All posts by Joanne

Adoptable pets of the week: Tala and Samantha

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Meet Tala!

By Brooke Hotchkiss, Humane Society of West Michigan

 

Each week, WKTV features an adoptable furry friend (or few) from various shelters in the Grand Rapids area. This week, we focus on Humane Society of West Michigan, located at 3077 Wilson Dr. NW in Grand Rapids.

 

Humane Society of West Michigan’s mission is to rescue hurt, abused and abandoned animals and find them new, forever homes. The 501(c)3 non-profit organization helps over 8,000 animals annually and is 100% donor-funded by caring individuals and businesses in the community. Additional programs help reduce pet overpopulation, provide assistance to low-income pet owners, behaviorally assess animals and reunite lost pets with their owners.

 

Tala – Female American Staffordshire Terrier Mix

I am a lovable 4-year-old girl looking for her forever home! I am cautious in new situations and around new people so I would do best in a relaxed home that would give me the time and space I need to adjust. I enjoy going for walks, playing around, and getting pets from my human friends! I am dog-selective and would do best as the only dog in the home. If I sound like a good fit for you, please come meet me at Humane Society of West Michigan!

 

More about Tala:

  • Animal ID: 37318176
  • Breed: Terrier, American Staffordshire/ Mix
  • Age: 4 years
  • Gender: Female
  • Size: Medium
  • Color: Tan/White
  • Spayed
Heeere’s Samantha!

Samantha – Female Domestic Short Hair

I am a sweet, 2-year-old cat looking for my forever home! I can be cautious at first and would do well in a home that would allow me the time and space to adjust to my new surroundings. I would also do best in a home with older/respectful children, as I like attention and affection, but on my own terms. I am playful and wand toys are my favorite! Please come meet me at Humane Society of West Michigan!

 

More about Samantha:

  • Animal ID: 34272874
  • Breed: Domestic Shorthair/Mix
  • Age: 2 years
  • Gender: Female
  • Size: Medium
  • Color: Brown
  • Spayed
  • Declawed

Humane Society of West Michigan is open Tuesday-Friday 12pm-7pm and Saturday-Sunday 11am-4pm.

The Humane Society of West Michigan automatically microchips all adoptable animals using 24PetWatch microchips, which include FREE registration into the 24PetWatch pet recovery service. For more information visit www.24petwatch.com or call 1-866-597-2424. This pet is also provided with 30 days of FREE ShelterCare Pet Health Insurance with a valid email address. For more information visit www.sheltercare.com or call 1-866-375-7387 (PETS).

Humane Society of West Michigan is open Tues-Fri 12-7, Sat & Sun 11-4.

School News Network: Noshing Through Novels

Citizen Journalism, , ,

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By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

Ashley Lopez jots down books she wants to read

It was a tranquil, cafe-like setting: a darkened media center illuminated by an image of a fireplace on a projector screen. Soft jazz music played and artificial candlelight glowed atop tables covered with red-and-white checkered cloths. Students enjoyed the ambiance while busily discovering a buffet of books.

 

Wyoming Junior High English teachers Shantel VanderGalien and Katie Sluiter, dressed as wait staff, offered Book Tasting to all eighth-graders. The tasting included a sample of 10 books, all with multicultural flavors, for their in-class book clubs. From table to table, students munched chocolate chip cookies and considered menu options – book summaries – to please their reading palates. Entrees included “The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom, a verse novel set in Cuba,” by Margarita Engle and “One Crazy Summer,” by Rita Williams-Garcia.

 

“I feel it’s different. It’s engaging the students more in reading the books,” said eighth-grader Ashley Lopez, a fan of dystopian fiction. “I’m excited to have a whole list of books to choose from.”

 

For teachers, the Pinterest-inspired event was a way to offer diverse literary ingredients to inspire students.

 

“We are big fans of giving kids choice for what they read,” VanderGalien said. “We wanted all of our students to be represented in the literature, so the books we chose have an African American female protagonist, a girl from India as a protagonist, a Latina protagonist. We wanted our students to experience other cultures as well so they can see themselves in literature.” Assigned books last semester had male protagonists.

 

Malikye Anderson looks over his book list.

Thought-Provoking Reads

 

Having multicultural books available in the classroom at the diverse school has helped students blossom as readers, VanderGalien said. “It’s brought powerful conversations to the classroom, a deeper understanding for each other and various cultures.

 

“It’s powerful when students who read about a person who has a similar story to them because maybe they felt alone or isolated, experienced poverty, homelessness or leaving a war-torn country.”

 

English teacher Katie Sluiter said book tasting is a fun way to expose students to different works, create a community of readers and have them expand their reading repertoire. “They might have never read a book about their own culture, or they might choose a book that’s a window to something they’ve never heard of before.”

 

Added VanderGalien: “They are able to say, ‘me too, I’ve had that shared experience. Here’s my experience.’ In sharing their voice, students who have been marginalized or quieted find a place in the classroom.”

 

Eighth-grader Aubray Palma called the book tasting “cool.”

 

“Usually you get books offered to you that are one genre or culture, and it’s nice to get books from multiple cultures to learn about different things,” she said.

 

Eighth-grader Trista Werkema jotted “Never Fall Down,” by Patricia McCormick, and “Homeless Bird,” by Gloria Whelan, on her list of books choices. She liked the idea of choosing from multicultural options.

 

“When our teachers give us hands-on experiences we get more out of our learning,” she said. “It gives us a chance to learn more about what other people around the world are going through. It gives us an outside look because we tend to think only about our own lives and culture, and not consider what other cultures go through.”

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

 

From left, Michael Ross, Logan Boukma and Brian Juarez-Diaz participate in book-tasting. (All photos courtesy of School News Network)

Wrestling, cheer, bowling and more on local high school sports schedule

City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Education, Kentwood Public Schools, Sports
WKTV offers on-demand viewing of Wyoming and Kentwood sports event government meetings, including the monthly Government Matters meeting. (WKTV)

 

Mike Moll, WKTV Volunteer Sports Director 

sports@wktv.org 

 

The winter seasons are not just in full swing but are quickly heading toward their respective tournament portions.

 

Boys wrestling begins the process with team Districts at various sites on Feb. 7-8, followed by individual Districts on Feb. 10, team Regionals on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, individual Regionals on Feb. 17, team Finals on Feb. 23-24 at The Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo, and completely close out the season with individual Finals on March 3-4 at Ford Field in Detroit.

 

Girls cheerleading also starts their tournament run with Districts Feb. 16-17, state Regionals on Feb. 24 and state Finals also March 3-4 at The DeltaPlex in Grand Rapids.

 

Both boys and girls bowling will hold their Regional tournaments on Feb. 23-24 and a quad of state champions will be crowned the first weekend in March, at various sites depending on the division.

 

Ice hockey will start tournament play late in the month with Regionals between Feb. 26 and March 3.

 

Lastly, girls basketball tournament will tip off what is commonly called March Madness but a week early during the last week of February this year. WKTV will be there to bring some of the action to the viewers, so be sure to check the weekly schedule.

 

Currently, each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 at 11 p.m. and repeat on Wednesday at 5 p.m. Each Friday game will be aired that night on WKTV 25 at 11 p.m. and repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. The games can also be seen on AT&T U-verse 99.

 

All 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 .

 

 

The busy tentative February WKTV feature broadcast schedule includes:

 

Thursday, Feb. 1 — Boys swimming, Grand Haven at East Kentwood

Friday, Feb. 2 — Boys basketball, Wellsprings Prep @ Tri-Unity Christian

Tuesday, Feb. 6 — Girls basketball, Caledonia at East Kentwood

Friday, Feb. 9 — Boys basketball, Wyoming Lee at Kelloggsville

Tuesday, Feb. 13 — Boys basketball, Wayland at Wyoming

Friday, Feb. 16 — Girls and boys basketball, West Michigan Aviation at Zion Christian

Saturday, Feb. 17 — Boys hockey, South Christian/BC at East Kentwood

Tuesday, Feb. 20 — Boys basketball, Muskegon Oakridge at Tri-Unity Christian

Friday, Feb. 23 — Girls and boys basketball, East Grand Rapids at Wyoming

Saturday, Feb. 24 — Boys hockey, FH Central at East Kentwood

 

For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/

 

Following is the end of this week’s schedule:

 

Thursday, Feb. 1

Boys Swimming

South Christian @ Hastings

Grand Haven @ East Kentwood – WKTV Featured Event

Boys Basketball

West Michigan Lutheran @ Holt Martin Luther

Girls Basketball

Wellsprings Prep @ Tri-Unity Christian

 

Friday, Feb. 2

Girls Basketball

South Christian @ FH Eastern

Godwin Heights @ Calvin Christian

Grand River Prep @ Potter’s House

Holland Black River @ West Michigan Aviation

West Michigan Lutheran @ Zion Christian

Grand Haven @ East Kentwood

Middleville T-K @ Wyoming

Boys Basketball

South Christian @ FH Eastern

Godwin Heights @ Calvin Christian

Grand River Prep @ Potter’s House

Holland Black River @ West Michigan Aviation

WMAES @ Zion Christian

Grand Haven @ East Kentwood

NorthPointe Christian @ Wyoming Lee

Middleville T-K @ Wyoming

Covenant Christian @ Kelloggsville

Wellsprings Prep @ Tri-Unity Christian – WKTV Featured Event

Boys Hockey

South Christian @ Portage Central

East Kentwood @ Muskegon Reeths-Puffer

Boys Wrestling

East Kentwood @ West Ottawa – O-K Red Conference Meet

Wyoming @ Middleville T-K – O-K Gold Conference Meet

Girls Cheer

East Kentwood @ Rockford – O-K Red Conference Meet

 

Saturday, Feb. 3

Boys Hockey

Lowell/Caledonia @ South Christian

Boys Wrestling

Godwin Heights @ Kelloggsville – O-K Silver Conference Meet

Wyoming Lee @ Kelloggsville – O-K Silver Conference Meet

Boys Basketball

Godwin Heights vs Detroit Pershing @ Union – Union Showcase

East Kentwood vs TBA @ Union – Union Showcase

Zion Christian @ Calhoun County Christian

Girls Basketball

Grand River Prep @ Kelloggsville

Zion Christian @ Calhoun Christian County

Girls Dance

East Kentwood @ Jenison

Boys/Girls Bowling

Wyoming Lee @ Hudsonville

Kelloggsville @ Muskegon Reeths-Puffer

Girls Cheer

Wyoming @ Kenowa Hills

 

Monday, Feb. 5

Boys/Girls Bowling

Wyoming @ South Christian

Belding @ Godwin Heights

FH Northern @ Potter’s House

Wyoming Lee @ Tri-Unity Christian

NorthPointe Christian @ Kelloggsville

Girls Basketball

Potter’s House @ NorthPointe Christian

 

On the shelf: ‘When Evil Came to Good Hart’ by Mardi Link

Books, Entertainment, Reviews, , , ,

By Amy Cochran, Grand Rapids Public Library, Seymour Branch

 

I’ve been reading many true crime and thrillers lately. One standout that I thoroughly enjoyed is Mardi Link’s thorough and sensitive exploration of a 1960s Michigan cold case that has never found firm resolution.

 

The little town of Good Hart in Northern Michigan was hit by tragedy in 1968 when the Robisons, a wealthy vacationing family from Detroit, were found murdered in their summer cottage. Nearly a month after the murders, the cottage caretaker Monnie Bliss responded to neighbor complaints about a bad smell and found all six of the Robisons, Dick and Shirley and their four children, shot to death and decaying in the cabin.

 

Link goes on to detail the unfolding investigation and how investigators ruled out the locals and turned their attention to Dick Robison, delving deep into his business dealings. Over the next few years, they followed multiple leads and created a case against Dick Robison’s employee Joe Scolaro, only to have the case fall apart due to lack of evidence placing Scolaro at the scene. Scolaro committed suicide a few years later, leaving a note behind that he had not killed the Robisons. The guns used were identified but ultimately never found, and many other leads went nowhere, such as mention of a mysterious Mr. Roeberts who was supposed to be financing a huge new deal for Dick Robison.

 

The details of the case are fascinating and all the more so since Link solidly grounds the narrative in the particular time and place. Investigation techniques and attitudes have changed considerably since the 1960s: for example, the mentally ill in the area were all considered suspects simply because of their disorders. Rules on crime scene preservation were very different as well: one of the responding deputies accidentally wiped any traces of evidence off of the only weapon still at the scene, a bloody hammer.

 

I found the sense of place to be particularly strong. Link sets the stage by describing Good Hart as a “northern coastal town of well-tended cottages, ancient trees, Native American legends and a clenched fist of locals” and devotes quite a bit of the narrative to the history of the town and the culture of its residents, including contemporary attitudes towards the murders. Link’s thoughtful treatment of this tragedy is not only a fascinating true crime narrative, but also serves as a window into a small northern Michigan community through the last four decades.

At Godfrey-Lee ECC, One Wyoming Winterfest was all about the unique community 

3-bottom, Area Education, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Crime Prevention, Education, Health, Kids Activities,
The Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center on Joosten Street SW was open for fun on Saturday, Jan. 27. (WKTV)

K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org 

 

Each of the many locations where the One Wyoming Community Collaborative’s second annual Winterfest community events took place on Saturday, Jan. 27, had unique offerings for the many unique communities which make up Wyoming.

 

And maybe there is no event, and no community, as unique as the neighborhood around the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center on Joosten Street SW — with its large hispanic population and its bilingual communication embraced as a community strength.

 

The weather was great — for January — at the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center’s Winterfest event. (WKTV)

So it was only fit that notice of events — from raffle winners, to food offerings, to games on a playground free of snow and the sun shinning bright on a January day — were all announced in Spanish as well as English.

 

But there were not only fun and games available at the event. In addition to a visit from police Officer Shad McGinnis of the Community Services Unit, and a  city firetruck, there were several community service groups represented.

 

“Here at Winterfest for the Godfrey-Lee community, we have various resources partners, resource services, non-profits in our area, people that serve our community,” Sydney Hanlon, am ECC staff member, said to WKTV. “It is an opportunity for our families, our community, to come out, look at the different opportunities that are available for them, to volunteer, to find resources, to get services from these partners — and to just have a good time.

 

“Here at Godfrey-Lee ECC, this is just one part of our school district, and Godfrey-Lee is a community school district — it is the only school district in Kent County that is a total community school,” she added. “What that means is that we try to provide services for our community so that we do not have to go outside the community but their (social and health service) needs can be met here.”

 

One Wyoming is made up of a collaboration of schools, businesses, local government, churches, nonprofits and residents to improve the quality of life in the community. It is best known for its successful 1-on-1 mentoring program.

 

Wyoming’s Winterfest is similar to National Night Out, which takes place in August. This years’s event had seven different locations in various neighborhoods throughout the city. Each location has activities that have been planned by churches, residents and businesses of that neighborhood. Each site will have its own slate of events, but all will feature food, family-friendly activities, health related information and activities, and giveaways from businesses and other local organizations.

 

The morning locations, included The Dock, located near Kelloggsville High School on South Division Avenue (actually Grand Rapids), Wyoming Junior High School on Wrenwood Street SW, West Elementary School (with Calvary Church) 38th Street SW, and Grace Bible College on Aldon Street SW.

 

The list of afternoon locations, in addition to the ECC, included North Godwin Elementary School, on 34th Street and Vanguard Charter School on 52nd Street SW.

 

For more information about the event or about One Wyoming, visit onewyoming.com.

 

For more information about the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center visit here .

 

Another rare phenomenon set to happen in the sky: a Super Blue Blood Moon

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First it was the solar eclipse in August and tomorrow, area residents will be treated to another even rarer  phenomenon, a Super Blue Blood Moon.

 

What is a Super Blue Blood Moon? According to the NASA website, it is when the following three things happen all at once.

 

Super Moon: For the event to be considered a “super moon,” the moon is closer to the Earth in its orbit, known as a perigee, and appears about 14 percent wider in diameter which makes it look about 30 percent brighter than usual.

 

Blue Moon: For it to be a “blue moon,” it has to be the second full moon of the month. The first full moon in January was Jan. 1 with the second being tomorrow, Jan. 31.

 

Blood Moon: Lastly, the Super Blue Blood Moon will pass through the Earth’s shadow to give viewers in the right location a total lunar eclipse. While the Moon is in the Earth’s shadow, it will take on a reddish tint, known as a “blood moon.”

 

But that all together and you have a Super Blue Blood Moon.

 

The last time all of these events occurred simultaneously in the Western Hemisphere was 1866. A total solar eclipse is more common, with the next one taking place in North America on April 8, 2024.

 

Stages of the Jan. 31, 2018 “super blue blood moon” (weather permitting) are depicted in Pacific Time with “moonset” times for major cities across the U.S., which affect how much of the event viewers will see. While viewers along the East Coast will see only the initial stages of the eclipse before moonset, those in the West and Hawaii will see most or all of the lunar eclipse phases before dawn.
Credits: NASA

 

How to see it? 

 

Well if you live on the West Coast, Alaska or Hawaii, you would have a great view, but for us in the Eastern time zone, it could be a bit more challenging. The eclipse begins at 5:51 a.m. Eastern standard time, as the moon is about to set in the western sky and the sky is getting lighter in the east, according to Gordon Johnston, program executive and lunar blogger at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

 

While the Moon will enter the outer part of the Earth’s shadow at 5:51 a.m., it won’t be that noticeable. The darker part of the Earth’s shadow will begin to blanket part of the moon with reddish tint at around 6:48 a.m. The best time for those of us who live in the East, according to Johnson, would be to head outside about 6:45 a.m. and get to a high place with a clear line of sight to the horizon in the west-northwest, opposite where the Sun will rise.

 

According to Dave DeBruyn, curator emeritus for the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium, as the moon moves into the shadow, look for significant darkening along the upper left side of the lunar disk beginning around 6:45 a.m. The sky will still be dark with the moon descending in the northwestern sky with the earth’s rotation.

 

“Keep watching as the shadow slowly advances,” DeBruyn said. “Simultaneously, the moon will be sinking lower in the sky. By 7:30 a.m., with the visible portion of the lunar disk diminishing to a sliver, the sky in its direction will be brightening with the coming of dawn.

 

DeBruyn said residents should see how long they can follow the progression of the eclipse as the moon approaches the horizon and the sky brightens. He said to look for a dull but deep red color enhanced by haze in the earth’s atmosphere. Binoculars or a small telescope should be of significant help.

 

Along with having a Super Blue Blood Moon, 2018 also will have another rare moon cycle,  Double Blue Moons. This is when a calendar year has two full moons in two different months. Along with January, March will have two full moons, March 1 and 31. Double Blue Moons only happen about three to five times in a century. The next year that has two months with two Full Moons will be 2037. The last time it occurred was in 1999.

 

DeBruyn said the next total lunar eclipse is almost a year away, but it will be much better for Michigan viewers. Totality will come overnight Jan. 20-21, 2019, with the moon high overhead, he said.

 

NASA Television will begin coverage of the Super Blue Blood Moon at 5:30 a.m. You can see that coverage on WKTV Channel 26. For more about it, visit nasa.gov. To follow Johnston’s moon blog, go to moon.nasa.gov.

Global map showing areas of the world that will experience (weather permitting) the Jan. 31, 2018 “super blue blood moon.” The eclipse will be visible before sunrise on Jan. 31 for those in North America, Alaska and Hawaii. For those in the Middle East, Asia, eastern Russia, Australia and New Zealand, the “super blue blood moon” can be seen during moonrise the evening of the 31st.
Credits: NASA

Documentary film legend Brett Morgen next featured guest on The Kamla Show

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Gombe, Tanzania – David Greybeard was the first chimp to lose his fear of Jane, eventually coming to her camp to steal bananas and allowing Jane to touch and groom him. As the film JANE depicts, Jane and the other Gombe researchers later discontinued feeding and touching the wild chimps. (National Geographic Creative/ Hugo van Lawick)

The “mad scientist” of documentary film Brett Morgen recently sat down with The Kamla Show host, Kamla Brett, to discuss his newest project “Jane.” WKTV premieres this newest episode on WKTV Channel 25 at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31, and 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2.

 

Morgen has directed and produced a series of films including the award-winning “On the Ropes” and “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck.” His most recent project, “JANE,” released in October, shares the story of Jane Goodall, who is the foremost expert on chimpanzees, having spent more than 55 years studying the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Tanzania.

 

Brett Morgen on The Kamla Show

“I feel like ‘JANE’ is the perfect antidote for our times,” Morgen said during the interview. “I feel like this is the movie the needs to be heard and seen now particular because of what is happening with gender politics in America today…

 

“Jane is not a preachy film. It is not intended to have a message but the culture has taken ownership and they have told us what the message is. And they have told us that this has now become a film about a woman who does not have to give up her dream to have a family, to have a child. It is a movie about passion. It transcends the time and science to become this kind of rare move that you can go to feel good about and smile.”

 

Along with discussing the film, Morgen also talks about his desire to become a filmmaker, which started at a very young age; some of his famous classmates, and having a passion for what he does.

 

“I think when people see Jane Goodall or Philip Glass or they hear me talk, all of us found our fame when we were really little,” Morgen said. “And I think that is really scary for kids today because not everybody finds their thing because we are all moving at our own speed.

 

“So I just think for young people if they don’t find that passion, I think as parents we need to try and encourage them, but if they don’t find it they should not feel overwhelmed that I haven’t by 14 ‘By God what am I going to do with my life?’ There is plenty of time. You can shift and move.”

 

And at the age of 50, Morgen has admitted he has considered a shift in his own life. To learn more about the film “JANE” and what makes Moregan passionate about making films, check out the interview airing this week. Currently, there are no Michigan listings for the film “JANE.”

On Tap: Railtown to move, expand (seating and brewing); KDaLe plans Creston tour

3-bottom, Beer, City of Kentwood, Food, Local Business, Local Entertainment, Local Food
Railtown Brewing Company has announced it will be moving almost directly across 68th Street from its current location in Dutton, to the site of a now-torn down car wash. (Supplied)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Railtown Brewing Company has announced it will be moving almost directly across 68th Street from its current location in Dutton, to the site of a now-torn down car wash, and co-founder Gim Lee said the brewery hopes to be open by early summer.

 

Railtown’s Gim Lee

“The car wash is demolished and the footings are in,” Gim said Friday to WKTV. “In the next few weeks we hope to start seeing a structure form. … Some of the key gains from this new space is a kitchen, larger bar, more taps, more brewing capacity, reserved seating area availability, and patio. … The tap room will include a mezzanine with additional seating and space that can be reserved for parties and meetings.”

 

Gim and Justin Buiter opened the brewery in late 2014.

 

Railtown is located at 3555 68th St. SE, in Dutton but just across the border with Kentwood. Since it opened it has grown to be a 3,500-square-foot space at the east end of the Village Mall plaza. The brewery’s current tap room has 10 taps and usually 10 different brews available, and it distributes kegs to other restaurants.

 

For more information on Railtown Brewing Company, call the taproom at 616-881-2364 or visit railtownbrewing.com (leads to a Facebook page).

 

KD aLe plans two events in February

 

The Kent District Library’s adult KDaLe program — where educational talks goes down smooth with a little brew — has two programs planned for February.

 

First there will be a KDaLe Tap Takeover at Horrocks Market, 4455Breton Rd. SE, Kentwood, on Friday, Feb. 2, from 5-8 p.m. According to supplied information, area breweries from the Beer City Brewers Guild took KDL up on a challenge to create their own book-inspired beer. The program is for adults 21 and older.

 

Also, there will be a KDaLe Tour visit to Creston Brewery, 1504 Plainfield Ave NE, Grand Rapids, Wednesday, Feb. 21, from 6-9 p.m. The tour of Creston Brewery will also visitors to get a behind-the-scenes look at how beer is made. Discounts on food and beer will be available for all patrons who attend the tour. The program is for adults 21 and older.

 

For more information on KDaLe events, see www.kdl.org/events .

 

If you have news about Western Michigan craft breweries and distillers, drop us a line at ken@wktv.org.

 

Wyoming-Kentwood chamber (or Kentwood-Wyoming?) honors businesses, volunteers

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Local Business, Non-Profits, Volunteers, , , , ,
The two winners of the Daniel VanDyke Volunteer of the Year Award were Kate Pyles of Sterling Massey — State Farm Insurance, and Juliette Cowall of Guided Communications. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The 37th annual meeting of the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce was a night for recognition of local business leaders, local government leaders who support the business community, and the wide array of volunteers who support the chamber — volunteers ranging from the chairman of the chamber board to the people who make sure everybody has name tags at such events.

 

“Volunteers are very important to the chamber, without them we could not do a lot of things we do, including this event,” chamber president Bob O’Callaghan said.

 

The evening event, held Friday, Jan. 26, at the Doubletree by Hilton on 28th St. SE, included “state of local business” reports by O’Callaghan, Kentwood Mayor Steven Kepley and Wyoming City Councilor Kent VanderWood — all three of which made light of a changing big-screened image of the chamber logo which alternated between reading “Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce” and “Kentwood-Wyoming Area Chamber of Commerce”.

 

Chamber board chairperson Michelle Born-Fischer also introduced the  2018 chamber Board of Directors.

 

But it was the nights award winners who were the buzz of the evening. (And O’Callaghan talked about the awards and other chamber activities to WKTV Journal earlier that day.)

 

 

The Business of the Year awards went to Dyna-Plate Inc. for Manufacturing, Wyoming’s Buffalo Wild Wings for Retail, and – in probably the most widely applauded award winner of the night — JA PR Group, and Jessica Ann Tyson, for Service.

 

The Daniel McLaren Committee of the Year Award went to the volunteers behind the 28th Street Metro Cruise, and the Gerald E. Fessell Distinguished Service Award went to Mike Zomerlei of Diversified Protection and Investigations LLC.

 

But seeing as how the chamber — from its board, to many of its committees, to much of its event management staff — is a volunteer “opportunity”, there was special appreciation given to the all the chamber’s volunteers including the two winners of the Daniel VanDyke Volunteer of the Year Award: Kate Pyles of Sterling Massey — State Farm Insurance, and Juliette Cowall of Guided Communications.

 

And both Pyles and Cowell, after receiving their awards, spoke on the importance of the volunteer work.

 

“It is as way to give back, it is a way to support my business and to support the chamber,” Pyles said. While Cowell added: “For me it about getting involved with the chamber, establishing relationships with other people in the chamber.”

 

For more information on the WKACC visit southkent.org . For more photos of the event, visit the chamber’s Facebook page at @wkaccambassadors .

 

School News Network: Virtual Reality Welding Training to Expand Student Options

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“We will see new opportunities for Tech Center students to earn college credit in welding technologies before finishing high school” – Tech Center Principal John Kraus (Photo courtesy School News Network)

The Michigan Department of Education announced that Kent ISD and 13 other ISDs and school districts across the state were awarded Career and Technical Education (CTE) Innovation and Equipment Grants.

 

The grants are intended to expand programs and purchase equipment in manufacturing-related areas. Kent ISD’s award of $300,000 will be used to purchase welding equipment including high-tech virtual reality training systems, expand current welding units in several Kent Career Tech Center programs, and provide welding training for adults, middle schoolers and in summer camps.

 

Campus Principal John Kraus said “coupled with robotics, welding technology is present in nearly every manufacturing environment. In addition to the virtual welders, we hope to acquire a high-tech robotic welder that will prepare students for a vast number of unfilled jobs right here in West Michigan.

 

“And through our established partnership with GRCC,” Kraus added, “we will see new opportunities for Tech Center students to earn college credit in welding technologies before finishing high school.”

 

Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.

The force is with the Grand Rapids Symphony as it presents Holst’s symphonic suite, ‘The Planets’

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , , ,

By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

Grand Rapids Symphony

 

Astrology argues that the positions of the planets, from the time we’re born, influence our personalities and destinies. English composer Gustav Holst, though he didn’t believe in astrology, was intrigued enough to compose a symphonic suite, The Planets.

 

Whether the alignment of the stars on the day we’re born influences our destiny is open to debate. That Holst’s suite has influenced composers for the past 100 years is not. In movies such as Star Wars, if you’ve heard the menacing musical theme of the Imperial Forces, you’ve heard the same sinister, martial rhythm found at the beginning of Holst’s seven-movement suite.

 

In fact, Star Wars producer George Lucas encouraged composer John Williams to take inspiration from “Mars, the Bringer of War.”

 

“Gustav Holst can be seen as unintentionally being one of the greatest movie composers of all time, inspiring many film scores of the last 50 years,” according to blogger Nathan Spendelow on the website Inside Film.

 

Grand Rapids Symphony Musical Director Marcelo Lehninger

Come to DeVos Performance Hall on Friday and Saturday, February 2-3, and you’ll hear even more music that has inspired film composers. Grand Rapids Symphony presents The Planets the fifth concerts of the 2017-18 Richard and Helen DeVos Classical series at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, February 2-3, in DeVos Performance Hall.

 

Music Director Marcelo Lehninger will lead the concerts that also feature Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, nicknamed “Jupiter,” and Haydn’s Overture to Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon).

 

Vibration Research is the Concert Sponsor. The Edith I. Blodgett Guest Artist Fund is the guest artist sponsor. Bell’s Brewery is the Beverage Partner for The Planets.

 

The Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, directed by Pearl Shangkuan, will be featured on The Planets. Mary Tuuk is the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus Sponsor.

 

Concerts in DeVos Performance Hall feature video provided by the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium of the Grand Rapids Public Museum. Film from spacecraft that have visited the planets and their moons plus animations and simulations of galaxies, nebulae and other deep-space objects add to the musical experience.

 

Composed between 1914 and 1916, prior to the discovery of Pluto, The Planets still sounds fresh today.

 

In fact, three movements, “Mars, the Bringer of War,” “Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity,” and “Neptune, the Mystic,” are among the most frequently quoted compositions of all time.

 

Musical scores for such well-known films as Aliens, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and The Terminator all suggest inspiration from The Planets. In the original 1977 Star Wars film, in the concluding act that sees Luke Skywalker firing his proton torpedo into the exhaust port of The Death Star, the dramatic film score by John Williams, which becomes louder and louder, building tension, follows the same format as “Mars” from The Planets.

 

Other TV shows and movies use portions directly. The 2010 TV series Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, features music from “Jupiter.” The 2008 film Hellboy II: The Golden Army with Ron Perlman and Selma Blair, uses passages from “Mars.”

 

The 1983 film The Right Stuff, the story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts, starring Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn and Ed Harris, uses excerpts from “Jupiter,” “Mars” and “Neptune.”

 

Holst’s starting point for the music was the astrological character of each planet. The composer himself pointed out there was no connection with the deities of classical mythology or the planetary bodies themselves. Holst’s daughter wrote that once her father had determined the format, “he let the music have its way with him.”

 

Haydn’s Il mondo della luna, a romantic comedy about a bogus astronomer, opens with an overture that sets the stage for the antics yet to come.

 

Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C Major has nothing to do with astrology or astronomy. Its nickname did not come from Mozart. Likely it came from the impresario Johann Peter Salomon who dubbed it “Jupiter” to promote it as a grand and glorious piece of music. With a duration of 30 minutes, it was the longest symphony Mozart ever composed. As fate would have it, it also would be his final symphony before his death at age 35. Today, it remains one of the most popular works Mozart ever composed.

 

  • Inside the Music, a free, pre-concert, multi-media presentation sponsored by BDO USA, will be held before each performance at 7 p.m. in the DeVos Place Recital Hall.
  • The complete The Planets program will be rebroadcast on Sunday, April 15, at 1 p.m. on Blue Lake Public Radio 88.9 FM or 90.3 FM.

Tickets

 

Tickets start at $18 and are available at the GRS box office, weekdays 9 am-5 pm, at 300 Ottawa Ave. NW, Suite 100, (located across from the Calder Plaza), or by calling 616.454.9451 x 4. (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 a.m. – 6 p.m. or on the day of the concert beginning two hours prior to the performance. Tickets also may be purchased online at GRSymphony.org.

 

Full-time students of any age are able to purchase tickets for only $5 on the night of the concert by enrolling in the GRS Student Ticketsprogram. This is a MySymphony360 eligible concert.

Stories from the ‘Good ol’ days’ inspire resident to produce documentary on Idlewild

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By Allison Biss

WKTV Editorial Assistant

Growing up in the Michigan community of White Cloud, Rose Hammond remembers visiting her grandmother and hearing about the “good old days” that took place in the African-American communities of  Idlewild and Woodland Park.

 

Woodland Park and Idlewild were lively areas, booming with entertainers in the likes of Louis Armstrong, Satchel Paige, and Aretha Franklin, amongst others.

 

“You hear about all these great, great people who helped to bring some of the first utilities up there, who started their own businesses, who lived in what was considered doghouses for those who did not have or couldn’t afford a regular home up there,” Hammond said.

 

These “great” people not only created history for the people of Idlewild and Woodland Park, but also inspired Hammond to make a documentary, “In Between the Trees,” about the importance of  these communities.

 

During the Jim Crow era in America (1877-1964), African-Americans experienced systematic bigotry and racial prejudice. Seeking places to call their own, they purchased plats of land in two communities of Northern Michigan: Idlewild and Woodland Park.

 

“Idlewild was formed first, and then in 1912, platted some land, and then in 1921, Woodland Park came after that using Idlewild as a template,” Hammond said.

 

These communities were considered unusual during this era, as the residents were extremely comfortable around one another, often doing as they please, which was unheard of for other African-Americans at this time. “We would see them, and they’d lay out on the beach, you’d not seen that before with any African Americans or ‘colored,’ as they were called back then.” Hammond said. The uniqueness of these people and their fellowship contributed to the special nature of Idlewild and Woodland Park that many enjoyed.

 

However, after the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, numerous residents abandoned their property in Idlewild and Woodland Park in search of new opportunities they had been previously denied.

 

“They could go to the Holiday Inn. They could stay at all these other luxurious [resorts], [and in] Las Vegas,” Hammond said. “They didn’t have to just be confined to Idlewild up in the woods. They were able to do a lot of different things. Consequently, they forgot about Idlewild…”

 

The ability to share the special story of Idlewild and Woodland Park, and the revival of these communities is what makes the documentary important to Hammond.

 

“I think it’s just so important for the young people to understand history,” she said. “And to hear the history from those who helped to bring history to be.”

Hammond hopes to release the documentary in June. For more information about the project, visit runwith-it.net or stay tune to WKTV Journal as we follow the story.

Gerald R. Ford Museum once again site of Four Chaplains service

Citizen Journalism, , , , ,

For the past several years, Wyoming resident Harriet Sturim, through the American Legion Post 459, has helped to organize the Four Chaplains service at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. This Saturday, as the nation marks the 75th anniversary of these heroic men, Sturim will host her last program.

 

“It is time for someone to take the program to the next level,” Sturim said, adding that she has enjoyed the opportunity to remember the acts of the Four Chaplains.

 

One Feb. 3, 1943, Reformed Church Rev. Clark V. Poling, Rabbi Alexander D Goode and Methodist Rev. George L. Fox sacrificed themselves to save hundreds of soldiers on the U.S. Army transport Dorchester. A German U2 submarine fired onto ship, causing it to sink. The men kept everyone calm, handing our life preservers, including their own.

 

“Those who survived remember seeing them on the ship, arm-in-arm, singing as the ship went down,” Sturim said.

 

For many years, the National American Legion has encouraged posts across the nation to host a Four Chaplains Day event, something that Grand Rapids’ American Legion Post 459 has been doing for the past 14 years.

 

This year, the event is set for Saturday, Jan. 27, from noon-2 p.m.. It will focus on the story of the four chaplains, their friendship and sacrifice. Taking place at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, 303 Pearl St. NW, the event will include a special memorial to Ret. U.S. Army Chaplain Herman Keizer, who died last year. Keizer would tell the story of the chaplains at the service and rightfully so, as the retired chaplain had dedicated his life to researching and educating people about the moral injury and recovery for military veterans.

 

“It will be a recognition of his service to us all these years,” Sturim said. “One of the greatest mentors I ever had. He was an incredible man in what he accomplished in his lifetime.”

 

Sturim noted that the United States is marking several anniversaries this year.

 

“This is a very big commemorative year as this is the 75th anniversary for the chaplains and World War II along with being the 50th anniversary of the Korean War,” Struim said.

 

Attendees for the event will include many veterans from those conflicts along with a special guest who is a relative of one of those who was on the Dorchester.

 

Refreshments will be served following the service. Sturim also noted the Ford Museum will be free to program attendees.

Incomparable Judy Collins, undefinable Rhiannon Giddens coming to St. Cecilia stage

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiM23iff5lk

 

By. K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

The visit to St. Cecilia Music Centers folk series stage by Judy Collins — no adjectives or background needed —  has been circled on the calendar by local folk/pop/classic rock fans since the concert was announced last year.

 

It is astounding, in fact, that there may still a few tickets available a week before Sweet Judy Blue Eyes comes to town Thursday, Feb. 1, for a 7:30 p.m. concert.

 

But then to make a good week even better, St. Cecilia announces the final Folk Series concert of the season will be the return to Royce Auditorium of Rhiannon Giddens — Grammy winning singer/songwriter, Carolina Chocolate Drop, part of the New Basement Tapes super(folk)group; in case you need adjectives and background.

 

            

Giddens will return to St. Cecilia on May 17. And, like her April 2015 first visit to the state, this show will likely be sold-out as well. Her return will likely focus on her newest album “Freedom Highway”, which was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2017 Americana Music Honors & Awards.

 

While Giddens is the co-founder of the Grammy-winning string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, she began work as a solo artist when she stole the show at the T Bone Burnett produced “Another Day, Another Time” concert in 2013, and followed that up in 2014 by stealing the show again on T-Bone’s “New Basement Tapes” project — sealing it from the likes of Elvis Costello and Marcus Mumford — with her version of Bob Dylan’s “Spanish Mary”. Oh, ya, she followed that up with her critically acclaimed solo debut, the Grammy nominated album “Tomorrow Is My Turn.”

 

But not to steal the show from Judy Collins …

 

Judy Collins (Supplied/Brad Trent)

Collins’ most recent recording, “Silver Skies Blue”, earned her another in a long list of Grammy honors, being nominated for Best Folk Album in 2017.

 

Collins’ musical history only started with her firm commitment to social activism in the 1960s. Five decades later her 50-album body of work includes, to only scratch the surface, her rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” from her landmark 1967 album “Wildflowers”, her intimate version of “Send in the Clowns”, as well as several other top-ten hits from gold- and platinum-selling albums.

 

Tickets for Judy Collins are $45 and $55. Tickets and can be purchased by calling 616-459-2224, visiting the box office at 24 Ransom Ave. NE, or purchased online at scmc-online.org .

 

GVSU Opera Theatre presents ‘Oklahoma!’ in early February

Entertainment, Upcoming Events, ,

By Matthew Makowski, Grand Valley State University

 

Grand Valley State University Opera Theatre students will bring to life Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration, Oklahoma!, which remains, in many ways, their most innovative work, having set the standards and established the rules of musical theater still being followed today.

 

Set in the West just after the turn of the century, the high-spirited rivalry between the local farmers and cowboys provides the colorful background against which Curly, a handsome cowboy, and Laurey, a winsome farm girl, play out their love story. Although the road to true love never runs smoothly with these two headstrong romantics holding the reins, love’s journey is as bumpy as a surrey ride down a country road. Succeeding in making a new life together and beginning that new life in a brand-new state provides the ultimate climax for these characters in Oklahoma!

  • What: Oklahoma!
  • When: Feb. 2, 3, 9, 10, at 7:30 pm; Feb. 4, 11, at 2 pm
  • Where: Louis Armstrong Theatre, Thomas J. and Marcia J. Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
  • Tickets: $14 for adults; $12 seniors and GVSU faculty, staff, alumni; $6 for students, groups — purchase tickets through the Louis Armstrong Theatre box office in-person Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., by calling 616.331.2300, or online at startickets.com

Meet the Employer: Tina from Alliance Home Health Services

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By West Michigan Works!

 

Employees at Alliance Home Health Care Services don’t just get a paycheck – they change peoples’ lives. Individuals who work here become part of clients’ lives, often assisting them through physically or emotionally tough times.

 

Home Health Aides visit clients to help with personal care, meals and light housework. The job requires individuals who are empathetic and dependable. A Home Health Aide’s schedule is very flexible. This is the perfect job for someone who can only work certain days and times.

 

To hear what it’s like to work at Alliance Home Health Services, meet their corporate talent manager, Tina Rozelle.

  1. What kind of person makes a great Home Health Aide?

Caring, reliable, dependable, willingness to work 1-on-1 with a client.

  1. Why should job seekers consider a job at Alliance?

We treat our staff with the utmost respect. We value them as individuals. We offer a more competitive compensation package than most private duty home care agencies.

  1. When a job seeker meets you at a hiring event, what questions do you want them to ask?

Ask me about our:

  • flexible schedules
  • insurance benefits
  • perks of being an employee with Alliance Home Health
  1. Can you share a story of a time when a caregivers’ work really impacted the life of their client?

Our caregivers are truly superheroes. They go above and beyond to deliver the highest level of care and respect to our clients.

 

We have a client who had to move out of her home. Our caregiver not only helped pack, clean and organize, he advocated for her as she had nowhere to go.

 

Fast forward: Our client has a new home. She recently called our office to tell us how she wouldn’t have survived the move without her caregiver. She said he was a “true companion during that uncertain time.” She was grateful for everything he did: helping bathe and dress, preparing meals and cleaning. He also taught her how to use a computer!

 

She was hesitant to have a home health aide but, “accepting help from (us) was the best decision she’s made because living at home without assistance wasn’t an option anymore.”

 

Meet Tina at Alliance Home Health Care’s upcoming hiring event!

 

Tuesday, January 30 – Grand Rapids

 

Employment Expertise is provided by West Michigan Works! Learn more about how they can help: visit westmiworks.org or your local Service Center.

 

World Affairs Council’s 2018 Great Decisions global discussion series begins Jan. 29

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William Dobson, chief international editor at National Public Radio, will talk on “Are Dictators Getting Smarter?: Media and Foreign Policy”. (Supplied)

WKTV Staff

news@wktv.org

 

Are dictators getting smarter? Is there such a thing as diplomacy in the age of Twitter? Is American global leadership on the wane?

 

These and more important topics will be the focus of the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan’s 2018 Great Decisions global discussion series, a series which bring leaders in international theory and action to Grand Rapids for lectures.

 

Starting on Monday, Jan. 29 — with the lecture topic “Are Dictators Getting Smarter?: Media and Foreign Policy”, with William Dobson, chief international editor at National Public Radio — the series will offer two options to attend. There will be a daytime lecture, noon-1 p.m. at the Calvin College Recital Hall in the Covenant Fine Arts Center, and then 6-7:15 p.m. at the Aquinas College Performing Arts Center.

 

There is a $10 admission fee per discussion, with no reservations needed and free parking. A series pass is available for $65 for all eight programs, and pass holders can attend either session for each speaker.

 

In the discussion “Are Dictators Getting Smarter? …”, Dobson’s lecture is described in supplied material as: “Democracy has fallen on tough times. Authoritarian regimes in Russia, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere are on the march, while the West seems to be taking a back seat. Are the world’s dictators getting more sophisticated in their repression? How do the world’s despots manipulate media to serve their own ends? In the age of Twitter and smart phones, can democracy keep up?”

 

Dobson, in addition to his work with NPR, is the author of The Dictator’s Learning Curve: Inside the Global Battle for Democracy, which examines the struggle between authoritarian regimes and the people who challenge them. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School and a masters degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University.

 

Discussions will continue through March 26.

 

“We call this edition of the Great Decisions series ‘Context for a Complex World’ because the amount of information coming our way these days is overwhelming,” Michael Van Denend, executive director of the World Affairs Council of Western Michigan, said in supplied material. “Through these presentations, we hope to help our community step back for a bit and ponder how we can engage thoughtfully in a complicated world.”

 

The Great Decisions format features a world-class expert leading each conversation, followed by an extensive question-answer session. The World Affairs Council is the local sponsor of these eight current foreign policy topics as determined by the New York City-based Foreign Policy Association. The Council has sponsored the series for more than 50 years.

 

The reminder of the 2018 series will feature:

 

Monday, Feb. 5: “China in the World: Conundrums of a Socialist Market Economy”, with Dr. Badrinath Rao, Associate Professor of Sociology and Asian Studies, Kettering University.

 

Monday, Feb. 12: “Trouble Brewing: Can the U.S. and Turkey Cooperate?”, with Dr. Sinan Ciddi, Director, Institute for Turkish Studies, Georgetown University.

 

Monday, Feb. 19: “The Right Bang for our Bucks: The U.S. Defense Budget”, with Dr. Stephanie Young, defense budget expert, RAND Corporation.

 

Monday, Feb. 26: “Is American Global Leadership Waning?”, with Dr. Amitav Acharya, UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance at the School of International Service, American University.

 

Monday, Mar. 12: “Putin, Russia, and the New Cold War?”, with Susan B. Glasser, Chief International Affairs Columnist, POLITICO and co-author of “Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin and the End of Revolution”.

 

Monday, Mar. 19: “South Africa at a Crossroads: Implications for U.S.-South Africa Relations”, with Desirée Cormier, Senior Director, Africa Practice, Albright Stonebridge Group (ASG).

 

Monday, Mar. 26: “Global Health: Equity, Ethics, and Eradication”, with Ambassador Mary Ann Peters (ret.), CEO, The Carter Center.

 

For more information on sessions, dates and times, as well as detailed information on speakers, visit worldmichigan.org .

 

WKTV features series of documentaries for National Holocaust Day

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In honor of National Holocaust Day, Saturday, Jan. 27, WKTV will be
showcasing three documentaries, featuring stories of Jewish families who lived in
Germany and surrounding countries during the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Starting at 6:30 p.m., we will be airing Scattered Seeds. This film tells the story of
two Holocaust survivors who were hidden in Nazi-ruled Europe for several years
until they migrated United States. Family and friends of these hidden children
sacrificed their own fates in hope that one day they would get to live fruitful lives.
At 7:30 p.m., we will be airing Hidden Treasures, a documentary that tells the story
of five families and their efforts to smuggle family heirlooms-hidden treasures-out of
Germany and Poland during World War II.
At 8 p.m., will be the documentary The Locket. Director Margaret Bilinsky relates
the experiences of her family in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. A locket that belonged
to an aunt who was killed in the Holocaust serves as a physical reminder of those
who did not survive.

Once a Rebel … Godfrey-Lee schools induct teams, teachers into Hall of Fame

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Godfrey-Lee Public Schools inducted four into its Hall of Fame, with the ceremony taking place Jan. 12 at Lee High School. (WKTV)

By K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Godfrey-Lee Public Schools inducted four into its Hall of Fame earlier this month, two individuals who made an impact in the classroom, one on the basketball court and in the community, and a series of cross country teams worthy of the name “Team of the Decade”.

 

The induction ceremony took place prior to a varsity boys basketball game on Jan. 12 at Lee High School, but as is the custom at the district, the inductees were not only athletes and athletic teams.

 

The team honored with entry to the Hall of Fame honor was actually not a single team, but a series of cross county teams — The  Team of the Decade of the 1970s, as it is often called.

 

Art Kraai, himself a member of the Hall of Fame, accepted the award for his teams. (WKTV)

While the teams and team members were honored, it was their coach, Art Kraai, himself a member of the Hall of Fame, who accepted the award. Coach Kraai read off a long list of accomplishments for the Long Blue Line in dominate cross county seasons from 1971 to 1982, including the boys winning four state titles and the girls winning one — noting that it wasn’t until late in the run that girls even had state competitions.

 

One thing that unified all the teams, was the coach’s rallying cry, which he repeated as he closed his remarks: “Back in my day, we would say, ‘Coach, coach, open the door and let those Rebels on the floor’.”

 

Douglas Greenwold was a star Rebel in the class room and on the basketball team. (WKTV)

First up of the individuals on the honor roll was Douglas Greenwold, who was a star Rebel in the class room and on the basketball team — being named valedictorian leading the Rebels to the 1960 state finals — and then went on to play on University of Michigan’s first Final Four team in 1964. He earned his bachelors and two masters degrees at U-M, and went on to a long career in business and a continuing career in religious studies, including as an author and a teacher.

 

James D. Skidmore brought a passion for teaching and head for accounting to Lee high school. (WKTV)

The next honoree was James D. Skidmore, who brought a passion for teaching and head for accounting to Lee high school. Skidmore earned a bachelors degree from Ferris Institute and a masters from Michigan State University before joining the Lee staff in 1958. As a Rebel, he not only taught bookkeeping and accounting but also was faculty advisor for the Echo yearbook, Arial student newspaper and the National Honor Society. His late wife, Sally, was also a teacher at Lee. Skidmore went on to a long and distinguished teaching career at Grand Rapids Community College before retiring in 1999. But you know that they say: once a Rebel, always a Rebel.

 

Since the early 1960s, Patricia Camp Bartlett has been involved with the high school and the school district in literally all levels. (WKTV)

The final individual honored was Patricia Camp Bartlett. Since the early 1960s, she has been involved with the high school and the school district in literally all levels. She attended Lee, graduating in 1965, with four years in the band and four years in the Future Teachers of American group — a harbinger of a career to come. After getting her bachelors degree from Michigan State, she returned to Lee as a teacher in 1969, later earned a masters degree, and went ton to spend 37 years in district classrooms. In 1990, she was  a state finalist for Michigan Teacher of the Year. After retiring in 2005, she remains active in the school district including as part of the Feeding America food distribution program at Lee high and currently serving on the Godfrey-Lee Education Foundation Board of Directors.

Kent County selects person from within to be new administrator/controller

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Wayman Britt is Kent County’s new administrator/controller.

This morning the Kent County Board of Commissioners promoted Interim County Administrator Wayman Britt to the role of Administrator/Controller. The unanimous (19-0) vote came after a year-long search for candidates across the country. Britt has been with Kent County since 2004, serving as management oversight for the Kent County Health Department, Community Action and Veterans Services.

 

In addition, he is the liaison for the State Department of Health and Human Services, and is responsible for several community initiatives such as the Kent County Family and Children’s Coordinating Council. “This was a comprehensive search that led to a clear-cut result: Wayman Britt is the best person for the job,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Jim Saalfeld. “I’ve worked with Wayman for the past seven years, and I am confident Kent County has selected an outstanding leader and Administrator. Wayman shows a steadfast commitment to our community, a collaborative nature, and impeccable ethical standards.”

 

Britt has been serving as the Interim County Administrator since July 2017. “The past seven months made me more certain that I wanted to serve our County as Administrator/Controller. I am humbled by the support I’ve received throughout the process and honored to be selected by the Board,” Britt said. “I will continue to serve the people of Kent County with passion and enthusiasm, and I’m confident we will continue to find innovative ways to provide residents with the great programs and services they’ve come to know.”

 

Chair Saalfeld assembled an Administrator/Controller Recruitment Subcommittee comprised of himself, current and former Commissioners, and current community leaders to lead the search process. The subcommittee used the search firm GovHR, which received nearly 70 applicants for the role. Subcommittee Chair Sandi Frost Steensma (who previously served as County Board Chair) was pleased with the outcome. “Wayman excelled during the interview process; he has a demonstrated track record of great leadership abilities,” she said. “He had great support from the community and leaders throughout Kent County. He is the right leader at the right time.”

 

Subcommittee member and Board of Commissioners’ Minority Party Vice-Chair Carol Hennessy echoed that sentiment. “I’ve received many calls and emails from residents showing their support for Wayman throughout this process. He is the right choice for this role.”

 

Prior to beginning his career with the County in 2004, Britt held several management positions at Steelcase, Inc. and Michigan National Bank – Central. He holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Michigan. Britt has served on numerous boards and councils, including the Gerald R. Ford Council Boy Scouts of America, Grand Rapids Community Foundation Board of Trustees, Grand Rapids Downtown Market Board of Directors, West Michigan Sports Commission, Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy Board and the Kent County Human Services Board.

Grand Rapids Public Museum opens new exhibit on same day as Ethnic Heritage Festival

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By Kate Moore

Public Museum’s Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations

 

Join the Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) on Feb. 3 to celebrate two exciting events, the opening of the new exhibit Water’s Extreme Journey and the 2018 Ethnic Heritage Festival.

 

Water’s Extreme Journey lets visitors become a water droplet to explore the watershed and learn about why conservation of water is so important.

 

Ethnic Heritage Festival is a day-long celebration of music, dance, crafts and food representing the various ethnic groups that call West Michigan home.

 

New Exhibit – Water’s Extreme Journey

In Water’s Extreme Journey, visitors will explore firsthand the science behind the water cycle. Through powerful interactives and local messaging, visitors realize that daily decisions can immediately improve the watershed in their own backyard.

 

Water’s Extreme Journey transforms the visitor into a drop of water entering a watershed, an area of land where water drains and collects into a shared reservoir. As visitors will discover, a watershed can be right in their own neighborhood, or as big as the Rocky Mountain region.

 

To explore the exhibition watershed, visitors voyage through rivers, lakes, wetlands, and even their homes, eventually reaching the healthy ocean. Water drops face many hurdles as they interact with humans. Does the farm they encounter use pesticides? Did someone get messy changing their oil? Clean choices keep our drops healthy and moving toward a clean ocean. Dirty choices send our drops down the urban storm drain to the unhealthy ocean, where they evaporate, condensate, and precipitation for another try.

 

The GRPM is adding a special addition to the exhibit all about the Grand River restoration. Six banners will show and tell you all about the Grand River, including the history of where the rapids went and the future plans for the river.

 

Admission to Water’s Extreme Journey and Ethnic Heritage Festival is free with general admission to the GRPM.

 

Museum members can be the first to see the new exhibit at the members only preview on Friday, Feb. 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. Members can RSVP for the member preview at grpm.org/Water.

 

Water’s Extreme Journey is sponsored by Meijer and Star 105.7.

 

This exhibit is brought to you by the citizens of Kent County and the voter approved millage.

 

Ethnic Heritage Festival

 

Ethnic Heritage Festival begins at 10 a.m. Feb. 3 and features a variety of organizations, performances, beer tastings and presentations. The Museum Café will feature ethnic food selections and there will be a special International Beer Tasting from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Museum. Event activities are included with general admission to the Museum. The International Beer Tasting is an additional $5 and open to those 21 and over. Tickets for the International Beer Tasting will be available for purchase at the Museum’s front desk on the day of the event.

 

The City of Grand Rapids and the surrounding region have a long standing history of diversity and various cultural traditions dating back from early explorers and fur traders, to modern day cultural rituals from new residents of the region.

 

Each booth will have various activities and displays for visitors to see and touch, learning more about each culture. Colorful performances will take place throughout the day in the Meijer Theater starting at 10 a.m.

 

The GRPM hosts two core exhibitions having a primary focus on diversity and culture: Newcomers: The People of This Place which highlights the ethnic groups that have settled the Grand Rapids area, and Anishinabek: The People of this Place which focuses on the Native American culture in the region.

ArtPrize winning artist creates poster for Festival of the Arts

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Artist Chris LaPorte at the unveiling of the 2018 Festival of the Arts poster.

Festival of the Arts co-chairs Melissa Bush and Jessi Nix Gould are excited to announce well-known artist Chris LaPorte as the 2018 Festival of the Arts poster artist.  In its 49th year in 2018, Festival is one of the longest running festivals in the state of Michigan and will be held June 1, 2 and 3 in downtown Grand Rapids.

 

“This year’s theme for Festival is celebrating the community through art, and Chris has really captured this in his work,” said Melissa Bush, 2018 Festival of the Arts Co-Chair. “Chris has been involved in the Regional Arts Exhibition for years, participates in Art on the Spot drawing caricatures and hosted an art class in his studio to help fundraise for Festival of the Arts.  He was an obvious choice for a poster artist.”

 

Chris LaPorte loves to draw and says drawing is always cool, no matter what your age or background. He has pursued drawing as a vocation his entire adult life, and has earned art degrees from Aquinas College, La Coste Ecole de Beaux Arts and the New York Academy of Art. He has taught drawing at GVSU, GRCC, Kendall College of Art and Design, and Aquinas College as well as educational institutions in New York and Michigan. He is also a past winner of ArtPrize, with his work “Calvary, American Officers, 1921” winning first-place in 2010.

 

Bush said she and her co-chair Jessi Nix Gould were looking for someone who represents the West Michigan community who had also been involved in Festival over the years.

 

“We are honored that Chris has created the artwork for this year’s poster,” said Jessi Nix Gould, 2018 Festival of the Arts Co-Chair. “His work perfectly embodies the event’s theme by representing the beautiful Grand Rapids city skyline, the movement of dancers in front of La Grande Vitesse and fun, playful colors indicating the spirit of festival.”

 

La Grande Vitesse was formally dedicated on June 14, 1969 and has since become the civic symbol that represents the City of Grand Rapids. The installation of the Calder inspired the first Festival of the Arts – a three-day community arts celebration to be held annually each year in June.  It began in 1970 and was originally sponsored by the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids.

 

Festival started with two stages, some artwork and a few food booths.  Today, Festival of the Arts covers much of downtown Grand Rapids with three performance stages, dozens of food booths, and endless art and activities for all ages.  In its 49th year, Festival of the Arts is one of the longest running festivals in the State of Michigan.

Harry Potter returns to Grand Rapids with ‘The Prisoner of Azkaban’

Entertainment, , ,
The Grand Rapids Symphony performs the music of “The Prisoner of Azkaban.”

The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns to DeVos Performance Hall with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert, the third film in the Harry Potter series. On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10, 2018, the Grand Rapids Symphony will perform the magical score live from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen. The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, which is another magical experience from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, kicked off in June 2016 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and is scheduled to include hundreds of performances across more than 35 countries around the world through 2018.

 

“When the Grand Rapids Symphony brought the Harry Potter Film Concert Series to town last year, we sold out three performances of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Concert,” said Peter Perez, President and CEO of the Grand Rapids Symphony. “Afterwards, the Symphony’s Facebook page lit up with comments from fans who said it was ‘absolutely phenomenal.’ We’re thrilled to be able to bring the Harry Potter Film Concert Series back to DeVos Performance Hall along with our fabulous Grand Rapids Symphony.”

 

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry, Ron and Hermione, now teenagers, return for their third year at Hogwarts, where they are forced to face escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who seems to pose a great threat to Harry. Harry and his friends spend their third year learning how to handle a half-horse, half-eagle creature known as a Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts and master the art of Divination. They also visit the wizarding village of Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack, which is considered the most haunted dwelling in Britain. In addition to these new experiences, Harry faces a werewolf and must overcome the threats of the soul-sucking Dementors. With his best friends, Harry tackles advanced magic, crosses the barriers of time and impacts the course of life-changing events for those around him.

 

Earning an Oscar-nomination for the score, the spellbinding and incredible music composed by John Williams became an instant classic, conjuring beautiful, soaring motifs that continue the adventures of Harry Potter on his magical journey.

 

This film concert series has been created by CineConcerts, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and will be conducted by its creator and Producer, Justin Freer. He explains, “The Harry Potter film series continues to be a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon that delights millions of fans around the world. It is with great pleasure that we introduced for the first time ever an opportunity to experience the award-winning music scores played live by a symphony orchestra, all while the beloved film is simultaneously projected onto the big screen. This will be another unforgettable event.”

 

Brady Beaubien of CineConcerts and Concert Producer for the Harry Potter Film Concert Series added, “Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the world, and we hope that by performing this incredible music with the full movie, audiences will enjoy returning to this world, and to the many wonderful magical characters that inhabit it.”

 

Tickets, starting at $18, are now on sale for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert. Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org for tickets for performances at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.

 

For more information on the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, please visit www.harrypotterinconcert.com.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport to host 2018 Runway 5K

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, Sports, , ,

By Tara Hernandez

Gerald R. Ford International Airport

 

After a popular 2017 race that sold out in five days and raised thousands for charity, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) is once again hosting a Runway 5K on airport grounds.

 

The Runway 5K is slated for the morning of Saturday, Oct. 6. The race will begin near the cargo facilities, under a runway tunnel, loop around by the airport fire station, and wrap around on Runway 8L/26R – GFIA’s general aviation runway. The Airport’s two other commercial aviation runways will still be operational.

 

“We are excited to bring back the Runway 5K after such a successful 2017 event. We had such great feedback from the community and sponsors that had a chance to participate in an event normally being used for aircraft, that we had to bring it back,” said GFIA President & CEO Jim Gill. “We are giving West Michigan a chance to experience our facility like never before. This event will not only encourage family time, but it is promoting a healthy lifestyle and aviation as well as benefitting a wonderful local charity.”

 

GFIA is hosting the event for a small registration fee, but the Airport has selected Make-A-Wish Michigan as its charity of choice to donate the proceeds for the second straight year. 2017’s event raised $10,000 for Make-A-Wish Michigan.

 

“We’re delighted that the Gerald R. Ford International Airport is hosting this event once again to benefit Make-A-Wish Michigan,” said Karen Davis, president & CEO of Make-A-Wish Michigan. “It’s through the generous support of our Michigan community, like our friends at GFIA, that we are able to grant life-changing wishes to Michigan children and bring hope, strength and joy at a time when they need it most.”

 

“Make-A-Wish Michigan does tremendous work in our community, and we are thrilled to be able to donate proceeds from our Runway 5K to this organization,” said Gill. “We see Make-A-Wish kids in our airport on a regular basis, and although we wish that was less frequent; we are happy to help grant more wishes in West Michigan through this donation.”

 

Participants are encouraged to sign up early as registration prices vary. Registration for the race starts at $32/person, but goes up as capacity fills. Registration includes a t-shirt, post-race snacks/beverages, awards for top finishers, and other giveaways. For those wanting to participate in a one-mile fun run/walk, the fee starts at $18/person and goes up as capacity fills. For those wanting to participate in a one-mile fun run/walk, the fee starts at $18/person and goes up as capacity fills. Participants can register at: http://triviumracing.com/event/runway5k2018

 

Gezon Park survey shows a mix of desired amenities from splash pads to walking trails

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Mark Robertson, of Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio, talks to residents about what they would like to see at Gezon Park.

Through a survey and a recent meeting with residents, Wyoming City officials said it appears that the new master plan for Gezon Park will need to have a balance between what is at the park now and the amenities some would like to see added.

 

Last week, the City of Wyoming’s Department of Parks and Recreation hosted its first public meeting on the new master plan for Gezon Park at the KDL Wyoming Branch. With about 70 residents in attendance, representatives from Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio revealed the results of an online survey the city conducted earlier. Mark Robertson, of Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio, noted the survey received more than 1,200 responses, which was pretty impressive.

 

Community Services Director Rebecca Rynbrandt said the city was pleased with the responses and the turnout at the Jan. 18 meeting. She stated at the meeting, that three proposed plans will be presented at the second public meeting set for Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at Metro Health University of Michigan Health Conference Center, 2225 Main St., located in the hospital. The master plan proposal will then be sent to the Wyoming Planning Commission and finally to the Wyoming City Council for final approval.

 

Gezon Park is located between Gezon Parkway and 52nd Street with entrances along both roads. The 94-acre park, which according to Rynbrandt was a former well field, has only about 52 acres available for development due to the existing water tower and other natural land features.

 

Area residents listen as representatives from Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio discuss recent survey results for Gezon Park.

Many at the Jan. 18 public meeting who spoke indicated that they lived near the park and were happy the way the park is now, with the center area mostly left natural and a variety of animals living in the park.

 

The survey results indicated a mix of desired uses with the top ones being nature/natural trails, walking, playgrounds and splash pads. Gezon Park does have a playground at the 52nd Street entrance with unpaved walking trails. At the Gezon Parkway entrance, there are ballfields.

 

The survey also showed that the largest respondents were in the ages of 38-55 and lived more than a mile away from the park.

 

A large number of respondents indicated they had children or visited parks with children. For those with children, the top organized programs were nature education along with baseball and soccer. Non-organized activities included playgrounds, splash pads, walking/hiking paths and biking paths/trails.

 

As for personal non-organized activities respondents visited a park for, walking, relaxation and trails ranked high with baseball being the number one organized activity. Also it was indicated that facilities should be provided for large gatherings.

 

To see the complete results, click here.

 

Most of those who spoke at the meeting said they enjoy the quiet of the park and want to preserve the wooded area with the trails. Several indicated some parking issues that have developed due to park usage. A couple of residents said they would not mind more development on either end of the park, but wanted to keep the center mostly natural. One person did mention the possibility of a dog park but several residents raised concerns about property values.

Cat of the week: Butters

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Non-Profits, Pets/Animals, , , , ,
Who could possibly resist that face?

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).

 

In October of 2017, volunteer and one-woman-rescue-machine Sandi D. came out to the clinic with her latest charge, although it was literally two years in the making—so the trip was quite the momentous occasion! Born in the spring of 2014, Butters was hard-pressed to become domesticated and really didn’t care for the company of other cats whatsoever, which made Sandi’s job of rehabbing and rehoming him all the more difficult. In fact, she wasn’t able to gain his trust enough to have him neutered until this fall, so by the time we were able to take him into our program in November, he was sporting some pretty chubby cheeks.

 

It took several weeks for Butters to be, well, buttered up into fully immersing himself in the Crash’s experience, however, once he figured out that indoor life was pretty darn awesome, he simply melted into the warm and comforting arms of the volunteers—and we discovered how much this big boy likes being carried around like a baby. He morphed from a shy guy to an attention-grabbing, affection-hogging hunk o’cat! When people aren’t around he is more than content to just chill on the windowsill and watch the birds, but his real passion is anything and everything HUMAN!

 

He would do very well in a home with others of the feline kind, but honestly, as long as there is at least one person to offer him a lap to lay on and a shoulder to rest his head on whilst being cradled in enveloping arms, he will think he is in heaven! Really, his wish list is pretty basic and minimal, so it shouldn’t be difficult to grant him what he desires.

More about Butters

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.

School News Network: When learners become the teachers

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From left, Elijah Kibbe, seniorJacky Garcia, junior Luke McGee and seniors Adela Campos and Jackie Lopez participate in a student session to provide input future education efforts. (Photos courtesy of School News Network)

By Erin Albanese

School News Network

 

To explain how he learns best, Lee High School sophomore Elijah Kibbe described studying all the ingredients for ice cream treats before he started working at Dairy Queen.

 

“The first day I got there I messed up everything, even though I had studied how to make a Royal Oreo Blizzard,” Elijah recounted on a recent student panel. “I still messed up every time I had to put the cocoa fudge in the middle. … I didn’t have experience that you have to put the machine to 80 when you make the Oreo Blizzard, or you have to put the machine at 20 when you make a strawberry shake.

 

“You can have all the information in the world, but if you do not have any experience in it, you can’t do anything with it,” he concluded. “That’s what I learned.”

 

Philadelphia educators Alex McDonnell and ginger Fifer are helping the district embed the “6cs” into education

What Elijah was putting into his own words, said Philadelphia educator Ginger Fifer, who is partnering with the district on education reform efforts, is that teachers should not be “the sage on the stage” but “the guide on the side.”

 

Five Lee High students mentioned relationships, experience, and the need to figure things out for themselves as what they value most in education, during an hour-long student discussion session at Kent ISD. Students shared thoughts with Godfrey-Lee teachers and administrators; educators Fifer and Alex McDonnell, both teachers at a private school in Philadelphia; and Andreas Bustamante, a postdoctoral research fellow at Temple University.

 

McDonnell said Elijah’s emphasis on “doing” things already had him thinking about how to make education more experiential.

 

“His Dairy Queen point was brilliant,” McDonnell said. “It reaffirms what I do try to do: have students play the role of expert.”

 

Godfrey-Lee educators listen to student talk about their educational experiences.

Human-Centered Design

 

The panel was part of Rebel U, the Godfrey-Lee staff’s annual professional development day. The district is undergoing a human-centered design process, funded by the Steelcase Foundation. It has grown to include work to embed the “6Cs,” as described in the book “Becoming Brilliant,” into education.

 

The 6Cs include collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation and confidence. Students’ input is being used in determining how to make those skills best fit into instruction. The project involved partnering with Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, co-author of “Becoming Brilliant,” whose team includes the Philadelphia educators.

 

The student panel was meant to examine ways to leverage student creativity to build on the district’s new learner profile, which gives all C’s the same strength in how to approach instruction.

 

“We learned a lot today from what the kids are saying they want and see as valuable that align really well with the 6Cs,” said Assistant Superintendent Carol Lautenbach, noting that students and teachers are becoming close to being on the same page with learning goals.

 

From left, sophomore Elijah Kibbe and senior Jacky Garcia share their thoughts on how they learn best

Student Voices in Learning

 

Junior Luke McGee said he likes interactive projects, like making a video or music about what they are learning. “I feel like that’s the way I personally best learn, when you able to interact and create something off the top of your own head from what you’ve been taught.”

 

Students said they love the chance to create things; they want ample opportunities to work one-on-one with teachers. They love the small, close-knit district that operates like a family.

 

They said they don’t like to ask questions in class — though that doesn’t mean they don’t have them. They said meaningful moments have made learning stick with them in various ways, mostly because they involved real-world experiences.

 

Let students need lead the way when it comes to technology, Elijah said.

 

“We have a (recording) studio at our school. Nobody teaches us how to use the studio. Nobody’s like, ‘Here’s the class and here’s the assignment.’ If that were the case, I’d probably never be in the studio. When you have that chance to go in there and learn for yourself and go through trials and errors on your own, I feel like you become a better person.

 

“I feel like it becomes more enjoyable to learn because you are doing it on your own,” he added. “Sometimes it gets boring just listening to somebody talk and just writing papers a lot.”

 

‘Push Us to Keep Going’

 

Teachers asked how they can know when letting learners struggle is too much. Students said as long as teachers are accessible, they appreciate a challenge. But they also don’t like to make mistakes.

 

“I do not like to struggle. I will scream,” admitted senior Jacky Garcia. “I am terrified of failing.”

 

Students also said they want to use different methods to reach solutions, and want to know the “why” of things. In math, said senior Adela Campos, teachers often move too fast.

 

“You guys could explain why you need to find y,” she said. “Why? Where did y come from?”

 

Admittedly, teens are an indecisive bunch, Adela admitted, when asked if they feel they are being prepared for the future. She said she wants teachers to help them learn about opportunities.

 

“As we keep growing we are learning about ourselves. It kind of comes down to talking to us. Take some time out of your day to help us figure out what we want to do.”

 

And finally, they told teachers, don’t give up on them.

 

“Push us. Push us to keep going,” Adela said. “Keep pushing us to go the extra mile. If we know you guys are there for us, we will keep going and have more motivation.”

On the shelf: ‘Stealing Buddha’s Dinner’ by Bich Minh Nguyen

Books, Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, , , ,

By Chris Byron, Grand Rapids Public Library

 

Stealing Buddha’s Dinner is a vivid, funny, charming memoir of growing up in the 1980s and assimilating into a new culture. Bich Minh Nguyen was eight months old in 1975 when her family fled Vietnam. She resettled in Grand Rapids, Mich. with her father, sister, grandmother, and two uncles. Under Jerry Ford’s encouragement, Grand Rapids was one of cities across the country that participated in the resettlement program of finding community sponsors to help the new immigrants.

 

Growing up, young Bich (pronounced “bit”) was torn between the old ways of her family and the new experiences of America. She writes about what is what like to grow up in a Vietnamese household in an “All-American” city.

 

Nguyen’s childhood resonates with the experience of two cultures’ clashing religions, habits, clothes, and, especially, foods. She wrestled with the conflicting desires for her grandmother’s native cooking and the junk food that “real” Americans ate. The allure of Pringles, Toll House Cookies and Popsicles become a metaphor for her struggle to fit in. Her father remarried a Latina woman and more cultural conflicts presented themselves. She wonders what happened to her real mother. Nguyen’s immigrant story is America’s story, retold this time in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

Along the way, local readers will recognize descriptions of Wyoming and Grand Rapids, of Meijer and Gas City, of Christian Reformed churches and public libraries. Stealing Buddha’s Dinner was selected by the Michigan Humanities Council as the 2009/10 “Great Michigan Read” and was chosen by the Library of Michigan as a Michigan Notable Book.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport breaks passenger record for fifth straight year

3-bottom, City of Kentwood,
These two young travelers were a part of the record-breaking year as they headed to Disney with their parents for Spring Break in April 2017.

 

By Tara Hernandez

Gerald R. Ford International Airport

 

The Gerald R. Ford International (GFIA) Airport has set a new all-time milestone, marking the fifth straight year that the Airport has seen record-setting growth and recording the best year in airport history.

 

In 2017, 2,811,622 passengers flew in and out of GFIA, an increase of 5.95-percent from 2016. December growth helped cap the record-setting year with an increase of 8.19-percent year-over- year. December 2016 saw 216,017 total passengers, but 2017 surpassed that with 233,702 total enplaned and deplaned passengers – also marking the best December ever. The Airport had growth in 11 of 12 months in 2017, and has had 53 months of growth over a 60-month period. The increases in that five-year period range from months of 1.22-percent growth to 14.95-percent.

 

The progression over the last five years started in 2013 with a passenger total of 2,237,979. In 2014, that number jumped to 2,335,105. In 2015, GFIA broke its own record once again with a passenger total record of 2,550,193 – a 9.21% year-over-year increase, and in 2016 the Airport served 2,653,630 passengers. The Airport has recorded the strongest growth in its 54-year history, serving over 12.5 million passengers from 2013-2017. Since opening its doors at its current location on 44th street, GFIA has served over 73-million passengers.

 

“This is an incredible milestone to accomplish, and we could not have done this without our tremendous staff, our loyal passengers, and all of our airline partners and airport tenants,” said GFIA President & CEO Jim Gill.

 

“We take pride in being a catalyst to the growing West Michigan community, and the investment our airline partners have made at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport has helped fuel this success. The airlines would not be investing here if they did not see an opportunity, and we continue to be successful because they are successful.”

 

March 2017 was the single busiest month in Airport history with 256,880 total passengers traveling through GFIA, breaking an all-time monthly record from July 2016.

 

Additionally, the airport has processed almost 2.5 billion pounds of cargo since 1967. Cargo totals for 2017 hit 88.2 million pounds – a 2.56-percent increase over 2016.

 

GFIA has invested in new facilities to accommodate the growing traffic by recently completing Phase One of the Gateway Transformation Project – an upgrade in space, retail, food and beverage, restrooms, finishes, amenities, and customer service offerings. The project’s main feature is the consolidated passenger security checkpoint which centralized and combined security screening to one main checkpoint in the Airport. Construction also included new terrazzo flooring, lighting fixtures, pre and post security business centers, a military welcome center, kids play areas, and much more.

 

Phase Two of the Gateway Transformation Project is slated to begin in Fall 2018 with construction taking place at the airline ticket counters, baggage claim area, and ‘front of house’ area.

 

“As we continue to grow in traffic it is imperative that our facilities keep up with our passenger demand,” said Gill. “Our passengers keep coming back because we listen to their wants and needs, and as they do we will continue to do our part to improve our amenities, technology, customer service and infrastructure. We are excited to see what the future holds, and we hope to add more growth in the years to come. Our 2020 Vision is to hit the three million passenger mark.”

 

The Airport will be celebrating this historic passenger record with daily surprises and giveaways by ‘paying it forward’ to passengers throughout the next week. GFIA Facebook ‘paying it forward’ to passengers throughout the next week. GFIA Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeraldRFordInternationalAirport) and Twitter (@FlyGRFord) will have updates on these promotions.

 

Monthly passenger statistics are available on our website: http://www.grr.org/History.php

Festival of the Arts to reveal 2018 poster this Thursday

Entertainment,
Festival of the Arts will reveal its 2018 poster artist at a meet-and-greet and poster reveal event Thursday, Jan. 25, at 9 a.m. at Grand Rapids City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW.
The 2018 Festival Co-Chairs Melissa Bush and Jessi Nix Gould said the event is open to public with friends and volunteers of Festival encouraged to stop by and meet this year’s artist and check out the 2018 poster.
Always held the first full weekend of June, this year’s event will run June 1, 2 and 3 in downtown Grand Rapids. This year marks the 49th annual Festival of the Arts, making it one of the longest running festivals in the state of Michigan.
Posters from previous years are all on display at City Hall and will be available for photos and video at the event.
 Visit http://festivalgr.org/ for more information.

6th annual Festival continues to focus on local playwrights, directors, composers and performers

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GEM Theatrics, featuring Gary E. Mitchell and Mary Beth Quillen, will be performing “2 Across: A Comedy of Crosswords and Romantic” Feb. 16- 18. (Photo by Terri Foley)

By Mary Beth Quillin

 

The Lake Effect Fringe Festival kicks off its 6th season of bringing new theatre to West Michigan all through the month of February on Thursday, Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. with a performance by No Outlet Improv.

 

Troupe members Nick Milbratz, Kristen Hirtsch, Sean Francis, Eirann Betka, and T.J. Corbett bring short-form, fast-paced, interactive fun to audiences of all ages.  No Outlet is a Grand Rapids original entertainment group that is working throughout West Michigan to promote and perform improvisational theater.

 

There is a full calendar of events that are guaranteed to have something for everybody scheduled at the Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids throughout the month of February, right into early March.  Again this year, Dog Story’s popular Comedy Outlet Mondays will continue throughout the Festival (Feb. 5, 12, 19 & 26) at 7 p.m. each Monday night, for the low price of just $6 Comedy Outlet Mondays (COM) is an experimental comedy hub in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids. From 7-8 p.m., audiences only pay $6 to watch a variety of local artists performing brand new comedy from improv, to sketch, to puppets and music and beyond!

The second hour opens up the stage for those who wish to watch, or participate in, a free open comedy lab. Here, anyone can try new games, network, and may even be inspired to create an act and return as a performer. COM has become an ongoing circuit of performing, playing, producing, and polishing, all leading back to establishing new artists/art forms in Grand Rapids. It is brought to the community by No Outlet Improv Troupe and Dog Story Theater.

 

This year’s full schedule includes:

 

Auditions!! – Jan. 30

 

The 10 Minute Plays and 24-Hour Theatre will be holding auditions at the Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids on January 30 at 7 p.m.  More info is available on the Dog Story Theater website; www.dogstorytheater.com

 

 

Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company – Feb. 2, 3 at 8 p.m. and 4  at 3 p.m.

 

The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company will present The Knight of the Burning Pestle, by Francis Beaumont; this play within a play is a 1607 burlesque of citizen drama and chivalric romance.  Pigeon Creek’s productions present Shakespeare and his contemporaries’ works in a lively, audience-interactive, and accessible atmosphere that brings the plays to life for modern audiences.  This play by one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries blurs the boundaries between audience and actors with absurd comedy. Join us for all of the fun!  The Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company is Michigan’s only year-round, touring Shakespeare Company.

 

 

The Brutal Sea – Feb. 8 & 9  at 8 p.m. and Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.

Local group The Brutal Sea presents Chaos & Entropy, by local playwrights Kimmy Snyder and Declan Maher;  a multidisciplinary collage. It involves short plays, sketch and improv comedy, performance art, video content, and poetry. This piece offers the audience a space for emotional exploration, catharsis, laughter, and expressions of hope and forgiveness.  It contains strong language and is not suitable for children.

 

 

Last year’s production of “Love & Semiotics” at the Lake Effect Fringe Festival. (Photo by Hunter Pamer)

Dog Story Theater – Feb. 10 at 8 p.m.

 

24-Hour Theatre Local playwrights, directors and actors will work all day and present their completely original works to the audience at 8 p.m.  One performance only. (Actors interested in participating should attend auditions for the 10-Minute Plays on January 30 at 7 p.m.)

 

 

GEM Theatrics – Feb. 16 & 17 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 18 at 3 p.m.

 

The husband and wife performance team of Gary E. Mitchell and Mary Beth Quillin return to the LEFF with the Michigan premiere of 2 Across: A Comedy of Crosswords and Romance, by Jerry Mayer. The play first premiered at the Santa Monica Playhouse, in Southern California, in 2004. The Los Angeles Times said of the original Santa Monica production, “2 Across strives to entertain and succeeds admirably. This is a charming, character-driven comedy.”  Two strangers, a man and a woman, board a San Francisco BART train at 4:30 am. They’re alone in the car, each is married, and both are doing the New York Times crossword. She’s organized and sensible. He’s a free spirit.  She is a crossword pro, he always quits. When he tosses his puzzle away, she snaps, “Crosswords are a metaphor for life; those who finish, succeed, those who don’t, fail.” Boy meets girl, does boy get girl?

 

 

10-Minute Play Festival – February 22 & 23 @8:00 pm

Titles of plays will be announced soon! Local directors and local actors will take on scripts submitted by local playwrights for an evening of 10-Minute Plays produced by Hole in the Wall Theatre Company.

 

ACTORS: auditions will be held on Jan. 30 at Dog Story Theatre at 7 p.m. Directors need to plan to be present for these as well, so you can cast your shows.

 

Casting will be announced that week. Directors will be responsible to coordinate rehearsal schedules with their cast.

 

 

Hole in the Wall Theatre Company – Feb. 24 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 25 at 3 p.m.

 

J. Corbett leads Grand Rapids’ only Commedia Dell’Arte troupe in the original comedy, Yes, We’re Closed. A shopkeeper is suddenly locked out of his store, with the precious money he owes to a vicious loan shark locked inside…the neighborhood gets pulled into the madness, as desperate measures, scandalous revelations, and questionable prescriptions run wild in the streets.

 

 

Alternative Acts Theatre Company – Feb. 24 at 3 p.m.

 

Hole in the Wall presents the premiere production of Alternative Acts Theatre Company, a group of students from Aquinas College.  I’m So… is a theatrical exploration of the stigmas and societal noise surrounding mental health issues. One Performance Only.

 


No Outlet Improv – Mar. 1 at 8 p.m.

 

No Outlet Improv returns with one more fun evening of interactive improv! Final Festival Improv Event

 

 

The University Wits – March 2 & 3 at 8 p.m. and March 4 at 3 p.m.

 

The University Wits present The Last Five Years; a musical by Jason Robert Brown, directed by J.J. Lindke and starring Emily Diener and Steffan Copenhaver.
The story explores a five-year relationship between Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress. The show uses a form of storytelling in which Cathy’s story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning the show at the end of the marriage), and Jamie’s is told in chronological order (starting just after the couple have first met). The characters do not directly interact except for a wedding song in the middle as their timelines intersect.

 

 

The Lake Effect Fringe Festival seeks to highlight performer-focused theater in a non-traditional theater space, creating an intimate performance experience for audiences who can expect different seating configurations and differing levels of interaction with the performers at any given performance.  Along with the Dog Story Theater, organizing partners include; GEM Theatrics, Pigeon Creek Shakespeare Company, and The University Wits. All performances take place in the black box performance space of the Dog Story Theater, 7 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids.  Tickets for all events can be purchased in advance on the Dog Story Theatre’s website: www.dogstorytheater.com, and are $14/adults and $8/students and seniors.  Comedy Outlet Mondays are just $6.

Annual poetry contest puts out the call for submissions

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Azizi Jasper judges this year’s competition.

Celebrating its 50th year, the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition will again be accepting entries Feb. 1 – March 1.

 

In 1968, at the urging of the Dyer-Ives Foundation founder John Hunting, poet James Allen initiated the Dyer-Ives Poetry Contest. The contest was run by the foundation for 48 years In 2017, the Dyer-Ives Foundation endowed the contest and turned it over to the Grand Rapids Public Library.

 

“I’m glad I’m still around to see it,” Hunting continues, who founded the competition in 1968 at the urging of poet James Allen, a childhood friend of Hunting’s and at the time, a poetry professor at GVSU. Hunting, a poet himself, says he understands that “poets are sensitive people” and realized that “a little recognition can go a long way to encourage young poets.” Hunting’s conversations with Allen led to the formation of the competition’s mission, which is to “encourage excellence in writing and provide recognition for local work of high quality.” Many Kent County poets receive their first recognition from the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition.

 

The contest is open to all residents of Kent County and to students attending classes within Kent County including Grand Valley State University and the Kent Intermediate School District. Poems must be original and unpublished. It is free to enter and only one poem per person will be accepted.

 

Winners receive a cash prize along with being published in “Voices,” Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition publication. All winners will have the opportunity to read their poem during Festival of the Arts, which is June 1, 2, and 3. Awards and divisions are:

 

First Division — Kindergarten through Eighth Grade

• 1st Place $100

• 2nd Place $75

• 3rd Place $50

 

Second Division — High School through Undergraduate

• 1st Place $125

• 2nd Place $100

• 3rd Place $75

 

Third Division — Graduate Student through Adult

• 1st Place $150

• 2nd Place $125

• 3rd Place $100

 

Local poets of note comprise the first tier of judging for the competition as they decide which poems continue on to the national judge, who makes the final decisions. Spanning 50 years, the list of national judges reads like a who’s who in the poetry world, including luminaries such as William Stafford, Gwendolyn Brooks, Anne Sexton, James Wright, Diane Wakoski, Robert Bly, Naomi Shihab Nye, former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins, as well as former Grand Rapids Poet Laureates, Linda Nemec Foster and Patricia Clark.

 

Judging this year’s contest is author, community organizer and cultural advocate Azizi Jasper. Jasper has shared the stage with rapper/actor Common, poet Gil Scott Heron, Grammy winner Marvin Sapp, Detroit super-group Slum Village, renowned poet Saul Williams, and Min. Luis Farrakhan. He gave the keynote presentation at the Grand Rapids Rosa Parks statute dedication as well as recently dedicating a poem to Detroit Superproducer J-Dilla’s mother during the 5th annual Dilla Day at The Filmore.

 

Jasper is one of the founding members of Grand Rapids’ poetry collective The Diatribe and is one of the hosts of the largest weekly open mic set in Detroit (The Retort) and also curates a Thursday night show at Nandi’s Knowledge Cafe.

 

For more information about the Dyer-Ives Poetry Competition, visit grpl.org/dyer-ives/.

Kentwood names first female police captain at Commission ceremony

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Captain Stephanie Morningstar took the Oath of Office on January 16 as she was promoted from sergeant to captain. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

WKTV Staff

news@wktv.org 

 

The Kentwood Police Department has welcomed its first female police captain. Captain Stephanie Morningstar took the oath of office on January 16 as she was promoted from sergeant to captain. Morningstar joins Captain Michael Bockheim, who was promoted to captain in October.

 

“We are delighted to celebrate the well-deserved promotion of Stephanie to captain,” Kentwood Police Chief Thomas Hillen said in supplied material. “Stephanie was one of my first promotions to sergeant after I stepped into the Chief’s role. I’ve seen her work hard and watched her come a long way in our Department. I’m confident she’ll continue to accomplish great things in her duties as captain.”

 

Morningstar graduated from Grand Valley State University in 1996 with a degree in Criminal Justice. She started her career in Canton Township before accepting a position with Kentwood in 2000.

 

During her time with Kentwood, Morningstar has served in the Patrol Unit and Detective Bureau. She has also served as a field training officer and an honor guard member. She and her husband have two teenage sons. Morningstar is also an adjunct professor at the police academy at Grand Rapids Community College.

 

Kentwood police Captain Michael Bockheim. (Supplied)

In October 2017, the department also swore in Captain Bockheim. Bockheim is a 23-year veteran of the Kentwood Police Department, whose father is a retired officer of 30 years from the Grand Rapids Police Department. Bockheim has served in the Patrol Unit and Community Services Bureau; he has also served as a field training officer, canine officer, and Special Response Team member.

 

LocalFirst kicks off 15th anniversary celebration on annual meeting

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For 15 years, LocalFirst has been helping local businesses become stronger and educating consumers on why supporting local businesses matter. This Thursday, the organization will host its 8th Annual Meeting at the Goei Center.

 

According to LocalFirst Marketing Manager Mieke Stoub, the annual meeting will focus on the 2017 accomplishments of LocalFirst and what the organization’s plans are for 2018. Much of this will be included in LocalFirst Executive Director Elissa Hillary’s State of LocalFirst address. Also at the meeting, LocalFirst will be kicking off it year’s worth of programming to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

 

“Last year, we saw a 70 percent increase in minority owned businesses,” Stoub said, adding that many were aware of the 2015 Forbes article that had Grand Rapids ranked second at the bottom in the post “The cities where African-Americans are doing the best economically.”

 

“So we are really excited about that change of events,” Mieke said. “We also just see a happier group of people because they are supporting a local business.”

 

Stoub said the meeting is an excellent opportunity for community members to learn more about LocalFirst, which is an economic development non-profit, and its mission of supporting local businesses.

 

“Anyone is welcomed to attend and join us,” Mieke said. “Anyone who is new to LocalFirst, members, people of the general public..we would love it if visitors to our community were able to attend.”

 

Those not able to attend this Thursday’s event, on Feb. 8 will be the Lakeshore Annual Meeting and LocalMotion Awards at the CityFlats Hotel, 61 E. 7th St., Holland.

 

“We are moving our LocalMotion Awards out to the Lakeshore,” Stoub said. “Typically that has been a part of the annual meeting in Grand Rapids. This year we are honoring our Lakeshore businesses for being a force for good.”

 

Tickets for both the annual meeting in Grand Rapids and the one in the Lakeshore are each $40 pre-sale and $50 for at the door. For more information about LocalFirst and any of its upcoming events, visit www.localfirst.com.

Migrant Legal Aid program, State Sen. MacGregor on latest WKTV Journal: In Focus

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WKTV Staff

news@wktv.org

 

On the latest episode of In Focus, the Grand Rapids based Migrant Legal Aid organization, specifically director/attorney Teresa Hendricks and attorney Ben O’Hearn, discuss their group’s work to protect migrant workers’ legal rights and to give voice to a sometimes silent portion of our community.

 

Also on the episode, Michigan State Sen. Peter MacGregor (R-28th District, which includes the City of Wyoming) talks with host Ken Norris about his work for efficient funding for the state’s foster care system as well as subjects ranging from the state’s term limits law to his volunteer work for “Volley for Mitchell”, a charity volleyball tournament which has raised more than $100,000 for Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy.

 

 

 

The entire episode of “WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.

The episode will continue its two week run Tuesday, Jan. 22 , at 6:30 p.m., and will again air on Thursday, also at 6:30 p.m., on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.