?Michigan Chiller? author wants to donate $10,000 to OOC

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

The northern Michigan author, who has written the popular youth book series Michigan Chillers and American Chillers will be going before members of the Presque Isle County Board of Commissioners later this month to express his willingness to make a sizable donation to the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center (OOC) so upgrades can be made at the camp. Chris Wright, who better known as Jonathan Rand when he is writing children?s books and Christopher Knight when he pens young adult books has a love for the facility, and is interested in donating $10,000 annually.

The last three years, Wright has established ?Author Quest? at the camp, inviting youth 10- to 15-years old to become better writers through course and instruction from other writers.

?It is such a perfect spot,? said Wright. ?It?s such a pristine location. You couldn?t find a better location than in the middle of the wilderness in Presque Isle County. It is a gem. I consider it our Author Quest home, and I not only want it utilized by our camp, but by other camps as well.?

SPEAKING WITH groups that use the facility, along with improvement requests from recent inspections found a need to focus on safety and liability issues first, said County Michigan State University Extension director Cheryl Peters. MSU Extension facilitates scheduling at the camp.

Commissioners Mike Grohowski and Kris Sorgenfrei toured the facility for two hours, July 1, and reported back to the entire board, July 8.

? The kitchen needs painting, old nonworking furnaces need to be removed and fire extinguisher systems need updating.

? Next, the bathroom and shower house facilities need major upgrades.

? The outdoor facilities, such as the docks on Ocqueoc Lake, repairing the archery range and shooting area and establishing trails on the 18-acre facility would be next in line.

? Long-term goals would be include renovating the office building (overlooking Ocqueoc Lake), which is currently not part of the rental agreement due to its condition and tearing down the old white barn that is in a poor state.

The former Civilian Conservation Corps camp was taken over by the county when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the previous owners of the camp, planned to tear down the buildings. Through the efforts of local individuals and the county, the facility was saved.

PETERS SAID there are a few weekdays in August available for booking, along with a couple of weeks in September, before the camp closes for the season September 30. For 2009, June and July are fully booked with groups.

Wright has his first segment of ?Author Quest? in June with 58 young people (10- to 12-year-olds) from 14 states attending the four-day, three-night program. ?There has been a huge demand for the 10 to 12 camp,? said Wright. ?It filled up real quick.? The next group (13 to 15) is scheduled to be in August.

MSU is offering a $200 scholarship to next month?s Author Quest, which will cover half of the cost. Applicants need to be from Presque Isle County and write a 100-word essay due to the office by July 24. Call MSU Extension at 734-2168 for more information.

?AS FAR as we know, it?s

the only camp of its kind in the country,? said Wright. ? There are no types of camps exclusively for writing.

?We visited a number of camps. We saw some really great camps, all across the state. We found some that are close to where we live, but didn?t fit what we were looking for.? Wright said he looks at the annual donation as an investment.

?It can be used for the upkeep of the camp, in the hopes other people around the state, and even around the country would see what kind of camp it is and how special it is,? he said on a cell phone, driving along the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon.

?Having project money donated would bring new opportunities for community groups to volunteer and get involved with fixing up the historic property,? said Peters. ?Ocqueoc Outdoor Center is worth preserving for future generations and this donation will help.? Wright lives in Topinabee, near Cheboygan. His books have sold more than one million copies.

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