Katrice Perkins/Daily Mining Gazette The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community gather around former Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College president Debra Parrish (center) to congratulate her on her retirement and thank her for her service.

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tobacco Company will host a grand opening on Tuesday, April 17, at 2 p.m, as announced at the tribal council meeting on Saturday.

The company began production March 1 and now has product being sold at two locations.

“Sales continue to be very good,” said tribal council vice president Jennifer Misegan.

The company is looking to hire two makers and two packers, with another production run scheduled for Monday.

The ceremony will feature a ribbon cutting and cake. There will also be product samples for those 18 and over.

It will be located at 16360 Ojibwa Industrial Park Rd. in Baraga. The public is invited to tour the facility and see how cigarettes are made.

“I don’t know the last time we opened a business such as this and it’d be awesome to have everyone there,” said Misegan.

The council also acknowledged the retirement of former Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College president Debra Parrish.

Parrish served on many boards and committees prior to her work with KBOCC, getting it fully accredited and expanding to the L’Anse campus.

“Debbie has most definitely served our community well and we are so proud to celebrate 46 years of dedicated service,” said Misegan.

“It has been my honor to be a part of this community and to serve the members of our community in various capacities,” said Parrish.

She asked for continued support of the college and ongoing projects. Some of the items asked to support were the Indian tuition waivers, getting L’Anse campus into a land trust and to fight back against the elimination of the Higher Education Act Title III.

“We need to keep that program to support our student services, to support our construction and to support our other programs at the college,” said Parrish.

Parrish said it had been a fun ride and she will still be around as a consultant but will take the time to relax and enjoy family.

Other things discussed at the meeting were the approval of two attorneys as independent appeals officer and a secretarial election for a constitution amendment approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.