Rally in Marquette Dec. 17 to show disappointment at DEQ approval of sulfide mine permits

Save the Wild UP sign in Chassell. (Photo © 2007 Gustavo Bourdieu for Keweenaw Now)

MARQUETTE -- Save the Wild UP invites others opposed to Kennecott's proposed metallic sulfide mine to join them at noon on Monday, Dec. 17, in front of the Marquette Post Office, to show community members' disappointment and opposition to the DEQ's recent approval of some of the required permits for the mine. Dress warm and feel free to bring a chair if needed.

If you do not live in the Marquette area, Save the Wild UP suggests showing your opposition to the proposed Kennecott project in your neighborhood. Put a sign in your yard (where permitted), get a group of people together in your city center, or write a letter to the editor!

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved on Dec. 14, 2007, a series of permits to the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. to conduct mining operations at their proposed Eagle Project Mine near Marquette. According to the DEQ press release, Kennecott must still acquire a surface use lease from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Read the DEQ press release. Read more on this issue at SavetheWildUP.

See also our Oct. 11 article on the public hearings, with comments by local residents, and the Oct. 14 Viewpoint article by Chuck Brumleve, geologist.

Keweenaw Now also invites readers to post comments or send us a letter with your viewpoint on this issue.

PasiCats to celebrate Pikkujoulu (Little Christmas) with song, dance Dec. 16

HANCOCK -- Musti says that Winter has arrived with a blast and it's time to celebrate Pikkujoulu (Little Christmas) with PasiCats music beginning at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16.

Pasi says there will be no blizzard inside the Community Arts Center in Downtown Hancock. So take your family and your holiday spirit and head there to sing Finnish Christmas Carols and to loosen your muscles with PasiCats music.

Oren Tikkanen and Dave Bezotte will join Pasi on stage to lead the Finnish Christmas Carol sing-along between 2 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. And don't worry, we'll bring you the lyrics.

PasiCats will take the stage at 3 p.m. and swing the place with their humppas and polkkas. But you never know Pasi. He might slip a couple of "Christmasy" tunes into the middle.....

The cover charge is $5. Finnish bakery items and coffee will be for sale.

Visit the PasiCats' new Web site!

Community Arts Center to hold Open House Dec. 14

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Community Arts Center will celebrate with a Holiday Open House from noon to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14. A Gourmet Bake Sale and Silent Art Auction will be held throughout the day. Silent auction items can be picked up after the live auction.

Keweenaw Krayons will conduct Kids' Art Activities from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Stop in from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for Artist demos. Enjoy live music and sing-along Christmas favorites with Tom Hiltunen from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Guitar music by members of the CopperCountry Suzuki Association will be from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15.

Don't miss the Parade of Confections, beginning at 6:30 p.m., when Auctioneer Ray Sharp will conduct the Live Auction of Gourmet Desserts and Art. This will include, for example, Kathy Halverson's famous cookie suite and Joan Chadde's pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap pecan crust, as well as a traditional yule log, flan, chocolate bonbons, etc., etc.

Take advantage of your visit to the Arts Center to view the Pottery Exhibition in the Kerredge Gallery. The new exhibition, through Dec. 23, is the work of seven potters: Suzanne Hoppe, Rya Dalman, Mary Ann Predebon, Miriam Dobrofsky Pichens, Marsh LaTulip, Lenni Rukavina, and Elaine Eikenberry. All work is for sale.

There will also be an exhibition of wonderful Art from the Calumet Schools in the Youth Gallery. The Friday Open House celebration will also be the opening reception for this event. The work is up now and will be there through December 22. Don't miss this great work by students from first through twelfth grades!

The Community Arts Center announces these winners of the Shaft Show Community Choice awards: Kevin Breyfogle, Tammy Toj Gajewski and Jan Manniko. Honorable Mentions are awarded to Kristine Danielson and Kathy Carlton Johnson.

Updated: Guatemalan market postponed; newsletter available

HANCOCK -- The Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) Market of jewelry and textiles, ornaments and bags, originally scheduled for Dec. 20-21, has been postponed to a later date.

Read the latest stories from accompaniers in Guatemala, including news of the September elections, in the November 2007 CCGAP Newsletter, now available on their Web site.

The Copper Country Guatemala Accompaniment Project (CCGAP) is a group of organizations and individuals who financially support accompaniers to serve as human rights observers and a deterrent to the violence that threatens people in Guatemala who are struggling for justice and an end to impunity. The Guatemala Accompaniment Project (GAP) is a branch of the national organization, NISGUA (Network in Solidarity with the people of Guatemala).

MTU to host U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championship races Jan. 1-6

HOUGHTON -- For the second year in a row, the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championship races will be held Jan. 1-6, 2008, at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center (MTU Trails).

Skiers approach the finish of the individual sprint race during the 2007 U.S. Cross Country Championship races held at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center. Competitors cover a 1.5 km course, working their way through the bracket to reach the finals. Pictured here are Torin Koos (center), who finished second and Kris Freeman (right, in the yellow "Leader" bib). Both are two-time Olympians. (Photo © 2007 Adam Johnson of brockit.com. Reprinted with permission.)

Members of the U.S. Ski Team -- including Olympians Kris Freeman, Andy Newell and Kikkan Randall -- will be among the 400 skiers competing in the four-race, week-long extravaganza.

"We will have the top skiers in the country here," said organizing committee chair Mike Abbott, director of MTU sports and recreation. "Our stadium area is very spectator friendly, and this is a rare opportunity to see this caliber of event in the Midwest."

Those top skiers include members of the US Disabled Team, who compete on sit-ski devices, using their arms and poles to propel themselves around the course.

For details on the race see the full article on Tech Today.

Volunteers needed for Christmas Classic Nordic ski races Dec. 15, 16

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech will hold its annual Christmas Classic Nordic ski races Saturday, Dec. 15, and Sunday, Dec. 16, at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center (MTU Trails).There will be probably 70-100 college and high school racers. Volunteers are needed to help with the timing. This would involve being at the trail from approximately 9 a.m. through 1 p.m., and this is an indoor job (in the timing hut), unless you want to be outside at the finish line. You can help on one day or, if your schedule allows, both days.

Recording stopwatches will be used for timing, which means the jobs are: 1) pressing the button on the stop watch when someone finishes; 2) writing down a bib number when someone finishes; or 3) calling out bib numbers as people finish. For #1 and #2, more than one person will be doing the job (for redundancy and in case a stopwatch malfunctions). There is also a youth 2 km event that will start about 1 p.m., and a couple of people will be needed to stay for that.

If you are interested, please email deanwoodbeck@gmail.com.

The race will feature the race courses to be used for the 2008 U.S. Cross Country Championships, which will take place Jan. 1-6, 2008, in Houghton. The event is also a Great Lakes Division Junior Olympics qualifier. For more information on the races see www.keweenawtrails.com or contact Joe Haggenmiller (487-2986 or jjhaggen@mtu.edu).

Carnegie Museum to offer Food exhibit, presentation on potato farming Dec. 14

HOUGHTON -- A reception for the Michigan Tech Archives exhibit "Scrounging for Food: Copper Country Foodways during the Great Depression" will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, in the Carnegie Museum (former Portage Library).

At 6:30 p.m., Erik Nordberg, MTU archivist, will give a presentation about this exhibit, which tells the history of potato farming in the Upper Peninsula during the Great Depression. The exhibit features photographs from the MTU collection and memorabilia from many area potato farmers.

The Carnegie Museum is located on the corner of Huron and Montezuma streets in historic downtown Houghton. Winter hours at the museum are Tuesdays, 12 noon - 7 p.m.; Thursdays, 12 noon - 5 p.m.; and Saturdays, 12 noon - 4 p.m.

Open House Dec. 18

The Carnegie museum will hold an Open House from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 18. Gingerbread houses will be on display, including a "walk-through" house for small children. The public is invited to share in cookie decorating, Storytime by a Portage Lake District Library librarian, holiday cookies and warming drinks for all.