One thing I have learned from the coronavirus pandemic is to never take anything for granted again. Take, for instance, a haircut. I enjoy visiting with Bil
The time to mow my lawn came at an earlier time, too.
I just celebrated another birthday, which seems to have come around in a shorter time from my last birthday. My “little” granddaughter, stuck in my mind as a 7-year-old cutie dressed in a fairy costume, told me she just put her deposit in for her freshman year of college.
Neighbor Mark, while sitting on his patio enjoying an adult beverage, looked up at the trees with the ready-to-open buds and said, “We’ll be raking leaves before you know it.”
“Slow down, Neighbor Mark! We haven’t even enjoyed the shade those leaves will give us on the hot summer days,” I pleaded.
Apr 15, 2021
Courtesy Photo
Pictured from left to right are Martin Thomson, FFNM Legacy Foundation Board chairman, and Ron Hayes, Sunrise Community Food Pantry Board co-coordinator.
ALPENA First Federal of Northern Michigan Legacy Foundation recently presented a $1,000 check to Sunrise Community Food Pantry as one of their first quarter grant recipients. The $1,000 will be used to replenish the food pantry’s food inventory so that they can continue to provide for families in need.
Sunrise Community Food Pantry operates out of Hubbard Lake Bible Church. They distribute food to families in Alpena, Alcona, and Montmorency counties with household income below government established poverty thresholds. From October 2020 to December 2020, they provided food to an average of 93 families and 192 individuals. Their food distributions are held on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month.
jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News File Photo
Bradley Avery, bottom, appears virtually in the 26th Circuit Court in March in this News file photo.
ALPENA Increasing COVID-19 numbers nixed two trials scheduled to begin Wednesday in Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court.
As of Tuesday, defendants and attorneys were ready to proceed with jury trials for Teresa Kortman, facing a pair of drug charges, and Shane Velasquez, accused of assault, carrying a concealed weapon, and resisting a police officer.
Judge Ed Black offered apologies to both defendants as he said their trials would have to wait. Alpena County’s positive COVID-19 test rate was over that recommended by the State Court Administrative Office as a cutoff for conducting in-person court.
ALPENA Despite a nationwide housing shortage and a flurry of people moving Up North, buying a house in Northeast Michigan isn’t impossible, new Alpena res