Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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IRONWOOD — The Ironwood Area School Board Monday approved both amendments to the 2012-’13 budget and an $8 million 2013-’14 budget. The budget calls for $1,738,474 in local taxes, around $5 million in state aid and $549,760 in federal aid. Superintendent Tim Kolesar said the entire budget amounts to $7,990,885. The school district is left with an estimated fund balance of $379,875, pending the upcoming annual audit. We’re not in deficit and we’re in no danger of being in deficit,” Kolesar said. Lunch program The board approved a motion to i...
ONTONAGON — The Ontonagon Area Board of Education Monday hired a new superintendent- principal combination for the 2013-2014 school year. The board approved a one-year contract with Jim Bobula. Bobula graduated from the Ontonagon school system and has been a longtime teacher, and in the past year, principal and athletic director. The hiring of Bobula came following a letter of resignation of five-year superintendent Gray Webber. Webber spent 27 years as a teacher in the system and was hired i...
BESSEMER — Despite wet weather and having to move indoors, the 17th annual Relay for Life went “very well,” according to event organizers. “Even though we were banished inside, it was nice to still have the option to have it indoors,” Carl Fulsher, community representative for Relay for Life, said. Relay was originally set to take place on Massie Field in Bessemer, but was moved inside the gym at A.D. Johnston High School because of rain Friday afternoon. However, 24 hours later, the event wra...
HURLEY — The Iron County University of Wisconsin-Extension office has three new faces helping out throughout the summer. Caitlin Ahlberg and Adrienne Fedora will be running the Trailblazers program as AmeriCorps Vistas, and Nicole Hissa is the summer assistant in the office. All three are new to the job, but find the experience to be “exciting.” “It’s exciting because we get to control what we do each day,” Ahlberg said. “We get to plan the program and be in charge of it.” Trailblazers st...
BESSEMER — The 17th annual Relay for Life kicked off in a big way on Friday, despite damp weather. The event was originally scheduled to be held at Massie Field in Bessemer, but because of soggy conditions, it was moved inside the gymnasium at A.D. Johnston High School. “We’re sad that we had to move inside,” Carol Lillar, planning committee chairman, said. “Even though it cleared up a bit in the afternoon, the field is just too wet.” During the opening ceremony, it was announced that almost...
BESSEMER — Local senior citizens are voicing their opinions about cuts in federal funding for senior programs nationwide through a medium that they are not necessarily familiar with. Paper plates. Seniors have been writing messages to state representatives on plates through the “Don’t Empty My Plate” campaign. According to Chris Trolla, senior programs director for the Gogebic-Ontonagon Community Action Agency, the response has been good. “We’ve had a lot of seniors participate, by writing mes...
IRONWOOD — St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store in Ironwood is facing challenges because of some of the donations that are received. According to store manager Terri Cvengros, the store has been receiving a number of unusable donations, including broken and stained items. In addition to the unusable items, items have been dropped off after store hours and on weekends, left in the rain. Cvengros said items left in the rain or snow had to be hauled to the transfer station. Some usable items that were...
IRONWOOD — Grab a leash and some walking shoes because the third annual Hound Dog Hike is set for Saturday at Camp K-Nine in Ironwood. The event kicks off with a walking parade at 9 a.m. and runs through 1 p.m. All proceeds from the event benefit the HOPE Animal Shelter in Ironwood. The goal is to raise $2,500 for the shelter, and according to Donna Matusewic from Camp K-Nine, the goal has been met each year. “It’s really worthwhile to know that the animals are taken care of, and that we have...
ONTONAGON — For forty years John Gravier has run the football fields, basketball courts and tracks across the Western Upper Peninsula. He is affectionately known as a zebra by many and occasionally there may have been some cheers and boos. Gravier is a referee. This winter he was honored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association for 40 years as a referee. Although John could not attend the dinner honoring long time referees, the Association presented him with a trophy in which is e...
MERCER, Wis. — Despite more than 7,000 miles separating school districts, children in Mercer and China will learn the same curriculum through a Satellite Education Program. Mercer School District Administrator Erik Torkelson attended a meeting in Madison June 1 to discuss the possibility of creating two American schools in China. The Pittsville, Wis., School District is also a model school for the program. According to Torkelson, involvement in the program came through a former boss. “As with any organization, this opportunity came about as...
IRONWOOD — The American flag has become a rich tradition in the culture of the United States, and a local Boy Scout troop is continuing that tradition by learning the proper way to take care of the Stars and Stripes. Hurley-Ironwood Boy Scout Troop 323 has been involved with many different aspects of the flag, including saying the Pledge of Allegiance before every meeting. “With all Scout members, patriotism is something that is instilled in them early on,” Scoutmaster Bill Perkis said. “Our...
UPSON, Wis. — Gogebic Taconite broke ground Wednesday to begin drilling core samples at the proposed iron ore mine near Upson after crews were obstructed by protesters the day before. Protesters earlier placed large rocks, trees and other obstructions in the roadway to block crews from entering the drill sites. In addition, they came out of the woods and began to yell at workers, and took and damaged personal property of a G-Tac worker. Iron County Sheriff Tony Furyk said a protester stole a c...
HURLEY — Elementary and middle school students from the Hurley K-12 School took a different route to school Tuesday, participating in the school’s first Walk to School Day. Students, parents, teachers and staff members lined up at Super One parking lot in Hurley and walked west on Center Drive, dressed in Hawaiian shirts, leis and other tropical garb. There was music and officers from the Iron County Sheriff’s Department and Hurley Police Department escorted the walkers along the route. “Ever...
IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP — Gogebic County Road Commission member and Ironwood Township resident Art Lyons spoke to the Ironwood Township Board of Trustees during a meeting Monday about improving roads throughout the township, specifically, Section 12 Road. “If you don’t do that road this year, you are just going to fall further behind,” Lyons said. The board discussed the possibility of chip sealing the road in the future, but Lyons said that the commission can’t financially do that. With budgets b...
IRONWOOD — Three members of the Class of 2013 surpassed a high goal in graduating on May 26, something superintendent Tim Kolesar can’t remember ever seeing in 30 years of working in the school district. Three graduates had cumulative grade point averages above 4.0. Maighlin Kolesar had a GPA of 4.0309, Ellen Hagstrom 4.0129 and Bradley Torni 4.0001. “That is just amazing to me,” Tim Kolesar said. According to Hagstrom and Torni, the GPAs came as a surprise. “I had no idea until I went to p...
BESSEMER — Students at Washington Elementary celebrated the last day of school with an outdoor picnic, and pie for dessert Tuesday. However, the pie was not for eating. Students participated in a “Pie the Teacher” raffle in the parking lot, helping to raise money for another teacher who is currently battling cancer. “We have been fundraising for her throughout the year, and we thought this would be a cool way to get the kids involved once again,” Diana Hansen, head teacher, said. The students...
HURLEY — Third grade students from the Hurley K-12 School helped beautify the downtown by planting flowers along Silver Street Monday. Students, paired with adult volunteers, placed flowers and plants in planters located on the sidewalks. Joy Schelble, nutrition educator coordinator for the Iron County University of Wisconsin-Extension office, coordinated the event, along with the Master Gardeners and the city of Hurley. Schelble has been working with the school district’s school garden, and...
ONTONAGON — The weather went from hot to icy at the annual Cook-Off for Cancer at the Ontonagon Recreation building Saturday. Seven teams of cooks started their grills and smokers Friday night to be ready for the Saturday competition of barbecued chicken, ribs and beef brisket. The meal, open to the public, also included a full dinner. Funds raised from the competition and dinner benefit the Ontonagon County Cancer Association. Tom Domitrovich chaired the benefit, along with numerous v...
HURLEY — With college entrance interviews and future careers just around the corner, the Hurley School District is helping to prepare students for the future. On May 15, students participated in an interview process to become teachers’ assistants for the 2013-’14 school year. The program has been in existence for many years, but this was the first year that students were required to be interviewed by faculty. “I know a lot of the kids were nervous, because they didn’t know what to expect,...
IRONWOOD — Twenty years and hundreds of customers later, Corrine Alexandroni can still be found behind the counter at Wells Fargo. Alexandroni celebrated her 20th anniversary with the company as a teller on Friday. Fellow employees surprised her with a cake, presents and balloons. “I am very surprised,” Alexandroni said. “I had no idea that they were going to do this.” Alexandroni has spent all of her career in the Ironwood area, and the last two years at the branch office on Cloverlan...
ESCANABA — The Painesdale-Jeffers Jets shot their way past the competition at the boys’ Division 3 U.P. Golf Finals Thursday at the Escanaba Country Club. They were led by Stephen Butina, who shot an 80. The team’s highest score was just an 88, and they shot a combined 333 overall. “Anytime you win the U.P. title, you are happy,” said Jeffers coach Jason Koski. “It’s a tough course with a lot of elevated greens, but we were consistent and that’s why we were able to win. The guys golf a lot and...
IRONWOOD — A class of 20 future firefighters, cheerleaders and astronauts graduated kindergarten Thursday at Sleight Elementary School in Ironwood. Niki McRae’s kindergarten class held its ceremony. Michelle Trier’s Sleight kindergarten class will graduate Monday at 1:30 p.m., while Angela Berglund’s kindergarten class graduates Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., both at the school. The Thursday ceremony opened with the class reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Wright Way pledge, part of the Ironwoo...
ONTONAGON — Tom Pestka gave Ontonagon Area Elementary School children a glimpse of the lumberjacks and camps of the past at the school recently. Pestka, 70, said he was born in a lumber camp near Ontonagon and worked in the woods for better than 50 years. He said his father, Felix, built 19 camps around the Ontonagon County area. Through the years, he has acquired a unique collection of lumberjack tools of the past, including a cross-saw that is more than 150 years old. In addition to the t...
HURLEY — Elementary students at the Hurley K-12 School got their hands dirty as they prepared for another harvest at the school garden on Wednesday. Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program Coordinator Joy Schelble and educator Deb Leonard, both of the Iron County University of Wisconsin-Extension office, helped students plant a variety of crops throughout the day, including a Three Sisters Garden. “When the native Americans would plant their crops, they planted three different kinds at the sam...
IRONWOOD — Ironwood residents were able to attend three ceremonies on Memorial Day, at the Memorial Building, Veterans Monument downtown and Riverside Cemetery. The first ceremony included performances by the Memorial Chorus, under the direction of Denise Woodward and memorial prayers from Father Rob Jurkovich, Rev. Kurt Kovanen and Brittany Delich. The second ceremony including veterans marching through downtown Ironwood to the Veterans Monument, on the corner of Suffolk and Ayer streets. Membe...
