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Letters to the Editor

Hospice puts a smile on….

Hospice of Michigan, located at 199 Long Rapids Road, is a gift to Alpena. The entire crew dealt with an amount of sadness all year long. This year they have decorated the halls with story book “people,” sharing the love and support the world should see. Polar Express, Whoville, gifts wrapped in every color, Christmas trees, and snowflakes accent the ceiling. An achievement from people who deal with sadness and pressure always, taking time to smile and show off their collective talents. Hospice is a support system everyone is grateful for when they can no longer handle events of a ...

He huffs and puffs

This has to be a first in Alpena Public School history. Eric Lawson, Alpena Public School Board President, has tried almost everything imaginable to discourage public input at school board meetings and now has most certainly taken an unprecedented step. In an attempt to intimidate the public and suppress feedback, Lawson is advising those addressing the board to seek legal counsel prior to speaking at board meetings to avoid a defamation lawsuit, suggesting he might sue people for the statements they make to the board. To be clear, this is an elected official threatening his ...

Our communities and our caregivers deserve safety

Across the country, families are living with fear and uncertainty as cruel immigration policies terrify the very caregivers who hold our communities together. From child care providers to home health aides, immigrant caregivers play an essential role in caring for our children, supporting our elders, and strengthening our economy. Yet instead of investing in care and stability, Republican members of Congress are cutting healthcare, nutrition, and child care programs while funneling billions of our taxpayer dollars to fund separating families and terrorizing immigrant caregivers. ...

What is an American?

The chaotic confrontation in Dearborn, Michigan, on Tuesday -- when a demonstrator attempted to burn a Qur'an and Muslim counter-protesters surged -- was more than a brief flash of drama. Along with other recent controversies in Arab-majority Dearborn, such as when the Muslim mayor told a Christian minister he "was not welcome here" and was an "Islamophobe" for objecting to renaming a local street after a Hezbollah-supporting journalist, this latest cultural skirmish yet again underscores longstanding concerns about America's immigration regime -- and, above all, the nature of American ...

County board meeting

I’m writing this letter to address the Alpena County Commissions meeting about the County Campgrounds. The behavior I witnessed from Gerald Fournier and Gerald MacArthur was something I as a young adult, or anyone in that room shouldn’t have occurred. Tonight they voted on who would get to renew their contracts for the 2026 camping season, after Earl and Marsha Martin were voted away Fournier and MacArthur were laughing and yeehawing about it, when Pam Kirchoff spoke up about the unprofessional behavior she was met with disrespect from Fournier. Pam camps at the county campgrounds, ...

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)

Our American democracy will only work when we all believe it works, but the system seems to be increasingly broken. Many disillusioned voters around the country are turning to Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), a simple change to the way we vote that we can adopt now. It levels the playing field for candidates with the best ideas, not just those with the biggest bank accounts. Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference — so every vote counts and every voice can be heard. RCV gives more meaningful choice to voters; it encourages more issue-focused campaigns ...