B. I. News on the 'Net, June 20-July 3, 2016

Holy Cross Bulletin for July 2016

Joe Moore Retires from EMS

After twenty-nine years, ten months, and a few days, of dedication to the provision of emergency medical care for the visitors to and the residents of Beaver Island, Joe Moore has retired from his position in the emergency medical service here on Beaver Island. Joe said, "It's time." After giving a year's notice more than two years ago, Joe Moore stayed on to provide the paramedic level care that has been established on Beaver Island since 2000. Having had several stints where he would be the only paramedic 365/24/7 lasting years at a time, Joe Moore has given his all to help those in need during their most serious medical situations.

"All of the last six patients transported by our locally licensed emergency air transport service ended up being hospitalized if anyone needs proof of the need for emergency medical services on this most remote inhabited island in the Great Lakes," Joe stated, "but the political atmosphere and the attitudes of some detractors plus the cement block walls put in the way have shown me that it's time for me to step back and give this needed service to those that are younger. I am getting older, and I don't have the zeal that I had when I started the EMT class back in 1986."

The effective date of Joe Moore's retirement from EMS was July 2, 2016, when he turned in his radio and pager to Fire Chief Tim McDonough, "who has also served the island for the last twenty-nine years."

Bingo in July

B. I. Christian Church Bulletin

July 3, 2016

52 Lists Project #27

by Cindy Ricksgers

Phyllis' Daily Weather

July 3, 2016

Clear, blue skies, 60°, wind at 6 mph from the SW, humidity is 91%, pressure is steady at 1019 mb, visibility is 9.1 miles, pollen levels are low-medium at 4.6, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. West winds at 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the lower 50s. Light winds. MARINE REPORT Today: Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: Light winds. Clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

On this date of July 3, 1880 - "Science" began publication. Thomas Edison had provided the principle funding.

Did you know that there are no rivers in Saudi Arabia?

Word of the day: tourbillion (too r-BIL-yuh n) which means a whirlwind or something resembling a whirlwind. Tourbillion entered English from the French tourbillon meaning "whirlwind." Ultimately, it can be traced to the Latin turbō meaning "something that spins." It entered English in the mid-1400s.

Late Saturday

by Cindy Ricksgers

Adult and Young Osprey

So far only one hatchling is seen on the osprey nest on Sloptown Road, but there could be another smaller one in the nest also.

Neighbors and Friends Have Emergencies Also

by Joe Moore

(This story doesn't represent any agency including the BIESA and the BIEMS.)

I once had a teacher of EMS classes that made the statement that stuck with me through the years.  Even though there seems to be the perception that local EMS groups are the “bastard son of the fire department.”  We seem to be the ones that are always begging for funding while the fire department gets funding, donations, and gifts above and beyond.  In the last two or three years, BIEMS ambulances are beginning to show their age, but the fire department just purchased two brand new fire trucks called pumpers, and they have a new tanker on the way which should make it to the Island before the ferry boat stops running for the year. 

Read the rest of the story HERE

Phyllis' Daily Weather

July 2, 2016

It's 58° this morning, wind is at 7 mph from the SW, humidity is at 86%, pressure is rising from 1018 mb, visibility is 9.5 miles, pollen levels are low-medium at 4.7, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. West winds 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 50s. Southwest winds 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the evening. MARINE REPORT Today: West wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots in the morning. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

June 2016 Video Report

Videos were viewed by 428 unique IP addresses in the month of June 2016. Two thousand six hundred and ninety-one (2691) video clips were viewed during this month, or approximately 88 per day. The bandwidth used during this month was 154 Gigabytes. These statistics come from the video server. Live streaming video had 279 visitors for these live broadcast events. Mass from Holy Cross was broadcast once each week for the month of June. Special events at the Community Center including the Invasive Species Workshop for two days was live streamed. BINN continues to add more live events whenever possible to make them available for those unable to attend the events.

BIESA Meeting

June 30, 2016

The Beaver Island Emergency Services Authority Board met at the Peaine Township Hall for its monthly meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss an ethics policy with the lawyer. The Board came back from closed session and passed a resolution adopting the "Resolution Establishing Ethics Policy for Officials and Employees." It should be noted that only four of five board members were present, and that there were several BIRHC board members and staff in the audience It should also be noted that this policy cannot be retroactive, nor can it violate the First Amendment rights guaranteed by the constitution.

While May reimbursement payments for BIEMS were reported as improved, there were no reimbursements during the month of June. Public comment included a discussion of determining the protocol for 911 and long distance outages as well as BIRHC comments on the policy adopted today.

Video of this meeting may be viewed HERE

Garage Sale

July 10, 2016

Helping a Beaver Island Veteran

"What a tremendous day today! While being honored a few weeks ago by the veterans and residents of Beaver Island, we met a very special Air Force vet. His wheelchair was in pretty poor shape. Today, we made another trip to Beaver Island to surprise this brother with an almost new electric wheelchair. His face was worth it all! Thank you Muskegon County Department of Veteran Affairs and David Eling for making this veteran's life just a little bit easier." stated Liz Spyke when she and her husband Wesley brought this wheelchair to the island.

Phyllis' Daily Weather

July 1, 2016

Welcome to July! I suppose this is the official opening of summer. More and more folks are appearing on the island so we're in full swing. Right now I'm showing 55°, mostly cloudy, wind at 13 mph from the NNW with gusts to 20 mph, humidity is at 92%, pressure is steady at 1014 mb, visibility is 9.8 miles, pollen levels are low at 0.6, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 50s. West winds 5 to 15 mph. MARINE REPORT Small Craft Advisory In Effect Through This Afternoon. Today: Northwest wind 10 to 20 knots. Gusts up to 25 knots. Mostly cloudy then becoming mostly sunny in the morning then becoming sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet. Tonight: West wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

On this date of July 1, 1963 - The U.S. postmaster introduced the five-digit ZIP (Zoning Improvement Plan) code.

Did you know that New York contains 571 miles of shoreline?

Word of the day: churrasco (chuh-RAS-koh) which means meat cooked over an open fire. Churrasco can be traced to the Spanish term socarrar meaning "to scorch, singe." It entered English in the early 1900s.

End of June

by Cindy Ricksgers

CMU Offered Programs on Ticks and Mosquitos

......Dr. Jean Tsao....................Dr. Michael Kaufman

After a little technology glitch involving computers and sound system, these two presentations were absolutely amazingly informative. Approximately forty including a few Beaver Island residents and quite a few CMU students attended the presentations.

View a gallery of pictures from this event HERE

Dr. Tsao and Dr. Powers

These two tick experts had an opportunity to discuss the situation on the island with ticks and Lyme disease.

View video of these two presentations HERE

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 30, 2016

The last day of June already! Wow! This year is flying past at what seems to be supersonic speed. This morning it's 62°, clear skies, wind is at 11 mph from the SW, humidity is at 80%, pressure is falling from 1016 mb, visibility is 9.3 miles, pollen levels at low-medium at 4.7, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Tonight: Numerous rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms in the evening, then rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the mid 50. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph increasing to 30 mph after midnight. MARINE REPORT Small Craft Advisory In Effect From This Evening Through Friday Afternoon. Today: Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Chance of showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Waves 2 to 3 feet. Tonight: Northwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms. Waves 3 to 5 feet.

On this date of June 30, 1953 - The first Corvette rolled off the Chevrolet assembly line in Flint, MI. It sold for $3,250.

Did you know that Hawaii officially became apart of the US in 1900?

Word of the day: towser (TOU-zer) which means a 1) a big dog; 2) a big, hearty person, especially on who is very energetic. Towser is formed on the basis of the word touse meaning "to handle roughly; dishevel" or "to struggle; tussle." It entered English in the mid-1600s.

Timeout for Art: Softer Lines

by Cindy Ricksgers

Invasive Species Workshop, Day 2

There were three presentations for today scheduled. The first presentation was by Phyllis Higman on "Invasive Identification and Survey Technology."

View a gallery of pictures from Phyllis Higman's presentation HERE

The second and third presentations were combined and presented by two people. "The Herbicide Use for Management" portion was presented by Brian Majka while the "Non-Herbicide Use for Management" was presented by Melanie Manion.

View a gallery of pictures from Brian and Melanie's presntation HERE

The break for lunch was followed by a field trip to view the invasives on Beaver Island.

Video of Day 2 Invasive Species HERE

Joyce M. Bartels Dies

Joyce M. Bartels passed away June 29, 2016. No arrangements have been made at this time. More information will be posted as it becomes available. Keep Elizabeth, Karl (Sandy), and Amy (Dick) Burris in your thoughts and prayers.

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 29, 2016

It's 52° outside this morning, clear skies again, wind is at 5 mph from the west, humidity is at 87%, pressure is steady at 1020 mb, visibility is 9.8 miles, pollen levels are low-medium at 4.6, top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. West winds at 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s. South winds 10 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. MARINE REPORT Today: West wind 5 to 10 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Clear. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

On this date of June 29, 1767 - The British Parliament approved the Townshend Revenue Acts. The acts imposed import duties on glass, lead, paint, paper and tea shipped to America.

Did you know that 2 million hydrogen atoms would be required to cover a full stop (.)

Word of the day: supererogatory (soo-per-uh-ROG-uh-tawr-ee) which means going beyond the requirements of duty. Supererogatory stems from the Medieval Latin superērogātōrius, with the root word ērogāre meaning "to pay out." It entered English in the late 1500s.

Taking Stock

by Cindy Ricksgers

Harbormaster Jimmy White Resigns

June 28, 2016

In a move that even surprised the BINN editor Joe Moore, who had been working with him for the last seven weeks, Jimmy White, harbormaster for the last seven or eight years for the Beaver Island Yacht Dock, has resigned. BINN will be attempting to gather information about the situation to provide information to the public here. It is quite likely that this resignation has something to do with the disastrous move of the St. James Township Board to institute the Michigan DNR Reservation system that BINN has reported on previously.

Some may ask how this is a disaster. The answers have already been provided here, but they bear repeating. This reservations system has the following inaccurate information in it:

1. The name of the marina is wrong, thereby creating even more confusion between the private marina and the public marina. When a boater calls on the radio for "Beaver Island Marina," the name of the private marina, which is also the name of the public marina on the DNR reservation website and the CAMIS Help Desk, this creates even more confusion. The boaters don't know whether to answer as their told on channel 71 for the private marina or on channel 9 for the public marina.

2. Every single piece of information about the Beaver Island Yacht Dock is wrong on the DNR Reservations' website including the slip groups and the slip group names. In order to place a reservation on this website or to use the 800 reservation call number, you must lie about your boat's length, width, and draft. In order to reserve online or with the reservations desk, you must tell them that your boat draws three feet of water. The fee schedule is also wrong on this website. Can you just imagine the unhappy encounters that the harbormaster must have had with the boaters that have already come in this season?

"Jimmy White had previously provided CAMIS, the contractor for the reservations' system, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources the correct information for every piece of incorrect information eleven times. I know this for a fact," editor Joe Moore stated, "because I was present all eleven times. We even put the correct information in prior to the May 23, 2016, deadline directly into the CAMIS-owned computer, but it never got correctly entered into the reservations' system."

BINN will follow up on this story with Mr. White and the township officials.

Invasive Species Workshop

Day 1, June 28, 2016, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

(Sixteen unique IP adresses viewed this live for more than an hour. Forty checked it out for less than an hour live.)

Just a little before 10 a.m. this morning, Tom Clement got the many experts from off-island and the island residents to begin the learning process about invasive species.

First, Beth Leuk provided the presentation entitled "Benefits of Natural Areas."

Second, Shaun Howard provided the presentation about "Islands, and Coastline."

Next, Phyllis Higman gave the presentation entitled, "Invasives 101."

Just before lunch, Pam Grassmick gave her presentation about the history of the phragmities invasion on Beaver Island entitle "Beaver Island History.

Video of Day 1 Invasive Species Workshop Morning is HERE

After lunch, Tom Clement gave his presentation on "CAKE Overview and Collaboration."

The MISIN presentation had to be postponed due to some technology issues, so next up was Ryan Wheeler on "Decontamination."

This was followed by the delayed MISIN presentation, which was about using an I-phone application for reporting locations of invasives. This was given by the Little Traverse Conservancy.

The last presentation before the round table discussions was "Herbicide Law" by Eric McCumber.

Video of Day 1 Invasive Species Workshop Afternoon is HERE

Ridiculous Situation

(This title was a direct quote from a mainland ambulance authority director.)

by Joe Moore

Let’s pretend for a minute.  Let’s say that you work really hard for many years, saving money, putting on fundraisers, and finally get that new truck that your fire department needed.  This is really the truck that was needed to fight the fires that happen in your community.  It does everything necessary for most situations.  It runs well.  It pumps well.   It has a nice fire hall to be housed in.  It has a maintenance schedule that is strictly adhered to.  This fire truck can get to the fire more quickly and it operates more efficiently than the other fire trucks, and, even though, there are fancier looking fire trucks, this one does the job quite well.

Now, unfortunately for your neighbor down the island, his house catches fire.  You get into your  new fire truck and you respond to your neighbor’s house.  “Everything is gonna be alright” is what the lyrics of the song say.

You have everything ready to put water on the fire.  Your hose is connected.  There is water in the tank.  Everything is hooked up and ready to go.  You have just enough help to get this fire put out.

THEN, someone with higher credentials walks up to you and says, “You can’t put out this fire.  You don’t have the proper credentials.  We have firefighters coming from the mainland, and they will be here in about an hour.  They will be here to put out the fire, but you are not allowed to start the pump.  You’ll just have to wait until they get here, and then they will take over.”

More and more of your friend’s house is burning every single second, and you are not allowed to do anything.  Of course, the fire is eventually put out, but your friend will never be able to live in the family home again.

Now, you go to the authorities in charge of the fire department, and you tell them of all of the times that this same thing has happened.  You don’t want any more of your friend’s houses to burn down, so you explain the law, you cajole, you email, you finally have this information made public.  And, instead of fixing the real problem, the authorities pass a policy that makes it illegal for you to talk about the problem of your friends’ homes burning down and the reason for them burning down.

You don’t know their motives, but it doesn’t make any sense to you.  You just know that you aren’t going to let your friends’ homes burn down again.  What do you do?

The real issue, although quite scary also, is with the use of the locally licensed air transport operation. It is the "brand new firetruck that will do everything you need it to do." In approximately a half an hour or less, the locally licensed air transport vehicle could have the patient to the definitive care location that they need, instead they have to wait more than an hour for the off-island air transport to get to the island, and then they have to take the extra time to switch out our medicatl equipment for their equipment. Then they have to fly to the mainland besides the amount of time spent with equipment change. It's at least a total of an hour longer. The heart or the house will be destroyed in that amount of time. And this is all being done for what reason?

It violates commonly accepted practice. It violates Charlevoix Medical Control Authority Protocols. It violates the laws of the State of Michigan, EMS legislation and the administrative rules. It violates patient care standards accepted anywhere in Michigan. AND, it is simply wrong!

Tuesday: Exercises in Writing #4

by Cindy Ricksgers

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 28, 2016

A bit cool this morning, but we need one every so often. It's 55°, clear skies, wind at 12 mph from the NNE with gusts to 19 mph, humidity is at 76%, pressure is steady at 1019 mb, visibility is 9.9 miles, pollen levels are low-medium at 4, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly cloudy in the morning then clearing. Occasional drizzle in the morning. Highs in the upper 60s. North winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the upper 40s. North winds 5 to 15 mph in the evening becoming light. MARINE REPORT Small Craft Advisory In Effect Until Noon EDT Today Today: North wind 10 to 20 knots. Gusts up to 25 knots. Mostly cloudy then becoming mostly sunny. Waves 2 to 4 feet in the afternoon. Tonight: North wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Clear. Waves 2 to 3 feet.

On this date of June 28, 1778 - Mary "Molly Pitcher" Hays McCauley, wife of an American artilleryman, carried water to the soldiers during the Battle of Monmouth and, supposedly, took her husband's place at his gun after he was overcome with heat.

Did you know that more than 75% of all countries are north of the equator?

Word of the day: automagical (aw-toh-MAJ-i-kuh l) which means (of a usually complicated technical or computer process) done, operating, or happening in a way that is hidden from or not understood by the user, and in that sense, apparently "magical". Automagical entered Engish in the 1980s. Its first element, auto, stems from the Greek autómatos meaning "self-moving"; magical can be traced to the Greek magikós.

Ruth Annand Dies

Random Thoughts for Monday Morning

by Cindy Ricksgers

Investigative Report: #4 in a Series of 4

by Joe Moore

(This report doesn't represent any agency including the BIESA and the BIEMS.)

In some communications, it has been suggested that my motive for doing these reports is a personal vendetta against the BIRHC. Does it make sense that I would volunteer thousands of hours to help the medical center and then have a personal vendetta against them? Logically, I believe the answer is no. My motive for doing all of this reporting is provide each and every patient involved in an emergency the most appropriate care possible and transport that patient to definitive care by the most expeditious method possible. If that means stopping at the medical center, then that is what is done. If that means bypassing the medical center, then that is what is done.

It has been suggested that I have violated CCMCA protocols in the past, but, if I have, it is because I have supported the decisions of the providers of the BIRHC. I have previously attempted to work with them, alongside them, and have not done anything but remind them of what the protocols and the laws and administrative rules state. I have, up until now, put my license in jeopardy by going along and being a team player.

Fact #1: Every single time I have picked up a patient at the rural health center in the last few months, I have been told by the managing director, if she was present, to use an off-island air transport with a minimum response time of more than one hour. Even the most serious trauma patient on the island in quite a long time was included in this one hour plus response time. I would not and could not agree with this decision, so I called the physician to verify that he wanted me to wait an hour for an off-island air transport when I could leave the island in ten minutes. He didn't know that that was an option, and he had been told that the off-island air transport provided a high level of care. That is simply not true. . So, of course, he wanted the patient there in a shorter period of time.

Fact #2: The last three of my patients were NOT taken to the medical center. Why? It has nothing to do with any feud or personal vendetta. The patients needed definitive care in a short period of time. Yes, I do have the ability to evaluate and make this decision, no matter what others may say, so does every other paramedic. Each of these patients needed assessments and treatments that the medical center could not provide. All got excellent patient care per the CCMCA protocols. All got transported by the most expeditious air transport method possible. Two used BIEMS licensed air transport and one used Northflight. CCMCA was contacted when it was necessary. Sometimes, a patient's treatment, based upon a field diagnosis, does not require contact with medical control, such as giving medication for pain, starting an IV, and giving a nebulizer treatment. Just in case you wonder, medical control agreed with all the decisions made on the patients mentioned.

Fact #3: I will not lose my license due to a violation of the CCMCA protocols or violation of laws and administrative rules of the State of Michigan.

Fact #4: This is the last installment of the Investigative Reports on this topic. Any further postings will be news stories. I can only hope that the power struggle ends, and everyone will go about doing the right thing based upon commonly accepted patient care standards, law, and administrative rules for the emergency patients on Beaver Island.

Invasive Species Workshop

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 27, 2016

Well, it isn't raining, but there are plenty of clouds to go around. It's 59°, wind is at 5 mph from the SW with gusts to 20 mph, humidity is at 95%, pressure is steady at 1011 mb, visibility is 8.9 miles, pollen levels are medium at 5, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon. Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Scattered rain showers after midnight. Lows in the lower 50s. Northwest winds winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. MARINE REPORT Small Craft Advisory In Effect From 11 AM This Morning Through This Evening. Today: Northwest wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Mostly clear early in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less building to 2 to 3 feet in the afternoon. Tonight: North wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Scattered showers. Waves 2 to 4 feet.

On this date of June 27, 1924 - Democrats offered Mrs. Leroy Springs for vice presidential nomination. She was the first woman considered for the job.

Did you know that more than 75% of all countries are north of the equator?

Word of the day: transmogrify (trans-MOG-ruh-fahy) which means to change appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely. Transmogrify is of uncertain origin. It came into popular usage in the mid-1600s.

When Being Right is Wrong

An Editorial by Joe Moore

It seems that being right can sometimes be perceived by some as wrong. The simple facts of the matter don't seem to sink in because some are blinded by the friendships and family ties that have been established over the years. So, is it right for a business to stiff another business for two years of advertising fees? Is it right for one person to bring a public entity out of the red, establish a business relationship and operate it with integrity? Is it right for one business to state that they provide a service that they are not legally licensed or certified to perform? Is it right for one person to volunteer 80 hours of time to help a public body for a total of seven weeks of effort, and never even receive a thank you? Is it right for someone to volunteer thousands of hours to one public service business and then be belittled and purposely accused of harrassment? Is it right for someone to claim that they can do a specific task and then attack another because they are legally able to provide that task?

If these questions spark your discussion of happenings on Beaver Island, I hope that the answers to these questions reflect the commonly accepted normal answers.

Why does one person get angry with another for doing what is right? Why does one business think that it doesn't need to be legally licensed to provide the service it advertises? Why does one person in a business who is not licensed to provide a service feel that they should be the one to make arrangements for the community for that service that they are not licensed to provide? Why do some perceive a problem when a problem does not exist? Why should a person not involved in an emergency situation interfere and want to take control?

When you find the answers to these questions, I would appreciate it very much if you would email them to me at medic5740@gmail.com

Investigative Report: #3 in a Series

by Joe Moore

(This report doesn't represent any agency including the BIESA and the BIEMS.)

Investigative Reporting:  #3 in a Series by Joe Moore

Someone asked me when I first became concerned about the actions of some at the BIRHC, and I really had to sit down to think about that.

Was it when the managing director violated patient privacy by looking at every run report for a whole calendar year without verbal or signed consent of any patients and then reported erroneous statistics to all boxholders on the island?  Maybe

Was it when the managing director and a previous provider ignored my 12-lead EKG that said, “Acute Myocardial Infarction Suspected,” and wasted almost an hour trying unsuccessfully to get a chest xray to confirm their erroneous diagnosis of pneumonia?  Maybe

Was it when I was ordered to fly a patient with internal bleeding in a USCG helicopter with the inability to treat anything that might come up in the helo flying 200 feet off the water, when the locally licensed air transport was ready and willing to provide the transport?  Probably

Was it when the staff told a patient that EMS was on another run and arranged his transport using Valley Med without paging EMS?  Probably

Was it when the staff told us that the Director of the EMS and Trauma Division, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Marv Helmker, had left gray areas in his very clear statement that emergency medical transport should be arranged by the only licensed transport agency on the island?  Probably

Was it when complaints to the BIESA were made by the managing director when I emailed them a copy of the law that they were violating?  Probably

Was it when the 911 system and long distance phone call system went down, and I provided my home phone, which upset someone in their staff?  Probably

Was it when the provider refused to take an ACLS renewal class including CPR with me as the instructor and chose to stay uncertified instead?  Probably

Was it when a severe allergic reaction patient was transported there and EMS was dismissed as not being needed?  Probably

Was it when the staff arranged for a Valley Med subscriber program for Beaver Island to bypass the locally licensed air transport operation?  Probably

Was it when I suspected that the staff there had something to do with a surprise inspection by the State of Michigan in which an attempt was made to shut down our local EMS?  Absolutely

Was it when the staff arranged for a Northflight presentation for Beaver Island to bypass the locally licensed air transport operation?  Probably

Was it when the medical center decided to lock the local EMS out of the rural health center?  Probably

Was it when, while waiting outside the back door of the medical center for fifteen minutes for a provider, the provider opened the door of the ambulance and said, “Are you bringing him in or not?” Probably

Was it when the two and a half hour wait to transport a patient using Northflight was unnecessary when the local air transport was flying and available?  Probably

I have to stop because I don’t know how far to go back to answer the original question.  These few instances will have to suffice.

And, if you are looking for proof of intentions that I have suggested, you have only to read the minutes from the last meeting of the BIRHC Board. Here is an excerpt:

1. "ESA/EMS

Denny Cook spoke about the current relations between the BIRHC and the EMS and said the public does not understand the situation and what their choices might be in an emergency.
Motion to consult a healthcare attorney to look at our authority to direct how and where evacuated patients might be transported, including use of a private vehicle to transport (Spencer/J. Wojan) unanimously approved.
Connie Wojan said that she would call a special meeting if action was necessary before the next meeting."

You are Welcome!

by Joe Moore.

To the over fifty people who thanked me or liked the message that was thanking the author on facebook for posting his home telephone number when 911 was out twice this past week, You are welcome. The comments were much appreciated. Here is a sample of those comments: "Thank you so much for posting on the forum your phone number for people to call if they needed emergency medical services when 911 went down twice this week. That is going above and beyond."

Another: "The best of the best!."

From a former provider at the Beaver Island Medical Center, "You haven't changed after all these years, Joe. The island is fortunate to have you."

It was truly nice to have some positive comments when there were so many negative ones coming from certain people on the island, suggesting that I overstepped my authority.

Ronald Clark Gillingham Dies

Investigative Report: #2 in a Series

by Joe Moore

(This report doesn't represent any agency including the BIESA and the BIEMS.)

Investigative Report:  #2 in a Series
By Joe Moore

The following questions were posed to Jay Peck, director of East Jordan EMS Authority:

Me:  Jay, what is your relationship with the East Jordan Family Health Center?

Jay:  We have an excellent relationship, and we work well together.

Me:  Would the staff of the East Jordan Family Health Center ever call in air transport for a patient seen at their facility?

Jay:  No, of course not!  That is the responsibility of the EMS service after evaluation of the patient.

Me:  Has this ever happened at the EJFHC?

Jay:  No, because we, both groups, know our responsibilities.

Me:  Would you ever take a patient to the EJFHC?

Jay:  I can’t think of one time when I would transport a patient to a doctor’s office.

Me:  Jay, you mean that not even the doctors at the EJFHC would be calling in air transport for their patients?

Jay:  Of course not.  That’s not their responsibility.  If air transport is needed, in our case a helicopter, they would only be called in by the EMS.  We might discuss it, but transport is our responsibility, not theirs.  We are licensed to provide it.

This conversation with Jay Peck, EMT-P, EMS Instructor, took place on one of two occasions when Jay Peck had flown to Beaver Island to attend the Beaver Island Emergency Services Authority meetings.  Jay had offered to come to help provide information for our ESA.  His willingness to help was considered very important to our local EMS since Jay has just finished the work on establishing the East Jordan authority.

So, in investigation, it was determined that certain information should be obtained to be able to compare our situation here on Beaver Island with the situation in East Jordan.

So, just who are the providers at the East Jordan Family Health Center? This information comes from their website.

Their motto:  “Our mission is your health.”

Arminda Combs, NP

Arminda received her Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Michigan in Flint after completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Baker College for Graduate Studies. She is a Board Certified Adult and Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner who works with patients age 13 and older. Arminda joined the East Jordan Family Health Center team in November, 2014, and sees patients at our Bellaire location.

Barbara E Steinmacher, FNP

Barb received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Michigan and attended Michigan State University to obtain her Family Nurse Practitioner & Masters of Science, Nursing Degree. She is a Family Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Barb joined the East Jordan Family Health Center team in April, 2010 and practices at our Bellaire Family Health Center.

Courtney Brinkman, FNP

Courtney received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Lake Superior State University and obtained her Family Nurse Practitioner and Master of Science in Nursing Degrees from Georgetown University. She is Board Certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). Courtney joined the East Jordan Family Health Center team in March, 2014.

Gloria Witt, M.D.

Dr. Witt received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Tabor College in Kansas and attended medical school at the University of Kansas School of Medicine. She is a licensed and board certified Family Practice Physician who has lived in the area for many years. Dr. Witt joined our provider staff in May, 2014 and practices at the Bellaire Family Health Center.

Holly Cronkright, PA-C

Holly received her Master Degree of Physician Assistant Program, and her undergraduate degree in Sports Medicine and Athletic Coaching from Central Michigan University. Holly is a licensed Physician Assistant, Board Certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Holly joined the East Jordan Family Health Center team June 1, 2015 and brings over 15 years experience in Family Practice & Internal Medicine. She enjoys seeing patients from newborn to elderly.

Jeanne Haberer, D.O.

Dr. Haberer received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from John Carroll University and attended medical school at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and has practiced in Colorado and Alaska. Dr. Haberer joined us in August, 2005 and sees patients at our Central Lake Family Health Center and the East Jordan Family Health Center. She has a special interest in Obstetrics.

Jerry Van Kuiken, M.D. (Pediatrics)

Dr. Van Kuiken received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Calvin College and attended medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He specializes in Pediatrics and joined the provider staff at East Jordan Family Health Center in early September, 2014.

Mitchell J. Carey, M.D.

Dr. Carey received his Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medicine Studies from Grand Valley State College and attended medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is a certified Diplomat of the American Board of Family Practice and has a special interest in Obstetrics.

Samuel Dyste, P.A. – C

Sam received his Master Degree of Physician Assistant Studies from Central Michigan University and attended Calvin College where he received his undergraduate degree in Biology and was the recipient of numerous scholastic achievement awards. Sam is a licensed Physician Assistant, Board Certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Sam joined the East Jordan Family Health Center team in 2007, seeing patients at the East Jordan site for several years before transferring to our Bellaire Family Health Center location where he now practices and resides with his family.

Terrell Hebert, M.D.

Dr. Hebert received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Albion College and attended medical school at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is board certified in both Family Practice and Internal Medicine, is a retired Colonel in the US Air Force, and was the Chief of Primary Care for the Saginaw VA Medical Center before joining our provider staff. Dr. Hebert joined us in May, 2014 and sees patients at the Bellaire Family Health Center.

William R. Webb, M.D.

Dr. Webb received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from the University of Michigan where he also attended Medical School and received his Medical Degree. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Family Medicine. Dr. Webb joined the team at East Jordan Family Health Center in March, 2014 and practices at the East Jordan location.

So, the East Jordan Family Health Center has six physicians, two PA’s, and three nurse practitioners.  These eleven providers have several helpers in their office in addition to their providers because this list does not include any nurses, aids, or administrative individuals.

The BIRHC has two providers, both nurse practitioners, usually only one who is there at a time; one manager who is an RN; a secretary, and an administrative assistant who has training as an EMT.

Yet, when the East Jordan Family Health Center has a patient walk in their door that has an emergency, they immediately call for the East Jordan Ambulance to respond to their location.  They do not try to manipulate the system to call in a helicopter.  They make suggestions to the EMS people as they arrive as to where they believe the patient should be transported knowing that EMS has the authority and the responsibility to transport the patient.  They work with their emergency medical service.  They are not in a “we are the boss” mode.  They are not bypassing the most efficient transport method.  They are not calling Valley Med or Northflight to fly in to take the patient.  They are calling their local EMS.

In other words, they are not in a power struggle with the local EMS agency.  They are not trying to dominate the local EMS agency.  They are not trying to pull the “my license is higher than yours” game.  They are not concerned about whose telephone number is called during an emergency.  They are not advertising that they provided “emergency stabilization and evacuation.”

Why?  It’s simple really.  They are not a licensed facility, and they recognize and understand that they don’t have the authority to demand the transport destination nor the transport provider.

I know that if anyone at the East Jordan Family Health Center was asked, “Would you put a chest pain patient into a personally owned vehicle and transport him to the East Jordan Airport,” that they would look at me like I was stupid to even ask the question.  I also know that the answer to that question would NOT be, “We’ll get you to sign a release.  We’ll ignore our local EMS or tell you that they are on another call, and then we’ll take you to the airport where Valley Med or Northflight will pick you up to take you to the hospital.”

I know that if anyone at the East Jordan Family Health Center was asked, “Would you force the local EMS to transport a patient by USCG helicopter or Valley Med, taking over an hour for a response, when the locally licensed and ready and willing air transport is ready to fly the patient off the island immediately?”  I know that they would be again be looking at me with the “are you stupid” look on their face.

 
And, I know that their response would be something like this, “Do you think we want to be put out of business with a wrongful death lawsuit?”

The 52 Lists Project #26

by Cindy Ricksgers

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 26, 2016

Looks as though it's going to be a liquid sunshine sort of day. Right now I'm showing 65°, rain, wind at 9 mph from the SW with gusts up to 26 mph, humidity is at 97%, pressure is falling from 1012 mb, visibility is 6.1, pollen levels are low-medium today at 3.7, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly cloudy. Numerous rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then scattered rain showers and a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. MARINE REPORT Small Craft Advisory In Effect Through This Evening. Today: Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Numerous showers and scattered thunderstorms this morning. Waves 2 to 4 feet. Tonight: Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 to 4 feet.

On this date of June 26, 1974 - In Troy, Ohio, a Marsh supermarket installed the first bar code scanning equipment, made by IBM, and a product with a bar code was scanned for the first time. The product was Juicy Fruit gum.

Did you know that Brazil got its name from the Brazilian nut (not the other way around)?

Word of the day: remontant (ri-MON-tuh nt) which means blooming more than once a season. Remontant is borrowed from French, where it is the present participle of remonter, "to remount." It entered English in the mid-1800s.

REALLY MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THIS COMMUNITY

By Joe Moore
(At least fifteen years ago, before having a licensed air transport vehicle)

On one February afternoon, BIEMS was paged to a residence down Barney’s Lake Road, which happens to be the road just a short distance from where I live.  We were paged to a 75 year old male patient complaining of chest pain.  I responded directly from my house to the address down that road.  When I arrived, I got a quick history of the current illness.  The patient has been sick recently with flu, cough, and congestion.  His shortness of breath had started earlier today and has progressively gotten worse.  He did not want his wife to call for help.   He had refused to have her call when this started much earlier in the day.  He has chest pain in the center of his chest that is radiating to his left shoulder and jaw.  He has no history of any previous cardiac problems. 

I attempted to get a radial pulse, the one at his wrist, and was unable to feel a pulse there.  I reached up to palpate the carotid pulse in his neck, and could find that beating at 100 beats per minute and slightly irregular.  His skin was pale, cool, and moist, but he was alert and oriented.  He had respirations of 40 breaths per minute.  We had one very sick man here.  The ambulance arrived very quickly while I was getting the history, and a pulse oximeter reading was taken revealing a 77 % reading which may or may not have been accurate considering the poor circulation to his arms and legs.  His body was shunting the circulation away from his arms and legs, to maintain the best circulation possible for the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and brain.  This patient was having a serious cardiac event.

Read the rest of the story HERE

Saturday Mass at 5 p.m. with The Most Reverend Bishop Stephen J Raica

June 25, 2016

View video of this mass HERE

Investigative Reporting: #1 in a Series

Just the Facts by Joe Moore

(This report doesn't represent any agency including the BIESA and the BIEMS.)

The following information came from the Internet at this website:

https://www.urgentcarelocations.com/mi/michigan-urgent-care
Further information from links on the above page was located on another page.

https://www.urgentcarelocations.com/urgent-care-101/faq/urgent-care-center-vs-emergency-room

“When You Should NOT Go To an Urgent Care

Major Medical Trauma
Defining major medical traumas can be difficult, but they generally include any event that could cause the loss of life, limb, or eyesight. Here are examples of illnesses and issues that call for emergency room care, rather than urgent care:

People experiencing one or more of these problems should call 911 immediately, or proceed to the nearest emergency room. Insurance providers cover ER visits for any problem that could cause death, loss of limb, or loss of eyesight.

·  What is an Urgent Care Location?
Urgent care is one of the fastest growing fields in healthcare today with an estimated 10,000 clinics in the United States. This includes traditional urgent care centers, pediatric urgent care centers, retail clinics, occupational medicine providers and primary care offices that offer extended and see walk-in patients. The problem is most of these clinics are owned and operated by individuals, small physician groups and other independent operators making them difficult to find and obtain trusted information about. Our job is to make that easier on the patients that need them. Through our free online service, healthcare consumers are able to quickly search, sort and find urgent care facilities from our directory of 9,969 of them. But we don't stop there. We’ve painstakingly verified nearly all of the information presented on the site, are constantly adding new information and detail on each location and have given you - the consumer - the ability to rate and review each location based on your experience.
How to Choose a Location
Urgent care centers are each different and are owned by different parties. While some locations offer x-rays and board certified doctors, others might not have those options. When you choose a location, you should consider the type of care you need, the services that are offered at the location, any sort of patient ratings or reviews about the specific center or even whether or not the location is certified.
You can use the online search tools at Urgent Care Locations and filter capabilities to find an urgent care location that meets your needs. Check online to see if they allow online check-ins for appointments, as many centers now have that service.
Related: Who Works in Urgent Care Clinics?

When to Go to an ER
Knowing when to go to an emergency room is important. Urgent care centers are not equipped for certain medical conditions. Here are examples of care that should be received from emergency rooms:

Urgent care is an important aspect of medical care in the United States today. It offers uninsured patients a choice other than emergency rooms, and it offers extended hours for people who need care on weekends or after five at night.
Emergency Rooms and Urgent Care Differences
Here are the types of services urgent care center cover:

Here are some of the services that require an emergency room:

What is a rural health center and what should the rural health center provide?

Research on the Internet makes it quite easy to answer this question especially for Michigan and using the certified information from the law and the rules.

“The clinic or center is under the medical direction of a physician, and has a health care staff that meets the requirements of §491.8. (J31) The organization's policies and its
lines of authority and responsibilities  are clearly set forth in writing.

Disclosures
The person responsible for medical direction of a rural health center.

The clinic or center has a health care staff that includes one or more physicians. Rural health clinic staffs must also include one or more physician's assistants or nurse practitioners

Physician responsibilities. (J45)
(1) The physician:
(i) Except for services furnished by a clinical psychologist in an FQHC, which State law permits to be provided without physician supervision, provides medical direction for the
clinic's or center's health care activities and consultation for, and medical supervision of, the health care staff.

In the State of Michigan there are no specific on site requirements for Medical Directors. The Medical Director MUST be able to fulfill all of the other requirements listed.

§ 491.9 Provision of services. (J52)
(a) Basic requirements.
(1) All services offered by the clinic or center are furnished in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws; and (J53)
(2) The clinic or center is primarily engaged in providing outpatient health services and meets all other conditions of this subpart.
(b) Patient care policies.
(1) The clinic's or center's health care services are furnished in accordance with appropriate written policies which are consistent with applicable State law. (J54-J55)
(c) Direct services
(1) General.
The clinic or center staff furnishes those diagnostic and therapeutic services and supplies that are commonly furnished in a physician's office or at the entry point into the health care delivery system. These include medical history, physical examination, assessment of health status, and treatment for a variety of medical conditions.
(3) Emergency.
The clinic or center provides medical emergency procedures as a first response to common life-threatening injuries and acute illness and has available the drugs and biologicals commonly used in life saving procedures, such as analgesics, anesthetics (local), antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antidotes and emetics, serums and toxoids. (J62)”

What the BIRHC advertises in their newsletter and on their website:

"Beaver Island Rural Health Center Services

The Beaver Island Rural Health Center is not a certified urgent care center, nor an emergency room.  The Beaver Island Rural Health Center is not licensed nor certified for providing emergency stabilization, nor evacuation, but can provide emergency care “as a first response to common life-threatening injuries and acute illness.”   This does not allow them, certify them, or license them to make patient transport decisions or arrangements.

The only licensed agency on Beaver Island for the provision of pre-hospital emergency care, including evaluation, treatment, and transport, is Beaver Island EMS.

The providers at the Beaver Island Rural Health Center are Susan Solle and Carolyn Space.  The managing director of the rural health center is Donna Kubic, a licensed RN who received her license in August 1995. Carolyn Space (EMT, July 2000; RN, March 2015; FNP, March 2015),   and Susan Solle (RN, July 1996) are nurse practitioners, licensed by the State of Michigan, and certified in CPR and Advanced Cardiac Life Support as of February 2016.

In a FOIA request to the BIRHC managing director, the following response was what was received by Beaver Island News on the ‘Net editor Joe Moore when he asked for copies of any licenses or certifications held by the Beaver Island Rural Health Center:

“BIRHC is not a "public body," and but for its agreement with the Townships would not be subject to the Open Meetings Act. As a private entity, it is not subject to the Freedom of  Information Act and therefore need not comply with FOIA demands for documents or other information. The public has a right to see and ask to receive mtg. minutes under the OMA, period.”

This would appear to be a legal opinion, but the author is not identified and there is no signature.  As a matter of fact, portions of the text were eliminated using white-out or a similar substance.

The only logical conclusion to this response is that the BIRHC has no licenses or certifications for its operation.  The BIRHC would then be classified as either a physician’s office without a physician on site; or a walk-in clinic without a physician on site; or a rural health center ”primarily engaged in providing outpatient health services” without a physician on site.

All of this information is being presented to the public due to advertisements coming from the BIRHC on the back page of their newsletter and on the BIRHC website.  The BIRHC is very good at what they are legally allowed to do, but “emergency stabilization and evacuation” is not one of them. 

As a matter of fact, in a conference call with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Director of the EMS and Trauma Division Marvin Helmker, in the summer of 2015, the BIRHC was told that ALL patient transports were to be arranged by the agency licensed to provide this transportation, Beaver Island Emergency Medical Service.

No licensed facility to facility transports can take place from a non-licensed facility named Beaver Island Rural Health Center.

So it is very clear, legally and logically, that the BIRHC staff should NOT be making patient transport arrangements, yet, as recently as mid-May of 2016, this is still happening.

The author of this piece:

Joe Moore, a licensed paramedic by the State of Michigan and has been a paramedic since 2000.  Joe has been doing EMS for the island residents and visitors since 1987, when he received his EMT license.  Joe became a licensed EMS Instructor/Coordinator in 1989.  Joe has been teaching EMS programs on Beaver Island since 1989.  Joe is an American Heart Association instructor for CPR, BLS for Healthcare Providers, ACLS, and PALS.  Joe has been an instructor for International Trauma Life Support, Advanced Stroke Life Support by University of Miami, Pediatric Emergencies for Pre-Hospital Providers by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a National Association of EMT  Instructor for many years. 

Joe has received a State of Michigan award for Patient Care, Paramedic of the Year for 2013 by the Michigan Association of EMS Providers, and Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.  Joe is in his thirtieth year of providing EMS services to the Beaver Island community.

Joe Moore has provided EMS service to this community for seven or eight years more than the original license received by the BIRHC providers and manager.  Joe has worked with Mike McGinnity, the first non-physician provider at the Beaver Island Medical Center, and every provider since.  Joe worked with  Penny Kiss, Susan Meis, and Krys VanLooy. 

Joe was the director of Beaver Island Emergency Medical Services for fifteen years, and worked to move BIEMS from Basic Life Support to Advanced Life Support.  Joe is a member of the National Association of EMTs, the Michigan Association of EMS Providers, and the Society of Michigan EMS Instructor Coordinators. Joe is still serving the island as a full time paramedic.

Joe has volunteered thousands of hours to help the Beaver Island Medical Center and the Beaver Island Rural Health Center over the last twenty-nine years, and has worked alongside all of the BIRHC providers. Joe has made presentations at the UPEMS conference on the uniqueness of providing EMS services on the most remote inhabited island in the Great Lakes, and has worked toward and helped license the BIEMS Air Transport Service.  This work took ten years before fruition as did the move from BLS to ALS.

Editorial Comments:

The question that needs to be asked is: Why is a rural health clinic, or a doctor's office without a physician, or a walk-in clinic without a physician, making arrangements for off-island emergency air transport operations to come to Beaver Island? These two agencies are named Valley Med and Northflight. Another question: Why is the rural health clinic attempting to purposely bypass the only licensed agency on the island?

The answer: If you say you are something often enough, you will eventually convince yourself that you are what you say you are, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT LICENSED OR CERTIFIED TO DO IT!

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 25, 2016

It's 61°outside this morning, clear, blue skies, wind at 4 mph from the south, humidity is at 86%, pressure is steady at 1019 mb, visibility is 9.7 miles, pollen levels are medium at 5, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds at 15 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy. A 20% chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the upper 60s. South winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. MARINE REPORT Today: Southwest wind 5 to 10 knots. Sunny early in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: South wind 15 to 20 knots with gusts to around 25 knots. Chance of showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Waves 2 to 3 feet.

On this date of June 25, 1876 - Lt. Col. Custer and the 210 men of U.S. 7th Cavalry were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians at Little Big Horn in Montana. The event is known as "Custer's Last Stand."

Did you know that New York was once called New Amsterdam?

Word of the day: encephalon (en-SEF-uh-lon) which means the brain. Encephalon is a New Latin construction that can be traced to the Greek enképhalos meaning "within the head," or, as a masculine noun, "brain." The Greek root kephalḗmeans "head." It entered English in the mid-1700s.

Glory Days

by Cindy Ricksgers

911, AT&T, and Long Distance Working Again

With quick phone call a little after 5 pm today, June 24, 2016, the 911 service, the AT&T cellphones, and the long distance is back up and working once again. Hopefully, they have figured out the cause and will be able to maintain the service.

BICS Budget for 2016-2017

The following links take you to the documents that were sent to BINN for the BICS 2016-2017 school year.

Link to the 2016-2017 Expenditures

Link to the 2016-2017 Budget Hearing Agenda

Link to the 2016-2017 Revenues

Link to the Budget Acceptance Resolution for 2016-2017

BICS Seeks Tree Removal Bid

Island Long Distance Down Again

The island long distance is down once again today, at 10:00 a.m. on June 24, 2016

This means that the AT&T cellphone service is also down, and long distance is not working

This also means that 911 will not be working and you will get a message saying that all circuits are busy.

You can call the medical center at 2275, or the fire chief at 2733, or the paramedic on-call at 2416.

CAMIS/MIDNR Reservation System

Editorial by Joe Moore

Having attended training in Charlevoix, Michigan, I was expecting to be in a position to help the township by teaching the Harbormaster how to operate a computer program with a Point of Sale System. I have a little background in working on computer networks and on computers including software issues. I went to the training in early May 2016. At the training, we discovered that the information in the CAMIS/MIDNR database was completely incorrect. Basically everything in the database was wrong, yes, literally EVERYTHING!

The name of the marina is wrong. The name given to the public through the State website is the "Beaver Island Marina," which just applifies the current conflict between the private marina and the public marina.

The size of the slips for the marina is wrong. The width of the slips is wrong. The depth of the slips is wrong. The fee schedule is wrong.

Then to top it all off, the Harbormaster entered a credit card payment for a yacht that had no reservation, and no contact with the state system, and the CAMIS/MIDNR system charged a commission on that boat. Approximately 12-15% of the BI Yacht Dock income will be going to the CAMIS/MIDNR system, and that comes off the top.

Since the training, all of the correct information has been placed in the computer system. This was all completed prior to the May 23rd deadline. As of today, June 24, 2016, the information is still incorrect, and not only incorrect, but worse than it was before.

The Harbormaster and I have provided the information to the CAMIS Help Desk and the Harbor Coordinator time after time. Linnae Dawson, the Harbor Coordinator for the DNR, was provided the correct information over the telephone three times on three different occasions. The Help Desk has been provided the correct information at least five times over the telephone. The information in this database is still wrong, and today it is even MORE incorrect!

One example might suffice to help you understand the disastrous situation that this incorrect information has on the Beaver Island Yacht Dock. Let's assume that you have a 34 foot sailboat and you want to come to Beaver Island. Your sailboat draws four feet of water. You can go on the Internet to make a reservation or you can call the reservation HELP desk. What either of those options will tell you as of today, June 24, 2016, is that your vessel CANNOT reserve a slip on Beaver Island at the municipal marina because your vessel needs too much depth for the slips that you will fit in. So, what do you do? Of course, you will choose not to come to the island at all because your boat won't fit in any of the slips at the Beaver Island Yacht Dock. (This is obviously not true, but the sailboat owner doesn't know that.)

Working diligently over the last seven weeks, the Harbormaster and I have been attempting to get the information corrected. As a point of interest, the correct information has been provided to the database at least three times in the 2015 season and now, once on the computer and a minimum of eight times over the telephone with either CAMIS or the MIDNR.

After more than eighty hours onsite of the CAMIS-owned computer at the Yacht Dock, and issue after issue of problems with this system, the current database shows the maximum depth of any slip as 3 feet, not enough depth for any sailboat.

Yesterday, in an attempt once again to get the correct information to the person entering the information into the database, I was accused of being " argumentative, inappropriate, and unwilling to troubleshoot this issue" in an email to Bill Haggard, the St. James Township Supervisor. After seven weeks, I guess that I was frustrated with the ineptness of this entire system.

I'm done with my frustration. I'm done with volunteering with over eighty hours onsite to try to correct the ineptness of this entire system. Who is responsible? I don't really care anymore. I will use my time to volunteer for something where my work and effort will actually accomplish something. Seven weeks is ENOUGH!

This Week's Beauty of Nature Pics

Applause for the patience of the mother loon sitting on the eggs in the nest at Barney's Lake

Applause to the mother osprey feeding the little osprey in the nest on the microwave tower

Truly Beautiful! Slow down and look around to see the beauty of nature!

Taking the Chances

by Cindy Ricksgers

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 24, 2016

The weekend is upon us already. This past week has flown by too fast. Right now it's 51° outside, clear skies, wind is at 1 mph from the east, humidity is at 94%, pressure is steady at 1019 mb, visibility is 9.6 miles, pollen levels are medium at 5.2, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. West winds at 10 mph. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the mid 50s. Light winds. MARINE REPORT Today: Light winds becoming southwest 5 to 10 knots in the morning. Clear. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: South wind 5 to 10 knots. Clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

On this date of June 24, 1974 - Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" was released.

Did you know that grasshoppers have white blood?

Word of the day: Endsville (ENDZ-vil) which means most wonderful or exciting. Endsville is an extension of the slang expression the end, meaning "the ultimate; the utmost of good or bad." It entered English in the 1950s.

Young Osprey in the Nest

On June 23, 2016

All you see is the little head of the baby osprey in the nest as (s)he is being fed.

Listen to the calls from the nest

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 23, 2016

Another day of bright, clear, blue skies. It's rough, but we're suffering through it. Right now it's 59°, wind is at 6 mph from the northeast, humidity is at 74%, pressure is steady at 1014 mb, visibility is 9.8 miles, pollen levels are medium at 5.3, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Partly sunny Highs in the mid 70s. Northeast winds at 10 mph. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the lower 50s. Northeast winds at 10 mph. MARINE REPORT Today northeast wind 5 to 10 knots becoming north early in the evening. Mostly cloudy then becoming mostly sunny in the morning then becoming sunny. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: North wind 5 to 10 knots. Clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

Timeout for Art: Kinship

by Cindy Ricksgers

From Deacon Jim Siler

Attention all Holy Cross parishioners and visitors. This weekends Mass celebrating the 13th Sunday in ordinary time will be as follows:

Do to the inability to find a Priest substitute for this weekends Mass the Saturday evening Mass at 5 PM will be celebrated by The Most Reverend Bishop Stephen J Raica.

At this point I have not been able to secure a priest to say Mass on Sunday at 9:30 AM. I am asking that all parishioners and visitors if it all possible attend the Saturday evening Mass at 5 PM with Bishop Stephen J Raica presiding.

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 22, 2016

Man, I love retirement and being able to sleep in. Obviously, since I'm getting pretty darn good at it. Right now I'm showing 50°, clear skies, wind at 2 mph from the NE, humidity is at 90%, pressure is rising from 1013 mb, visibility is 9.6 miles, pollen levels are medium at 5.2, the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. North winds about 10 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening, then mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain showers after midnight. Lows in the mid 50s. Northeast winds 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph after midnight. MARINE REPORT - Today: Light winds becoming north 5 to 10 knots in the morning. Sunny early in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: Northeast wind 5 to 10 knots. Slight chance of showers. Waves 2 feet or less.

On this date of June 22, 2009 - Eastman Kodak Company announced that it would discontinue sales of the Kodachrome Color Film.

Did you know that bears and bulls can run faster uphill than down? They have stronger hind legs that can push uphill better.

Word of the day: tohubohu (TOH-hoo-boh-hoo) which means chaos; disorder; confusion. Tohubohu from the Hebrew tōhū wā-bhōhū, a phrase used to describe the world before God said "Let there be light" in the book of Genesis. It has been translated as "formless and empty."

Mornings Like These

by Cindy Ricksgers

An Explosion in Numbers of Responses—Our Service Numbers Grow

by Joe Moore

An Explosion in Numbers of Responses—Our Service Numbers Grow

Our first run of 1997 was a possible drug overdose by a 41 year old male patient who was obviously depressed from the isolation of an island in the middle of Lake Michigan.  The ferry boat had stopped running about two weeks earlier, and the only way off of Beaver Island during this time of year is by local airline which is not scheduled at any particular time.  The only two flights that are pretty much normally scheduled are the first flight of the day and the last flight of the day.  

This patient was responsive to pain, and we found Tylenol with codeine bottles and Parafon Forte bottles empty.  The pain reliever and the muscle relaxant are used to treat back problems.  The patient had probably overdosed on these pills in a suicide attempt, but we could not verify any of this because he lived alone.  There were lots of empty beer cans lying about the house, and a couple of whiskey bottles as well were empty on the floor.

When we tried to test his level of consciousness, he appeared to be unresponsive to pain and verbal commands, but this did not match up with his actions.  He lied limp and without movement when we took his vital signs and was breathing shallowly and a little slower than normal.

Link to the rest of the story HERE

Galleries for the Summer Solstice Plus One

Gallery of Dennis Cull Home Literally Coming Together

Gallery of the Summer Solstice Full Moon

Gallery of the Sunset Summer Solstice Plus One

Nesting Loon on Summer Solstice

911, Long Distance, and AT&T Cellphone Service Working

Verification that the 911 service is back up and working was completed by BINN at 10:40 a.m. after notification at 10:34 a.m. today, Tuesday, June 21, 2016, by TDS that the issue was resolved.

BICS Board Meetings Scheduled

Today, June 21, 2016 @ 4 p.m.........Finance Committee Meeting

Tomorrow, June 22, 2016 @ 5 p.m..........Budget Hearing

Tuesday: Exercises in Writing #3

by Cindy Ricksgers

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 21, 2016

Today is my Mom's 69th anniversary. I say "my Mom's" because even though Daddy has sailed off to a harbor in heaven, she says it's still her anniversary. Who am I to argue with a feisty, 91 year old, lady? If you see her today, wish her a Happy Anniversary. We'll be taking her to $2 Tuesday and out for dinner.

Another beautiful Beaver Island morning, clear, blue, skies, 51°, wind at 1 mph from the southwest with gusts to 19 mph, humidity is at 89%, pressure is steady at 1013 mb, visibility is 8.7 miles, pollen levels are at medium levels 5.7, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Southwest winds 10 mph shifting to the west in the afternoon. Tonight: Partly cloudy. Isolated rain showers in the evening. Lows around 50°. West winds at 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the evening. Chance of showers 20%. MARINE REPORT Today: West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Waves 2 feet or less. Tonight: West wind 5 to 10 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 feet or less.

Father's Day Mass from Holy Cross

What an amazing change from having just one person on the altar as the priest to having several on the altar on Father's Day! It also was Father Mathew's last regular visit from Charlevoix since he has receieved a promotion.

Patrick Nugent did the readings from the old and new testament

Deacon Jim Siler read the Gospel

Father Mathew gave the sermon

Celebration with two deacons, two priests, and two altar boys

Recessional

View video of the Father's Day Mass HERE

Father's Day Nature Photos by Joe

The Father's Day destination chosen by the editor of BINN was to drive around and check on the many locations, fairly close to town, that involved nature. A beaver was seen on Barney's Lake, then the rabbit crosses the road near Gull Harbor, then out to check on the osprey, which included a treat of a drone checking out the osprey nest on top of the microwave tower. Finally back to Barney's Lake to check on the nesting loon and her mate out on the lake.

View a gallery of nature photos HERE

A combination video of the osprey nest

Drone video and pictures by Jeff Powers, video editing and photos by Joe Moore, beauty of ospreys by Mother Nature, music by Richard Strauss

911, Long Distance, and AT&T Cell Service Down

This afternoon something went wrong with the landline service on Beaver Island. Specifically long distance calls and calls coming in from the mainland were not able to get through. The message when tryng to call a number on the mainland was, "All circuits are currently busy." The BIRHC has posted on the forum that anyone needing any public safety help can call 448-2398. BIEMS paramedic Joe Moore posted that you may also call him directly at 448-2416. With any luck at all, this service will be restored, according to the Central Dispatch Center "by 3 a.m."

Invasive Species Workshop

Riding in Cars with Dogs

by Cindy Ricksgers

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 20, 2016

It's 66° outside this morning, wind is at 20 mph from the southwest with gusts to 36 mph, humidity is at 77% so it's a bit muggy, pressure is falling from 1015 mb, visibility is 9.4 miles, pollen levels are medium at 5.6, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then mostly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 40%. Tonight: Clear. Lows in the mid 50s. West winds 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the evening. MARINE REPORT - Small Craft Advisory in Effect Through This Afternoon. Today: West wind 10 to 20 knots. Gusts up to 30 knots. Scattered showers and thunderstorms early in the afternoon. Waves 3 to 5 feel subsiding to 2 to 4 feet in the afternoon. Tonight: West wind 10 to 15 knots with gusts to around 20 knots. Mostly clear. Waves 2 to 3 feet.

On this date of June 20, 1973 - American Bandstand celebrated its 20th anniversary with a 90-minute television special. Little Richard, Paul Revere & the Raiders, Cheech and Chong and Three Dog Night made appearances.

Did you know that crocodiles swallow rocks to help them dive deeper?

Word of the day: zeitgeber (TSAHYT-gey-ber) which means an environmental cue, as the length of daylight, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism'a biological clock. Zeitgeber is of German origin, translating literally as "time giver." It entered English in the 1960s.

BICS Graduation 2016

Valedictorian Sarah Avery spoke at the graduation ceremony

Zack Bousquet and Emily Burton listened to the speech

As did Judi Gallagher, Suzi Myers, Dave Avery and Adam Richards

Mr. Adam Richards gave the graduation speech.

Mr Richards made the graduates smile.

View a gallery of pictures of graduation at the Community Center HERE

View a gallery of pictures outside the Community Center and at the parties HERE

View video of Graduation 2016 Ceremony HERE

Phyllis' Daily Weather

June 19, 2016

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads, both those still with us and those who have gone on before us. Things I miss the most about my Dad is having that morning cup of coffee and talking, and of course, that incredible laugh! Hope they all know how much they are/were appreciated.

There is an Air Quality Advisory for Charlevoix, Emmet, Leelanau, Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, and Manistee: People and businesses are used to avoid activities which lead of ozone formation. It is recommended that active children and adults, and persons with respiratory diseases such as asthma limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

Right now it's 62° outside, mostly cloudy skies, wind is at 12 mph from the west south west with gusts up to 21 mph, humidity is at 71%, pressure is steady at 1022 mb, visibility is 8.9 miles, pollen levels are medium today at 6.7, and the top allergens are grasses, dock, and plantain. Today: Mostly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs in the mid 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 60s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 30 mph. MARINE FORECAST Small Craft Advisory In Effect From This Evening Through Monday Afternoon. Today: Southwest wind 10 to 15 knots. Gusts up to 20 knots in the afternoon, Mostly sunny early in the morning then becoming sunny. Waves 2 to 3 feet. Tonight: Southwest wind 10 to 20 knots with gusts to around 30 knots. Chance of thunderstorms and a slight chance of showers. Waves 4 to 6 feet.

On this date of June 19, 1910 - The first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane, Washington.

Did you know that giraffes can't swim?

Word of the day: nonpareil (non-puh-REL) which means 1) a person or thing having no equal. 2) a small pellet of colored sugar for decorating candy, cake, and cookies. 3) a flat, round, bite-sized piece of chocolate covered with this sugar. Nonpareil is from the Middle French word of the same spelling, with pareil meaning "equal." It appeared in Late Middle English as nonparaille.

52 Lists Project, #25

by Cindy Ricksgers

4 Stresses That Paramedics Deal With That Non-Paramedics Should Know About

Written by Sean Eddy

If you don’t currently work in public safety, these 4 stressors may surprise you and hopefully give you a better idea of what your public servants go through every day.
When most people think about the stresses that EMS providers deal with, they often assume we worry about making life-or-death decisions, keeping people alive, etc. While those are certainly valid stressors in our career, they aren’t necessarily what eats at us every day.
The truth is, we often find comfort in handling other people’s emergencies as it creates an easy distraction from our own problems. As I’ve said before, there have been times when it was easier to inform a mother that her child was dead than to walk in the front door of my own home and address my own problems.
If you don’t currently work in public safety, these 4 stressors may surprise you and hopefully give you a better idea of what your public servants go through every day.

1) We are just one call away from never working in the field again.

I’m mostly referring to injuries when I say this, but this applies to other areas as well. Back injuries are one of the leading career-enders for EMS professionals. We can literally have our entire livelihood taken away from us with one bad lift of the gurney. The biggest problem here is that many of us don’t have any other job skills…it’s all we know. Like many others, I started in this field at the age of 18. Leaving public safety would be a rather devastating blow.

2) We struggle to fit in outside of work.

Crazy work schedules make it difficult to participate in a “normal” social life. They can also be very damaging to relationships if we’re not careful. This is one of the reasons why so many of us have friendship circles containing mostly fellow members of public safety. While many people might not see a problem in this, deep down it bothers us. Many of us wish we could enjoy the usual Friday night out on the town with friends. We also hate having to skip out on children’s sporting events, school functions, etc.

3) We dehumanize tragedy.

I am often asked if seeing tragedy and death makes me value life more. The truth is, it has the opposite effect. It doesn’t mean we are heartless people, it’s just something we do out of necessity. We have to dehumanize our patients in order to objectively make decisions. While this works as a great defense mechanism at work, it often kills our sympathy outside of work. Many of us find it difficult to show emotion for other people’s tragedies. This leaves people thinking we are selfish or uncaring, when it fact, it’s far from the truth.

4) PTSD affects us in ways most people wouldn’t understand.

I’m not talking about nightmares of bad calls here (although that does happen). I’m talking about everyday routines that effect us in our personal lives. For example, waking up at 2am in a panic because we think we slept through our tones, or scarfing an entire meal at a restaurant in under 3 minutes out of fear of having to leave it cold to go run a call. These may not seem like a huge deal, but they can actually lead to severe depression and anxiety. It can be hard to separate our jobs from our lives and we too often cope by just working more to limit the separation. This, of course, leads to burnout and sometimes greater depression or isolation.

One of the biggest takeaways from this is to understand that our sometimes odd behavior is nothing personal. We’re not always the greatest with talking about these things, but that doesn’t mean we don’t seek or value the support of the people that love us.

Carp at Gull Harbor

and Others

View gallery of photos HERE

Video of Carp at Gull Harbor

 

Sunday's Wildflowers

View small gallery of wildflowers HERE

Wellness Garden Auction Item Additions

Leonor Jacobson provided information on some additions to the Wellness Garden Auction.

 

Manga/Anime Workshop at BIDL

Kids and adults:

On June 21, 2016, Dan McDonough will be offering a Manga/Anime drawing workshop (free of charge) at the Beaver Island District Library at 2 p.m. Materials will be available at the library, but if you would like to bring your own, Dan suggests colored pencils and a straight edge.

BIRHC Early Bird Drawing

June 12, 2016

The Early Bird Drawing took place on Sunday, June 12, 2016. The prize for this event was $1000. The event includes a return of the winning ticket for the drawing on the new car being raffled off by the BIRHC, a 2016 Chevy Cruze. Although a little blurry, the winning ticket says that the winners were Ann and Dorothy Willis.

View a gallery of photos HERE

Dorothy poses with check

Flag Disposal Ceremony

June 12, 2016

Shortly after 2:15 p.m. on Sunday June 12, 2016, the AMVETs had a special ceremony to dispose of old well-used and worn-out flags. This ceremony followed the presentation and potluck held at the Peaine Hall. The ceremony took place at the park behind the Peaine Hall. The fire was started using pine cones and pine needles using Boy Scout skills. The program began with a prayer by ordained minister Wes Sykes. Then Adam Richards' sons burned thirteen stripes of a flag announcing names of the states that were represented. Adam Richards provided information about the different sets of flags in the history of the United States. Sheri Timsak say the National Anthem. More information was provided about our country's flags, and the legal disposal of flags continued. Phil Becker provided one verse of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and then lead the group in "God Bless America."

View a gallery of photos HERE

View Video of Flag Dispoal HERE

Friends of Veterans and AMVETs Meet and Greet Plus

Presentation on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Wes and Lil Spykes

Beaver Island Veterans Project invited Wes and Lil Spykes for some rest and relaxation on Beaver Island. Wes is a Vietnam veteran and presently works with veterans in his community. Wes and Lil arrived on June11, 2016, on the early boat. Wes and Lil were shown some Island hospility on Saturday. On Sunday at 1 p.m., there was a meet and greet luncheon/pot luck at Peane Township Hall. Wes and Lil Spykes gave a presentation on post tramaitic stress disorder.

View a gallery of photos HERE

View Video of Presentation/Potluck HERE

2016 GARDEN TOUR BENEFIT

The Wellness Garden at the BIRHC and Forest View campus is a non-profit project dedicated to the beautification of the common grounds. It is solely funded by annual Garden Tour Benefit proceeds as well as a yearly summer silent auction. All work is voluntary and many of the BIRHC Board members contribute their business services. If you care to join our group of green thumbs please contact Leonor Jacobson or any Wellness Gardener. We meet weekly on Wednesday mornings 10-12pm, May- August at the Wellness Garden. Stop by and see what we have done so far. This is our 10th summer!

Port St. James Sign Bites the Dust

Update: The CCSD is not providing a news release on this accident. The serious mechanism of injury accident was a pickup versus a cement pillar. The CCSD deputy determined that there were no injuries, so EMS and FD were not called. The last information received was that "the vehicle was returned to the owner, and a citation is being issued to the driver for not reporting an accident and careless driving." 

In a motor vehicle accident happening sometime last night or early this morning, June 11, 2016, one cement pillar, the pipe holding the Port St. James Sign, and the sign itself were hit by a vehicle. This serious mechanism of injury accident did not include a page for either the BIFD or the BIEMS. The vehicle was towed and is impounded. It is impossible to locate and legally get a picture of the vehicle. If there were injuries, there was no page for EMS.

The tracks leading to the destroyed cement pillar

The pillar and pipe and sign position post accident

The southern, left hand pillar is still in place with its pipe.

The Port St. James Sign is on the ground.

It would be assumed that the accident is under investigation by the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Department, and that has to be the agency impounding the vehicle. BINN will await a press release from that agency for further information.

Get Up and Go

4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Play on June 10, 2016

What an absolutely wonderfully entertaining evening provided a full house at the Beaver Island Community Center! This is truly a tradition that needs to continue! The stars of the show? Students in Grades 4th, 5th, and 6th graders!

The cast of the hilarious program!

Some very special "Thank You's" from the program:

Ms. Pam Moxham....for EVERYTHING you do.....always! We love you!

Ms. Ann Partridge for her assistance with all things technical!

Greg Doig for taking pictures at our dress rehearsal!

Joe Moore for Live Streaming this production so off-island family and friends can join in the fun!

Kathy Boyle Zeits for creating the Hayowentha video!

Terry Meaney for making the Wagon, the tree and the mini-van!

My colleagues for their willingness to do whatever isneeded to help out with production!

Entire Beaver Island Community for their continued dedication to and support of our kids!

WE THANK YOU!

The cast at the end of the show

View a gallery of photos from this performance HERE

The program

Hands down, the overall STAR of this program was Anderson Brissette!

With his narration and his dancing between the scenes as he carried the scene names, Anderson stole the show! Great moves, Anderson!

View video of this production HERE

Recap of 2016 Warblers on the Water

Dear Island Friends,

We hope you enjoy the recap of our 2016 Warblers on the Water field trips found on the link below.  Thank you to our sponsors:  Beaver Island Association, Island Airways, Beaver Island Boat Company, Beaver Lodge, Shamrock, Dalwhinnies, McDonough's Market and the Charlevoix Transit Authority.  Their support made the Memorial Weekend event possible.

We look forward to discussing the opportunity to expand our field trips in 2017 since all the trips were filled by March.

http://www.beaverislandbirdingtrail.org/2016wowgallery.html

All the best!

Pam Grassmick

Wellness Garden Auction to Begin

The Wellness Garden at the Beaver Island Rural Health Center will be having a fundraising silent auction of several pieces of art with a range from a burning ring of fire to the Ratpack autographs with photos by Diane Wojan Scripps and many other items. Leonore Jacobson provided News on the 'Net with an exclusive showing of the items that can be bid upon beginning on next Wednesday, June 15, 2016.

Video of auction items

 

Birds on Beaver on One Ride

Osprey at Barney's Lake....Loon at Barney's Lake.....Turkey Vulture at Gull Harbor

Cormorant at Whiskey Point...Hiding Heron by Log Cabins..Eagle Family at Gull Harbor

Merganser duck and ducklings at Gull Harbor

8th Annual Glen McDonough Memorial Concert and Music School

This concert will be held on July 9, 2016, at 7 p.m. at "Reddeer," one block south of the school on the water side of the road. All donations from the concert are for the Glen McDonough Memorial Music Scholarship Fund for lessons for music students.

Musicians: Please join us with your musical instruments at the concert

For more information, please call Eleanor McDonough at 231-437-6722 or write her at 301 May Street, Charlevoix, MI 49720.

The Eve Glen McDonough Music School

The Music School will be held on July 6, 7, and 8, 2016, at "Reddeer" on block south of the school on the water side. This is a tuition-free, as it is sponsored by the Glen McDonough Memorial Scholarship Fund. Elementary and Advanced instructions will be offered to the students. We have morning and afternoon sessions. Please call 1-231-547-6722 or join us at 10 a.m. on July 6th with your musical instrument.

Rumor has it that Ruby John and Brenna McQuay will be teaching, and all students are welcome to attend.

What's Going On Behind the Print Shop Museum?

Amanda Temple.........Dr. Scott J Demel

BINN Editor Joe Moore interviewed Amanda Temple of the Northern Michigan University Archeological Field School 2016. The program's professor is Scott J. Demel, PhD, an associate professor in Anthropology at NMU. The program runs from May 22nd, and concluding the field school on June 18th. 

Field Study students working the dig.

Video of the Internview with Amanda Temple

 

The Newest Scam by Big Business

Buyer beware, especially if you have autobill pay through Direct TV. In an email today, the editor received a notification that the free Sunday NFL Ticket given to me when I signed up for DirectTV would be billed to my next bill in June 2016 in the amount of $44.99. I was told that this was an auto-renewal, and it took twenty minutes on the telephone to get to the proper person who could and would fix this problem. So, be really careful of what you think is given to you by any big business organization. You are lead to believe that you are getting something free, whether you want it or not, and then, in the fine print that no one reads, it is going to be auto-renewed on you bill.

What I was expecting: Instead of sneaking this into the fine print, I expected that any auto-renewal would require an authorization by me, expecially since I did not authorize it for my DirectTV account in the first place. Surprise, surprise, surprise! $44.99 was taken out of my autopay checking account for a service that I did not order and certainly did not authorize. I never watch the NFL Sunday Ticket anyway, but before they would listen to me about this issue, they wanted me to agree to listen to other offers. If I hadn't put my foot down, I'm sure that I would have been convinced to participate in the newest and greatest whatever for free and then those program would also have been renewed automatically and the money taken out of my checking account without my authorization.

Also, isn't it interesting that my $68.00 package of television viewing now costs me $107+ dollars per month. Heaven forbid what I would be charged if I ordered a pay-per-view movie.

Take the time to check your bills for overcharging. This seems to be the newest scam out there.

Holy Cross Bulletin for June 2016

BINGO Wednesdays

BIRHC Wellness Garden Silent Auction

Everything old is new again!  Or so it seems when you live here long enough.  ……... and so begins our 12th year of Silent Auctions at the Beaver Island Rural Health Center benefitting the Wellness Garden campus. Here are just some of the items:

Original Bruce Struik “Imagineering” art piece (for his memorial planting) donated by his daughters Marika and Libby

Carved wooden eagles (previously used) donated by new resident Joyce Logan

Beautiful reproduction of Jenkins oil painting of “Boy on the Beach” donated by The Quiet Moose in Petoskey

“Off the Island Getaway” after Labor Day:  includes 2 tickets on Island Airways, 2 nights Weathervane Terrace Inn,  dinner for 2 at the Weathervane Restaurant, return on the boat courtesy of BIBCO.

“Beautiful day in Traverse City!”  Allure Salon offering hair coloring, or cut plus manicure, or manicure and pedicure, then lunch at Amical! Travel with Fresh Air to Charlevoix!

“Change your old into new”:   one hour kitchen/bath design consultation from Sara Busby

“Gardener’s Delight”:  Shredder for composting leaves and small twigs donated by Charlevoix Ace Hardware  

“Tee off at BI Golf Course”   Take your old swing and make it new by going out for 4 rounds of golf courtesy of John Works (or use it with 3 others for a fun day!)                                                 

Darling little “Birds Nest”  sign to hang on your porch donated by Pinehill Nursery

Garden theme serving tray for outdoor dining donated by Meyers Hardware Petoskey

3 Canvas-wrapped photos of island birds  from Diane Wojan Scripps

Chicago Art Institute “Prairie Print” from Bruce Jacobson family Framed (1950’s)

Framed Beaver Island Aerial View poster from Dana D’Andraia

“Rock and Roll Party”  Brand new rock tumbler from Emily Kokotovic

Decorated Tea chests from Sylvia Harwood

3 large professionally framed photos of orchids from Bruce Struick’s estate

Jane Early “nuno felted”  fabric accessory

Original acrylic painting by local artist Judy Jones

AND  many other original island art pieces as well as our famed Farmer’s Market Basket of goodies for Homecoming Weekend!

(This will possibly include homemade bread, dessert, jam, pickles,  eggs, maple syrup, cheese, bacon,  wine, and beer all made by Beaver Islanders)

These items will be ready for bidding beginning June 15, 2016,,  many with an “or BUY NOW!”  feature so come into the Lobby.  Check out our website biruralhealth.org  (click on Wellness Garden for photos) then get your bids in.  Each item will have different end dates so there are many chances to win throughout the summer weeks. Auction will wrap-up on August 15th.

Thank for your interest and participation in this year’s Silent Auction,    

Leonor Jacobson

Biomimicry - Sustainable Design Inspired by Nature

Gretchen Hooker

Thursday June 23rd @7pm

Biomimicry - Sustainable Design Inspired by Nature

Join Biomimicry specialist Gretchen Hooker for this free public lecture on Biomimicry. Defined as "an approach to innovation that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature's time-tested patterns and strategies", biomimicry is emerging as a definitive model for creating sustainable and resilient solutions to many planetary problems. 

As Program Manager for the Biomimicry Institute, Gretchen manages the development of educational resources that serve the Institute’s design challenges and education outreach efforts. Before joining the Institute, Gretchen served as the founding director of the Sustainability Center at Montana State University, where she built a broad-based collaboration of students, faculty and staff to lead institutional change. She has also served in as a designer, writer, and co-curator for various sustainable design exhibits and publications. A designer and nature nerd at heart, her passion is creating educational content and strategic programming that builds design and ecological literacy. Gretchen is a certified Biomimicry Specialist and holds a master’s degree in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design.

Gretchen is presenting this free lecture as part of the Island's first annual "How Beaver's Can Save The World!" eco-adventure event, happening Saturday June 25th from 12-5pm. For more information and to register, please visit:

http://www.wearetheforest.org/how-beaver-s-can-save-the-world-.html

SAVE THE DATE!    Garden Tour Benefit   Wednesday, July 13th

SAVE THE DATE!    Garden Tour Benefit   Wednesday, July 13th
Another fun day of visits to several new Beaver Island gardens is in the works and we hope you can join us!  Good food (at the Lodge), good company (no more than 40 tickets sold), and gracious hosts who make it all possible, will complete the day.  Our volunteers are making this event better each year and we want to remind you that the proceeds (as well as our silent auction) will support our continuous efforts to beautify the Wellness Garden encompassing the BIRHC and Forest View campuses. A surprise speaker, and of course prizes, will be part of the lunch event. Transportation provided as usual and included in the ticket price! Look for more information as it becomes available through BIRHC, WVBI, and the news forums, as well as News On the Net. Mark your calendars, see you then,     The Wellness Garden Benefit Committee

32 Miles of Water

A Documentary by Philip Michael Moore

As appropriate today as it was then!

 

Donate to the Food Pantry

Use this button below to donate to the Food Pantry.

Donation goes to the Christian Church Food Pantry--Click the Donate Button on the far left and above.

Donate to the Live Streaming Project

 

The Live Streaming Project includes BICS Sports Events, Peaine Township Meetings, Joint Township Meetings, and much more.

Your donation may allow these events to be live streamed on the Internet at http://beaverisland.tv