Perfect night, great ride
Bikers ride against domestic violence in support of local women's shelter for the eighth year in a row
Mary Niemela (left, seated) with riders and other supporters of the local women’s shelter in their work against domestic violence.
Mary Niemela, the executive director of the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home, said October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and they usually plan an awareness event on the national day of unity.
“We used to have candlelight vigils, and now we’ve upped it and decided to make some noise,” Niemela said.
This was the eighth annual Ride Against Domestic Violence event in the Keweenaw area. Starting from a brief ceremony at the AmericInn in Calumet, the 29 bikes (and at least as many riders) traveled through Hancock and across the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, led by Sheriff Joshua Saaranen in a Houghton County Sheriff patrol vehicle, although he does have a Harley.
“Next year I’m going to get it all cleaned up and hopefully jump in the ride myself,” he said.
Saaranen said the local women’s shelter is a great resource for the community and a partner with law enforcement. The event is a chance to show public support for the work that they do each day.
“It gives everybody a chance to come out and support the shelter,” he said. “This is my first time leading the parade of course, but I’ve worked with the shelter for many years now.”
The riders looped through Houghton, before heading to Ray Kestner Waterfront Park.
Police held traffic briefly so the motorcycles could pass quickly and safely through the Yooper Loop.
Riders could claim an “Against Domestic Violence” patch for their participation. Here, Mary Niemela is holding one up to a rider’s new jacket.
As the clouds cleared Monday, it turned into a truly beautiful evening to be outdoors.
Community, students, demonstrate for reproductive freedom
Around 70 marchers crossed the Portage Lake Lift Bridge
Catherine Paavola grew up in Detroit and shared, “If abortion had been legal in ‘68, I would not have, as a teenager, had to travel to Mexico for an abortion. It has been legal for many years. It should remain legal.”
She said abortion is a private, healthcare issue.
She also thanked the others who showed up to the march and for the public’s attention to the issue.
Audrey Gerard, a healthcare organizer with Michigan United, thanked the people who worked together to organize the event. They included the League of Women Voters in Copper Country, Rise UP Keweenaw Chapter, Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action, and Michigan United.
Gabriel Ahrendt, a member of Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action, said the Keweenaw march was just one of the demonstrations happening across the country today, and that he came out to support reproductive rights for his friends impacted directly by abortion laws.
“I have a lot of friends who live in Texas,” Ahrendt said. “… We don’t want that to happen here in Michigan.”
When the rescuers need support
First responders and search party volunteers are not immune to mental health problems.
It doesn’t happen everywhere, but the wide-open spaces of the Upper Peninsula mean that search and rescue operations are a common occurrence locally. Hikers and hunters get lost, snowmobiles take wrong turns, elderly dementia patients can walk away from home, and youth will run. Every situation is as different as the subject of the search and the terrain that they’re lost in, and time is always against the search party.
In addition to first responders like the police, firefighters, and EMTs, the Keweenaw area is fortunate to have a team of trained volunteers that is available to assist with these search and rescue events.
Chris VanArsdale is the full-time emergency management coordinator for Houghton and Keweenaw Counties. So during any emergency, he helps relay messages between different agencies and levels of government about who needs what to work effectively. Between emergencies, he works to keep his resource and contact list up to date and familiarizes himself with the processes important for different disasters and getting emergency assistance and funding -- whether that assistance comes from a neighboring county, the state or federal level, or even a neighboring state.
VanArsdale is also the president of Superior Search and Rescue, an independent, non-profit search and rescue (SAR) team that assists law enforcement by request. They can supplement things like communication and logistics, and even have a specialized drone available.
“It all kind of depends on the situation,” VanArsdale said. “And it depends on the law enforcement on scene and what they think they might need.”
One of the keys to finding a person is narrowing down the search area. One important way of doing this is knowing about the behavior of the lost person. Law enforcement will usually try and contact family and friends to get a history. Have they done this before? Do they have any health conditions? Do they like to walk? Do they tend to leave the trail or road, or stay on it?
“And based on that, you kind of start to build a mental model of what this person is like,” VanArsdale said. “It sounds a little strange, but if we’re lucky, they have a history…”
A history with a pattern means there’s a good chance they’ll find them quickly at or near where they’ve been found in the past. VanArsdale said people with Alzheimer’s or dementia will often go back to places they previously worked or former homes. But even if they have no history available, there are statistical tools that can be put to use to narrow the search field.
“Lost Person Behavior” by Robert J. Koester contains compiled statistics from search and rescue operations around the country, and using those SAR teams can help predict where a subject is more likely to be found. It includes cross-referencing for weather and terrain conditions, age, mobility, and mental health disorders like Alzheimer’s, autism, dementia, and schizophrenia, and more.
“Really, searching boils down to numbers,” VanArsdale said. “We can guess on motivations and things like that but at the end of the day it’s really a statistics game.”
For instance, if you use math to calculate how far into a trail system someone might have walked or run, you might estimate 6 miles per hour as their speed, and over three or four hours they may have traveled 18 to 24 miles.
“But this says, actually, they should be within eight miles 95% of the time,” VanArsdale said.
So without a more specific history to work from, they start with what has the highest probability of locating the person and move as quickly as safely possible through the scenarios. The book has also been built into a smartphone app with extra step-by-step guides.
When SAR personnel do find someone, they’ll talk or call out to the person to see if they are who they’re searching for and if they’re okay, but they radio for law enforcement to come and pick the person up.
“Most of the time, people seem to be happy that they are found,” VanArsdale said. “I can’t think of an instance where they haven’t been okay with being found.”
He said sometimes the subject of a search doesn’t realize they had been lost, or at least don’t communicate it. Law enforcement conducts manhunts and searches for other potentially dangerous persons without the help of volunteer SAR workers.
Darian Reed is a Michigan Tech student, local bus driver, and has been volunteering with SAR teams for nearly four years now.
He said he’s been a part of more than a dozen searches and likes working on the logistical side of things where the moving parts of people, equipment, and resources create a puzzle.
“You have 50 volunteers,” Reed said. “You need to get them food, you need to get them water, you need to get them bathrooms… I’m focused on that kind of stuff.”
That means that during an active search, he’s often in or near the command center, close to the heart of the operation. He said that the emotions of seeing worried and distraught family members can be stressful and make focusing on important operational tasks difficult. The desire to give comfort to the distressed person, or at least to avoid increasing their discomfort by saying something blunt or inconsiderate, creates an internal tug of war between the SAR work and the emotional distress. Even more conflicting for the volunteers, sometimes a family member may disagree with decisions SAR personnel are making based on their training.
One thing Superior Search and Rescue does to help defray the stress on their volunteers is to keep them working in rotating shifts.
“We don’t want them to be consistently out, getting tired out,” Reed said.
The last thing a SAR operation should end in is with more people being lost or injured, and exhaustion, working in the dark or rain, and other harsh weather increases the likelihood of an incident with a searcher. Exhaustion also increases the chances of a mistake or an emotional outburst.
Nonetheless, during one search this year, Reed spent 56 hours of the 72-hour search in the field. He said that a volunteer like him has to care pretty deeply about what they’re doing to do it at all, but also needs to maintain professionalism to do it effectively.
“And sometimes you can go too far on one side or the other,” Reed said.
And not every search ends without tragedy. While a search is only technically a failure if they don’t recover the subject at all, the obvious goal is to recover them alive. Unfortunately, there is always the chance that won’t happen.
Reed said after one subject was found already deceased, he and his roommate, another volunteer, drove for about twenty minutes in silence on their way home before either of them could begin to talk about it. While law enforcement deals with the scene where the deceased is found, Reed is often dealing with volunteers. He said one experience with a volunteer coordinating food for others still sticks with him.
“She was talking to me about her plan, she said she had staffing for the next three days…” Reed said. “And I was completely zoned out. In one ear out the other.”
Reed had already been informed the search was complete, albeit not happily, and was trying to keep it quiet until law enforcement could make an official announcement. After about two hours, he finally broke down and quietly told the woman the bad news, and the sudden change in her expression still sticks with him, months later. Memories of the family during the search do, too. So do memories of heckling and bad-faith comments from bystanders after the search.
When an incident like this impacts first responders and volunteers in a negative way, there are places in the community they can turn to for support.
“All these incidents really do take a toll,” Reed said. “And I pretend that I’m okay… but you know, there is something to be said about asking for help.”
For those like police, firefighters, nurses, and SAR workers, who might need to confidentially share their experiences among a group, the Critical Incident Stress Management team can come together, and did after that particular event.
“I think it was really helpful for those that were in the command post, which included myself and a few other individuals,” Reed said.
Pastor Bucky Beach from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is one of the coordinators of the CISM team. The team responds to help responder groups that have trauma they may need to work through. It could be a car accident on the street, suicide in a community, shooting at a home, or mortality at the hospital.
“So we might not deal with the immediate family who has a suicide or something like that,” Beach said. “We’ll deal with the people that responded to it and were called out to deal with it.”
The team works with the group following the Mitchell Model.
Confidentiality, mutual trust and respect, and attentiveness are prioritized during the meeting. The group works through the events that happened, the thoughts they’ve had about it, their emotional reactions, and physical signs of distress. Then they learn about what it will take to move beyond those reactions and symptoms before being sent home with advice both for them and their family and friends.
They’re advised to maintain their regular schedules, spend time with others, and understand that their difficulties are normal. The people around them can help by spending time with them, offering to listen but giving them space, and helping with everyday tasks.
For volunteers or members of the public that don’t have access to a CISM group meeting, or for those not comfortable speaking in a group, public services like Dial Help are available.
Rebecca Crane has been executive director of the organization for 12 years now.
“I just wanted to point out that our crisis line turned 50 years old in August,” she said with a hint of pride.
The crisis line is available 24-hours, 7 days a week. Someone working through any issue, including a difficult search and rescue outcome, can call whenever they’re ready.
“Our crisis specialists are trained to talk people through issues like that, even if someone just needs to talk,” Crane said.
If their needs go beyond a phone conversation, they can be moved into Dial Help’s safety net program which includes some more proactive support from Dial Help’s volunteers like scheduled calls and assistance finding more long-term supports.
“Basically, the person will kind of follow them along until they start getting more of the supports, or the initial crisis or the multitude of crises have subsided a little bit,” Crane said.
Crane said needing an extra source of support doesn’t mean someone is broken or crazy.
“We have callers from all different backgrounds, all different income levels, everything you can think of,” Crane said. “I think sometimes people just need to talk to someone who’s trained, who might be like, not a member of their family for some reason.”
Hancock's Tori Market wraps up a successful year
Multiple booth operators report regularly selling out of product in 2021
Details of parking deck engagement night announced in short Houghton City Council meeting
Houghton City Council, Sept. 22, 2021
Meeting Highlights
Pushback against dog park construction
A resident who lives on Donmar Drive addressed the council about the new city dog park that is being constructed now. She expressed that she was shocked to find out that a dog park was even under consideration for the site, and that she and some of her neighbors were concerned with potential noise and traffic disturbances. She was also worried it might lower her property value.
Public hearing for Dodge Charger police vehicle grant
A public hearing for a rural development grant ended with no comments from the public. The council approved the application, which is a 55% match on a roughly $50,000 vehicle. The rest of the cost will come from the city’s equipment fund.
City Manager’s update
City Manager Eric Waara was not in attendance at this meeting but did provide this printed update to the board and public (highlighting added):
Parking deck public engagement night details
The public engagement work starts next Wednesday (Sept. 29), at the Bonfire conference room, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Pat Coleman will be facilitating the activities. City Clerk Ann Vollrath said they are encouraging people to wear masks because of the number of people they are expecting in attendance, and that people should expect to be there for the entire time, as there is active engagement rather than an open house-style event.
Continued training for Houghton PD
Police Chief John Donnelly reported that officers within the department had retrained this week on how to handle traffic accidents, another program called ‘Hope Not Handcuffs’ from former judge Linda Davis(this is her 2019 TEDx Talk), and also a talk from David Bartley, a professional speaker and suicide survivor, about his experiences with first responder services.
The consent agenda passed with very little fanfare.
The items under new business also passed uneventfully.
DuPont is the new Village Manager, MEDC loan forgiven
Written by Bruce Johanson
Interim Manager William DuPont is now the regular Ontonagon Village Manager, as of the Sept. 13 Ontonagon Village Council meeting.
Following the closing of the posting, the personnel committee had reviewed the applications. The choice was boiled down to two candidates, however, it was determined that only one of the two final candidates met the minimum requirements for the position. The personnel committee recommended offering the position to Willliam DuPont. This was moved by Trustee Elmer Marks Jr., supported by Trustee Mike Rebholz, and this was carried with a no vote from Trustee John Hamm.
Village President Tony Smydra remarked that DuPont, a former bank manager, has worked wonders with the village’s finances and cleaned up a number of loose ends that were left by previous village administrators. The council, for the most part, were quite pleased with the progress that has been made in the months since DuPont was appointed as interim manager on a temporary basis. In the months that he has been in charge of administering the village finances, he has managed to recover owed funds, caught up with MERS back payments, and built a good working relationship with other village employees for a more harmonious working climate.
With the hiring of DuPont as village manager, the position for which he was originally hired, that of clerk/treasurer, is now officially vacant. The council will now have to post the clerk/treasurer position. Kori Weisinger has been working as the acting clerk/treasurer since DuPont was moved to the interim manager’s position.
Other matters that came before the council:
OMH Hospital MERS update: Interim Manager Dupont reported that the Village still owes MERS $121,689.94. A payment of $70,081.77 was made on Aug. 1 and a further payment of $60,845.15 was made on Sept. 10. The Aug. 20 payment of $60,802.43 is remaining past due. DuPont informed Council that this should be made by the end of September and this will catch up with all past due payments at this time. DuPont also informed Council that the proposed buy-outs are taking longer than originally expected but are expected to be in the hands of those qualified to take part by the end of September.
Agreement Addendum, Marina Grant: This spells out the specific terms of the Marina Dredging grant. A new ending date of Dec. 31, 2022, is part of the agreement and the village may receive $256,000 for the cost of the dredging.
It was also reported by the new village manager that:
The Michigan Treasury Department owes the village $42,374.81 in revenue-sharing funds. This was money withheld because of delinquent reports. DuPont said that he has been going round and round with Treasury about this money for months, and the Treasury Department finally agreed to release some of the funds to the village. Of the amount owed, $16,026.38 was withheld for reasons other than the delinquent reports. DuPont is trying to ascertain the reason for Treasury holding these funds, however, the village will be getting $26,348.43 which would have been forfeited.
MEDC loan: It seems that the village took out a Community Development Block Grant loan back in 1998 and the balance owed was $193,647.48. Fortunately, the MEDC has forgiven this loan as of Aug. 19.
Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CLFRF): The village has received a letter from the Treasury Department on Sept. 3 approving the request that was made for CLFRF funds in the amount of $130,836. These funds must be spent on specific projects that deal with infrastructure. The current plan is to use this money for expenses associated with the Tin Street Lift Station Project.
UPSET presentation and donation, Finlandia's president makes appearance, fire chief stipend boosted
Hancock City Council, Sept. 15, 2021
Meeting Highlights
Finlandia University’s president visits the council, offers update
Finlandia’s president, Philip Johnson, was the first to present to the council on Wednesday night. He started by thanking the council. He told them Finlandia had 6% growth in their student body and 9% growth in their student residence halls, and other statistics. He said the remodeled historic high school was near completion and that he was looking forward to having an open house to show the public the new spaces, including an auditorium and gymnasium. Finlandia is requiring masks for all students, vaccinated or unvaccinated, inside the classroom. Weekly testing is required of the non-vaccinated. He said employees are about 85% vaccinated. Across the whole campus, they’re at about 72% vaccinated, which includes staff and students, and they have incentivized getting vaccinated. Finlandia celebrates its 125th anniversary this week, and Johnson said they have more activities planned in the run-up to their Finnish Independence celebration.
Chief Donnelly informs board about UPSET West, council approves donation to the team through Portage Health Foundation
Chief John Donnelly of the Houghton Police Department spent some time informing the council about UPSET West’s substance enforcement work, how they’ve grown, what the team does, and how important Hancock’s contribution would be. Chief Wayne Butler from Hancock’s police department and Lt. Nick Roberts from Houghton Police Department were also there to support the donation. Donnelly, who is also part of UPSET’s board, said that the buy-in from the local governments was more than matched by the state. The UPSET West team is currently five officers, and Donnelly said that safety procedures dictate that at least four officers are needed to run undercover sting operations, so maintaining funding is important. Donnelly said they attempt to push local dealers into drug court, and out-of-area traffickers into federal prisons. The team also facilitates cross-jurisdictional operations across city, county, tribal, and state lines. Donnelly took questions from the council after his presentation was over.
Chief Donnelly’s talk lasted for about 30 minutes. If you have any interest in UPSET West, I recommend watching the full video clip.
Later in the meeting, the council approved an immediate $5,000 donation to Portage Health Foundation, which acts as the fiduciary of the money for UPSET West. They also committed to four more years of $5,000 payments but acknowledged that another council could reverse that during the budget process. Councilor William Lytle was the lone dissenting vote. Before the vote, he stated that he disagreed with the overarching strategy of the “war on drugs” in addition to more specific objections, but said he did support trying to keep substance abuse out of the community.
During City Manager Mary Babcock’s report, she shared news that the fundraiser for the dog park had exceeded the goal and that the dog park should be fully funded without anything being committed from the city’s general fund. Applications are closed for the Department of Public Works director position, and Councilor Whitney Warstler joined the hiring committee. The bathhouse renovation is nearly complete at the city campground. Babcock will be visiting San Antonio, Texas to learn about the Bridges Out of Poverty program in a trip sponsored by the Portage Health Foundation, which has sponsored other Bridges Out of Poverty training in the community as well. The big bump at the corner of Elevation and Ingot Streets that a citizen brought to the council’s attention at the last meeting is being put out for bids to see if it can be fixed before the end of this construction season. Babcock said the zoning update is well underway and should begin coming to the council before the end of the year.
Fire Chief’s special stipend established
The monthly stipend to Hancock’s volunteer fire department was unanimously increased by $350 so that Fire Chief William Lepisto can get a stipend for acting as fire chief and fire marshal. Babcock also said the hours Lepisto put in, particularly in emergency events like the Santori’s Corner spill this year, warranted the special stipend. Previously, Lepisto was compensated the same as other volunteers, an even split of $1,320 per month.
Councilor’s closing notes
Councilor Ron Blau happily announced his team’s victory in the World GUTS Frisbee Championship to a brief round of applause.
Councilor John Haeussler announced a presentation about how Copper Country impacted University of Notre Dame hockey leading up to the Oct. 15 Michigan Tech hockey opener against Notre Dame.
Councilor Warstler shared that a new salon has opened, run by Councilor Blau’s daughter. It’s called Mood Spa.
Councilor Rick Freeman Jr made a statement acknowledging the importance of 9/11.
County administrator resigns, mine cave-in on KRC test course, board protests PLLB work pace
Houghton County Board, Sept. 14, 2021
Meeting Highlights
Click the underlined headline to be taken to the video segment
Commissioner Tikkanen update on the transfer station
In a brief update, Commissioner Tom Tikkanen shared with the board that about 10 tons of refuse have been diverted from the landfill into the new recycling option at the county transfer station. Later, he also informed the board that the EPA was moving in to clean up the contamination in Calumet from the major fire earlier this year. He thanked all the parties who contributed to the effort, which is an unusual arrangement made for the benefit of the surrounding community.
Commissioner Anderson update on 2020 census
Commissioner Glenn Anderson shared a breakdown of the 2020 Houghton County census, showing that 8 of 14 townships in Houghton County grew, and acknowledged the county marketing effort to get a complete count. The county commissioner districts may be changing as a result.
Jail construction hits another hurdle
During Commissioner Roy Britz’s update, he said the trustees of Portage Township did not want to approve the annexation of a strip of property into the city of Houghton to facilitate the county’s new justice center plans. They’re concerned that if the plan falls through as it has before, they could lose valuable taxable property to the city. They said they’d approve the annexation if the jail project is completed. A more complex, conditional agreement will have to be made.
Mine discovered at Houghton County Memorial Airport
Commission Chairperson Albert Koskela revealed that a mine had been discovered on county property after it had caved in, then turned it over to Dennis Hex, airport manager, for more details. The mine was discovered on the Keweenaw Research Center test course, which is leased from the county. It’s being investigated and the estimate is the shaft is 500 feet deep. The airport is currently looking for funds to cap it or fence it in. Hex also said the airport was doing well currently, and a Sun Country Airlines charter will be coming to the airport in November, with bookings already open.
County Administrator Ben Larson submits his resignation
County Administrator Ben Larson submitted a letter of resignation, (notably withheld from the board packet released to the public on Monday). The board accepted the resignation, with Chairperson Koskela dissenting with a laugh. They also moved quickly to post the job opening and hold interviews to give Larson as much time as possible to train in his replacement. The deadline for applications was set for Sept. 28, the applications will be reviewed at the special meeting at noon on Sept. 29 (originally for the public hearing on the budget), and interviews will be held on Oct. 5 at 1 p.m.
Larson declined to interview in-person with me, but did offer this written statement further explaining his resignation (hyperlink added):
It is good for my family as it will allow for me to get back into a game that I love. That game is sales and business development. REL, Inc. President Josh Loukus and I had a great talk late last week about a way that I can get back into the game, and he convinced me how I could help him and his company to move forward and possibly grow if I am successful. They have given me a great offer to join them, and, as hard as it is to walk away from a great job at the County, I am happy and satisfied with my decision to do so. I have given everything that I have to my position with the County on each of the days that I came in. I took over for a great leader in Eric Forsberg when he handed the keys to me, and I am hoping that I can do the same for my successor. The County is in great shape, we have survived an interesting pandemic year, we have initiated some great new efforts and have changed a couple of things that I thought were worth doing, we have made some needed changes at our two enterprises with investments that happened at our marina and transfer station, and we have a great team in place across the County. All of the ingredients are here for someone to step right in to take over from me, and for the next person to have their own success. I have offered to stay until October 29th, and the commissioners are happy with that and agreed. I will now work super hard to get a group of solid candidates for my Commissioners to consider, and, if we can get the right person here soon I am happy to tutor, mentor, and teach them the many things that they will need to know and learn to find their own success.
Letter of support for PLLB raising restrictions
Administrator Larson introduced a draft letter asking for restrictions on when the Portage Lake Lift Bridge will raise for pleasure craft. Several local government bodies and organizations are working together to try and get 1-hour bans on raising for non-commercial craft during rush hour traffic. The board unanimously approved sending the letter. Later in the meeting, the board approved a motion by Commissioner Glenn Anderson to implore MDOT to prioritize finishing the current bridge construction, bid future projects for 24-hour work, and refer the issue to the bridge committee for them to consider emergency procedures and the potential for a second bridge to eliminate the bottleneck.
Board of Canvassers members re-appointed
Barb Manninen and Becky Bruin-Slot were re-appointed unanimously to their position on the Canvassing Board. This is the board responsible for canvassing and certifying elections in the county. Reappointing them signals tacit approval of the job they did during the 2020 election by the board.
“Orphaned” overlook maintenance funding tabled
A request for money to update and maintain the MDOT overlook on Quincy Hill. Opinions on the matter differed, with some of the board saying it was an asset to the county’s tourism industry, while others said they couldn’t see support in their district for investing there. Eventually, they agreed, 4-1, to seek the opinion of the attorney to see if giving money for such a purpose was allowed.
This Friday at 4 p.m., county commissioners and Hancock City Council members will be touring the county arena in Hancock. There is an ongoing discussion about whether to sell the arena to Hancock.
During public comment, Roger Sullivan stood to “drop off” his resume for county sheriff, which was not submitted before the deadline for applications. He proceeded to conduct a self-interview during which he made non-specific allegations of corruption in the county.
After Sullivan’s five minutes expired, Mike Mangan stood to address the board about establishing wind energy in Houghton County. He said he was knowledgeable about wind energy and had seen “devastation” wrought by them in Wisconsin. He recommended the county make a formal declaration that wind rights are locally, publicly owned. He also said he believed wind power could be beneficial to the area if it was done through local decisions, not out-of-area developers.
Searching for support
Superior Search and Rescue shows off new tech, appeals for new members
I successfully avoided going overboard with this story, but the temptation was real. As a former audiovisual technician and a bit of a tech junkie, I really wanted to spend ten minutes showing you all the minute features of their drone and newly-refurbished trailer, but I did my best to stay focused on the group’s mission and event.
But don’t be surprised if I do a follow-up on their cool tech sometime! I was quite impressed with the command trailer’s capabilities. I feel like it’s something you’d expect to see in a more populated community.