by Barry Drue
L’Anse and Baraga firefighters had a busy and brutally cold stretch from late on the night of Friday, Dec. 29 to Saturday morning, Dec. 30, 2017, extinguishing two structure fires. Fires on both sides of the bay heavily damaged two homes. Temperatures were in single digits to below zero. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Nancy Besonen
If you were a Baraga County news maker during the first half of 2017, hello again. The L’Anse Sentinel annually welcomes the New Year with a look back at the one we just wrapped up. This week we’ll recap our biggest news stories from January through June. Next week we’ll revisit July through December, along with the first big news stories of the New Year. Hope you had a Happy Old Year. Now, read all about it! To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Barry Drue
A community solar project is deemed feasible for L’Anse following a Michigan Tech Social Sciences Department survey of local residents and an exhaustive review of the findings. An Executive Summary of the findings was presented at a public meeting at the L’Anse Area Schools cafetorium on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017. Community solar is a concept where a solar array could be built, in this case in the Lambert Road Industrial Park. Residential and commercial electric customers of L’Anse could buy shares in the project. Based on the shares they buy, the amount of solar energy produced and sold into the grid would be deducted from those customers’ village electric bill. People not participating would not be impacted on their bills. A community survey to determine interest in the project was sent out with September electric utility bills for L’Anse customers. The survey could also be completed online. The survey and analysis was done by Michigan Technological University’s Fall, 2017, Special Topics class focusing on community solar. The class is part of the MTU Social Sciences Department. Five graduate students analyzed the L’Anse project. The project is part of a larger study by UPSTART, the UP Solar Technical Assistance Research Team. Among those involved are L’Anse electric provider WPPI, the Village of L’Anse, WUPPDR, and MTU. L’Anse Superintendent Susan Tollefson, Chamber of Commerce Director Debbie Stouffer, KBOCC President Debra Parrish and Village Manager Bob LaFave are involved. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Barry Drue
A modified clear cut with some remaining mature seed trees has taken place on state land along the Sand Point access road leading to the Native pow wow grounds, Sand Point lighthouse and marina/RV camping area. DNR forestry officials inventoried the 14 acre parcel of mixed pine that lies directly behind the DNR Field Station in the winter of 2015. The sale was awarded earlier in 2017 to Triest Forest Products for $27,600. Triest sub-contracted the harvest to Yoder of Pelkie who recently completed the logging. Don Mankee is the West UP District Manager for the DNR forestry division. He oversees management on 960,000 acres of state forest in 11 counties west of AuTrain. He commented on the local project from the Baraga DNR office on Friday. Mankee expects there will be some concerns as people discover the cut. The area remains surrounded by mature red and white pine on adjacent tribal land. “This is the most dramatic-looking thing we do in the woods. It’s a modified clear cut with a few scattered mature trees left as seed trees. The regeneration will be naturally occurring. It should bush out in about three years,” Mankee said. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Nancy Besonen
Keith Whitman will be flying high this Christmas, en route to Europe to coach the U.S. Luge Naturbahn Team as it trains and competes in Italy, Austria and St. Sebastian. And he gives the credit to a L’Anse High School coach. Whitman of Escanaba grew up in L’Anse, where his family owned and operated the Whirl-I-Gig bowling alley and dance hall. One of eight siblings, most all of them ranging to tall and lanky, he struggled with both coordination and others’ poor judgement. “A phys ed teacher told me I couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time,” Whitman said. “Teachers don’t understand the impact and influence they have on a young man or woman. Then Jim Mattson, the track coach, took me under his wing.” And Whitman, who had once driven his knee into his front teeth and required stitches from a assigned somersault, soared. “He told me, ‘I believe in you, I think you’re worth something, and I care about you,’” Whitman said. “He worked with me from my freshman through senior year. As a senior in 1969, I held the state record in the mile run.” Whitman was on the run again in the early 1980’s, this time exercising in the woods near Negaunee, when he met a man working on a luge run. The man invited him to come back and try out the track. Whitman returned, and a passion was born. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Melissa Newland
L’Anse Area School (LAS) has some new voices in its midst with the creation of the L’Anse High School (LHS) Choir, led by Associate Directors Courtney (Clisch) Jones and Carol Mattson, and accompanied on piano by Les Elmblad. Jones and Mattson, along with Elmblad, have had many years’ experience in the musical field and bring much knowledge to pass on to the students at LAS. LHS Choir students are Greg Dowd-Bass, Logan LeClaire- Bass, Kyle Usimaki- Bass, Donnie Paquette-Tenor, Tristyn Aleo-Alto, Shelby Harrison- Alto, Mikala Herrera- Alto, Hollynd Makela-Alto, Alexis Aleo-Alto/ Soprano, Maya Dove-Soprano, Reeyce Fish-Soprano, Brianna Hoffman-Soprano, Kayla Hoffman-Soprano, Sienna Stein-Soprano. According to Jones, the L’Anse High School Choir was created when a few musically-inclined students pushed for a new after-school program geared toward encouraging young adults to get together and increase their musical knowledge. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Barry Drue
“Building community” is the cornerstone of the Village 104 Collective on Main Street in L’Anse. And the artists’ collective has already involved a big community effort. “This is a collective of independent artists,” said Coordinator Payne Chassen, herself a multi-talented artist and welder. Her L’Anse-based metal fabrication business is called Peninsula Hotworks. “We have a lot of talented people and we’re trying to pull them out of the woodwork and give them a place to sell the beautiful things they make.” The ten or twelve vendors already on board have volunteered their time as the collective in the old Sunshine Cafe storefront has taken shape over the past three months or so. Organizers are also very appreciative of support from the Village of L’Anse and a $2,500 Downtown Development Authority facade grant to spruce up the front of the building. It is owned by Alyn Bell who is investing in properties here since discovering L’Anse through his property manager, Pennie Halpin. “This is a bay front village. We’re trying to build commerce,” Halpin added. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Melissa Newland
The L’Anse Area School (LAS) Veteran’s Day program, sponsored by the LAS Student Council, was held Nov. 10, 2017 at 8:45 a.m. in the school gymnasium. Grades K-12 participated in the event together this year. “The Veteran’s Day assembly is always an impressive event. This year we included the entire K-12 student body and our youngest elementary students were in awe of the formality of the event. They may not fully understand the complete meaning of Veteran’s Day, but they left that gym knowing it was an event of important significance,” said Superintendent Susan Tollefson. Veterans were served a hot breakfast before the program, which was also organized by LAS Student Council. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
by Nancy Besonen
The Baraga County Board of Commissioners voted Monday, Nov. 6, 2017 to rescind a resolution that regulates voting rights. The action was taken before a packed house at the Baraga County Courthouse during the board’s re-scheduled regularly monthly meeting. Commissioners Gale Eilola, Pat Reilley, William Rolof and Chairman Mike Koskinen all voted to rescind. Commissioner William Menge was absent. The same commissioners had voted last month in support of the resolution that inspired Monday night’s often impassioned pleas against it. Commissioner William Menge was absent from last month’s meeting, also. Baraga County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph O’Leary had introduced the resolution as a concerned taxpayer at the Oct. 10, 2017, meeting of the Board of Commissioners. It calls upon Congress to call a convention of the states to adopt Amendment XXVIII to the U.S. Constitution: Section 1 Notwithstanding any previous article of this Constitution, no citizen shall be entitled to vote for a candidate seeking election to the House of Representatives unless said citizen shall have made a personal, net contribution to the United States Treasury in the years since the previous election for Representatives. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.
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.
