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Hyvää Joulua!

December 24, 2009

Tuesday evening three Finnish Elves and a small group of American-Finlanders gathered at the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock.

The gathering sang holiday songs and carols while the Three Semi-Finnish Elves provided the musical accompaniment.

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Holiday Joy at Washington School
Bessemer - December 22, 2009

Regrettably the holiday school season came to a close Friday when the young musicians and singers of Washington School performed their Christmas concert. Once again friends and family packed the gymnasium to hear, see and enjoy the students perform their songs.

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above - Gene Goss Head Teacher of Washington School and Candidate for "Best Dressed Man of the Year!"

Branded!

The Ironwood City Council held a workshop last night for the purpose of gathering information relative to a "Citywide Snowmobile Policy".

The evening began with the Mayor trying to squelch a rumor on the world wide web pertaining to his anti-snowmobile attitude. Mayor Bob told the audience that he was not "anti-snowmobile". Really Bob?!

The rumor as he calls it, is appearing on the web’s largest snowmobile web sites. The additional damage to our city’s failing economy has already begun. Don’t you think that someone who operates a motel would be more cognizant of his actions?

pictured above with Lamb is Davey Motel owner, Sam Davey. Davey has been in the forefront of displacing motorsports from the Ironwood Trails.
 

When Is A Silent Sport
Not A
Silent Sport?

Ironwood - December 23, 2009

Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all. Well here’s one for the books. City Councilman, Gemma Lamb, has ordered snowmobiles off the trail system that will be used for the Sisufest. Recently it was discovered that someone has cut the fences on city property to access that trail.

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I.A.S.D. Approves RTTT Agreement
Ironwood - December 22, 2009

The Ironwood School Board took up the issue of the "Race to the Top" program at last evenings school board meeting.

The Ironwood Area School Board passed the Race To the Top agreement which will make the school district eligible for federal funds under the American Recovery Act. States that agree to the standards established by the state and federal governments will be in the running for the cash rewards for improvements in educational performance.

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Bessemer Blight Offensive Continues
Bessemer - December 22, 2009

The Bessemer City Council approved the addition of two individuals to the Downtown Development Authority. The board after much discussion approved Chris Vittone and Dan Wikberg to the authority. Much of the discussion relative to the appointments pertained to the requirement in the city ordinances, that one member of the board must reside in the district and one member must be a business owner in the district. Council Matonich stated that he believes that the resident requirement was withdrawn sometime in the past. Since no one could state if when that had in fact occurred the commissioners voted on the basis that the requirement was still in effect. The city commission will consider the expansion of the D.D.A. to eleven members from the current nine members.

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Fire Damages Downtown Apartment
Ironwood December 21, 2009

A small fire erupted tonight in a front, first floor apartment on Ayer Street. The fire was believed to be caused by a faulty electrical stove.

The Pickford Apartments are situated just 1 ½ blocks from the Ironwood Safety Building. The fire was extinguished in very short order. The firefighters had left the scene by 7:00pm and the building was once again being occupied. Smoke damage was prevalent on the first floor however, little damage appeared to be caused by open flames.

 

 

Things to Know
About Electric Space Heating

 

 

Electric space heaters can be valuable tools to help you stay comfortable and conserve energy. They can also waste energy, cost you money, and present safety hazards. It all depends on how and when you use them

 

What are the benefits and advantages?

At home, you may want to consider using an electric heater in the room you occupy most. This might be the living room or TV room. You can keep that room a little warmer and dial down the thermostat on your furnace several degrees for the rest of the house. Your furnace will run less, you'll save money, and you'll be more comfortable. (This works well if the house thermostat is not in the room where the space heater is being used.) However, you'll save even more by dressing warmly and avoiding space heater use at all.

At work, when the days start getting cooler in the fall, it may be cheaper to use electric heaters for short periods in isolated areas, such as offices, instead of firing up the central heating system. The longer you can avoid running big heating equipment, the more energy and money you will save.

 

So what are the problems?

First, a typical electric space heater uses 1,500 watts of power, which ties up more than 83 percent of a standard 15-Amp circuit. That leaves very little capacity to run other household appliances or office equipment. It also makes it very easy to overload a circuit and trip a breaker. An overloaded circuit is not only a nuisance, it's a potential hazard. Continually overloading a circuit and tripping the breaker can weaken the breaker and the wiring, and there's a risk of fire from an overloaded circuit.

Secondly, electric heaters are sometimes used when it isn't economical to do so. They're left on when homes or offices are vacant, operated while the furnace is running, or they're used to raise the temperature higher than what's really needed, which wastes energy.

Electric space heaters are also expensive to operate for long periods of time. "A typical 1500-watt heater costs over 20 cents an hour to operate. Using just one space heater 24 hours a day for one month would add about $162 to your electric bill,” says Jodi Pineau, UPPCO Customer Care Manager. "Some people use multiple heaters without realizing they're adding $300-$400 a month to their electric bills."

 

Space Heater Safety

Electric space heaters are safe when used properly, but improper use can lead to burns or fires. UPPCO joins the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in offering some common-sense tips for safe operation.

 

  • Select a space heater with a guard around the heating element to protect children and clothing.

     

  • Select a space heater that automatically turns off if it's tipped over

     

  • Keep children and pets away from space heaters - some get very hot. Children should not be allowed to adjust the controls or move the heater.

     

  • When you choose a heater, look for one that has been certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory such as Underwriters Lab (UL).
  • Never leave a space heater on when you sleep or leave the room. This is a fire hazard.

     

  • Never store paints, solvents, or flammable liquids near a space heater. Vapors can ignite.

     

  • Place heaters at least three feet away from bedding, furniture, and drapes.

 

For More Information, Contact:

  • Jodi Pineau, Customer Care Manager
    906-485-2403
     
  • UPPCO Customer Service
    800-562-7680

 

 

Ironwood Wiz Kids Move  On!

Ironwood - December 21, 2009

The Ironwood Quiz Bowl team went to Marquette this past week to compete against their counterparts from Gwinn. It was the same two schools that met in the High School Bowl Championship Game last winter. The Gwinn team bested the Red Devils in that match, but it was a new story with a different ending Wednesday. By the buzzer rang ending the match the score was Ironwood 250 Gwinn 80.

Wednesday the Red Devil coach Steve Boyd was unable to accompany the team to Marquette. However, Steve placed the team in the competent hands of Stephanie Mazzon, who obviously did all that could have been asked of her.

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Ironwood Students Pick Up
"Good Neighbor's"  Tax Bill
Ironwood - December 21, 2009

The Ironwood Area School District will likely be in a financial deficit before the end of the next school year. The district is one of 75 Michigan school districts expected to be on the endangered list. And yet the local State Farm Agent, Pam Kauppila is asking the Ironwood students to subsidize her new office at 460 Cloverland Drive. The State Farm agent and her husband built (renovated) the building on the site of a former laundry.

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