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The Double Standard

It was hard to miss Alpena Public School Board member Sarah Costain’s social media post last week: “We’re so happy we can give All Saints a beautiful greenhouse, a place to grow something amazing, and an outdoor space all the classes can enjoy.” Costain was referring to a greenhouse project she helped fund and build at All Saints School. Yes, in fact this does sound like a wonderful opportunity for the 100, or so, students enrolled at All Saints private school. At the same time, it’s hard to forget that Costain denied a similar opportunity for Alpena Public School students by ...

The Wrecking Balls

At the July 28th meeting, the Board of Education undertook the yearly task of voting for board leadership positions. Anna Meinhardt, who has been the president for the last 2.5 years and Eric Hansen, the vice president for the last year, were nominated to continue in these positions for 2025-2026. Meinhardt declined the nomination, stating the majority on the board has taken a direction she cannot align with. The majority she is referencing are Eric Lawson, Sarah Costain, AJ MacArthur and Monica Dziesinski… The Wrecking Balls. In particular, she spoke of the “Bathroom Policy” these ...

Thank You, APS Board

Thank you to the APS Board for finally bringing some accountability and common sense back to our schools. First, thank you for hiring Goodrich — a reliable, local business that actually gets the job done. It’s about time we supported people who live, work, and invest in our own community, not outsiders with padded bids and poor results. Thank you for shutting down the ridiculous “rain garden” idea. It was pitched as “fully funded” — with taxpayer dollars — but had zero plans for upkeep and no one assigned to maintain it. We’ve already seen what that looks like with ...

Don’t Erase Our Children’s Futures

As a tax paying member of this community, I’m deeply alarmed by the relentless attacks on our public schools and on programs like Medicaid that help children thrive. Right now, Republicans in Congress are slashing school funding, censoring curriculum, and gutting Medicaid and SNAP programs that schools rely on to feed kids, provide mental health support, and also to ensure students with disabilities get the services they need. And what’s worse, these cuts are being made to give tax breaks to billionaires and to pay for separating families, human rights abuses, and terrifying ...

Harmony Weekend in Harrisville

Harmony Weekend in Harrisville is known for its Arts and Crafts Show, but origins of the name are from the Singing Quartets and Sweet Adeline singers. Harmony. Most people who come here are from middle class working families. They built summer cabins, brought their children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren to enjoy the quiet of the forests and our Great Lake Huron. Lake Huron counties provide a rest from chaotic city life with a mix of shops and environmental adventures that everyone can enjoy. The Huron National Forest is 46% of Alcona County, and we have 36 miles of ...

Pro-life refers to in utero

The writer in a recent letter to the editor entitled “Are You?” has confused the pro-life issue with several other moral and political issues. Pro-life means protecting the lives of all human beings IN UTERO. It has no bearing on race or lifestyle choices (LBTQ+), income or housing. To add it to these other issues is purely fabrication and nonsense with no basis in fact. Every time individuals group people by race, income or religion they are guilty of prejudice. It is time to celebrate each person as individuals and learn to accept the differences they present. ...