WKTV
If you have branches, limbs and brush to dispose of after Saturday’s storm, you may bring them to Grand Rapids’s yard waste facility at 2001 Butterworth Street SW from 9 am to 6 pm on Sunday, Aug. 21. The facility is self-serve, so you’ll have to bring the storm debris yourself.
At least four radar-reported tornadoes downed trees, damaged homes and snapped power lines on Saturday, August 20. Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming sustained most of the damage, and at least 25,000 Consumers Energy customers lost power in Allegan, Barry, Kent and Ottawa counties since the storm.
Because the tornados were wrapped in rain, they were not visible to viewers. There were no reported injuries.
The National Weather Service said that damage surveys will be conducted on Sunday to determine the number, wind estimate and severity of the tornadoes.
For the 
With the salad gone, I was ready for my stir-fry and I was not disappointed when the hot skillet was set down in front of me. It was still sizzling, packed with food, and ready to be devoured. Quick word of advice, when something is sizzling, its contents are still very hot. My brain decided not to pass along this information onto my watering mouth. Thank goodness for the glass of water that was seemingly always filled to the brim.
Going on the waitress’s recommendation, I selected one of the Hibachi Lunch Specials, Beef Hibachi, $7.95. It came with a salad, white rice and stirred fried beef and vegetables with a homemade sauce. I selected the onion salad dressing and I could taste why someone would want to purchase a bottle for home. The dressing was sweet and favorable with no overbearing onion flavor.
National Night Out celebrates local heroes and the community
The day starts out early — 7 am — at the Consumers’ Energy building (4000 Clay Ave. SW in Wyoming), where mayors and dignitaries from Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Wyoming, Grandville and other local municipalities will gather to recite the NNO credo. Here’s a great opportunity to meet your local leaders!
We were seated at a booth and Mike immediately spotted the $6.99 lunch special that included a soda, any sandwich and soup or salad. Our server informed us the salad was a traditional side salad but for a dollar more you could select any of the other salads such as tabouli, fattoush, or Greek. I was sold and went for the fattoush salad paired with the falafel, hommous, tabouli wrap cause a girl has got to have her falafel! For those who do not know, a falafel is a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both. I prefer my falafel with a little hommous, so this wrap was screaming my name.
When we walked into Le Kabob, I was caught off guard by the size of the restaurant. The last two places we had been to were small and we were the only people there for lunch. Le Kabob was not only much bigger, but it was packed with people there for lunch. Apparently we weren’t the only ones Going Local. We had a slight wait before we were seated and the $6.99 lunch special immediately caught my eye. The picture of the shawarma looked small, so I decided I needed to order two, a chicken and a lamb, on top of my lamb chili. I did not need to order a second one. I repeat, I did NOT need to order a second one.
Both shawarmas were exceptional. The meat was tender and the pita was baked with the right amount of crisp. The lamb shawarma comes rolled with onions, tomatoes, pickles, parsley and tahini sauce. It went down smoothly as the chicken starred me right in the face. The chicken shawarma is rolled with pickles, lettuce, and garlic sauce – I think I hit my yearly garlic intake during the meal. The second shawarma was just as good, but my stomach said no more! Fortunately, I was able to take half the sandwich home in a box and have it for another Going Local lunch the next day.
Once seated, we were able to dive into the menu. One thing that immediately jumped out was how affordable the lunch prices were. All of the dishes were under $7.50 and included a choice of soup (egg drop or hot & sour), choice of crab cheese or an egg roll, and a choice of fried or white rice (not included with a noodle meal). Top it off with hot tea and a fortune cookie and no one leaves with an empty stomach.
About that main course, it was a larger portion that I was expecting for the price and it wasn’t overly salted. In fact, the taste was quite soothing. Some might describe it as “bland”, but I loved it. The taste wasn’t overpowering and it was effortless moving from a bite of the lo mein to the egg roll. The tastes complimented one another.
Inside, the restaurant was cleaned and inviting with the owner showing us to a table. I lingered a little as China City has a bakery case that included little heart-shaped strawberry and lemon cakes along with rather large almond cookies for 35 cents. “Life is short, eat dessert first” ran through my head as I pulled myself away from the bakery case. Besides, I have to pass it on the way out anyways.
The lunch meal came out fairly quickly. It was a nice portion size with at least a cup and half of the entry and fried rice. I don’t normally order fried rice, but a friend had recommended trying China City’s, so I opted for it and was not disappointed.
Rather than look at which rule was broken and then doling out traditionally prescribed punishment, at-risk students may be sent to a circle for resolution. During a discussion led by the circle facilitator, the students come up with solutions to the issues raised. Circles help students look at what happened, determine the harm done, talk about how the harm can be repaired, and discuss how future harm can be prevented.
The Kentwood Police Department is looking for the public’s help in identifying a suspect in a robbery that occurred in the Woodland Mall parking lot on May 12, 2016.
Before the Justice Center was built, the Police Department and the District Court were housed in the Kentwood City Center. It was a cramped working environment that limited the productivity of both staffs.
In the end, the Kentwood Justice Center was completed on time and on budget. 15 years later the building was paid off on time and is one of the reasons for the city’s AA+ bond rating – a rating very unusual for a city the size of Kentwood.
Update: Due to an unforeseen conflict, the writing workshop will be postponed to a later date! 
