The gray and chilly winter months can easily discourage us from staying active, the warmth of a couch all too comforting. But staying active in winter is important, according to the American Heart Association, and has some serious benefits, including keeping our immune system healthy to ward ...
The state has over 218,000 medical pot card holders, and there are now fears that an undisclosed number of those holders may be out of luck the next time they visit their favorite dispensary state-wide. Maybe you are one of those or you know someone who is? One cannabis organization blames ...
It wasn’t long ago that the landfill serving Alpena, Montmorency, and Oscoda counties was deep in the red, staring at a $1.6 million deficit and having to go hat-in-hand to local contractors to do the work it needed to do. Today, as News staff writer Steve Schulwitz reported recently, the ...
Soiled diapers. Needles. Biohazards. The problems officials face at the Alpena Resource Recovery Facility and other recycling outlets go beyond sorting out the wrong kinds of plastic or the glass the facilities can’t accept. Area residents are treating the recycling bins like garbage ...
I heard a sportscaster the other day describe a pro athlete as “tough.” He didn’t define what he meant, but I assume he meant the guy plays through pain, rises above adversity, etc. — the usual jock stuff. Cynical Andy thought, “Well, of course he does. He’s paid $20 million a ...
I have a healthy fascination of — and appreciation for — the Great Lakes. I still remember quite vividly my first visit to Besser Bell. The pines through which visitors walk on their way to the shoreline are so majestic, so peaceful, they remind me of a church sanctuary. During that ...
Definitely not an expert, however, having served in various countries requiring strict entrance and exit requirements, I’m greatly concerned. In South Korea as early as 1998, if an individual contracted an STD, they were isolated and not permitted to leave until the issue was identified and ...
Fremont resident Jeff Tillman brought his 18-foot “Pork Barrel” pig to Alpena this week. Fremont uses the pig to rally support for keeping term limits of state legislators in place in Michigan. Which, given events out of Lansing these days, should be a position most people would find ...
Boy, didn’t we have some entertaining letters in the past week or so in The News. First there was Connie Schultz, who spoke lovingly of our “democracy.” Of course, she was referring to our government in action in the impeachment trial. The only thing is that you can read the U.S. ...
EDITOR’S NOTE: This column appeared previously. You can read more of Pugh’s past work by purchasing his book, “The Best of Vingnettes,” available for sale at The News, 130 Park Place, Alpena. Back in the day, you couldn’t see the sky for all the cement dust. It permeated your ...
As the March 10 bond proposal vote approaches, I urge all eligible voters to vote YES on this issue. The studies that have been done to determine the conditions in our elementary schools, Thunder Bay Junior High School and Alpena High School all point to the need for new boilers, repairs and ...
Michigan forests provide innumerable benefits. To start, forests help maintain biodiversity and clean air and water. They are also used for hiking, hunting, camping, wildlife observation, and collecting berries and mushrooms. Our forests also feed local economies. How, then, do we sustain ...
Admittedly, I am writing this letter for some selfish reasons. My wife Cheryl and I spent 60 years combined working for the schools and our community. We have to beautiful grandchildren with at least another dozen years at APS. Our time in the schools demonstrated the importance of good ...
I would like to encourage everyone to vote on March 10. Some people feel their vote doesn’t matter, but in this election we will consider a very important local issue that will impact OUR community and affect the education of OUR children for years to come. We will decide if we plan to ...
If you want to find a real hero today, look no farther than your community, where many a hero is known to live. Two people who certainly qualify for that label are Lincoln Suszek and Andy Marceau, who both risked their own lives trying to rescue an elderly couple caught inside a burning ...
Recreational marijuana has arrived in Northeast Michigan. Meds Cafe in Rogers Township, the region’s first and only medical marijuana shop, this month became the region’s first and only seller of recreational marijuana. But that does not mean it’s time for unfettered partying. The ...
In Michigan, the burden to finance a school’s buildings falls almost entirely on a district’s local taxpayers, with little more than indirect support coming from the state. But some voters say they have a hard time finding out about elections that districts hold to ask for more money. ...
News staff writer Steve Schulwitz recently reported on a new hitch in the Alpena Municipal Council’s consideration of whether to allow medical marijuana establishments downtown. Several downtown proprietors told Schulwitz mysterious developers have floated around downtown, inking purchase ...
Northeast Michigan education is getting its just recognition. Recent editions of The News have brought word that Rogers City Elementary School teacher Amanda Polaski is in the running for Michigan Teacher of the Year and that Besser Elementary School third-grader Samuel Fitzpatrick was honored ...
Come Heller high water … ∫ So, to recap the new GOP rules for the presidency: The sitting president CAN’T, if he’s a Democrat, appoint a Supreme Court judge in the last year or two of his or her term because we should “wait for the next election,” but the sitting president CAN, if ...