• Council Meeting Report: Get It in Writing

    Meeting date: January 20, 2011, 7 PM The Alert aims to report as thoroughly and accurately as possible on Village meetings; however, we usually have just one reporter per meeting, and some topics may be missed or misconstrued. Please submit any corrections to elberta.alert@gmail.com, or simply comment on the blog. We value your input! Official minutes of the Village Council meetings are to be posted on the Village of Elberta website. That page is currently under construction, but look for current and archived minutes to appear soon. Arthur Melendez, on behalf of the Elberta Arts Council, proposed a sculpture/art walk… More

  • “Skin Deep,” a One-Minute Interreview, January 7, 2011

    The Benzie County Players presented Skin Deep at the Mills Community House for five showings in January. Debbra Eckhout, Rachel Evans Higgins, Josh Stoltz, and Mark Vandeperre starred in this new comedy written by Jon Lonoff and directed by Steve Elrick. Reviewers’ summary: The play was about a spinster woman whose botoxed, conniving sister sets her up on a blind date with a sheepish restaurateur. What follows is a host of insecurities and humorous misunderstandings which happily lead to the conclusion that beauty is only “skin deep.” Thomas Votruba: OK, so, one thing that was kind of weird for me, which… More

  • Here’s the Drill on Fire Department Figures

    Frankfort City Superintendent Josh Mills responds to “We Didn’t Start the Fire…” Doug Holmes has always been supportive of the Fire Department, attended every meeting, and voted on the establishment of pay for personnel and approval toward equipment expenditures. I’d like to make a few clarifications regarding fire department funding and salaries. Mr. Holmes is correct in saying the Fire Department has good equipment. It is a mandate to have sound, working equipment, and we have been successful in accommodating this through procurement of grants and budget control. [Mr. Mills is responsible for writing Fire Department grants.—Ed.] Well over $200,000.00… More

  • Foghorn: Monument to Edison Berryhill!

    The Alert recently spoke with a longtime Elbertian about Edison Berryhill, an unsung hero of Village maintenance… There really ought to be a monument to Mr. Berryhill, who was our department of public works person for many years. He collected garbage twice a week and took it to the old landfill out at the end of Zimmerman Road. He plowed all the roads and the sidewalks. He was tireless and did almost all the work by himself. He just had an extraordinary amount of energy—when he was on leave from the Village during the summer, he would work at the… More

  • Calendar: January 2011

    Wednesday, 5th, 7 pm, Village Community Building, Elberta Parks and Recreation Committee meets. Tuesday, 11th, 5:30 pm–9 pm, Grow Benzie, 5885 M-115, Benzonia, Potluck Workshop “Building a Living Soil,” with ag guru Craig Schaaf. Part 1 in a series of 6 hard-core gardening workshops. Saturday, 15th, 4 pm–6 pm, Elberta United Methodist Church, 555 Lincoln Ave., Community Dinner. Come for food and fellowship at Elberta’s best church. Thursday, 20th, 7 pm, Village Community Building, Regular Village Council Meeting More

  • Calendar: December 2010

    Wednesday, 1st, 7 pm, Village Community Building, Elberta Parks and Recreation Committee meets to discuss trail maintenance, sledding party, Elberta Arts Council, Elberta Alert newspaper Thursday, 2nd, 6 pm, County Sheriff’s Office, 505 Michigan Ave. (US-31), Beulah: citizens’ Public Safety Committee, organized by Sheriff Rory Heckman, meets. Sunday, 5th, 1 pm, Village Library, Frankfort Ave., First Public Meeting regarding the Elberta Alert Thursday, 16th, 7 pm, Village Community Building, Regular Village Council Meeting Sunday, 19th, 1 pm to 7 pm, Historic Waterfront Park shelter off M-168, Elberta Winter Solstice Festival! Sledding, snowman contest (first, second, and third place prizes), bonfire,… More