Visas Snapped Up, Employers Must Scramble for Workers
Straits Businesses Left Out as Other Resort Areas Get Permits
By Karen Gould
      Last week, the cap was reached on the number of H2B visas that will be issued to temporary workers coming to the U.S. from Mexico, Jamaica, and other countries. The early cutoff has left area businesses scrambling to find workers for the upcoming tourist season.
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Presidential Primary, Portage Millage on Ballot Tuesday
Voters Will Go To Polls January 15
By Paul Gingras
      The first chance for Mackinac County residents to help determine the next president of the United States is at the Michigan presidential primary Tuesday, January 15. Polling stations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in all townships, the City of St. Ignace, and the City of Mackinac Island.
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Site Condo Eyed Near Golf Course
Moran Township
By Paul Gingras
      A land survey and soil borings are underway on an undeveloped, 25-acre parcel near the St. Ignace Golf Course for McNamara Heights, a proposed 13-unit site condominium between Mackinac Heights Road and Densmore Drive-in Moran Township.
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With School Bells Ringing, Classes Resume
     Thursday, January 3, students at St. Ignace Area Schools head home after completing their first school day of the new year. Pictured are (front) Spencer Davis; (back, in hat) Michaela North, (facing camera) Isabella Singleton, and Mary Rogers.
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Project Hope Buys Building, Begins Renovation Efforts
Thrift Store Remains Open as Work Goes On
By Karen Gould
      Last month, St. Ignace Area Hope purchased the Ferry Lane building that houses the Hope Chest Resale Shop and St. Ignace Food Pantry. Now, the nonprofit charity, a collaborative effort by area churches, has begun a fundraising campaign to renovate the early-1970s building.
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Plans Would Detour Funding Roadblocks
Lawmakers Seek Ways To Tap Into Millions for Mackinac Bridge
By Karen Gould
      A second idea has now been proposed to transfer millions of dollars to the Mackinac Bridge Authority for maintenance of the bridge, a move that Straits area residents and lawmakers say would help pay for bridge projects and keep tolls down. While legislation introduced by Senator Jason Allen to earmark $5.
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Clark Twp. Board May Step Up Ordinance Enforcement
By Amy Polk
      A new Clark Township ordinance may allow stricter penalties and more effective local enforcement of zoning and township ordinances. A hearing on the ordinance will be at the Clark Township Board of Trustees Thursday, January 17 regular meeting, and trustees hope to adopt the new law at that time.
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Pendry Boathouse Approved by Les Cheneaux Planning Commission
By Amy Polk
      The Clark Township Planning Commission approved a special land use allowing Ken Pendry, Jr. to build a non-conforming boathouse December 11, and debated new rules to be adopted about sign use in a workshop December 18. Garage sale signs, portable signs, and signs for special events are among items of concern.
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Brevort Township Refuses Bond Company Settlement
By Paul Gingras
      The Brevort Township Board of Trustees unanimously voted to refuse an $8,000 settlement offer by Frontier Insurance Company of New York at its Wednesday, January 2, meeting. The company was hired to insure the township's sewer project in 1999, but was seized in 2001 by the New York State Insurance Department after suffering heavy losses.
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Missing Fishermen Found Safe
      Two fishermen who had been reported missing while ice fishing on Munuscong Lake were found by the United States Coast Guard at approximately 8 a.m. Saturday, December 29. Both men were found in good health. Stephen Bielat, 17, of St. Ignace, and Randy Lee, 24, of Wyoming, Michigan, had been last heard from by family members at 5 p.m. Friday, December 28.
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