by Melissa Newland
“Make your struggle your strength,” was the message Jr/Sr high school students of L’Anse (LAS) and Baraga Area School (BAS) received last week during an assembly where they welcomed Jordan Toma, a 35-year-old motivational speaker. The event was brought to LAS,
where both schools participated Wednesday, Sept. 11, by Keweenaw Bay Indian  Community (KBIC) Promise Neighborhoods grant. “From a young student dealing
with learning disabilities and feeling helpless to parents and a system that I thought didn’t understand me and could not help me, I never felt I was good enough for anything, not good enough to become something,” said Toma. “I always felt I would amount to very little, however, I have achieved success in my life. I have made it my life goal to share everything I did to change my life from what I thought it would be to what I have become.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland
Transitioning into his role as the L’Anse Area School (LAS) Superintendent, Christopher Davidson is looking forward to new challenges and building positive relationships with staff and students in the years to come. “I am looking forward to the new challenges that come with being a new superintendent to the district,” said Davidson. “Every district has its unique culture, traditions, strengths, and needs. I am anxious to learn all these aspects of LAS so that I can work with the great staff and students that are already here to tackle the
challenges that come with being the superintendent.” New relationships will also be formed with his new position, to which he stated, “I look forward to the new relationships that come with working in a new school district. Although I’ve had a connection to the L’Anse area since meeting my wife, Jennifer, there are many people that work for the district that I do not know. So, I am excited to meet and start building relationships with the staff and students of LAS.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland
To continue to honor the memory and sacrifice of L’Anse hometown hero William Jarvey, the Jarvey family, with the help of Homestead Graphics in Baraga, worked together to have a new sign erected at the William Jarvey Memorial Field in L’Anse. William Charles Jarvey
was just 14 on that fateful day, July 18, 1966, when he lost his life trying to save two younger girls from drowning in L’Anse. For this life-saving event, he was awarded the Carnegie Hero award. According to the Carnegie Hero webpage, www.carnegiehero.org,
“William Charles Jarvey, 14, schoolboy, died attempting to save Jean M. Asikainen, 12, and Ruth M. Knapp, 10, from drowning. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by John Raffel
It was described as a peaceful protest of working conditions at the Baraga Correctional facility the afternoon of August 20. Reports were that the protests were at the strip of
land where the Welcome to Baraga sign is, between the Drive In and Irene’s Pizza.
A spectator at the scene said persons were peacefully protesting the working conditions, primarily the mandated overtime and the understaffing of corrections officers. There
were Michigan Department of Corrections employees and family members of the employees. Jenni Riehle, MDOC, Public Information Officer provided this response to
the Baraga correctional facility protestors: To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by John Raffel
The L’Anse Village Council last week, acting as the village’s zoning board of appeals,  approved a dimensional variance request, which will allow Circle K gas and diesel to
reduce the property line setback distances that would usually be required for an upcoming building project. Village manager Bob LaFave said Circle K got back with the village in July on variance requests. “They purchased the old Kissel Chevrolet property (along US-41 just
south of the Broad Street intersection), and the former the Lake Superior Design property,” LaFave said “That’s where they’re planning to build their new store. Because of the odd
shape of the property, there’s some challenges to the dimensional variances to the setback for the property in that building district”. There was a big piece of medal like from a small boat or something. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by John Raffel
They’re back.
Don Fassbender and the Great Lakes Scuba Diving and Lake Preservation Club, who use volunteer divers to survey various locations for debris cleanup, were in Baraga County last weekend. “We met up with a few local scuba divers and hopped in the lake near the
L’Anse Township campground a couple miles outside the city,” Fassbender said. “We had about seven or eight scuba divers. There were a few people there from Superior Watershed. We had a boat and got a bunch of tires that were out in the lake. There were 14 to 15 of them. There was a big piece of medal like from a small boat or something. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.