President's Notes

Cool nights, yellow leaves popping up in the forest and acorns plunking on the deck, all signs of fall. We are so privileged to live in such a beautiful part of the country. Lake Michigan’s colors are at their most vivid in the fall.

The LWVBCC completed one of its fall projects on September 19. We participated in National Voter Registration Day. Did you know that NVR Day began in 2012 and that to date over 5 million voters have registered on NVRD? We sent out 3 teams to be part of the continuing effort to register young people. At Lake Michigan College Dorothy Parker and her team from Delta Sigma Theta registered and talked to about 30 young voters.

Carla and John Ripley returned to Carla’s old stomping grounds – Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac (above) and registered 35 students using a new QR code system. They also helped students check to see if they had already registered. The Director of Campus Life had volunteers on hand to pass out cider and donuts.

Our team at Andrews University consisted of Gloria Weberg, Jean Carow and Joanne Carlin. They registered about 20 students and enjoyed visiting with some of the students. Thank you volunteers for doing your part to make democracy work.

Many of you know Marcy Hamilton from the Southwestern Michigan Watershed Council. She was a featured speaker at the recent Shoreline Resilency event at Weko Beach in Bridgman. Marcy talked about the importance of monitoring our creeks and rivers that flow into Lake Michigan for a variety of contaminants including dangerous bacteria from failed septic systems. Our sister league in Lansing and other environmental groups are working to push septic control legislation in Michigan. The following is from their newsletter:

“The Bad News: More than one million septic systems serve the needs of 35 percent of Michigan residents. EGLE (Environment, Great Lakes and Energy) estimates that more than 330,000 of them are failing. Megan Tinsley of the Michigan Environmental Council says, “When a septic system fails, it leaks human wastes that carry pathogens into the ground. This pollution then makes its way to groundwater, lakes, streams, or even drinking water nearby. These threats have been documented by the state since at least the 1970s.” Studies have shown that more than 9,000 miles of our Michigan streams exceed safe bacterial levels.

"Great News: Bills have now been introduced in both the Michigan House of Representatives (HB-4479 and HB-4480) and the Senate (SB-299 and SB-300) to enact a state Septic Code. These bills would:

 require septic inspections every 5 years.

 establish a technical advisory commission to advise the state and local governments on implementation of the septic code.

 create a database to track inspections.

 provide funding to counties for establishment of the programs."

What you can do: Governor Whitmer recently proclaimed September 18 – 22 SepticSmart Week. To learn more and find out what you can do, go to EGLE’s SepticSmart website. Most important, contact your state representative and senator to encourage them to protect our Michigan waters.”

Let’s help support Marcy and her colleagues in making our state’s waters safe for all. Other issues you should be aware of are Action Alerts from LWVMI and LWVUS.

1) LWVMI is asking members to contact their representatives to support the reproductive rights legislation being debated now - Please use this action alert https://lwvmi.org/take-action/#/12

to contact your state legislators. You may edit the message to the legislators.

2) LWVUS is asking members to contact congressional representatives and ask them to support passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Here's the link:

https://www.lwv.org/take-action/urge-your-representatives-support-john-r-lewis-voting-rights-advancement-act?

3) For our St. Joseph members, the Southwestern Regional Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a candidate forum for city commissioner candidates on October 10. Check their website for details - https://southwestregionalchamber.org.

Plans are in the works for an informative Town Hall on October 30 featuring Sharon Tyler, Berrien County Clerk, helping us to understand how the provisions of Prop 2 are being implemented.

In League,

Faith Schoon

Book Club News

Just a reminder- LWVBCC's Book Club will be on Monday, October 9, at 10 AM at Chris Zilke's home. We are reading Timothy Egan's book on the KKK, A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND, an historical thriller. Timothy Egan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who weaves a gripping American story during the roaring 20's of the KKK. Please contact Chris to let her know that you can attend.

Environment Reports

Going Plastic Free

Remember to bring reusable bags with you when shopping. If you forget to bring your own bags, ask for paper bags when checking out. Also use your own bags when shopping for produce. The lightweight flimsy plastic bags that hold vegetables are NOT recyclable. You may see a collection bin for this type of plastic in grocery stores, but they end up being incinerated. An option is to purchase mesh produce bags. I purchased a set of five SUPERBEE cotton mesh bags at a Meijer grocery store. ---- Carla Ripley

Several years ago, the American Beverage Association convened a group of experts to consider a circular economy solution to build a circular economy wherein companies use fewer brand-new materials to make recyclable packaging that can be easily collected and remade over and over again. One of the stated objectives is to "get every bottle back."



Today I went online to find an update. There have been several grants given by the Association to cities in the U.S. in 2023 to improve recycling in those cities. But I've been unable to find an update on how well the overall initiative is succeeding. Each of us needs to contact our representatives letting them know how vital recycling is...how important it is to insist that no plastic product is manufactured until documentation has been provided that said product is fully recyclable. And...there is an initiative at the State level to ban the use of plastic bags here in Michigan. Here's hoping !!

LWVLMR Conference

League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Region Report

The LWVLMR annual meeting and conference is scheduled to be held both in person and virtually on Friday November 11 and Saturday, November 12. Illinois is host State this year, and the meeting will be held in Evanston, a lakefront city just north of Chicago. Unfortunately, more specific details are not yet available, but we'll keep you apprised as venue, guest speakers, and other relevant information becomes known.

Every LWV chapter within the four-state area (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin) that has paid its dues for fiscal year 2023-2024 is eligible to send one voting delegate. As a member of LWVBCC you are automatically a member of LWVLMR and able to attend this conference as a delegate. Any LWV member within the four-state area, regardless of paid standing, may attend but cannot vote on official business items. A special meeting of the Board of LWVLMR is scheduled for October 11, and we hope to be able to get Registration Fee, Hotel Information, etc., to you as soon as these issues are determined. ----Chris Zilke