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Mt.
Bohemia Proposal B zoning changes approved; New
County Board members elected
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From left, Grant
Township clerk Harlan Wieland and
his wife Dorothy Wieland deliver
ballots to Carol Patrick,
volunteer, of Mohawk, and County
Deputy Clerk Julie Carlson for the
voting tally at the Courthouse in
Eagle River Tuesday night.
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EAGLE RIVER ’Äì While the close national election
held the attention of TV viewers late into the
night, Keweenaw County voters’Äô choices were
tallied by about 11 p.m. Tuesday in the Courthouse
in Eagle River, where Black Bear President Lonie
Glieberman and some of his associates waited
anxiously for the votes from Eagle Harbor Township
’Äì the last to be counted. Although Eagle Harbor
had 117 "no" votes, its 98 "yes"
votes on Proposal B for Mt. Bohemia zoning changes
brought total of "yes" votes to 730 over
542 opposed. Thus, after weeks of controversy over
the Mt. Bohemia ski hill project, 57 percent of
Keweenaw County voters approved changing an area of
the mountain now in Conservation-Environmental
Protection (CD-EP) zoning to Resort Services (RS)
and amending the county Zoning Ordinance to allow a
ski hill and its related uses in RS.
"We’Äôre looking forward to a great ski
year," Glieberman said.
Although he refused to grant an interview to Keweenaw
Today he told other media representatives he
hoped to sit down with the opposition and work with
them "to make Keweenaw County the best place it
can be."
The township votes on Proposal B were as follows:
- Allouez: 475 yes, 298 no;
- Houghton: 63 yes, 18 no;
- Grant: 78 yes, 89 no;
- Sherman: 16 yes, 20 no;
- Eagle Harbor: 98 yes, 117 no.
Proposal A ’Äì a one-mill increase for county
operating expenses ’Äì was defeated by a vote of 673
to 628.
In the race for County Board of Commissioners,
two challengers unseated incumbents Lyle Peterson,
board chairman from District 1, and Annette Gagnon,
commissioner representing District 3 in Allouez
Township. Don Keith of Eagle Harbor defeated
Peterson with 280 votes over Peterson’Äôs 230. Eric
Bjorn of Mohawk received 119 votes to Gagnon’Äôs 78.
Jeffrey Turnquist retained his commissioner’Äôs seat
for District 2 with 160 votes, since write-in
candidate Scott Laurie received only 15 votes.
Commissioners Frank Stubenrauch, District 4, and
Gordon Roberts, District 5, were unopposed and
re-elected.
Grant Township has a new supervisor ’Äì Ken
Korhorn, who ran unopposed and received 108 votes.
Present supervisor Tom Beveridge, who lost to
Korhorn in the primary, chose not to run as a
write-in. New trustees for the township, who were
also unopposed, are Gary Barker, who tied with Clyde
Wescoat in the primary and won the tie, and Rich
Powers, who replaces retiring Trustee Richard
Tester. Eileen Plescher, unopposed, was re-elected
as treasurer and Kelly Coltas, unopposed deputy
clerk, was elected clerk to replace Harlan Wieland,
who did not run for re-election.
In the Allouez Township race for Constable,
Victor Tanskanen defeated write-in Michael Keranen
by a vote of 439 to 318. In all other township
elections, candidates were unopposed. In the race
for County Road Commissioner, incumbent Owen O’ÄôBrien
received 776 votes to defeat Jack Ketola, who had
537 votes.
Learning of his victory for the District 1
Commissioner seat, Keith said, "I am humbled
and thankful for the trust and opportunity bestowed
on me by the people. The responsibility I accept
with solemn and sober awareness ’Ķ As we come
together to plan Keweenaw County’Äôs future,
compromise and open communication must rule. I
pledge honor, respect and dignity in service to the
people of Keweenaw County."
Turnquist, who was present in the Courthouse at
the time of the final count, would not comment or
allow a photo; but he was smiling.
Paul Mihelich of Eagle River, a supporter of the
ski hill project, said he had expected a win on
Proposal B.
"People see that this area needs growth and
a return of our youth, and this is a good
start," Mihelich said. "Now we can get
back to being friends and that’Äôll show why we are
what we are. There’Äôs a little hard feeling here
and there, but I think it’Äôll return to
normal."
Keith also noted that people on both sides of the
Mt. Bohemia issue need to come together again as
neighbors.
"Let’Äôs all reach out to each other with
the understanding that reasonable and good people at
times will disagree," he said.
Some residents opposed to the Mt. Bohemia project
say the next step is to assure that development be
controlled through land use planning. Eagle Harbor
Township residents Janet Shea and Paul Freshwater
’Äì both members of Concerned Citizens of Keweenaw
County ’Äì said the county needs a Comprehensive
Land Use Plan (CLUP) and people need to learn more
about what it is and how it will affect their
future.
Said Shea, "We need to keep the momentum
going, even though the (Proposal B) vote is a big
disappointment."
Sandy Britton of Mohawk, who first supported and
later opposed the ski hill project, said, "The
people of Keweenaw County have expressed their
opinion; so be it. The job before us now is to
craft a solid Comprehensive Land Use Plan so we're
never put through this again."
Editor’Äôs note: Watch for details of the
voting, including other Keweenaw County township
results, on our Government page soon.
- Michele Anderson
November 8, 2000
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