UPbeat News

12/7 - The Stephenson Board of Education, at a special meeting, voted 4 to 3 to expel Brittany A. Hoeffler for the remainder of the l999-00 school year for her involvement in a bomb threat received at the school on November l0.

12/6 - Amy Brown was listed on the program as an alto in the Stephenson High School Choir that performed a concert of Christmas music with the Menominee County Community Choir tonight. Amy Brown was not there. She was at a special meeting of the school board. Just as the high school choir began singing Amy was being informed of the board's decision to expel her for the rest of the school year for her part in the recent bomb threats at the school.

12/4 - Keeping up with Santa these days is not easy. There used to be five or six favorite stories parents and kids read aloud to each other at Christmastime. Things have changed. Now, in a 'politically correct' version of The Night Before Christmas I don't jump from my bed to see what's the matter, I leap from my futon and fall on the floor. Santa isn't a jolly old elf with a little round belly. He's a carcinogenic and overweight louse, who invaded our house. Allison Shepherd from the Menominee High School Forensic Team presented that version to a group of adults and children at the Spies Public Library Open House in Menominee on Saturday. Misty Joslin and Gina Bjorkman read comparatively 'normal' stuff. Genn Powell and Joe Poquette teamed up for a story about a boy who got to ride with Santa, with Joe playing the part of the boy, his father, his mother (not very convincingly on that one!), and Santa. Tia Whitely almost had to learn a new language to make it through her choice of Cajun Night Before Christmas. She had lines like "Cuz dere on de by-you w'en I stretch my neck stiff, Der'es eight alligator, a pullin' de shiff."

There was a break for an hour of traditional Christmas music by Judy Gignac on the piano on the main floor of the library. A time to forget about shopping madness and relax while enjoying recognizable songs in familiar arrangements. Then the Mad Hatters from Menominee Middle School entertained with more holiday stories. Allyson Bradley and Kim Cadieu took us on a tour with Santa in a warmer climate. There he arrived in a Mercedes Benz instead of a sleigh. When he's ready to leave he calls out "Merry Christmas y'all, I wish I could stay." At least he still always brings gifts for the children. He's just finding more creative and entertaining ways to go about doing his job as he gets older.

12/4 - A stop by the St. Vincent de Paul Distribution Center in Stephenson is always interesting. It's a place for recycling useable things. There are no prices but donations can be dropped in a box on the counter. Most visitors are good about taking only what they can use and bringing in things they no longer need. Besides the usual clothes, dishes and knick-knacks there are always assorted books and magazines. A ten-volume set of the Book of Popular Science from l965 reads like ancient history to today's kids, but makes parents realize how quickly things change. About a dozen "Make It Yourself" magazines give patterns for crafts and needlework and projects like how to make a simple hammock for kids. Some "Today's Christian Woman" magazines have articles like "Put An End To Procrastination" - so don't put off stopping by. They're open from 9 to noon on Saturdays and 9 am to 6 pm on Wednesdays in the basement of the CCD Center building by the Catholic Church.