Out of every tragedy comes something positive, and I’m learning this first hand at a young age. I found out who Paige Anderson was and I made a decision, a decision to lead a group of students to raise funds for Paige. This money would go toward her medical bills as her family was struggling financially due to her step dad’s lay off from work.

Inattentive driving can lead to serious tragedies, and that’s what happened to three teenage girls on October 10, 2009. Emmy Foss, 18, of Bovey was a passenger in a car that was driven by 18-year-old Hailey Salo of Grand Rapids. Also in the car was Paige Anderson, 16, of Bovey.

The Virginia Community Foundation was started in 1990 as a fund of the Northland Foundation. In 1997 the foundation really got a jump with the donation of $1,000,000 from the estates of Wesley & Hartley Koski. In 2001 the Foundation became a 501c (3) and independent from the Northland Foundation.

The Virginia Community Foundation is an endowed fund. This means that all of the money donated to the fund is invested in securities and other investments. The only grants given out are from the interest on these investments. Continuing contributions to the endowed fund will add to its growth and enable the Foundation to give back to the community for years to come. The Virginia Community Foundation’s Executive Director is Linda Niskanen, and the board is currently made up of 13 volunteers.

The Foundation also manages five endowed named funds. They are the Blue Pride Fund, the Virginia Educational Fund, the Virginia Public Library Fund, the Mesabi Range Youth for Christ Fund, and a Fund for the Arts.

Whether it be learning ways to save the planet in your everyday life or getting useful tips to protect yourself against cyber bullying, the 2010 Make A Difference Conference had a variety of useful information to present to the area youth.

Over 500 students from 15 high schools across the Iron Range attended the conference, which is the largest youth conference in Northern Minnesota, held on February 17 at Fortune Bay Resort on Lake Vermillion.

Last month a group of Ely High school seniors and chaperones were able to experience the trip of a lifetime. The coach bus pulled out of the high school parking lot Wednesday at midnight and returned on Tuesday at three in the morning. The five days they spent in our Nation’s Capitol, Washington D.C., were filled with educational activities.

The students were welcomed in D.C. by the blooming cherry blossoms and a visit to Capitol Hill. Minnesota’s Senators Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar answered some student’s political questions on the steps of the Capitol building. During Al Franken’s discussion, Joe Biden’s motorcade drove underneath the stairs where the Ely seniors sat. Having the Vice President of the United States and our State Senators so close was a shock to many students, and they sat in awe. The group was then escorted on a unique tour of the Capitol building and was able to listen to discussions in The House of Representatives and the Senate. The Health Care Bill was passed during the students’ tour of the Capitol Building! The first day was an eye-opening experience for all.

Dr. Seuss created many children’s books throughout his prestigious career as an author and illustrator, and recently, a variety of his works have been combined to form the musical “Seuessical.” In early March, members of the communities surrounding Ely had the pleasure of seeing the junior version at the Washington Auditorium in Ely.

The cast had been rehearsing for months, and they had worked very hard. On their opening night they dazzled their audience with colorful costumes, vocals, and dance routines. Now before you tell your self, “ Oh boy, not another sub-par performance by some school in the middle of nowhere,” I must tell you that this wasn’t a community production, or even a high school production. This production was put on by a cast of fifth and sixth graders.