| City
Notes
Edited
by Kristy Basolo
Dear editor
This month, Cambodians everywhere and those who worked with Cambodians
during the 1970s will be watching the U.N./Cambodian Genocide
Tribunal. The first defendant will be the administrator of Tuol
Sleng prison, a converted school in Phnom Penh, set up by the
Khmer Rouge to torture and kill those who opposed the regime in
power from 1975 until 1979.
Men, women and children were held at the prison, tortured to obtain
confessions and then systematically bludgeoned to death.
Among those killed at Tuol Sleng were all of the 112 people who
had been in the United States, the vast majority of them military
men. When the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975, these military men
were here studying military tactics. They left their families
at home in Cambodia, and wanted to return home to try to protect
their families.
They joined a group of refugees who fled Cambodia, but whose families
had remained at home.
While in the refugee camps in the United States, these thirty-three
men, women and children asked to be sent home, along with the
Cambodian military men.
Under the auspices of the United Nations and the U.S. State Department,
the 112 were moved to Philadelphia. I was hired as the project
director to care for them while they were in the United States,
awaiting permission from the Khmer Rouge government in Phnom Penh
to return home.
In Spring 1976, the group moved to Paris (France), and in the
early Summer 1976, received permission to return to their homeland.
The Khmer Rouge promised that after a short, two-week "reeducation"
in Cambodia, they would be reunited with their families in the
countryside.
They arrived home in June 1976. For years, we heard nothing from
any of them.
In 2003, I contacted the Cambodian Documentation Center. They
were compiling the lists of those tortured and killed at Tuol
Sleng. All of the Cambodians who had returned to Cambodia from
the United States were on the lists of those killed. When they
arrived in Cambodia in 1976, they were taken to Tuol Sleng. Most
were dead by the end of that summer. The promised "family
reunification" never happened.
A year ago, I traveled to Cambodia to meet with the center's director
to file an affidavit as a complainant for the upcoming Genocide
Tribunal. "Duch," the prison's administrator, is charged
with ordering the murder of more than 4,000 people at Tuol Sleng,
including the 112 who returned home from here.
Cindy Martin Coleman
Editor's Note: The VOA will be broadcast to 17 million Cambodians
worldwide in the Khmer language on the radio. Starting about May
5, it also will be, in limited edition, on www.voanews.com/khmer
The genocide trials currently are on Webcast out of Northwestern
University on www.cambodiatribunal.org
Community honors theatre personality’s final
bow
After thirty-two years, Dr. James Panowski will be taking his
final bow as artistic director of Forest Roberts Theatre.
Join the community at 6:00 p.m. on May 1 at Upfront & Company
in Marquette to celebrate his contributions to FRT, NMU, the Marquette
community and theatre students. The evening will include a buffet
dinner, cash bar and entertainment.
A scholarship will be established in his name so that his dream
of helping NMU theatre majors will come true for years to come.
For details, call 227-2627.
Covington U.P.-Made Artist Market opens for the season
The U.P.-Made Artist Market will open for its fourth season on
May 1 in the Historic Covington School. The juried artists market,
sponsored by the nonprofit Community Women’s Group, promotes
the “Keep it in the U.P.” slogan by supporting Upper
Peninsula artists and fine crafters.
Works of art from as far away as Sault St. Marie and Grand Marais,
to more local artists from Houghton, Baraga, Marquette and Ontonagon
counties, are represented.
The market is open Friday through Sunday. Products available at
the market include watercolors, photography, acrylic painting,
fine wood crafts, fabric media including wall hangings and quilts,
hand-painted silk scarves and felted wool bowls and purses, woven
rugs and placemats, stained glass and jewelry. The cabin décor
includes soaps, candles, kitchen accessories, wood-crafted items,
local jams and syrup, and for an added touch there is an antique
corner.
The market is located on School Road, one block off of US-141
in Covington. Visit www.upmadeartistmarket.com for details. An
annual art show will be held at the school on the last Saturday
in June, which coincides with the Finnish Music Festival in Covington.
Stupak named as 2009 NMU commencement speaker
U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak will be the keynote speaker at Northern
Michigan University’s spring commencement on May 2. He also
will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Since 1992, Stupak has represented Michigan’s first congressional
district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
A graduate of Gladstone High School, Stupak began his career in
public service as an Escanaba police officer in 1972. He joined
the Michigan State Police force the following year and retired
in 1984 after being injured in the line of duty. He has gone on
to serve northern Michigan residents as an attorney and as a state
representative for Menominee, Delta and Dickinson counties.
Sister City program seeks delegates for Japan visit
A delegation of Marquette area citizens is being formed to visit
Marquette’s sister city in Higashiomi (Japan). The Marquette
Sister City Advisory Committee is seeking ten delegates to represent
Marquette on a visit from October 22 to November 2, 2009.
Interested delegates are invited to attend an informational meeting
to be held on May 7 at 7:00 p.m. in the Shiras Room on the second
floor of the Peter White Public Library.
Applications to join the delegation and all other necessary information
about the program will be available at the meeting.
While in Japan, delegates will live with a host family, attend
official and informal delegation events, and experience a truly
cross-cultural exchange of friendship. The cost of the trip including
transportation is $2,400 and is the responsibility of each delegate.
For details, contact Pryse Duerfeldt at 225-0978.
Club Indigo announces May movie, buffet choices
Celebrate the Calumet Theatre’s fifteenth season of Club
Indigo with a gourmet buffet and a rare selection of four-star
movies, selected from more than 2,000 possibilities.
• May 8: King Of Masks—A touching story about a Chinese
street magician and a child, despite being a little girl, who
worms her way into his heart. An Asian buffet specially created
by chefs at the Keweenaw Co-op will be served.
The movies will be shown on Fridays at 7:15 p.m., with an appropriate
buffet served at 6:00 p.m. And, as usual, the buffets will be
presented by the community’s finest chefs. Cost is $17 for
both food and film, half-fare for children. For the buffet, a
call at least a day in advance will assure seating at 337-2610.
Working to cover uninsured neighbors in Awareness Walk
In Marquette County nearly 7,000 residents are uninsured; 5,587
adults and 1,283 children. In 2008, the Medical Care Access Coalition
(MCAC) coordinated health care for 793 low income county residents
ages nineteen through sixty-four through its volunteer program.
MCAC and the Marquette County Health Department are co-hosting
the second annual Access to Health Care Awareness Walk at the
Marquette Commons at Third and Spring Streets on May 9. At 9:00
a.m., an interactive forum will be held with legislators, community
leaders, health care providers and uninsured residents. Government
officials will provide an update on health care reform at the
federal and state level.
On return to the Marquette Commons, individuals eligible for the
Adult Benefit Waiver (ABW) program can enroll. The ABW program
provides basic health coverage to adults without dependent children
who are under age sixty-five, do not have private insurance, do
not qualify for Medicaid, and earn less than $580 a month (individual)
or less than $716 a month (two-person household).
There is no cost for participating. For details, call 226-4400
or e-mail mwhite@penmed.com or visit www.upmcac.org
GLRC Running to the Rescue fundraiser planned for May 9
Great Lakes Recovery Centers (GLRC) fundraiser, Running to the
Rescue, will take place May 9 at Presque Isle Park in Marquette.
The event will help provide vital treatment services to our community.
The 5K run and two-mile walk is open to the public with registration
at 8:00 a.m. at the Presque Isle Pavilion. The run is scheduled
to start at 9:00 a.m. Registration is $20, with all proceeds going
to support local substance abuse treatment services. Children
ten and younger can participate free with a paid adult.
The run and walk will take participants on a path around Presque
Isle Park. Snacks and refreshments will be available and participants
will receive a commemorative shirt. To register, visit www.glrc.biz
and download an entry form or call 228-9699.
Marquette Fallen Officer Memorial set for May 15
A Fallen Police Officer Memorial will be held at 11:30 a.m. on
May 15 at Elwood Mattson Lower Harbor Park in Marquette.
The Exchange Club and the Police Agencies of Marquette County
will host a Healing Field of Honor from May 14 through 17, 2009.
Visitors and volunteers from the surrounding communities will
experience an amazing display of patriotism including hundreds
of large U.S. flags atop eight-foot poles placed in perfect rows
on a field of green.
This living display of heroism will fly as a temporary patriotic
tribute to the strength and unity of Americans, and will honor
fallen police officers who have served our community to preserve
our security.
For details, visit www.colonialflag foundation.org
Annual relay offers Big Bay, Marquette spring tradition
The 2009 Big Bay Relay sponsored by Johnson’s Sports is set
to take off on May 16. In its thirty-third year, the relay has
been a tradition and a challenge. This year’s relay race
(five-person teams) will start at 8:00 a.m. and run from Marquette
to Big Bay.
Divisions include: all female, all male and mixed team divisions,
as well as a junior division.
Johnson’s Sports will donate the top awards to each division
winning team is members in a form of gift certificates toward
a purchase of new running shoes in their shop.
Entry forms are available at www.noquetrails.org
For details, call 235-6861 or e-mail info@noquetrails.org
Art on the Rocks seeking submissions for logo contest
Art on the Rocks is seeking submissions for its annual T-shirt
logo contest. The winning design will be used on T-shirts sold
at the summer art show. This year’s fifty-first annual show
will be held for the first time at the Elwood Mattson Lower Harbor
Park.
Entries may be submitted on CD or on 8.5-by-11 paper. The design
should include: “Art on the Rocks,” “Marquette
MI” and “2009.” The winning designer will receive
$200.
Entries should be sent to Art on the Rocks Logo Contest at P.O.
Box 9, Marquette, MI 49855. Any number of submissions may be included.
Please include your name, address and phone number on the back
of each design or CD. The deadline for entry is May 15. For details,
call Jack at 225-1952.
UPPAA conference features keynote from Dan Poynter
The Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association presents
its eleventh annual conference featuring keynote speaker Dan Poynter
on May 16 at Peter White Public Library.
Find out how to take control of your book’s publication and
promotion and talk with local authors, writers, publishers, printers
and other service providers.
Poynter is the author of more than 120 books, has been a publisher
since 1969, and is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). His
seminars have been featured on CNN, his books have been pictured
in The Wall Street Journal, and his story has been told in U.S.
News & World Report. His mission is to see that people do
not die with a book still inside them.
For details, call 226-1543 or visit www.uppaa.org
Wits n’ Wheels offers annual scavenger hunt fun to locals
Wits n’ Wheels Scavenger Hunt, a fundraiser for the Marquette
County History Museum, will take place at 3:00 p.m. on May 17.
Entry fee is $100 per team of up to five people. Register in advance
at the museum store.
For details, call 226-3571 or visit www.marquettecohistory.org
Film shown on May 30 in Fred Rydholm’s honor
Let Me Not Drown on the Waters will be shown in honor of teacher,
author and historian Fred Rydholm at 2:00 p.m. on May 30 in the
PWPL Community Room. The event is hosted by Rydholm’s family.
Tom Baldini appointed to MTU board of control
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm appointed Marquette civic
leader Thomas L. Baldini to fill a vacant seat on the MTU Board
of Control. Baldini will serve through 2016. He replaces David
Brule, whose term has expired.
Baldini has served as district director in Marquette for U.S.
Representative Bart Stupak since 2003. A graduate of Northern
Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education,
Baldini served as education advisor and special assistant to former
Michigan Governor James Blanchard. He also has worked as assistant
to the superintendent for personnel and finances of the Marquette
Area Public Schools and taught high school and university political
science in Marquette.
City of Negaunee, WPPI offer Energy Star rebates
The City of Negaunee, through funding from WPPI Energy, is offering
cash incentives to encourage the purchase of new Energy Star qualified
appliances for residential and business customers of the City
of Negaunee’s electric utility.
Homeowners or business owners purchasing new appliances are eligible
for these incentives through the WPPI Energy’s Energy Star
Appliance Incentive Program.
To qualify for cash incentives, customers must obtain an application
from Negaunee City Hall (100 Silver Street) and purchase the appliance
from an authorized local retailer, Sears (Negaunee location only)
or Household Appliance (Ishpeming and Marquette locations). Participating
retailers must sign the application, to confirm the appliance
is Energy Star-rated, and the customer needs to return it, along
with the receipt of purchase, to Negaunee City Hall. Applications
need to be returned to City Hall within five days of the purchase
date. Purchases must be made between April 1, 2009 and June 30,
2009. For details, call 475-7700.
MDNR lease of state land to Kennecott to be reconsidered
A Lansing judge will examine the validity of a surface land lease
granted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to Kennecott
Eagle Minerals Company (KEMC), the court announced. This decision
reverses the judge’s March 3 dismissal of the same challenge.
Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paula Manderfield granted a
motion by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and its partners
to reconsider the question of whether the MDNR violated its “Public
Trust responsibility” when it granted a surface lease to
KEMC.
According to the Public Trust Doctrine, the MDNR is responsible
for holding and managing public resources for the good of the
public, maintaining public access whenever possible and protecting
the resources for existing uses. In its motion for reconsideration,
NWF identified a variety of publicly-owned natural resources at
stake, including the rare Coaster Brook Trout, tribally-significant
Eagle Rock, and public recreation lands on the Yellow Dog Plains.
The judge’s ruling puts the issue back on the court docket
this June, when Manderfield will hear arguments regarding summary
disposition of the challenge. If NWF is successful, the challenge
will move forward to an evidentiary hearing.
In addition to this proceeding, NWF and its partners—Keweenaw
Bay Indian Community, Huron Mountain Club, and Yellow Dog Watershed
Preserve—are awaiting word from a state administrative law
judge regarding their legal challenges of mining and ground water
discharge permits issued by the Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality.
The proposed mine is stalled until these legal proceedings, a
decision regarding additional permits by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, and the potential endangered species listing
of the Coaster Brook Trout by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
are resolved.
Despite the global economic downturn, debt-burden and deferment
of its keystone Eagle nickel project, Kennecott Minerals is pushing
forward with new prospecting activities on public forest land
in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Joining the fray is
a Canadian junior exploration company, Trans Superior Resources,
which is continuing the search for uranium and metallic minerals
quietly.
The Ottawa National Forest is accepting public comment on applications
submitted for mineral prospecting on approximately 2,160 acres
of public forest land in Baraga, Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon counties.
Kennecott and Trans Superior’s applications currently are
in a “scoping period” with no formal end to public comment.
Once the Forest Service completes an environmental assessment
for the projects, the public will be invited to comment during
a thirty-day period. Kennecott is pursuing three separate project
areas located within the Ottawa.
A beleaguered Rio Tinto board defended itself from criticisms
coming from a number of shareholders at the company’s annual
general meeting on April 15 in London, England. High on shareholders’
minds was the proposed $19.5 billion deal to sell access to a
number of key company assets, including Kennecott, to the Chinese
government-owned Chinalco. Many speakers described this move as
offensive to existing shareholders and a direct result of poor
investment and management decisions made by the company over the
last several years.
At the meeting, Lutheran pastor, Jon Magnuson from Marquette presented
a document signed by 100 faith leaders of ten faith traditions
in Marquette, Baraga and Keweenaw counties. Magnuson said the
document was part of a petition that collected roughly 10,000
citizens’ names in opposition to Rio Tinto’s Eagle Project
nickel and copper mine, located on the Yellow Dog Plains, in Marquette
County.
Cohodas Literary Prize winners announced by NMU
NMU announced the 2009 Cohodas Literary Prize award winners. First
prize went to “What Can Students Do to Combat Prejudice?”
by Cameron Witbeck.
Second prize was awarded to Rachael Shoemaker for her essay, “Loss
of Innocence.” Third Prize went to “Color Blind: an
Essay on Xenophobia and Prejudice” by L.J. Geoffrion.
Judges in the contest were Gabriel Brahm (Assistant Professor
of English) and Cynthia Brandon and Dan Gocella (Teaching Assistants
in English).
This prize was established by Rabbi Samuel and Lynn Stahl and
Nancy and Paul Oberman, in honor of the sixty-fifth wedding anniversary
of Nancy and Lynn’s parents, Lois and Willard Cohodas.
To read the complete essays, visit webb.nmu.edu/Departments/English
National Trails Day celebrated by Copper Harbor group
The Copper Harbor Trails Club is seeking volunteers with a strong
back to get the trails buffed out for the season and work on some
new trail development projects on June 6.
Folks should meet at Keweenaw Adventure Company at 10:00 a.m.
and plan to work most of the afternoon. Lunch for volunteers will
be provided, but please call ahead to place an order. A group
mountain bike ride or hike will follow the work session to give
folks a chance to sample the improvements of the day. This will
be topped off with a free pasta dinner at the Mariner North and
live music at Zik’s Bar & Grill with “The Blackflies”
into the late night hours.
For details, visit www.copperharbortrails.org or call 289-4303.
NOAA awarded grant for interactive exhibit
The NOAA National Weather Service, Marquette in partnership with
the Marquette County History Museum has been awarded a $12,000
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Preserving
America Initiative mini-Grant. Other major partners are Michigan
Sea Grant, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, MooseWood
Nature Center and Superior Watershed Partnership. The Marquette
County History Museum has been developing the exhibit design with
the help of these partners for more than a year.
The interactive display is called “Lake Effect: Past, Present
and Future.” The interactive station will illustrate the
effect of Lake Superior on the daily lives of the people living
in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, past and present. The project
will include construction of the interactive station and a model
of a weather buoy, as well as the creation of a menu-driven touch
screen computer that will display photographs, historical records,
map and current weather and radar information. The display will
illustrate the important role that the NWS plays in the daily
lives and local economy of Marquette County citizens.
Fundraiser cookbook offers recipes for humans, pets
The Marquette County Humane Society has been working on a cookbook
called Bone Appétit containing more than 500 recipes, including
some for homemade pet food.
Many wonderful shelter supporters have donated their favorite
recipes, so it will be a perfect addition for any cook. Each cookbook
is $15, with bulk pricing available. Orders are being accepted
by calling Reva at 475-4798 or e-mail at cookbook@upaws.org
The sale of the cookbook will help provide financial support to
the humane society so it can continue to care for the approximately
1,800 animals that come through MCHS doors each year.
Blueberry festival contest, event details released
The Marquette Downtown Development Authority announced that plans
are underway for the Downtown Marquette Blueberry Festival set
for July 24. Food vendors, artists & crafters, and non-profit
organizations are invited to join the fun and set up a booth during
the Blueberry Festival that will run from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00
p.m.
Residents of all ages and skill levels may submit original artwork
for the Blueberry Festival Poster Contest, celebrating blueberries
and the people who love them. The winning design will be reproduced
as a full-color, limited edition poster. Original artwork in any
medium is welcome.
In exchange for the rights to the selected artwork, the winner
will receive $150 Downtown Dollars, a framed poster recognizing
the artist for the winning entry, and ten additional posters.
Entry deadline is May 15. Call 228-9475 for a complete list of
rules.
There is a $35 registration fee to participate. For details, call
228-9475 or e-mail admin@downtown marquette.org
Covington dance to benefit Finnish Music Festival
On May 24, a dance and fundraiser will be held from 1:00 to 5:00
p.m. in the Covington Multi Purpose Building featuring Wil Kilpela,
Tanya Stanaway, Les Ross Sr., Oren Tikkanen and more.
Proceeds benefit the eleventh annual Finnish Music Festival in
Covington, which will be held on June 27 and will commemorate
the life of the late U.P. folk music legend Johnny Perona.
NMU’s Public Radio 90 wins broadcast excellence award
WNMU-FM, Public Radio 90 was recently awarded a Best in Category
Broadcast Excellence Award by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters
in the Community Involvement category for its December 2008 “Holiday
Readings and Remembrances” features.
Public Radio 90 listeners were invited to share a holiday reading
or remembrance by writing stories and then recording them at the
WNMU studios in Marquette.
Each Holiday Remembrance recording is also uploaded to the WNMU
Web site for participants to share with family and friends near
and far. This is the third year Public Radio 90 has aired “Holiday
Readings and Remembrances.”
Booth applications available for art and music festival
The Copper Country Community Arts Center has artist booth applications
available for the eighth annual Houghton Spring Art and Music
Festival happening in downtown Houghton from noon to 8:00 p.m.
on June 13. The festival is co-sponsored by the Copper Country
Community Arts Council and the City of Houghton. Stop by the Arts
Center at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock to pick up an application
or call 482-2333 for details.
U.P. association announces contest open to youth, adults
Students in Grades 4 through 12 and adults can enter the Upper
Peninsula Writers Association contest.
Youth categories include poetry, nonfiction and personal narrative.
Adult categories are rhyming poetry, non-rhyming poetry, fiction,
humor and nonfiction.
An official entry form is necessary and can be photocopied at
you local library or e-mail cklos@jamadots.com
Beaumier center works to gather Anatomy memories
The Beaumier Upper Peninsula Heritage Center at Northern Michigan
University is seeking community involvement in an upcoming exhibit
on the fiftieth anniversary of the movie, Anatomy of a Murder.
The center invites area residents to loan items related to the
production to add depth to the exhibit, which will be titled “Hollywood
Comes to Marquette: The Making of Anatomy of a Murder.” These
might include photos of the filming, mementos from the movie or
any other items related to the film’s production. Also, the
center is interested in stories from community members involved
in the movie-making process or who witnessed the making of the
movie.
If you are interested in sharing photos, artifacts or stories,
call 227-1219 or e-mail heritage@nmu.edu
The exhibit opens June 19 and runs through December. It will celebrate
the film’s anniversary and tell the story of the making of
the film in Marquette County.
Investigation underway in case of poisoned wildlife
The Department of Natural Resources, with assistance from the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Michigan Department of Agriculture
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is investigating
a case of poisoned wildlife discovered recently in Baraga County.
A Keweenaw Bay Indian Community conservation officer located a
deer carcass and a dead bald eagle within close proximity to each
other. The deer carcass had been laced with a substance containing
blue crystals.
After alerting the DNR to investigate, the DNR contacted the EPA
for assistance. An EPA test determined the deer had been salted
with a highly toxic pesticide. Toxicology tests on the eagle are
still pending.
Bald eagles have been on the federal Endangered Species List since
1940, and they continue to be protected by the Federal Migratory
Bird Treaty Act and the Federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection
Act. Under these laws, a person may not kill, harass, hunt or
otherwise harm bald eagles.
NMU’s USOEC secures continued financial support
NMU received confirmation that the United States Olympic Committee
will continue its support of the United States Olympic Education
Center for another year.
According to Jeff Kleinschmidt, USOEC director, while the contract
has not yet officially been renewed, NMU and the USOC have agreed
to operate the USOEC under the terms of the old agreement with
the USOC providing $300,000 of support to the center until June
30, 2010.
Kleinschmidt said that USOC officials have indicated they will
be working with the USOEC and NMU staff to develop a “long-term
plan” for the center over the upcoming year.
The USOEC has been a part of the NMU campus since 1985. It currently
has five residential programs: boxing, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman
wrestling, short-track speedskating and weightlifting. In Fall
2009, the USOEC will serve as the host of the 2010 U.S. Olympic
Team Trials in Short Track Speedskating and the Samsung ISU World
Cup.
For details, visit www.nmu.edu/usoec
City presents annual arts awards to individuals, groups
The City of Marquette Arts and Culture Department will present
the thirteenth annual Marquette County Arts Awards from 6:00 to
8:00 p.m. on May 15 in the Marquette Arts and Culture Center located
in the Peter White Public Library.
The awards are held in conjunction with Lake Superior Art Association’s
thirty-third annual Juried Member Show Reception.
The awards honor individuals, organizations and businesses that
have positively impacted the quality of life in Marquette. Recipients
include Cindy Deo, Diane Patrick, James Panowski, Ben Franklin,
Barry Bernstein, Jessica “Red” Bays, Fred Rydholm, Dave
Bett, Marquette Area Blues Society and Elizabeth Grugin.
The awards reception is free and the public is welcome. Call 228-0472
for details.
MSHS student council donates to Beacon House
Marquette Senior High School Student Council recently donated
$3,000 to support the operation of Beacon House, the Upper Peninsula’s
hospital hospitality house, located in Marquette.
The Student Council raises funds by hosting school dances and
other activities at Marquette Senior High.
Participants sought for Scandinavian festival
The Marquette Scandinavian Midsummer committee is looking for
entertainers, vendors, craft demonstrators and volunteers to participate
in the upcoming festivities at Presque Isle Park in Marquette
on June 20.
Singers, instrumentalists, dancers, storytellers, and other performers
who depict or relate to Scandinavia are solicited for the program
on the Presque Isle bandshell. Admission and parking are free
and open to all.
If you can demonstrate a Scandinavian craft, such as weaving or
carving, you are invited to be a part of the Marquette Scandinavian
Midsummer festivities. Call 226-9350 for details.
Volunteers are needed the day before, the day of, and the day
after the festival. Call 228-9453 to volunteer.
The Marquette Scandinavian Midsummer Committee meets at 7:00 p.m.
on May 13 at City Hall.
Outstanding NMU students receive service awards
Northern Michigan University senior Trista Buzzo of Marquette
was one of five students in the state awarded the Outstanding
Community Impact Award from Michigan Campus Compact. Nine other
NMU students were also recognized for their commitments to community
service.
The other NMU students recognized by Michigan Campus Compact received
the Commitment to Service Award, given to one student per campus
in recognition of breadth of community service, or the Heart and
Soul Award for significant commitment to community service.
U.P. recipients and awards are Katy Adams (Bessemer), Heart and
Soul and Jason Richards (Marquette), Heart and Soul.
Paddle it Forward with Down Wind Sports promotion
Ready for an upgrade? Been thinking about what to do with that
older model kayak or canoe in the garage? Now is the time to make
the move. Down Wind Sports is participating in the national “Paddle
It Forward” program.
From April 1 through August 31, 2009, if you donate your used,
but seaworthy, hard-shell kayak or canoe to a qualified charity,
Down Wind Sports will give you an immediate ten-percent off the
price of a new, kayak from Perception or Wilderness Systems. A
manufacturer’s mail-in rebate will garner an additional ten
percent off the net price.
Down Wind Sports recommends the following charities for the donated
boats, although any outdoor and environmental organization with
a 501(c)(3) certificate is eligible to participate: Camp Hiawatha
Boy Scout Camp, Bay Cliff Health Camp, Negaunee Middle School
Outdoor Education Class and Munising Outdoor Education Class.
Before donating a kayak or canoe, call Down Wind Sports at 226-7112
for complete details and a list of recommended charities.
Raffle offers top prize of Agawa Canyon train trip
In recognition of the ninetieth anniversary of Child and Family
Services of the Upper Peninsula, the organization has launched
an awareness campaign to highlight its services and origins, including
its participation in the original foster care program, “The
Orphan Trains.”
The anniversary fundraising efforts include a raffle for four
tickets on “The Agawa Canyon Tour Train,” often referred
to as one of the most popular train excursions in North America.
The lucky raffle ticket winners will begin their trip with an
overnight stay on October 2, 2009 at the Catalina Motel in Sault
Ste. Marie (Ontario). The day-long wilderness excursion by train
will begin the following day, and will travel 114 miles north
over towering trestles, alongside pristine northern lakes and
rivers, and through the awesome granite rock formations and mixed
forest of the Canadian Shield.
Tickets are $10 each, and are available at many locations across
the Upper Peninsula, including the Child and Family Services of
the U.P. office, Heritage Motors and Jeffrey’s Restaurant
of Marquette. For details, visit www.cfsup.org or call 228-4050.
SWP seeks conservation projects from local agencies
The Superior Watershed Partnership (SWP) is requesting hands-on
conservation projects from nonprofits, local units of government
and government agencies for the 2009 Superior Youth Conservation
Corps (SYCC) season (mid-June to mid-August).
Projects can include such things as trail construction and maintenance,
erosion control, river restoration and clean-up, invasive species
removal, native seed planting, and more. Projects will be considered
for Baraga, Marquette, Alger, Schoolcraft, Delta, Menominee and
Dickinson Counties. The SWP provides the SYCC at no cost to government
agencies and nonprofits. The SWP is also seeking three (3) SYCC
Crew Leaders. Crew leaders would be responsible for SYCC crew
and project oversight. Crew leaders must have excellent people
and task management skills. These will be paid positions starting
in June and ending late August.
Call 228-6095 for details, or visit www.superiorwatersheds.org
USOEC kicks off World Cup speedskating promotion
Northern Michigan University and the Marquette Community are proud
once again to host both the U.S. Olympic Trials and the World
Cup Speedskating events this fall.
You can show your support for the Short Track Speedskating 2010
Olympic Trials and the World Cup Short Track Speedskating and
advertise your business, organization or yourself and your family
by decorating a wooden skate that will be displayed during the
events along Washington, Front and Third streets.
As part of the promotional campaign for the upcoming World Cup
Short Track Speedskating Competition, the United States Olympic
Education Center, in cooperation with the City of Marquette and
the Downtown Development Authority, will distribute wooden silhouettes
of skates to be decorated by area residents, organizations and
businesses, and displayed throughout the city.
For details, call 228-0472 or e-mail arts@mqtcty.org
Business Association seeks participants for annual event
The Ishpeming Business Association is looking for artists and
crafters to participate in the Festival of Treasures to be held
on July 3 in downtown Ishpeming. Space is available under the
tents as well as street space. For details, call Josefa at 486-4331.
DNR begins its fourteenth year of statewide frog survey
The Department of Natural Resources announced the start of the
fourteenth annual statewide frog and toad survey coordinated each
year by the department’s Wildlife Division.
Declining populations of frog, toads and other amphibians have
been documented worldwide since the 1980s. Studies suggest amphibians
are disappearing due to habitat loss, pollution, disease, and
collection.
Michigan’s annual survey efforts help biologists keep tabs
on frog and toad abundance and distribution in the state.
The surveys are conducted by volunteer observers along a statewide
system of permanent survey routes, each consisting of ten wetland
sites.
These sites are visited three times during spring when frogs and
toads are actively breeding. Observers listen for calling frogs
and toads at each site, identify the species present, and make
an estimate of abundance.
More information on the Frog and Toad Survey and other projects
supported by the Nongame Fish and Wildlife Fund is available at
www.michigan.gov/dnr
Marquette Farmers Market set to begin May 23
The number of farmers markets across the country has nearly doubled
in the last ten years, as people recognize the ecological and
gastronomical benefits of buying locally grown or raised food.
The increasing popularity of farmers markets is a sign of rising
food consciousness as well as an indication that they serve an
important function in the culture and cohesiveness of their communities.
The Farmers Market will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. every
Saturday from May 23 through December 19 at the Marquette Commons.
There are no early sales. Cash, credit cards, EBT/Bridge cards
and Project Fresh coupons will be accepted. Grand Opening festivities
will kick off June 27.
Applications for the Farmers Market are available at the Downtown
Development Authority office. For details, call 228-6213.
Nominations sought for inaugural U.P. Service Awards
In recognition of contributions of volunteers across the Upper
Peninsula, the U.P. Volunteer Network announced the launch of
the inaugural U.P. Service Awards to coincide with National Volunteer
Week. Nominations will be accepted through May 22.
Categories for the awards include Youth, Adult, Senior, Business
Community Leader and Volunteer Program. An award will also be
made in the category of Volunteer Connect, which honors organizations
that have successfully used and promoted 1-800-Volunteer.org,
a national online database volunteers use to search for volunteer
opportunities in their community.
Nomination packets are available at the Great Lakes Center for
Youth Development (GLCYD), 307 South Front Street in Marquette.
For details, call 228-8919, ext. 25 or e-mail upvolunteernetwork@glcyd.org
Ron Lauren named CEO of Superior Iron Range CFCU
Superior Iron Range Community Federal Credit Union is pleased
to announce the appointment of Ron Lauren to Chief Executive Officer.
As CEO, Lauren will be responsible for the daily operation and
management of all Superior Iron Range departments and branches.
Lauren began his career at the credit union in 2000. His most
recent position was as the credit union’s Chief Financial
Officer.
He is a 1997 graduate of Northern Michigan University with a degree
in Finance and a 2004 graduate of CUNA Management School. Lauren
resides in Gwinn with his wife Carla and their three children.
Lauren succeeds Rich Harvey who recently retired as CEO.
AAUW offers scholarship application for Fall 2009
The American Association of University Women (AAWU), Marquette
Branch, is accepting scholarship applications for the 2009 fall
semester. The scholarships are awarded to NMU undergraduate
women who demonstrate financial need, have clear scholastic and
career goals, and plan on taking at least six credits during the
fall semester.
Applications and a detailed list of guidelines are available from
the NMU Office of Financial Aid. Applications must be submitted
to AAUW by June 1. Call Carolyn Myers at 249-1137 for details.
These scholarships are supported by proceeds from the annual AAUW
Book Sale, puppet shows and other AAUW fundraising efforts.
Experience Works
With thanks to the stimulus package, Experience Works Employment
and Training has been given additional funding for training positions
throughout the Upper Peninsula.
If you are fifty-five years of age or older and can meet income
guidelines, you may be eligible for paid training in the local
area. The program is funded under Title V of the Older Americans’
Act. For details, call Dennis Koers at 346-9410.
CCI Notes
• Cliffs Natural Resources has announced that its Michigan
operations will increase its previously announced annual production
by more than 600,000 additional tons for 2009. The additional
production will bring the total projected production in Michigan
for 2009 to approximately 7.3 million tons of iron ore pellets.
The additional tonnage will eliminate the need for previously
announced summer production shutdowns at the Empire and Tilden
mines.
Authors Corner
• Tyler R. Tichelaar announces publication of The Only
Thing That Lasts, his fifth novel in a series of books set in
Marquette. The Only Thing That Lasts is written as the autobiography
of Robert O’Neill, the famous novelist first introduced in
The Marquette Trilogy. As a young boy during World War I, Robert
is forced to leave his South Carolina home to live in Marquette
with his grandmother and aunt. He finds there a cold climate,
but many warmhearted friends as he matures into adulthood and
becomes a famous writer. The Only Thing That Lasts is a joyful,
lighthearted, yet meaningful story of home and hearth. For details,
visit www.marquettefiction.com
Politicians applaud signing of Kennedy Serve America Act
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
praised President Obama’s signing of the Edward M. Kennedy
Serve America Act.
The Serve America Act expands AmeriCorps from 75,000 members to
250,000 members, creating opportunities to focus service efforts
on some of our greatest challenges, including education, clean
energy, healthcare, veterans and economic opportunity.
The Michigan Community Service Commission (MCSC) will play an
instrumental role in implementing many of the programs in the
Act.
These programs support 4 million volunteers and 70,000 community
service organizations that provide much-needed assistance to the
most vulnerable Americans.
Under the legislation, the Corporation for National and Community
Service, which administers these programs, will be able to target
four areas in need of increased assistance in low-income communities:
Clean Energy, Education, Health Futures, and an Opportunity Corps
to boost financial literacy. For every $1 invested in service
programs like AmeriCorps, up to $4 is provided in direct, measurable
benefits.
Furthermore, this legislation helps students who contribute to
their community attend college and advance their education. The
bill increases the education award for an Americorps participant
to match the Pell Grant award and ties future increases to increases
in the Pell Grant.
Tidbits from the desk of U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow
• U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) and Carl
Levin (D-Michigan) announced the Department of Homeland Security
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program will open the FY2009
application process April 15. Michigan fire departments and nonaffiliated
emergency medical service organizations interested in applying
must make sure their applications are received by May 20.
• Stabenow and Levin announced that community health centers
throughout Michigan will receive $8,712,256 million through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Increase in Demand for
Services (IDS) grant program over the next two years. This funding
will assist existing Community Health Centers by expanding operating
hours and increasing the scope of medical services offered. U.P.
agencies benefiting include Bay Mills Indian Community in Brimley
($125,545) and Upper Peninsula Association of Rural Health Services
in Marquette ($180,800).
• Stabenow and Levin announced that Michigan received $8,913,000
in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding through
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help assess and clean
up underground storage tank petroleum leaks and to support clean
diesel projects and loan programs and $4,543,475 in ARRA funding
through the Department of Homeland Security’s Emergency Food
and Shelter program.
Notes from the desk of U.S. Senator Carl Levin
• Levin and Stabenow introduced the National Lighthouse Stewardship
Act to create a three year competitive grant program that would
help fund the preservation and rehabilitation of historic lighthouses
in Michigan and across the country. The grants will help nonprofit
organizations, which serve as caretakers for the historic landmarks,
to maintain the beauty of the lighthouses and keep them accessible
to the public. Michigan has the most lighthouses of any state
in the country.
• Levin and Stabenow announced that Michigan has been awarded
$77,975,900 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation block grants
through the ARRA. These formula-based grants will provide funding
to cities, counties, Tribal governments and statewide for projects
designed to reduce total energy use and carbon emissions; in the
U.P. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan ($382,400),
Hannahville Indian Community ($35,100), Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
($68,900) and Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians ($25,9000) received funds.
• Levin and Stabenow announced that Michigan has been awarded $358,161,033 in
ARRA funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide
loan guarantees to low- and moderate-income individuals for the
purchase of homes in rural areas; 36,840,330 through the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Community Services Block
Grant Program to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty
in communities throughout Michigan; and $65,683,257 through the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Child Care and Development
Fund to support child care for working families and to provide
funding aimed at making vaccinations available to underserved
populations.
• Levin and Stabenow announced that funding under the ARRA
will be allocated by the Department of the Interior for two new
research vessels in the Great Lakes.
• Levin and Stabenow announced that Delphi Automotive of
Troy has been awarded $2.4 million in ARRA funding through
the Department of Energy for fuel cell technology development
and testing. Delphi will develop, test and demonstrate a 3- to
5-kW solid oxide fuel cell auxiliary power unit for heavy duty
commercial class 8 trucks. The demonstration will improve upon
Delphi’s current generation SOFC technology by increasing
net output power and fuel processing efficiency, decreasing heat
loss and parasitic power loss, and establishing diesel fuel compatibility.
Local business news...in brief
• Pat Black, executive director of the Marquette Country
Convention & Visitors Bureau, was presented the CVB Director
of the Year award for the State of Michigan at the recent Governor’s
Conference on Tourism.
• The Board of Directors of the Upper Peninsula Health
Plan presented awards of special recognition to John Schon of
the Dickinson County Healthcare System and Sheryl Waudby of the
health plan during the annual meeting of the health plan’s
stockholders.
• Finlandia University Class of 2009 Valedictorian Lauren
VanderLind graduates this spring with an overall grade point average
of 4.0.; she completed a bachelor of arts in English with concentrations
in philosophy and religion.
• The Marquette General Hospital Volunteers recently
donated $8,000 to the Marquette General Foundation to complete
the fund raising needed to purchase an $80,000 state-of-the-art
transporter for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit; proceeds from
the 2008 Inaugural Celebrating Our Champions Foundation Gala also
helped fund the transporter.
• Family Medicine Specialist Dr. Erica Griffin has joined
the Marquette General Bariatric and Metabolic Center and the medical
staff of Marquette General Health System; she will work with weight-loss
surgeon Dr. Wayne English at the Marquette General Bariatric and
Metabolic Center to help develop a more comprehensive program
for treating obesity.
• Interventional Radiologists Dr. Hasnain Haider-Shah,
Dr. Michael Ouimette and Dr. Dan Orron have joined Superior Imaging
Specialists, P.C., and the medical staff of Marquette General
Health System.
• NMU associate professor in political science, Ruth
A. Watry, was honored with the Zonta yellow rose award for her
work in her classes and in the community as an advocate for women
and girls and as a person who has contributed to the political
and social quality of life for women and children in Marquette
County.
• Rich Matthews, occupational therapist for the Marquette
General Rehabilitation Center, has earned certification as a hand
therapist.
• Hospitalist Eric Ittner, MD, has been selected as
the recipient for the 2009 Physician of the Year, The Nurses Choice
award.
• The National Committee for Quality Assurance and the
American Diabetes Association announced that FamilyCare Doctors,
a service of Marquette General Health System, has received recognition
from the Diabetes Physician Recognition Program for providing
quality care to patients with diabetes.
• The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum
announced Bernard Weichsel of Wayland (Massachusetts) as its new
board chairman; Weichsel, founder of BEWI Productions, has an
extensive background in winter sport promotions, activities and
events.
• Snowbound Books, 118 North Third Street, Marquette,
and the Lake Superior Community Partnership recently held a ribbon
cutting ceremony to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment.
• State Representatives Judy Nerat (D-Menominee) and
Steven Lindberg (D-Marquette) announced that the State House and
Senate will now purchase their paper from Manistique Papers—a
U.P.-based company. The paper is made from 100-percent recycled
material and costs twenty percent less than the paper it is replacing.
• Pathways Community Mental Health received notice from
the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities that
they have been accredited for a period of three years for Assertive
Community Treatment, Case Management/Services Coordination, Community
Integration, Crisis Intervention, Intensive Family-Based Services,
Outpatient Treatment, and Employment Services programs.
• Rotary Club of Marquette inducted three new members:
Tammy Karp is the owner of Village Chiropractic, Bret Conklin
is the owner of B-Cubed Personal trainers and Charles Flood Sr.
is the director of Business Analysis and a compliance officer
at Marquette General Hospital.
• Carpet Specialists commemorated the opening of its
new Marquette Township location with a ribbon cutting ceremony
at the new location at 875 Brookton Road; for details, call 273-1234.
• Computer Mechanix celebrated its grand opening with
a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1108 West Washington Street, Suite
C in Marquette; for details, call 273-0663 or visit www.cmxsolutions.biz
• Don Miller of Marquette was installed as council president
Saturday during Hiawathaland Boy Scouts annual meeting; Miller
replaced John Adler of Houghton as council president.
MM
Star Date: May 2009
Moon & Planets—Mercury is visible in the west-northwest
as May opens. However, the speedy planet soon disappears from
view in just a few days, as it sets earlier each night in the
bright twilight. Saturn is located in Leo and is high in south
as darkness falls, setting well after midnight. The moon is just
below Regulus on May 2nd and below Saturn on the next night, making
it easy to locate these two objects. The morning sky offers the
most in planetary viewing. Jupiter rises early but remains low
in the southeast as it hangs fairly close to the horizon. Venus
is the brightest object in predawn sky with much fainter Mars
positioned to its lower left. Binoculars will help to spot Mars
as both these objects rise in the due east. The last quarter moon
rises with Jupiter around 3 a.m. on May 17th. It takes four more
days for the now crescent moon to reach the vicinity of Venus
and Mars on May 21.
Constellations—Leo the Lion is probably the most recognizable
spring constellation. It actually looks like a reclining lion
with its distinctive head in the shape of a backward question
mark. Hydra the Water Serpent is found under the Leo and is the
longest constellation in the sky. Starting low in the west with
its trapezoidal head, this fairly faint string of stars covers
over 100 degrees of sky as it traverses the southern horizon meandering
toward the southeast. The brightest star in Leo is first magnitude
Regulus. This bright white star is also called the Lion’s
Heart. South and a little west of Regulus is the brightest member
of Hydra, a reddish second magnitude star known as the Dragon’s
Heart.
—Craig Linde
Courtesy of the Marquette Astronomical Society, which meets four
times a year. The next meeting is on June 19 at Green Garden Hill
in West Branch Township. Visit www.geocities.com/sstobbelaar/mqtastro.html
for details.
A word to the wise
Verbum satis sapientibus: A word to the wise is sufficient
One of the many high class readers of this column recently offered
a list of words that are spelled alike but have different meanings
and usually different sounds. You know the sort, words like these:
• The bandage was wound around the wound.
• The garden was used to produce produce.
• Since there is no time like the present, she decided
to present the present.
The list goes on and on, and may make us wonder how anyone can
learn English. However, another similar class of words is even
more malicious. These words too have different meanings, but they
sound very much alike, and to befuddle us further, they are spelled
differently.
They’re called homophones, and some choice examples follow:
• Breath and breadth. “Sweet is the breath of vernal
showers,” wrote the lyrical Thomas Gray. That modest breath
should not be confused with the infinite breadth in Robert Browning’s
verse: “Unless you can love, as the angels may,/ With the
breadth of heaven between you,/ ...Oh, never call it loving.”
In other words, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
• Arrant and errant. Except that he lived a century
earlier, a more hard-headed writer like Oliver Goldsmith could
have been scoffing at Browning’s romantic notion when he
wrote, “This same philosophy is a good horse in the stable,
but an arrant jade on a journey.” That is, such thinking
sounds good, but doesn’t always work in practice. Arrant
means notoriously wicked, while a jade is a disreputable woman,
not necessarily of the sort described by Scott, who tells us that
his hero “has seen the errant damsel safe home.” An
errant damsel simply is one who has wandered or is lost, and who
probably is not at all arrant, or the hero would not have given
her succor, as they used to say.
• Fare and fair. “Brown bread and the Gospel is
good fare,” went a Puritan adage. A poet named Richard Hovey
tells us, “It’s always fair weather/ When good fellows
get together,” and we can bet that their fare would be something
other than brown bread and the Gospel.
• Ingenuous and ingenious. The first means frank and
open; its opposite, disingenuous, describes a subtly dishonest
person. J.B. Priestley tells us “shame is no punishment except
upon persons of ingenuous dispositions.” Ingenious simply
means clever, like Christopher Morley: “A human being is
an ingenious assembly of portable plumbing.”
• Pore and pour. Often misspelled, to pore over something
is to ponder deeply on it. Chaucer’s scholar in The Clerk’s
Tale was said “upon a book in cloister always to pore.”
The demonic Macbeth illustrates graphically the more common verb:
“Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell.”
• Raze and raise. The former can mean to demolish or
simply to scrape off or cut off. A farmer might raze a decrepit
barn. A Shakespearean sonnet tells of a famous warrior who, once
defeated, is “from the books of honor razed quite.”
Raise has several senses. Baudelaire employs with a passion the
usual sense: “O Death, old captain, it is time! Raise the
anchor!” That crusty old editor named Anon. uses a metaphoric
notion: “A newspaper’s duty is to print the news and
raise hell.”
Spellcheck won’t help correct errors with words like these,
and who’s to say whose spelling could not be more particular?
Word for the month
Tortuous (TOR-chew-us), an adjective meaning roundabout, circuitous
or twisted. Martin Luther King, in his Nobel speech, alluded to
“the tortuous road which has led from Montgomery to Oslo.”
The spelling of tortuous is confused easily with torturous, which
of course means tormenting or painful. Here’s literate Victorian
Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, describing the language of opponents
as a “torturous arrangement of words without rhythm or cadence.”
—Gerald Waite
Editor’s Note: Questions or comments are welcome by writing
MM or at marquettemonthly@marquettemonthly.com
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