Silence on the Hit-and-Run and a Vacation in Baghdad

Still no update on the tragic hit-and-run accident in Big Bay a few weeks ago that took the life of Robin Rahoi, the NMU dietician. Her body was found in the snow in the early morning of December 17.

The last we heard from the State Police shortly after the incident was that a suspect vehicle had been recovered. That's it.

I asked Detective Sergeant Paul Campbell if possible suspects had been interrogated. He wouldn't say; they've conducted many interviews.

Is the suspect (or suspects) local? Were there two people in the car? Are authorities trying to determine who was actually driving? Was Ms. Rahoi hit while she was walking on the road after her car broke down? Was she dragged a long distance by the suspect vehicle? These are all reports coming from residents in Big Bay but all are unconfirmed. Detective Sergeant Campbell wouldn't comment.

He did say the case is moving toward resolution, and an arrest or arrests would be made in a reasonable amount of time. What is "reasonable"? He wouldn't say whether that means weeks, months, or longer.
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Some of us go to Florida for vacation. Others go to the Caribbean or Hawaii or Europe.

Or you can be like Bob and Peggy Lorinser who've been attracted to such getaways as Pakistan and South Korea....and up next, Baghdad. They might want to consider looking for a new travel agent.

Actually they're not vacationers.  A couple of years ago, these longtime Marquette residents (he's a doctor, she's been a housewife and mother) decided to take an unconventional turn in their lives. They joined the Foreign Service of the State Department.

Why? A sense of service to the country, and a sense of adventure.

Damn, why do the rest of us suddenly feel so inadequate?

Their adventure continues in April when they leave the garden spot of South Korea (and the madman with the nuclear weapons to the north) for the resort town of Baghdad, which has been seething with conflict and violence for the last decade.

We wish them well at their new post. They make us proud.
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Have you heard about "suspended coffee"?

It's something that was started on the Internet a  while back, the latest iteration of pay-it-forward.

Coffee-buyers give coffee shops extra cash to pay for future customers who may be short on funds and want to come in out of the cold.

Sue Kensington, the owner of Hot Plates, loved the idea and pitched it to Theo McCracken of Dead River Coffee. He loved it. He's now set up a jar for "suspended coffee" cash. Last I checked it was full.

Kensington's pitching it to other merchants, as well.

Marquette's not exactly a magnet for the homeless and indigent in the winter, but McCracken says, yes, he does have customers who are struggling and would love to have a free, steaming cup of coffee.
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An update on WJMN's plans to start a brand new news department in the Upper Peninsula:

The CBS station is now advertising in TVjobs.com for a news director-anchor to launch a news department early this year. Whether that means January, February or May, we don't know.

An executive with the station would only tell me that when they're ready to make that announcement, they'll do so publicly, with full details. Over the last couple of months, they've been talking to current and former TV6 employees about possible employment.

The TVjobs.com ad, by the way, mentions that WJMN's newscasts will run weeknights, in the early evening and late night. In other words, no morning newscasts and no weekends. At least to start.

When WJMN does launch, it'll join a threeway competition with TV6 (NBC) and TV10 (ABC). Marquette is a tiny TV market (180th out of 210) but apparently the guys with extra money in their pockets see enough promise here to make the investment.
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What's wrong with this picture?

Well, it's Teal Lake in Negaunee and the photo was taken on January 8th.

So?

So, there's not a single shanty out there. Apparently even the hardiest of ice fishermen don't find much pleasure outside when the wind chill is minus 15.

They're waiting for the big warm-up this weekend when the mercury soars to...uhh, freezing.

                        You got news? Email me at briancabell@gmail.com

Birthday Party on Ice

I went to a birthday party for a 4-year-old boy last weekend.

In the middle of a frozen lake.

Like so many American fathers, I've been to my share of children's surburban parties at the bowling alley, the ice rink, the roller rink, the movie theater, Chuck E. Cheese, etc.

Sure, they're fun--the kids run around and yell, the overly solicitous parents try to maintain control, the food on paper plates is set out at just the right time to calm the youngsters, everyone gets a party favor, at least one child pitches a fit, the cake (usually chocolate) draws oohs and aahs and then gets spilled on the floor, everybody sings "Happy Birthday", a pile of presents is opened and tossed aside, and then everybody, much to the relief of the host parents, is escorted out the door, usually with one more child pitching a fit.

Yeah, I've been to those.

But this recent party was much different. First, it was 15 degrees outside, with a mild, shifting breeze sweeping across the lake. Second, the centerpiece of the party was a bonfire which the birthday boy and his grandfather had started in the middle of the frozen lake. Grandpa jokingly mentioned that when the fire broke through the ice, then it was time to go home.

It never did break through, and we piled the wood on for three hours.

And during that three hours, the birthday boy rolled around on the snow and ice, made a snowman and snow angels, ate a half of a hot dog which had been roasted over the fire, then ate a cupcake (not a full cake!), and listened to about ten of us sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

Red-cheeked, bundled up, and smiling, he never once complained about the cold.

When the sun finally sank lower in the sky and shadows started falling, he and Grandma boarded a snowmobile and headed back to the house. The bonfire was extinguished.

A final comment from one of those who attended the party: "You know what? We never had any presents!"

You know what? It didn't matter. The birthday boy didn't need any. He had the best birthday party--UP-style--a child could ever wish for.