SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – A warm-up in the weather is coming just in time to make conditions more comfortable for running when community members lace up their shoes on Saturday, May 5, for the Run for Hospice 5K Run/Walk.

The War Memorial Nurses Association and Michigan Nurses Association are sponsoring this Hospice of the EUP benefit, which begins at 9 a.m. at the site of Hospice House on the corner of West 12th Avenue and Ryan Street. Registration is from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and the race starts promptly at 9 a.m. Parking is available nearby at Dr. Peter Ranta’s office across the street at 309 W. 12th Ave.

Runners, walkers, people pushing baby strollers and even those walking dogs will be welcome at the race. All proceeds raised will be donated to Hospice House, a $900,000 five-bed facility that is scheduled to be completed in July 2012. It is a home-environment style house that will be used by Hospice to provide end-of-life care for residents of Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac counties. McGahey Construction of Sault Ste. Marie is contracting the project. Hospice still needs to raise approximately $387,000 before the facility opens.

“We had 133 runners registered on the last day of the early registration period,” said Charlotte Folkersma, a WMH nurse who is directing the race. “I’m happy with the support we are receiving and look forward to race day. We welcome more runners!”

Folkersma said the 5K course for the event begins and ends at the Hospice House site, following a one-loop flat course that tours around the Sault Ste. Marie Municipal Airport, residential homes, the I-500 entrance, ball fields, and back to Hospice House. There will be two chutes: one for runners, the other for the walkers. Strollers and dogs are allowed.

For the race awards, the overall fastest man, fastest woman and top walker will receive plaques. Medals will be awarded for top male and top female runners in specified age groups: 12-under, 13-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-plus.

T-shirts are guaranteed for the first 100 persons who are registered. An awards ceremony will be held shortly after the race. Gatorade and water will be available. Entry fees are $25 for adults and $10 for children 12-under.

For more information, contact Folkersma at 906-748-1281 or cgfolkersma@lssu.edu. You may also find information on Facebook at “5K Run/Walk for Hospice” and “Hospice of the E.U.P.”

EDC news release…

Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. (April 30, 2012) – Through the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp., grants are available for youth to start a summer business. Funded by the Province of Ontario, Summer Company provides up to $3,000 for students to enter the self-employment field.

The deadline to sign up for the program is May 7. To register, visit www.summercompany.ca.

Summer Company is administered in the region by Business Sault Ste. Marie, a division of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corp. Its staff provides mentoring, business plan review and other start-up support.

“Not only can Summer Company help students find seasonal employment, it also allows them to try their hand at entrepreneurship,” said Zoltan Virag, youth development co-ordinator for Business Sault Ste. Marie. “Best of all, it’s done in an environment that fosters very little risk for participants.”

Individuals can be as creative as they want when selecting a type of business to run. In past years, companies included everything from auto detailing and pet grooming, to computer maintenance and ice cream huts. Once the season was over, some have even turned into full-time, year-round operations.

“The goal of the program is to get people involved with entrepreneurship at an early age so they are better prepared for future success in business,” said Dave Murphy, executive director of Business Sault Ste. Marie. “Youth entrepreneurship development is a key priority for our organization, and Summer Company is a fundamental program that allows us to teach youth the ins and outs of entrepreneurship.”

Summer Company is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation. For more information, or to apply for the program, visit www.summercompany.ca, or contact Zoltan Virag at 705-541-7329 or z.virag@ssmedc.ca.

City Police news release…

The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service attended at the Roberta Bondar Park Tent Pavilion on Foster Drive this morning with regards to a mischief complaint. During the past weekend the tent was heavily vandalized. A top portion of the tent was cut with a sharp object. There was also some graffiti to the concrete steps area.

If anyone has any information regarding this crime, please contact the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service at 705-949-6300 or call Crime Stoppers at 705-942-7867 or 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), submit an e-tip from the Crime Stoppers website at www.saultcrimestoppers.com or text keyword SSM with your tip to 274637.

Sault PUC is continuing with their annual testing of some 2300 hydrants across town – involving a complete physical check and the discharge of water. It could lead to some discolouration of water to households due to stirring up deposits of scale and sediment within the pipes. PUC insists its not a health issue and simply flushing your home COLD water system for about 5 minutes should get rid of any problems. PUC officials will be updating City Council on the state of the local water system at their next meeting. In the meantime the Eastend Water Treatment plant is going through an upgrade this Spring – changing out the main filter after five years – and at a cost of about $2 million … and meaning odour problems in the area will be more pronounced.

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The annual Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run takes place this morning – forming around 10 at WalMart … making it’s way down Great Northern Road … to Romes … so you can expect some traffic slowdowns this morning.

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Sault OPP pulled over a transport that was passing a vehicle at an excessive rate of speed, down Mile Hill Saturday afternoon … and found the driver to have been drinking. A 65 year old Elora man was arrested on drunk driving charges. The rig was carrying about 20,000 pounds of mail.

Also on patrol Saturday night, OPP pulled over an erratic driver on Highway 550 in Prince Township and found the driver – a 50 year old Sault Ste Marie male – to be impaired.

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City Police arrested a 17 year old boy early yesterday morning in the act of breaking in to a home on Cathcart Street.

33 year old Peter Miller of James Street was arrested early this morning for a breach of probation – drinking- when police were called regarding a disturbance on James Street.

26 year old Shaun Wilson of Crawford Avenue was charged with causing a disturbance on Goulais Avenue early Saturday evening.

Police are investigating a recent breakin to a home on Rushmere Drive – that was ransacked. A vehicle was broken into on Foster Drive and a wallet stolen. A set of tires and rims was stolen on Wallace Terrace. There were more reports of vehicles being vandalized and in one case licence plates stolen.

61 year old Bonnie Coull of Tancred Street was charged with stealing from a Station Mall store. A 14 year old boy was also charged with stealing from the same store. While a 25 year old Toronto male was charged with shoplifting at WalMart.

Police were called to the Bridge Plaza Saturday afternoon regarding 66 year old male who was found to be driving while drunk.

And a 29 year old male was arrested on domestic charges.

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Beth Orlando (far left) and Lisa Desjardins (near left) discuss the benefits of digital learning in the classroom to trustees during the April 25th meeting of the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board.

Students and teachers will have to work together and with one another to learn in the future. That was the message during a presentation at last Wednesday’s Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board meeting. Presenter Lisa Desjardins is a Grade 5 and 6 teacher at St. Mark’s School — she says those variables will add to Ministry of Education efforts made over the last few years to improve literacy and numeracy. She also talked about the works of teacher and consultant Ian Jukes and how his methods match today’s technology with catholic values. Jukes is the creator of the 21st Century Fluency Project. It allows students to understand five specific areas of learning today: creativity, innovation, information, media and solutions. A question was raised about the presence of the human element with the advent and frequency of technology use. That’s where collaboration between students and teachers and one another comes in — a variable that will be instrumental in enhancing the future learning experience. One area where the board is encouraging 21st century learning is in the construction of Holy Cross Elementary School. When completed, three or four classrooms there will open to a common area that will allow for various instruction and more collaboration between students and teachers. You can learn more about this idea by visiting www.fluency21.com.

Sault Police have arrested a 29 year old Panoramic Drive man with one count each of break and enter and breach of probation. He is scheduled to appear in WASH court this morning. According to City Police, the man was found by an employee in the office area after the business had closed and had violated his probation order to keep the peace and be of good behaviour. A 41 year old Goulais Avenue man was arrested by police at Station Mall with three counts of theft. It’s alleged that the accused attended three stores at the mall and stole several items — he’s scheduled to appear in court June 25th.

550 graduates will take part in this year’s commencement ceremony at Lake Superior State University, beginning at 11am Saturday morning in the Norris Center’s Taffy Abel Arena. Sault Michigan native and Lake State alumnus Dr. Stuart D. Flynn will be giving the commencement address to this year’s graduating class. Flynn attended high school in Sault Michigan and Lake State, and is now the dean of the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Phoenix.