Grand Rapids’ Fountain Street Church, in partnership with Grand Rapids Community Media Center, will host a free and live virtual screening of the new Doo Wop music documentary “Streetlight Harmonies, to be followed by a question and answer event, Wednesday, May 20, at 6 p.m.
Hosted by Fountain Street’s Virginia Anzengruber, the event will feature film director Brent Wilson, producer Theresa Page, Doo Wop legends Vito Picone, Sammy Strain, Terry Johnson, and Wealthy Theatre’s Sarah Nawrocki.
The event is a fundraiser for both Fountain Street Church and the Grand Rapids Community Media Center. Rent or purchase the film through May 20 on Amazon Smile will result in a percentage of the proceeds being donated back to Fountain Street Church or Grand Rapids Community Media Center (whichever is chosen).
According to supplied material, “Streetlight Harmonies” is “an entertaining journey through the groups, songs, and harmonies that evoke both days gone by as well as current hits … Streetlight Harmonies uncovers a definitive period of music and the artists that defined it. Millions know the music but few know the artists and their history that laid the foundation for Rock & Roll, Rhythm & Blues, and built a bridge to the Civil Rights Movement.”
“Streetlight Harmonies” is a Ley Line Entertainment production, distributed by Gravitas Ventures. For more information on “Streetlight Harmonies” visit streetlightharmonies.com.
People who know the local independent music scene know there are not two more different venues than Grand Rapids’ Pyramid Scheme and Spring Lake’s Seven Steps Up — at the first, you’ll likely loose your voice screaming for bands like The Beths or Fruition; at the second, you’ll quietly chill to the sounds of Darlingside.
But both venues, along with more than 1,000 “independent” music clubs and promoters across the county, are trying to find a little power in numbers — and help themselves survive the crippling impact of COVID-19 — by joining the newly established National Independent Venue Association.
While independent venues and promoters are small businesses, nationwide, the estimated direct annual impact they provide to their local communities nears $10 billion, according to the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). In addition to supporting employees and artists who are dependent upon live music for their livelihoods, the industry serves as a “magnet and financial engine for local economies … for every dollar small venues generate in tickets sales, area restaurants, hotels, and retail establishments realize $12 in revenue.”
But that same group also reports that 90 percent of members informally predict they will not be able to reopen if there is no financial support and the shutdown extends to six months.
To find out what is the current mood, and long term outlook, of the independent music industry, here in West Michgian and across the country, WKTV visited the eerily empty rooms of Pyramid Scheme and Seven Steps up last week.
What we found was a bleak present with stages dark and employees on unemployment, but an unclear future unless venues can get clarity on when and how they can reopen, get some some government help.
The problems started even before the two venue were forced to close their doors to the public, back in mid-March.
Pyramid Scheme co-owner Tami VandenBerg. (WKTV)
“It has been a nightmare couple of months, as you an imagine, sort of cascading from March,” Tami VandenBerg, co-founder and co-owner of Pyramid Scheme, said to WKTV. “The first sign of huge trouble was when we heard South by Southwest (annual independent music festival in Austin) might be cancelled. Myself and other members of my team go down there. That is a massive event for our industry. … That was a big red flag.”
And then came not only musicians cancelling but national and state restrictions on certain businesses where people would congregate.
“It was devastating to layoff all our staff and cancel all our shows,” VandenBerg said, trying to count how many shows were cancelled. “It was brutal. Spring is usually a really busy time for us. … it is clear this is an epic mess.”
Michelle Hanks, who with husband Gary Hanks, own and manger Seven Steps Up, also saw the train wreck coming and could do nothing about it.
Michelle and Gary Hanks, owners and mangers of Seven Steps Up. (WKTV)
“It came to a crashing halt on March 14, that’s when we got the call,” Michelle Hanks said to WKTV. “Our last show was March 8. … Most of the shows have not been cancelled, they have been rescheduled. We just don’t have dates for them. … We are already discussing rescheduling for the third time, in some cases.”
In the case of Seven Step Up, Michelle Hanks said “probably going into the neighborhood of 45 to 50” shoes have been delayed or lost all together. At Pyramid Scheme, VandenBreg simply pointed out a busy spring schedule would usually see bands in four of five nights a week.
“Part of the issue with this industry is that it is not just Seven Steps Up, it’s — I loved one of the ways somebody said it — we are an ecosystem,” Michelle Hanks said. “We are an ecosystem of independent venues and independent artists. … The artists really need to tour across the United States, not just here and there.”
Financial losses mount, but unified action could help
Small music venues, like large concert venues and neighborhood brew pubs, are suffering financial hardship partly due to a “first to close; last to open” scenario — coupled with no concrete date of return.
A crowd at the Pyramid Scheme in Grand Rapids. (Pyramid Scheme Facebook)
According to supplied material, independent music industry magazine Pollstar estimated a $9 billion loss in ticket sales alone — not counting food and beverage revenue — if venues remain closed through the end of the year.
“We have been hit, already hit, extremely hard,” VandenBerg said. “And we will be one of the last places to reopen, as I have seen in the Governor’s plan. We’ll be able to open our front bar sooner, with limited capacity and protective gear. … but in term of live music, that is one of the last things that is going to open.”
“The big challenge is the uncertainty,” Gary Hanks said. “We are postponing and putting dates put there, after in the fall and winter, but all of us — agents, artists, venues — don’t really know if those are going to happen. … We may be told we can reopen, but we may be told there are going to be so many restrictions on that, in terms of audience size, that it, just financially, can’t work.”
Both VandenBerg and the Hanks agree they see some hope in their joining the NIVA, and the group’s work in Lansing and Washington, D.C., to request emergency governmental relief they can actually use.
In general, the NIVA is seeking modifications to small business loans and the Payroll Protection Program (PPP), tax relief, mortgage and rent forbearance, continued unemployment insurance for employees and “guidance on how to reopen safely when the time comes,” according to supplied material.
NIVA wrote a letter to Congress in late April advocating for “targeted legislative and regulatory assistance.” In part, the letter read:
“Without your help, thousands of independent venues will not survive to the day when our doors can open to the public again. While we have no income, we do have essential employees, employee benefits, debts with personal guarantees, rents or mortgages, utilities, insurance, local, state and federal taxes, and the massive burden of ticket refunds for more than 100,000 canceled shows due to COVID-19.”
One area of advocacy is to have ticket refunds become allowable as business losses — Seven Steps Up has given more than $4,000 in refunds and, “for us, that’s a killer,” Gary Hanks said.
A key group effort is waiving the PPP requirement for loan forgiveness to be contingent on employee retention if companies have no work to offer employees for several months — currently for loan forgiveness business have to bring people back to within a few weeks.
“One of the things that is a challenge for us, and for other small venues like us, is we can’t just bring our employees back for one show,” Michelle Hanks said. “They will loose their unemployment, at least for that week. … We have to be able to get up and do a regular number of shows for it to make any kinds of sense for anyone.”
Darlingside at Seven Steps Up. (Seven Steps Up Facebook)
Seven Steps Up usually has 7-9 part-time employees for 132-seat sold-out shows.
Pyramid Scheme “on a really busy night, a sold-put night, when we’ve got 420 folks in the back (in the concert room) and another 200 up front (in a bar area), those are our capacities, we can have 15 people working, from sound to security to bartenders,” “VandenBerg said. “When I think about when we will be able to get back to that (level of employment), I just don’t know. It’s really heartbreaking.”
A hopeful future, with a little help from their friends
Both VandenBerg and the Hanks said despite their current and short term problems, they are hopeful.
“In the midst of all this depressing uncertainty, the formation of NIVA has at least given us a glimmer of hope that our nine plus years of blood, sweat, and tears will not go down the drain,” Michelle Hanks said. “Out of crises, good things can sprout up.
“Independent venues have been so independent, fiercely independent, of each other. We don’t typically talk about anything,” she said. “So bringing all the venues together, we are talking about developing best practices for how we deal with things like merch areas, green rooms, queuing people into the venues, security. … That’s been really, really great. But in terms of what they are doing nationally, for us, there is a huge campaign going on right now to contact our elected officials.”
But support the community, from small venue music fans — the “scream at the top of your lungs” crowd or the “kick-back and chill” in a listening room crowd — is and will always be essential for such venues, whether it is buying some merch, or buying tickets for shows that may be delayed, or GoFundMe fundraisers.
“If people love live music, there is several great venues in West Michigan alone … If they want to help, find your venue that you love to go to” and support them in anyway you can,” Michelle Hanks said.
For more information on the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) visit NIVAssoc.org. For more information on Seven Steps Up, located at 116 S. Jackson., Spring Lake, visit sevenstepsup.com. for more information on Pyramid Scheme, located at 68 Commerce SW, Grand Rapids, visit pyramidschemebar.com.
Miriam Tenhaaf and her brother Paul from Diemer’s Farm and Greenhouse braved the cold and rain to attend the opening day of the Metro Health Farm Market. (WKTV)
Social distancing certainly was not a problem at the opening of the Metro Health Farm Market on Thursday as mother nature controlled the crowds with rainy and cold weather.
Still some shoppers – and a few friends showing support – stopped by to check out the offerings of about nine vendors who participated in the rainy opening. Plants, flowers, vegetables, cheese, and even hot coffee were just some of items available. Both vendors and shoppers wore masks and despite the cold weather, were happy to have the market open.
A sign at the Metro Health Farm Market reminds patrons of social distancing guidelines. (WKTV)
“We really appreciate it that it is open,” said Miriam Tenhaaf from Diemer’s Farm and Greenhouse, a family farm based in Holland. “We do most of our business through the farmers markets along with some restaurant sourcing.”
And while the Metro Health Farm Market’s Thursday opening was slow, Tenhaaf said the family has seen good numbers at other markets.
That is good news for Mike Cnossen of Cnossen Family Farms as the Metro Health Farm Market was the first event of the season for him and his wife, Helen.
“Farming is in our blood,” Cnossen said, although because of the weather and the very slow traffic (at around 10:30 a.m. there was about three customers at the market), the couple was starting to pack up for the day.
“We’re happy to see the season start and we’ll see what comes,” Cnossen said.
The Metro Health Farm Market is set up in the Metro Village located in front of the hospital. (WKTV)
The Cnossen’s market neighbor, Peter Van de Roovaart, owner of Full Circle Coffee with a store in Byron Center, said he too was glad to see the farm markets open.
“We are at several of the markets,” Van de Roovaart said, adding he plans to be at the Byron Center Famers Market which opens May 23 at Byron Center’s Bicentennial Park. Even with a physical location, Van de Roovaart said the company still does a lot of business through the farmers markets as well as its mobile truck.
The Metro Health Farm Market is open every Thursday from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., rain or shine. It is located at the Metro Health Village in front of the hospital. The market runs through Oct. 18. For a complete list of vendors, click here. Note: Due to the current governor’s executive order, only vendors selling essential items, such as food and produce, can participate at a farm market.
St. Cecilia Music Center’s Royce Auditorium stage may be quiet now — first due to delayed and cancelled dates, and soon due to it usual summer hiatus — but, boy, when the lights come back on this fall the venue will be supercharged with must-see concerts for every musical taste.
Announcing its “largest concert season in its history,” late last week, St. Cecilia’s 2020-21 season will kick off in September with the rescheduled folk series visit by Marc Cohn, with the first jazz series concert coming in October with songbird Dee Dee Bridgewater together with pianist Bill Charlap, and the first Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center concert planned for November.
While there is likely something for every fan in the current lineup of 18 shows (the folk series usually grows a little as the season goes on), there are a few highlights, especially the February 2021 inaugural jazz WinterFest featuring Christian McBride and Friends — three nights of music including an undoubtedly hot night of cutting edge jazz on a usually cold winter day when Christian McBride with Inside Straight take the stage Feb. 27.
“Each year our outstanding artist roster grows as the word spreads about the incredible beauty and acoustics of Royce Auditorium,” Cathy Holbrook, St. Cecilia executive director said in supplied material. “We always hear how much artists love our setting, the acoustics in the hall and the ever-so-welcoming audience who they get to see up-close and personal while performing. … This year we are excited to launch a new WinterFest Jazz Festival with Christian McBride and Friends.”
There will be some adjustments as far as ticketing is concerned, St. Cecilia also advises.
“Due to the changing restrictions surrounding COVID-19, we are planning for tickets to be on sale July 1,” Holbrook said in supplied material. “This will allow us to make any further adjustments to this schedule as needed. Our hope is to start concerts in the fall as planned.”
Holbrook also advises that St. Cecilia will scrupulously follow the “new normal” when it comes to safe venue operation and “recommended cleaning and disinfecting protocol.”
And the concert rundown …
As mentioned, the Acoustic Café Folk Series will kick things off with singer-songwriter Marc Cohn in November, and include another rescheduled date with Shawn Colvin in January. Returning artists from past seasons include the Milk Carton Kids in December and Leo Kottke in February, as well as first-time St. Cecilia visits by Sam Bush and then the Watkins Family Hour in November, Kat Edmonson and then Rodney Crowell in March and The Mark O’Connor Band in April.
Rodney Crowell (Supplied/Greg Ross)
To spotlight just one: If you know your Nashville/Austin country music scene, you know Crowell. Not only is he often considered one of he Godfathers of the Americana music scene, but he has sung with and written music for/with the who’s-who of the genre: Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Vince Gill and Lee Ann Womack — just to name drop a few.
The St. Cecilia jazz series — in addition to the Christian McBride-led jazz Winterfest, running Feb. 25-27 and Grammy and Tony Award-winning singer Bridgewater with Charlap on the keys in October — also includes the always-superb saxophonist Joshua Redman, visiting with his quartet in January, and acclaimed trombonist, composer and producer Delfeayo Marsalis, with the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, in April.
Joshua Redman Quartet. (Supplied)
McBride’s run on the Royce stage begins Feb. 25 evening he and fellow bassist Edgar Meyer for a “double Double Bass” extravaganza; the Feb. 26 will be a traditional jazz show showcasing McBride’s celebrated jazz career with his trio and special guest jazz singer Cyrille Aimée; and then McBride’s quintet, Inside Straight, on stage “for an unforgettable night of energetic and inspiring jazz” on Feb. 27.
(A bit of ticketing advice, the Joshua Redman night will likely be just as special a night and just hot a ticket as McBride’s Winterfest.)
And, of course, chamber music fans will get their annual night(s) of bliss as the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center will perform three concerts: “Sensational Strings” in November, featuring the music of Dvořák, Beethoven and 20th-century master Erwin Schulhoff; “Magical Schubert” in January, featuring three of Franz Schubert’s most significant chamber music works; and “The Brahms Effect” in April, celebrating the music and influences of composer Johannes Brahms.
For more information on St. Cecilia Music Center’s 2020/2021 season, visit scmc-online.org or calling 616-459-2224.
Crews in Kentwood are working to repair a water main break in front of Crestwood Middle School that has closed both eastbound lanes of 44th Street between Walnut Hills and Walma Avenue.
Traffic is being shifted to maintain one lane in each direction on the westbound side between Walnut Hills and Walma Avenue only. All traffic heading west on 44th Street approaching the site is being detoured north on Shaffer, west on 32nd and then back south on Breton. Traffic heading south on Shaffer will only be able to turn east onto 44th Street.
All drivers, but especially large trucks, are asked to avoid the area if possible.
Though unrelated, the water main break is within a construction zone for a street resurfacing project for 44th Street from Breton to Shaffer. While that project is underway, traffic had been shifted one lane in each direction on the eastbound side. Outside of the area impacted by the water main break, traffic continues one way each direction on the eastbound side only.
The water main break repair is expected to be completed this evening. Crews anticipate they will be able to reopen the lanes by 5 p.m. Thursday, May 14.
One of the longest traditions in the City of Wyoming has been the annual Memorial Day ceremony to honor the sacrifices of the men and women who have served in the U.S. military.
Even with the current COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s extended Stay Home, Stay Safe order, the city plans to continue that tradition, according to staff. The event is just going to be a little different.
The annual ceremony, usually at the City of Wyoming’s Veterans Memorial Garden, has been cancelled. Instead, city leaders and staff are working to put together a prerecorded mashup video with members from the city singing.
“As home to the Michigan Army National Guard Grand Valley Guard Armory, the American Legion Roger B. Chaffee Post, with many of our residents having served in the military, the City of Wyoming has a long tradition of holding Memorial Day as an important day of remembrance,” stated Mayor Jack Poll. “It is important for our community to come together to honor the sacrifices of our blue star families.”
The video is scheduled to be posted on the City of Wyoming’s Facebook page around Memorial Day weekend and make sure to check out the WKTV Journal page, which will be featuring the video all day Memorial Day.
This year, Memorial Day is May 25. Memorial day, usually observed on the last Monday in May, originally honored those who were lost during the fighting of the Civil War. it has evolved over the years to include all American military personal who died in any of the wars. Most communities, such as the City of Wyoming, have marked the day with special parades and ceremonies.
Memorial Day weekend is usually the official start of summer as it is a three-day weekend for most people. However, this year, with the governor’s Stay Home, Stay Safe order extended to May 28 – the Thursday after Memorial Day – most people probably will be celebrating at home.
The conclusion of a recent study suggests possible new ways to prevent or slow the memory-destroying disease, Alzheimer’s, researchers said.
For the study, the researchers analyzed brain samples from patients at memory clinics and found that the presence of healthy dendritic spines (connections between neurons) provide protection against Alzheimer’s in people whose brains have proteins associated with the disease.
The findings, published in the Annals of Neurology, are the first of their kind, the study authors said.
“One of the precursors of Alzheimer’s is the development in the brain of proteins called amyloid and tau, which we refer to as the pathology of Alzheimer’s,” said the study’s lead author, Jeremy Herskowitz.
He’s an assistant professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine’s department of neurology.
“However, about 30 percent of the aging population have amyloid and tau buildup but never develop dementia. Our study showed that these individuals had larger, more numerous dendritic spines than those with dementia, indicating that spine health plays a major role in the onset of disease,” Herskowitz said in a university news release.
Neurons, which are brain cells, are constantly sending out dendritic spines in search of other neurons. When they connect, a synapse—an exchange of information—occurs between neurons. This is the basis for memory and learning, the researchers explained.
“One obvious culprit in Alzheimer’s disease is the loss of dendritic spines and thus the loss of synapses,” Herskowitz said.
“This would impair the ability to think, so the assumption has been that those without dementia had healthy (dendritic) spines and those with dementia did not. But no one had gone in to see if that was true,” he noted.
Healthy dendritic spines could be genetic, or the result of beneficial lifestyle habits—such as good diet and exercise—which are known to reduce the risk of dementia, Herskowitz said.
The findings provide “a target for drugs that would be designed to support and maintain dendritic spine health in an effort to rebuild neurons or prevent their loss,” he added.
“This data suggests that rebuilding neurons is possible. And as we are better able to identify the increase of amyloid and tau early in the progression of the disease, even before symptoms arise, we might be able to one day offer a medication that can contribute to maintaining healthy dendritic spines in those with the Alzheimer’s pathology,” he concluded.
There are many models for consumers to “buy local and eat local” — home and community gardens, farmer’s markets, CSAs, farm stands — but a group of small, local producers are giving the European-bred REKO model a try, and doing so for many reasons.
Yes, the direct producer-to-consumer financial model is good for sustainable agriculture businesses. And, yes, there is something about being able to see the fields and greenhouses where your root vegetables, or micro-greens, were grown.
But in the age COVID-19 and other concerns of food safety, of wondering how many hands have touched your food before yours, the Facebook-based sales model developed in Finland and mostly unheard of in the U.S. — pronounced “RA-ko” — also holds a certain attraction.
Karin Uebbing, of Byron Center’s Woodbridge Dairy Farm. (WKTV)
The model’s direct producer-to-consumer ordering and delivery system “shortens the (number of) hands that touch food, there is less of a line to get to your food,” Karin Uebbing, of Byron Center’s Woodbridge Dairy Farm, said to WKTV last week, at the opening day of a weekly delivery location in Ada. (The REKO also has a delivery location in Holland.)
Currently local vendors can be found at rekomarket.com, and the list includes bakeries and a local ice cream producer in addition to farms producing vegetables, meats, eggs, tea, herbs, honey, maple syrup, cornmeal, and even wool and locally-made compost — Jenison’s Wormies Vermicompost is a member.
“We are a pasture-based protein farm … meat and eggs, (our) milk is a heard-share. That’s a little bid different,” Uebbing said of her farm’s offerings.
Rebecca Henderson, farm manager at Ada’s Green Wagon Farms. (WKTV)
The driving force behind the new market concept, Rebecca Henderson, farm manager at Ada’s Green Wagon Farms, explained the system: Each week, small-scale, sustainable farmers and producers post available products to a public Facebook group, managing their own sales from their online stores. Then bags of food are brought to the drop-off locations for pickup.
And unlike many Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) groups, a membership is not required, and consumers can order one week and not the next, depending on what’s available.
“Right now we have a whole lot of leafy greens,” Henderson said to WKTV. “But we are about to get into the summer season, so pretty soon we’ll have summer crops like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers. But right now we have everything from kale to lettuce (and root crops from) beets to carrots to parsnips.”
History of REKO, in Europe and in Michigan
“Reko is a trade model that started in Finland about seven years ago, it is spread pretty widely across Europe,” Henderson said. “We first heard of REKO at the Northern Michigan Farm Conference in 2019 from Swedish farmer Richard Perkins.
A customers picks up a delivery from Green Wagon Farms at the Ada location of a local REKO market in early May. (WKTV)
“There are so many great things about REKO for the consumer, but for us, the presale market is efficient, eliminates wasted product we might have at the end of a slow day at the farmers market, and requires virtually no setup or tear-down.”
And, echoing Uebbing, there is a “producers’ hands to consumer’s hands” advantage.
“It produces a quick and easy transition between producers and consumers,” Henderson said to WKTV. “We have always enjoyed (a personal relationship between producers and consumers). We go to the farmers market year around. We see weekly, dedicated customers coming to us. We get to build relationships with those people.
“It is great for consumers to build that relationship with their producers. But, also, in light of everything that is going on, people care more and more where their food is coming from. There is a huge surge in local food right now. Consumers want to know their food is being handled safely. We have had this idea, to bring this Reko model to the local market, and there is no better time to do it.”
How the local REKO works
As explained by the local REKO’s promotional material: “For the consumer, (the model) brings market-shopping into the digital age, allows for planning and shopping to be done in the comfort of your own home — and accelerates the actual pickup time to a short weekly errand, instead of a half-day event. In the days of COVID-19, avoiding congested grocery stores, supporting local businesses, and finding a one-stop pickup for a variety of staple goods is particularly meaningful.”
Customers and vendors at the Ada location of a local REKO market in early May. (WKTV)
As witnessed at the Ada drop-off location last week, until further notice, REKO is et up for no-contact pickup, requiring social distancing and masks for all shoppers and producers. Pre-payment options are available, and desired, for most vendors.
Availability from producers will be posted weekly on the Facebook group for each drop-off location (Holland and Ada) as producers may not attend every week and require different order deadlines. Market shoppers must place their orders prior to the deadline and pick up their pre-packed orders within the short pickup window.
The two current REKO markets are Thursdays from 3-3:30 p.m. in Ada, at The Community Church, and from 12-1 p.m. in Holland, at the Holland Town Center and the hope is to continue the markets year-round.
“For us, I’m not trying to feed the world, I’m just trying to feed the community,” Woodbridge Dairy Farm’s Uebbing said. “It’s what allows us, as a farm, to stay in business. We are direct to the end-consumer. If I didn’t have them, we would not be here.”
Byron Center Avenue and 64th Street were aligned with people on Tuesday, May 12, as the Michigan National Guard’s 127th wing flew over Metro Health – University of Michigan Health. The event was part of salute to healthcare workers on the frontline. The planes had come from Traverse City and were making their way to Battle Creek.
Do you have a picture you would like considered for Photo of the Week? Then send it to WKTV Managing Editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma at joanne@wktv.org.
Residents line Byron Center Avenue on May 12 to see the Michigan National Guard 127th wing fly over Metro Health – University of Michigan Health. (WKTV)
Note: some of these stories took place before the governor’s official closing of schools with education moving online. These are just some of the unique and interesting ways are teachers are working to bring creative ways to the classroom. For more stories on local schools, visit the School News Network website, schoolnewsnetwork.org.
Dawt Khun focuses on letters (School News Network)
Kentwood: Fancy F’s and elegant L’s
Some have put cursive writing in the category of lost arts. Not true at Kentwood’s Crestwood Middle School, where language arts teacher Anne Brown is keeping the the flow of writing alive. For more, click here.
Dominic Russell and Quaa Doxie work together on their wheel
Kelloggsville: Working from concrete to abstract in Algebra 2
Kelloggsville High School Rick Jackson puts a new spin on trigonometry by having his students get hands on in the construction of a popsicle Ferris wheel. To learn more, click here.
Maggie Santos and Elijah Brown embellish the busts they’ve made. (School News Network)
Godwin Heights: A look in the mirror cures self-expression
Before the mandated school closure, the classroom was in the middle of a 10-week artist residency offered by Artists Creating Together (ACT). Each week Annalise Hammerlund, the artist-in-residence who worked with Lisa Kotarski’s Godwin Heights class, visited the classroom to lead students in an art lesson that challenged them to learn a bit more about themselves and to express themselves through art. To learn more about this program, click here.
From left, Craig Thompson, from the city of Grand Rapids, and Aleka C. Thrash, owner of Naturally ACT, talk to students during Student StartUp Day. (School News Network)
All District: Getting down to business
In the first-ever Student StartUp Day, which took place the week before the school shutdown, area students got a lesson in what it takes to start your own business and a chance to pitch ideas to area business leaders. To learn more, click here.
The Inner City Christian Federation (ICCF), reacting to a need for more COVID-19 related family “stay-at-home” housing, announced this week that it has expanded its emergency shelter services with a recently renovated and opened 3-bedroom home in Grand Rapids immediately adjacent to its existing 5-unit emergency shelter, Family Haven.
According to supplied material, the new space was purchased from the City of Grand Rapids and allows ICCF to “serve and support additional families experiencing homelessness” during the current coronavirus conditions.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our neighbors experiencing homelessness are facing even more challenging obstacles to finding stable housing. Adding to our capacity at Family Haven at a time like this was the right thing to do,” Ryan VerWys, CEO and President of ICCF, said in supplied material. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer another place in our community where entire families experiencing homelessness can stay together in a safe, clean, welcoming environment while they find permanent housing.”
The new housing unit is a 3-bedroom house suitable for a small family, according to supplied material. The exact street location was not made public.
Renovations were completed with “tremendous support” from local churches, businesses, and volunteers. New mechanicals, including a new furnace, were donated by a local distributor. Plumbing and HVAC work was donated by DHE in Hudsonville.
The home was furnished with “generous donations” from Huizen’s Furniture, Estate Sales Warehouse, Ada Bible Church, Covenant Christian Reformed Church, and Berean Baptist Church.
ICCF is the oldest non-profit affordable housing provider in the state of Michigan, according to supplied material. Active in the Grand Rapids area since 1974, ICCF serves more than 2,200 households a year through its programs and services. Program offerings include Family Haven emergency shelter, 439 units of affordable rental housing, newly constructed homes for purchase, homeownership education and financial counseling.
Two days a week Kentwood resident Beverly Artlip, 82, would visit the Care Resources PACE (Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly) day care program, meeting up with friends, participating in activities, and checking in with staff.
That all abruptly ended when the governor’s executive Stay Home, Stay Safe order went into effect on March 24. Artlip’s connection to the world became the television and her activities centered more on reading.
That was until the phone rang a few weeks ago and a friendly voice from Care Resources PACE asked how she was doing.
“It is very comforting to know that someone cares and that they are concerned,” Artlip said.
What started as welfare calls to check on its nearly 250 elderly program participants has become what Care Resource PACE staff refer to as “happy calls,” where staff reach out to the members simply to chat.
“You talk to them about different things,” said Sue Pence, a transportation coordinator for Care Resource PACE, who joined the team to help make the “happy calls.” “You talk to them about different hobbies, what they are doing and how things are going.”
For Pence, the calls also have provided an opportunity to connect with those in the adult daycare program, where she worked before she became a transportation coordinator.
“It is nice to be able to reconnect with people I have not talked to in awhile,” she said, adding that some of the conversations can be pretty funny.
“There was one person who had this bird and it kept pooping on everything and she was talking about making it diapers and then we started talking about if you could even make diapers for a bird,” Pence said with a laugh adding others have asked about her finding a man for them — preferably a millionaire.
Care Resources is a community-based program with the PACE program being federally and state funded. The PACE program is designed to keep residents within their community for as long as possible, helping residents with medical and emotional needs. During the Stay Home, Stay Safe order, the “happy calls” provide a way for staff to check on the overall medical and emotional needs of each of its participants.
“Many of these people don’t have family or a connection into the community so this is a way for them to feel connected and, secondly, we are family to them,” Pence said.
Pence estimates that she makes about 15 to 25 calls a week, adding that the entire staff makes about 400 to 600 calls a week. The average call is around 35 minutes. “Sometimes it is shorter because the person just wants to check in and other times it is a little longer,” Pence said, adding that some of the people she will call two to three times a week.
Artlip said she receives about four calls a week, all from different people which makes it fun.
“We talk about different things,” she said. “It is just plain nice to have somebody to talk to.”
Care Resources PACE staff member gets ready to deliver activity packets to program participants. (Supplied)
Along with the calls, Care Resources PACE also has been providing activity packets filled with puzzles and word searches, which Artlip said have been a nice break in her routine.
And while receiving the calls and packets are nice, Artlip said she can’t wait to get back to the center to see her friends, but as a former nurse, Artlip also recognizes the need for caution as the world deals with COVID-19.
Pence agreed she too can’t wait to see all the friendly faces as well, since now through those “happy calls” they have a few stories to share and laugh about when they do get the chance to have that face-to-face meet up again.
For more than a decade, Davia Downey, associate professor of public, nonprofit and health administration, has focused her research on American disaster response.
Downey said responding to public health disasters, like COVID-19, is particularly difficult.
“All communities have hazard response plans for earthquakes, hurricanes, public health events and even terrorist attacks,” said Downey. “In most of these cases there is some warning or chatter before the disaster. That’s not the case with an infectious disease.”
While states and localities across the country have disaster management plans, Downey said most don’t pay attention to those plans until a disaster happens. “Too often, our best thinking happens after the disaster,” she said.
Assessing the response to COVID-19, Downey said two pieces are working well at the state level. First, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is consulting with statisticians, business owners, public health officials and emergency planners, while utilizing an internal metric system unique to Michigan.
Second, Downey said Michigan is looking to external partners about the sharing of resources. One way to facilitate this is through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact. All 50 states are part of EMAC in order to share knowledge, coordinate deployment of critical supplies and help each other take care of critical needs that arise.
Davia Downey, GVSU associate professor of public
There is also a lot of information that can be gained by looking back at the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, Downey said. That is the last time a global shutdown occurred because of a severely infectious disease that impacted multitudes of countries all at once.
“The one thing that is really beneficial is now we have the Internet. We have the ability to share information much more quickly,” she said. “I have been impressed with the amount of knowledge that is being shared openly and across state and country borders.”
Downey said there are already a few lessons that can be learned from COVID-19: emergency management needs to be global and not siloed, strong networks in the beginning are the most effective tool and regional strategies work best.
“The best way to recover from this type of disaster is to have strong collaboration networks. The places that will be left out of recovery will be directly related to the amount of collaboration those communities, states or countries were engaged in prior to and during this evolving disaster,” she said.
Downey noted there’s a human element to how people deal with the unknown which colors the way they think about how to respond to a disaster.
“That comes from our amount of discounting. If we haven’t come down with COVID-19, we have a tendency to discount the severity of what’s happening,” she explained. “Our tendency to discount things not at our front door is problematic in a disaster because it hinders our ability to think clearly about how to proceed.”
St. Cecilia Music Center likes to say that “seeing an artist in Royce Auditorium is like having that artist play for you in your living room.” So it seems only appropriate these days that with St. Cecilia quiet and the Royce stage empty, the music center and jazz pianist Emmet Cohen are bringing a livestream concert from his living room to your living room.
St. Cecilia will present one of its 2019-20 season’s Jazz Series artists, Cohen, in a special livestream concert on the music center’s Facebook page Thursday, May 14, from 7:30-8:30 p.m.
Cohen appeared in January with his trio and special guest, legendary saxophonist Benny Golson — and also performed the night prior at St. Cecilia’s Maestro Society Dinner. He has also played at SCMC with Christian McBride and Tip City.
According to supplied material. “Emmet says that he loves the people at St. Cecilia, and wanted to do a concert specifically for our audience.”
While we are not yet able to gather for concerts, go to the ballet, or walk through art galleries, Festival of the Arts and the other 20 cultural organizations that make up the Grand Rapids Arts Working Group are working together to host a Virtual Arts Festival. This special event will stream live on WOODTV.com 10 am-9 pm Friday, June 5, with an encore showing on Saturday, June 6 – the traditional weekend Festival of the Arts would take place in downtown Grand Rapids.
“Partnering with over twenty arts and culture organizations, the production/design team of Sidecar Studios and Well Design, and hundreds of artists and performers on the Virtual Arts Festival, showcases the collaborative spirit of our community,” says David Abbott, Executive Director of Festival of the Arts. “The recent restoration project of Alexander Calder’s La Grande Vitesse celebrates the restorative power of the arts for us all!“
This virtual event will highlight the Grand Rapids’ area local talent, including performing, visual, and culinary arts, along with performances from the Grand Rapids Symphony, Ebony Road Players, Grand Rapids Ballet, Opera Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, and more.
“People need the arts now more than ever as we begin to process this epidemic and move forward. The ingenuity of Festival of the Arts by creating this virtual event signals a wonderful opportunity for healing in our community,“ says Emilee Syrewicze, Executive Director of Opera Grand Rapids.
“It’s been a privilege for the Grand Rapids Symphony to serve as honorary co-chairs for Festival of the Arts this past year. Though it won’t be the same, we’re just as thrilled to share our gift of music with the community at the Virtual Arts Festival,” said President and CEO Mary Tuuk. “Music not only is one of our greatest joys, it’s one of our greatest sources of comfort in trying times. When we need it, we can count on music to nourish our soul and lift our spirits.”
Performers interested in submitting work for consideration may send a recorded video to festivalgr.org/virtual-art-festival by May 15th. Submissions must be original work or public domain to be considered.
Visual artists can upload a photo of artwork to fs22.formsite.com/festivalgr/mvn9edyis8/index to apply to be featured in the online Regional Arts Exhibition, which will be included in the streaming Virtual Arts Festival as well as housed on the Festival of the Arts website. Submissions must be received by midnight May 14th.
The 11-hour streaming event will culminate in a showcase presentation including Mayor Rosalyn Bliss and City Manager Mark Washington, leaders from Grand Rapids Arts Working Group organizations, and a performance from the Grand Rapids Symphony.
There are new advancements being made in medical fields everyday, which can mean great things for seniors who are in need of medical treatment. Even as scientific progress continues to make a significant impact, it’s just as important to meet the needs of a patient that go beyond medical care at the same time. A person’s physical, emotional, and mental states are just as important as their physical condition.
So how do we meet those needs? Holistic care is an approach to healing that works to include all areas of a person’s wellbeing in their treatment plan. Most people are confused about what holistic care means and how it can apply to them — and in the case of seniors who need care, how it can improve their lives. Let’s take a look at what holistic care is and how it can apply to your loved one’s care plan.
What is holistic care?
Holistic care is centered around a philosophy of healing the whole person. This means looking at a patient as a person first, not as a diagnosis or set of care needs. Holistic care takes into consideration other aspects of a person beyond the physical, including their feelings, emotions, and overall state of mind throughout their care journey.
In addition, holistic care tries to fix the cause of a condition instead of just managing the physical symptoms of sickness. Holistic treatments include not only the traditional remedies that you would receive from a regular doctor, but also different ways to help treat conditions that go beyond traditional medicine.
Take, for example, migraines. If someone complained of migraines, a holistic medical practitioner would give the patient medication to manage pain just like most doctors. However, they would also look at what could be behind the headaches, such as a bad diet, poor sleep, or high stress levels. They would then suggest additional treatments for those factors, like a new diet plan, different habits for better sleep, or a massage or meditation course to help decrease stress.
Holistic care practitioners try to make patients feel dignified, respected, and heard by considering the physical, emotional, intellectual, social, and spiritual needs of a patient. Common examples of holistic care include:
As people age and become seniors, they generally find themselves struggling with more and more health problems. This can be incredibly difficult to handle, especially if pain is a daily symptom. Many seniors look to avoid having an overwhelming amount of prescriptions and medications, many of which come with serious side effects.
While the benefits of medical science have undeniably come a long way, it’s also important that seniors feel valued as people. Holistic care can be a great supplemental option for seniors who want to maintain their dignity, feel valued and respected, and have different options for treatments and pain management alongside traditional remedies.
Holistic care can have additional benefits that make a big impact on seniors, including:
Opportunities for socialization
Healthy relationships with long-term caregivers
Cognitive development and maintenance
An increased sense of self-worth and self-respect
Staying independent for longer
Spiritual and religious comfort
Seniors don’t want to feel like a burden on their caregivers, and a brusque attitude can make them feel as though they aren’t being valued as people first and foremost. Seniors with serious illnesses can quickly become depressed if they aren’t treated with compassion and respect. Therefore, it makes sense that holistic care can go a long way in helping seniors mentally, emotionally, and physically.
An athlete working out on one of the fields at the currently called Christian Athletic Complex, which will now become a City of Kentwood park titled Covenant Park. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The City of Kentwood’s parks and recreation system is set to expand greatly as the City Commission last week approved the acquisition of nearly 109 acres of the property known as the Christian Athletic Complex .
Accord to a statement from the city, an anonymous donor gave a “substantial” gift to the Kentwood Community Foundation for the purchase of a parcel, located at 3402 36th St. SE, with the conditions it will be used by the city for park and recreational purposes.
Previously owned by the Christian Reformed Recreation Center, the property contains a golf course, softball fields, soccer fields and a clubhouse, as well as picnic pavilions and other outbuildings. The property will now be named Covenant Park and feature a dedication plaque from the anonymous donor’s family.
“In our ongoing planning for the next 50 years, we are always exploring ways we can improve the quality of life and expand both recreational and economic opportunities for our residents, visitors and our region,” Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said in supplied material. “The strategic location and size of this property lend itself to our goals of continuously meeting the needs of our community and West Michigan. We are humbled by the opportunity this donation presents for us, underscoring that even in these trying times, good things are still happening.
“Our park and trail system is one of the true gems of our community. We are very grateful to the donor, the donor’s family and the Kentwood Community Foundation for this generous donation of the Christian Athletic Complex, which will allow the city to preserve the property as a valued recreational destination in Kentwood for generations to come.”
The property has frontage and access points both off Shaffer Avenue SE and 36th Street SE. It is bordered by industrially zoned property to the east and a mix of residentially zoned properties to the north, west and south.
Plans for development of the property and how it will be incorporated within the current park system will begin soon, according to the city statement. The city will include the property and its development in the master planning process. The City has updated its Parks and Recreation Business Plan and completed master planning all of its existing community parks in 2018.
Parcel split; soccer club gains home
As part of the agreement, the CAC property, which was originally one parcel of nearly 120 acres, was split into two. While the city will receive the 109-acre parcel, the remaining approximately 11-acre parcel will be donated to and owned by nonprofit soccer organization Midwest United Football Club for its continued operations for the next 30 years.
A sign seen from 36th Street at the currently called Christian Athletic Complex, which will now become a City of Kentwood park titled Covenant Park. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
According to the city’s statement, Midwest United FC’s mission is “to provide a quality soccer program that promotes the growth of, and the appreciation for, the game of soccer to kids in West Michigan.” The organization strives to promote the highest levels of sportsmanship, develop soccer skills and increase the understanding of the sport of soccer for their pleasure, with the possibility to play the game at the college level or beyond.
“Today, we are thankful for the generosity and faith a donor had in our organization and mission,” Midwest United FC General Manager Kristie Hollingsworth said in supplied material. “This faith and generosity provided an opportunity for Midwest United FC to call the property our true home and will allow new partnerships to form.”
History of Christian Athletic Complex
The Christian Athletic Complex has served a wide area of community needs over the years, including recreational activities for people of all ages and venue space for corporate events, meetings and open houses.
The currently called Christian Athletic Complex will now become a City of Kentwood park titled Covenant Park. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
According to supplied material, the organization was founded as the Christian Reformed Recreation Center shortly after World War II to provide an opportunity for Christian Reformed youth to participate in sports camps and summer sports leagues. Over time, it grew and developed into a larger Christ-centered organization providing outdoor space for youth and family recreation with more than 240 softball teams at its height and an 18-hole golf course.
“The CAC Board could not be happier placing this beautiful piece of land into the care of the City of Kentwood and Midwest United FC,” CAC Board President James Oppenhuizen said in supplied material. “As it became clear we were unable financially to continue to further our mission, we searched for someone who would continue using the land for outdoor youth and family recreation.
“Through the diligent efforts of an enormously generous donor, the City of Kentwood will be able to perpetually use the land for exactly that reason. Midwest United FC will also be able to continue and expand its top-notch youth soccer program.”
The Metro Health Farm Market kicks off the summer season by opening Thursday, May 14. Due to COVID-19, the market will be a little different in that social distancing guidelines will be adhered to and those attending are asked to where masks and leave the personal shopping bags at home. The market will be open form 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. For more on the Metro Health Farm Market and other farmers markets, click here.
Music for Quarantine
Now on Blue Lake Public Radio: the Grand Rapids Symphony (Supplied)
Every Sunday in May, area residents can tune into a previously recorded Grand Rapids Symphony performance. Performances are on at 1 p.m. at WBLU-FM 88.9 in Grand Rapids or click here to access Blue Lake Public Radio online. For the complete line up, click here.
Remembering the Heroes of WWII
May 7 marked the 75th anniversary of when the Germans surrendered to the Allied Forces. This week’s KDL Staff picks features a selection of World War II books from Michael Bornstein’s “The Survivor’s Club to “They Called Us Enemy” by George Takei (of “Star Trek” fame). For the complete list, click here.
Fun Facts
A botanist running around like Rambo? Well according to Tim Evans, a GVSU professor of biology, if that’s what it takes to get people to discover Michigan’s amazing natural beauty, well why not? We’re all for it. Here is Evans’ first in a series on “Dangerous Botany.” To check out Evans’ other videos, click here.
Family, friends and acquaintances can play a key role in suicide prevention by being alert for signs and taking action to help someone who may be struggling, a mental health expert says.
Nearly 43,000 Americans commit suicide each year, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. For the past two decades, suicide rates have been rising in the United States, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
The sharpest rises in suicide rates have occurred among men aged 45 to 64 and girls aged 10 to 14, according to the CDC.
“There remains a lot of stigma associated with people who seek help for mental health, which prevents them from getting the assistance they need. We need to pay more attention to suicide prevention,” said William Zimmermann. He’s a clinician supervisor of New Jersey Hopeline, a suicide prevention hotline operated by Rutgers University’s Behavioral Health Care.
Many people mistakenly believe that suicides happen without warning. But most people who attempt suicide try to communicate their distress or suicide plans to someone, Zimmermann said in a Rutgers news release.
The problem is the suicide plans or thoughts may not be clearly stated, so asking direct questions about suicide can start the conversation and help-seeking process, he said.
Asking someone about suicide won’t put the idea in their head, Zimmermann said.
Warning signs of suicide attempts include increased substance abuse, anxiety, agitation, difficulty sleeping, dramatic mood changes, a feeling of hopelessness and being trapped, having no sense of purpose, social withdrawal, uncontrolled anger and reckless behavior.
If a person talks about wanting to hurt or kill themselves, threatens to hurt or kill themselves, or talks about looking for a method to kill themselves, get them immediate help or guidance by contacting a mental health professional or a suicide prevention hotline, Zimmermann said.
If you’re concerned about someone, ask them directly if they are thinking about suicide, Zimmermann said. He suggested saying things like: “I care about you. Some of the things you’ve said or done have made me wonder. Are you thinking about killing yourself?”
If they say they are considering suicide, don’t judge, don’t deny and don’t promise to keep it a secret, Zimmermann said. Get support for the person talking about suicide and for yourself, he said.
Brian Hartl, supervising epidemiologist at the Kent County Health Department, talked to WKTV this week about the county’s Contact Tracing Volunteer program.
As Kent County, with the rest of Michigan, begins to come out of its “stay-at-home” COVID-19-limiting efforts, the county’s Health Department remains hard at work with efforts to identify and keep track of persons actively infected — and those possibly exposed to the coronavirus.
And a key element in the county’s contact tracing effort is its on-going Contact Tracing Volunteer program.
“It is really important to control the spread of infection, that is our main goal with this … prevention and control of COVID-19 in our community,” Brian Hartl, supervising epidemiologist at the Kent County Health Department, said to WKTV this week.
The Kent County Health Department (KCHD) is currently seeking contact tracing volunteers to work with the department’s staff “mitigating the community spread of the virus and in supporting patients with a suspected or confirmed infection,” according to supplied material.
“We are really looking for someone who is comfortable with talking with people,” Hartl said. “Really, that is our main criteria, the prerequisite, that you feel comfortable talking with people on the phone. I think if you have some sort of science or health care background, where you are comfortable talking about health concerns, or infections, that is an added bonus.”
While volunteers will be asked to use their own home computers and personal phones, they will be give training, including “sensitivity training.”
“Training is obviously necessary, to help them understand what this is all about,” Hartl said. “Anytime you are talking about someone’s health, you have to understand that this in confidential. Sometimes people get concerned with charing their information with a stranger from the health department. And so confidentially is important. Some of these calls can get sensitive, and emotional.”
And always of great help are persons of diverse cultures and languages.
“We are seeing a high burden (of infections) in populations who are non-English speaking here is Kent County,” Hartl said. “So, individuals who are from those populations, who can speak those languages, are of great need at this point and would be an amazing benefit to this endeavor.”
County’s contact and isolation protocol
Hartl also detailed the KCHD’s overall process of “prevention and control of COVID-19” in Kent County.
“When we get a positive case of COVID-19, our investigators will contact that individual by phone to do that interview, an investigation,” Hartl said. “That investigation includes when their symptoms started, what types of symptoms they had, where they may have picked up the virus, if they have an idea. And then we ask a lot of questions about who they came into contact with 48 hour prior to their getting their symptoms, up to the point we are talking to them.
“We want to make sure all the individuals who may have been exposed to the persons who is sick are identified,” he said, adding that the focus of the questions are “high-risk exposures” to the sick individual.
“We get a list of those contacts, and we, in turn, contact them and ask them about their health to see if they have symptoms yet or if they are well. And then we recommend those individuals do a 14-day quarantine period from the last time they were exposed … periodically, our contact tracers call those individuals to make sure they are asymptomatic, and make sure they are still abiding by the quarantine recommendations. On the 14th day … we would release them from that quarantine.”
Hartl said it is also part of the protocol to “contact the (active) patients every couple days, just to make sure they are doing well and their symptoms have not gotten worse, and to make sure those individuals are isolated. … those individuals are isolated for a period of at least 10 days to make sure they are symptom free … and they can be released from isolation.”
Among the announcements of cancellations and/or delays in programming comes some good news: many area farmers markets such as the Metro Health Farm Market and the City of Kentwood Farmers Market will open as scheduled.
“We’re very excited,” said Metro Health Farm Market Manager Michelle Rademacher. The Metro Health Farm Market is scheduled to open May 14 and run until Oct. 8 at the Metro Health Village, 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW. The market is on Thursdays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m., rain or shine.
“There has been a lot of planning for this to take place so as to follow all of the stipulations for COVID-19,” Rademacher said.
Farmers markets have been deemed essential by the state but even with this classification comes limitations with only food vendors able to sell at the markets. Like many of the area farmers markets, the Metro Health Farm Market and the Kentwood Farmers Market will be following Center for Disease Control and Michigan Farmers Market Association COVID-19 guidelines.
Along with only essential items such as food being offered, vendors will be six feet apart and required to wear masks. Patrons will be encouraged to wear masks and to leave their personal shopping bags at home.
“There is going to be less out with vendors restocking,” Rademacher said. “Hopefully customers will say, ‘I would like three corn, one lettuce,’ and the vendor will pick and bag the items so as to reduce the amount of touching the items.”
“Everybody loves to pick up a tomato to see if it is the perfect one for their meal,” said Fulton Street Farmers Market Assistant Manager Dana Eardley. Being open year around, the Fulton Street Farmers Market, 1145 Fulton St. SE, was able to gradually institute procedures for social distancing and reduction in contact. This included a policy that only the the vendors are allowed to touch food and produce.
The Fulton Street Farmers Market had its official main (summer) season opening this past weekend, where the hours were increased to 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday through October. From November to April the market is only open for a few hours on Saturday.
Area farmers markets have been deemed essential by the state with vendors only able to offer food items such as diary, meat, and produce. (Free Domain)
Kentwood Farmers Market
To encourage vendors to follow the guidelines, the Kentwood Farmers Market is offering a Vendor Scholarship, which will cover 100 percent of the vendor fees. To qualify for the scholarship, a vendor who sells food products, needs to demonstrate a commitment to customer safety such as offering pre-packaged items or pick-up.
The Kentwood Farmers Market returns for its sixth season, June 4 and running through Aug. 27. The market will take place on Thursdays from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. in front of Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE. For more information on the Kentwood Farmers Market or the Vendor Scholarship, visit the market’s website.
Get It and Go
The implementation of customer counts with the Fulton Street Farmers Market only being able to allow 66 customers in the market at onetime did prove to be a challenge. The market was required to close off all its side entrances and increase its volunteers to get the customer counts along with help at the handicap entrance, Eardley said.
“The market is a place that people come to stroll or have a family outing, letting the smells and produce call to them as to what they might want to add to their meals,” Eardley said. “We have had to really make a shift in having people get in and get their food and leave.”
Advance planning is encouraged with the Fulton Street Farmers Market instituting a “roll call” on its Facebook of vendors planning to be at the market so shoppers could plan.
The Metro Health Farm Market also will have traffic arrows to direct the market flow and some of its entrance points will be closed but there are no plans to track the number of people in the market.
“There is some fear that a farmers market can turn into a social gathering, “Rademacher said. “Hopefully people will follow social distancing guidelines and only send one person from a family to help with the crowd control.
Rademacher added staff will be keeping an eye on the first day to see if adjustments need to be made.
Making Their Dollars Count
Eardley remarked that attendance for opening weekend was lower than usually, but she did have good news for other farmers markets.
“Some of our vendors have told us that they have had record-breaking sales,” she said. “So while the volume was down, those who were coming are very serious about making their dollars count toward the local food farmers and not the big box stores.”
Rademacher concurred with Eardley, saying “I think people are acknowledging that farmers are small businesses and spending local wherever they can.”
What About Non-Food Items?
Most markets usually have a mix of food and non-food items. Fulton Street Farmers Market also has an artist market on Sundays starting in June. Because crafters and non-food vendors do not fall under the essential category, for now they will not be at the markets. Both Radamacher and Eardley said they remain hopeful that as guidelines change, non-essential vendors will be able to be added.
It was anticipated the local economic statistics for April would be negative, but the numbers weren’t as bad as expected, said Brian G. Long, director of Supply Management Research in Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business.
“This report is one of the weakest we have filed in our 40-year history; however, the data we collected in the third and fourth weeks of April did not turn out to be a record low,” he said.
Long surveyed local business leaders and his findings below are based on data collected during the last two weeks of April.
The survey’s index of business improvement (new orders) fell to -45 from -21. Long noted at the onset of the Great Recession, new orders fell to -59 in December 2008.
The production index fell to -48 from -16. The index of purchases fell to -44 from -30, and the employment index plummeted to -41 from -25.
Long said during the Great Recession, it took 18 months (October 2007 to April 2009) for statistics in this local survey to turn back to positive.
“As the economy slowly reopens, we will be closely monitoring the confidence levels of both retail and industrial consumers, both of which have been hit very hard,” he said.
Had it not been for Internet purchases, Long said, auto sales would have been virtually non-existent. He said automakers and dealers have countered many of the lockdown measures with remote and online sales, but U.S. light-vehicle deliveries were expected to fall 50-55 percent in April.
Long said COVID-19 will cause nearly every industry to reevaluate supply chains. “Many firms had no idea that many subcomponents back in the supply chain were coming from China,” he said. “Look for an anti-China backlash.”
The Institute for Supply Management survey is a monthly survey of business conditions that includes 45 purchasing managers in the greater Grand Rapids area and 25 in Kalamazoo. The respondents are from the region’s major industrial manufacturers, distributors and industrial service organizations. It is patterned after a nationwide survey conducted by the Institute for Supply Management. Each month, the respondents are asked to rate eight factors as “same,” “up” or “down.”
It was a good morning for every school district in Kent County that had a millage or bond issue in yesterday’s election — they all passed including Kelloggsville’s request for a 1.0 mill sinking fund and Godwin Heights $13.9 million bond request.
The May 5 election was the first time in the state’s history that was totally absentee ballot. All registered voters within school districts with a proposal were mailed absentee applications and local municipalities had voting stations — and in the case of the City of Wyoming, curbside voting — set up on the day of the election.
“We saw a higher turnout then we normally see for a special election,” said Wyoming City Clerk Kelli VandenBerg, who added that there was about a 14 percent turnout for the May 5 special election with the city usually having about a four to six percent turnout for similar elections.
VandenBerg said there could be a number of factors that contributed to the increase such as absentee applications were direct mailed and since people were home, they had more time to complete the ballot.
“We really weren’t sure what to expect,” VandenBerg said, adding that the entire process went very well. Most of the voting did happen through the mail, with about 40 voters come to city hall to vote, she said.
Playground at Southeast Elementary will benefit from the recently approved 1.0 mill sinking fund. (WKTV)
For the May 5 election, Kelloggsville sought a 1.0 mill sinking fund request over 10 years to help with technology and safety improvements and the repair and construction of school buildings. In the first year, the district would receive $371,073 with West Elementary slated to receive the first round of funding for new carpet, lockers, playground upgrades and repaving the parking lot. Over the next 10 years, about every building within the district would benefit from the sinking fund by receiving roof replacements, classroom updates and parking lot repaving.
Kelloggsville encompasses a portion of the City of Wyoming and the City of Kentwood. With about 15.54 percent of the 8,307 registered voters within the district voting, the measure passed 710 to 576.
“We want to say ‘Thank You’ to our community,” said Eric Alcorn, Kelloggsville’s auxiliary services director. “We truly appreciate the trust they have in us even in these trying times. This is really exciting for our kids, parents, staff, community, and everyone connected to Kelloggsville. The passing of the sinking fund will allow us to make the necessary improvements in our classrooms and facilities throughout the district. We look forward to seeing the results of the annual improvements for the years to come.”
Godwin Heights is in the City of Wyoming. With about 13.69 percent of its 8,130 register voters voting, the bond proposal passed, 653 to 457.
Will there be absentee voting in the fall? That is something the state will have to decide. (WKTV)
The City of Wyoming also has a small portion of voters in the Byron Center Public Schools, which was seeking a bond proposal. With one of the highest turnouts, 37.82 percent of its 20,252 registered voters, the proposal passed 4,805 to 2,830. Interestingly, according to the Kent County election results, none of the 10 City of Wyoming registered voters voted in the May 5 special election.
As to whether the absentee balloting should be done for August and November, which has been mentioned by state leaders, VandenBerg said that the fall elections are a different scale. In the special election, the city was dealing with about 12,000 voters, she said, adding that in the August and November elections, the number of voters is more than 52,000.
“I think there are elements from this election that are worth looking at but as to whether the fall elections should be absentee will be guided by decisions from others,” VandenBerg said.
Seventy-five years ago on May 7 the Germans officially surrender to the Allied Forces. In honor of that historic day, the KDL Staff Picks focus on a few books about World War II.
Adult
Survivor’s Club By Michael Bornstein
I enjoyed the first person account by Michael Bornsein, one of the youngest survivors of Auschwitz. I wanted to engross myself in this survival story as I anticipate the Holocaust survivor Guest Speaker, Lowenberg, who is coming to WYO on Nov 13th. Like the boy in this book, it is about surviving but most importantly about overcoming hate.
– Jules at Wyoming
The Medallion By Cathy Gohlke
I found myself sitting on the seat of my chair, I was caught up in the lives of the characters, the suffering, sorrow, pain, turmoil and hate, especially during the war against the Jewish people and anyone who dared assist them in any way. I knew the story would be hard to read, because of what people suffered, especially the children. But I loved the power of love, sacrifice, and forgiveness that shines bright in this book.
– Kelly at Nelson/Sand Lake
Mr. Churchill’s Secretary Susan Elia MacNeal
Mystery readers who enjoy books in series will want to consider Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Maggie Hope, a whip-smart, educated, and beautiful young woman with a background in mathematics and a talent for breaking codes, chafes at her role as secretary, but her talents don’t remain undercover for long. Readers will want to start with this, the first in the series, which introduces the many characters and which so accurately conveys the atmosphere of London during the war.
– Mark at Krause Memorial
The Librarian Auschwitz Antonio Iturbe
This was a very inspiring Historical Fiction novel based on the 14 year old girl Dita Kraus who risked her life to protect a selection of 8 books smuggled in by prisoners of Auschwitz. It is a story about bravery and strength of a young female main character as she navigates herself through the Nazi concentration camp bringing hope and the love of learning to the children of Auschwitz.
– Jules at Wyoming
Teen
The Called Us Enemy By George Takei
A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon — and America itself. An excellent graphic novel about a part of American history not often spoken of.
– Shaunna at Alpine
For more KDL Staff Picks, visit the Kent District Library, kdl.org, and click on the “Recommendations” table on the left side of the page.
Want to reduce your risk of dementia? Take care of your heart.
That’s the takeaway from a new study that suggests good heart health in middle age could lower your odds for problems with thinking and memory later in life.
The study included nearly 7,900 British adults who did not have heart disease or dementia at age 50. Over an average 25-year followup, 347 cases of dementia were diagnosed among participants. Average age at diagnosis: 75.
After taking other factors into account, researchers linked a higher score at age 50 on seven healthy habits outlined in the American Heart Association’s “Life Simple 7” with a lower risk of dementia later in life.
The Life Simple 7 assesses smoking, diet, physical activity, fasting blood sugar, blood cholesterol, blood pressure and body mass index (a measure of body fat based on height and weight).
Dementia rates were 1.3 per 1,000 person years among participants who had high scores on heart healthy habits, compared to 3.2 per 1,000 for low-scorers, according to the study published recently in the BMJ.
A better score at age 50 was also associated with higher overall brain and gray matter volumes in MRI scans 20 years later.
Though the study could not prove that heart-healthy living actually caused dementia risk to drop, the researchers said their findings support public policies to improve heart health in middle age. They pointed out that dementia is a progressive disease that can start 15 to 20 years before symptoms appear.
“Our findings suggest that the Life’s Simple 7, which comprises the cardiovascular health score, at age 50 may shape the risk of dementia in a synergistic manner,” the study team wrote. “Cardiovascular risk factors are modifiable, making them strategically important prevention targets.”
The lead author is Severine Sabia of the French National Institute of Health in Paris and University College London.
The Grand Rapids Ballet team has produced a virtual hug video “to honor and salute our healthcare and essential workers for all they’re doing to keep us safe.” (From the video)
Grand Rapids Ballet artistic director James Sofranko and his troupe of dancers, after the cancellation of the remainder of their 2019-20 season, are abiding by the state’s “stay at home” restrictions like most of the rest of us.
But dancers will be dancers, everybody needs a hug every now than then, and the 2020-21 season is not far away. (And, BTW, season subscriptions are available now.)
So in the short term, the ballet team has produced a virtual hug video “to honor and salute our healthcare and essential workers for all they’re doing to keep us safe,” according to an email from the ballet.
“It’s our hope this special message will offer them — and you — a healthy dose of strength and encouragement. The dancers (who are all wearing blue in a sign of solidarity with healthcare workers) volunteered their time and talents for the cause.”
The piece was produced by James Sofranko and Cindy Sheppard Sofranko, and edited by Joe Sofranko and Lili Fuller.
The dancers are Jimmy Cunningham, Steven Houser, Ingrid Lewis, Celeste Lopez-Keranen, Madison Massara, Alexandra Meister-Upleger, Yuka Oba-Muschiana, Emily Reed, Gretchen Steimle, Nigel Tau, Julia Turner, Adriana Wagenveld, Matthew Wenckowski and Nathan Young.
Cellist Jeremy Crosmer of Grand Rapids’ ESME (Eclectic String Music Ensemble) appears on the video playing the prelude from Johann Sebastian Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major.
“Our mission is to uplift the human spirit through the art of dance and we hope you’ll keep the momentum going by sharing this video with your friends and family, too,” the email concludes.
And about that 2020-21 season …
James Sofranko. (WKTV)
“The 2020-21 season (our 49th) will take Grand Rapids Ballet to a new level of artistry and production,” James Sofranko says of the coming season on the ballet’s website. “In addition to The Nutcracker, I am proud to be returning the company to DeVos Performance Hall a second time in the year for Ben Stevensen’s Cinderella, featuring grand sets and costumes and live music from the Grand Rapids Symphony.”
Other programs include works by Andy Blankenbuehler, the 3-time Tony Award winning choreographer of Hamilton, and Christopher Wheeldon, also a Tony Award winner and former resident choreographer of New York City Ballet.
About 62 Kent County companies were among the 195 small businesses in West Michigan negatively impacted by Executive Orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic that received grant support from the Michigan Small Business Relief Program.
This program was made possible by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) releasing $20 million in grants and loans through the Michigan Strategic Fund. MEDC allocated the 11-county West Michigan region $1,000,000 in grant funding to be administered by The Right Place, Inc. This region included Barry, Ionia, Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana and Osceola counties.
The demand for funding throughout the region was staggering with over 3,300 applications received, requesting over $71 million in both grant and loan funding. Each county formed committees to accept and review applications for the extremely limited grant funding. A full list of the review committees can be found at this link. Grant applications were evaluated based on the criteria set forth by MEDC.
Of the $1,000,0000, $615,000 went to 62 companies in Kent County. Ionia received $40,715 grants for seven companies and in Muskegon County, $140,000 was awarded to 30 companies.
These grants may be used for working capital to support payroll expenses, rent, mortgage payments, utility expenses, or other similar expenses that occur in the ordinary course of business. To respect the privacy of our region’s small-business owners during this challenging time, The Right Place, Inc. will not be releasing the list of individual grant recipients.
As well, The Right Place, Inc. received and forwarded 33 loan applications to MEDC for evaluation under the loan portion of the Michigan Small Business Relief Program. MEDC will make final determinations for loan applications.
Entrepreneurs Daimond and Regina Dixon know how to turn lemons into lemonade, thanks to some quick pivoting that saw the couple go from planning a late April grand opening of their 6,500 SF Alpha Human Performance athlete performance and recovery facility to organizing online training sessions and registering online memberships. The result of their “Alpha Up” initiative is having more than 300 athletes and fitness enthusiasts registered to participate in online training sessions before the facility ever opens its doors. The couple hopes their quick actions and positive attitude, along with benefit of more time to plan and recruit members, will actually serve as a boost in business when the facility opens.
Throughout early spring, the Dixon’s were in the thick of grand opening planning while Erhardt Construction crews worked to renovate a vacant warehouse building at 3233 Eastern Avenue in Grand Rapids into a sports performance and fitness facility catering to area elite athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Then, in mid-March, just as all of Michigan started to realize the widespread impact of COVID-19, the Dixons were told that construction would have to halt, delaying the planned late April grand opening of the new venture.
Although Daimond Dixon, a well-known area high school and college sports trainer, felt discouraged, he quickly worked through emotions and, along with his business partner and wife Regina, began to adjust grand opening plans and develop online training options as a way to keep potential members engaged while stuck at home during the state’s “Stay home. Stay safe” quarantine.
“Just like I tell my athletes to give it all they got when they want to quit, I knew I had to practice what I preach and begin finding a way to turn this into an advantage for Alpha Human Performance,” said Daimond Dixon, who has spent the past 25 years working with high school, college and professional athletes across West Michigan. “I tell people to bring our their ‘inner alpha,’ so it was time to start telling that to myself.”
Soon after, the Dixons got to work organizing various online training opportunities, branded as “Alpha Up.” The free online trainings, which just required individuals to register on the Alpha Human Performance website, quickly filled up, as area runners and athletes were desperately seeking new workout and conditioning routines. As of April 28, Alpha Up has 300 members, all of whom are now award of the Eastern Avenue facility and future memberships.
Alpha Human Performance is located at 3233 Eastern Ave. SE, Grand Rapids. (Supplied)
“The online engagement has been a great way to not only attract and cultivate relationships with potential members, but it’s allowed our crew to test and refine training offerings,” said Regina Dixon, a former high school athlete, who handles all business development and operations for Alpha. “We can’t say that we are excited to have this additional time before opening, but we’ve tried to make the best of it by keeping people engaged and tightening up our programming before opening our doors.”
Erhardt Construction is leading the buildout, which was already underway when the shutdown mandate went into effect. Although Alpha and Erhardt have not finalized a new timeline, Dixon hopes that Erhardt can finish up in May, paving way for an early June grand opening.
“We are watching all the Governor’s updates on when and what businesses can open, so we realize there is a lot to be figured out,” Dixon adds. “In a strange way, however, we’ve been blessed to have more time to prepare our opening, so are eager to open the doors of Alpha Human Performance very soon!”
Mod Bettie Portrait Boutique in mid-April created a self-portrait challenge for female-identifying persons which would “inspire … the community to exist in photos.” (Supplied/Mod Bettie)
Selfies can be good; they can be, ah, not so good. But in these times of self- and imposed-isolation, selfies — self portraits — can be a means of communicating one’s place in this strange new world in humorous, poignant and even stark ways.
Mod Bettie Portrait Boutique, of Grand Rapids, in mid-April, created a self-portrait challenge for female-identifying persons which would “inspire … the community to exist in photos.”
Mod Bettie, a studio which specializes in “pin-up and boudoir to professional photos and glamour shots for the whole family,” is focusing its challenge on photos taken by age 18-plus “female identified, LGBQT and non-binary” persons.
“These are wild times,” Elise Kutt, Mod Bettie owner said. “Though things are uncertain and things are stressful, there is one thing Mod Bettie is sure of — We are not alone.”
One of the submissions to the Mod Bettie Portrait Boutique self-portrait challenge. (Supplied/Mod Bettie)
The goal of the challenge is to “show our resilience and our camaraderie. Community members were encouraged to share their daily routines, whether at work or home or somewhere in between. To show their fears and hopes, how they are being helpful and how they are being supported.”
One of the submissions to the Mod Bettie Portrait Boutique self-portrait challenge. (Supplied/Mod Bettie)
According to Kutt, the submitted images will be curated in an exhibition and printed in a book that will be for sale with proceeds going to female small business owners, artists and performers affected by the closures.
Mod Bettie studio plans on continuing to host challenges throughout the COVID-19 closures.
“It started when the quarantine started and will continue through May 15, or longer if the quarantine gets extended,” Kutt said.
More Americans than ever before are stressed, depressed and anxiety-ridden, and many are unable to get the help they need, a study suggests.
An estimated 8.3 million American adults─about 3.4 percent of the U.S. population─suffer from serious psychological distress, an evaluation of federal health data concluded. Previous estimates put the number of Americans suffering from serious psychological distress at 3 percent or less, the researchers said.
“Mental illness is on the rise. Suicide is on the rise. And access to care for the mentally ill is getting worse,” said lead researcher Judith Weissman. She’s a research manager in the department of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
This increase is likely a lasting after-effect of the Great Recession that began in late 2007─a stress-filled time that caused long-term emotional damage to many Americans, Weissman suggested.
Many people psychologically affected by the Great Recession haven’t been able to get the help they need, either because they can’t afford it or because their condition hampers their ability to seek out treatment, she said.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of Americans live with serious psychological distress, an umbrella term that runs from general hopelessness and nervousness all the way up to diagnosable conditions such as depression and anxiety, Weissman explained.
“The recession seemed to have pushed the mentally ill to a point where they never recovered,” she said. “This is a very disturbing finding because of the implications of what mental illness can do to a person in terms of their ability to function and their life span.”
The study included national health data from a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 35,000 households nationwide participate each year.
The investigators found that between 2006 and 2014, access to health care services deteriorated for people with serious psychological distress, compared to people without emotional distress.
Comparing self-reported psychological distress symptoms across nine years, the research team estimated that nearly one in 10 distressed Americans in 2014 did not have health insurance that would give them access to a psychiatrist or mental health counselor.
In 2014, people with serious psychological distress were nearly three times more likely to experience delays in getting professional help due to insufficient mental health coverage than people without serious distress, the study findings showed.
Approximately 10 percent of people with serious psychological distress could not afford to pay for their psychiatric care in 2014, up from just under 9 percent in 2006.
The economic turmoil caused by the Great Recession struck at the heart of the American dream, rattling some to their core, Weissman said.
“Earning and sustaining a living is getting harder for people, especially for men,” Weissman said. “The loss of jobs could mean there’s a loss of community and a loss of role as wage earners and providers.”
Dr. Harsh Trivedi is president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt Health System, a Maryland mental health provider. He said constant noise from the internet and social media likely serve to amp up people’s anxiety and angst.
“In the past, you may go out and meet with your friends and talk about something, but when you got home you’d go to sleep,” Trivedi said. “The difficulty now is you can’t really turn things off. We don’t necessarily have downtimes to recharge and get our bearings straight again.”
Weissman pointed out that psychologically distressed people already struggle to deal with the health care system, and on top of that there are national shortages of mental health professionals.
And, Trivedi added, the ongoing debate over the Affordable Care Act isn’t doing distressed individuals any favors.
“If you are in a more distressed state, how easy is it for you, from a psychological perspective, to seek care?” Trivedi said. “If the overall market is shifting, and you are more psychologically distressed, how are you going to have the faculties to keep track of your access to health care?”
Weissman said insurance companies should pay for mental health services, which need to be more fully integrated into primary care for people.
“We need to increase access to care for the mentally ill,” she said. “We also need to put trained psychiatrists and mental health providers within the primary care setting. If you have linkages of care within primary care, then the mentally ill patient can be helped even if they’ve come in for some other reason.”
The study was published in the journal Psychiatric Services.
There has been a lot of baking going on during the Stay Home, Stay Safe order and Kentwood resident Gerald DeMaagd benefited from these special delights that were a gift from Kentwood residents Ray and Kris Bizon. The technique used for the cookies was royal cookie icing.
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.
Metro Health ICU physicians on the frontlines of COVID-19 treatment are also on the leading edge of searching for innovative solutions.
Dr.Ronald G. Grifka, Metro Health’s Chief Medical Officer
Intensive-care doctors Eric Feucht and Matt V. Zaccheo and section chief Dr. Gabriel E. Pedraza are working with Mayo Clinic to research the use of convalescent plasma to treat COVID-19. This therapy was used this month with two Metro Health ICU patients. One recovered and went home, and the other continues to improve.
“This is a promising treatment option and we are proud to contribute to the research,” said Dr.Ronald G. Grifka, Metro Health’s Chief Medical Officer. “The best minds in the world are working on this problem, and scientific collaboration of this sort is essential to finding the solutions.”
Mayo Clinic has been designated by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to lead the project in collaboration with research institutions across the country. Metro Health is among the hospitals contributing to the project.
The idea convalescent plasma is more than a century old: A recovered patient’s blood serum is infused in a patient suffering the same disease, in hopes the recovered patient’s antibodies will help resist the viral invasion. This strategy has been used, with varying success, to treat Spanish Flu, SARs, Ebola and other outbreaks – but its effectiveness with COVID-19 is unknown.
The FDA has only approved the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma as an investigational drug. This means it can be considered for use in clinical trials and for expanded use in patients with immediate, life-threatening conditions.
As a participant in the Mayo Clinic research, Metro Health will supply data from its patients who received infusions.
“Along with the scientific rigor, we’re seeing cooperation across the board to bring this investigation up to speed,” Grifka said. “This includes leading research institutions, hospitals and blood centers. Let’s not forget the recovered patients themselves, who are willing to roll up theirsleeves, literally, in hopes that can help others.”
To find out if you are eligible to donate your plasma, click here.
In a normal workday setting for health care workers who have to wear personal protective equipment, or PPE, the same equipment that workers know fits properly is readily available. But when the COVID-19 pandemic created shortages of PPE at many health care facilities, the need for respirators and gloves was met with donations.
While the donations were needed, using equipment without a proper fit can render the equipment less effective than it would normally be.
To help address this concern, Grand Valley Occupational Safety and Health students have created helpful guides for health care workers that provide a step-by-step tutorial for qualitative fit-testing different styles and brands of respirators.
“The guide also provides information about the different types of respirators and provides information on the acceptable conditions, and maximum efficiency,” said professor of occupational safety and health Derek McCormick.
McCormick said that the N95 mask, which has become commonplace since the pandemic began, is intended to filter 95 percent of contaminants from the air. That efficiency goes down if the mask isn’t worn properly, or doesn’t fit right.
“Knowing how to fit-test these respirators is important because OSHA requires employers to assess hazards in the workplace and provide the right PPE, and employees want to be using the right equipment for the job,” McCormick said. “This project helps identify the best way to use the tools available for health and safety.”
A different group of occupational safety and health students also created a guide for proper cleaning and PPE in room sanitization processes. Again, in normal times the same kind of sanitizer would be used in a health care setting, but with shortages of chemicals and cleaners, non-standard solutions are being used.
Those different chemicals and cleaners have different exposure risks, which can be mitigated by different kinds of gloves that are designed to protect from different hazards. The students created a list of cleaners that can be used in place of normal sanitizing processes, and what PPE should be used to protect workers from side effects or other hazards.
“These seniors and recent graduates are making a difference in a unique way,” McCormick said. “Helping protect frontline workers in our health settings during a pandemic is a wonderful and important way to showcase what they have learned at Grand Valley.”
City of Wyoming’s Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt announced that the Wyoming Senior Center will remain closed until June 1. All scheduled events at the Senior Center through June 1 are canceled and may be rescheduled for a later date.
“This is a preventative measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in populations at high risk of getting very sick,” Rynbrandt wrote in an email letter to the community. “High-risk populations include older adults and people with chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease.”
Rynbrandt said staff will continue to evaluate the current state of COVID-19 as more information is available and update the community members as needed. All those who are directly impacted by the cancelations that go through June 1 will be contacted.
Two members of the Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network (GRAMAN), working recently to provide grocery deliveries to households in need. (Supplied/GRAMAN)
The Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network was formed recently in response to the COVID-19 crisis to offer direct neighbor-to-neighbor help to “neighbors in need” in the Grand Rapids area, specifically the cities of Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming, and Walker.
Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network (GRAMAN) spokesperson Raina Cook told WKTV the group’s initial focus was to “provide grocery deliveries to households every day and provide financial assistance to marginalized people.”
But the group also recently joined a statewide effort to advocate for renters in COVID-19 financial hardship, and also joined the new local La Luncha fund to support “under-documented” and “mixed-status” families who are Kent County residents — an effort which has already gained financial backing from the Grand Rapids Community Foundation.
The graphic of Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network (GRAMAN). (Supplied/GRAMAN)
“GRAMAN is made up of volunteers who feel pulled to help members of the community who are struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis,” Cook said to WKTV. “Our giving circle is comprised of marginalized individuals who make decisions as to who we are able to give financial assistance to. This ensures that groups who have been affected by social disparities are prioritized.
“As a group of neighbors helping neighbors rather than a non-profit entity, we rely solely on contributions from the community and volunteer efforts. To date we have received over $50,000 in contributions that will go directly back to the community.”
Cook said Wyoming and Kentwood residents who want to request assistance can do so by filling out a form at tinyurl.com/GRAMAN-Financial.
Cook added that before filling out the form, they are asking people to check to make sure whether someone in your household has already done so.
“If you have already completed this form, regardless of what was requested or offered, you do not need to fill it out again. If you have already been in contact with a member of our team, please reach out to them,” according to GRAMAN. “Due to the high volume of requests we are currently receiving, it may take a few days for us to get in touch with you. In the meantime, we suggest checking out this list of resources we’ve compiled” at tinyurl.com/GR-Resources.
Working with La Lucha fund
In late April, eight community organizations, also acting in response to COVID-19, established the La Lucha Fund, a fund that will grant short-term emergency aid to undocumented, under-documented and mixed-status families in Kent County — families who are not eligible for unemployment, CARES Act relief or other government support.
“La lucha” means “the struggle” or “the fight” in Spanish.
The La Lucha Fund is a collaboration between Movimiento Cosecha, the Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network, the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan, the Latino Community Coalition, Latina Network of West Michigan, West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and West Michigan Latino Network.
“We developed a partnership when La Lucha fund started in order to address the needs of thousands of under-documented folks in the Greater Grand Rapids area,” Cook said. “We had already been taking and meeting requests for groceries and cash for the under-documented — the folks working on La Lucha fund consulted with us and built off of our systems to create the system for La Lucha fund.”
Working to support renters under financial stress
Also in late April, a Michigan statewide group including Detroit Renter City, Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network, Together We Are Safe, Lansing Tenants Union, Greater Kalamazoo Area Renters Union, and No Rent MI called upon Lansing leaders to consider the suspension of rent, the extension of the moratorium on evictions, and a moratorium on all utility shut-offs.
“This grassroots coalition of tenant organizations are seeking to highlight the precarious situation that Michigan tenants find themselves in and the failure of the State to seriously address the looming housing and public health crisis in the age of COVID-19,” a press release from the group stated.
“We are working … to advocate for renter protections during the COVID-19 crisis and recovery period,” Cook said. “GRAMAN has aligned itself with these groups because we share the same goals in regards to making sure people are able to stay in their homes when so many other things are uncertain.”
The focus of the action is persons unable to afford rent — and facing homelessness — due to a slow unemployment filing process and the inability to gain assistance from other government programs. According to other media reports, Michigan unemployment claims have passed 1.2 million, with 81,000 new unemployment claims the last week of April.
In an earlier statement, Cook said “in Grand Rapids, landlords have been pressuring tenants to pay their rent and threatening them despite the current eviction moratorium” in Michigan.
“There is a statewide moratorium on evictions through May 15, but that is not sufficient,” Cook said to WKTV. “Undocumented individuals, for example, are not eligible for the stimulus payment. Many Michigan residents have been unable to receive unemployment benefits, as the unemployment agency is seriously overwhelmed. People are struggling to feed their families right now, and a rent freeze would give them some relief during this unprecedented crisis.”
Cook said GRAMAN is currently compiling information from renters with the goal of building a tenants union that would help renters support one another. She said Grand Rapids area renters can fill out a form to aid in that effort at tinyurl.com/twastenantsupport.
Additionally, No Rent Michigan is calling for the immediate suspension of rent collection and elimination of past-due rent as well as an extension of the eviction moratorium to 60 days after the end of the current state of emergency, as well as a moratorium on utility shutoffs, Cook said. And there is a petition is circulating to urge state lawmakers to enact these measures at https://tinyurl.com/mipetition.
How to get involved with GRAMAN
For more information about the Grand Rapids Area Mutual Aid Network, or to get more involved, persons can email the group at grmutualaid@gmail.com — and they say they would “especially love help with intake and coordination.” Also, donations to the mutual aid fund can be made at tinyurl.com/GGRMutualAid.
