News notes

By now, it’s obvious to everyone who reads the forums on MonroeTalks.com that it can be a wild and crazy place.

It’s the nature of open discussion forums that all kinds of views can be expressed - including some that are critical and potentially damaging to an individual or businesses’ reputation.

In the “open marketplace of ideas” that is the MonroeTalks.com forums, the hope is that folks can sort through the chaff to find the wheat. As long as all views can be expressed, all sides represented, it’s up to each individual to arrive at what they think in the end.

Along the way, though, some interesting challenges come up. A recent topic on the “Your Talk” forums on MonroeTalks.com attacked a local business, Jim’s Towing. After some thought, we decided to lock the topic, beginning today.

The rationale was explained in a column I wrote for today’s Monroe Evening News. You can read the column here. The thread is still on “Your Talk.” You can find it here.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s visit to The Evening News this week was interesting, but it also provided some fun - and  a glimpse into how urban legends get started.

The governor’s entourage was early for the 1:30 p.m. interview with our Editorial Board. I was in the lunchroom eating when word came that her car had pulled into the parking lot. I threw the rest of my lunch back in the bag and rushed to meet her - I had been designated to escort the governor to our board room.

By the time I made it down the stairs to the front door, I was startled to see that the lobby was empty. “Where’s the governor,” I asked our front counter receptionist.

“Oh, she went to get a doughnut,” I was told.

A doughnut?

“Yeh, she realized that she was a little early, so she asked her driver to take her to a doughnut shop,” the receptionist said.

Should I rush back upstairs and see whether a photographer is available to follow and get a shot of the governor stopping at a Monroe doughnut shop?

But, wait. What doughnut shop? There aren’t any downtown. Where could she be going?

Word spread quickly through the building about the governor searching Monroe for a doughnut.

Meanwhile, the governor returned and we had a serious and wide-ranging discussion about issues ranging from the state budget to the value of higher education. You probably saw the story in Tuesday’s Evening News.

As the session ended and Gov. Granholm was walking out the door, I asked her if she found a doughnut. She looked puzzled.

“A doughnut,” she asked?

“Isn’t that where you went after you arrived at The Evening News earlier,” I asked.

The governor laughed. Realizing what had happened, she explained that the security guards who travel with her have a sense of humor. They probably told someone the boss had gone to get a doughnut as a joke.

It turns out she didn’t go anywhere. She was in her car in our parking lot catching up on her reading.

But I heard people talking about the governor’s doughnut trip for the rest of the day.

Deb Saul and Ron Montri both write weekly columns in The Evening News. Both often talk about life around their homes.

It’s amazing how often they reflect life in my house, too. That’s probably why they connect with readers so well. I can picture a thousand people out there shaking their heads in recognition as they read their Evening News.

Ron’s column appears on Page 3A Wednesdays, Deb’s on Page 3A Saturdays. Ron and Deb have little in common - except that inate ability to describe life in a way that is simple and honest and, well, real.

Last week Ron wrote about his favorite Three Stooges towel and how it probably interupts the feng shui in his house. I have a few personal belongings like that.

Deb wrote about the struggle with the weeds in her garden. I felt like I was sitting right beside her, doing my best but also losing the battle.

The Evening News has two other local columnists - Tom Treece on Page 3A Mondays and Ray Kisonas on Page 1E Sundays. I also enjoy both of their columns. But while I often empathize with Tom’s thoughts and laugh out loud at Ray’s stories, I only occasionally get that feeling that they’re writing about my life.

Deb and Ron often give me that sense. This week I could have used Ron’s feng shui to get rid of the old tennis shoes by the back door and Deb’s weeding saga to inspire me into another salvo at the garden.  

The secret back entrance to Sterling State Park - which is slated some day to be a bike path from downtown Monroe to the park - is a delightful surprise.

When my wife and I decided to attend the fireworks Tuesday night at Sterling, we also decided to try out the path. We’ve reported on its existence in The Evening News a couple times, and Mike Ingels showed details on how to find the path on his blog, Expatriate Monroe, about a month ago (see it here).

It may be legal to take the path, or it may not be. The signs when you come to the gate are about as confusing as you can get. One says “No tresspassing,” another says “Property open to waterfowl only,” followed by, “Foot entry at this point only.”

Does that mean that ducks are okay, but only if they walk? No flying allowed?

My wife, Kathy, and I decided that we would interpret the “Foot entry at this point only,” to mean that walkers were allowed.

I don’t know what that says about the several bicyclists who passed us along the way. But I’m guessing they assumed that “foot entry” really means no cars or motorcycles; bicycles are okay.

The trail leaves Elm Street across from the Clamdigger Restaurant, just west of Interstate 75. It crosses under I-75 after a few hundred feet, then heads north for a mile or so along a tree-lined path that appears to be a former road. If it wasn’t for the freeway noise, it would be an fine outdoors experience.

Then it turns 90-degrees away from the freeway and heads toward Lake Erie and Sterling State Park, following a dike with water on both sides. As the sound of cars and trucks fades into the background, the walk becomes better and better. By the time you connect to Sterling State Park’s nature trails - probably a mile or more from the freeway - it’s an exceptional walking experience.

We saw numerous rabbits and groundhogs, and one muskrat swam along next to us for several feet, daring us to reach out and touch it. I consider myself a real Monroeite now that I’ve been up-close and personal with a muskrat.

The trail also took us next to American lotus beds and several close-by sightings of heron and egrets. It’s exactly what Monroe needs - a quality walking/biking experience that can start in downtown Monroe and end up on Lake Erie.

The city and county folks working on completing the bike path have a great plan. It will be a wonderful addition to the community.

Oh, and the fireworks were pretty good, too.

p.s. Look to The Evening News soon for an explanation of what the signs really mean. We’ll be asking, and we’ll pass on the answer.