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Letters to the Editor

AP stories shouldn’t be published anonymously

Dear Editor, We are very fortunate to have a community newspaper with such a variety of features and an editorial page that devotes equal space to diverse viewpoints of a given issue. I only wonder that, if staff stories include a reporter’s byline and letters to the editor “must be signed,” shouldn’t the same standard be applied to Associated Press (AP) stories that are published anonymously? For example, the Feb. 5 edition included an AP story bemoaning the “unaccountable power” of politicians, yet the story was published unsigned. Since AP does produce signed ...

American irony not serving the country

Irony — incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs. Donald J. Trump — a self-confessed liar and cheat and convicted federal felon. A walking and talking con-man and President of the United States of America. Elected by an electoral and low-income people (people desperately suffering from the worst effects of inflation), evangelical people (people who claim a religion that believes in Jesus Christ), and the GOP (people of great wealth and power). President Donald J. Trump is pledged to recognize and satisfy all of each of these three group’s ...

NEMCSA Head Start effectively managed, trusted

I was disheartened to read the recent article, “Programs at Head Start negligent, mismanaged,” in The Alpena News. While the GAO report raises serious concerns about interim-managed Head Start programs, it is unfair and misleading to paint all Head Start programs with the same broad brush — especially those run by longstanding and trusted grantees like Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency (NEMCSA). As a former teacher and principal in Northeast Michigan, I saw firsthand how NEMCSA’s well-run Head Start program gave children a strong academic foundation and essential ...

Our taxes should pay for going the extra mile

My sister has a concern: There is a 16-year-old neighbor girl who has to walk a half mile to the bus stop at 5:30 a.m. (In town, it is three blocks to the farthest bus stop). She walks 1.5 miles at 3 p.m. to reach home. She has been told not to accept rides from anyone, including people she knows. My sister has raised concerns to the bus manager and to Eric Mitchell at the high school. They have said that they have a set bus route and have made arrangements with the parents to pick her up … but no one does. So everyone knows that regardless of the weather, she is walking a mile ...

Voters, we really just don’t want trust erased

Editor: Our democracy stands off the cornerstone of the three branches of government. The 1st district elected Congressman Jack Bergman to study the needs of our region and country and to craft laws to meet those needs. In addition, as an elected Congressional representative, we gave him the “power of the purse” under the U.S. Constitution (USC 1301) to take part in appropriations to fund programs developed to serve America’s interest throughout the world. Congressman Bergman met that duty by participating in allocations that not only serve American interests abroad but ...

Thankful to still have a local paper in Alpena

Today was a Banner Day! I warmed up my tea and settled in to check out the obituaries (ensuring that MY name wasn’t on it) and from there working my way through our local newspaper. We’re lucky, you know; the numbers of communities that still have local newspapers is rapidly going south! But I learned something new and that is exciting! Jackie Krawczak sharing her newfound knowledge about fishing was a really neat insight to the “WHY” of fishing! Then when I started on Joe Gentry’s so well researched explanation of FOOD DESERTS which truly affects us all, I called ...