Straight Talk by John Menghini

Straight Talk
by John Menghini

First of all, I am not a politician. I am not
a crusader. I am not a Democrat nor a Republican.
I am an American, a husband, and a father. I am
also someone who values their freedoms and
doesn't take very kindly to being pushed around.

There is a proposal that is going to be
discussed at the next Iron River Township board,
that is scheduled for May 11th at 6:00 P.M. at
the town hall on Gibbs City Rd. This is the so
called "blight ordinance" which was presented to
the board by Bob Battye, Committee Chairperson
of the PZO Committee.

It is a not so thinly veiled attempt by certain
persons to give the township the legal authority
to determine what you are allowed and not allowed
to have on your land.

In "straight talk" it means that each and every
vehicle, mobile home, camper, rv, truck, car,
or trailer HAS to be licensed, insured, and
*operable. *If it is not all of the above, you
can be fined up to $500.00. The key word here
is operable. If you have a vehicle in need of
repair, it is not considered operable, and you
will have 14 days to either repair it or remove
it from your property. Unless you have it in a
garage or approved storage building. If you
can't meet those conditions the township will
have legal authority to have it removed from
your property at your cost.

In "straight talk" it means that if you have
ANY type of building material on your property
and it is not in a garage or approved storage
building, you can be fined up to $500.00. Do
you have some scrap boards around that you
are using for kindling or camp fire wood? Do
you have any cement blocks or bricks in your
yard? A sheet or two of plywood? A can of
screws or nails? According to this blight
ordinance, you could be fined up to $500.00.
And that is just for the first offense.

In "straight talk" what this means for
EVERY resident or land owner in Iron River
Township is that it will be up to someone
else to determine what you will have and what
you will not have on land that YOU own and
pay taxes on. You don't have to take my word
for it either, the actual proposal can be
seen here. blight ordinance


In "straight talk" what this means is that while
our young soldiers are risking life and limb
(and far too many losing it) to promote freedom
and democracy in the Middle East, some people
back home are trying to take our freedoms away
one step at a time. And it is time for this to
stop. This proposal has not yet been passed, and
it is our duty as citizens of the United States
of America to see that it doesn't pass.

In "straight talk" that means that every land
owner, resident, and tax payer in Iron River
Township needs to be at the May 11th meeting
to make our voice be heard, and heard loudly.
There should be no doubt left in the mind of
the board members where we stand on this. Let's
work together to keep America the Land of the Free!

For your information the board members and their
phone numbers are as follows. This is public
information available on the Iron River Township
website. Keep in mind that this proposal has not
passed yet, and I am not suggesting that anyone
call these people and harass them, but if you are
not able to attend the next meeting there is more
than one way to make your voice be heard.

Supervisor Mark Polley 906-367-0657
Clerk Amber Laturi 906-265-5954
Treasurer Nancy Clements 906-265-4473
Trustee Al Froblem 906-265-2748
Trustee Ken Piwarski 906-265-6152
Zoning Ron Simmons 906-265-9394

s/John Menghini