Rose Fosdick and Martie Manty share an update on the progress of the Betsie Valley Community Center.
The Betsie Valley Elementary School is located in the southeast corner of the county, on the corner of M-115 and County Road 669. While the school has been a beacon of activity, many critical services have not been locally available. Thus since 2015 many in the Thompsonville/Copemish area have been working to create a multi-purpose community center serving southern Benzie County and northern Manistee County. Their steps thus far have included:
- Forming a Planning Team
- Conducting a community survey
- Obtaining grants to hire a real estate consulting team and an architect
- Forming a non-profit corporation and establishing a Board of Directors
- Seeing to the installation of fiber optic cable to the school
Currently under way is a project to bring dental services to children and their families in the area. Partnering with Grow Benzie, the Benzie Leelanau Health Department and others, the Community Center will obtain and outfit a commercial van to provide quality mobile dental services. The Center is currently seeking funding for the project from Rotary Charities and others.
Additional information about the Community Center is available from Martie Manty or Rose Fosdick.