jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Dwarfed by his product, syrup farmer Gary Shepherd stands next to a vat of 5,000 gallons of pure maple sap at Bonz Beach Farms near Onaway recently.
ONAWAY Northern Michigan trees offer a rich bounty to those willing to tap into their potential.
To Up North maple farmers like Gary Shepherd, March means a mad, syrup-making scramble before spring fully arrives and the sap stops flowing.
Inspecting what he calls his favorite tree on a recent, chilly March morning, Shepherd pointed to small scars where the tree was tapped in recent years.
In a decade, the scars will be gone, but the tree will remain one of hundreds of thousands of maple trees that dot northern Michigan woods, proffering their amber riches to breakfast plates in Michigan and across the country.
jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
The tip of a house on West Lake Avenue shows damage from a fire that destroyed the home in December 2018.
ALPENA A home left standing more than two years after a fire on Alpena’s north side is not a safety hazard, according to city officials.
The two-story home on West Lake Street burned the day after Christmas, 2018, when the upper story caught fire in the early hours of the morning.
All residents and pets escaped unharmed.
The home, though badly damaged, is structurally sound, and the city has allowed the homeowner time to be in a position to have it demolished, according to Alpena Mayor Matt Waligora.
sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
The gazebo at Westminster Park in Rogers City badly needs extensive repairs. The City of Rogers City, along with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, may utilize a Patronicity crowdfunding effort to raise the $21,000 or so needed for the needed fixes.
ROGERS CITY–The City of Rogers City has begun the process of trying to acquire grant funding that may lead to improvements at Lakeside Park and Westminster Park.
The city’s Park and Recreation Commission supported City Manager Joe Hefele’s request to submit grant applications to the State of Michigan, which, if approved, would lead to restroom improvements at the lakefront pavilion and updated playground equipment at the beach.
Police officers aren’t mental health counselors.
Still, they are daily asked to intervene in mental health crises, which could mean anything from violent outbursts to alien-conspiracy-theory mania crises for which police get only limited training, Alpena County Sheriff Steven Kieliszewski said.
If a crime has been committed, officers can choose to make an arrest or take someone to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Other times, though, the person in crisis isn’t altered enough to go to the hospital, doesn’t qualify for services through Community Mental Health, and hasn’t committed a crime.
Police are left with no options but to calm the situation and then leave, frustrated they have little more to offer, Kieliszewski said.