A Northern hawk owl looks on. (Scot Stewart photo)
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” Alan Watts
A new year stands ready to bring new changes. Ironically the changes most look forward to are the ones bringing back the ways of old, the routines of the past. 2021 is all about undoing the changes of the past year! It has been a strange, horrible year in so many ways, but there have been some opportunities to learn from all that has happened and take away some interesting lessons.
David Richard Ball.
ROCKPORT David Richard Ball, 66, passed peacefully into heaven at his home on Sunday, December 20, 2020 from metastatic melanoma.
Born March 12, 1954 in New Milford, Connecticut to Richard L. and Beatrice (Mosher) Ball, he spent his childhood in Rockland and Harpswell before his family moved to Camden in 1967.
Over the years David worked as a scallop fisherman, building contractor, a certified building inspector with NACHI certification (National Association Certified Home Inspector), and a master oil service technician with
Dead River Co.
He had fond memories scalloping aboard the F/V Pocahontas out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. David made lifelong friendships with the crew on the
Photo(s) by Noah Jurik courtesy of GTRLC
2020 was a big year for land conservation in Northern Michigan fragile wildlife habitats were preserved, forests were fortified and trails were blazed. We touched base with five regional conservancies to hear about their accomplishments and to see what’s in store for 2021.
Note: Acreage numbers were collected in November 2020, prior to publication, and may have increased since then.
Acres Protected in 2020: As of November, Leelanau Conservancy had protected 888 acres, with another 89 expected by year-end. That adds up to a total of more than 15,000 acres since the conservancy’s inception in 1988.
Goals for 2021: “Our 2021 goals are to focus on farmland protection, in addition to protecting forests and wildlife habitat. We’re also looking forward to working on our goal to establish up to 40 miles of recreational trails for public enjoyment at our 1,000-acre Palmer Woods Forest Reserve after having completed the fundraising for purc
Tell us about one of the first pieces you wrote.
The first story I ever wrote was a near-total plagiarism of “Popcorn” by Frank Asch. If I remember correctly, my only ‘original’ contributions were the title “Pippi Poppi Popcorn” and the fact that the protagonist was a little girl instead of a bear in a racist Halloween costume (yikes).
What writer(s) or works have influenced the way you write now?
There are way too many to name here, of course. Like a lot of writers, I feel like I learn something from/am influenced by nearly every piece of art I interact with. While I was working on my most recent book,
rspitza@miningjournal.net
SANDS TOWNSHIP The Superior Solar Project, a 1,500-acre solar farm proposed for Sands Township, is up for a vote on Tuesday night by the Sands Township Planning Commission.
Savion LLC, of Kansas City, Missouri, is spearheading the project, which would be located on Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. property southwest of Marquette County Road 480 and M-553.
The solar farm would produce 149.7 megawatts of power, serving the Midcontinent Independent System Operator power grid into the Dead River-Arnold 345 kilovolt line.
The project was first introduced to the public in early October. Since hosting an initial open house at the Sands Township Hall pavilion, Savion officials have spent the last two months gathering public input through virtual forums, petitions and conversations with various community stakeholders. “One of the main things we’ve been doing is soliciting community feedback,” said Courtney Timmons, development director for Savion. “The project h