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Information on suicide can be a lifesaver

A conference held in Marquette late last week, by all accounts, provided valuable information on suicide prevention and grief counseling. Held at the Holiday Inn of Marquette, the conference brought together a wide variety of experts in the field. Among them was Barb Smith, founder and facilitator of Saginaw Survivors of Suicide and private grief consultant. She underscores the importance of immediate intervention if someone is believed to be considering suicide. In terms of the people who survive, grief is an immensely complicated process that can vary from individual to individual. ...

Affordable housing best use for old hospital

As the community awaits the opening of UP Health System’s new hospital along Baraga Avenue in Marquette, city officials and the health care company’s leadership have been tight-lipped about what will happen to the enormous, soon-to-be vacant building. No one at City Hall or the hospital is uttering a whisper of any concrete direction. What we know for sure is that city leaders want the property on the tax rolls, and that Marquette cannot have a giant empty building slowly crumbling into disrepair. With regard to zoning, the Marquette Planning Commission took the direction of ...

Ski/Snowboard HoF inductees get enshrined

Congratulations to the Class of 2017 of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame who will be honored with events this weekend. For those unaware, this national hall of fame is located in Ishpeming, the birthplace of organized skiing in North America. This weekend, the hall presents its newest inductees to the public with an enshrinement banquet as well as a couple of other events. We salute the 2017 inductees: •Ed Ferguson of Chelan, Washington, who helped to create the hotdog freestyle movement in the 1970s. •Hermann Gollner of Verdi, Nevada, an aerialist competitor, coach ...

Solar energy site near airport lights future way

We’ve used this space in the past to hold forth in favor of green energy projects. There can be little doubt the age of many fossil fuels is drawing to a close and green energy projects will light the way, so to speak, into the future. That said, it’s also true not every green energy program is a good fit for every geographic location. It takes community education, communication and a willingness to work together to achieve something real to make these projects a reality. By all accounts, Richard Vander Veen, a consultant for Tradewinds Energy, understands that. A veteran of ...

Know early, subtle signs of ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer can be a relatively subtle killer, experts say. No screening test exists, so only 15 to 20 percent of ovarian cancer cases are detected early. So it helps for women to know the initial internal clues that something more serious might be going on inside them, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services advises. “Symptom awareness can be lifesaving,” said Dr. Eden Wells, MDHHS chief medical executive. “Women need to know their bodies and know the symptoms of this deadly disease.” So this September, the focus of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month ...

Carl Pellonpaa was much more than face on TV

Carl V. Pellonpaa was an Upper Peninsula treasure. The longtime host of “Finland Calling,” or “Suomi Kutsuu,” died Sept. 1. The show ran Sunday mornings on WLUC-TV6 from 1962 to 2015. The son of Finnish immigrants, he instilled his affection for his heritage in many ways. Perhaps the most notable was “Finland Calling,” which was the only Finnish language television show in the United States and the longest-running television program in the world with the same host. However, Pellonpaa also was involved in local government, having been elected to the Marquette County ...