This That & The Other: Sprays, Parades, Hot Air, War Stories and Budgets

By N3 Team

So we have restructured Hey, Did You Hear? because fb thought we were being misleading so we will keep trying to come up with a title that works for fb, for us and more importantly for you. 
Today we discuss skeeter spraying, parades and some other items.
We’ll be back in a few days or so with more stuff of interest.
See you then.

Fremont knows parades. 
Whether the illuminated wonder that opens their Christmas Stroll the annual NBFF procession or the upcoming Harvest Festival/Homecoming variety the parades in our county’s west central hub are generally a hit and always come with a few surprises.
Thursday they will be lining the streets including kids with candy bags in hand and though possibly thinned out a bit by it being a non-election year (is any year truly non election these days?) the bounty should prove to be as abundant as it generally is.
The floats have developed more imagination over the years and we are looking forward to what comes down Main this year and one can only hope the lawn mower group returns. We once saw a somewhat similar group called the Lawn Chair Dads in Galena Illinois and it was beyond hilarious with some truly innovative routines.
Bonus! For those who have always wanted to check out what it's like to be in a hot air balloon but perhaps possesses  a bit of wariness regarding heights? The ReMax balloon will be available for folks to walk in and see what it’s all about without having to battle acrophobia while attempting to maintain a smiling face and some sense of composure because someone bought you the ride and they were really excited about it. 
Happened once to...uh...a friend. 
Years ago.
Anyway take a look. Northwest corner of Vets Park 7-8pm Thursday. Free but a donation to Love INC is highly encouraged.

Spraying on tap for NC.
So you say you want to stir up a bit of a buzz about the bees (and butterflies and other pollen carrying beings)? Try telling folks you’re coming in to spray for mosquitos, those pesky little creatures that no one (save bats, martins, swallows and others who use them for dietary purposes) seems to have a lot of love for.
In Kalamazoo and Portage enough residents opted out to make the spraying impractical thus it was cancelled.
Hereabouts the local social media sites have chimed in (surprise) on the issue because the most southeast section of our county is targeted for a dousing of the skeeter killer.
But what about bees and such? 
The state folks explained the reason for doing it at dusk is that the biters are active and the honey makers are less so.
Hmmm. Dilemma.
The EEE thing is bad for horses and humans and all creatures who get a dose of it.
Spraying is a response to what is viewed as a public health crisis in our fair state.
Many folk and especially beekeepers are concerned over how it will affect the pollinators and these days there just doesn’t seem to be a lot of trust out there when it comes to being told something is safe. (see ‘Tale of the Vape’ in our News section).
At any rate the spraying is tentatively scheduled for tonight (Tuesday) as we are an ‘alternate site’ per the MDHHS folks-meaning dependent on weather. It will (or won’t because of that weather thing) be coming down in the area of Ensley Township that borders Kent and Montcalm. Those counties  will also get a dose in their areas adjoined to us and a few more as well.
But it’s raining and storming as we write this so look for another postponement.
We’ll try to keep you posted as we get info.
In the meantime there is a vaccination for horses that apparently prevents EEE. There’a also one for humans but it’s not available for many of the usual regulatory reasons and presumably not practical.
And one can only assume there are likely to be anti-vaxers among the equestrian crowd as there are in the parental realm.

Library Speakers
We have some very cool libraries around our county and they have been  bringing in some intriguing speakers, (as has the museum though the guy from Near North Now was a tad tedious I’ve heard). 
Next Tuesday proves to be a conundrum for folks intrigued by wartime history because while the White Cloud Community Library is bringing in Joann Puffer the author of ‘Donut Dolly’ about her time in the Red Cross during Vietnam starting at 715, the Fremont branch is offering Gregory Sumner who will riff on our local POW camps during WWII beginning at 7pm. 
Tough choice.

Madame Governor and the Legislature.
Budget time. What could go wrong? 
Apparently plenty.
The Guv blames the House and Senate while the solons who prowl the hallways of the capitol building point the finger at her for taking out the veto pen and pushing for further discussion while signing the many budgets presented to her desk.

Governor Whitmer:
“The legislature is broken. Talking point budgets don’t fix our fundamental problems as a state. The budgets they passed don't do enough to give our schools the resources they need to educate our kids.They won’t protect our communities, ensure clean, safe drinking water in our schools, and they won’t do a damn thing to fix the roads.” 

From our state rep Scott VanSingel’s fb page:
“The Governor's narrative throughout this process was "building bridges" and "working across the aisle." In reality, she walked away from negotiations and left us with no choice but to pass the budgets before year end to avoid a shutdown.
I rarely criticize elected officials publicly because I know first-hand how difficult these roles are, however, this leadership style has not been productive and I hope we return to a more civil and functional governing style soon.”

Partisanship aside….
Wait. 
The unfortunate reality is that there is never a time when partisanship is pushed aside. 
Ever.

"By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth."- George Carlin