B. I. News on the 'Net, October 11-17, 2010

Grant West Returns Home

The Beaver Island Community turned out to welcome Grant West, son of Elaine and Steve West, home from his duty in Afghanistan on October 14, 2010.. The community was ready to welcome him at the Beaver Island Airport.

The community gathers to welcome Grant home.

We all await the landing of the Fresh Air flight that will bring Grant home.

TV 9 and 10 gets off the airplane first to do a news story of the event.

Grant reunited with his parents

Welcome home, Grant!

We are glad to have you home, safe and sound!

Grant West relaxes.

Video clip of the Welcoming at Beaver Island Airport

 

Rachel Teague's video of Grant's Homecoming

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No Verizon Tower on Beaver Island

No matter what the Verizon website coverage map shows you, no matter what the Verizon store in Charlevoix tells you, and no matter what Verizon sales department tells you, THERE IS NO VERIZON TOWER ON BEAVER ISLAND AS OF OCTOBER 12, 2010! (This has been confirmed by one Verizon customer that the coverage area is in this area of the old Peaine Township Hall. So to clarify this statement, the equipment in the building at the old Peaine Twp Hall was placed there and operated by Alltel. This has become part of the Verizon network in this area including Beaver Island, so the title of this article is somewhat incorrect. The tower is an Alltel tower operated in the Verizon network. Technically, the title is correct, but Verizon does operate on this tower. )These salespersons will try to tell you differently because they believe the website that shows a tower near the intersection of Hannigan Road and Fox Lake Road. As you can see by viewing this video, there is no tower there, and Verizon has made no efforts to put anything on the two publicly owned towers either near the St. James Campground, on existing towers on Kings Highway, or across the road from the Bill Wagner Campground at the Fire Department on East Side Drive.

ATT also has not made any move to improve customer services on Beaver Island. It would seem that these two publicly owned 185 foot towers would be an excellent opportunity for ATT to show their interest in Beaver Island and upper Lake Michigan business.

 

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Senior Housing Project Clearing and Lay-out Underway

The following video was taken on October 14, 2010, of the site for the senior housing project begun by the Beaver Island Development Corporation, a non-profit organization. The site is located behind the Beaver Island Rural Health Center and across the road from the Stoney Acre Grill. The magnitude of the project can be seen by the size of the opening. The video was taken from all corners of the site to show the project from many perspectives.

 

These pictures were taken moving in a counter-clockwise direction starting at the rear parking lot of the medical center, going around the cleared site.

BIRHC Receives Check

For a long time, the BIRHC manager, staff, and board have awaited the State of Michigan Budget Office release of the funds that were passed into law and allocated to three rural health centers. These three centers were to share an amount of $100,000. The Budget Director had refused to release the funds, but lots of pressure was exerted on behalf of these rural health centers, and the funds were received in the form of a check. More information will be provided when it is received.

Peaine Township Meeting, October 13, 2010

Besides the everyday business of keeping up the roads, planning the budget, and setting tax amounts, the Peaine Township Board is working on an intergovernmental agreement that will help govern the township airport and provide some legal framework to the already functioning airport committee. The meeting was well attended with several people prepared to launch an attack on the supervisor over his self-published questions and answers about the township airport and the possible ten-year airport plan. The major complaint was that Jack Gallagher had included the label of Peaine Township Supervisor to his personally prepared and funded publication available around the island at several locations. Some suggested that his use of the supervisor title was inappropriate. Some suggested that his report was inaccurate. Some even personally attacked him for his publication of this opinion related to the airport. One even attacked him with words related to the suggestion that some relationship may have influenced inappropriate actions. All in all, quite an interesting meeting with the first 80 minutes somewhat calm and reasonable. The public comment at the end lasted twenty-eight minutes with several people frustrated and angry with supervisor.

Video of the meeting can be found HERE

The video with all the public comments is completed 9 a.m., October 15, 2010.

Interesting Happenings at BICS

Cyber safety On Friday October 8th, the Michigan Attorney General’s office held internet safety presentations for our K-12 students. The student presentations happened during school hours. The presentations varied depending upon grade level, and included such topics as keeping safe on the internet, cyber harassment and social networking. For more information contact Beth Croswhite. bethc@bics.us

Early college Two high school students are earning college credit through a cooperative agreement called Early College between local school districts and North Central Michigan College in Petoskey. The two seniors, Jake Drost and Brontae Lemmink, are enrolled in teacher Connie Boyle’s Personal Finance class along with many of their peers who are earning high school credit. Connie Boyle also happens to be a NCMC adjunct professor, and is teaching both classes simultaneously. The students taking the class for college credit have additional assignments and requirements. It is expected that more early college courses will be offered at BICS next year. For more information contact Connie Boyle connieb@bics.us or Kitty McNamara kittym@bics.us .

Suzuki strings BICS is extremely lucky to be able to provide a K-12 strings program. Beginning this year all students in grades K-4 will have free group and individual Suzuki Method violin lessons. Students have lessons during the school day and, if they choose, can take afterschool private lessons. Parents are strongly encouraged to attend the lessons along with the students. The school district received a grant from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to help fund the program. Crooked Trees Arts Center in Petoskey is another partner in keeping this program alive and well. Crooked Tree funds and instructor for students in grades 3-12. Interested students in grades 5-12 will have group and individual Orchestral Method strings instruction in the stringed instrument of their choice. For more information contact: Kitty McNamara kittym@bics.us , Laura Gibson laurag@bics.us or Sheri Richards richaada@gmail.com .

Stained glass windows All three of the windows are completed and installed! Thanks to island resident Steve Hagerman, these beautiful windows in the main entry tower of the school were completed within the budget of the grant. Again, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians supported this project which was envisioned as part of the new school building project. The center window depicts the school crest with its emphasis on academic achievement, wisdom, the arts and island culture. The crest is flanked by a Celtic design and a native American design. For more information contact: Kitty McNamara or Steve Hagerman.



Best Wishes,
Kitty McNamara
Kathleen McNamara
Superintendent & K-12 Principal
Beaver Island Community School
37895 King’s Highway
Beaver Island MI 49782
231.448.2744 phone
kittym@bics.us

Holiday Bazaar

Mark your calendars!!

The holiday bazaar will be Sunday, November 14, 2010, at the Gregg Fellowship Center from 11:00 – 2:30. Registration forms for tables can be picked up at the Community Center or from Jean Kinsley at the Prudential Realty office.

The popular 25-cent tickets for a drawing will return this year.

Hot soup and beverages will be available in the kitchen for a donation; proceeds will go to the Food Pantry.

If you have any questions, call Judi Meister (2963) or Jean Kinsley (2856)

Trunk or Treat at Christian Church

Beaver Island Christian Church will be sponsoring their second annual Trunk or Treat on Halloween Sunday evening. If you live out of town or off the beaten path in town and miss seeing the youngsters all decked out in their Halloween finery, please come join us. We had a good time last year and will have more fun this year if you decide to join us.

Place: Gregg Fellowship Center parking lot

Time: 5:00 – 7:00

Come in costume if you can; decorate your trunks; and enjoy the evening!!

Hot chocolate will be available.

You do not need to make reservations—just come!!!

 

Frank Solle's Autumn Color Pictures

Thanks to Frank Solle for these wonderful pictures of the autumn color. The old boat picture provides memories of the old Johnson and Evinrude motors of the past at Beaver Haven Marina.

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..

Peaine Township Board Special Meeting, October 12, 2010

Peaine Township Board met at 3:17 p.m. today, October 12, 2010, and Jack Gallagher explained that this meeting was taking place ot comply with the Open Meetings Act. The board, however, would be going into closed session while it conferred with its attorney. The Board would come back to open session just long enough to adjourn the meeting. Jack Gallagher further stated that no motions or other discussion would take place after the board reconvened. He stated that the discussion would take place publicly at the Peaine Township Regular Board Meeting tomorrow, October 13, 2010. With that, the Board went into closed session.

Library News

 

It's October already? The past summer raced by and now we've slowed down to a walking speed. We have loads of new books on the shelves. Please check the bulletin board in the entryway for the New York Times Best Seller list. Books we own are marked with an X, while those that we have ordered at marked with O. If the one you want is already out, let us know and we can reserve it immediately so that you'll get it as soon as it is returned. Remember, you can also check out via our website at: http://beaverisland.michlibrary.org To register, please use the number located directly under the barcode on your library card. You don't have a library card? Stop in and we'll get you all set up in just a couple minutes.

Thanks to Don Langford, the Olive music computer is back in the music room and working very well. Bring your laptop, relax in one of the over-stuffed chairs while listening to your favorite tunes. We have lots of jazz, classical, opera, country, irish, and of course local artists for you to choose from.

Did you know that you can save yourself some money by visiting the library? Stop in and read your favorite magazines instead of investing in multiple subscriptions. You may check out past issues or elect to read the current one within the building. We also subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Petoskey News Review, NorthernIslander, Charlevoix Courier, and the Beaver Beacon.

Now that fall has arrived, you can start a new project or learn a new hobby. We have books on quilting, sewing, crochet, knitting, painting, drawing, … you name it and we can find you a book about it. Want to climb your family tree? We subscribe to Ancestry for Libraries to give you a bit of a head start. Stop in and we can help you organize with family group sheets and pedigree charts.

You can read about love and life and freedom and hope and faith and happiness and tragedy. You'll read about all the passions and devastation in life. You'll read about death, about humanity and compassion. Books open up a world of possibility to you. With a library, you can educate your mind and fill the depths of your soul. You can become the kind of person you want to be--by opening your mind, and introducing your sensibilities to ideas that you'd never before considered. So, read.

The Beaver Boodle

If some of you wondered why there was nothing on this website about the Boodle, it can be explained in at least a couple of ways. One, it is impossible to be in two places at one time. Two, with all the happenings on the Island in the first weekend of October, it just took this long to get caught up.

The Beaver Boodle, a wonderful fund-raising event to benefit the Island Sports' teams, took place at the same time as the the Islander sporting events on October 2, 2010. It seems to always fall at a time when the BICS students are either playing in a home game or are off the island for an away game. Here are some pictures of the start taken by Phyllis Moore.

Getting ready for the Boodle to begin

The start of the Beaver Boodle

"Well, somebody has to be last!"

Not Quite at the Height of Color

At least from up above in an aircraft, the island is not yet at the highest in the fall colors, but the colors from the ground are wonderfully exciting and beautiful. On October 10, 2010, the colors were like this from above:

Fall Colors Falling on the Ground

On a short trip around the island on Monday, October 11, 2010, the video guy made one of those funny, ha, ha, booboos. The video camera was at the end of the tape instead of at the beginning of the tape. That made the trip from the township airport to the south end pretty UNproductive. When you're done laughing at the mistake and the wasted time and gasoline, take a look at the pictures and the video completed on the second pass around the island, even though it was much shorter than the first.

King's Highway near the school and then headed toward town from Carlisle Road

First one at Barney's Lake, then headed toward the township airport, then West Side Road

West Side to East Side past CMU

Beaver Island Golf Course

Kings Highway and Barney's Lake Video Clip of Fall Colors

 

West Side Road, Fox Lake, East Side Road, etc

 

St James Meeting Video Clips for October 6, 2010

These clips include quite a lengthy discussion of the township airport and the lack of an agreement between the two townships. In one comment, the word "impeach" came up.

New Transfer Station Video Clip with Pricing

Tim Myers, employee of the BI Transfer Station, put together a new walk-through video for the transfer station, and it includes current pricing for items that cannot be recycled as well as some procedural information about what is done with the recycled materials as far a processing by the transfer station staff.

Associated Press Reporter Visits Beaver Island

Martha Irvine, national reporter and videographer

Martha Irvine Interview

 

Bite O' Beaver

This event was well-attended with a small line outside the Holy Cross Hall beginning to form at about 12:40 p.m. for a 1:00 p.m. opening. The Beaver Island chefs outdid themselves this year with another really wide variety of items from the Shamrock BBQ ribs to Pinky's Escargot with canned goods, raffles, wine and many others. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to go away hungry. A hay wagon pulled by a tractor was one mode of transportation from the hall to the community center. A hayride was another of the activities for the young and the young at heart. The first video clip taken was of the items available for purchase at Holy Cross Hall. The second clip is of the artisans at the community center. Pictures will follow.

Food at HC Hall and Hayride

 

Artisans' Items at Community Center

 

Halloween Party

Restoring a Dune

The eroded dune is from illegal ORV use. The Trails Committee identified the need to restore this area across from the public access site to Lake Geneserath. The Lighthouse School students supplied the man power to plant 500 plugs of certified native beach grass as a restoration project. The plants were obtained from the Charlevoix Soil and Conservation District.

(Story and photos by Pam Grassmick)

Ground Breaking Ceremony for Senior Living Facility

The groundbreaking ceremony for the took place at 10 a.m. on September 30, 2010, just east of the BIRHC Carlisle Road access and across from Stoney Acre Grill and Donegal Danny's Pub. The Beaver Island Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation, is beginning this project. One bystander said, "Thank goodness." In preparation for the ceremony some of the tall grass and sod was removed.

This project will be completed by Beaver Gems

Quite a few people gathered on Carlisle Road

Pete LoDico spoke about the project and gave thanks to those who helped

The ceremonial breaking of the ground

Don Spencer, Jane MacKenzie, Rick Speck, Ray Cole, Connie Wojan, and Pete LoDico

Jane MacKenzie and Pete LoDico

The future driveway entrance location

Plans were viewed in a BIRHC room

Possible future tenants look on as the plans are explained

Pete LoDico Thank-yous and Groundbreaking Ceremony

 

News Release Beaver Island Community Development Corporation

Ground-breaking for the long-awaited Senior Housing will be held Thursday, September 30, at 10 a.m. on the site of the development, on Carlisle Road , across the street from Stoney Acres. The public is invited to attend. The ground breaking follows the closing on Wednesday on the financing for the development. The affordable housing for low and moderate income seniors is being developed by the not-for-profit Beaver Island Community Development Corporation and is expected to be ready for occupancy in June, 2011, a date which is subject to change based on weather conditions. The construction contractor is Beaver Gems.

The rental apartments will have rental rates which are set through the grant process which provided funding and which are available to qualified tenants. . 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, 4 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. Any interested tenants should contact Pete LoDico, president of the corporation. An independent off-island management company will handle the leasing, and contact information will be available at a later date.

The Beaver Island Community Development Corporation thanks the following people for their assistance in making the development possible: Jeff and Nancy Traudt and the Gill Family for donating the land, Jane MacKenzie, from Northern Homes for her dedication in obtaining grants and the loan, Nina Simpson Jones and Ray Cole for their three fund-raising dinners; U.S Department of Agriculture; Michigan Housing Development Authority; BI Quilters; Charlevoix Community Foundation; the Grand Traverse Band of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians; Beaver Gems for its patience; St. James Township; Beaver Island Rural Health Center; and most important—all of those individuals who came to fund raising dinners and who made the donations that made the ground breaking possible.

Iron Ore Creek Culvert Work Progress

The culvert going under the road for Iron Ore Creek needed to be replaced. The bid was won by Gillespie Enterprises, and Rich Gillespie and crew were working on the project today, Wednesday, September 29, 2010. BINN went down there to photograph the progress of this project, and was surprised that one piece of the culvert was already in place and preparations were almost complete for the second piece. Here are some pictures of the project and its progress.

Detour sign on West Side Road....the trail used as the detour........detour sign on the South End Road side

Working equipment operated by Rich Gillespie.....Creek on the north side of the road...looking into the culvert from north to south

Digging to make room for the large second piece....look at the creek from the first piece covered by dirt....Iron Ore Creek roadway....Rich Gillespie concentrating

Digging down enough for piece two.....the old rusty culvert..Iron Ore Creek water side....Jimmy standing near culvert.... dirty water for a while

Beaver Island Cultural Arts Association Announces Mini-Grant Program 

The Beaver Island Cultural Arts Association (BICAA) is sponsoring a mini-grant program for 2010-2011 to support the creative work of local artists who enrich the cultural life of the Beaver Island community. Funding for the program is generated by proceeds from Baroque on Beaver, the annual classical music series that combines the talents of year-round and seasonal residents with professional musicians from across the state of Michigan .

Visual and performance artists are able to apply for funding to cover costs for materials to create their art, rental of rehearsal and performance space, travel expenses or fees for attending seminars or classes, opportunities to branch out into new art forms and other reasonable needs.

The program was created a year ago by the BICAA Board of Directors as a means of fulfilling its mission to support year-round cultural arts in the Beaver Island community. Two grants were awarded in 2009: (i) to the Beaver Island Community Players for assistance in the production of Beaver Tales II by compensating writers and composers for creation of new musical numbers for the show and (ii) to the Recorder Group to purchase new music and to obtain additional recorder lessons. BICAA has previously invested proceeds from Baroque on Beaver in the string program and other cultural activities for students at the Beaver Island Community School (BICS).

Eligibility criteria and applications for the mini-grant program may be obtained from BICAA Board member Miranda Rooy, mirandarooy@hotmail.com and will be posted by October 1 on the BICAA website, www.baroqueonbeaver.com . Applications will be accepted electronically and must be received by November 1, 2010. A Selection Committee composed of Board members and community residents qualified in specific areas of the arts will review applications and make recommendations on awardees for Board approval. Awards will be granted in mid-December. For more information, please contact Anne Glendon, aglendon@sbcglobal.net .

Eligibility requirements for candidates:

Beaver Island Cultural Arts Association: Mini-Grant Application

Name of Artist(s):

Beaver Island Address: 

Year-round Mailing Address:

Email(s):

Beaver Island Phone(s): Alternative Phone(s):

Approximate annual residency dates on Beaver Island :

1. Type of Art to be funded (include all that apply)

__ Musical performance

__ Musical composition

__ Visual art (please specify medium)

__ Poetry, Short Story or other literary art (please specify form)

__ Dance

__ Theater

__ Other (please specify)

2. Purpose of request: Please describe in one paragraph what the funds will be used for.

3. Statement of Need: Please explain (no more than 1 page) why you are seeking funding at this time. Describe your engagement in this art form over the past 2 years and give a compelling reason why this mini-grant is important to achieving your artistic goals. 

4. Amount requested (anticipated grant range is $150-$750): _______

5. Letter of Agreement: Please attach a letter (or multiple letters from all the members of the applicant group) that clearly states agreement with the requirement to show, display or otherwise demonstrate how the mini-grant funds were used by July 15, 2011. 

6. Name and contact information of two references who can attest to your work:

Please use additional pages as needed.

Applications are due by November 1, 2010. Electronic applications preferred. Please send to Miranda Rooy, mirandarooy@hotmail.com . Attachments that cannot be sent electronically may be mailed to BICAA, PO Box 326 , Beaver Island , MI 49782 . Awards will be decided by the BICAA Board and announced in mid-December.

At the Shamrock

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Fall Specials

Video to Be Continued, But January-July 2010 Video Will Be Lost

As previously reported on this website, the MotionBox video company has gone out of business and the company was sold to a another company that will not be supporting the videos placed on this website from January 2010 until the end of July 2010. The videos numbered over 700 clips during this period of time. There is no way that this editor can take the time to download, upload, and recode these 700 video clips on each of the pages during that period of time. So, unfortunately, the videos taken during this period of time and placed on MotionBox will no longer be available after October 31, 2010.

BINN immediately upon the sale of MotionBox, began to place video on a different streaming video server. For those that don't have any experience in video, one hour of video takes approximately twelve hours from capture, through editing, then uploading, then coding pages, and finally you have the video clips available. If only the work did not have to be done over again, the videos would be kept available for you in the archives. But, alas, there are not enough hours in the day to redo seven months of video for archives. The time to do this would be measured in months, not days or hours. We apologize for any inconvenience. We hope you will understand the huge amount of effort and the lack of time to redo these pages.

We will continue to do video clips for this website, hopefully expanding the meetings, the events, and the news that takes place on Beaver Island. We will attempt to bring you, our subscribers, "Today's news as close to today as possible." Unfortunately, yesterday's news from January through July 2010 in the form of video clips will not be available after October 31, 2010.

Peaine Township Meeting 9/8/2010

Several hot topics were discussed at this meeting to include the joint agreement on the township airport, quality deer management, and funding for all services, especially the rural health center. Another special Peaine Township meeting is scheduled for September 22, 2010, at 7 pm. Peaine Township is not prepared to meet on the 15th of September to discuss this with St. James Township.

To view video clips of this meeting, please click on the link below:

Meeting Video 9/8/2010

Charlevoix County Transit-Beaver Island Service

Demand Response Service 9 am til 3 pm Monday through Friday

Reservation Service 6 am to 9 am and 3 pm to 6 pm (Reservation prior service required)

Phone 231-448-2026 for service

Fares for less than 15 mile distance:

Childred under 6..... $.50

Youth from 6 to 19....$1.00

Regular fare from 20 to 59.....$1.50

Seniors 60 and above......$.50 (Currently free...paid by COA)

Handicapped individuals.....$.50

Brett Maudrie's Address Changed

Maudrie Brett W.
B. Co. 2-237 IN, 1st BCT
101st ABN DIV
...Attn: FOB Joyce COP Fortress
APO, AE 09354

BICS Calendar for 2010-11 Approved

Beaver Island Transfer Station Information

Subscriptions to Expire

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There are quite a few subscriptions that will expire in October or 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!)