Harrison Hive Students Write Letters to Editor

Harrison Hive students wrote letters to the editor this past month as part of a class project. The Cleaver is happy to print these letters which were well-written and thoughtful. Thank you to these future citizens for their opinions and sharing them with our readers! Please note that this is the only instance in which full names were not used. Letters to the editor must be signed and may not be anonymous. -Editor

To the Editor,

I am writing to express my concern about the recent increase in tariffs on imported goods. While proponents claim that these tariffs will protect domestic industries and create jobs, I believe that they will ultimately harm our economy.

Tariffs raise the price of imported goods, making them more expensive for consumers. This can lead to a decrease in consumer spending, which can slow economic growth. Additionally, tariffs can lead to retaliatory measures from other countries, resulting in trade wars that hurt businesses on both sides.

I urge policymakers to reconsider the use of tariffs and instead focus on policies that promote free and fair trade. This will benefit consumers, businesses, and the economy as a whole.

Kaleb Morgan

Harrison Hive Student

Madam,

I am a resident of Harrison, Michigan, and I want to address the problem of litter and pollution on the ground.

There is too much debris around our communities. The streets often aren't cleaned, and people seem to just not care enough. This could cause concerns in nature later if the litter enters our beloved Great Lakes despite the area telling people not to. These garbage issues also bring about more raccoons, which in turn get into people's garbage cans and tear them up, adding more trash to the already dirty area.

Therefore, it is supposed to be the people's responsibility to take the initiative to step forward and write about the issue of pollution and its effects on our environment. People also have to be able to throw garbage in trash cans, of which more trash cans should be made available for future use. This way we can preserve nature for as long as possible; anyone and everyone is welcome to join in to help, and this could yield amazing results. Thank you for your time.

Zane Hansen

Harrison Hive Student

Dear Editor,

I am a citizen of Harrison and I often visit the parks here, although I feel like I am not quite a fan of the state that they are currently in.

Some portions of our parks are fairly up to date, yet I still feel there are things that can be changed or improved. A good example of this would be Saxton Park, also referred to as the power docks. 

It is in a bit of disrepair to say the least, there used to be a picnic table there which completely disappeared, on top of that the benches and general area feel dingy to me and need refurbishing.

I feel the local government should make an effort to revitalize the parks and make them feel more inviting. They should fix up the bathrooms at the city park and improve the power docks as well as maybe add stuff like play equipment or a little area with some shade. I implore that the city takes some action and make our parks more inviting and friendlier. Thank you. 

RJB

Harrison Hive Student

Madam,

I am a resident of Harrison, and I would like to draw your attention to the problem of one of our invasive species being the zebra mussel. 

Our lakes are infested with invasive mussels such as the zebra mussel. These mussels not only have a large impact on the ecosystem but also impact our community. These invasive mussels can cause great harm to humans and the lake itself! The zebra mussel can easily harm people with their sharp shells, stick to boats to create drag, and clog pipes. These mussels have been a problem since 1988 and will continue to impact our communities if not given attention. 

It is our responsibility as members of the community to address the issue of these invasive mussels by taking the proper steps when at a lake to prevent the further growth of these mussels, by washing off all equipment, discarding all used bait, and discarding all supposed mussels. By following these steps, we as a community can help decrease the problem of these mussels. Thank you.

AB

Harrison Hive Student

I am a student at the H.I.V.E., I live in the Meredith area, and wanted to discuss a problem in my community, it's about Trout Lake.

Trout Lake is being drained and the DNR refuses to fix it. The reason why is because there was something wrong with the dam. On April 10, the DNR started draining the lake to reduce the risk of structural failure and an uncontrolled release of water from the impoundment. A resident of the Meredith area went to a meeting, he stated that during the meeting, the people looked him in the eye and told him that they wouldn't drain the lake until later in the year, but they lied to him, to us all. All of the time, money, gas, that got wasted, the $2,500 that got written to help Trout Lake, that was all for nothing. They are just draining the lake now anyways.

If you could help us out in any way, that would be amazing because so many people come to Trout Lake, we all love it and would hate to see it go. Thank you for taking your time to read this!

Lillian McCann

Resident Wants Dam to Remain

I am a resident of Harrison, Michigan, and Franklin, Michigan, and I would like to address that Trout Lake is a very well-known family friendly type of lake. I think the dam should be repaired instead of the lake being drained. I hope there is a way to save the lake we all have so many memories of!

Trout Lake is honored by many citizens; it has been an awesome spot to fish, swim and even camp for many. It would be a total loss to Franklin Township. The City of Harrison has Wilson State Park to go swim, camp, and fish, but if you take away Trout Lake, we’d lose a very special and important remote type of campground in the woods, where people travel to to get away and have fun.

I’m hoping there are some other resolutions other than letting the dam go and draining the lake. Thank you.

Karli Bryan 

Harrison

To the Editor 

I’m very upset about what is happening with Trout Lake. Because the dam has not been fixed, the lake is draining away if not drained already, and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

Trout lake has always been a special place for our community. People go there to fish, swim, and relax. Now it’s just turning into mud, and it’s hurting the animals, the people who live nearby, and the small businesses that rely on visitors.

Weve heard talk about fixing the dam, but nothing has happened. It’s frustrating to see something so important just gets ignored.

I hope our local leaders will finally take action and fix the dam before it’s too late

 AJ

Harrison

Dear Editor, 

I am writing to express my deep concerns about the impact of inflation, especially as it relates to how much the cost of living has gone up so much just in the past few years. As inflation continues to worsen, our city seems to be not implementing any effective strategies to address the urgent issue of inflation. 

To solve the problem of inflation people can start putting money in a savings account that earns dividends, people could also set money aside for emergencies and people could also consider investing in the stock market, money market accounts or inflation-proof bonds.

If we don’t act now, prices of food and transportation and other household items will get too high, our economy will suffer and people will start walking and using bikes to go places instead of their vehicles, which would cause a lot of stores like gas stations and other places to close down.  

 Joseph Papp 

Harrison Hive Student