CHARLEVOIX, Mich., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumers Energy, Little
Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and Michigan Historical Commission
officials recently unveiled a State Historical Marker at G. Robert Adams
Roadside Park east of Charlevoix. The marker honors the achievements of the
Big Rock Point nuclear plant and the significance of the area to the
Odawas.
"Big Rock Point and its employees were pioneers in demonstrating that
nuclear energy could safely and efficiently generate electricity," said
Jackson L. Hanson, Consumers Energy's vice president of generation,
engineering and services. "The outstanding safety record and the research
that was conducted at the plant help set the standard for the commercial
nuclear power industry that was to follow."
The plant set several industry records throughout its operating life
from 1962 to 1997 and was named a Nuclear Historic Landmark for its
contributions to the nuclear and medical communities. The site was
decommissioned and its 435 acres have been returned to a natural state,
free for unrestricted use.
"This location amongst many others on Little Traverse Bay is part of
the tapestry of historical and cultural significance for our tribal
people," said Frank Ettawageshik, tribal chairman of the Little Traverse
Bay Bands of Odawa Indians. "The marking of our tribal sense of place
enhances the appreciation of this region for tribal citizens and local
residents, and visitors as well."
"The Michigan Historical Marker program educates the public about the
richness of Michigan's past. This marker, which brings together the
traditions and history of the Odawa people, with the late twentieth century
activities at the Big Rock Nuclear Power Plant, is unique," said Laura
Ashlee, who coordinates the Michigan Historical Marker Program.
The Historical Marker is located in the Adams Roadside Park on Lake
Michigan, four miles east of Charlevoix. Visitors to the park can glance a
short distance across the bay and view the former location of the nuclear
plant and "Kitcheossening," the big rock after which the plant was named.
In addition to the State of Michigan Historical Marker, former Big Rock
Point employees Pam Gibson and Tracy Goble unveiled a landmark during the
Aug. 25 event dedicated specifically to the achievements of the nuclear
plant and it employees. The landmark is located near the entrance to the
former nuclear plant access road and commemorates the realization of the
dream that nuclear energy could safely and reliably produce electricity,
and the fulfillment of the company's promise to return the site to a
natural state. The landmark was funded entirely by donations from employees
and business friends of the plant.
On Jan. 8, 2007 Consumers Energy received approval from the U.S.
Nuclear Energy Commission to release for unrestricted use 435 acres of the
Big Rock Point Nuclear Plant property.
Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy Corporation
(NYSE: CMS), provides natural gas and electricity to more than 6.5 million
of Michigan's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians has over 4,000 tribal
citizens and provides governmental services from its offices in Harbor
Springs.
For more information about Consumers Energy visit
http://www.consumersenergy.com or call Tim Petrosky at 231-547-8177. Electronic
photos of the dedication are available by contacting Tim Petrosky.
For more information about the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa
Indians please visit http://www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov or call 231-242-1401.
The complete text of the State Historical Marker follows:
BIG ROCK POINT
NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
Consumers Power Company (later Consumers Energy) opened the Big Rock
Point Nuclear Power Plant just west of here in 1962. It was the world's
first high- power density boiling water reactor, and the fifth commercial
nuclear power plant in the U.S. The plant began as a research and
development facility, with the first goal being to prove that nuclear power
was economical. In addition to generating electricity, the reactor produced
cobalt 60 that was used to treat an estimated 400,000 cancer patients. In
1991 the American Nuclear Society named the plant a Nuclear Historic
Landmark. When it closed in 1997, Big Rock was the longest running nuclear
plant in the U.S. Consumers Energy later restored the site to a natural
area.
BIG ROCK POINT
Big Rock Point is named for a large boulder used as a landmark by
Native Americans. At least as early as the mid-nineteenth century Odawa
(Ottawa) Indians used Big Rock, which they called Kitcheossening, as a
gathering place each spring. The Odawa summered at Waganaksing (the area
between Harbor Springs and Cross Village), but dispersed into smaller
groups and traveled during the winter. Each spring they returned to Big
Rock, their canoes loaded with sugar, furs, deer skins, prepared venison,
bear's oil, and bear meat prepared in oil, deer tallow, and sometimes a lot
of honey. From there they returned to Waganaksing by crossing the bay in
wiigwaas jiimaan (birch bark canoes). In 1999 elders and youth from the
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians recreated the crossing.
SOURCE Consumers Energy
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Related links:
http://www.consumersenergy.com
http://www.ltbbodawa-nsn.gov/
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/203850.html/
CONTACT:
Tim Petrosky for Consumers Energy,
+1-231-547-8177
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