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Letters to the Editor

Cheers to Admin; Jeers to Board

Congratulations to Alpena Public Schools Superintendent David Rabbideau on the across-the-board “Effective” rating for his annual review. And congratulations to Associate Superintendent Mary Lyon and the business office staff for their work that resulted in the unmodified or “clean” audit report from Straley Lamp & Kraenzlein. APS is lucky to have dedicated and professional administrators, teachers, and support staff. It’s unfortunate we don’t see the same dedication and professionalism from some members of our school board. Specifically, Sarah Costain was absent at the ...

We the People need affordable food

T’is the Season to be Happy! No matter who you are or what part of our United States of America you hail from, the Winter Holiday of Christmas (aka Noel, Yuletide, Navidad, Wesolych, Rizdvo or Nollaig) is celebrated by all. Giving gifts, sweet desserts, decorating our homes with lights, evergreens; especially the Tree, and many more wonderful family traditions are practiced. Family members make the trip to be together and share in the celebration of their heritage with stories; funny and sad. Everyone gathers for their personal religious ceremonies, oh, so many events that make us ...

Eyes on the school board

Our community has probably noticed many Letters to the Editor the past few months, raising concerns about the Alpena Public Schools Board. I was asked why I am spending my time and energy on this. Project 2025 agenda for public education includes the elimination of the US Department of Education and the diversion of public funds to private school voucher programs. While the Department of Education is not entirely abolished, it's undergoing a major transformation that could significantly alter its role and landscape of education in the US. This could lead to the closure of public ...

Board of education ineffectiveness will lead to recall

An effective Public School Board of Education prioritizes the education and safety of students and staff without distractions such as using the political issues of the day to cause dissension among the parents and the community at large. I was in 7th grade in 1982 the last time there was a recall of Alpena Public School Board members. The issues at the center of this recall are different from the recall in the 1980s. But in reality, some members of the current board are using divisive issues in the current political discourse as part of their personal agendas which subverts their roles ...

Thank you to the Alpena hockey community and supporters

My family is overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the Alpena Hockey community and the supporters. My son Chad was severely injured in a men’s league hockey game and has lost the vision in his right eye. Within days, Fire Chief Andy Marceau contacted the Alpena Hockey Association Board and Northern Lights Arena Manager Jeremy Winterstein and Jessica Henry to organize a Fundraiser Spaghetti Dinner. Local Restaurant owners John Benson of JJ's restaurant and Chris Carlson of the Courtyard donated the food and many hockey families provided desserts for the dinner. On behalf of ...

They’ve lost the plot

On the day the Justice Department arrested several men for trying to smuggle NVIDIA chips into China, the president announced the United States would permit NVIDIA to sell its advanced graphics processing units to China. The United States, by most estimates, right now has a computing advantage ...