On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus, visiting our studio is Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young. Sheriff LaJoye-Young has a long history in law enforcement, specifically with the Kent County Sheriff’s Office where she most recently served as Undersheriff.
Sheriff LaJoye-Young talks about her years working within the Sheriffs Office, the broad scope of the duties and responsibilities of the office she leads, and what she thinks about being the first female to be the county’s top law enforcement official.
She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Larry Stelma, who retired in November and whose term goes through December 2020, at which time there will be an election for the badge.
“WKTV Journal In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). In Focus is also available on-demand within a week of play at wktvondemand.com. All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Cathy Van Lopik reprises her role as Emily Brent in the upcoming production of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre.
Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Was None” is one of Cathy Van Lopik’s favorite plays. So when she learned that both Jenison’s Shadblow Theatre and Grand Rapids Civic Theatre had included the famous murder mystery in their 2018-2019 season, it was a given that Van Lopik was going to audition.
“I knew I was going to audition for both shows in the hopes that I might get into one,” said the Wyoming resident. “There was a chance I might not get into either, but I was going to try.”
She ended up landing a part in both shows, portraying Emily Brent this past summer for Shadblow Theatre’s production and a role she will reprise for the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s, which opens Jan. 11 at the theater, located at 30 N. Division Ave.
“When I came in for rehearsal, they were like ‘You already know your lines, right? You’re off book already,’” Van Lopik said with a laugh.
With a different director comes the opportunity to explore the character of Emily Brent from another viewpoint.
“You see a different aspect to the character,” Van Lopik said. “(Director) Bruce Tinker has a different take and will say something like she could be responding to something this character said and it gives you a new perspective as to why why she is saying this particular line.”
Brent is one of 10 seemingly normal people who are invited to stay at the isolated Solider Island off the Devon coast of England. Once a gramophone announces the group’s sins to all the other occupants, things start to get interesting and people start to disappear.
“Basically you put 10 strangers in a room and give them a crisis and watching how each of these people deal with it is very interesting,” she said. “Each of these 10 people have an individual way of handling this situation making it a compelling look at human nature and how people react.”
Van Lopik is a familiar face to the theater scene in Grand Rapids, having worked with Master Arts Theatre for several years, currently serving as the director of the group’s traveling troupe. She also has performed and directed a number of shows, including the 2017 Van Singel Fine Arts production of “Willy Wonka The Musical.” However, this is the first time Van Lopik will perform on the Civic stage.
“It just hasn’t worked out before,” Van Lopik said. “I’ve had other things going on or it just didn’t work.
“I have auditioned before and there is so much talent in the area, that you just don’t get the role. Having been a director, I know how it feels when you have two or three people who would be great but you can only pick one.”
Van Lopik will be back in the director’s chair after “And Then There Were None” wraps. She will be directing “Sunshine Boys” at Holland Civic Theatre, Feb. 11 and 12; and “Around the World in 80 Days” for Master Arts Theatre, June 6 – 22.
That’s of course is if Emily Brent survives the island escapades in “And Then There Were None.” To find out if she does, you’ll have to catch the show, which runs Jan. 11 – 27. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $18 – $29, with student pricing $16. For more on this production or other shows at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, visit grct.org.
It wasn’t long ago that Gybran Vazquez decided he needed a change. He was applying stripes to parking lots for an asphalt company, but dreamed of what else he could be doing with his career.
“I thought this ain’t the life I want,” said Vazquez.
He’s closer to the life he wants, now that he has graduated from Grand Rapids Community College Job Training after devoting 34 hours a week for 18 weeks to learning about residential construction.
The Wyoming resident is now ready to continue working toward his goal of getting his associate degree from GRCC and eventually start his own property management company.
“I always had the vision where I want to be my own boss someday,” he said. “I am taking the steps to get there.”
After more than 600 hours spent learning to build houses, fix cars, take blood pressure and complete other skills needed for jobs available in West Michigan, 52 students graduated in December from the GRCC Job Training programs.
Nick Paddock graduates from the GRCC Job Training automotive technician program
A Path Toward Success
They will land jobs as automotive technicians, computer support technicians, machinists, medical assistants, electricians and in other occupations that require certifications and specialized training. Each year, more than 300 people graduate from the fast-paced, full-time programs, which aim to produce highly skilled new employees with appropriate credentials for jobs.
“We often get students in the program that haven’t had great success in traditional education,” said Julie Parks, GRCC executive director of workforce training. “Eighty percent of classes are hands-on; they earn national certifications and they see what they can do.”
That’s true for Vazquez, who dropped out of Lee High School as a freshman in 2010. Several years later he returned to adult education courses in Grand Rapids to earn his GED. From there, he was connected to GRCC’s Job Training Residential Construction Program.
He helped build houses, learning about blueprint reading, site layout, concrete, carpentry, door and window installation, roofing, siding, and interior finishing. He is now working full-time in carpentry, earning more than $20 an hour, compared to the $14.50 per hour he earned before.
Vazquez said he feels more confident about pursuing opportunities. “I feel way better now. I can actually speak up and say something now that I have my education.”
While working is most students’ goal, they earn 12 to 16 articulated credits through Job Training programs toward an associate degree, which many come back for after working a while. Many students are motivated to continue with skills training in some way to improve their income potential. They also build a network of people in their industries.
Nick Paddock shares the moment with his children
Hands-On Experience
Nick Paddock graduated from the automotive technician program, which focuses on diagnosing and repairing vehicles, from brakes to steering. He enrolled in GRCC Job Training after losing his job in January from a car dealership.
“I decided, ‘I’m off. I need to do this to better myself,’” said Paddock, who has two children, ages 8 and 10, with his wife, Lynne.
He is now working for DeNooyer Ford, in Kalamazoo, as an auto technician, a job he was hired to before even graduating from the GRCC program. He is making $17 per hour, compared to the $10 per hour he made at his former job.
‘I CAN ACTUALLY SPEAK UP AND SAY SOMETHING NOW THAT I HAVE MY EDUCATION.’ — GYBRAN VAZQUEZ, GRADUATE OF GRCC JOB TRAINING PROGRAM
His family is more financially comfortable, he said. His wife works as a patient care assistant at Bronson Hospital.
“I have been recommending the program quite a bit to people,” he said. “You get the hands-on experience. … I personally learn better by getting my hands on things.”
Programs cost between $5,000 and $7,000, but most students receive scholarships, financial aid or support through the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Many are able to complete the program without going into debt.
Going to GRCC was a great choice, Vazquez said.
“I definitely recommend it for anyone who wants to pursue their goals. Once you’re in the groove it goes by quick. … It’s fun to learn different stuff you don’t know.”
It is a 5-year study to investigate the use of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) to treat severe agitation and aggression in people with Alzheimer’s disease. The study was made possible by a 5-year award which is expected to total $11.8 million from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) under award number R01AG06110001.
Researchers at McLean Hospital, a Harvard Medical School Affiliate, will lead the study. Pine Rest will receive a $1.3 million sub-award for the study from McLean. The NIA, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads scientific efforts to study aging and Alzheimer’s disease.
The principal investigator is Brent P. Forester, M.D., M.Sc, and heads McLean’s Division of Geriatric Psychiatry and Geriatric Psychiatry Research Program. McLean Hospital researchers will collaborate with investigators at Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, Emory University, Mayo Clinic, and Northwell Health. The Medical University of South Carolina will serve as the study’s data coordinating site.
The study will be the first randomized, double-blind, controlled study of ECT for agitation and aggression in Alzheimer’s dementia. It will compare how ECT treatment plus standard treatments, such as antipsychotic medications and behavioral therapies, compares with standard therapies alone for individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia with severe aggression and anxiety.
“It is wonderful to have this grant from the National Institute on Aging. We have been interested in the use of ECT for the treatment of advanced dementia for many years and have been offering this treatment to patients and families for a long time,” says Eric Achtyes, M.D., M.S., D.F.A.P.A., staff psychiatrist, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services, and Michigan State University – College of Human Medicine, associate professor and chair, department of psychiatry west. “Several years ago, we conducted a pilot study of ECT in this patient population which showed promising results for reducing agitation associated with dementia. Now, thanks to this grant, we will be able to conduct a definitive study to assess the benefits and risks of using ECT for these individuals and the families who care for them.”
For the study, 200 patients will be enrolled across the five sites. The study will be open to older adults or individuals who have been admitted to the inpatient geriatric psychiatry units of any of the five participating sites and who have moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease, are experiencing agitation and aggression, and who have not been responsive to other forms of treatment. Enrollment is expected to begin in spring 2019.
Louis Nykamp, M.D., Pine Rest’s geriatric fellowship director and electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation clinic director will be serving as the Pine Rest principal investigator for this study. Dr. Nykamp is a geriatric trained psychiatrist with expertise in the assessment and treatment of dementias, as well as the use of ECT and other neuromodulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation. He was involved in drafting the grant and will lead the team here at Pine Rest in the safe conduct of this critically important and impactful study.
“Agitation and even aggression are unfortunately common in the context of the brain changes which occur in the late stages of Alzheimer’s dementia,” says Dr. Nykamp. “Many people can think of a family member or friend to whom this has occurred. There are currently no approved treatments and the medications typically used for these complications of the illness can come with troublesome side effects and often they don’t work as well as we’d hope.
“Pilot studies of ECT for these symptoms have been promising, and it has been a part of our clinical practice at Pine Rest to offer this when symptoms have been severe and refractory. We are very fortunate to have this grant opportunity to collaborate with excellent partners to study the effectiveness of ECT for severe agitation in dementia.”
Preliminary work to prepare Pine Rest’s ECT Clinic to participate in the NIA grant was funded by a $20,000 grant from the Pine Rest Foundation. With this funding the capacity to accurately and consistently track data and measure outcomes using standardized assessment tools was improved. This process gave staff experience with administering the standardized diagnostic, efficacy and side effect scales that are used in research and incorporated these measures into the clinic work flow preparing our team to participate in transformational research projects such as this.
When the study begins this spring, the teams from the five hospitals will interact regularly with a data safety monitoring board composed of experts in geriatric psychiatry, biostatistics, and ECT who will review every piece of data as well as the overall conduct of the study to provide an independent objective review of safety. The researchers will also provide a yearly progress report to the NIA.
Young ladies are encouraged to bring their favorite adult date, dad, grandpa, uncle or another male figure, to the Daddy Daughter Dance.
The City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation is currently taking registrations for its annual Daddy Daughter Dance, which will be Saturday, Feb. 9.
The popular dance, which is for girls ages 3-15, fills up quickly, so residents are encouraged to register early. This year’s event will include a photo booth, DJ, games and refreshments.
The event will be from 6-8 p.m. at the Wyoming Senior Center, 2380 DeHoop Ave. SW. Cost is $8 for residents and $12 for non-residents. (Fee is per person.)
Pre-registration is required. To register, click here.
New laws aim to prevent and punish crimes against abuse victims’ pets. (MaxPixel)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
After nearly a year of work introducing and shepherding two bills though the Michigan Legislature, newly reelected state Rep. Tommy Brann received a early Christmas present when his animal abuse prevention and prosecution law — the “Howie Bill” — was signed by then Gov. Rick Snyder as one of this last official acts.
The Governor’s approval followed the mid-December Senate approval of Rep. Brann’s House-approved bills, when they gained support from 33 of 37 state senators voting.
State Rep. Tommy Brann (R-77th District)
Rep. Brann, a Republican who represents the 77th District, which includes the City of Wyoming and Byron Township, told WKTV in December that House Bills 4332 and 4333 would “increase the penalties of animal cruelty crimes in Michigan and actually puts into law that pets are companion animals. I nicknamed it the ‘Howie Bill,’ after my late dog.”
The resulting new law will “make it a crime to knowingly torture, mutilate or kill an animal with the intent to cause mental distress or exert control over a person,” he previously said.
Coincidentally, a similar law was passed on the federal level, an effort led by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.).
Sen. Peters announced in mid-December the Congressional passage of the bipartisan legislation, also introduced with Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nevada) to help protect domestic violence survivors and their pets.
The Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act expands existing federal domestic violence protections to include threats or acts of violence against a survivor’s pet, and “helps provide funding for facilities that harbor survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence and their pets, or are looking to do so.”
The legislation passed the Senate and the House of Representatives as part of a larger bill setting agriculture policy and later was signed by President Donald Trump.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
“Survivors of domestic violence should never have to decide between leaving an abusive relationship or staying and risking their safety to protect their pets,” Sen. Peters said in supplied material. “This bill will help ensure more safe havens for survivors and their pets are available.”
According to the statement from Sen. Peters’s office, multiple studies have shown that domestic abusers often seek to manipulate or intimidate their victims by threatening or harming their pets, but according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), only three percent of domestic violence shelters across the country accept pets. The ASPCA reported that a study in Wisconsin found 68 percent of domestic violence survivors reported their abusers were also violent towards their animals.
A similar study found that as many as 25 percent of domestic violence survivors have returned to an abusive partner out of concern for their pet. A separate 2007 study found that as many as one-third of domestic abuse survivors reported they delayed leaving an abuser for an average of two years out of concern for the safety of their pet.
Statistics and studies aside, Rep. Brann’s passion for protecting abused persons and their pets was very personal.
“Justice should include family pets because they could be used for manipulation or harm just like our loved ones on two legs,” Brann said early in 2018 as his “Howie Bill” moved through the state House. “As a pet lover myself, it pains me that animal abuse continues to be a growing a problem in Michigan and we absolutely need to address it. … This legislation will be a solution to address this awful problem.”
Only 354 days until Christmas! Now, about that tree…
Don’t let your Christmas tree dry out — drop it off at a designated site
Wondering what to do with that Christmas tree? If you’re a resident of Wyoming, there is a drop-off site at 2660 Burlingame Ave. SW. Kentwood residents can drop off their trees at the city’s Department of Public Works, 5068 Breton Ave. SE from 7:30am-4pm Monday-Friday, through Jan. 31. Get the details here.
No. 89… No. 89… Oh, wait…
Cool, old-timey photo of the Grand Rapids Symphony in the 1930s
The Grand Rapids Symphony officially organized on Jan. 11, 1930, making it 89 in 2019. Coincidentally, the Symphony has a concert performance on Jan. 11. So to celebrate its 89th birthday, one of the featured pieces is Hayden’s Symphony No. 89. Pretty clever, no? Go here for more info.
And now, a blast from the past
Remember them now?
Hey! Remember S&H Green Stamps? No? Maybe your mom does — well, your grandmother definitely does. You can trace the roots of Meijer’s MPerks and Hallmark’s Gold Crown Rewards back to about 1896, when Sperry & Hutchinson (the S&H — get it?) started to offer its loyalty retail program to supermarkets, gas stations and stores in the form of small green stamps. Managing editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma dishes on this once-ubiquitous homemaker staple here.
Fun fact:
45%
That’s the percentage of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, to stay fit and healthy, and to quit smoking. While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them give up on their resolutions by the second week of January. That’s next week, y’all.
The Diocese of Grand Rapids’ first permanent deacon class in 15 years. From Wyoming parishes are José Saucedo (third from right) and Thu Le (second from right). (Supplied)
Thu Le had never visited a prison. The Wyoming resident never had a reason to visit one, but as part of the Diocese of Grand Rapids’ class of permanent deacons, Le was required to do so.
“As we go through the process, we learn that serving is not just about serving the church, but serving others who may not be part of the church,” Le said during an interview at his home church, Wyoming’s Our Lady of La-Vang. “I knew if people had known Christ and God they would not have gotten themselves in that situation. It is hard to describe what it is like until you can see it. For those there, it is really terrible to face it.”
Participating in prison ministry is not easy, but neither is becoming a deacon or serving as one, admitted Deacon Jim Hessler, the Diocese of Grand Rapids’ director of diaconate formation, overseeing the deacon program.
Thu Le (bowing) comes before Bishop Walkowiak to be accepted as a candidate for the permanent deacon class in a special Mass held Nov. 15.
There are two types of deacons, transitional, those who use it to move on to priesthood, and permanent, those who will remain as deacons. Permanent deacons come from their local parishes, having demonstrated years of service and dedication and showing they have the “heart” of a deacon.
Thu Lee
“The heart cannot be created in any formation class,” said Hessler of the most important element to becoming a permanent deacon. “It must be a pre-existing attribute in the man’s nature. It is the heart that demonstrates good judgement, kindness, empathy, even-temperament, humility, concern for the poor, gentleness, and generosity of spirit.”
The deacon process takes four years, involving academic coursework along with human psychological, pastoral and spiritual formation. In addition, there is training through internships in healthcare, hospice, liturgy, and jail and street ministry. Most of the programming takes place on evenings and weekends as most candidates have jobs.
Because of the time commitment, the family, especially the wife, have to give their permission for a person to even start the process, Hessler said.
Of the 16 who applied for candidacy, only 10 were accepted in a special Mass last November lead by Bishop Walkowiak. As the group continues the process of learning and reflecting, candidates may drop for one reason or another, Hessler said.
The 10 accepted last fall were the first permanent deacon class in the Diocese of Grand Rapids in 15 years.
“Different bishops have different goals,” Hessler said. “The focus of our previous bishop, Bishop Walter Hurley, had been on aligning the church so it could meet future demands. [This included the development of the Cathedral Square pulling all of the Diocese’s services into one area.] Our current bishop, Bishop David Walkowiak, has had a different focus with him reinstating the deacon program.”
José Saucedo heads to the alter to be accepted as a candidate for the permanent deacon class by Bishop Walkowiak.
But what also makes this class unique is that of the 10, the two candidates from the City of Wyoming are from countries that often do not have deacons working in the church.
According, Fides, a news agency for a department of the Vatican, there is more than 46,000 permanent deacons in the world serving about 1.3 billion Catholics with the largest increase being in the Americas. This was as of Dec. 31, 2016. According to Hessler, 50 percent of the world’s deacons are in the United States and the other 50 percent live in the rest of the world. So many countries like Vietnam and Mexico often have no deacons serving at the local church.
“I don’t remember a deacon at my church in Mexico,” said Byron Center resident José Saucedo, who is at Wyoming’s St. Joseph the Worker Parish. “However, I have been involved with St. Joseph for 15 years and we have two deacons, so I was very familiar with who a deacon is and what they do.”
José Saucedo
Saucedo said when he was little he wanted to be a priest. Having worked closely with the deacons at his church, especially through the Cursillo Movement program, he saw the need for another deacon who could speak Spanish and work with the Hispanic community.
“The Hispanic community is growing,” Saucedo said, “and there is a need for help as many still do no speak English. We have two priests who speak Spanish and three deacons who speak Spanish, but the need is greater.”
Le’s story is similar in that he too has worked closely with the deacon at Our Lady of La-Vang. He was approached by his parish at the possibility of becoming a deacon and with his deacon looking at retirement, Le too felt a calling to serve his community.
The two men acknowledge they have a long road to go, three more years, before assuming their positions. There is no guarantee they will remain at their respective churches as the Bishop will decide where they are needed. They also will serve without pay, working their full-time jobs.
“I had a couple of friends who started the process but they did not continue,” Saucedo said, adding he is not certain why they did not continue. “It has its ups and downs, and you have some doubts and wonder ‘why me?’”
But both Saucedo and Le knew the process would be a challenge and regardless if they completed it, they also knew it would give them a greater understanding of their Church and service.
“If I didn’t do it, I would have regretted it, so I am glad I did it,” Saucedo said.
Just like Le is glad that through the permanent deacon program, he had the opportunity to participate in serving the prison, so much so that he has made a commitment to continue exploring that ministry.
Loyalty programs, such as Meijer’s MPerks and Hallmark’s Gold Crown Rewards, have been around for a long time. In fact, you can trace the roots of these programs back to about 1896, when Sperry & Hutchinson started to offer its loyalty retail program to supermarkets, gas stations and stores in the form of small green stamps.
S&H Green Stamps were a common commodity with shoppers sometimes selecting a store based on if it offered the stamps or not.
“Back in the days of the 1950s and 1960s, I think the new homemakers of the day were attracted to this idea of getting some extra value to their purchases,” said Bill Branz, from the Wyoming Historical Commission and who oversees the Wyoming History Room at the KDL Wyoming Branch. “I remember my mother saving stamps and one of the most popular were S&H Green Stamps.”
Retailers would purchased the stamps from S&H and then give them away at a rate determined by the merchant. Stamps had values of one, 10, and 50 points. Shoppers would stick the stamps in books that had 24 pages. Filling a page required 50 points and a full book contained 1,200 points. Shoppers would then exchange filled books for premiums, including housewares and other items from a local Green Stamps store or catalog.
S&H Green Stamps would come in one, 10 and 50 point stamps. It took 50 points to fill a page in one souvenir book. It took 1,200 points to fill the 24-page book.
“You would take your books of Green Stamps, and hopefully they would not be falling out, and you would come in there and you would pick out maybe a toaster or something like that,” Branz said.
One of the most well-known local Green Stamps provider was Rogers Department Store, which operated from 1955 to 2005, much of the time at 1001 28th St. SW, Wyoming. It is now where Advantage Solutions is located. Across the street, in the Rogers Plaza was a redemption center.
“So it was a unique part of our local history,” Brantz said as he looks over a few books of Green Stamps along with other similar loyalty program products.
The recessions of the 1970s are credited to the decline of collecting stamps like these.
The recessions of the 1970s is credited to the decline of the stamps, which has pretty much disappeared in the 1980s. At one point, after the redemption center closed in Rogers Plaza, Rogers Department Store started redeeming the books of stamps for Rogers Cash to be used in the store.
S&H Green Stamps still exist, online as S&H Greenpoints. The website is greenpoints.com, where you can still redeem the S&H Green Stamps, as long as you have 60 books or more.
If you would like to view the S&H Green Stamps or other Wyoming historical items, visit the Wyoming Historical Room at the KDL Wyoming Branch, 3300 Michael Ave. SW. The room is open the first and third Saturdays of the month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment. The Wyoming Historical Commission is always looking for items related to the history of Wyoming. If you have something you would like to donate or if you are interested in volunteering, call 616-261-3508 or visit Wyoming Michigan History Room’s Facebook page.
"It doesn't matter where you came from. All that matters is where you are going.”
-- Brian Tracy
It’s been an interesting year. Let’s take a look back.
Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus rehearses its holiday music.
Managing editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma has rounded up the most popular stories of 2018 and corralled them into one spot. Go here to see what readers read the most.
Everybody has a profile. Even Kent County.
Cool, fun graphic
Counties have profiles? You bet! Thanks to the Kent County Administration and their most excellent bilingual survey, the secret is out: Kent County’s median age of 34.9 years old is more than five years younger than Michigan as a whole and 50 percent of the population of about 648,594 is 35-years-old or younger. Go here for the cool details.
Get ahead of the game.
Wouldn’t it be fun to pay your tax bill with Monopoly money?
You know that big tax cut we’ve all been hearing about? The one that has corporations so excited? Well, there’s a tiny bit of relief for single people and families, too. Standard deductions for single taxpayers nearly double from $6,350 for 2017 taxes to $12,000 for 2018 taxes (the ones you file in 2019). It might get confusing, but there’s free tax help here. Take advantage of it.
Fun fact:
April 11, 1954
According to Cambridge computer scientist William Tunstall-Pedoe and his search engine project, ‘True Knowledge’, that’s the ‘Most Boring Day in History‘. After sifting through and analyzing 300 million facts, ‘True Knowledge’ divined that on April 11, 1954, a general election was held in Belgium, Turkish academic Professor Abdullah Atalar was born, and an Oldham Athletic footballer by the name of Jack Shufflebotham died. That’s it. Nothing else that matters happened.
One element of the just released Kent County profile. (Kent County/Public Sector Consultants)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
After three community meetings — one in Kentwood in mid-December, an extensive “profile” of the county and a current bilingual survey, the Kent County administration is in the final stages of information collection for its current strategic planning process.
Over the past six months, according to supplied information, county leaders have “engaged in a strategic planning process that will guide its leadership through the next five years to better reflect the changing demographics, economics, and needs of the County.”
One currently ongoing element of community input is a Spanish-language bilingual survey, which will be accepting input until Monday, Jan. 7, 2019. (A link to the survey is here.)
“Community engagement is absolutely integral to the success of Kent County,” Wayman Britt, Kent County Administrator/Controller, said in previously supplied information. “It is important for us to hear the thoughts and ideas from our communities as we renew our strategic plan and effectively plan for the future.”
Partnered with Public Sector Consultants, a Lansing-based research and project management firm, the county conducted “several forward-looking conversations with external stakeholders, elected officials, County administration leaders, and residents on what goals and action items should be included in the County’s next strategic plan.”
Among the highlights of the profile are that the county’s median age of 34.9 years old is more than five years younger than Michigan as a whole and that 50 percent of the population of about 648,594 is 35-years-old or younger. That population is up 7.6 parent from 2010, when the last Federal census was conducted. Other highlights of the profile are that the county as the fastest growing metro economy in the United States, up 21.8 percent over five years, and that county’s violent crimes (reported in 2016) of 367 per 100,000 population was less than both the state and the country as a whole.
Upon completion of the community-engagement process, Public Sector Consultants will develop a strategic plan with the goal being to have the Board of Commissioners review a draft plan in late February 2019 and then to publicly release it in March.
“Solutions and ideas do not just come from government — they come from our residents who live, work, and play in Kent County,” said Britt.
For more information about the Kent County Administration visit accesskent.com .
The Kent District Library’s “Let It Snow” reading program for adults returns in January.
Adults (18 and older) who participate and read a minimum of six books in different categories between Wednesday, Jan. 2, and Sunday, March 31, will receive a Let It Snow coffee mug. Participants who finish an additional four titles are entered into a drawing to win either an iPad or a one-year Costco membership.
“Let it Snow is a fun and engaging program for adults to participate in during the dreary winter months,” said former Byron Township Youth Library Barb DeYoung. “With the book lists provided, readers can find new authors or select books they normally wouldn’t pick out. Cozying up with a good book is the perfect cure for those winter blahs!”
While the program doesn’t kick off util early January, those interested in participating can check out some of the recommended reads for Let It Snow.
For more on the Let It Snow program, visit kdl.org.
Susan Berce counted down as a group of 38 eager third-graders at East Kelloggsville Elementary scrambled to pitch their trash after lunch. While other students were heading to recess, this group stayed put and returned to their seats in this music room, where they eat lunch every Tuesday as members of the school’s newly formed choir.
Kimberly Mercado-Rodriguez, front, and Madison Kowtko raise their voices
They got into the rhythm with a little body percussion: Boom snap clap, ba-boom snap clap. Boom snap clap…Then they pulled out their sheet music and Berce accompanied and directed them through “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“These kids can sing and they love to sing,” said Berce, who teaches kindergarten through third grade music at East and West Kelloggsville elementary schools. She recently began extracurricular choirs at both schools. Participation is voluntary, and choir members need parental permission to join. Each student signed a contract commiting to sing during one lunch and one recess every week.
Jonathan Jimenez sings his heart as choirmates Lyla Salgado and Han Pham concentrate on their parts
A Little Time, a Big Vision
Elementary school choir has long been a vision for Berce, who has spent her career in Kelloggsville. In the six years she has taught music, Berce hasn’t had time in her schedule to direct a choir until this year, when burgeoning enrollment allowed the district to add more staff. When asked what she might do with the little extra time in her day, she said she did not hesitate: she wanted to start a choir. Students didn’t hesitate, either: more than half of the roughly 70 third-graders at East Kelloggsville joined.
So why do it at lunch? Many districts with thriving choirs meet after school, but that wasn’t realistic for Berce if she wanted participants.
“(Parents) work hard, they have jobs that they have to be at — we don’t have that flexibility to keep kids after school,” said Berce. “Lunch seemed the obvious choice.
If the excitement on their faces and the passion in their voices are any indication, that choice is working out well.
“I prefer to sing than go outside and play,” said Kiana Chenh, who says she has been singing since she was 4. While she’s a little shy about solos, she has found her niche in choir: “I like to sing in a big group.”
A new exhibit titled, “Changing Seasons,” by local artist Carole Hunnes-Nielsen, opens at the Leep Art Gallery on Jan. 3 at the Postma Center on the Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services campus in Grand Rapids.
Hunnes-Nielsen graduated from Western Michigan University with a master’s and bachelor’s degrees in art education. Her work in watercolor and watercolor batik has won awards with the Michigan Watercolor Society, Celebration of the Arts, and Festival of the Arts.
“The seasons of our lives bring many changes as do the change of seasons in nature. My work embraces a love of life and a love of nature,” says Carole Hunnes-Nielsen. “I am inspired by the change of seasons in our beautiful state of Michigan and the changes in life that we celebrate. I hope to express that love of life and nature in my work through the use of expressive color and experimentation with technique. The influence of Vincent VanGogh’s use of bright color can be seen in my work.”
“My work captures a moment in life that has brought me joy. It brings me pleasure to be able to share my work with others. My hope is that through viewing my work, you will feel the same happiness as I did in creating it.”
Hunnes-Nielsen spent 30 years teaching high school art. As a retired art teacher, she enjoys sharing her love of art through teaching watercolor batik workshops. She is a member of the American Watercolor Society, Michigan Watercolor Society and the Franciscan Painters. She has had numerous solo exhibitions and has been in many juried shows.
Hunnes-Nielsen is a lifelong Michigan resident and currently lives in Rockford.
The Pine Rest Leep Art Gallery exhibit will be on display at the Postma Center located at 300 68th Street, SE, Grand Rapids, Mich., from January 3 until April 3, 2019. The Leep Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and is free and open to the public. For more information, please call 616.222.4530 or go to www.pinerest.org/leep-art-gallery .
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus, visiting our studio is Wyoming Public Schools new Superintendent Craig Hoekstra, talking about his history and the future of his district, including what the district plans following the recent passage of a bond measure. Also on the show is the Kent County Friend of the Court, which works with the Circuit Court in the area of domestic relations but which has duties that are moving beyond simply investigation and enforcement.
Superintendent Hoekstra began his current duties in July of this year, but his history with Wyoming Public Schools runs deep, almost 30 years in fact. First as a student, then as a custodian, teacher, principal and, from 2015, as Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services. But we talk more about his and the district’s future than his past.
The Kent County Friend of the Court is the collection, enforcement and investigative arm of the Circuit Court in the area of domestic relations. We talk Daniel Fojtik, Friend of the Court Director, and Kent County Commissioner Harold Voorhees, on the FOC and its duties, as well as a recent report on the status of a series of Community Engagement Task Force Recommendations.
“WKTV Journal In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). But all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Aliyah Rivera unwrapped a large present handed to her by her friend, senior Lauren Gonzalez. Inside was a large painting kit with lots of tools for creating masterpieces.
Social worker Nicholle Smith hugs senior Avalon Dexter after receiving bus passes to give to students who have transportation needs
The kit was Aliyah’s wish come true through Winter Wishes, hosted by the Student Council. The Wyoming High School senior, while expressing thanks and excitement, said she hopes to major in art education in college. “It’s going to help me with my portfolio.
“I feel so honored and really happy to be one of the people that makes someone else happy,” said Lauren, Student Council vice president. “People get really joyful when they open a gift.”
Student Council members played elves on the mid-December afternoon, stopping by classrooms to fulfill gift requests submitted by their peers. They usually adopt a district family for Christmas, but this year decided to spread the love among the student body. Winter Wishes is modeled after an idea created by Jostens Renaissance to build climate and culture.
Junior Jabari Pennington opens his gift
“It’s more personal because we get to see the impact it has on them and know we are giving it to our students, said adviser Anna Servo. “Some might not have money to buy Christmas gifts, and some might have friends that just need a pick-me-up.”
Students spent $1,500 in council funds to grant 40 of 70 wishes, which ranged from candy and fuzzy socks to several Class of 2019 senior sweatshirts.
Several students and teachers made wishes to give to others.
Social worker Nicolle Smith’s request was filled for fifteen 10-ride city bus passes to help students with transportation needs.
A cart full of granted wishes
Special education teacher Cathy Kammega received a bowling ball to give to a Special Olympics Michigan athlete. Junior Marshaun Morris received a $15 Target gift card to buy his mother a Christmas present.
Junior Callie Seymour wished for flowers to deliver to her sister, Courtney Seymour, a fourth-grader at West Elementary School. “I knew it would surprise her. She is always looking up to me and I thought it would make her happy.”
Council members were so touched by Callie’s request that they presented Callie with her own flower and a $10 iTunes gift card.
Last week, Kelloggsville students got quite the thrill when teachers from the district came to their homes bearing gift bags.
Nayeliz Sierra, a fourth-grader at Kelloggsville Southeast Elementary, lives at the first stop on the route west of Division Avenue. She bounded out of the front door and into the arms of several teachers, one right after the other, before receiving her bag. Her ear-to-ear smile never faded.
Fourth-grader Nayeliz Sierra beams after receiving her goodie bag
“I think it’s important to make these connections with the families, coming to them instead of them always coming to us,” said Amy Stratton, a third grade teacher at West Kelloggsville Elementary.
Paula Dykstra, community coordinator for Kelloggsville Public Schools, couldn’t agree more. She organized the holiday home visits.
“One reason I really wanted to do this was for our staff to see where and how our students live,” said Dykstra, adding that students throughout the district have a wide range of living circumstances, from a single mother of five living in a two double-bed hotel room to students who live in large homes. “I also did this so the students can see the staff from their schools outside the walls of school. Any way we can include our families is important to Kelloggsville.”
A student, excited to see visitors from his school
By the numbers
Dykstra got the home visit idea from the Kent School Services Network coordinator at Godwin Heights Public Schools, who organized something similar with high school students last year. Dykstra tweaked the idea for Kelloggsville. She said she was blown away by the number of families that wanted to participate in this, its inaugural year.
The staff visited 183 homes, giving bags to 390 students in grades kindergarten through 12. Each bag contained a notebook, Kelloggsville pencil and window cling, a glue stick, crayons or colored pencils, scissors, hot chocolate, mini marshmallows, a candy cane, fruit snacks, and a book. Many items were donated by community partners including Meijer, Target, Owen-Ames-Kimball, ABDick, Culver’s and Flooring America.
Nayeliz Sierra hugs one of her teachers
Home visitors included a school board member, six administrators, 23 school staff, Dykstra’s husband and two bus drivers. Two buses visited homes in the district and three vans ventured farther afield to Schools of Choice students’ homes, going as far north as Plainfield Avenue.
Smiles all around
“Several families wanted staff to come inside and visit, but we were on such a time crunch. We would like to change that for next year,” said Dykstra.
One student told her teacher that her family cleaned the entire house in anticipation of the visit.
Each bag contained a variety of items
“When we pulled up on the bus, little faces would be peering out the front window, waiting for us,” she said.
“After seeing the excited, smiling faces on the children last night, we will most definitely be doing this next year. Even the older high school students were happy to see us.”
Dykstra rode on the bus that visited homes on the east side of Division Avenue.
“When we finished, everyone clapped and said they had a wonderful time.”
When considering events that have shaped her generation, senior Quiana Wade thought of the killing of Trayvon Martin in 2012, and of U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage in 2015.
She included images and messages about both events in her first-place-winning video for the student Mosaic Film Experience Mobile 2018 competition. She was recently awarded $1,000 for the piece. She was also a Top 10 finisher in the contest last year.
Mosaic Film Experience is a film festival for commercial and jury selected works focusing on under-told stories. It was founded in Grand Rapids in 2012.
The criteria this year was to tell a story including the message, “It’s different now,” and to incorporate art.
“The first thing that came to my mind was things that happened in society,” said Quiana, an advance video production student at Wyoming High School.
Mosaic Film Experience Mobile high school winners and finalists also include:
2nd place – Mariah Barrera, City High School
3rd place – Alyssa Dodd, Careerline Tech Center
Finalists:
Irene Kuperus, Careerline Tech Center
Yailine Palomo, Wyoming High School
Willy Vernom, Kelloggsville High School
Kyla Kerridge and Halle White, Rockford High School
Kalil Adams and Jayden Burgen, East Kentwood High School
Morgan Westrate and Lara Johansen, Byron Center High School
Sergio Sepulveda, Innovation Central High School
Wyoming High School senior Quiana Wade is the first-place winner in the Mosaic Film Experience Mobile 2018 competition
Quiana’s video starts with the narrative: “Being younger than now, I didn’t have to be aware of the things that happen around me, but it’s all different now.” It continues, including images and illustrations representing Trayvon Martin, the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQ community and diversity.
She used an iPad to create the video, recording her siblings, friends and her own drawings.
As an African American, she said she’s personally been affected by racial prejudice. She also has friends in the LGBTQ community who she supports.
Quiana said she believes film is a great way to share perspectives and get people thinking. “Perspective is a big thing when it comes to understanding what people go through,” she said.
Quiana plans to major in film production in college, possibly at the Art Institute of Atlanta, in Georgia.
It’s always warm and smells like good beer in Rockford Brewing’s main-floor bar — music is upstairs this weekend. (Supplied/Rockford Brewing Company)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
Rockford Brewing Company will be hosting a weekend-long party starting today to celebrate its 6th year of business. While there will be special food menu items, beer releases and live music both days, the moment you tip an imperial oatmeal stout while listening to Delilah DeWylde may well be the moment to have a spot at the bar.
On Friday, Dec. 21, through closing at midnight, patrons can bring in a stein and fill it with 32 ounces of select beer for $5, enjoy a Bavarian-themed menu, and also have a chance to win gift cards and mug club memberships throughout the day, that according to supplied material. Country/pop artist Kari Lynch will be performing at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 22, will be a holiday extravaganza with holiday-themed trivia (teams of four) starting at 4 p.m., with mug club memberships for the winning team, an ugly sweater party, a “Charles Dickens Christmas” inspired menu, and a holiday set from local rockabilly band Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys at 8:30 p.m. (Looking for a last minute gift and an excuse to go out and have a beer? All merch will be 50 percent off.)
Oh, and the beer? Rockford Brewing Company will be releasing two new beers: the aforementioned imperial oatmeal coffee stout and an amber ale.
“We’ve had an exciting six years in the Rockford community and now we want to throw a party for all of those who supported us,“ Seth Rivard, co-owner of Rockford Brewing Company, said in supplied material. “We not only want to celebrate our business but the customers and staff who have helped us get to where we are today.”
The Rockford Brewing Company is located in downtown Rockford at 12 E Bridge St. NE. For more information visit rockfordbrewing.com .
News for Brewsaders (hint Kitzingten is all in)
There are 43 local breweries in the new Brewsader Passport – including Brewsader newcomer and Wyoming’s own Kitzingen Brewery, as well as other newcomers Castle Brewing Co., Depot No. 36 Brewery, East West Brewing and HopCat Knapp’s Corner.
In case your not in the know, you just need to collect stamps or check-ins from eight breweries to get a free Brewsader t-shirt; but the shirt is secondary to the honor of having a passport bursting at the seams. You can get an app, of course, but that digital stamp doesn’t have beer stains as a bonus.
With or without the passport, go to Kitzingen for the seasonal German Hefeweizen or any of another dozen or so other German styles. And if you want to sound smart, bring up in conversation that Count Dracula is likely buried in a Kitzingen (Germany) cemetery.
For more information on Kitzingen Brewery, located at 1760 44th St. SW, Wyoming, visit kitzingen-brewery.com . For more information on the Brewsader Passport, visit here .
Ashley Santiago, Jazmin Guillen-Reyes, Jaylynn Verhulst, and Timothy Dillard take measurements in Plaster Creek with Bill Mull, science teacher at Godwin Heights Middle School
Who would head outside in sub-freezing temperatures, as snowflakes are swirling, and jump in a creek? The Godwin Green Team, that’s who.
Bill Mull, seventh-grade science teacher at Godwin Heights Middle School, started the extracurricular club last year to increase student opportunities to get outside and learn. So far, membership is at 15 seventh- and eighth-graders.
Recently, the team visited a tributary of Plaster Creek near Hillcroft Park, just west of school, and tested the characteristics of the water for depth, flow rate, pH levels, E. colicontent, and more. The students will test the stream periodically throughout the school year to see how it changes and to understand how those changes affect the levels of pollution.
Bill Mull gives directions to members of the Godwin Green Team prior to water sampling
Mull said that through its affiliation with the Groundswell program, a coalition of community partners that creates opportunities for hands-on environmental education, students could look at improvements that could be made for the health of the stream.
“We know now that we cannot take clean water for granted and that we need to work to preserve the health of our streams for ourselves and for the future,” he said. “Between what we do with Groundswell and in this club, we want students to understand that they can be stewards in this process and that their actions can have an impact in maintaining and improving stream health.”
Green Team member Nikolas Ransom, who said he camps almost weekly with his family, has a great appreciation for the outdoors. Nikolas said the Green Team matters because “We all live here.”
Seventh-grader Zadrea Rochelle said Green Team is the first extracurricular activity she’s joined.
Sidney Kremer collects water samples from a tributary of Plaster Creek dubbed ‘Wolverine Creek’ because it’s located next to the Godwin Heights Wolverines’ stadium
“I wanted to learn more about the environment,” she said. “Like Nikolas said, ‘We all live here.’ If we don’t take care of it, we can’t live here anymore.”
The club dabbles in a variety of activities, such as keeping the aquarium clean and the fish alive for the school’s Salmon in the Classroom program. Projects on the horizon for the group include growing native plants and tree seedlings, establishing a school recycling program and learning about orienteering and geocaching.
Mull said the Green Team hopes to conclude the year with a camping trip to the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area.
“I think our club is important in that it can foster an interest in the outdoors and nature that students in our district may not otherwise have access to,” he said. “Anytime we can get them outside, in a greenhouse, working with fish, or doing something other than sitting in front of a video screen, that will be meaningful for our students.”
The holidays are a great time for packaging and parties, but there can be a lot of waste to be recycled properly. (Pixabay)
By Kent County Department of Public Works
Wrapping paper, bubble wrap and Christmas lights are just a few items that should not go in recycling bins this holiday season, Kent County Department of Public Works announced today as part of its 2018 Holiday Waste Guide.
“While the holiday season is a time for gift giving, holiday parties and family dinners, it’s also the me of year when our waste drastically increases – almost by 25 percent nationwide,” said Lauren Westerman, Kent County DPW’s Resource Recovery educator. “We’re asking everyone to be aware of what can go into their recycling bins this holiday season and take steps to reduce their waste, recycle and donate old items.”
The Kent County DPW estimates that by the end of 2018 residents will have recycled 500,000 Christmas trees-worth of paper, enough aluminum to make 74,000 tabletop Menorahs and steel to make 53,000 Radio Flyer wagons. To help reduce and recycle even more waste this holiday season, Kent County DPW encourages residents to follow these dos and don’ts:
Do bring reusable shopping bags. Remember to bring reusable bags when Christmas shopping or going to any store, not just the grocery store.
DO NOT recycle wrapping or tissue paper. Wrapping and tissue paper cannot be recycled because it’s low-quality paper that paper mills can’t use to make new paper products. Reduce use of wrapping paper this holiday season by using other creative materials to wrap gifts, such as old maps, colorful cloth or old gift bags.
DO separate packaging. From plastic to cardboard to strings, it’s important to separate packaging materials before recycling them. For example, if a toy comes in a plastic package that also has cardboard, make sure to separate both materials before recycling.
DO NOT throw away electronics. Before throwing away old appliances, gaming systems or other electronics, visit Kent County DPW’s recycling guide.
DO recycle glass bottles. Remember to rinse all glass bottles before placing them in a recycling bin.
DO NOT recycle artificial Christmas trees. Instead, donate them to thrift stores. For those who put up real trees, remember to remove all ornaments, tinsel and other decorations before taking them to a local drop off site.
The Kent County DPW also reminds residents to safely dispose of hazardous materials such as reworks, cooking oil, propane tanks and ammunition on by taking these items to a local drop-o center for safe disposal. These items should never be placed in a trash or recycling bin. For drop-off locations, visit reimaginetrash.org .
The Wyoming Fire Department received a grant that will go toward purchasing new rescue equipment.
The City of Wyoming will be able to purchase new emergency equipment – thanks to a $138,573 grant awarded to its Department of Public Safety – Fire Division.
The City has received an Assistance to Firefighter Grant through the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Association. The grant will be used by the department to purchase emergency equipment to aid with automobile extrications, hazardous material incidents, rope, water, ice and trench rescues, and medical and technical rescue incidents.
City of Wyoming firefighters spend nearly 5,000 hours in training each year, with a large portion of that time focused on fire operations and technical rescue. The new equipment, which was carefully selected to serve multiple purposes, will allow them to grow their skills and further prepare for a variety of rescue situations that may arise in the community.
“The safety and well-being of our residents is the focal point for everything we do,” said Deputy Fire Chief Dennis Van Tassell. “This new rescue equipment will enhance our current capabilities and allow us to demonstrate additional leadership related to a wide variety of emergency incidents and operations.
“We’re grateful for FEMA’s confidence in our department – both our skills and abilities, and the manner in which we steward our resources.”
About the Wyoming Department of Public Safety – Fire Bureau: The Wyoming Department of Public Safety – Fire Bureau is a citizen-focused provider of fire protection, emergency medical and rescue services. First established in 1968, the Department now serves more than 75,000 residents and covers approximately 27 square miles. From fire protection to EMS, inspections, training and more, each section of the Fire Bureau plays an important role in ensuring the safety of the citizens of Wyoming. For more information, please visit www.wyomingmi.gov.
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat Please put a penny in the old man's hat If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God bless you!
- Traditional nursery Rhyme
Santa Claus has a Kentwood shop
(Supplied/Santa Claus Girls)
Over the years, some things have changed but one thing hasn’t — an army of volunteers work to keep up the tradition of buying, wrapping and delivering presents to more than 10,000 kids in Western Michigan. For the complete story, click here.
Lights, lights and more lights
(courtesy Christmas Lite Show)
This year marks the twenty-first anniversary of celebrating the holidays for Christmas Lite Show — a Grand Rapids-area holiday attraction. Christmas Lite Show is West Michigan’s largest, animated, drive-through light show. Located at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park, the attraction maintains almost two miles of lights, tunnels, and animated displays and entertained over 70,000 visitors last year. For the complete story, click here.
And all those holiday traditions
Scenes from Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World exhibition and events. (Supplied/Meijer Gardens)
Experience the joy of the holidays at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park with the annual Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World exhibition on display from Nov. 20 through Jan. 6, 2019. Guests from all over the world visit Meijer Gardens to experience 42 Christmas and holiday trees and displays representing countries and cultures from across the globe. For the complete story, click here.
Fun Fact: 50,000
Ever wonder how many lights there are on the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center? There are 50,000 lights on this year’s 72-foot-tall Norway spruce. (Source) Be glad you’re not paying the electric bill!
The Saturday after homecoming, this Wyoming High School student showed up to help a teacher clean her room. Another works to find a way to make every person smile. And a third is such an inspiration that his peers and the high school staff all agreed he needed to be named an Alpha Wolf
On Thursday, Dec. 7, the Wyoming High School hosted its fall Alpha Wolf 11 Champion of Character program. This is when the school recognizes six students in the fall and another six in the spring, for treating others by “being kind, compassionate, and gracious.” Those words are part of the school’s motto. The award has nothing to do with what a student does in extracurriculars after school but instead focuses on what they do during school hours, as people, to make the school a better place, according to Principal Nate Robrahan, who added that on a scale from one to 10, these students are an 11.
The 900 high school students were joined by high school faculty and staff; city officials including Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll and Mayor Pro Tem Sam Bolt; members of the Wyoming Board of Education and other school officials including Superintendent Craig Hoekstra; and community members at the Thursday assembly.
“It is different this year,” Robrahan said to those in attendance. “You know we always try to make the assembly fresh.”
Junior Alpha Wolf Kimberly Burhans gets a hung from a family member after her name is announced.
To kick off the event, the school celebrated its diversity showcasing the 32 different countries represented in the school with an Olympic-style Parade of Nations (pictured above) with students carrying cards and flags of the different nations. The parade made a circle through the gym and then finally circled around the large United States flag that had been unfolded by the Wyoming High School’s Varsity Dance Team.
Guest speaker Dr. Mulonge Kalumbula, originally from the Congo and who graduated from the former Wyoming Rogers High School (now the Wyoming High School), talked about how the kindness of strangers allowed him to become a better person and in turn Kalumbula is now in a position to help students like himself. Kalumbula is the the supervisor for the Social Studies, Career Technical Education, World Languages and Advanced Placement Program at Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Sophomore Alpha Wolfs
Ann Salvador with a friend.
From there, teacher John Doyle took the stage, describing each Alpha Wolf before announcing the person who was then congratulated by friends and family.
It was sophomore Anna Salvador who came to her teacher’s aid one Saturday morning to help clean the room after a homecoming event. She came alone but cheerfully did the task at hand, Doyle said. “She is kind to everyone,” Doyle said, adding it might be the reason she broke records when it came to voting among her peers and the staff.
Sophomore Alpha Wolf Sawyer VanDyke with a family member.
The second sophomore Alpha Wolf is one who is making an impact in both the school and the Wyoming community, Doyle said. Sophomore Sawyer VanDyke is known for having “a smile that lights up a room,” Doyle said, adding that VanDyke has been described as a great role model, has high expectations of himself, has tremendous balance in his life, is kind, polite, a hard worker, a great leader, and most of all, is humble.
Junior Alpha Wolfs
Junior Alpha Wolf Kimberly Burhans with family.
Having experienced dark times in her own life, junior Kimberly Burhans has worked to help others find the silver lining in life’s challenges, according to Doyle. She works to make “connections with other kids” and has volunteered at Parkwood Elementary. She has been a part of Key Club and Student Council not because it looks good on a resume but because she wants to make Wyoming “a more loving and kind place.”
Junior Alpha Wolf Kim Nguyen
Positive, caring, modest, genuine, humble, sweet, gracious, respectful, polite, honest, compassionate, a great friend, a team player and a good heart was just some of the descriptions given of the other junior Alpha Wolf, Kim Nguyen. “She definitely bleeds a purple heart,” Doyle said, adding that Nyguen demonstrates peace, calm and serenity while having a fire within that has sparked others.
Senior Alpha Wolfs
Senior Alpha Wolf Mouahinde “Terry” Almame
The first senior Alpha Wolf is one who is an inspiration to many and determined to make the world a better place. Quoting Wyoming High senior Mounahinde Almame’ s own words, Doyle said “‘I’ve come a long way in the last few years, from Africa to the United States. I’ve learned that even when life is hard a person needs to keep going. We need to keep moving forward in life because we all can improve who we are, become better people whose world can change and they themselves also learn how to change the world like me.’
Doyle added “All I can say is thank you for showing Wyoming High School what it truly means to be a dreamer who never gives up.”
Senior Alpha Wolf Taina Rodriguez
The other senior Alpha Wolf is one who is inherently kind, compassionate and gracious, Doyle said. “She always enters a classroom with a smile,” he said, adding that peers and teachers alike have noted she approaches everything with a positive attitude. According to Doyle, a teacher said “This Alpha Wolf inspires me to be a better human being.” A member of the Wyoming High School choir and cheerleading team, the final Alpha Wolf named was senior Taina Rodriguez.
Shout Outs
At the program, teachers are able to give Shout Outs to students for showing the traits of kindness, compassion, and graciousness.
Students recognized were Jahna Beechem, Josh Anesty, Hannah Martinez, Rohim Mohamid, Anacristina Torres, Rush Bash and Devin Jones.
An early 2017 game televised by WKTV with East Kentwood High School’s boys basketball team at Wyoming. (WKTV)
This week’s high school basketball games at Wyoming High School will offer more than simply great prep action between the boys and girls teams of visiting East Kentwood and the host Wolves. It will also offer showcase the Van Andel Institute’s efforts to battle cancer and Parkinson’s disease as a special Purple Community Night Basketball Game.
The twin-bill of games will start with the boys game at 5:30 p.m. and the girls game at 7:30 p.m.
Purple Community, according to supplied information, is the Van Andel Institute’s grassroots fundraising and awareness program, and “connects individuals, schools, teams and businesses to the resources needed to support groundbreaking cancer and Parkinson’s disease research.”
A series of local Purple Community events “bring people from every walk of life together to celebrate the power of family, friendship and community action. We also give people the chance to honor those fighting disease and pay tribute to those who have lost their fight against cancer and Parkinson’s. Every event is a collection of stories — people coming together to support one another and help make the world a better, healthier place.”
Additionally, when people fundraise through the Purple Community, each game night donation effort efforts go further thanks to a endowment from Jay and Betty Van Andel, where every dollar of every donation goes directly to the cause — 100 percent of the funds support Van Andel Institute scientists and the vital research they are doing.
WKTV offers on-demand viewing of the Wyoming and Kentwood high school sports, community events, and government meetings. (WKTV)
WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
State government lame duck session efforts, including “tweaks” to the new state minimum wage law pasted early this year by the legislature with the expectation of possibly altering it, as well as city-, state- and federal-level issues with Michigan’s new recreational marijuana law, were among the topics discussed at this weeks Government Matters meeting.
The wide-ranging inter-governmental leaders meeting occurred Monday, Dec. 10, at the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce’s Government Matters Committee’s monthly forum at Kentwood City Hall.
The Government Matters meeting brings together representatives from the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood, Kent County commissioners, local Michigan state senators and representatives, as well as often representatives of Michigan’s U.S. senators and U.S. congressman who represent the Wyoming and Kentwood area.
The next meeting will be Jan. 14, 2019 will be at the Wyoming City Hall, 1155 28th St SW, from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
The intergovernmental discussion hosted by the chamber focuses on issues that effect residents and businesses in the two cities.
For more information about the chamber and Government Matters visit southkent.org .
The Government Matters meeting brings together representatives from the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood, Kent County commissioners, local Michigan state senators and representatives, as well as often representatives of Michigan’s U.S. senators and U.S. congressman who represent the Wyoming and Kentwood area.
The next meeting will be Jan. 14, 2019 will be at the Wyoming City Hall, 1155 28th St SW, from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.
The intergovernmental discussion hosted by the chamber focuses on issues that effect residents and businesses in the two cities.
The meetings are on the second Monday of each month, starting at 8 a.m. WKTV Journal will produce a highlight story after the meeting. But WKTV also offers replays of the Monday meetings on the following Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Comcast Cable Government Channel 26.
Now open: 56th Street reconstruction between Ivanrest and Byron Center avenues opened on Oct. 31.
By Catherine Kooyers
Community Contributor
In November, many gave thanks and many in the Bayberry Farms/UM-Metro Hospital corridor in Wyoming, who gave thanks for significant upgrades and changes that have happened to make a great community even better. And a special thanks goes out to those who worked hard in all weather conditions to make those changes, especially to the detention pond and 56th Street. It has taken years to identify issues accurately, get necessary approvals and funds, contracting, and much more to make all this happen. But, it was with total elation that we received the message from the City of Wyoming advising the work would be finished on Oct. 31, 2018 — and it was.
You see, a few years back, the area had a Master Plan. Over the years though, a change here and a change there added up. Collectively, those small changes resulted in the need for big changes and redirection. We recognized that development of the corridor east of Byron Center Avenue meant more buildings and parking lots. That in turn, changed absorptive rain catching fields into nonporous, concrete/asphalt patches. In turn, that resulted in massive water runoff crossing Byron Center Avenue into the Bayberry area. That all came home when the Gezon Fire Station was shuttered and falling into disrepair resulting in response times being high. Also around that time, we started noticing problems with the area’s detention pond…it simply was too small for the new growth.
The project included a new traffic signal at the intersection of Ivanrest Avenue and 56th Street.
Then, on Sept. 9, 2013, disaster did hit HARD. The area was hit with a measured 5.5 inches of rain in a very short, record-breaking time. The pond could not hold that much water and disaster was inevitable. The Bayberry Farms Village senior apartments were surrounded by deep waters…looking like an island as seniors were moved to higher floors. Several cars were flooded and lost as they tried to navigate deep waters on 56th Street. Runoff from 56th Street into the senior village was so intense it looked like flowing rivers and waterfalls. The Bayberry Farms condos and family homes were hit hardest. For example, the force of the rushing water knocked out slider doors and pushed heavy furniture across lower levels. Another home, had more than six feet of standing water in its finished basement.
Fortunately, no one was sleeping in those areas at that time or some fear they would not have made it out — it all happened so fast. Trails of debris from construction of the Veterans’ Clinic, garden mulch and Metro complex traveled quite a distance towards Ivanrest Avenue, clogging drains. And, as we tried to open drains, in addition to removing normal clogging materials, we were stunned when an albino boa constrictor came out of a drain!
A new widen sidewalk was added to the north side of 56th Street.
But there was little time for self-pity, this could not continue. So, the residents, businesses and City began working together for positive changes. We learned a valued lesson: No one wins by fighting City Hall, but we all win when we put differences aside and work together for a greater common good. The City not only listened, the City worked hard to make the needed changes not only happen, but that they were done correctly. It took millions of dollars and a few years, but Oct. 31 was the closing date of a special chapter in the Metro/Bayberry history books:
The small detention pond was dramatically increased in size and surrounded by protective fencing. After a few storms knocked down the new fencing, a different material was used that allowed for more air flow and has worked beautifully this year. This should meet the storm water needs of the area for quite some time.
The big changes came to 56th Street between Byron Center and Ivanrest avenues. The area was widened with more drain catchers and basins added to hold and collect runoff and rain. The old street materials, which were failing, left potholes and sinkholes. That entire stretch of 56th Street was totally torn up and replaced. Turning lanes were created. Residents endured months of construction and noise, but say the finished product is safer, better, and worth every bit of it.
Also included were much requested sidewalks and more connections to the Kent Trail system. Before, without sidewalks, the bikers, walkers, seniors, families crossing to the daycare center or stores had to walk against fast moving traffic, in traffic lanes. We knew that had to change as the area grew. Now, it is safer and easier for bikers, walkers and disabled in motorized scooters to get to and from the trails, shops, and restaurants. This is a vibrant, active community.
In the interim, new business entities came in or upgraded – like the U of M/Metro partnership and ReMax. The UM/Metro Foundation had generously provided significant monies and support for our Gezon Fire Station — like the heliport — training and equipment.
Working with Wyoming Public Works Director Bill Dooley and his team as well as ReMax, a much needed shortcut sidewalk was finished by the pond. This allows seniors with walkers and scooters as well as residents in the apartments, cottages, homes and condos more independence and access to local businesses.
So this month, the Bayberry/Metro area has much to be thankful for in addition to the normal things: City officials, like Mayor Jack Poll and Dooley, who let us talk, who listened, who worked with us; the many dedicated people who did the planning and hard work, the road crews, the landscapers…; the residents who worked together for positive changes; our special partners and businesses who give and do so much for our community. And, it would not be Bayberry if we did not extend a special “thanks” and gratitude for all our area first responders, UPS drivers, FedEx drivers, U.S. Postal carriers — all those people who quietly support this special area daily. So, this week, we give special thanks for significant upgrades and changes that have happened to make a great community extraordinary.
The district received some international attention this month when a film crew from South Korea shot a segment for an upcoming documentary at Lee Middle and High School.
South Korea’s Educational Broadcasting System, a television and radio network that is analogous to Public Broadcasting Service in the U.S., is creating a three-part series that will air later this year called “The Future of Education.”
Felix Kwon is an international reporter and researcher who worked on the documentary for EBS.
“We had such a wonderful time (at Godfrey-Lee),” he said. “When we talk about future of education, we always think of high-tech, coding, programming — that more techy stuff, right? But I don’t think that’s everything about the future of education. Tech stuff can be helpful, but there are some other elements that we need to prepare the next generation.”
EBS films Lee Middle School student Ethan Ryon
Seeing the “Cs” in Action
Kwon found those elements at Godfrey-Lee, which was recommended to him by Roberta Michnick Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, co-authors of “Becoming Brilliant.” The book lays out principles of education known as the “6Cs” (collaboration, communication, content, critical thinking, creative innovation, and confidence). Godfrey-Lee has adopted these principals throughout the district.
Kwon and the crew filmed an English Language Arts class, a Spanish market created by students in the media center, and a seventh-grade STEAM class.
“It was a wonderful experience,” said Carol Lautenbach, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning design for Godfrey-Lee Public Schools. She appreciated how the questions from the interviewers helped school staff clarify and articulate what they’re doing.
“It helps you think through the decisions that have been made, and think about why you’re doing what you’re doing. The team was very interested in hearing the ‘why.’”
EBS interviewed Lautenbach, Superintendent Kevin Polston, Board of Education President Eric Mockerman, and teachers Kim Plum and Katherine Merriott.
Felix Kwon of EBS chats with Lee High School students Crystal Gonzalez and Erick Chavarria
Education Innovation
Kwon said that in South Korea, almost every primary school is public, and falls under the ministry of education.
“In some senses, it’s a very good model. Wherever you are, you get equal funding under the ministry of education,” said Kwon, noting that you wouldn’t see huge disparities in the educational system from one region to another.
However, he said, some things about the uniform nature of the educational system can act as a barrier when it’s necessary to act fast and tailor teaching to the students and the changing employment landscape.
Kwon said that education often focuses heavily on artificial intelligence, coding and technological advances that rely on costly devices. While Godfrey-Lee has incorporated technology where necessary, he said, they’re preparing the next generation overall by adapting the curriculum to apply the 6Cs and project-based learning, which is an innovative way of educating.
Lee Middle School teacher Kim Plum talks to Felix Kwon
“At Godfrey-Lee, they’re really trying to build on the students’ perspective,” said Kwon. “More than 75 percent of students there are receiving free or reduced lunch. Still, in that environment, they’re seeing very dramatic results. It’s pretty impressive.”
Godfrey-Lee staff will get a chance to see the documentary when it airs, with English subtitles.
Lautenbach said that gaining international interest in what the district is doing has been an honor. The students were excited to participate.
“It was a pretty good feeling to show them what it is we’re trying to create here — a joyful learning experience,” she said.
A crew member from South Korea’s Educational Broadcasting System films in Jessica Lewakowski’s classroom at Lee Middle and High School
The WKTV Mobile Unit will be out covering local high school basketball this week. (WKTV)
Mike Moll, WKTV Volunteer Sports Director sports@wktv.org
A change this year for local high school sports coverage was the tip-off of boys basketball the very first week after their football seasons crowned the state champions on Thanksgiving weekend.
WKTV has also started early to bring local audiences a full slate of games began with the final varsity game to be played at South Christian High School’s current location when the Lady Sailors entertained Hamilton on Dec. 4. But we will also showcase the new location on Kalamazoo Avenue just north of 84th Street, as WKTV will bring the opening night games as both the boys and girls initiate the new gymnasium when they host Unity Christian on Friday, Dec. 21.
The lone hockey game on the schedule to this point for the season will be Saturday Dec. 15 when East Kentwood will host Hudsonville.
As a result of road construction around the East Kentwood campus, the only scheduled basketball games that East Kentwood will be featured in will be on the road including when the boys and girls travel to Wyoming on Friday Dec. 14.
Be sure to support your local schools by watching a game in person if you can, but then also catch the games on WKTV. The support, in both cases, is always appreciated.
In addition our featured games — where our sports crew and remote coverage truck will be on hand — we also have a weekly list of all local sporting contests for local fans to get out and enjoy in person.
Featured games are broadcast the night of the contest and then at least once later in the week.
WKTV broadcasts on Wyoming and Kentwood cable channels. On Comcast cable, Channel 25 is the Community Channel, where sports events and other community events are shown; Channel 26 is the Government Channel, where local government meetings and events are shown. On AT&T cable throughout the Grand Rapids area, viewers go to Channel 99, and then are given the choice to watch Wyoming (or Kentwood) Community (Channel 25) or Government (Channel 26) channels.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvondemand.com.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and feature stories on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/.
Following is this week’s schedule:
Tuesday, Dec.11 Boys Swimming @ East Kentwood – Christmas Quad Boys Basketball East Kentwood @ Byron Center Wyoming @ Northview Potter’s House @ Kelloggsville Martin @ Zion Christian West Michigan Lutheran @ Libertas Christian Western Michigan Christian @ Tri-Unity Christian Girls Basketball Byron Center @ East Kentwood Wyoming @ Northview Godwin Heights @ Holland Kelloggsville @ Potter’s House West Michigan Aviation @ Zion Christian Grand River Prep @ Fruitport Calvary Christian West Michigan Lutheran @ Libertas Christian Tri-Unity Christian @ Western Michigan Christian Girls Bowling Potter’s House @ NorthPointe Christian
Wednesday, Dec. 12 Boys Wrestling East Kentwood @ Kelloggsville Wyoming @ Hamilton Middleville T-K @ Wyoming Lee Northview @ Godwin Heights Boys / Girls Bowling Wyoming @Christian South Christian @ Hastings Rockford @ Tri-Unity Christian – Boys only
Thursday, Dec. 13 Boys / Girls Bowling Hudsonville @ Wyoming Godwin Heights @ Wellsprings Prep Western Michigan Christian @ Potter’s House – Girls Only Boys Basketball Zion Christian @ Wyoming Lee Girls Basketball Zion Christian @ Wyoming Lee Godwin Heights @ Ottawa Hills
Friday, Dec. 14 Boys Basketball East Kentwood @ Wyoming – Purple Community Game – WKTV Featured Event Kelloggsville @ Hamilton South Christian @ Caledonia Laingsburg @ Potter’s House Wellsprings Prep @ Grand River Prep West Michigan Lutheran @ Algoma Christian Tri-Unity Christian @ NorthPointe Christian Girls Basketball East Kentwood @ Wyoming – Purple Community Game – WKTV Featured Event Northview @ Godwin Heights South Christian @ Caledonia West Michigan Aviation @ Potter’s House Wellsprings Prep @ Grand River Prep West Michigan Lutheran @ Algoma Christian Tri-Unity Christian @ NorthPointe Christian Boys Hockey East Kentwood @ FH Central
Saturday, Dec. 15 Girls Basketball East Kentwood vs TBA @ Detroit Edison Boys Wrestling East Kentwood @ FH Central – Kent County Championships Wyoming @ FH Central – Kent County Championships Wyoming Lee @ FH Central – Kent County Championships Kelloggsville @ FH Central – Kent County Championships Godwin Heights @ South Haven Boys Swimming
@ East Kentwood – West Michigan Relays Boys Hockey Hudsonville @ East Kentwood – WKTV Featured Event Boys Basketball Wyoming Lee vs West Michigan Aviation @ DeltaPlex Boys / Girls Bowling Godwin Heights @ Cedar Springs Kelloggsville @ Cedar Springs South Christian @ Cedar Springs
Monday, Dec. 17 Girls Cheer East Kentwood @ Grandville Boys / Girls Bowling Middleville T-K @ Wyoming Wyoming Lee @ Kelloggsville South Christian @ Byron Center Boys Basketball West Michigan Aviation @ Fruitport Calvary Girls Basketball Tri-Unity Christian @ Montague
The Kent District Library has partner with The Rapid to offer the Books on the Bus program. (KDL)
Kent District Library is pleased to partner with The Rapid to offer the Books on the Bus program on buses traveling throughout the Greater Grand Rapids area. The program provides a collection of books for all ages that are conveniently placed on buses for riders to enjoy. With a book selection that will rotate consistently, riders will always have new books available.
The average bus rider commutes 25 minutes each day. This provides the perfect opportunity to do some reading or to pick up a book to enjoy later.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to make riding The Rapid an even more enjoyable experience,” said The Rapid’s CEO Andrew Johnson. “We are proud to partner with KDL to make connecting to reading even more convenient.”
Books are currently housed on 13 Rapid buses, with plans to increase that number to 16. These buses are used on different routes every day, which offers riders a chance to access books throughout The Rapid’s service area. The collection includes gently used books, many which are new and bestsellers.
A variety of books will be available to those riding The Rapid bus.
Kent District Library is also pleased to offer a Little Free Library in the Rapid Central Station. The structure will house around 50 books, including youth, teen and adult fiction and nonfiction materials. People are encouraged to take a book or leave and book.
“This is just another exciting way we are making books accessible to people wherever they might be,” said Sara Proano, manager of community engagement for KDL.
Forest Hills Transition Center is partnering with KDL to provide the volunteers to re-stock the shelves at The Rapid for the Books on the Bus project.
The Santa Claus Girls have a long history in Kent County, dating from 1909 in fact. These days they operate out of the Knoll Inc. building on 36th in Kentwood.
Over the years, some things have changed but one thing hasn’t — an army of volunteers work to keep up the tradition of buying, wrapping and delivering presents to more than 10,000 kids in Western Michigan. WKTV visited the Santa Claus Girls workshop recently and talked about that legacy with Maggie Moerdyke.
And what motivates that army?
“Why do they do what they do?” Maggie Moerdyke, a buyer for the Santa Claus Girls, said to WKTV in a recent interview. “It is important to them to make sure every child has that gift, no matter what their circumstance.”
While the kids each get a new toy and candy — what else would be expected? They also get hand-made, knitted winter hats and mittens. And those come from an army all by themselves.
The knitted hats and mittens come from “geriatric associations, from just from grandmas on the street,” she said. “Those all come from our community, very lovingly and very givingly.”
Area residents had fun with the Christmas greetings at the WKTV booth.
Council members Rob Postema, Marissa Postler, and Dan Burrill
Mayor Jack Poll makes a few announcements before the event starts.
Mayor Jack Poll and WOOD TV 8’s Eva Agurrie Cooper
The boys and girls choir from San Juan Diego Academy
Many area businesses were sponsors of the Wyoming Gives Back event
Area businesses had booths at the Wyoming Gives Back event showing services and products.
SuperMercado Mexico showcased some of the products they offer at their store.
Several area businesses were at the Thursday night event.
The big goal of the evening was to fill that truck with toys.
Wyoming residents gave back with the truck overflowing.
Officers from the Wyoming Department of Public Safety were at the event.
It got to the point were the toys would not fit in the truck as it was so full.
Some Christmas greeting fun at the WKTV booth.
Toys were everywhere at the Wyoming Gives Back.
A big part of the night were the raffle prizes donated by area businesses.
Residents who donated were able to get a raffle ticket for prizes.
The Rogers Plaza Mall was packed for the Wyoming Gives Back event on Dec. 6.
A raffle winner receives his prize while others visit the booths of local businesses.
The crowd waits for the next group to perform.
Mayor Jack Poll announces the next raffle prize winner.
The choir from Godwin Heights High School await to go on to perform.
The Wyoming Fire Department members were also on hand for the event.
The choir from Godwin Heights performs.
The jazz band from the Wyoming High School performs.
The jazz band from the Wyoming High School wows the Wyoming Gives Back crowd.
Area residents fill the truck at the Wyoming Gives Back.
One full truck at the Wyoming Gives Back.
A bike awaiting to board the truck at the Wyoming Gives Back.
Thursday, Dec. 6, residents came out in full force to help those in need at Wyoming Gives Back.
By the end of the night, the Wyoming Department of Public Works truck was overflowing with gifts from residents for the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree. Residents were able to bring in a gift and for every gift donated, received a raffle ticket for prizes. The prizes were donated by area businesses.
Many local business had booths sharing information about services and products they provided. Performances featured the choir from the San Juan Diego Academy, the jazz band from the Wyoming High School, and the choir from Godwin Heights High School. The Salvation Army was handing out hot chocolate and cookies and several area businesses had candy and other items for those who attended.
Organizers said they were pleased with the success of the event. This was the eighth annual Wyoming Gives Back. Mayor Jack Poll noted the city decided several years ago to move its annual holiday event indoors and to focus on the spirit of the season. He said the event has been well received every year with residents and staff looking for to it.
Alpine Elementary School teacher Nicholas VanderHyde has adopted new techniques when teaching math to his fourth-grade students. The techniques are taught by Michigan Mathematics Educators, a program based at the Kent ISD
The Michigan Mathematics Educators (MichME) initiative is changing the way math is taught in West Michigan schools, one teacher and classroom at a time. After four years, the program has rewired the way math is taught by more than 250 educators and administrators.
Thanks to his MichME training, teacher Nicholas VanderHyde no longer drills his fourth- graders at Alpine Elementary School on addition and multiplication tables. Instead, he gathers his pupils in a circle and starts a discussion about the different methods they’re using to solve the day’s math problems.
During one recent afternoon, a story problem that required adding two large numbers (8,437 and 21,663) kicked off a discussion about the different methods they used to carry a column sum greater than 10 to the next column.
“Tell the person next to you what method you used,” VanderHyde urged the pupils as they sprawled on the carpeted classroom floor. One advocated the traditional approach carrying the extra number to the top of the next column. Another carried it at the bottom of the column, while a third crossed out the number at the top of the column and increases it by one. All got the same answer.
Godwin Heights High School teacher Tracy Krafft helps her students develop their problem-solving skills during her Honors Geometry class. She uses techniques taught by Michigan Mathematics Educators, a program based at Kent ISD
For a pupil who got a different sum, VanderHyde asked him and the other students to analyze and discuss why that method did not yield the same answer.
VanderHyde is among a growing number of math teachers who have changed their teaching methods after participating in the MichME, a program based at Kent ISD that challenges traditional teaching methods.
During his first 12 years as a teacher, VanderHyde said he taught math as a subject. “Now I teach to the student,” says VanderHyde, who began participating in the MichME program four years ago. Instead of focusing on the answers, VanderHyde says he now focuses on how his pupils get to the answers.
“It’s about the process, not the product,” said VanderHyde, who has recruited fellow teachers and administrators in the Kenowa Hills School District to embrace the MichME program.
Whether the MichME is going to raise test scores is an open question. But VanderHyde said fewer students are falling behind while more are acquiring critical thinking skills. “Former fifth-graders are telling me, ‘It’s making fractions so easy now.”
Godwin Heights High School teacher Tracy Krafft uses the same approach when she teaches her Honors Geometry class to 10th- and 11th-graders.
Krafft starts the class by spelling out their goals for the day. The students are seated around tables in which they collaborate in groups of four or two. During a recent class, they discussed the properties of congruence and equality by working through problems Krafft posted on an electronic white board.
In her 10th year of teaching, Krafft said the collaborative methods she learned through MichME have changed her students approach to mathematics. Instead of memorizing formulas, they are learning how to become mathematicians and problem solvers.
It may be more difficult for some students, but they learn more in the end. “I think it’s good for students to experience struggle,” said Krafft, who enrolled in MichME four years ago.
Rusty Anderson, a Kent ISD educational consultant who manages the MichME with two assistants, said his four-year-old program is offered to educators from kindergarten through high school. While the participants may be teaching at different grade levels, the focus on new teaching methods is universal.
“We try to think differently about teaching,” Anderson said. MichME challenges its participants to look at their beliefs and values as educators during five daylong sessions that are held throughout the school year in a setting away from classrooms.
Instead of being the “knowers of information” in the classroom, participants are coached on methods to become a “facilitator of learning,” said Marcus Deja, a former math teacher who now works as an MichME coach. “It’s my role as a facilitator to allow students to engage.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Godwin Heights High School teacher Tracy Kraft helps her students develop their problem-soling skills during her Honors Geometry class. She uses techniques taught by Michigan Mathematics Educators, a program based at Kent ISD.
For Denise VanDyken, her Sweet Adelines adventure started when members of her family, who loved to harmonize, decided to join a Sweet Adelines group so at to get some “real” barbershop arrangements.
“So we were going to join and get some arrangements and we didn’t plan on staying and that was nearly forty years ago,” VanDyken said. “I just fell in love with the organization and with the music.”
She is the music director for the Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus. Under her leadership, the local group has won three regional titles and been named first place midsize choir which has allowed the chapter to participate in the international competition four times in six years. Before VanDyken taking the helm, the group had only attended international a few times in its sixty-plus history.
“We became champions of Region 17, which is a five-state region, Michigan through to Ohio and into Pennsylvania,” said VanDyken talking about the group’s May 2018 win in Cleveland, Ohio. “We competed against about 20 other choruses and we won the championship and that entitles us to go to New Orleans next September.”
The Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus at the WKTV studio. The group is set to perform on Saturday, Dec. 15..
For now, the group is focused on its upcoming holiday concert, “Sounds of the Season,” set for Saturday, Dec. 15. The performance is with the men’s group, the Great Lakes Chorus, and will feature an array of holiday selections, some of which can be seen on a recent WKTV holiday special featuring the Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus, which is currently airing.
“We sing four-part harmony, a cappella, barbershop-style and we perform,” VanDyken said. “We are a show choir. We do choreography and staging and it is much more than just singing.”
In fact, guests may join the choir for its holiday show, giving them an opportunity to see what the choir is about and all that is involved.
“You don’t need professional experience to join,” VanDyken said. “You have to sing and have the ability to sing and there is a lot of performance to it. As I said, it is not just standing there and singing. You have to be able to memorize the music and sing without accompaniment, harmonize with other voices, blend with other voices and do choreography and dance at the same time.”
Established in 1945, Sweet Adelines International is the oldest and largest international women’s barbershop organization in the world. According to the organization’s website it has 23,000 members on five continents who belong to more than 500 choruses and 1,200 quartets. One of those choruses happens to be right in the Grand Rapids area, the Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus, which is made up of members from around West Michigan including the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming. The Grand Rapids chapter was founded in 1951.
As to why people join, VanDyken said there is a number of reasons, the love of the sound of voices harmonizing, the music, barbershop-style, the camaraderie, and making friends with people from around the globe.
Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus rehearses its holiday music.
“I sat next to a woman from Sweden at a recent International competition,” VanDyken said. “We had a lovely conversation and felt that we had a relationship immediately because we shared this hobby, or cult as some might call it.”
With 40 years of participating, VanDyken said there are a lot of good memories and experiences with the joy of being part of the Sweet Adelines coming through the group’s performances.
“I think for me, it’s the fact that I could have done this for forty years and still be excited,” VanDyken said, “ still learning things and just as much in love with it as I was forty years ago.”
The Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus performs with the Great Lakes Chorus in the “Sounds of the Season” set for Saturday, Dec. 15, at 3 pm. at the Grandville High School Auditorium, 4700 Canal Ave. SW. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for students 8-18 and seniors 60 and older. For more information, visit gras.net.
When Ken Olson was a junior, he left Lee High School to enlist in the Army, where he spent two years stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. While enlisted, he earned a GED which, he was told, he could bring to his alma mater in exchange for a high school diploma.
Years after his discharge, he went to the then-principal at Lee and said he was told no — you can’t get your diploma until you take 12th-grade English.
The years slipped by Olson settled in Lowell where he worked for CSX. He met and married his wife, Sherry. He retired from the railroad after 44 years. But he never did get that diploma.
Ken Olson’s basketball picture, taken his junior year of high school. (School News Network)
‘We’ll Help You With Yours’
Last summer, however, Sparta Adult Education opened a location at the Alpha Family Center in Lowell. During one of their outreach efforts, Sherry was talking to Tom Bratt, a teacher at SAE. She asked if he might help her husband get that diploma. They figured that he might just have to take the English course, and he’d be all set.
Bratt loves detective work, making connections and putting pieces together, so he got to work figuring out how to make this happen.
“We tell diploma-seekers, ‘Each student has their own story and we’ll help you with yours,’” he said. Although this story was certainly unique.
“This was a completely new scenario for us,” said Heather Holland, director of education for SAE. Nevertheless, Bratt and Ken began piecing together the information they needed.
Many of Olson’s service records were gone, casualties of a July 12, 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in Minneapolis, which destroyed 16-18 million military personnel files.
Olson produced assorted discharge papers and records that he would have pitched, but that Sherry had kept stored away. They connected with the Department of Veterans Affairs and found a program that allowed service members who had enlisted during certain dates during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, and who had earned a GED, to obtain diplomas. Ken missed the timeline by two weeks, but the VA said if Olson could secure permission from his former high school’s district superintendent, that would work.
Godfrey-Lee Superintendent Kevin Polston presents Ken Olson with his diploma for the class of 1952. (School News Network)
Finally, the Diploma
When Bratt contacted Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, he immediately found an ally in Leela, executive assistant to Superintendent Kevin Polston. Her father, who served in World War II, had earned his diploma in his 70s, and she remembers him bursting with pride when he finally received it. The district just needed to verify that Olson attended Lee. The high school had no records of Olson, so Polston suggested checking yearbooks. It took just a few minutes to find all the evidence needed, and Leela got the go-ahead to order the diploma, complete with the likely graduation date: the Lee High School class of 1952.
On Nov. 12, Olson was invited to the Godfrey-Lee Public School District’s Board of Education meeting. There, at age 85, he received that piece of paper he’d been hoping for.
“It was great getting that diploma,” he said, adding that he was especially pleased that it made him a graduate of the class of 1952. “They gave me pictures of all my classmates from that year, and I remember a lot of them. It was just great.”
“Now what I should do is go and get a college degree,” he joked.
