Morning Sun 05/21/2015 Page : 21cmh

Copyright (c)2015 The Morning Sun, a 21st Century Media Property & part of Digital First Media MI -- All rights reserved. Edition 05/21/2015May 26, 2015 2:03 pm (GMT +4:00) / Powered by TECNAVIA

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TODAY’SWEATHER

High: 68 Low: 38 PAGE A10

ByEric Staffordestafford@michigannewspapers.com@StaffEffect on Twitter

For the better part of a decade, SamStaples of Mt. Pleasant has used his 85-foot, fully-functioning train car as aunique place for parties and trips thattraveled as far north as Petoskey.

Now, that same train car is on trackto go to Lake State Railway in Sagi-naw where it will be used for similarpurposes.

“They’re going to use it as a busi-ness car,” said Staples. “It’s as opera-tional as can be and can go anywhereyou can pull it.”

On Aug. 15, 2007, he purchased it asan anniversary gift for his wife to cel-ebrate the first day they met. He saidhe spent about $100,000 to install anew generator, air conditioning sys-tem, and to upgrade the electrical.

Staples cited his age as one of themain reasons he has decided to sellthe train car. He also said he did it forhis wife.

“(She) says if anything happens tome she wouldn’t know what to do withit.”

Emblazoned on the train car’s shinyexterior are the words “Seaboard”above the windows and “Venice” be-low. When it was first built in the mid-50s, it was called the Venice and trav-eled from Miami to Washington, D.C.,on the Seaboard Air Line Railroad,which explains the monikers.

Inside, there is enough space for 12passengers with multiple bedrooms, aliving room, and a complete kitchen.The bedrooms are appointed withfolding beds and a shower. The spa-cious living room is lined with comfyfurniture and a flatscreen TV. In thekitchen are all stainless-steel cabinets

ERIC STAFFORD — THE MORNING SUN

Sam Staples is pictured with his beloved 85-foot train car on Wednesday. The train car is on track to go to a new owner.

By Lisa Yanick-Jonaitisljonaitis@michigannewspapers.com@lisayj_msun on Twitter

The Alma Public Library is taking some proac-tive steps by banning two things from its build-ing: e-cigarettes and companion pets.

Both items, which are sort of “signs of ourtime” have in recent months brought up ques-tions for both patrons and employees.

Bryan Dinwoody, the director and librarian for

GRATIOTCOUNTY

Alma librarybans e-cigarettes,companion pets

BySusan Fieldsfield@michigannewspapers.com@sfield_msun on Twitter

Police in Midland County are looking for threemen who vandalized the dam at Lake Sanfordearly Monday morning.

Sheriff Scott Stephenson said Wednesday thatsurveillance video at the dam shows three menbreaking windows, lights and a camera at thesite at roughly 2:50 a.m. Monday.

Construction scaffolding was thrown into theriver at the dam as well, resulting in the dam be-ing shut down while divers removed the items toprevent the dam’s turbines from being damaged,Stephenson said.

Video was taken from the scene and policecreated and released the most clear still photo-graphs, and are asking anyone with informationor who recognizes any of the men in the picturesto contact the sheriff’s department at 989-839-

MIDLANDCOUNTY

VandalsdamageSanforddam sitePolice seeking informationafter three men seen on video

Americanflags peppera neighbor-hood tohonor fallenveterans onMemorialDay. Theholiday isnext Monday.COURTESYPHOTO

ByMorning SunStaff

The following are local eventsset to be held in honor of Memo-rial Day 2015.

Isabella County MemorialDay parades

The Coleman Memorial Dayparade will begin at 11 a.m.

on Monday, May 25. A memo-rial ceremony will be held atthe Coleman Veteran’s Memo-rial at the completion of the pa-rade. Before the event, a pancakebreakfast will be held from 7:30to 10:30 a.m. at the VFW on Rail-way Street.

The Mt. Pleasant Memo-rial Day parade will begin at10 a.m. on Monday, May 25, at

MID-MICHIGAN

Several events on tap to honor vets on Memorial Day

DAM»PAGE2

BAN»PAGE2

Sam Staples purchased itin 2007 as a gift for wife

HOLIDAY»PAGE2

TRAIN»PAGE2

MT. PLEASANT

TRAIN CAR ON TRACKTO GET NEW OWNER

2013 BuickEnclavE

Driver/PassengerPower Seats, CenterRow Captains Chairs,

Power Liftgate,SHARP Atlantis

Blue Metallic, SAVETHOUSANDS Only

828-6032dicksovaautosales.com

DICK SOVA AUTO SALES

$29,995/$398 mo.

Downtown ShepherdcOMPaRE

anYWHERE!

or about

U.S. Liquidators has purchased and now selling off the remaining $500,000 inventory of Comfort Center’sStore Closing Sale, along with other national buys! EVERYTHING GOES for just pennies on the dollar!

» themorningsun.comThursday,May 21, 2015 $1.00 FACEBOOK.COM/MPMORNINGSUN TWITTER.COM/MPMORNINGSUN

Morning Sun 05/21/2015 Page : 21cmh

Copyright (c)2015 The Morning Sun, a 21st Century Media Property & part of Digital First Media MI -- All rights reserved. Edition 05/21/2015May 26, 2015 2:04 pm (GMT +4:00) / Powered by TECNAVIA

A Tribute to Life.

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the library said that as faras e-cigarettes were con-cerned, the board thoughtit best to be consistent.

“We had some peo-ple asking if they coulduse (e-cigarettes) in thelibrary, and it broughtup a lot of issues as faras regulations,” he said.“There’s still a cloud pro-duced; some people aresensitive to smells. It’sjust not good for a publicbuilding.”

Dinwoody said grow-ing public health con-cerns regarding e-ciga-rette smoking or “vaping”motivated the library’sboard to bring their con-cerns to the city commis-sion before it became anissue.

“Regulations are notin place, and we wantedto make sure we hadthe backing of the com-mi s s ion ,” D inwoodysaid.

They did, and with thecity’s blessing the libraryboard voted to ban e-cig-arettes on May 5. At thesame time, they created aregulation banning com-

panion pets.“These aren’t `see-

ing-eye dogs or the AKCtrained animals we bringin for reading programswith children,” Dinwoodysaid. “Someone just needsany doctor’s note to saytheir pet is their com-panion, and then theyare. It could be anything,it could be a spider in acage.”

Dinwoody said a fewtimes at the library, pa-trons had attempted tobring in pets they referredto as companion pets, andemployees weren’t surehow to handle the situa-tion, so the board wanteda clear policy.

“If a dog isn’t trained,or snaps...that’s all weneed is a child to be bitor scratched,” Dinwoodysaid. “This is a public li-brary, not an ark or azoo.”

Service dogs are still al-lowed.

Dinwoody said theboard’s decisions on e-cig-arettes and companionpets is about a safe envi-ronment for all library pa-trons.

“These are things thatdon’t have regulations, sowe needed to be proactive,”he said.

BanFROMPAGE 1

NAPA auto parts storewith planned stops at thetown center and River-side Cemetery. For moreinformation, call the Mt.Pleasant VFW at 989-773-3396.

Gratiot CountyMemorial Dayparades

Each year on Memo-rial Day, the St. LouisVFW Post #3055 spon-sors a parade throughtown. The parade in-cludes a decorated bicy-cle contest, school bands,and a variety of other en-trants. There is also atribute to sailors lost atsea, a 21-gun salute anda veterans service at theVeterans Hill section ofOak Grove Cemetery.

This year, the paradewill be held at 10 a.m.on Monday, May 25. Forquestions regarding theMemorial Day festivities,contact Ed Davidson at989-681-5862.

The annual Ithaca Me-morial Day parade andservice at Ithaca Ceme-tery will be held from 10a.m. to noon on Monday,May 25.

Clare CountyMemorial Dayevents

The Clare VFWMemo-rial Day parade will be-gin at 10:30 a.m. at theClare City Park and endat Cherry Grove Ceme-tery. For more informa-tion, call 989-386-7221.

The Farwell Memo-rial Day parade will be-gin at 10 a.m. on Mon-day, May 25. For moreinformation, call the Far-well Area Chamber ofCommerce at 989-588-0580.

A Memorial WeekendMud Bog will be held at7 p.m. on Saturday, May23, at the Clare CountyFairgrounds. For moredetails, call 989-539-9011.

HolidayFROMPAGE 1

and counters.Before Staples bought

the train car, it was ownedby newspaper mogul JohnMcGoff, who used it totravel all over the coun-try. McGoff is said to havebought the train car in1982 from Amtrak andremodeled it into a pri-vate business car to thetune of approximately$200,000.

In 1998, he passed away

and for 19 years Staplessaid he had tried to buyit, but the parties involvedcould not agree on a price.That was of course un-til 2007 when a deal wasmade.

Fast-track to today, aftercountless trips around thestate, sometimes costingabout $2,300 to pay for anengine and trained crew,the man who was referredto as a train aficionado ina 2012 Morning Sun arti-cle is set to say goodbye tohis life-sized toy once andfor all.

“When I was about 8 or

9, my uncle would let meshovel coal into the steamengines on the Boston andMaine Railroad,” Staplesis quoted as saying. “OnSaturdays, he would takeme down to the yard andwe would shovel the carsaround and get them readyto go. I thought that was alot of fun.”

In that same article,he said as a kid he had abeautiful railroad set onhis ping-pong table that hewould use to give rides tohis pet mice. At the time,surely the young boy couldonly dream that he would

someday have his very owntrain car.

The new owner is set totake possession of the traincar on Thursday night andwill transport it via theGreat Lakes Central Rail-road to Owosso. There itwill undergo recertificationbefore it is taken to its newhome in Saginaw.

Watching his belovedtrain car depart for the lasttime is not something Sta-ples finds easy.

“I’m very sad,” he said,“I shed a few tears becauseit’s been like a baby to me.I love it.”

TrainFROMPAGE 1

4619.Sanford Lake is a reser-

voir created by dammingthe Titabawassee River in1925, and is located about30 miles northeast of Mt.Pleasant.

Although not a well-known tourist attraction,the lake is a popular recre-ation area for Midland andsurrounding counties.

Themainbody of the lakestretches about six milesnorth of thedambut thewa-ter remains deep enough forsmall boat navigation pastEdenville, 10 miles north ofthe dam, according to theSanford Lake Association.

At its widest point, thelake extends a half-mileand its surface area is 1,489acres, according to the as-sociation.

While the lake is rela-tively shallow in most ar-eas, the water is deeper insome spots, mostly locatedin the river channel withinthe lake.

The dam is owned byBoyce Hydro Power, LLC inEdenville.

It was built in 1924 and is36 feet high with a 26-foothydraulic head, according tothe association.

Muskel lunge wereplanted in the lake about 20years ago by the MichiganDepartment of Natural Re-sources and it is well knownfor “Musky” fishing, partic-

ularly in the winter, accord-ing to the association.

Sanford Lake Park is lo-cated near the dam andhas boat ramps and abeach area that attractvisitors.

DamFROMPAGE 1

COURTESY PHOTOS

Vandals damaged the Sanford Dam early Monday morning and police are seekinginformation.

ThedamisownedbyBoyceHydroPower, LLC inEdenville. Itwasbuiltin 1924and is36 feethighwitha26-foothydraulichead, according totheassociation.

THINK YOUR FIRE IS OUT?

CHECKAGAIN!

EMBERS CAN REMAIN HOT FOR DAYS.

DEBRIS PILESEmbers left behind from burningdebris piles can remain hot fordays, even weeks. Wind canexpose smoldering embers hidden

in the ashes, allowing them to escape andcause a wildfire. Before leaving, drown theremains with plenty of water, stir, and repeat

until cold.

WOOD HEAT ASHESEmbers from cleaning out ashesin a woodstove, fireplace, woodboiler, or outdoor furnace can

remain hot for many days when dumped inthe outdoors. Wind can expose smoldering

embers, allowing them to escape and causea wildfire. Store ashes in a metal container,drown with plenty of water, stir, and repeatuntil cold. Only dump cold ashes in areasfree of flammable material.

CAMPFIRESEmbers left behind from burningin fire pits or campfire rings canremain hot for several days. Windcan expose smoldering embershidden in the ashes, allowing

them to escape and cause a wildfire. Beforeleaving, drown the remains with plenty ofwater, stir, and repeat until cold.

BEEMBERAWARE!

IT ONLY TAKES AN EMBERTO START A WILDFIRE!

www.michigan.gov/preventwildfires

Why Is This Man Smiling?

Ride On!

Because he has an I-Ride Gold Pass, the passport to unlimited access to our community.The Isabella County Transportation Commission (I-Ride) announces that all riders 80years of age or older can now use I-Ride free of charge. It’s our way of rewarding ourpatrons for a lifetime of supporting public transportation.

Contact the Isabella County Commission on Aging at 772.0748 for assistance inobtaining the I-Ride Gold Pass, enjoy your perks and…

| OBITUARIES | MORNING SUN THURSDAY, MAY 21, 20152 A