Stupak: Bailout abandons Northern Michigan values

By U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee)*

WASHINGTON, D. C. -- In mid-September, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson insisted there would be no bailout for American International Group (AIG), which was heavily invested in the subprime mortgage market. Thirty six hours late, the Federal Reserve provided $85 billion to save AIG in the largest government bailout of a private corporation in U.S. history. Just days earlier, the failure of Lehman Brothers became the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, sending global markets into turmoil.

By the end of that same week, the Treasury Secretary came to Congress with a $700 billion bailout proposal for Wall Street, insisting it be implemented immediately to avoid a severe financial crisis.

It was against this backdrop that Secretary Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke requested unprecedented authority and power, asking elected officials to hand over the keys to the U.S. Treasury. As greed ran amuck, there was now panic on Wall Street.

It came as quite a shock that the same men who have for the past year continued to insist our economy is sound were now asking Congress for government intervention unprecedented since the Great Depression. I did not trust their gloom and doom forecast and wanted time to review the proposal.

Over the past 10 days, Democrats and Republicans have worked with the Bush Administration to craft H.R. 3997, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. During this time, I have heard from thousands of my constituents across northern Michigan. My staff and I have reached out to banks, credit unions, small businesses and economists. Most sense the urgency of addressing the financial crisis, but had many more questions than answers.

While the debate raged over what Congress should do, a consensus on four main principles emerged: there must be transparency on the purchase of troubled assets; no golden parachutes should be provided for executives; Congress must provide oversight; and the taxpayers must be protected. H.R. 3997 falls short in all of these areas.

Although $700 billion is the number being attached to this bailout, even the Treasury Secretary acknowledges it was arbitrarily chosen to calm the financial markets. No one can tell us the total cost of the bailout or even if the infusion of $700 billion will solve the problem.

My review of H.R. 3997 shows the limitations on Wall Street executive pay only apply if a financial entity receives $300 million in government help. The bailout raises the national debt to $11.3 trillion and leaves taxpayers no way to recoup the interest we will have to pay on the $700 billion bailout. Perhaps most importantly, no one can tell us where or how the United States will come up with $700 billion.

I am concerned $700 billion is just the beginning and additional billions of dollars will almost certainly be necessary. The bailout is likely to go on for years, and over that time I fully expect corruption and criminal activity will be found on Wall Street.

I cannot ask American families -- who work hard, play by the rules and struggle to meet their own financial obligations -- to bailout Wall Street executives for their reckless, lavish lifestyles.

For that reason, I voted “no” on H.R. 3997. This bailout does not represent our northern Michigan values, but instead rewards excessive financial shenanigans without any accountability.

The $700 billion bailout failed in the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 205-228 on September 29. I expect to be called back to Washington in the coming days to consider an alternative package. I will examine that alternative proposal closely to see that it addresses the concerns I have raised. Congress will do what is necessary to stabilize our economy and restore confidence in the financial markets, but will ensure that protecting the taxpayers is priority number one.

* U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) represents Michigan’s 1st Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Visit his Web site for more information about his work for this large district, which includes all of the Upper Peninsula and much of Northern Michigan below the Mackinac Bridge as well. This column was written on Sept. 29, 2008.

Keweenaw County launches Web site

EAGLE RIVER -- Keweenaw County now has a new Web site at http://www.keweenawcountyonline.org. The site includes minutes of all the various commission meetings as well as permits and other forms residents can download and complete at their convenience.

In an email to Keweenaw County residents, Janet Shea, chairman of the Keweenaw County Economic Development Committee, announced the site went online today, Sept. 30, 2008.

"The site will make county government activities more transparent," she noted. "Once you have had an opportunity to look through the site, any comments or suggestions you may have for improvements would be very appreciated."

Readers can email comments to the site's Webmaster at inquiries@keweenawcountyonline.org.

"Sometime in the future," Shea added, this site will also be a portal for community information for residents plus travel and tourism information for visitors."

Rep. Mike Lahti meets with Obama supporters

By Michele Bourdieu

HOUGHTON -- State Representative Mike Lahti (D-Hancock) met with supporters of Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate, on Saturday, Sept. 27, to discuss volunteer efforts to get out the vote for Obama's Campaign for Change during these last few weeks before the Nov. 4 election.

Mike Lahti, State Representative for Michigan's 110th District, meets with supporters of Barack Obama's Campaign for Change on Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton. Click on photos for larger versions. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu.)

Lahti offered suggestions and fielded questions from the group on the best ways to reach undecided voters and to inform the public about the coming Oct. 6, 2008, deadline for voter registration.

"I like going door-to-door. It's a nice chance to get to meet folks," Lahti said. "It can be fun."

Volunteers who attended the session, held at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton, reported having good experiences knocking on doors and talking to Copper Country residents.

Mike Levin, field organizer for Obama's Campaign for Change, said he has had some great talks with local residents in his door-to-door canvassing.

"People are so nice up here," he said.

Community artist and volunteer Mary Wright of Hancock confirmed the importance of door-to-door visits.

"Research shows that the most effective way of changing undecided voters is face-to-face, person-to-person contact," she said.

Wright commended the young volunteers from Houghton High School for their efforts on behalf of Obama's Campaign for Change.

Nathan Held, a junior at Houghton High and one of those volunteers, was enthusiastic about working for the Campaign.

"It's the largest presidential campaign ever in Michigan," Held said. "I've been interested in politics since 2000. I lived in Louisiana at that time."

Held's family moved to Houghton in 2006. Before that he became an ardent supporter of Al Gore.

"I'm reading his book right now -- The Assault on Reason," he noted. "I definitely agree with him on global warming."

Stacy Welling, campaign manager for U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) addressed the group and encouraged them to support Stupak's campaign for re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Stupak represents Congressional District 1, which includes almost half of Michigan's land mass and 1,613 miles of shoreline.*

State Representative Mike Lahti, second from left, spoke with young Obama supporters at a meeting Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton. Pictured with Lahti, from left, are Mike Levin, field organizer for Obama's Campaign for Change; Nathan Held, Houghton High School volunteer for Obama; and Stacy Welling, campaign manager for U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), who is running for re-election. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu.)

"Congressman Stupak has worked extremely hard for the U.P. and Northern Michigan, and I'm honored to work with him," Welling said.

Lahti also spoke in support of Stupak, noting that the U.S. Congressman faces the most opposition he has had so far in his eight terms (since 1992) representing all of the Upper Peninsula and the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, one of the largest Congressional districts in the nation.

"He's very well prepared and hard-working," Lahti said. "He works hard for the district. He's a good representative for this area."

Welling encouraged those attending the meeting to put out yard signs for the candidates.

"It's so important to do that," she said.

Mike Levin noted a new batch of signs recently arrived in the Houghton County Democrats' new office at 509 Shelden Ave, Houghton. He said the office is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day.

Lahti also spoke about the recent Michigan legislative session. While he noted less rancor among representatives this year, he added Michigan is still in rough shape economically. Training people for jobs needs to happen right in the local community, he added.

In addition to jobs, nursing homes for the aged and health care are big issues in Michigan, Lahti noted.

"We're waiting to see a new person in the White House so we can get some help with that," he said.

Lahti said he would be spending the next few weeks, while the Michigan legislature is on break, working on his own campaign for re-election.**

Mary Hunt, who co-ordinates volunteers at the Calumet office for the Houghton County Democrats, at 305 Sixth St., mentioned the need to inform the public not only about the Oct. 6 registration deadline but also where they should go to vote. This information is available on the Internet.

You can find out if you're registered and where you should vote by signing in at https://services2.sos.state.mi.us/mivote/.

Information on how to register is also on the Michigan.gov site:
http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,1607,7-127-1633_11619-123989--,00.html#5

Learn more about Senator Barack Obama's Campaign for Change by visiting his Web site.

* See Congressman Bart Stupak's Campaign Web site to learn more about issues facing the U.P. and Northern Michigan.
** See Mike Lahti's Campaign Web site, his official Michigan House Democrats site and his new blog to learn more about his campaign and local issues he supports.

New series: "Comentarios y fotos" by Gustavo

Editor's Note: Keweenaw Now presents a new series of "comentarios y fotos" by Keweenaw Now photographer Gustavo Bourdieu. The comments are published in his original Spanish for the enjoyment of our readers who are studying Spanish or who are speakers or readers of the language. We welcome your comments -- in English or en español.

Clouds near Route 203. Photo taken Friday, Sept. 26, 2008. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2008 Gustavo Bourdieu)

By Gustavo Bourdieu

HANCOCK -- Buenos días, lectores. Así empiezo una mañana, escribiendo en español, para entretenimiento y deleite de los que están aprendiendo el idioma.

Trataré de poner en mis notas algo nuevo cada día para que los lectores tengan oportunidad de practicar e investigar las nuevas palabras. Por intermedio de la editora contestaré las preguntas que tengan ustedes. Gracias por compartir el lenguaje.

Gustavo Bourdieu

Esta es una foto tomada ayer en la mañana en las cercanías de la ruta 203.

Rep. Mike Lahti to meet with Obama supporters Sept. 27

HANCOCK -- Obama supporters are invited to a meeting with Mike Lahti, State Representative of the 110th District, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Super 8 Motel in Houghton. Rep. Lahti will take questions and explain how to join The Michigan Campaign for Change in Houghton. Please respond to MLevin@michiganforchange.com if you can attend, or just show up.

Blood drive at Finlandia Sept. 29 seeks donors

HANCOCK -- A Blood Drive will be held from Noon to 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 29, at Finlandia Hall, Finlandia University.

Anyone wishing to donate blood is welcome to join Finlandia faculty, staff and students to contribute. To obtain more information or to make an appointment contact ismanderfield@fu.edu. Walk-ins are also welcome! Donors will need a picture I.D. to register.

Refreshments will be available. Please join us and give the gift of Life!!

Parade of Nations Sept. 20: "Weaving Cultural Harmony"

Heading from Hancock toward the Portage Lift Bridge, Chinese students dance with their dragon during the 2007 Parade of Nations. Click on photos for larger versions.

Press release from Michigan Tech University. Photos of 2007 Parade of Nations © 2007 Keweenaw Now.

HOUGHTON -- Students and community members representing more than 70 countries will participate in the 19th Annual Parade of Nations -- a festival of music, food and ethnic pride -- on Saturday, Sept. 20.

"Weaving Cultural Harmony" is the theme of the 2008 event. Lineup will begin at 10:30 a.m. at Hancock Middle School. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. and run to the Dee Stadium in Houghton, where the multicultural festival will begin at noon.

The 2007 Parade heads for the bridge. Pictured here are participants and flags representing Ecuador, Guatemala and Finland.

"It's a celebration of differences that brings the community together," said MTU Native American Outreach Coordinator Lori Muhlig, who is co-organizing the event.

Cultural differences are blended in celebration during the traditional parade, where country representatives line up in more-or-less alphabetical order. Pictured here during the 2007 event are flags and marchers from Iran, Ethiopia, Israel and Italy.

This year's program includes the traditional parade, ethnic fare and clothing, plus a Native-American performing group, Fast Horses. This Minnesota-based Lakota family has performed music and dance worldwide since 1998. The group also will present in area schools on Friday, Sept. 19, and after the parade at Dee Stadium.

The famous marching band from Cass Tech High School in Detroit performs on the Portage Lift Bridge during the 2007 Parade of Nations. This year Fast Horses, a Minnesota-based Lakota family, will perform Native American music and dance.

Near Dee Stadium on Houghton's waterfront there will be a diverse offering of handcrafts and tasty treats from all over the globe. This year, an activity tent along with free pony rides will be available for children.

One of the pleasures of watching the Parade is the colorful display of traditional dress, like the lovely outfits worn here by participants from Nepal during the 2007 Parade.

The parade will feature community members and students from Michigan Tech and Finlandia universities -- all gathering to represent diverse heritages. The parade will include floats competing for prizes, local high school and middle school marching bands and the Michigan Tech Pep Band.

Japanese students from Finlandia University pause on the bridge for a photo by their teacher during the 2007 Parade.

"Parade of Nations emphasizes cultural uniqueness," said Muhlig. "At the same time, it teaches us what we, as human beings, have in common."

Michigan Tech Nigerian students walk and ride. Their traditional garb represents different regions of Nigeria.

Muhlig said on average, about 5,000 people attend the parade and festival annually.

During the Sept. 17 Hancock City Council meeting, Hancock City Manager Glenn Anderson and Mayor Pro Tem Bill Laitila encouraged Council members and the public to attend this year's parade since the opportunity to march from Hancock to Houghton will not be part of the 2009 parade. Anticipated construction in Houghton next year will restrict the 2009 celebration to the MTU campus, they explained.

More photos of the 2007 Parade:

MTU faculty and students from Pakistan represent their country in the 2007 Parade of Nations.

Members of the Indian Students Association perform in traditional dress during the celebration in Dee Stadium following the 2007 Parade.

African students perform a high-energy dance during the 2007 Dee Stadium performances.

Watch for these guys from Argentina this Saturday. They may be leading the parade again ... maybe after Albania and Angola! Hey, isn't that guy in the middle supposed to be taking photos for Keweenaw Now??

For more information about the parade, contact Lori Muhlig at 487-3692 or Madeline Mercado Voelker, Hispanic/Latino outreach coordinator, at 487-2920.

For information about Fast Horses, visit their Web site.

For MTU photos of the 2007 parade visit http://www.doe.mtu.edu/international/international_festival.html.

Updated: MTU students raise funds for Haitian hurricane victims: How you can help!

HOUGHTON -- Haiti, a small and impoverished country of the Caribbean, the poorest of the western hemisphere, has been recently hit by several hurricanes, which have added a huge burden to the daily struggle of the Haitian people.

Homes have been destroyed, crops devastated and animals carried away by the flood waters. Access to the flooded areas remains difficult, and a complete account of the losses and destruction is yet to be made. As of last week, official accounts referred to a total number of 255 dead, 39 missing and 135 injured; 51,359 families are affected; and 7,358 houses have been destroyed. Still, many fear that the final account could be much higher as the dead bodies are uncovered from the receding waters.*

In Gonaives, one of the hardest hit cities, people had to climb up on their rooftops to escape the floodwaters. Many parts of the city are still covered with water and mud. There is no drinking water, electricity or food supply. Three days after the last storm, people were still walking through muddy water with dirty faces and clothes. This is a humanitarian disaster that Haiti will not be able to face alone. We need international assistance from our friends and partners.

At Michigan Tech University, students are doing their part to help. The NOSOTROS student group and the Haitian students at MTU have been raising funds for the flood victims in Haiti. They will be accepting donations from noon to 2 p.m. through Wednesday, Sept. 17, in the Memorial Union Building (MUB) on campus. The money collected will be sent to the Red Cross in Haiti. Online donations can also be made using the Wells Fargo account named: NOSOTROS Haitian Flood Victims Fund. The account number is: 726 728 7881. Please email the managers of this account, Jessie Vital, jvital@mtu.edu, or Ezequiel Medici, efmedici@mtu.edu, for details on how to deposit a donation through Wells Fargo.

If you can, please stop by the MUB table to gather more information, get a more complete picture of the devastation and see how you can volunteer or get involved.**

* See the Sept. 8 article "In rain-soaked Haiti, no identifying the dead" on msnbc.com.
** Click here for photos of the situation in Haiti.

Many other charity organizations are accepting donations, including the following:

Hope for Haiti:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=9170
Haitian Health Foundation:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=10956
Hands Together:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=5098

All three of these organizations get four of four stars from Charity Navigator, and Independent Charity Evaluator.

Editor's Note: This article courtesy Jessie Vital and Fredline Ilorme of Haiti, MTU graduate students in forestry, and Ezequiel Medici, MTU graduate student from Argentina, public relations officer and former president of NOSOTROS. For more information, please contact: javital@mtu.edu, filorme@mtu.edu or efmedici@mtu.edu.

Stamp Sand Art Experience at Calumet Dam Sept. 13

CALUMET -- The Stamp Sand Art Experience -- with music and art -- is happening from noon to 6 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 13, at Calumet Dam.

A lonely sign marks the entrance to the Calumet Township park at Calumet Dam. Signs will be posted around town directing visitors to the Stamp Sand Art Experience from the highway. (Photo courtesy Dan Schneider).

Different from many art fairs and festivals where artists set up booths to sell their work, the Stamp Sand Art Experience is a venue for artists to gather and make art in the same time and place.

North and a little east of Calumet, at the dead end of Waterworks Street (not to be confused with Calumet Waterworks Road or Tamarack Waterworks Road, which are both west of Calumet), the Art Experience is set in the middle of a mostly-open field with sporadic stands of birch and pine trees. This used to be an expanse of stamp sand and, after that, an automotive salvage yard, so there's some history under the ground.

Flyers around town promoting the Stamp Sand Art Experience, which is in its second year, aptly describe Calumet Dam as a "bizarrely beautiful landscape." Calumet Dam, which some people call Calumet Lake, is a little out of most people's daily rounds; but signs will guide visitors in from U.S. Highway 41 and M-203 once they reach Calumet.

Melithequin's Bling plays at the 2007 Stamp Sand Art Experience. The band is part of the musical lineup for this year's festival, as well. (Photo courtesy Dan Schneider).

Music is part of the festival, with Melithequin's Bling, Pasi Lautala and Randy Wakeham and with Clay Hilman performing along with Rogar and the Horribles. The bands' backdrop is a derelict hot air balloon envelope suspended from the tops of birch trees. The hot air balloon billows in the wind considerably.

Carmelita's will be on site selling food. The Stamp Sand Art Experience is free and open to anyone. Artists are especially encouraged to bring their paints, clay, fiber, wood, etc., and spend the afternoon making art.

Democrats to open campaign office in Houghton Sept. 13

HOUGHTON -- Members of the Houghton County Democratic Party (HCDP) will open a campaign office at noon on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The Houghton office, at 509 Shelden Ave., will complement the party’s Calumet office, already open at 305 Sixth St.

During the Calumet Heritage Celebration Aug. 16, 2008, Houghton County Democrats Mary Hunt, center, and Carol Kurz chat with Keweenaw County Commissioner Frank Stubenrauch, Democrat, who is running for re-election in November. Hunt is the coordinator for the Calumet office of the Houghton County Democrats. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu)

"With two months left before the election, we are excited to get our Houghton office open," said Brian Hoduski, HCDP co-chair. "Now, in partnership with the Obama Campaign for Change, the HCDP has an office dedicated to serving central Houghton County and to helping to elect our local, state and national tickets."

The Houghton office will be staffed by Obama Campaign for Change staffer Mike Levin and by HCDP volunteers. Party Secretary Barb Turuc-Mills will coordinate the Houghton office. Mary Hunt is the Calumet office coordinator.

Beverly Berg and Ron Ranta, both of Atlantic Mine, volunteer at the Democrats' information booth during the Houghton County Fair Aug. 23, 2008. At right is Houghton County Commissioner Anton Pintar, who is running for re-election in November. (Photo © 2008 Michele Bourdieu)

With U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, the campaign office will also provide re-election support for U.S. Senator Carl Levin and U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak, for State Representative Mike Lahti, for Houghton County Drain Commissioner John Pekkala, Clerk Mary Schoos and County Commissioners Scot Ala, Anton Pintar and Paul Luoma.

Visit the HCDP Web site at www.houghtoncountydems.org.

For more information contact Co-Chair Brian Hoduski at 906-482-7913.

Exhibit by Cynthia Coté at Reflection Gallery through Sept. 30

HANCOCK -- "Dwelling," an exhibit of work by artist Cynthia Coté, is featured at Finlandia University ’s Reflection Gallery through Sept. 30, 2008. An opening reception for the artist will take place rom 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, at the gallery. The reception is open to the public. Coté will speak about her work at 1 p.m.

The exhibit includes works created by Coté over the past 10 years: Dom, Lost Relatives, Where the Relatives Live, Card Catalogs, Sails (kinetic books), and Constructions. Coté says the goal of the exhibit is to show a progression: where the concept of "dwelling," in both its meanings (noun and verb), has taken her as an artist.

"I often ponder just when it was that I became an artist," Coté writes in her artist’s statement. "I’ve always been a maker. I think some of the early constructions that I made as a kid out of cardboard, glue, and fabric were really good. I have always been inspired to make things that honor a sense of place."

Coté adds that the work she creates today gives her familiar feelings and pleasure in much the same way that it did when she was a child.

"I am still using the same kinds of materials: cardboard, paper, glue, fabric, string, and found objects," she explains. "The only difference is now I get to hang it on the wall and talk about it. Bear with me as I ruminate over where life as an artist/maker has taken me."

Coté has been a studio artist since 1988. She is the executive director of the Copper Country Community Arts Center, Hancock, and has instructed art classes widely in the Upper Peninsula. Her teaching experience includes Finlandia University, the Michigan Tech University Summer Youth Program and time as a visiting artist at Jeffers High School and South Range Elementary. She has been active in community projects such as the Main Street Calumet Design Committee and the Houghton Spring Art and Music Festival.

The director of the Reflection Gallery this semester is Finlandia illustration senior Sarah Anderson (Houghton); the assistant director is illustration sophomore Rachel Reideinga (Wetmore). The gallery is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is located on the 2nd level of Finlandia’s Portage Campus, 200 Michigan St., Hancock.

For additional information, please contact Yueh-mei Cheng, associate professor of studio arts, at 906-487-7375 or yueh-mei.cheng@finlandia.edu.

Editor's Note: This text, the photo of Cynthia Coté and the photo of one of her works, "Card Catalog Detail in Progress," are courtesy of Finlandia University.

Updated: Walkers complete trek from Eagle Rock to Mackinac Bridge

MARQUETTE -- On Labor Day, Margaret Comfort of Bourbonnais, Illinois, completed her two-week, 175-mile walking journey from Kennecott’s proposed nickel mine site on Eagle Rock near Big Bay to St. Ignace and the Mackinac Bridge.

The trek was highlighted by rallies and visits to several UP communities in order to bring awareness to the issue of metallic sulfide and uranium exploration and mining. Comfort, along with a vehicle support team and several volunteer walkers, was generously supported by concerned citizens, businesses and tourists along the way. Donations of food, firewood and funds overwhelmed the walkers.

"The love and concern from people opening their hearts and helping out was amazing," Comfort said. "Folks honking and waving energized us to keep moving towards our goal -- the Mackinac Bridge Walk. If I had more time, I would walk all the way to the Capitol in Lansing, camp out on the front lawn and ask our legislators some tough questions: What is the ultimate goal of this destructive new mining process? Why is the state even considering allowing this to happen? Who is to benefit from this risky resource extraction?"

Banners reading "Protecting our Water, Step by Step, from Eagle Rock to the Mackinac Bridge" were prominent on support vehicles and T-shirts worn by the walkers.

"We were always within walking distance of a wetland, stream, inland lake or a Great Lake," Comfort noted. "That is why we were out there…to help protect our most precious gift of water and the Great Lakes."

Kristi Mills, director of Save the Wild UP, one of the sponsors of the Walk, participated in the Walk herself and attested to Comfort's dedication.

"Margaret Comfort is a wonderful lady with a huge heart, and she gave it all to this walk," Mills said. "At the Bridge, crowds of people kept our group from getting near the Governor even during the wee hours of the morning, but the walk/experience/contacts/outreach that we all enjoyed was well worth the trip. Margaret's emotional commitment to this movement brought out yet another love story of the UP. There are so many of them out there."

Mills added the group brainstormed around a campfire one night about the idea of forming a UP Fan Club that people from all over the world could join.

"There would be different levels of membership with very little commitment involved except loving the UP," Mills noted. "We'll see."

Joining Save the Wild UP as sponsors of the walk were the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, Keepers of the Water and Northwoods Wilderness Recovery. The groups provided information and materials to communities along the way. For more information on the Walk and the sulfide mining issue, visit www.savethewildup.org.

Keweenaw Kaleidoscope bead project, Great Northern Beadwork exhibit to open Sept. 5 at Community Arts Center

HANCOCK -- Keweenaw Kaleidoscope, a group beadwork project including 13 bead artists with connections to the area, is on display at the Community Arts Center in Hancock. A public reception will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Arts Center to recognize the artists and sponsors.

Keweenaw Kaleidoscope -- "Color Tour" by Chris vanDomelen of Hancock. (Photo courtesy Community Arts Center.)

Each artist created and donated a 3.5 X 3.5-inch beadwork piece to be sold at auction to benefit the Community Arts Center. Peg McNinch of Silver Rae Studio and Pamlynn Hansen managed the project, and Christine van Domelen of Framed By Kathy framed each piece. The 2006 project received national attention in an article written by Diane Fitzgerald for Beadwork magazine (Feb./Mar. 2008). Silent bids will be accepted through Sept. 26.

Great Northern Beadwork, a national competition held biennially since 2000, will open the same night in the Community Arts Center’s Kerredge Gallery. The closing reception and awards ceremony with judge Diane Fitzgerald will take place at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26.

On Saturday, Sept. 27, there will be a Wine and Cheese Gala event in the Community Arts Center’s ballroom where the Keweenaw Kaleidoscope pieces will be sold at live auction. Admission will be $10. Those not able to attend can assign a proxy bidder. Call Cynthia at 906-482-2333 to arrange.

The beadwork exhibit is supported by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. The Community Arts Center is located at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. For more information call 906-482-2333.

During the 2006 Northern Bead Symposium at the Community Arts Center, Phyllis Fredendall (center, foreground) faculty member of Finlandia University's International School of Art and Design, joins other participants learning from artists demonstrating beadwork techniques. (Photo courtesy Community Arts Center.)

The Fifth Biennial Northern Bead Symposium will be held from Sept. 26-28. The Symposium includes workshops, bead shopping, presentations and demos of various bead techniques. Call 906-482-2333 for more information.

Michigan 4-H China Art Exchange in Youth Gallery

During September the Youth Gallery of the Community Arts Center is featuring artwork from the Michigan 4-H China Art Exchange. Houghton County, one of 22 Michigan counties that participated, had ten youth selected to send their picture, story or artwork to China. The reception for this 4-H China Art Exchange Exhibit will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, preceded by awards and certificates for the young artists at 5:45 p.m.

Café Accordion, Pasi Cats to play for Lavatannsit Dance, BBQ Aug. 31 in Covington

HOUGHTON -- The Café Accordion Orchestra -- a dance band for people who still love to waltz, rumba, tango, Cha Cha, swing and more -- will make their first U.P. appearance on Sunday, Aug. 31, during the Lavatannsit Dance and BBQ to be held from noon to 7 p.m. at the Covington outdoor dance Pavilion. They will perform for dancing along with the local band, Pasi Cats.

Poster for Café Accordion provided by the Pasi Cats. Click on poster for larger version.

The Café Accordion Orchestra is "an old school combo," according to the Pasi Cats' accordionist Pasi Lautala.

"Led by the quietly dazzling Dan Newton on accordion, this quintet knows the value of understatement, warmth, subtlety and easy genuine swing," Lautala says. "Café Accordion cats make happy stopovers in Paris, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Tin Pan Alley and the land of Louis Jordan. While they inject their music with good humor and expressive abandon, their high level of musicianship and passion for performance makes them an entertaining concert act as well as a great dance band. They'll make your toes tap, your eyes twinkle and your heart long for a shipboard romance..."

Here is the schedule for the Lavatannsit event, sponsored by the Upper Peninsula Ethnic Music Aliance:

12 noon - 1 p.m. Start the fun with a tango lesson by Ralph Tuttila
1 p.m. - 3 p.m. Local band Pasi Cats
3 p.m. -5 p.m. Café Accordion
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. Potluck BBQ
6 p.m. - 7 p.m. Café Accordion again!

The Covington Pavilion is located on M28 between Watton and Covington. Admission is $10 with an additional charge for the BBQ. For info contact Randy Seppala at 906-355-2459.

Editor's Note: Read more about the Pasi Cats on their Web site.

Festival Joie de Vivre to honor French Canadian heritage in Chassell Aug. 29-31

CHASSELL -- The Festival Joie de Vivre, celebrating French Canadian heritage, is underway in Chassell. If you missed tonight's events, sponsored by Keweenaw National Historical Park, be sure to catch the exhibits, documentaries and great music this weekend, Friday through Sunday, Aug. 29-31, in Chassell.

Beginning Friday, Aug. 29, exhibits showcasing the French-Canadian cultural presence in the Keweenaw will be on display in the Chassell Heritage Center. French Canadians were the first European-descent ethnic group to settle in the Chassell area. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Five documentaries on various aspects French-Canadian and Franco-American culture will be shown at the Chassell Heritage Center during the festival.

Réveil: Waking Up French, by Ben Levine, is an 81-minute documentary that will be shown at 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, and at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 30. Réveil explores the struggle for cultural survival in the very heart of American monoculture and reveals the importance of history and heritage understanding. It demonstrates how languages can be re-acquired for personal and community renewal.

Franco-Americans: We Remember, an hour-long film by Barbara Coles and Kevin Tierney (New Hampshire Public Television), will be shown at noon on Friday and at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. Hosted by Tom Bergeron, this documentary explores the culture of the French Canadians who settled in New England.

Medicine Fiddle, by filmmaker Michael Luokinen of Northern Michigan University, will be shown at 1:30 p.m. Friday and at noon on Saturday. This award-winning, 81-minute film explores the fiddle traditions of Native and Métis families in the northern U.S. and Canada, featuring fiddle players from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Ontario and Manitoba. It examines the influence of European music and dance on Native Americans beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries.

J'ai Été au Bal: I Went to the Dance, by Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz and Maureen Gosling will be shown at 10:30 a.m. on Friday and at 3 p.m. on Saturday. This 84-minute documentary on the Cajun and Zydeco music of Louisiana was inspired by Ann Savoy's book, Cajun Music: A Reflection of a People.

On Friday afternoon, August 29, take a Guided Tour on a Trolley Bus and visit the places in Chassell and the surrounding countryside where the French Canadians settled. One hour tours will run from the Chassell Heritage Center, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the point of departure.

Friday night De Temps Antan, musicians from Québec, will be honored at a reception at 8 p.m. at the VFW, followed by an hour of music by this lively group, current or former members of the popular Québecois group La Bottine Souriante -- André Brunet on fiddle, Éric Beaudry on guitar and Pierre-Luc Dupuis on harmonica.

Workshops on French Canadian music, genealogy and dance will be held on Saturday. The music group De Temps Antan will teach selections from the repertoire of Québecois music on their respective instruments. Music will be taught by ear, so participants are encouraged to bring battery-operated recorders. In the Fiddle workshop, learn selections from the repertoire of Québecois fiddle tunes. Techniques include bowing ornamentation to bring flexibility and fluidity in tunes. The Guitar workshop includes techniques on accompanying French-Canadian dance music; Guitar and Fiddle workshops include instruction in foot percussion.

On Saturday afternoon, Chassell's Centennial Park will be the scene of "Adventure Day" with French Canadian sports, food and games -- from lumberjack demonstrations to rowing, sled dog training and "Traditions Alive" children's games.

Saturday night De Temps Antan will play Québecois music at the Festival Joie de Vivre Soirée, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Centennial Park Pavilion. The cost is $15 for adults and $10 for students. This event of music, dancing and food will be the Festival's primary fundraising activity for the Chassell Heritage Center's Handicapped Access Project.

On Sunday Morning the public is welcome to gather at the Grotto at 8:45 am in downtown Chassell and join a procession to 9 a.m. Mass at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, originally a French parish. Music will include traditional hymns and chant in Latin and French and well-known favorites in English.

For more details visit the Einerlei Web site and the online brochure.

Local family to present "Crossing the Andes" slide show on biking in Ecuador

HOUGHTON – A Stanton Township family will present their "Crossing the Andes" slide show and talk at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton.

Wendy Sharp will discuss her family’s recent 18-day bike tour trip through Ecuador. The family of five traveled on one single bicycle and two tandems over rugged mountain terrain as high as 14,000 feet above sea level. They also climbed to the summit of a volcano, rafted a wild jungle river and visited rural indigenous markets. The entire Sharp family will be on hand to describe their adventures and impressions of Ecuadoran culture.

The public is invited to the free presentation.

Updated: Author Greg Mortenson to speak about building schools in Pakistan, Afghanistan Aug. 27

HOUGHTON -- Greg Mortenson, hero and co-author with David Oliver Relin of the New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time, will give three presentations at Michigan Tech University on Wednesday, Aug. 27.

Mortenson, an American mountain climber, turned his failure to climb the second highest peak in the world, K2, in the Karkoram mountains of Pakistan, into a humanitarian success. Lost in the mountains, he stumbled into a remote village where impoverished people nursed him back to health. Their only request in return was that he build them a school. Through incredible obstacles, harrowing adventures and cultural challenges, he has been building schools -- especially for girls -- ever since.

Greg Mortenson (standing, far right) is pictured here with a village leader and students in a girls' school he built. Click on photo for larger version. (Image courtesy Greg Mortenson, Central Asia Institute)

Students from both MTU and Finlandia University have been reading and discussing this award-winning book as part of MTU's summer Reading as Inquiry program for first-year students.

Ted Alder, an MTU student orientation leader, will be assisting in one of the small-group student discussions on the book to be held Wednesday morning before Mortenson's presentation.

"I definitely love the concepts that (Mortenson) brings up," Alder said. "I think what he's doing is great. Now, since the whole presidential race is based on this idea of change, he sets good examples for making change (such as) educating girls in countries where it's forbidden or not encouraged."

Building a school near the top of the world. Click on photo for larger version. (Image courtesy Greg Mortenson, Central Asia Institute)

Mortenson will first speak to Finlandia students in a public session open to all from 11 a.m. to Noon in Dow 641 on the MTU campus. Buses will bring Finlandia students to Michigan Tech for the talk.

From 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mortenson will hold a Question/Answer session for MTU faculty, graduate students and staff in Dow 641.

Finally, he will give a public presentation to MTU students and interested persons from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Rozsa Center. It will be followed by a Book Signing from 8 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in the Rozsa Lobby.

Update: All three of Mortenson's presentations are free and open to the public. His evening talk will also be broadcast on TV monitors in the Horner Lobby of the Rozsa Center, should there be an overflow crowd and standing room only.

Visit Greg Mortenson's Web site to read about his work.

Editor's Notes: Students at MTU last week -- in a few hours -- raised nearly $3000 for Mortenson's schools to meet a matching challenge that doubled their contribution. Read the article on the MTU Web site.

Image of book cover is also courtesy Greg Mortenson, Central Asia Institute.

Stupak comments on Obama's choice of Biden as running mate

MENOMINEE -- U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) released the following statement regarding Senator Barack Obama's announcement that Senator Joe Biden will be the Democratic vice presidential candidate:

"Senator Obama has made a great choice in selecting Senator Biden as his running mate. Joe Biden's long and distinguished career in the U.S. Senate and vast expertise on foreign policy and many other issues will be a valuable asset to an Obama administration.

"I have worked closely with Senator Biden on a number of law enforcement and labor issues over the years. Through this work and his spirited campaign during the presidential primaries, it is clear Joe Biden shares Barack Obama's commitment to the change our country needs.

"I look forward to hearing from Senator Biden next week at the Democratic Convention and to formally nominating him as a candidate for Vice President of the United States."

Stupak to serve as Michigan super-delegate at Convention

Stupak will travel to Denver on Tuesday, Aug. 26, to attend the Democratic National Convention. By virtue of being a member of Congress, Stupak serves as a Michigan super-delegate to the convention. He will be in Denver Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the night Barack Obama will formally accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States before a crowd of more than 70,000 and a national television audience.

Now campaigning for re-election to a ninth term representing Michigan’s 1st Congressional District in U.S. House of Representatives, Stupak said he is as committed as ever to standing up for northern Michigan and working for the change necessary to move the country forward.

"My campaign staff and volunteers have been working hard for months to organize an aggressive grassroots campaign," Stupak said. "I will work hard for each and every vote here in the 1st Congressional District. I consider it an honor to serve Northern Michigan in Washington and will continue to work hard for you with leadership you can trust!"

Stupak will travel back to Michigan on Friday, Aug. 29, to participate in Labor Day parades over the weekend and attend the Dickinson County Fair.

For more information on Congressman Stupak, visit his Web site or his new Campaign site.

Otter River Rapid Watershed Assessment public meeting to be Aug. 26 in Tapiola

HOUGHTON -- A public meeting on the Otter River Rapid Watershed Assessment (RWA) will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, at the Doelle Senior Citizens Center in Tapiola. The Center is located on the southeast corner of Lake Avenue and Tapiola Road.

Aerial image of the Otter River Watershed showing Otter Lake. Click on photo for larger version. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources photo courtesy Bruce Petersen of Natural Resources Conservation Service. Reprinted with permission from Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council newsletter.)

This meeting will give the community an update on how the Rapid Watershed Assessment Study came about, a summary of the work done so far and plans for the future direction the Assessment will take. The Assessment provides guidance on where conservation investments would best address concerns of landowners, conservation districts, community organizations and stakeholders within that watershed, which includes an area of approximately 83,561 acres.

All watershed residents are invited to attend the meeting and provide input for solutions to protect the natural resources of this area.

This photo shows an eroded bank of the Otter River. (Photo by Dave Rulison and courtesy Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council. Reprinted with permission.)

In the spring of 2008, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) began this project in partnership with the UpperPeninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance. They intend to provide a summary report of their assessment of natural resource concerns within the watershed by Oct. 1, 2008.

For further information on the meeting, or general questions, contact the Houghton Keweenaw Conservation District at 906-482-0214. See also the Upper Peninsula Resource Conservation and Development Council newsletter about this project, available on their Web site.

Group opposing sulfide mining to walk from Eagle Rock to Mackinac Bridge

Update from SavetheWildUP:

MARQUETTE -- Beginning Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008, a lively group of dedicated and concerned citizens will WALK with a support team from Eagle Rock on the Yellow Dog Plains (northern Marquette County) to their final destination -- Governor Granholm's walk across the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day, Sept. 1.

View of Salmon Trout River where Kennecott Eagle Minerals, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, plans to put a sulfide mine for nickel and coppper. (Photo from SavetheWildUP)

The team will journey across the Upper Peninsula raising awareness about the potential harmful effects of metallic sulfide and uranium mining. The team believes that the prospect of several new mining operations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan poses major risks to our health and to the Great Lakes precious groundwater and surface water habitat.

"Don’t be fooled. This is NOT just an isolated 'Yooper problem'; nor is it just a 'Michigan problem,'" says Margaret Comfort, head walker of the group. "IT IS A GREAT LAKES PROBLEM. I know how precious these lakes are … how they feed our souls and refresh our spirits. It would be a TRAVESTY to see them destroyed."

The recent increase in mineral exploration by several mining corporations throughout the western region of the Upper Peninsula, including Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company’s focus on the Yellow Dog Plains region of northern Marquette County, has raised concern from over 30 organizations. Opposition groups consider the development of this type of mining, in our water-rich and wild region of the Great Lakes, dangerous to our communities, natural resources, tourism-based economy and ultimately our future generations.

The walking team will be meeting with communities along the way to educate the public about the connection between watersheds and people of the Upper Peninsula and will be encouraging folks to join Governor Granholm for her Annual Walk across the Mackinac Bridge on September 1, 2008 (Labor Day).

To keep current on details of the walk or to make a donation visit these Web sites:
www.savethewildup.org, www.yellowdogwatershed.org and www.northwoodswild.org.

HELP NEEDED!!
Walkers are encouraged to join the group along the way. Business and individual supporters can donate money and/or food and other supplies. Visit SavethewildUP for details on how you can help. See the brochure for a map of the walk and other information.

Poets to read at Ed Gray Gallery Aug. 15

CALUMET -- Visiting poets Ralph Murre and Sharon Auberle will be joined by resident poet Tom Blessing at 7 p.m. this evening, Friday, Aug. 15, as they each read from their collected works at Calumet 's Miskwabik Ed Gray Gallery, 109 Fifth Street.

The program will also feature the launching of the latest book from Miskwabik Press, Keweenaw favorite Joe Kirkish's Superior Seasons, a volume of color photography. The photographer will be on hand for book signing.

The evening will conclude with a reading of Murre's "Psalms" in the voices of Auberle, Blessing and the author, who will also be available to sign copies of his book of art and poetry, available from the Gallery.

Calumet Heritage Celebration underway through Aug. 16

CALUMET -- The 2008 Calumet Heritage Celebration is underway now through Saturday, Aug. 16. Events are scheduled for the whole family -- from a Croatian Cabbage-Roll-Making Class to a two-day Calumet-Keweenaw Sportsman's Show to the Great Deer Chase Mountain Bike Race to the Duquesne University Tamburitzans performing in Agassiz Park Saturday afternoon.

During the 2007 Calumet Heritage Celebration, Helen Stimac, right, of Dodgeville, president of the Croatian Fraternal Union, and Julia Simila of Calumet, active member of the Union, pause for a photo with the Croatian flag. Members of the Croatian Fraternal Union will participate again this year in the Heritage festivities. (Photo © 2007 Gustavo Bourdieu)

Special events for kids on Saturday include old-fashioned children's games in Agassiz Park, the Children's Bike Parade at 10:05 a.m. and the Great Deer Chase Youth Race at 2 p.m. in Downtown Calumet.

Other highlights of the Celebration include the Miss Coppertown Pageant at 7 p.m. in the Calumet Theatre Friday evening, a Traditional Horseshoe Tournament at 8 a.m. Saturday*, the Copper Country Heritage Parade at 10:05 a.m. Saturday and an Open House at the Coppertown Mining Museum from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday including a special Copper Miner's Reunion from 11 a.m. to Noon.

Last year the Heritage horseshoe competition was well attended. Here the photo captures the horseshoe (circled in yellow) in mid-air. You can register for this year's competition on the Main Street Calumet Web site.* (Photo © 2007 Gustavo Bourdieu)

On Saturday, don't miss the free horse-drawn wagon rides, arts and crafts demonstrations and sales and authentic ethnic foods -- from Croatian povitica and cabbage rolls to corn on the cob.

Visit the Main Street Calumet Web site for the complete schedule of events.

*Pre-register for the Horseshoe Tournament on mainstreetcalumet.com or call 906-337-6246.

Editor's Note: More than 100 Mountain Bikers have already pre-registered for the Great Deer Chase Race. Volunteers may still be needed. Contact Marc Norton at gpc49913@charter.net if you can help.

Rosetta Trio to perform chamber music concert at Temple Jacob

HANCOCK -- The Keweenaw audience will have a unique opportunity to hear classical and contemporary chamber music performed in a unique venue when a trio of performers on vacation presents a special concert at Hancock’s historic synagogue, known for its excellent acoustics.

The Rosetta Trio will perform a concert of chamber music at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 14, at Temple Jacob in Hancock. The program includes Schubert: Trio in Bb Major; Mozart: Divertimento; Sibelius: String Trio and more. Trio members are violist Sarah Darling, violinist Abigail Karr and cellist Kate Bennett Haynes.

Haynes is a fifth generation Yooper with deep roots in the Copper Country. Her great-great grandparents, the Kargelas, and her great-grandparents, the Stroms, lived in Calumet and Laurium. Her ancestor Ocha Potter, a Tech alum, designed and developed Brockway Mountain Drive and the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. Currently based in Toronto, Haynes performs frequently with the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. At age four, she told her parents, "I want to play the cello."

Temple Jacob is the only active synagogue in Michigan on the National Register of Historic Places.

The concert is free, but donations are appreciated. Parking is available at the bank east of the synagogue or at the marina down the hill.

According to their Web site, the Rosetta Trio will also perform this concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 13, at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Copper Harbor and from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Vertin Gallery in Hancock.

For more information about the Trio go to http://www.rosettatrio.com/. For more information about the event, phone 482-3270.

MTU to offer Transatlantic Forest Resources Master's Degree

HOUGHTON --In a first-of-its-kind, transatlantic graduate program, students on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean now can earn dual forest resources master’s degrees from Michigan Technological University and a Finnish or Swedish university.

Michigan Tech and North Carolina State University have received a $224,000 grant from the US Department of Education and the European Union (EU) to partner with the University of Helsinki in Finland and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in offering a transatlantic dual master's degree program in forest resources and biotechnology. The program is one of 16 just funded by the new US-European partnership called ATLANTIS (Actions for Transatlantic Links and Academic Networks for Training and Integrated Studies) ...

Read the full story by Jennifer Donovan on the MTU Web site.

Eagle Harbor Art Fair to be Aug. 9, 10

EAGLE HARBOR -- Eagle Harbor will soon awake to the sound of more than 60 artists setting up their tents for the 48th annual Fine Art Fair and Exhibition to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10, in the churchyard of St. Peter’s by the Sea and the area surrounding the historic Rathbone School.

Featuring recent work by the members of the Copper Country Associated Artists (CCAA) and by 66 invited artists, the Fair will be held come sunshine or clouds, wind or rain or any other combination of the fascinating variables of Keweenaw weather.

This year the medium list includes watercolor and oil paintings, drawings, photography, sculpture, quilting, fiber, pottery, jewelry, stained glass, basketry, silver, iron, copper, stone, wood, bark, computer assisted prints and other materials. Each work exhibited is original and presented by the individual artist who produced it.

Selected as this year’s Featured Artist by the Copper Country Associated Artists (CCAA), photographer Roger Little of Calumet will discuss and show his work both Saturday and Sunday. Retiring from the business of taking pictures for others, he is now able to apply his technical photographic skills as an artist discovering the natural world.

Roger Little displays one of his nature photographs. (Photo courtesy Linden Dahlstrom of Copper Country Associated Artists)

"I am now able to show people what is out there," Little says, "the uniqueness of what I see and would like to help others to also see."

Concerning the perspective of a nature photographer, Little quotes his dad who told him, "'Anything that man makes, the further back you are, the better it looks. Anything that Nature makes, the closer you are, the better it looks.'"

"Woods" by Roger Little. (Photo courtesy Linden Dahlstrom of Copper Country Associated Artists)

Several local organizations will be offering food and beverage services. All of the Keweenaw County Historical sites will be open. A handicap-accessible restroom is available.

Copper Country Associated Artists maintain an art center in Calumet offering workshops and a gallery of members' work. For more information, contact CCAA show coordinators, Karen Secor or Ginny Douglas, 906 337 1252 or visit the CCAA web site: www.ccaartists.org.

Protect the Earth Summit on sulfide, uranium mining deemed successful

MARQUETTE -- Several media reports indicate that the Protect the Earth Summit held Aug. 2-3 in Marquette and at Eagle Rock was a success. This Summit to address the issue of hardrock sulfide mining and uranium mining in the U.P. consisted of workshops at Northern Michigan University, a rally with music and speakers on Presque Isle in Marquette and a walk to Eagle Rock, a site held sacred by Native Americans.

"Tribal representatives from around the Great Lakes attended and spoke to a crowd of 140 staunch supporters of the Yellow Dog Plains effort to oppose Kennecott mining on the plains," said Cynthia Pryor of the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve in an email thanking participants and organizers. "It was full of energy, strength and resolve," Pryor added.

Gabriel Caplett of Yellow Dog Summer said the event, showing both diversity and unity among the local people, marked a turning point in the effort to protect land and water from sulfide and uranium mining.

"Protect the Earth proved that dangerous mining is not a done deal in the UP, Minnesota or anywhere, as long as communities are willing to work together," Caplett noted.*

* Editor's Note: Caplett was quoted by Save the Wild UP. See also the Marquette Mining Journal article, "Mine foes hold rally at Eagle Rock," by Miriam Moeller, Journal Staff writer.

Hancock City Council seats open to write-ins for Nov. 4 election

HANCOCK -- Not only was Aug. 5, 2008, the date of Michigan Primary elections for state and township officials and judges, but it was also the deadline for registering as a candidate for Hancock City Council seats to be determined by the Nov. 4 General Election.

According to Hancock City Clerk Karen Haischer, Ward I Councilor and Mayor Pro-Tem William Laitila was the only person to register by the Aug. 5 deadline in order to be considered a candidate for (re-) election. Haischer noted no one applied to run for the two other open Council seats that are to be determined by the Nov. 4 election. Hancock Mayor and Ward III Councilor Barry Givens and Ward II Councilor Sarah Heinonen have indicated they do not wish to run for re-election to the Council, Haischer explained. Thus, two seats on the Council remain open with no candidates running for them.

The remaining seats on the City Council include At Large Councilors Lisa McKenzie, James Hainault, Tom Gemignani and Ted Belej -- who continue to serve their terms of office.

Haischer said any residents who wish to run for City Council as write-in candidates must register with her by Oct. 24, 2008, for the Nov. 4 election.

Primary Results

U.S. Senator Carl Levin (D-Detroit), unopposed within his Democratic Party, received more votes in the Primary than his Republican opponent, Jack Hoogendyk, Jr., who will face Levin in the Nov. 4 election for U.S. Senator.

U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) will run against Tom Casperson, who earned the Republican party nomination over two other Republican Primary candidates, Don Hooper and Linda Goldthorpe.

Michigan Representative Mike Lahti (D-Hancock), who represents the 110th District in the Michigan House of Representatives, easily defeated Democratic Primary candidate John L. Faccin. Republican candidate John Larson will run against Lahti in November.

The proposal for renewal and allocation of Houghton County's operating millage passed, as did the Keweenaw County proposal for .1-mill to provide support and assistance services to veterans.

See Jane Nordberg's article in the Daily Mining Gazette, for details on the Primary Election results.

Viewpoint: To Keweenaw County voters: Vote for veterans

By Don Keith, Chair, Keweenaw County Commission

Please join me in voting yes for a Keweenaw County veteran's millage proposal on Tuesday, Aug. 5th. What's asked is just 0.1 mill to provide support and assistance services for our veterans.

That's 10 cents per $1,000 of your property's taxable value. My cost will be about $3.90 per year; most property owners will pay less. The good accomplished, considerable, the good feeling gained ... priceless!

Justice and decency cry out for this proposal. Numerous veterans carry scars outside and inside, both physical and emotional. Many veterans are soft-spoken and too proud to seek assistance services.

This proposal shows respect for our veterans and helps ensure their dignity. They have earned our support. How a community treats its veterans speaks loudly of that community's character. Together, let's make assistance services available when needed.

Vote a dime for veterans; it's the right thing to do!

Sincere thanks,

Don Keith
Eagle Harbor

Primary ballots predict challenges for November General Election

HOUGHTON, EAGLE RIVER -- The Aug.5, 2008, Michigan Primary Election will include some challenges to incumbents running for re-election. While some of these candidates are unopposed within their own party in the Primary, they may face a more serious challenge from opponents in the General Election on Nov. 4.

United States Senator Carl Levin (D-Detroit) is running for re-election to a six-year term and is unopposed on the Democratic ballot; however, his Republican opponent, Jack Hoogendyk Jr., is likewise unopposed on his own party's ballot.

Known for his long career in the Senate (1978 to the present), Senator Levin's leadership and experience make him a strong candidate for the November General Election. Visit his Web site to learn about his accomplishments and his positions on many issues.

While U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee), representing Michigan's First District, is also unopposed by any fellow Democrats, three Republicans will compete in the Primary in order to run against Stupak in November: Don Hooper of Iron River, Linda Goldthorpe of McMillan and Tom Casperson of Escanaba. For Bart Stupak's views on issues, visit his Web site.

Houghton County Democrats recently endorsed State Representative Mike Lahti (D-Hancock) for re-election to his position representing the 110th District (most of the Western U.P.) in the Michigan House of Representatives (see the press release on this). Lahti is opposed by one Democratic candidate, John Faccin of Crystal Falls, in the Primary. The winner of this race is expected to face Republican John Larson of Hancock in November.*

Locally, Houghton County Drain Commissioner John Sullivan of Houghton, unopposed by any fellow Republicans, could face a challenge in November by Democrat John Pekkala of Hancock, who is running on the Democratic Primary ticket without any Democratic opponent.

Houghton County Commissioner for District 3, Democrat Anton Pintar of South Range, is running for re-election, with no Primary opposition from Democrats; however Republican Craig Brewer of Hancock, also unopposed in his own party, could be a challenge for this Commissioner's seat in November. District 5 Commissioner Paul Luoma, Democrat, of Houghton, could face a November challenge from Republican Matt Huuki of Atlantic Mine. Both are unopposed in the Primary by any candidates in their respectives parties.

Three candidates (non-partisan) for Judge of the 97th District Court will face off in the Primary: Douglas Edwards, Michael Makinen and Mark Wisti. For the position of Judge of the 4th District Court of Appeals, voters will choose one from the following non-partisan candidates: Eric Doster, Jim Howell, Michael J. Kelly and Paula Manderfield.

Voters in Houghton County will also be asked to vote on the following millage proposal:

RENEWAL AND ALLOCATION OF OPERATING MILLAGE WITHIN THE COUNTY OF HOUGHTON

Shall a renewal of separate tax limitations be established for the period of 4 years ( 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 inclusive) for the County of Houghton and the Townships and Intermediate School District within the County, the aggregate of which shall not exceed 8.0 mills, as follows:

County of Houghton -- 6.3 mills

Townships -- 1.3 mills

Intermediate School District -- 0.4 mills

TOTAL: 8.0 mills

Keweenaw County

In Keweenaw County, the Primary ballots show few challenges. No Republicans or Democrats are on the ballot to challenge Democrats Donna Jaaskelainen, Prosecuting Attorney; Ronald Lahti, Sheriff; James Kaura, Inspector of Mines; or Byron Muljo, Road Commissioner. Republican Barbara Been, unopposed by any Republicans in the Primary, is expected to run against County Treasurer Geri Hall, Democrat, in November.

Four County Commissioners are running for re-election without opposition in the Primary: Republicans Joe Langdon, District 1, and Donald Keith, District 2; and Democrats Frank Stubenrauch, District 4, and Randy Eckloff, District 5. The District 3 Commissioner position is open because of the retirement of Al Gunnari. In the November election, however, three non-Primary independent candidates intend to run: Carol Rose Fouts will run for the District 3 position, while Tami A. Anderson and James A. Ziemnick will run for the District 4 and District 5 County Commissioner positions, respectively.

Keweenaw County voters will be asked to vote on the following Proposal:

08-01 Veteran's Millage

Shall the 15 mill tax limitation on general ad valorem taxes within Keweenaw County, State of Michigan, be increased as provided by Article IX, Section 6 of the Constitution of the State of Michigan, by .1 mill (10 cents per $1,000 of taxable value) for each of the years 2008 through 2018 (10 years inclusive), for the purpose of authorizing Keweenaw County to levy such millage commencing in 2008 to equip, operate, maintain and defray debt service and provide support and assistance services to veterans through a multi-county department of Veteran's Affairs, which increase shall raise in the first year of the levy an estimated $11,781?

Polls in Michigan will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2008.

Because of the controversial Michigan Primary held in January, no candidates for President of the United States will appear on this August Primary ballot.

*Editor's Note: See our June 23, 2008, interview with Mike Lahti to learn about his views. You can also send Mike a comment through his new Blog: http://mike-lahti.blogspot.com/.