Jobs on Bridge, Island Filmed for Discovery Channel Show



Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel television series “Dirty Jobs,” spent four days in the Upper Peninsula last week, tackling the challenging maintenance work of the Mackinac Bridge and driving a horse-drawn slop wagon, considered by some the dirtiest job on Mackinac Island. Area residents and businesses welcomed the television crew with unparalleled hospitality, said show producer Dave Barsky. […]

Brevort Twp. Firemen Get New Tanker Truck



Members of the Brevort Township Fire Department assembled Thursday, May 24, to celebrate the purchase of their first new tanker truck in roughly 15 years. The engine on the department’s old, makeshift tanker cracked on a run to East Lake about a month ago, leading the township to call invoke the St. Ignace Fire Department’s mutual aid agreement. St. Ignace […]

Drag Strip Is Denied



A controversial plan to build a drag strip in Garfield Township was turned down by the township’s planning commission at a meeting Monday, May 14. The main problem was the ecology of the site, which includes wetlands, said Planning Commission Chairman Stephen King, who added that he hopes Thomas and Sharon Ledford of Kaleva, the potential developers, will find a […]

Townships Consolidation Bill Withdrawn

Would Have Given Duties to Counties

A bill that would have given counties responsibility for services now provided by townships, such as collecting taxes and assessing property, has been withdrawn by its sponsor before it could be discussed at a scheduled hearing Friday, May 25, by the House Intergovernmental, Urban, and Regional Affairs Committee. It was conceived as a cost-cutting measure. State Representative Gary Mc- Dowell […]

Road Commission Upholds Choice To Cut Crew Leaders



The Mackinac County Road Commission, meeting Monday, May 14, upheld an earlier decision to eliminate two crew leader positions, and maintained it did not violate its contract with employees. All three commissioners voted May 14 to affirm their April 3 actions. The decision reduced the pay of two employees, Bonnie Tallman, who was crew leader of the East District Garage, […]

Remembering the Fallen



The empty helmet, rifle, dog tags, and boots symbolize those who have given their lives in service to the country. Mackinac Island Mayor Margaret Doud addresses a Memorial Day observance crowd in Veterans Memorial Park on the Island Monday, May 28. Also pictured (from left) are Armand “Smi” Horn and Ben Horn. More Memorial Day photographs, page 16

Local Businesses Rated Best in State by Readers

The Detroit News Polls 105,000 for Top Picks

Local businesses are among those named best in the state by readers of The Detroit News. Results of the newspaper’s “Michigan’s Best 2007” readership poll, to which 105,000 people responded by mail, were announced Wednesday, May 23. The newspaper calls the multi-category list “a compilation of readers’ recommendations for the best the state has to offer.” St. Ignace The Mackinac […]

Welcome Center Contest Offers Bridge Tower Tour



Area visitors and residents can register to win a Mackinac Bridge tower tour this summer and fall. The contest is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Mackinac Bridge and is sponsored by the St. Ignace Welcome Center, St. Ignace Area Visitors Bureau, and the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce. The winner and a guest will get a rare […]

Peters’ Bridge Book To Benefit Mackinaw Area Historical Society



Mary Lou Peters of Mackinaw City has published “Mackinaw Loves Its Bridge,” 17 stories of the construction of the Mackinac Bridge as told by Mackinaw City residents. The publication marks the 50th anniversary of the bridge’s construction. In addition to 17 personal stories, the book contains photographs of the storytellers along with historical photographs of construction of the bridge. “Mackinaw […]

77% Headed to University, 23% to Military or Work Force in LaSalle Class of 2007

Commencement Exercises Held May 25

Acharged air of excitement pervaded the LaSalle High School commencement ceremony Friday, May 25, when 61 seniors dressed in finery passed down an aisle of decorated archways, created for them by junior members of the National Honor Society. Admired by their peers, family members, teachers, mentors, and friends, the seniors took the stage, one by one, and were graduated. In […]