by Barry Drue

The long-awaited first round of COVID-19 vaccines hit Baraga County last week. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which must be stored and shipped in super-cold conditions arrived last Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020, and health officials were administering doses through the week.  Moderna’s vaccine, which requires only normal freezer temperatures to store and transport, may be arriving this week. It was recently federally approved on an emergency-use basis. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue

For thirty years a Christ-centered effort to meet the needs of folks in the larger community has been spearheaded through Bethel United Pentecostal Church. Pastor Terry Langston, wife Sherry and family answered the call they felt to come to L’Anse and for three decades the church, volunteers and community have dovetailed with other agencies to help meet people’s needs.  “We saw a great community need when we first came,” Terry Langston said from the church on N. Main Street in L’Anse. He and son Bryan met with a reporter Monday to explain the church’s mission in facilitating help for those in need. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Nancy Besonen
Area funeral homes are rising to the challenge of increasing COVID-19 mortality rates in Baraga County. Jacobson Funeral Home and Reid Funeral Service and Chapel, both of L’Anse, are keeping apace and continuing to provide services in a timely manner. Susan Jacobs, Licensed Funeral Director and owner at Jacobson, said the local death rate has risen about 12 percent since the virus
hit.“ We’ve been busy because there have been so many deaths,” said Dawn Supanich, Funeral Service Representative and Office Manager at Reid. “Traditional services are down regarding  gatherings. People don’t want to gather because of the pandemic.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

Management at Bayside Village Nursing Home, L’Anse, responded to the Sentinel, updating COVID status Monday afternoon, Nov. 30, 2020. Bayside is a subsidiary of Baraga County Memorial Hospital. It is managed by Mission Point, headquartered in Bingham Farms, a north Detroit suburb. Mission Point’s Bayside administrator, Charles Venable, provided the following statement:
“The health, safety and wellbeing of our residents and our staff members is our top priority as we navigate this global pandemic and unprecedented health crisis. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
The annual Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly Thanksgiving dinners will be offered again this year at numerous area locations, with delivery but no on-site dining in. COVID-19 precautions are
in full effect for the volunteers who prepare meals and the many delivery volunteers shuttling meals to those who have requested them. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
A long-standing local Thanksgiving tradition is returning to the community. For most of the last 20 years the Bethel United Pentecostal Church and a host of volunteers have sponsored a Thanksgiving meal for all who want to participate. Many shut-ins and those alone for the holiday enjoyed a huge turkey meal with all the trimmings, right down to the pumpkin pie. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
A huge turnout, thousands of first-time absentee ballots, a long ballot, endlessly long voting lines, a COVID pandemic and all the controversy of this entire national election season couldn’t derail the voting in Baraga County. County Clerk Wendy Goodreau and the county Board of Canvassers met last Thursday and found a remarkably clean election has been conducted. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
Baraga County Shelter Home staff and volunteers want the larger community to know all of the shelter’s traditional services are being provided to clients in need. The COVID pandemic drove staff to working remotely when possible, beginning last March. “We pretty-much went remote from the get-go,” said Executive Director Angela Kolehmainen. “We’re still offering all of our services, following health department guidelines. If a client needs face-to-face we’re using masks, sanitizing, distancing.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Nancy Besonen

Hunting seasons could take a hit this fall due to a shortage of ammunition. Wilkinson’s Store and Woodland Firearms & Supply in Baraga and Indian Country Sports in L’Anse all report ammunition is becoming an increasingly rare commodity. With the fall hunt winding up, stocks are down, and there’s little relief in sight. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland
With the dramatic increase to the number of Absentee Voter (AV) ballots issued county-wide, Township Clerks have had their plates full.  “The 2020 election cycle has ushered in a dramatic increase in AV voting” stated Baraga County Clerk Wendy Goodreau. The reason for the increase, Goodreau noted, is partly due to the passage of a constitutional amendment to allow no-reason absentee voting (2018), but noted it was more likely due to the current COVID 19 pandemic. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.