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Thank you, firefighters

The Alpena area has seen its share of devastating fires at local businesses in recent years. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore in November 2019. The John A. Lau Saloon and adjacent Thunder Bay Theater the following July. The BP gas station at the corner of M-65 and M-72 in March. And, on Monday night, the destructive fire at Greenway/L and N Disposal on U.S.-23. About 40 full-time and paid-on-call firefighters from the Alpena, Presque Isle, and Maple Ridge fire departments, and the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center responded to the Greenway fire, News staff writer Julie ...

Delta County roadway named for fallen trooper

We haven’t hesitated in past times to support criticism of police departments and personnel, when we believed genuine overreach had occurred. Likewise, when an officer falls in the line of duty, protecting and serving the community, it has been our pleasure and privilege to underscore that sacrifice here in this space. Michigan State Police Trooper Darryl M. Rantanen didn’t die last week or last month or even last year. Rantanen was killed many years ago, on May 27, 1974, on a stretch of highway in Delta County. He died when the patrol car he was riding in was forced off the ...

Let’s talk about mental health

“It’s a disease, not a moral failing. It’s a medical condition, not a character flaw.” — Kathleen Dunckel News Lifestyles editor Darby Hinkley introduced us recently to Kathleen Dunckel and her husband, Eric, in a story simultaneously heartbreaking and inspiring about the Dunckel’s loss of their daughter, Abigail, to suicide two days before Christmas 2019. Hinkley spoke to them as part of Mental Health Awareness Month, which happens every May. Their story breaks the heart for obvious reasons. We can’t imagine the pain of losing a child, of wondering what could have ...

Now it’s up to you on masks

With new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has freed any fully vaccinated Michigander from the requirement to wear a facemask when out in public. Unvaccinated folks, however, still must wear a mask in public at least until July 1, when Whitmer said she expects to lift the facemask mandate for all Michiganders. We’re gaining ground, but we haven’t defeated the virus, yet. Dozens of Northeast Michiganders have been infected in recent days, and more than 1,000 area residents remained actively infected and potentially contagious ...

Don’t move firewood long distances

Wherever your travels take you this summer, you can make more room for your favorite gear, your pet or even an extra friend by choosing to leave firewood at home. Moving firewood when you camp, hunt or head out for a weekend getaway means you risk carrying tree-killing insects and diseases inside the firewood. Bugs can crawl out, infesting trees and carrying diseases that can forever change the landscape of the places you love. “Much like the emerald ash borer — which spread across the state in the early 2000s, killing many of Michigan’s 700 million ash trees — invasive oak ...

Dry conditions in UP make wildfires much more likely

There are few more destructive forces to a natural environment than wildfire. Every summer season, it seems, thousands of acres of Michigan forests go up in smoke because of human carelessness, never mind the damage Mother Nature can do through lightning strikes. If there is a war against wildfires in the state of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources certainly are on the front lines. DNR personnel are typically among the first at any wildfire sites. It’s dangerous, dirty work that has to be done. The agency reports that the fire danger right now is high around ...