Saugatuck Township Republican. So, has she talked to Snyder about a place on the ticket? “I’ve had conversations with a lot of different people about different opportunities in the next administration.” For the record, she answered “yes” to the robocall.

‘I’LL TAKE THAT JOB’

2 accept the challengeWhile some dismissed the “Take Our Jobs” challenge as a stunt, Caledonia state House candidate Frederick R. Fleischmann says he will accept it and work in the blueberry fields for a day. So far, only Fleischmann and state Rep. Robert Dean have joined the July 24 event, planned by local Hispanic leaders and modeled after a national movement promoted by Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert. Legislators advocating for Michigan to copy Arizona’s controversial law say their concern is illegal immigrants taking jobs in restaurants, hotels and construction sites. Fleischmann, a financial consultant, says he spent a few summers working on farms as a high school student. “It was the hardest job I ever had,” he said.

DOING THEIR PART

Sewer plant shoutoutA Rockford City Council member capitalized last week on a Grand Rapids Press series exploring the history and health of the Grand River to put in a good word for his city. Richard Moll said that, when Rockford joined four other communities in building the new PARCC (Plainfield, Alpine, Rockford, Cannon, Courtland) Side wastewater treatment plant on Coit Avenue NE, the river improved. “We’re helping to clean the Grand River with PARCC,” he said. “It dumps drinkable water in the river.” As proof, he noted that local officials drank water coming from the plant during an open house last year, a reminder that drew some smirks.

BASEBALL AND POLITICS

Steinbrenner’s bluesMany obituaries for George Steinbrenner last week mentioned he once was banned from baseball for making illegal contributions to President Richard Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign. No surprise that the New York Yankees owner loved Republicans. But history suggests he should have changed his political pinstripes. The Yankees appeared in 11 World Series on his watch, but the seven wins — 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009 — came when a Democrat occupied the White House. Under GOP administration, the Yankees lost the Series in 1976, 1981, 2001 and 2003.

TALKING POLITICS

A lot to discuss A discussion about lawsuits targeting campaign finance laws, the governor’s race and how Gerald R. Ford’s birthday reminds us that political discourse once was civil. Listen at blog.mlive.com/talkingpolitics.

Encountering Grand barriersSome say dams,

attitudes must be demolished in

central part of state

On the edge of conflict

BY JIM HARGER

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

GRAND RAPIDS — U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers threw West Michigan Republi-cans into disarray in February when he announced he would not seek re-election after 17 years in Congress.

Without an Ehlers heir appar-ent, fi ve Republi-cans are on the Aug. 3 primary ballot to deter-mine who will carry the party banner for an of-fi ce Republicans proudly claim as “the Jerry Ford seat.”

Three candidates — state Sen. Bill Hardiman, state Rep. Justin Amash and civic leader Steve Heacock — have mounted strong campaigns that

SEE GOP, B4

PRESS PHOTO/REX LARSEN

Treacherous stretch: Grand River Expedition member John Harper, of Alaska, flips his wooden kayak in a patch of whitewater Saturday while attempting to land his boat south of Lansing near the former Dimondale dam. Harper was thrown a rope and escorted by an aid boat to shore. He was not injured. More photos from Day 3 of the expedition, B3.

MORERiver journal, �Day 3, B2

There is disagreement over whether city’s famous

sandstone cliffs should be protected

BY JIM HARGER

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS

With the retirement of U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, two Grand Rapids Democrats see an opportunity to snatch a Congressional seat from Republicans.

Paul Mayhue, a social worker and former Kent County commissioner and Patrick Miles Jr., a lawyer at Dickinson Wright, are vying for the Democratic nomination on the Aug. 3 ballot. The winner will face one of fi ve Republicans on the ballot.

Although a Democrat has not held the seat since the late 1970s, both men argue the 3rd congressional District cannot be considered a shoo-in for Republicans.

Third District voters regularly give U.S. Sen. Carl Levin a majority and, in 2008, President Barack Obama held his own against Republican John McCain.

“Voters in this district are well informed and look at the individual

candidates,” said Miles, who is mount-ing one of the most well-funded Dem-ocratic runs for the seat in decades.

As of June 30, Miles raised $310,712, much of which came from a $115,000 personal loan to his campaign. With nearly $260,000 in cash on hand, Miles is waiting for the Republicans to settle their primary battle before he begins spending large sums.

Miles, 43, argues local voters are tired of “lockstep” partisanship in Congress.

SEE DEMOCRATS, B4

‘Jerry Ford’ seat up for grabsGOP: 5 VIE FOR 3RD CONGRESSIONAL SPOT DEMOCRATS: 2 HOPE TO SUCCEED EHLERS

Bill Hardiman

Justin Amash Steve Heacock

Bob Overbeek Louise ‘Ellie’ Johnson

Paul Mayhue Patrick Miles Jr.

THE GRAND TOURDISCOVERING OUR GRAND RIVER

THE GRAND RAPIDS PRESS SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010 B3

ENCOMPASSED BY THE GRAND

EATON RAPIDS, ‘THE ISLAND CITY,’ FEATURES MANY BRIDGES AND PIERS

CONTINUED FROM B1

the fl ow picks up speed and — in its natural condition — created small rapids in several areas of town.

The steepest stretches of the river in the capital city now lie under dams and their reservoirs.

But from its wilderness days in the 1840s, the size and speed of the river helped Lansing to become an indus-trial powerhouse in the early 1900s, MacLean said.

“Lansing wouldn’t be here without the river,” he said, and would not even have been a settlement without the dam built by early arrivals to power sawmills and grain mills.

The Legislature’s decision in 1847 to move the Capitol from Detroit to a more central location transformed the nondescript community into a regional center for commerce and manufacturing, according to Jus-tin L. Kestenbaum’s book, “Out of a Wilderness.”

Forty years later, for example, R.E. Olds unveiled the fi rst steam-driven horseless carriage, a contribution to the development of modern auto in-dustry and, of course, the late Olds-mobile line.

By the early 1900s, the Grand at Lansing was lined not only with automakers but with lumber yards and carriage makers, flour mills, stone works, a brewery and cigar makers — all using river water for manufacturing processes — or waste disposal.

At the auto industry’s peak in the early 1990s, Lansing laid claim to pro-ducing more vehicles than any other U.S. city.

Today, the city is in a period of in-dustrial decline but urban renewal.

General Motors closed its massive factory along the Grand River, leav-ing just one plant in suburban Delta Township.

Though the industrial base is shrinking, downtown has blossomed with the Lansing River Trail, develop-ment of the $182 million State Acci-dent Fund building and construction of the Michigan State Police head-quarters — all along the Grand.

Making progressDespite progress in cleaning up the

river in recent years, signifi cant chal-lenges remain.

The capital city holds the dubious honor of being the largest source of sewage overfl ows, according to state data. It dumped 694 million gallons into the Grand in 2008, up from 420 million in 2004.

By comparison, the city of Grand Rapids reduced overfl ows from 196 million gallons in 2004 to 11 million in 2008.

Lansing is in the midst of a 30-year, $500 million project to separate combined sewers that become over-whelmed during rain showers.

Bill Castanier, a writer for Lansing’s City Pulse newspaper who has lived along the Grand for 30 years, said the water has become noticeably cleaner and wildlife more abundant.

The morning of July 4, Castanier said he awoke to see a fi shing boat headed down the river in front of his house.

“In the past, you seldom saw boat-ing or any kind of recreational activi-ties on that stretch,” he said.

Castanier said a growing number of Lansing-area residents view the river as a valuable resource. But he added that too many still cling to the belief that the Grand is a cesspool.

“I think the next big indication that the river downtown is better than it was even fi ve years ago, and that people appreciate it, is when you see 50 people out on the water in kayaks — that’s when you’ll know something has changed,” Castanier said. “I think that is about to happen.”

Dam bustersIn Lyons, about 40 miles down-

stream, state offi cials believe similar increases in recreational activities will emerge once the village’s antique dam — one of 232 on the Grand or its tributaries — is removed.

Lyons offi cials are trying to secure funding for the project, which could cost $1 million or more.

The cost may be staggering, but the environmental and economic benefi ts could be dramatic, said Scott Han-shue, a fi shery research biologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

“I would expect recreational use of the river to increase as a result of the dam removal,” Hanshue said. “Remov-ing the dam will also restore some high gradient habitat utilized by many species of fi sh, so recreational fi shing should also improve.”

Lyons Village President Bernie Rus-sell, who has lived in the community for 65 years, is one of the few village offi cials who want the dam restored.

“The dam has created a lot of mem-ories,” Russell said.

E-mail: localnews@grpress.com

BARRIERS‘LANSING WOULDN’T BE

HERE WITHOUT THE RIVER’

T he Grand River’s infl uence literally surrounds Eaton Rapids, and its residents are starting to embrace

its potential, say those who live there. A burgeoning paddling club is an example of people seeing the Grand beyond some of the obstacles it presented, while there is also some thought of removing one or both dams to create a whitewater park. And above water, Island Park is a jewel that city leaders are committed to maintaining, including recent funding to fi x its sea wall.

PRESS PHOTOS/REX LARSEN

Shore leave: Geese head to the shore of the Grand River as the sun sets Friday in Eaton Rapids, south of Lansing. More photos at mlive.com/grandriver.

A bridge over peaceful waters: Russ Hicks, of Eaton Rapids, glides his canoe under the pedestrian bridge to Howe Park, one of 14 spans in Eaton Rapids. Hicks was not part of the Grand River expedition.

Grand cruise: Ethan Olson, Ebony Sheldon, and another youngster go for a short canoe ride on the Grand River by Island Park.

Decked out: The river glows with the lights from Water View Apartments. The length of the waterfront porch rivals that of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The Grand Hotel’s porch is said to be the longest in the world.

Balancing act: Eaton Rapids residents Rebecca Finch, 18, left, and Lydia Pavalock, 16, walk along the edge of Island Park near the old Main Street bridge. “We hang out here all the time with friends, but I’ll never go in the water,” Pavalock said.