The Grand Rapids Ballet School, the educational branch of Grand Rapids Ballet, recently announced an expansion of its Explorer Dance Program, a 45-minute beginning-level ballet class that emphasizes balance, coordination, and creative expression for children with disabilities.
The ballet school’s Explorer Dance Program continues at the Meijer Royce Center for Dance in downtown Grand Rapids, but will now return to Holland community with classes held at Hope College’s DeVos Fieldhouse after a 16-month hiatus due to the pandemic.
“I feel fortunate that we can once again offer the Explorer Dance classes,” school director Attila Mosolygo said in supplied material. “There’s a need for this type of class and we take great pride in being able to fill that need because these kids benefit from it.”
A scene from the Grand Rapids Ballet School Explorer Dance Program’s adaptive dance class. (Supplied/GRBS)
The Explorer Dance is part of the Grand Rapids Ballet School (GRBS) Adaptive Dance Program, which is focused on “the therapeutic power of dance for participants of all abilities to experience the joy of dance,” according to the announcement.
Among the many benefits of participation in Explorer Dance, students will interact with other children in their class, and build a sense of community and belonging. Mosolygo added that in addition to the camaraderie students feel, ballet also offers many therapeutic qualities.
“It’s great for people to recognize that dance can be part of everyday life. It’s very calming,” he said. “Our students feel great coming out of the class.”
The Explorer Dance program in Grand Rapids is returning to in-person classes for the fall semester following a year of virtual learning the previous school year. The Holland Explorer Dance classes are re-launching after more than a one-year break.
“There has always been overwhelming positivity in the Explorer Dance class,” Taryn Streasick, GRBS faculty member, said in supplied material. “All they wanted was to be back in person and see each other again.”
The Explorer Dance classes at both locations offer students the chance to interact one-on-one with the teacher in a hands-on environment that provides an opportunity to focus on learning. Students are able to discover their abilities and strengths while working to improve balance and hand-eye coordination.
“The students love being able to move and dance together,” Streasick said. “They build each other up and they help each other by encouraging one another.”
The fall semester runs through Jan. 22, 2022. Classes take place Monday evenings in Grand Rapids and Tuesday evenings in Holland.
For more information about the Grand Rapids Ballet School visit grballet.com.
For more information and to enroll in a Grand Rapids Ballet Schools’ Adaptive Dance program, visit grballet.com.
The first national coaches poll came out early this month and the Grand Rapids Community College men’s cross country team was ranked #3 in the country for National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 2 schools.
And as the team prepares to host its annual GRCC Raider Invitational Saturday, Sept. 18, at Calvin University’s course, three runners with local ties will be on the course for the Raiders.
GRCC cross country runner Coleman Clark. (GRCC)
While the most watched of a large and talented squad of first-year GRCC runners, according to head mens coach Garrett Lacy, is Coleman Clark — the 2020 MHSAA Division 4 cross-country state champion from Carson City-Crystal High School — two freshman from Kentwood, Christian Martinez-Ramos and Lucas Schneider, are expected to also be top runners.
And sophomore returner Lance Jourdan, of Wyoming, can challenge for a top spot “on any give day,” Lacy said to WKTV.
GRCC cross country runner Joshua Kipkoech. (GRCC)
The top GRCC returner — and the team’s No. 1 runner — is Joshua Kipkoech (Kenya/Kipsoen Secondary). Kipkoech was the Michigan Community College Athletic Association and NJCAA Region XII champion last year, and went on to finish 5th at NJCAA D2 cross-country national championships. He also holds the school record at GRCC in an 8k time of 25:22.
Martinez-Ramos, who attended Wyoming Kelloggsville High School, and Schneider, who attended East Kentwood High School, both finished within the top 7 runners in the Raiders first action at Calvin University Sept. 4. Martinez-Ramos finished as the 5th GRCC runner in a time of 28:16 over the 8-kilometer distance, and Schneider was the 7th man in 29:17. Jourdan attended Calvin Christian.
Raider men’s team deep and fast
“This year’s squad is probably the deepest it has ever been with 15 guys on the roster,” Lacy said. “When I came to GRCC just two years ago we had just three men on the roster, so to grow the program over the last two years into a team of 15 is really quite rewarding.
“Beyond that, we are coming off a season in 2020 that was one of the best in school history where the team captured it’s first MCCAA and Region XII championships for the first time since the reboot of the program took place in 2014.”
The team then went on to finish in 9th place at the NJCAA D2 National Championships last year in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
“For this season’s outlook we look to build upon the success that we had least season and defend our conference and regional championships and attempt to go back-to-back. We also are aiming for a top three podium finish at our national competition this year and to bring home some hardware for the college and the Grand Rapids community.”
This year’s squad is highlighted by 10 newcomers to the team, Lacy said, including Clark as well as transfers Brian Frazee (Kellogg Community College) who was NJCAA D3 All-American last season, and Jaydon Moleski (Rochester University, and a graduate of Cedar Springs High School.
And Lacy also sees good things coming from both Martinez-Ramos and Schneider.
GRCC cross country runner Lucas Schneider. (GRCC)
GRCC cross country runner Christian Martinez-Ramos. (GRCC)
“I think both runners have a ton of potential for growth, and will continue to improve throughout the season,” Lacy said. “Lucas is a very hard worker who put in a ton of summer miles to get ready for this season, but had a two week setback with an ankle injury that sidelined him for two weeks right before the start of the season or he would likely be even further up on the squad than he is now.”
“Christian has a desire to be great matched by few that I have ever coached before, he just needs to work on being patient and trust the process and I have no doubt he will achieve the goals he has set for himself.”
GRCC cross country runner Lance Jourdan. (GRCC)
Jourdan, coach Lacy said, is “not inside our top 7 right now, but could be on any given day. He is also a great sophomore leader on the team and brings a ton of value in practices and on meet days that goes beyond just being in the top 7 runners.”
Another “key” returner is Andrew Periard of East Grand Rapids.
For a full schedule of the GRCC cross country team, visit grccraiders.com.
I’m not afraid of werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels, I’m afraid of what real human beings do to other real human beings.
American writer Walter Jon Williams
Wyoming’s First Public Market
Well after months of anticipation, the City of Wyoming’s first Public Market is this Saturday. The event is set for 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at HOM Flats, 1401 Prairie Parkway SW. The event is free to attend and will feature a number of local artisans and a selection of food trucks. No sweat if you miss this Saturday’s event as a second Public Market is scheduled or Sept. 25 at Wyoming City Hall.
Retired Chaplain John Hooglund, from Holland Home at Breton Woods, produced this work as part of veterans art project which led to the Yellow Ribbon ArtPrize entry. (Supplied/Pamela Alderman)
It’s back
After two years, partly due to COVID, ArtPrize returns with artists taking over downtown Grand Rapids. There is sculpture. There is paintings. There is a lot to see, so spend the weekend — with weather reports all showing it to be beautiful — checking out some amazing art and get boned up on the new voting system.
Executve Chef Josef Huber at Gun Lake Casino shows off the popular burger, which comes with two 4.5-oz. patties. (Photo by John D. Gonzalez)
Now Open
WKTV Contributing Writer John D. Gonzalez gives us the inside scoop on the new restaurants at the Gun Lake Casino. Located just off the US 131, the restaurants include the SHKOÉ Chophouse, CBK, and the 131 Sportsbar & Lounge, which offers floor-to-ceiling LED video walls and 180-degree panoramic views For more, click here for John’s story.
Seattle’s Great Wheel (Wikipedia)
Fun Fact: Ferris Wheels
“Pleasure wheels” as Ferris Wheels were called date back to the early 1600s, however the one we are most familiar with is George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.’s creation for the 1863 Chicago’s World Fair. Designed to rival the 1,063-foot Eiffle Tower that was the center piece of the 1889 Pairs Exposition, the “Chicago Wheel” was 264 feet and the tallest attraction at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. After the fair, the wheel was rebuilt on Chicago’s North Side, near Lincoln Park, where it rain from 1895 to 1903. It was then shipped to St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair and destroyed after that event. The Ferris Wheel returned to Chicago in 1995 at the Navy Pier and in 2016, the Navy Pier opened the Centennial Wheel as part of its 100th anniversary celebration. Today Ferris Wheels are more commonly called Observation Wheels, pre the one in England. The tallest Ferris Wheel in the world, the High Roller, stands at 550 feet and is located in Las Vegas.
Continuing on its pathway of park improvements, the City of Wyoming is requesting input from residents about what they would like to see at the city’s most northern park, Marquette Park.
“The park’s current development is considered outdated and needs to be updated to address the evolving needs of the City and the immediate neighborhood,” said Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt.
The playground area at Marquette Park. (WKTV)
The 40-acre Marquette Park, which is located at 1414 Nagel Ave. SW, is one of the city’s oldest parks. The eastern section, which includes Kimble Field and the Dog Park area, was originally purchased in 1938 when the city, which was a township at the time, paid $2,800 for sewage disposal site from the estate of William F. Keeney. The western portion of the property, which currently features soccer fields, the Grand Rapids Rifle and Pistol Club, and a playground, was added to the park in 1946. Marquette Park was officially designated as a city park in 1971.
According to Rynbrandt, the park is nestled in a culturally diverse, densely populated residential area that is located to along the park’s southern and eastern boarders with industrial properties to the north and west.
The 15-question survey, which is in both English and Spanish, asks how often a person visits the City of Wyoming Parks, how often they have visited Marquette Park, and lists a number of activities, such as basketball, a community garden, gathering places, splash pads, tennis and walking paths, that survey participants might be interested in seeing at the park. Rynbrandt said the goal is for about 2,000 survey responses noting that the city received 1,800 survey responses for Jackson Park when that project was in the planning phase.
Because the community near the park is largely Spanish speaking, Rynbrandt said they wanted to make sure that residents were able to provide input which is why the survey is in both English and Spanish. There also will be Spanish interpreters available at the upcoming master plan meetings for the park which are Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. at Godfrey Lee Early Childhood Center, 961 Joosten St.; and Sept. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Wyoming Senior Center, 2380 DeHoop Ave. SW.
The City of Wyoming’s park system was predominately built between 1950 and 1970. Over the last 15 years, the city has made great strides in developing park properties such as Ideal, Frog Hollow, Jackson, Ferrand, Lamar, Battjes, Prairie, and Oriole parks into contemporary facilities.
“We strive to ensure each park has its own character and, to the extent practicable, based upon proven resident demands, limiting duplication of facilities,” Rynbrandt said, adding that to foster unity and social connections while leveraging its limits financial resources, the city’s park system has moved away from pocket parks to regional parks that have unique identities but serve all of the city’s residents.
Currently the city is working on Gezon Park which is located in the panhandle between Gezon Parkway and 52nd Street. The first phase of construction has started at Gezon with it expected to be reopen next spring.
State law makers are considering a bill that would decriminalize psychedelic plants and fungi. (pxfuel.com)
By Cameryn Cass Capital News Service
As Ann Arbor readies for a one-year anniversary celebration of its decriminalization of psychedelic plants and fungi, state lawmakers are considering a similar move that would apply to the entire state.
It would drop the punishment for possessing and using entheogenic plants and fungi that contain naturally occurring psilocybin, mescaline, ibogaine, psilocyn, dimethyltryptamine and other hallucinogenic compounds.
Sens. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, and Adam Hollier, D-Detroit, recently introduced the legislation. The bill would be the first step in encouraging research and understanding about these controversial substances that have medicinal and religious value and a low propensity for abuse, Irwin said.
“To me, it makes a lot of sense to focus on these substances and decriminalize them because locking people up and spending police time and resources trying to ruin people’s lives over use of these substances makes zero sense,” he said. “We need to end the war on drugs.”
Sen. Roger Victory, R-Hudsonville (Supplied)
In 2016, Michigan spent $860.3 million to enforce drug control, according to the Cato Institute. Irwin said he wants to refocus this effort on helping people with programs and therapy, a strategy for drug control that a handful of other cities, states and countries have followed.
Sen. Roger Victory, R-Hudsonville, who chairs the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, has not scheduled it for a hearing.
“It’s not on my radar screen,” he said. “There’s a lot to consider.”
There is more research and clinical testing to do, said Victory, who wants to review scientific studies before taking it up.
Michael Williams, the co-director of Decriminalize Nature Michigan, an advocacy group that lobbied Ann Arbor to decriminalize entheogenic plants, said that any substance carries a risk.
These substances are largely non-addictive and safe, said Williams, who credits them with helping end his drug addiction.
“You just need to weigh the risk with the benefit,” he said.
Psychedelic drugs have been used with therapy to help patients suffering from depression, anxiety and substance abuse, according to Decriminalize Nature.
Especially helpful are psychedelic mushrooms containing psilocybin, which binds with several serotonin receptors, according to a study in the Mental Health Clinician.
With these substances being illegal, people are “constantly having to make that choice about whether or not to take a product that helps relieve their pain or their stress and breaking the law,” Irwin said.
But critics worry about the impact on impaired driving.
As there is no set chemical test to give someone suspected of being under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug, a certified drug recognition expert is required to make an arrest, said Robert Stevenson, the executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police.
There are only 100 certified drug recognition experts in Michigan, and certifying more is a lengthy process, Stevenson said. Drivers suspected to be under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug also require a blood test, which requires a search warrant.
After the legalization of recreational marijuana, there were similar concerns about an increase of drug driving.
“We haven’t seen the surge they had expected,” said Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt. “Originally, everyone thought the sky was going to fall in, and we haven’t seen that.”
Advocates of decriminalization argue it’s unlikely that impaired driving rates will increase, as it’s unlikely that recreational use will increase.
“If someone is impaired and they are unsafe to be on the road, that’s going to come out in the examination on the roadside,” Irwin said. “There’s a relatively small number of users, and people who do use usually use much less frequently.”
As Michigan is looking to decriminalize only entheogenic plants, Irwin said “part of the beauty of decriminalization, for its limitations, is that it doesn’t require any enforcement.”
Decriminalizing psychedelics has been on ballots around the country several times with varying success. Advocates are looking for a way to end former President Richard Nixon’s 1971 war on drugs.
“We need to end the war on drugs. The war on drugs is the granddaddy of all big government failures,” Irwin said.
Maintenance of birdhouses is important and should be done in the fall. (pxhere.com)
By McKoy Scribner Capital News Service
In Michigan, there are over 350 species of birds.
After birds lay their eggs and their fledglings take off in the spring, you might have an empty bird box at this point. Should you clean out the nest they leave behind?
Whether to clean out nests from birdhouses at the end of summer is an ongoing debate.
Some people fear if they clean out a nest box, they might be disrupting a family of birds who might need it for future use.
Meanwhile, others claim you can lend a helping hand to birds by cleaning the birdhouse of any buildup that could cause parasites.
MSU Extension’s Elliot Nelson says there’s no clear-cut answer, but basic maintenance of nest boxes is necessary.
“There’s a lot of research still to be done on nest boxes and cleaning them, and the science isn’t exactly totally clear yet. But there are some things you can do to make sure your nest boxes are safe and healthy for birds.”
This includes making sure a nest isn’t built too close to the entrance hole, which poses the risk of predators getting in.
Annual monitoring of the box for a buildup of mold or debris is also a good idea to help prevent mites or lice.
Nelson says predators and parasites are the two main threats to birds.
If there’s too much buildup of nesting material, ectoparasites like mites and lice could attack a group of nestlings the next time birds make a home in the house.
Be sure that a birdhouse hole is the right size and that ectoparasites “aren’t going to be able to build up in there too much,” Nelson said, then clean it occasionally by removing the nest material.
If there’s a lot of moisture or mold in the birdhouse, that’s a sign to remove all nesting materials to give it a deep clean, he said.
When determining a good time for a cleaning, Some species have multiple clutches in the same summer, so it’s best to wait until fall arrives in September after all possible nestings are done, he said.
To deep clean a nest box, bird enthusiasts should use a simple bleach solution or hot water.
Wyoming Department of Public Safety is seeking assistance in locating a witness to an assault and possible robbery that took place on Aug. 4.
On Aug. 4, at about 3:40 a.m., Wyoming Police officers responded to the 1000 block of Burton Street SW on a report of an injured person stemming from an assault. Officers located an unconscious 38-year-old male from Wyoming. The male was transported to a local hospital for emergency surgery for serve, life-threatening head trauma. According to an official statement from the department, police revealed there was a female witness to the crime.
Wyoming Police investigators are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the female witness. She appears to be a white female with long dark hair. The attached photos of the witness were provided to the police from an area business and separate witness.
Anyone who could identify the female witness in the photos or who has information on this case is asked to contact the Wyoming Police at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
In preparation for the new 988 phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, starting Oct. 24, West Michigan residents will need to dial the full 10-digit number to make a local call. (pxhere.com)
When phone numbers were first established in the late 1880s, they were just a series of three numbers. As the population grew, the number system expanded to seven digits locally with a three-digit area code for long distance.
Starting Oct. 24, in many areas of Michigan, it will not matter if you are making a local or long distance phone call, you will be required to dial 10-digits — one plus the area code plus the number.
The reason? The Federal Communications Commission has designated 988 as the abbreviated dialing code that can be used to reach the suicide prevention hotline. Officials expect the 988 dialing code to be active by July of 2022.
“In many area codes across the country, 988 is already used as a prefix, or first three digits after the area code of customer telephone numbers,” the Michigan Public Service Commission announced in a press release earlier this year. “In order for 988 to dial directly to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, any area code that includes 988 prefix must transition from seven-digit dialing (dialing without the area code) to 10-digit dialing (1 plus the area code with the telephone number.”
Residents with the 616, 810, 906, and 989 area codes will have to make the switch to 10-digits for all local calls. As of Oct. 24, if a resident with that area code dials with only seven digits, the call may not be completed and a recording may inform the caller that the call cannot be completed as dialed. The caller will have to hangup and redial the 10-digit number.
Phone numbers will not change, residents only need to add the area code to the existing number. It is recommended that residents check contacts to make sure that the complete 10-digit number is stored in their devices. It is also recommend that businesses review devices that rely on numbers to assure all contacts’ 10-digit numbers have been stored.
Other three-digit numbers such as 911 for emergency and 221 for community services will not be impacted.
The new 988 number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline goes into effect on July 16, 2022. Until then, residents can cal the hotline at 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK). Veterans and Service members may reach the Veterans Crisis Line by pressing 1 after dialing, chatting online at www.veteranscrisisline.net or texting 838255.
According to the FFC, since 2008, suicide has ranked as the tenth leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide claimed the lives of more than 48,000 Americans in 2018, resulting in about one death every 11 minutes. An FCC staff report to Congress in 2019 proposed establishing 988 as an easy to remember three-digit code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Staff analyzed various options and determined 988 was the best option for increasing access to crisis resources and ensuring the fastest possible transition. Establishing the easy-to-remember 988 as the “911” for suicide prevention and mental health services will make it easier for Americans in crisis to access the help they need and decrease the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health issues, state FCC officials in a release about the new three-digit number.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of approximately 170 crisis centers. The centers are supported by local and state, and public and private sources, as well as by Congressional appropriations through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
At this point, it is probably a good idea for residents start using 10-digit numbers as some areas in the country have been forced to add second area codes due to running out of phone numbers. The FCC estimates there are more people than phone numbers.
Nature enthusiasts surpassed the goal set by the 2020 challenge by cleaning 151 forest sites, as well as removing 459 cubic yards of trash. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
By McKoy Scribner Capital News Service
Every year, tons of trash is illegally dumped in Michigan’s public lands, but a state program has been running for three decades to mitigate the problem.
The Adopt-a-Forest program is volunteer-driven and helps people engage with the outdoors and encourages them to keep public lands clean, the state Department of Natural Resources says.
The DNR conducts outreach to find volunteers and then connects them with a site in need of a cleanup.
Rachel Coale is a communications representative for the DNR. She says the work done in the past year has been fantastic and she’s eager to see what’s to come.
“So, last year we conducted a ‘100 cleanups in 100 days’ campaign, which despite the pandemic, we blew past our goal, which was really exciting,” she said. “So, this year we haven’t run any specific campaigns, but we’re definitely seeing more and more people get out in the woods.”
Nature enthusiasts surpassed the goal set by the 2020 challenge by cleaning 151 forest sites, as well as removing 459 cubic yards of trash.
The challenge was also a part of celebrating 100 years of the National Association of State Foresters and its effort to promote thriving forests.
Individuals or groups that volunteer are recognized with a certificate. If they adopt and clean over 640 acres of land, they can request a sign in recognition of their work.
Coale says volunteers have found everything from paper waste to mattresses in the woods.
“It really helps to have those eyes in the woods because we can’t have a conservation officer everywhere, all the time. But you know, we have a great group of volunteers who can say what’s happening out there and let people know.”
Through the program, half of the trash taken off public lands has been successfully recycled.
McKoy Scribner reports for WKAR and Great Lakes Echo.
Active Commute Week – a movement to promote more eco-friendly modes of transportation – is underway and runs through Friday.
“Active Commute Week is a great collaboration between individuals, organizations, and employers to promote healthy, sustainable modes of transportation around our region,” said Bill Kirk, spokesperson for The Rapid, and former participant in ACW. The Rapid and its commuter transportation program, West Michigan Rideshare, administer the technology utilized for Active Commute Week.
“Whether participants elect to ride The Rapid, hop on their own bike, take a walk, or utilize a scooter or bikeshare bike, that choice benefits our entire community by reducing emissions and improving public health outcomes,” said Kirk.
Kirk emphasized that the challenge is not just for work commute – participants can log a trip to the grocery store, restaurant, or library.
“Personally, I will be riding my bike or taking Route 5 to work and trying to make all my trips around my neighborhood by foot,” said Kirk.
The event will feature an employer challenge, designed to encourage friendly competition among organizations. Currently there are 25 Grand Rapids employers participating in the challenge.
Active Commute Week was postponed in 2020, but the event in 2019 was the largest yet. In a five-day period in June of 2019, a total of 393 individuals logged more than 4,000 green trips. The actions of those participating in the challenge reduced vehicle miles traveled by 19,293 miles, reducing pollutants by nearly 20,000 lbs, and saving commuters more than 900 gallons of gas. This year the event will take place across a seven-day period, in order to encourage participation on the weekend.
The Happy Hour recap event will take place on September 17 at Garfield Park. There will be an awards ceremony, and challenge participants will have a chance to win prize packages. It is not too late to sign up – Details on the event can be found at wmrideshare.org/acwgr
When a victim steals a car to get away from human trafficking, should they be charged with theft? that is a question a bill in the state legislature would answer. (pxhere.com)
By Barbara Bellinger Capital News Service
LANSING — Police have made arrests this year for human trafficking in Oakland County and more recently in Mecosta County.
Yet legislation that would keep victims of human trafficking from being arrested, charged and jailed when they are coerced to commit crimes has not moved since legislative hearings were held in early March and the end of April.
“It’s discouraging to see the lack of progress for these bills thus far, and it’s my hope legislators will give them the priority they deserve,” Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote in an email to Capital News Service.
Michigan ranked in the top 10 states for human trafficking in 2019 with 364 cases, according to the Polaris Project, which operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. The Michigan Abolitionist Project, which works to end trafficking, estimates that the actual numbers are closer to 1,100-1,400 individuals.
A sting operation in Mecosta County in August resulted in arrests of six men who came to the area to have sex with children. They could serve up to four to 40 years in prison if convicted.
But at issue is when children and adult victims of human trafficking commit crimes as a result of being trafficked or when they try to escape. Some lawmakers hope to keep them out of jail.
“When a victim steals a car to get away from human trafficking, should they be charged with theft?” asked Rep. Graham Filler, R-DeWitt, and chair of the House Judiciary Committee. “These victims need more grace.”
Trafficking doesn’t exist only in the larger cities such as Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Lansing, Filler said. “This happens in rural Michigan. Even in my hometown of DeWitt, it’s easy for (the traffickers) to hide people in those communities.”
The human trafficking package of 26 bills that sits in the House Judiciary Committee would strengthen existing laws to protect the victims of human trafficking who commit crimes because of their situation.
A bill sponsored by Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Township, would erase any crime committed by a human trafficking victim as a direct result of being trafficked. That applies only to crimes of prostitution now.
Another bill, sponsored by Filler, would give the victims the right to present evidence that the crimes they committed occurred because they were trafficked.
Another, sponsored by Rep. Bronna Kahle, R-Adrian, would require the courts to stop moving forward cases where children commit a crime because they are human trafficking victims.
“Every child needs a champion,” Whiteford said in a Zoom interview. Whiteford said that the bills would provide just that to both juvenile and adult victims of human trafficking.
Hearings on the bills have been held in the Judiciary Committee, and Nessel testified about her strong support for the package and said victims of human trafficking needed encouragement to break the “cycle of silence.”
Whiteford said she is frustrated by the lack of action since then. The bills have taken a back seat in the past few months, she said. “The chair of the Judiciary Committee has other priorities.”
When asked about the hold up, Filler said that although the bills had broad support, concerns were raised at the most recent hearing that the laws as written would allow traffickers to force victims to commit multiple crimes knowing that they would get off.
Filler said he doesn’t want to give a free pass to all criminals. “I want to narrow them so they apply instead to real victims.” When asked whether this work has begun, Filler said his staff will review the issues.
Whiteford said the bills have enough flexibility already and should stand as proposed. “The bills give the judges the discretion to expunge on a case-by-case basis,” she said.
The Michigan Coalition to end Sexual and Domestic Violence welcomed the bills’ additional “safeguards to victims who have engaged in criminal activity in connection with their victimization.” The group pointed out that traffickers commonly coerce their victims to commit crimes as a method of control.
“No statistics exist for victims of human trafficking who have committed crimes because of their situation,” said Jane White, the executive director of the Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force at Michigan State University.
“Do we know that this exists?” White wrote in an email. “Absolutely. Survivors tell us this often. It’s part of what human trafficking is.”
Whiteford’s goal is to get the bills out of committee before the end of the year.
“People are exploited,” she said. “Children are exploited. The average age of the juvenile human trafficking victim is 15 years old. We should all look out for the children in our lives.”
The City of Kentwood’s adaptive recreation programs, part of the city’s Park and Recreation Department programing, includes summertime water skiing. (WKTV)
There are many reasons to attend “The Vibe,” the City of Kentwood’s community event this week to raise awareness and funds for the city’s Adaptive Recreation Programs.
Yes, it is a fundraiser — this year with the proceeds going to keep its adaptive waterskiing program even more participant-safety focused. But, also, it is a chance for the general public and program participants to mix and learn about the program and its importance to the community.
But this years event — on Thursday, Sept. 16, at the city’s Kent District Library branch — will have a much more “casual vibe” than in some past years.
“This years Vibe has a totally different feel than in years past,” Katelyn Bush, Kentwood’s recreation program coordinator, said to WKTV. “It’s going to be more like a backyard barbecue. It is more informal … and is also going to be outside. It is like just hanging out with your friends. … It is going to have more of a casual vibe.”
And there will be some great new friends to be made at the “backyard barbecue,” for community members who want to support the programs and for program participants.
The City of Kentwood’s adaptive recreation programs includes summertime water skiing for all ages. (WKTV)
“The vibe is a fundraiser but it is also a celebration of what our department does for our community, specifically our adaptive recreation population,” Bush said. “We invite many of our participants that are involved with the programs and their families, so many of our athletes can come and be ambassadors for the program. They can answer questions and share their experiences.”
The Vibe will be held 6:30-9:30 p.m., at the Kent District Library – Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch, 4950 Breton Ave. SE. It will include food and cocktails, live music by Main Street Dueling Pianos, a silent auction, adaptive equipment displays and yard games.
The evening also will feature guest speaker Brad Dion, a longtime Grand Rapids resident and East Kentwood High School graduate, who will “share his life experiences of living with cerebral palsy, accomplishing goals and giving back to his community,” according to supplied material.
As a wheelchair athlete, Dion enjoys competing in wheelchair tennis. He also loves to mentor and coach wheelchair sports to kids with disabilities. He spends his days inside the classroom teaching fifth and sixth grade general education as well as supporting special education.
“We are grateful to have Brad Dion share his story at this year’s event,” Val Romeo, Kentwood Parks and Recreation director, said in supplied material. “We welcome the community to join us to hear his journey and learn more about the value of inclusive recreational opportunities.”
Tickets for the casual-attire event are $40 per person, and tickets are still available. They can be purchased online at KentwoodVibe.com or by calling 616-656-5270.
(The City of Kentwood will continue to monitor public health guidance and orders, which may require changes to events. Residents are encouraged to follow current public health guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.)
Water skiing is fundraising focus this year
Funds raised at this year’s event will go toward the city’s adaptive water ski program. The program includes various adaptive water ski clinics offered by the Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department in partnership with community partners. Kentwood also offers its own “Sibs Clinic” once a year, where friends and family members are encouraged to ski with their loved one with a disability.
The City of Kentwood’s adaptive recreation programs includes summertime water skiing, which requires extensive safety support. (WKTV)
The clinics give youth and adults of all abilities an opportunity to experience water skiing “in a positive and safe environment with the help of trained staff and volunteers,” and equipment designed for individuals with cognitive or physical challenges.
That “safe environment” is, as always, a focus of the adaptive recreation staff and the programs they offer.
“The funds raised at this year’s event will go to purchase two new jet skis for our adaptive water ski program,” Bush said to WKTV, “These two watercraft are essential to the program. … They trail the skiers and many of our skiers have pretty severe physical limitations. So once they are in the water, their safety is really our responsibility and our top priority.”
If the skiers hit a wave or they fall off, those two jet skies have a trained person riding on the back to get to the skiers “in just a matter of seconds.” … We have to have that ability or we cannot run the program safety.”
Many adaptive recreation programs offered
“We offer a variety of adaptive recreation programs to meet the interests of all individuals — from those who enjoy relaxing leisure opportunities all the way to the biggest thrill seekers,” Bush said in supplied material.
Katelyn Bush, Kentwood’s recreation program coordinator. (WKTV)
“Because water sports are high-adrenaline activities, they are a great way for people to get out of their comfort zone, enjoy the rush of going fast and feel the wind in their hair. It’s no surprise we have a waiting list each summer.”
The Kentwood Parks and Recreation Department provides Michigan’s most comprehensive adaptive recreation programming in partnership with community partners such as Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan, Hope Network and Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital and dozens of volunteers, according to supplied material.
Adaptive programs include archery, bike club, boccia league, bowling, canoeing, downhill skiing, golf league, leisure club, kayaking, rock climbing, track and field clinics, pickleball, wake boarding and water skiing, along with dances and other social events.
The Vibe event will have stations where some of our adaptive equipment will be displayed, where educational information will be available — “Who might use it, why they might use it,” Bush said. “This is an opportunity for conversation and curiosity, and support for these programs. It’s a party. It’s an educational opportunity. It is just a unique way to connect to the community.”
Open to individuals of all abilities in Kentwood and beyond, the programs enable participants to enjoy the benefits that come with any athletic or recreational activity, such as a sense of camaraderie, improved confidence and new skills.
To learn about current offerings of the Kentwood’s Adaptive Recreation Programs, visit kentwood.us/adaptive.
Cascade Township is inviting the West Michigan community of all ages to its inaugural Cascade Heritage Day, a daylong event that will celebrate the township’s history.
(Cascade Township)
Cascade Heritage Day will take place 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, outside at the Kent District Library – Cascade Township Branch, 2870 Jacksmith Ave. SE.
The event will feature a 5K and Fun Run in the morning, a cornhole tournament, festival rides and food from local restaurants in the afternoon and live music in the evening.
The Cornhole tournament and community festival featuring kids’ rides and activities, food from local restaurants and a book sale will run from noon to 4 p.m. There will be live music from Signal Point from 5-9 p.m.
Throughout the event, attendees will be able to learn about the township’s history by visiting booths set up by the Cascade Historical society and viewing facts and historic photos on signage along the 5K course and throughout the library property.
“We are delighted to gather with the community and celebrate what makes Cascade Township such a special place to live, work, eat and play,” Ben Swayze, Cascade Township manager said in supplied material. “With a 5K, cornhole tournament, festival rides, local food and live music, Cascade Heritage Day has something for everyone, and we cannot wait to start this tradition in the township.”
While event admission, festival rides and live music are free, there are costs for the 5K, Fun Run, cornhole tournament and food and beverages. Food and beverages are cash-only.
To register for the 5K, Fun Run and cornhole tournament or for more information about Cascade Heritage Day, visit cascadeheritageday.com.
The 5K and cornhole tournaments are managed by Athletic Timers of Michigan, and 10% of each entry supports Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides educational scholarships to families of service members who have died or who are disabled.
Hamza Khan, one of several local Muslim American young persons who WKTV interviewed as it prepared for its series of video interviews “WKTV Voices: 9/11 at 20 — Our Islamic neighbors 20 years later”, is in many ways an archetypal American success story in the making.
His family is of Pakistani heritage, but he was born in West Michigan after his parents immigrated more than 20 years ago. He was raised and attended high school locally and is currently a Michigan State University student, studying neuroscience.
And, as we learned when he agreed to host a short documentary based on the series of WKTV Voices interviews, he is poised to be a success in his chosen education/career field but also possesses a modern youth’s sense of humor.
When, during the filming of his documentary segments, a WKTV staff member commented that he was “very good” on camera — his quick retort was … “Well, if this neuroscience thing does not work out.”
During the past several months, preparing for the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America, WKTV has been interviewing local Muslim Americans — from university professors, to local Islamic religious leaders, to immigrant and American-born citizens, including young people such as Khan.
WKTV’s goal was to let them tell their own stories.
This short documentary is a synthesis of those interviews.
For the complete WKTV Voices: 9/11 at 20 interviews, visit WKTVvideos on YouTube.
WKTV Journal’s “Voices: 9/11 at 20 — Our Islamic neighbors 20 years later” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule. For dates and times on Channel 99, visit here). Online/print stories are available by searching “9/11 at 20” on WKTVJournal.org.
As Grand Rapids South Christian High School prepares to play its first OK Conference Gold game of the season, head football coach Danny Brown just wants his 1-1 Sailors to continue to improve when they host Middleville Thornapple Kellogg.
And despite Middleville coming in with a 0-2 record, including a forfeit loss last week due to COVID-19 concerns, coach Brown knows his team will have a challenge as they seek improvement and to be “paying our best at the end” of the season.
“Middleville always plays hard. We know they are going to play hard,” Coach Brown said this week to WKTV. “Last year we beat them 28-7, but we had to fight, and scratch for everything we got. I would not expect this week to be any different.
Grand Rapids South Christian High School head football coach Danny Brown. (WKTV)
“I think, for us, I just want us to get better week in and week out. We do not want to play our best football in week two or week three. We want to be paying our best at the end. As long as we continue to progress and we keep playing, we can continue to do what we have been doing and get better.”
WKTV will cover the South Christian vs. Middleville game as we continue our 2021-22 Featured Game coverage season. This week’s game will be at East Kentwood with kick off at 7 p.m.
“We are feeling good about where we are at,” Coach Brown said, reviewing the Sailors’ 27-7 win at Grand Rapids Christian followed by a 21-30 loss at home to East Grand Rapids Sept. 3. “We felt like we got better last week, it just didn’t come to fruition at the end of the game. In the first half last week, we played good outside of one minute. We were up 7-0 with one minute to go. … All of a sudden it went from 7-0 to 13-7.”
Overall, coach Brown said, his team has been physical but needs to create and stop “explosive plays” more often, and it needs to get healthy.
Grand Rapids South Christian High School football team at practice before the Middleville Thornapple Kellogg game Sept. 10. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“I think physically, we are good. We are physical. We are playing hard. So, as far as the football piece, we’re doing very well,” he said. “Offensively, we have to start creating some explosive plays. We have to limit, with our defenses, their explosive plays. I think if we can get those two things figured out, I like where we are headed.”
In pointing out some of his key players, he also pointed out the team’s early season injury issues that are working themselves out.
“Jake DeHaan (junior quarterback) has maybe started a little slow, but obviously he is big part of what we do,” coach Brown said. “Jace DeMann (senior cornerback and wide receiver) … “He’s already scored a touchdown on an interception … We are going to get him in on some offensive stuff because he is just a really good player.”
He also pointed out Colton Schreur, a senior linebacker and wide receiver, and Cameron (Cam) Post, a junior offensive lineman and linebacker as players to watch — “They are both inside linebackers and play offense as well. They have been out with injuries. … If we can get healthy, that’s a big thing. We are missing some guys but when we can get healthy we should be in a good spot.”
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, rebroadcast on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of football and other fall prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
Now is the time to do what you can to boost your and your family’s immune systems. Cases of COVID-19/Delta variant are on the rise. Kids are back in school. And the fall flu season is just around the corner. In addition to heeding the good advice of the Kent County Health Department, you can take five easy steps to make yourself less vulnerable to colds, flu, and COVID. 1. Eat. 2. Drink. 3. Move. 4. Sleep. 5. Align!
1. Eat healthy foods. When fall activities take a bite out of your time, avoid falling into the fast-food trap. The time you spend cooking healthy foods from scratch today may well save you time and money spent on illness tomorrow. Nutritious local fruits and veggies are still in season so make them most of your plate. On its website, the Mayo Clinic talks about the importance of good foods to the immune system, sharing that recent studies have identified a few key nutrients as being critical to immune cell growth and function: Iron, zinc, and vitamins A, C, D, and E.
2. Stay hydrated. I suggest drinking half your body weight in ounces of water each day — if you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water. According to Johns Hopkins Health Library, your body needs water to power the lymph fluid, which helps your immune system fight off sickness. Water also helps you to maintain a normal body temperature.
3. Exercise. Though they may seem like opposites, both exercise and sleep provide huge boosts to your immune system. According to WebMD, people who don’t exercise regularly get more colds than people who do. WebMD advises, “Try to get regular, moderate exercise, like a daily 30-minute walk. It can help your immune system fight infection.” Exercise also relieves stress that also puts a damper on immune function.
4. Sleep. This is just as important. Adults usually require at least eight hours a night, children and teens more than that. People who don’t get enough sleep are more apt to catch colds or other infections.
5. Align your spine. Published studies have established that the nervous system controls the immune system — a compromised nervous system can cause the immune system to function less than optimally. Other studies show that a single chiropractic adjustment stimulates increased immune system activity for hours after an adjustment Chiropractic adjustments correct spinal subluxations and can help restore this communication link.
Regular chiropractic wellness care keeps your body, and your immune system, functioning the best they possibly can for a lifetime!
Thom Antor is a busy man. It is fairly evident when calling his cell phone as the voicemail is full. But despite being busy, he returns every call.
“That was a long few minutes,” said the District 2 Kent County Commissioner with a laugh. It was 40 minutes ago that he said he would call back in a few.
It happens when you are organizing one of the area’s biggest events that honors veterans, this Saturday’s annual Freedom Cruise, which attracts thousands of classic cars, motorcycles, and military vehicles. The people come with one purpose, to honor those who have served.
“It is just an amazing thing to see all these cars and people line up along the route, honoring those who have served,” Antor said.
The event is a 30-mile route that takes participants through the northern portion of Kent County. The route starts in Sparta and then heads to Algoma Township. It continues to Comstock Park, making its way through Alpine Township and finally returning to Sparta.
“The drive goes through the Comstock schools where there will be veterans there from World War II, Vietnam and other wars,” Antor said. “The school has students there and the band really does an incredible job celebrating the veterans, especially as the cruise moves through.”
Leading off the Freedom Cruise are a couple of large sedans and a black bus that carries the Gold Star Families. A Gold Star Family, an honor that no-one wants, is an immediate family member or members of a fallen service member who died while serving in a time of conflict.
Before every Freedom Cruise Honor Ride, there is a ceremony to recognize a fall hero. The event takes place at 1:30 p.m. at the Sparta High School football field, 475 W. Spartan Drive. The ceremony recognizes a local Gold Star Family with a special portrait of their fallen service member. This year, the solider being recognized is Army Sergeant First Class Richard J. Herrema, who died in 2006 at the age of 27. His parents are Mary and Richard Herrema of Hudsonville. WKTV will be covering this year’s event and producing a show to air on WKTV at a later time.
The ceremony lasts about 45 minutes with the cruise leaving from the Sparta High School.
“The most important thing we want these families to know is that we will never forget,” Antor said. “It is a promise we make to those families and we have had families say this has really made a difference to them.
“They have been to programs offered by the military, counseling and other things, but what has really touched them has been the Freedom Cruise and to me that is far more important than writing checks to help veterans or helping to improve the quality of life.”
“This all started with my dad,” Antor said. “He had gotten to a point where he could not live on his own and we did not have a lot of choices for him.”
A classic car makes its way through the Freedom Cruise. (Supplied)
Antor’s family had their father move into the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans and made the commitment that someone would be with him everyday while he was there.
“It was during that time that I started walking around the facility and seeing that there were some needs,” Antor said. “I talked to the director and he said what they really needed was help with the band shell, which had been a popular thing but was in need of repair.”
So Antor made the commitment to raise the funds for the band shell. He hosted the first Freedom Cruise in 2014.
“We raised enough money (around $70,000) to repair the bandshell along with provide some infrastructure and writing,” he said.
The popularity of the Cruise encouraged Antor to continue hosting the event, now in its eighth year. It also lead to the development of the Finish the Mission Veteran Relief Fund, which expanded it services to help serve as a support gap to veterans.
“If they need something, help with bills or repairs, then we provide a check to the organization that will be doing the work,” Antor said, adding that all veterans receiving assistance are first vetted to make sure they do not qualify for other existing programs before Finish the Mission steps in.
So because of the veterans — and especially the Gold Star Families — Antor does not mind being so busy that he cannot always get to his phone. That goes double this year as the Freedom Cruise falls on 9/11, a day the nation will be remembering and honoring those who died in the World Trade Tower and Pentagon attacks and died thwarting the hijacking of United Flight 93.
“We should always remember what they did,” Antor said.
Brian Long is a local business forecaster. Credit: GVSU
Although still positive, the recovery for the West Michigan industrial economy has slowed considerably in recent weeks, according to Brian G. Long, director of Supply Management Research in the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University.
Long said the slowdown is expected at this stage of an economic recovery because of pent-up demand.
Long said the worldwide chip shortage is hampering auto production for almost every nameplate in the world. Dealer lots are predominately empty and Long said it may be 2022 before supply catches up with demand.
Highlights from Long’s economic report:
New orders, the index of business improvement, came in at +14 – typical of the recovery from most recessions once the initial pent-up demand has been satisfied.
The on-going chip shortage has washed backward into the automotive supply chain, causing slowdowns or temporary stoppages in production. The production index tapered to +11.
Staffing continues to be a major problem for many firms, even though some have raised their starting wage and offered signing bonuses. Many economists are concerned about a wage-price spiral.
Despite the Covid Delta Variant, the JPM international survey posted at 54.1, only a little below the all-time high of 56 set in May. The supply chains of the world continue to show no sign of returning to normal.
The employment index remained positive at +19, but would be stronger if there were people to hire. With some of the generous unemployment benefits coming off line, there is speculation that the employment situation will improve in coming months.
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.”
The City of Wyoming Tree Commission, “The Tree Amigos,” is celebrating some great news for the city’s tree canopy. For one, not only did the DTE Energy Tree Planting Grant Program approve their grant application, but the foundation is awarding an extra $1,000 above the requested $2,000. As The Tree Amigos has budgeted $1,000 of its own funds for the planting, $4,000 is now available for the purchase and delivery of up to 25, eight-to-ten-foot trees. The Tree Amigos has more than a dozen residents signed up to receive a tree but is still looking for a few more. Volunteers will plant the trees the mornings of October 2 and 16. Residents will receive a tree free of charge but are required to help plant it and commit to maintaining the tree.
In addition, the new City of Wyoming Master Plan calls for the city to set a tree canopy goal. City planner Nicole Hoffert asked for the Tree Commission’s recommendation. The commission requested Wyoming’s goal be 40%, the same goal as many cities have set, including the City of Grand Rapids. Currently, Wyoming has an approximate tree canopy of 13.5%, as determined by an iTree survey that looks at aerial photographs.
The Master Plan also calls for a more rigorous tree survey to be done in the future. Having a comprehensive survey will provide the City with data needed to plan not only where to plant more trees, but also how to develop a maintenance plan that preserves the mature trees already growing here. The survey will also provide data on the economic value that Wyoming’s trees provide when it comes to stormwater retention, pavement life, energy savings, reducing carbon footprint, and removing toxins from the air.
“Establishing the 40% canopy goal and having a comprehensive tree survey commissioned are two items at the very top of our wishlist. We are thrilled that the City is taking action on these,” says Estelle Slootmaker, chair, The Tree Amigos. “We also look forward to sharing insights with Nicole as the city develops a new tree ordinance that will better preserve the beautiful mature trees that we have and create a blueprint for planting more trees.”
Cities around the world are recognizing the important role of trees in mitigating climate change, maintaining storm sewer systems, making neighborhoods safer, increasing property values, and reducing health impacts of air pollution and stress.
“Wyoming’s slogan is ‘City of vision and progress.’ Only when we have a true vision of the important role trees play as part of our city’s infrastructure will we, as a city, be able to make sustainable progress environmentally and economically—and create a safer, healthier, happier place to live and work,” Slootmaker says.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Andres Ramirez, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, serves in the U.S. Navy in San Diego, California.
Andres Ramirez (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jesse Hawthorne)
“I joined the Navy because I was in my first year of college and realized I needed assistance paying for my education,” said Ramirez. “I plan to go back to finish my degree with the help of the Navy in the future.”
Ramirez joined the Navy three years ago. Today, Ramirez serves with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron SIX (HSC 6) in San Diego, working with one of the Navy’s most advanced helicopters, the MH-60S Knighthawk.
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Ramirez attended Catholic Central High School and graduated in 2016. Today, Ramirez uses the same skills and values learned in Grand Rapids to succeed in the military.
“I was taught to be grateful for what I have,” said Ramirez. “It’s so important to be considerate of others and appreciate people from different cultures, backgrounds, etc. You get all of that in the Navy.”
These lessons continue to help Ramirez while serving in the Navy.
Navy pilots and aircrew at HSC 6 constantly train to ensure they are prepared for peacetime and warfighting missions. The mission set of the MH-60S includes anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, vertical replenishment, logistics support, personnel transport, humanitarian disaster relief, medical evacuation, support to Naval Special Warfare and organic airborne mine countermeasures. MH-60S helicopters are also equipped with the ability to conduct replenishments at sea, search and rescue missions and enable other operations for the carrier strike group.
“For over 60 years, HSC 6 has provided all-weather rotary wing operations to America’s Navy,” said Cmdr. Charles A. Chmielak, HSC 6’s commanding officer. “Whether it’s recovering the astronauts of Apollo 14 after they returned to Earth, or deploying around the world to preserve free and open sea lanes, our highly trained sailors have always answered the call, wherever and whenever the nation needs them.”
Serving in the Navy means Ramirez is part of a team that is taking on new importance in America’s focus, rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“The Navy contributes to national security through our mission of protecting the waters and making a global impact,” said Ramirez. “We’re the shore patrol. We monitor and watch the seas to make sure they remain free and safe for all.”
With more than 90 percent of all trade traveling by sea, and 95 percent of the world’s international phone and internet traffic carried through fiber optic cables lying on the ocean floor, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity and security of the United States is directly linked to a strong and ready Navy.
According to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday, four priorities will focus efforts on sailors, readiness, capabilities, and capacity.
“For 245 years, in both calm and rough waters, our Navy has stood the watch to protect the homeland, preserve freedom of the seas, and defend our way of life,” said Gilday. “The decisions and investments we make this decade will set the maritime balance of power for the rest of this century. We can accept nothing less than success.”
Ramirez and the sailors they serve with have many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during their military service.
“My proudest naval accomplishment is receiving my Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal,” said Ramirez. “I was on the USS Essex when there was a fire. I was fighting it for more than two hours, so it was nice to be recognized for that hard work.”
As Ramirez and other sailors continue to train and perform the missions they are tasked with, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy.
“To me, serving in the Navy means developing a personal relationship with myself,” added Ramirez. “I’ve noticed that I’ve become more disciplined and started to think of myself as an adult.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, center, was among the “ribbon cutting” team at the grand opening of the Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids, (Michigan Veteran Homes)
There was a long list of dignitaries, led by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, on hand at the official ribbon-cutting opening of the Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids, once known as the Grand Rapids Veterans Home, last week.
But maybe the most important person when it comes to the operation of the facility and the care of its veteran residents did not handle one of the scissors cutting the ribbon.
Carly MacDonald, who has been hired to serve as the new administrator of Michigan Veteran Homes GR, was present at the Sept. 2 event but did not officially take the position until this week. MacDonald took over from Tracey Nelson, the previous administrator, who successfully led the facility for more than three years through a significant transition in anticipation of the new building opening and its COVID-19 response efforts.
Michigan Veteran Homes (MVH) provides day-to-day operational oversight of the state’s veteran homes on behalf of the Michigan Veterans Facility Authority (MVFA) and is a branch of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA). The MVH operates the Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids (MVHGR), along with homes in Marquette and Chesterfield Township. For more information, visit michigan.gov/mvh.
“As a granddaughter and daughter of veterans, I learned at an early age the importance of serving others and our country,” MacDonald said in supplied material. “It’s an exciting time for our team at Grand Rapids as we transition to our new Home and I look forward to meeting and getting to know our veteran members, volunteers and staff.”
The importance of MacDonald’s job and the work she will lead at the new “Home” was echoed by many of the dignitaries at the Sept. 2 grand opening.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, addressed the crowd at the grand opening of the Michigan Veterans Homes at Grand Rapids. (Michigan Veterans Homes)
“The state has been serving veterans right here on this campus since the conclusion of the Civil War,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, said at the opening and provided in supplied material. “As we embark on this new chapter, we can confidently say that our legacy of serving those who have served will continue for many years to come.”
In addition to remarks by Gov. Whitmer and Maj. Gen. Rogers, others addressing the gathered crowd included Anne Zerbe, executive director of MVH; Dave Henry, chairman of the board for the MVFA; and Robert Troost, a veteran and resident member at the Home.
“I have been anxiously awaiting the completion of the new Home,” Troost, a veteran and resident member at the Home, said in supplied material. “I am very excited to join my friends for a fresh start in a place that truly feels like a home instead of an institution.”
The ceremony included a posting of the colors led by the Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids Member Color Guard and music by the Belmont Armory 126th Army Band.
At a total project cost of $62.9 million, with $40.9 million provided through a federal grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Construction Grant Program, construction of the Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids began in April 2019 and occupies 20 acres and totals 152,784 square feet.
Military members and veterans were in the crowd at the grand opening of the Michigan Veterans Homes at Grand Rapids. (Michigan Veterans Homes)
“This new home is the result of a years-long, bipartisan effort to uphold our commitment to our veterans and their families in Michigan,” Gov. Whitmer said in supplied material. “The new Grand Rapids Home was designed to provide comfort and well-deserved peace of mind for the men and women who put their lives on the line for all of us.”
The “Home” consists of four “neighborhood” buildings and a community center. The neighborhood buildings collectively house 128 private resident rooms with ensuite baths and feature shared living and dining spaces, according to supplied material.
The adjacent community center is the centerpiece of the Home and features therapeutic facilities for behavioral, occupational, physical and group therapy, an exam room, chapel, barbershop and salon, café bistro and gift shop. Residents will also have access to an adjacent outdoor courtyard and memorial garden to observe the natural surroundings the campus has to offer.
New administrator’s background
MacDonald has worked in long-term care for over 20 years, according to supplied material. She joined HCR Manorcare, now known as ProMedica Senior Care, in 2001 as human resources director. Shortly thereafter she “had a desire to expand her professional capabilities” and became licensed as a nursing home administrator.
Carly MacDonald, administrator of Michigan Veteran Homes at Grand Rapids. (Supplied)
This then allowed her to have a greater impact on clinical and administrative affairs, expansion of specialized care and member safety. She most recently has served as the administrator at Ascension Living Borgess Place in Kalamazoo for the past four years.
Throughout the pandemic, MacDonald “has been essential in leading her team in understanding and implementing all CDC, CMS and State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 infection control requirements,” according to a MVH statement. While serving as administrator of Ascension Living Borgess Place, the home had less than ten cases of COVID-19 and no deaths attributed to the virus.
“We are elated for Carly to join our growing team at MVHGR and are confident she will continue to support our culture of providing exceptional care to those that deserve it most — our veterans and their eligible dependents,” Steve Rolston, MVH chief operations officer, said in supplied material.
Born and raised in Flint, MacDonald received a bachelor’s degree in human resources from Michigan State University and is “an avid alumnus who is devoted to watching every season of football and basketball,” according to the MVH statement.
She is married to Ryan, a Navy veteran, and they currently reside in Kalamazoo. They celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in June and have two children, Jora, 17, and Logan 21. Carly is also a mom to Maybel, a 4-month-old English Bulldog; Cali, a 4-year-old golden retriever; and a couple rescue cats.
She is active in a women’s golf league and enjoys spending time at the family cottage at Lake George which was passed down to her family from her grandfather. Her grandfather served in World War II in the U.S. Army Air Corps and her father is a Vietnam veteran.
As part of its coverage for the 28th Street Metro Cruise, WKTV Community Media is creating three short films directed by regional filmmakers whose mission was simple: take six minutes telling a narrative film story about classic cars and classic design. All three projects, which are now nearing completion in production and moving through various stages of post production, covered the breadth of some of the most fabulous steel and iron to roll off American assembly lines.
In the course of producing the films, WKTV was charged with sourcing many of the classics for the film productions. Those cars included a 1954 Buick Century convertible in daffodil yellow from the Grand Rapids Auto Gallery along with a 1938 Ford Cabriolet.
The GR Auto Gallery loans a 1938 red Ford Cabriolet for the proper setting in front of the Civic Auditorium.
“While the Grand Rapids Auto Gallery acts as a consignment dealer for classic cars, they were generous with loaning us three vehicles from their collection,” said Tom Norton, the series producer, including a 1958 white Corvette with a red interior that appeared on WKTV’s Metro Cruise coverage in 2019.
Another resource came from the Gilmore Car Gollection near Galesburg, Michigan.
“The Gilmore is such a treasure regionally and they were just wonderful,” Norton said. “When the script for one of the films called for an Auburn dealership from the 1930s, they were able to provide the entire set filled with shiny, gorgeous Auburn classics from the thirties. Just…wow!”
Ella Campbell from East Kentwood High School participated in the production as a script supervisor.
One hurdle for the three films was arranging period wardrobe. WKTV called on two resources, the Grand Rapids Civic Theater and Wyoming High School’s theater department and both were able to assist in outfitting characters from the 1930s, 1950s and 1980s.
The crew films the eighties short film “Drive” for Metro Cruise.
The first film in the Metro Cruise series is called “Drive” and features a 1980s theme. The film takes place on a drag strip and, directed by WKTV volunteer Kyle Misak, stars from “American Idol” Margie Mays as a mechanic working on a drag strip with homage to all 1980s vehicles. The six minute music video took six days for Misak and his crew to shoot.
Margie Mays from “American Idol” stars in the eighties Metro Cruise film “Drive.”
The second film, directed by GVSU professor John Philbin called “No Trip for Biscuits,” takes place in the 1930s and follows the philosophy of legendary designer Gordon Buehrig of the great Dusenberg classics. The short film features cameo appearnances by “Carol Lombard” and “Gary Cooper” and was filmed at the Gilmore Museum and in front of the 1930s facade of the old Civic Auditorium.
“What we loved about this project,” Norton said, “was that all of the filmmakers pulled out all the stops in terms of their creativity and resourcefulness to make these three period films happen. And of course, the classic auto community from GR Auto Gallery to the Gilmore provided serious lift as well.”
Grand Rapids Auto Gallery donated the use of this 1954 Buick Century for the Metro Cruise film “Horizon.”
The last of the films’ “Horizon” which takes place during the 1950s and combines the design of the classic fifties vehicles with the civil rights struggles of the day, is just going into post production. All three films will be available on WKTV and on the station’s video on demand service this fall.
Beginning in 2020, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to multi-decade lows, dropping the rate on 10-year Treasuries from a robust 2% to 0.5%. This steep decline was a blow to savers, especially those who traditionally look to bonds as safety anchors for their retirement portfolios. Since Treasury 10-year rates determine approximately half the yield of corporate bonds, convertibles also feel the sting of near-negative interest rates.
Discouraged by a cooled-off bond market, many who count on bonds for retirement income are looking into convertible bonds as an alternative. Corporate bonds that can be swapped for common stock in the issuing company, convertible bonds can lower the coupon rate on debt, thus saving a company interest.
Convertibles allow a holder to exchange them for a predetermined number of regular shares in the issuing company. For the most part, convertibles function just like traditional corporate bonds but with somewhat lower interest rates.
Since convertibles may be changed into stock and benefit if the underlying stock price rises, companies offer lower yields. If the underlying stock does not perform well, there is no conversion, and the investor is stuck with the bond’s sub-par returns.
How do convertible bonds work?
Convertibles operate according to what is known as the “conversion ratio.” This formula determines how many shares will convert from each bond. The conversion ratio expresses as either a ratio or as the conversion price.
For example, if the conversion ratio is 40:1, with a par value of $1,000, shareholders may exchange the bond for 40 shares of the issuing company’s stock.
The price of convertible bonds starts to rise as the company stock price nears the conversion price. When this happens, your convertible bond performs somewhat like a stock option. If the corporate stock experiences volatility, so will your bond.
Why would anyone consider adding convertible bonds to their portfolio?
Investors add convertible bonds to their investment mix because convertibles offer guaranteed income with built-in downside protection. Provided an investor does not convert before maturity, they get their initial investment back, plus earned interest. There is also the potential for higher returns than traditional bonds.
What are some convertible bond pitfalls?
The “forced conversion” element of a convertible bond is one of these instruments’ most significant downsides. The bond issuing company retains the right to force investors to convert the bonds into stock. Such conversion typically occurs when the stock price becomes higher than the amount would be if the bond were redeemed.
A specific type of convertible bond, known as a reverse convertible bond (RCB), lets the issuing company decide to convert the bonds to shares or keep them as fixed-income investments until maturity. RCB’s, unlike common stocks, can cap the bond’s capital appreciation. Such caps mean that these bonds’ principle protection element may not be as worthwhile as it first appears.
Summing it up: Convertible bonds are somewhat complicated instruments designed to create guaranteed income while protecting against market losses. Companies usually issue convertible bonds with less-than-exceptional credit ratings but expectations of high growth. Convertibles allow these companies to get money to expand at much lower costs than those of conventional bonds.
If you are considering purchasing a convertible bond, you need to understand the basics of how they work and all the associated risks.
Always consult an authorized and licensed financial professional to map out convertibles’ pros and cons relative to your situation and risk tolerance. Your advisor may suggest other products, such as Fixed Indexed Annuities, that also guarantee principle with growth potential.
Dave Stanley is the host of Safe Money Radio WOOD1300 AM, 106.9 FM and a Financial Advisor and Writer at Integrity Financial Service, LLC, Grandville, MI 49418, Telephone 616-719-1979 or Register for Dave’s FREE Newsletter at 888-998-3463 or click this link: Dave Stanley Newsletter – Annuity.com Dave is a member of Syndicated Columnists, a national organization committed to a fully transparent approach to money management.
The City of Kentwood and GR8 Food Trucks will again partner to offer a Food Truck Festival with more than 20 vendors to both help the community support small businesses and make the most of the end of the summer season.
The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 11, in the parking lot of the Kent District Library – Kentwood (Richard. L. Root) Branch, 4950 Breton Ave. SE, according to a Sept. 7 statement from the city.
The free-to-attend community event will run 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and feature 24 food trucks, live music and a beer and wine tent.
This year’s event will coincide with the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The event will include a moment of silence led by Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley, at 5 p.m., to honor the victims of 9/11, followed by a brief performance by local bagpiper Tom Bradley. There will also be posters from the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York on display in the Library Community Room.
“We’re looking forward to the return of our Food Truck Festival, which has become one of our community’s favorite events to enjoy great food and music as we near the end of summer,” Val Romeo, Kentwood Parks and Recreation director. said in supplied material. “We’ve developed a great lineup of food trucks with GR8 Food Trucks, as well as several musicians for a full day of fun outdoors.”
There will be a wide variety of sweet and savory food options available for purchase, according to the statement, with participating food trucks including Bigfoot Burger, Big Mike’s Kettle Corn, Beecher’s Pretzels, Curry in a Hurry, Daddy’s Dough Cookies, El Jalapeño, Fire and Rice Paella, Kool Breze, Kona Ice of Lowell, Lazy Man BBQ, Mapocho Fresh Sanwishes, Mexcellente, Nick’s Gyros, Olly’s Donuts, Patty Matters, PJW Creole Cuisine, Pressed in Time, Saladino Smoke, Sanse Filipino Cuisine, Street Frites, Touch O’ Dutch, Arcane Pizza, Whipped, a Brunch Truck, and UCC Desserts.
The City of Kentwood will continue to monitor public health guidance and orders, according to the statement, which may require changes to the event. Residents are encouraged to follow current public health guidelines to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Wyoming’s favorite World War II veteran, Sid Lenger, would have turned 103 on Wednesday, Sept. 8. Knowing that he will be with everyone in spirit, his friends and organizers of the Mr. Sid’s Video Series will be hosting a Mr. Sid’s Birthday Celebration at Marge’s Donut Den at 2 p.m.
The event will feature Legner’s family members and special guest Navy Commander Paul Chardoul. Commander Chardoul did not know Lenger but did serve on a Landing Ship Tank (LST) in Vietnam. Lenger served in the Navy during World War II on the LST 651 including the intense experience of fending off Kamikaze attacks on his 20mm gun during the Battle of Okinawa.
Music provided by John VanderMeer will feature Lenger’s favorite hymns. A short video presentation will tell some things about Lenger including the decision to start a Travel Agency (Lenger Travel), his and his wife’s work for Mission India and in his later years, Lenger’s decision to give tours of the LST 393 anchor at the Mart Dock in Muskegon. Birthday cake will be provided by Marge’s Donut Den.
Due to his work in the travel industry and then later with Mission India, Lenger began hosting travel film programs locally. Due to the interest in the films, Lenger revised the films and began showing his travel films every second Wednesday of the month at Marge’s Donut Den. After his death, at the age of 100, in 2019, his friends, with family support, decided to continue the video series.
Upcoming programs are:
Oct. 13: Mr. Sid’s Germany video
Nov. 10: James Smither GVSU Veterans History Project
Cougar habitat in North America has been shrinking due to development and land fragmentation, while “human-induced mortality” has shrunken their numbers, wildlife researchers warn.
Even so, the future of these alpha predators isn’t all gloom and doom, say scientists who compiled 180 reports of confirmed cougar observations in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota between 2010 and 2020.
Sightings rose that decade, helped by improved technology such as trail cameras and camera phones, they said.
“Cougars have lost substantial portions of their historical range, yet increased sightings suggest potential for re-establishment in some regions,” researchers from the Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of Natural Resources and the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry wrote in a recent article in the journal “Biological Conservation.”
The Michigan DNR says the last wild cougar known to have been legally hunted in the state was killed near Newberry in 1906.
“The Great Lakes region will likely be an important area for cougar range expansion into the Midwest and Eastern U.S.,” the study said. “Greater understanding of potential distribution and connectivity is necessary to make sound management and policy decisions.
Cougar traffic is apt to move from west to east, the study said. “An individual cougar moving randomly through the study area would be more likely to move through northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.”
The goal of their project was to develop a regional map that highlights suitable habitat and connectivity, referring to a physical network of pathways linking locations where cougars may live. Their study area was 44% forested and 37% agricultural land, with wetlands, shrublands and developed land accounting for the rest.
The team mapped 362 linkages – pathways from a half-mile to 3.7 miles long – connecting 191 “core patches” of land, primarily in the northern part of the three states. About half the core patches are in legally protected areas, such as national forests, natural resource management areas, and state and local conservation areas.
As for the other half, private landowners should play an essential role in protecting habitat and connectivity, the study said.
Not many years ago, the mere presence of cougars in Michigan was questioned, with reported observations but no scientifically conclusive proof.
“There was a long history of sighting reports” but “they were not only not accepted by the DNR but met with animosity,” said Patrick Rusz, the director of wildlife programs at the Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, based in Bath. People who claimed to have seen the animals or their tracks “were ridiculed and called crazy.”
Rusz, who studied sightings across the state, said, “It wasn’t like a phenomenon that popped up. It had been going on as long as Michigan had been settled. I found, to most people’s satisfaction, there were cougars out there.”
He said skeptics then shifted their arguments to contend that the sightings were of pets or transitory visitors, but “the problem (with that argument) was that these were resident animals, not wandering around aimlessly. They had core ranges because we found them again and again and again.”
And technology – in the form of trail cameras and smartphones – has provided “evidence you can’t ignore, Rusz said.
As for the new study, Rusz said he’s skeptical about the relevance of modeling and mapping of connectivity. “It looks good, but whether it has anything to do with the future of cougars or not I tend to question.”
That’s because cougar survival in the Great Lakes region doesn’t depend on pathways and core patches, he continued.
“There’re corridors everywhere. A cougar doesn’t need a corridor. They could care less about that. They do really well around people.
“If our cougars are limited in some way, they’re limited by genetics, not limited by habitat and such. They have a tremendous ability to live in a variety of cover types,” Rusz said. “In the West in deserts, urban areas, plains – anywhere they have something to eat.”
Brian Roell, a Marquette-based wildlife biologist for the DNR, said the Dakotas are likely the source of Michigan cougars.
He said the Michigan DNR’s cougar team hasn’t identified any females, and “we suspect we don’t have a breeding population.”
He said the team has confirmed at least two observations in the Upper Peninsula so far this year.
Wherever they are, they’re at low density, Roell said. They aren’t expected to harm or kill other wildlife species or farm animals.
“We have not confirmed any depredation from cougars,” he said, adding that there have been no claims by Upper Peninsula farmers for indemnification from the state. A claim in the Lower Peninsula was turned down because the predator turned out not to be a cougar.
Humans pose the biggest challenge to cougars, Roell said, calling it a matter of “social tolerance – will people leave them alone?”
Eric Freedman is professor of journalism and former associate dean of International Studies and Programs. During his 20-year newspaper career, he covered public affairs, environmental issues and legal affairs for newspapers in New York and Michigan, winning a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a legislative corruption scandal.
It was a Wednesday morning May 18, 1927, just about fifteen minutes after the start of the last day of the year at Bath Consolidated School. An alarm clock sounds in the basement of the North Wing, triggering a chain reaction of predetermined madness that still echoes through time, 94 years later. The Bath school massacre remains the deadliest school disaster in American history, ultimately resulting in the appalling loss of some 38 grade school children and six adults with at least 58 others, suffering disfiguring injuries.
A combination of hundreds of pounds of dynamite and pyrotol, a World War I explosive designed to cause a fiery blast, had been packed under the school floor with the apparent intent to destroy the entire school and kill everyone in it. However, it’s estimated that between 500 and 600 lbs. of explosives hidden in the South Wing did not detonate due to the initial blast causing a short circuit. It’s reported the bomb could be heard several miles away. Mothers were among the many who came running to the scene of unspeakable carnage and were met with a “muffled chorus of moans and screams, and cries for help” from under the rubble.
Sometimes, extraordinary circumstances surrounding a person’s death can lead to unrest. Murder, suicide, and war can serve as devices cutting lives short and leaving “unfinished business.” It’s theorized that death can come so quickly that a person becomes confused and doesn’t even know they are dead, resulting in haunting spirits. Wishing peace for the families, the living and dead. One such case is the documented evidence that paranormal author and investigator Kathleen Tedsen has that links to the ghost of a little girl, a former student who died during the Bath massacre.
A monument in honor of the victims of the Bath massacre. (Wikipedia)
Ben Goldman, of Afterlife Road Paranormal, probably knows more details of the Bath disaster than most people. While attending Michigan State University, Goldman did a capstone documentary on the Bath School massacre. Goldman heads up a team of MSU students and paranormal investigators who produce Afterlife Road: A Haunted Michigan Webseries on YouTube. Goldman and crew have taken viewers on more than 100 seamless journeys to historic locations rumored to be haunted. Their documentary style finds them running and falling, and dropping the camera. You can cry with them at Bath Cemetery or be scared enough to scream during their 10- to 15-minute videos, perfect for your adult Halloween party.
Goldman was the first guest on our podcast to talk about haunted roads. Stories of 7 Gables Road — located in Dansville and considered the most haunted road in Michigan — suggests if you hear a scream and you are the last one over the fence, you would die. There is a lady in white at this location, which appears to be a recurring phenomenon at several haunted roads.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.
32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
John Ball IllumiZoo Hues (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Pretty Lights
John Ball Zoo’s IllumiZoo Wild Hues opens this weekend at John Ball Zoo. During a sneak peek, our group got to tour the grounds and check out some of the amazing lights that literally transform the zoo into a mystical, magical place. Make sure to check it out. The show is open through Nov. 14 and we learned that the light displays do change as the season moves closer to Halloween. (No scary staff.) Check out the story by clicking here.
Ready, set, write
Write Michigan has returned! Writers of all ages are invited to enter, with separate categories for youth, teens, adults and Spanish language (12 and younger). Winning entries will be published and receive cash prizes. Entries need to be submitted by Nov. 30. For more information visit www.writemichigan.org.
Labor Day in Belding
This weekend, especially Monday, is not just a three-day weekend but an opportunity to recognize the contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. This weekend, the community of Belding will be hosting a Labor Day celebration, Sept. 3 – 6. Centered around an eighties theme, the four-day event features parades, games, karaoke, fireworks, a talent competition and an 80s beer tent. For complete details, visit www.beldinglaborday.org.
Fun Fact: They Took a Seat
“I am confident that when it is all over with there will be a better understanding between employer and employee and better still conditions will be improved under which men and women labor and live.” Former Michigan Governor Frank Murphy
In 1936, GM employees at Flint’s GM Fisher Number One Plant lead a 44-day sit-in that would become the most important strike in American history because it changed the United Automobile Workers (UAW) from a collection of isolated individuals into a major union, ultimately leading to the unionization of the United States automobile industry. GM did not receive the support it had hoped from state officials including the governor with local officials unable to move the workers out. On Feb. 11, 1937, with GM’s production severely crippled, the strike came to an end with an agreement that gave birth to the UAW.
A biologist sampling for aquatic insects. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy staff sampled 741 locations over the summer of 2020. Credit: Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Quality. (Supplied)
By McCoy Scribner Capital News Service
The Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy is assessing the state’s water quality, something that’s necessary in a state that’s rich in water resources.
The department is conducting its annual surface water sampling to protect human health and aquatic life and to maintain suitability for recreation.
Water sampling is done at locations across the state. But certain locations are trend sites. This means staff will return in consecutive years to understand what long-term developments look like.
Kevin Goodwin is an integrated report specialist for water assessment with Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. He says the department samples for a variety of reasons.
“Things like bacteria levels, E. coli for concerns for human health, to fish contaminants looking at whether or not folks can eat fish safely in the state, to looking at insects and other fish communities to see what the ecosystem looks like and a host of other things,” Goodwin said.
Sampling takes place in rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water.
In 2020, the staff sampled:
151 macroinvertebrate sites
73 water chemistry monitoring sites
31 harmful algal bloom monitoring sites
123 E. coli monitoring sites
48 fish contaminant monitoring sites
287 PFAS surface water sampling sites
7 sediment sampling projects
9 river nutrient expression sampling sites
12 lake nutrient expression sampling sites
Goodwin says the team has a process where it asks for input on where staff should go and what problems there might be.
“That’s kind of a targeted approach. We can pick places that we or others have an interest or concern and we can look there. Then we’ve got other programs that we’re just kind of broadly moving around the state just to kind of keep general tabs of what’s going [on].”
Results start becoming available in the fall through the winter. The timing depends on how long it takes to get the lab results entered into various databases, quality-checked and then analyzed.
McKoy’s story is brought to you as part of a partnership between WKAR and Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
Recently, the United Veterans Council of Kent County expanded its annual awards from one to three.
The organization will continue with its Veteran of the Year Award but has also added two new awards, Association Member of the Year and Raising Up Veterans, which is a non-veteran award.The Council is seeking nominations for these awards with the deadline being Sept. 14.
The purpose for the expansion, according to Harold Mast, who is serving as the UVCKC spokesperson for the awards, is to recognize and show appreciation for what veterans have done and are now doing outside of the service to their country.
“I think it is a very important thing for our community to recognize veterans,” Mast said. “Particularly today and in the past couple of weeks or last several weeks, recognizing what the military has done, what the military is going through and how much our citizens rely on the military for.”
The Veteran of the Year Award is presented to a veteran who is dedicated to helping veterans and goes beyond what is expected. It is not what the veteran did during their service but rather what they have done after that service. Mast said, who used the the 2019 award recipient as an example. Bob Green, a veteran living in Kentwood, has done a lot for AMVETS and has been instrumental in recognizing veterans, especially those in nursing homes, through pinning ceremonies.
The new Association Member of the Year Award is similar to the Veteran of the Year, but focuses on the Council’s associate group’s such as veteran organizations’ auxiliary groups. The Raising Up Veterans is for those non-veteran residents who help with programs and other veteran-related activities.
Mast said the Council puts out a call for nominees and then the member veteran organizations of the UVCKC nominate candidates who are then blind judge by a panel. The recipient of the award is announced at the Council’s Oct. 23 banquet.
All nominees must be a resident of Kent County and need to be nominated by a Council member organization. Mast said many of the council organizations are willing to work with any resident interested in nominating someone for an award. To nominate a person, Mast said he recommends residents visit the UVCKC website, www.UVCKC.org, where the nomination forms are available along with a list of member organizations. Residents may also contact Mast at hamast@comcst.net.
TheUnited Veterans Council has been serving Kent County for more than 70 years by hosting such events as the Veterans Day and Memorial Day parades, supporting Gold Star mothers, and erecting and maintaining the monuments in Veterans Park. The Council is formed from groups such s the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Fleet Reserve Association, Marine Corps League, Order of the Purple Heart, and DAV, just to name a few.
The Wyoming Lee High School football team will be embarking a new era with its Wednesday, Sept. 1, season-opening game hosting NorthPointe Christian — the era of playing 8-man football.
The late change to 8-man, made just before the season started, has head coach Mark Smoes, and his staff and team, doing a bit of audible game planning and play calling however.
Lee Legends head football coach Mark Smoes. (WKTV)
“We’ve had to adjust quite a bit,” coach Smoes said to WKTV this week. “It is the same game but we are adjusting our time because, as coaches, we are learning to adjust to this game.
“It is a faster pasted game. It allows you the opportunity to get skilled players on the field. That kinds of plays to our strength. We are adjusting a little every day, for the players and for ourselves.”
The Lee vs. NorthPointe game, which will be a junior varsity game for the visitors, will be this week’s WKTV Featured Game with coverage on cable television replay and on-demand. The game kick off will be at 5:30 p.m.
The change to 8-man was one of the first decisions made by new Lee Legends athletic director Tray Crusciel, after he took a look at a football program which has struggled in recent years, including going 0-4 and being outscored 193-41 in games played in its 2020 independent schedule season.
“After seeing the numbers we had out for the program, seeing the low numbers currently at 7/8th grade level, and the strength of the program over the last 10 years, we felt this was best for our kids right now,” Crusciel said to WKTV. “Our move to the Alliance (8-man) conference will definitely help across the board, give us more level competition and, I think, with the conference move and the move to 8-man, this community and school will benefit from it greatly.”
The program which Crusciel looked at, and which Smoes coaches, has its fair share of senior leadership, but with less than 20 players total in the high school program and on the school’s only team, almost half are sophomores and freshman.
But, Smoes said, the change to 8-man not only works with the numbers on his team but also on the talent on his team.
The 8-man game “is a little more offensive (and) we like to run the ball, we like to throw the ball. And we just have more area to work in,” he said. “We enjoy that and our players enjoy that. And we have players who are multi-talented on the field play, players who can catch, players who can run, players who can block. It just makes for a faster game. … It plays to our strengths.”
Among the Legends strengths, Smoes said, is a group to seniors and juniors who will likely play both ways in the 8-man system.
Smoes said senior quarterback Kemijion Reed, who did not play last season due to his family’s pandemic concerns, will be back and is expected to trigger the offense. Fellow seniors Rogelio Martinez, Shamaari Hill and Juan De La O are also expected to be key players.
Junior running back Elijah Beckwith, who rushed for 1,000 yards as a freshman two years ago, and slot back Ke’Ontae will also be key offensive players.
“Those players are going to handle a lot of the work for us this season offensively,” Smoes said. “We (also) have a very strong freshman class, and sophomores as well. And the nice thing about 8-man is that before, when your playing 11-man and you are short on players, you played players in positions which were tough for them to play in.”
But this season, with the 8-man format, many of those young players will be eased into the high school game.
This week’s game is one of four currently scheduled for Lee, with two being varsity 8-man and another JV game. (The Legends will be at Martin Sept. 20, hosting Gobles on Oct. 1, and at Dansville Oct. 21. But Crusciel said more games are likely to be added.)
WKTV featured games will on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, rebroadcast on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of football and other fall prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
The rich, dark, wet earth forced itself under my fingernails as I scratched through roots and a few beetles.
But no teeth. I needed those teeth.
Or that’s what Clay Ecklund, my expedition leader, told our team of volunteer bone seekers on Isle Royale National Park. I squatted in the middle of a thick cedar swamp with John Warming and Lada Zednik. Nearby, Hal Hanson, another member of our group, sat behind a few downed trees, resting from an arduous hike through nearly unnavigable terrain.
There was another presence. Or what remained of one. We were at a moose calf’s final resting place, trying to piece together its skeleton. All the bones were there, the mandibles, the metatarsus, parts of the skull. But no teeth.
We needed the teeth.
I couldn’t tell where I was. I knew I was on an island wilderness in the middle of Lake Superior. But where exactly on the island, only the GPS knew that. North was somewhere over my left shoulder.
We were sweaty, exhausted and fighting off the summer’s first mosquitoes. We had gotten turned around an hour earlier and realized we had to go through the cedar thicket to find another water source. It was then that I realized I had sprained my ankle stepping off a dead log two hours earlier.
Search for Isle Royale’s bone bounty yields environmental clues, new friends, wilderness salvation (Capital News Service)
It slowly swelled in my boot. By dinner, I couldn’t walk.
Most people don’t experience national parks this way, especially on their first visit. But I had the special opportunity to participate in a volunteer backpacking expedition known as the Moosewatch Expedition.
Since 1988, the expedition has sought volunteer backpackers for a citizen science project. You set off from the dock where the boat from the mainland drops you and then hike deep into the backcountry. The goal is to collect as many moose bones as you can in a weeklong trek across the island. There are four expeditions from mid-May to late July.
This is easier said than done. This expedition is completely off-trail, meaning no paved paths, trail markers or campgrounds. Navigation is done with a compass and a pocket GPS marked with kill site coordinates – places where scientists know wolves have eaten moose. Sometimes the bones were super easy finds. Other times it took hours of searching to find a single vertebra.
Ecklund said the first expedition of the summer has the easiest time finding bones since the understory of ferns hasn’t filled in yet. “It’s nearly impossible to find the bones in July.”
We arranged our five-member group into a long, spread out line. We then all hiked forward into the wilderness, keeping our eyes peeled for bones. Visual contact with another volunteer was always maintained. Otherwise, the island quickly became an endless maze of maples and spruce.
When a bone or antler is found, you shout “BONE!” to the rest of the team. That was the cue to fan out and search the area for the creature’s remains. We carried the bones we found to a central location where the team leader cataloged and photographed the partial skeleton.
All bones must be carried out on foot as there are no roads on the island. Thankfully, not all the bones need to be carried out. Only the skulls, mandibles (the jawbone) and metatarsus (the foot bone) are needed. The teeth I was looking for help determine a moose’s age. These bones tell the researchers all they need to know about the moose.
“The bones are super-valuable,” said Sarah Hoy, a research assistant professor at Michigan Tech University, who studies the island’s moose and wolf populations. She helps lead the university’s moose-wolf survey, the longest recorded predator-prey survey in the world.
The volunteer expedition has helped build the world’s largest collection of moose bones, she said. Those bones help researchers study other things.
A moose skull takes on a new, mossy life on Isle Royale. (Marshall Lee Weimer)
Among them is air quality. Moose store heavy metals from the air in their teeth.
Researchers measured the impact of the U.S. Clean Air Act by analyzing the heavy metal content of moose teeth. Since the bone collection is so old, they could compare lead and mercury levels in teeth from before and after the law was strengthened in 1970. Researchers saw heavy metal levels in the teeth drop dramatically in the early 1980s, showing that air quality had improved.
Disease is another thing the bone collection helps us understand.
We learn a lot about human arthritis from moose arthritis, said Rolf Peterson, a research professor who has studied the wolves and moose of Isle Royale for more than 50 years. Isle Royale moose have an unusually high rate of arthritis compared to mainland ones. Although it is not conclusive, Peterson said the study has shown lifelong health problems like arthritis could be linked to poor nutrition early in life.
Unlike with humans, we can study how arthritis affects moose throughout their lives, Peterson said. “We can’t experiment on people.”
Peterson has been with Moosewatch since its beginning in 1988 and has collected a lot of data and life-long friends from the program. It is a great way to spread the word about science and to get people involved, he said. “Science shouldn’t be an exclusive activity.”
The hands-on science was a fascinating look at moose. But I learned just as much about another mammal of Isle Royale: people.
With about 18,000 visitors each year, Isle Royale is the least-visited national park in the continental U.S. However, it is America’s most revisited national park. My fellow Moosewatchers taught me why.
Larry Fuerst, a retired commercial pilot from Fenton, has been on Moosewatch since 2009. The isolation and ruggedness bring him back. He likes to turn his brain off and just listen to the island.
“Listening to nothing really is something,” he said.
Adrienne Detancio, an organic gardener from Chicago, had already been to the island three times, but this was her first Moosewatch. Hanson recruited her on the ferry home after she had finished a solo trip across Isle Royale. To her, the island is magical.
“It’s like the island is alive in a weird way,” she said.
Ron Eckoff knows the most about that comradery of the group as the longest returning volunteer. A retired public health official, he was on the second expedition in 1989 and has since returned to the island 33 times – 26 with Moosewatch.
Before joining, Eckoff, who is from Iowa, had no backpacking experience. But since then, he has amassed hundreds of stories from those expeditions. His favorite expedition was in 1996 when there was a massive die-off of moose and 3 feet of snow. The harbor bay was frozen, so the volunteers had to snowshoe over ice to the coastline.
“There were dead moose everywhere,” he said.
Ron Porrit, a retired Navy veteran from Hudsonville, was also on that 1996 expedition. Since the moose had not yet decomposed, the carcasses were much heavier, he said “A bull moose head with its antlers can easily weigh 60 pounds.”
Eckoff carried three heads out that year.
In our week on the island, my expedition recovered the remains of 26 moose.
But I never did find those moose teeth. Nor did I see a moose.
But I found so much more. The island is full of life, both human and inhuman. I saw sucker fish spawning and spiders crawling. And, for the first time, I heard wolves howling.
I learned bird calls, hacks for backpacking gear and heard stories about meeting serial killers and suffering injuries much worse than mine.
The richness of wildness on Isle Royale far made up for my twisted ankle.
While I left the island, I thought about a quote from Henry David Thoreau, the 19th century naturalist and thinker. It sums up Isle Royale’s meaning to all who dwell in its forests:
What is the most popular dog breed? How do worms die if they can survive getting cut in two? What exactly is the hardest rock of them all?
These are just some of the questions that librarians Emily Bantel, from the KDL Tyron Township branch, and Courtney Moyses, from the KDL Gaines and Kentwood branches, tackle in the new podcast “Stump the Librarian.” They twosome get help from the librarian “behind the curtain” Jill Anderson, from the KDL Wyoming branch.
Check out the first Stump the Library podcast by clicking here.
“I was researching possible podcasts we could do to help showcase the KDL podcast,” Moyses said. “I wanted to do something more than just read a book.”
Moyses said she also wanted to find a way to engage the library users as well. From that, the group began to develop “Stump the Librarian” podcast.
In each episode, the librarians present two to three questions asked by users. In the inaugural podcast, the group tackles the questions “What is the most popular dog breed in all the different countries?” and “How do you best take care of a dog?” Along with being on the KDL website, the podcast episodes can also be found on Spotify and Podbean.
For those who want to learn more about the topic, they can head over to the KDL website and check out the blog post section. Also, WKTV will be posting “Stump the Librarian” episodes along with the book suggestions.
Residents interested in trying to “Stump the Library,” can visit the blog site, kdl.org/stump, to send in a question or find forms at their local KDL branch.
So what questions have stumped the librarians? Well, none yet, but Moyses said she is certain it is only a matter of time.
New Godfrey-Lee Public Schools athletic director Tray Crusciel, on his first day on the job, had to help make a hard decision about the Legends football program — a program which has struggled mightily in recent years including going 0-4 and being outscored 193-41 in games played in its 2020 independent schedule season.
The decision made was to move the high school program to the 8-man football game, and to scramble to find games — any games — for head coach Mark Smoes’ players.
“My first day in the office, I was tasked with helping make this decision for the district,” AD Crusciel said to WKTV this week. “After seeing the numbers we had out for the program, seeing the low numbers currently at 7/8th grade level, and the strength of the program over the last 10 years, we felt this was best for our kids right now.
“Our move to the Alliance conference will definitely help across the board, give us more level competition and, I think, with the conference move and the move to 8-man, this community and school will benefit from it greatly.”
After forfeiting a perviously scheduled 11-man game last week, the Legends will open their season by hosting an 8-man game against NorthPointe Christian’s junior varsity squad on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 5:30 p.m.
The game will be covered by the WKTV Featured Game crew, and broadcast on cable television and made available on-demand.
Lee Legends Dragon and Crest. (Supplied)
This week’s game is one of four currently scheduled for Lee, with two being varsity 8-man and another JV game. (The Legends will be at Martin Sept. 20, hosting Gobles on Oct. 1, and at Dansville Oct. 21. But Crusciel said more games are likely to be added.)
“We felt comfortable (scheduling both JV and varsity games) because half our team is freshman/sophomore, but the teams we are playing are all facing the same issues,” Crusciel said. “We are keeping our eyes open for more games but we might have to get lucky.
“For the future, my plan is to seek our 8-man leagues/scheduling agreements to give us full schedules or build numbers back up to transition back to 11-man. Our enrollment sits at 505, so that tells me we have a decent number to tap into. But, this is a huge soccer community and we have kids with various interests and obstacles to overcome.”
He also said a “bright side” is that the district has 30 or so kids playing football in 5/6th grade. “Our goal needs to be getting engaged with those kids at the lower levels more and keeping them interested and engaged in football.”
Prior to last season’s 0-4 record in a season also impacted by the pandemic, coach Smoes first season leading the team, Lee was 3-6 under then coach Tom Degennaro while also playing an independent schedule.
AD Crusciel’s journey to Lee
New Godfrey-Lee Public Schools athletic director Tray Crusciel, with his wife and new baby. (Supplied)
Prior to coming to Lee, Crusciel had been an athletic director for eight years, including three at Covert, where he helped build the athletic department from 1 team to 13 teams, and to get the school back into an athletic conference. He then worked at Benton Harbor for one year. His resume includes stops at Jackson Lumen Christi and Battle Creek Lakeview.
“The reason I’m up here now (is) wife got a new job at Mercy Health (and) we have tons of family in the surrounding areas and we wanted to move closer to our family,” he said.
Crusciel holds degrees from Western Michigan and Wayne State universities, in for my physical education and sports administration. He played football growing up, he said, and has coached multiple sports.
Climate change could be the next impact on public health. (pxhere.com)
By Elaine Mallon Capital News Service
More than three-quarters — 77% — of local health department officials surveyed across Michigan agree that climate change will impact their jurisdiction in the next 20 years, according to a recent study in the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences.
The study examined local health departments’ readiness and perception of climate change on public health.
An undergrad at the University of Michigan, Julie Carter, led the research for her honors thesis project. Carter said the discrepancy between health officials’ view on the impact of climate change and how they prioritize climate change was the most interesting take away from the study.
Only 35% of the officials said that climate change was a priority in their department, even though over three quarters said it will be a problem in the future.
The state Department of Health and Human Services has identified five adverse health effects of climate change. They are heat illness, respiratory diseases due to change in air quality, waterborne diseases, vector- borne diseases, and injury and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Patricia Koman is a research investigator in environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study.
According to Koman, health departments can’t direct policies centered around climate change without the support of community leaders. She said it’s crucial for people like elected officials and business leaders to also be knowledgeable about health effects related to climate change.
“If these groups have little or no knowledge, or if the local public health department doesn’t know what’s going on with these leaders, that means that they’re not having the necessary conversations about climate change,” Koman said.
“It means that they aren’t doing everything they can to prepare. As we saw in the (Covid-19) pandemic, when we’re not prepared, people suffer.”
Each negative health effect was recognized as a current issue for local departments.
However, 56% of those surveyed said vector-borne illness is a problem. Health and Human Services reports that as winters become milder and summers become hotter, mosquitoes and ticks will survive in larger numbers, leading to greater risk of Lyme and West Nile diseases.
The Michigan Environmental Public Health Tracking reports that 334 ticks were collected in 1999. The population has fluctuated each year, but a record number of 1,412 ticks were collected in 2019. In 2020, the number fell to 650.
In line with the rise in ticks is the rise in Lyme disease cases. The department found 66 Lyme disease cases in 2011. Eight years later, 370 cases were recorded.
Kalamazoo County reported the most cases: 53.
The survey, conducted in 2019 but not published until earlier this year, went to officials from all 45 local health departments in the state. There were 35 responses from both urban and rural areas, representing 60% of the agencies.
Koman said the attitudes of health department officials on climate-related health issues may have changed since 2019.
“The public health implications of climate change are becoming more and more apparent,” Koman said.
According to Koman, recent flooding in the Detroit area, which prompted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to declare a state of emergency, and the severe drought at one point across over a third of the state indicate that not only are these effects happening now, but they’re expected to increase.
Since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Climate and Health Program has worked with states in implementing policies and procedures oriented around climate change. The nationwide program receives $10 million in funding, but the Biden administration budget blueprint allocates an increase to $110 million.
At the state level, the climate health program has received $200,000 each year for the past 10 years, according to Aaron Ferguson of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
“At least from our program’s perspective, that doesn’t leave a lot to provide direct funding for local health departments,” Ferguson said.
The state agency focuses on training local health department leaders by integrating environmental health impacts in assessments of a community’s needs, and also helps track climate data.
Both Carter and Koman said that one reason local departments may not prioritize climate health effects is because they are underfunded. However, Ferguson said it doesn’t necessarily require extra work to integrate climate health planning into what officials are already doing.
“We just have to reshape with climate effects in mind,” Ferguson said. “Climate change is a risk multiplier, so the things that are already impacting communities, climate change has the potential to make it worse.”
As the manager of the state agency’s climate and tracking unit, he said that while each community may differ in the severity of climate health effects, increased precipitation is the most pressing issue at hand for everyone.
“Mid-Michigan overall has gotten wetter,” he said. “Precipitation is heavier. And just a couple of weekends ago, we saw that the 100-year or 500-year rain and flood events are occurring much more frequently than that. We’ve probably seen four or five of these types of events in the seven years since I’ve been with the department.”
In addition to putting a strain on farmers, increased precipitation has led to flooding in peoples’ basements and potential exposures to sewage and other contaminants.
After a 2014 flood event, Macomb County did a health impact assessment and found an increase in negative mental health effects from the disaster — particularly in low-income and minority areas of the county.
“Mental health in these sorts of recurring events is a big issue, especially when you’re already in the middle of coming out of a pandemic,” Ferguson said.
Along with proponents integrating climate change into the conversation of public health, he said that it must transcend all facets of public life.
“There’s a lot of room for infrastructure design for the climate that we have now,” Ferguson said. “It goes back to bringing the health perspective to infrastructure planners. We need to help them understand that there’s a real health impact, and a lot of it is from climate change, but a lot of it’s because our communities aren’t prepared for that kind of stuff.”
