MONTAGUE — The Book Nook & Java Shop was the host site Sunday as several notable local people came together to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of White Lake being removed from the International Joint Commission's list of areas of environmental concern.
It was the Book Nook where that original announcement was made, too, back on Oct. 30, 2014. Whitehall city council member Tanya Cabala emceed the celebratory event Sunday, which also included presentations by other local groups and a donation check from the White Lake Snow Farmers to the White Lake Association in support of efforts to maintain the lake's health. The Snow Farmers' John Hanson presented the $235 check to the WLA with funds raised by this summer's Float-a-Palooza.
That wasn't the only finances-related item on the agenda. Jim DeBoer, the chief science officer for the WLA, was also on hand to present an overview of a new 'smart buoy' that will be placed in White Lake, with funding from a $40,000 Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). The buoy will poke 2.5 feet out of the water at one of the deepest points in the lake, and it will be outfitted with water quality and sensors for wind and air temperature. These sensors will be able to monitor the environmental health of the lake, potentially alerting the area about future issues before they can be detected with the naked eye. It is being built by the same company - Fondriest Environmental - that produced a similar buoy that is now in Muskegon Lake.
Among other speakers Sunday were Tom Lohman and Steven Salter, who are the mayors of Montague and Whitehall respectively, as well as WLA president Robert Smart and Chemours Environmental Impact Committee representative Claire Schlaff. Schlaff announced that Dec. 4 will be the date for the third and final 'visioning session' for local residents wanting to share their thoughts on the future of Sadony Bayou, one of the areas most affected by the environmental issues that were first uncovered in the 1980s.
Cabala said it is "a tragedy" that more is not known about Warren Gene Dobson, the original whistleblower who was able to publicize that a large quantity of toxic chemicals were leaking from a dump site owned by Hooker Chemical. He was working at Hooker at the time, and Cabala said Dobson lost his job as a result of the publicity. Dobson passed away in 1997. Former county commissioner Ken Mahoney, another speaker at Sunday's event, called Dobson "the hero" of the White Lake delisting story.
"We have to be eternally vigilant," Mahoney added, noting that the work isn't done at White Lake.
Cabala expressed pride at the work of cleaning up White Lake being largely "self-directed" and emphasized that there are areas where the lake can still improve its health. She closed the presentation by noting that Tom Thompson, also of the WLA, and she had co-produced a short historical overview of the White Lake cleanup, which Thompson then handed out to attendees.
