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Copper Country ISD gives out annual awards

HANCOCK - The Copper Country Intermediate School District held its annual Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education Dinner Awards Ceremony last week at the CCISD building in Hancock.For the past 13 years, the PAC has been honoring people in the three county area who have made an outstanding contribution to the education and understanding of children with disabilities.Awards were presented to 15 people from various school districts, in nine categories, including the Make A Difference A Difference, "Spirit of Inclusion" Award, which was awarded, not to an individual, but the entire ...

Spiffing up the salon atmosphere

MARQUETTE - If there's any workplace that needs good lighting and a soft, welcoming atmosphere, it's a beauty salon.The cosmetology program at Northern Michigan University showcased recent upgrades to its salon at the Jacobetti Complex at an April 20 open house.Better lighting, a dropped ceiling, new air-handling systems, individual workstations and a new remote-controlled demonstration camera with a high-definition, wall-mounted monitor are part of the improvements."This has been an ongoing process to upgrade our facilities with quality instruction, and we're just really in the process ...

Crazy modern living: Simple tool can help put it in perspective

MARQUETTE - We operate at a speed in our culture that is giving us collective whiplash.It feels to me as though my whole messy life is balancing on a point like a circus act. The elephant knee is quivering above an inflated ball, which is ready to burst under the animals, jugglers and acrobats teetering above.I long for a peaceful routine that gives me confidence and a sense of control. But instead I'm improvising every day, sprinting to the finish line and collapsing.I don't really have a plan. I do the work in front of me, give it all I've got, try (with mixed results) to not be afraid ...

Memories retained: New home summons warm recollections

MARQUETTE - My earliest memories are almost entirely based at the house I grew up at on Michigan Avenue in Gladstone.I remember so clearly building forts with my brother in the large cedar bush that lined our back yard, laughing and arguing as our 120-pound golden retreiver, Reggie, barked and tugged at our pantlegs.I can still hear my dad yelling "pedal faster!" when thinking back to the warm spring days he spent running beside me on the sidewalk in front of the house, holding the back of my pink bicycle seat as I learned to ride by myself.I can still smell the buttered popcorn my mom ...

From classroom to climate: NMU students organize fair

MARQUETTE - Although they had help from vendors, the April 16 Spring Community Climate Fair came about mostly due to the efforts of Northern Michigan University students.The event, which took place at MooseWood Nature Center, featured vendors like the Northern Climate Network, the Climate Reality Project, the Citizens Climate Lobby and the Upper Peninsula Land Conservancy.NMU Assistant Professor Jacquie Medina said the program in which the students were involved in conducting the fair is one of six programs in the course RE 362, Program Design and Leisure Services."These five students ...

Oh, what a weirdo: Hated word becomes welcomed description

The older I get, the less it bothers me to be called a weirdo, because, well, I am a weirdo.Weirdo was an insult that cut me to the quick in my youth. Like so many other young people, I longed to fit in and be an integral part of things, be it a circle of friends or in a classroom setting. But somehow, I didn't fit in.Weirdo: That word seemed to haunt me for years.Don't get me wrong: there have always been wonderful friends in my life. My family has been a rock of support. Yet, something made me feel like an outsider to the conventional circles of "belonging" to the "popular" crowd.Maybe ...