By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
At the Board of Commissioners' weekend retreat, new Dowagiac Commissioner John Cureton floated an idea he's been chewing over for some time - an ordinance banning smoking in Cass County eateries.
Cureton said Tuesday that fellow Republicans Robert Ziliak from the Niles area and Jack Teter Sr. from the Edwardsburg area both brought up that with Michigan's murky financial forecast it is not a good time for Cass County to push an issue which could potentially be met with expensive legal challenges.
Cureton said his research through the Michigan Association of Counties (MAC) indicated that no county has such an ordinance, although Marquette County tried such an approach - and encountered legal problems.
Cureton also said Ingham County (Lansing) is studying such an ordinance.
Personally, "I don't see a legal problem," said the retired newsman.
Cureton doesn't smoke or drink, which made him an ironic choice for assignment to the Lakeshore Coordinating Council for substance abuse.
He said Commissioner Terri Kitchen, R-Silver Creek Township, another non-smoker, said if restaurant customers found smoke in a certain establishment offensive, they could choose to eat somewhere else.
While that's "good advice," Cureton said, he doesn't believe it's the solution based on talking to his constituents.