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News Photo by Julie Riddle
Alpena County Emergency Services Coordinator Mark Hall walks through the Emergency Operations Center at the Alpena County Central Dispatch building in March.
ALPENA Residents in Alpena County rely on 911 and its dispatchers to facilitate emergency operations and response.
On May 4, voters in the county will decide whether or not to renew a surcharge on telephones for the next five years during a special election.
The surcharge can not go over $3 and is automatically included on people’s phone bills.
The proceeds are used to pay for 911 operations. It is expected the surcharge will continue to bring in between $900,000 to $1 million a year.
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News File Photo
Rogers City resident Riconda Lamb is given a bandage from nurse Ann Lorenzi after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination at a clinic at the Alpena Mall in January.
ALPENA A crowd formed early at a Monday vaccination clinic at the Alpena Mall, where about 300 people had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination by noon, according to health officials.
The vaccine requires two doses to be fully effective. It is currently open to health care workers, first responders, teachers and other child care workers, and those 65 and older.
In the first hour of Monday’s appointment-only clinic, a line of people waiting for shots snaked through the hallway and out the door of the mall, according to Matt Radocy, emergency preparedness coordinator for District Health Department No. 4.