Mackinaw Island on Beaver Island Soccer Saturday

The Islanders lost a second soccer match to the Mackinaw Island Lakers, but the beginning of the match belonged to the the Islanders. They played very well as a team at the beginning of the match, and went ahead of the Lakers because of that teamwork. The Islanders has many shots on goal, but had difficulty getting the ball in the goal instead of going over like a field goal.

View video of the soccer match HERE

Taekwondo Michigan Cup

Results from the Michigan Cup Tournament held in Kalamazoo on September 26, 2015
Sarah Avery                             silver in weapons
Jewell Gillespie-Cushman     gold in breaking
John Brady Robert                  gold in weapons, bronze in breaking
Quinn Jones                             gold in fighting, silver in breaking, bronze in forms
Riley Williamson                     silver in weapons
Susan Myers-Dixon                 silver in weapons, bronze in forms
Kainoa Drost                           silver in breaking, bronze in weapons
Jared Robert                           silver in breaking, silver in forms, gold in fighting
Chris Vanthof                          gold in forms, gold in breaking, silver in fighting

A total of 18 medals were won out of the 25 events that the students were registered in.  All of the students did amazingly well, especially since we took the month of August off.
The evening before the tournament, at the 136th Black Belt testing, Sarah Avery tested for her first Dan Black Belt.  She was presented with her belt and certificate by Grand Master Sun Hwan Chung, the tournament director, and one of the highest-ranking taekwondo grandmasters in the world.  At the same time, Susan Avery tested and received her 2nd Dan black belt and Master Dave Avery for his 7th Dan black belt, of which there are very few in Michigan. 

What's New at the Library

See what's new this week at the Beaver Island District Library at:

*** http://wowbrary.org/ nu.aspx?fb&p=9446-66 ***

There are one new video and one new children's book.

The new video this week is "Second Chances."

Mackinaw Island on Beaver Island for Volleyball

October 9, 2015, Friday evening

Two scorekeepers, two VB officials, and Mackinaw Island Superintendent

Good luck, good luck......

The Lady Islanders played hard, but were just topped by the Lady Lakers by a little tiny bit.

View video of the games HERE

Mackinaw Island on Beaver Island for Soccer

October 9, 2015, Friday afternoon

Mackinaw outnumbered the Islanders allowing substitution with fresh players.

View video of the game HERE

School Board Meeting Rescheduled

In light of BICS's Board of Education's need for additional information on budget, teacher contract negotiations, and Title I programming, the Regular School Board Meeting scheduled for Monday, October 12, 2015, is being rescheduled to Monday, October 26, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. budget information.

Island Airways Hangar Party

Filling up the hangar with people instead of planes

Angel and Paul Welke (Thanks to Ann Willis)

And an emergency as well.......

The celebration of a successful Beaver Island business is never just routine, but everyone seen in these pictures considered going out to Welke Airport on a cool and windy night something worthwhile. And to consider anything on Beaver Island routine is to actually expect something to interrupt the celebration. About three-fourths of the time of the party completion, Island Airways stepped up to the plate once again to interrupt their celebration. The FAA certified air ambulance Islander aircraft was needed for an emergency air transport. The special air ambulance cot was in the hangar. Paul and Angel Welke and their excellent employees moved the cot out of the hangar, placed it into the aircraft, and were ready to fly the emergency patient off the island to the mainland while putting on an amazing party at the same time.

Kudos to Island Airways and staff!

Edward, Danny and Danny, Brother Jim, Ashley and his wife provided the music

Excellent food, excellent music, beer and wine were available for any and all who attended. This gathering was to thank the Island Airways customers, friends, and relatives for their many years of loyalty. This event marked the anniversary of both Island Airways and McPhilip's Flying Service.

Inside and outside the party continued until well after 7 p.m.

Food of the feast and celebration

A fantastic celebration of many years of service to the residents and visitors to Beaver Island!

Video of the celebration

 

Community Center Movies for October

Sewer Report for October 2015

St. James Township Meeting

October 7, 2015

The meeting began with the usual events including the pledge, approval of minutes, and approval of payments. The reports included the an update on the dangerous structures, a subcommittee report on the sewer system, and the yacht dock report for this season. The old business included a UDA payment and a library board apppointment. The new business included snow plow bids for the winter, a board of review vacancy, a planning commission vacancy, and the sewer use policy. Nine people were in the room besides the board members.

Video of the meeting is HERE

Moving the Gillespie House

October 7, 2015

Today was the day that the Gillespie house was moved from its location for many, many years in the block that starts with the Holy Cross Hall and ends with the Print Shop Museum. The shell of the house will be repurposed, so the building was moved today from its location in town to out-of-town at the Ricksgers farm. The house passed the Carlisle Road and Kings Highway intersection at approximatley 2:30 p.m. on October 7, 2015.

Video clip of the move

 

A Blast from the Past

The picture in this story is a scan of the Grand Valley State College student newspaper from close to forty years ago. It's interesting to look back at the past and remember those things that seemed at the time to be a "pie in the sky" ideal. For some, this article written by Beth Amante, the student editor of the Grand Valley Lanthorn, will bring back memories. For others, this is an example of how the Beaver Island community's needs have molded individual choices.

CMU Awarded Grant for Great Lakes Research

Donald Uzarski

Donald G. Uzarski thinks taking the Great Lakes’ coastal wetlands for granted is one of the worst things the state has done. Uzarski, director of the Institute for Great Lakes Research at Central Michigan University, said for the past two decades, half of the wetlands have virtually disappeared due to the development of housing and businesses along the shoreline. Places such Saginaw Bay have lost the wetlands to “hardened shorelines,” because until recently they thought the wetlands to be useless, he said.

After five years of sampling, monitoring and documenting the conditions in more than 1,000 wetlands, students and technicians from CMU’s biological station on Beaver Island have discovered that the wetlands are extremely important to the eco system, according to an Oct. 1 press release by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Last week, Uzarski said the EPA awarded CMU a grant of $10 million – the second grant in six years – to continue monitoring and restoring the Great Lakes’ coastal wetlands.

Back in 2010, the EPA selected CMU to lead an initial research project that would enable the nation’s first collection of scientific data accessing the health of the wetlands, which span more than 10,000 miles of shoreline; that makes up more than the west and east coast of the U.S. combined. Their work has documented water chemistry, vegetation, invertebrates, fish, amphibians and birds.

The project has resulted in CMU’s collaboration with nine universities, one Michigan state agency, one Canadian federal agency and one U.S. federal agency in addition to the EPA. The grant that they awarded CMU is part of an effort supported by President Barack Obama’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, stated the release.The EPA is using the data to evaluate the proposed restoration efforts since they have committed to Congress that they will restore 60,000 acres of wetlands over the next five years. This improvement will have a positive impact throughout the Great Lakes watershed in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania and two provinces in Canada.

Uzarski said the first grant in 2010 led to 156 new jobs, most of which were student employees from ten different universities, including CMU, and technicians working on Beaver Island. Most of the money from the EPA was used for traveling expenses since they covered so much ground and had to use various means to get to the sites. Uzarski said this has been and remains a large-scale project that also benefits the grad students who are receiving an education along the way. He added that it’s vital that the lakes remain in good health since they’re the source of many Michigan cities’ water supply, such as Grand Rapids and Detroit.

Restoring the wetlands would assure good water quality and it would be less expensive for cities to clean the water. The state economy also relies on the lakes for tourism as well as sport and commercial fishery industry. At the moment, 1.5 million jobs are associated with the Great Lakes in general and the wetlands are essential to the ‘health’ of the Great Lakes.

Even though the wetlands only represent one percent of the surface area-on a map, they would merely be a line around the lakes-they serve a lot of functions than the public realizes, Uzarski said. They filter pollution from entering the Great Lakes and connected rivers, lakes and streams, holding them in place and burying them to the point that these toxins and pollutants never come in contact with fish-or humans. Additionally, they provide crucial habitat for fish, birds and mammals, and absorb water, which can prevent flooding in certain areas.

While the state has attempted restoring the wetlands in the past, those have proven inefficient, even damaging, according to Uzarski. Some old and outdated restoriation techniques included making dikes that disconnected the shoreline wetlands from the Great Lakes so that the natural wave energy and annual water level fluctuations no longer reached the wetland. It was a common practice to control the fluctuating water levels. In the end that has destabilized the wetland’s well-being. Through years of research, we have determined that this form of what we called ‘restoriation’ was actually doing more damage to the ecosystem than good,” Uzarski said.

CCSD Seeks Advocates

Sheriff Don Schneider of the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office would like to report that his department, in collaboration with local law enforcement agencies, is looking for more Advocates for their Charlevoix County Victim Services Unit (VSU).

The Victim Services Unit is comprised of volunteers, aka Advocates, throughout Charlevoix County who assist local law enforcement agencies and are dedicated to helping victims and their families cope with a crisis or a crime against them.

In order to become an advocate, you must fill out an application and attend a 20 hour training in November. Applications are available online at the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office www.charlevoixcounty.org/sheriff.asp<http://www.charlevoixcounty.org/sheriff.asp> under Community Outreach, as well as at the local law enforcement agencies: Boyne City Police Department, Charlevoix City Police Department, and East Jordan Police Department.  We will be hosting interviews at the end of October.

If you are interested in learning more about the Victim Services Unit, please contact VSU Coordinator Sarah Kaminski at the Charlevoix County Sheriff's Office at 231-547-4461.

BICS Seeks Boy's Basketball Coach

Charlevoix Major Gives Island Airways an Award

At the Charlevoix City Council meeting last night, October 5, 2015, McPhillips Aviation and Island Airways as well as Paul Welke received an award through a Mayoral Proclamation. A copy of this proclamation is posted below:

The Mayoral Proclamation

Paul Welke said it best last night, "I am humbled beyond what words can express."

Congratulations to Island Airways' staff and Paul Welke on a job well done!

Check It Out!

by Cindy Ricksgers

 

Fire Safety

The heating season is upon us ready or not. Some will be heating with wood, some with fuel oil, some with propane, heat pumps, and some with electricity. No matter what there should be something that you can do to prevent the disaster of loss of life due to a house fire. Luckily, FEMA has plenty of information about this including tips on fire safety.

Fire Prevention Week: Learn the Dos & Don’ts of House Fire Safety

CHICAGO –October 4 – 10, 2015 marks Fire Prevention Week, a commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 and an opportunity to emphasize fire safety and preparedness.

Remember these dos and don’ts to help you and your family protect against the dangers of a house fire:

• DO keep a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Half of home fire deaths happen between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Stay safe with smoke alarms outside of every bedroom and each separate sleeping area.
• DON’T forget to test your smoke alarm every month. The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms. If your alarm doesn’t sound when tested, it’s time to replace it.
• DO address your needs. If you require eyeglasses, hearing aid, cane or a wheelchair, ensure they are next to your bed to quickly grab if necessary. If there is a fire, you may have less than three minutes to get out of your home. Be ready to act immediately.
• DON’T assume you’ll hear the fire alarm if it sounds. If you test the alarm and can’t hear it, consider getting a strobe light that will flash or a bed shaker that will shake when the smoke alarm sounds.
• DO make a fire escape plan that shows at least two ways out of every room. Identify a meeting place in the front of your home, to verify that everyone is safe and help firefighters ensure everyone exited safely.
• DON’T stop to call 911 until you’re safely outside and away from danger. Stay outside until the fire department says it’s safe to go back inside.

For even more fire safety tips, visit the U.S. Fire Administration’s webpage at www.usfa.fema.gov. You can also follow FEMA Region V at twitter.com/femaregion5 and www.facebook.com/fema. Individuals can always find valuable preparedness information at www.Ready.gov.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

(The above poster can be printed. Open the bigger picture by clicking on the thumbnail. Right click the larger picture and download it to your computer. Then you can print it out on your printer.)

Rumors About Emergency Transport

Rumor #1: There is a rumor going around that suggests that an emergency patient does not have any choice about how and where he/she will be transported. This is not a true statement. Every single emergency patient who is able to make a decision about how and where they are to be transported, will be transported how and where they want to go. It may involve a discussion with family and the medical control physician, but the final decision is with the patient. Yes, BIEMS will transport you to the medical center if that is where you want to go. It may be suggested that you go to another destination, such as Charlevoix Hospital, McLaren Northern Michigan, or Munson Hospital; but the choice is still yours to make. You may be asked to sign a special release, but you still get to go where you want to go, as long as you are alert enough to make that decision.

Rumor #2: Another rumor going around is that there is a conflict between the medical center and the local EMS. The local EMS group must follow the laws of the State of Michigan, the administrative rules for that law, and the State of Michigan Model EMS Protocols as approved by the Charlevoix County Medical Control Authority. This includes written physician orders for many aspects of emergency medical care that EMS must follow including assessments and treatments as well as recommended transport destination. The local EMS group is licensed by the State of Michigan to provide emergency medical transport. These license requirements and the written physician orders are required to be followed unless other orders are received from the medical control physician. The assessments and treatments can be refused by any patient capable of making that decision. There will be a continuity of excellent patient care offered to every emergency medical patient by the local EMS agency.

Rumor #3: Taking the locally licensed emergency medical air transport will cost more than using an off-Island air transport service. This is also false. The local air transport vehicle is leased by the local EMS with aircraft and pilot provided by Island Airways. BIEMS accepts all insurance plans and participates in most insurance plans including Medicaid and Medicare. Valley Med out of Iron Mountain also accepts the same insurance plans and also participates in Medicaid and Medicare. The only out of pocket costs for either service is the co-pay required by either insurance companies or Medicaid or Medicare. BIEMS accepts the payments from insurance companies, Medicaid, and Medicare as payments in full. Northflight Air out of Traverse City state that they also participate, but previous experience with Northflight was the reason for licensing a local air transport vehicle.

Rumor #4: Valley Med and Northflight can provide a higher standard of care than our locally licensed air transport. This is also false. The same level of emergency prehospital emergency care is provided in the local ambulance and in the locally licensed air transport vehicle as is available in either of the other two operations. In most emergencies in the last twenty-eight years, critical care transport paramedics and nurses were not necessary. They may be necessary in a patient transfer from one licensed hospital to another licensed hospital, but the efficient transport time provided by the locally licensed air transport gets the patient to the definitive care facility in a much shorter period of time, is provided by friends and neighbors by the same license level in prehospital care, and fits into an emergency medical system that has twenty-eight years of experience right here on Beaver Island.

Rumor #5: I can refuse local EMS transport without them ever being called. This is true, but why would you not want to give yourself the benefit of the physician-directed, efficient emergency transport system designed and adapted over twenty-eight years to fit Beaver Island, and operated by your friends and neighbors? Why would you not want the excellent patient care requirements, fitted to your personal situation? Do you not want the assessments, monitoring, and treatments recommended by the emergency physicians throughout the State of Michigan? Did you know that the paramedics on Beaver Island passed the same certification and licensing requirements as paramedics in any major city of the United States? Did you know that many nationally accepted patient care standards for specific emergencies were actually special study assessments and treatments tested right here on Beaver Island? These included automatic external defibrillation, Epi-Pen administration for severe allergic reactions, and intravenous administration of dextrose for low blood sugar in diabetics. Some others include the training and certification of medical first responders and Basic EMTs to insert an advanced airway called a Combitube or double-lumen airway, new requirements of first responders and EMTS to provide Narcan to possible drug overdoses, as well as the administration of aspirin and nitroglycerin by EMTS for chest pain patients. All of these were done on Beaver Island prior to their general acceptance in the field of basic prehospital emergency care.

BOBI Book Club- Upcoming Titles/Dates

(New) For MONDAY, November 16th, 7pm: Knocking On Heaven's Door by Katy Butler

*Please speak to Patrick, MG, or Kathy regarding BOBI book availability, there is a BOBI sign out sheet at the desk :)