Tribal colleges, universities; Advocate for DOE, BIA funding

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ADVOCACY WORKSHOP–Debbie Parrish, KBOCC President and Cherie Dakota, Board of Regents Member, attended the American Indian High Education Consortium and Capitol Hill visits. Pictured above, standing l-r, are Erica Newland- AIHEC, Cherie Dakota, Debbie Parrish, Senator Gary Peters, Duane Bedell-Bay Mills Community College. Seated, l-r are Kathy Hart, Trisha Trasky, Gena Qualls-Students from Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College, and Carla Sineway-President SCTC.

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College President, Debbie Parrish, and Board of Regents Member, Cherie Dakota, attended the annual winter meeting for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and Capitol Hill visits. The advocacy workshop was held on the morning of Monday, Feb. 6, 2017. Congressman John Lewis, one of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, gave the keynote address. Inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis joined the Civil Rights Movement and has continued to fight for people’s rights since joining Congress in 1987. Lewis received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Following his keynote address, a briefing session was held for meetings with the various tribal college state representatives. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

LMI hosts technical training through grant; Twenty area employees attend to advance skills

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KNOWLEDGE AT WORK–Brian Rantanen of LMI, pictured above, puts his GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerancing) training to work in realtime. Ten employees from LMI attended a two-day classroom training session through an STTF grant on Jan. 10 and 11, 2017 to enhance their skills.

by Melissa Lehto
Like all businesses, L’Anse Manufacturing, Inc., (LMI) wants to be competitive in the workforce. For this smalltown company, being competitive means keeping your employees up to date on the newest and most current manufacturing techniques available. LMI has again submitted an application for and received a Skilled Trades Training Fund (STTF) grant, which was implemented in a class attended by 10 employees from LMI and 10 employees from other companies in the area on Jan. 10-11, 2017. LMI serves a variety of industries, including medical, orthopedics, military, aviation, automotive, and light industrial applications. They can manufacture a wide range of materials, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum alloys, plastics, and bronze. They also provide precision machining services to a variety of industries, including aerospace, defense, medical, and specialty markets. To best serve these markets, where accuracy is critical, it is imperative that employees can read and interpret the drawing details as defined through geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T). To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

Variety show a hit

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OPENING ACT–L’Anse High School band students performed the opening act of the L’Anse Variety of Music show with local musician, Chad Borgen. Photo credit goes to Aaron Poniatowski, LAS band director.

 

by Melissa Lehto
The 13th annual L’Anse  Variety of Music Show featured talented performers Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, at L’Anse Area School(LAS) cafetorium. Musicians from the community and LAS joined together to perform a variety of styles in music. From LAS high school solo and ensemble/band students to community musicians, the talent of the musicians was enjoyed by all attending. A large group of LAS students performed the opening of the Variety of Music Show with a song performed along with Chad Borgen on guitar. There was also a smaller group of LAS students who performed with Todd Overbeek, including Ti’ia Friisvall, Dana Hiltunen, Canyon Delene, and Kyle Usimaki. Laura Gransell also performed a piano solo. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

Kids learn CPR in school

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HOW IT’S DONE—Four of Laura Schneider’s ninth grade health class students at L’Anse High School demonstrate lifesaving CPR skills on mannequins. L-r are Shelby Harrison, Jaden DeMink, Robert Genschow III and Christian Hebert. A new state law requires students in grades 7-12 receive at least 30 minutes of CPR training sometime during their Jr/Sr high school careers. Schneider’s students receive much more than that, and have been since she started teaching CPR techniques in 1994.

 

by Barry Drue
Last summer the Michigan Legislature passed the “CPR in School” bill by an overwhelming vote. The law requires school districts to teach Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the use of automated External Defibrillators (AED) at least once to students during grades 7-12. L’Anse School Nurse Laura Schneider, RN, thinks it was about time the State caught up! “I went back and looked at my records. I’ve been teaching CPR since 1994,” Schneider said. The new law took effect for the 2017-18 school year. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia mandate CPR training before high school graduation. However, the new Michigan law is not overly rigorous in its requirements. “The law requires 30 minutes of training,” Schneider said. “It’s not so much that they want each student to be an expert, they want them to recognize what’s going on and know when to call the EMT’s.” When passing the law the sponsor of the bill in the House of Representatives, Rep. Thomas Hooker (R-Byron Center) was quoted saying, ”I’m proud of my colleagues in the House for ensuring 100,000 Michigan high school students every year graduate equipped with the lifesaving skill of CPR.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

BCCC hosts art gallery; Chamber supports business, community

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ART GALLERY–The Baraga County Chamber of Commerce held another art gallery reception on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, at its L’Anse office. The art gallery features works of local artists and will run for 16 weeks. The public is encouraged to stop in to view the art at the Chamber during open hours.

by Melissa Lehto
The Baraga County Chamber of Commerce (BCCC) offers a variety of help to local businesses and individuals and is striving to make Baraga County a more prosperous place. The Chamber’s Mission is “To develop a vibrant business climate and sustainable economy, while enhancing the quality of life through community leadership and collaboration.” Per their website, “The BCCC was officially born on October 30, 2003, when the Board of Directors was elected. Our purpose is to advance the general welfare and prosperity of the Baraga County area so that its citizens and all areas of its business community shall prosper. All necessary means of promotion shall be provided and particular attention and emphasis shall be given to the economic, civic, commercial, cultural, industrial and educational interests of the area.” Membership with the BCCC allows local business owners, government officials and citizens to share in open discourse about how to better the community as a whole. The Chamber is involved in many different aspects of the community. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

Historical researcher claims ‘Bear Rock’ sacred; Stiebe extensively documents Ojibwa ancestors, the ‘Nokets’

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THE “NOK”—Using historic survey maps, modern topographical maps and plat book, Ron Stiebe and his son, Brad, (atop the Nok, for size perspective), trekked last fall to what Stiebe believes is an important spiritual and healing site of the ancestors of the Ojibwa, the Nokets. The 200-yard long outcrop is partially within the Keweenaw Bay Indian Reservation boundary, and partly on land owned by “Heartwood Forestland Fund IV”. This was labeled “Nok” on an 1849 survey map, with an Indian trail leading to it.

by Ronald Stiebe
A recent discovery could justifiably be billed as the Mount Rushmore of Baraga County. It was called, “Nok” by the Ojibwa band of the Nokets according to the original survey map completed by U.S. government liner and geological surveyors in 1849. This government document provides explicit verification of a rock that was revered by a sub-clan of the Makwa, or bear clan. Even more interesting, the map also made reference to the Noquets (Nokets) who reportedly had disappeared and were even considered extinct. They were the ancestors of many of the present day Ojibwa that took up residence on Keweenaw Bay sometime after 1721. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

Solar panels installed

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SOLAR PANELS–The new solar panels at the L’Anse Water Treatment Plant have been installed by Peninsula Solar of Marquette and are now up and running, helping to offset costs in the future for Village water customers. Pictured above is Bob LaFave, L’Anse Village Manager.

By Melissa Lehto
The L’Anse Water Treatment Plant’s solar powered panels are now up and running, with the hope that it will save village customers some money in the future at the faucet. WPPI Energy, a non-profit wholesale power supply company, which L’Anse Village is a member of, provided a $25,000 grant to the Village of L’Anse to install an 11.4 kilowatt solar photovoltaic resource project at the village water plant. The village paid the remaining $18,000 on the $43,000 project. L’Anse and Baraga are two of seven Upper Peninsula municipalities that are WPPI Energy members. The other five locations are from the central U.P. “The power-generated electricity will feed back to the village water system, hopefully saving village customers money in the future,” said Village Manager Bob LaFave. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

2016 delivered plenty of joy, tears, news

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BEARTOWN FIREFIGHTERS–The loss of two members of the Beartown Firefighters team was devastating to KBIC and surrounding communities. There was an outpouring of support for family and friends of the two young men. Lost in a fatal fire transport vehicle crash near Minneapolis in August were A.J. Swartz and Jimmy Shelifoe. This photo of crew members was provided. L-r, Cameron Aten, Alan AJ Swartz, James Jimmy Shelifoe, Mike Dakota, Gaven Loonsfoot, Jesse Ekdahl, Dave Varline and Joey Jossens. Several of the crew were injured in the single vehicle highway crash.

by Missy Lehto
and Nancy Besonen

The L’Anse Sentinel continues to look back at the year in review. For the last segment, we give you July through Dec. 2016. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) placed new signs on US-41 in Baraga, near the Pines Convenience Center and just south of the Baraga Lakeside Inn, showing vehicle speed and asks drivers to slow down if their vehicle is exceeding 45 miles per hour. The devices link via satellite to a company which collects and reports traffic data, including the number of vehicles per hour and their speed. Area residents enjoyed a sunny July 4th with parades and fireworks. First place in the Baraga parade for the homemade float was Bob Treadeau, Jr. and local families who built “The Black Pearl.” Murals painted by local artisans brighten the downtown L’Anse area. L’Anse area officials are hoping to expand this initial work with additional projects. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

Tremendous response to natural gas outage; Quick action from SEMCO crews, community, restores service

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ON THE SCENE–At mid-day Friday SEMCO crews were well into the task of replacing pipes and facilities at the L’Anse ‘gate station’ that was damaged and exploded following a vehicle collision early Friday.

 

by Barry Drue
and Nancy Besonen
An efficient, dedicated response to a natural gas outage across the Village of L’Anse prevented a heating emergency over the Christmas weekend. Dozens of SEMCO maintenance people were called in just hours after a motorist slammed into the natural gas gate station on U.S. 41 across from Erickson True Value. A ball of flame erupted with the 3:40 a.m. accident last Friday morning, Dec. 23, 2016. The L’Anse Volunteer Fire Department responded, training a steady flow of water onto pipes near the shutoff valve to help keep them cool while waiting for gas company personnel to arrive. “The flames got as high as 50-60 feet,” said L’Anse Fire Chief Mike Bianco. “We were cooling pipes around the shutoff valve, about 30-40 feet away. You didn’t know what was going to happen. We didn’t know if you’d get an explosion.” Bianco said the gas was shut off and the flames shut down without further incident, and that the fire department was on the scene for a total of about three hours. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

First blast of snow, cold blankets area; Wake-up call for motorists on icy, slushy roads

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REALITY CHECK–A Baraga County plow cuts a swath down the Ford Road in Watton in the wake of last week’s snow storm that buried the region in a thick layer of wet & heavy. Mother Nature delivered a one-two punch as the storm was immediately followed by an arctic blast that drove temperatures into the single digits and in some places, lower. The coming week promises a return to warmer temperatures, up to the mid-30’s.

by Nancy Besonen
Nature delivered a winter wake-up call last week with  the first major snowstorm of the season. Schools were cancelled Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 14 and 15 as near-blizzard conditions enveloped Baraga County. High winds, heavy snow and temperatures that drove the mercury south of single digits teamed up to strike the bitter blow. According to the National Weather Service in Marquette, it’s pretty much business as usual. Meteorologist Todd Kluber provided details on the system, an early Christmas present from Canada that swept in last Tuesday night. Kluber admitted the system packed a punch but was nowhere near a record-breaker, considering the season. “It wasn’t a record, but it was kind of a shocker for a lot of people,” Kluber said. “This year, fall went so long, and the snow pack isn’t so deep. It’s not our ordinary weather. “We had a very strong air mass that’s been persistently coming in out of Canada the past few days, with west or northwest winds,” Kluber said Friday afternoon. “With Lake Superior still wide open and water temperatures relatively warm, a significant amount of snow developed. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

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