The Sun and News, Saturday, July 29, 2023/ Page 5Treatments continue on Gun Lake to treat invasive plants
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
More than 46 acres of Gun
Lake underwent chemical
treatment this week as efforts
continue to manage invasive
and nuisance plants, particu-
larly in channels and canals
on the lake’s edges.
SOLitude Lake
Management applied a vari-
ety of algicides and herbi-
cides to the lake, primarily
in the canals and channels
on the northwest and south-
ern portions of Gun Lake,
after getting approval from
the Gun Lake Improvement
Board at its July 20 meet-
ing. The primary agent used
in the treatment of the lake
was peroxygen algicides –
one a concentration of 100
pounds per acre on 22.
acres of the lake, another a
concentration of 200
pounds per acre on 21.
acres of the lake.
The total cost of the treat-
ments was $18,653. The
treatments were recommend-
ed following a July 18 evalu-
ation of vegetation in the
lake by Luke Britton, district
operations manager for
SOLitude.
“All the canals were host
to dense algae mats below
the surface and some held
invasive starry stonewort,”
SOLitude wrote in its report
to the board.
Britton went on to say at
the July 20 meeting that
some areas “was probably
the thickest that I’ve seen
algae down below the sur-
face without it ... balloon-
ing up and matting out.”
Those areas were targeted
with the heavier concentra-
tion of the peroxygen algi-
cides.
In addition, invasive
Eurasian milfoil was also
found in the littorial zone
along Willow Street, board
member Doug Kammeraad
of Wayland Township report-
ed.
SOLitude, previously
known as Clarke Aquatic
Services, conducts algicide
and herbicide treatments on
the lake several times a year
under contract with the Gun
Lake Improvement Board.
The company, at the direc-
tion of GLIB, has this year
been moving away from its
previous practice of using
copper-based treatments,
which some lakefront prop-
erty owners say has damaged
native aquatic plants and
impacted fishing quality on
the lake.Board member Gale
Dugan, who represents the
Allegan County Board of
Commissioners on GLIB,
made the motion to approve
the treatments, specifically
addressing the concern about
the impact of past copper
treatments on the lake.
“The question of adding
more copper to the lake (is a
concern). This is the no-cop-
per-at-all (option),” Dugan
said.
“If they go out there and
they’re caught with copper
sulfate, it’s going to be prob-
lem,” Dugan added.
The peroxygen algicide
treatments are about twice as
expensive as a chelated cop-
per option that was presented
to the board, which involves
a protective covering over
copper atoms that results in a
slower release of copper totreat algae blooms.
“It’s a copper-based prod-
uct, but it’s a liquid form. It’s
not the granular, fine-dia-
mond copper,” Britton said.“The board has asked us to
provide them with a copper
option and a non-copper
option, and they decide at
meetings like tonight whatoption they want to go with,”
he added.
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Love, your familyLisa Sue
Thornapple Township Emergency
Services captain pleads guilty to
drug charges, gets probation
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
An officer with Thornapple
Township Emergency
Services pleaded guilty
Wednesday to two misde-
meanor drug charges.
Chad Nicholas Klutman,
46, pleaded guilty to charges
of use of marijuana and
allowing consumption of a
drug by a minor in Barry
County court. Judge Michael
Schipper sentenced Klutman
to one year probation and
ordered him to pay $480 in
fines and court costs, plus
$400 in oversight fees.
Schipper dropped the origi-
nal felony charge of delivery
or manufacture of a con-
trolled substance in exchange
for the guilty pleas.
Klutman, a firefighter and
paramedic who holds the
rank of captain at TTES, has
been on a leave of absence
from the department since
early this month.
The charges stem from an
incident on June 9 in
Thornapple Township.
Assistant County Prosecutor
Christopher Ellsworth told
the court that Klutman was
using marijuana in a vehicle
occupied by two other peo-
ple, a 19-year-old man and
17-year-old girl.
Klutman’s attorney,
Joseph Brugnoli, asked the
court to sentence his client
under Michigan’s 7411 stat-
ute that allows first-time
drug offenders to have their
crime expunged once they
complete terms of their sen-
tence. Klutman had no prior
offenses.
However, Ellsworth
objected to Brugnoli’s
request.
“I don’t object to 7411 for
first-time offenders if the use
is their own,” Ellsworth said.
“This, I consider, not neces-
sarily Mr. Klutman’s use, but
the fact that he was doing it... with an individual who
was 19 years old, and he pro-
vided that marijuana to the
19-year-old. So that 19-year-
old has violated the law him-
self.”
Schipper asked Klutman
directly what he was doing
with the two other people
that were in his car.
“Other than driving around
your own kids at that age or
coaching kids, what are you
doing with a 19-year-old and
17-year-old?” the judge
asked.
“I was not in a clear state
of mind, your honor,”
Klutman responded. “I was
just looking to smoke and
find someone who smoked,
and it was him, and I did not
realize that his girlfriend was
under the age of 18 ... I
wasn’t fully aware of the
rules regarding use of mari-
juana in the presence of
someone under the age of
21.”“It was incredibly, incredi-
bly stupid of me,” he added.
Schipper rejected the 7411
motion. He also spoke of
Klutman’s position with the
fire department and the visi-
bility and responsibility that
comes from being associated
with the department.
“My dad was a pastor and
then a high school teacher,
and he said it may not seem
fair, but every job carries
with it different responsibili-
ties,” Schipper said. “If you
don’t want those responsibil-
ities and how people look up
to you, then don’t do those
jobs.
“You’re in a position that
people think is a responsible
position and a position that
people look up to. That car-
ries weight with it. If you’re
not prepared to carry that
weight, then get a different
job.”
Klutman said he has
entered into counseling andapologized for his actions.
“I regret my choice, and I
just want to get back to doing
what I love to do, in helping
people and taking care of my
community,” he said. “I
know I’ve let so many peo-
ple down, and I just want to
get back and take care of
people.”
Schipper ordered Klutman
not to have any contact with
any individuals under the ageof 18 unless it’s in the con-
text of his work.
TTES Chief Bill
Richardson wrote in an
email Wednesday afternoon
that he is waiting to meet
with Thornapple Township’s
Personnel and
Compensation Committee
to determine what the next
steps should be with regard
to Klutman’s future with
the department.Chad Klutman (left), an officer with Thornapple
Township Emergency Services, stands next to attor-
ney Joseph Brugnoli during Wednesday morning’s
hearing in front of Judge Michael Schipper. (Photo by
Greg Chandler)Gun Lake was recently subject to treatments to combat invasive plants.
(Courtesy photo)