B. I. News on the 'Net, November 29-December 5, 2010

An Example of the Christmas Spirit

Gift of garlands from Powers' Hardware and Pinky's to Dahwhinnies'

"John Bowie and Larry Forth donated the beautiful garlands (made by Heidi Connor) that are now gracing our pocket gardens. Many thanks to them both for their generous thoughtfulness!" stated Cindy Ricksgers on the Beaver Island Forum. This certainly shows the spirit of Christmas. St. James Township Supervisor Rick Speck stated at the meeting on December 1, 2010, "I first thought that .... had completed this and that we would receive a bill, but we found out that there wasn't any (bill)." John and Larry, you have demonstrated one of the many reasons why Beaver Island is such a unique place to live.

We also understand that you have participated in the Community Center's Christmas Activities! What a fantastic demonstration of the Christmas Spirit! Thank you both so much! BINN wishes you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Please send me your email address to medic5740@gmail.com, we have a gift for you.

Cantata Sunday at 3 p.m.

What a wonderful Christmas gift to the entire community! The Cantata performance on Saturday, December 4, 2010, began promptly at 3 p.m. If you missed it, you still have a chance to attend on Sunday at 3 p.m. The music was beautiful! The comradery was amazing! The Spirit of Christmas was present! Thanks to Shelly Scripps and to Ron Marsh for taking pictures and helping out!

What a program! Here are some pictures from the Saturday performance to give you an idea. A more in depth article and video will be coming up next week.

 

Judi Meister and Joe Moore "O Holy Night" ...Jayne Bailey, Jean Wierenga, Mike Scripps, Dan Vander Vliet "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem:

Liturgical Dance "Joy to the World" Nancy Ferguson..."Coventry Carol" Joe Moore, Matt Ritchie, Jayne Bailey, Donna Stambaugh, Marianne Weaver

"Joseph Lieber, Joseph Mein" Recorders

"Silent Night" Sheri Timsak, Mike Scripps, Laura Gibson....."Bethlehem Babe" vocal ensemble and strings, Judi Meister piano

:"Ave Maria" Bach-Gounod Joe Moore and Judi Meister....."Silent Night" liturgical dance Nancy Ferguson

"Ordinary Baby" Mike Scripps with Laura Gibson and Sheri Richards

Chimes Choir directed by Deb Plastrik "O Little Town of Bethlehem" "What Child is This" "Angels from the Realms of Glory"

And the Cantata Community Choir singing "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" Narrators: Matt Ritchie and Pinky Harmon

This included solos by Elaine West, Phil Becker, Bob Hoogendoorn and a small, young children's choir.

"Angels We Have Heard on High" with Cantata choir, Mike Scripps on keyboard, and the children's choir with audience participation.

Many thanks to the Cantata Choir Director, Program Designer, and overall organizer Kathy Speck!!

Christmas After-Hours Event

After the Cantata, several Island businesses had decided to stay open later, some with excellent sale prices on specific items. The view downtown was interesting. There were cars filling both sides of the street from Powers' Hardware down to the Community Center. There were other businesses open as well.

Downtown....caught a few willing participants in the pictures above....

The Remembrance Tree at the Community Center

Heidi Connors with her Gingerbread house

Another look at downtown

At Montaage...

Senior Housing "Forest View" Progressing

The construction of this senior housing project is progressing. These photos start in the BIRHC parking lot and go around the building in a clockwise direction. So starting on the west side of the building and ending on the south side of the building, here is the senior housing progress for the week.

Looking east..........................then looking south

Looking south.......then looking southwest

Last, looking from Stoney Acre parking lot with a view to the north

St. James Township Meeting, December 1, 2010

At a very short township meeting, just a little over thirty minutes, the St. James Township Board accomplished a great deal. In one motion, minutes of three meetings were approved. Bills were approved with additions. One letter was read, and there were no reports. Due to some county disagreement with the order of approval, the board re-approved the rezoning for the Connelly property from Agricultural to Residential. In new business, the Board of Review position posting was discussed. The Board of Review was scheduled for Friday, December 17, 2010, at 4 p.m. St. James approved the the BI Airport Commission Rules of Approval and passed a resolution allowing the Airport Commission chairman to sign paperwork for the MDOT grants in the amount of just over $200,000. The board approved the rental of office space to the airport commission in the Governmental Center, as well as agreed to post notice for snowplowing bids. It also authorized the supervisor to open the bids and choose the person for snowplowing after polling the other board members.

Added to the agenda were two items that were also approved. A resolution to amend the original NRETC creation resolution to include the Conservation Club, the Chamber of Commerce, the Little Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Historical Society, and the Little Traverse Conservancy was approved. Travis Williams made a presentation about his family's need for an additional bedroom at the DNR building. The board approved the creation of a bedroom in part of the garage space and to fund the total cost of the improvement of just over $1000 with hopes of sharing this cost with Peaine Township.

Video of this meeting

At Stoney Acres

Put on your shopping shoes and head out to Stoney this Saturday Dec 4th for our
STONEY'S SUPER SALE! ALL DAY...30% off!
ALL t-shirts, Sweatshirts, Hoodies, Zip hoodies, Polos, Bumper stickers, Shot glasses, and Waving hands. PLUS get 10% back in Stoney Bucks...good for Lunch and Dinner.
Enjoy Christmas shopping, with Great savings at Stoney!
Our best to you for safe & happy Holidays!
Liam & Marilyn

Abigail Adams Hart Has Delivered a Son

The specifics are not available at this moment. This was heard in McDonough's Market at about 3:30 p.m. We'll post information and a picture as soon as it is available.

Braxton Wheeler Hart was born at approximately 2:45 p.m. He was 7 pounds 11 ounces and 19 inches long.

Shamrock Serving Breakfast

It's been awhile since the Shamrock served breakfast, but it is nice to have a choice.

So, the diligent and hungry reporter decided to enter the building mid-morning on Monday, December 1, 2010, to sample the breakfast. The coffee was served hot and strong and delivered to the table very quickly. The order was placed immediately, one person having a scone and coffee, the other having eggs over easy, potatoes without onions, and whole wheat toast. The food was brought to the table by owner.

Eric cooked and delivered breakfast. Dana refilled coffee and water.

The food was presented well and looked good enough to eat, which was accomplished quite effectively. It was tasty and hot.

All in all, this reporter would suggest that you give the Shamrock a try for breakfast on any day of the week. It was quite nice to sit and talk and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. The total cost of two coffees and the food was just a little over $12, which is quite reasonable.

My Turn

Shop Beaver Island First For Christmas By Steve West

Recently a local small business owner disclosed to me how many thousands, yes thousands of dollars a year he gives to local organizations and charitable causes. The number was shockingly large. The good will purchase aspect of such giving doesn't amount to a hill of beans. The majority of business owners do it because they care about the Beaver Island community.

 

This is the time of year we should remember to give back to our community by shopping and buying locally for Christmas. Your local merchants support our community in many ways. This holiday season lets all make an extra effort to support them with our checkbook as well as saying, “thanks and Merry Christmas.”

Joey Timsak's First Born

Joey Timsak and his wife Jenni announce the birth of their first born son, Brody Alexander, born on November 30, 2010, at approximately 9:56 a.m., weighing 5 pounds 15 ounces and 18 inches in length. This is their first child. Congratulations Joey and Jenni!

Christmas Cantata

Rehearsals Underway--Coming Next Weekend, December 4th and 5th

Rehearsals are well underway for the Annual Christmas Cantata. Sectionals and full choir rehearsals having been going on all the month of November. Kathy Speck is again conducting and teaching chorus members, making sure that the music will again be wonderfully uplifting. This year's Annual Christmas Cantata is only two weeks away and will be performed on Saturday and Sunday, December 4th and December 5th, at 3 p.m. Come join the community choir and other performers in the celebration of the spirit of Christmas! See you there!

Immature Eagle or Turkey Vulture?

Gull Harbor is the place to be...(Sung to the tune of the Green Acres TV show theme). It is a common mistake to see a turkey vulture and think that you are looking at a golden eagle. The key to the difference for some is to look very closely at the head of the bird in question.

The above bird was perched on a rock by the shoreline at Gull Harbor. It took off immediately and flew south into the woods after a quick circling of the harbor area. This was the only picture that came out even close to being presentable. If you look closely, you can see his skinny red head that makes this a turkey vulture. But turning around and looking into the tall tree at this same location was an immature eagle. The idea that the two of them sharing a hunting area was quite intriguing.

Right around the corner was a reminder of why this area has been dubbed "Eagle View" with the wonderful sculpture in the front yard of a cabin, Walt Lach's cabin.

The winter season may be upon us, but there is plenty of wildlife to see and enjoy close to Paradise Bay and just a short walk from the Whiskey Point Lighthouse. Where's the dang tripod when you need it. It's never in the car waiting to be used. If there's situation where the tripod is need, it tries to be as far away from that location as can be physically possible without the brains or means for locomotion. In this case the tripod was at home waiting to be used, but the video camera was in the car, and there's no doubt that this eagle would be gone by the time the trip home and back was completed. Here is a short jiggly video clip of the immature eagle in the tree in a snow storm.

 

Winter Time Hits Beaver Island

With a temperature of 27 degrees, wind out of the west at 26 mph, and a wind chill of 11 degrees, there will be no golf today from even the most dedicated members of the Beaver Island Golf Course. One will probably ship his clubs off either this weekend or Monday, which signals the final golf round of the year. His email comment of a 3% chance for another round of golf really gives those dedicated golfers a second thought. Perhaps Sunday will be better with a forecast of 41 degrees which would melt the snow. Monday is slightly warmer with a chance of precipitation, but it may be time to clean up the clubs and bag and be realistic. "Impossible is impossible," the motto of some may really be the saying for most of the rest of the weekend and next week, but there is always hope.

Beaver Island, North Carolina, has a temperature of 56 degrees with winds from the south at 8 mph. Perhaps a change locations may be in order to be able to play golf, but otherwise it seems unlikely.

A Wonderful Thanksgiving at the Gregg Fellowship Center

Not sure whether the social time or the meal or the atmosphere caused it, but they were all excellent--a good, old-fashioned pot luck!

A group of just over sixty people gathered at the Gregg Fellowship Center for a traditional turkey, mashed potatoes, and dressing dinner. There was also a beautiful fruit basket. There were plenty of side dishes to sample from escargot (Thank you, Pinky!) to sauerkraut salad to sweet potato casserole to green bean casserole to Caesar salad, cornbread to rolls and homemade bread. The dinner was prepared for one hundred people, so four large turkeys were carved, lots of mashed potatoes were made, as well as large amounts of stuffing. Besides the main meal, there were lots of choices for desert including pumpkin and apple pie. No one left the fellowship center hungry. In addition to the conversation and the meal, attendees were cajoled into taking home leftovers in to-go containers. The concept of pickings after a Thanksgiving dinner was different from normal as you could take any of the whole gamut of menu home for your next-day snack.

Thanks to all who contributed food! Thanks to all who worked so hard to prepare the dinner! Thanks to Jean Carpenter, Ruth Gregg, Lil Gregg, Joe Moore, and Tom Whitman for their efforts to make this a perfect gathering with excellent food! Thanks to all who attended to make this the 45th gathering for Thanksgiving Dinner!

(This photographer was busy carving turkeys and making mashed potatoes, so no pictures are readily available.)

We hope that you had a wonderful gathering of family and friends to enjoy and share your Thanksgiving Dinner!

Don Welke Memorial Service

The rosary was held at Holy Cross church on Beaver Island on Friday evening, November 26, 2010. Memorial mass was said at 11 a.m. Saturday, Novmeber 27, 2010 with burial following in Welke Cemetary.

Larry Hall Address

For those of you who would like to send your well wishes to Larry Hall, below is the address information:

Larry Hall
c/o Meadow Brook, Room #20A
4543 South M-88 Hwy.
Bellaire, MI 49615

Shirley Sowa Address

Shirley is recovering from a run in with pneumonia. Cards and letters may be sent to her in care of Catherine Meintsma at the following address:

481 Harrison Avenue

Coopersville, MI 49404

Island Residents Recovering

Update: Shirley has been granted the ability to travel as long as she continues to do her breathing treatments and uses a wheelchair to get from place to place. (12/3/10)

Update: Bud Cruckshank is home with a pacemaker and is doing well on 12/3/10

Update: Marie is home and recovering as of 11-30-2010.

There have been several Island residents that have ended up in the hospital due to illness or injury. As you can see from the addresses above, two of them are Larry Hall and Shirley Sowa. Marie Connaghan LaFreniere is in the Charlevoix Area Hospital. Jeanie Vreeland is in Charlevoix for evaluation.. Bud Cruickshank is in Northern Michigan Hospital for evaluation John Paul Kenwabikise is also in Northern Michigan Hospital.

2011 Beaver Music Festival Tickets

BEAVER ISLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL
HOLIDAY TICKET SALE
LIMITED TIME ONLY
SAVE 20% & MORE OFF GATE TICKET PRICES
PLACE YOUR ORDER ONLINE @ WWW.BIMF.NET
OR
STOP IN AT THE ST. JAMES BOAT SHOP ON BEAVER ISLAND
(DAYS & TIMES POSTED AT STORE)

Ticket pricing Holiday Special Gate Ticket
December 1 - 31, 2010 Price
__________________________________________________________________________
Thursday (general Admission) $10.00 $15.00

Day Pass Adult (18+) $22.00 $28.00
Friday or Saturday

Day Pass Teen/Senior (13-17) (65+) $20.00 $25.00
Friday or Saturday

Weekend Pass Adult (18+) $45.00 $55.00
Friday & Saturday

Weekend Pass Teen/Senior (13-17) (65+) $40.00 $50.00
Friday & Saturday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the indians that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local indians did participate, this "first Thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when President Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.

There will be a 9:30 a.m. service at Holy Cross Catholic Church to begin the Thanksgiving holiday. Then don't forget the Community Thanksgiving Dinner at the Gregg Fellowship Center beginning at 6 p.m. Join us if you can! If not, we hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful day with family and friends!

Closings and Changes at the Shamrock and Harbour Market

Harbour Market will be closing for the season this weekend. Saturday, November 27, 2010, will be the last day open.
The Shamrock will, however, be open for breakfast serving a traditional breakfast & some items from the Harbour Market will still be available. We will also be selling some of our more popular items from the Market at the Shamrock -- pizza, cigarettes, some beer etc. The hours of operation for the food service at the Shamrock after market closes:
Breakfast Mon.-Fri. 7am-10 am
Sat. 7am -12pm
Sun. 9am – 12pm

Lunch Mon.- Sat. 11am – 2 pm
Sat. & Sun. 12-5 pm

Dinner 7 days 5-8 pm

Bar service Mon. – Sat. 7 am – Close
Sun. 12 pm-Close

Tonight at the Shamrock "Thanksgiving Eve" Dance Party & Happy Hour from 4-6 pm & 8 pm - Close

Friday night Live Music with Cindy, Brian & John

Happy Thanksgiving!

What's That White Stuff?

Cold, windy with blowing snow

Seems that things change pretty quickly in Michigan and Beaver Island weather. Yesterday, sunshine and golf; today snow and wind, but unlikely to play golf. The first snow that has stuck to the ground and stayed is coming down right now on the island. It's Tuesday, November 23, 2010, at about 8:45 a.m. if you had decided to place wager. It might be difficult to find a golf ball in the leaves on the golf course, but it will be nearly impossible to find a white golf ball in the snow if it keeps coming down like this.

For all those traveling on the highways, drive very carefully. Be safe and put your cell phone in your pocket, in your purse, and just let it ring until you get to a point where you can stop.

Beaver Island Community Development Corporation

 

Applications are now being taken to rent an apartment at the long-awaited Senior Housing, named Forest View, which is now under construction on Carlisle Road , across the street from Stoney Acres. The construction is anticipated to be complete and the apartments ready for occupancy June 1, 2011, a date which is subject to change based on weather conditions.

Applications are also available for the part-time position of on-site manager who will be employed by KMG Prestige, an off-island management company who will manage the apartments. The position is anticipated to begin in March, 2011.

Applications for both leasing and employment may be obtained at the Community Center, Library, and Rural Health Center. They should be mailed directly to KMG Prestige, attention Jane Crawford, 3390 Pine Tree Rd, Lansing, Michigan 48911 .

Further information may be obtained by contacting Jane Crawford at 1-517-679-7298.

KMG is an experienced property management company well-versed in federal regulations. In managing the leasing for the Beaver Island Community Development Corporation, KMG will screen applicants to determine their qualifications under the federal regulations for low and moderate senior housing. Using a professional management company to handle the leasing will insure applicants that they will be correctly evaluated and that their financial data will be kept confidential.

The rental apartments will have rental rates which are set through the grant process which provided funding. The anticipated rent is $567 for a one-bedroom unit and $629 for a two-bedroom unit. Utilities are included in the rent, and the building will be heated through a geo-thermal system. The building will include six individual apartments, four one-bedroom and 2 two-bedroom, each with their own kitchen and bath. In addition, the building will have a laundry room, community room, and a community kitchen area.

Senior Housing Project Update 11/22/10

You just begin to see the size of the building project at the site of the Senior Housing Project across from Stoney Acre and behind the Beaver Island Rural Health Center. The outline of the building is standing and the rough siding is on the east and west walls. Here is a walk-around in pictures starting at the west side in the BIRHC parking lot.

West side from BIRHC rear parking lot.... NE corner...........North side....East side of building

Bud and Nathan Martin working on a well on the SE side of the property.

Pictures of the building materials on site taken from the SW corner of the building

Picture from the Stoney Acre parking lot......Bud and Nathan continue to work on a well

Video walk around of the BIDC Forest View Apartments

 

Beaver Island Comedy Group presents “ Holiday Hilarity II”

 

Get set for laughter at the upcoming Holiday Hilarity II! This production of the Beaver Island Comedy Group will be presented on Dec. 10 and 11, 7:30 p.m. , at the Community Center.

Jan Day, founder and director of the Comedy Group headed to Florida for the winter months but will still be making an appearance in the show (along with her sister Maryanna Phillippson) thanks to the magic of technology. Day also offered valuable advice on the various scripts which group members have been working on since September.

Some of the first show's popular characters will return in Holiday Hilarity II. Hardware Jeff (Powers) will have a new “Top 10 List” and new local oddballs will be introduced at Dr. Sphincterheimer's (Wendy White's) Beaver Island Psychotherapy Institute. Other cast members for Holiday Hilarity II include Phil Becker, Lisa Gillespie, Joan Banville, Pat Nugent and Elaine West. There will also be some surprise guest stars (we'll see if we can actually keep this a secret on the Island until opening night!)

Tickets for the show are $12 and available by calling the Community Center: 448-2022. Holiday Hilarity II has been self-rated as PG-13.

The Shamrock will be offering dinner specials both evenings to ticket holders for Holiday Hilarity II.

Contact information: Elaine West – 448-2377

Beaver Island Comedy Group recently was notified that they are to be the receipents of a $500 grant from the Beaver Island Cultural Arts Association . The funding will assist with technical aspects and production costs .

Blast from the Past

This photograph was taken from Britta Cieslak's collection. It represents the celebration of an anniversary of her parents, Keech and Osa Cieslak. Keech and Osa have both passed away, her mom about two years ago and Keech before that. This celebration picture includes some music history of the past as well. A musical group called "Spur of the Moment" was made up of whatever musicians could be gathered together to perform simply for the joy of playing music. Playing music was just fun to do and any and all available were welcome to join in. Keech even played the accordion at this celebration on "Just Because" polka.

The musicians performing in this picture are from left to right, Joddy Croswhite, Kevin White, Joe Moore, and Randy Osborne. The drummer that you can't really see is Danny Peck. The man whose face appears just under the cowboy hat on the right facing you is Harry Bartels. The others in the picture are not known.

There was even one Holy Cross Hall party where there were over twenty musicians on stage playing at one time. This included the school students at the time with vocals, saxophone, flute, guitar, trumpet, clarinet, cornet, piano, bass, and many others. A little modern musical history is presented for your viewing pleasure.

Frank Solle sent in this picture of a historic music performance from the past.

"Here's Beans playing on the 'stage' at the very first Hickory Beaver FlatTail Fest back in 1976. I don't know who the fellow is standing in front of Beans. I thought it might have been Jeff Connor, but he said no. I also don't know the two young girls sitting in the foreground either." For those that don't know him as Beans, his name is Mike Gardner. Some of us remember him as the dishwasher at the Beaver Lodge many, many years ago. He is now a very successful musician. He comes to the Island to play once in a while.

And, you can see what is up with Michael Beans Gardner by checking out this website. It seems Beans has been showing how the caring spirit can spread to other countries.

http://bvinews.com/bvi/rotary-club-of-tortola-honours-michael-gardner/

Cookie Carnival Reminder

Cookie Carnival on Dec 9 going from NOON until 3:30PM. Anyone who would like to help out in preparation of the event can join us Tue 12/7 and Wed 12/8 we will be baking, frosting, and setting up. We will start at 9:30AM until 4:30PM. If you can work all day or half day we would enjoy you joining us for a good time. Maybe you have a special cookie or dessert you would like to bring to the event for us to sell . If you have any questions feel free to call Jean Carpenter at 448-2893.

Original Notice below

Beaver Island Airport Commission Inter-Governmental Agreement

This is the complete agreement approved by both Peaine and St. James Townships

B I Airport Commission Rules of Procedure

These rules of procedure have been approved by the Airport Commission and Peaine Township. They have yet to be approved by St. James Township.

First Meeting of the Beaver Island Airport Commission

Although this meeting included mostly those who had served on the previous Airport Committee, this was the first actual meeting of the newly created Beaver Island Airport Commission. The meeting took place on November 20, 2010. Mike Scripps, who was later to be voted as the Chairman of the BIAC, started the meeting at 10 a.m. The first item on the agenda was the election of the seventh member on the commission. Two Peaine Township Board members and one member at large from Peaine Township were matched by the same from St. James. From Peaine, Colleen Martin, Pete LoDic, (board members) and Mike Scripps (MAL) were matched by Jim Wojan, Ray Cole, (board members), and Elaine West (MAL). These six elected Don Vyse as the seventh member of the commission with six of them having served on the previous airport committee. The choice of Don Vyse was an excellent one since Don has been doing this airport work for many years and is familiar with the funding, not only State of Michigan funding, but also federal funding. The order of business was to elect the 7th member as previously mentioned, discuss organizational matters brought up by Don Vyse, approve the Rules of Procedure, and have public input during the appropriate public comment time.

Present at this meeting in addition to the commission members were Airport Manager Rachel Teague, Peaine Township Supervisor Jack Gallagher, and twelve community members. One of the issues discussed included the land acquisition project in which at total fo $43,684 had been expended in legal fees which included approximately $10,000 going to Land Matters, the rest going to the lawyer. The hold up in the land acquisition has put the ten-year-plan on hold. This plan will certainly have to be revised. There are several contracts that need to be signed related to grants. These will have to await the approval of the Rules of Procedure endorsement and/or a resolution from both townships.

Another meeting was scheduled for December 9, 2010, at 6 p.m. and will take place at Peaine Township Hall.

Airport Commisson First Meeting Video

BICS HOSA Raise Money for Senior Help Mates

BICS Health Occupation Students of America members are participating in a fund raising benefit today, Saturday, November 20, 2010, to help benefit a Help Mate program operated by the BIRHC. The students have gotten pledges from the community and plan to rock from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. to raise approximately $600 for this Help Mate program.

Video of Rock-a-thon students and instructor

 

BICS HOSA students and their instructor: McCaulley Connaghan, Gus Connaghan, Michael McCafferty, Olivia Schwartzfisher, Marissa Crandall, and Mrs. Sarah McCafferty

Peaine Township Special Meeting, 11/19/10

The Peaine Board met on Friday evening, 11/19/10, at 5 p.m. in a special meeting. The purpose of the special meeting was to discuss information in the form of a letter from their lawyer related to acquisition of property owned previously by Albins. The board met in open session, but before the vote to go into closed session, Mike Scripps made a statement about the two townships owning the airport. He questioned why St. James was not involved in this meeting. Jack Gallagher told Mike that he was out of order. The board voted to go into closed session and they did.

The board came back from the closed session with nothing to report to the public about their closed session. The closed session lasted approximately one hour.

Video of this meeting

 

It's Not Too Cold for Golf

There were quite a few people driving by the Beaver Island Golf Course today, November 12, 2010, shaking their heads. Jeff Mestelle even stopped to tell the golfers how crazy they were to be out playing in these temperatures and in this wind. However, the dedicated foursome on the course didn't care about the temperature or the wind, and actually played better in this month of November than they did in late August. The two teams, made up of Frank Solle and Mike Bailey versus Buck Ridgeway and Joe Moore, didn't seem too concerned. The match today was played using the summer league rules. There was no waiting as they were the only four on the golf course with the exception of the two flocks of turkeys. (You don't have think what you are thinking. The golfers were smarter than the turkeys, maybe.)

You'd think that there was a couple hundred thousand prize money on the line with the level of competition that seemed involved today. Frank and Mike jumped out to a two stroke lead after the first few holes, but Buck and Joe just kept plugging along. Both teams ended up shooting an excellent round with two birdies and one bogie for a tie score of 34. Not bad for either team, especially for the month of November and in this wind. After shaking hands all around, each went back to his home with a smile and a good round of golf as part of his memory.

A repeat competition was held on November 27, 2010. The winners of this round, actually everyone was a winner due to the opportunity to play one more round of golf, but Frank and Mike screamed into a lead on the first four holes which could not be made up. If the scores were added up from both sets of nine holes, the team of Frank and Mike came out even par for eighteen holes with a score of 70. Buck and Joe ended up with a three over par score of 73. The scores really didn't matter. It was just great to have another bonus round of golf.

On Sunday, November 28, 2010, the Beaver Island Golf Course considered removing the flags from the greens, but three of the regulars were out there playing yet another round of golf in the intermittent sunshine.

You'll probably see them out there again. Just don't think they are out there for the money. It's for the love of the game.

Community Calendar

BI News on the 'Net has a complete 2011 calendar up on the homepage of this website. We are willing to post any activities that take place on the Island on this calendar. When you know a specific date of any activity, please email medic5740@gmail.com and it will be posted on the Community Calendar. So far, the only items on the calendar into 2011 are those governmental meetings that are held on specific days. Please send your information for your activity as soon as it is know, so that other organizations will not conflict with your date(s).

Community Thanksgiving Dinner

Every year the Beaver Island Community Church puts on a special Thanksgiving dinner for the entire community. Historically, this dinner was served to the members of the community that did not have family to celebrate Thanksgiving with. It continues in that spirit, but also welcomes any and all who are on the Island on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day begins with a service at Holy Cross Church at 9:30 a.m. There will be members of different churches participating in the service on Thanksgiving morning. This service puts you in the proper frame of mind for the day as we all thank God for all of our blessings.

Then, after preparations that take most of the morning and afternoon, the Gregg Fellowship Hall will be the location of the Community Thanksgiving Dinner. The dinner will start promptly at 6 p.m. In years past, the numbers of attendees has varied from 50 to over 100. If possible, please bring a dish to pass. See you at the Gregg Fellowship Hall for this wonderful opportunity to socialize and celebrate all that we are thankful for!

Library News

The island was in the midst of a horrific wind storm on Wednesday, October 27, 2010. The Beaver Island District Library felt the brunt of the storm losing five trees to the winds. We were very lucky that the decision to close kept anyone from being harmed by flying debris. We can't say the same for the patio furniture that was in the memorial garden. The chairs are now recliners as they were flattened by fallen pines. Very special thanks go to Jim Wojan and his crew who spent hours cleaning up the mess after the storm had passed.

On an up note, all the public computers are now on battery back-up thanks to Joe Moore. The wind storm caused power outages on Tuesday and Wednesday made keeping us online a nightmare, now with the backup perhaps it won't be as much of a problem. Things were kept interesting the Tuesday before the storm as the automation won't work without power so all check-outs had to be done “the old fashioned way” by hand-writing all the barcodes. It certainly wasn't a boring day.

Librarians Barbara Cruickshank and Phyllis Moore attended the Michigan Library Association conference in Traverse City from November 9 th through the 12 th . Lots of new things to learn, see, and wish for. It's a wonderful way to catch up with other librarians, discover new and different ways of doing our jobs. We hope to be able to implement some of the things we learned throughout the week.

We have lots of new books in – many on the New York Bestseller List – to help while away those long winter evenings as the white stuff comes down. How about checking out any of the trilogy by Stieg Larsson; Cutting for Stone ; Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet ; The Lacuna ; Eat, Pray, Love ; Three Cups of Tea ; Dewey ; Mennonite in a Little Black Dress just to list a few. Or perhaps a movie night: mix together a big bowl of popcorn with Toy Story 3 ; Avatar ; Life ; Rosemary and Thyme ; Ken Burns Civil War set, and hundreds more.

It was with great sadness that we had to have Harriet Rafferty's blue spruce removed this fall. It never recovered from being blown over during a storm last winter in spite of lots of tender loving care. It will be replaced come spring.

We also have to thank Bob Tidmore with the AMVETS Post 46 for raising and lowering the library flag for us. He's done a marvelous job of keeping track of the days it needs to be at half mast. It is truly appreciated by all.

Winter is almost here, so stop in and check out the library for something to read or watch. If you don't have a library card it's a simple procedure and only takes a couple minutes. You can also check out our website and catalog online at http://beaverisland.michlibrary.org Email us at island.library@gmail.com with any suggestions you have that will help make our library more inviting, or if you have a complaint about something we may have neglected to do.

Pub Quiz at Stoney

The Pub Quiz was held at Stoney Acres on Sunday, November 28, 2010 from 3-6 PM. Participants' five dollar donation was to go to the Food Pantry. Teams of 3-5 people competed for bragging rights and just all around fun. This fundraising event was organized by Carol Gillespie, Linda Wearn and Stoney Acres.

Thank you Marilyn and Liam for hosting the Pub Quiz--it was a great time! Thanks to everyone who participated --you were great sports! There were 7 teams partcipating with the winning team being Doug Bugai, Amy Burris, Bill Markey and Pat Nugent. The second place team was made up of Bob and Joan Banville, Michelle Dreffs, Cathy Ruis and Mike Weede.

Linda Wearn
Carol Gillespie

St. James Township Special Meeting, November 17, 2010

At its special meeting regarding the newly formed Airport Commission, St. James appointed the members to the new commission that was formerly called the Airport Committee. Ray Cole, Elaine West, and Jim Wojan were each appointed to the Airport Commission. See below for the first meeting scheduled of the new Airport Commission. In related news, Peaine Township Board has scheduled a Special Meeting related to airport business as well. See below.

Signing Airport Intergovernmental Agreement and Amendment Discussion

 

Appointments to Commission and Discussion

 

Motions to appoint

 

Questions and Posting of Meetings Discussion

 

Adjournment

 

Peaine Township Tax Assessment Roles Online

Search Peaine Township Assessment Role Online

Several people wanted to know how to get to this location. Feel free to access it from here and then save it as a Favorite.

Beaver Island News Archives Adds Search Engine

All of the years of Beaver Island News on the 'Net are available except for a short period of time when some of the months at the beginning were lost. Phyllis Moore started this website in late 1999 or early 2000 which means that the archives have ten years of Beaver Island history, the last ten years. The Archives are open and available to anyone to view from the homepage at http://beaverislandnews or directly at http://beaverislandnewsarchives.com for your viewing pleasure. There has been added a Google Search Engine to this archives website for those that don't want to page through and read all 520+ pages of history. The Sample website page has been removed since the archives are open to anyone from the homepage of this website. The Archives of 2010 are still only available from this subscription only page.

St James Township Meeting, November 3, 2010

St James Township Special Meeting, November 4, 2010

St. James Township Board, at its special meeting last night, November 4, 2010, approved the re-creation of an airport governing commission to be called the Beaver Island Airport Commission. Supervisor Rick Speck presented the changes to Jean Wierenga, clerk, Jim Wojan, treasurer, and trustees Ray Cole and Tim McDonough. There were some specific changes that the St. James Township Supervisor pointed out at that meeting. These changes have not yet been agreed upon by the Peaine Township Board, who will meet on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, to discuss this at their regularly scheduled township meeting. The changes requested by St. James Township include the following items:

One more item was requested to be made in the document. It included the extension of the time served to be from "one additional consecutive term" to "two additional consecutive terms."

Video of this 11-minute meeting

 

AMVETS POST #46 AND AMVETS LADIES AUXILIARY

HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS FOR THE KIDS!!

The AMVETS and Ladies Auxiliary will again host a Santa’s Workshop at the Beaver Island Community School on Wednesday, December 14, to enable the kids to purchase affordably priced gifts for their families and friends. Older students and adults will be available to help the youngsters select and wrap their purchases. Notices will be sent home from school as a reminder of this great event.

Also, the AMVETS and Ladies Auxiliary of Post #46 will again partner in the Annual Children’s Christmas Party to be held on Saturday, December 11, 11:30 – 1:00 at the Phil Gregg Fellowship Hall, Beaver Island Christian Church. Hot dogs, chips, cookies, ice cream and beverage will be served to the kids as well as their parents and/or grandparents at no charge.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there to hear the Christmas wish lists and pass out gifts to the kids. Because we can no longer get Polaroid film, will parents please bring their own camera to take a picture of your child with Santa.

WE WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE HOLIDAY SEASON!

Information and Referral Hotline Launches Service

Local access to the national 2-1-1 Information and Referral system moved one step closer today with the launch of an interim toll-free hotline. Callers seeking non-emergency health and human services information can call 1-877-211-LAKE (5253).

They will be connected to a highly-trained information and referral specialist who can provide information and referrals to local services. The service is available 24/7/365 and is free to callers. These specialists can help residents with a variety of needs including housing and utility assistance, location of food pantries, where to volunteer, information about after school programs, senior care services, mortgage foreclosure and more.

Char-Em United Way has been spearheading development of the 2-1-1 service for Charlevoix and Emmet Counties for the past several years.

“The local database has been developed, and the information and referral specialists are trained and ready to take calls from our community,” says Martha Lancaster, Executive Director of Char-Em United Way. “We are working with 7 other counties in northwest lower Michigan to submit our application for certification to the Michigan Alliance of Information and Referral Systems and apply to the Michigan Public Service Commission for use of the 2-1-1 phone number.”

Once those steps are in place, the service will shift to the 2-1-1 phone number, which is easy for residents to remember and is in service in other parts of Michigan and around the country.

The funds needed for the start-up of 2-1-1 have already been secured through a challenge grant from CMS Energy, as well as donations from the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, the Charlevoix County Community Foundation, the Petoskey-Harbor Springs Area Community Foundation, Petoskey Rotary and Char-Em United Way. The Frey Foundation has awarded a $30,000 challenge grant toward the first three years of operating expenses. This will cover about one third of the needed funds for the first three years of operations.

“Now that the service is in place – even with the interim number – we will begin seeking funding for the operational phase of the system,” continues Lancaster.

Currently, Michigan 2-1-1 Call Centers serve 80 percent of Michigan's population, with expansion projects underway in 26 additional counties. In 2009, Michigan 2-1-1 Call Centers received 663,923 calls, a 441 percent increase since its inception in 2004 and a 22 percent increase from 2008.

For more information about 2-1-1 contact Char-Em United Way at (231) 487-1006 or email info@charemunitedway.org or log onto www.charemunitedway.org/index.php?pr=2-1-1

Cookie Carnival

The Women's Circle will be getting ready for the Cookie Carnival again this year. The date is Dec 9 NOON until about 3:30PM. Heidi Vigil will be at the event with her Gingerbread Houses. She may have a silent auction on the houses again this year. Judi Meister is preparing a silent auction on some Santa Clause and whatever else she can find. Of course we will have the Nutmeg Logs, Party Cookies and Grandpa Greggs Peanut Brittle and many other favorites. Anyone wanting to order Nutmeg Logs or Party Cookies the price is the same as last year $3.50 a dozen $1.75 half dozen. Feel free to give Jean Carpenter a call and place your order 448-2893..

BICS Calendar for 2010-11 Approved

Beaver Island Transfer Station Information

Expired Subscriptions

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There are quite a few subscriptions that will expire in November or December and some that have already expired. We appreciate your support and ask you to renew your subscription as soon as possible. Emails have been sent out, but quite a few have been returned without delivery, which means that BINN does not have your current email address.

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Meeting Minutes

The minutes of all public meetings will be posted

as soon as they are received.

News on the 'Net welcomes minutes to all public meetings. All organizations are welcome to submit meeting minutes for publication on this website. Please email them to medic5740@gmail.com.

Airport Committee Minutes

Beaver Island Cultural Arts Association Minutes

Peaine Township Board Minutes

BIRHC Board Meeting Minutes

St. James Township Meeting Minutes

Beaver Island Community School Board Meeting Minutes

Beaver Island Ecotourism Goals Draft, rev. 3, 19 Jan 2010 NEW!

Beaver Island Natural Resources and Eco-Tourism Commission Minutes NEW!

Joint Human Resources Commission Minutes (includes agenda when available) New Feature for 2010!

Waste Management Committee Minutes (New for 2010!)