Residents, superintendent and sheriff press for school resource officer as register warns of rising real-estate fraud

Public comment at the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners’ May 23 meeting focused on school safety, while staff reports raised county concerns about cybersecurity and an uptick in real-estate fraud.

Bob Lohff, identified in the minutes as Les Cheneaux Schools superintendent, asked the board to support placement of a school resource officer for his district; Sheriff Ed Wilk and Les Cheneaux School Board member Scout Hester spoke in favor of the request during the public comment period. The board took the comments for the record; no formal vote on funding or placement was recorded in the minutes.

Sheriff Ed Wilk reported the county had received a secondary road patrol grant, noted parking-lot maintenance needs at county facilities, and said Empiric appears to be managing the county’s cybersecurity. Register of Deeds Mary Jo Savard warned that real-estate fraud is increasing, saying she has observed fake sellers using fraudulent identification and urged improved protections to prevent escalation.

Veterans Committee Chair Dick Pershinske reported outreach work and upcoming building-surface repairs to prepare the EMS building to host the Veterans Office; the sheriff suggested the EMS building could also accommodate MSU Extension, but Equalization Senior Appraiser Jolene Larsen said the Equalization Office needs its space and that combining offices is not feasible. Commissioner Jodi Kaiser also noted the Veterans Committee had not properly posted some meeting notices, raising an Open Meetings Act posting concern.

The board did not take an immediate action to place a school resource officer during the session; next steps were not specified in the minutes. The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.