The City of Ironwood’s Parks
and Recreation Committee is having a meeting tonight. It will
take place at 6:00pm in the Community Development Conference
Room on the second floor of the Memorial Building.
On the agenda will be a "discussion" of the Norrie Park
Pavilion design. Hmmm.
Once again the committee will discuss motorized and
non-motorized recreation within the city. This should make
interesting fodder for those currently poised for a recall
election.
The group will also discuss the city’s cross country ski
trails. Does the city actually have any cross country ski
trails?
The committee’s five year plan is also on this agenda.
A more interesting item on the agenda will be a staff update
on outstanding grant applications. One would think that the over
taxed citizens of Ironwood would be more interested in grants
that provided funds for the repair of roads, water mains and
other more important needs for the city. One has to wonder,
where were all these people when their Economic Professors
discussed "Needs" vs. "Wants". HMMMMMMM!
How is it possible that they can find grant money to plant
Granola Trees and Tennis Courts; apply for 2 million
dollar library loans. and yet, cannot find less than $400,000 to
fix the antiquated water mains on Lake Road.? There aren’t
enough MMMMMMMM’s for that one!
There is a rumor going around, and it is just a rumor, that
Gemma Lamb wants the city to fund the city’s trail program (or
lack thereof). This is the same Gemma Lamb who wants our
depleted Safety Department to patrol the trails. (Where no man
has gone before!). The same Gemma Lamb who voted to put in
bathrooms at Longyear Park, but disapproves of public bathrooms
downtown. The same Gemma Lamb who approved a grant submission
that if approved would have used taxpayer funds to build tennis
courts on what was to be the private property of the Hovey Low
Income Housing Project.
By the way, the Parks Committee dropped Cultural Enrichment
from its name, and obviously from it’s mission. Is that any
surprise?
From
Our Readers
POLICE
HARASSMENT
Recently, the Chula Vista Police Department
ran an e-mail forum (a question and answer
exchange) with the topic being, "Community
Policing."
One of the civilian email participants
posed the following question, "I would like
to know how it is possible for police
officers to continually harass people and
get away with it?"
>From the "other side" (the law
enforcement side) Sgt. Bennett, obviously a
cop with a sense of humor replied:
"First of all, let me tell you
this...it's not easy. In Chula Vista, we
average one cop for every 600 people. Only
about 60% of those cops are on general duty
(or what you might refer to as "patrol")
where we do most of our harassing.
The rest are in non-harassing departments
that do not allow them contact with the day
to day innocents. And at any given moment,
only one-fifth of the 60% patrollers are on
duty and available for harassing people
while the rest are off duty. So roughly, one
cop is responsible for harassing about 5,000
residents.
When you toss in the commercial business,
and tourist locations that attract people
from other areas, sometimes you have a
situation where a single cop is responsible
for harassing 10,000 or more people a day.
Now, your average ten-hour shift runs
36,000 seconds long. This gives a cop one
second to harass a person, and then only
three-fourths of a second to eat a donut AND
then find a new person to harass. This is
not an easy task. To be honest, most cops
are not up to this challenge day in and day
out. It is just too tiring. What we do is
utilize some tools to help us narrow down
those people which we can realistically
harass.
The tools available to us are as follows:
PHONE: People will call us up and point
out things that cause us to focus on a
person for special harassment. "My neighbor
is beating his wife" is a code phrase used
often. This means we'll come out and give
somebody some special harassment.
Another popular one is, "There's a guy
breaking into a house." The harassment team
is then put into action.
CARS: We have special cops assigned to
harass people who drive. They like to harass
the drivers of fast cars, cars with no
insurance or no driver's licenses and the
like. It's lots of fun when you pick them
out of traffic for nothing more obvious than
running a red light. Sometimes you get to
really heap the harassment on when you find
they have drugs in the car, they are drunk,
or have an outstanding warrant on file.
RUNNERS: Some people take off running
just at the sight of a police officer.
Nothing is quite as satisfying as running
after them like a beagle on the scent of a
bunny. When you catch them you can harass
them for hours.
STATUTES: When we don't have PHONES or
CARS and have nothing better to do, there
are actually books that give us ideas for
reasons to harass folks. They are called
"Statutes"; Criminal Codes, Motor Vehicle
Codes, etc... They all spell out all sorts
of things for which you can really mess with
people.
After you read the statute, you can just
drive around for awhile until you find
someone violating one of these listed
offenses and harass them. Just last week I
saw a guy trying to steal a car. Well,
there's this book we have that says that's
not allowed. That meant I got permission to
harass this guy. It is a really cool system
that we have set up, and it works pretty
well.
We seem to have a never-ending supply of
folks to harass. And we get away with it.
Why? Because for the good citizens who pay
the tab, we try to keep the streets safe for
them, and they pay us to "harass" some
people.
Next time you are in my town, give me the
old "single finger wave." That's another one
of those codes. It means, "You can't harass
me.
A Slip and Slid New Year's Eve
The onset of a winter storm has already caused several highway
mishaps in western Gogebic and Ontonagon County.
Deputies from the
Gogebic Sheriff's Department and Ramme's Towing were called to an
accident scene at U.S. 2 and Puritan Road late this morning. A vehicle
drove off the road and into the ditch. Other than pride, there
were no injuries. The accident scene was less than a mile from Grandview
Hospital. There were no calls for ambulance service. The tow truck
operator rescued the vehicle as the Sheriff's Deputy took good care of
approaching traffic.
IronwoodInfo urges it's readers to drive with caution this New Year's
Eve and throughout the Holiday weekend.
Photos by IronwoodInfo reporters Linda Graham
and Arvo Toolanen
Township Passes Final Amendment
The Ironwood Township Board held its last meeting of 2009 Monday
afternoon at the Township Office. It was also he last few days of the
Township Fiscal Year.
The board approved a budget amendment which will
be the final such adjustment for the fiscal year.
The amendment provided for an additional debit of $6,901 to accounts
101, 450, and 801. The debits were offset by credits equaling $6,901 to
accounts 191,171,210 and 253.
The board disallowed a request made on behalf of Helen Venetjoki to
be removed from the garbage collection rolls. The request was denied as
the residence in question is not "uninhabitable" it is un inhabited but
there is a distinction, and that is why the request was denied.
Uninhabitable is defined as lacking the necessities required for
habitation, such as water and other utilities.
Trustee Bob Frederickson reported on the 911 Committee. Bob
represents the Township on the 911Committee. He told the Board that the
committee had approved moving the county 911 calls to the Iron River
Dispatch Center. The move will save Gogebic County residents
approximately $50,000 per year. The move was approved following a study
and report by consultant Paul Roberts. Bob told the Board that he
thought Roberts did an outstanding job in undertaking the report.
Trustee Bernie Brunello made a report regarding the Wastewater
Authority/Board, on which he represents the Township.
The City of Hurley needs a new flow meter which will cost
approximately $65,000. Hurley and the Township are the only two members
that use flow meters. The readings from the two meters are subtracted
from the total intake at he plant. The City of Ironwood is charged with
the difference. The authority paid for the Townships meter when it was
installed and Hurley was assured at that time that they would receive
equal treatment if and when the need arose. It has.
Bernie also indicated that the City would like the their two partners
in the facility to take a greater ownership share. Hmmmm.
The Township as a member of the GRWA has not received a response from
the City relative to the GRWA contract. The contract is for the lease
/purchase of the water line installed along lake road.
One would think with the state of the city’s physical and fiscal
being, that the City Council would think more about infrastructure and
less about Granola!
If you are having trouble viewing this e-Newsletter,
click here.
I invite you to
attend the
upcoming town
hall meetings I
will be holding
on January 5th,
6th, and 7th to
discuss current
national issues.
These meetings
will provide an
opportunity for
you to directly
tell me what is
on your mind as
well as allow me
to provide you
with an account
of what is going
on in Congress.
Following are
the details:
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM (CST)
Gogebic Community College
David G. Lindquist Center
Cafeteria
E-4946 Jackson Road
Ironwood, MI
[ map it ]
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM (EST)
Ontonagon Area Jr./Sr. High School
Cafeteria
701 Parker Avenue
Ontonagon, MI
[ map it ]
Thursday, January 7, 2010
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM (EST)
Michigan Technological University
Memorial Union Building
Ballroom B
Houghton, MI
[ map it ]
Any
change in the
time of event
will be
announced by the
local media.
Again, please
join your
neighbors and me
on January 5th,
6th, and 7th. I
look forward to
listening to
your ideas and
comments.
Sincerely,
Bart Stupak
Member of
Congress
Washington
Office
2268 Rayburn
House Office
Building
Washington, D.C.
20515
Phone: (202) 225
4735
Fax: (202) 225
4744
This email was
sent to
ktjacobson@yahoo.com.
Use this link if
you would like
to
unsubscribe.
By subscribing
to these email
updates, you are
authorizing Bart
Stupak to send
regular emails
to your email
account. PLEASE
NOTE: Due to the
high volume of
correspondence I
receive, I am
unable to
process direct
replies to this
e-mail. To email
me on issues or
concerns
click here.
From
Our Readers
Kyle Torni
Chairs
"Winter Carnival"
"Games We Know Captured in
Snow"
Ironwood - December 28, 2009
Ironwood resident
and Michigan Tech Student, Kyle Torni is the Chaiman of this
year's Winter Carnival. Kyle is the President of the M.T.U.
Chapter of the Blue Key Honor Society, a service and leadership
organization with chapters all over the United States.
Kyle was elected President of the Blue Key Honor Society in
February 2009.
This will be the 89th Annual Winter Carnival. The Blue Key
Honor Society has been organizing the event since 1930.
The event will take place at the Houghton campus from
February 3rd through February 6th, 2010. The all-nighter will
take place on February 3rd.
This year's theme..."Games We Know, Captured in Snow"
Phi Kappa Tau brought home the gold in Michigan
Tech's Winter Carnival statue competition
Thursday,
nabbing first place among the University's
highly competitive fraternities.
Their creation, "Aliens Come from Far Away, the
Men in Black Save the Day," captures an icy
scene from the "Men in Black" movie: our heroes
zapping large-scale alien creatures in the New
York City Bridge and Tunnel Authority. The
display is located in front of their house, 1209
West Quincy St. in Hancock. The spacey creation
captures this year's Winter Carnival theme, "An
Icy Place Gets a Blast From Space."
UPPCO's Reservoirs to be Lowered for Spring Runoff
Houghton, MI - Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO)
is preparing for spring runoff by lowering the water
levels at its hydro reservoirs in the western Upper
Peninsula. The company used to begin the drawdowns in
February or March but is starting earlier as a condition
of its Interim Operating Agreements with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Victoria reservoir will be lowered approximately
eleven feet beginning January 1, and Prickett reservoir
will be lowered approximately six feet beginning
February 1. Bond Reservoir is already at its winter
operating level.
"We do this every year prior to spring runoff to make
room in the reservoirs to accommodate melting snow and
spring precipitation," said Jim Melchiori, Supervisor
Regional Generation.
Because there's still ice on the reservoirs, lowering
the water may cause "bridging," a condition in which the
lower water level leaves a gap under the ice. Increased
flows from the reservoirs may also deteriorate the ice
in the rivers and make it unstable, even though it may
appear solid. Unstable areas may not be easy to
identify, so UPPCO asks the public to use extra caution
around all its reservoirs and associated rivers at this
time of year.
The reservoirs should begin returning to their normal
elevations about mid-April, depending on snow melt and
spring weather conditions.
For More Information, Contact:
Jim Melchiori, Supervisor Regional Generation
(906) 553-2186
UPPCO Customer Service
800-562-7680
Another Yawner
At Memorial Building
City of Ironwood - December 29, 2009
An abbreviated
version of the Ironwood City Council met in an abbreviated
meeting last evening. The meeting was just long enough to
dispense with the mundane items before the board.
Mayor Bob was present and the councilwomen Kim Corcoran and
Gemma Lamb were on hand. Councilmen, Lucius and Semo were
absent.
As seen in the above video the mayor made several
appointments to fill several vacancies on several boards and
commissions. Most were the usual run of rethreads. No need to
give them any more notoriety. The occupy just about every seat
and every board as it is. Sort of commission incest.
The most notable appoint however, was Tom Bergman. This was the
most notable for several reasons. First, the Burchell-Lamb duo
wanted Bergman appointed to the Planning Commission last year.
It was Mayor Noren who chose someone else at the time. This is
what caused the Harmony between the threesome suddenly hit a
sour note!
It was also the anti-motorsport, Bergman who broke off talks
with the city aimed at reaching a compromise on the caves issue.
Bergman boycotted the meetings with support from Burchell and
Lamb.
Bergman like, Lamb and Burchell do the "side-step" when
questioned on the caves issue.
It appears for now that last night's appointments, did not
violate the City Charter.
Councilwoman Kim Corcoran began her remarks by complimenting
the Public Works Employees, who are working very, very
shorthanded. As seen in the above video, she questioned the City Manager, Scott Erickson regarding the many city job vacancies still unfilled
by the city manager. The city
has been as slow filling the vacancies as they were in coming to
an agreement with the employees. There three vacancies, plus two
more vacancies created by allegations against two city workers.
This has left two jobs unfilled.
The city is shorthanded and citizens are complaining about the
lack of services.
One of those complaining was for DIDA member Steve Frank. Steve
complained about the lack of snow removal downtown. Of course
his complaint was against DIDA, the very Authority he resigned
from. Steve also complained about graffiti showing up downtown.
Steve also complained about snowmobiler's alleged to be stealing
signs from the trails. So far the bandito has yet to be
identified. But, the silent sport people are quickly gathering
DNA evidence.
Hey, maybe the snowmobile bandito is the same culprit spray
painting graffiti around town. Has anyone noticed if the
vandalism began before or after the snowfall? HMMMMMM!
And finally, a homeowner (seen in the above video) on Tamarack Street complained that she
had nowhere to park her oversized van in winter. She claims to
be 100% handicapped, and on SSD. She wants her neighbor to
remove a fence so that she can illegally park on the neighbor's
property. She has purchased the house for back taxes. She told
the owner's of the next door dwelling, that she moved into the
Tamarack house last January. Did it not snow last January and
February?
Did she not see how little the lot was when she bought the
house? This is like someone buying a house next to an airport
then complaining about the airplane noise.
Planning Commission Begins
Work on Master Plan
Ironwood Township - December 28, 2009
The Ironwood
Township Planning Commission has met for the purpose of
developing a Master Plan for the township,. The Commission dealt
mainly in general concepts as this was the first meeting for the
project.
It was decided however that the Township Master Plan would
not be a voluminous as the county master plan. It was also
decided that unlike the City of Ironwood, the Township
recognizes the economic advantages of recreation and would
embrace both motorized and non-motorized sports.
Brad Noren, spoke to the issue stating, "That although he is
not a snowmobiler, he has opened his back forty to the
snowmobile trail, since he understands the positive economic
impact of snowmobiles to the community."
Brad also provided the other board members with a list of web
links to local recreational information.
The meeting was the last meeting for commission members Sandy
Lahtinen and Joe Kasczynski. They will be replaced by newly
appointed Commissioners, Paul Oliver and Barry Bolich. The
Township Board has decided to return the Planning Commission to
staggered terms. The terms were always intended to be staggered
but, have inadvertently become concurrent with recent additions
to the commission.
Silver City - December 28, 2009
The AmericInn in Sliver
City was busy-busy this weekend with the return of snowmobile
and ski recreationalist to the area. Paul's Restaurant at the
Motel, reopened after a two month closure. The Dining Room was
filled all weekend as a result of the snowmobilers and skiers.
The Konteka Motel and Restaurant in White Pine was enjoying
similar activity.
GOISD Rates A+ on 2008-09 Audit
Bergland - December 28, 2009
The GOISD received a glowing
fiscal audit at their December Monthly meeting. The audit was
prepared and presented by Jennifer Huotari. The GOISD has their
audits performed by Anderson Tackman & co. PLC, Iron Mountain,
MI.
Mrs. Huotari told the Board that they did out performed their
budget in all key areas. The GOISD year end General Fund Balance
was $660,000 in increase of $66,466. The Special Ed Fund also
showed a modest increase. Only the Vocational Education fund had
a decrease of $27,720 ending the year with a $376,000 balance.
The net increase for the year was $59,159.
The Board also discussed a length, the State ultimatum to
sign the Race to the Top agreement. The GOISD Superintendent
Bruce Mayle brought the board up to date relative to the issue.
While no one is pleased with the way the state government is
handling the situation, there is very little that local school
units can do accept to reluctantly agree to the state’s terms.
Failure to sign on will result in a loss of grant funds should
Michigan qualify.
The board approved a motion that Bruce be authorized to sign
the agreement, unless something extraordinary occurs before
January 6th.
Honor Rolls Published
Ironwood Area School District
The first quarter Honor Rolls have been published by the Ironwood
Area School District. The complete roll for Luther L. Wright Middle
School and Luther L. Wright High School appear in our
Education Segment
Wakefield - Marenisco
School District
The Wakefield-Marenisco School District ha released it's first
quarter Honor Roll. The entire Honor Roll appears in our
Education Segment.
BLACK BEAR BOWLING
White Pine - December 26, 2009
The first half of the bowling
season came to a close this week. The Peninsula Graphic Team was able to
garner enough points to clinch first place for the first half. Linda,
Simone and Margaret, pictured above, split their match Wednesday evening
with the Norwich team. The Peninsula Graphics team will be in a roll off
with which ever team wins the second half, to decide the season’s
championship. If of course the Peninsula Graphics team manages to win
the second half as well, they will win the title outright.
The S&S Services team took second place, followed by the Flower
Garden team that finished in third place. Next week as in hockey, it
starts all over again, with the ladies all starting from scratch.
While the Peninsula Graphics team may have won the first spot, it was
Bowling For the Cure that came up the Big Winner! The Wednesday night
women’s League held 50/50’s all fall and accumulated $1240. For the
charity. The ladies have another half to go, plus there will be a Bowl
For the Cure Tournament at the end of the bowling league season.
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