By Carol Stiffler
Newton Township residents are upset and the Mackinac County Sheriff Department is investigating after vandals removed about five pine logs that had been assembled into a rustic table and set of benches at Scott’s Point. The table, made by friends of the late Charlie White, had a plaque honoring the longtime Gould City resident. Behind the plaque is a vial of White’s ashes.
The vandalism seems to have happened Saturday night, according to Scott’s Point Park caretaker Kip Brandemihl, or possibly on Friday. The damage was discovered on Sunday, April 12.
The logs were screwed into place with 6-8 inch hex head log screws, Brandemihl said. He’s sure detaching and removing them couldn’t have been a one-person job.
“I don’t know if the guys would have taken a skill saw, or some sort of saw to saw them off?” he said. “It would have taken a lot of work.”
Brandemihl originally worked with Newton Township Supervisor Fred Burton to cut pine logs in half at Burton’s sawmill. With help from a group of locals, they gave the logs a rough sanding, then stained and sealed them. It was a labor of love.
Now, with most of their work destroyed, three locals have offered reward money totaling $2,500 for information that leads to solving the case. Another man has pledged $1,000 toward rebuilding the memorial.
“We’ll get her up and running again,” Brandemihl said. Curtis area resident Jeff Mouch has already committed to cutting new logs to repair the table.
Mackinac County Sheriff Deputy Zdebski is investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at 906-643-1911.
