MTU students to hold candlelight vigil for Chinese earthquake victims May 20

HOUGHTON -- In response to the recent earthquake that struck the province of Sichuan in China, Michigan Tech's Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), with International Programs and Services, will hold a candlelight vigil at noon on Tuesday, May 20, in front of the Memorial Union Building on the MTU campus.

This earthquake has demolished villages, brought death and injury to thousands of people and left thousands without shelter.

CSSA has established a special relief account at Wells Fargo Bank titled "2008 Earthquake Donation." CSSA is also collecting donations. For more information, contact Chao Zhong, CSSA vice president, at czhong@mtu.edu. Visit the CSSA Web site for details on how to donate.

On the Web site also is a letter from MTU student Ling Guo, who went back to her hometown Chengdu and experienced the earthquake on May 12, 2008.

The candlelight vigil is co-sponsored by a number of Black student organizations, including the Black Students Association, the National Society of Black Engineers and others.

Ride of Silence for cyclists to be held in Houghton May 21

HOUGHTON -- The Ride of Silence to commemorate all the cyclists who have lost their lives or been injured while riding on public roadways will take place in hundreds of locations around the world, including Houghton, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21.

Cyclists who wish to participate should meet at 6:45 p.m. at the latest in the Michigan Tech MUB parking lot. The ride begins at 7 p.m. sharp. Cyclists will ride a distance of 12 miles at 12 m.p.h. in Silence. The Houghton Police will escort the participants.

Cyclists should dress appropriately for the weather and remember HELMETS. Riders who participated last year should wear their orange shirts. Terry Smythe, fitness director for Keweenaw Memorial Rehab and Fitness Center, will hand out extra shirts, while the supply lasts, to anyone new to the ride.

The ride, which is held during Bike Safety month, aims to raise the awareness of motorists, police and city officials that cyclists have a legal right to the public roadways. The ride is also a chance to show respect for those who have been killed or injured.

Visit the Web site, www.rideofsilence.org for more information and a short You Tube video on this international event.

Copperman Web site posted

Cyclists may also wish to know that the Web site for the Copperman Triathlon, to be held Aug. 2, 2008, in Copper Harbor, is now posted on line. The event -- which includes swimming, biking and running -- is sponsored by the Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center. Visit the Web site at www.keweenawcopperman.org.

Volunteers are needed. Email info@keweenawcopperman.org if you can help. Participants should register soon since entries are limited to the first 320. Last year the event was filled to capacity.

5th and Elm Coffee House to host Poetry Reading May 16

CALUMET -- A Community Poetry Reading will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, May 16, at the 5th and Elm Coffee House in Calumet. Bring your own poems to read or poems by your favorite poet or your least favorite, or just come to listen and enjoy good coffee. For more information email Michael Moore at mmoore@mtu.edu.

Vertin Gallery to hold artist's reception for Bernie Park May 16

"Veil" -- Oil on Birch Panel, by Bernie Park. (Photo courtesy Keweenaw Krayons)

CALUMET -- An artist's reception for "Hit the Ground… Running?" -- an exhibit of work by Marquette painter and printmaker Bernie Park -- will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, May 16, at the Vertin Gallery in Calumet.

The show, which runs through June 18, consists of oil and encaustic (wax and pigment emulsion) on solid surfaces.

"I am inspired by the natural beauty of the landscape as well as the sociological and psychological constructs that cause people to act rationally in an otherwise irrational world," Park says.

Park, who serves as curator and treasurer of Oasis Gallery in Marquette, paints on such surfaces as plywood or fiberboard. Painting both on an easel or wall, and flat on a table or floor, Park approaches the panel from all sides, controlling viscous paint that runs and sags. He uses brushes, rollers, graphite, charcoal and a host of other tools and techniques to manipulate paint and further articulate the surface, sometimes adding shaped supports that extend space beyond the two-dimensional, rectangular pictorial plane.

"I often employ marks reminiscent of ancient pictographs or graffiti -- marks that witness or declare, 'I exist,'" states Park. "My use of these marks may be literal or absurd, cryptic or humorous."

Park describes his process as intuitive but controlled and purposeful.

"I try not to violate the formal figure/ground relationship," he explains. "I hope that the very human scale, varied shapes and vibrant color are accompanied by a little buzz of the cerebral."

Park’s work is influenced by 1970s East Coast color field painting and minimalist sensibilities.

Artist Joyce Koskenmaki says Park is a Marquette artist whose work she has greatly admired for years.

"I highly recommend this show!" Koskenmaki adds.

For more information about the exhibit, reception or the Vertin Gallery, call Gallery Associate Kerri Corser at 906-337-2200.

Public invited to meeting on Eagle River Watershed Management Plan May 19

HOUGHTON -- The Houghton Keweenaw conservation District will hold a Public Meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 19, at the Houghton Township Hall in Eagle River, Mich. The public is invited to learn about and contribute to the Eagle River Watershed Management Plan.

Participation by constituents who live and work in the Eagle River Watershed is a top priority. Topics to be discussed at the meeting include the following:

• Eagle River Watershed Project Overview
• Water Quality Findings
• Fishery Findings
• Preliminary Recommendations
• Comments and Input from the public

Eagle River Falls in early spring. (Keweenaw Now file photo © 2006 Gustavo Bourdieu)

Your feedback will help create a Management Plan that reflects the needs of the Eagle River Watershed Management Community. For more information email sue.haralson@mi.nacdnet.net or call 906-482-0214.