Local family continues on fantastic voyage
We got to Portland at 10:00 p.m., so we just climbed aboard and went to bed. The next day was the only nice day for the entire week, which was rainy and cold and windy (this week was supposed to be too, but I was glad the weather guy was wrong).
We took off the huge canvas cover, which took most of the day (the previous owner had a delight for using zip-ties). For the next few days, we checked out the bilge (the very bottom of the boat where the water hangs out and molds, but thankfully there wasn’t much of that on Coaster).
We took apart the old big brass Edson hand bilge pump. The first time we went sailing was an adventure; there were small craft warnings and thirty-knot winds, and it was cold, rainy and wet.
We heard that our friend Brian had the day off—he works on the ship Bounty and was in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as Orlando Blooms stunt-double. He said he wanted to look at Coaster, but the one problem was he didn’t have a car. So we drove up to Booth Bay, where the Bounty was getting all its repairs, and got a private tour.
We got to help launch a wooden life boat with two other deckhands, and I saw my first jellyfish. Brian showed us some traditional knots and how to tighten the deadeyes.
We left Portland on May 15 and started into open ocean, but it was chilly out so it wasn’t magnificently grand. We moored in Portsmouth that night. The next morning was better because I saw a porpoise.
We moored at Gloucester where I found tons of beach glass (it’s very plentiful if there are a lot of bars). Then we set off again and saw a dolphin.
We moored at Plymouth and saw Plymouth Rock, which was educational. The next day, I learned how to splice lines (you don’t call ropes “ropes” on a boat; they are called lines) and do a fisherman’s whipping, which is nonviolent, but instead keeps the end of the lines from getting frayed.
We moored at Block Island (Rhode Island). We are on the Hudson River just getting to West Point.
—Thanos Economides, 14

Former governor takes a stand against sulfide mining
No resource is more important to Michigan’s future than the Great Lakes. They literally surround us, leading to our identification as the “Great Lakes State.”
Any action that could threaten the quality of the Great Lakes must be approached with extreme caution, particularly by the State of Michigan. That is why all people who care about the future of this state and of the Great Lakes should be very concerned about a proposal now before the state Department of Environmental Quality to blast a nickel mine in the Upper Peninsula under the headwaters of the Salmon Trout River, one of Lake Superior’s primary tributaries.
The mine being proposed by Kennecott Minerals would be much different from the iron ore mines that now exist and have existed in the U.P. for decades. It would involve blasting into underground sulfide ore deposits that contain nickel being sought by the mining company. Sulfide ores leach acid as soon as they come in contact with water and air.
Underground water seeping into the mine itself would create sulfuric acid, resulting in acid mine drainage of the equivalent of battery acid that would run off into rivers, contaminate groundwaters and end up in Lakes Superior and Michigan.
The top of the proposed mine is level with the aquifer closest to the surface that connects with the Salmon Trout River, which adds to the threat that the river could become contaminated with acid mine drainage.
The material loosed in the blasting process would be hauled out by trucks, with an estimated eighty truckloads per day leaving the mine. Each truckload would spill sulfide ores along its way, creating more acid contamination along its route.
The proposed mine also poses the threat of air pollution, with a ventilation system that would vent air from the mine through a fifty-foot tall stack that would have no air pollution controls, releasing an estimated minimum of twenty tons per year of dust containing sulfides and metals only 300 feet from the Salmon Trout River.
Beyond that, geologists say that because of the huge hole that would be created underground by the blasting operations, there is also the real threat that the river would actually collapse into the mine at some point.
The DEQ initially issued a draft decision to permit the mine in January. That was followed by the revelation that a report from a DEQ consultant that was highly critical of the proposed mine was suppressed by DEQ staff during the permitting process. The suppressed report was subsequently made public and the draft permit was revoked.
The area of this proposed sulfide mine is wide open, unpaved and unpowered. It is situated right in the middle of the largest undeveloped tract in all of Michigan. Its rivers and streams feed Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. What a terrible place for a mine. What a terrible threat to the Great Lakes, and all this for a mine that has a projected life of seven to eight years and is projected to create, at the most, 100 jobs. When the mine closed, we would be left with a huge hole in the ground, the potential for severe environmental damage, and no jobs.
If Michigan were to allow this mine to set up shop, we would be carrying out a modern-day equivalent to the Biblical story of Esau selling his birthright for a “mess of Pottage.”
The residents of the area are overwhelmingly opposed to this mine. They do not want their neighborhood despoiled. They have made that opposition very clear and have created their own Web site, www.savethewildup.org
We made great progress in the latter decades of the twentieth century, reversing the old mindset of exploiting our natural resources, including the Great Lakes, and then cleaning up the mess at a later time. The lakes became more natural, drinkable, swimmable and fishable.
Unfortunately, the Great Lakes face more threats today than ever before. Let’s join all our voices with those of the citizens of the Upper Peninsula who are determined to protect their environment and the Great Lakes. Let’s tell the DEQ in no uncertain terms we don’t want this mine to despoil our state.
—William G. Milliken
Originally from Traverse City, Milliken served as governor from ’69 to ’83.

Rotary Foundation accepting grant applications
The Marquette West Rotary Foundation is preparing to distribute funds to Marquette area agencies and organizations whose activities will directly benefit children and youth, the elderly, the handicapped and the poor and those in extreme need.
The foundation was formed in 1988 and has dispersed over a quarter of a million dollars to local charities through its Seafood Fest proceeds, an annual event which will be held August 23 through 25 by the Marquette West Rotary Club. To apply, call Craig at 225-1174. The application must be submitted by June 30.

Third annual wife-carrying contest planned for June 23
The Marquette Scandinavian Midsummer Committee is soliciting contestants for the third annual wife-carrying contest to be held at the festival on June 23 at Presque Isle Park in Marquette.
The contest is the sport of men carrying women through an obstacle course. The sport originated in Finland and is reminiscent of the past where men courted women by running to their village, picking them up and carrying them off.
The course consists of two dry obstacles and one water obstacle. A variety of carry styles may be used: piggyback, fireman’s carry or Estonian.
Advance registration is required. For details, call 226-7085.
The festival celebrates the ethnic heritage of the five Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Admission is free. Events start with the ceremonial raising of the decorated Midsummer Pole at 10:00 a.m., and continue with on stage music and dance programming, shopping in the marketplace and children’s activities throughout the day.
Midsummer ends with a public dance and traditional bonfire at dusk.

Life Tracker program available for Alzheimer’s patients
The Alzheimer’s Association Greater Michigan Chapter Upper Peninsula Region, Marquette County Sheriff’s Office and Triad of Marquette County are working together on a program to save lives called Life Tracker.
Clients in this program wear a wristband twenty-four seven that serves as a tracking device for those who have the tendency to wander. It sends off signals every second that can be tracked by search teams.
Volunteers recruited throughout Marquette County facilitate the Life Tracker program. A volunteer will come to a home, complete a Client Profile and fit the client with an individualized wristband.
Volunteers will visit the client’s household once a month to change the battery in the wristband. To ensure stability of the program a start-up donation and a monthly fee are requested from each client.
For details, call 228-3910.
Detours now, improvement later in Downtown Marquette
The West Washington Street improvement and enhancement projects will bring much needed improvements to the 500 through the 900 blocks Washington Street. The second phase of the project has begun, with the block from Fifth Street to Seventh Street.
While detours and disruptions are prevalent, the businesses remain open to serve their customers. The City of Marquette Engineering Department has posted directional signs to help customers find their way to the businesses during construction.
Phasing of construction assures that access to each business remains open. Businesses located on the South Side of West Washington Street (Earl’s Carpet, Sacred Heart Religious Goods, Coachlight Restaurant, Superior Hearing Center, Uncommon Threads, Flanigan’s and Dano’s Pizza) are accessible through the alley off Fifth Street. One entry lane of access from Seventh or Sixth Street to Freedom Valu Center will remain open throughout the project.
Access to the Ramada Inn will remain open off Sixth Street. Seventh Street access is available to the Border Grill, Northern Stationers, and Yakety Yak.

Traveling POW exhibit visits Peter White Public Library 
“Behind Barbed Wire,” a touring exhibit exploring the experiences of Midwest prisoners of war (POWs) who were imprisoned in Hitler’s Third Reich, will make a stop in Marquette from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on June 5 at the Peter White Public Library.
A supplementary presentation will take place at 2:30 p.m. inside the library.
The exhibit was created by the Iowa-based, nonprofit educational organization Traces. Director Michael Luick-Thrams and guest historians travel with the mobile exhibit, housed in a converted school bus—a bus-eum. It should be noted that the bus-eum is not wheelchair accessible, but the 2:30 p.m. presentation inside the library is. For details, call 228-9510 or visit www.traces.org

Earth Keeper conference set for June 13 in Marquette
The Superior Watershed Partnership, in cooperation with the Cedar Tree Institute, will present an Earth Keeper conference from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on June 13 at the Upfront and Company in downtown Marquette.
Michigan Inter-Faith Power and Light, Great Waters, Northern Options and Mackinaw Wind Power are planned presentations. Emphasis will be on how to conserve energy and save money in church buildings, schools, businesses and homes. The conference is free and open to the public. Visit www.superwatersheds.org for details.

Marquette Township celebrates National Trails Day
In honor of National Trails Day on June 2, the Marquette Township Recreation Committee will host an open house and work day at Schwemwood Park, off CR-492 just south of the Marquette Township Hall.
From 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the community is invited to walk the park and help spruce up the trail for the summer season.
Schwemwood Park was a gift from Evelyn Schwemin Woodbridge as a memorial park to honor her mother, Francis Schwemin, who was the Marquette Township treasurer for forty years. The park name combines Woodbridge’s maiden and married names.
Members of the Schwemin family were among the early landowners in Marquette Township. Woodbridge’s father, Frank Schwemin, arrived from Germany in the 1880s. The current parkland is part of his farm parcel.
Developers of the nearby Lost Creek Housing Development, Medallion Management of Kalamazoo, provided the materials for the bridges and overlooks.
Volunteers participating in workday activities will help in trail clearing, laying woodchips and cleaning up trash along the trail. Bring hand tools and work gloves. Adults and children accompanied by a parent are invited to attend. For details, call 226-2461.

Earth Day pharmaceutical sweep deemed a success
Northern Michigan residents honored Earth Day by turning in tens of thousands of pills plus narcotics with an estimated street value of half a million dollars during the third annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep.
The 2007 Pharmaceutical Clean Sweep targeted out-of-date and unwanted medications of all kinds, according to Carl Lindquist, executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership.
Lindquist estimated that more than one ton of pharmaceuticals and personal care products were turned in by the public.
The controlled substances turned in have an estimated street value of $500,000, including narcotics in pill and liquid form, clean sweep organizers said.
Several police officers estimated that each one of the narcotics and other controlled drugs had a street value ranging from $5 to $25 per pill.

Gwinn Middle School teacher receives MEEMIC grant
Kristy Gollakner, a teacher at Gwinn Middle School received a $2,000 grant to help fund the cost of a joint project with the Michigan State University Extension Service Office and her general science class to determine the cause of algae growth in an area lake.
Created in 1992, the nonprofit MEEMIC Foundation for the Future of Education offers mini-grants of up to $2,500 to Michigan educational employees. For information about the mini-grant, or to apply online, visit www.meemic.com and click on “Especially for Educators.”

Star Date: June 2007
Moon & Planets—Jupiter is at opposition this month, which means it will rise at sunset and be up all night long. Venus and Saturn start the month off high in the west after sunset, but are slowly starting to set earlier each night. Mercury can be glimpsed well below Venus early in the month but soon disappears. Mars rises before dawn and is starting to brighten. As June progresses, Saturn moves closer and closer to Venus each night. On the 30th, they finally meet to form a striking pair. The crescent moon will be below Venus on the 17th and be between Saturn and Venus on the 18th. June 21 is the summer solstice. On this longest day (and shortest night) of the year, the sun will be the highest at noon that it can attain.

Constellations—The short nights of June are even shorter in the Upper Peninsula due to our far northern latitude. Nevertheless, because of our location we can enjoy a special sight that most of the country does not experience. The sixth brightest star in the sky is Capella in the constellation Auriga. It is the most northern first magnitude star in the heavens. Capella is circumpolar at the latitude of the Upper Peninsula, and therefore never sets. For those living farther south, it sets in the northwest this time of year soon after sunset. From anywhere in the U.P., however, it can be seen all night long moving west to east, skimming along the northern horizon. This beacon will be due north between midnight and 1:00 a.m. from mid-June to early July. The Lake Superior shoreline will provide the best view of this star as it hovers low over the lake.
—Craig Linde

Courtesy of the Marquette Astronomical Society, which meets four times a year. The next meeting is at 6:00 p.m. on June 24 at Green Garden Hill in West Branch Township. Visit www.geocities.com/sstobbelaar/mqtastro.html for details.

Free Press writer to offer workshops and wisdom
Award-winning religion writer for the Detroit Free Press David Crumm, is coming to Marquette in June to help celebrate the tenth annual Good News Awards.
During his two-day visit, Crumm will conduct workshops for religious leaders and journalists and speak at the awards luncheon, which honors Upper Peninsula media professionals for the work they do that uplifts the human spirit, affirms the dignity of people, and upholds universally-recognized human values.
Crumm will offer a workshop for religious communicators, church leaders, clergy and other interested persons of all denominations from 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. on June 11 at First Presbyterian Church in Marquette. The seminar is titled, “Seeing the World through Eyes of Faith.” The next day Crumm will provide a workshop for local journalists called “Changing Horses as We Ride toward Media’s Horizon” from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Upfront & Company in Marquette.
Following the workshop, Crumm will speak at the Good News Awards luncheon, which begins at noon, also at Upfront. The cost for each workshop is $10, and the cost of the luncheon is $15.
The registration deadline is May 31. Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the events, which are sponsored by religious leaders of the Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, United Methodist, Presbyterian and Catholic churches of the Upper Peninsula.
For details, call (800)562-9745, ext. 129 or e-mail lkoskey@dioceseofmarquette.org

Citizens urged not to handle or adopt young wildlife
The Department of Natural Resources reminds outdoor enthusiasts to resist handling or adopting what appear to be orphaned baby animals. Wild animals are protected by state regulations and may be kept temporarily only by those who possess wildlife rehabilitation permits.
Many biological and disease problems are associated with handling wild animals including rabies, distemper, parasites and mange. Raccoons, for example, are known to host a roundworm that can cause blindness and death in people.
Before you assume an animal is in trouble, you should wait and watch. Citizens who suspect a wild baby animal is abandoned should call the nearest DNR office.
DNR personnel will assess the situation and refer the caller to a permitted wildlife rehabilitator when appropriate. DNR office locations can be found on the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnr

Artists-in-residence program winners announced
Department of Natural Resources state park and recreation officials announced that the Porcupine Mountains Artist-in-Residence program (AIRP) committee has selected six artists from a field of thirty-nine to participate in the inaugural year of the Artist-in-Residence program.
The artists selected this year include writer Leslie Askwith (Sault Ste. Marie), filmmaker George Desort (Chassell), pastel artist Susan Henshaw (Union Pier), watercolor artist Clyde Mikkola (Calumet), photographer Ron Strong (Cedar), and musician and composer Dave McCormick (Washburn, Wisconsin). Honorable mention went to oil painter Michael Breakiron (Grand Rapids) and acrylic painter Kelly Meredith (Butternut, Wisconsin).
The Artist-in-Residence Program is sponsored by the Friends of the Porkies, a nonprofit volunteer organization that works to support and promote the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. Applications for 2008 and specific dates of residency for this year’s winners will be announced through the Friends of the Porkies Web site at www.porkies.org

Bell Hospital union contract settlement reached
Bell Hospital administration and Steelworkers Local #8293 announced that a three-year contract agreement has been reached. The Bell Board of Directors recently approved the contract at their April meeting.
The Steelworkers represent an estimated 150 hospital employees, excluding administration, nursing staff and physicians.

State forest campground fees increased through Michigan
Effective May 14, the fees for camping at state forest campgrounds increased following action taken by the Department of Natural Resources.
For designated campgrounds, the fees will go from $10 to $15 per campsite, per night. For equestrian, off-road vehicle and semi-modern campgrounds, the fee will increase from $10 to $20 per campsite, per night.
Designated group campground rates will increase from $3 to $6 per person, per night. And for cabins at two state forest campgrounds—Presque Isle and Lime Island—the rates will be raised from $35 and $45 per night, respectively, to $65 per night. Senior rates at campgrounds and weekly rates at cabins will be eliminated. There will be no fee for dispersed camping on state forestland.
Historically the fees paid by campers have been used to pay for routine maintenance and capital outlay needs of managing the campgrounds.

Health education corporation to host grant workshop
The Upper Peninsula Health Education Corporation will host a grantsmanship training program, July 30 through August 3 at the Michigan Works Service Center.
The five-day workshop will be conducted by the Grantsmanship Center, the world’s oldest and largest training organization for the nonprofit sector.
Designed for both novice and experienced grant seekers, this workshop covers all aspects of searching for grants, writing grant proposals and negotiating with funding sources.
To ensure personal attention, registration is limited to thirty participants. The program fee of $875 includes workshop tuition and one year of TGCI membership benefits and services. For details, call 228-7970.

Self-management program available for diabetics
If you have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, you are invited to take part in a free online workshop and study sponsored by the Stanford School of Medicine.
Recruitment and enrollment has begun for a two-year study to determine the effectiveness of the online program for people living in the United States with Type 2 diabetes.
This online workshop teaches the skills needed in the day-to-day management of chronic health conditions as well as maintaining or increasing life’s activities.
Qualified participants will be assigned randomly either to participate in the workshop immediately or to a control group. Both groups will complete four online questionnaires about their health over a two-year period.
During the first year of the study, control participants will receive a gift certificate after completing each questionnaire. After twelve months, control participants will receive the course materials.
This six-week program is done entirely on the Internet—participants choose the days and times that are most convenient. All levels of computer expertise are welcome. Participation requires logging on two to three times a week for six weeks for a total of one to two hours a week.
For details, e-mail diabetes@med.stanford.edu or call (800)366-2624.

First annual Munising Bay Arts Festival set for June 30
The first annual Munising Bay Arts Festival will be held on June 30. The event takes place from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., inside and outside at the Munising Community Credit Union on M-28.
The festival is the first project of an arts group that has been meeting this spring. For details, call 387-2125.

Free seminar helps consumers make smart decisions
Peter White Public Library will host Investor Education at Your Library at 10:00 a.m. on June 2.
The ninety-minute seminar will be followed by optional one-on-one counseling sessions. There is no charge to attend the seminar. This noncommercial workshop is sponsored by the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services and the Investor Protection Trust.
The seminar includes material provided by the Securities Section of the Office of Financial and Insurance Services and the Investor Protection Trust (IPT). Participants will receive a copy of 5 Keys to Investing Success from IPT and Kiplinger.
The seminar is part of the national Investor Education at Your Library program sponsored by the American Library Association and Investor Protection Trust. The seminar will be led by Mark Robinson, CIMA, AIFA and Securities Staff from the Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services. To register, call 226-4311.

Parade committee announces parade marshalls, theme
The Marquette Noon Kiwanis parade organizers for the Marquette Fourth of July parade announced the 2007 Grand Parade Marshall will be Dr. Charles Wright and his wife, Katherine. The honorary 2007 Parade Marshall will be the U.P. Children’s Museum, and the 2007 Fourth of July parade theme is “Freedom Isn’t Free.”
Parade entries will be limited to eighty units. The objective is to present a two-hour event. Parade entry fees are as follows: $25 for nonprofit organizations, $75 for profit businesses/organizations, and $100 for political entries. Kiwanis, along with support from members of Rotary, the American Legion, the Exchange Club and the Marquette Area Community have presented the “Greatest Fourth in the North” parade for the past six years. For details, call 228-4537.

Michigamme’s Steam Team sets car show, fundraiser
The Michigamme Steam Team will hold a car show and craft sale from noon until 4:00 p.m. on June 24. The event is part of the Steam Team’s fundraising efforts for a recently purchased 1900 Fire Engine Steamer.
Anyone interested in selling crafts is welcomed to do so and can display their wares for $20 a space. Vintage cars may participate in the car show for no charge.
After spotting the fire engine that originally belonged to Michigamme on eBay, the Steam Team received a loan from the township to purchase the steamer. In order to repay the loan, the team has been working on fundraising. Buttons with images of the fire engine are available for $1 from any museum, fire department or Steam Team member. The fire engine steamer is on display at the Michigamme Fire Hall, and will be on tour at various events throughout the summer. For details, call Floyd at 323-6301.

Harry Potter celebration set for Downtown Marquette
A Downtown Marquette Harry Potter festival will be held on July 19 and 20. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the famous series by J.K. Rowling, will be released at midnight July 21.
Downtown Marquette will transform into Hogsmeade, the magical village in the Potter books. Activities include film showings, a costume contest, a Grand Wizard March, potions demonstrations, a Phoenix Dance recital, an outdoor Jule Ball, a dragon egg hunt, balloons, a Snape Hunt, wand making, trivia contest and other games.
Downtown businesses are encouraged to remain open until 9:00 p.m. Friday, to dress in costume, decorate their windows, place Harry Potter type names over their doors, rename the food items on their menus, and create their own magic inside their businesses. Snowbound Books and Book World are taking orders for the seventh title and offering discounts.
The Downtown Merchants Association, The Downtown Development Authority, Marquette Country Convention and Visitors Bureau, Peter White Public Library, Snowbound Books, the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, the Marquette Masonic Association, the Marquette Arts and Culture Center and other Potter enthusiasts are working to plan the festival.
The committee meets on alternate Wednesdays at 8:00 a.m. in the teen area of the library. The next meeting is May 30. All who are interested in planning and volunteering are welcome to attend. For details, call 226-4323.

First Sawyer Experience Air Show starts on June 23
The Sawyer Experience Air Show is scheduled for June 23 and 24 at Sawyer International Airport. A number of flight demonstrations will be held on June 22, for local and regional media to see firsthand the aircraft that will be performing and on static display during the weekend.
Mike McNeil, air show committee chairman, said a total of eighteen months of planning have gone into preparations for the air show, including the arrival and static display of a large variety of civilian and military aircraft. Of special significance during the weekend air show will be a Wing-to-Wing Formation Flight with the P-51 Mustang and a USAF F-16 Fighting Falcon to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the United States Air Force. Military personnel and recruiters from all branches of the military are expected to attend to answer questions about the military aircraft on display.
Food and beverages will be available for sale during the event, with the main entrance for the air show via Boreal Aviation at 401 Avenue F (signs will be posted to direct vehicle and pedestrian traffic). For details or volunteer information, call 250-2328 or visit www.sawyerairshow.com

Vendors sought for farmers and artists market
The Downtown Marquette Association is accepting applications for the Downtown Marquette Farmers and Artists Market. The open-air market will be held every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m., June through September, and on Thursday evenings from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. July 5 through August 30.
With the completion of the Marquette Commons near the intersection of South Third and Washington Street, the Downtown Marquette Farmers and Artists Market will move to this new and permanent location.
New this year, the market will celebrate a grand opening from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. June 23. The festivities will include a bountiful display from the farmers and artists who will be participating in the 2007 Farmers Market.
The Thursday evening market also will be part of the popular outdoor concert series, Uncommon Thursdays, that will feature musical performances from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. in the same area.
The Downtown Marquette Association has compiled a simple application packet that includes an application, market guidelines and contact information. The $35 application fee enables farmers, gardeners, artists and crafters to sell on both days throughout the season. For details, call 228-6213.

Catholic Diocese releases pastoral plan for ministry
Bishop Alexander K. Sample of the Catholic Diocese of Marquette released the Diocesan Pastoral Plan for parish ministry at weekend masses on May 19 and 20 throughout the Upper Peninsula.
The pastoral plan is called “Of One Heart and Mind,” with the title based on a scripture passage from Chapter four of the Acts of the Apostles. It was developed by the Diocesan Planning Steering Committee, which was composed of clergy, religious and laypeople from across the diocese during fifteen months of study and consultation.
The final plan, which was significantly altered from the preliminary version, calls for changes in parish life by the year 2010, some of which reflect growth and others that denote a decline in parish membership and population.
In consideration of the growth at K.I. Sawyer, the pastoral plan contains an outreach challenge to the diocese, in conjunction with St. Anthony Parish in Gwinn, to conduct a needs assessment and feasibility study for developing a pastoral presence there. That study is to be completed by June 30, 2008.
St. Mary Mission in Big Bay is being challenged to consider expanding its church building to accommodate the seasonal influx of people attending mass there during the summer.
The plan also includes a directive to the parishes in the Sault Ste. Marie area to assist with enhancing the training program for priests in Native ministry.
The most painful provision in the plan entails the closure of five parish and mission sites. Those to be closed by October 31 are St. Cecilia in Hubbell, St. Francis Xavier in Sidnaw and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Zeba. Our Lady of Lourdes in Engadine will close by June 30, 2008 and St. Catherine in Marenisco will close when a priest is no longer available to serve the mission, as determined by the bishop.
The closure of those churches will affect approximately 194 families out of the total number of 23,703 across the diocese.
Other parishes and missions that were proposed for closure in the preliminary plans but will remain open are Sacred Heart in Calumet, St. Francis of Assisi in Dollar Bay, St. Anthony of Padua in Wells and St. Jude in White Pine. St. Mary in Trout Lake will be open seasonally, from May through October, beginning this year, instead of being closed.
The preliminary plan had envisioned the closure of St. Therese in Germfask, St. Stephen in Naubinway, St. Timothy in Curtis with the intent to merge those three missions, along with Our Lady of Lourdes in Engadine, into one faith community to be accommodated by the construction of a new combined church. However, that proposal was deemed unworkable at this time.
Faith communities in seven areas of the U.P. have been challenged to conduct long-range studies for the purpose of determining the feasibility of continuing to operate multiple parishes in close proximity to one another. Overall, the diocese expects to have six fewer pastors and three fewer priests available for parish ministry in 2010 than it does today.
So the pastoral plan provides for forty-two pastors and the placement of eleven associate pastors, who will receive assignments as they become available.

Tidbits from the desk of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
• Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) announced passage of her bipartisan amendment that would put an end to frivolous petitions used by brand drug companies to delay the entrance of generic drugs into the marketplace, robbing consumers and businesses of affordable choices. The delayed access to lower priced generics costs employers, health insurance providers, government health programs and consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Stabenow introduced the Mortgage Relief Act that would change current law that forces individuals to pay an income tax when they have had a part of their mortgage loan forgiven or have been forced to foreclose because of their inability to pay their mortgage. The bill also is sponsored by Senators Carl Levin (D-Michigan), George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and John Kerry (D-Massachusetts).
• Stabenow made the following statement regarding the purchase of eighty percent of Chrysler by Cerberus Capital Management: “Manufacturing is the heart and soul of the Michigan economy and Chrysler has played a vital role in our state’s history as the automobile capital of the world. I am hopeful that this development will allow Chrysler to continue producing high quality cars while helping to fuel our economy and provide good jobs here in Michigan. I look forward to working with Chrysler, Cerberus and our working families to make sure that this new chapter for Chrysler works for Michigan.”

Local authors corner
• North Country Publishing of Skandia announced that The Superior Peninsula—Seasons in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by Lon Emerick now is available in its fourth reprint, after a brief out-of-stock period. The new print of The Superior Peninsula is available at book and gift stores or from North Country Publishing, 355 Heidtman Road in Skandia. For details, visit www.northcountrypublishing.com or call (866)942-7898.
• Big Bay resident Tina Gratz (pen name Tina Lonski) published A Transplanted Yooper: Mostly True Stories of Michigan’s U.P., a collection of stories based on her lifelong attraction to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. From driving across the Mackinac Bridge for the first time in 1958 to witnessing the twenty-fifth memorial service for the Edmund Fitzgerald, A Transplanted Yooper takes readers on some of her adventures in the U.P. Stories of ghost towns, poor-rock piles, bears in the dumps and mountains of snow recapture her enduring love of the state’s colorful Great Lakes heritage. The book is available from Essential Communications, 1725 Eifert Road, Holt, MI 48842 or from www.transplantedyooper.com

Local business news in brief
• Dr. Scott Doughty has returned to Marquette from the Zuni Indian Reservation in New Mexico, where he spent ten years as a family medicine physician. Doughty has joined the team of family medicine physicians at FamilyCare Doctors in Marquette, and the faculty of the Marquette General Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program,
• Dennis West, President of Northern Initiatives participated in the Small Business Administration’s loan program roundtable discussion, held in Washington DC and hosted by Senator John Kerry; the twenty invitees were in attendance to discuss four provisions to the Small Business Administration Bill, which include the Micro Loan Program, the 504 and 7A programs, and the Intermediary Lending Program.
• Northern Initiatives recently awarded Founders Awards to three outstanding U.P. businesses. Receiving the ShoreBank Founders Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence were Bob Heinrich, vice-president of sales and marketing for Pioneer Surgical Technology; and Jim Flynn, marketing director of Argonics, Inc.

Abadazad: The Road to inconceivable by J.M. DeMatteis
Published by Hyperion Books for Children, 144 Pages
Gazing wisely from the cover of this book, looking a little like a Hindu goddess, is the blue-skinned, three-eyed Queen Ija. I have long been a fan of the illustrator, comic book artist Mike Ploog, so I was excited to see one of his fantasy paintings on the cover of a new children’s book series. The book is part plain text and part graphic novel, and every page is in vivid color.
The story follows Kate, who shares an apartment with her divorced mother and her beloved little brother, Matt, or “Saint Matt,” as Kate sometimes calls him.
At bedtime, Kate reads to Matt from the Abadazad books, a series of century-old children’s storybooks by Franklin O. Davies, which chronicle Little Martha’s adventures in a magical fairyland.
Although the books are full of fantastic characters like the burping dragon and the waterlogged warlock, they seem very real to Matt and Kate. But one day, Matt disappears.
Five years later, a now fourteen-year-old Kate is doing badly at school and constantly bickering with her equally depressed mother. Then the elderly African-American lady next door yanks an unwilling Kate into her apartment for tea and cookies—and to tell Kate something very important.
“He’s alive,” she says. “Matt’s alive!”
The old lady then talks about Davies and Queen Ija as if she knew them personally.
Also, the Abadazad figurines on her shelf don’t quite resemble the versions of the characters in the books and movies.
At first, Kate thinks the old lady is a demented sicko, but she soon finds herself on a magical journey, making new friends, and trying to find the courage to believe that Matt is alive.
The authors have taken the innocence and imagination of a classic children’s storybook and combined it with a moral about racism.
As the story unfolds, Abadazad turns out not to be the land of blonde, blue-eyed little girls and fairy queens that Davies described to his turn-of-the-century audience.
Fans of L. Frank Baum’s Oz books will relish the (deliberate?) similarities between them and the made-up Abadazad franchise.
DeMatteis and Ploog have created a story that, like the Oz books, can be enjoyed by all ages. I hope the other books in the series live up to this one, because I certainly am looking forward to my next trip to Abadazad, “where time has no meaning…where joy lives forever!”
— Thorin Burkhard-Horn, 18

Goodbye again...
On May 29, a beloved program on WNMU-FM will finally go off the air. Since Karl Haas retired in 2003, we’ve been hearing his Adventures in Good Music in reruns. We’ve been hearing them from “beyond the grave” since his death on February 6, 2005.
At that time, obituaries in major newspapers throughout the nation lauded his life’s work. Writers noted that he was a native of Speyer-on-the-Rhine, Germany, who studied piano with his mother from the age of six, then went on to work under noted German masters until his family fled Nazi Germany in 1936. He was twenty-one years old. Perhaps his experience of the Fascist regime had something to do with his character, for he was its exact opposite—kind, caring, truly a person “with malice toward none, with charity for all.”
He continued his musical career in many distinguished ways, but the program we loved began in 1959 at radio station WJR in Detroit, and went into national distribution in 1970 through WCLV/Seaway Productions.
For many years, listeners have been hearing, every weekday evening at 7:00, Mr. Haas’ soft piano rendition of Beethoven’s Pathetique sonata, followed by his gentle voice inviting us to experience and better understand the meaning of great music. We chuckled at his humor and marveled at the beauty of the recorded selections he chose to illustrate musical principles such as counterpoint or repetition.
For those of us who loved his radio presence, the program’s withdrawal from circulation is a poignant reprise of the grief we felt at his passing. A few of us still living in Marquette were privileged to meet Mr. Haas at a special concert and reception in October 1976.
One witness was greatly impressed with Haas’s perfect gentility. Another, who is very particular about pianists, observed that Karl Haas was a consummate artist, in that he played for the music, never pounding the instrument or playing faster than the music should go in the interest of self-aggrandizement. His playing simply sang, she said.
Featured in his concert was a duet with a young pianist, Mary Isabel. Never did the master attempt to “show up” the student. He played with her, as a true musical partner, his manner always supportive and encouraging. The result was perfection to hear, garnering a standing ovation for both performers.
Those who were present at performance and reception remember “a magical evening,” when the then station-manager upset the punch bowl, but we were all having such a fine time that it was simply a humorous grace note, perfect for an evening with the master-host who punctuated his programs with sneaky puns.
Goodbye again, Dear Mr. Haas, Master of Music. Thank you for the magic. WNMU-FM staff, you have our sympathy as you seek a replacement, for Karl Haas is irreplaceable.
—Lillian Heldreth

A word to the wise
Verbum satis sapientibus: A word to the wise is sufficient
It’s about time we sat down and had a little talk about gender. No, not about sex really—sorry—but about the strictly grammatical notion of gender.
Last month, we looked at the case endings of pronouns: the different uses of he and him, who and whom, its and it’s and whose and who’s.
As the concept of case demands the proper distinction of the nominative (such as who), the accusative (whom) and the possessive (whose), so pronouns also have three genders—called masculine, feminine and neuter—that can lead to not only grammatical but social predicaments.
You’ve heard and even read this sort of sentence: “Each student is responsible for securing their locker.” The problem, of course, is that the antecedent noun, student, is singular, while the pronoun that represents it, their, is plural.
Pronouns should agree with their antecedents. Time was, we were taught to write “his locker” to agree with the singular noun. His was to be considered generic, or to have what may be called a common and sexless gender.
However, in the past fifty years or so, most stylebooks have come to argue against this, since his does indeed seem to us to refer only to the masculine. We identify grammatical gender with sex.
What’s to be done? An often workable alternative is to change the noun instead: “All students must secure their lockers.” Sometimes, though, a singular noun is demanded, such as with mankind or with God. And then there are the singular indefinite pronouns like someone or anyone, which, logically, cannot abide the plural pronoun their.
We also could write “his or her locker,” but that is a clumsy alternative, especially when using the pronouns repeatedly. Equally cumbersome in many instances is avoiding the pronoun altogether and repeating the noun ad nauseam.
The problem lies in a limitation of our language. We don’t have in English what is sometimes called a common gender, at least not in the third person. Pronouns in the first and second person—I/me/my and you/you/your—can be said to be of a common gender, but in the third person, it’s he, she or it. In the plural, they does sexless duty for all three genders.
Recent columns have noted that many other Western languages have much more elaborate systems of case inflections to indicate the role of nouns and pronouns in a sentence. English has only the nominative, accusative and possessive and, further, uses them fully only with pronouns. Finnish, we saw, has fully fifteen different case endings to keep straight.
Likewise, with respect to gender, most other languages offer a richer field of choices and tend to avoid, to an extent, the confusion between gender and sex. For instance, French schoolchildren must properly use gender for nouns, adjectives and articles as well as for pronouns. Grammatically, whether masculine, feminine or neuter in gender, nouns are sexless.
To use just a couple of arbitrary examples, the word watch is feminine; ma montre is my watch. Yet it’s the masculine mon adresse for my address. The watch would be referred to as she (elle), just as Madeleine would, while both Jacques and an address are called he (il). Why? The Lord knows.
In Latin, vulpes (fox) always is feminine, no matter the animal’s sex, while piscis (fish) is masculine. To further distinguish sex and gender, consider German, in which madchen (girl) is neuter, as is fraulein and each and every kind (child).
In these languages, the gender of the pronoun must simply match that of the noun, irrespective of sex. In English, with no sense of the grammatical gender of nouns, we want to equate gender and sex, and so we’re left with that awkward pronoun choice. Does each student make his own choice? His or her choice? Theirs?
Two rules apply, in my opinion. One, make pronouns agree with their nouns, and two, don’t offend anyone if you can help it. That will have to do, at least until some god of grammar hands down his or her ruling.

Word for the month
Superannuated (SOO-per-ANN-you-ated) means retired from active service, receiving a pension, put out to pasture. From the verb to superannuate, it may further connote being obsolete, even infirm, which isn’t so bad if it’s accompanied by a gold watch.
A late seventeenth century book of sermons describes old age as “the proper season for a superannuated sinner to enjoy the delights of sin.” Wouldn’t you like to read the rest of that sermon?
—Gerald Waite

Editor’s Note: Questions or comments are welcome by writing MM or at marquettemonthly@chartermi.net

MM, edited by Sierra Cheatham

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