How Carol Sheets Changed Wyoming Forever

By Janice Limbaugh

As with any sudden passing, conveying the news to family, friends and associates is as difficult as it is shocking. Such is the case with former Wyoming Mayor Carol Sheets who died on Sunday from a massive heart attack at age 69. Carol was living in Florida for the winter with Alan, her husband of over 50 years.

Yet as quickly as the sadness settles, remarks are made – endearing, inspiring, and sure – that Carol Sheets lived as a remarkable woman. Without a doubt, her friends and community colleagues agree that Carol was special. She shared a beautiful singing voice in church. People gravitated to her smiling face and positive disposition. She understood what it meant to be a trustworthy friend. Carol was not only a devoted wife, a mother of six, and a grandmother of 21,  but also a positive force in this community as a public school volunteer, an elected city council member for 12 years and as the first female Mayor for four years.

“Carol was passionate about our community and was a strong advocate for the City of Wyoming,” says Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll. “She worked to build consensus and to address some of the pressing issues facing us. She will be missed.”

“Carol cared so much for this city. She definitely was passionate about wanting positive things to happen here,” says Eric Tomkins, Wyoming Parks and Recreation supervisor and Carol’s colleague since the 1990s. “This is a big loss for this community.”

It was an impulse and her passion for improving Wyoming that prompted Carol to pick up the phone one day in the early 2000s and make a phone call to Metro Hospital officials.  According to Wyoming City Councilman Rich Pastoor, Carol immediately placed the call when it was announced that officials were looking to relocate the hospital from the city of Grand Rapids.

“She said, ‘We’ve got a piece of land here for you that you might want to take a look at,'” Pastoor recalls. “It was a big coup at the time too because all the major hospitals and medical facilities were relocating downtown. But she convinced them to relocate here instead.

“She had many more accomplishments while serving the city but that was by far her greatest one. People are going to benefit from that decision of hers for years to come,” he said.

Mike Faas, president and CEO of Metro Health shares similar sentiments.

“The Metro Health family was saddened to hear of Carol’s passing. She played a valuable role in our move to Wyoming in 2007. She was an advocate for and supporter of Metro. As Mayor of Wyoming, Carol worked to ensure a bright and successful future for the City of Wyoming and its residents. We are forever indebted to her for supporting the vision of Metro Health Village and for encouraging us throughout our building and moving efforts. We will keep her family and friends in our hearts and minds at this difficult time.”

Throughout her career in community service, Carol worked closely with the Parks and Recreation department on a variety of initial projects including the Wyoming Festival, Celebrate Wyoming, and the Splash Pad at Lamaar Park. According to Tomkins, she was a a big advocate to getting that amenity in place.

“Carol was passionate about the city, but her extreme passion were children – not just her own, but the children of the community,” he says. “She saw the need for the youth of the community to have resources of hope, especially during the economic downturn Wyoming experienced when the GM plant closed.”

Tomkin adds that the Splash Pad is the most popular amenity in Wyoming Parks and Recreation department today. “She was mayor at that time and saw the importance of making that happen,” he says.

For Lillian VanderVeen, knowing Carol Sheets changed her life.

“I met Carol shortly before her city council campaign,” she recalls. “She was such a force of good, I decided to work for her on it.”

It didn’t take long for a real friendship to grow between the two and last all these years. “She was so trustworthy as a friend, I could talk to her about anything and know it was in safekeeping. She was a true friend of mine.”

Because Carol “loved Wyoming with a passion,” she always wanted the city to have a historical museum, says Dorothy Simon-Tibbe, local historian. “She worked hard to save a Methodist Church circa 1880 from demolition.

“It used to stand where CVS is now on Byron Center and 56th. She wanted to move it to the Metro Village complex but it didn’t work out. Since then, she’s been very supportive in establishing  the historical society of Wyoming.”

Simon-Tibbe says the two were friends for over 40 years, living in the same neighborhood and  being fellow cheerleaders for the city of Wyoming. “We ran in the same circles supporting our community, but Carol accomplished much more for the city than I did.”

Simon-Tibbe credits Carol’s accomplishments on her loving, outgoing personality and always having good things to say to others. Without a doubt and much conviction, she adds, “We are all born to die, some sooner than others. Carol is reaping her reward right now.”

“You’d never forget her if you had met her,” says City Councilman Rich Pastoor. “She encouraged me to run for city council back in 2001 and I’m glad I listened to her because it’s been a very rewarding decision for me.

“I considered her one of my closest friends in city government.”

Her genuine smile warmed friends and strangers alike. Now former Mayor Carol Sheets will always be remembered and embraced for her dedication and passion to the people in her community.

Kentwood hosts annual tree lighting

Photos by Pat Moll

New Technology aids firefighters

By Melissa Sukiennik

A fire erupts downtown, the bell rings through the entire station, and men and woman jump into action. The life of the firefighter is about fighting fires, and so much more. Rebecca Wood started as an on-call firefighter for two years, and has now been full time for three years. She says she remembers the first fire she ever fought. “I remember how hot it was, and not being able to see anything. The initial feeling was I wanna get out of here, then a few seconds later your training starts to kick in and it’s fine,” Wood said.

While staying at the Kentwood Fire Station for their 24 hour shifts they become like a close knit family.  It is very rare to find a job where everyone loves what they are doing, and that’s what Woods has found. When waiting for a call, she hangs out at the station. They have time for working out which is strongly recommended, getting food, sleeping, joking around with their station family. To keep their living area clean they have these exhaust hoses that connect to the engines till they leave the station so the exhaust doesn’t end up in their living space.

They have these new dispatch laptops that go in the engines and offices. They are very helpful to them because it shows where units are so they can pick the closest unit for the job. These laptops also give them the ability to see what the call is, and any information that would cause harm to them at the scene such as chemicals, or behavior problems. When they get the call they go to their engine and put on all their equipment. This makes it easier and faster for them by putting the oxygen packs in their seats almost as if they are putting on a seat belt.

When they get to the fire and go in to find people stuck in the building, they use a creative tool that they call the tick.  It’s a scanner that views thermal energy, so you can find people in a smoke filled room. To keep them safe they have a mask hooked up to an oxygen tank. In the mask they see three lights which tell you how much oxygen you have, and it will vibrate when you are very low and need to get out immediately. Not only does it warn you if your oxygen is getting low, it sets off an alarm for your partners to help you. Wood’s partner Steve Cashion said, “the alarm goes off on your tank if you are inactive for about 40 seconds.” This is so your team can find you if you have fallen and can’t get up, or if you are injured and need help.

They don’t just go on calls for fires, a lot of their calls are for medical reasons.  Deputy Chief Greg Ginebaugh says, “Rebecca just has a way of dealing with patients, and their families.” After getting information and making sure the families are okay, they have reports to fill out. They used to have to write out their reports after every call, now it is all electronic.  That makes it easier for them, and helps the going green aspect as well. 

Other ways they get involved with the community are by going to local elementary schools, making appearances at block parties, parades, and they even have a camp for burn victims. It’s a camp for children ages 5-19 who have been burned from fires. It takes place near the Portage area, and is one week during the summer. “It’s initially shocking, but we call them survivors at camp,” Woods said. They have a chance to be themselves and not worry what other kids think about them, while having fun and meeting new friends.

As you can see Firefighter’s don’t just fight fires. They have new technology that helps them to do their job, save families, and brighten up the kid’s days.