State reimburses Wakefield Township

By IAN MINIELLY iminielly@yourdailyglobe.com WAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP — Wakefield Township, in partnership with the city of Wakefield, spent $1,700 more than it received in a grant to dispose of old tires in the township and city during spring clean-up. The township and city figured they were going to have to eat the cost over-run, but according to John Cox, township supervisor, the state and Department of Environmental Quality, at the urging of Sen. Tom Casperson, decided to reimburse the $1,700 overage. Cox said Highland Copper did a good job cleaning up the area of the township that was damaged by the bore hole drilling with the early thaw and is on progress to begin construction of mining buildings next summer. Highland Copper is maintaining an office in Wakefield, which is good news, according to Cox. Cox offered high praise for Dalbeck Logging and the improvements they have made. According to Cox, Dalbeck is adding a new scale and a new building, while also purchasing an old dilapidated building on an adjacent property to be used for further expansion. The township’s temporary worker cleaned out the fire pond in the industrial park, making the park more safe. Cox said the township has been making good use of the $25,000 worth of gravel the county road commission provided. Old M-28 and Willing Road have both been graveled and the next road for surfacing, according to Cox, is Jack Spur, which will use up the rest of the gravel. Cox said the board discovered Cal Kangas, a member of the North Country Trail Association, has been working at clearing brush off a stretch of trail from North 519 to the Black River. The township was pleased to hear this, as they had not been able to get to the trail and it has been closed for sometime due to the growth of brush. Cox said Tim Makin was appointed by the board to the open Gogebic Range Water Authority position and the end of year fund balance has grown by $18,000 to $547,093. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 5 at 5:30 p.m.