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We open with a somber note, bidding a final farewell to fellow “golf-nut” Gus Cheeney. Gus was partnered with Adair Thompson in the Friday night league and according to Adair never once lost his happy, friendly, demeanor - not even if she made a shot that put him in the woods. Gus was a friend to all, on and off the course, we knew him as a square shooter. “Fairways and Greens,” Gus and a scorecard dotted with birdies and eagles! <BR><BR>We cannot even imagine what it would be like to be 18 and have a $375,000 check with your name on it in your hand. Paula Creamer claimed her second LPGA title - the Evian Masters in France - as well as finding herself second on the LPGA money list. At 18, mind you! Again, it makes us happy to read her words, when asked if Annika was her arch-rival: “I don’t really see it as a rivalry.

Mary Ann (Vidmar) Lekatz is a survivor. She did not spend 40 days on an island with TV cameras following her. Her story is the quiet struggle and courageous victory over the dreaded “C” word. Cancer.<BR><BR>Mary Ann and her husband John had their version of the good life going in rural Ely. Both in their 50s and looking forward to retirement, their three children were grown and thriving. There were three grandkids. Great family get togethers that included Mary Ann’s latest culinary endeavors. And the trips. “John and I did the traveling,” says Mary Ann. “It saved them having to bring a lot of ‘kid’ furniture. We had all the discarded toys here. When the kids came, they thought they had all new toys.<BR><BR>“I loved to cook and they knew it. I made anything they wanted. Meatballs wrapped in dough and baked was a favorite. The grandchildren like M and M cookies.

It’s odd how others respond to changes in one’s personal situations.<BR><BR>When a friend was moving away from Ely she found that people didn’t invite her to gatherings in which she had previously been included. It was as if she had already departed and they had replaced her with other, newer friends.<BR><BR>It seemed that unconsciously they chose to neglect or reject her as she appeared to be rejecting them by moving. <BR><BR>We do strange things unconsciously.<BR><BR>There seemed to be two reactions to me when I had cancer a long time ago. I’ve heard those reactions are common. <BR><BR>Some people avoided me or spoke about me as if I had suddenly stopped being able to hear them. “How is she doing now?” was whispered sotto voce to those around me as if I no longer had my senses.<BR><BR>Others tried to discuss my condition with me as if that was my only current interest.

Hello from Balad Air Base, Iraq, located approximately 40 miles north of Baghdad along the banks of the Tigris River, in the heart of the Sunni Triangle. <BR><BR>I am deployed with my wife SMSgt Kris Saari and Senior Airman Silas Simone, another former Elyite. We are here helping fight the Global War on Terrorism, helping the Iraqi people, and specifically flying Close Air Support missions for the US Marines/US Army and Iraqi Security Forces. <BR><BR>Unless you are here, you wouldn’t realize the positive difference our Armed Forces have made and are making for the Iraqi people. We are helping to weed out the insurgents, protect the national infrastructure like power lines, oil pipelines, water storage, etc. We are helping to train the new Iraqi Army, Air Force, Security Police, rebuild schools, hospitals, etc. It is an extremely difficult task and will take a lot of time and will.

Now that summer is in full swing, I hope everyone is finding time to enjoy themselves and really appreciate the good weather. I understand there has been a lot of rain recently. Tiffany didn't bother to tell me, but the Red River near our home in North Dakota is only about 10 feet short of the record crest we had in 1997 that devastated the town.<BR><BR>Not surprising, to check the latest in the Echo online and find that fishing is picking up. I am sure by now the walleyes have turned over from minnows to leeches, and tails of the 12 pound monster taken not too long ago are abound.<BR><BR>Good to see Kurt Mattila out and about with his son getting things together for some family fun. Kurt has always been one to really put effort into having a good time. I haven’t seen him or talked to him in a long time, but I'm glad that I can still recognize a few familiar faces and names. <BR><BR>I hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day weekend.

Dear Slice of Life Lady, <BR><BR>I am 6 years old. Some of my friends and say there is no sun in Ely. Mama says, “If you see it mentioned in The Echo, it’s so.” But I have not seen the sun for a long time. Please tell me the truth: Is there sun in Ely?<BR><BR>Dear Joshua, <BR><BR>Your friends are wrong. They have been affected by the cynicism of a technical age. They do not believe except what they see on the Weather Channel. Their little minds think nothing can be which is not seen on a monitor screen. <BR><BR>All minds, Joshua, whether they be in the little heads of big people or the big heads of little people, are little. In this great northwoods of ours, we are mere insects, wood ticks, in so far as our imagination.

In high school sports, reaching a state tournament or state meet is the pinnacle of success.<BR><BR>So to say it’s been a successful 2004-2005 for Ely athletes Jenna Klein, Casey Sovil and Carolyn Freeman would be an understatement.<BR><BR>The Timberwolves ran the table, so to speak, in athletic competition this year, reaching state competition in all three seasons.<BR><BR>All three were part of the Wolves’ Section 7A high school girls cross country team.<BR><BR>They traded their running shoes for skis and poles in the winter, forming a solid nucleus on the Ely Nordic ski team that finished third in the state and captured another section championship.<BR><BR>And even though school has been out for more than a week, the Ely trio remained immersed in high school competition heading into this weekend, when they take part in the state Class A girls track meet.<BR><BR>Klein, Sovil and Freeman formed three-fourths of

Most Boomer kids grew up in houses with porches. Your house might have sported one in the front and the back too. We took them for granted back then.<BR><BR>Porches served a lot of purposes and provided some history too.<BR><BR>Seems to me most houses in Ely, while we were growing up, had open porches - meaning no windows, open to the elements, with a few steps leading to the main doors of the house.<BR><BR>Kids liked porches. They were probably your first playground of sorts. Boomer Moms or Grandmas put the kids on one of the porches knowing it was a safe haven to play – a place still close to her checking eye without worry that the kids might venture into the street or wander into other neighbors’ territory.<BR><BR>A kid could occupy a lot of time on the porch.

If the Ely Timberwolves have anything to say about it, the prize for whatever team lands the second seed in the Section 7AA high school baseball playoffs will be an early exit from postseason play.<BR><BR>Ely, despite a subpar regular season that has included 11 losses in 15 games, looms as a very difficult opponent for the second-seeded club when the tournament opens Wednesday at four sites around the section.<BR><BR>The Timberwolves are seeded seventh among eight teams in the north subsection, but they may have the most dominant pitcher among the squads in senior lefty Tim Scott.<BR><BR>Scott is the probable starter for the Wolves in the playoff opener, and he’s been nothing short of dominant in recent outings, including a May 16 no-hitter against Mesabi East and a one-hit, 15-strikeout performance three days earlier against Duluth Marshall, one of several possible contenders for the second seed.<BR><BR>Seeding was set to be determin

Fishing opener is always an interesting day of the year for me. I’m always full of anxious anticipation. Got my license, got my rods and reels ready to go. A couple of new lure models that I’ve carved and painted over the winter are thrown into my tackle box. The night before is spent tossing and turning in my bed dreaming of getting up at just the right time and catching my limit before the sun comes up.<BR><BR>The actual morning of opener has usually dawned absent of the sun. Since we’ve moved to Ely, I’ve witnessed rain, fog, more rain, snow, ice still on, more rain, rain-filled clouds, in short - white caps and wind blown despair. And then more of the same.<BR><BR>Opener is tough fishing. That’s what I’ve learned. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t fun. It only makes next year’s dream of quick success under the sun even larger. It also doesn’t mean you won’t catch fish. You might just get wet doing it. It will take longer.