President's Notes

Summer is over? Not if you are using the temperatures of the past few days as your guide, but school busses are on the roads again, mums are appearing at farmer’s markets and nurseries and Halloween merchandise is in the aisles of stores so fall is here. I hope you had a good summer enjoying friends and family. It’s time to think about the mission of the League and get back to advocating and educating.

First up for the LWVBCC is National Voter Registration Day – Tuesday, September 19. We are scheduled to man voter registration tables at three area colleges – Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Southwestern Michigan college in Dowagiac and Andrews University in Berrien Springs. LMC and SWMC have special programming planned for the day. Please contact me – Faith Schoon fschoon@mac.com or Mary Beth Muellenholz mbmellenholz@gmail.com to volunteer for a shift or two at the registration tables.

The speaker for our monthly meeting on September 26 is a new dad and has asked us to slot him in another month. The board is working on a plan for a different presentation. Watch your inboxes for news on that front.

Thank you for all you do to support the mission of the League and to make our communities a better place for all citizens.



In League,

Faith Schoon – LWVBCC president

xxxxx

LWVBCC Book Club News

On August 28 the LWVBCC Book Club met to discuss Only What We Could Carry edited by Lawson Fusao Inada. This book tells the story of

the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II using primary sources – diaries, news articles, book excerpts etc. – with editorial

guidance to set the context for the pieces.

The story of the internment told from such a personal perspective is very sobering when you realize how wrong and hurtful it was to imprison our own citizens and to promote racial animosity toward Japanese Americans.

Book club members noted that there are parallels in this story to what is happening in our society and in some state legislatures today.

The book club meets again on October 9 at the home of Chris Zilke in Bridgman. Please call 269-449-2225 or email chris_zilke@yahoo.com to let her know if you can attend.

The October book choice is A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan.

-- Faith

Environment Report I

This article from the Bridge (an online newsletter from Detroit) has more on plastics in Lake Michigan.

https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-environment-watch/whats-being-done-about-plastic-trash-getting-great-lakes

In addition, lunch will be available after the cruise at the American Legion Hall in Grand Haven with a guest speaker to further increase your knowledge of water quality issues here in SW Michigan.

For full details, go to www.lwvlmr.org

---- Chris Zilke

Environment Report II

Latest from Art Hirsch-

Plastics numbers 1 and 2 CAN be recycled; compatible plastic resins and most

common plastics for recycling.

See below

#1 - PET or PETE

 Full Name: Polyethylene Terephthalate

 Large bottles or containers that once held a liquid (recyclable if clean)

 Salad dressing bottles and other food and drink containers (recyclable if clean)

 Glossy, rigid containers (usually clear or green) that sink in water, such as

clamshell containers that hold fruits and vegetables (not currently recyclable)

#2 - HDPE

 Full Name: High Density Polyethylene

 Rigid containers that usually have a milky or solid color

 Milk jugs, detergent bottles, shampoo bottles, or any other large container that once held a liquid (recyclable if clean)

Note- the lightweight, flimsy plastic bags that hold like vegetables are not recyclable. You may see a collection bin for this type of plastic in grocery stores, but they end up being incinerated.

Conclusion-Place #s 1&2 in Recycle Bins and all other numbers in trash.

Art will keep me posted on how future legislation is looking in Michigan.

---- Carla Ripley