By David JohnsonNews Editor

GALIEN — It was a good thing that members of the Galien Township Fire Department carried Gladys Guhl’s birthday cake to her on Sunday, July 23, because the aftermath of blowing out all 102 lit candles set off a nearby smoke detector in the Kelli’s Cozy Care Adult Foster Home where she has lived for the past three years.

Unfazed by the temporary com-motion, Guhl was soon enjoying the fi rst slice from a jumbo-size cake that would be shared with the many well-wishers who attended her birthday party.

Kelli McHugh, owner of Kelli’s Cozy Care, said she was seeking 102 birthday cards for Gladys. By the time her Sunday afternoon party got going, close to 300 had ben received.

“We’ve gotten a birthday card from Spain. The Lakeshore Community

Schools and a fi fth-grade class at Three Oaks ... are sending cards,” McHugh said.

Born on Jan. 25, 1909, Guhl was quick to talk about her idyllic girlhood in New Buffalo.

“My childhood in New Buffalo was wonderful,” she said. “People say ‘What did you do for entertainment?’

Well, we made our own entertainment. In the summer, all the kids went to the beach ... We lived only two blocks away from Lake Michigan (on Barton Street). And then in the winter part of the Galien River — one little inlet — would freeze over, and the kids would go skating. They would have a

By Ray GudasNews Associate Editor

NEW BUFFALO — The New Buffalo City Coun-cil has selected Michael “Mitch” Mitchell as its choice for the job of city manager.

After separate follow-up phone interviews with Mitchell and fi nalist David Kowal during a special meeting held Monday, Jan. 24, the council decided that it would offer Mitchell the position, with a salary of $75,000 per year.

Initially, it wasn’t clear which candidate was favored by the majority of council members, prompt-ing the suggestion, if only in jest, that the council “fl ip a coin” to make its choice.

Although Mayor Rusty Geisler at one point said he would be “comfortable with either candidate,” he viewed Mitchell as more of a “hands-on” and “out-in-the-fi eld” type of manager.

“I see a lot of energy in him to go ahead with what we want to do,” the mayor said.

He also gave Mitchell credit for visiting City Hall and several area businesses to introduce himself and learn more about the city before his fi rst interview with the council.

One council member described Mitchell as ap-pearing to be a “political animal” and “more of a salesman” than Kowal, but added that those qualities “may be a good thing” for New Buffalo at this time.

Also working in Mitch-ell’s favor was the general perception that his manage-ment style as it pertains to anticipated interactions with city staff would likely be less tension-fi lled and better received than those of his predecessor, who was viewed as being somewhat distant and more reserved in his relationships with employees.

During his second in-terview, Mitchell told the council that he believes that employee evalua-tions should be tailored to each department. He also expressed the notion that employee self-evaluation as

MAGIC GATHERINGWands, wings and crowns were in abun-dance at the Bridgman Public Library during a well-attended Fairy Tea event held Jan. 8. For more, see page A5.Photo by David Johnson

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2011 50 CENTSHARBORCOUNTRYNEWS.COM

■ Scrabble Club started at New Buffalo Library. A2■ New Buffalo seeks grant to fund harbor dredging. A4■ River Valley girls hang tough to beat Eagles. B1

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Milestone birthday party thrown for the

� rst Miss New Buffalo

Mitchell isthe choice

102 CANDLES FOR GLADYS

Galdys Guhl talks about her experiences as the � rst Miss New Buffalo in 1926 to members of this year’s court (from left): First Runner-up Krystan Iazzetto, Miss New Buffalo Molly Grif� n, Mr. New Buffalo Nik Rettig, First Runner-up Rodger Thompson, and Second Runner-up Austin Levine. The visit took place on Jan. 25 — Guhl’s 102nd birthday.

See CHOICE, Page A4

Two local ice rinks frozen and openBy Ray Gudas & Tim Moran

NEW BUFFALO — Plans to erect an ice-skating rink at New Buffalo’s Oselka Park may have evaporated this year, but if you’ve still got a hankering to get on the ice this winter, you’ve got two good places in the area to do it.

First on the short list is the impressive rink at Harbert Community Park. Measuring approximately 100 by 100 feet, or, as Chikaming Parks Board member Brad Wiliamson pointed out, about half the size of a profes-sional hockey rink, it’s been installed on top of the park’s baseball fi eld, which is served by lights that were installed for night games when the fi eld was built several years ago.

During a Jan. 24 meeting at Chikaming Township Hall, the Park Board agreed to leave the lights on until a “civil” time each night, and probably later on weekends than on weekdays.

The fi eld’s two dugouts provide some protection from the elements, and they serve as a convenient place to change from street shoes to skates — or just to sit down for a brief rest if and when needed. There’s also an (un-heated) bathroom on the premises. Of course, if you get too cold, you can always warm up in your vehicle.

Williamson’s hockey rink reference requires a minor clarifi cation in that, while hockey playing is allowed on

See ICE RINKS, Page A4

Drawn outdoors by last Sunday’s clear skies and sunshine, Ali Prince of Three Oaks tests the ice at Harbert Commu-nity Park. Photo by Ray Gudas

In one short week we saw a fallen man, Ted Williams (“the homeless with the golden voice”), uplifted by the awe-some power of today’s media.

That same week Jared Loughner mowed down six innocents. His real target, Con-gresswoman Giffords, struggles toward normal life with a bullet through the brain, all boiled in a pot ripened by infl amed rheto-ric reported in media frenzy. YouTube, the boob tube, and print alter outcomes for good and for bad.

Our constitution never envisioned unlimited freedom. Every petition understood itself subservient to the common good and common defense. So where lays that common good today?

It’s fashionable to talk about banning guns yet what works in the city is absurd in remote rural areas. Guns provide dinner for many (sorry, I am defi nitely not a member of PETA and subscribe to the al-ternative,’ People Eating Tasty Animals’). It is also unwise to debate with a grizzly bear too dense to appreciate our daz-zling wisdom. Lead poisoning dispensed in pellet size has its place. Even if we could outlaw guns (I haven’t held one since the 1950s) there is no guarantee

See GUNSIGHTS, Page A3

See 102 CANDLES, Page A6

Delivering a birthday cake, ablaze with 102 candles, to Gladys Guhl (right) during her Jan. 23 birthday party at Kelli’s Cozy Care are (from left) Kelli McHugh and Galien � remen Dennis and Travis Kastner. Photos by David Johnson

MICHAEL MITCHELL

Hillsdale man pickedfor city manager job

Gunsights& free speech

George SwansonHarbor Country NewsColumnist