| City
Notes
Edited
by Kristy
Basolo
Mailbox
Dear editor
The Marquette County History Museum recently was awarded a $3
million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural
Development Program. The loan will be used to renovate the old
Marq-Tran building on Spring Street into the Museum’s future
home.
The museum sought the USDA loan to facilitate construction while
building costs are low, knowing it will have to continue to raise
funds to repay the loan. The capital campaign has received pledges
of $2.2 million toward the goal of $4.7 million since fall 2007.
The USDA loan fills in the gap between the donations received
and the total cost of the renovation, allowing construction to
get underway before all the funds have been raised.
Several sources in the construction industry have indicated the
museum could save ten to twenty percent by starting the project
now. The project is ready to go out for bid with construction
set to begin in the fall. Kaye Hiebel, MCHM Executive Director
noted, “It’ll be about a year’s worth of construction,
so we anticipate opening the new museum in the fall of next year.”
Meanwhile, volunteers and staff continue to seek donations for
the capital campaign.
New exhibits are being designed to display more of the collection
and include several interactive kiosks. The main floor of the
new museum includes four times the current exhibit space, a separate
gallery for travelling exhibits, education classroom, museum store
and a 200-seat multi-use reception area for special events. The
second floor will be devoted mostly to the J.M. Longyear Research
Library, as well as office space and climate-controlled storage
for artifacts.
The new facility will be handicapped accessible and have a parking
lot, two features the current building lacks. The museum also
is looking forward to being able to have outdoor exhibits, green
space and amphitheater.
Jon Becker
Dear editor
Another fundraising year is underway here at Public Radio 90 and
I’m confident that with your continued financial support
we can sustain our local public radio service here in the upper
Great Lakes region and the public radio programs we all value.
As you’ve often heard me say, “Every dollar, every member
makes a difference,” and I want to thank our seventy-four
listeners who recently re-activated their memberships during our
summer telephone campaign. Together, with our other 2,076 listener-members,
you make it possible for us to continue airing top quality news
and information programs, classical, jazz, blues and traditional
music, entertainment programs and our regional talent as well.
It’s a blend of national and local programming unique to
our listening area.
Thank you for your patience and for sticking with us through this
summer’s frustrating digital TV conversion, which necessitated
Public Radio 90 being off the air for long periods of time. Even
though there are a few more adjustments to be made, we’re
almost done.
The final conversion to digital TV also clears the way for Public
Radio 90 to add new channels allowing us to provide you with even
more of all the great programming that public radio has to offer.
Keep an eye out in Preview and listen to Public Radio 90 to find
out how you can participate in an upcoming listener survey to
help us program these new channels.
Thanks to you, in 2004 NMU reaffirmed its commitment to retain
Public Radio 90 as a local public radio service, as long as our
listeners continue to cover the annual operational costs. The
strength of the financial support from our listeners is the reason
we are able to honor our commitment to broadcast the highest quality
programming possible. In fact, membership and business support
to Public Radio 90 accounts for almost seventy percent of our
operating budget.
WNMU-FM, Public Radio 90, wouldn’t exist in our upper Great
Lakes region without the continuing support from our listeners.
We value that relationship, and we promise to work hard every
day to continue delivering the top-quality programming you expect
to hear on WNMU-FM.
Evelyn Massaro, station manager
Dear editor
As members of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)
of Marquette County Advisory Council, we know the state of Michigan
is facing a severe economic crisis and understand the legislature
is facing very tough decisions. However, we want to voice our
strong support for continued funding for RSVP of Marquette County
to our legislators and ask that other citizens of Marquette County
do the same.
Investing state funds into the RSVP will reap great benefits for
Marquette County. RSVP is the safety net for many in our community
now—our volunteers are stepping up to fill in the gaps caused
by so many cuts to community organizations. More than half the
organizations utilizing RSVP volunteers indicate they would not
be able to function without volunteer assistance. RSVP volunteers
are vital to our community. More than 300 RSVP volunteers contribute
more than 45,000 hours each year to more than seventy Marquette
County nonprofits, schools and special projects.
For an investment of just $67,318 in Michigan funds to the Marquette
County RSVP, over $850,000 worth of volunteer time is returned
to the County each year.
In addition to this dollar value, the benefit to the senior volunteers
is invaluable—seniors are kept more physically and socially
active, and that keeps them healthier and more likely to be able
to stay independent longer. The ripple effect of dollars spent
on RSVP reach far into our community providing services for both
young and old. Let’s take a look at a few effects on our
community:
• Thirty-seven Alzheimers patients in Marquette County
have radio tracking bracelets to find them if they wander. fifteen
RSVP volunteers set up the families with the bracelets, raise
the money to start Lifetracker, and visit the families monthly
to check in on them and change the batteries in the bracelets.
• 130 frail, elderly seniors were driven to 647 medical
appointments in Marquette County by forty-nine RSVP volunteers
since these seniors are unable to access other forms of transportation.
Our hope is that the resources can be found to allow the RSVP
of Marquette County to continue to operate. Please contact your
legislators by phone, fax, or email and urge them to continue
funding the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program. Contact information
for your legislators can be found at www.michigan.gov. Thank you
on behalf of the Marquette County RSVP Advisory Council.
M. Yvonne Clark, chairwoman
Barbara Wiegand, vice-chairwoman
Dear editor
Commissioners Arsenault, Corkin, Joseph, Struck and Wallace, who
dissented on the vote temporarily to suspend the rehire policy,
your responsibility is to the voters who elected you, and not
the county officials.
I do not suspect any nefarious motivation on the part of those
involved with any of the decisions in this entire rehire policy
debacle. However, failure to disclose all of the facts and the
actual costs to the taxpayers as a result of your decisions could
give the appearance of cronyism bordering on the potential for
graft and corruption.
Thus, I request that an actuary cost analysis be done and printed
in full in one of the local newspapers so the taxpayers know exactly
how much this retire/rehire policy is costing us. I also would
like this report to include a line item list of other related
costs incurred since the outrageous “double-dipping”
policy was initiated. I am confident that among the so-called
“hard to replace rehires” there is a computer programmer
who could expedite a program that would readily gather these statistics.
In 2008, the County budget for Law Enforcement/Prosecutor was
over $5 million dollars. Yet, the Sheriff’s department is
still short ten officers since the year 2004 according to a statement
by Under Sheriff Jack Schneider in the August 9, 2009 Mining Journal.
This lack of patrol officers jeopardizes the safety of the County
residents and is unconscionable.
I am also deeply concerned that allowing the elected officials
to retire and return to work may have violated the Michigan election
code. When an elected official retires, it creates a vacancy in
that particular office. Thus, it would follow that it is the Marquette
County Voters who would have the right to cast a ballot for a
replacement to fill that vacancy. I would like this election issue
to be addressed in consultation with the Secretary of State and
the State Election Commission. Including the local Election Commission
and the Prosecutor’s Office counsel could present a conflict
of interest and should be avoided.
I have always paid my taxes respectfully. However, I want to know
precisely how much was paid out to fund the rehire policy over
the past four years. We live in a cash-strapped State that boasts
the highest unemployment rate in the nation and certain State
employees are dealing with furlough days. It is unconscionable
that in Marquette County there are those who concurrently receive
a retirement pension and salary at the expense of the taxpayers.
I refer the County Commissioners to “County Boards of Commissioners
(Excerpt) Act 156 of 1851. 46.9 Report of Board proceedings; report
of receipts and expenditures; annual report; publication; public
inspection and copying. Sec. 9.” Taxpayers deserve full transparency
from their public officials and taxpayer full disclosure.
Theresa Brodowski Scram
Shoppers are asked to buy books to help United Way
B. Dalton Booksellers will be holding an in-store Book Fair on
behalf of the United Way of Marquette County from September 1
through September 15.
Customers making purchases during that time may present a United
Way Book Fair coupon or simply tell the cashier that they would
like a portion of the proceeds to benefit the United Way. There
is no cost to the customer, and big benefits for local nonprofit
agencies. The cashier must be notified prior to ringing up the
order. The percentage going to United Way depends on the total
amount of sales for the program. The more sales, the higher the
percentage B. Dalton will donate.
For more information about the United Way of Marquette County,
call the United Way at 226-8171 or visit www.uwmqt.org
Ishpeming plans parade and music for Labor Day Festival
The Labor Day Festival will be held in Ishpeming on Labor Day,
September 7. The festival will begin with a parade, featuring
the Ishpeming Blue Notes.
The parade runs along Euclid Street, Main Street, Division Street
and Lakeshore Drive, with a picnic and rally at the Cliffs Shaft
Mine Museum and the Lake Bancroft Park.
The theme for this year is “Twenty Years of Fighting For
All,” noting the Labor Day Festival’s anniversary and
the Council’s voice for working families in Marquette County.
For details, call 869-0365.
Service Commission offers funding opportunity
The Michigan Community Service Commission has announced an AmeriCorps
funding opportunity for the 2010-11 program year.
Michigan’s AmeriCorps is a National Service program, similar
to a domestic Peace Corps, that involves individuals (members)
in getting things done in their communities. In exchange for a
year of service, members receive a living allowance and an education
award to help pay for college or repay student loans. AmeriCorps
is a highly effective way for you to enhance or increase services
to meet the growing demands being placed on your organization.
If you are interested in learning how to apply for funds, priorities
for funding, and an application timeline, we invite you to attend
the September 25 Outreach Webinar at 10:00 a.m.
Finlandia gallery schedules Guthrie art premiere
Derek Guthrie, British artist, art critic, and cofounder of the
influential art magazine New Art Examiner, premieres his artwork
in the United States at the Finlandia University Gallery, Hancock.
The exhibit is the first of Guthrie’s artwork in decades.
Featured at the gallery until September 11, the exhibit comprises
work created since 1995.
In 1973, Guthrie and his wife, Jane Addams Allen, founded the
New Art Examiner in Chicago. Known for decades in Chicago for
his work in art criticism, Guthrie is credited with having helped
introduce a new set of writers that would become prominent in
their field.
After retiring from his career at the Examiner in 2001, Guthrie
and his wife moved to Cornwall, England, where he began to paint
again after a hiatus of many years.
A closing reception for the artist will take place at the gallery
September 10, 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. An artist talk will begin
at 7:15 p.m.
Macbeth performance scheduled in Masonic Lodge
The Marquette Masonic Association with assistance from Square
Guy Productions, LLC has contracted with Vertigo Theatre Company
for an exclusive presentation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on
the evening of September 11 in the Red Room Theatre located in
the Masonic Center building. This month marks the 70th anniversary
of the reconstruction of the Masonic Center after burning to the
ground during the great blizzard of 1938. The Freemasons have
graciously allowed unprecedented access to Marquette’s finest
theatre venue in an effort to support the arts and reintroduce
Marquette County to the fabulous facilities not normally made
available to the public.
The evening will begin with a social hour including fine food,
beverages and live classical music.
Curtain call will follow immediately and Shakespeare’s Macbeth
as cut by director David Hansen and Vertigo Theatre Company will
begin. The evening will conclude with an artists’ reception
featuring champagne cake truffles by Joe’s Cakes and other
amenities.
Tickets are $75 a piece or $100 for a pair; the event is a fundraiser
for the Marquette Masonic Association and the Marquette Arts &
Culture Center. For details, call 273-1700.
Strut Your Mutt fundraiser scheduled for September 12
On September 12—rain or shine— dogs and their guardians
will hit the ground walking in an effort to raise money for Marquette
County’s homeless pets.
The Marquette County Humane Society’s annual “Strut
Your Mutt” walk and activities will begin at 9:30 a.m. at
Marquette’s Lower Harbor Park, with the option to do a 1.5-mile
or a three-mile walk.
After you complete the course, catch the finish line fun. Prizes
will be given to the top three adult and top three youth pledge
raisers. The adult first place prize is $100 Downwind Sports gift
card plus a third generation iPod Shuffle. First place for youth
will receive four tickets to Tundra Lodge Water Park plus an overnight
stay at the Days Inn of Green Bay.
Doggy contests (including best costume, look-alike, stupid pet
tricks and more), raffles, activities, kids area with face painting,
pet themed vendors, photo booth and more will be offered.
This year, make your own Strut Your Mutt Web page to raise funds
for your walk.
To register and for details, visit www.upaws.org or call 475-6661.
All money raised goes to benefit homeless animals at the Marquette
County Humane Society shelter and help them find new loving homes.
Marquette Choral Society rehearsal starts in September
Marquette Choral Society rehearsals start at 7:00 p.m. on
September 14 in the Choral Room #250 of the Thomas Fine Arts building
on the campus of Northern Michigan University.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on December 5 and 3:00
p.m. on December 6. Christmas songs by John Rutter,
and audience sing-alongs will be part of this “Carols in
the Cathedral” program. There is a nominal fee for music
and membership. No audition is necessary. All who enjoy singing
are welcome.
Call 906-227-2563 for details.
October Michigamme craft show seeks vendors
Vendors are needed for a Craft & Vendor Show from 10:00 a.m.
to 4:00 p.m. on October 24 in the Michigamme Community Building.
Call Colleen at 323-9023 for details
Suicide Prevention Walk scheduled for September 19
Out of Darkness community walk for the American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention will take place at 10:00 a.m. on September
19.
Registration begins at 9:00 a.m. in the Marquette Commons. For
details, call Alyson at 235-1969.
First FinnFunDay planned for September 19 in Ishpeming
The first FinnFunDay in the Upper Peninsula is planned for 10:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on September 19 at the Ishpeming Township Building
and Grounds. It derives from the annual League of Finnish-American
Societies September picnic, now in its twelfth year, with many
more activities.
Food, fun and short workshops will fill the day, ending with dancing
in the late afternoon. Coffee and coffee bread will be available
all day long, with pasties, cudighis, hot dogs and soft drinks
for lunch. A small marketplace is scheduled.
Many special performances and appearances will take place throughout
the day. Admission is free. Children will have access to all the
playground equipment on the grounds.
For details, call 228-8035.
Negaunee Senior Center sets rummage sale fundraiser
The Negaunee Senior Center will host a rummage sale from 1:00
to 7:00 p.m. on September 23.
Donations of merchandise to sell are sought and can be dropped
off at the center after Labor Day. All unsold items will be donated
to local thrift stores. Those wishing to sell their own wares
are asked to make a $10 donation to the center for a table. Crafters
are welcome. There is no admission and the sale is open to the
public. For details, call 475-6266.
Marquette hosts annual conference on Ancient Copper
The fifth annual AAPS Conference on Ancient Copper will take place
from September 25 through 27 at the Holiday Inn in Marquette,
sponsored by Ancient Artifact Preservation Society and Ancient
American Magazine.
A special free event for educators takes place from 9:00 a.m.
to noon on Saturday.
Karl Hoenke will present “Provocative Perspectives in Time,”
covering up to 12,000 years—the comet story and some plants,
microbes, and animals out of place as per the writings of Sorenson
and Johannesson.
Dr. Myron Paine will present Jeff Bennett’s “Oceans”
about ancient waterways. Author/researcher Jay Wakefield will
present “Maps of Stone.”
All programs and exhibits cost $135. Call 942-7865 for partial
program pricing. For details, visit www.aaapf.org
Library presentation to focus on World War II area families
Anyone who wants to learn more about World War II, especially
as it impacted an Ishpeming area family, will be interested in
a program at the Ishpeming Carnegie Public Library on September
20.
Dan Oja, whose six Koski uncles participated in the war, will
discuss his book, Ordinary Heroes: Six Stars in the Window in
the Children’s Room of the library at 2:00 p.m. The Friends
of the Library are sponsoring this free program, which will be
followed by light refreshments.
Oja is a native of the Ishpeming area and graduate of Ishpeming
High School and Northern Michigan University.
NCLL offers fall line-up; announces kick-off event
The Northern Center for Lifelong Learning (NCLL) announced its
fall season of educational programs and activities.
Twenty-five events are scheduled between September and December
in a variety of categories such as Tours, Field Trips, Hikes and
Presentations. NCLL also offers a wide variety of special interest
groups ranging from bridge to walking to world politics.
An annual membership of $20 will provide you with reduced costs
for events and other benefits. You do not need to be a member
to participate.
The fall kick-off is a fine opportunity to learn more about NCLL,
held from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on September 13. For details, visit
www.nmu.edu/ncll or call 227-2979.
Academy for Native teens focuses on health careers
Northern Michigan University’s Center for Native American
Studies, along with the nursing and clinical sciences departments,
will offer a new program for Native American high school students
called “The College Prep Medicine Wheel Academy.”
Forty Native American students will be introduced to health care
professions via two multi-day visits to NMU. While on campus,
they will engage in activities that teach about nursing and clinical
sciences careers and degree programs, as well as tour Marquette
General Hospital, located across the street from the Northern
campus. The participants will also meet Native American professionals
working in the health care fields.
For details, call 227-1397 or e-mail cnas@nmu.edu
Upper Peninsula acts listed in state touring directory
The Michigan Humanities Council announced the launch of the 2009-2012
Michigan Arts & Humanities Touring Directory, which provides
an online listing of 204 of the state’s most talented performing
and visual artists, humanities presenters and cultural exhibitors.
The catalogue offers a wide variety of cultural programming including
dance, music, storytelling, theater, tradition bearers and visual
arts. Four Upper Peninsula presenters are listed in the directory,
including Bill Jamerson of Escanaba (Music—Ethnic/Folk);
Carl “Bearfoot” Behrend of Munising (Music—Ethnic/Folk);
Michael and Erica Waite of Marquette (Music—Ethnic/Folk)
and Gale LaJoye of Marquette (Storyteller/Historical Re-enactor).
The Touring Directory and grant information are available at www.michiganhumanities.org
Two Hearted River boating access site and lot closing
The DNR announced that the Mouth of the Two Hearted River Boating
Access Site, located in Luce County, is closed temporarily due
to an improvement project for the boat ramp and parking lot.
Current construction schedules define the closure to extend through
September 30. Improvements will benefit both paddlers using the
Two Hearted River, and larger boats accessing Lake Superior.
For details, call Les at 293-3293, ext. 4740.
Finlandia adds majors
The Finlandia University Suomi College of Arts & Sciences
has announced the start of several new degree options beginning
this fall.
The three new bachelor of arts degrees, and the conversion of
a four-year program to a two-year associate degree, are in response
to national trends, student demand and constantly changing job
opportunities, said Judith Budd, dean of the Suomi College of
Arts & Sciences.
A new four-year bachelor’s degree in psychology offers concentration
options in general psychology or alcohol and drug abuse.
The four-year communications major at Finlandia offers specializations
in journalism, and visual, environmental or organizational communications.
The Criminal Justice program, established in 1983, has added a
four-year bachelor of arts degree option, in addition to the associate
degree program, which still is offered.
Finlandia’s human services major, formerly a bachelor’s
degree program, is now a two-year program.
For details, call 487-7208 or e-mail admissions@finlandia.edu
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman events available
Women interested in improving their rock climbing skills can sign
up now for a rock climbing workshop in the Upper Peninsula from
September 25 through 27.
The workshop is designed for women with some previous rock climbing
experience, although beginners are also welcome.
Participants will receive classroom instruction in rock climbing
techniques on Friday, with hands-on climbing experience Saturday
and Sunday at various climbing sites located in Big Bay, Marquette
and Negaunee.
Cost per participant is $175, which includes instruction and gear,
lodging at the historic Thunder Bay Inn in Big Bay, and breakfast
and lunch on Saturday and Sunday. Enrollment is limited to nine
and early applications are encouraged.
Women interested in backcountry camping and hiking can sign up
for a three-day, two-night backpacking class at Pictured Rocks
National Lakeshore from October 2 through 4.
The event is designed for women with previous backpacking experience.
Participants will hike approximately three to five miles per day,
and help out with various backcountry duties, such as camp set-up
and tear-down, meal preparation, water filtering and orienteering,
with instruction from the trip leaders.
Cost per participant is $100, which includes breakfast, dinner
and dessert each day, plus group gear, such as tents and cooking
utensils.
For details, call 228-6561 or visit www.michigan.gov/bow
MCAC receives CVS grant for prescription costs
The Medical Care Access Coalition announced that it has received
a $3,500 CVS Caremark Community Grant.
MCAC has served low-income, uninsured Marquette County residents
since 2001 and the need in our community continues to grow. The
funds granted from CVS Caremark will be used to support MCAC by
funding our generic medications program for our volunteer programs.
Although MCAC is able to attain approximately eighty percent of
the prescribed medications free from the manufacturer, the remaining
twenty percent must be purchased.
Grants were awarded to organizations that share a common vision
with CVS Caremark’s All Kids Can program, which strives to
make life easier for children with disabilities. The goal
of the program is to create more inclusive environments for children
with and without disabilities to build self-esteem, lasting friendships
and social skills, and to help children without disabilities learn
diversity and tolerance.
Hall of Fame event offers week-long festivities
The annual U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame Weekend has grown
into Hall of Fame Week.
Running September 11 through 19, the national hall of fame is
organizing a series of events to celebrate and welcome this year’s
class of inductees while providing skiing based entertainment
for the general public to enjoy.
This year’s inductees include: Nelson Carmichael from Colorado,
whose image continues to appear on the covers of national skiing
publications; Carmichael was the first American to win an Olympic
medal in freestyle skiing; Liz McIntyre, a fellow Coloradian,
was also a freestyle skiing Olympic medalist who went on to coach
American world and Olympic champions; Bill Briggs of Wyoming is
a legend among those who challenge the world’s steepest and
most difficult mountain slopes; and Cary Adgate is an eight-year
member of the U.S. Ski Team; he also was a top professional racer
and was named Master Skier of the Year in 2005.
For details, call 485-6323.
CCI news and notes
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. reported second-quarter results
for the period ended June 30, 2009.
Consistent with weaker year-over-year global demand for steelmaking
raw materials, consolidated revenues in the quarter were $390.3
million, down sixty-one percent from $1.01 billion in the same
quarter last year. The decrease in revenues was driven by lower
volume across business segments, combined with lower pricing in
iron ore.
Volunteering report offers glance at Michigan stats
The Volunteering in America 2009 report was released by the Corporation
for National and Community Service. This report highlights volunteering
trends and demographics in all fifty states, as well as 198 cities
located throughout the country.
Volunteering in America 2009 is based on data obtained from the
U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics through a volunteering
supplement to the Current Population Survey from 2002 to 2008.
Volunteers are defined as persons who did unpaid work through
or for an organization.
The report’s information includes the volunteer rate; the
types of organizations through which residents serve; their main
volunteering activities, the average hours per year and volunteer
rates for age and gender demographic groups, and key trends and
highlights.
Michigan-specific report highlights include: 2.3 million volunteers,
325 million hours of service and $6.6 billion of service contributed.
To read the completed Volunteering in America 2009, visit www.volunteeringinamerica.gov
Symphony Orchestra sets 2009-10 season schedule
Season tickets are now on sale for the Marquette Symphony Orchestra’s
Lucky 13th Season. Season ticket price is $80 for four concerts,
a savings of $20 over the individual concert ticket price. Single
event tickets go on sale August 12.
The Marquette Symphony Orchestra’s 2009-10 Season is highlighted
by 4 concerts under the baton of Maestro Dr. Jacob Chi. The season
will showcase a wide range of repertoire from treasured classics
to a world premiere.
On September 19, the MSO kicks off the season with a Pops concert
featuring tenor Paul Truckey in Broadway Showstoppers. The program
includes selections from Phantom of the Opera, Carousel, West
Side Story, Jekyl and Hyde, and many others sure to entertain.
Romanticists No. 2, the November 21 concert, will feature an exciting
new young pianist on the international scene, Hye-Jin Kim, performing
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concert No. 2. The concert also includes
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2, a nationalistic masterpiece
coined “The Little Russian” because of its use of three
Ukrainian folk songs.
Symphonic Invitation on February 27, will highlight one of the
most brilliant pieces of dance music written, Weber’s Invitation
to the Dance with orchestration by Berlioz.
The final concert of the season, Innovators, on March 27 features
the return of the percussion section to the front of the stage.
Carrie Biolo and James A. Strain will premiere a duo concerto
for percussion, timpani and orchestra in a work composed specifically
for the performers. This concert features the Marquette Symphony’s
first performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica.”
The MSO is once again offering interactions with the featured
artists and conductor through the Friday Conversation Lunch and
Saturday Pre-Concert Dinner. These events, which will accompany
each of the four concerts, are held at the Landmark Inn and require
reservations and separate admissions.
Tickets are available at NMU EZ Ticket Box office located in the
Superior Dome or by calling 227-1032. For details, call 228-4233
or visit www.marquettesymphony.org
Books for Africa project seeks donations
The nonprofit organization Books for Africa (BFA) sends huge containers
of books to most of the English and some of the French speaking
nations on the African continent.
They receive calls from Africa’s teachers, government officials
and Peace Corps volunteers, among other advocates of education.
Carole Patrikakos will be here in early October to speak at the
UPRA conference. She will give a presentation for the community
at 7:00 p.m. on October 9 at Peter White Public Library. This
evening presentation will be sponsored by the Teen Group at PWPL
and Snowbound Books.
Book donations are encouraged. The organization’s emphasis
is on legal and/or medical publications from the last ten years,
but they also need lower level educational material that is relevant
to their lives.
They appreciate picture books, juvenile novels and adult novels
with an African/African-American emphasis, as well as wall charts
that are relevant to reading, math, or natural history.
For details, visit www.books forafrica.org
Economic Recovery awarded to Hiawatha National Forest
Forest Supervisor Thomas Schmidt announced that three Hiawatha
National Forest facilities and trails projects have been funded
by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), among those
projects announced by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary
Schmidt. A total of 191 projects, funded at more than $274 million,
are located on public lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service
in thirty-two states.
Locally, the Hiawatha National Forest has been funded to accomplish
the following ARRA-funded facilities and trails projects:
• Michigan Toilet and Storage Building Reconstruction
(Hiawatha NF portion $419,000).
• Grand Island NRA NL Creek Bridge Replacement &
Rim Trail Culvert Replacement ($500,000).
• Clear Lake Education Center—Site erosion control,
Water & Wastewater Rehabilitation, A.D.A. accessible walkway
construction ($620,000).
In addition to the above projects, the Hiawatha National Forest
has received $9.9 million in ARRA funding for other projects including
roads maintenance, watershed improvements, ecosystem restoration
and hazardous fuels management projects. For details, visit http://fs.usda.gov/economic
recovery
ILCA encourages breastfeeding during flu season
As global preparations for the flu season heighten, the International
Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) urges mothers, health
care workers and the community at large to promote, support and
encourage breastfeeding, which provides infants with human antibodies
that can help fight illness and disease.
ILCA supports the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), “Interim Guidance—Pregnant Women
and H1N1 Influenza: Considerations for Clinicians,” which
advises breastfeeding mothers to continue breastfeeding while
taking antiviral medications, when indicated.
The CDC guidance, available at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/clinician_pregnant.htm,
recommends that breastfeeding mothers who become ill with the
flu take measures to minimize exposure to the infant, including
hand washing and possibly covering the mother’s mouth and
nose with a mask.
The CDC further reports that although the risk of transmitting
H1N1 flu from mother to baby through breastfeeding is unknown,
reports of transmission of seasonal flu are rare.
For details, call (800)944-9662 or visit www.womenshealth.gov/breast
feeding
ILCA encourages breastfeeding during flu season
As global preparations for the flu season heighten, the International
Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) urges mothers, health
care workers and the community at large to promote, support and
encourage breastfeeding, which provides infants with human antibodies
that can help fight illness and disease.
Political news briefs
• U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) issued the following
statement about recent announcements that automakers are increasing
production due to rising demand: “As author of the legislation
in the Senate, I was pleased to hear that rising demand for fuel
efficient vehicles brought on by ‘Cash for Clunkers’
has led Chrysler, Ford and GM to increase production. For
us in Michigan, that means people are going back to work.
• U.S. Senators Stabenow and Carl Levin (D-Michigan) announced
that three Michigan fire departments have been awarded $500,598
through the Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighters
Grant Program (AFG to support operations and firefighter safety,
including Wakefield Volunteer Fire Department ($44,916) and Rock
River Township Fire Department in Chatham ($18,960) in the U.P.
For details, visit www.firegrantsupport.com
• Levin and Stabenow announced the availability of $14,391,790
for eight Native American communities across Michigan. The funding,
provided through the Indian Community Development Block Grant
and Native American Housing Block Grant programs is made available
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The
grants are designed to assist Native American tribes to improve
and expand their housing supply, promote energy efficiency and
create jobs. In the U.P., money was awarded to Bay Mills Indian
Community HA in Brimley ($2,000,000) and Lac Vieux Desert Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa in Watersmeet ($1,391,790).
• Stabenow, Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Al Franken (D-Minnesota)
and Kristen Gillibrand (D-New York) introduced the Reengaging
Americans in Serious Education by Uniting Programs Act (RAISE
UP). The legislation provides targeted support to youth who have
dropped out of high school, so they can attain a diploma, a post-secondary
credential, and a family-supporting career.
• Stabenow announced veterans can now take advantage of the
Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefit program. The Department of Veterans’
Affairs has begun processing benefit payments for eligible applicants.
Last year, Senator Stabenow and her colleagues passed the Post
9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act to increase educational
benefits to members of the military who have served on active
duty for at least three months since September 11, 2001.
• Stabenow and Levin announced that Michigan has received
$34,494,000 to support seven water infrastructure projects—$15,449,000
in grant funding and $19,045,000 in loan funding—through
the USDA Rural Development’s Water and Environmental Program.
Funds are made available through the ARRA.
• Stabenow and Levin announced the inclusion of $1.7 million
for nine Michigan projects in the FY2010 Appropriation bill for
the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education,
and related agencies. The funding was approved today by
the full Senate Appropriations Committee.
• Stabenow and Levin announced the inclusion of $64,387,000
for Army Corps of Engineers projects in Michigan and the Great
Lakes and $3 million for advanced technologies for green vehicles,
including batteries, in the FY2010 Energy and Water Appropriations
bill approved by the Senate.
• Stabenow and Levin announced that approximately 1,000
Michigan workers have been certified as eligible to apply for
Trade Adjustment Assistance, including income support, training
and re-employment services. Trade Adjustment Assistance is provided
through the U.S. Department of Labor.
• Stabenow and Levin announced that Michigan has received
$3,275,000 to support various infrastructure projects in rural
Michigan—$1,155,000 in grant funding and $2,120,000 in loan
funding—through the USDA Rural Development’s Community
Facilities Program. Funds are made available through the
ARRA. This funding supports an array of projects dedicated
to supporting important facilities such as child care centers,
hospitals, medical clinics, assisted-living facilities, fire and
rescue stations, police stations, community centers, public buildings,
and transportation, including a $50,000 grant to Keweenaw Bay.
• Stabenow and Levin announced that the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development has allocated a total of $7,526,274
in ARRA funds to Michigan as part of the Native American Housing
Block Grant (NAHBG) and Indian Community Development Block Grant
(ICDBG) programs. U.P. funding includes: Hannahville Potawatomie
HA in Wilson ($1,516,850); Sault Ste Marie HA in Kincheloe ($3,000,000);
and Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Hau in Baraga ($1,974,968).
• Michigan educational institutions will receive $5,952,752
in U.S. Department of Education grants, Stabenow and Levin announced.
The grants, ranging from $75,000 to $1 million, will go to centers
of primary, secondary and higher education across Michigan, including
the following in the U.P.: Michigan Technological University TUNRail
($76,000, 2009-2011); Michigan Technological University geological
engineering ($117,052); and Northern Michigan University undergraduate
international studies ($75,182).
• Stabenow and Levin announced $258,607 in federal funding
for the second year of implementation of the Great Lakes Observing
System (GLOS). The system is designed to address climate change
impacts, ecosystem and food web dynamics, protection of public
health and navigation safety and efficiency for the Great Lakes.
It also monitors water flow in the St. Clair River.
• Governor Jennifer M. Granholm announced that
her administration will make $15 million in ARRA funds available
to small manufacturing companies in Michigan looking to diversify
and create jobs in renewable energy through the Michigan Clean
Energy Advanced Manufacturing Initiative. The goal of this
funding opportunity is to create new markets for Michigan’s
manufacturers, provide support to renewable energy original equipment
manufacturers and Tier I suppliers, and create anchor companies
to attract businesses to Michigan.
• Levin joined Vice President Biden in Detroit as the
administration announced recipients of funding to support the
next generation of batteries and electric vehicle manufacturing
and development. Levin said the following regarding the announcement:
“The day we have waited for and worked for has arrived. The
grants announced today will kick-start a promising automotive
future for Michigan. Our manufacturers can now scramble back on
an equal footing with other nations, who have provided major support
to their battery industries. These grants assure that advanced
batteries for the electric and hybrid cars of the future are made
in the United States – from research, to manufacture of battery
cells, to assembly of those cells into battery packs. They are
a major part of the next generation of automotive technologies,
which will be developed by our experts at our companies and built
by our workers in our factories.”
Local business news...in brief
• Range Bank named Charlotte L. Gaudreau as vice president
and commercial loan officer; Gaudreau is a native of Hurley (Wisconsin)
and a graduate of Northern Michigan University with a Bachelor
of Science degree in Business Administration.
• During the U.P. Small Business Forum, Paul Arsenault,
president of Concepts Consulting, was acknowledged for his support
and active participation in promoting the success of small business
across the Upper Peninsula by Michigan Works! The Job Force Board
and Region 1 Small Business and Technology Development Center
(SBTDC).
• Creative Cabinetry and Construction, located at 500
West Washington Street, Suite 10 in Marquette, recently celebrated
its fifth anniversary of business. For details, call 458-7732.
• WLUC-TV6 is offering programming twenty-four hours
a day, seven days a week for the first time since its initial
sign on in 1956; the overnight line-up will consist of a combination
of the NBC and America One networks with programming like Poker
after Dark, Jimmy Fallon show reruns and Cybernet.
• Full Throttle Saloon marks its grand opening at its
1671 East M-35 location in Little Lake; it is a neighborhood bar
and grill open seven days a week, specializing in fresh broasted
chicken and burgers made fresh daily with meat from Brown’s
Store.
• Marquette Rehabilitation & Sports Medicine Center,
located at 1205 West Fair Avenue in Marquette, celebrated its
grand opening; it specializes in orthopedics, spine, post surgical
and sports medicine and provides a convenient option for clients
to receive treatment.
• Shear Perfection, located at180 North Pine Street
in Gwinn, celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the establishment;
for details, call 346-5531.
• Finlandia University ceramic arts senior Jaimianne
Amicucci was awarded the 2009 Tony Velonis Memorial Scholarship
by the Society of Glass and Ceramic Decorators (SGCDpro), a professional
network of decorators and marketers of glass, ceramic and related
products.
• Charles E. Flood, CHC, accepted the position of chief
operating officer for Aspirus Ontonagon Hospital; Flood currently
serves as senior director of business analysis & planning,
and compliance officer, for Marquette General Health System.
• Tony Stagliano was named economic development assistant
for the Lake Superior Community Partnership; Stagliano is a Negaunee
native, a graduate of Negaunee High School and has a Bachelor
of Science degree in Media Production and New Technology from
Northern Michigan University.
• The Lake Superior Community Partnership Foundation
was awarded a $5,000 grant from State Farm Insurance for the Midwest
Skills Development Center’s Electrical Line Technician Program.
• Marquette Area Public Schools (MAPS) athletic director
Mark Mattson submitted his resignation on July 17 to begin a new
career at Glen Lake Community Schools; MAPS staff member
Jamie Tuma has been named MAPS K-12 athletic coordinator for the
2009-10 school year.
• Staff from the Marquette General Memory Diagnostic
Center donated books and informational resources about Alzheimer’s
disease and caregiving issues to the Alzheimer’s Association
and the Marquette General Health Information Center; for details,
call (800)272-3900.
• Mammography services offered at Marquette General
Hospital have received Food and Drug Administration re-accreditation;
this means that the MGH imaging staff and physicians, as well
as all equipment, meet or exceed the regulations of the Mammography
Quality Standards Act.
• Finlandia University and the Marquette General Health System
School of Radiography have signed an affiliation agreement that
offers students associate’s degrees in radiography.
• Presque Longboards commemorated the launching of the
longboards to the community with a ribbon-cutting ceremony; all
Presque Longboards are hand-crafted, hand-painted, original art,
custom made in Marquette and are available at Ground Zero and
The Compound, both located in Marquette.
• The City of Negaunee made a $500 donation to the Lake
Superior Community Partnership’s Electrical Line Technician
Scholarship Program; the money was awarded to Michael Crain, a
2008 graduate of Negaunee High School.
• Starting August 19, WJMN-TV Channel 3’s local
signal is available on DISH Network.
Star Date: September 2009
Moon & Planets—Jupiter is low in the southeast as darkness
falls, and by midnight is very apparent in the due south. The
morning sky before first light however, is where most of the planetary
activity takes place this month. Mars rises after midnight and
is becoming more noticeable due to its slow brightening over the
last few months. Venus rises about three hours before sunrise.
On September 1 and 2, this brilliant white object is next to the
Beehive Star Cluster. This loose cluster of dim stars is barely
visible to the unaided eye, but binoculars will show it easily.
Venus soon migrates out of Cancer and into Leo and will create
a close pair with first magnitude Regulus on the 20th. The crescent
moon is above reddish Mars on the 13th and near Venus on the 16th.
The moon will be next to the Beehive Cluster on the 15th. This
should be an impressive site in binoculars. As an added bonus,
the asteroid Vesta will be visible as an ordinary looking “star”
between the cluster and the moon in the same binocular field of
view.
Constellations—September marks the beginning of fall with
the autumnal equinox on the 22nd. The summer constellations, with
their multitude of bright stars, are still conspicuously low in
the south and southwest. The summer Milky Way streams out of this
area and rides high overhead. By midnight, the Big Dipper is low
in the north and right side up. Rising in the east is the prominent
fall constellation of Pegasus, the Winged Horse. The Great Square
of Pegasus, with its four equally spaced stars, is slightly tilted
and therefore forms a diamond shape.
—Craig Linde
Courtesy of the Marquette Astronomical Society, which meets four
times a year. The next meeting is at 7:00 p.m. on September 18
at Shiras Planetarium. Visit www.geocities.com/sstobbelaar/mqtastro.html
for details or download a free monthly star chart at www.skymaps.com
A word to the wise
Verbum satis sapientibus: A word to the wise is sufficient
Nobody asked, but it’s about time for a column about poetry—what
it is and what it is not. Actually, my dear wife did ask, and
of course I’m happy to keep her happy.
Judging by their sales, books of poetry are not high on many of
our reading lists. Why? A good part of the reason may be due to
our perception. We tend to think of poetry as a rarified genre
and full of “hidden meanings.” And another reason may
lie in some poems themselves, in poetry that we deem simply confessional
or maudlin and self-serving, or poetry that is full of hard words
and seems to preach too loudly, or poetry that is dense and mysterious.
I pontificate here as one who has never satisfactorily penned,
much less published, a pretty poem. Still, I do appreciate the
efforts of many poets, both ancient and modern. Upon a time, when
my mental powers were more acute, I memorized scores of verses
here and there. I recollect these lines still and expect I will
when I can no longer recall what I had for dinner last night.
A fresh morning often brings up Browning’s lines: “Morning’s
at seven, the hillside’s dew-pearled. God’s in His heaven;
all’s right with the world.” The thrush were plentiful
in our woods this past summer, and I can hardly ever hear this
sweetest of birdsong without remembering this, again from Browning:
“That’s the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
lest you think he never could recapture the first fine careless
rapture.” Wordsworth rings in my ears when I enjoy the declining
light of a fine evening: “It is a beauteous evening, calm
and free, the holy time is quiet as a nun/ breathless with adoration.”
Emerging spring brings E. H. Housman’s verse to mind. He
writes, “The loveliest of trees, the cherry now is hung with
bloom along the bough, and stands about the woodland ride, wearing
white for Eastertide.” In fall, it’s Keats’ turn,
who tells of this “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.”
His mood changed a few months later: “In drear knighted December,
too happy, happy tree, thy branches ne’er remember their
green felicity.”
What makes all these “good” poetry? (And I hope you
think so too.) Two qualities define for me the best of verse:
first, lively and fresh language, rich in metaphor and in words
that strike the senses, and second, a rhythm in harmony with the
meaning.
For just one example, take Browning’s “first fine careless
rapture.” He uses three stressed syllables in a row here,
forcing us to slow down and savor the sense of it. Rhyme is agreeable
too, if it comes naturally.
W.B. Yeats, that premier Irish poet of the twentieth century,
says of poetry, “If it come not as the leaves to a tree,
it had better not come at all.” Rhyme and rhythm together
can be a delight. Isak Dinesen writes about reading poetry to
children in Africa. They couldn’t understand a word, but
they giggled with pleasure at the sound—the rhythm and the
“clink of rhyme.” Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky”
illustrates as much: ‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
did gyre and gimble in the wabe.” Nonsense, but fun.
As for language, we enjoy images, or pictures and sounds and even
smells, while abstract language is better reserved, for the most
part, for more didactic writing. A poem may have something to
say, but it’s not meant to be a dissertation or even a sermon.
T. S. Eliot, the St. Louis boy who became the quintessential umbrella-toting
Londoner, tells us that meaning in poetry “is like the scrap
of meat that the burglar brings along to feed the family dog.”
Useful, but not the main object.
Or there’s e.e. cummings’ dictum: “A poem does
not mean, but be.”
Word for the month
Insouciance (in-SOO-see-unce), a noun that sounds awfully starchy
but means the opposite—a light-hearted attitude, nonchalance.
I read in the paper recently of an old woman who betrayed a definite
insouciance about her funeral plans. She told her children, “Surprise
me!”
—Gerald Waite
Editor’s Note: Questions or comments are welcome by writing
MM or at marquettemonthly@chartermi.net
MM
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