ccarlson@dailypress.net
Caroline Carlson | Daily Press
The Brass Bell of Distinction is presented to Elmerâs County Market for going above-and-beyond to raise money for the Salvation Army during the 2020 Red Kettle Rundraiser. Shown, from left, are Escanaba Salvation Army Major Alex Norton, Elmerâs Co-owner and Dairy Manager Mike Dagenais, Elmerâs Co-owner and Office Manager Barb Dagenais, Elmerâs Co-owner and Grocery Manager Pat Dagenais, and Escanaba Salvation Army Major Aimee Norton.
ESCANABA Elmer’s County Market was presented with the Brass Bell of Distinction on recently by the Escanaba Salvation Army for exceptional effort in helping to raise money in 2020.
ccarlson@dailypress.net
ESCANABA The Salvation Army’s 2020 Red Kettle fundraiser exceeded its $100,000 goal by almost $10,000, said Major Alex Norton, an officer of the Escanaba Salvation Army since June 2019.
Norton believes the drive, which brought in $109,486.00, was so successful because community members knew how difficult COVID-19 could make raising money. He admitted that attracting donations while implementing an entirely new system to meet pandemic health requirements was expensive.
“The sheer cost of keeping our staff healthy and safe with masks, sanitizer, cleaning solutions etc., was a huge hit to our budget,” said Norton, adding, “I firmly believe people who inquired about our efforts realized this year was going to be expensive.”
Caroline Carlson
Courtesy photo
The 2020 Salvation Army Red Kettle fundraiser was a big success, due to generosity community support.
ESCANABA This year’s Salvation Army Red Kettle fundraiser went well, according to Major Alex Norton, who runs the Escanaba Salvation Army with his wife Aimee.
The charity ran both a physical drive this year, with kettles in front of local stores, and a virtual drive, sending donation envelopes out in issues of the Daily Press.
While Norton said finding volunteer bell ringers during the pandemic was an additional challenge.
“Volunteers were nervous. They would hear announcements on news about the virus and didn’t want to go out,” he said.
iminor@dailypress.net
ESCANABA Like the rest of the world, the coronavirus pandemic dominated the local news in 2020. As 2020 draws to a close, here’s a look at some of the major local news stories of the year.
January
1 Escanaba residents Georgios Sitaras and Jami Hentz welcomed OSF St. Francis Hospital and Medical Group’s first baby of the new year at 7:32 a.m. Nicoletta Elizabeth Sitaras weighed 7 pounds, 1.9 ounces and was 19 inches long. She was the couple’s first baby together.
10 Delta County Sheriff’s Department now has two K-9 units after Deputy Chad Newton and K-9 Officer Sage completed training. Newton and Sage, a female Dutch shepherd, are a certified K-9 unit after weeks of being trained by K-9 Master Trainer Marty Munger of Superior K-9 Training, based in Marquette.
ccarlson@dailypress.net
Caroline Carlson | Daily Press
Like the other Delta County charities, volunteers are the lifeblood of the Escanaba St. Vincent de Paul food pantry. Shown left to right, JoAnne Johnson, Susan Valequette, Pantry Manager Barbara Van Ermen, Cheryl Stenfors and Linda Nord.
ESCANABA The holiday fundraising season has been a mixed bag for Delta County charities and food pantries.
Gale St. Martin, who manages the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Gladstone, said donations of canned goods are down, but monetary donations are up. The pandemic caused the food pantry to cancel the annual Turkey Trot fundraiser and the school canned food drive, and fewer canned food donations coming in means the charity has to buy more for the pantry.