FOR A CONSOLIDATED BEAVER ISLAND TOWNSHIP

[Wkohls]

Rich . . .

I'll call PABI . . . there may yet be time to have a public forum at the community center . . . I will be pleased to discuss ESA funding and other topics.

The only thing that has been proven is that your budget is misleading and I will also be pleased to go through that document page by page . . . slashes funding for EMS by $129,000 . . . overstates revenues by $988,000 (as demonstrated in an earlier post) . . . misstates authorized taxes. Shall I continue?

Time is of the essence . . . we vote one week from today . . . will you commit to joining me on the stage?

Note: Our ambulances are a 1997 Ford with 170,000 miles and a 2011 Chevy with 250,000.

[Gillespie]

You go on and on but have not presented your own deduction of a joint township because you don't want to and never did! I would not be inclined to join you for a forum as you did not even take the time, as Supervisor, to go to the forum for consolidation in your own township. That said, you have no interest in debating the reality of the island's future needs, only your own and I charge that you have not been here long enough to understand the bigger picture, nor would you be inclined to listen to the argument.

No one on the committee EVER set out to deceive anyone but you immediately pounced on the numbers as if you were so interested, no, only in defeating the merger. Beaver Island's best long term future is as one. I just had a visit from a friend who has owned property for nearly 20 years, they are tiring of the rhetoric and rightly so. Their simple question was, why are there two townships? That has been explained before but to recap, it was the old English way of land division because people rode in wagons and on horses. They said, why is it that way now? I said, because of selfish, single minded people who cannot see the better world it creates (or in this case, island). Keep your negativity on the negative post. I firmly believe we will save money and firmly believe everyone will based on what I have learned.

I have no interest in the local politics, per se, other than leaving a better community behind. Here is a 14th century theory that is as relevant today as it was then:

Occam's Razor

Occam's (or Ockham's) razor is a principle attributed to the 14th century logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham. Ockham was the village in the English county of Surrey where he was born.

The principle states that "Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily." Sometimes it is quoted in one of its original Latin forms to give it an air of authenticity:

"Pluralitas non est ponenda sine neccesitate"
"Frustra fit per plura quod potest fieri per pauciora"
"Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem"

In fact, only the first two of these forms appear in his surviving works and the third was written by a later scholar. William used the principle to justify many conclusions, including the statement that "God's existence cannot be deduced by reason alone." That one didn't make him very popular with the Pope.

Many scientists have adopted or reinvented Occam's Razor, as in Leibniz's "identity of observables" and Isaac Newton stated the rule: "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances."

The most useful statement of the principle for scientists is
"when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better."

What is simpler in this case? One Government for One Island!

[Gillespie]

Stop posting your BS rhetoric to my page without answering my questions, a thread was made for that! On the EMS budget for capital projects what might we need? An Ambulance? We paid 5000. DOLLARS for the last ambulance which was essentially donated by West Branch and more importantly we will always find good and resourceful mainland friends who contribute their high mile vehicles in excellent shape that they replace for that assurance. That said, stop with your sky is falling BS and stick to the point yourself. You have NO compelling case to keep this merger from happening other than bunk and your own personal interests. EMS is generating plenty of capital including 1200+ bucks per flite for EMS amongst other things so we are not going to go broke if we use a sharp pencil on making public budgets more transparent and afforable for the public.

ONE OF OUR PRIMARY INTERESTS is to try to make things more affordable for the young so hey can stay here, bloated budgets and a lack of interest in saving ANY MONEY does not do that! Our young people are primarily leaving and few moving in, they can't afford it and you are no help in the process!

VOTE YES FOR BEAVER ISLAND'S FUTURE!

[Gillespie]

Stay on your against page please! Perhaps this entire thing would not be going on had you gotten the EMS millage on the ballot previously. Many speculate you wanted it to fail. You have repeated the same drivel over and over! Talk about the good things consolidation could do for this community. You go on in your pithy comments in your recent mailed flyer that suggest we won't get along in consolidation, rude! This isn't just about money, it's about making a more cohesive community and bringing more people here. Keeping people here! Lots of good people have left for the rancor, let's give it a rest! VOTE YES ON CONSOLIDATION!

[duffer]

just reading all the post gave me a head ache on the negativity what ever happens we will hold everyone accountable one way or another so watch what you ask for, its that simple! my only question how does this affect the twp airport, i would love a good answer to that. I am against consolidation because i have been given good information from an attorney who does just exactly this stuff. HANG IN THERE EVERYONE.

[Gillespie]

The township airport is jointly owned, it would continue to be jointly owned or, in fact by one township that is obligated to operate it because of all the state and federal money granted to that entity, nothing would change! In fact, the boards operating it are an equal number of citizens from either end of the island.

[BMcCaw]

Great question Duff. How would the board that oversees the township airport remain balanced under a newly consolidated single township?

[treehugger]

Mr. Pike made a valid point that should be taken seriously.

"If those that love Beaver Island, both property owners and those of us that only visit each summer, saw true fiscal responsibility by the elected township officials, there wouldn't be a consolidation issue on the ballot and there would be more donations like the fire truck in 2004. For too long it's been business as usual and so here we are today.

For those of us that can't vote, we can only hope that those that have been in a position to make changes and didn't have taken inventory of their actions and realize they have no one to blame but themselves that the consolidation issue is even here. The bottom line is business as usual isn't working and consolidation is a valid alternative."

[carolburton]

If we are one Island supporting all of Beaver Island what balance is necessary? Watch dogs from each side are necessary? We can't look out for each other or the betterment of the Island? It shouldn't be necessary now! We all should have the same intentions for our entities and that is to run them efficiently and for the betterment of the Island. So I ask again what balance is necessary we live here, work here, play here together! One side cannot live without the other.

[Gillespie]

The end game for the Committee to Save Peaine Township has now been revealed! Check Peaine Township Vision for the Future post by Jeff Powers. The true intent is now revealed. What's interesting is that Angel hasn't posted anything in a blue moon! This isn't about the township at all! Please vote yes on consolidation to end this terrible game of deceiving the public. The committee FOR consolidation has never had a hidden agenda, it's always and only been for the betterment of this community! VOTE YES! Thank you!

[steveandelaineonbeaver]

Both Sides – Yes & No – Concisely Presented.

May Issue NorthernIslander

Editorials Welke & Kohls - page 4
The Ballot & those running for coordinating committee page 15

NorthernIslander asked an individual on both sides of the issue for their written comments for publication, gave them a deadline and a ballpark word count. Neither saw the other’s editorial piece prior to submitting their article. We thank both Angel Welke and Bill Kohls for participating and for their thoughtful comments.

Elaine West, Publisher
Steve West, Business Manager

[Gillespie]

Joe Moores' post was so good on the Peaine Vision thread I thought I would repost it here and my follow up comment:

Re: Peaine Township Vision for the Future
Post by medic5740 » Thu May 03, 2018 2:11 pm

I do have a few questions about vision for the future. I drove by the Bill Wagner Campground and noticed that there was no sign there. Bill put in a lot of effort on this island in many different areas including working for the DNR, farming, and helping get the Christian Church on a sound footing. Historically, he did a lot. Can we get this sign replaced with something equivalent to the previous sign? It points out his efforts, and it marks one of the important assets of Peaine Township.

Next, it appears that if you want to fish in Lake Michigan, even if you live down by Lake Geneserath, you have to drive and trailer your boat all the way up to St. James Township. Since I've been here for quite a few years, I know that this Wagner Campground launch area has also been a great Peaine Township asset up until everyone began ignoring the launch and let it get destroyed. What kind of improvements can we expect for this asset?

Also, there have been quite a few people interested in fishing some of the inland lakes, particularly Lake G and Fox Lake, yet there is no dock on either lake that is available for the public. This is yet another asset that needs some work.

The Beaver Head Lighthouse is slowly, but surely, deteriorating. This also is an amazing asset for Peaine Township. What can we expect from the township board to stop the deterioration and help begin the repairs of this asset?

I also understand that there was to be some primitive camping opportunity across Fox Lake. Is there any plan to accomplish anything with this asset? If so, where can that plan or any of these other plans be viewed?

As a former member of the Waste Management Committee, I find that there hasn't been a meeting in quite a long time. Since this is administered in Peaine Township, and since there haven't been any meetings, how are the bills being approved for payment? Where is the budget? Where is the long range plan? I can't find a single bit of information about the transfer station in over a year. When will this get back on track?

Lastly, the ability to find answers to questions seems to have been lost. Many items are hard to find. Several are posted, but cannot be found using a search engine like Google or Yahoo. If you ask a questions, people get mad at you. Why is that? If you disagree with them, they get mad at you. Why can't there be discussions without anger?

Now, on to whole island issues. Getting broadband Internet services seems to have been a priority. What happened to this? Some people could live and work here on the island, but can't accomplish the tasks needed to be done without better Internet.

A large portion of Peaine Township is without cell phone service. What is being done to get the corporations involved to improve this? It is an important asset that needs to be developed.

Instead of getting mad at each other over every little thing, perhaps we could put our heads together and start solving some of the serious problems that this island has, such as decreasing school population, downturn in the economy of the island, and many others.

It would seem that one twenty to thirty minute meeting per month isn't accomplishing any of these important things, so the questions is what are we all going to do to improve these situations?

Joe Moore

[Gillespie]

Thoughtful logical post Joe. Overlooking the big things and taking care of the mail and regular bills with no long range planning! Together we can do better, divided we will never progress, again, the county commissioner on the other side told me that repeatedly. But let's ignore that and stumble forward. Is that what people want? Those against consolidation never had a forum or question and answer session. Those for did, questions were answered. I talked to a lady today from Peaine who told me she was lobbied hard by one of the principals on a prior page from the oops email who told her taxes were going to skyrocket and other devious untrue things. It's very sad when people resort to that kind of thing. No other budget was ever presented ONLY a challenge to the one that was presented and not as if to help. It was more of a slam and I ain't playing thing by a township official. Again, did the Peaine Township Board authorize the supervisor to act against a public vote to consolidate? Really? The most shameful aspect of this heavy question plus the anti committee going around scaring unwitting people who deserve to be met in the middle. If this does fail it will be for all the wrong reasons and the questions you asked Joe will go unanswered and the short meetings will continue. That is what we will gain by staying divided. As my father used to say, "What can you do with small thinkers?"

VOTE FOR BEAVER ISLAND'S FUTURE, VOTE YES ON CONSOLIDATION, ONE ISLAND-ONE TOWNSHIP!

[Gillespie]

This was sent to me today by someone no one would expect a comment from, that said, it says it all!:
A Family called to the table

A large families children were outside playing. Suddenly they are called to the table. They stomp into the house indignant that they have been called in before they finished their game.Now the meal is presented. Being ungrateful children they complain.

We don’t like who brought this to the table!
We don’t like how it was brought to the table!
We don’t like when it was brought to the table!
We don’t trust who brought it to the table!
We will only eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
Now the parents speak. Being more thoughtful to the actual needs and abilities of the family the parents reason. This food is good. This food will make us stronger. A diet of peanut butter and jelly only has created deficiencies.Your weaker brethren are suffering.You older children need to set the example and eat. Some of the children being disrespectful would rather starve than submit to reason and authority. In their rebellious minds the children think they have over ruled the parents.Yet the parents still have authority. The parents showed respect for the children in allowing them a voice. They didn’t try to sneak it into their beloved pbj’s. They weren’t force fed. If this plate goes back to the kitchen. It won’t be thrown out. When the family has been cut down by starvation and the weaker members have perished. There is no choice but to serve it again. Out of the poverty of their hearts they refused the plate of good for all.

ONE ISLAND-ONE TOWNSHIP!

[Beaver Island Gardens]

20,000 won’t get you out of bed either John. So what your point?