by Barry Drue
The Pelkie School is returning to its roots. The 1930’s-era Pelkie Agricultural School will be turned over from the Baraga Area Schools to the Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College at a formal document-signing on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017 at 2 p.m. at the Pelkie building. KBOCC is creating an agricultural program at the school under its Native Food Pathways Program. The community school that began with an agricultural mission will return to that original emphasis. The building had been used by the Baraga Area Schools for elementary grades for decades. It closed housing kindergarten, first and second grades in June, 2015. Declining enrollment made the building too expensive for BAS to justify keeping open. Finding a new use for the Pelkie facility has been an on-going project. KBOCC and Baraga officials have worked for years to transfer the building. Wednesday, the KBOCC Board of Regents will accept ownership for $1. The building is in good condition as it was extensively remodeled with energy savings in mind several years ago. Energy-efficient doors and windows were installed and a geothermal heating system is in place. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.