Category: Law & Order
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Special Council Meeting Regarding Elberta Beach
Update! Kristi Mills came through with a recording of the meeting. Thanks, Kristi! It’s a bit hard to hear and hasn’t been edited for levels and whatnot, but it’s worth a listen if you care about the beach. Here are some images that were used during this morning’s special…
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Guest Column: Electric Skateboard Debate Ramps Up
Please help stop Frankfort City Council’s ongoing effort to create an ordinance banning electric skateboards citywide. By Carolyn Thayer July 14, 2017 I’m asking for your help to spread the news about the Frankfort City Council’s ongoing effort to create an ordinance banning electric skateboards citywide based on the potential for a public safety…
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Hunting in the Village: Let the Game Begin
It’s hunting season! But it’s illegal to shoot firearms within Village limits. That includes up in the dunes. So if you hear gunshots here in Elberta, you would be correct to call the Sheriff, who is tasked with enforcing that law, because it’s also a state law. Bowhunting, however, is allowed…
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August Primary 2016 on Tuesday the 2nd
Don’t miss the Gilmore/Elberta Primary Election this coming Tuesday, August 2, from 7:00 am to 8 pm at the Community Building, 401 First Street. Gilmore Township/Elberta voters will be choosing State (101st District) and U.S. congressional (1st District) representatives, as well as county prosecutor (Sara Swanson running unopposed), sheriff (Ted…
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Lines in the Sand
By Andy Bolander Here is an annual reminder of the beautiful frailty our community possesses in the Elberta dunes and beach. It will take persistent and vocal presence for us to protect this resource. Why is it necessary to protect the dune habitat? Well, something you may feel intuitively is actually…
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Candidate Says Water Management, Passenger Rail, Internet Access Will Help NoMI Folks Stay and Succeed
Meet the Candidate: Lon Johnson Democrat 1st Congressional District Lon Johnson spoke at the Bayview Grille in Frankfort to a group of potential supporters on March 29 from 6 to 7 pm. Here are selections from his remarks, arranged by topic. Meet the Candidate is nonpartisan and offers any candidate…
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Signs of the Times: July Council Meeting Report
VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING July 16, 2015 • 7 PM ||| AUDIO ||| July 16, 2015 • 7 PM The Village of Elberta Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, July 16, 2015, at the Community Building, 401 First Street, Elberta, Michigan. The meeting was called…
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Burn After Reading: June Council Meeting
VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING June 18, 2015 • 7 PM ||| AUDIO ||| The Village of Elberta Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, June 18, 2015, at the Community Building, 401 First Street, Elberta, Michigan. The meeting was called to order by Diane Jenks at 7:02…
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Solstice Approved: May Council Meeting
VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING —DRAFT Minutes— May 21, 2015 • 7 PM ||| AUDIO ||| The Village of Elberta Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at the Community Building, 401 First Street, Elberta, Michigan. The meeting was called to order by Diane…
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February 2015 Council Meeting: Budget Adopted
VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING —DRAFT Minutes— —FINAL Minutes— —ADOPTED FY2015 VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BUDGET— February 19, 2015 • 7 PM ||| AUDIO |||
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Where There’s Smoke: January Council Meeting
VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING —DRAFT Minutes— —FINAL Minutes— January 15, 2015 • 7 PM ||| AUDIO ||| The Village of Elberta Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at the Community Building, 401 First Street, Elberta, Michigan. The meeting was called to order…
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Short and Sweet: December Council Meeting
VILLAGE OF ELBERTA BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING —Minutes— December 18, 2014 • 7 PM ||| AUDIO ||| The Village of Elberta Board of Trustees held a regular meeting on Thursday, December 18, 2014, at the Community Building, 401 First Street, Elberta, Michigan. The meeting was called to order by president Diane…
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Midterm Election 2014! Wolves, Drugs, Fire
UPDATE: View up-to the minute election results (as available) from the various Benzie townships here, and the final official Benzie County results page here. UPDATE: From Aubrey Parker: “BENZIE COUNTY: We’re hoping to do LIVE election results again tonight like we brought you in 2013, but we need your help! All…
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Motion to Fire DPW Head Fails; Raucous Public Meeting Ends Early
By Emily Votruba I’ll post a summary of last night’s Special Meeting soonish. In the meantime, here’s the audio and the documents I tweeted to the Facebook feed last night. Full audio of meeting: Police Report in the Case of the Possibly Stolen Building County Prosecutor’s Letter Declining to Pursue Case…
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What’s Going Around: Rent Scammers
By Kimm X Jayne For any of you who list a property on HomeAway.com or VRBO, be aware of this scam going around. Someone reserves your place and sends a cashier’s check, but before you get the check, he or she “realizes” they overpaid you and part of that money…
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Preliminary DEQ Report on Cold Creek Spill
DRAFT Preliminary DEQ Report on Cold Creek Spill Audio of April 10 regular Beulah Village meeting.
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Olson Presents Prioritization Results and Council Begins to Hash Out DEP
Full audio of the Dec. 30 meeting (2 parts): Full audio of the Jan. 2 meeting: At the January 2 meeting, Chris Olson came back with the compiled results of the Dec. 30 prioritization exercise, in which, after a long discussion, council members and staff placed dots next to items…
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Mini Million Mask March in Benzonia
By Robert Bruce Bushway UPDATED 11/7/13 On November 5, supporters of the activist group Anonymous rallied all around the world to protest corporate greed and government corruption. Here at home, while some citizens in Benzonia were lined up at the fire station Tuesday to cast their ballot in the general…
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Fuzz-y Math: Has the Sheriff Made the Case for the Public Safety Millage?
By Emily Votruba On November 5 (tomorrow), county residents will be asked to approve a funding increase for the Benzie County Sheriff’s Office. The 1.5 mill “public safety millage” will replace the jail millage (.9 mills) and is meant to allow the return of 24-hour road patrol, which proponents say…
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Special Meeting Monday to Discuss Millage for Sheriff Department
UPDATE: County clerk Dawn Olney sent an email today, August 26, at about noon with an agenda attached for either a continued or rescheduled meeting on the Sheriff millage issue, to be held tomorrow (Aug. 27) at 1 pm, same place. 8 am, County Commissioners Room, Benzie County Government Center, 448…
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Signs Installed to Mark Beach Road
With authorization from Council, Ken Bonney today installed stakes and signage to demarcate the Village’s platted road, known as Lakeside Boulevard. Over the years, the undeveloped stretch has become by turns rutted and covered over with soft sand, and several byways have been cut through use. The long-standing issue of…
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County Recycling Coordinator Caught Up in Driver Responsibility Act Mess
By Emily Votruba County Recycling Coordinator Mike Fiebing was pulled over in his personal vehicle on Wednesday June 5 for having a cracked windshield—a routine traffic stop, according to Sheriff Ted Schendel. Schendel told the Alert that when the officer ran Fiebing’s license record the license was found to have…
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Evacuation/Stop Work Deadline Passes, Putney Workers Still On Site, Work Continues
By Emily Votruba Village zoning administrator Ken Bonney came by today to give the Alert a copy of the letter he sent to Loy Putney April 24 outlining the reasons for the stop work/evacuation order. Letter from Ken Bonney to Loy Putney April 24 The letter outlines the history of…
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Frankfort Planning Commission Hard at Work on Medi-Mari, Alt-Energy Ordinances
Herewith are three handouts from the Planning Commission meeting of April 9, 2013, provided to us by Planning Commission chair Bruce Ogilvie: the Annual Report for 2012, the most recent draft of the Medical Marihuana Caregiver Facility (Land Use) Ordinance, and the Alternative Energy Ordinance Draft. “These ordinance drafts are…
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March Elberta Council Meeting Report: Holier Than Thou
By Emily Votruba VILLAGE COMMUNITY BUILDING March 21, 2013—Sharyn Bower announced that the County Board of Commissioners would be holding their regular meeting at the Village Community Building on April 16 at 6 pm as part of their tour around the county. The Planning Commission will hold two public hearings…
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February Elberta Council Meeting Report: Same Playing Field
By Emily Votruba VILLAGE COMMUNITY BUILDING, February 20, 2013—A date and the spelling of Jennifer Wilkins’s name were corrected on the January meeting minutes. Wilkins’s name was also added to the agenda under the Beach Committee report, as she is a new member of that committee. PUBLIC HEARING ON 2013–14…
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Commissioners Confronted on IPMC, Deputies
By Bob Kenison and Emily Votruba March 26, 2013 BENZIE COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER—More than one hundred Benzie County citizens overflowed the commissioners’ chambers, spilling into the hallway at the regular meeting this past Tuesday. The people were clearly unhappy with the commissioners’ enactment of the new property maintenance code. Some…
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International Property Maintenance Code Rescinded (Audio)
BENZIE COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER—The county commission voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance rescinding their adoption of the International Property Maintenance Code at this morning’s regular county commissioners meeting. Members of the media were there (Record–Patriot, TV 9&10, and others), and more than 120 members of the general public. A show…
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Public Safety Committee Report: Drug Dealers, Stay out of Benzie
By Bob Kenison March 21, 2013 BENZIE COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT—Last week Sheriff Ted Schendel held his third public safety meeting since becoming sheriff of Benzie County in January. The meetings are open to the public, and are held the third Thursday of each month. People are encouraged to attend and…
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Recall Who?
According to DPW head Ken Bonney, reached this afternoon by phone, two “RECALL” signs were found in the village today, one in front of the library, and one near the exercise equipment at Anderson Park. Bonney said Ken Holmes removed the one from in front of the library, and Village…
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Strict Construction: The New County Property Maintenance Code
By Emily Votruba At the February 19 County Commissioners meeting, the commissioners voted 6 to 1 to adopt the International Property Maintenance Code (see link below). The vote occurred during the department head reports portion of the meeting and was not on the agenda. After a presentation by Robert Theobald…
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New County Property Maintenance Rules Are Intensely Detailed, Possibly Unconstitutional
Thanks to the Joyfield Residents group on Facebook for making the pdf of the new county property maintenance code available. We haven’t actually read it yet, but you can! We’ve heard it’s pretty strict, which should please lovers of neatly trimmed grass, but cause some headaches (and pocketbook aches) for…
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Pride of BC: Let’s Talk about Bullying in Schools
An anti-bullying group for parents holds its first meeting tomorrow at Benzie High School’s SEEDS room at 6:30 pm. The group is a spinoff of the kids’ anti-bullying Pride group that formed earlier this year. All are welcome to come out and discuss how we can be nicer to each…
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Sheriff Race 2012: Indy Candidate Carland
By Bob Kenison and Emily Votruba Back in July of this year, the Alert’s Morgan Feger interviewed the candidates for Benzie County sheriff—three Republicans. Ted Schendel won the August primary and would have been unopposed in the general election. But in July, Coury Carland announced he was running for the…
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District VII Candidate Forum Canceled
Attention, attention! The League of Women Voters Candidate Forum scheduled for tonight (Tuesday), which was to feature county commission candidates Don Tanner and Adrian Poulisse, has been canceled. There will still be a law & order candidate forum on Wednesday, tomorrow, however, featuring sheriff candidates Ted Schendel and Coury Carland,…
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Council Meeting Report for August 16, 2012
Waiting for Somebody to Do Something By Emily Votruba BILL SOPER asked that “Parks and Rec credit card” and “village taxes” be added to the agenda. The meeting lasted two hours. Absent was Ken Holmes, who was recovering from hip-replacement surgery. INITIAL PUBLIC COMMENT Cheryl Gross spoke about…
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Public Safety Meeting Synopsis: No Cuts to Sheriff Budget
The Public Safety Committee meets monthly to provide an opportunity for the public to share their concerns and questions about county safety and other matters of interest to the community with Sheriff Rory Heckman. By Bob Kenison The Public Safety Committee met at the Sheriff’s Department on September 20 at…