Gov. Granholm recognizes innovations by MDOT employees
December 22, 2008 
Contact: Bill Shreck, MDOT Director of Communications, 517-335-3084
Agency: Transportation
December 18, 2008- -When the Office of Great Workplace Development asked state employees to come up with eight innovative ideas for improving efficiency and customer service, teams from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) came up with 11. That fact was not lost Tuesday, Dec. 16, when Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle recognized several teams of MDOT employees. Three innovations showcased for the governor’s appearance at the Murray D. Van Wagoner Transportation Building included: a department-wide “Green Initiative,” a Web-based “Cost to Commute” calculator, and the conversion of traffic signals and pedestrian signals on state roadways to Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and save maintenance costs.
“MDOT employees have always been high achievers,” said Steudle, “evidenced by the fact that they submitted 11 innovations when only eight were called for. We are proud of the efficiency and level of commitment all MDOT employees demonstrate every day on behalf of the citizens of Michigan. In addition to improving efficiency, all of these great ideas are saving taxpayer dollars.”
The MDOT teams and their innovations included:
-Carpool Lot Program Partnership with Meijer Corporation and MDOT’s Bureau of Transportation Planning, Intermodal Policy;
-LED traffic and pedestrian signals at MDOT intersections on state highways, Bureau of Highway Delivery;
-Replacement of traffic signal incandescent light bulbs with LED lights, MDOT Bay Region;
-Box span wired displays for traffic signal installations (traffic signal location changes that promote driver safety and reduce red light running), Bureau of Highway Delivery;
-Cost to Commute Calculator that provides information about potential savings of sharing the ride. This team was a partnership of the MDOT Bureau of Passenger Transportation, Michigan Department of Information Technology and MDOT Office of Communications;
-Green Initiatives Team that identifies and coordinates efforts to reduce MDOT’s energy use and carbon footprint, Bureau of Finance and Administration, Department Services Division;
-Countdown Pedestrian Signals, Bureau of Highway Delivery;
-Installation of Centerline Rumble Strips on rural two and four-lane highways, Bureau of Highway Development and Bureau of Highway Delivery;
-Webcam Installations at the International Bridge in Sault Ste. Marie, MDOT Superior Region and the International Bridge Administration;
-Digital Media Channel for broadcasting Michigan travel-related information, weather updates and highway safety information at Welcome Centers, an MDOT partnership with Travel Michigan;
-Video Conferencing System improved with recycled salvage equipment, MDOT Superior Region.
In addition, state transportation employees were responsible for creating a “One Great” process improvement, which was a project for saving time and money related to traffic signal energy expense. This team was a partnership of the Bureau of Finance and Administration and Bureau of Highway Delivery. The project was led by the Financial Operation Division, with team members from many areas of the department.
MDOT says: Remember-Ice and Snow, Take It Slow!
Volunteers Needed for Stewardship Workdays in January in Southeastern Michigan
December 22, 2008 
Contact: Laurel Malvitz-Draper 248-359-9057
Agency: Natural Resources
Dec. 22, 2008
The Department of Natural Resources today announced the schedule of volunteer stewardship workdays to be held throughout January in southeastern Michigan state parks.
Volunteers are needed to cut invasive shrubs in natural areas within state parks and recreation areas. This activity will help protect and restore the unique natural areas in these southeast Michigan state parks. Volunteering for these workdays is a great way to GO-Get Outdoors, breathe some fresh air to avoid cabin fever and be active after the holiday season.
Dates, times and locations of the workdays are as follows:
* Saturday, Jan. 3, Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston Co.), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
* Sunday, Jan. 4, Algonac State Park (St. Clair Co.), 1 to 4 p.m.
* Saturday, Jan. 10, Bald Mountain Recreation Area (Oakland Co.), 9 a.m. to noon
* Sunday, Jan. 11, Highland Recreation Area (Oakland Co.), 1 to 4 p.m.
* Saturday, Jan. 17, Waterloo Recreation Area (Jackson Co.), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
* Sunday, Jan. 18, Pinckney Recreation Area (Washtenaw Co.), 1 to 4 p.m.
* Saturday, Jan. 24, Highland Recreation Area (Oakland Co.), 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
* Sunday, Jan. 25, Brighton Recreation Area (Livingston Co.), 1 to 4 p.m.
Volunteers should bring appropriate clothing for outdoor work, including long pants, boots, gloves and drinking water.
For information about the specific tasks at each location and to obtain directions, visit the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnrvolunteers and link to the “Calendar of Volunteer Stewardship Workdays.” All volunteers are asked to register using the forms available on the Web site. Any questions should be directed to Laurel Malvitz-Draper at (248) 359-9057 or malvitz@michigan.gov.
Village piers aim to handle anglers, boaters
December 22, 2008 
PENTWATER — If all goes well, Pentwater fishers will have a new and accessible location from which to cast their lines next summer.
Also, visiting folks in sailboats still will have a place to tie up their dinghies.
The Pentwater Village Council recently approved a grant agreement for construction of a fishing pier at the end of Fourth Street which should be completed by July.
The council unanimously approved the resolution accepting a grant from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, which is providing the bulk of funds for the project.
But councilman Jim Alfredson expressed concern that the agreement specifies a design, and signage, that prohibit boats from tying up at the structure.
The current Fourth Street dock is known as the “dinghy dock” and is used by visiting boaters who anchor in Pentwater Lake.
Village manager Jim Miller explained that there will be a second dock, south of the fishing pier, that will provide space for boats to tie up. Miller provided a preliminary sketch showing the relative location of the two structures.
Miller said the GLFT grant is for $117,000 and requires an additional $18,000 from the village. Additional funding will be provided by the Downtown Development Authority and the Pentwater Lake Association.
Michigan near top in online learning
by Alison Black | Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette
KALAMAZOO — Michigan is putting fewer cars on the roads these days, but the state is driving more students to the information superhighway.
Michigan ranks second only to Florida when it comes to vision, policies and programs to support online learning, according to a study published in October by the California-based Center for Digital Education.
High school graduation requirements mandate Web-based learning, and in 1998, state lawmakers established Michigan Virtual University (MVU), a portal to more than 150 online courses. Included in the courses are 19 advanced-placement offerings and six foreign languages that are accessible to high school and post-secondary students across the state.
As local educators continue to search for new ways to stimulate and retain students, online learning likely is to see greater emphasis in coming years, according to Kalamazoo Math and Science Center (KAMSC) instructor John Goudie.
Goudie developed and now teaches online science courses for KAMSC and MVU and was honored as a finalist for Online Teacher of the Year at an MVU conference held Dec. 2 at Michigan State University.
“I think we’re at the beginning of a paradigm shift in education,” Goudie said.
“People are realizing that online education may be a better way to teach our students,” he said. “Students learn in so many different ways, and we need all the different avenues we can find to customize education to fit their needs.”
As students face increasing pressure to juggle demanding course loads with extracurricular activities and jobs, online classes offer much-needed flexibility, said Goudie, and are likely to help school districts curb dropout rates.
Online learning also moves beyond textbooks alone to increase the breadth of source material from which to teach, Goudie said.
“Basically, the entire world on the Internet is available to students in your course,” Goudie said, citing a colleague who used baseball history from an Internet database to teach statistics.
In addition to his traditional classes, Goudie teaches bioethics and evolution of scientific thought courses online through KAMSC, as well as Web-based anatomy, physiology and environmental science courses through MVU.
Teaching online, Goudie said, “actually requires far more communication than teaching in person. Your approach is a little different online. You have to respond individually to each student.”
Goudie said online instruction also has “greatly improved” his face-to-face instruction, as he now directs his KAMSC students to online dictionaries, images and movies supplementing course material and is able to communicate quickly with students via e-mail.
While stressing that Web-based instruction should not entirely supplant traditional schooling, Goudie agreed with a recent North American Council for Online Learning estimate that by 2019 about half of all K-12 and post-secondary courses in the U.S. will be delivered online.
“More and more students are going to be looking for online courses, and I’d like to see school districts and teachers design these courses specifically for the students in their schools. They know their students and their needs better than anybody,” Goudie said.
Ferris State University Re-Names its College of Technology
Written by Ferris State University
BIG RAPIDS – The College of Technology at Ferris State University has changed its name to College of Engineering Technology.
The name change reflects the college’s need to remain competitive and more accurately represents the extensive and applied aspects of the college’s programs and curricula, said Ken Kuk, Welding Engineering Technology professor at Ferris.
Kuk, who was instrumental in changing the college’s name, worked with the 11 other departments that make up the college in presenting to University officials the need for the change. “I really wanted our college to be representative of what our programming is and will be in the future,” Kuk said.
This is not the first time that the college has changed its name. When Ferris started offering technology curricula, it was through the Collegiate Technical Division which later became the School of Technical and Applied Arts; and the program offerings were only two-year degrees. Over time, four-year degree offerings and more programs were added and the name was changed to the College of Technology.
“Careers are increasingly requiring four-year instead of two-year degrees,” added Daniel Burcham, acting vice president for Academic Affairs. “As parents and students look at schools and programs, they are looking for bachelor offerings.”
The American Society for Engineering Education Profiles in Engineering & Engineering Technology Colleges lists Ferris State University as awarding the most bachelor’s degrees for Engineering Technology, the second highest University to award women with Engineering Technology degrees and the highest enrollment for an Engineering Technology school. This is significant when Ferris is compared to schools like Michigan Technological University, Penn State University, Purdue University and Wayne State University, to name a few.
The change is also representative of the mission of Ferris State University in preparing students for successful careers and serving the rapidly changing global economy and society. “We want our students to not only succeed, but to exceed,” stated Burcham.
Industry experts have echoed that sentiment by saying that Ferris graduates not only know and understand the technology, but they can hit the ground running on their first day of employment.
The College of Engineering Technology at Ferris State University is made up of 33 programs in 12 departments ranging from Architectural Technology to Welding Engineering Technology. Students in the College of Engineering Technology participate in national competitions, including being crowned national champions at the 2007 national Rube Goldberg competition. More information on the College of Engineering Technology can be found at www.ferris.edu/technology.
Harbor funding in place
By Audrey LaFave – alafave@dailypress.net
GLADSTONE – The city of Gladstone recently received the last of three grants from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust fund (MNRT) to fund phase one of the city’s Harbor Point Improvement project.
Gladstone was awarded $100,000 from the MNRT this month for the project as well as a $150,000 grant from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) in November and a $75,000 grant in July from the Department of Environmental Quality.
Gladstone Parks and Recreation Director Nicole Sanderson said the city has been trying to get contract dates moved up so the project can get underway this summer. As it stands, work on the project, including installation of infrastructure by city crews, will begin in summer 2010.
Phase one of the Harbor Point project will include installing fish cleaning stations and restrooms.
Other improvements include utility upgrades like electricity, water and sewer, installing new boat slips and replacing old ones in the harbor and sidewalk installation. The Harbor Point Improvement project plan was first developed two years ago.
Sanderson said Gladstone was not only successful in getting the grants, but also coordinating them so they would pay for the entire project. In this case, the grants act as matches for each other, so the city has no out-of-pocket expenses. “This allows us to continue to improve our facilities without using general fund or tax dollars,” said Sanderson. “When residents see these projects being done while people are out of work and the economy is so bad, they need to know that it’s not their tax dollars paying for it.”
Sanderson said the dollars are given out by the state and sometimes are earmarked for certain types of use.
“This is just above and beyond, and if we didn’t get the grants a neighboring city would,” she said. “It’s money that is going to go somewhere and might as well come to Gladstone.”
Microsoft unveils career resource for students
CareerForward, a free online course, aims to help prepare America’s young people for 21st-century jobs
By Meris Stansbury, Assistant Editor
To help middle- and high-school students learn about the 21st-century jobs awaiting them and take charge of their own education, Microsoft’s U.S. Partners in Learning program has unveiled a free online course called CareerForward.
The project aims to get students thinking about what they want to do with their lives, what types of careers they might want to pursue, and what skills and training they’ll need to succeed, Microsoft said.
Microsoft developed CareerForward in partnership with the Michigan Department of Education and Michigan Virtual University. The program, announced at Microsoft’s fourth annual School of the Future World Summit in Seattle earlier this month, is available to any U.S. student free of charge.
Students, teachers, and schools can implement the program either through classroom-based instruction or on students’ own time, individually. According to Microsoft, students who take the CareerForward course will be better prepared to embrace the global, 21st-century workplace by learning more about globalization, career planning, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship.
The course is organized into four modules, each of which addresses certain questions. It asks students to think about their own interests, abilities, and values, and it encourages them to explore job titles, identify their social network, and assess their ability to manage money.
CareerForward takes a multimedia approach to learning that includes video clips, internet research, and interactive tools. These tools encourage students to write their initial thoughts and then see how their thinking has changed throughout the course, Microsoft said.
“Students and the career choices they make are critical to the talent pipeline and future business prosperity in the U.S.,” said Anthony Salcito, general manager of U.S. public-sector education at Microsoft. “CareerForward encourages the development of a skilled workforce, as it helps young citizens explore global opportunities and recognize the importance in jobs of the future.”
More than 250 education policy leaders from more than 30 countries attended Microsoft’s world education summit this year, where attendees learned how their colleagues around the world are embracing change, incorporating educational technology, and partnering with the private sector.
“Educators today face many economic and political challenges, including decreases in funding in tough economic climates as well as the pressure to generate performance results that allow students to compete on a global stage,” said Mary Cullinane, director of innovation for Microsoft’s U.S. public-sector education business. “This event push[ed] people to collaboratively address new ways of thinking and provide specific strategies to implement within their local context, allowing them to turn possibilities into reality.”
Opening keynote speaker Martin Bean urged educators to adapt to students’ tech use. According to Bean, who is the head of marketing and business development for Microsoft’s education products group, schools are not adapting to students’ digital lifestyles–and students are tuning out as a result.
“Our end users [students] feel that the actual system in which they are forced to [learn] is so disconnected from the world they live in,” he said.
Bean cited a U.S. Department of Education report from 2004, “Toward a New Golden Age in American Education–How the Internet, the Law, and Today’s Students are Revolutionizing Expectations,” suggesting that while most students believe education is important, few think it meets their needs.
“America’s students are our ultimate constituents. We need to listen to them. They have demonstrated that they have a better understanding of the intricacies and opportunities presented by the technological revolution than many of their elders, notably including a generation of teachers and administrators who did not have the advantage of growing up with the internet,” says the report.
Bean said the internet, mobile phones, text messaging, and other technologies are second nature for K-12 students in the digital age, and schools need to look for new ways to incorporate these technologies into the educational process.
“That horse is out of the barn, and it is unstoppable,” he said. “We better figure out a way to harness and do something meaningful with it.”
TRANSPORTATION TESTIFIES BEFORE HOUSE COMMITTEE FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS
The Department of Transportation sat before the House Transportation Committee explaining on Wednesday why it requires additional revenue to continue operations.
MDOT has testified before the Senate Transportation Committee as well (See Gongwer Michigan Report, December 3, 2008) and officials repeated their argument that if Michigan can’t match their federal transportation dollars, those funds would be sent to other states.
“We’ve gotten money Indiana, Ohio, and Oklahoma couldn’t (match),” Kirk Steudle, director of MDOT said. “In 2009, we won’t have that, and our money will go to other states.”
Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations at Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation, offered solutions for raising revenues, such as a 50 percent increase in vehicle registration fees, re-pealing the gas tax and replacing it with a wholesale gas tax, and allowing plate transfers to happen the day of the purchase. He also suggested several reforms, such as eliminating a Secretary of State interdepartmental grant, which would be replaced with a wholesale collection fee.
Mr. Nystrom said the increase in fees an average motorist would see would equal approximately $12 a month.
“That is immediate money that would have significant impact on stuff now,” Mr. Nystrom said. “We have been talking about this for three years… this plan is a stimulus to create new jobs. We’d be looking at losing hundreds of millions in the future, and that is a conservative estimate.”
Most of the questions lawmakers posed to transportation officials related to how much money could be raised if certain legislative actions were taken.
SENATE PANEL HEARS TESTIMONY ON WILDERNESS AREA
The Pigeon River Area was the topic of discussion at Wednesday’s Senate Appropriations Natural Resources Subcommittee meeting with several House members saying the area should be open for broader use by horseback riders.
The area was put under restricted public use for horseback riding and camping by the Department of Natural Resources in early May (See Gongwer Michigan Report, May 13, 2008).
Rep. Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba) testified before the committee and said it is critical to open up the area once more for equestrian use. Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer (R-Bellaire) added he was concerned of the economic impact from the loss of horse drivers, because those equestrians use local businesses and pump money into the local economy.
The DNR also testified, and maintained its previous position, that the Pigeon River Area is an important wilderness area that should be maintained in its originally intended state, adding 280 miles of equestrian trails were still available for public use.
“Pigeon River is considered a unique state forest,” DNR officials said. The region was the subject of major controversy three decades ago when supporters and opponents argued over allowing oil and natural gas drilling in the area, one of the last in the Lower Peninsula with an elk herd.
DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff said opportunities were made available to the groups looking to use the area, and other opportunities would be opening up soon as well. Ms. Detloff also said it is important to protect Pigeon River.
Norma Lane, president of Shiawassee Trail Riders said she felt her organization was dealt with “extremely shabbily.
“We worked very hard to get to use this land,” Ms. Lane said. “We want to this land use order reversed.”
Preservation projects get boost from state
By SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
ELBERTA — Big chunks of state money will help launch two land preservation projects in Benzie County.
About 58 acres in the Village of Elberta with critical dune habitat and 1,425 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline will be protected from development, while a 1.65-acre tract in Lake Ann will allow for a public park on Ann Lake. Both projects received grant dollars this month from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, for about $1.16 million and $478,000, respectively.
“We think it’s wonderful to preserve the dunes,” said Sharyn Bower, Elberta’s village clerk. “It’s a beautiful field and the dunes are gorgeous there with the bluffs. I think it will be a feather in the cap for Elberta.”
The land preservation project was assisted by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy so it can become a public recreation and natural area. A match of nearly $386,400 is required for the state grant and an additional maintenance endowment for the parcel is in the works, said Chris Sullivan, a land protection specialist with the conservancy.
The conservancy will continue to raise funds for the project, he said.
“It’s a high-quality example of Great Lakes dune systems,” Sullivan said.
The spot provides critical habitat for migrating birds and a number of threatened species are found there, including the Pitcher’s thistle, Lake Huron locust and fascicled broom-rape, he said.
In Lake Ann, a long-awaited public swimming beach is on the way, another of the conservancy’s projects.
“There are 36 lakes in the area — Almira Township — and not one public beach for kids to swim,” said George Daisy, president of the Almira Citizens for Preservation.
The park could open in June or July and eventually will have restrooms, changing areas, a pavilion and a picnic area, Daisy said.
Township officials must provide a $200,000 match grant, but $110,000 of it is already in the bank, he said.
The two Benzie County land projects received state grant dollars because of the opportunity to preserve Lake Michigan shoreline and provide public swimming in an area that doesn’t have any, said Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Recommendations for the grant awards next will go to the governor and the state Legislature for approval and the funds may be available by the end of 2009, Dettloff said.
Other projects in the area to receive trust fund money include: more than $3 million to buy 11.5 acres and 2,000 feet of shoreline for a park in Acme along the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay; $600,000 for the acquisition of 280 acres of land with frontage on the Manistee River surrounded by the Pere Marquette State Forest in Wexford County; and, $500,000 to buy 293 acres of wetlands and upland wild areas that adjoin the north edge of Mitchell State Park near Cadillac.
