- NOTES & NOTABLES
ANDREW ROBITSHEK CHOSEN TO FILL TRUSTEE VACANCY
ANDREW ROBITSHEKNMC’s Board of Trustees unanimously appointed business owner Andrew Robitshek of Traverse City to fill a vacant trustee seat in November 2021. He will serve until the next community college election in November 2022.The owner of Bay Motor Products, a small manufacturing company, Robitshek, 54, was one of 11 eligible candidates who applied to fll the vacancy. He cited his love of the community, business knowledge and past board experience as driving his interest in serving on the board. - AERIAL VIEW
PETOBEGO SNOW
Snow and ice begin to encroach on Petobego Pond, immediately adjacent to East Grand Traverse Bay in Antrim County. The pond is part of the Petobego Creek Natural Area, recognized by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory as a natural area of statewide significance. This spring, NMC’s Marine Technology division will place a monitoring buoy in East Bay that includes a webcam.Photo by NMC aviation instructor Pauly Hurlbert. - NOTES & NOTABLES
BUOYS TO MONITOR EAST AND WEST BAYS, NORTH MANITOU
Three monitoring buoys, including the first ever on East Grand Traverse Bay, were placed last fall in an NMC-Michigan Technological University collaboration.Purchased with a $48,800 grant NMC received, the buoys were removed for winter but will return in the spring outfitted with webcams. Data to be available online includes wind speed and direction, wave height and direction, water temperature and video feed of the lake surface, updated every 30 minutes.“These buoys and data will support a broader understanding of Great Lakes processes and will provide users with near real-time information,” said Hans Van Sumeren, director of NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute.NMC offers students the opportunity to gain skills, knowledge and understanding of the world’s dynamic water resources by earning a bachelor’s degree in Marine Technology. Graduates of the bachelor’s program have 100 percent employment in the marine industry. Associate degrees in Engineering Technology-Marine and Freshwater Studies are also available.
