It is hard to believe that Memorial Day weekend is here and the summer season is about to start, but Rover knows that disbelief doesn’t change that fact.
As people gather this weekend to enjoy what looks to be a gorgeous long weekend, Rover asks everyone to take a moment to recognize why we celebrate this holiday. It is to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice some men and women of the Armed Forces paid defending our country. So, at some point, Rover asks everyone to remember that, even if your family hasn’t been bestowed a neatly folded flag or given that terrible news.
On a happier note, the Cadillac News’ annual track and field meet is set to occur on Monday in Lake City, and it is always a great time to come and support local athletes as they compete against the best of the best from the area.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the meet so Rover would like to acknowledge that milestone, too. So, without further ado, on with the show or, in this case, readers’ questions.
Q: Did the CAPS school district have a lot of snow days this season? When does school let out?
A: Rover reached out to Cadillac Area Public Schools Superintendent Jennifer Brown to find out what the final tally was on the snow days for the district.
She told Rover, the district utilized six weather-related closings during the school year. She said the state allows for six during the school year. If a district exceeds that amount they can apply for a waiver of up to three additional days for extenuating circumstances, but Brown said it is not guaranteed. If a district exceeds six days and a waiver is not granted or they are over the nine that can be granted with the waiver, those days have to be made up.
As for the last day of school, Brown said the final day is June 14 and that is a half day.
Q: Why are the railroad tracks on 13th Street and Chestnut not fixed? Who is responsible for those repairs and when will they be fixed?
A: Rover has had a couple of questions about the 13th Street section of railroad tracks and he believes he has a pretty good answer that hopefully will make people happy. Rover reached out to Michigan Department of Transportation North Region Communications Specialist James Lake to see if he could help, and he did.
He told Rover the Wexford County Road Commission and Great Lakes Central Railroad partnered on a grant application for the 13th Street crossing, soliciting financial assistance under the 2023 MDOT Local Grade Crossing Surface Program. Their application was approved and project funding authorization was issued on April 27.
Lake also said the railroad is in the process of selecting a vendor to perform the work, which should be scheduled for this summer in cooperation with the road commission.
As for the Chestnut section this question references, Cadillac Department of Public Works Operations Manager Ken Payne told Rover the city doesn’t have plans to work on that section, but he said city crews and crews from the railroad will be taking care of the section of sidewalk near the Haynes Street railroad tracks.
Q: What is happening with the new Manton library?
A: Rover got a little help from Cadillac News reporter Chris Lamphere on this question. He told Rover Manton Mayor Sam Cronkhite said they are still in the process of negotiating with True North on the purchase agreement for the property across the street from the gas station. Manton’s library is operated out of a more than 100-year-old building on West Main Street that used to be a house.
Once the agreement is ironed out, Cronkhite told the Cadillac News full details of the project will be released to the public. So, it looks like things are progressing, but you will have to wait a little longer to get the full details.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.