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Letters to the Editor

Millage an investment in students

On Tuesday, Dickinson County voters will have the opportunity to renew the Bay College Iron Mountain Campus millage — a renewal, not a new tax — that has supported local students, families and businesses for nearly 20 years. Bay College is more than a campus; it’s an economic engine and a lifeline for affordable, local education. Since 1977, more than 8,300 students have taken classes at the Iron Mountain campus, with 1,879 graduates earning degrees that have fueled our workforce. More than 81% of students come from right here in Dickinson County. Without Bay College, many of our ...

The ongoing assault on education in US

Why is there this continuous assault on education? It is being applied at all levels, with President Donald Trump attacking Harvard and Columbia universities, Congress clawing back money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and our own Dickinson Country Board defunding the MSU Extension system. And now there is this push to end funding for Bay College Iron Mountain campus. Having an educated population is central to having a well-running economy and for creating wealth in a community. You will find more blight and poverty in communities that are less educated. Those of the past ...

Chamber supports Bay millage renewal

The Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce proudly supports the renewal of the 0.9987-mill property tax for Bay College’s Iron Mountain Campus, which will appear on Tuesday's ballot. This is not a new tax, but the continuation of vital funding that has sustained our local campus since 2007 and will allow it to remain a cornerstone of education, workforce development, and economic growth in Dickinson County through 2046. Bay College’s Iron Mountain Campus has been a critical driver of opportunity in our community: — More than 8,300 students served, including 1,900 graduates and more ...

Need show of support for 4-H program

Does anyone else feel like our federal and local governments are run by emotional, adolescent, white cis gender boys? If you have raised a boy or spent years in the classroom with that age, you know they exhibit the following traits: a feeling of indestructability, underdeveloped critical thinking skills, no cause or effect reasoning and a sense that they are always right. Each day our news feed is full of the cruelty that our current administration has for: children, the undocumented, women, LGBTQIA, health care, the poor, the disabled, education and freedom of speech. It seems that ...

A service dog is a working animal

You've seen me. I'm the lady in a power wheelchair with a yellow Labrador at her side. He's a service dog (extraordinaire), and I’m his imperfect handler. In my life, I have many roles — mom, friend, attorney, and volunteer. My dog, on the other hand, has one job: To pay attention to me. When he are I are indoors in public, he's always on leash. I know you love animals and that dogs love you, but I ask for your understanding that he's working, now, and please try not to distract him. Yes, he'd rather have his head rubbed and his nose scratched, but I need him to listen to ...

Supports renewal of Bay IM millage

EDITOR: Thank you, Dickinson County residents. Twenty years ago, my parents, Ted and Eleanor Fornetti, donated family land in the hope that Bay College could have an Iron Mountain campus. Thanks to you, a millage was passed supporting the need to have access to affordable education and the Bay campus opened in 2007. Due to your actions, there have been numerous enhancements to the community. Examples of these are skilled training provided for local businesses and dual enrollment for high school students, enabling them to attain college credits. For our seniors, rehab and elder health ...