Time to Definitive Care

by Joe Moore

There are those in our community that don't believe that our EMS team are educated and know what they are doing, and EMS people certainly don't know what they are talking about. There are those that would like to degrade our local EMS people for whatever reason. . If you consider comments like, "All they want to do is make money," "They don't know what they are doing," They don't have the education.." If you consider these comments true, then read some research provided below, and then look in any textbook on emergency care. As a demonstration, below are a few statemetns made in a few research related searches for the public to consider.

(From the Annals of Surgery)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1357175/
“The fundamental tenet of a trauma system is to get the right patient to the right hospital at the right time. This hinges on well-defined prehospital destination criteria, interfacility transfer protocols, and education of caregivers. Patients arriving at local community hospitals (LOCs) benefit from stabilization and transfer to trauma centers (TCs) for definitive care. However, in the absence of a formalized trauma system, patients may not reach the TC in a timely fashion and may not be appropriately treated or stabilized at LOCs prior to transfer.”
“Thus, trauma system planning efforts should focus on 1) prehospital destination protocols that allow direct transport to the TC; and 2) education of caregivers in LOCs to enhance intervention skill sets and expedite transfer to definitive care.”

(From JEMS Magazine)
http://www.jems.com/articles/2008/08/golden-hour.html
“‘60 Precious Minutes’
The “Golden Hour” was first described by R Adams Cowley, MD, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore.1 From his personal experiences and observations in post-World War II Europe, and then in Baltimore in the 1960s, Dr. Cowley recognized that the sooner trauma patients reached definitive care—particularly if they arrived within 60 minutes of being injured—the better their chance of survival.”

http://www.mayoclinic.org/medical-professionals/clinical-updates/trauma/diagnostic-studies-delay-transfer-to-definitive-care
“In emergency medicine, time is life, and most emergency departments meet or exceed the time-to-treatment benchmarks for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and acute stroke. But much less attention is given to the rapid triage and transfer of trauma patients, for whom time is just as critical.”

http://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644%2810%2901353-3/fulltext
“Sometimes old dogmas help save lives, allowing people with diverse levels of knowledge to grasp a simple concept. The golden hour of trauma is a classic example of this, and, as imperfect as it is, the concept of timely care must survive; no need to reset your clocks.”

(World Health Organization)
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/5/12-112664/en/
“The term acute care encompasses a range of clinical health-care functions, including emergency medicine, trauma care, pre-hospital emergency care, acute care surgery, critical care, urgent care and short-term inpatient stabilization.”

(Australian Journal of Rural Health)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ajr.12160/abstract
“However, the duration for transfer of patients is suboptimal because of the lack of established pathways for urgent non-trauma transfer from rural centres..”
(Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services)

http://health.mo.gov/living/healthcondiseases/chronic/tcdsystem/

“Minutes make a difference

Severe injury requires timely definitive care for the best outcomes for survival and recovery. Likewise, stroke and STEMI heart attack victims who receive treatment within specific time frames from the time their symptoms begin are more likely to recover and less likely to have permanent disabilities. Currently, only a small percentage of stroke patients and less than half of heart attack patients in Missouri get help within the recommended amount of time.”

http://www.emsworld.com/article/11434069/critical-decisions-in-time-sensitive-emergencies
“Chris Granger, MD, chair of the AHA Mission: Lifeline project, recommends that if you can get a prehospital patient from first medical contact to balloon (E2B) within 90 minutes.”
“a joint effort is required to streamline times from first medical contact to balloon.”

http://www.emsworld.com/article/11434069/critical-decisions-in-time-sensitive-emergencies
“Each year nearly 800,000 U.S. citizens experience stroke, and the vast majority do not receive medical attention in time for early fibrinolytics to be considered.”
“Time is brain when a patient is a potential candidate for fibronlytics; for every minute delay that occurs prior to tPA administration for ischemic stroke, up to two million neurons die.”

(Position Paper of the National Association of EMS Physicians)
http://www.naemsp.org/Documents/Position%20Papers/POSITION%20Considerations%20in%20Establishing%20EMS%20Response%20Time%20Goals.pdf
“This stems from their need for specialized definitive care in a time-limited fashion. For example, patients with myocardial injury or patients experiencing critical trauma demand complex interventions by the health care system. Trauma patients require response intervals targeted toward delivering the patient to definitive trauma care to prevent mortality and morbidity from shock. Patients experiencing myocardial injury require rapid reperfusion. These interventions can be expedited by a timely EMS response”

So, the next time you want to make a comment about why our EMS wants to use the most timely and efficient method of getting a patient to definitive care, perhaps you could quote some of these accepted experts' opinions.

A wise man once said, "You can tell the truthfulness of your friendship by what your friend says behind your back."

Peaine Township Meeting

November 11, 2015

The Peaine Township Board did not have a quorum, so there was not a Peaine Township Meeting tonight.

Beaver Island Disaster Management Meeting

November 11, 2015

Beaver Island was provided an opportunity to learn about the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmett Counties Disaster Managment Plan and what this group could and would do for Beaver Island if our resources became overwhelmed. Gregory Williams, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for the Tri-County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security along with Megan Anderson, the Deputy Director, came to the island today and provided general information and an excellent question and answer period for attendees. The Director considered the most important part of the plan is to make it as generic as possible, and then work on the specifics of expected disasters such as large fire, airplane crash, EMS injury disaster, HAZMAT disaster, etc.

If you are interested, you can receive alerts from the emergency and disaster managment office by signing up for these alerts on the website. The website address is http://cceoem.net and you can sign up by clicking on the button on the homepage labeled * BE ALERT*

Greg Williams, Director

Megan Anderson, Deputy Director

Those attending the meeting included BIEMS members, fire chief and assistant chief, CCSD Deputy, Island Airways, BIRHC Provider and Board Members, and BIESA Board Members.

Video of this meeting available HERE

BICS 2015-16 Basketball Schedule

Thank You, Veterans!

Video of the Beaver Island AMVETs' Ceremony HERE

Gathering for the Ceremony

Bob Tidmore Speaks about the Flags Flying above and gives the order of events.

Sarah Avery leads the group in the Pledge of Allegiance

Kathy Speck leads "God Bless America

Adam Richards reads a writing by George Anthony

The AMVETS in formation

Alvin LaFreniere tells the story of the beginning of TAPS.

Dickie McEvoy played the electronic version of TAPS.

MARY ANN OMER Obituary

Mary Ann Omer, age 86 of Caseyville, KY, died Friday, 11/6/15, at the home of her son. She was a retired school teacher. She was a member of Sturgis First Baptist Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents Beatrice and M.L. Thomas; husband Robert "Pup" Omer; brother Dick Trimble. Survivors include 1 son Robert Omer II of Sturgis, KY and 1 granddaughter Jessice Ann Omer.

Visitation will be 4-7 PM Thursday 11/12/15 concluding with a memorial service at 7 PM at Whitsell Funeral Home in Sturgis, KY. Brother Shane O'Guin will officiate. Burial will be in Pythian Ridge Cemetery in Sturgis, KY.

Memorial contributions may be made to Union County Dog Pound.

A Difficult Emergency

by Joe Moore

Sometimes, emergencies happen, and an EMT just has to do the best that (s)he can do while it’s going on.  The situation in a small isolated community is even more difficult than doing EMS in a busy city system.  The difficulty is not in numbers, but in the patient-EMT relationship.  This run was one of the most difficult of my EMS career, but most of them are difficult because I not only know these people, but they are friends, adopted relatives, former students, or children of all these categories.
We are paged to the home of my wife’s father and mother.  Since my mother and father have died years before, Paul and Jill seem more like my parents than my in-laws.   It’s about nine o’clock at night, we are responding to a patient with chest pain.  To make this even more interesting, I am the paramedic on-call.  I arrive in the emergency response vehicle, licensed at the advanced level, and enter the house, carrying the cardiac monitor and jump kit, after knocking on the door.  I had to wade through snow to get to the door.  The patient is my father-in-law, who has a history of previous heart attacks.

I notice his skin color, and it is not a good color.  He is very pale with sweat dripping down his face.  He is in his pajamas, and the inside temperature is not very hot.  In EMT school, we call this “pale, cool, and diaphoretic.”  I walk over to him, and he is sitting where he always sits, in his chair.  I ask, “How are  you doing Paul?”

He responds, “I …can’t…..catch…my ……breath. I….have …..pressure….and…..pain…”

“In the middle of your chest?” I ask, trying to save him some words that were coming with difficulty with one word dyspnea.

“Yes,” he responded.

“And how long has this been going on?” I queried.

“About an hour and a half,” my mother-in-law responded.  “He took a couple of nitro, but they didn’t seem to give him any relief.  He didn’t want me to call you guys, but he needs to get to the mainland.”

“You are absolutely correct, Jill,” I answer.  Just as I finish my sentence the room fills with EMS people.  We have the butcher, the baker, the plumber, and a couple more.  Some are EMTs, and some or MFRs.

Jim, an EMT-Specialist, is with them, as is Jerry, the MFR.  “Jim, will you get the oxygen set up and give Paul the non-rebreather mask at fifteen liters per minutes, while I get the 12-lead on?” I say, “And Jerry, will you get the cot, and get someone to shovel the walk outside so we don’t have any issues getting Paul out to the ambulance.”

The butcher walks out through the kitchen and comes back with a snow shovel.  “I’ve got the shovel, and it will be clear before you need to get out to the rig.”

“Here is the oxygen, sir,” Jim stated. “This mask should help with your breathing.”

“Yes, …….SIR,” Paul stated.   Paul was a little miffed based upon his emphasis on the word “SIR.”  That’s understandable since the person placing the oxygen had been know by the patient his entire life.  On this most remote inhabited island in the Great Lakes, the formalities have been dispensed with in most situations, but training kicks in during an emergency, especially when you work on someone you know quite well.

I put on the twelve lead EKG and noted the obvious lack of oxygen getting to two parts of his heart.  Next, an IV was started in the crease of his left elbow.  “There will be a poke, Paul, and we’ll get this IV started.  Then we will get you something for your pain.”
His wife said, “He’s already taken all the nitro that was in his pocket, but it didn’t seem to help.”

I replied, “Paul, how long have you been carrying that nitro around?”

He replied, actually speaking a little better through the non-rebreather mask, “It was about…….the time of my………last heart attack.”

“Okay, Paul,” I said, “we’ll be giving you another nitro and some aspirin to make certain that we do everything we can to make you comfortable.”  Vital signs were taken again, and then a BIEMS drug box nitro and aspirin was given.

Paul said, “That’s much better.”  His breathing was a little better, his color was returning, and his sweating was evaporating and not being replaced.  This was probably due to a combination of things including the oxygen, the nitro, and the comfort that the patient was now feeling.

“Paul, what number would you give your pain from zero meaning no pain and ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt?” I asked.

“It’s about a five,” Paul said, “Much better than before.”

The paramedic in me decided to give the patient two milligrams of morphine to help with the pain relief before we moved the patient.  As we readied Paul for transport, Jill had already prepared a suitcase, fed the cat, and set the garbage outside the back door.  She said, “Will you take this out to the garage so the animals won’t get into it?”

Before I said anything, the plumber said, “Consider it done.”

The oximeter reading read 100%, so, before leaving the house, we lowered the flow of oxygen to four liters per minute by nasal cannula, and the oximeter continued to read between 95% and 98%, but we kept the mask handy in case it was needed.  Jill said, “His cardiologist says he’s supposed to wear this mask anytime he goes outside.”  So the facemask, meant to buffer the cold air,  was put on our patient right over the nasal canula, but Paul looked like a character in a violent chainsaw film.  All I could see of Paul’s face was his eyes.  It would be fun to try to work around this mask, but it could easily be removed.

The exit from the house was uneventful.  We lifted the cot down the stairs and continued out the curving sidewalk with me backing up.  The ambulance cot was moving smoothly down the sidewalk when, all of a sudden, I fell into the snow bank.  I, of course grabbed the only thing to grab and almost dumped my father-in-law into the snow bank with me, but I held the edge of the cot up with one hand while the rest of the crew grabbed the cot to stabilize it.  They continued to move to load the patient into the ambulance on this cold, snowy, and windy night.

I struggled twice to get to my feet in the snow and the ice under the snow.  The first time, my feet went out from under me on the icy piece of sidewalk, the one that I had fallen on a moment before.  Then I got smart and crawled on all fours in the snow about four feet to a part of the shoveled walk that was not covered with ice.  I’m guessing my father-in-law and mother-in-law will never let me forget the time that I almost dumped him into a snow bank.  I got up, brushed myself off, and walked carefully to the ambulance to get in.

Once inside the ambulance, Paul said with a smile on his face, “If you’re quite done………playing around…..in the snow……I need to get…….to the hospital.”  He obviously had a good sense of humor, much better than mine.

 
On the way to the airport, I gave a report to medical control in Charlevoix with a request to bypass to Northern Michigan Hospital, which they approved.  We continued the monitoring of the cardiac rhythm, the pulse oximeter reading the oxygen level in the blood, as well as vital signs.  I hooked up the End-tidal carbon dioxide monitoring as well as the automatic blood pressure cuff.  Halfway to the airport, Paul stated that his chest pain was coming back, so he got another nitroglycerin tablet under his tongue as well as two more milligrams of morphine.  We had to take off the facemask long enough to give him the nitro and then also put the facemask back on the patient. I figured that Paul had told us the cardiologist told him to wear it when he was outside in the cold.  We added some oxygen tubing that we wrapped around a couple of heat packs in an attempt to warm the oxygen before it got to his nose. We also put two heat packs and taped them to the outside of the IV bag for the same purpose, even though the IV fluid had been on the warmer in the ambulance.  It had definitely cooled off while outside and in the ambulance.

We arrived at the airport to find the plane had been readied and the pilot ready to go.  The quickest way to the mainland and to the hospital was using this aircraft, and I wanted to get my father-in-law to the hospital as soon as possible, but I would have recommended this to any other patient as well.  What would you do?  Get them to the hospital to definitive care in about a half an hour, or wait over an hour for an evacuation plane to arrive, switch equipment from ours to theirs, load him into their aircraft allowing only Jill to go with him, and then fly them off the island?  This would add about an hour before Paul got to definitive care.  I chose quick and efficient over the other.

Before getting Paul into the aircraft, while still in the back of the ambulance, all equipment was loaded into the aircraft.  I gave Paul two more milligrams of morphine after another nitro.  I put the nitro in my shirt pocket and the syringe of morphine in my coat pocket along with some alcohol pads.  Even though it was going to be nice and warm in the aircraft, and even though we could have the lights on when needed, I preferred to use a little flashlight or a penlight to monitor the IV and check the patient in flight.

We quickly and efficiently loaded my father-in-law into the aircraft with extra blankets over the top to keep him warm.  He stayed right on our ambulance cot, and the cot was strapped down to the deck, so it wouldn’t move.  Once we were in the aircraft, the heater would provide all that we needed to keep him warm.  With all the ambulance equipment already hooked up and monitoring the patient, there was no extra time needed to prepare for the flight.  The pilot entered the plane after helping Jill get into the co-pilot’s seat.

I chose to have two EMTs join me in the plane.  I wanted to be prepared for any serious complications, so we had one EMT monitoring the oxygen and prepared to bag the patient if needed, one doing vital signs every five minutes, and the paramedic monitoring the IV, EKG, SPO2, EtCO2, and continuing the treatment needed by the patient.  Of course, we were also prepared to perform CPR, if necessary, but stabilization had taken place prior to the flight, and I felt comfortable that we were doing the proper ACLS treatment for this particular patient, not that we didn’t always do so.

Shortly after take-off, the pilot stated that there was a blizzard up north of Charlevoix, but it was clear over to Charlevoix.  We would not be going to Northern Michigan Hospital tonight due to the blizzard.

That news kept me busy for a few minutes.  I first used my headset and portable radio to call dispatch to cancel the ambulance service at Harbor Springs Airport and dispatch the Charlevoix Ambulance to Charlevoix Airport with our estimated time of arrival in less than fifteen minutes.  Second, I called medical control at Charlevoix Hospital to notify them of the change in destination.  I tried to call Northern Michigan on the radio, but did not get any answer on any of the frequencies that I tried.  I called Charlevoix Hospital back, and I asked Charlevoix to notify Northern of the changes.  While I had Charlevoix on the radio, I gave another update on patient condition, which was “stable with vital signs in normal limits, previous orders being followed, and pain management protocol being followed.”  They were perfectly fine with the treatment and did not provide any additional orders even though I asked them if they did have any orders for this patient.

My father-in-law remained stable throughout the flight diverted to Charlevoix with two more nitroglycerin tablets, one about halfway across the thirty-two miles of water, and another just before landing, and pain management protocol followed for the fifteen minute flight.

Upon landing, the Charlevoix EMS ambulance was waiting for us.  Normally, at this time, we would turn the patient over to the mainland paramedic, but this was not a normal situation.  This was my relative, albeit by marriage.  They helped Jill get into the ambulance in the front of their rig.  We left the doors of the plane closed until they were able to get their cot out of the ambulance and then place it out of the weather.  I opened the door, had the pilot undo the straps holding the cot, and we quickly unloaded our ambulance cot from the plane, and loaded it into the Charlevoix ambulance.  I think the paramedic there was almost speechless when I said, “I’m going with you to the hospital.  This is Paul, my father-in-law.”

It was unusual for me not to turn the patient over to the paramedic in Charlevoix and get on a return flight right away.  It had been years since we had been ALS while Charlevoix was Limited Advanced.  It had been years since I had accompanied a patient to the hospital.  They simply would have to do without me on the island for the night.  My wife and my mother-in-law would want me to be there with Paul.  So, I got into the back of the Charlevoix ambulance and went with our patient to the hospital.  We let Charlevoix handle the ER door code and the basic report to the nurse upon arrival in the ER.

Paul was moved from the island EMS cot to the ER bed.  The oxygen was switched over to the hospital oxygen, the Beaver Island EMS cardiac monitor was removed along with the auto BP cuff, the pulse oximeter, and the end tidal carbon dioxide monitor, and this equipment was wheeled out by the nurses’ station on our ambulance cot with the oxygen tank and the monitor, etc.  The ER nurse was hooking up the hospital cardiac monitor and other equipment as I walked back into the room. I brought Jill in, so she could be handy if any questions needed to be answered, and then I sat down by her.  The ER nurse looked up and said to me, “We’re all set, so you can go now.”

I didn’t have any chance to say anything, but my mother-in-law Jill said it all, “He’s not going anywhere.  He’s with me.  This is my son-in-law, and I want him here.”  The nurse looked at me, then at Jill, and decided that I should stay right where I was. 
After about five minutes or so, my cell phone rang because I forgot to turn it off when I entered the ER.  I stepped out in the hall, and the call was from the island.  There was another patient at the medical center that needed transport off the island, so I needed to get back to the island right away.  Apparently, the plane had not headed back to the island yet.  They were waiting for me.  The Charlevoix EMS crew was ready to take me back to the airport, so I grabbed my cot with the equipment on it, stuck my head into the room, and told Jill, “I have another patient to bring over, but I will be back in a little while.”

So began one of those interesting nights in EMS from the most remote inhabited island in the Great Lakes.  The next patient was a parent of one of the students in my classroom at school.  This patient also needed full monitoring and a paramedic, and both of my patients ended up in the Intensive Care Unit as roommates.  The ICU nurse also had island connections, so it seemed like old home week in the ICU that night and early morning.

Jill and I got two motel rooms for the night, and I was up early to get to the airport to come back home and to go to work.  I started walking, and the Charlevoix EMS director saw me, picked me up, and gave me a ride to the airport.  Jill’s other daughter would be in town to take her back to the hospital.  The Charlevoix EMS guys and gals had driven us both to the motel, and now getting me where I needed to go.  This is an amazing group of people in EMS on both sides of the water.
I got back to the island in time to teach my second hour class the very next morning.  Someone else had to handle the Homeroom class during first hour, but my second hour class started out with questions about the patients, which I could not talk about.  “Sorry, kids, but I am not allowed to talk about these ambulance runs due to privacy rules,” I told them.

 It was amazing to me how much the 7th and 8th grade students knew about what had happened, when it had happened, and how the two patients were doing.  Such is life in a small community, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

(This emergency was part of a documentary that my son Philip Michael Moore did for his Master's degree project for Broadcast and Cinematic Arts at Central Michigan Emergency. Imagine being video taped while taking care of someone you are related to. The documentary was entitled "32 Miles of Water." This video is presented below. There really isn't anything more appropriate than this video done many years ago as the island faces the challenges of keeping the essential air transport that was finally licensed after many years of work by Beaver Island EMS, Island Airways, and both townships.)

32 Miles of Water, A Documentary by Philip Michael Moore

 

Big Milestone For Chamber Facebook Page

Our Friends of Beaver Island Facebook page has hit 4000 likes. www.facebook.com/beaverisland Some of the current photos are great. A special thank you goes to Frank Solle for many great shots. Please take a look and share. Help us market Beaver Island. Thanks!

Steve West, Executive Director

October Video Report

There were 19,652 video clips viewed from 173 unique IP addresses through the month of October. The most popular videos with over three hundred views included the Island Airways Hangar Party, Petroqueen Maiden Voyage, and the Beaver Boodle and Bite. Moving the Gillespie House had over 350 views, and the Donegal Bay Improvements video clip had over two hundred. The video clips are beginning to have an audience. The sports games this fall were live streamed with close to fifty viewers as well.

Although this report is about October, it might be interesting to note that the Trunk or Treat video clips and the Fall Drive into Town are leading with over 100 views with a total views of just shy of 6,000 from just shy of one hundred unique IPs.

Medical First Responder and EMT Program to Begin Soon

Beaver Island Emergency Medical Service will be sponsoring an MFR program this winter with a continuation to Basic Emergency Medical Technician.  The exact dates of start and end will be determined after renewal of the BIEMS education sponsorship. 
It is essential for interested persons to contact Kevin White, BIEMS Director, so that the program materials can be ordered, such as textbooks, workbooks, and supplies.
The EMT program will take approximately 200 hours of class time, which includes lecture/discussion and practical skills as well as a minimum of 32 hours of clinical time split between a hospital and an EMS service on the mainland.  The MFR program will take approximately half the number of hours of class time, and no required clinical time.
If you are interested in either or both, please contact Kevin White by phone at 231-448-2578 or by email at beaverislandems@gmail.com. 
More specifics will be available in the near future.

I Don't Want to Argue

by Cindy Rickgers

Church on Sunday

by Cindy Ricksgers

AMVETS Membership

If you are a veteran and  interested in joining Beaver Island’s AMVETS Post 46 they are offering a free membership for the first year from November 8th  to the 14th.

For more information contact the AMVETS at amvetspost46@yahoo.com or Bob Tidmore at 231-448-3088.

Ten BICS Students Certified in CPR

In a partnership between the Beaver Island Community School, Beaver Island EMS, and the Health Occupations program at the school, two classes took place. One class was on Thursday, and another one was on Friday. These students are in the Health Occupation's program at Beaver Island Community School and are part of the Health Occupations Students of America.

The instructor of the BICS HOSA program is Kathie Ehinger, a BIEMS paramedic. The American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers instructor is Joe Moore, also a BIEMS paramedic. Both days included a full course. Joe Moore said, "All of these students were required to be participating in the rather rigorous program that required a lot of hands-on training. They were required to be tested on one person and two person Adult Basic Life Support as well as one person and two person Infant CPR and care for choking victims of all ages. The also had to take a written exam at the end."

There will also be another BLS full course and a recertification course for students and adults working at the school. These programs will require the assistance of another CPR instructor, Gerald LaFreniere.

Beaver Island Friends of the Veterans

Events Scheduled

LUNCH WITH SANTA!

Lunch with Santa will be held for all children on the Island and their parents and/or grandparents on Saturday, December 12, 2015 - 11:00-1:00 at the Gregg Fellowship Hall.  Hotdogs, chips, beverage, ice cream and cookies will be provided by the BIFOV.  Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive around 12:00 Noon.  Bring your children and grandchildren so they can give Santa their Christmas wish list.


SANTA'S WORKSHOP

Beaver Island Friends of Veterans will again hold a SANTA'S WORKSHOP on Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at Beaver Island Community School Gym, where the children will be able to purchase inexpensive ($1)items for their siblings, parents, grandparents and other family members and friends.  The Friends of Veterans and AMVETS will be available to help the young ones wrap their gifts.  Bring a camera to get a picture of you child with Santa.


Thanks.  HAVE A HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON! 

Transfer Station Job Opening

Events Coming to Gregg Fellowship Center and the Christian Church

The Annual Thanksgiving Dinner will be on November 26, 2015 at 6:00PM  at the Gregg Fellowship Center  If possible bring a dish to pass or a dessert to share.  We furnish Turkey, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy also punch and coffee or tea

The Annual Christmas Cantata at the Beaver Island Christian Church wil be on December 5 & 6, 2015, at 2:00PM.

The Annual Cookie Carnival at the Gregg Fellowship Center will start at NOON and go until 4:00pm on Thursday, December 10, 2015.  This year, anyone wanting Nutmeg Logs and/or Party Cookies are asked to pre-order.  You can call Jean Carpenter at 448-2893 to pre-order. 

Special St. James Meeting-Auditor Report

This long awaited meeting of the results of an independent audit of the St. James funds specifically related to the Sewer Fund borrowing from the Road Fund and the General Fund took place at the St. James Township Hall today, October 20, 2015, beginning at 9:30 p.m. and lasting until just before 11 a.m. Questions from the board were answered as the auditor made his presentation. The auditor was Stephen M. Peacock, CPA, from Rehmann Robson from Traverse City, Michigan.

Stephen Peacock before the meeting

Several questions were asked regarding the report and when it would be available to the public. It was determined that the draft report would be posted on the St. James Township website this afternoon. The board will have to decide if they want any changes or any other review, but will finalize the report likely at the November board meeting.

The facts show that mistakes were made, certain billings were not done, and that the actual legal responsibility was not completed in a timely manner. The township attorney was asked to answer a question from the public: "When does negligence become criminal?" The lawyer's answer was not the one that was expected by some in the audience of twenty-nine people. "Negligence never becomes criminal." So as many people view this situation, mistakes were made, and efforts are being made to recover as much money as possible from the participants in the sewer running from the Holy Cross Hall down to the King Strang Hotel including Ray Matella's house.

Early on group attending the meeting

Mr. Peacock giving recommendations

Just a few of the people asking questions

This plan for collection will also be discussed, possibly at another special meeting as soon as tomorrow, but definitely another item on the agenda for the November meeting of the board.

Link to Auditor Draft Report

Video of Special Meeting HERE

Donate to the Food Pantry