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Support the police, not the criminal

Letters to the Editor

I could not believe what I read in the Friday, July 24 edition of The Alpena News. When growing up in Massachusetts in the 1940s, criminals were treated as criminals and law enforcement was honored and respected. That is when we had a decent Republic. Today, we are experiencing a rapidly spreading disease called “Democratic Liberalism” that will deeply destroy our country. President Obama said “we are a nation of cowards and hypocrites.” This recent shooting in Madison Wisconsin proves it. This has happened many times across the country where law enforcement was doing their ...

When postpartum becomes clickbait

Editorials and columns

Two stories have dragged the subject of postpartum depression into the center of the national conversation this week. First was the death of actress Hayden Panettiere at the age of 36, not long after speaking openly about her struggle with postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter. Second was the trial of Lindsay Clancy in Massachusetts for the horrific killing of her three young children, with her defense claiming that she had been suffering from severe postpartum psychosis. And inevitably, social media has responded in the way social media always does: Everyone is ...

Life Isn't a race. My husband's college degree reminded me why

Editorials and columns

My husband graduated with his bachelor's degree this summer at the age of 56. We ordered a cake and celebrated with friends and family. He had earned his associate's degree in accounting literally decades ago and had plans to continue his education, but life detoured him, as it likes to do. Then, a few years ago, his employer told him there would be no more promotions without earning his bachelor's degree. It felt like an empty box on his resume that just needed to be checked. Not having that diploma became a persistent barrier. College is expensive and time-consuming. So many ...

When elected officials answer citizens with attorneys

Letters to the Editor

Alpena deserves to ask a serious question: How much of this are we expected to tolerate from an elected school board member? Monica Dziesinski was facing a citizen-led recall effort over her conduct and decisions as a member of the Alpena Public Schools Board of Education. Rather than simply allowing voters to have their say, she hired a downstate law firm that challenged recall petition signatures on technical legal grounds.But this goes beyond fighting a recall. I know that personally. After I publicly criticized Dziesinski’s actions as an elected official and encouraged ...

Let the voters decide

Letters to the Editor

It didn’t surprise me when the news broke that Monica Dziesinski had hired an elite downstate law firm to influence the outcome of the school board recall campaign. It also didn’t surprise me that Eric Lawson joined her. After all, Lawson seems pretty comfortable with suppressing community voices. Isn’t this the same person who positioned deputies at school board meetings to remove people who dared to clap? And threatened defamation lawsuits against community members? What did surprise me was Sarah Costain. Members of the community gave me the impression that she is someone with ...

A dog, a creek, and an environmental plan

Editorials and columns

Sometimes being a nice guy leaves you – well – hanging in a precarious position. Such was the case with Luke, a dog we never aspired to own, but that changed when we took one off the hands of friends who could no longer afford to keep him. Luke spent most of his days outside, as was the ...