DEQ Public Hearings on proposed sulfide mine to be Sept. 10, 11, 12, 13, 19

MARQUETTE – The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will hold Public Hearings on the Kennecott Eagle Project, a proposed nickel and copper mine and associated processing equipment on the Yellow Dog Plains, Sept. 10-13 in and near Marquette and Sept. 19 in Lansing. The public comment period also allows written comments to be received from now through Oct. 17, 2007.

The public hearings will be held as follows:

Monday, Sept. 10, 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Northern Michigan University Great Lakes Rooms in the University Center at NMU, Marquette, Mich.

Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 11 and 12, 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. West Branch Community Center, 253-299 Avenue A, Forsyth Twp., Mich. (located on the old K.I. Sawyer AFB, approximately 3.5 miles from County Road 553, just behind the MDEQ UP District office)

Thursday, Sept.13, 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. West Branch Community Center, 253-299 Avenue A, Forsyth Twp., Mich. (same as above)

Wednesday, Sept. 19, 1 p.m. - 4:30 pm and 6 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Lansing Center, Rooms 203 and 204, 333 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing, Mich.

Concerned persons can send written comments to the DEQ/DNR by postal mail to the following address:
DEQ/DNR Kennecott Comments
Office of Geological Survey
P.O. Box 30256,
Lansing, Michigan 48909-7756

or by e-mail to: DEQ-Kennecott-comments@michigan.gov

Visit the DEQ Web site for links to documents related to the Kennecott application. These include the updated public hearing notice and the updated Part 632 permit conditions.

Visit www.savethewildup.org for more details and a letter template for public comment.

Hancock Chamber Music Society to present concerts Sept. 5, 7

HANCOCK -- The Hancock Chamber Music Society will present two "Bach to Bartok" chamber music concerts this week: at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 5, at Portage Lake United Church in Houghton and at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7, at the Ontonagon Theater.

The Sept. 5 performance in Houghton features violinist Andrew McInnes, pianist Neil Paynter and mezzo-soprano Mary Richards-Kallman, performing several works of Bach, Schumann and Bartok. The program includes Bach's Partita No. 2 in d minor S1004 (accompaniment by Robert Schumann); Schumann's Fünf Lieder, Op. 40; Zigeunerliedchen I & II (from "Liederalbum für die Jugend"), Op. 79, Nos. 7 and 8; Sieben Lieder von Elisabeth Kulmann zur Erinnerung an die Dichterin, Op. 104; and 19 selections from Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos.

There is no admission charge for the Sept. 5 concert; however, free-will donations will be received to benefit Omega House of Houghton. The church is located at 1400 E. Houghton Avenue, Houghton.

Tickets for the Sept. 7 Ontonagon concert, which has a similar program, are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Advance Tickets are available at the following outlets: in Ontonagon - Citizens State Bank, mBank, Ontonagon Herald, the telephone company, and the historical museum; in Bruce Crossing - Settler's Co-op Credit Union; and in Mass City - Chance's Hardware. The Ontonagon Theater of Performing Arts is located at 311 Steel Street, Ontonagon.

Andrew McInnes, in addition to playing the violin, is also a violist, pianist, organist and composer. Neil Paynter is an active musician in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He has accompanied the Michigan Tech Concert Choir, the Copper Country Chorale and Studio North Opera. Currently, he performs in several chamber music groups.

Mary Richards-Kallman is a native of the Copper Country. She has appeared in several productions of the Pine Mountain Music Festival including Madame Butterfly as Kate Pinkerton, Children of the Keweenaw as Barbara Jesic and in the PMMF chorus of La Traviata, Carmen, Falstaff, and La Boheme. Ms. Richards-Kallman is a voice student of Christine Seitz and is a charter member of Studio North Opera. Founded in 1999, Studio North Opera presents opera scenes concerts to local audiences.

The Hancock Chamber Music Society, residing in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, performs concerts throughout the Great Lakes Region. In 2005, they began an annual festival to honor the life and works of Robert and Clara Schumann.

For more information about these or other upcoming chamber music concerts, visit www.neilpaynterproductions.com.

Labor Day Bridge Walk a success

Participants in the Portage Health Fitness Bridge Walk cross the Portage Lift Bridge on the way to Hancock on Labor Day, Sept. 3, 2007. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2007 Gustavo Bourdieu)

HOUGHTON -- The Portage Health Fitness Bridge Walk in Houghton and Hancock attracted a large group of walkers of all ages on Labor Day, Sept. 3. Participants started at 9 a.m. in Houghton and walked from the Kestner Waterfront Park Pavilion across the Portage Lift Bridge, followed a circular route through Hancock and returned across the bridge for a walk through downtown Houghton and along the waterfront for a maximum distance of four miles. Comfortably cool and sunny weather made it an enjoyable trek.

Arnie Kinnunen, Portage Health Community Outreach Coordinator, was happy with the turnout.

"We had 220 people participate this year," he said.

According to the Detroit Free Press, about 57,000 people, led by Michigan's Governor Jennifer Granholm, "walked, jogged or wheeled" across the five-mile-long Mackinac Bridge for the traditional Labor Day walk, while 50 others swam across the straits below. The big bridge, linking Michigan's Lower Peninsula with the U.P., is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Read the Associated Press article by John Flesher.