I watched the homecoming parade and I have to say that I was very impressed with three of the floats.  The city and Spiderman, the bucking Broncho, and the sweeping plow were very nice to see and showed thought, creativity and effort.

However, I was totally dismayed at several “floats” which were nothing but a trailer with paper flowers on the sides.  Some of them only took the effort to cover two sides of their trailer with paper flowers.  This is a float fit for a parade?

I cannot help but to rationalize that the kids are too busy texting, tweeting, and Facebooking their entire lives to the world and have so little time to actually DO anything, like build a float.

I am admittedly old school.  The idea of a homecoming parade (and hence the floats) is that this event is preceded by kids forming groups and working together for a week or a few weeks in the evenings prior to the parade.  This time is spent building friendships and relationships and working toward a common goal — building a float that they can ride in the parade.  Casual competition between the groups may ensue and the results are some very creative and entertaining pieces of art to entertain the crowd in the parade.

What I see now is a bunch of kids want to ride a float.  Someone rents a trailer and a few kids spend about 45 minutes making paper flowers to decorate said trailer so they can ride in the parade?  Sad.

Also, can't these kids even keep their phones out of their ears while sitting in a float or in a convertible during the parade?  Several couldn't even last the parade without having to be connected to the world, instead of actually actively participating in this event.

Let this be a challenge to next year's homecoming parade.

By the way, I do want to congratulate the kids that made the efforts on the Spiderman, bucking Broncho, and plow floats.

And to the rest of the kids:  Take a moment to learn to experience these lifelong memory-building events and give it your all, or at least some decent effort.  Your texting, tweeting, talking, and Facebooking will still be there for you pursue after you have actually done something to text, tweet, talk, or Facebook about.

Nick Zbiciak
Holly

Dear Editor:
I just wanted to share an anecdote of why doing business in Holly is always a good thing.

My husband Jim and I purchased a computer cabinet from Winglemire Furniture about 7 years ago. It’s beautiful, but it’s also a beast to move! We found that out today when we tried to move it ourselves from the basement to the first floor. We managed to get it outside, but that was as far as we got.

A quick call for “HELP!” to Penny (Winglemire) Raupp resulted in brothers John and Richard showing up in less than a half hour. They quickly rescued us, and moved the armoire into its new location. We offered to pay them, but they refused.

Thank you to John and Richard. You can be sure we’ll be lifelong customers of Winglemire furniture.

Sherlynn Everly and Jim Clark
Holly

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George Kullis

Holly taxpayers need to look at all we own – yes, I said all we own. Our tax dollars have been used to purchase all the buildings our local governments use – the village office building, the township office building, the library, the police and fire departments, the Department of Public Works buildings and several other properties owned by these entities.

We the taxpayers also pay to maintain them, and while we the taxpayers own them, they’re not on the tax rolls bringing in revenue. And while they do provide an important service to our community, the question should be raised, are these specific buildings serving us economically, and are we using all the properties that we own? Typically, we buy a bigger home as our family grows and then downsize when the kids leave the nest. The goal of our local governments seems to be to keep the status quo regardless of the expense.

The time has come for taxpayers to get involved in local, state and national governments. We are all responsible for our own finances and if we choose to ignore them, we could lose everything we own. So why do so many people choose to ignore local government and its finances? When they are mismanaged, we all have to pay to cover the mistakes – as in the recent increase in water bills. Government will create another tax or surcharge, or increase fees to cover the deficit, and we all must pay it as it is our responsibility.

There was an initiative started some time ago by past members of the Holly Village Council in which they began looking at an alternative for the village office building. A feasibility study was done and presented to the Village Council. It was received with mixed emotions with the current Village President deeming it to be unrealistic, and declaring that it was not likely that anyone would be willing to invest that kind of money in Holly – after all, he said, it’s not like we’re Bloomfield Hills or Birmingham.  This statement was made at the very same time two young entrepreneurs were doing just that – investing in Holly by creating the BlackThorn Pub. Since then, we have seen an investment explosion in downtown Holly.

Another concern noted by the Village President was that he feared that the village government wouldn’t have any place to put all their "staff and stuff,” in the interim of selling the village office and finding new office space. Meanwhile, potentially suitable taxpayer-owned buildings sit empty.

Pressure remained on the Village President and other members of council to continue looking into this topic. Eventually, the president created an ad-hoc committee to do just that.

Over the past several months, this committee has looked at several alternative locations for the purpose of relocating the village offices. One of those locations is the former Sherman Middle School on N. Holly Road. This facility offers the taxpayers of the Holly area an opportunity to consolidate services in one building, and to put several buildings back on the tax rolls. Additionally, operating costs could be reduced for all parties involved.

Economic development in the downtown area is crucial to our community. The village and township buildings are prime real estate and would serve as a catalyst to more development in the downtown area.

We the voters are responsible for whom we elect and the job they do, so shouldn’t we monitor what they do? If we can cut expenses, increase revenue for the Holly Area Schools, and then ask different entities to come to the table and look at possibly consolidating or downsizing as so many in the private sector are doing, then isn’t that the responsible thing to do? Shouldn’t it be met with an open mind by our elected officials?

Sincerely,
George Kullis
Village of Holly

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Ryan Bladzik

On behalf of the Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition (HORC) and the Playful City USA task force, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize and thank our dedicated volunteers, participants and the entire Holly community for making the first annual Community Play Day an outstanding success!

A cloudy, cool morning turned into a beautiful summer day on September 17, 2011, and nearly 500 kids, parents, volunteers and community members came out to play in Holly’s Crapo Park. More than 50 kids participated in our “outdoor scavenger hunt,” and it was a joy to see parents and grandparents working closely with their kids to identify the wonders that are hidden in a simple local park. It was a great reminder that all it takes to have fun, get exercise, and grow closer as family and friends takes little more than getting outside.

Although the event was simple, we couldn’t have put it on without the help and support of some outstanding members of the community. The biggest thanks go out to Katy Hughes and Ina Golden for serving as the coordinators of the event—these are two women who, when their plate gets full, they simply make the plate bigger, and their dedication showed in the success of Community Play Day.

Also deserving of thanks and recognition is HORC Trustee George Kullis; the North Oakland County Fire Authority for coming out with their great safety activities; Nicole Kilpatrick of Morgan’s Boutique, Jamie Noll of One Skate Ahead, and the Holly Area Schools administration for promotional support; Spicer Orchards of Fenton for their donation of yummy apples; Hope Ponsart and the Downtown Development Authority for the use of their PA system; Nick Klempp, Crossings Community and the Holly Area Community Coalition for their support and for hosting “Minute to Win It: Holly Edition,” Traci Turner for photography services, and the Patriot Week Festival committee for their wonderful cooperation, as well as all of our tireless volunteers!

The Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition would also like to thank the local officials that joined us to unveil and celebrate Holly’s Playful City USA Designation: Jackie Campbell, Jason Hughes, Sandra Kleven and Tom Clark from the Holly Village Council; Jesse Lambert and Mark Freeman of Holly Township; Linda Blair from the Holly Area Schools Board of Education; Chris Harbowy and Stephanie Chamberlain from the Village of Holly Parks Commission; and Toni Brinker and Bev Lauinger from Holly Township Parks and Recreation.

Thanks again to everyone, and mark your calendars, Holly! The second annual Community Play Day will be on September 15, 2012! Come out and play!



Sincerely,
Ryan Bladzik
President, Holly Outdoor Recreation Coalition