Moderator John Hansen’s notes:
The new roundabouts were opened briefly last night to facilitate the home opener for the Dexter Dreadnaughts and they not only worked well but they helped break the curse as Dexter defeated the visiting team from Ypsilanti.
We mourned the loss of the Country Market grocery store. It felt better to have two grocery stores that provided alternatives and a bit of competition. It was thought to just be a ‘business decision’ on the part of the owners. Folks quickly suggested that the space be re-purposed as a senior center or a youth center and that got us into a discussion about how you fund such operations.
Bill Gordon gave us a preview of the Methodist church’s new community building and outreach program that will include a program called Upward Basketball (for both boys and girls).
We learned about the concept of ‘new urbanism’ as it applies to the building under construction in the old K-Mart parking lot in Ann Arbor. The building is built right at the sidewalk to begin the creation of a pedestrian friendly as opposed to a car-centric environment.
Adam Dreher kicked off the campaign season from the Stump as he made his request for our votes to elect him as a Democrat to the Michigan State Senate from district 22. Many of us still think of ourselves as being in the same district with Ann Arbor but we were drawn into the 22nd district with Brighton and Howell during the last redistricting session after the 2010 census. Stump speeches are not summarized.
Someone or something called Emily has peppered election clerks with requests for copies of all ballots from the fall 2016 election. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows such requests and allows reasonable charges for the service but this is a really big request with a shadowy purpose. The best we could deduce was that this is an attempt to prove that Donald Trump did not really win in Michigan and therefore was not legitimately elected president.
We discussed the passing of Senator John McCain and the loss of a person who would listen to all sides and occasionally vote against his own party when he perceived it to be in the greater interest of the nation. It is our humble tribute to his memory that we, the Dexter Forum, continue to meet to Listen and Learn in an atmosphere of respect and mutual concern for our fine community and nation.
The next meeting of the Dexter Forum will be on Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 8:30 AM at the Dexter Wellness Center. Expect a lot more Stump activity as we approach election day.
The Dexter Forum is supported by the Dexter Wellness Coalition as part of the 5 Healthy Towns initiative to “help connect with others in healthy ways”. The purpose of the Forum is to create an opportunity for interested women and men to gather to discuss important issues facing our community. All are welcome on a drop-in basis. The group meets on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
The Forum is co-moderated by Karl Fink and John Hansen.
