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The U.S. Coast Guard and its partners are launching nine new oil spill research projects in 2025, focusing on freshwater spills in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Oil Spill Center of Expertise says past research has mostly focused on saltwater spills, leaving gaps in preparedness for a major incident in the region. Studies will explore new detection methods, like using electromagnetic technology to locate oil under ice, and innovations in oil cleanup, such as 3D-printed drum skimmers. Meantime, the Coast Guard rescued two fishermen stranded on the ice in Saginaw Bay on Sunday. A Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted the men to safety and transferred them to EMS. No injuries were reported. M-Live weather forecasters say the winter storm headed Michigan’s way has intensified with more areas expected to see heavy snow fall. The National Weather Service now has a winter storm watch in place for two thirds of the LP including Cadillac, West Branch and Alpena. Snow is expected to start tomorrow and become intense in the afternoon with icing and freezing rain part of the mix in the southeast corner of the state. Grand Rapids could get five to seven inches and Mt. Pleasant up to a foot. For us, maybe an inch. In Dark Sky News, Europe’s Euclid space telescope has spotted a rare Einstein ring—a glowing halo of light—around a galaxy just 590 million light-years away. An Einstein Ring occurs when gravity bends light from a much more distant galaxy, perfectly encircling a closer one. Scientists say it’s one of the closest and most beautiful examples of gravitational lensing ever seen. Euclid, launched in 2023 with NASA’s help, is on a mission to uncover the secrets of dark matter and dark energy in the universe. |
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Now, here’s a look at events happening on your Emerald Isle… First your meeting planner for the week… A-A meets at the Christian Church Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday at 6:00. That’s it on the meeting front. More details are in the calendar entries online. On the fun front today… Tuesday, the threads will be yacking and crafting out at Peaine Township Hall starting at 9:30. At the library at 10:00 there’s a Babes and Toddlers Mix-up. Pickleball is on at the BIC Center in the theater at 10:00 and the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is at 10:30 in the Hangout followed by C-O-A Senior Tai Chi at 11:30. Then at 2:30 it is Story Time at the library. And, at 6:00, it’s Time to Get Quizzical. It’s the Beaver Island trivia game. Sign your team up at tickets dot bic center dot org. And, if you signed up for Bodega Catering’s winter classes, don’t forget that the second session is Tuesday. [The menu includes Chocolate Dipped Strawberries, a Poached Shrimp Cocktail with homemade sauce and Sweet Potato Gnocchi with a brown butter and sage sauce.] Wednesday…there is C-O-A Bingo at 1:00 at the BIC Center in Hangout. And, Wednesday evening at 5:00, it’s time for Art at the BIC Center. From 5:00 – 5:30 PM we’ll have Specialty Mocktail Making with Marlaina Cole. Then from 5:30 – 7:00 PM Lois Stipp will contribute her wealth of knowledge (and a good hoard of scrap-booking supplies) to lead participants through creating their own unique cards. Plus, there will be Light Bites and Sweet Treats will be provided. Meantime, over at school, Medical First Responder Class sessions continue at 7:00. And, our Dark Skies wwon’t be so Dark tonight as the February Full Moon appears. It’s the Racoon Moon, the Snow Moon, Hunder Moon or Storm Moon. There’s more at dark sky island dot org. Highlights for the rest of the week include… Thursday, there’s Cardio Drumming at 10:00, Pickleball at 10:00…both at the BIC Center… and Women’s Bible Study at the Christian Church at 10:00. At 11:00 back at the BIC Center, there’s Chair Yoga. Island Treasures is open noon to 4:00. They’ll be open Friday and Saturday same hours. Thursday evening it’s Burger and a Beer night at the Shamrock. Euchre is on at 7:00 at the Whiskey Point Brewing Company. And at 7:00 over at school, Medical First Responder Class sessions continue at 7:00. Friday, Senior and Vets Coffee and Donuts is at the BIC Center from 9:00 to 11:00. Pickleball is from 10:00 to noon in the theater at the BIC Center. The Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program is on at 10:30 in the Hangout. At 11:30 there’s a C-O-A Valentines Day Luncheon at the Gregg Fellowship Center. There’ll be chicken piccata, roasted potatoes, carrots and rolls plus a flourless chocolate cake with strawberries …all prepared by Bodega Catering. And, Cynthia and Bob Pryor will be there to provide music. You need to sign up in advance with a call to 231-237-0103. Friday evening, there’s a special Valentine’s Day movie at the BIC Center: Moulin Rouge! Shows at 6:00. There’ll be special treats to enjoy with the movie. Also Friday, the Islander basketball teams head off to Escanaba for the Northern Lights League Tournamnet and their last games of the season. They’ll be back on Saturday. [On the radio, you’ll hear our fantastic Friday evening lineup of shows to kick off the weekend. Right after the news at 6:00 there’s That Thing with Rich Appel, that top-down top forty sound from the 70s that so much fun. He’s followed at 9:00 by Titus Jennings with the Titus Jennings experience and lots of fine music from all genres and then is music and farce comedy and escape with Marilyn Rea Beyer and the Midnight special starting at 11:00.] On Saturday, the Fiero Coding Club is at the Library at 2:00 and it’s Prime Rib Night at the Shamrock. On the BIG screen with the BIG sound at the BIC Center, it’s time for the throwback movies of the month. And our fans have picked a perfect one for the day after valentine’s day. It’s 10 Things I Hate About You. Showtime is 6:00 p.m. If you are a Shakepeare fan, you’ll discover or already know that it’s a modern day take on the Bard’s famous play. Great fun and reviews. It’s rated PG-13. [On the radio, tune in for Country Classics at 5:00 Saturday evening with host Sheri Timsak. At 7:00, Jackson Smith and Steve Girbach are in with Songs from the Trail. Mark Beltaire takes over at 9:00 with Rockin’ the Boat and continues at 10:00 with the Blues Cruise. Cousin Dan wraps up the evening with the Too Good Radio Show starting at 11:00.] Sunday brings folks together for worship, with services at the Christian Church at 10:00 and Mass at Holy Cross at 12:15. Also, Sunday, there are lots of Super Bowl watching opportunities. The Shamrock, Elks and Wild Starwberry Café all have activities planned for you to enjoy the Big Game with friends. Food specials at the Sham, a Chuili Cook-off at the Wild Strawberry starting at 4:00, and a crock pot cook-off at the Elks. And the C-O-A has a drawing for prizes that will be awarded on Monday. Just comment on their Facebook post on Beaver Island This and That or WVBI’s feed. Looking ahead to next week… Monday, there is Cardio Drumming at the BIC Center at 10:00. At 5:00 this evening, there’s Qigong [chi gong] practice lead by Tina Carlton. It’s a traditional, ancient Chinese medicine practice using gentle movement, meditation, and breathing to promote mental, physical, and spiritual health. That’s at the BIC Center, up in the Hang Out. |
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NAME OF DAY: The BIC Center Name of the Day is Lucille. If that’s your name, head on down to the BIC Center to pick out a free drink of your choice. BIRTHDAYS: Pete Lodico, Allyson Selby and Kevin Stipp are celebrating today. Happy Birthday to Allyson, Kevin and Pete and, if we missed you on the list, Happy Birthday to you, too, from everyone at WVBI and your Beaver Island Community Center! [And, here’s a way to send special birthday wishes to someone on the island: The B-I-C-S National Honor Society will put up signs….lots of signs in their yard in exchange for a donation of $10 or more to the Build a Cure for Cancer fund. Contact N-H-S president Alyssa Martin for more details. You can reach her through the front desk at school.] |
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TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. The Island beltway is running smoothly and there are no bridge delays. But the roads are slick, so let’s be careful out there. Especially in the school zone. |
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On this day in 1936 Burton Leon Reynolds is born in Lansing, where he will spend his early years. He will go on to become a box office star first in Deliverance and then in a series of hit including Smokey and the Bandit and Boggie Nights. Also on this day in 1990, South Africa’s most prominent anti-apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela, is released after almost three decades of captivity. He will go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize and become the nation’s president. Image from bing.com. |
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Our Merriam Webster Word of the Day is Ruminate (verb) [ROO-muh-nayt, which means to think carefully and deeply about something. When you ruminate, you chew something over, either literally or figuratively. Literal rumination may seem a little gross to humans, but to cows, chewing your cud (partially digested food brought up from the stomach for another chew) is just a natural part of life. Figurative ruminating is much more palatable to humans; that kind of deep, meditative thought is often deemed quite a worthy activity. Ruminate comes from and shares the meanings of the Latin verb ruminari (meaning “to chew the cud” or “muse upon”), which in turn comes from rumen, the Latin name for the first stomach compartment of ruminant animals (that is, creatures like cows that chew their cud). |
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Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Tuesday… |
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Here’s a thought for the day from Nelson Mandella: “It only seems impossible until it’s done.” |
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On a lighter note… What do you call a cow that just mopes around and chews her cud? Moo-dy. |
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That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar for this Beaver Island Tuesday, February 11th, 2025. 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 Partly sunny, with a high near 16. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon. Tonight Mostly cloudy, with a low around 6. Calm wind. Wednesday Snow showers, mainly after 4pm. High near 19. Wind chill values as low as zero. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. Wednesday Night Snow showers. Low around 11. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of around 3 inches. Thursday A 30 percent chance of snow showers before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 22. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Thursday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. Friday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 25. Friday Night Snow showers, mainly after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 18. Saturday A chance of snow showers. Cloudy, with a high near 27. Saturday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. Sunday Cloudy, with a high near 17. Sunday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2. Washington’s Birthday Mostly cloudy, with a high near 12. |
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Photos from webcams at wvbi.net and mackinacbridge.org |
