Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
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By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com WAKEFIELD - The Michigan State Police's Wakefield post has added another new face, as another graduate from the state's trooper academy joins the force. William Fry graduated from the 131st Trooper Recruit School - 23 weeks of instruction - a little less than a month ago, joining the Wakefield post shortly after that. Fry is one of the several new troopers who have been assigned to the post in recent years. "We're quite a young post at this point. I...
By IAN MINIELLY iminielly@yourdailyglobe.com WAKEFIELD — According to trooper Jerry Mazurek with the Michigan State Police, over 500,000 older adults are abused or neglected nationwide each year. Elders unable to protect themselves are the victims of neglect and exploitation because they are unable to protect themselves due to either advanced age and/or physical and mental impairment. The perpetrators of the abuse are often family members, friends, neighbors, and even their caregivers, with the abuse typically occurring in the home. “There are...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER — A Ramsay man was sentenced to prison on drug and other charges in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday. Martin Daniel Stein, 32, was sentenced to a minimum of 28 months in prison and a maximum of 15 years for possession of methamphetamine. He was also sentenced to 90 days for a misdemeanor illegal entry charge. Stein pleaded guilty to the two charges in November as part of a plea agreement that dismissed a charge of possessing meth on school/library property. The agreement also called f...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER — All municipalities in Gogebic County should prepare for Michigan’s marijuana law changes, the county board of commissioners was told Wednesday. John Turkal, city of Bessemer Planning Commission chairman, addressed the county board on the changes that will take effect next December. “This is not just for Bessemer, this is for every town and city in the county,” he said. Several businesses have submitted letters to Bessemer officials expressing interest in locating commercial marijua...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com IRONWOOD — Bond has been set at $50,000 for an Ironwood man who was being held in the Gogebic County Jail Thursday following an armed robbery threat at the Holiday Station Store on Cloverland Drive. According to an Ironwood Public Safety Department report, Chad Andert, 35, of 663 E. Cloverland Drive, was arrested after telling the male clerk at the store that he was about to rob it. The IPSD report said Andert instructed the clerk to call 911 and inform the dispatcher that he was about to be robbed. H...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER - The third day of the trial of an Ironwood man facing multiple drug and gun charges wrapped up Thursday with testimony from more prosecution witnesses, including Ironwood Public Safety Department Sgt. Matthew Sterbenz, who is one of the primary investigators in the case. Donovan Howard Payeur, 32, is facing charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to deliver, felon...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER - The trial of an Ironwood man charged with multiple drug and firearm felonies continued in Gogebic County Circuit Court Wednesday. Day 2 of the trial of Donovan Howard Payeur, 32, continued with more prosecution witnesses testifying against Payeur; who is standing trial on seven counts - possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to deliver, felon in possession of a weapon,...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER - The trial of an Ironwood man facing a number of drug and weapons charges began in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday. Donovan Howard Payeur, 32, is facing seven felonies - the delivery of methamphetamine, conspiracy to deliver meth, possessing a weapon as a felon, possessing ammunition as a felon, possession of a controlled substance-Vicodin, possession of a controlled substance-marijuana and felony firearm. Following a morning of jury...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com HURLEY — The Hurley City Council revoked one liquor license and granted another on Tuesday to the same establishment. The Class B combination beer and liquor license for MJ Petro Group, Inc., on Club Sierra, 21 Silver St., Michael Berghorn, president, was revoked. Bill Nordeen, representing city attorney Ray O’Dea, who was attending a jury trial, said the revocation was because the establishment was abandoned for more than 90 days and Petro Group was dissolved in 2014. It, therefore, failed to possess...
By IAN MINIELLY iminielly@yourdailyglobe.com WAKEFIELD - Michigan State Police Trooper Jerry Mazurek visited the Wakefield-Marenisco K-12 school to discuss lesson 3 from the Teaching, Educating, and Mentoring School Liaison Program on Tuesday. The focus of the lesson is personal safety and recognizing danger. "Young teenagers are prone to being victims of crime because young people are reluctant to speak up," said Mazurek. The teenagers are beginning to spread their wings and get more freedom fr...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER - A Hurley woman who had fled the state prior to her initial sentencing hearing was sentenced in Gogebic County Circuit Court Wednesday. Tracy Lynn Gehrke, 44, was sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison on a count of delivering less than 50 grams of heroin. The charges carries a potential maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. She pleaded guilty to the charge on July 1 as part of a plea agreement that stipulated she would be...
By ISABELLE KLEINSCHMIDT news@yourdailyglobe.com WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield City Council reconsidered a previous decision to purchase utility poles Monday, ultimately opting to go with the second-lowest bidder. The council had awarded the purchase of new utility poles to the lowest bidder, Hydrolake Inc. On Monday, City Manager Richard Brackney raised the concern that the poles from Hydrolake were treated with Pentachlorophenol, whereas the next lowest bidder, Bell Lumber & Pole uses CCA....
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com IRONWOOD - The 81-year-old driver of one of the vehicles involved in a Tuesday afternoon accident on Cloverland Drive was pulled from the car unconscious following the crash. Beacon Ambulance and the Ironwood Public Safety Department responded to the accident at the Luxmore Street intersection around 1 p.m. The driver of the van that smashed into the compact car said the Ironwood man had turned right in front of her on Cloverland Drive and she slammed...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com HURLEY — The 2017 city of Hurley budget is nearly identical to 2016 and that’s a good thing for taxpayers. The city council Tuesday approved a $2,324,849 budget for 2017 that is down .37 percent and a tax levy of $885,399, down .15 percent. City clerk Stacy Wiercinski briefly went over key budget items with council members after there were no public comments. She said the city’s debt has dropped slightly and she hopes the opening of the grocery store and a motel on U.S. 51 will help boost the water...
By IAN MINIELLY news@yourdailyglobe.com WAKEFIELD - The Wakefield State Police Post, for the second year in a row, hosted a Harvest Gathering food drive to support local food pantries as part of a statewide effprt. Area youth from the Bessemer Honor Society and Ironwood Reserve Officers Training Corps assisted in packing charitable food donations for St. Vincent's DePaul in Bessemer and Ironwood and the food pantry in Watersmeet. The Wakefield office, in 2015, was recognized with the highest...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER — An Ironwood man, prosecutors said was a major player in the Gogebic Range drug trade, was sentenced to at least eight years in prison in Gogebic County Circuit Court Tuesday in a pair of cases against him. Adam Lee Stone, 36, of Ironwood was sentenced to between eight and 20 years in prison on a charge of delivery/manufacturing of methamphetamine; the most serious of the four felonies Stone pleaded guilty to in September. “After processing these recent drug cases since I took office in...
IRONWOOD — The Michigan State Police’s Wakefield Post will be holding a pair of presentations on the dangers of illegal drugs, such as heroin and carfentanil — providing not only an opportunity to learn about the opiate epidemic that is often in the news but also provide answers to questions people may have. The first presentation is scheduled for Friday, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at the Ontonagon Area High School’s cafeteria. The second is scheduled for Monday, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in rooms T112-113 of the technical building — above the cosme...
HURLEY — The Hurley City Council will consider the budget for 2017 at a special session today at 4 p.m. at city hall. The budgets of the various city departments will be reviewed before the council makes recommendations on a proposed overall budget. The council will also act on approving short-term borrowing for a new truck for the department of public works and to purchase radios for the police department. The meeting will begin with a closed session for bargaining, including a discussion of employee compensation and the police union c...
By JAN TUCKER jantuck@jamadots.com ONTONAGON — Bob Graham, the Ontonagon Area School District’s head mechanic, stressed to the school board Monday the importance of passing the bus millage vote November 8. Graham was replying to a question from board members on the cost of recent expenses for bus repairs. The mechanic said the fleet is plagued with badly rusted undersides on the old fleet and added that inspectors have already failed the 2002 bus, preventing its use. He added the 2006 bus has 176,000 mileage, 2005-190,000; 2004- 200,000 and...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com HURLEY — It’s possible the case of a 52-year-old Hurley woman who is charged with six counts of theft from Iron County may be settled in a month. The attorney for Mary Peterson Tijan, of 112 Germania St., told Iron County Judge Patrick Madden Wednesday that negotiations with special prosecutor Fritz Schellgell are continuing. At a pre-trial hearing, Joseph Rafferty Jr. told Madden, “I assure the court that there’s a cauldron (of activity) bubbling underneath,” referring to the talks. Madden told Raff...
By RALPH ANSAMI ransami@yourdailyglobe.com HURLEY - A 47-year-old Ironwood woman waived her right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial Tuesday morning in Iron County Court on 26 counts of identity theft. Wendy Wuorinen is alleged to have withdrawn around $7,613 from the Iron County Community Credit Union in Kimball from a customer's account without authorization. The withdrawals occurred from November 2014 to December 2015 while she was employed there, according to the criminal...
BESSEMER, Mich. - Don Lee Bennetts, 72, a lifelong resident of Bessemer, passed away unexpectedly early Monday morning, Oct. 3, 2016, at his home. Don was born on July 4, 1944, in Bessemer, a son of Walter and Vivian (Tobin) Bennetts. He attended A.D. Johnston High School and graduated in 1962. Don proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy, aboard the USS Eldorado in the Bay of Tonkin during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged on Aug. 30, 1966, as a Boatswains Mate Third Class Petty O...
By RICHARD JENKINS rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com BESSEMER — A plea agreement was reached in the two cases against a man authorities say is a key figure in the Gogebic Range drug trade which will see him serve at least eight years in prison. In Gogebic County Circuit Court Friday, Adam Lee Stone, 36, of Ironwood, pleaded guilty to a total of four felonies — two in each of the cases against him. Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs said he pushed for the sentence due to Stone’s importance in the area’s illegal drug trade. “After processing these r...
By JAN TUCKER jantuck@jamadots.com ONTONAGON — The Ontonagon County Board Tuesday joined the growing chorus of those objecting to the decision of the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) to cancel the services of the White Pine Electric Plant. In a letter to the governor, the Michigan Agency for Energy and MISO; the board stated it understands MISO plans to replace "this critical generating resource (White Pine) with a 1998 operating protocol called radial reconfiguration that will provide the same level, or assurance, of r...