By Alan Headbloom, Feel Like You Belong
Frank Wu joins us to discuss growing up Asian American in very-white suburban Detroit. He shares the chilling impact of the 1982 Detroit murder of Vincent Chin on the Asian-American community. Finally, he calls for strengthened coalition building across the diverse Asian populations of the U.S.
By Sharon Wylie, Crash’s Landing
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
On Jan. 23, 2019, Dr. Jen’s co-worker, Allie got a text from a friend who had come across this bedraggled but beautiful intact boy near Burton and Division. She promptly got him out of harm’s way and dropped him off at Allie’s so she could bring him in to the clinic the next morning for evaluation.
The fabulous, yet filthy 4-1/2-year-old fella (born in the summer of 2014) was suffering from a nasty skin infection on his back, severe yellowing of his fur from being outside for so long, a puncture wound above his left eye that was causing it to swell, and a smaller one in the inner corner of his right eye. Antibiotics, multiple baths and, of course, long-overdue neutering got him on the right track, but if truth be told, he was still quite smelly (male hormones!), so he hung out at the clinic for a few days before Dr. Jen sent him down to our sanctuary. At that time, given his obvious history of tussling, it wasn’t a surprise that he tested FIV-positive
Over the course of the next four weeks, Hoobastank hunkered down and settled in seamlessly, abandoning whatever tomcat tendencies he may have had:
“This gorgeous guy is a super-friendly and sweet big pile of fluff. When he first came to us, he tended to get picked on a little, but the others seem to have been leaving him alone. He’s a bit docile when it comes to too much action around him, but over time he is getting better.
“He loves napping up by the kitchen window, which is ironic because he really doesn’t care for what we serve in the kitchen—he just prefers his dry kibble and Temptations. Due to his slight timidity, he may do best in a home with no other pets where he doesn’t feel threatened. Kids would be perfect for him, or retired couple or person who would have plenty of time to spend one-on-one with him.”
When Dr. Jen retested him at his one-month recheck at the clinic, he came back FIV-negative. It appears that the bite he received caused his body to produce antibodies to the virus as it was introduced into his bloodstream, but thankfully his immune system was strong enough to fight the infection off. This is fantastic news as adopting out a cat from Crash’s historically has been much easier than from Big Sid’s, though we pride ourselves on just how awesome our Sid’s Kids are and promote the heck out of them.
Regardless of his viral status, Hoobastank is a favorite of ours and we have no doubt that finding him his forever home will not be difficult. Just look at that fabulous face this super friendly guy has—and it can be all yours for loving and snuggling!
Want to adopt Hoobastank? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Interested in volunteering at one of the cat shelters? Email volunteer@crashslanding.org.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
By WKTV Staff
Ken@wktv.org
“My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn't prevent you doing well, and don't regret the things it interferes with.”
― Stephen Hawking
In conjunction with Limb Loss Awareness Month, the City of Kentwood is offering the second annual Limb Loss Awareness 5K race on Saturday, April 27. Open to people of all abilities, the family friendly event will continue to raise funds for Kentwood’s adaptive recreation programs. For the complete story, visit here. For a video interview with the director of the city’s adaptive recreation program, visit here.
The City of Wyoming Tree Commission, “The Tree Amigos,” is partnering with Wyoming Lee High School Ecology Club in the City’s 2019 Arbor Day Ceremony set for 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 26 at the high school located at 1335 Lee St. SW. For the complete story, visit here.
The City of Wyoming’s Community Cleanup Day, Saturday, April 27, is designed to encourage Wyoming residents to maintain their properties and dispose of unwanted items in a responsible manner. For the complete story, visit here. (And the City of Kentwood will do the same thing next week; see story here.)
According to a recent report by the EPA, every day, we are to get rid of over 416,000 mobile devices and 142,000 computers either by recycling or disposing of them in landfills and incinerators. (Source)
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
During all the Easter service programs last week, Grand Rapids Bishop David Walkowiak took a few moments to look up and reflect on the spires of the Cathedral of St. Andrews.
“I was just so thankful that in the calm, I was able to stop and look up at the magnificence and be able to enjoy the grandeur in the light,” Walkowiak said during a phone interview.
It was a poignant moment in that only 24 hours before the famous spire of Notre Dame had come down during a catastrophic fire on April 15.
“The damage is not as extensive,” Walkowiak said of the Notre Dame fire. The crown of thorns was recovered, the altar appeared to be in relatively in good condition and Notre Dame’s famed bell towers and stained glass windows had little or no damage. Still there is a loss.
“Losing something is a traumatic experience,” Walkowiak said. “You go there everyday to pray. It is something that is a part of you, and it is not just the French, but the world. There is resilience and in the face of tragedy there is hope.”
As an example of that hope, Walkowiak turns back to the Cathedral of St. Andrews which burned to the ground in 1901 after being struck by lightning.
“According to the accounts, they saw the lightning strike and sent a boy up to the roof to see if it was on fire,” Walkowiak said. “He came down and said there was no fire, but it probably was burning under the roof, where he could not see it.”
There was plenty of time for the parishioners to remove many of the items and statutes from the cathedral before it burned, he said.
“When they told founding Bishop Henry Richter of the fire, he asked if the blessed sacraments were safe and when told they were, he said ‘Then God’s will be done,’” Walkowiak said.
The cathedral was rebuilt and in its ceiling are some of the massive wooden beams that were used in the original building.
Notre Dame too will be rebuilt, Walkowiak said, adding he hopes within his lifetime so he may have the chance to see it.
“They say five years, but the architect experts are saying 10 to 15 years,” he said. “We all know that things come up so it could take 20 or longer.”
Walkowiak said the fire also serves as a reminder that there is no lasting home here on earth.
“Anything that is created we eventually will have to realize that we will be separated from it,” Walkowiak said.
But for now, in Grand Rapids, area residents can enjoy the spires of the Cathedral of St. Andrews as those who live and visit France can still marvel at the beauty of Notre Dame, even if that is from a distance.
Byron Center resident Liz Nuyen-Blank, who visited Notre Dame as part of an wedding anniversary trip and took pictures of the building a few days before the fire, stopped by the site as she headed home. She said the roads to Notre Dame were blocked and people could only view the site from a distance. (See below for more pictures from Nuyen-Blank.)
There are a number of ways to donate to the Notre Dame restoration project. Before donating, making sure to check out the organization. There is the Friends of Notre Dame, established by the Arch Bishop of Paris and the Diocese of Paris; the Notre Dame Fire Restoration Fund, hosted by the French Heritage Society; and Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America, also has a fundraiser.
By Bridie Bereza
School News Network
What do artists like Banksy and Bob Ross have to do with a round of miniature golf?
Not much, unless you are in Kim Urbanski’s art class at Godwin Heights Middle School.
Recently, as part of an art history unit, Urbanski gave her seventh- and eighth-graders the assignment of creating miniature golf holes based on renowned artists and their works.
“Art history is a tough lesson to teach, and so if there’s a way to engage students, they really get into it,” she said. “Having a mini golf course was a way to get them engaged.”
The unit took about two weeks to complete and culminated in an event that invited all classes in the middle school to come to the school’s media center and take a swing (or two or three) at the student-created miniature golf stations.
Par for the (Art) Course
Bolstered by her personal love of miniature golf, Urbanski got the inspiration for the lesson from the Art of Education website. Students spent about a week researching and becoming familiar with a dozen different artists she suggested.
After students divided into groups based on which artist most resonated with them, the fun began. They spent another week conceptualizing and creating a miniature golf hole based on their artist’s work.
“I gave them green paper and lots of cardboard, tape, cups… and this is what we get,” said Urbanski, gesturing to the different putt-putt stations in the media center.
Eighth-graders Greg Patterson, Majer Davenport, and Shahari Hunnicutt were excited to share with people who stopped by to putt the hole they created based on the work of abstract artist Nestor Toro.
“We chose him because we like to throw paint,” said Majer, who said the assignment was unlike anything he’d done before.
A Round of Golf on a Sculpture (in the Round)
Eighth-grader Jonny Paz-Duron and his team used cardboard to craft a miniature golf hole that involved a sculpture of a bridge that Impressionist Claude Monet depicted in one of his paintings. While flowers and water lilies may figure prominently in Monet’s works, Jonny said the architectural elements in Monet’s paintings fit well with creation of a miniature golf hole.
“We had fun making it,” Jonny said.
Nearby was a popular — and technically difficult — putting green created by eighth-graders Dora Velasquez, Evelyn Lopez-Velasquez, Windy Mencho and Gabrielle Cannon. Their hole depicted “The Scream”, an 1893 composition by Norwegian Expressionist Edvard Munch.
Gabrielle Cannon said that the background was difficult to make, as her group wanted to stay true to the colors used in the original painting. The team worked through lunch on the day of the miniature golf event to finish painting their putting green. Their hole had a twist that drew a reaction from everyone who took a swing: in their version of the composition, the male figure depicted in Munch’s painting was created using a picture of Principal Bradley Tarrance.
While the event was a fun one for Urbanski’s students and those who came to play, the golf stations did more than entertain. Each team of students wrote a statement that explained why they chose that particular artist and provided information about the artist’s style, life and works.
Eighth-grader Cody Mimes was part of a team of students who created a miniature golf hole based on the graffiti artists Banksy.
“We were inspired by his art. It’s graffiti, but often it has a deeper meaning to it,” Cody said. “This piece we made is not a copy of one of his works, but it is inspired by his style.”
The miniature golf masterpieces achieved the engagement Urbanski hoped to see.
“They’ve had a lot of fun with this,” she said.
For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website.
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Myths still circulate about the best way to safely dispose of medicines and prescription drugs, but truth be told, there is only one way to safely dispose of unused and leftover medications, through a take back program.
If is why the Drugs Enforcement Administration came up with the National Prescription Drug Take Day program, which is offered in the fall and the spring. The program aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications.
The spring day is Saturday, April 27, with both the Wyoming Department of Public Safety and the Kentwood Police Department hosting take back sites. These sites will be open from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Wyoming Department of Public Safety and Metro Health
The Wyoming Department of Public Safety has once again partnered with Metro Health to provide two locations, one at Metro Health, 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW, and at the Wyoming Department of Public Safety, 2300 DeHoop Ave. SW. Both the Wyoming Department of Public Safety and the Metro Health Cancer Pharmacy, 5950 Metro Way, SW, do offer year around drop off for medicines.
“Metro Health — University of Michigan Health is proud to provide this service to the community,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Floyd Wilson, Jr. “Returning unused or expired medicines is the responsible thing to do. Proper disposal of expired or unused drugs is a matter of public safety and public health.
“When drugs are thrown away or flushed, the chemicals in them can get into our water supply and soil. Additionally, it can be dangerous for individuals to use expired medicines or creams. By providing this service to the West Michigan community, we are all working together to keep our homes and families safe.”
Because Metro Health is also a SafeSharps site, residents will be able to dispose of sharps there. “Sharps” is the term for medical devices with sharp points or edges that can puncture or cut skin. if these items are placed in the trace, they can injure you, your family or others who handle the trash. Kent County residents who use sharps on a regular basis should visit a Kent county Health Department clinic to pin up an approved container to take home. For more information about the SafeSharps program visit reimaginetrash.org.
Kentwood Police Department
The Kentwood Police Department will be hosting a Take Back event at its headquarters, 4742 Walma Ave. Se. This site will only be able to accept pills or patches. No other items will be accepted at the Kentwood location.
For the event, medications do not have to be in original containers. If they are in original containers, confidential bins will be used to dispose of those containers.
The DEA requires the presence of law enforcement at the Drug Take Back Day events. No questions will be asked of anyone bringing in any type of medication at any Drug Take Back location. Furthermore, no paperwork is required and no signatures are collected.
Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 460 tons or more than 900,000 pounds of prescription drugs at more than 5,800 sites operated by the DEA and almost 4,800 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Since starting the program in 2010, the DEA and its partners have taken in almost 11 million pounds or nearly 5,500 tons of pills.
By City of Kentwood
The City of Kentwood’s Community Clean-Up Day is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.
Residents wanting to “spring clean” their homes and yards may bring general debris, gently used items for donation, household hazardous materials and electronic devices to the Kentwood Recycling Center, located at 5068 Breton Ave. SE.
“With warmer weather and no more snow to shovel, residents now have the time to think about cleaning and decluttering homes and property,” said Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley. “Kentwood’s Community Clean-Up Day offers residents a timely opportunity to dispose or recycle items that are no longer wanted or used.”
The Salvation Army will be on hand to accept gently used items for donations and the Kent County Department of Public Works will accept household hazardous waste items. Comprenew will also be present to recycle electronic waste, such as mobile telephones, computers and fax machines.
The City of Kentwood will accept yard waste, including brush, leaves and grass clippings, on Community Clean-Up Day, after which the drop-off services will remain closed until the fall.
Latex paint, mattresses and tires will not be accepted at Community Clean-Up Day. CRT screens will also not be accepted but can be dropped off directly at any Comprenew location.
Community Clean-Up Day is free and open to Kentwood residents with photo ID for proof of residency. Residents are asked to enter the drive off Breton Avenue where volunteers will check for residence and approved items for disposal.
For more information, please visit kentwood.us.
By City of Wyoming
At approximately 8:30 pm on Monday, April 22, 2019, officers from the Wyoming Department of Public Safety responded to a shooting complaint at Lamar Park. Officers located a subject that sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the arm. The initial investigation indicates that this was not a random shooting.
After the gunshot was fired, the suspects fled the scene in a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee with a black colored rear bumper (possibly has black trim around the entire lower portion of the vehicle) and a blackcolored spare rim/tire on the driver’s side rear. The shooting suspect is described as a white male, approximately 20-years-old, 5-feet 7 inches – 5-feet 9 inches, heavy set, and last seen wearing a t-shirt and shorts. There were two additional subjects in the Jeep at the time of the shooting. One was described as a white male, approximately 20-years-old and the other was believed to be a Hispanic male, also approximately 20-years-old.
As stated earlier, this does not appear to be a random event and there is no further danger to anyone in the Lamar Park area.
Anyone with information about his case is asked to contact the Wyoming Department of Public Safety at 616-530-7300 or to contact Silent Observer at 1-866-774-2345.
By Shawn Foucher, Spectrum Health Beat
Photos by Chris Clark
If you’re looking for a sustainable nutrition plan—something that’ll suit you 20 years from now—you should stop looking at high-protein diets.
They’re popular now for dropping pounds quickly but they’re simply not practical beyond the horizon, said Harland Holman, MD, medical director at the Spectrum Health Family Medicine Residency Center.
“You can pick the high-protein diet to lose weight, but what you want to think about is the long-term,” Dr. Holman said. “If you go back to normal dieting, you’d put all that weight right back on. I’d recommend picking a diet you can stick with that’s healthy.”
America is deluged with new diets from year to year—high-fat, low-carb, high-protein—but in the end it seems the basics are best: a plant-based diet with fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and lean meats and seafood.
One diet in particular fits the bill: The Mediterranean.
“You’ll lose weight on it and you can also look at all the positive effects, even much later,” Dr. Holman said.
Ample evidence supports the benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet, including reduced risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Research also suggests that diet plays an outsized role in brain health, while a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive or nuts is associated with improved cognitive function in older adults.
Calling it a Mediterranean “diet,” in fact, may be something of a misnomer.
“It’s not a diet—it’s not something you go on and quit,” said dietitian Jessica Corwin, a community nutrition educator at Spectrum Health Healthier Communities. “It’s a way of thinking about meals differently.”
Remember the old Clinton-era food pyramid, early 1990s or so? That majestic work of art featured bread, rice, cereal and pasta prominently at the bottom, recommending a carbtastic 6 to 11 servings per day.
Some illustrations of the Mediterranean food pyramid, meanwhile, don’t even show food at the bottom. They feature families playing and people interacting.
Seriously.
“The very base of the pyramid is about having fun, living an active lifestyle, and enjoying your food,” Corwin said. “It’s a stark contrast to our culture’s habit of racing through a meal while standing, driving or watching TV.”
As for actual food, the diet places heavy emphasis on leafy greens, vegetables, fruit and whole grains, building out from there.
Said Corwin: “Those following a plant-based Mediterranean Diet plan their meals around the vegetables, rather than the meat. Instead of saying, ‘OK, Monday we’ll have beef with something else,’ the focus switches to, ‘We have a ton of leafy greens we need to use up tonight, so what should we do with that?’”
First add nuts, beans, legumes, seeds, herbs, spices and olive oil, then fish and seafood. Poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt would come once every other day, or perhaps a few times per week, with red meat and desserts just once or twice a month.
But the takeaway is not simply that the health benefits of a Mediterranean diet outpace any high-protein diets.
High-protein diets can increase your health risks. Research has shown that people who regularly consume high-protein foods—red meat, in particular—are effectively increasing their lifetime risk of chronic disease.
“Red meat, animal protein, has been linked to increased cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes,” Dr. Holman said.
A person with kidney problems, meanwhile, may see their condition worsen on a high-protein diet.
“When you have tons of protein, it’s harder for the kidneys to process and clear it,” Dr. Holman said. “Super-high protein levels can affect your kidneys. Most of the time, healthy people are OK, but if you’re predisposed to problems with your kidneys it can cause you to retain fluid.”
A predictable side effect of the diet craze: People are protein-crazy.
“Sometimes people don’t think they’re getting enough protein, but they are,” Dr. Holman said. “Most people overestimate how much protein they need.”
Smart dieting is the first step to positive lifestyle change, but don’t feel pressured to make dramatic changes immediately. Dr. Holman said he’ll first ask his patients to maintain a 24-hour food journal, carefully documenting the foods they typically eat in one day.
“You have to think about lifestyle change,” he said. “They’ll pick one or two things they can change. Sometimes it’s just as simple as cutting out soda. And most people don’t realize how healthy nuts are—they should switch to nuts as one of their snacks.”
The payoffs are real: Studies have shown people who adhere to a Mediterranean diet are about 30 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular disease, Dr. Holman said.
By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org
April is winding down but local high school spring sports seasons are just getting started, and WKTV will once again bring baseball and softball to the viewers with the scheduled game this week being the Wednesday, April 24, girls softball game at Wyoming Lee, with Belding coming to town.
WKTV’s coverage crew will be taking a week for other community event coverage next week, with planned return on Wednesday, May 8, as Godwin Heights plays at Wyoming Lee in a conference baseball game.
Featured games are broadcast the night of the contest and then at least once later in the week.
WKTV broadcasts on Wyoming and Kentwood cable channels. On Comcast cable, Channel 25 is the Community Channel, where sports events and other community events are shown; Channel 26 is the Government Channel, where local government meetings and events are shown. On AT&T cable throughout the Grand Rapids area, viewers go to Channel 99, and then are given the choice to watch Wyoming (or Kentwood) Community (Channel 25) or Government (Channel 26) channels.
For complete schedules of programs on WKTV channels, see our Weekly On-air Schedule.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvondemand.com.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and feature stories on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/.
Following is this week’s schedule:
Monday, April 22
Boys Golf
South Christian vs Middleville T-K – @ Yankee Springs
Wyoming vs Middleville T-K – @ Yankee Springs
Kelloggsville vs NorthPointe Christian – @ Egypt Valley
East Kentwood @ Rockford
Girls Tennis
Middleville T-K @ South Christian
Kelloggsville @ Comstock Park
East Kentwood @ Caledonia
Girls Softball
South Christian @ Holland Christian
Wyoming @ Hamilton – DH
Wyoming Lee @ Belding – DH
Calvin Christian @ Kelloggsville – DH
Girls Soccer
South Christian @ East Kentwood
Christian @ Wyoming
Godwin Heights @ NorthPointe Christian
Hopkins @ Wyoming Lee
Kelloggsville @ Belding
Heritage Christian Academy @ Zion Christian
South Haven @ West Michigan Aviation
Boys Baseball
Wyoming Lee @ Belding
Calvin Christian @Kelloggsville
West Michigan Aviation @ Martin – DH
Holland Black River @ Potter’s House – DH
Boys / Girls Track
East Kentwood @ West Ottawa
Tuesday, April 23
Boys Baseball
South Christian @ East Grand Rapids – DH
Wayland @ Wyoming – DH
West Michigan Aviation @ Godwin Heights – DH
Barry County Christian vs Tri-Unity Christian – @ Fifth Third Park
Zion Christian @ Fennville
Caledonia @ East Kentwood – DH
Girls Softball
South Christian @ East Grand Rapids – DH
Wayland @ Wyoming – DH
Hamilton @ Godwin Heights – DH
Caledonia @ East Kentwood – DH
Boys Lacrosse
Northview @ South Christian
East Kentwood @ Comstock Park
Girls Tennis
Wyoming @ Kenowa Hills
Boys / Girls Track
Hopkins @ Wyoming Lee
Godwin Heights @ Belding
Kelloggsville @ Calvin Christian
Girls Soccer
West Michigan Aviation @ Zion Christian
Grand River Prep @ Lakewood Lake Odessa
West Ottawa @ East Kentwood
Girls Water Polo
East Kentwood @ Portage Central
Wednesday, April 24
Boys Golf
South Christian vs Wayland – @ Orchard Hills
Wyoming vs Wayland — @ Orchard Hills
Kelloggsville vs NorthPointe Christian — @ Pigeon Creek
East Kentwood @ West Ottawa
Girls Track
South Christian @ Christian
Boys / Girls Track
Wyoming @ East Grand Rapids
Girls Soccer
South Christian @ Forest Hills Eastern
Middleville T-K @ Wyoming
Godwin Heights @ Wyoming Lee
Kelloggsville @ Hopkins
Girls Tennis
Wyoming @ Christian
NorthPointe Christian @ Kelloggsville
Grand Haven @ East Kentwood
Boys Baseball
Belding @ Wyoming Lee
Kelloggsville @ Calvin Christian
Girls Softball
Belding @ Wyoming Lee
Kelloggsville @ Calvin Christian
East Kentwood @ Jenison
Thursday, April 25
Girls Softball
South Christian @ Wayland – DH
Wyoming @ West Ottawa
Godwin Heights @ Union
Kelloggsville @ East Grand Rapids – DH
Boys Baseball
East Grand Rapids @ South Christian
Wyoming @ Wayland
Tri-Unity Christian @ Potter’s House – DH
East Kentwood @ Caledonia
Boys Lacrosse
Muskegon Mona Shores @ South Christian
Kenowa Hills @ East Kentwood
Girls Soccer
Wyoming @ Sparta
Potter’s House @ Tri-Unity Christian
Fruitport Calvary vs West Michigan Aviation – @ East Kentwood
East Kentwood @ Hudsonville
Boys / Girls Track
Wyoming Lee @ Belding
Hopkins @ Godwin Heights
Boys Golf
Covenant Christian @ Tri-Unity Christian
Girls Water Polo
East Grand Rapids @ East Kentwood
Friday, April 26
Boys Golf
South Christian vs Traverse City – @ Mountain Ridge
Girls Soccer
South Christian @ Holland Christian
Tri-Unity Christian @ Hope Academy of West Michigan
Belding @ Kelloggsville
Ravenna @ Zion Christian
Girls Tennis
Wyoming @ East Kentwood
Western Michigan Christian @ Kelloggsville
Boys Baseball
Wyoming @ Hopkins
Potter’s House @ Godwin Heights
Holland @ Kelloggsville – DH
Holland Black River @ Zion Christian – DH
Girls Softball
Wyoming @ Hopkins
Rockford@ East Kentwood
Girls Water Polo
East Kentwood @ Hudsonville
Boys / Girls Track
East Kentwood @ Jackson
Saturday, April 27
Girls Softball
South Christian @ Otsego – Otsego Invite
Wyoming @ Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
Godwin Heights @ Otsego
Boys Golf
South Christian vs Traverse City – @ Mountain Ridge
Boys Baseball
South Christian @ Hudsonville – Hudsonville Invite
East Kentwood @ Muskegon Reeths-Puffer – DH
Boys / Girls Track
Wyoming @ Lowell
Godwin Heights @ West Catholic – Bob Misner Invitational
Kelloggsville @ West Catholic – Bob Misner Invitational
West Michigan Aviation @ West Catholic – Bob Misner Invitational
Girls Water Polo
East Kentwood @ Hudsonville
Girls Tennis
East Kentwood @ Holland
Monday, April 29
Girls Tennis
South Christian @ FH Eastern
Middleville T-K @ Wyoming
Sparta @ Kelloggsville
East Kentwood @ Grandville
Boys Baseball
Holland Christian @ South Christian
NorthPointe Christian @ Wyoming Lee
Godwin Heights @ Calvin Christian
Zion Christian @ Muskegon Catholic Central
Holland Black River @ West Michigan Aviation
Girls Soccer
Wyoming @ South Christian
NorthPointe Christian @ Wyoming Lee
Godwin Heights @ Calvin Christian
Zion Christian @ Hope Academy of West Michigan
Boys Golf
Zeeland West vs Wyoming – @ Gleneagle
Girls Softball
NorthPointe Christian @ Wyoming Lee – DH
Godwin Heights @ Calvin Christian
Catholic Central @ Kelloggsville – DH
Boys / Girls Track
Rockford @ East Kentwood
Tuesday, April 30
Boys Baseball
Middleville T-K @ South Christian – DH
Wyoming @ Calvin Christian – DH
Kalamazoo Heritage @ Tri-Unity Christian – DH
Zion Christian @ Potter’s House – DH
West Michigan Aviation @ Holland Calvary – DH
East Kentwood @ Hudsonville – DH
Girls Softball
Middleville T-K @ South Christian – DH
Wyoming @ Calvin Christian
East Kentwood @ Hudsonville – DH
Boys Lacrosse
South Christian @ Comstock Park
Muskegon Mona Shores @ East Kentwood
Boys Golf
Coopersville vs Wyoming – @ Gleneagle
Tri-Unity Christian vs Fruitport Calvary – @ Oakridge
Boys / Girls Track
NorthPointe Christian @ Wyoming Lee
Godwin Heights @ Calvin Christian
Kelloggsville @ Hopkins
Girls Soccer
Kalamazoo Heritage Christian @ Tri-Unity Christian
Grand River Prep @ Zion Christian
Union vs West Michigan Aviation – @ East Kentwood
East Kentwood @ Rockford
Girls Water Polo
Rockford @ East Kentwood
By Adrienne Brown-Reasner
West Michigan Tourist Association
Lighthouse lovers, get ready to plan your next lighthouse adventure! The West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA) is excited to announce the release of the 2019 Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map & Circle Tour. This is a free poster-sized publication which details all of the lighthouses located on the shores of Lake Michigan, as well as the Circle Tour driving route to guide motorists around the lake.
The full circle tour driving route around Lake Michigan is available online, and website visitors may also download a PDF of this year’s Lighthouse Map, or request that a free copy be mailed to them here: https://www.wmta.org/lake-michigan-lighthouse-map-circle-tour/
Vacationers have been looping the lake for generations, but the official “Lake Michigan Circle Tour” route was not established until the 1980s when the Michigan Department of Transportation teamed up with West Michigan Tourist Association to create the route and its official guidebook. Along the way, travelers will find more than 100 lighthouses, countless islands, unique attractions, parks and natural areas, miles of glorious beaches, quaint harbor towns, and one “modern marvel” – the Mackinac Bridge.
While a loosely-organized “circle route” around Lake Superior was promoted by local tourist organizations as early as the 1960s, the first official (and signed) Great Lakes Circle Tour was the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The only single-nation Circle Tour (Lake Michigan being the only Great Lake completely within the US), the Lake Michigan Circle Tour also has the most mileage of any Circle Tour in the state.
Working in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the West Michigan Tourist Association helped to make the first of the official Great Lakes Circle Tours a reality and the first publication was released in 1988 as a 52-page guide book. The guide book was transformed into a map in 2007, and the Circle Tour driving route can now be found online.
Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map & Circle Tour publications are also available in bulk quantities; please contact Travel@WMTA.org for more information.
By City of Wyoming
The City of Wyoming is planning a Community Cleanup Day on Saturday, April 27. The event, set to follow Earth Day earlier in the week, is designed to encourage Wyoming residents to maintain their properties and dispose of unwanted items in a responsible manner.
Residents can drop off trash, household hazardous waste and donations for the Salvation Army from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Grand Rapids First Church, 2100 44th St. SW. Plummers Disposal will provide refuse hauling while Kent County will accept household hazardous waste and recyclables.
Residents are asked to enter the parking lot through the northeast entrance off of 44th St. SW and follow the relevant signage. All residents are asked to be in line by 1:30 p.m. in order to dispose of their items.
“Last year’s cleanup day was a huge success and we were able to assist hundreds of Wyoming families,” said event organizer Dave Rupert. “Our annual cleanup day helps to beautify our neighborhoods and reduce the risk of blight throughout the community.”
In addition to the refuse hauling, household hazardous waste disposal and recycling, the Wyoming Public Service Center Yard Waste Drop-Off site at 2660 Burlingame Ave. SW will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are no limits to the size of branches or shrubs accepted at the site; however residents must unload the yard waste themselves and all containers must be removed from the facility.
Proof of residency identification is required at both sites. Some items, such as mattresses and tires, will have a modest disposal fee.
For more information and a complete list of items that are acceptable, visit www.wyomingmi.gov/cleanup or call the City of Wyoming at 530-7226.
Follow the City on Twitter @WyomingCityHall and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CityofWyoming.
By Christie Bender
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today that by popular demand, the Expedition: Dinosaur exhibition has been extended by two weeks! Visitors can now explore the fascinating world of dinosaurs and the hunt for their fossils through May 12.
This exhibit has something for all ages, from life-sized and life-like animatronic dinosaurs – some controlled by visitors – to mechanical and electronic learning stations. Visitors learn about modern imaging techniques like high-energy neutron beams that reveal the inside of a T. Rex skull in microscopic detail never seen before. The exhibit includes a number of hands-on interactives that explain dinosaur movement, digestion, and evolution, and show the life and methods of dinosaur hunters from the 1800s to today.
“The Grand Rapids Public Museum is pleased to extend Expedition: Dinosaur in response to the community’s excitement of the exhibit, giving us the opportunity to allow more visitors to experience the science behind paleontology and these fascinating creatures,” said Kate Kocienski, VP of Marketing and PR for the Grand Rapids Public Museum.
Expedition: Dinosaur taps into our fascination with these incredible creatures, and is perhaps the closest experience to what it would have been like to be in the presence of a living, breathing Mesozoic-era dinosaur.
Admission for Expedition: Dinosaur is $12 for adults, $7 for children, $9 for Kent County adults, $4 for Kent County children, and $2 for Museum members.
Expedition: Dinosaur was developed by Stage Nine Exhibitions.
By Tara Hernandez
Gerald R. Ford International Airport
The next time you travel you may notice new recycling bins throughout the airport terminal facility, an effort to create an even more environmentally friendly space at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA).
GFIA placed 20 new recycling receptacles throughout the airport terminal building today, working with Kent County to use the SORT program – a Kent County/City of Grand Rapids collaboration aimed at bringing a cohesive and recognizable look to trash and recycling receptacles in West Michigan. The stoplight color scheme – red for trash, yellow for recycling, and green for composting (where organic collection services are available) familiarizes people with the concept of separating their discards to reduce waste going for disposal. Kent County’s goal is to reduce landfilled waste by 20-percent by 2020, and 90-percent by 2030.
“We’re happy to help GFIA install waste receptacles that use the colors and shapes in the SORT program to help simplify recycling for visitors. It’s a great way to reduce how much is sent to landfills and Kent County’s Waste to Energy facility,” said Darwin Bass, Kent County’s DPW Director. “Recycling is as important as it has ever been and it’s something we can all do to benefit our community.”
GFIA has made many eco-friendly efforts over the years including:
• Pavement Recycling: The Ford Airport recycles 99.2-percent of the concrete and asphalt from pavement reconstruction projects
• Energy-Efficiency: In 2018, the Ford Airport was recognized for its energy-efficiency for six projects. The Airport saved 2,140,991 kilowatt hours of electricity or enough to power nearly 300 Michigan homes for one year.
• Water Bottle Refilling Stations: GFIA encourages passengers to bring their refillable water bottle with them to fill at one of our filtered refilling stations – together we save over 100,000 plastic bottles and landfill space each year.
The Airport is also a zero waste-to-landfill facility, and trash that comes from GFIA is used to generate electricity at Kent County’s Waste to Energy facility.
“We are proud to add initiatives like the SORT program that help leave as little of a footprint on the planet as possible,” said GFIA Interim President & CEO Brian Picardat. “Over the years, our team has made an extra effort to increase our recycling efforts, be good environmental stewards, and implement green features throughout our facility.”
For more about the SORT program visit: www.reimaginetrash.org/SORT or call 616-632-7920.
By Christi Demitz, Michigan State University Extension
Toddlers do not have control over much in their lives, but they do control what goes into, and comes out of, their mouths at mealtime. For this reason, many parents find mealtimes challenging when trying to feed a toddler. Out of frustration, parents may serve only the foods the child likes in order to get the child to eat. When you think about it, it does make sense that many toddlers are picky eaters because they are being introduced to new foods that have unfamiliar tastes, textures and smells compared to the breast milk or formula given during the first year of life. Parents can teach healthy eating habits during mealtime by offering a variety of foods to eat, adjusting their mealtime expectations and allowing the toddler some freedom to decide how much to eat.
Toddlers start eating solid food when their growth starts to slow, but nutrition remains very important. Making mealtime a family affair sets a good example for toddlers as parents and siblings model healthy eating. Kids are more likely to eat more fruits and vegetables when they eat meals with their family. Resist the urge to only feed them their favorite food at every meal or rewarding them with dessert. Instead, prepare and serve healthy meals and let them choose what they want to eat. Keep offering unfamiliar foods. The more young children are offered foods, the more likely they will taste it and eventually learn to like it.
Consider these tips to get your toddler to eat more than just their favorite food at mealtimes.
Serving size for toddlers. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends that two year olds get 1,000 calories a day from a variety of sources from each food group. Serving a tablespoon or two of an unfamiliar food can encourage your toddler to try a bite rather than having an overwhelming mound of squash or other unknown food on his or her plate.
Positive peers. When toddlers see someone their size eating fruits and vegetables, they are more likely to try them too. Look for opportunities for your toddler to eat with friends. Children also learn by watching you, so set a good example by eating the same food you’re serving your toddler.
Feed themselves. Your toddler should try using a spoon or fork by 15-18 months. Toddlers should try to feed themselves, with assistance from mom or dad when needed. Letting children feed themselves helps them to learn the cues of hunger and fullness.
Regular meal and snack times. Having regular meal and snack times helps establish a routine. If toddlers refuse a meal, having regular meal and snack times helps kids manage hunger because they learn when to expect food during the day. It is not advisable to allow kids to eat on demand, because they will not learn the cues of hunger or fullness.
It is common for toddlers to be picky eaters. If your toddler is growing and has energy, he or she is probably eating enough to be healthy. If you have concerns, you should see your doctor or pediatrician. For more tips for handling picky eaters in your family the USDA has a tip sheet for picky eaters online.
Michigan State University Extension offers nutrition education for parents in counties throughout Michigan. To contact an expert in your area, visit the expert page, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).
This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).
No matter how you say “welcome,” if you are a new American, West Michigan Works! can provide opportunities to find a satisfying career in the United States. Refugee and immigrant navigators can provide specialized assistance to help you start your new life.
Here are a few ways that West Michigan Works! can help.
Specialized services for new Americans include access to appropriate resources such as open-entry ESL (English as a Second Language) class and employment services like building your resume, completing online job applications and connecting you to local employers with job opportunities.
Help meeting work requirements. Anyone authorized to work by the US Department of Homeland Security can receive free employment services. A refugee and immigrant navigator can assist you with paperwork and resources, like English language proficiency, high school diploma, GED or assessment tests, to qualify for certain training and education programs.
Referrals to MITS (Michigan International Talent Solutions). Highly qualified, skilled and educated immigrants and refugees can receive professional employment support from MITS.
Opportunities abound. New Americans do not need to settle on a low-paying job. There are opportunities to learn English and gain the education and training needed to pursue your dream job and earn a sustaining income for your family.
You can make your American dream happen. Many local employers appreciate the hard work and job performance of refugees and immigrants. With a steady income you can establish good credit and realize goals, such as buying a house, within two to five years of arriving in the US.
Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.
By Victoria Mullen, WKTV
Editor’s note: This story first appeared, like magic, on March 29, 2016.
So, there I was, just minding my own business pondering where the gray walls end and the gray skies begin, when Easter happened. I turned my head and when I looked back—poof!—people were all decked out in their Sunday finest, and there were countless clusters of chocolate bunnies and little baskets festooned with eggs and jelly beans snuggled in colorful nesting material.* More chocolate bunnies. Even more of them. Plus those peculiar curiosities called “peeps.”
Easter took me by surprise, I must admit, because I’m never prepared for it. The fault is not mine but that of full moons and equinoxes. I come from a family of Greek Orthodox people, which means “my” Easter quite likely isn’t yours. The date of Greek Orthodox Easter is determined by the Julian calendar, and it can vary wildly from one year to the next. It’s kind of cool except most other people use the Gregorian calendar. When I am asked what I’m doing for Easter, I say that I have no idea. Because I never know when it is.
(Wait. What?) OK, I’ve just been told that my Easter is scheduled for April 28th this year. But will there be any chocolate bunnies left?
A calendar by any other name
The calendar’s purpose is to keep people rooted somewhat in reality. Calendars tell us when we have to work, when to vote, when to go to church, when to celebrate a holiday, when to observe Thanksgiving and other feasts—you name it. Without calendars, surely humankind would be cast adrift, lost forever in contemplation and confusion.
Einstein really nailed it when he said that time is relative, because it seems that no one can agree on using just one method to keep track of days, weeks and months. There are many, many calendars.
Western civilians currently use the Gregorian calendar, which improved upon the Julian calendar (the source of “my” Easter), which had improved upon the Roman calendar. And then there are a multitude of different religious calendars, many of which disagree that we are even living in the year 2019.
Depending on the calendar, today is whatever day you’re reading this (Gregorian) or minus 13 days (Julian). By way of example, pretend that I’m writing this on the 12th of March (three days before the Ides). If we use the Julian calendar, I originally wrote this on the 29th of February 2016, which was a leap year day, all the better to confuse the issue.
Of moons and equinoxes and rotation
Putting together an accurate calendar is not for the faint of heart. It requires meticulous musings, knowledge of the phases of the moon and equinoxes, and the rotation of the earth. It also requires people with nothing better to do than argue over an overabundance of calculations. Key point: In the end, they must all agree. And we know how well that usually works out.
We want to control everything. It’s human nature. But despite this irrational obsession, the universe always has the final say. In the case of calendars, the earth’s rotation refuses to conform to a man-made system of measurement. Just when you think you have it under control, you find that you don’t.
Trying to tame time
Before the dawn of civilization, ancient peoples had no need for wall calendars, Siri, and day planners. By monitoring the phases of the moon and observing weather patterns, these peoples knew when to plant crops, when to migrate, when to harvest crops, etc.
Enter the Romans, who demanded predictability. Mental illness—obsessive-compulsive disorder and narcissistic personality disorder, specifically—influenced the matter, and politics played a huge role as well. Some would argue that politics and mental illness are mutually exclusive, but this matters not because of at least one immutable fact: Credit for the invention of the original Roman calendar goes to Romulus, the first king of Rome, at around 753 BCE (Before Common Era). Scholars think it may have been a lunar calendar, but it was so fraught with flaws that this remains uncertain.
The Roman calendar began the year with a month that could be construed as a call to action—March (Martius). The calendar consisted of 10 months, with six months of 30 days and four months of 31 days. The winter season was not assigned to any month, so the calendar year only lasted 304 days with 61 days unaccounted for in the winter. Basically, winter was ignored.
I am not a fan of winter and would prefer to ignore it, too, but if everybody did that, many, many retail and online stores would go out of business. The economy would take a dive. More people would plunge into poverty.
Besides, it seems a bit extreme. Animals in the wild don’t ignore winter, they hibernate. As they sleep they are blissfully unaware, but winter exists nonetheless. Wild creatures don’t use calendars, and they’ve gotten by just fine over the centuries.
Predictably, the earth’s rotation would not cooperate and, as expected, the 304-day Roman calendar didn’t work for long because it didn’t align with the seasons. King Numa Pompilius—and, seriously, who burdens a kid with such a name?—reformed the calendar around 700 BCE by adding the months of January (Ianuarius) and February (Februarius) to the original 10 months. This increased the year’s length to 354 or 355 days.
The Julian calendar. The Gregorian calendar. And the colossal confusion called “Easter.”
Julius Caesar (yes, he of the Ides of March) introduced the Julian calendar in 46 BCE, and it took effect in 45 BCE, shortly after Rome conquered Egypt. With the addition of January and February, some of the months’ names no longer “agreed” with their position in the calendar (September-December). In 44 BCE, the month Quintilis was renamed July in honor of Julius Caesar and in 8 BCE, Sextilis was renamed August in honor of Augustus (the other Caesar).
The Julian calendar proved rather hardy and served humankind in good stead until 1582, when Pope Gregory XIII promulgated the Gregorian calendar, because naming a calendar after oneself is irresistible, if not grandiose. Today, the Gregorian calendar is the most widely used civil calendar throughout the world.
Why did all of this happen? Blame it on Easter. Wait. That’s not entirely fair. It’s better to blame it on the pope, who wanted to bring the date for celebrating Easter closer to the time of year in which it was celebrated by the early Church. Because Easter was tied to the spring equinox, the steady drift in its date by the year being slightly too long drove the poor pontiff to distraction. With no treatment available for obsessive-compulsive disorder, he did the next best thing. He changed the calendar.
The (formerly) blissful equinox.
There’s always been quite the brouhaha over the relationship between the equinox and Easter, and it will be easier to understand the conundrum if you think of the equinox as a thing with feelings. Imagine, if you will, the equinox, before humankind existed. Close your eyes. Can you see it? Right over there, smiling in its ignorance, living in peace, perhaps even unaware of its own existence, but in a state of bliss nonetheless.
So, there’s the blissful equinox, just minding its own business when humans appear on the map. These people make up stories about Easter. Eager to harness something—anything—people tie Easter to the spring equinox. This seemingly harmless—and certainly thoughtless—act has far-reaching consequences. No longer does the equinox exist unfettered, and it is not amused.
Yet even this did not satisfy humankind. Over time, the date kept “drifting,” so the Roman Catholic Church promulgated a fateful rule—the full moon preceding Easter would not precede the equinox. Ever. Thanks to this rule, the equinox now remains fixed at March 21 for computational purposes, and the earliest date for Easter is fixed at March 22.
To further compensate for the drift, the Gregorian calendar also removed 10 days. If you lived back in 1582, you went to bed one night and woke up 10 days later. There is much more to all of this, but alas, space in this context—according to my editor—is finite. Go here to learn more.
As expected, the equinox resented—heck, still does—being stuck in place, forever. But the equinox was not the only thing to suffer—people suffered, too. We’re talking about 10 perfectly good days—poof!—just gone.
Things still aren’t perfect.
So, here we are, in the year 2019, accustomed to a 365-day year and a leap year of 366 days. We have scheduled the leap year day, February 29, to occur every four years to help synchronize the calendar year with the solar year (the length of time it takes the earth to complete its orbit about the sun), which is about 365¼ days. It sounds so cold and calculated because it is.
The length of the solar year is slightly less than 365¼ days—by about 11 minutes—and this cannot go unpunished, so we “compensate” for this discrepancy. Until the advent of the next calendar—whenever that may be—the leap year is omitted three times every four hundred years. What this means is that a century year cannot be a leap year unless it is divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but 1600 and 2000 were—and 2400 will be—leap years.
Ha! Surely you see the quandary. The universe will not be outfoxed.
*Where does nesting material go to live when Easter is all said and done?
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Bell’s Eccentric Café has announced its summer Bell’s Beer Garden concert series and there are some great West Michigan bands in the lineup as well as a pleasantly surprising visit by national headliners Kurt Vile, Conor Oberst and Langhorne Slim.
But you don’t have to wait for a big opening-weekend bash May 31-June 2 to wet your whistle and hear some great music — among other music planned indoors, The Way Down Wanderers, touring in support of their new illusions release, will make a stop at the Cafe on Saturday, May 11.
A taste of The Wanderers, and the very unique sounds of (usual) lead singer Austin Krause-Thompson and the band’s great harmonies — are available here in the form a their video for “All My Words” — gives one hankering for more of what can best be/maybe described as an boundary-blurring retro-alt-country newcomer well worth a listen.
Even before you hear the band’s music, it should be attractive enough to know that illusions, the band’s February 2019 sophomore release, was produced by Grammy winner David Schiffman (HAIM, Johnny Cash, Rage Against The Machine).
The band, on illusions, in addition to Krause-Thompson on guitar/vocals, is Collin Krause on mandolin, violin, guitar/vocals; John Williams on upright bass, guitar/vocals; John Merikoski on percussion; and Travis Kowalsky on banjo and guitar.
In supplied material, somebody described the Peoria, Ill., band as having the retro sound of Beach Boys meet The Band, though I might add a little Seals and Crofts with an attitude, but with the roots music sounds of The Avett Brothers and Jason Isbell. Sounds right after listening to their sounds.
As far the “feel” of illusions? A line from the title song may be talking about the state of growth of the young band: “They say you grow and lose your illusions one day/Mine won’t fade away I will trade them in some day.”
The Bell’s Eccentric Café Beer Garden season, officially kicks off Friday, May 31, with Steppin’ In it along with May Erlewine and the Motivations. The funk rock of Lettuce will hit the stage on Saturday, June 1. Wrapping up the weekend will be a family-friendly day Sunday, June 2 — a free day of family-friendly activities, games, specials, and music provided by The Crane Wives, Barn on Fire and others.
But that is just the opening act.
“With the Beer Garden improvements we are making now, combined with the incredible lineup, this summer is going to rival some of the best we’ve ever had,” Ryan Tovey, Eccentric Cafe general manager, said in supplied material.
Improvements to the garden include fresh landscaping, walkway repairs and stage renovation, we are told.
After opening weekend, the schedule includes Trampled By Turtles on June 15, Built to Spill on June 29, Whiskey Myers on July 9, Kurt Vile on July 19, Conor Oberst on July 23’ Sir Mix-A-Lot on July 27, The Corn Fed Girls and The Red Sea Pedestrians present “Abbey Road” on Aug. 10, Here Come the Mummies on Aug. 16’ Langhorne Slim & the Law on Sept. 14, and Zed Zeppelin, Jake Simmons & The Little Ghosts, Uncle Kooky on Sunday, Sept. 15, a season-ending free show.
Several shows jump out as must-sees, but two top the list.
First Kurt Vile: now known for his solo work, the former lead guitarist of The War on Drugs, Vile recently released his first solo record in three years, “Bottle It In.” While his work with War on Drugs is still fresh — remember “Pain”? If not check out the video here — he’s into solo and collaboration work these days, where it is “Pretty Pimpin” off his 2015 solo release or his great work with Australian singer and guitarist Courtney Barnett, Lotta Sea Lice. Can’t wait.
The second is The Corn Fed Girls and The Red Sea Pedestrians present “Abbey Road”. Don’t know much about either group but am picturing a great late summer day with two bands coming together to cover one of the greatest albums of all time, the Beattles’ “Abbey Road”, in its entirety. “Here comes the sun, and I say it’s all right …”
Bell’s Eccentric Café is located at 355 E Kalamazoo Ave, in downtown Kalamazoo. Tickets for all shows are now available by visiting the Bell’s General Store, also at 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave., or by visiting bellsbeer.com.
By Bridie Bereza
School News Network
Second-graders in Cindy Prentler’s class at East Kelloggsville Elementary settled on the floor last week to hear their teacher read out loud from the “book-a-day” selection. But before she began, they were on their feet again.
“It’s a new book! Do you want to come up and smell it?” asked Prentler. “You should always smell a new book.”
And one by one, they sniffed before settling back down to listen to “When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree.”
Prentler’s classroom is a wonderland of books. While the pristinely-organized space has some posters and artwork, much of its colorful decor comes from the jackets of the picture books displayed throughout the room.
A Book for Every Occasion
One thing to know about Mrs. Prentler: whatever sparks a child’s interest, whatever issue — big or small — that child is facing, she’s got a book for that.
Each day, Prentler reads a book out loud to her class. She photographs the books and hangs each photo in one of 180 rectangular spaces blocked out on the classroom wall, making a stunning collage and reminding students of every book they’ve read together.
She got the idea for the “book-a-day” read-aloud from educator Jillian Heise, who she encountered through her involvement in The Nerdy Book Club, where Prentler gets ideas for books to share with her students.
On the first day of school, she read “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold, which shows families of different sizes and colors and made in all different ways.
“I try really hard to pick books that show lots of different cultures,” said Prentler, adding that her two daughters, a high school senior and a college sophomore, were adopted from China. She wants children to understand that families are made in different ways.
Earlier this month, Prentler and her students faced one of the most difficult things a classroom can face, when a girl in her class died in an automobile accident. To work through the grief, Prentler reached out to Heise for recommendations – ‘What’s the best book for that?’ An overnight shipment of “The Rabbit Listened” by Cori Doerrfeld and “Ida, Always” by Caron Levis were some of the books that helped Prentler and her students talk about their grief.
While her classroom has shelves of traditional leveled readers, it’s her picture book collection that really gets Prentler and her students excited about reading.
“I’m finding I have a love for picture books, because the messages are so big. And they’ve been great for teaching reading because if they are read right, kids love them and then they want to be able to read them too, and they want to imitate those voices,” she said.
The books are both challenging and captivating.
“The language in this kind of book is much higher,” she said, than in a leveled reader.
One piece in her collection that requires a strong delivery is “The Book With No Pictures”, by B.J. Novak. Josh Tindall, a student in Prentler’s class, says that book is his favorite. And as teachers go, Mrs. Prentler is a favorite, too.
“She is a nice teacher and she loves me,” said Josh.
Veteran Teacher, Second-grade Newbie
To look at the room and the volume of books, you might think Prentler has been in the space for a long time.
“This is my first year with second grade. In a few more years I’ll have a really good collection,” she said.
A teacher since 1982, and a proud Spartan who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University, Prentler came to Kelloggsville in the late 1980s. She spent one year teaching second grade before heading to the middle school, where she spent the next three decades. Incidentally, her current classroom is the same room she taught in her first year. Just last year, she heard about an opening and took the opportunity to head back to second grade.
“It was so spur of the moment,” she said. “I don’t know why I did it. It’s been a big challenge and it’s been good for me.”
Karen Rawdon, a language arts teacher at Kelloggsville Middle School, worked closely with Prentler for almost 30 years. The two would often open up their adjoining wall to co-teach, so she saw firsthand the impact Prentler made on students throughout the years.
“Cindy had a great rapport with middle school kids. She has a great sense of humor that middle school kids appreciated,” said Rawdon. “Cindy always pushed kids to do their best work and held them accountable for their behavior as well. Students could see that she cared and wanted the best for them.”
While she loved teaching at the middle school, she appreciates the opportunity elementary education affords her to have the same group of students all day. She spends a lot of time getting to know her students and their families.
“I think the most important thing, before you start teaching a whole lot, is you have to have some relationships with the kids, because they’ll learn more,” she said. “If they know you care about their learning and you have those strong relationships, they’ll do better. If they don’t think you care, I don’t think they’re going to work very hard.”
Like her classmate Josh, second-grader Kayla Ensing, has picked up on Prentler’s love for her students and for books, describing her teacher as “loving.”
“I like everything she reads us,” said Kayla. “She’s very nice.”
Prentler has always been an avid reader, but there’s one book that impacted her childhood most: “Anne of Green Gables.”
“It’s really the only book I remember from my childhood,” she said, referencing the main character’s tendency to refer to her best friend as a “kindred spirit.”
East Kelloggsville Elementary Principal Beth Travis said Prentler has been a wonderful addition to the building this year.
“Cindy’s classroom is well-organized, rich in literature, and she has a strong connection with her students,” she said.
Rawdon echoed those sentiments: “She has a passion for reading and did an awesome job with getting the right book into the right kid’s hands,” said Rawdon, adding that middle school students who had her as a teacher describe her as “funny” and “kind.”
While Prentler loves books and has a particular fondness for teaching reading and math, she said she has yet to find a subject that she doesn’t enjoy teaching.
“It was the right job for me. Always has been. Even in the tougher years — and there were tough years — it was still the right job.”
For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website.
By Tree Amigos
City of Wyoming Tree Commission
The City of Wyoming Tree Commission, “The Tree Amigos,” is partnering with Wyoming Lee High School Ecology Club in the City’s 2019 Arbor Day Ceremony set for 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 26 at the high school located at 1335 Lee St. SW.
To open the event, members of the Club will plant two tulip trees on school property bordering Lee Street. The trees are being provided by The Tree Amigos. Excavation and permitting are being provided by the City of Wyoming. The planting will launch phase two of The Tree Amigos’ Tree-covery Block-by-block project that is focusing on the Godfrey Lee neighborhood.
“We absolutely have some areas that need this resource,” said Vlad Borza, the Lee teacher who leads the Ecology Club. “I actually worked on a project just last year with HS Ecology students to identify this very need.
“Due to disease and windfall, several of the trees along the (school’s) front parking area and along the side had to be removed in recent years. We would love to re-populate this area with some preferably native trees that can begin to complete the void left behind by these removals.”
After the students plant the tree, a City of Wyoming official will read the 2019 Arbor Day Proclamation. The event will also celebrate the City of Wyoming’s April 2019 designation as a 2018 Tree City USA. Kevin Sayers, urban forestry program coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, awarded the designation to the City of Wyoming at the April 10 Tree City USA Awards event in East Lansing. This is the third year in a row that the City of Wyoming has been designated as a Tree City USA.
The Friends of Grand Rapids Parks has also noted the need for increasing tree canopy in this area where Wyoming and Grand Rapids share a boundary. This City of Grand Rapids organization has been a helpful resource for The Tree Amigos. Friends has embarked on an aggressive tree planting project throughout the Roosevelt Park neighborhood. Its Urban Forest Project also offer resources and tree education classes, which are open to Wyoming residents. Lauren Davis, urban forest coordinator for Friends, serves as The Tree Amigos volunteer consulting certified arborist.
“There is no arguing the significant environmental and economic benefits that trees bring to our communities,” Davis said. “As we continue to lose mature trees from natural causes and development, the need to plant new trees has never been greater.”
By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
When Maria Orr, of Kentwood, got the text from her daughter that Notre Dame was on fire, it brought her right back to July 2, 2012, the day she learned her church, St. Mary Magdalen, had been ravaged by a fire.
“The priest actually called me,” said Orr, who had worked nights and weekends for 10 months to create new stained-glass windows for the church. “Knowing how hard I had worked on the windows, he personally called to let me know the church was on the fire.”
Coincidentally, her daughter had texted that night, too, and she had been driving by St. Mary Magdalen and saw the flames. Orr did not see the message. By the time she got there, all that was left was an attached family life center classroom area
Caledonia resident Nancy Baum said the fire at Notre Dame “hurt her heart” and also brought back a flood of memories of the fire at St. Mary Magdalen as well.
“At the time, I was up north,” said Baum, of Caledonia, who was a secretary for the church at the time. “I got a phone call from Father at around 1:15 in the morning. As we drove back, I kept saying ‘Let it be a little fire. Let it be a little fire.’”
But once Baum got to the site, the church was engulfed in flames.
“The staff was all gathered and all you could do was watch,” she said. “It just hurts your heart. It was just devastating.”
For Ruth Bush, of Kentwood, who is the Coordinator of Christian Services at the church, by the time she got to the site, she could shed little in tears. She had spent the six-hour drive from Cleveland, Georgia, coming to terms with the loss of her church.
“A co-worker had texted me, but I ignored it because my phone was hooked to weather alerts and we were having a very hot summer that year,” Bush said. “I woke up the next morning and got ready to look at my text messages and it said ‘Church on fire,’ and then I just started to shake.”
Bush immediately used her phone to try accessing the internet, but the service was poor. She and her husband began to make the journey home.
“I know he was doing all he could to get us home safely, but there were times when I just wanted to yell at him to drive faster,” Bush said, adding that during the drive all she could do was run a mental checklist of things lost and things possibly saved.
When the Bushes got home, they went to straight to the church, but all that was left was smoldering embers.
“It was like, ‘Wow, what are we going to do?” Bush said.
There had been no injuries, and it was later determined that fireworks started the fire at St. Mary Magdalen. Earlier that year, Michigan had rolled back its restriction on fireworks.
Through insurance and donations totaling $7.7 million, St. Mary Magdalen was rebuilt, but there was never any doubt that would happen.
“At the time (of the St. Mary Magdalen fire), I remember telling media that it is very, very sad, but it was not something that could break us,” said parishioner Lusia Ortiz, of Gaines Township. “The church are the people and a great example of that was the number of people who attended East Kentwood (High School Auditorium) for Sunday mass that weekend.”
And even in the ashes, there is always hope. As with the reports that whispered of the bell towers being saved at Notre Dame, when Orr finally did arrive at St. Mary Magdalen, she could see it.
“I could see the windows and they were blackened, but I could tell right then that some could be saved,” Orr said. A few days later, Orr and the glass company she worked with, Pristine Glass, were able to get inside the former church building.
“There was a window, it was called ‘All Souls,’ and I had used the faces of family members, my mom and dad, and friends to create it,” Orr said. “The window was gone, but there were some blackened pieces on the ground. I brushed one of the pieces clean and staring back up at me was my dad.
“I still get teary-eyed thinking about it.”
By WKTV Staff
“Beer’s intellectual. What a shame so many idiots drink it.”
~ Ray Bradbury
Because it’s never enough. Pike 51 Brewing Co. and Hudsonville Winery will host their annual IPA Daze festival at 3768 Chicago Drive, in Hudsonville, on Saturday, April 20. There will be live music and a special “Stogies and Stouts” event with a cigar rolling demonstration. And 25 wine choices, five wine slushy flavors, traditional hard cider as well as “cyser” and mead. Go here for the story. But, wait. There’s more! Watch out for next weekend when New Holland Brewing Company releases Dragon’s Milk Triple Mash (last released in 2017). The bourbon barrel-aged stout will be available—in Michigan only— starting Saturday, April 27.
Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D) will host a summit at Michigan State University on Earth Day to examine the rising costs to taxpayers from extreme weather and climate change. The event, scheduled for Monday. April 22, at 10:30am, in East Lansing, is open to the public and will be streamed live on Facebook. Read more here.
Nobody likes ’em, so why do they exist? We’ll leave that for you to ponder, but meanwhile, did you know that head lice are common among children ages 3 to 11? It’s true. They can live on all types of hair—straight, curly, dyed or natural. They are most frequently found on girls and are more prevalent among Caucasian children. YIKES. Here are some tips for getting rid of the little buggers. The lice, that is. Go here for the story.
That’s the time it takes for a nit to hatch after a head louse lays an egg. After hatching, the head louse will require 7 to 10 days before becoming a fully grown louse. Besides the head, they can also be found on eyebrows and eyelashes. So, now you know.
By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org
Michigan’s U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D), who is ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will host a summit at Michigan State University on Earth Day to examine the rising costs to taxpayers from extreme weather and climate change.
The event, scheduled for Monday. April 22, at 10:30 a.m., in East Lansing, is open to the public and will be streamed live on Facebook.
“The Cost of Inaction: The Impacts of Climate Change and the Financial Burden on Taxpayers” will focus on the financial impacts of climate change on our national security, infrastructure, economy and public health, according to supplied material.
Sen. Peters will also announce a report with recommendations to help prevent further costs to taxpayers from the failure to prepare for and address damage from climate change.
“In recent years, communities in Michigan and across the country have seen a rise in extreme weather events driven by climate change that have cost taxpayers nearly half a trillion dollars in cleanup and recovery,” Sen. Peters said in supplied material. “The federal government must take action today to combat and prepare for the effects of climate change so that we can save Michigan taxpayers billions of dollars in the coming years and protect our planet for future generations.”
Michigan communities including Lansing, Houghton and the Detroit metro area have experienced several historic rainfall and severe flooding events in the last five years, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to roads, bridges, property and businesses, according to supplied material.
The summit follows a recent Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) High Risk List report, which identified a need for the federal government to address the risks associated with climate change in a fiscally responsible way.
The report concluded that, “to reduce its fiscal exposure, the federal government needs a cohesive strategic approach with strong leadership and the authority to manage risks across the entire range of related federal activities.” In particular, the report examined the direct costs and impact associated with climate change on national security, public health, infrastructure, small business and more.
Experts invited to the summit include: Rear Admiral David W. Titley, U.S. Navy (ret.), Professor of Practice in Meteorology, The Pennsylvania State University; Director, Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk; Paul C. Ajegba, Director of the Michigan Department of Transportation; Dr. Lorraine Cameron, Senior Environmental Epidemiologist, Michigan Climate and Health Adaption Program, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services; Dr. Maria Carmen Lemos, Professor and Associate Dean for Research, School for Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan; and Jim MacInnes, CEO of Crystal Mountain Resort and Spa.
The summit will take place at the Michigan State University Union, 49 Abbot Road. Public parking is available in the MSU garage located on Grand River Avenue. Additional public parking is available in the nearby East Lansing parking garages. Directions and maps for the MSU Union are available here.
By Carrie Shrier, Michigan State University Extension
It is easy to panic if your child gets lice. It’s hard to feel calm about the idea of little bugs crawling around on your child’s (or your) scalp. Lice, while definitely creepy and crawly, are not dangerous and do not spread disease. The only major issue they cause is itching. So, what should a parent do to get rid of lice quickly? Michigan State University Extension offers the following tips to thoroughly eliminate lice.
Lice are tiny, wingless parasites that feed on blood. They are found on your scalp and are most easily seen at the nape of the neck and behind the ears. Head lice are common among children ages 3 to 11. They can live on all types of hair—straight, curly, dyed or natural. They are most frequently found on girls and are more prevalent among Caucasian children. Head lice do not jump, they do not live on pets and poor personal hygiene does not make someone more likely to have them.
Lice are most frequently spread by head to head contact. Less commonly, they can be spread through shared items that touch the head such has hats, combs, brushes or hair accessories. Lice do not live for more than a day off of the human body.
Although they’re very small, lice can be seen with the naked eye. Here is what to look for:
Once your child is diagnosed, it’s time to treat. There are several over-the-counter treatment options. The most commonly used medications contain pyrethins, which are made from the chrysanthemum flower. These should not be used if you or your child are allergic to chrysanthemums, mums or ragweed. Some lice have developed resistance to the commonly used medications. Learn more about medication options from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Keep these tips in mind when using medication to treat for lice:
Continue to check the infected person’s hair every two to three days for two to three weeks. Reapply a second dose of the treatment if the package indicates it is required. This is because many medications only kill the live lice and not the eggs. Failure to retreat can cause a second round of lice to hatch. If you treated correctly and they are not going away, you may have lice that are resistant to the over-the-counter medications. These so-called “super lice” may require prescription medications. Follow up with your doctor for additional advice should over-the-counter treatments fail to be successful.
There is no need to use lice sprays or fumigate your home. Lice do not live long off the human body. Washing bedding, clothing and towels should be sufficient to kill any lice that have fallen off of the head. You can vacuum the infected person’s bed and common seating areas, but intense cleaning and household treatments are not necessary. Animals cannot get lice or spread lice. There is no additional need to treat your pets.
While the discovery of lice on you or your children can be alarming, there is no need to panic. They can typically be treated inexpensively and relatively quickly. With some time and focus, you’ll be back to enjoying a lice-free home again in short order.
By Stephanie Burdick, Tibbits Opera House
Relive and experience the sight and sounds, moods and emotions of the Beatles’ influence on music and pop culture on Saturday, July 20, 2019, when the Beatles tribute band BritBeat brings their multimedia show to Tibbits Opera House, 14 S. Hanchett Street, Coldwater, MI 49036.
BritBeat has spent countless hours to create a show that tells the story of the Beatles that is compelling, accurate, thought-provoking, fun and filled with the passion, moods and emotions of the sixties. Every detail has gone in to the creation of BritBeat – A Multimedia Concert Journey through Beatles Music History. Each era of the Beatles history is recreated on stage covering the early days at The Cavern Club in Liverpool, The Ed Sullivan Show, the Shea Stadium Concert, the psychedelic Sgt. Pepper era, the Magical Mystery Tour and Abbey Road Studios recording sessions with six costume changes. Dedicated to offering a unique and different look into the music and history of the Beatles, BritBeat is more than a tribute band, it is a theatrical event.
Highlights of BritBeat’s touring history include performing with Herman’s Hermits, The Buckinghams, The Rascals, Jefferson Starship, Micky Dolenz, Blood, Sweat & Tears, The Beach Boys, The Guess Who, The Grass Roots and Gary Puckett and the Union Gap. One of the Beatles actually performed with BritBeat at U.S. Cellular Field for the 40th Anniversary of the Beatles at Comiskey Park. That Beatle would be Pete Best, the drummer for the Beatles before he was replaced by Ringo Starr in 1962.
In 2014 BritBeat was chosen by the State of Indiana to recreate the 1964 concert by the Beatles at the Indianapolis State Fair. In the same building, on the same stage, with the same microphones used by the Beatles, BritBeat performed a 50th Anniversary Concert at the Indianapolis State Fair Coliseum for thousands of fans in attendance, many of whom had attended the 1964 concert there 50 years earlier. It was quite a moment for a band paying tribute to their musical icons.
The concert at Tibbits on July 20 caps off a day full of fun in Coldwater, with the downtown ArtWalk that will feature artists, vintage vendors, hands-on art stations for kids, food trucks, and live entertainment leading up to BritBeat, which begins at 7:30pm.
This event includes a cash bar along with an ‘On Your Feet’ section for audience members who enjoy a livelier viewing experience. Ticket prices range from $20 to $34 (including fees). Tickets go on sale to Tibbits members on April 22, and are available at the Tibbits Admin offices at 93 W. Chicago St in Coldwater or by calling 517-278-6029. Tickets go on sale to the general public on April 29 and may also be purchased by visiting Tibbits.org at that time. This performance will be held at Tibbits Opera House, located at 14 S. Hanchett Street, Coldwater, MI 49036.
By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org
St. Cecilia Music Center’s 135th Anniversary Season will take a curtain call April 25 as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will be on stage with a program titled “From Mendelssohn” — works by the brilliant composer and other artists who admired him, namely Schumann, Brahms and Tchaikovsky.
Artists from CMS who will perform include pianist Inon Barnatan, violinist Cho-Liang Lin, violist Paul Neubauer, cellist Jakob Koranyi, and clarinetist Romie de Guise-Langlois.
“The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is amazing to watch with artistry that is always flawless,” St. Cecilia executive director Cathy Holbrook said in supplied material. “It is appropriate that we end this season with them to celebrate of our 135th Anniversary.
“The nine women who began St. Cecilia Music Society, over a century ago, created a vision. That vision remains our mission today: ‘To promote the study, appreciation and performance of music in order to enrich the lives of West Michigan residents.’ We’re excited to honor these inspiring women at our final event for the season with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.”
St. Cecilia Music Center was founded in 1883 by nine Grand Rapids women. At that time it was the only organization of its kind to be run solely by women. Through their efforts, SCMC’s historic building on Ransom Avenue was erected in 1894.
St. Cecilia, in supplied material about the concert, states: “Mendelssohn’s combined mastery of melody, form, counterpoint, and the chamber idiom was admired and imitated by composers for generations to come.
“In a program bookended by two works of Mendelssohn from 1845, one brief, the other epic, we hear Mendelssohn’s close friend Robert Schumann’s response to Mendelssohn’s piano trios; how, near the end of his life, Brahms recalled Mendelssohn’s lyricism through the viola’s dark voice; and, how Mendelssohn’s great admirer Tchaikovsky combined the German’s signature scherzo idiom with Russian melancholy and splendor in three selections from The Seasons for solo piano.”
The specific selections will include: Mendelssohn: Lied ohne Wortein D major for Cello and Piano, Op. 109 (1845); Schumann: Märchenerzählungenfor Clarinet, Viola, and Piano, Op. 132 (1853); Brahms: Sonata in E-flat major for Viola and Piano, Op. 120, No. 2 – composed 1894; Tchaikovsky: Selections from Les saisonsfor Piano, Op. 37 (1875-1876); and Mendelssohn:Trio No. 2 in C minor for Violin, Cello, and Piano, Op. 66 (1845).
Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert on April 25 are $45 and $40 and can be purchased by calling St. Cecilia Music Center at 616-459-2224 or visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE. Tickets can also be purchased online at scmc-online.org.
A post-concert “Meet-the-artist” party, with complimentary wine will be offered to all ticket-holders giving the audience the opportunity to meet the artists and to obtain signed CDs of their releases.
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk
Grand Rapids Symphony
Classical music counts Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Gustav Mahler as among the greatest composers in history.
But Mozart and Mendelssohn both had sisters who also were talented musicians and composers. Same for the women that both Schumann and Mahler married. But music by Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann and Alma Mahler are little known. What music Marianne Mozart may have written has been lost. All we know of music composed by Mozart’s sister, nicknamed “Nannerl,” is an occasional mention in her younger brother’s letters.
It wasn’t until the 20th century that female composers entered the limelight.
Grand Rapids Symphony will conclude its 2018-19 Great Eras Series on Friday, May 3, with a concert titled The 20th/21st Century Concert: Celebrating Women featuring music by women plus a woman as guest soloist.
Associate Conductor John Varineau leads the Grand Rapids Symphony in music that shattered glass ceilings, composed by pioneering women who broke new ground and blazed new trails in music.
The 8 p.m. concert in St. Cecilia Music Center welcomes back to Grand Rapids trombonist Ava Ordman, who formerly spent 24 seasons as principal trombonist of the Grand Rapids Symphony in the early 1970s through the late 1990s.
A part of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s PwC Great Eras series, the concert features music by American composers Ruth Crawford Seeger and Joan Tower and by British composer Anna Clyne, three women whose careers spanned more than a century from the early 20th century to the present.
Highlights of the evening concert will be given at 10 a.m. on Friday May 3 as The 20th/21st Century Coffee Concert. Part of the Porter Hills Coffee Classic series, the one-hour program is held without intermission. Doors open at 9 a.m. for complementary coffee and pastry.
The program is part of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s efforts to highlight the work of contemporary composers as well as to draw attention to the work of overlooked composers. Next season, one of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Great Eras Series concerts will feature music by Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann in March 2020.
“The Grand Rapids Symphony is such a wonderful symphony, and we really do have something for everyone,” said Music Director Marcelo Lehninger about the concert.
Each of the three featured female composers shattered the glass ceiling in her own way.
In the first half of the 20th century, Ruth Crawford Seeger, a folk music specialist as well as a composer, became the first female composer in history to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1930. Though Seeger’s compositions included several modernist works that would inspire important composers throughout the 20th century, the Grand Rapids Symphony will perform two works by her, including “Rissolty Rossolty,” a fantasy for orchestra based on American folk tunes.
Joan Tower, who turned 80 last September, in 1990 became the first woman in history to win the Grawemeyer Awardfor composition, a prize worth $100,000 today. Tower’s composition “Made in America,” which uses snippets of “America the Beautiful,” won her the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Classical Contemporary Composition plus two more Grammys for Best Orchestral Performance and Best Classical Album for the recording made by the Nashville Symphony conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Grand Rapids Symphony will perform her work titled “Chamber Dance.”
Anna Clyne, a British-born composer, now based in the United States, is a winner of the 2010 Charles Ives Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the 2016 Hindemith Prize. Her double violin concerto, “Prince of Clouds,” was nominated for the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Grand Rapids Symphony will perform her piece titled “Within Her Arms.”
The fourth work on the program, co-commissioned by the Grand Rapids Symphony, is titled “Their Eyes Are Fireflies”Composer David Biedenbender wrote it for Ordman, who today is a professor of music at Michigan State University.
Ava Ordman, who became principal trombonist of the Grand Rapids Symphony in 1974, is the only woman to hold a principal or assistant principal chair in the orchestra’s brass section since the Grand Rapids Symphony began the transition to a fully professional orchestra in the early 1970s.
She has given the world premieres of several works including Steven Smith’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, and Libby Larsen’s “Mary Cassatt” with the Grand Rapids Symphony. Together with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Ordman recorded Donald Erb’s Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra for a CD released by Koss Classics in 1995.
Ordman has performed regularly with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra, with the Cabrillo Music Festival in California, with the Western Brass Quintet at Western Michigan University and with the American Classic Trombone Quartet.
The complete The 20th/21st Century Concert: Celebrating Women program will be rebroadcast on Sunday, May 26, 2019, at 1 p.m. on Blue Lake Public Radio 88.9 FM or 90.3 FM.
Tickets start at $26 for the Great Eras series and $16 for Coffee Classics and are available at the Grand Rapids Symphony box office, weekdays 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across the street from Calder Plaza). Call (616) 454-9451 x 4 to order by phone. (Phone orders will be charged a $2 per ticket service fee, with a $12 maximum).
Tickets are available at the DeVos Place ticket office, weekdays 10 am – 6 pm or on the day of the concert at the venue beginning two hours before the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.
By Christie Bender
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is preparing once again for Collections & Cocktails, an annual fundraiser focusing on the Museum’s Collections, their stories, and the preservation and education with these artifacts. This year’s event will be on Wednesday, May 8.
This year, Collections & Cocktails will focus on the Museum’s Magnificent Machines & Amusements Collection featuring artifacts such as the 1928 Spillman Carousel, an iron lung, steam engine, dog powered butter churn, and more artifacts that are not typically on display.
Collections & Cocktails also features a dinner and signature cocktails to go along with the exciting stories of these artifacts. Tickets are available to the public and can be found at grpm.org/2019Collections-Cocktails.
“The Magnificent Machines and Amusements Collection represents the ingenuity of people who have invented new ways to make our lives easier,” said Alex Forist, the Museum’s Chief Curator. “Collections & Cocktails will showcase some of these unique artifacts, and will highlight the importance of the care and maintenance of our Collections and give the community the opportunity to support these efforts.”
Anyone interested in supporting the care of these artifacts along with the thousands of others pieces in the GRPM Collections can do so through a sponsorship of Collections & Cocktails, purchasing a table at the event or individual tickets. More information on the event and funding opportunities can be found at grpm.org/2019Collections-Cocktails or by contacting Gina Schulz at gschulz@grpm.org or 616-929-1705.
One of the Museum’s most iconic pieces to be featured at the event is the 1928 Spillman Carousel. Manufactured by the Spillman Engineering Company of North Tonawanda, New York in 1928, the Carousel is one of only three of its style known to have been produced by the company. The Carousel has brought joy to thousands of community members over the years, and is currently undergoing restoration to keep it running for years to come.
Another featured piece from the GRPM Collections that hasn’t been on display since 2016 is an Iron Lung. The iron lung is a negative pressure cylinder in which patients would lie down in with their head sticking out through an opening at the top. Rows of iron lungs filled hospital wards at the height of the polio outbreaks of the 1940s and 1950s, assisting the breathing of mostly children but also adults.
With West Michigan roots, also featured from the Collections is a Toepler-Holtz machine. A Toepler-Holtz machine consists of a static generator in a glass and wooden cabinet with attachments to direct electrical currents for a variety of uses. Believed to have been manufactured in about 1900, it was first used in a doctor’s office in the Holland, MI area to treat various ailments.
Other rarely seen artifacts being featured at the event include the GRPM’s Weidenaar press, a steam engine, a dog-powered butter churn, BISSELL carpet sweepers, 1900s-era washing machines and additional pieces that have never been on display from the Museum’s Collections.
To see more of the Museum’s Collections visit the GRPM online database GRPMcollections.org.
[huge_it_slider id=”69″]
By , Spectrum Health Beat, photos by Taylor Ballek
If you were to meet Judy Pellerito today, you would say she’s full of life.
Newly retired after 31 years of teaching, the Kentwood, Michigan, resident is animated, outgoing and full of dreams.
She’s starting a community choir “open to anyone ages 13 to 103.” She plans to play her ukulele for nursing home residents and bring her pup Mabel along as a therapy dog.
So Pellerito would agree with you: At age 54, her life is good.
“I have energy and hope and optimism and gratitude,” she said on a recent fall morning.
But wind the clock back a year or two and get Pellerito to level with you, and you might hear a different story. A story marked by anxiety, depression, poor sleep and low energy.
Sure, she still got up and went to school every day. The former Northview High School choral director loved teaching, loved her students and her colleagues.
But it became harder and harder to summon the “energy and the stamina and find the joy day after day,” she said.
Finally a good friend saw through her smiling façade and nudged her to get help. To find out what was going on. Tired of saying, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Pellerito acquiesced.
She made an appointment with a psychologist, who listened as Pellerito talked about life—and heard her describe many of the classic symptoms of menopause.
Pellerito’s counselor referred her to Marjorie Taylor, NP, a member of the Spectrum Health Midlife, Menopause & Sexual Health team who specializes in hormone-related issues.
Recognizing her symptoms as typical of a woman going through midlife hormonal changes, Taylor did a physical exam and a thorough blood workup, paying close attention to Pellerito’s thyroid and other hormone levels.
Not surprisingly, Pellerito’s blood levels showed that “her estrogen was really low,” Taylor said.
Taylor’s message for her patient? There’s help for you. You don’t have to struggle.
Taylor started Pellerito on an antidepressant and hormone therapy tailored to her medical situation. After just five months, Pellerito felt like herself again—or, perhaps, like a more jubilant version of herself.
“I didn’t know that my hormones had bottomed out,” she said. “It’s not like there is a switch that’s flipped—you don’t one day get symptoms. It’s so gradual that it’s almost imperceptible. You don’t realize until you look back.”
In retrospect, Pellerito says her menopause symptoms probably escalated over the course of five to 10 years, gradually stripping away her joy.
“I can look back now and just see an incredible difference,” she said. “And an incredible future.”
Stories like Pellerito’s fuel Taylor’s enthusiasm for her work.
“It’s so fun to do because every visit you see improvement, and you see this person find their spark again,” she said. “When everything gets balanced, whether it’s thyroid, hormones, whatever it is, we see not only their energy come back, but they sleep better. It helps relationships, it helps—just their whole quality of life improves.”
Taylor acknowledges that hormone therapy isn’t right for everyone, but as a strong advocate of its benefits, she gives her patients lots of information and works hard to clear up the misperceptions about its risks.
“People have no clue of the wonderful benefits that hormone therapy can bring,” she said.
Hormone therapy can contribute to women’s longevity, Taylor said, by preventing heart attacks, strokes and osteoporosis, and by helping to alleviate fatigue, depression, anxiety, vaginal issues and bladder issues.
“But the biggest thing is that it brings the spark back to their life and they feel normal again,” she said. “When people start going through perimenopause, they think, ‘Ugh, I’m aging and I’m just never going to feel good again. … And that’s not true.”
Pellerito’s experience is a vivid case in point. She now feels healthy, both physically and emotionally, and is eager to explore new opportunities as a young retiree.
Once a week she returns to her previous school district to work as a vocal coach.
“I’m still pouring love into teenagers and adults in different ways,” she said, “but everything is different now.”
For other women who may be feeling some of the symptoms she experienced, Pellerito says not to wait like she did.
“I would just recommend people walk down the path of getting help sooner,” she said. “Sooner, sooner.”
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Fountain Street Church, celebrating its 150th anniversary, will once again host its annual Alternative Prom — an evening of “safe inclusivity” for everyone — on Saturday, April 27, from 7-10 p.m., with the event open to any and all high school students.
“Alternative Prom at Fountain Street Church is purely a social event where high-schoolers from across West Michigan can feel safe, included, and affirmed no matter who they are,” Christopher Roe, Minister for Spiritual Life and Learning, said to WKTV. “While the event initially began as a inclusive dance for LGBTQ youth who did not feel welcomed in their high-school proms, it has grown to be an event for 9th to 12th graders of all social, religious, racial, economic, and physical backgrounds.
“You can dress up, you can dress down, you can bring a date, or you can bring a crew, but what matters most is that you are welcome at the Alternative Prom no matter who you are,” Roe said.
Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids, is an independent, pluralist church that strives to be a “vibrant church community that challenges individuals to craft their own spiritual journeys, and to engage in creative and responsible action in the world,” according to supplied material.
At the Alternative Prom, the FSC Social Hall will be transformed into a prom venue with this year’s theme of “Once Upon A Springtime” featuring a “Spring fantasy decor.”
There will be a $10 suggested donation and free but required sign up by following this link. Students can also sign up in-person the day of the event. Please note that all students must provide parent/guardian contact information at time of sign-up.
Fountain Street Church is an independent house of worship with an open pulpit and a 150-year history of progressive action in the heart of West Michigan, at 24 Fountain St NE. For more information on Fountain Street Church, visit fountainstreet.org .
By Hilarie Carpenter, SMG
Tickets are available at the Van Andel Arena® and DeVos Place® box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. A purchase limit of eight (8) tickets applies to every order.
The Avett Brothers made mainstream waves with their 2009 major label debut, I and Love and You, landing at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 and garnering critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Paste, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Time. In 2012,The Carpenter hit #4 on the Billboard Top 200, while People, USA Today, and American Songwriter lauded the album.
The group appeared on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! twice in a few months’ time. During their second performance, the Brooklyn Philharmonic joined to pay homage to Brooklyn with I and Love and You at Mr. Kimmel’s request. Their eighth studio album, Magpie and the Dandelion, debuted at #5 on the Billboard Top 200. They performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, and accompanied Chris Cornell for a Pearl Jam tribute on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The band supported The Rolling Stones in Raleigh during 2015’s Zip Code Tour.
True Sadness achieved The Avett Brothers’ highest career debut to date and dominated multiple charts. The Rick Rubin-produced album hit #1 on Billboard’s Top Albums Chart, #1 Top Rock Albums Chart, #1 Digital Albums Chart, #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and scored two Grammy nominations.
The Avett Brothers were inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2016. In 2018, HBO premiered May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, a documentary co-directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. Days after this debut, True Sadness launched to #3 on the iTunes Album Chart and #1 on the Rock Albums chart. The Avett Brothers debuted a new song, Roses and Sacrifice, live on Late Night with Seth Meyers in October 2018. The song was released in November 2018, with Rolling Stone calling it a “joyous sing-along.”
Also in November 2018, the band headlined the Concert for Hurricane Florence Relief in Greenville, North Carolina, raising $325,000 to help those affected by Hurricane Florence. The Avett Brothers continue to be revered as one of the top folk-rock acts in the country.
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
If you’re into India Pale Ales — and who isn’t on a warm spring day? — Pike 51 Brewing Co. and Hudsonville Winery will host their annual IPA Daze festival at 3768 Chicago Drive, in Hudsonville, on Saturday, April 20, during normal hours of noon to midnight.
And Saturday is (supposed to be) 65 and sunny. Hey, IPAs work just fine in the rain though.
This festival is a celebration of all things “hops” and, we are told, will feature the Pike 51 Brewing Co. specialty KUSH IPA and six additional event-specific “hops forward” IPA style beers and more than a dozen other brews for the non-IPA crowd.
Entertainment will include live music and a special “Stogies and Stouts” event with a cigar rolling demonstration. In addition, there will be 25 wine choices, five wine slushy flavors, traditional hard cider as well as “cyser” and mead — I, too, didn’t know what cyser is; Wikipedia says it is an apple mead; so a cider/mead cross?
The live music begins at 2:30 p.m. with Lew Russ and continues at 6 p.m. with Nathan Dill. The Stogies and Stouts in the Quonset Hut, with a cigar rolling demonstration by “The Cigar Roller”, begins at 3 p.m.
Pike 51 Brewing Co. is a locally owned and operated craft brewery that shares space with its sister company, Hudsonville Winery. For more information on the Pike 51, visit its Facebook page here.
Its been two years in coming, but New Holland Brewing Company has announced the release date of Dragon’s Milk Triple Mash, last released in 2017, and the bourbon barrel-aged stout will be available — in Michigan only — starting Saturday, April 27.
The brew is aged for one year in New Holland Spirits oak bourbon barrels, Triple Mash is, and no typo here, a 17 percent ABV to go with “an intense malt character paired with warm, toasted flavor notes from its time in the wood,” according to supplied material.
“Triple Mash takes what is already an amazing beer and really amplifies all those classic Dragon’s Milk flavors to the moon — the roasted malt, barrel sweetness and bourbon all shine through,” New Holland’s Dominic Bergquist said in the same supplied material.
New Holland will release of the beer on April 27 at its pubs in Grand Rapids and Holland, with “extremely limited” draft and bottle distribution will follow.
Both New Holland’s Grand Rapids and Holland pubs will open early on release day, starting at 10 a.m.
But if you can’t wait until then, a “Tour of Legends: Ultimate Dragon’s Milk Experience” will be held at The Knickerbocker in Grand Rapids on Friday, April 26, where participants will taste samples of Dragon’s Milk, Dragon’s Milk Reserve variants, Dragon’s Milk first- and second-use barrels and Triple Mash. Tickets are $75 and come with one Triple Mash 4-pack, one Triple Mash Teku glass and one Triple Mash sticker.
For more information on Dragon’s Milk and the special release and events, visit dragonsmilk.com . For more information on New Holland Brewing, visit newhollandbrew.com .
Bell’s Brewery recently announced that its brewery tour has been named one of the top two in the country. As one of ten breweries nominated for USA Today’s 2019 10 Best Reader’s Choice travel awards, public voting in March landed Bell’s the No. 2 spot on the list.
Bell’s The Eccentric Café and original brewery in downtown Kalamazoo and its main brewery just east in Comstock, have been destinations for craft beer fans for years.
“Bell’s staff shares the eye-opening statistics, colorful history and scientific advancements of the brewery in a casual and educational presentation,” John Liberty, general manager at West Michigan Beer Tours, said in supplied material. “It should also be noted, while many large breweries around Michigan and country charge a fee for tours, Bell’s makes its tours free, which speaks volumes about the company’s philosophy behind telling its story.”
Free tours (all ages welcome) are held Wednesday through Sunday at Bell’s main brewery in Comstock and on weekends at its original downtown Kalamazoo brewery. Each Comstock tour includes free samples for those 21 and up. Specialty tours are also offered throughout the year. Tours can be reserved at bellsbeerz.com .
By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org
The Meijer State Games of Michigan 2019 Summer Games will include sport competition at various dates and locations this summer but is focused on the weekend of June 20-23 and the 2019 Opening Ceremony at Fifth Third Ballpark. Registration for most sports has opened.
The Meijer State Games of Michigan is an Olympic-style, multi-sport event that welcomes athletes regardless of age or ability level. According to supplied information, “the games embody the values of participation, sportsmanship, and healthy living among the residents of Michigan.”
Since 2010, Meijer State Games of Michigan has hosted more than 65,000 athletes and contributed over $25 million in estimated economic impact to cities throughout Michigan.
Registration rates vary between sports and can be found on each sports’ page. For more information about registration, please visit the following link .
Registered athletes for all sports will receive free admission to the Opening Ceremony and have the opportunity to walk in the athlete parade. Some sports may charge an entry fee for spectators.
Tryouts for the 2019 hockey tournament will take place in May and the tournament will take place June 20-23. This tournament will have six divisions: high school boys, high school girls, 14U boys, 14U girls, 12U, and 10U.
The fee for tryouts is $40. An additional fee of $160 will be charged to players who make the teams. This fee includes a team jersey, socks, a gift for the player and three games minimum, and admission to the Opening Ceremony.
“It’s cool – it’s an Olympic-style event, which is great,” David Moss, honorary chairman of the State Games hockey tournament, said in supplied material. “They do a lot of cool things for the kids, and the hockey side, we’re doing some neat things this year with ACHA coaches being involved and giving the kids the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of good coaches.”
For more information on this year’s hockey tournament details and registration, visit the following link .
There will an estimated 8,000 plus athletes participating in more than 45 sporting events in this year’s Summer Games. The sports offered for the 2019 Summer Games include: a 5k fun, archery (3D and FITA), archery tag, badminton, baseball, basketball, BMX (freestyle and Olympic), bocce ball, bowling, boxing, cricket, cycling, disc golf, field hockey, figure skating, foot golf, golf, hockey, judo, lacrosse (girls), mountain bike, ninja warrior competition, paintball, pickleball, pinball, rowing, rugby, shooting sports, skateboarding, softball, soccer, swimming, tae-kwon-do, tennis, track & field, volleyball, waterskiing, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The Meijer State Games of Michigan is a nonprofit organization that relies heavily on the help of willing volunteers and trusted partnerships. There are also volunteer opportunities available for the Summer Games. For more information on volunteering, visit the following link .
For more information on sponsoring the Meijer State Games of Michigan, visit the following link .
For more information about the Meijer State Games of Michigan visit stategamesofmichigan.com .
By Bruce Rossman, Spectrum Health Beat
What’s not to like about gardening? It beautifies your home, produces great food, plus it’s relaxing, stress reducing and a fun calorie-burner.
But it’s not without its hazards.
“A lot of outdoor diseases can be avoided with clothing and precaution,” said Christina Leonard, MD, an infectious disease specialists with the Spectrum Health Medical Group. “Prevention is key in avoiding problems.”
To protect yourself from diseases caused by mosquitoes and ticks, use insect repellent containing DEET and wear long-sleeved shirts and pants tucked into your socks. You may also want to wear high rubber boots since ticks are usually located close to the ground.
It’s also important to be up-to-date on your tetanus/diphtheria vaccination. Tetanus lives in the soil and enters the body through breaks in the skin.
“Gardeners are particularly susceptible to tetanus infections because they dig in the dirt, use sharp tools and handle plants with sharp points,” Dr. Leonard said.
Roundworms and other nematodes inhabit most soil and some are parasitic. The biggest exposure danger is through ingesting eggs on vegetables, so don’t pull carrots and eat them in the garden.
Be sure to wash your hands with soap and warm water before handling food. Wash, peel, or cook all raw vegetables and fruits before eating, particularly those that have been grown in soil fertilized with manure. Wearing footwear and gloves in the garden also helps prevent infection.
Watch those punctures! Sporotrichosis is an infection caused by a fungus called Sporothrix schenckii. The fungus enters the skin through small cuts or punctures from thorns, barbs, pine needles, splinters or wires from contaminated sphagnum moss, moldy hay, other plant materials or soil. It’s also known as rose handler’s disease.
The first signs of sporotrichosis are painless pink, red, or purple bumps usually on the finger, hand, or arm where the fungus entered the body. It’s usually treated with a solution of potassium iodine that is diluted and swallowed, but can cause problems for people with compromised immune systems. Again, wearing gloves will help prevent infection.
By Hilarie Carpenter, SMG
SMG-managed DeVos Performance Hall, DeVos Place®, and the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) Community Inclusion Group (CIG) have announced Eric Roberson with special guest Jordan Hamilton as the third and final event of The Series: Creative Expressions of African-American Culture on Saturday, May 25, 2019, at 8pm in SMG-managed DeVos Performance Hall.
Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, April 19 at 11am. Tickets will be available at the DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena® box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster.com for all pricing and availability.
GRAMMY Award-nominee, singer, songwriter, and producer Eric Roberson continues to break boundaries as an independent artist in an industry dominated by major labels, manufactured sounds and mainstream radio. Described as the original pioneer of the independent movement in R&B/soul music, Roberson has achieved major milestones in his career, from being a successful songwriter and producer for notable artist such as Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, Dwele, Vivian Green and countless others, as well as headlining sold out tours across the country.
This Rahway, NJ and Howard University alum became the first independent artist to be nominated for a BET Award in 2007 and was the recipient of the “Underground Artist of the Year” BETJ Virtual Award, with Rahsaan Patterson in 2008. In addition, Roberson was nominated in both 2010 and 2011 for a GRAMMY award in the “Best Urban/Alternative Performance” category and continues to blaze trails unheard of as an independent artist. In 2011, his studio album, Mister Nice Guy, debuted in the top 5 on the iTunes R&B/Soul charts and his 10th studio album, The Box, was released in 2014.
Roberson’s latest project is a three-album compilation, Earth, Wind, and Fire. The inspiration behind the album titles definitely pays homage to the iconic group, but Roberson also wanted to use music to voice some of today’s topical issues and in his special way, include personal influences into these albums.
“Earth is self-empowering, Wind is the love and Fire is the message,” says Roberson.
Jordan Hamilton, cellist of Last Gasp Collective and the Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, merges songwriting, loop pedals, sample machines, and vocals to create a sonic landscape of experimental hip-hop, folk, soul, and classical music. The Western Michigan University graduate aims to find new ways for the cello, a traditional instrument, to relate to a modern audience where it can be found playing the music of Bach, the Beatles, or Chance the Rapper. Filled with an eclectic range of songs, Jordan’s set is sure to capture the heart and mind while reflecting on new horizons.
The Series: Creative Expressions of African-American Culture is a program of the CAA and CIG designed to provide consistent, high-quality programming for members of the West Michigan region who have an interest in the various forms of arts and entertainment inspired by African-American culture.
