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From our Langford Family studios on America’s Emerald Isle, this is the WVBI Community Calendar for Friday, March 11th, 2022. |
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First some news … Nothing new on the COVID-19 data front from the Health Center today. No new tests. No tests pending. No active island cases. The next update from the state comes out Friday afternoon. We’ll have that on Monday.
Although the local health department has lifted its masking mandate, the Ann Arbor schools are continuing the mask requirement for all of its buildings until further notice. Meantime, U of M has dropped mask requirements for many indoor spaces, but still requires them in classrooms. B-I-C-S dropped its mask requirement two weeks ago.
The Michigan Legislature approved a resolution this week backing energy independence and asking Governor Gretchen Whitmer to call off attempts to shut down the Line 5 dual pipelines. Lily Bohlke (BOWL-kee) has the latest. |
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:54 Outcue…I’m Lily Bohlke, reporting. With gas prices surging amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, lawmakers who supported this resolution say domestic oil production should be a priority. Sean McBrearty, campaign coordinator for the group Oil and Water Don’t Mix, said conversations about energy independence and security should focus on building renewables faster, rather than relying on more fossil fuel. “We have to realize that the sooner we can get away from oil, and natural gas and other fossil fuels, the sooner we can get away from dictators like Vladimir Putin being able to leverage things like that in this sort of a war that he’s pursuing right now in Ukraine,” McBrearty asserted. The pipelines are operated by Enbridge Energy, a Canadian company pursuing building a tunnel around them, though environmental advocates and engineers have raised serious financial and safety concerns. Enbridge has said shutting down Line 5 would cause energy-market disruptions, though McBrearty pointed to multiple studies showing the pipelines could be closed without any price or supply disruption. McBrearty noted the resolution is nonbinding and will have no impact on the future of Line 5. He thinks it is important for pipeline shutdown efforts to continue. “There’s plenty of capacity elsewhere in the system for the product that moves through Line 5,” McBrearty contended. “And with the declining demand that we’re going to be seeing in future years, there’s no reason we should be looking at building an oil tunnel through the Great Lakes.” This week, Whitmer joined five other governors asking Congress to suspend the federal gas tax with prices so high. Their request comes as the national average price of gas surpassed the previous record from the 2008 recession. |
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Following a two-week trial after two mistrials, a jury has convicted a Charlevoix man of all charges filed in a 2019 child abuse case. John Paul Fiedorek faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced in April. The case arose after a 15-month-old boy was admitted to the Charlevoix hospital with multiple injuries, including numerous fractures to his arms and bite marks to his body.
Rescue crews went out on Saginaw Bay yesterday to rescue two men who went through the ice. This was the second time this week that the two were rescued. This time they were out trying to retrieve snowmobiles and a camper left behind during their first rescue attempt. They had gone to the site in a flat bottom boat and were smart enough to be wearing life jackets. Officials say that without them they probably would have died. They say the two should hire professionals to go get the property—not try to do it themselves. And, a go fund me campaign has been launched to do just that.
The Traverse City Police Department is ramping up efforts to implement “community policing” programs in 2022, according to T-C-P-D Chief Jeff O’Brien. In a presentation earlier this week, O’Brien said the department’s emphasis has shifted from being “a law and order-type agency to more of a peacekeeping agency.” That change includes establishing a community advisory board with representation from marginalized communities, creating a quick response team to respond to overdose cases with treatment instead of jail, and offering mental healthcare support to both residents and officers. There’s more about this in today’s edition of the Traverse Ticker with a link in today’s script online: https://www.traverseticker.com/news/tcpd-ramps-up-community-policing-efforts-with-public-advisory-board-overdose-quick-response-team-mental-health-focus/ |
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Now, here’s a look at what’s happening on your island…
Here’s your meeting planner for next week: School Board Meets Monday at 6:30 at school. Waste management Committee meets Tuesday at 1:00 at the Peaine Township Hall. BIA Board meets in an open meeting Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 at the BIC Center. St. James Public Works Committee meets Wednesday at 11:00 at their township hall. Thursday, the Joint Telecommunications Advisory Committee meets at 4:30 at the BIC Center. Library Board meets at 5:00 at the library. Meeting details are in the calendar entries online.
On the fun front today, Friday, Pickleball is on—in the Theater at the BIC Center at 10:00. Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is on up in the Hangout at 10:30 and at noon it’s C-O-A’s winter BINGO game also here at the BIC Center. And, Friday afternoon join B-I-C-S students to enjoy a screening of the hit film Alaskan Nets. It’s the true story of a basketball team from a remote, indigenous fishing village that wins the state basketball championship in Alaska. Showtime is 4:00. No admission, but a freewill donation will be collected to benefit the sports program at B-I-C-S. Concession stand will be open. The trailer is on the BIC Center website at bic center dot org.
Saturday, afternoon there are two more movies are on at the BIC Center. The 4:00 show is War of the Buttons. Filmed in Ireland, it’s the story of the children of Ballydowse and Carrickdowse who go to war after school but have to finish by supper. It’s a rollicking story of growing up in a more innocent time. Great for the whole family. Rated P-G. At 7:00 it’s Waking Ned Devine, another story from Ireland. When one of their townsfolk wins the lottery—and has a heart attack when learning the news, the rest of the town figures they can outsmart the bib city boys and collect the winnings. Here’s to Ned Devine. Another great story and award-winning film. Rated PG. Both shows on the BIG screen with the BIG sound. Concession Stand open for both. Trailers for those shows are on the BIC Center website at bic center dot org.
Sunday there are services at Holy Cross, the Christian Church, and the Lighthouse fellowship. Times and more details are in the calendar.
Monday, Chair Yoga is on up ion the Hangout. Start time is 10:00.
Tuesday, Tai Chi is on up in the Hangout at 9:30. Pickleball is on at 10:00 in the Theater. The Arthritis Foundation Exercise program is on at 10:30 in the Hangout.
Wednesday starts with Nothing but Needles at the Peaine Township Hall. That event for crafters starts at 9:00. Also, it’s C-O-A’s Chair Yoga at 10:30. Wednesday evening it’s Time for Art at the BIC Center. Rock painting is the activity. Check out the Beaver Island Rocks Facebook page for inspiration—if you need some. Start time is 5:00.
Thursday, Tai-Chi is at 9:30 and Pickleball at 10 both here at the BIC Center. Tai-Chi in the Hangout and Pickleball in the Theater. Games Galore is on up in the Hangout from 1:00 to 4:00 and stick around for with Heidi Vigil’s ComminiTea Time from 3:00 to 4:00—also in the Hangout. You can play Euchre Thursday evening over at the Whiskey Point Brewing Company. Cards hit the table at 7:00. |
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BIRTHDAYS: Joe Reed and Francis Bedell are all celebrating today. Tomorrow I’ll celebrate another trip around the sun. Sunday, Glen Borre, Dave Schwartzfisher, Steve McNew, Sage Speck and Ralph Williamson are all celebrating. Happy Birthday to Ralph, Sage, Steve, Dave, Glen, Francis and Joe and, if we missed you on the list, Happy Birthday to you from all of us at W-V-B-I and your Beaver Island Community Center. |
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TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. Bridges are clear. But the island beltway is a skating rink as are many of the sidewalks in town. So, let’s be careful out there. |
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ON THIS DAY in 1918 the deadliest flu pandemic in recorded history begins. Hundreds of soldiers at Fort Riley, Kansas, are sick with a virulent form of influenza, prompting the first reporting of the epidemic. The flu will go on to infect some 500 million people and kill between 50 million and 100 million, according to most estimates. Also on this day in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of USSR. He will usher in ‘glasnost’ (transparency) and ‘perestroika’ (restructuring), ultimately serving as the Soviet Union’s final leader before its dissolution. (Bing.com)
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WORD OF THE DAY: archetype (noun) [AHR-kih-type], which is someone or something that is seen to be a perfect example. It is also a word for the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies. Archetype comes from the Greek verb archein (“to begin” or “to rule”) and the noun typos (“type”). Archetype has specific uses in the fields of philosophy and psychology. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato, for example, believed that all things have ideal forms (aka archetypes) of which real things are merely shadows or copies. And in the psychology of C. G. Jung, archetype refers to an inherited idea or mode of thought that is present in the unconscious of the individual. In everyday prose, however, archetype is most commonly used to mean “a perfect example of something.” (Merriam-Webster) |
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Now, to wrap up for this for Beaver Island Friday… |
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Here’s a thought for the day from former U-S-S-R leader Mikhail Gorbachev: Democracy must learn to defend itself.
On a lighter note: What do you call a store that sells only bagels and donuts? Hole foods. |
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That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for this Beaver Island Friday, March 11th, 2022. I’m Kevin Boyle reporting from W-V-B-I’s Langford Family Studios wishing you a great day– and asking you: why not go ahead and make it the best day ever? And, thanks for listening. |
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Today Scattered snow showers after 10am. Patchy blowing snow after 1pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 27. Breezy, with a south wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. Tonight Isolated snow showers. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 6. Wind chill values as low as -8. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Saturday Partly sunny, with a high near 14. Wind chill values as low as -10. Blustery, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Saturday Night A 40 percent chance of snow showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 10. Wind chill values as low as -1. West wind 5 to 15 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Sunday A 50 percent chance of snow showers before 1pm. Patchy blowing snow between 10am and 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21. Monday Snow showers likely, mainly after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 17. Tuesday Partly sunny, with a high near 33. Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 23. Wednesday Cloudy, with a high near 39. Wednesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. Thursday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 38. |
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