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Letters to the Editor

Recall effort moves forward

On March 2nd school board members Eric Lawson, Sarah Costain and Monica Dziesinski attended a hearing for a determination of the factuality and clarity of the proposed language on the petitions for recalling these three from their school board positions. Due to space limitation, the petition lists only three of the many reasons these board members are facing a recall. The 3-member panel reviewing the language were Alpena County Clerk Keri Bertrand, Probate Court Judge Alan Curtis and Alpena County Treasurer Cindy Cebula. It was interesting to note that not one person at the hearing ...

HOPE

Hope. This simple four-letter word has dominated my thought patterns in recent weeks. Often finding myself one of the oldest in any room these days, I believe hope is a desire of mine born from maturity and life’s experiences. I must admit, however, there also is a lot of the unknown ...

The speculation game

One of the most popular indoor sports in this town requires no physical training. Any number of folks can play and generally nobody gets injured although at times playing the game has damaged some political careers. We're talking about the "who is running for what office? or if you prefer ...

Want to save grassland birds? Start with prairie dogs.

Last fall, I fell in love with prairie dogs on the American Prairie in Montana even though the hype for America's Great Plains pointed me to bison. As impressive as North America's largest land mammal is, the pipsqueak of the prairie piqued my interest and stole my heart, and I'm not the only ...

Response to recall

These views are my own and not necessarily those of the board or my colleagues. When it comes to Alpena Public Schools Board of Education, I vote with common sense and fiscal responsibility, and FULLY stand by the three votes that a small group is trying to recall me for. The decisions for the votes were made carefully, and I came to my conclusions by listening to the input of the community and fellow board members. This reflects my shared commitment to what’s best for our students and the taxpayers. I am hopeful media outlets will provide the opportunity to explain decisions fully ...

We must be honest with ourselves about Iran

The end of the Ayatollah, a man at the forefront of a regime that financially supports international terrorism, that brutally represses dissidents, that subsidizes the Chinese economy with petrochemicals at a discount, is a step in the right direction for democratic societies across the world. As responsible citizens, in the wake of this good news, we must address two questions. First–what happens next? Trump encouraged Iranians to “take over” their government. While that is a noble prospect, we must consider the feasibility that a people’s revolution will indeed produce a ...