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March 2007 News

Walk for Peace commemorates Iraq War anniversary

Posted 03/20/2007 


HANCOCK --  Nearly 45 persons, and a few pet dogs, walked from Hancock to Houghton and back on Sunday, Mar. 18, 2007, in a Walk for Peace commemorating the fourth anniversary of the War in Iraq. Although the local event was  not sponsored by any particular group, the Walk was in solidarity with peace events around the country, which included a march of thousands on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., on March 17. Participants in the local Walk carried a variety of signs expressing their thoughts about the war, from "No More War" to "Money for Jobs and Education, not War and Occupation." more
Photo: Sign "No More War" is one of many carried by participants in the Walk for Peace from Hancock to Houghton and back on Sunday, March 18, 2007.  (Photo © 2007 Michele Anderson)

Five local skiers qualify for Junior Olympics

Posted 03/08/2007 Updated 03/09/07


HOUGHTON -- Five local cross-country skiers have qualified for the 2007 Junior Olympics, the national championship for 14-19 year-old skiers. They are part of the 33-member Great Lakes Division team now participating in a series of four races through March 11 at Soldier Hollow near Salt Lake City, Utah. Those qualifying include Keith Helminen (Calumet), Jay Woodbeck (Hancock), Christina Mishica (Hancock), Olivia Orr (Hancock) and Mariah Featherly (Liminga). All are members of the Copper Country Ski Tigers high school racing team. The Ski Tigers won both the boys' and girls' team championships at the Michigan State High School Cross Country Ski Championships, held Feb. 17-18 in Ishpeming. All five of the Junior Olympic qualifiers finished in the top ten at the state championships. Mishica was the state girls' individual champion, with Orr finishing second and Featherly fourth. Among the boys, Helminen finished second and Woodbeck sixth. Update: During the second Junior Olympics race, Christina Mishica earned All-American honors. In determining All-American status, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, which sanctions the event, uses a formula based on how close a competitor finishes to the race leader. Mishica's time and her placing among the top 30 earned her the honor. 
Photo: 2007 Junior Olympic qualifiers and their coaches: (back row from left) Keith Helminen, Jay Woodbeck, Mike Young (head coach) and Rachel Robertson (asst. coach). In front (from left): Christina Mishica and Mariah Featherly. (Not pictured: Olivia Orr)  Click on photo for larger version.  (Photo © 2007 and courtesy Dean Woodbeck)

International Women's Day, March 8, focuses on violence against women and girls

Posted 03/08/2007 


CALUMET -- The United Nations' message for March 8, International Women's Day 2007, is "Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls." While the U.N. holds a panel discussion on this worldwide problem today, why not think globally and act locally by supporting the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter in Calumet. According to their newsletter, the Shelter needs such items as toilet paper, large diapers, laundry detergent, dish soap, trash and storage bags. Other ways to help are to purchase the Shelter cookbook or to donate Econo Foods receipts, stocks, cash, old cell phones and volunteer time. In 2006, 1299 individuals were served through the Shelter's crisis line, residential and non-residential services, while 4187.25 hours of direct service were provided by 12 volunteers. Send donations to Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home for Abused Women, P.O. Box 8, Calumet, MI 49913. See also our Oct. 14, 2006, article by Alex Matiella Novak, children's worker at the Shelter, "Walking Against Violence." 
Logo: United Nations logo for International Women's Day, March 8, 2007. Click on logo to view their Web site and information on "Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls." (Logo © 2007 United Nations. Reprinted with permission.)

DEQ withdraws proposed approval of sulfide mine application

By Michele Anderson  Posted 03/06/2007 Updated 03/07/2007


MARQUETTE, LANSING -- The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced on March 1, 2007, that it has withdrawn its Jan. 9, 2007, proposed decision to approve a permit for the Kennecott Minerals Company to conduct mining operations for nickel and copper at the proposed Eagle Project Mine on the Yellow Dog Plains near Marquette. DEQ Director Steven E. Chester announced that the public hearings, scheduled for March 6-8 in Marquette and March 12 in Lansing, will be postponed and rescheduled at a later date. Michelle Halley, attorney for  the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), one of several environmental and community groups opposed to the proposed sulfide mine, said the DEQ's withdrawal of its draft decision to permit the mine was caused by a  25-page report that "was highly critical of Kennecott's mining application and raised serious concerns over a possible collapse of the mine." more
Photo: "Ore body 150 feet down" is the title of this photo of the Salmon Trout River, which flows above the site of Kennecott Minerals' proposed sulfide mine near Marquette. The river contains a rare population of Coaster Brook Trout.  (Photo © 2007 Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and courtesy www.savethewildup.org. Reprinted with permission.)

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