This weekend, the focus should be on all the mothers out there.
And well it should, for they are a special breed whose love never seems to be in short supply to their children.
For many, it will be a special and happy time. For others, it might be a weekend with sadness mixed in, as well.
This will be the first Mother’s Day for me without a mother to call and wish her a special day. I believe it is going to be strange come Sunday without making that call.
It also is going to be a time of reflection and remembrance for me this weekend not only about my own mother, but also about two other women the epitome of wonderful ladies who passed away this past week.
Apr 6, 2021
Loretta Anne Beyer got to meet her Savior face to face for the first time on the morning of March 27, 2021. She was 64.
Loretta was born as a missionary child in Zimbabwe, Africa, where her parents, the late George and Patricia (Howe) Dee ministered to the African people for over 40 years. After completing her K-12 schooling in boarding schools she came to the United States to study music at Houghton College in New York. Afterward she spent time in her parents’ home state of Michigan where she met and married Daryl, her husband of 41 years. They have two children, Krystal (Jud) Collins and Brad Beyer – who both live in southern lower Michigan – three grandchildren Jaelyn, Pierson, and Elysia. She is also survived by sister, Carolyn (Chris) Holland, sister-in-law, Susan Dee. Loretta was preceded in death by her brother, Jonathan Dee.
jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Norm Apsey, warehouse manager for the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency, food program, loads food into a car’s trunk while Derek Stoinski, warehouse specialist packer, adds an item to a box of food at a senior food distribution at Word of Life Baptist Church in Alpena on Tuesday.
ALPENA At 9 o’clock Tuesday morning, 50 cars snaked around the parking lot of Word of Life Baptist Church in Alpena.
There used to be more, said Tammy Dean, food coordinator for the Northeast Michigan Community Service Agency, who on Tuesday was checking off names in a three-ring binder at a NEMCSA senior food distribution.
jriddle@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
As traffic speeds past, South 11th Avenue resident Debbie Ludwiczak shares concerns about the increased traffic on her street after repairs to the Bagley Street bridge closed that road on Monday.
ALPENA For residents on several of Alpena’s residential streets, Monday was the first day of what promises to be nearly a year of busy traffic passing by their front windows.
A major renovation project on the Bagley Street bridge over Thunder Bay River began Monday, closing that road between Word of Life Baptist Church, north of the bridge, and the Arthur E. Sytek Roadside Park, just to its south.
Alpena News editorial
Beginning Feb. 1, the Bagley Street Bridge will be closed for most of the rest of the year for a $10.3 million renovation project.
The bridge “was built for the needs of” the 1970s, when it was first erected, Alpena County Road Commission Managing Director Ryan Brege said. “Where we stand with it now, with Bagley Street being so important, it needs serious maintenance. We are essentially doubling the width of the bridge, and it will be more user-friendly for motorists and pedestrians.”
The project will force a large detour for motorists around Bagley, which will be closed from the Road Commission driveway, just north of the Wolverine State Credit Union, north to the Word of Life Baptist Church. Access to Burkholder Drive will be maintained.