Some great news out of the US Forest Service in Oscoda is that as of October 1, 2021 they have opened most of the forest service roads for ORV travel. This is a very big change as before you could only travel on designated trails in the Huron National Forest, which were few. Now you are allowed on most of the FS designated roads. There are still some that are closed and you should get the USFS Motor Vehicle Use Map to be sure and read the press release at the USFS web site for details and rules, such as speed and restrictions. This is still a big change and I want to thank the USFS for making this change and allowing pleasurable and less restrictive but open use of the forest for many more individuals. This will benefit all communities in our area.
If you have been around the Plaza lately you’re likely to see lots of changes. We are currently working on installing two new walls with doors for some new prospective tenants. We will be providing more information on the new tenants as we get final agreements in place with each. But both will add to our community greatly so stay tuned. We also had the exterior soffit’s painted and said goodbye to the blue which were the last of the old school colors. We went with the bronze so that the fixtures, doors and whatever else we may need to replace can be readily matched. We think it looks pretty good.
We also had the drive and parking lot sealcoated with help from the Hale Area Schools, Thank You for that. We are also working to place an entrance cover over the main entrance to stop some of the drifting that we experience from the winter snows. Hopefully we will be able to get that in before the snow flies.
One piece of information that I just received from the Iosco County Road Commission is that M65 south of Twining that has been closed for over a year should be open by late November. MDOT has installed one of two large box culverts and is working on the second and should be completed by the end of November. They will however be starting another culvert replacement on M65 just north of Twining in the spring but will only be closing single lanes at a time for the work.
We also have an Open House coming on October 27 at the Plaza from 6-8 so plan on stopping up and visiting with us. We will have drawings for gifts throughout the Plaza during the event.
The last item that I want to bring to your attention is the unloading of waste at the waste site. Our attendant, Joe who you all know, does a great job and is always attentive. But he is not there to unload your waste. He will help if he is available and able, but that is not his function. His job is to check cards and operate the machines and forklift when necessary. Lately we are seeing residents arrive with loads that were obviously loaded by a couple of guys/gals and the driver is a single, petite individual, by themselves. Our only choice is to have Joe unload, which he does without complaint, but now all other customers must wait since he can’t operate the machines to compact the garbage brought into the remaining compactors as he unloads a heaping trailer that the resident cannot. This is unfair to the community at large and is taking advantage of a valued employee. If you have a load coming to the waste site you need to have the necessary personnel with it to unload it. Please be considerate of others. As always if you ever have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our community please contact me. I am in the office Monday – Friday 7:30 – 4:00 at 989-728-2811 or my cell at 989-984-7073 or by email supervisor@plainfieldtwpmi.com.
