Editor’s note: These are the stories that appeared in The Mining Journal 4 years ago.

Romney takes close win in state GOP primary

NOVI – Mitt Romney eked out a narrow victory in Michigan’s GOP primary, barely avoiding an embarrassing loss in his home state after acknowledging he had made mistakes along the way.

On the heels of a campaign visit to the Upper Peninsula Sunday, Rick Santorum won every county in the U.P. except Schoolcraft and Mackinac, where Romney won by razor-thin margins.

Romney had a more convincing win in Arizona, but then Santorum and fellow rivals Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul hardly contested the state.

In his Michigan victory speech, Romney didn’t mention Santorum, who courted socially conservative voters and came close to defeating him. Instead, Romney kept his focus on President Barack Obama and a core economic message, saying he’ll bring “more jobs, less debt and smaller government.”

At times Romney made his path to the double wins more difficult. The multimillionaire former CEO acknowledged earlier that his own repeated, if accidental, references to his wealth had hurt his campaign.

New county

administrator recommended

MARQUETTE – With its commissioned candidates search nearly completed, the Marquette County Board pre-empted the results and voted to recommend hiring Scott Erbisch as the county’s new administrator.

Erbisch has served as interim administrator since Steve Powers left the job after 15 years for a similar position in Ann Arbor in September. The board is expected to take final action on the recommendation to hire Erbisch next week.

Meanwhile, a three-person subcommittee of the board, including Chairwoman Deborah Pellow, will begin work on developing contract terms, patterned largely after the pact Powers had with the county.

The county board had recently contracted with the Michigan Municipal League to complete an administrator candidate search at a cost not to exceed $9,000.

League representative Alan Bakalarski told the board 16 people had applied for the position, including three who would remain confidential.

Eight of the applicants were from Michigan and eight from out of state, with two or three from the local area, including Erbisch.

Bakalarski said he expected to recommend fewer than five candidates for interviews, including Erbisch, whom he said was very qualified for the position.

The board had previously expected to review the candidates report on March 20, with interviews slated for April 14. Anticipating final approval of Erbisch as the new administrator, the board now expects to vote final action on his contract terms March 20.

USCG issues new warnings

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Coast Guard is urging individuals who choose to recreate on frozen lakes and rivers to take proper safety precautions after two recent events occurring on the same day demonstrated the danger and unpredictability of ice in the Great Lakes.

There were no injuries reported during the two incidents, but seven individuals were recently rescued after being stranded on an ice floe about 300 yards from Riley’s Bay in the Bay of Green Bay in Door County, Wis. A rescue boat crew from Coast Guard Station Sturgeon Bay, Wis., aboard a 22-foot airboat, along with a rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City were dispatched to the scene, but all seven people were assisted by local authorities prior to their arrival.

Also, 36 cars reportedly fell through the ice on Lake Winnebago in eastern Wisconsin during an ice fishing tournament. There were no injuries or pollution reported and tow trucks were called to remove the cars from the water.

YOUTH IN CRISIS: Events focus on coping with and preventing

suicide

MARQUETTE – After two recent deaths among young people in the community, local school officials are banding together to help students – and the community at large – learn how to cope with and prevent suicide.

Central Michigan University Adjunct Professor Dave Opalewski was scheduled to visit the Upper Peninsula to give presentations on youth crisis, suicide and suicide prevention in several locations throughout the area.

His visit was sponsored by The Mining Journal, the Marquette West Rotary Club, the Marquette Alger Regional Educational Services Agency, Ishpeming Public Schools and Munising Public Schools.

Opalewski’s visit was spurred by officials at Ishpeming Public Schools after several high school seniors spoke with the administration, looking for ways to help prevent such tragic events from ever happening again.

Opalewski was invited to speak on the subject of suicide and prevention because of his extensive background in the topic, having taught courses at Delta College, CMU and Saginaw Valley State University as well as presenting on the subject around the state.

He had also worked as an aftercare consultant for a funeral home and also led numerous crisis teams for schools in developing their crises response programs.

Food bank

celebrates

manager, mission

ISHPEMING – Volunteers at the Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank in Ishpeming celebrated one of their own, thanking manager Dave Mason for the hours he puts into feeding the community, particularly through the food pantry he organized for those in need of food.

Organized by volunteers James Mead and Jim Roat, the food bank volunteers pitched in to present Mason with a cake, as well as numerous thank you notes and a plaque, which left Mason at a loss for words.

In addition to running the food bank, which allows area food pantries to purchase foods at far discounted prices, Mason also operates a local food pantry, which allows families and individuals who are in need of food to come to the food bank twice a month to pick out food.

The food pantry runs entirely on donations and serves around 200 people from across the Upper Peninsula in a typical month.

Gladstone

bond proposal approved

GLADSTONE – A bond renewal for renovations at Gladstone’s two elementary schools was approved in a tight tally at the polls. Only 43 votes – less than three percent of those who voted – separated the yes votes from the no votes.

According to unofficial results, 834 people voted in favor of and 791 opposed the 7 mills being renewed to pay for $7 million in renovations at the schools.

The school district’s approved bond proposal will not raise the current 7-mill debt levy but will continue the millage rate to pay for renovations at Cameron and Jones elementary schools, said Superintendent Jay Kulbertis.

During the past six years, bonds to construct the new high school and renovate the old high school building were refinanced two times, saving the district millions of dollars in interest. The savings put the district 10 years ahead of schedule in paying off the bond debt.

Taxpayers will continue to pay on the 7 mills through 2026, the original payoff year for the previous bonds.

Cameron Elementary will have its entryway redone for safety and security purposes. Jones Elementary will be renovated to make the building more energy efficient.

Longtime park ecologist retires

MUNISING – After nearly four decades of federal service, Walt Loope – an ecologist who worked at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – recently celebrated his retirement.

Loope, who retired earlier in February, came to Pictured Rocks in 1982 as the first resource management specialist at the park.

Loope was interested in the Grand Sable Dunes near Grand Marais on the east end of the park, and involved fellow researchers in understanding the ecological requirements of Pitcher’s thistle, a threatened plant species. That work led him to discover buried soils on the dunes, indicating the dunes had previously been forested for a lengthy period.

Loope later described how the changing level of Lake Superior influenced the movement of wind-blown sand that buried plant communities on top of the dunes. He recognized the rare plant communities there and was instrumental in getting the dunes designated as a research natural area.

Glastone working to acquire hovercraft

GLADSTONE – Gladstone Public Safety has raised about 80 percent of funds needed to acquire a hovercraft for rescue operations on Little Bay de Noc, said organizers who continue to seek financial support for the purchase.

The hovercraft, manufactured by Neoteric, would mainly be used for rescue situations on ice but could be used for emergencies year around, he said. The unit would also be available to other departments.

To date, about $40,000 has been raised toward the $50,000 needed for the vehicle and for the training of staff to train others, officials said.

SPORTS

District tune-up

Modeltowners’ winning streak snapped by Redmen as both teams prepare for tournaments next week

MARQUETTE – At this point in the high school boys basketball season – with districts approaching next week – any flaws in play could soon bring the end to a season.

This is the reality that both Gwinn and Marquette faced after the non-conference 57-37 Redmen win.

Gwinn finishes the regular season at 7-13 while Marquette Senior High School improved to 12-7 with one more game this week at home against Houghton.

One constant in Marquette’s recent play has been sophomore guard Andy Nyquist, who scored a game-high 17 points in the Gwinn match-up.

The Redmen also open Class A district play this week, but have to travel downstate to the winner of the Petoskey-Gaylord game. A win there – a tall order with Petoskey looming as one of the top Class A teams in the state – puts MSHS into the district championship at home on March 9.

Not in the zone:

Ishpeming has trouble cracking WIC defense in loss

ISHPEMING – It could be said the Ishpeming High School boys basketball team couldn’t get into a zone during its game against West Iron County.

Literally.

Unable to penetrate a tenacious WIC zone defense after the first quarter, the Hematites wound up dropping a 64-55 nonconference decision to the visiting Wykons.

Alex Briones poured in 22 points, but the Hematites (10-9) were just 20 of 51 (39.2 percent) from the field – 5 of 20 from 3-point range – on Senior Night.

Other than the first quarter, when Ishpeming moved the ball and got open shots for an 18-12 lead, the Wykons (13-7) forced the Hematites into some long, low-percentage shots.

The Wykons outscored the Hematites 15-10 in the second quarter, going on an 11-0 run to erase a 21-14 deficit.

Late in the third quarter, with IHS trailing 46-41, the Hematites missed four straight free throws.

A Briones 3-point bucket cut the Wykons’ lead to 54-46 early in the fourth quarter, but Tyler Stafford then tossed in four points and Caleb Pellizzer sank a driving layup for a 60-46 WIC advantage.

No upset this year:

MSHS smothers Kingsford to advance to Esky

IRON MOUNTAIN – The Marquette Senior High School hockey team outshot Kingsford 53-18 en route to an 8-4 MHSAA Division 2 hockey preregional victory at Mountain View Ice Arena in Iron Mountain.

Marquette led just 2-1 after the first period, but things changed in a hurry in the second.

The Redmen tallied four goals in the frame with three of those coming during the first five minutes of the period. Marquette carried a 6-1 advantage into the final stanza.

Seven different Redmen scored goals in the game. Nick Weston had two of those tallies with an assist.

Salaries for top NMU coaches, administrators competitive compared to U.P. counterparts

MARQUETTE – Northern Michigan University will not publicly put a price tag on its next athletic director at this point in its search to replace Ken Godfrey.

However, a comparison of salaries for top administrators and coaches provided by the Upper Peninsula’s three Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference universities shows Northern is willing to spend the money necessary to lure top-notch candidates.

Northern, with an athletic department budget of $3.5 million, is one of three universities in the U.P. – with Michigan Technological University in Houghton and Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie – that sponsors NCAA Division II athletic programs. All three compete in the GLIAC, though LSSU does not sponsor a football program.

Former NMU athletic director Ken Godfrey had a base salary of $112,826 in 2011 before he stepped down in January. Due to his medical leave, Godfrey only collected $46,166.57 in 2011, according to NMU.

Godfrey was the highest paid athletic director in the U.P. with Tech’s Suzanne Sanregret making $110,000 and LSSU’s Kris Dunbar making $67,898, according to numbers provided via Freedom of Information Act requests.

NMU received exactly 100 applicants for the open athletic director position prior to the Feb. 15 closing date. A search committee will make its recommendation for a hire to NMU President Les Wong, who has the final say over the position. The goal is to have a new athletic director in place in May.

NHS boys finish M-PC hoops season untouched

IRON MOUNTAIN – Negaunee capped a perfect Mid-Peninsula Conference boys basketball season by thumping Iron Mountain 65-39.

The Miners (18-2 overall, 12-0 MPC), paced by Zach Marshall’s 22 points and five assists, pulled out to a 32-15 halftime lead.

The Mountaineers made a mild third-quarter challenge, closing to 41-29 after a Luke Zambon bucket at 1:36. But the Miners answered with a triple from sophomore Eric Lori.

Negaunee held Iron Mountain without a field goal for almost five minutes in the fourth quarter.

Lori scored nine Negaunee points; Tyler Beaumont contributed eight; Tanner Uren had seven with nine rebounds; Brock Weaver added seven points and five blocked shots; and Tyler Jandron tallied six points and five steals.

Dieterle disciples clash on hardwood in Munising

Mustangs crush Patriots’ upset bid

MUNISING – A decisive third quarter was about all the difference between the Munising and Westwood boys basketball teams in their recent meeting.

The Mustangs used a 14-4 third quarter to come back for a 46-41 victory over the visiting Patriots in a matchup of two coaches with similar styles – Dan Waterman of Munising and Ryan Reichel of Westwood.

Both Waterman and Reichel learned under former Westwood coach Irv Dieterle.

Munising (17-2), the No. 3 Class D team in the Upper Peninsula, trailed 26-21 at halftime before charging back in the third.

Mustangs senior guard Kenya Oas was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points, but just barely, as his Patriots counterpart, Zach French, scored 23 points.

The only other player to reach double figures in scoring was Munising senior forward Zach Boucher with 10.

Gladstone overcomes slow start to take out Manistique

GLADSTONE – Once the Gladstone Braves clicked their game into the proper gear, they were in total control to end the regular season on a positive note.

Down 14-0 to start, the Braves roared back for a 71-59 conquest of visiting Manistique in the nonconference boys prep basketball game.

After climbing to within 31-30 at the break, the Braves opened the third quarter with three straight triples.

Gladstone coach Phil Griebel started five seniors with guard Peyton Jurek the lone regular. Jurek scored a career-high 16 points, collected eight rebounds and led the half-court trap that disrupted the Emeralds after their sizzling start, forcing about 20 turnovers.

He also hit three of Gladstone’s nine triples in a staggering 33 attempts. The Braves (9-10) hit 19-of-46 shots inside the arc. Kyle Tiglas had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Emeralds (5-14), who hit 23-of-72 field goals (7-of-23 on treys).