by Barry Drue

“Now we’ll get our day in court. . .” Bellaire Road pig farmer Roger Turunen said after two hours of testimony in Baraga County Circuit Court on Friday, March 4, 2016. Circuit Judge Charles Goodman carefully deliberated the motions and testimony of five attorneys before ruling in Turunen’s favor, and, additionally, agreeing to set a trial date in the four-year saga involving the Department of Natural Resources’ efforts to claim Turunen’s unique breed of old-world pigs violate the DNR’s Invasive Species Order. In a strange procedural case full of twists and turns, more legal maneuvers came up recently in the case still known as Turunen v Stokes. (Rodney Stokes was the DNR  Director from November, 2010, to July, 2012, when the case originated.) To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
For the third consecutive year Baraga County Memorial Hospital has been profitable, and the trend appears to be continuing. A clean audit was presented to the hospital board in December. And according to Chief Financial Officer Gail Jestila Peltola, the outlook is positive in the first quarter of this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2015. “This is the third year we’ve been in the black,” Jestila Peltola said. “Our net income for fiscal 2015 was $665,000.  That’s compared to net income of $373,560 the previous year—almost double.” The CFO, hospital CEO Margie Hale, and Board of Trustees Chair Fran Whitman provided an update on BCMH’s financial picture in an interview on Monday, Feb. 22. “We have a good audit with no major adjustments. It’s the highest rate given,” Hale noted. The audit is performed annually in November after the fiscal year closes at the end of September. The company BCMH uses is Wipfli, a hospital auditing specialist. Their report was presented to, and accepted by, the hospital board in December. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue

1st Congressional District candidate Jason Allen passed through the area on a campaign swing of the Western UP last weekend and he was in his element. The Traverse City Republican stopped at a meet-and-greet coffee at the Baraga Lakeside Inn Saturday. Friends Byron and Nancy Sailor arranged the Baraga stop for Allen. “My deer camp is in Covington,” Allen said in a phone conversation with the Sentinel editor on Friday. “I’ve been there going on the 25th year, except for 2014 when we got snowed out. And Byron and I go hunting in North Dakota.” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
Negotiations for resolution of an emissions violation and ultimately, a Renewable Operating Permit, between the Department of Environmental Quality and the L’Anse Warden Electric Co. (LWEC) will continue shortly in Lansing with an Enforcement Meeting that has been scheduled. The L’Anse biomass electric generator remains officially out of compliance with its permitted emissions, based on hydrogen chloride emissions beyond the permit
level. A stack test in September, 2015, revealed the excessive HCl emissions. Warden CEO Steve Walsh notified DEQ that a test conducted in early November showed the plant met permitted levels of HCl emissions. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

The 2016 Michigan Digital Newspaper Grant Contest winner is decided by a voting process. The community collecting the most votes for its library will be declared the winner. The voting process can be done two ways: on-line and by mail. On-line voting will take place on Twitter. The tweet is #DigLAnse. You can Tweet as many times as you want, but if votes are done using an automated program they will be disqualified. Voting began on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and ends at midnight on Jan. 26. Voting by mail is done by postcards. Each postcard is worth 10 on-line votes. Postcards must feature a Michigan image, and in the message area putting #DigLAnse will place your vote. You can mail as many postcards as you like, but each postcard must be individually mailed. Postcards sent in bulk will be disqualified, with the exception of unique handmade postcards made as a class or library project. Postcards must arrive at the Clarke Historical Library by Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 5 pm. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.