This week’s Photos of the Week come from Wyoming resident Tom De Vette, owner of Tom De Vette Photography. Tom often can be seen taking pictures at many Wyoming and Kentwood events. On Aug. 27, he decided to go visit a favorite place from his past, Rosie’s Diner in Rockford. “I had some pretty good memories and good meals there. Today, it is empty and in poor shape as you can see,” Tom wrote on his Facebook page where he posted these photos.
Originally opened in Little Ferry, New Jersey in the 1940s, Rosie’s Diner became famous in the lat 1970s for a Bounty commercial featuring actress Nancy Walker who ran around the dinner cleaning up customer messes with the “quicker-picker-upper.” Other commercials for Sony, Pepsi, and Ethan Allen also were filmed in the dinner.
In 1991, artist Jerry Berta purchased Rosie’s Diner and brought the iconic dining car to Michigan, where he had one 1947 Jerry O’Mahoney Dining Car. In 1994, Berta would add a 1952 Silk City dining car and later would have a replica dining car added to the same site.
In 2006, Berta sold the entire diner site to another couple which had the location featured on several national TV programs including Food Network’s Diners, Drive-in and Dives. The restaurant closed in 2011.
While there have been efforts to revitalize the site, since 2011 — outside of a car show in 2014 — it has mostly been abandoned.
If you have a photo you would like considered for Photo of the Week, please send it to WKTV Journal Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma at joanne@wktv.org.
By Officer Jenni Eby Wyoming Department of Public Safety
Welcome to the Traffic Tuesday question. Each week, the question will be posted on Tuesday, and the answer posted Thursday.
Since there is nation-wide increase in patrols for impaired drivers currently going on, we’re going to focus on drunk driving this week. Most people know that driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher is illegal. However, can you be arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level lower than .08?
Marion Charles Gray, an Army Medic who was with the first waves of invasion forces to hit Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6, 1944, passed away in 2015. (U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs)
The 75th anniversary of the end of World War II — coming this week on Sept. 2 — will be commemorated locally with virtual ceremonies and a socially distant Grand Rapids area flyover of war-era military aircraft.
The Grand Rapids Greatest Day Celebration Committee and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and Museum will host two days of celebration and remembrance of the “Greatest Generation” — Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, or whose labor helped win the war — starting today, Tuesday, Sept. 1 and continuing Wednesday, Sept. 2.
On Sept. 2, 1945, with the Japanese and American signing of the Instrument of Surrender aboard the U.S. Navy battleship the USS Missouri, World War II was officially over.
The local events will begin today, Sept. 1, however, when there will be an “In Memoriam Remembrance and Bell Ringing”, at the Ford Museum, with guest speaker Jim DeFelice, beginning at 6 p.m. The event will be live-streamed on the museum’s Facebook Live page.
Promotional material for the event states: “Hear master storyteller (and) NY Times Bestselling author Jim DeFelice, known for his vivid, raw, and powerful portrayals of modern American military heroes, as he honors those who gave their life during the Second World War.”
The celebration will continue Sept. 2, at about 6 p.m., with the Grand Rapids area portion of a planned flyover of a three restored military aircraft: a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, a Douglas C-47 Skytrain military transport, and a North American B-25 Mitchell medium bomber. (See map below for approximate times and route.)
The planes, traveling to Grand Rapids from the Yankee Air Museum in Belleville, are set to make a pass along the Grand River, from north to south, near downtown Grand Rapids, and are expected then make at least one pass over the Wyoming and Kentwood area by flying over the Grand Rapids Veterans Outpatient Clinic in Wyoming before exiting the area.
The celebration will conclude with a another virtual event, “Countdown to 1945 with Chris Wallace” on Sept. 2, at 7 p.m., and also live-streamed on the museum’s Facebook Live page.
A veteran journalist and Fox News Sunday anchor, Wallace will be the keynote speaker of the Greatest Generation Day Celebration. According to supplied material, he will discuss his recently published book, “Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the Atomic Bomb and the 116 Days That Changed the World.”
“Countdown 1945” delivers a behind-the-scenes account of the 116 days leading to the bombing on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and “goes beyond just the atomic bomb and shares accounts of ordinary American and Japanese civilians in wartime.”
During his journalism career, Wallace has covered almost every major political event, and interviewed U.S. and world leaders, including seven American presidents. Throughout his 50-plus years in broadcasting, Wallace has won every major broadcast news award, including three Emmy Awards and the Peabody Award.
The route of the planned B-17, C-47 and B-25 Military Plane Flyover on Wednesday, Sept. 2. (Greatest Generation Day Committee)
The West Michigan Tourist Association is excited to announce the winners in this year’s West Michigan Photo Contest. From a field of over 1,300 photo submissions, the top 50 were made available for public voting on the West Michigan Facebook Page. With over 15,000 votes cast, the five winning photos were earlier this month and can be found below.
The winning photos will all be featured in the 2021 West Michigan Carefree Travel Guide (available in January), along with prize packs of West Michigan goodies & experiences.
The West Michigan Photo Contest takes place each summer, with any interested photographers invited to share their photos of West Michigan for consideration.
2020 West Michigan Photo Contest Results:
Public Vote Winner: Todd Maertz at Marquette
Beach/Lake Category Winner: Fermin Manatad in South Haven
Nature Category Winner: David Dalrymple in Lovells
People Category Winner: Kristina Muir at Ludington
Downtown Category Winner: Noah Jurik at Traverse City
Jim and Bethel Robinette played key roles in the success and growth of what is now known as Robinette’s Apple Haus & Winery. This year, Jim and Bethel passed away, a month apart. Robinette’s is dedicating the maze design this year to honor and recognize Jim and Bethel’s hard work and dedication to making Robinette’s what it is today – an agritainment destination for the community to enjoy.
Jim and Bethel turned the family’s wholesale fruit farm into a farm market open to the public in the early 1970s and things just grew from there.
Jim served in the Merchant Marines at the end of World War II and served again in the army in the Korean War. He was named the “Apple Man of the Year” by the Michigan Pomesters in March of 2013. Jim and Bethel were married in 1962. Bethel’s degree in teaching helped her become a great person to lead school tours at the farm. She participated in the Farm Women’s Symposium and served as President of the Michigan State Horticultural Society Women’s Auxiliary.
Jim and Bethel Robinette are created for turning the family wholesale fruit farm into a farmer’s market open to the public. (Supplied/Robinette’s)
Jim and Bethel’s hobbies and interests included faithful involvement in their church, gardening, baking, singing in the choir and family ties. They loved greeting all the wonderful visitors to the farm and were genuinely interested in them as individuals.
They were married 58 years and were the third generation to farm at Robinette’s. The fourth, fifth, and now sixth generations are participating in the operation.
Barzilla and Minnie Robinette bought the farm in 1911 while Barzilla was in his mid-60s. He was followed by Edward, who was born in 1889. Jim came along in 1927 and has two siblings. Ed, Bill, and John came along in the 1960s. They are now the owners and operators of the farm with the help of all the family members, the newest member being a week old and the first in the 6th generation. Jim and Bethel will surely be missed by their family, friends, and customers.
This year’s maze design includes the 1929 Model A with the “big apple” in the truck bed. The Model A has been in many parades over the years. The maze officially opens Sept. 1.
Tickets may be purchased at the farm at 3142 4 Mile Rd, NE in Grand Rapids.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners last week approved $2 million, part of a nearly $115 million federal CARES Act grant awarded to Kent County earlier this year, to help county schools reopen safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. All county schools — public, private and charter — are eligible for the funding.
The grants are based on the number of students enrolled in each school in 2019, with schools receiving approximately $16 per student, according to supplied material. The grants provide schools with flexibility in how they use the funds as they continue to implement back-to-school plans.
“We are fortunate to have this federal funding and be able to provide our schools with the resources they need to ensure our children continue to learn and grow,” Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Mandy Bolter said in supplied material.
Eligible uses of the funding could include purchase of personal protection equipment and sanitation supplies, technology costs necessary for enhanced virtual learning, or to finance mental healthcare and nurses.
“We appreciate the support of the Kent County Board of Commissioners. This approval will help schools secure the needed resources and services to meet the needs of students during this pandemic,” Kent ISD Superintendent Ron Caniff said in supplied material.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners has previously allocated CARES funding for other programs to assist communities during the coronavirus pandemic, including the Kent County Small Business Recovery Program, shelter assistance, non-profit assistance, and a business personal protection equipment program.
For more information about the CARES Act and related Kent County efforts, visit here.
If you fish out a gun, or something like this old grenade, the Grand Rapids Police Department recommend you call your local police and let the experts handle it. (WKTV/Matt Kavaluskis)
Fishing on the Grand River in downtown Grand Rapids is nothing new. You can see anglers on the banks almost every day, year around.
But a not-so-new version of fishing for fish with the usual bait, fishing for anything metal with magnets, is turning up some unusual catches. From the usual odds and ends, to guns and even an unwisely disposed of military grenade, to — and we have the photograph to prove it — an antique metal toilet, one local magnet fisherman has stories to tell.
Magnet fishermen find the strangest things — like an antique toliet. (WKTV/Matt Kavaluskis)
“Me and my buddy have pulled up all sorts of stuff, including five guns and a World War II grenade,” Matt Kavaluskis, a lifelong Grand Rapidian and a community volunteer at WKTV Community Media, said recently. “And for that iron toilet, we used three magnets and fourth rope to haul it up.”
Kavaluskis said that while the usual finds — metal odds and ends, large and small — are usually just turned in for scrap. But we are not taking about a little scrap here and there. He points out that in addition to the toilet, they recovered a metal cross beam for a sign that weighed nearly 200 pounds.
His favorite magnet fishing spot, he says, is on either side of the river at the Sixth Street Bridge — “That’s were we have found the most stuff.”
Most guns fished out of the Grand River of of no value to the police, except for getting the off the streets. (WKTV/Matt Kavaluskis)
And those guns? That grande? They turned them over to the police, as a Grand Rapids Police Department spokesperson said they should do so.
“With the popularity of magnet fishing, things like this are going to happen,” Sgt. John Wittkowski said to WKTV. “… for the most part we just take them and melt them down. They are really just paperweights, but for obvious reasons we do not return them.”
Unlike in the movie or on television crime dramas, the guns are rarely of any real value to the police.
“Typically, they are in such poor condition, they are of no evidentiary value,” Wittkowski said. “We may check the serial number if that is visible, but usually they are not much use to police.”
But about that World War II antique which Kavaluskis and his buddy turned in …
“If we are taking about a grenade, that is more of a safety issue,” Wittkowski said. “That is very unusual. People occasionally will occasionally bring us things … say they found something when there were going through their father’s belongings. … They are usually inert, but you never know.”
But the bottom line advise from the police department is simple: if you find something like guns or things that could be explosives, call your local police and let the experts handle it.
Back to fishing for the everyday stuff: What might be the beginners tackle box look like for a magnet fisherman?
The usual haul from magnet fishing — odds and ends.(WKTV/Matt Kavaluskis)
“Magnets start at $29, go up to $300, depending on what pull weight you want,” Kavaluskis said. “Each magnet comes with 70 feet of rope, a carry box, set of gloves and a carabiner clip. There is like four or five really good magnet companies.”
And what is next on Kavaluskis’ magnet fishing to-do list? He says there is the motorcycle he and his buddy think they know the whereabouts of.
A Harvard Medical School graduate’s homecoming to West Michigan is expanding Metro Health – University of Michigan Health’s expertise in gastroenterology while strengthening an innovative regional approach to cancer treatment.
Antonia Henry, MD
An alumna of Grand Rapids City High, where she was valedictorian, Antonia Henry, MD, is an expert in a wide range of colon and rectal surgical procedures.
She will be based in Metro Health’s Gastroenterology Department, serving multiple departments across the health system. This will include Metro Health’s contributions to the Cancer Network of West Michigan, a groundbreaking joint venture launched this year in collaboration with Mercy Health and Michigan Medicine.
Henry completed her undergraduate studies in microbiology at the University of Michigan before going on to earn her medical degree at Harvard, consistently ranked as the world’s No. 1 medical school.
She completed a residency in general surgery and a fellowship in colon and rectal surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The Boston-based teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School is ranked by U.S. News & World Reports as the No. 6 cancer center in the nation. In addition to her medical degree, Henry earned a master’s degree in public health at Harvard.
“Dr. Henry was educated and trained at one of the most prestigious medical centers in the world. Her return to West Michigan exemplifies our commitment to bringing health care excellence to patients who live here,” said Rakesh Pai, MD, President of the Medical Group and Chief Population Health Officer, Metro Health – University of Michigan Health.
She is a fellow in the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Her areas of expertise include colonoscopy and flexible sigmoidoscopy; surgical treatment of colon and rectal cancer, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids, anal abscess and fistula, pilonidal disease, anal fissure, fecal incontinence, parastomal hernia, and stomal and rectal prolapse.
While at the University of Michigan, Henry was a finalist in the American Rhodes Scholarship competition and traveled to South Africa to conduct public health research on childhood asthma. She also served in the U.S. Navy as Commander, colorectal surgeon and medical director of the endoscopy unit at Naval Medical Center San Diego. She was deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of Operations Freedom’s Sentinel and Resolute Support and served as Director of Surgical Services at the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit.
Even with that wide range of experiences, Henry said her return to West Michigan holds significance for her.
“Delivering compassionate, high-quality, patient-centered care in my community is an honor and a privilege,” she said.
Grand Rapids Public Museum Vice President of Science and Education Dr. Stephanie Ogren and John Ball Zoo’s Bill Flannagan. (Supplied/Grand Rapids Public Museum)
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) is participating in various scientific research projects along the Grand River with local partners. The future restoration of the Grand River will include restoring the namesake rapids, and activation of sites along the Grand River identified as key locations for public engagement, including the GRPM.
The GRPM provides historical, cultural and scientific interpretation to the watershed including how our actions have affected and will continue to affect the future of natural and human systems. To tell the river restoration story, there are data and knowledge gaps that the Museum and partners are working to fill, including information about the historic and current fish community, how humans interact with the river, and how the restoration actions may change human behavior. The Museum and partner agencies have teamed up to answer some of these questions. The Museum’s research team is led by the GRPM’s scientists on staff, Dr. Stephanie Ogren, Vice President of Science and Education and Dr. Cory Redman, Science Curator.
“It’s a rewarding experience to collaborate with local partners while working on research projects that will help us better understand the dynamics of the Grand River, said Dr. Stephanie Ogren, the GRPM’s VP of Science and Education. “The Grand River is such an important resource and focal point within Grand Rapids, and it’s our goal to conserve and share it’s impact with the community.”
Angler Counts The Grand Rapids Public Museum, Encompass Socio-ecological Consulting LLC, John Ball Zoo and the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds are studying how the Grand River is used by anglers. The research will help document the long-term changes that occur when the city of Grand Rapids begins the river rehabilitation that will add two miles of rapid habitat throughout downtown Grand Rapids, as proposed by Grand Rapids White Water. The research uses a citizen science technique where professionals and the public work together to document the number of people fishing in the downtown reach, how they are fishing and the general locations. Citizen Science Training for Angler Counts will take place on September 8 at 6 p.m. (by registration only) on the Museum’s South lawn, nearest the Blue Bridge. To register for Citizen Science training please visit grpm.org/citizenscience. Training will take place outside in small groups. Masks are required and social distancing measures will be in place.
A Rainbow Darter (Supplied/Grand Rapids Public Museum)
Fish Community Assessment This annual assessment of fish species will provide a baseline dataset of fish communities in the area of the proposed restoration project. Fish communities are counted through electrofishing surveys. It is a partnership between Grand Valley Metro Council, Grand Valley State University, Encompass Socio-Ecological Consulting and the GRPM.
Lake Sturgeon Juvenile Assessment This research team is working to document young Lake Sturgeon in the Lower Grand River. If found, these fish would indicate successful reproduction and recruitment into the Grand River population. This research project is led by the Museum in partnership with Encompass Socio-Ecological Consulting, John Ball Zoo and Grand Valley Metro Council.
Macroinvertebrate Assessments Annual macroinvertebrate (aquatic insects) surveys are conducted near the Museum’s Spillman Carousel in the Grand River. This project was completed in partnership with the Grand Rapids White Water Summer Science and Leadership program in 2019. Due to COVID-19, the GRPM is completing the work this summer. The Museum is contributing to a large data collection effort, spearheaded by Grand Valley Metro council with many partners.
For more information on the GRPM’s research projects, please visit grpm.org.
Grand Rapids Public Museum Science Curator Dr. Cory Redman (sitting) and Cara Decker look through materials collected from the Grand River. (Supplied/Grand Rapids Public Museum)
Family time is sacred time and should be protected and respected.
American Artist Boyd K. Packer (1924-2015)
The City of Kentwood “Chalk the Lot” will allow families to create their own art projects. (WKTV historic photo)
Unleash your Inner Artist at ‘Chalk the Lot’
Grab the family and head down to Kentwood’s ‘Chalk the Lot‘ event. Join the City of Kentwood’s Park and Recreation Department at the Veterans Memorial Park’s new playground in Kentwood. Participants are asked to register in advance and will be provided an assigned spot and chalk. The public is invited to view the artwork while practicing proper social distancing. The event begins Friday, Aug. 29, at noon and ends Sunday evening.
The new playground at Ideal Park(WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Pay a Visit Ideal Park
Now that Ideal Park has officially been reopened, why not spend a few hours this weekend checking out the park’s new features. There’s a new playground with all kinds of accessible items such as swims and a new whirler. A shelter provides shade for those want to relax and new bathrooms! Make sure to take photo at the butterfly for the City of Wyoming’s butterfly photo contest.
Summer Sweep 2020
You have until Sept. 7 to head down to Grand Haven for the annual Summer Sweep. Merchants are moving their summer clearance inventory to the sidewalks and offering great deals. For more information about this event you can visit downtowngh.com or follow the entire adventure on Facebook at “Grand Haven Main Street.”
Alaska’s Denali mountain form the north with Reflection Pond in the foreground. (Wikipedia)
Fun Fact: High on the Mountain Top
Some say its the Rockies and others, the Appalachian Mountains, but in truth it is the Alaska Range that has the highest mountain in the United States. The mountain that tops them all: Denali at an elevation of 20,310 feet.
This year the Village of Mackinaw City and Greater Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce have a special guest of honor, an Afghanistan Vet, to spotlight in the 31st Annual Corvette Crossroads ‘Vette Parade Across the Mighty Mac. His name is Travis Snyder, a Marine, and he will be completing the final leg of a 300-mile hike from Holland to Mackinaw City, an effort he coordinated to bring awareness to Veteran Suicide and Mental Health.
Although Snyder does not officially arrive at his destination in Mackinaw City until Sunday, a Chamber Ambassador volunteer will transport him from the neighboring community of Pellston to participate in the parade and drive him back afterward to complete the last 22 miles of his hike. Organizers are excited about the partnership and believe the Corvette Crossroads ‘Vette Parade is the perfect opportunity to support Mr. Snyder and help spread the word about his important cause of bringing awareness to a sensitive issue.
Parade staging begins at Odawa Casino (1080 S. Nicolet St., Mackinaw City) on Aug. 29, at 6 p.m. Spectators can enjoy the show and cheer on the ‘Vettes (and Vets)’ at 7 p.m. along the parade route- South Huron Ave. to Central Avenue, right on Nicolet to the Mackinac Bridge.
Grass River Natural Area’s 2020 Riverfest continues online with an auction and virtual paddle raise through 11 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 3.
There are nearly 70 items to bid on with a total value of more than $20,000. Successful bidders may find themselves taking a three-hour private sail on the America’s Cup yacht, Stars and Stripes, playing golf at one of several courses, dining at various area restaurants, or at a private Italian dinner prepared for six guests, wearing beautiful jewelry, or admiring a new piece of artwork on your wall.
GRNA naturalists stepped up to offer private hikes, kayak and pontoon tours, and plant identification. Local retailers supplied gift cards and items, and a Bellaire woodworker donated five pieces of heirloom quality furniture to bid on.
The proceeds from the auction and paddle raise will be used to continue the protection of GRNA land and provide opportunities for all ages to learn about and appreciate the natural world. Additional information can also be found at www.grassriver.org.
As of Monday, Aug. 24, a total of $12,700 has been donated during the first week of the three-week Paddle Raise. That is 34 percent of the goal of $35,600.
Longtime GRNA supporters have offered a donation match of up to $5,000. These funds will be used to in ensure that GRNA is able to continue normal operations in the absence of paid programming. It also will help keep the Grass River Center open and staffed daily through the fall and winter for the enjoyment of the hundreds of visitors who will explore the trails.
As an added benefit, during this campaign Grass River Natural Center is offering the following donor incentives:
A Donor of Receives
$250 – $499 GRNA Water bottle and patch
$500 – $999 Copy of new field guide
$1,000 – $1,499 Copy of new field guide + Wetland Walks Book
$1,500 – $2,499 Guided walk with a GRNA naturalist for up to 6 people
$2,500 – $4,999 A private, guided two (2) hour kayak or pontoon trip for up to 6 people on the Grass River
$5,000 + A private, guided four (4) hour pontoon boat ride through the Chain of Lakes for up to 6 people with snacks and beverages
The City of Wyoming is looking for its residents to tell them what to do over the next five years with more than $5 million in federal funds.
For the past couple of weeks, the city has been asking its residents to fill out a survey to help prioritize the needs they would like the federal funds to be directed toward.
“If you are interested in housing in your community, if you are interested in economic development, if you want to know and help inform the city on how it should spend $5 million or more in community development dollars and home dollars which is federal money which comes to the city, the survey needs you,” said City of Wyoming Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt.
Every five years, the city’s Community Development staff researches and analyzes the city’s neighborhoods related to areas of problems and needs concerning low-income concentrations, persons with special needs, housing and commercial structure deterioration, recreational requirements and other neighborhood issues. Following this analysis, the city’s Community Development Committee decides on a Comprehensive Housing and Community Development Strategy to guide the use of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funds that come through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).
The survey’s main focus is getting citizen’s input on how the city should prioritize the the use of these federal dollars.
Rynbrandt said people call the city offices concerned about eviction, affordable housing and a homeowner who is not taking care of their property.
“They want to understand how the city cares about the community and invests in them and in their property,” she said. For more than 40 years, the CDBG funds have been used for housing rehabilitation loans that have zero or three precent interest.
“These funds are honestly not about the individual, even though impacts individuals,”Rynbrandt said. “These funds are about stabilizing neighborhoods and insuring the built in environment and the public services be they homeless, be they code enforcement, are captured and invested in to ensure that long term stability of the community is successful.”
Residents input from the survey will have a direct impact as the comments go into a plan to prioritize investments such as the program to help homeowners, who income qualify, upgrade their properties so they are code compliant and helped to rehouse those who are homeless.
“That child, who may be homeless and now has a stable environment, is no longer couch surfing,” Rynbrandt said. “So what does that mean for the long term? That child is better able to prepare to be successful and is able to go to school and have educational engagement.”
The city already has received about 1,000 survey responses. They are asking residents, if possible, to fill out the survey by Aug. 31. The survey will be up after that for a little while.
To fill out the survey, click here or visit the City of Wyoming’s Department of Parks and Recreation’s Facebook page. Due to COVID-19, the city is encouraging everyone to complete the survey online.
With the City of Kentwood planning and approval process complete after more than a year, a developer plans to break ground in early September on a 240-unit affordable workforce housing development.
CityLine Apartments will be located on nearly 12 acres of now vacant property touching Division Avenue and 52nd Street, on land most recently used as a used car sales lot and as a golf driving range. It does not include two existing business locations directly on the corner of Division and 52nd.
The CityLine Apartments project, led by developer Herman & Kittle Prop. Inc., of Indianapolis, Ind., will be a “first” in several ways.
It will be the first Grand Rapids area project for a developer which is no stranger to Michigan. It is the first Kentwood development approved using Form Based Code planning changes recently enacted by both the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming to aid redevelopment of the Division Avenue corridor. And it is the first major affordable workforce housing project focused on taking advantage of the Sliver Line bus route intended to move workers to and from downtown but also supporting businesses near the corridor in both Kentwood and Wyoming.
“West Michigan knows that Kentwood is open for business and is successful by meeting our businesses’ needs on a daily basis,” Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said to WKTV this week. “Vibrant communities like Kentwood know that offering a range of housing opportunities is critical to the success of our businesses. This project will help expand our workforce capacity and serve as a catalyst for development along the Division Avenue corridor.”
That city’s goal of aiding development of workforce housing and redevelopment — some would say economic “revitalization” — of the Division Avenue corridor was echoed by city staff in Kentwood.
Division Avenue, looking north from 52nd Street, showing two vacant lots planned for the CityLIne Apartments. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“The development of CityLine Apartments will likely represent the largest private investment ever made along the Kentwood portion of the corridor,” Lisa Golder, City of Kentwood Economic Development Planner, said to WKTV. “The development of housing along Division fits perfectly into the city’s plans for the area, as residential development supports both the Bus Rapid Transit (Silver Line) and the business community.
“Since the apartments are located directly on the Silver Line route, residents will be able to use transit to get to work, shop and recreate. With 240 housing units being introduced to the area, businesses will likely see an increase in demand for goods and services.”
And recent changes to Kentwood and Wyoming development codes, specifically the so-called Form Based Code, was essential for the development to be approved.
“The CityLine Apartments could not have been developed without the new Form Based Code,” Golder said. “With the Form Based Code, residential development is allowed for the first time along Division Avenue.”
CityLine Apartments development layout (north at top). (Supplied/City of Kentwood)
The developer and the development
The CityLine Apartments is currently planned to be eight residential buildings including one, two and three-bedroom apartments, as well as a clubhouse, accessory garage/storage buildings, a pool and playground, and even a dog park for residents of the “pet friendly” complex, according to Caroline Kimmel, CityLine development director for Herman & Kittle Prop. Inc. (HKP).
“The development has been in process since July 2019, HKP needed to rezone a portion of the site, as well as work through the rest of the development and site planning process with the city,” Kimmel said to WKTV. “This development is about a two-year construction period, but the first units will be available in about 16 months, or January/February of 2022.”
The planning approval process “took several meetings with the City as well as multiple public hearings to be finalized,” she said.
CityLine is HKP’s first development in Grand Rapids, Kimmel said, but the company has developments in Kalamazoo, Jackson, Niles, Lansing, and Benton Harbor, “as well as over 130 additional properties in 16 other states.”
And Kimmel said the reason for her company’s interest in the Kentwood development was simply good business.
“The Grand Rapids area is still one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the Midwest, and HKP is very excited to be a part of that growth,” Kimmel said. “Our internal and external demand analysis showed that rents are growing faster than incomes, and that we might be able to help balance out that growth with a development geared toward workforce housing.
52nd Street looking West to Division Avenue, with road infrastructure work being done not directly a part of the CityLine Apartments project. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“The commuter bus line is a highly desirable amenity, especially for residents who may not have the financial means to live in downtown Grand Rapids, but want the ease of access that the Silver Line offers,” she said.
According to information supplied by HKP and City of Kentwood planning documents, the Kentwood development will include 72 one-bedroom units, 120 two-bedroom units, and 48 three-bedroom units. Twelve of the units are designated for people with disabilities.
The larger buildings will have 36 units while the smaller will have 24 units. Three garage buildings will be provided with 18 stalls, including one handicap stall. In total there will be 357 parking spaces provided including 325 standard spaces, 14 handicap parking spaces, and the 18 garage spaces.
“HKP believes this development will attract a mix of one and two parent households with children, as well as single persons who work downtown, but the property is not age restricted,” Kimmel said. “A close proximity to schools will attract families as well, especially with the walkability this location offers.”
Finances for the project; costs for renters
The development is financed through a combination of sources, according to Kimmel, including tax-exempt bonds for construction, a mortgage, and Tax Credit Equity from Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
“The MSHDA Tax Credits provide equity to the development, which allows a reduced mortgage, enabling rents to remain affordable for Kent County residents,” she said.
Residents will be subject to a rent-history screening and criminal background check and other compliance requirements set forth by MSHDA, Kimmel said. Income limits will range from $33,720 for a one-person household, $38,520 for two persons, $43,320 for three persons, $48,120 for four persons, and $52,020 for five persons.
“Lease-up will likely begin in late 2021 or early 2022,” she added. “A leasing trailer will be on site with contact information as soon as we are accepting applications.”
Traffic generation to be monitored
While CityLine’s location on the Silver Line bus route is expected to mitigate the usual vehicular traffic issues a development of this size might normally produce, city documents state that a detailed Traffic Impact Assessment may yet be needed.
“Using Institute of Traffic Engineers trip generation data, a 240-unit apartment development generates 1,317 daily trips and 117-129 peak hour trips,” according to a city planning department report. “If this many trips are anticipated, a Traffic Study would be required. However, the data does not take into account the existence and use of the Silverline BRT, which may reduce the trip generation. The applicant should provide a best estimate of vehicle trips anticipated based on other locations in communities adjacent to a BRT line or light rail.”
Welcome to the Traffic Tuesday question. Each week, the question will be posted on Tuesday, and the answer posted Thursday.
Traffic Tuesday Question: Vehicle A is driving toward north on De Hoop, toward the police department, from 28th St. Vehicle B is behind Vehicle A, going the same direction, and would like to pass Vehicle A. Can Vehicle B use the center lane to pass Vehicle A? Check out the photo for a visual.
Yes, Vehicle B can pass Vehicle A
No, Vehicle B cannot pass Vehicle A
I’m not sure, I’ll check back Thursday!
Answer: No, Vehicle B cannot use the center lane to pass Vehicle A.
Pulaski Days — the week-long celebration of Polish/Lithuanian culture held every fall in Grand Rapids since 1973 — has been cancelled this year due to concerns about spread of the virus among attendees and volunteers. (Suupplied)
Another “community tradition” casualty of COVID-19, the Grand Rapids area Pulaski Days Committee announced last week that Pulaski Days — the week-long celebration of Polish/Lithuanian culture held every fall in Grand Rapids since 1973 — has been cancelled this year due to concerns about spread of the virus among attendees and volunteers.
This is the first time in the event’s history that it has been canceled, Michelle Kershner, chairperson of the Pulaski Days Committee, said in supplied material. The committee coordinates the efforts of 14 Polish/Lithuanian halls and fraternal organizations that fund and put on the celebration, which is a major fundraiser for the organizations.
But the cancellation does not mean Pulaski Days fans cannot support the local halls and fraternal organizations — the Pulaski Days Committee also announced it is launching a “Save The Halls” campaign to raise money to help the organizations make it through until Pulaski Days 2021.
“It was an extremely difficult decision to cancel Pulaski Days this year,” Kershner said in supplied material. “Many people were looking forward to listening and dancing to the top-notch polka bands that we bring to town and sampling the authentic Polish food served at the halls. The halls are terribly disappointed too, because Pulaski Days is their single largest source of revenue.
“But after a lot of debate over several meetings, we made the tough decision to cancel because we couldn’t determine how to hold an event that drew more than 300,000 people last year and ensure that everyone would be safe from spreading COVID-19.”
Many halls are still offering food for take out as a fundraiser. (Supplied)
In past years, the week-long event included a flag raising ceremony, parade, golf outing, coronation of the Pulaski Days queen, kielbasa eating contest, Polka Mass and three days of music and food at the halls. Visitors from Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and other states have visited the area to participate.
The need for masks at close quarters indoors and social distancing requirements “runs counter to everything that makes Pulaski Days such a popular event,” according to the statement.
“The heart of Pulaski Days is to be social — eat, dance and get together with family and old friends, and make new friends,” Kershner said. “Now how are you going to do that standing six feet from someone with your mask on?”
Financial impact widespread in community
The cancellation of Pulaski Days is more than just a disappointment for Polish/Lithuanian halls and fraternal organizations, Jim Seppala, president of Diamond Avenue Hall/St. Isidore’s Benevolent Aid Society, said in supplied material.
“We depend on Pulaski Days as a major source of our annual operating budget,” Seppala said. “We run a tight ship financially, but no matter how you cut it, we are going to feel the pinch that the event isn’t being held this year. Regardless, we know that we are doing the right thing.”
Along with a number of other halls in Grand Rapids, Diamond Avenue Hall is working to restore some of the revenue lost from Pulaski Days through other COVID-safe promotions, according to the statement. For example, the hall recently held a drive-through service where customers could pick up combo plates of Polish food, tee shirts, can koozies and other items without leaving their cars.
But the halls will need additional help to make sure they can keep their doors open and host Pulaski Days 2021, Kershner said.
“Many of the halls have been in continuous operation for more than a century — for instance, Diamond Avenue Hall was established in 1892,” she said. “We have to make sure that they’ll remain strong for generations to come.”
So, the Pulaski Days Committee is asking individuals to buy pins and Polish shields at local businesses such as Sobie Meats, 3450 Remembrance Rd NW and Lewandoski Meats, 1107 Walker Ave NW. The committee also is asking for charitable contributions to an emergency fund called Save The Halls. All of the money collected will be split equally among all of the halls, Kershner said.
Contributions to Save the Halls can be made in person at the Grand Rapids branch of Credit Union ONE, 1609 Walker Ave. NW, and online by going to the Pulaski Days Committee website at pulaskidays.org, where there is a PayPal button for the Save The Halls campaign.
Annually MSU and 4-H students show off their livestock for live auctions at the Hudsonville Community Fair as part of a final project. Due to COVID-19 the fair cancelled for 2020. This news left young individuals devastated without the opportunity to showcase their livestock that they had worked hard to train and raise.
Some of these students have been preparing for live auctions since July of 2019. As families have been widely affected by the pandemic, these students also live in households of families struggling during this crisis.
To warm the hearts of these young students, Hudsonville Community Fair partnered with Miedema’s Charity Auctions to host an online auction. This auction helps to provide financial means for these students seeking to attend college and showcase at future livestock auctions.
Andrew Meekhof-Vanspyker show his sheep. (Supplied/Hudsonville Community Fair)
The auction contains a wide variety of beef, pork, and lamb for sale on Miedema’s website and is scheduled to end Thursday, Aug. 27.
Celebrating its 19th year, the annual competition welcomes artists from around the globe responding to Meijer Gardens in their work. Through the generosity of the Loeschner family, two $5,000 purchase awards (one for two-dimensional and one for photography) will be paid for the winning entries in addition to becoming a part of Meijer Gardens’ permanent collection. The competition is open to all artists who are 18 years old and older working in a two-dimensional format.
Artists are encouraged to submit original two-dimensional (e.g. drawing, print, pastel, painting or photography) works inspired by Meijer Gardens. To participate, artists may register online at meijergardens.org/award by Friday, October 23. If selected as a finalist, Meijer Gardens will request delivery of the original artwork on Friday, November 20. The winner will be chosen and announced by Friday, January 29.
Since 2002, the Loeschner Art Completion has sought outstanding artwork inspired by Meijer Gardens. The objective is to collect high-quality work that celebrates the beauty and inspiration that Meijer Gardens provides. For more information and to view past winners, visit www.meijergardens.org/award
These dials can be found in one special place, the newly reopened Ideal Park. The dials and gears are part of the new playground structure at Ideal Park. The playground is one of several new amenities at the park which also includes a new basketball court, shelter, and restroom facilities. Ideal Park, which is one of the oldest parks in Kent County, is located at 5843 Crippen SW.
Do you have a photo you would like considered for Photo of the Week? Email it to WKTV Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma at joanne@wktv.org.
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mi) on Aug. 25 visited a U.S. Postal Office (USPS) processing facility and then talked at the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 56 in Kentwood. (WKTV)
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mi) on Tuesday visited a U.S. Postal Office (USPS) processing facility on Patterson Avenue SE in Grand Rapids to see first-hand the causes of slowdowns, delays and backlogs he says are occurring in communities across the country.
After the Aug. 25 tour and at a media opportunity at the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 56 in nearby Kentwood, Sen. Peters stressed that his concerns — and the investigation of postal service changes he has recently initiated as ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee — are not solely about the pending November election.
He said that postal service operational changes are preventing veterans from receiving timely delivery of their prescription medications through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ mail-order pharmacy service. He also said he has heard firsthand that delays are directly impacting small businesses in West Michigan and across the county.
However, answering a question from WKTV, he expressed confidence in the ability of local city and township clerks — in Wyoming and Kentwood and statewide — to reliably count the ballots they will receive, but he also expressed some concerns about “possible” delays in the handling mail-in ballots.
“What we are seeing right now, that concerns me, because of the delays we have been hearing,” Sen. Peters said, adding that he had also been told about delays in mail-in ballots getting to voters from the city clerk in his hometown of Bloomfield Hills.
He also, though, gave advice on how Wyoming and Kentwood voters can avoid any issue with possible postal delays in mail-on ballots — request and acquire the ballots early, mail them early or drop them off directly at the local clerks’ offices. (See his entire statement at this video link.)
Last week, Sen. Peters, who is running for election to the Senate against Republican challenger John James as well as other independent candidates, led a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. DeJoy, who became Postmaster General two months ago, was questioned on the policy and operational changes possibly resulting in delayed mail across the country.
Grand Rapids Symphony (Supplied/Grand Rapids Symphony)
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk The Grand Rapids Symphony
The Grand Rapids Symphony and Music Director Marcelo Lehninger announce today Pathwavespresented by SpartanNash, the Symphony’s reimagined 2020-2021 artistic season.
During this unprecedented time of COVID-19, your Grand Rapids Symphony has created ground-breaking new ways to share the gift of music with the West Michigan community with a dynamic and innovative season of concerts, delivered via live streamwith support from Fox Motors, starting with a multistage setup in the Van Andel Arena and an intimate chamber setting at St. Cecilia Music Center this fall. Programming for the 2021 portion of the season will be announced at a later date.
The Grand Rapids Symphony will re-unite for the first time since March. The concerts will feature performances by socially-distanced orchestral ensembles, performed without intermission, and streamed live to patrons’ homes, reflecting the Symphony’s commitment to the health and safety of musicians and audiences alike. The concerts will include a live audience when health and safety requirements allow.
“It would have been simple and easy for us to step away from our mission of delivering great music during the pandemic,” said Mary Tuuk, President & CEO of the Grand Rapids Symphony. “But now, more than ever, we know that music can greatly enrich our lives. Over the next nine months, the Grand Rapids Symphony will feed our souls in the wake of immense societal challenges. We are heartened by the inclusive and healing ways we can bring music to the West Michigan community.
Music director Marcelo Lehninger has redesigned the 2020-2021 season to include six virtual fall programs presented by Wolverine Worldwide; four from the Van Andel Arena, and two from St. Cecilia Music Center. The Symphony will return to DeVos Performance Hall in January 2021, with concerts through May. Previously announced programming for the 2020-2021 season will be rescheduled for the 2021-2022 season as feasible.
“Plans and programs may change, but our commitment to music and performing for our audience is unwavering,” Lehninger said. “I am very excited to return to the stage with your Grand Rapids Symphony.”
The new Pathwaves series includes varied styles of music and diverse composers, like waves of hope leading us down our community’s path of healing. Special guest artists will include internationally acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell and soprano Larisa Martinez. The Symphony also has engaged composer James M. Stephenson as Musical Collaborator to create several new arrangements for the orchestra. The Symphony’s opening concert will prominently feature a collaboration with the Grand Rapids Ballet. Programs will include intimate chamber music from “Final Fantasy” video games and the popular Metro Health Holiday Pops.
“It will be an inspiring and creative approach,” said Lehninger. “You’ll see many familiar faces on our programs, and our musicians will be featured in unique ways.”
Current 2020-2021 subscriptions will be honored with free virtual access to the six fall concerts and DeVos Performance Hall concerts in 2021. Current subscribers also will be eligible to attend concerts in-person as audiences are permitted to return. A subscription package is available to new subscribers for $76 that grants access to all six virtual concerts from September through December.
A separate subscription package for the 2021 concerts will be available at a later date. Single tickets for most concerts are $15. Single tickets for programs with Joshua Bell and for the Holiday Pops are $25. Because of the virtual delivery format, student discounts will not be offered. The Symphony Scorecard program continues for the season.
The best part? You don’t have to do a thing but watch your email for the link to view the concerts while they are performed live. Emails will be sent closer to the concert date. If you are a Friday or Saturday subscriber, you’ll get the link for the appropriate Friday or Saturday concert. To learn more, please visit GRSymphony.org/pathwaves.
“We are deeply committed to continuing our mission of delivering great music,” Lehninger said. “Now, more than ever, we will walk together to restore our collective wellbeing through our reimagined season, Pathwaves.
Marcelo Lehninger conducting the symphony (Supplied/Grand Rapids Symphony)
Pathwaves: Grand Rapids Symphony Fall 2020 programming
Friday and Saturday, September 25-26, 2020 | 7:30 p.m., Van Andel Arena
Romeo and Juliet
Marcelo Lehninger, conductor | Grace Kim, violin | Andrew Laven, cello
Grand Rapids Ballet | Michael Schaeffer, accordion
Music from Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Julietwith a performance by the Grand Rapids Ballet.
Friday, October 16, 2020 | 7:30 p.m., St. Cecilia Music Center
Mosaic Motion
Edye Evans Hyde, vocals | Mike Hyde, guitar
The concert highlights music for chamber strings and brass with performances by vocalist Edye Evans Hyde and guitarist Mike Hyde.
Friday and Saturday, October 23-24, 2020 | 7:30 p.m., Van Andel Arena
Marcelo Plays and Conducts
Marcelo Lehninger, conductor and piano
The program welcomes Lehninger to the piano to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 while also conducting from the piano.
Friday and Saturday, November 13-14, 2020 | 7:30 p.m., Van Andel Arena
Voice and the Violin featuring Joshua Bell
Violinist Joshua Bell performs Nov. 20. (Supplied/Grand Rapids Public Museum)
In the past, they’ve performed separately in Grand Rapids. Now experience the incomparable violinist Joshua Bell and the sizzling soprano Larisa Martinez, husband and wife, together with your Grand Rapids Symphony.
Friday, November 20, 2020 | 7:30 p.m., St. Cecilia Music Center
A New World: Intimate Music From Final Fantasy
Eric Roth, guest conductor
A New World: Intimate Music from Final Fantasy presents fresh arrangements of music from throughout the 25+ years of the Final Fantasy catalogue for a variety of chamber ensembles. The programs feature string quartets, piano and guitar solos, duos, trios and other mixed groups of instrumentalists to produce an immediate and personal encounter with the extraordinary Final Fantasy musical themes, characters and settings.
Friday and Saturday, December 4-5, 2020 | 7:30 p.m., Van Andel Arena
Metro Health Holiday Pops
Bob Bernhardt, conductor | Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, Pearl Shangkuan, director
Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, Sean Ivory and Leah Ivory, co-directors
Embellish | Special Appearances by Capathia Jenkins, vocals and Tony DeSare, piano/vocals
The West Michigan holiday tradition features familiar holiday favorites with your Grand Rapids Symphony and includes virtual performances from the Grand Rapids Symphony Chorus, Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus, vocalist Capathia Jenkins, and singer/pianist Tony DeSare.
Welcome to the Traffic Tuesday question. Each week, the question will be posted on Tuesday, and the answer posted Thursday.
Traffic Tuesday Question: Center Lane Passing: Vehicle A is driving toward north on De Hoop, toward the police department, from 28th St. Vehicle B is behind Vehicle A, going the same direction, and would like to pass Vehicle A. Can Vehicle B use the center lane to pass Vehicle A? Check out the photo for a visual.
It has been six years since children played on its playground. It has been six years since family sat at the picnic tables. On Aug. 18, the City of Wyoming ended the six-year wait and officially reopening Kent County’s oldest park, Ideal Park.
In 2014, a tornado, straight-line winds, and flooding, damaged the park’s playground equipment, tennis and basketball courts and uprooted many of its trees, some of which were more than 100 years old.
“In a matter of seconds a park that was magnificent, majestic, mature was destroy,” said Doug Wustman, chair of the Wyoming Parks and Recreation Commission. “Ninety-eight percent of the canopy was laying on the ground and there was nothing but twisted, shredded, uprooted trees is all that you saw. The out buildings, the picnic shelters, the restrooms, everything was just gone in a matter of seconds.”
The Wyoming City team who helped to redesign Ideal Park with residents’ input. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
It was not just the park that was impacted by the storm, but the entire area.
“In 2014, the whole community was devastated and we had to hold off doing anything in Ideal Park until we could get the residences built in the area, said City of Wyoming Director of Community Services. The city spent $500,000 to remove the trees and debris from the park only to have flooding and another tornado in 2016.
“It has been a practice in patience for our residents,” Rynbrandt said. “As you can see our community is resilient and this park is a result of their commitment. The commitment of engaging in design so we could make sure that what is featured today really came about because it was what they wanted.”
The city spent more than $800,000, of which was a Department of Natural Resources Trust Fund grant of $508,000, reconstruction the park, located at 5843 Crippen Ave. SW. This included moving many of the amenities to the east side of the park along with improved traffic control for vehicle and pedestrian safety.
One of the unique features to Ideal Park’s playground are these all accessible swings. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
New amenities include restrooms, a shelter, and a playground that offers special new features.
“The playground is universally accessible,” Rynbrandt said. “We made a strong commitment that people of all abilities can come and play in our community.”
The playground features a tile form of the cushion-style playground surface that is similar to the one at Frog Hollow. The advantage of the tile is that the city can replace sections easily without having to replace the entire surface, Rynbrandt said.
At each of the city’s parks, the city tries to incorporate special elements that are unique to that park and for Ideal Park that includes modified swings, a climbing rope and a modified whirler.
Ideal Park also has a trailhead connecting to the interurban trail system that starts in Byron Center and goes through Kentwood and on into Grand Rapids.
There is excitement about reopening Ideal Park, Rynbrandt said, but also a little sadness in that the one item the city could not bring back was the 300-year-old trees that were the canopy of the park. However, the reopening of the park and the new amenities it offers will make new memories for residents today and tomorrow, Rynbrandt said.
“I am thankful to the people of the Ideal Park area for their patience and understanding because today we have a rebirth, we have a new parkThat they can enjoy for generations to come,” Wustman said. “2020 has been a rough year for everybody because of the pandemic environment we’re living in, so to see people laugh and even shed a tear at time, yeah I look forward to that. To life back to normal.”
This June, WKTV had four Ferris State University students join the team.
For the past several years, WKTV has worked with Ferris State University having about two student interns at the station per year. The students usually come January through June or June through December.
All the students are seniors in Ferris State University’s Television and Digital Media Production.
So let us introduce you to our interns:
Tyler Bronsink at the July 20 Wyoming City Council Meeting. (WKTV)
Tyler Bronsink Byron Center
What are you learning on your internship? How are you making a difference?
I’m learning more about shoots, the different types of cameras, and editing in new software like Final Cut Pro. I am helping craft census stories, shooting b-roll, and offering story ideas for the community.
What are your future plans, what do you hope this internship leads to professionally?
I hope to work with either a news station like WKTV or a film/media studio as an editor/writer.
What advice can you offer to other students seeking, hoping to learn about internships?
Pick a few (about five to six) that you would want to work at and make sure that the internship fits for you and offers a variety of job opportunities.
Matt Main works with the slider in preparation for a shoot. (WKTV)
Matt Main Hemlock, Michigan
What are you learning on your internship? How are you making a difference?
I’m learning how to become a better video editor, director, cameraman, as well as media as a whole. Making videos and content makes me feel like I’m creating enjoyment and happiness in my audience.
What are your future plans, what do you hope this internship leads to professionally?
I hope to be hired with a video production company and work as an editor professionally.
What advice can you offer to other students seeking, hoping to learn about internships?
I would advise being aggressive and open in your searches; don’t stick to ideal situations only.
Rachel Weber is learning to be a better content creator at WKTV. (WKTV)
Rachel Weber Rochester Hills
What are you learning on your internship? How are you making a difference?
I am learning how to be a better content creator as well as being a more sociable person.
What are your future plans, what do you hope this internship leads to professionally?
I am hoping that this internships opens doors into more sports-related productions.
What advice can you offer to other students seeking, hoping to learn about internships?
Remember that it is just an internship so it doesn’t matter where you go, just make the most of it.
Cole Zimmerman worked in the WKTV truck at the July 20 Wyoming City Council meeting. (WKTV)
Cole Zimmerman Rockford????
What are you learning on your internship? How are you making a difference?
I’m mostly learning what was taught to me at Ferris; however, I’m learning new aspects of those lessons like new ways and methods of doing certain tasks as well as new equipment.
What are your future plans, what do you hope this internship leads to professionally?
I hope to become a script writer for TV and movies, and possibly a producer and/or director.
What advice can you offer to other students seeking, hoping to learn about internships?
When looking for an internship, don’t be picky and reach out to as many places as you can, and be open to new learning experiences.
John Ball Zoo is hosting their second Adult Night Out of the season on Thursday, August 27th for those aged 21 and up looking for a fun date night or friend’s night out.
Adult Night Out gives attendees the opportunity to experience the Zoo at night, with adult beverages, and without any kids. Zoo staff will rotate throughout the Zoo in front of animal habitats helping guests learn more about the animals and the Zoo during the evening. To allow proper social distancing, no scheduled programming will occur.
Attendees can also enjoy the summer evening with beer selections, specialty drinks, and delicious food options, including the recently launched JBZ beer in partnership with Brewery Vivant.
The Thursday, August 27th Adult Night Out is 5:15 – 9:00 p.m. Limited tickets are available so the Zoo highly recommends reserving tickets before the event. The Zoo offers four times to enter at 5:15 p.m., 5:45 p.m., 6:15 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. to help with space for safe social distancing.
The John Ball Zoo is hosting an Adult Night Out event Aug. 27. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Tickets can be purchased online for $18 for members or $20 for non-members at jbzoo.org/AdultNightOut. Tickets could be available for those who walk-up but the Zoo cannot guarantee these will be available. The Zoo notes that the July Adult Night Out did sell out days in advance.
Masks will be required for those medically able when visiting their indoor habitats, and for outdoor areas where a 6 feet distance is not possible between other guests. The Zoo asks for guests to bring their own mask. John Ball Zoo is located on Fulton Ave., one mile west of downtown Grand Rapids. For questions or for more information, visit www.jbzoo.org, call (616) 336-4301 or email info@jbzoo.org.
Through most of the pandemic people in West Michigan have largely avoided restaurants. In many cases restaurant dine-in business is down as much as 60 percent. But for many restaurant owners, surviving financially on 40 percent of what business you had pre-COVID is not enough. The saving grace for many restaurants and the reason they may be able to survive once the pandemic is finally declared over is in two simple words: take out.
If you walked into Stella’s Lounge on Commerce, HopCat on East Beltline, Grand Rapids Brewing Company on Ionia, Pietros on 28th Street, or Cottage Bar on LaGrave Avenue, on any night pre-COVID you would have found nearly all the tables full. Stella’s became synonymous with burgers customers would swear by. With its now iconic logo, Hopcat was holding its popularity as a place with an extensive beer list and casual dining. Now, five months into the pandemic, the social distancing has severely limited seating creating a financial strain on all restaurants that has been immense.
Stella’s Lounge in downtown Grand Rapids. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
“It seemed like the situation would change almost daily,” said Mark Sellers, Barfly Ventures founder and the owner of Hopcat, Stella’s and the Grand Rapids Brewing Company. “There were the unemployment issues and PPG funding along with getting loans and applications in and there’s been little time for anything else. We’re actually working harder even though sales are down.”
But even with a 60 percent reduction in sales, Sellers may be in a better position than some restaurant owners. While the number of restaurants he has has helped, Sellers chalked survival up to one primary element: creativity.
“If you talk to the restaurant owners today, the last five months have been the most creative of their careers,” he said, adding that for many, launching the to-go side of their operations was like launching a second restaurant with in itself. Sellers’ restaurants came up with different names and different logos for the to-go side and along with the massive amounts of change for COVID safety, it all caused a shift in thinking how a business would run.
“It’s been a constant creative process in navigating during this time,” Sellers said.
Asked what he envisions post pandemic, Sellers admited to being both a pessimist and optimist.
“I don’t think it’s going to go back to 100 percent,” Sellers said. “People have formed habits through DoorDash and eating at home. There’s going to be a permanent behavior change and take-out and delivery will remain more important than it used to be, ” he said, adding that once they start growing again, restaurants may be designed smaller with a greater focus on take-out and delivery.
Pietro’s Restaurant on 28th and Breton. (WKTV/Tom Norton)
Across town, Pietro’s Restaurant has been anchored near 28th Street and Breton in Kentwood for nearly 50 years and owner Tim Fellows saw his restaurant shuttered for 70 days while they waited for the re-open order. When it came, the Pietro’s team saw a return, but with social distancing rules, only to 50 percent capacity. Like every restaurant scrambling to survive, Fellows said they stepped up their game for curbside service, but he quickly discovered though that for some delivery services the percentage they charged the restaurant limited the menu items available to the customer.
“We wanted our customer to have the full menu experience,” Fellows said. This led to Pietro’s using delivery mainstays such as GrubHub and Delivery.com, which charge a percentage that also allowed the iconic Italian eatery to offer their more expanded menu.
“Some of the delivery services charged a higher percentage and we felt that took away menu choices from our customers, so we’ve stayed with the standard delivery services that accommodate our needs as well,” he said. And several months ago, downtown Grand Rapids saw a burgeoning dining scene with new eateries opening, it seemed, monthly. From the urban hip areas growing up around Stocking Avenue and Bridge Street to Wealthy Street to Michigan Avenue, Grand Rapids was on track to hold its own with any city its size in choices for eateries.
The oldest restaurant in the Grand Rapids area is The Cottage Bar. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
That’s all suddenly changed and Dan Verhil, the owner of the iconic Cottage Bar — the oldest restaurant in Grand Rapids — said he feels for any restaurateur who had the misfortune of opening up just prior to the pandemic. Since opening in 1927 and with Verhil’s ownership since 1980, The Cottage Bar has had plenty of time to establish a routine clientele. “Our customers thank us for staying around,” Verhil said. The Cottage Bar has had to alter its menu to the items Verhil believes will travel best. The restaurant still offers a small, but cozy outdoor seating area to accommodate diners who want to still experience a sit-down restaurant.
While 93 years of existence does make The Cottage Bar’s roots run deep, Verhil recognizes big changes sweeping through the industry. “Dining out has been becoming more casual over the years,” Verhil said. “It used to be in the 70s and 80s that dining out was a special occasion, but now it’s pretty casual,” he said.
Verhil also pointed out that the take-out trend has been increasing even before the pandemic.
“It used to be 15 percent of our business,” he said, “but now it’s at 50 percent and climbing. So much so that we’re going to be launching a mobile way for ordering.”
The Cottage Bar has also seen a significant change in to-go packaging where the industry has invested in better technologies, pointing out the example of how fries used to stay crisp for just 10 minutes, but now can hold for up to 40 minutes.
The one thing Verhil pointed out is even though take-out is growing and drive through restaurants seemed perfectly situated for a pandemic situation, take-out and drive through will not replace the dining experience.
“A take-out window just can’t do that,” he said. “Inside you have a server making suggestions from food to wine. It’s all part of that experience.” Fellows over at Pietro’s adds to that saying that customers have shown their appreciation for the dine-in experience by being very gracious to the servers.
And whether it’s take-out or dine-in, all seem to agree that if anything, the near seismic shifts in the industry over the last few months have taught them all to be better and to think creatively in order to survive. Advertising guru William Bernback said it best when he said that “creativity is the most practical thing a business can employ.” Any restaurateur today would readily agree.
The City of Kentwood’s Park and Recreation Department has come up with an artistically colorful way to show off the Veterans Memorial Park’s new playground, splash pad and concession stand.
Can you say ‘chalk art fun’ for all?
The city will host a free family event the weekend of Aug. 28-30 appropriately titled “Chalk the Lot”, when families can gain supplied chalk, get assigned blocks in the park’s parking lot, and go to town with their own art projects.
The Kentwood Activities Center and Veterans Memorial Park is located at 355 48th St SE. Registration for chalk art blocks are available, and the public is invited to view the artwork even if they did not create it — practicing proper social distancing, of course.
“We’re excited to host our first ever Chalk the Lot,” Spencer McKellar, lead recreation program coordinator for the Park and Recreation Department, said to WKTV. “It’s a great opportunity for families to take part in a free event, enjoy the summer weather, and check out the amenities at Veterans Memorial Park.”
McKellar came up with the idea, shared it with the staff, and the first-ever such event came together, according to Laura Barbrick, marketing and events coordinator for the parks department.
There are not set specific times for art creation, so that families can come whenever it is convenient for them, according to the city. The event will begin on Friday, Aug. 29, at noon and will end on Sunday evening.
The city asks families to register in advance so they can get an assigned spot and pick up the chalk for the event. Chalk must be picked up at the Kentwood Activities Center the week leading up to the event during business hours (Monday through Thursday, Aug. 24-27, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., or Friday, Aug. 28, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Ring bell at the front door or call 616-656-5270 and a staff member will assist, Barbrick said.
Through Sunday, Aug. 23, Celebration! Cinema South is hosting a Fair Food event in support of the Kentwood Athletic Boosters. They have elephant ears (five trucks), funnel cakes, deep fried Oreos, Lemon Shake-Ups, corn dogs, Philly steak and cheese, cheeseburgers, cotton candy, caramel apples, candy apples, popcorn, chicken nuggets, tater tots, fresh cut French fries, sausage and snow cones. The event is from noon to close (noon to 9 pm. through Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday)
Sprinkle Away!!! Yeah!!!
Yep! Betty, Sue and Johnny can now run through the sprinklers as the City of Wyoming announced it had completed the repair of the larger of two transmission water mains. Through the efforts of its customers, who reduced their water demand by half along with the quick work of the contractors, the main was fixed in about a week and half with the ban being lifted on Wednesday and the city announcing “Sprinkle Away.”
Go On an Art Walk
Disappointment reigned supreme when it was announced that COVID-19 had put the kibosh on this year’s ArtPrize activities. As others scrambled to fill in the gaps, we discovered there is quite a bit of art — both new and old — for any resident to take their own art tour through downtown Grand Rapids. WKTV Intern Shallom Kimanzi offers up her own art walk through downtown, where she discovers just how much art downtown Grand Rapids has to offer.
Fun Fact: Where does the name August come from?
In the original Rome calendar, August was called Sextilis because it was the sixth month of the year. When January and February was added, it became the eighth month with Julius Caesar adding two more days to the month so it had 31 days. Later, it was renamed to honor Rome’s first emperor Caesar Augustus, who was Julius Caesar’s adopted son and heir.
On the latest episode of WKTV Sports’ new sports show focused on local high school sports, WKTV Journal Sports Connection, WKTV volunteer sports announcer Greg Yoder catches us up on the Kelloggsville High School athletics.
Kelloggsville athletic director Eric Alcorn and coach Brandon Branch. (WKTV)
Yoder talks with the Rockets’ new athletic director Eric Alcorn and with new head football coach Brandon Branch — and Coach Branch is no stranger to the Kelloggsville program having been involved with the Rockets football coaching staff for more than a decade, including being varsity defensive coordinator for eight years. We talk about what’s new at Kelloggsville, and about the uncertainly surrounding Michigan’s high school football season.
Recently retired Kelloggsville high football coach Don Galster. (WKTV)
Also on the episode is special segment on Don Galster, who was the head football coach for the Rockets for 30 years before his retirement early this year, talking about his years of coaching at Kelloggsville and a few memorable moments.
Additionally, we produced a print/online story that goes into more detail on Galster, what he plans to do now that he’s left the Rockets’ sideline and a football game memory that still brings him to tears.
This fall, WKTV Journal Sports Connection be bringing its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, both on cable television and on our YouTube channel. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting WKTVjournal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTV.viebit.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also usually available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Coach Don Galster readily admits, reflecting on 37 years of coaching high school football including a 30-year stint as head coach at Kelloggsville High School, that he remembers the wins and losses, the big games and the private moments. But it was the kids, the endless stream of Rockets, that kept the job fun.
And after last season, when he decided to hand the ball off to another, and to take a “tough to turn down” job offer as a junior varsity softball coach at Aquinas College, it was also driven by the kids. His and his wife, Sue, have three girls — Nicole, Brittany and Taylor — each of whom played softball and whom he coached in school and in travel ball.
“It was a great career (at Kelloggsville) and it is awesome to look back and see what has been done,” Galster, who also taught physical education at Kelloggsville for 31 years, said to WKTV recently. “It’s the love of just working with kids every day. I throughly enjoyed it. Watching the football program grow. Watching the Kelloggsville community grow. It has come a long ways in 30 years, let me tell you.”
But after three decades, it was time to let go and move on.
“You get that feeling,” he said. “Last year became more of grind — not that I didn’t love football and love the kids, and watching them grow and develop. But I always told my wife, when it got to be the point where I was not having as much fun, it was time to step away. Let somebody a little younger to have a shot at it.”
And that somebody is new head coach Brandon Branch, who spent a decade on Galster’s staff.
“Coach Branch is going to do a great job,” Galster said. “He has a great knowledge of the game. He has enthusiasm with the kids. The kids relate to him very well. He is going to be a great leader. … I’ve watched him grow as a coach and it’s his time.”
(See an WKTV interview with Coach Branch, and new Kelloggsville athletic director Eric Alcorn, on the latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection.)
Memories, and a special moment, on the Rockets’ field
When in comes to memorable games on the Rockets’ field, leading his 30 Rockets teams, there is no shortage of memories for Galster.
The Rockets at practice in 2018. (WKTV)
The Rockets were 10-1 in 2009 and 2017, and won the school’s first playoff game in program history in 2009 — in that season, one game, was played in a driving rainstorm with a quarterback who could throw strikes “in a hurricane,” he said, during an interview on the Rockets’ field.
Then there was his first game as a head coach, against Hopkins, a five-overtime battle “we could have won … but it didn’t happen,” he said. “But we were able to get them back. It was the year 2000, we beat them in triple overtime, down at that end zone (pointing down the field), we blocked a field goal.”
And, of course, there was the 2017 team. Kelloggsville scored a school record 451 points that season, then beat Godwin Heights in the postseason before losing to eventual Division 4 state champion Catholic Central, 45-34, in the district finals.
“The 2017 game, versus Catholic Central, the playoffs, where — I still feel — we were the two best teams in the state of Michigan in Division 4. We got down by quite a bit an our kids battled back … (but) they nosed us out in the second half. That was a great game.”
But, Galster confided, there is one game that was particular emotional.
“One game that always brings a tear to my eye,” he said. “It was 1995. We were a .500 team, you know, and we were playing Comstock Park. We scored with inside a minute and half, a minute, to win the game. My wife was pregnant with my youngest daughter, and the weekend prior she had some complications. … It gets down to Friday and the doctor says she could not go the game. … We are all celebrating at the end (after the win). She had parked over at the 48th Street park and she sneaked in. And I turned around, celebrating with the team, and there she was. It always chokes me up.”
Moving on to another coaching experience
Galster’s move to softball coaching, at the college level, may seem a strange landing sport for a longtime football coach, but people who know him well probably would say “That’s Coach.”
His softball coaching experience includes 10 years as a head softball coach for the Grand Rapids Blaze at 18U, 16U and 14U levels, according to the Aquinas sports website. He also served as an assistant varsity softball coach at East Kentwood High School for 12 years.
“I’ve done football for 37 years … but softball, stepping into a different arena, increasing my knowledge of the game,” is what he’s looking forward to, he said. “I have three daughters. They played softball and that is how I learned the game. I coached them in high school and travel ball. It has become my second passion.
“Football is always going to be my passion. … (But) athletes are athletes. Hopefully they are going to work hard, they are going to trust you as a coach. You show them respect and they will show you respect.”
And so it comes full circle: showing respect from the kids, gaining the respect of the kids — remembering the kids — for Coach Galster, that is what it will always be about.
Kent County and the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, on Aug. 18, announced the current status of the Kent County Small Business Recovery Grants fund, a program which intends to use $25 million in federal CARES Act funds to provide grants — not loans — to county small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a Zoom press conference, it was announced that the program has received 2,112 applications and 1,318 businesses have qualified for short-term economic relief grants ranging from $5,000 to $20,000. Qualifying businesses are those which have suffered lost business and income due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In June, the Kent County Board of Commissioners approved a plan to disperse the $25 million CARES Act dollars — a portion of the $94.2 million approved for allocation from the $114.6 the county has received for pandemic relief — to small businesses in the form of grants and technical assistance. The board also selected the Grand Rapids chamber to be the application, review and selection recommendation organization for the small business grants.
To date, 721 grant checks totaling $5.9 million have been mailed to small businesses throughout Kent County, according to information supplied during the Zoom press conference. Another $4.4 million will be distributed to approximately 597 businesses as soon as the required paperwork is complete. So less than half the total $25 million has been distributed or earmarked for distribution.
“Our small businesses are struggling through no fault of their own as a result of the pandemic,” Mandy Bolter, Kent County Board of Commissioner Chair, said in supplied material. “We worked quickly to get aid into their hands to help keep the economy moving and protect the jobs of our friends, families and neighbors. While we have more work to do, I’m thankful for the efforts of my fellow commissioners, business groups, community members, and county staff who successfully implemented the first round of grants.”
According to information compiled and released by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, overall and using the chamber designations, the list of 1,318 awardees is comprised of 36.6 percent White/Caucasian, 12.9 percent Hispanic/Latino, 21.4 percent African American/Black, 13.3 percent Asian, 1.4 percent Middle Eastern, 8 percent multi-racial, and .2 percent Native American businesses. Additionally, 6.3 percent of applicants did not indicate their racial or ethnic classification.
The fund is designed to support for-profit businesses with 0 to 25 full-time equivalent employees located in Kent County. It is also focused on businesses that have not been able to access to, or have been declined for, other local, state, or federal relief funds, or “need additional support to weather this crisis,” according to the chamber’s website.
“Our team at the Grand Rapids Chamber has worked purposefully to provide assistance to applicants to ensure business owners have a smooth application process,” Dante Villarreal, vice president of business and talent development at the chamber, said in supplied material. “The need for this relief is critical, and we are working to ensure this funding is allocated quickly and efficiently.”
During the Aug. 17 Zoom press conference, Villarreal said there are about 5-6 weeks remaining in program, and that the chamber is now focused on bars and restaurants to reach out to with information. He also said the average award was about $8,000, and that service based industry is largest grant recipients, at about 49 percent.
Villarreal also emphasized that not only is grant funding still available, but qualification verification and application assistance from chamber staff is available as well.
One local small business which has benefited from the grant program, and the assistance of the chamber, is Mod Bettie Portrait Boutique.
Elise Kutt, of Mod Bettie Portrait Studio, discussed the value of her gaining a grant from the Kent County Small Business Recovery Grants program. (from a GR Area Chamber of Commerce video)
“At the beginning, when COVID struck, I had no idea what we were going to do,” Elise Kutt, founder of Mod Bettie, said in a chamber-produced video. “Receiving this grant, for my business, allowed me the ability to take care of business … The unknown is the scariest part, and now I feel so much relief and I am able to put my time and energy back into what I am really good at.”
Villarreal also said chamber staff is available to provide technical assistance, including cost-cutting measures, six-month cashflow projection, analysis with a business consultant, creditor recommendation review, and connections to other critical resources.
A week after the announcement that high school football competition will have to wait until spring 2021 — at the earliest — an expected announcement by the Michigan High School Athletic Association on whether girls volleyball, boys soccer, and girls swimming and diving would be allowed in Wyoming and Kentwood high schools is being delayed until at least next week.
According to a statement today, Aug. 20, from the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), its Representative Council has “approved the start of competition in girls volleyball, boys soccer and girls swimming & diving in regions of Michigan authorized for that activity by Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders, with competition in those sports pending in regions where those activities are not yet allowed” as part of state actions preventing spread of COVID-19.
“Our Council has made clear it is ready to offer students these opportunities, pending approval from Governor Whitmer that we may do so,” Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director, said in supplied material. “We have been told that within a week, future guidance will address athletic issues that exist in current executive orders. We are awaiting that guidance.”
Schools in the northern Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula — designated as Regions 6 and 8, respectively, by Gov. Whitmer’s executive orders — are allowed to begin competition this week, on Aug. 21, as originally scheduled.
But schools in all other regions (1-5, and 7) must delay any competition for the time being, according to the announcement. Kent County is in Region 2.
Lee High School soccer practice (from 2019). (WKTV)
Local high school volleyball, soccer and swim teams may continue outdoor practice, “pending further executive orders allowing for the opening of indoor facilities and physical distancing while competing in those areas,” according to the announcement.
Teams began outdoor practice in volleyball, soccer, swimming and diving, cross country, golf and tennis on Aug. 12. Lower Peninsula girls golf and boys tennis could have began competition Aug. 19, with cross country competition beginning Aug. 21.
Football practice began Aug. 10, but on Aug. 14 the Representative Council voted to postpone the Fall 2020 football season to Spring 2021, also due to COVID-19 concerns.
MHSAA staff, according to the announcement, was authorized by executive order to create all guidance for a return of school sports, “and over the last eight weeks has worked to fulfill this mandate while complying with all of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders. The Council was prepared today to approve competition in volleyball, soccer and swimming & diving for all schools in all regions, but was unable to do so because of questions remaining on which activities are still not allowed.”
So the MHSAA, like local high school athletes, coaches and parents, continues to wait state government action.
“The MHSAA and Representative Council are committed to following all current and future Executive Orders and safety precautions,” Uyl said in supplied material. “However, we need more answers before we can give all of our member schools the go-ahead to play each other again, and the majority of our schools are in regions that are not yet allowed to take part in volleyball, soccer and swim.”
Extra coach contact, practice days for football and others
Also in the MHSAA announcement, it was stated that the MHSAA Representative Council did approve out-of-season coaching adjustments allowing football and spring sports coaches more contact with their athletes in advance of the 2021 season.
East Kentwood High School’s football team (shown at practice from the 2019-20 season). (WKTV)
To provide additional offseason activity for sports that have had their full seasons canceled or moved, the council approved 16 contact days for football and all spring sports to be used for voluntary practices among students from the same school only.
Football may schedule their contact days from Aug. 24 through Oct 31. Spring sports — baseball, softball, girls soccer, track and field, girls and boys lacrosse, boys golf, Lower Peninsula girls tennis — may schedule their 16 contact days for voluntary practices from Sept. 8 to Oct. 31, “if the school permits and all safety protocols are followed.”
Football and all spring sports then may conduct skill work with coaches and up to four players at a time beginning Nov. 1 until the first day of official practice this upcoming spring. Coaches also may work with an unlimited number of players on general conditioning during that time.
A calendar for the inclusion of football into Spring 2021 is expected to be released later this fall, “upon Council approval at a later meeting,” according to the announcement.
You’re driving behind a school bus when its overhead (upper) yellow lights begin flashing. What should you do?
1) Proceed with caution around the bus
2) Prepare to stop behind the bus
3) I’m not sure after last week’s question, I’ll check back Thursday for the answer!
Answer: The answer is prepare to stop! Treat school buses like traffic lights. If the overhead flashing yellow lights are activated, the bus is preparing to stop and you should too (if you’re following behind the bus, you should be able to stop with no problems). If the overhead red lights are on, you need to stop behind the bus.
If the lower flashing yellow hazard lights are activated, you can proceeded around the bus with caution. No matter what lights are flashing, always keep an eye out for kids or people running across the roadway!
The City of Wyoming has completed the unplanned emergency repair on the larger of two water transmission mains and lifted the Sprinkling Ban at 11 p.m. Wednesday night. The repair, which began the morning of Aug. 11, impacted 13 West Michigan communities. Good weather and hard work from two contractors, Kamminga & Roodvoets and Prein & Newhof, allowed the project to be completed ahead of schedule, restoring full water capacity to the 230,000 people served by Wyoming’s system.
Together, the two water transmission mains can carry up to 104 million gallons of clean, drinkable water each day. During the repair, the larger of the two transmission lines was out of service and the water system capacity was limited to about 35 million gallons of water per day. To maintain safe water and avoid boil advisories that are issued when a total loss of water pressure occurs, a Sprinkling Ban was put in place.
“The ban was so that when people turned on the facet they would not just get a trickle of water, or worst yet, no water at all,” said Myron Erickson, director of the city’s Department of Public Works, at the city council meeting on Aug. 17.
With summer water demand at 70 million gallons per day on average, customers were collectively asked to reduce their water consumption by more than 35 million gallons per day, which could be accomplished through observing the Sprinkling Ban. The ban was a success. The West Michigan communities served by the plant showed up for each other by reducing the average daily demand on the Wyoming Treatment Plant to an average of 33.6 million gallons per day. This was achieved by complying with the Sprinkling Ban and helping spread the message about the emergency repair.
“We want to thank all of the water customers who did their part to pause their sprinkling habits, reduce water consumption, and help us spread the message to their neighbors, family, and friends. It’s rare to have an unplanned repair like this and to happen during peak demand was not ideal. We were in a serious situation that could have resulted in boil advisories,” Erickson said. “Fortunately, with the help of our amazing community members actively conserving water and our municipal partnerships, we were able to maintain our water pressure and provide clean, potable water throughout the nine-day repair.”
Staff at the Wyoming Treatment Plant acted quickly to address this unexpected, emergency repair. Erickson said, “going from a report of a suspected leak to a completed repair in less than three weeks is a fast turnaround for a water transmission main this size. Typically, these replacement parts are made to order and can take three weeks to make and deliver to the site. Luckily, one matching the size needed was found in Indiana. Ultimately, the success of this repair could not have been accomplished without intercommunity action to reduce water demand and a highly efficient and professional contractor.”
After nine days of repairs, the emergency project is finished. By completing five days ahead of schedule, the Sprinkling Ban has been lifted earlier than anticipated. The efforts by the entire community helped maintain adequate water pressure, avoiding the serious risk of depressurization and boil advisories.
After careful consideration and consult with health professionals, including health partner Spectrum Health, Amway River Bank Run organizers have decided to transition the 2020 event to a virtual race. The safety of the runners, volunteers and supporters is at the center of this difficult decision. The social distancing required to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of many events nationwide, so the Amway River Bank Run is no exception.
Race organizers are still planning a celebratory event for participants of all the races (5K, 10K and 25K), however. Drive-thru festivities will take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 at Millennium Park in Walker.
“We fully acknowledge the inconvenience that our initial delay from May to October and now the cancellation of the in-person event has caused, but we have been working tirelessly to ensure that the Amway River Bank Run can happen in some way, so we felt the virtual format was best,” said Russ Hines, owner, River Bank Events and Media, and owner of the run. “COVID-19 has forced us to rethink how we celebrate our runners’ accomplishments. We feel that the Millennium Park event will honor the tradition of the Amway River Bank Run.”
All virtual race participants who submit their race times at www.amwayriverbankrun.com are invited to participate in the celebration. Runners will receive a 2020 Amway River Bank Run participant shirt, finisher’s medal and other race swag. There will even be opportunities for participants to have their photo taken with a special Amway River Bank Run backdrop while remaining in their vehicle.
Amway River Bank Run race director David Madiol has been touched by the outpouring of support organizers have received from the community these past few months.
“Thank you to the West Michigan community for its ongoing support during this trying time,” said Madiol, who oversees all corporate social responsibility activities for Amway in addition to serving as race director. “Our partners at Spectrum Health and Fifth Third Bank have been so understanding of all the unfortunate pivots we’ve had to make this year, but they, along with so many other sponsors, elite athletes and vendors have all rallied around to make sure the spirit of the Amway River Bank Run continues forward in 2020.”
“If there is one thing we learned in the first 40 years, it’s that runners are dedicated to their sport and they show-up in sun, rain, sleet and snow,” said Scott Stenstrom, marketing and communications director at Fifth Third Bank. “I hope the spirit of this tradition will encourage them to complete their event virtually and join us at the drive-thru celebration.”
Spectrum Health President & CEO Tina Freese Decker shared that health and safety is a priority. “Spectrum Health is committed to the health and wellness of our communities. Spectrum Health and our orthopedic team encourage runners and walkers to safely participate in the virtual race this year, and we look forward to playing an integral part in future Amway River Bank Runs,” she said.
Individuals who registered for the Oct. 24 race will receive details on how to transfer to the virtual race or defer to the May 8, 2021, race.
