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December 2003 News

Toys still needed for Keweenaw families

Posted 12/18/2003  

EAGLE RIVER -- Keweenaw County Sheriff Ron Lahti's "No Kid Without a Toy for Christmas" drive will provide gifts for about 80 needy children this Christmas. Toys are still needed for the older children, ages eight and up. Despite stormy weather on Dec. 10, Eagle Harbor Inn customers donated many toys, cash and gift certificates for the toy drive at the fifth annual toy drive party held by Inn owners Mary and Richard Probst of Eagle Harbor. The Houghton County Sheriff's Office also participates in the drive, serving about 100 children in Houghton County. more 

Silent Sports magazine article features Keweenaw's Ski Tigers

Posted 12/16/2003  

HOUGHTON -- A recent article on Keweenaw cross-country skiing in Silent Sports (Waupaca, Wis.) features the Ski Tigers -- the Copper Country's own youth skiing club. The article, "The Keweenaw: Youth movement leads the way in the new hotbed of Nordic skiing," by Lee Borowski, gives the history of the Ski Tigers, founded in 1991 by Beth Heiden, former U.P. resident and world champion in speed skating and biking. Borowski also describes parents' involvement in the Ski Tigers and lists improvements on the local cross-country trails. Thanks to Mike Abbott for the link to the article. more
Photo: Ski Tiger Isabel Sharp, now 7, has been skiing since the age of 3. Isabel, daughter of Keweenaw Now guest writer Ray Sharp and Wendy Sharp, is a second grader at E.B. Holman School. (Photo courtesy Shawn Oppliger and  www.keweenawtrails.com. Reprinted with permission)

BBC Analysis of Saddam's capture: Turning Point for Iraq?

Posted 12/14/2003  

LONDON -- Paul Reynolds, BBC News Online world affairs correspondent, says, "The capture of Saddam Hussein is being presented by the coalition as a turning point for Iraq leading to reconciliation and political stability," but he adds a note of caution. more
See also the Dec. 14, 2003, Reuters articles, "Arabs Have Mixed Emotions About Saddam Capture"   and "Captured Iraqi Tip Led to Final Push on Saddam."
CommonDreams.org reports its most forwarded article this week is Jeff Cohen's "Bush and Iraq: Mass Media, Mass Ignorance." 

From land use planning to zoning: Keweenaw's progress

Posted 12/10/2003  

EAGLE RIVER -- The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners voted recently to accept and sign an agreement with the Planning and Zoning Center, Inc. (PZC), of Lansing, Mich., to have Mark Wyckoff, one of Michigan's top zoning experts, update the 1975 County Zoning Ordinance -- now that the County Land Use Plan has been written and adopted. Wyckoff, president of PZC and editor of Planning and Zoning News, will soon begin Phase One of his proposed zoning update plan. He will also help county officials apply for a $38,500 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Coastal Management Program grant to fund the zoning update. more

Stupak votes "No" on huge Omnibus Bill

Posted 12/09/2003  

WASHINGTON, D. C. -- Congressman Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, voted on Monday, Dec. 8, against approval of an $820 billion dollar Omnibus spending bill, saying the 3,000-page bill was cobbled together in closed-door meetings and combines improper policy legislation with cuts to important programs. The bill passed in the House 242 - 176 and now goes to the Senate. MoveOn.org is opposing the bill with volunteer outreach and a national cable network television and newspaper ad exposing "The most outrageous Christmas List in History" -- a laundry list of early Christmas gifts from George W. Bush and the Republican Congress to their special interest friends and contributors in Washington. more

Research shows canoes impacting Isle Royale loons

Posted 12/02/2003  Updated with more photos 12/07/2003

HOUGHTON--Loons, whose haunting calls are a hallmark of the north woods, may be at serious risk from an activity beloved by many wilderness visitors. Joseph Kaplan, Michigan Tech researcher, who has been studying the nesting behavior of loons at Isle Royale National Park, says recreation, especially canoeing, on Isle Royale's inland lakes seems to be having an impact on loons' productivity. more

World AIDS Day is Dec. 1

Posted and Updated 12/01/2003

HANCOCK -- Observed annually since Dec. 1, 1988, World AIDS Day serves to strengthen global efforts to address the challenges of the AIDS pandemic, which has killed 22 million and continues to spread throughout the world. The World AIDS Day Web site estimates that over 42 million people worldwide, including about 900,000 Americans, are infected with HIV/AIDS and millions more will be infected by the end of the decade. The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department offers free HIV testing by appointment. Visit their Web site for more information. In the Houghton/Keweenaw area call (906) 482-7382. 
For Fact Sheets on HIV/AIDS in English and Spanish, visit the World AIDS Day Web site.
For news on AIDS prevention and research and how you can help, visit the amfAR (American Foundation for Aids Research) Web site.
You can also take action through the Sojourners Web site.

  November 2003 News -- January 2004 News