New Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Board of Education members Jackie Hernandez, shown with Superintendent Kevin Polston, was appointed early this month. (Supplied)
Following appointment by the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Board of Education on Nov. 13, Jackie Hernandez is ready to move from work on the district’s Parent Teacher Organization to work as a trustee on the board of education.
Hernandez replaces Katie Brumley on the board for a 6-year term seat which will now come up for a special election in November 2018 for the remaining four years of the term.
With her appointment, Hernandez hopes to bring a more ethnically diverse presence to the board. The Godfrey-Lee district has a majority Hispanic/Latino in population but, until Hernandez’s appointment, did not have a Hispanic/Latino member.
“There are great benefits in having a diverse board and I wanted the school board to reflect the community it serves,” Hernandez said in an interview with WKTV Journal. “Our district is about 75 percent Latino and our board should reflect that. As a Latina, community advocate and a parent I will bring a different perspective to the table.”
Making the board more diverse was also an factor in her appointment, along with her work as president of the PTO, her being a parent of children in the district, and her community involvement and professional background.
Hernandez works as community liaison for LINC UP, a “community development organization that provides services to Kent County, and are involved in a host of projects and services that reach families, houses, businesses and neighborhoods at large,” according to its website.
The board interviewed three candidates to fill the position, and board president Eric Mockerman said in supplied material that Hernandez was selected because of her “commitment to the students and families of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools.”
“My work on the PTO was a great starter to working on the board,” Hernandez said. “It gave me a better understanding of what the schools are doing and why they are doing the work they do and how much work is still to be done yet. It also helped to establish and grow relationships with the parents and teachers at each school.
“I have learned that we all — parents, teachers and school administrators —want to help our children succeed in life and we all have different ways to contribute to that success. Many want to feel a part of the process and know that their voices are being heard and that their contributions matter, no matter how small.”
Hernandez said she not only plans to run for re-election to the remainder of the term next year, but she has some issues she is particularly interested in.
“One of the issues I want to focus on will be the resources that we have in place for our students and staff at East Lee (campus),” she said. “I also want our parents and students to know that we (the school board) are accessible to them and that we want to hear from them. Many Latino parents struggle with this because up until now there was not a board member who spoke Spanish or who looked like them. I hope to be able to erase that barrier and have parents know that they can speak to someone who will understand them.
“I believe that my view point or perspective of things will enhance the great work already being done by our school administrators and staff because at the end of the day its about what is best for our students.”
The Board of Education meets monthly at the Godfrey-Lee Administration Office,1324 Burton Street, SW. Its next meeting will be Dec. 11. For more information visit godfrey-lee.org .
Two members of the Kent County Board of Commissioners were present at the October’s Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Government Matters meetings Monday — and if you think the county’s budget planning process is not big news consider that its proposed 2018 budget will total nearly half of a billion dollars.
The monthly meeting brings together government leaders of all levels to discuss issues of importance and presents those discussions through WKTV’s live, delayed and on-demand broadcasts.
At the Monday, Nov. 14, meeting at Kentwood City Hall, commissioners Harold Voorhees (District 8/City of Wyoming) and Harold Mast (District 12/Wyoming and Kentwood) both discussed aspects of the county’s $417.6 million budget, set to be approved at a board meeting Thursday, Nov. 30. at 8:30 a.m. The Kent County Board of Commissioners govern a huge range of programs and expenditures ranging the sheriff’s office, to the county’s elections, to veterans services.
Among the other multi-level government discussions topics at the meeting were the the status of federal tax reform — including two local businessmen voicing support for the lowering of business tax rates, as well as continued upgrades at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and state efforts to combat opioid addiction and abuse.
The Chamber’s Government Matters meetings include representatives of the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming, Kent County, local Michigan House of Representatives and Senate, and, often, representatives of other regional, State of Michigan and Federal elected officials. The next meeting will be Dec. 11 at Kentwood City Hall.
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. Replays are also available online at WKTV’s government meetings on-demand page (wktv.viebit.com) and on the chamber’s Facebook page.
A bank was robbed. Fifteen suspects – all middle-school staff members – had their mugshots taken, each holding a dollar bill up to their forehead. Algebra students were notified.
The CSI team was waiting on video surveillance to confirm the perpetrator’s height, and once known, they would be able to quickly and easily identify the culprit using data collected by students.
“The CSI team is calling on you, the mathematics experts, to use your knowledge of scale factor to find the actual heights of each of the subjects,” assigned math teacher Heather Richards.
Antonio Valenzuela and Brianna Morris work to win points during math Jeopardy!
Over two class periods, eighth-graders used math to figure out the height of each suspect by calculating the true dimensions of a dollar bill, translating it to the photo-sized dollar and relating it to the height of the suspect in each photo. They eventually learned – Richards announced the conclusion made from video surveillance – the robber was 5 feet 10 inches.
From there, they used a slate of clues to pinpoint… dun-dun-dun… English teacher Jacob Deubner as the thief.
The CSI investigation was the brainchild of Richards, who has taught at Kelloggsville Middle School for nine years. She said she wanted to teach scale factor in an interesting way, and crime-scene sleuthing is one of many approaches she uses to engage her students.
Known to jolt young teens’ attention with scavenger hunts, her old-school rap savviness or trivia knowledge of obscura such as how frequently the average human being flatulates in one day (14 times), Richards brings liveliness to teaching, funneling positive energy into every coefficient, quotient and sum. She describes her school day as “hours of endless mathematical fun,” a statement that contains no sarcasm.
With dry erase pen on whiteboard, she demonstrates an alternate way to solve an algebraic equation, her face lighting up with delight. “Isn’t that cool?” she asks, her giddiness growing exponentially.
Richards earned her bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and her master’s from Marygrove College in Detroit. She taught in Belleville Public Schools for three years before being hired in Kelloggsville.
She said she likes to spice up the subject she loves and pass it on to her students. “I like teaching in general. I like being able to influence kids and kind of run the show in here and be a positive role model on top of teaching. I love teaching math. I’ve always been good at math. I have a math brain.”
She also makes sure her students always have access to instruction, through video lessons on her website and YouTube.
Kelloggsville Middle School teacher Heather Richards smiles as she shows how to solve an algebra problem using a chart
Teaching Deep in Simple Ways
Master mathematicians-investigators Pablo Vicario and Matt Zaiger were the first students to name the robber in the CSI activity. They said the activity shed light on the “When are we going to use this question?” often posed in algebra class.
“It was a really fun activity,” Matt said. “We were able to use our clues and math skills to figure out who the robber was.”
The woman behind the activity was not lost to them. “I would say math is my favorite subject… I like Mrs. Richards,” Matt said. “She teaches us ways to make math a lot easier than other ways that make it confusing.”
Added Pablo: “Before, math was an OK subject for me. I did it, I was good at it, but then with Mrs. Richards, it was really fun. She explains it way better. She’s the best teacher.”
Where did that ability come from?
In 10th grade, Richards, a Wyoming native who graduated from Wyoming Rogers High School in 2001, had a math teacher who presented different ways to solve equations through various activities. She showed that traditional algorithms didn’t have to be the automatic go-to. That gave Richards a sense of what kind of math teacher she could be.
“I always try to come up with alternative methods of learning stuff,” she said. “The idea has always been to give students the deeper conceptual-type understanding. Then I show them another way, and another way, and another way.”
Principal Jim Alston said Richards’ love for learning is contagious.
“Her personality is very energetic, very much like that of a middle-school student. They respond well to her and the enthusiasm she brings to her classroom. Her interest is so high for the subject that it rubs off on the students,” he said. “They see her excited about what they are doing for the day and all of a sudden they are excited, and sometimes they don’t even realize it. Her love for math and teaching math is what the students see and appreciate every day.”
From left to right: Ayanna Thompson, Alexis Shoemaker, Lacy Sleet and Loida Benavidas work to rack up the points
To the Final Jeopardy! Round
Pop into Richards’ class and there’s likely to be motion, discussion and students engaged in math. To prepare for a test, Richards recently hosted a Jeopardy!-style game show, with students in groups of four who answered questions that ranged in difficulty to amass points.
“Scientific notation, c’mon!” Richards shouted, as they worked to come up with the right expressions.
“You can’t just sit with a textbook and grasp it,” she said. “They have to be able to experience math.”
Her annual scavenger hunt is another example: The hunt is based on using clues with coordinates on them to find the location of math problems.
“She interacts with us. It makes it easier to comprehend,” said eighth-grader Antonio Valenzuela.
“She’s fun. She teaches well and she makes us understand it and goes over it and over it until we get it,” said Stephane Garcia-Palacios.
Richards is also likely to be stopped in the hallway by a student with a math question, and she’s ready to walk them through it.
Principal Alston said students have a comfort level with Richards that helps them learn.
“On top of her love for math, she builds such good relationships with her students,” he said. “She does this by letting students know who she is as a person. She has a great sense of humor and she uses that to her advantage to reach her students on a more personal level. Her students love being in her classroom because they never know what to expect in there. They know that she will hold them responsible for their work, but that she will help them along in any way she can.”
Meanwhile, the Jeopardy! game proceeded, and students jotted down expressions and calculations as fast as possible, throwing up their answers on mini-whiteboards. Somehow, a question about rapper Jay-Z was thrown in. Points racked up and students showed they were ready for the next day’s big test. They knew they could do math.
And it’s a safe bet that if host Alex Trebek ever states: “This teacher was known as the best middle-school math teacher,” Kelloggsville students will answer “Who is Heather Richards?”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Wyoming Department of Public Safety is asking for help to identify this suspect who allegedly robbed the Clyde Park Foods.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, at approximately 9:25 p.m. the Wyoming Department of Public Safety responded to the report of a robbery at Clyde Park Foods, 4227 Clyde Park Ave. SW. The employees reported that a male subject jumped the service counter and demanded money. The suspect is described as a black male, late 20’s, 5’9” – 5’11” with a medium build. The suspect was wearing a black mask which only revealed his eyes, black winter style hat, white gloves, a dark colored Pea Coat type jacket, and dark colored pants. The handgun that was seen is described as a black full-frame semi-automatic. An undisclosed amount of money was taken in the robbery.
It was reported that the suspect left west bound from the building. A K-9 track was attempted with negative results. The photos that are attached are from store security cameras. It should be noted that one photo (on the right) is from an outside surveillance camera and it washes out the color of the items described above. What it does show is the exact style of coat that the suspect was wearing. We are hoping that someone may recognize this coat.
Wyoming Public Safety personnel continue with their investigation and ask the public’s assistance for information that may lead to the identification of the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Wyoming Department of Public Safety at 616-530-7300 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345.
Thanks to a large part to overwhelming support in the cities of Grand Rapids and East Grand Rapids, The Rapid transit system will continue to collect a property tax millage for 12 more years after the current one expires in 2018. Wyoming and Kentwood city voters also approved the millage request, but both by much closer margins.
Voters in Grandville also approved the millage request, but City of Walker voters turned it down.
The final numbers had the six-city total, according to the Kent County Clerk’s office, were 22,146 yes and 13,937 no. The City of Wyoming was 2,838 yes and 1,695 no. The City of Kentwood was 1,559 yes and 1,258 no. In contrast, Grand Rapids was 13,150 yes and 6,598 no; East Grand Rapids was 1,667 yes and 520 no; and Walker was 1,811 no and 1,581 yes.
“We are very pleased that voters have once again supported a vibrant public transit system in our region,” Michael Bulthuis, marketing & communications manager for The Rapid, said to WKTV Wednesday. “This renewal will allow us to maintain the outstanding service we provide to residents, businesses and visitors in the greater Grand Rapids area and continue to innovate to meet the needs of our community. It’s also a vote of confidence from taxpayers who clearly value a well-run, financially-responsible public transit system.”
The Rapid, which is directed by the Interurban Transit Partnership Board, will continue to collect a 1.47-mill tax until 2029. That millage is expected to total about $15 million in 2018. The millage will be used for operating service costs including labor (wages), fuel, tires, utilities, etc., essentially variable or day-to-day costs.
The tax revenue accounts for about one-third of The Rapid’s operational budget. Its other income includes Michigan Department of Transportation funds (about 33 percent), passenger fares (about 16 percent), contracts for service (about 14.5 percent) and other revenue (about 2 percent)
The millage will neither raise nor lower the current approved millage. The current millage of 1.47 mils is set to expire July 2018. The approved millage of 1.47 will run 2018-29. According to The Rapid, the cost to property tax payers will be $73.50 per year for a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000.
For a more detailed story on the The Rapid, its millage renewal request, and its services, see a WKTV Journal story here.
There as likely a sigh of relief, and finally an eye for the future, as Wyoming Public Schools district voters Tuesday approved what is essentially a $79.5 million school improvement plan by allowing the district to continue to collect the same level of millage into the future.
With 23 of 23 precincts reporting in the Nov. 7 general election, the vote was 2,377 yes and 1,075 no. The approved millage request comes after the district’s voters rejected millage increases in the spring and fall of 2013, each of which would have raised about $50 million. The last significant bond passage was in 1997, for about $41 million.
On Wednesday, district Superintendent Dr. Thomas Reeder told WKTV why this millage request was different from previous ones, and what the district’s move to modernize itself will mean to students.
“This request was significant in two ways,” Reeder said. “First, it involved no increase in the current tax levy, but extends it.
“What this will mean for students in elementary school is they will be able to see the final renovations of the high school as they complete their schooling, or before,” he added. But “current students in elementary will not see any changes at (their) elementary (schools) as this will be a 7-8 year work in progress to significantly redo all our buildings and grounds.”
The millage would pay for bonds which would be used to upgrade every district buildings, and improve safety, security and transportation systems. But the majority of the funds, about $40 million, will be spent on the high school’s two-phase makeover, including a 30-classroom addition to allow the movement of freshmen students back to the high school, as well as other building and athletic facility upgrades.
For more details on what the Wyoming Public Schools district plans to do with the approved millage, see a previous WKTV story here.
To learn about an upcoming school bond proposal, high school business students are zeroing in on their neighbors by using the Design Thinking process.
Challenged to work on something real in their own community, students in teacher Jon Bushen’s Business Marketing Management class needed to determine the needs and desires of voters, said Skylar Pichey, co-president and marketing director for the class. She and classmates each interviewed three neighbors by going door-to-door to hear their thoughts on the 18-year extension up for vote Tuesday Nov. 7. The request, if approved, would generate $79.5 million for district-wide facility improvements without raising the tax rate.
Students considered problems, obstacles, needs, insights and themes in creating a plan to reach voters with bond information
Part of design thinking is empathizing, getting to know what your users — in this case, voters– do, say think and feel. It’s an interesting process, Pichey said. Neighbors expressed support, indifference and some negativity when asked for their thoughts on the bond. Students wrote voter ideas and comments on sticky notes to capture what each person said. “We put them all together to examine their insights,” she said.
Teacher Jon Bushen attended a training on Design Thinking in the classroom offered by the the Kent ISD Career Readiness Department last summer. He plans to use it in several ways this school year, but started with the bond, an issue that affects his students directly. Now they have the chance to offer an important student voice in the bond process, Bushen said.
“Most of the students didn’t really know what the bond entailed in depth, so they had to sit with (Superintendent Thomas Reeder) and (Matt Lewis, assistant superintendent for finance and administrative services) and really ask the questions.”
Design Thinking involves creating a plan based on what you’ve learned about your user, and students are reaching out with information to voters. They passed out information and wristbands at the Homecoming Carnival; they are encouraging students who are old enough to vote with the incentive of free pizza if they head to the polls; they handed on Trick or Treat bags with bond information at the school’s Halloween Trunk or Treat event.
Skylar said she’s had to be straight-forward with people that passing the bond is personal to her. “You really have to make it seem like, ‘I really want this to pass. It’s very important to me.'”
Business student Chyna Johnson Pruitt helped pass out Trunk or Treat bags with bond information on the front
Hoping for a ‘Yes”
Skylar said she believes they are having an impact. Neighbors who first said they didn’t see a reason to vote, seemed to listen.
“I think the school really needs this,” Skylar said, pointing out the crammed hallways and poor climate control. “People look down on us because we don’t have money, because we aren’t Grandville and we aren’t Hudsonville (public schools) but we could be that way.”
Business student Albert Zamarripa said using the design-thinking process showed him it’s not simple to assess the community’s perspectives, and that’s taught him a lot about marketing.
“It’s been a great experience to have this as a project. I’ve never been a part of anything about this. To know you did something for this, it just makes you feel that much better.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Kent County director of Veterans Services Carrie Anderson on the set of WKTV Journal: In Focus. (WKTV)
WKTV Staff
news@wktv.org
With Veterans Day coming this week, and veterans issues important every day, the latest episode of WKTV Journal: In Focus, WKTV’s public affairs show, finds program host Ken Norris talking with the Kent County director of Veterans Services, Carrie Anderson, about the problems faced by our region’s veterans and the county, state and federal efforts to provide possible solutions.
Also on this episode, first-term State Representative Steven Johnson talks about his busy first year in Lansing.
Kent County director of Veterans Services Carrie Anderson. (WKTV)
As part of the discussion with Anderson, a veteran herself, she discusses the alarming statistic that each day 20 veterans commit suicide in this country, available services — including help for homeless vets — and why her job is more than just a job.
The episode will debut this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., and will again air on Thursday, and again next week on the same days and times on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.
The entire episode of “WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 6:30 p.m., on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel. This episode will have a special airing on Wednesday, Nov, 15, at noon on Comcast Channel 25.
Girls high school basketball starts this month with a limited schedule late in the month. (The West Michigan Lutheran girls basketball team is shown here from last season). (WKTV)
By Mike Moll
sports@wktv.org
November will not only bring the Thanksgiving holiday, but also a closeout of the high school sports fall seasons.
The boys and girls cross country finals will be held on Saturday, Nov. 4, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. Girls volleyball is working their way through Regionals and are heading to the state semi-finals and finals at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek on Thursday, Nov. 16, and Saturday, Nov. 18, for all four classes. Boys soccer state finals are also on the fourth at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek for divisions 1 and 3 and divisions 2 and 4 will be at Comstock Park. Girls swimming and diving will also conclude with state finals on Nov. 17–18 at Oakland University, Holland Aquatic Center, and Eastern Michigan University. The last championships will be handed out on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving with football finals being played at Ford Field in Detroit.
The winter seasons also start up this month with boys hockey dropping the puck for the first time mid-month and WKTV will be there as East Kentwood entertains East Grand Rapids on Nov. 17. Girls basketball tips off their season the last week of the month.
The 12th Annual Stubby Overmire Card Show and Auction will once again be at the Wyoming Lee High School Gymnasium on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 18-19. As always, the highlight guest will be baseball’s last 30 game winner Denny McLain who compiled a 31-6 record as he was part of the 1968 World Championship Detroit Tigers team. He will be joined by two other members of that world championship team as Mickey Stanley will once again appear along with first timer Tom Mathchick.
WKTV will again be bringing boys and girls basketball along with boys hockey to the viewers once again so be sure to check the weekly schedule for broadcast dates and times.
Currently, WKTV sports events will be broadcast the night of the game on Comcast Channel 25, usually at 11 p.m., and repeated on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/
Local high school sports events this week are as follows:
By Paul Haan, Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan
After a decade of decline, the number of lead-poisoned children in Kent County is rising. Recent data shows a 40 percent increase in lead-poisoned children in the 49507 zip code during the past two years. This Grand Rapids neighborhood leads the state in numbers of lead-poisoned children. In fact, more children were lead poisoned in 49507 than all seven Flint zip codes combined — before, during, and after the Flint water crisis.
According to data provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), 615 Kent County children had elevated blood-lead levels in 2016 — the year for which most recent data is available. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has established 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) as the reference level at which the CDC recommends public health actions be initiated.
Two out of every three lead poisoned-children in Kent County live in zip codes 49507, 49504 or 49503. These are high-poverty, high-minority neighborhoods in Grand Rapids. African-American children were lead-poisoned at twice the rate of white children in Grand Rapids in 2015, according to MDHHS data.
“Many people are unaware that lead exposure from dust in the house and soil in the yard is the culprit,” said Paul Haan, executive director of the Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan and gubernatorial appointee to the state of Michigan’s Child Lead Exposure Elimination Commission.
It should be noted that lead in the water is not the cause here: The city of Grand Rapids water testing under the federal Lead and Copper Rule demonstrates that Grand Rapids has been in compliance since 2001. The amount of lead in Grand Rapids water is far below federal thresholds and is among the safest in the state.
Currently, houses in Kent County aren’t required to be tested for lead. A property owner can sell, rent or remodel a home without checking it for lead or lead hazards. The city of Grand Rapids last updated its housing codes in regards to lead in 2005.
“Many property owners and property dwellers may have no idea that dangerous lead exists in their home,” Haan said. “Even well-intentioned remodelers might not be dealing properly with lead and actually making the problem worse.”
Haan also said there is a correlation between the current housing crisis and the increase in lead poisoning. “With West Michigan’s robust real estate market, it’s harder now to find healthy homes to live in. The seller’s market is great for sellers but not necessarily good for buyers and renters.”
Last fall, Grand Rapids was awarded $2.9 million in HUD funding to fix homes with lead-based paint hazards. Typical “fixes” include new windows and exterior painting or siding. The HUD funding is available to eligible homeowners, landlords and tenants.
The city of Grand Rapidsadministers the funding locally. In September of this year, the city expanded program eligibility, making funding available to even more people.
Anyone who owns or rents a home in the city of Grand Rapids built before 1978 is encouraged to learn about funding eligibility. For more information, please call the Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan at 616.241.3300 or visit www.GetTheLeadOutGR.org. Or, contact the city of Grand Rapids Community Development Department at 616.456.3030.
Tomorrow, Nov. 7, is election day and residents in both the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming have items on the ballot.
City of Kentwood
In the City of Kentwood, residents will be electing their city officials for the next four years. Of the six city positions up for election in Kentwood, only two are contested.
The first race is for the office of mayor, featuring incumbent Stephen Kepley who will be facing challenger Scott Urbanowski. Kepley was elected to the mayoral position in 2013 having served as a city engineer. Urbanowski is president and founder of Humanoid Digital, a digital media company.
The other contested race in the City of Kentwood is a 1st Ward City Commissioner seat with incumbent Jerry DeMaagd facing challenger Emily Bridson. For more on the candidates, see the We the People 1st Ward Commissioner article or view the September 1st Ward Commissioner candidate forum hosted by the Wyoming Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce.
There are also four races in Kentwood that are unopposed. Those are Dan Kasunic, for clerk, Laurie Sheldon, for treasurer, Betsy Artz, for commissioner at large, and Tom McKelvey, for 2nd Ward city commissioner.
City of Wyoming
Those in the Wyoming Public School District, the largest district in the City of Wyoming, will be voting on an extension of the district’s millage for $79.5 million to be used on infrastructure projects. For a detail look at the extension and what the money will be used for, check out the WKTV Journal article by K.D. Norris.
Cities of the Kentwood and Wyoming: The Rapid Millage
The Rapid is seeking a renewal of 1.47 mills. The millage, which has been active for the past seven years, is about a third of The Rapid’s total budget of $44 million, covering about $15.5 million. For more about the millage, see The Rapid millage story by WKTV Editorial Assistant Hannah Haviland.
The House of Representatives defeated an overhaul of Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance system on a 45-63 vote Thursday night after 90 minutes of debate on the House floor but months of political bickering and conflicting advertising efforts.
The Nov. 2 defeat of the house bill also brought conflicting reactions from local and statewide officials.
Wyoming- and Kentwood-area representatives Tommy Brann (R-77th District) and Steve Johnson (R-72nd) split their votes on the issue, with Johnson voting in support and Brann in opposition.
“Tonight, I voted in support of reforming Michigan’s no-fault insurance system,” Johnson wrote in a supplied Facebook post explaining his vote. “Michigan drivers pay the highest rates in the nation for car insurance, which is why this is one of the top issues many of you discuss with me all across the district. While the proposed plan wasn’t perfect, it was a step in the right direction to provide coverage choice, reign in fraud, and lower rates for Michigan drivers. Unfortunately, a majority of my colleagues did not vote in support … (however, I) … look forward to seeing the conversation on this important and meaningful topic continue in the future.”
State Rep. Tommy Brann
While Brann said he thought “90 percent of the bill was good” he said the three-tiered approach to medical coverage limits was just not something he could go along with. “I have the obligation to my constituents,” Brann said to WKTV Friday. “An obligation to protect them and make the right decisions for them.”
He said he thought that if some families chose the lower medical limits and then were in an accident, it could be disastrous. “I’m thinking about the parent with a little girl, and they are in an accident and that little 10-year-old girl needs rehabilitation for the rest of her life.”
“This is important, and I hope we will continue to work on this,” he said. “But I just do not think it (this bill) would protect my constituents.”
Michigan’s high insurance rates in the nation, according to most critics, are because of the current no-fault insurance system’s unlimited medical benefits for people injured in car accidents, as well as insurance companies’ ability to charge different rates based on where people live — a particular problem for urban areas such as Detroit.
Few believed the packages of changes, House Bill 5013, was a complete fix for the many problems of the existing system, but some viewed it as a start in providing rate-payer relief from the highest auto insurance rates in the nation.
Supporters of the bill, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the bill “could” save motorists and businesses as much as $1 billion a year by allowing persons buying insurance choices on what amount of medical coverage they need buy. It also would have imposed price limits on medical providers who care for auto accident victims.
In general, the bill was also supported by auto insurance providers, but opponents often pointed out that there were not guarantees that insurance rates would go down — something one local insurance agent did not agree with.
“While there are no guarantees, anytime you install a reimbursement schedule that caps charges at a lower rate than today it would seem a good thing” for rate payers, Pat Curran, managing agent of Wyoming’s Precision Insurance Agency, said to WKTV. “One of the hardest parts in insurance pricing is knowing what your costs are going to be. Under the current system there is no such pricing structure.”
In general, the bill was opposed by the state’s medical providers and trial lawyers, but it also was opposed by lawmakers and others who pointed out that there was no guarantee that insurance providers would lower rates as a result of the changes.
“The Michigan Health & Hospital Association has been adamantly opposed to House Bill 5013 throughout deliberations on the bill, and we are encouraged by the fact that the Michigan House of Representatives opted to vote down what was simply a bad bill,” Brian Peters, CEO at the MHA, said in a statement released on their website Thursday night.
“We know that Michigan drivers want lower rates when it comes to their auto insurance premiums, and we would welcome the opportunity to work with legislators if and when they decide to go back to the drawing board when it comes to meaningful rate relief for drivers that protects benefits available to those seriously injured in auto accidents.”
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce also reacted to the defeat of the bill, saying in a statement that it was disappointed in the “63 of the 110 members of the Michigan House who turned their backs on Michigan drivers today and voted ‘no’ on reforms to the state’s broken and costly auto insurance system.”
“Lawmakers had a real opportunity today to drive down Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation auto insurance premiums,” Rich Studley, chamber president & CEO, said in the statement. “Unfortunately, 63 members of the Michigan House chose to turn their backs on their constituents and the state’s 7.1 million drivers and side with a handful of greedy ambulance-chasing personal injury attorneys and hospitals that profit from the status quo.”
“Even though the vote today failed, these lawmakers will need to explain their no vote to their constituents,” Jim Holcomb, general counsel for the chamber, said in the statement. “We remain confident that the drivers of our state won’t find these lawmakers’ excuses acceptable and force them back to the table to tackle the very real problem of Michigan’s highest-in-the-nation auto insurance costs and its primary cost-drivers.”
Captain Paul J. Ryan of the United States Navy will be the keynote speaker at the Veterans Day Ceremony
The City of Wyoming will hold its annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m. at the Veterans Memorial Garden, 2300 DeHoop Avenue SW.
Captain Paul J. Ryan of the United States Navy will be the keynote speaker for the event. Captain Ryan is one of our most decorated Michigan Veterans, having received many awards, most notably the Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service. Captain Ryan retired from active duty in 2005 and is currently the Vice President and Senior Trust Officer for Fifth Third Bank. The Lee High School band will perform at the event along with the Wyoming Department of Public Safety Honor Guard; Mayor Pro-Tem Sam Bolt will host the ceremony.
“The City of Wyoming is committed and proud to recognize those who have served, and continue to serve our country in the armed forces and protect our freedoms,” according to Rebecca Rynbrandt, Director of Community Services for the City of Wyoming. “Our Memorial Day and Veterans Day Ceremonies are a tribute to that service and protection.”
The Wyoming Department of Public Safety, 2380 DeHoop Avenue SW, will also be accepting donations for the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans during the month of November, Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. Items sought for donation include $25. gift cards for local fast food restaurants, Meijer, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Gordon Food Marketplace, etc., candy bars, pens, batteries, stamps, grooming/hygiene items, and clothing that is new or gently used.
The rezoning request for the proposed Reserve at Rivertown PUD has been pulled from the Nov. 6 meeting.
Per the request of the developer, a proposed rezoning for the 56th Street and Wilson Avenue area has been taken off the Wyoming City Council’s agenda for the upcoming Monday night meeting.
The Granger Group had been seeking a rezoning of an an additional 98 acres to a development on Wilson Avenue and 56th Street. The additional acreage would have been combined with an approved 2001 current planned unit development (PUD) for that area bringing the PUD to a total of 211.2 acres.
Granger spokesperson David Jackiewicz, with First & Main Corporate, confirmed last week that Granger was requesting the city council postpone the hearing on the rezoning so as “to allow the Planning Commission to review an updated PUD plan we recently submitted…” Jackiewicz confirmed that on Oct. 19, Granger Group did submit an amendment to its original 2001 PUD that would include a mix of condominiums, townhouses, and single family homes.
Granger started the rezoning process in August. In that proposal of the 211.2 acres, there would have been zero office space but about 3.57 acres of retail space and 686 total housing units. Those units would be 316 single family lots and 370 apartments with no multi-family housing. The Planning Commission had recommended denial of the rezoning request to the Wyoming City Council, which has the final decision on rezoning.
The rezoning request had meet with much opposition from residents currently living in and around the development. At a Sept. 5 City Council meeting, at the Granger Group’s request, the council decided to delay a decision until its Nov. 6 meeting. Company officials stated at the meeting that it was their desire to work through the issues and come up with a plan that would have a mutually satisfying conclusion.
Some of the concerns expressed by residents were:
decrease value to existing homes
density too high in one spot
increase traffic along 56th Street
violation of current property owners’ rights
developer does not need to max out the density on the PUD
residents should have input on changes
growth assumptions of 1 percent are too low
putting a strain on local police and fire services
there already are lots of other options for luxury apartments
other developments such as The Haven have not open and the full impact of those on school and community resources remain an unknown
“It [was] higher right now with M-6, I get that,” said Wyoming resident Jason Gillette, who was discussing the traffic on 56th Street. “Even without that, it is very high traffic in the area. In the evening, I’ll be coming and have to wait 20 minutes…depending on what time you come through.”
Gordon VanMeulen, who is with the Wyoming Citizens for Planned Progress, said everyone understands that there will be development in the area, but it needs to be sensible and balance.
“The 2020 Land Use Plan and Wilson Corridor Report recommended multi-family housing on the northland as a buffer to the RiverTown Crossing and single family homes on the southend,” VanMeulen said. He stated his group is not in favor of the rezoning because of current issues with the Granger Group’s Rivertown Valley, density and number of multi-family units and the failure to follow the 2020 Land Use Plan and the Wilson Corridor Report.
In a staff report presented to city officials, staff said that the proposed rezoning does comply with the 2020 Land Use Plan falling under the 4 units per acre overall density. The proposal called for 3.66 units per acre.
“When you buy some property next to some vacant land you should really understand can and might be done there,” said 3rd Ward Council Member Robert Postema at the Sept. 5 City Council meeting. “And when we have a PUD in place that is exactly what has been done. Those homeowners have a right to expect what was going to be built behind them. It was all planned out in the PUD. The exact nature of the building may not have been built as it was but the idea that they would have some condominiums behind them, some open space, and then apartments way up by Wilson that was pretty well established.”
Wyoming Public Schools, shown here in a photo supplied by the district. (Supplied)
WKTV Staff
news@wktv.org
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal: In Focus, WKTV’s public affairs show, program host Ken Norris talks with Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Tom Reeder about a Nov. 7 local ballot measure that would modernize district infrastructure and radically alter the high school. Then a representative of The Rapid public transition system talks about the importance of his organization’s request for continued public support.
Wyoming Public Schools superintendent Thomas Reeder’s district is seeking to modernize its buildings and other infrastructure. (WKTV)
Reeder’s district is asking for voter support for what will eventually be an investment of about $79.5 million into district infrastructure. The current approved millage would not increase or decrease, but passage of the request would extend the current millage rate for 18 more years — and would “set up the district for the next two decades,” Reeder says.
Michael Bulthuis of The Rapid public transit system. The Rapid is seeking a renewal of the system’s current 1.47 mil local property tax millage. (WKTV)
Michael Bulthuis, Marketing and Communication Manager for The Rapid public transit system, talks about the request to voters in Wyoming and Kentwood for renewal of the system’s current 1.47 mil local property tax millage. Wyoming and Kentwood are two of the six greater Grand Rapids community which are provided public transit and which would pay the millage. Mr. Bulthuis talks about his organization’s current services provided, its funding sources, and to give us some details on the renewal request.
The episode will air twice this week on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.
The entire episode of “WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 6:30 p.m., on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.
A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive on Monday, Nov. 6, to examine all aspects of the Wyoming Department of Public Safety policy and procedures, management, operations and support services, Chief James Carmody announced today.
“Obtaining confirmation that the Wyoming Department of Public Safety meets the standards set forth by the Commission is part of the process by which we achieve professional excellence. Accreditation is consistent with our mission to ‘efficiently and effectively manage our resources to deliver the highest level of police service to the Citizens of Wyoming’”, Carmody said.
As a part of the on-site assessment, the public and agency employees are invited to offer comments on the agency’s services and overall performance at a public information session to be held at 5:30 on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Wyoming Senior Center building located at 2380 DeHoop Avenue SW.
If, for some reason, an individual cannot speak at the public information session but would like to provide comments to the assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone. The public may call 616-530-7313 on Tuesday, Nov 7, between the hours of 1 and 3 p.m.
The telephone comments as well as those made at the public information session are limited to 5 minutes and must address the agency’s ability to comply with the Commission’s standards. A copy of the standards is available at the Wyoming Public Safety Department. For further information, contact Lt. Mark Easterly at 616-530-7308.
Persons wishing to offer written comments about the Wyoming Department of Public Safety’s ability to meet the standards for accreditation are requested to write: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155.
The Wyoming Department of Public Safety must comply with 484 standards in order to maintain accredited status. The assessment team is comprised of law enforcement practitioners from similar, but out-of-state agencies. The team will review written materials, interview individuals, tour the facilities, and visit offices and other places where compliance can be witnessed. Once their review is complete, the assessors will report back to the full Commission which will then decide if the agency is to be granted reaccredited status. Accreditation is for the next four years, during which the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which it was initially accredited. The Wyoming Department of Public Safety was originally accredited in 2012.
For more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. please write the Commission at 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia, 20155 or call 800-368-3757 or 703-352-4225 or www.calea.org.
The shared love of a book was on display in English teacher Shantel VanderGalien’s eighth-grade honors class as she read aloud from “A Monster Calls.” Creating a monster voice with a plummy British accent, VanderGalien revealed her theatrical side.
The young teens, seated in a circle around VanderGalien, interjected with observations like “foreshadowing!” and “simile!” as they listened closely to the narrative.
VanderGalien is devoting about 15 minutes of class time for several days over the next few weeks to read the award-winning book, written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, to her Wyoming Junior High School students. Riveted, they recently reacted to a chapter-ending cliffhanger at the end of class as if it was /// torture to stop. “Ahhh! No!” they cried, realizing they would have to wait until the next day to know what happened next.
“Everybody likes to be read to,” VanderGalien said.
VanderGalien’s class is among more than 2 million students in 25,000 locations throughout the world signed up for Global Read Aloud, a project started in 2010 with the goal of using one book to connect the world. The premise is to read a book aloud to children during a six-week period and make as many global connections, via online tools, as possible, sharing the book and thoughts. This year, middle school groups had three books to choose from, including “A Monster Calls” — a novel that’s hard to keep on the shelves, VanderGalien said.
“What I wasn’t able to anticipate is the depth of my students’ love for the story,” she said. “Every single time I stop reading, they are like, ‘What! You can’t stop there!'”
Global Rad Aloud connects students around the world through the share loved of books, like “A Monster Calls,”
Picture This
VanderGalien, a 14-year-teacher, said she’s learned over the years why students of all ages connect so well with being read to. It’s made her realize the need to teach vocal inflection and pauses in connection with dialogue and punctuation.
“Students say, ‘I can’t see it in my head when I read, but when you read to me, I can see it,'” she said. “More of how I teach grammar is now embedded in us investigating the reading.”
Students said they enjoy VanderGalien’s dramatic reading.
“I can see it a lot better when she reads it because she does all the voices,” said eighth-grader Aubray Palma. “She is pretty much like a little kid. How she talks like the monster does, that’s what I see in my head.”
Neveah Morofsky said she loves the raspy, scary voice of the monster and the imagination involved.
“I’m a really big reader,” the eighth-grader said. “I read a lot, but it’s a lot of fun having Mrs. VanderGalien read to us. We are thinking of getting her an alphabet rug like we had in kindergarten.
“I really like her reading to us because she does all the voices. She has a lot of fun with it and so do we.”
“We get to learn together as more of a class,” added student Logan Boukma. “For us to be read to, we can understand it better. (VanderGalien) uses cool accents to make it more enjoyable and relatable.”
Another goal is challenging students to summarize, determine themes, analyze texts and complete other required standards using “A Monster Calls.” Students will also use the book in argumentative writing.
A Global Book Club
Global Read Aloud also has a big-picture piece involving universal themes. VanderGalien is hoping great conversations result in connecting online with students in different parts of the world through platforms like Write About.com, Flipogram.com and Google Classroom.
“I really emphasize having a voice in global citizenship. When they start evaluating the themes in the novel and seeing that people halfway around the world are getting the same messages, that’s when global themes become more concrete.”
Students said they look forward to hearing what other students think of the book.
“Everybody gets a different experience from the book and we can talk about it and see where everyone is coming from,” Neveah said.
“They say you should put yourself in other people’s shoes,” Aubray said. “We get to do that and experience what other people think.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Students sit in a circle to listen the teacher Shantel VanderGalien read
At the ribbon cutting, from left, Megan Sall, City of Wyoming assistant city manager and Downtown Development Authority director; Bob O’Callaghan, President of the Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce; Joshua Weiner, CEO Meyer C. Weiner Company; Tom Swoish, Southern Michigan Bank & Trust; and Matthew McDade, Meyer C. Weiner Company. (Supplied/City of Wyoming)
The 28 West Place parking lot and sidewalks were a buzz of activity Saturday, Oct. 21, when the business-focused City of Wyoming and its business partners held the official grand reopening of the shopping center once known as Wyoming Village Mall.
But there was much more of a crowd going into and out of several businesses than there are watching the usual ribbon-cutting — and that was just fine with everybody getting their pictures. Making the shopping center much more attractive and easier to access was what their efforts were all about.
“The last time we had a grand opening here was 1978, when we had renovated the shopping center,” Joshua T. Weiner, of mall owner Meyer C. Weiner Company, said to WKTV Journal. “It has been from 1978 until now, really, that this shopping center had gone through a major transformation.”
The mall first opened in 1962, when it was called Southland Plaza. It was dedicated to Weiner’s grandfather, Harry, “who was a haberdasher on Ionia Street in Grand Rapids, who predicted the growth of this area,” Weiner said.
And over the years, through good times and not-so-good times, businesses have come and gone from the location, but Weiner said two things remained constant.
“The one constant, of Wyoming and this particular location, on Michael Avenue (SW), is 28th Street,” he said. “28th Street has always had great traffic, great volumes, and has made this location a viable one for over 50 years. The demographics have changed, in the marketplace, over that time, and in order to meet the needs of the marketplace we’ve had to change with those times in terms of the merchants who are here and the development we have. We think we have done that.
“The other constant has been a close working relationship with the City of Wyoming itself. The founding fathers — and founding mothers — of Wyoming, both the elected officials and the professional staff, have worked with us hand-in-glove over the years. And (did so) this particular public-private partnership, of putting in 28 West Place, the street.”
A key part of the redevelopment of the center was the city purchasing land and putting in a special street — 28 West Place Street — to allow better access to the businesses.
“Back in (20)08 I first got involved in this, when Carol Sheets was mayor, and we started to talk about it,” Sam Bolt, Wyoming Mayor Pro Tem, said to WKTV Journal. “When the developers wanted to get onboard, at that point, we had it pretty well laid out as to what we wanted.
Overview of the new 2 West Place with the 28 West Street.
“When the mall decided they wanted to go ahead with it, we bought the property … to get the street in,” Bolt said. “Last year at this time we got the street in, now we are breaking ground on it. It is just a beautiful project. It has revitalized this area. I think we have added 20,000 square feet to the mall already.”
28 West Place Street bisects the mall’s property to connect 28th Street to Michael Avenue. The new road is part of the City of Wyoming’s master plan to transform its downtown area into a pedestrian friendly oasis of shopping, dining, entertainment and housing, according to the city.
The public-private partnership to help redevelop 28th Street is in keeping with the city’s business-friendly outlook.
“Today we have a mindset, in the city, that we want to work with developers and retail people to revitalize the area,” Bolt said. “We work with them, not stand in their way, trying to make it a one-stop-shop, so that when they come in with a project that they want to do, they don’t have to talk to 10 different people, they talk to one person. They get their questions answered, and we go forward. … We know they have money on the line, and every day a project is not going forward is costing them dollars.”
The Oct. 21 with a ribbon-cutting and grand re-opening celebration was hosted by the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce as well as the Downtown Development Authority.
In partnership with the city, the Meyer C. Weiner Company has completed construction of its multi-million dollar redevelopment on this mall property, according to the city. In 2016, work began to demolish approximately 58,000 square feet of vacant, obsolete building space. Construction began in 2017 to add 20,000 square feet of new energy efficient building space and two out-lot buildings of approximately 11,000 square feet, along with significant property improvements to upgrade the existing retail center and its surface parking lot.
Since the changes took place, three new tenants have moved in: CSL Plasma, Mr. Alan’s clothing store, and Simply 10 clothing store. Additional space is available for lease, including another 5,500-square-foot pad building with visibility along 28th Street.
Wyoming Public Schools superintendent Thomas Reeder’s district is seeking to modernize its buildings and other infrastructure.
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Wyoming Public Schools superintendent Thomas Reeder is to-the-point when asked to explain the need for his district to modernize its buildings and other infrastructure, which is what the district’s $79.5 million millage extension request on the Nov. 7 ballot is all about.
“At some point, whether it is your home or your car, the number of things going wrong, breaking down, becomes overwhelming … we need a huge overhaul of our buildings,” Reeder said in an interview on WKTV Journal: In Focus. “We have about 18 years of renovations that we want to be able to do … what I mean by that is we have to be able to set our schools up for the next couple of decades.”
He is just as direct when it comes to why district taxpayers should trust that his school system will spend the money wisely — pointing out that his district is the only one of out 20 Kent County school districts to have has balanced its budget in the 5-year period from 2012-2016, and that it has the 14 lowest total millage rate out of those 20 county school districts.
“We have tried to prudent with the dollars (the voters) have given us with our bond requests,” he said. “And we have made necessary cuts, whether it be in administration, maintenance or other things in order to ensure we stay ahead of the curve” when it comes to a balanced budget.
Wyoming Public Schools, which has about 4,300 students, is asking for voter approval to continue the current millage rate for 18 more years — an action which would neither increase or decrease what property tax payers would pay.
The current debt rate of 5.65 is projected to be levied through 2025. It will taper off after that as these bonds are paid off through 2043. If the millage request is passed, the first series bonds (projected for 2018) would be repaid over 21 years, by 2039. A second series of bonds (projected for 2022) would be retired by 2043 at the latest.
The district’s current total property tax base millage is 6.145 mills: 5.65 mills in debt and .495 mill for a sinking fund. Its last big bond measure was passed in 1994. District currently has three bond measures being paid off, and this new millage request would allow for the continued funding of new bonds as each of the three existing bond measures are paid off. The sinking fund is separate, for $400k per year and is in the 2nd year of a 10-year sinking fund request passed in 2015.
By state law, school bonds can only be utilized to fund capital improvement projects, new construction, technology and transportation. The proceeds cannot be used for routine repair or maintenance costs; teacher, administrator or employee salaries; or other operating expenses.
The expenditure of any bond proceeds must be audited annually during the construction period by an external CPA firm. Those audits are transmitted annually to the Department of Treasury.
The breakdown of how the $79.5 million would be spent is:
High school: $40 million in two segments (two phases: 2018 and 2022)
Huntington Woods Early Childhood Center: $1.5 million
Administration Building: $950k
Regional Center and Adult Education: $830k
Bus Garage: $400k
Most of the building and site improvements to be done would be items such as roof replacements, mechanical system upgrades, classroom and building renovations. There would also be safety and security improvements — including playground safety improvements.
“It has been a couple of decades since we passed our last millage,” Reeder said. “So since 1994 all of the HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), roofs, etcetera, have not been done. Parking lots. The parking lots have not had any major work since that time.
“Those all need to be upgraded, to be redone. There is a significant cost in doing that, well beyond an operating millage. In addition, our buildings were built in a very different era. All of our buildings are approximately 50 years or more old.”
The largest single expenditure would be to restructure the high school to again house 9-12 grades. The design would allow for a freshman wing to keep these students together during what the district calls “their important transition year into high school.”
Upgrades to the high school would occur over two phases, starting in 2018. Among the work to be done is construction of two-story, 30 classroom addition, as well as athletic upgrades, and cafeteria and kitchen upgrades for 9th grade student addition.
“The high school gets a total remodel,” Reeder said. “All the other buildings and sites get a significant remodel. But we are not adding on and moving things around as we would at the high school.”
The move to separate the 9th grade students into the middle school was originally done as a cost-saving measure. But “our parents have requested, our staff have overwhelming said: ‘We fully understand why you did that, but at some point we’d love to have the 9th grade back in the high school, with the flow, the way the curriculum works, in this day’,” Reeder said.
In Focus today is Michael Bulthuis of The Rapid public transit system. The Rapid, on November 7, will be asking for renewal of the system’s current 1.47 mil local property tax millage. (WKTV)
By Hannah Haviland, WKTV Editorial Assistant
news@wktv.org
At the upcoming Nov. 7 election, residents of the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood are being asked to consider a 1.47 millage rate so that The Rapid can continue serving these cities along with four other municipalities in the greater Grand Rapids area.
The millage request, which is listed as the Interurban Transit Partnership Board Transit Millage Ballot Proposal 2018-2019 on the Nov. 7 ballot, is not an increase, but rather would replace the current Rapid millage of 1.47 mills which is set to expire in July of 2018.
According to information supplied by The Rapid, for a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000, the homeowner would continue to pay around $73.50 a year for the millage. The millage, which has been active for the past seven years, is about a third of The Rapid’s total budget of $44 million, covering about $15.5 million. The majority of the rest of the budget comes from the Michigan Department of Transportation’s local bus operating assistance and passenger fares.
Because the millage makes up such a large percentage of The Rapids’ operational expenses, without the renewal, most of the fixed route services that the millage helps fund would not be be able to operate, according to The Rapid Marketing and Communications Director Michael Bulthuis, who sat down to talk about the millage in a recent WKTV Journal: In Focus segment.
“Most of our riders are using the bus at least once a week, if not every day, for a work related activity,” Bulthuis said. “If you consider that we have between 11 to 12 million rides every year, 80 percent of those rides are work related trips.”
Each of the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood have nine Rapid routes not counting the Silver Line. These are among the 22 routes that would potentially be shut down if the millage doesn’t pass.
“You would start to see service cuts, frankly, because you’re not getting that $15.5 million in millage funding,” Bulthuis said. “That millage funding also helps leverage state funding so you’re losing millions of dollars in state funding as well.”
The millage has been active for the last seven years, and if it passes, will continue at the same rate of 1.47 for twelve more years. If, however, it doesn’t pass, all of The Rapids’ normal bus routes would cease. The Rapid would only be able to operate on a contractual basis for entities that would entirely cover the cost of its service. Go!Bus, the service for the elderly and disabled, would also be drastically decreased, putting people in that demographic at risk of missing doctor’s appointments or other needed services.
The millage funds are only used for everyday expenses such as wages for employees, fuel, tires, and other essential needs. It is not used for other projects such as new buses, buildings, or project construction. The Silver Line, which operates along Division Avenue connecting downtown Grand Rapids to the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming, would also not be affected since it is funded by state and federal grants.
The WKTV Journal: In Focus episode including the discussion about The Rapid millage, and a discussion with Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Reeder on his district’s millage request, will air twice this week on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.
“WKTV Journal: In Focus” will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 6:30 p.m., on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.
Maria Aguirre likes to help other people’s dreams come true: making sure a child has presents wrapped under the tree on Christmas morning, doing her part to fund cancer research, helping distribute grants to organizations doing good in her Wyoming community.
Through extensive giving back and taking a leadership role in doing so, she reveals the good in people and the community, making places and people’s days brighter. She’s a leader at Godwin Heights Public Schools, the newly-named president for Student Leadership Council, and continually organizing programs and pitching in on school-wide efforts.
“I like trying to get the better out of the community, and putting forward that good. It makes you feel good about yourself, bringing out what’s better in the world,” Maria said.
Maria is a scholar, a worker, a leader, and a Dreamer.
Godwin Heights High School senior Maria Aguirre has been recognized for leadership by teacher Katie Hoffman
‘It Makes me Feel Torn’
The 17-year-old senior arrived with her parents from Mexico when she was 3-years-old, and hasn’t been back there since. She doesn’t remember their home in Monterrey, the capital of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León, or what it’s like there.
At age 15, she paid the $495 application fee for protection from deportation and a work permit through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy, created under the Obama Administration. She enrolled as a Dreamer, along with her brothers, among 800,000 individuals in the program.
Now, with doubt cast on her permanent status in the U.S. by the Trump Administration, who rescinded the policy in September, Maria’s dreams are hazy. Trump’s decision officially ends the program in March and halts new applications, but those whose permits expire before March 5 can apply for a two-year renewal, which Maria did. (Trump called on Congress to pass immigration legislation to replace it, and tweeted that he will “revisit this issue” if Congress does not act.)
“It makes me worried if in the future I won’t be able to qualify for a replacement of DACA. Would I have to go back to a country that isn’t my country – that I don’t know anything about?
Would-be social worker Maria Aguirre is recognized school-wide for leadership
“It makes me feel torn. It makes me feel depressed.”
But Maria is the kind of person who keeps forging ahead at her school and in the community, despite what her future holds.
Beginning each November since her freshman year, she has been collecting as many toys as possible with the Student Leadership Council for DA Blodgett St. John’s Home. The Council invites Godwin teachers to adopt children at the foster-care facility and have them encourage students to bring in gifts.
Annually, she works with fellow members of National Honor Society to clean up nearby Hillcroft Park. She raises funds for Relay for Life, the annual 24-hour walk to raise money for cancer research. She’s planning an Unsung Heroes Dinner at school to recognize support staff, like janitors and paraprofessionals, who make a difference at the school. Maria gets to church early to help with Sunday School.
An ambitious student, Maria is dual-enrolled at Grand Rapids Community College, where she’ll tally up a year’s worth of college credit by the time she graduates in May. She has a 3.8 grade-point average.
She just joined the Wyoming Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council to help allocate grant money to local nonprofits and works part-time at McDonald’s.
“Maria is a great role model for her peers and is a positive presence in the school,” said Student Leadership Council advisor Katie Hoffman. “She stands out as someone who wants to make a difference and is willing to go above and beyond to make our school and community a better place to be.”
Maria is always looking for new ways to influence and encourage others, Hoffman said. “I know that she will be successful in whatever field she chooses to go into and we are lucky that she has been a part of our Godwin family.”
Maria Aguirre, president of the Student Leadership Council, explains to members how the Christmas adopt-a-child program for D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s Home works
Still Dreaming
Maria’s dreams are to go to Aquinas College or Grand Valley State University to pursue a degree in sociology and become a social worker. She dreams of making life better for people, and first and foremost, helping support her parents financially.
“Ever since I was little, I grew up struggling economically. I want to be able to, in the future, not have my parents have to work anymore,” she said. Her father is a dishwasher and her mother a stay-at-home mom.
She said growing up with limited financial resources made her passionate about doing what she can to get to college. “It was difficult, but you proceed through it and realize you need to get the education to do better.”
Godwin Heights staff members have been supportive, she said. During visits to college campus, counselors ask for any information pertaining to DACA students.
“I feel pretty confident that I am going to start college here. It feels unknown that I am going to finish it here,” Maria said.
When the DACA decision was announced, Maria’s parents were concerned for their children, who they raised as Americans. The family had already taken in children of a deported friend who wondered when their mother would be back. “They were really heartbroken. They were mostly sad.”
Encouraging Others and Getting Things Done
While leading the Leadership Team meeting on a recent Wednesday during lunch in Hoffman’s classroom, Maria told peers the details of the Christmas donation event for D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s Home. The collecting will kick off next month.
Team members said Maria stands out as a leader. As president of the Leadership Council, Maria knows how to get things done, said junior Luz Parada. She is a good example of how to lead a big group and be a positive influence on people. She is very supportive.
“I’ve known Maria for six years. She is my best friend,” said senior Kamille Martinez. “She stands out because she stands up for people no matter what the issue is. She stays ahead of her work. She is an encouraging person to others. She is an amazing person.”
After participating in discussion about popcorn sales and a new idea to greet students in fun ways as they arrive to school on Monday mornings, Maria wrapped up the meeting and prepared to head to GRCC for a college course. Despite what the future holds, she’s choosing a path for her dreams to become reality, being involved, pursuing education and helping others.
“You see all the bad that’s going on and all the suffering and you just want to get away from that and bring out the good that’s still left in the world,” she said.
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Wyoming Public Schools, shown here in a photo supplied by the district, saw its number of students drop in the recent “Count Day” state survey of students. (Supplied)
Some local school leaders were braced for bad news, some confident of good news, as Wyoming and Kentwood area school districts held their public school “Count Day” early this month — a day when the number of students attending their schools directly relates to how much funding they will receive from the state.
The fall count, held Oct. 4, is worth 90 percent of the state per-pupil funding. The spring semester count, from the previous school year, is 10 percent of funding. This school year’s spring count date is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2018.
“We are still in the period where we identify the final number, but that is the formula that is used,” Wyoming’s Godfrey-Lee Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Polston said to WKTV journal. The “count impacts this years funding. We do not receive state aid in September, and begin receiving it in October after fall count. (So) this impacts our current budget.”
The local public school districts, as well as charters, are to receive $7,631 per-pupil for the 2017-18 school year. Godwin Heights Public Schools receives slightly more per student due to a historic loss of a substantial commercial tax base.
Godfrey-Lee counted 1,878 students for the fall count day, 72 below projections and down 84 students for the 2016-17 school year. So, if preliminary numbers hold, Godfrey-Lee would receive less state funding this year than last. But Polston says the district is prepared.
“This is the reason why it is important to have fund balances that can account for shortfalls like this,” said Polston, who is in his first year as superintendent. “We will maintain all current positions and programs, but immediately take a close look at all areas of the budget for both short and long term savings. We are fortunate to have a fund balance that can absorb a shortfall for this year.
“Our Board of Education has a policy of maintaining at least a 10 percent fund balance for times like this. We will need to backfill this deficit with next year’s budget. I’m confident in our team’s ability to strategically prioritize spending with a constant focus on keeping dollars in the classroom.”
His district will also look at the reasons why enrollment dropped.
“We have had a strong growth trend over the past few years, but that didn’t hold this year,” he said. “We are analyzing the areas where we fell short to identify contributing factors. We believe our best solution is to promote our district to our current residents to retain as many as we can in our strong, local, neighborhood schools.”
According to an analysis published on MLive, Michigan has more than 1.6 million kindergarten through 12th grade students in the 2016-17 school year, with about 1 million attending their local public schools. The other half million, or so, attended private or charter schools, or crossed home district lines to enroll in other public school districts.
Kentwood Public Schools is one of the districts gaining students, some from out of the district boundaries.
“We are up 136 — 9,121 total non-audited — students from last Fall count day,” Kentwood Public Schools Superintendent Michael Zoerhoff told WKTV. “The last three years we have seen an upward trend of our enrollment count. We are excited to see that Kentwood Public Schools continues to be a destination district for many families because of the great opportunities provided.”
Godwin Heights Public Schools, according to Superintendent William Fetterhoff, counted 2,166 students after budgeting for 2,145, so 21 over projection and 39 below last year. Fetterhoff told WKTV the trend is not unusual for his district, or across the nation for that matter, and he pointed to a decline in kindergarten through 3rd grade students as one reason.
Wyoming Public Schools, according to the district, counted 4,250, down 70 from last year.
Wyoming Public Schools students. (Supplied)
“4,250 is an appropriate estimate for our fall count … We anticipated a decrease this year,” Matt Lewis, Assistant Superintendent for Finance & Administrative Services for Wyoming Public Schools said to WKTV. “We budgeted to be down 75, and we’re on track to be down between 75 and 80.
“We’re approximately 70 down from last year which is right on projection. … I can’t give you a final number because there are 30 days from the count day during which students can still be counted if they were absent.”
The decline in enrollment is also not surprising to Lewis.
“Wyoming has averaged a loss of 108 students per year since the fall of 2004,” he said. “We’ve done many, many things to address the decline, cutting millions from our operating budget. We’ve become extremely efficient from an administrative perspective, closed buildings when necessary, including the consolidation of our high schools for 2012/13, and made countless adjustments to our contractual obligations and benefit costs. Our employees have (also) taken on a substantial portion of their healthcare costs over this period of enrollment decline.”
In other initial, unaudited numbers from local public districts, detailed in published reports, Kelloggsville Public Schools counted 2,327 students, 102 above projections and 79 more than last year.
The high school football season has moved into playoff mode and so has WKTV’s featured football coverage — this week will be a rematch matchup as Wyoming Godwin Heights (7-2) again travels to Wyoming Kelloggsville (9-0) for an opening-round Division 4 game on Friday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m..
Other local teams in the football playoffs include Grand Rapids South Christian (7-2) hosting Plainwell (7-2), also Friday at 7 p.m., at Byron Center High School. And Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (6-3) will be traveling north to Suttons Bay (6-3) for an 8-Man Division 1 playoff game Saturday, Oct. 28, at 2 p.m.
Currently, WKTV sports events will be broadcast the night of the game on Comcast Channel 25, usually at 11 p.m., and repeated on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/
Local high school sports events this week are as follows:
Tuesday, Oct. 24
Girls Volleyball
Wyoming @ Christian
Wyoming Lee @ Algoma Christian
Kelloggsville @ Muskegon Orchard View
Zion Christian @ Grand River Prep
TBD @ Tri-Unity Christian – Rivertown/Crossroads Tri
Boys Soccer
TBD – MHSAA Regionals
Wednesday, Oct. 25
Girls Volleyball
O-K Red Conference Meet @ East Kentwood
Thursday, Oct. 26
Girls Volleyball
South Christian @ FH Eastern
Middleville T-K @ Wyoming – Senior Night
WMAES @ Wyoming Lee – Senior Night
Boys Soccer
TBD – MHSAA Regionals
Friday, Oct, 27
Boys Water Polo
@ East Kentwood – MHSAA Regionals
Football
Wyoming Godwin Heights at Wyoming Kelloggsville (playoffs)
Plainwell at South Christian (at Byron Center High School) (playoffs)
Saturday, Oct. 28
Boys/girls Cross Country
Wyoming @ Allendale – MHSAA Regionals
Wyoming Lee @ Allendale – MHSAA Regionals
Godwin Heights @ Allendale – MHSAA Regionals
Tri-Unity Christian @ Allendale – MHSAA Regionals
TBD – MHSAA Regionals
Boys Water Polo
@ East Kentwood – MHSAA Regionals
8-Man Football
Tri-unity Christian at Suttons Bay (playoff)
Monday, Oct. 30
Girls Volleyball
Wyoming vs TBD @ Christian – MHSAA Districts
Wyoming Lee vs TBD @ South Christian – MHSAA Districts
Godwin Heights vs Kelloggsville @ South Christian – MHSAA Districts
@ East Kentwood – MHSAA Districts
Tuesday, Oct. 31
Halloween
Girls Volleyball
Zion Christian vs Holland Calvary @ Tri-Unity Christian – MHSAA Districts
East Kentwood High School will host its annual marching band competition this weekend. (Photo by Jim Swoboda)
By Kelly Arganbright
Kentwood Band and Orchestra Boosters
The competition will be intense down on the football field, with a stadium full of cheering fans, at East Kentwood High School Saturday, Oct. 21. Uniformed players will be suited up in their school colors, every movement planned, with the sole focus of trying for the best performance of the season. It’ll be a lot like the games you see in every stadium across America, except for one thing, there will be no football.
In fact, this is no game at all. This event is the East Kentwood High School Falcon Marching Band Invitational, a marching band competition, and it’s happening from 2:30-10 p.m.
It is a musical extravaganza and one of the biggest marching band shows in West Michigan, with 20 high school bands from around West Michigan slated to compete for top honors.
People who have never been to a marching band competition, can liken the experience to watching twenty, football game, halftime shows. Bands are classified according to school size and compete in their respective classes. Each band’s performance has its own chosen theme with related music that they perform with synchronized, choreographed movements. This is no small task, when you consider some of these bands are in excess of 200 members. That’s a lot of moving parts and instruments! The result is a performance that is impressive to hear and watch.
And, the view should be spectacular. East Kentwood boasts the highest vantage point of any high school stadium in West Michigan. A very important detail, considering when it comes to marching bands, the higher a person is in the stadium, the better the view of the performance they will have.
People should plan to come out and spend the day. There will be a plenty of food and drinks available at the concession stand, so spectators will not have to miss a single performance.
Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors and age 5 and under are free. All proceeds benefit the EKHS instrumental music programs.
Here is the performance line up:
Class D
2:30 PM Brandywine High School
2:45 PM Bridgman High School
3:00 PM Pewamo-Westphalia High School
3:15 PM Gobles High School
3:30 PM Break
Class C
3:45 PM Freemont High School
4:00 PM Oakridge High School
4:15 PM Parchment High School
4:30 PM Whitehall High School
4:45 PM Dowagiac High School
5:00 PM Lakewood High School
5:15 PM Break
Class B
5:45 PM Kenowa Hills High School
6:00 PM Ionia High School
6:15 PM Charlotte High School
6:30 PM Vicksburg High School
6:45 PM Spring Lake High School
7:00 PM Break
Class A
7:30 PM Wyoming High School
7:45 PM Kalamazoo Central High School
8:00 PM Olivet High School A
8:15 PM Portage Central High School
Exhibition
8:30 PM East Kentwood High School
9:00 PM Awards Ceremony
(Photos attached to file. Photo credit to Jim Swoboda.)
Just a month short of the four-year mark when the City of Wyoming first introduced the concept of 28 West, city officials will gather with city leaders and business representatives to celebrate the the project that lead to the completion of the first half of the road.
This Saturday, Oct. 21, there will be a ribbon-cutting and grand re-opening celebration of the 28 West Place, formerly Wyoming Village Mall, at 1:30 p.m. with additional events to follow. The ribbon cutting ceremony is hosted by the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce.
“This is a hallmark change in the corridor here that we have been hoping for a number of years…” said Mayor Jack Poll.
The 28 West sign located in front of the former Studio 28 property. Construction for the 28 West project will actually start just east on the Wyoming Mall property.
In 2013, the City of Wyoming adopted a plan for the reimagine of the south side of 28th Street between Clyde Park and Burlingame avenues in to a mixed-use town center utilizing form-based code, which provides flexibility to developers. A key element to the 28 West concept was the construction of a curving slip street which would become the center’s new “main street.” The street was designed to run from the south side of 28th Street across from Hook Avenue to Jenkins Avenue, which runs next to the former Klingman/Rogers Department Store building. Because the plan involved demolition of buildings on privately held property, city officials knew it would take some time to get all parties on board with the plan.
Jumping forward to 2016 when Meyer C. Weiner Company, which owns 28 West Place, approached the city about renovation plans for the mall property which was originally developed in 1962 and known as Southland Mall. Those plans included 20,000 square feet of new entry efficient building space and two out-lot buildings of approximately 11,000 square feet, long with significant property improvements to upgrade the existing retail center and its surface parking lot.
Seeing the opportunity to move forward with the 28 West Street plan, the City of Wyoming officials entered into a $1.6 million agreement with Meyer C. Weiner Company so as to move forward with the first phase of the 28 West Street project from Hook Avenue to Michael Avenue. This past week, the City Council finalized some of the details by placing an all-the-way stop sign at the 28 West Place service drive along the west side of the mall.
“We are excited to commemorate this first stage of redevelopment,” said Megan Sall, assistant city manager and Downtown Development Authority director. “There are so many opportunities inherent in this area and we’re pleased to have a partner in Meyer C. Weiner Company as we set the stage for future growth.”
Overview of the new 2 West Place with the 28 West Street.
Matthew McDade, chief operating officer for the Meyer C. Weiner Company, also points to partnerships as being key to this project’s success. “The Meyer C. Weiner Company would like to thank all the staff and officials at the City of Wyoming who worked extremely hard to make this redevelopment possible, along with the stakeholders for the successful completion of this project.”
As the renovation project got underway, Mr. Alan’s, a clothing store, leased a 5,400-square-foot out-lot building and opened in June. Other new tenants include CSL Plasma which opened in April, and Simply 10, a clothing store, is expected to opening late October. The current tenants of 28 West Place also include a Save-A-Lot, DollarTree, Payless Shoes, and the children’s consignment store Once Upon a Child.
28 West Place retailers will be hosting a series of events from 2 – 4 p.m. which include the Grand Rapids Drive’s mascot Buckets, signed Red Wings photos, face-painting for kids, a live remote with 95.7 WLHT and WKTV also will be there as well.
Long-time Wyoming area high school basketball coach Thom Vander Klay, shown coaching. (Supplied)
By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Long-time Wyoming are high school basketball coach Thom Vander Klay was recently recognized for 305 varsity victories at the Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Banquet in the Detroit.
A game televised by WKTV with East Kentwood High School’s boys basketball team at Wyoming. (WKTV)
While he was unable attend in person, Vander Klay was inducted into the 300+ Varsity Century Club at the BCAM Hall-of-Fame/Clinic week-end, held Oct. 14-15 at Oakland University in Auburn Hills.
“The award is mostly a longevity award,” Vander Klay said in an interview with WKTV Journal. “I love teaching and coaching and have done it a long time, so a few wins will happen along the way.”
Vander Klay been coaching prep basketball for more than 30 years, with his first 10 as Wyoming Park’s junior varsity coach and the next 21 as a its varsity head coach. He became Wyoming’s head coach after Park and Rogers high schools merged in 2012. he is a member of the Wyoming Public Schools Hall of Fame.
“I have had some Hall of Fame caliber mentors when I attended Wyoming Park and first began teaching, including Jack VerDuin, Rich Renzema, Frank Grimm, Dick Locke, Kelly McEwen and Ron Engels,” he said. “We have also had so many gifted players with great work ethic who were driven to compete and reach their potential. To name even a few of those kids would take a long time!”
Vander Klay is a 1982 Park High School graduate, and a 1986 Hope College graduate.
He has guided the Wyoming varsity basketball teams to nine Academic All-State teams, seven conference championships, four district championships, a regional championship, and a state Final Four. In all, 27 of 32 teams have been in the top three in the conference.
He has three times been named Regional Coach of the Year, The Detroit News state Coach of the Year in 2004, and the MLive Best Coach 2016, and West Michigan Officials Association Coach Of the Year 2017.
But he made clear his staff deserves as much credit as he for the 300-plus wins.
“Our basketball staff has been outstanding,” Vander Klay said. “Professional educators such as Jerry Haggerty, John Robinson, Craig VanVliet, Brett Dyke, Craig Neitzel, Kirk Kambestad, Jacob Underhill, Abbey Czarniecki, Bernard Varnesdeel and Chris Hose have worked tirelessly in years past to give our kids the leadership they need to become quality young men.
“Bernard is currently our program assistant coach, and Jacob and Chris are still coaching our younger teams. Volunteers such as Jason Bleyerveld and Scott DeYoung have given much of their time and energy to our program for many years.”
Ultimately, though, Vander Klay credits the “atmosphere” in Wyoming as being a big reason for the program’s success.
Thom Vander Klay, coaching. (Supplied)
“I am fortunate to be able to teach and coach in Wyoming where the parents, students, and school work together to make sure our kids have opportunities to be successful. Our parents not only allow the coaches to have high demands on their sons to be developed as young men. Tough love is the expectation from our parents which allows us to coach their sons hard and demand they compete.”
And, after all, Wyoming his coach’s home.
“My parents still live here, my siblings and I went to school here (Wyoming Park), I live here, my kids went to school here,” he said. “This is a great place to work, raise a family, and go to school. We have so great teachers and coaches who really care about the kids and work hard to make sure they have an opportunity to be successful.”
Paul Haan, of the Health Homes Coalition of West Michigan, on the set of WKTV Journal: In Focus/ (WKTV)
WKTV Staff
news@wktv.org
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal: In Focus, WKTV’s public affairs show, program host Ken Norris talks with Paul Haan of Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan, a group which works to identify and address environmental health hazards in homes with young children, including lead poisoning.
“We were founded 11 years ago this summer and really grew out of a community response to the number of kids who were exposed to lead poisoning here in Kent County,” Haan said. “Our mission at that point was to end lead poisoning in Kent County — we are well on our way, we have more work to do, but that is what we were after. … the Health Homes Coalition grew out of that effort.”
Also on the new program is a discussion with Ethan Anderson, a local financial advisor with a common sense approach to retirement planning. The discussion focuses on retirement planning for the today’s young working families, and it just begins with why company pensions are almost a thing of the past.
The episode will air twice this week on WKTV channels but all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVVideos.
“WKTV Journal: In Focus” will air on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 6:30 p.m., on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel.
The high school football season has gone past way too quickly, and we are already to the final week of the regular season week, but once again WKTV’s featured coverage will have a great matchup as South Christian travels to East Grand Rapids.
South Christian and Grand Rapids Christian each are just a game behind EGR, which is trying to complete a perfect season. With a win though South will get a share of what could be “tri-champions in the OK Gold.”
Elsewhere in the area, Kelloggsville, with their big win over Belding last week, assured themselves of at least a share of the OK Silver championship. The team can clinch the sole championship with a final week victory against Hopkins, which will come into the game with a 4-4 overall record.
With the Godwin Heights victory last week over NorthPointe Christian, the team guaranteed themselves of being a part of the MHSAA playoffs by getting to the 6-win mark.
East Kentwood needs to get a final week victory at home against Caledonia to make it into the playoffs after their defeat last week at Rockford. The Falcons record is 5-3 but they have yet to defeat a team with a winning record so they might not make it as an “at-large” team with only the five wins.
The playoff matchups for all eight divisions will be announced Sunday evening, after the final Friday of games.
Planned WKTV featured coverage this month includes:
Friday, Oct. 20, football — South Christian at East Grand Rapids
Friday, Oct. 27, football – Playoffs TBD (after games of Oct. 20)
Currently, WKTV sports events will be broadcast the night of the game on Comcast Channel 25, usually at 11 p.m., and repeated on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/
Local high school sports events this week are as follows:
Monday, Oct. 16
Boys/girls Cross Country
South Christian @ East Grand Rapids
Boys Soccer
Everett @ Wyoming – MHSAA Districts
Wyoming Lee vs TBD – MHSAA Districts
Godwin Heights vs TBD @ Christian – MHSAA Districts
TBD @ East Kentwood – MHSAA Districts
Tuesday, Oct. 17
Girls Volleyball
South Christian @ East Grand Rapids
Wayland @ Wyoming – Dig Pink
Wellsprings Prep @ Zion Christian
East Kentwood @ Grandville
Holland Calvary @ Tri-Unity Christian
Boys/girls Cross Country
Wyoming @ East Grand Rapids
Wyoming Lee @ Calvin Christian
Godwin @ Calvin Christian
Kelloggsville @ Calvin Christian
Boys Soccer
Zion Christian @ Calvin Christian – MHSAA Districts
Wednesday, Oct. 18
Boys Soccer
Godwin Heights vs TBD @ Christian – MHSAA Districts
East Kentwood vs TBD @ FH Central – MHSAA Districts
Thursday, Oct. 19
Girls Swimming
South Christian @ Wayland
East Kentwood @ Rockford
Girls Volleyball
Middleville T-K @ South Christian
Wyoming Lee @ NorthPointe Christian
Union @ Kelloggsville
Zion Christian @ West Michigan Aviation
Calvin Christian @ Godwin Heights
East Kentwood @ West Ottawa
Holland Black River @ Tri-Unity Christian
Boys/girls Cross Country
East Kentwood @ Rockford
Friday, Oct. 20
Boys Football
South Christian @ East Grand Rapids – WKTV Featured Game
Forest Hills Eastern @ Wyoming – Community Night
Godwin Heights @ Wyoming Lee
Hopkins @ Kelloggsville
Caledonia @ East Kentwood
Belding @ Potter’s House/Calvin Christian
Boys Water Polo
East Kentwood vs TBD @ West Ottawa – MHSAA Districts
Saturday, Oct. 21
Boys/girls Cross Country
South Christian @ Kalamazoo Christian
Kelloggsville @ Gobles
Girls Volleyball
Wyoming @ Hesperia
Wyoming Lee @ Belding
Godwin Heights @ Belding
Kelloggsville @ Belding
Zion Christian – Alliance League Tournament @ Davenport
Tri-Unity Christian – Alliance League Tournament @ Davenport
Boys Soccer
Godwin vs TBD @ Christian – MHSAA Districts
East Kentwood vs TBD @ FH Central – MHSAA Districts
Boys Water Polo
East Kentwood vs TBD @ West Ottawa – MHSAA Districts
Many have probably seen the animated ad with the house running away from its owner. The ad is for the state run program Step Forward Michigan, a federally funded program designed to help homeowners facing foreclosure. A program, Kent County Treasurer Kenneth Parrish strongly supports.
“I’m a big supporter of the Step Forward Michigan program,” Parrish said during a recent news conference that brought together county treasurers for Kent, Ottawa and Kalamazoo counties along with representatives from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. THE MSHDA oversees the Step Forward Michigan program in collaboration with the Michigan Homeowner Assistance nonprofit Housing Corporation.
“Since 2010, the program has helped nearly 1,700 Kent County residents with over $15 million in loans making us the fourth largest user of the program,” Parrish said, adding that of that about $13.9 million was used to cover mortgage payments, $1.2 million for unpaid property taxes and another $15,000 for condominium payments.
From the Step Forward Michigan video.
Federal funded with $500 million, almost 35,000 Michigan homeowners have qualified for around $308 million in loans since the program started seven years ago. There is about $40 million left to help eligible households but the clock is ticking as the deadline to apply is 2020.
“The Step Forward Program offers great opportunities for families to stabilize their situation and to save their homes,” Parrish said. “We take no pleasure on foreclosing on homes here in Kent County. If you have fallen behind in your property tax, mortgage or condominium payments, I urge you to check out the Step Forward Michigan Program and see if you can get a load that will ultimately help you keep your home.”
Those who have been hit with a hardship – medical event, job loss or underemployment, death, divorce, one-time critical out-of-pocket expense – can get up to a $30,000 interest-free loan to get caught up on property tax, mortgage or condo payments. If the homeowner stays in the home for five years, the loan is forgiven and they do not have to pay back the loan, according to MSHDA Executive Director Earl Poleski.
Kent County Treasurer Kenneth Parrish talks about the Step Forward Michigan program at a recent news conference.
To qualify for assistance, a homeowner must be a Michigan resident, have an ownership interest in the property and be able to sign a new mortgage lien on property, occupy property as his or her primary resident, have enough income to cover the mortgage, condo association fees, and/or property tax payments going forward, and have cash reserves no greater than $10,000.
Any homeowner convicted in the past 10 years on a financial-related felony, including larceny, theft, fraud, forgery, money laundering and/or tax evasion, is not eligible for the program.
A homeowner can receive a loan only once from the program. The average loan amount has been $7,383. Loan payments go directly to the county treasurers office, mortgage lender or condominium association, not to the homeowner
According to state officials, the process to find out if a home owner is eligible is easier than filling out a full mortgage application. Those interested can go to StepForwardMichigan.org and fill out the questions to see if they are eligible or call 866-946-7432.
Kent County residents can also reach out to the Inner City Christian Federation or ICCF at 616-336-9333 or the Home Repair Services of Kent County at 616-241-2601.
Funny things are everywhere: Rachel Turner, Samantha Miheve, Aaron Siebelink and Jared Martin are in Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s “Seussical the Musical.”
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Horton Hears a Who.
You can easily say that Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, was definitely a man before his time. The words he penned in the late 1960s (“Horton Hears a Who” was published in 1970) have become almost a mantra for today as we celebrate the uniqueness every person offers.
“People come in all shapes and sizes,” said Jared Martin, a 10th grader at East Kentwood High School. “People are unique and we should celebrate that from the smallest of the small to the tallest of the tall.”
Starting Oct. 20, Martin, as Cat in the Hat, along with 29 other castmates celebrate the woods of wisdom of Dr. Seuss in the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s family production of “Seussical the Musical” at the theater’s downtown location of 30 N. Division Ave.
Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one: The four local residents in Grand Rapids Civic Theatre goof around backstage after rehearsal.
“It’s bright and happy and I think that is something that we all need right now,” said Wyoming resident Rachel Turner, who plays a Bird Girl in the production. “It’s light, it’s crazy, and there is fun in everything you do. It’s a happy production with an elegant, good message.”
In Dr. Seuss’s writing he covered so many different topics, bullying, drug abuse, child abandonment, Martin said. Many of which are covered in the musical which blends several of Dr. Seuss’s most famous stories together. The elephant Horton (from “Horton Hears a Who”) discovers a speck of dust that contains Whoville. He meets Jo Jo, a Who child sent to military school for thinking too many “thinks.” Horton faces a double challenge: not only must he protect Jo Jo and the Who’s from a world of naysayers and dangers, but he must guard an abandoned egg, left in his care by the irresponsible Mayzie La Bird. All of which is narrated by the Cat in the Hat.
“I love the opening song ‘All the Things You can Think’,” said Wyoming resident Samantha Miheve, a 10th grader at Grand Rapids City High School who plays a Who. “It’s the first thing you see and it is so lively and fun and really sets the stage.” With Wyoming resident Aaron Siebelink, an 11th grader who is homeschooled and plays a Wickersham Brother, adding “It’s like getting hit in the face with a happy brick.”
But that is Dr. Seuss. The topics are serious, but the way he presents them are fun and light, Turner said, adding that it is what has made him such a classic but still relevant today.
Seussing it up: Rachel Turner, Aaron Siebelink, Samantha Miheve, all from Wyoming, and Jared Martin, from Kentwood.
“It’s going be the most fun you ever had,” Siebelink said. “It’s weird. It’s wild. It’s Dr. Seuss.”
The Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s family production is a shorter version of “Seussical the Musical,” only 70 minutes with no intermission. There are nine shows from Oct. 20 – 29. Tickets are $16 – $10. For more information, calll 616-222-6650 or visit www.GRCT.org. There is a low sensory performance available for children with low sensory needs and their families. Call Chelsea at the Civic Theatre, 616-222-6650, ext. 0.
About 6,000 children, parents, and grandparents attended the Wyoming Pumpkin Path last year.
It’s time to get the kids together and pull out your favorite costume because Pumpkin Path is right around the corner!
The City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department is excited to once again host the 14th annual Pumpkin Path – a free event for kids and families on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW. The event will be held from 4-6 p.m. Local businesses, clubs and organizations will host spaces along the path and will hand out candy, coupons and other goodies.
“Pumpkin Path was created to be a fun, safe, family-friendly event for the fall, providing an alternative to traditional Halloween events,” said Rebecca Rynbrandt, director of community services for the City of Wyoming. “Pumpkin Path gives families the perfect opportunity to interact with neighborhood businesses while enjoying the outdoors, Lamar Park and the beauty of the fall season.”
Not only should children expect to receive treats, they should also look forward to a DJ and dancing, jumping in the bounce house and games. Participants are welcome to come in costume or in regular clothes.
At last year’s Pumpkin Path event, 65 local businesses and organizations and more than 6,000 children, parents, grandparents and friends attended.
WKTV will continue its featured high school sports coverage this month as fall sports wrap up and winter sports are on the horizon. The WKTV crew will be bringing the viewers not only the featured football game of the week, but once again will showcase other sports including girls swimming along with boys water polo during October. Planned coverage this month includes:
Friday, Oct. 13, football — Belding at Kelloggsville
Saturday, Oct. 14, boys water polo — at East Kentwood
Friday, Oct. 20, football — South Christian at East Grand Rapids
Friday, Oct. 27, football – Playoffs TBD (after games of Oct. 20
Currently, WKTV sports events will be broadcast the night of the game on Comcast Channel 25, usually at 11 p.m., and repeated on Saturday at 11 a.m. on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99 in Wyoming & Kentwood.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and features on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/
Local high school sports events this week are as follows:
Monday, Oct. 9
Girls Golf
South Christian – Ernie Popiel Invite @ Egypt Valley
East Kentwood – Ernie Popiel Invite @ Egypt Valley
Boys Soccer
Hudsonville @ East Kentwood
Boys Water Polo
Zeeland East @ East Kentwood
Tuesday, Oct. 10
Girls Golf
Hudsonville @ South Christian
Girls Volleyball
South Christian @ Wayland
East Grand Rapids @ Wyoming
Zion Christian @ Potter’s House
West Michigan Aviation @ Tri-Unity Christian
Boys Soccer
Covenant Christian @ South Christian
Wyoming @ Christian
Wyoming Lee @ Godwin Heights
Kelloggsville @ Hopkins
Zion Christian @ Potter’s House
Grand River Prep @ Kalamazoo Heritage
West Michigan Aviation @ Tri-Unity Christian – Senior Night
Boys/girls Cross Country
Wyoming @ Saranac
Wednesday, Oct. 11
Girls Golf
South Christian – MHSAA Regionals @ Quail Ridge
Boys/girls Cross Country
Godwin Heights @ Wyoming Lee
Kelloggsville @ Wyoming Lee
Boys Soccer
Rockford @ East Kentwood
Thursday, Oct. 12
Girls Swimming
South Christian @ West Ottawa
Grand Haven @ East Kentwood
Boys Soccer
FH Eastern @ South Christian
Middleville T-K @ Wyoming
Wyoming Lee @ NorthPointe Christian
Potter’s House @ Kelloggsville
Calvin Christian @ Godwin Heights
Zion Christian @ Heritage Christian
Grand River Prep @ Wellsprings
Algoma Christian @ West Michigan Aviation
Tri-Unity Christian @ Fruitport Calvary
Girls Volleyball
South Christian @ GR Christian
Wyoming @ FH Eastern
Godwin Heights @ Wyoming Lee
Hopkins @ Kelloggsville
Zion Christian @ Heritage Christian
Tri-Unity Christian @ Fruitport Calvary
Boys Tennis
East Kentwood @ Holland – MHSAA Regionals
Friday, Oct. 13
Boys Football
Middleville T-K vs South Christian @ Grandville
Greenville @ Wyoming – Homecoming
Wyoming Lee @ Hopkins
NorthPointe Christian @ Godwin Heights
Belding @ Kelloggsville – WKTV Featured Game
East Kentwood @ Rockford
Leroy Pine River @ Potter’s House/Calvin Christian
Boys Soccer
West Michigan Aviation @ Wyoming Lee
Saturday, Oct. 14
Boys Football
Tri-Unity Christian @ Grand Traverse Academy
Girls Volleyball
South Christian @ Troy
Wyoming Lee @ Godwin Heights – Pink Out
@ East Kentwood – EK Invitational
Boys/girls Cross Country
Wyoming Lee, Kelloggsville, East Kentwood and Tri-Unity Christian @ Grand Rapids Christian – Kent-Ottawa Invite
Girls Swimming
East Kentwood – MISCA Meet
Boys Water Polo
@ East Kentwood – EK – Mini Tournament – WKTV Featured Event
Monday, Oct. 16
Boys/girls Cross Country
South Christian @ East Grand Rapids
Boys Soccer
Everett @ Wyoming – MHSAA Districts
Wyoming Lee vs TBD – MHSAA Districts
Godwin Heights vs TBD @ Christian – MHSAA Districts
Lexis Pearson was a self-described troublemaker when she was in seventh grade. Her poor choices led her to the office of social worker Brooke Davis.
But by her junior year, Pearson had turned herself around to the point of being named an Alpha Wolf 11, a character recognition from her high school for being an “11 on a scale of 10” in the areas of kindness, compassion and graciousness.
She said the role Davis played in helping her change was huge. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have graduated high school,” Pearson said. “She was that little bit of motivation I needed; actually she was a lot of motivation.”
Pearson, who graduated from Wyoming High School in the spring, is one of many students Davis has impacted over the years as a school social worker. Now splitting time between Kelloggsville and Kenowa Hills public schools — and, on top of that, providing consulting services for educators — Davis’ presence in the lives of young people, like Lexis, is having a wider impact.
Fellow educators say that what Davis does, for any student, in any way they can benefit, is steer them in the right direction. She offers a listening ear, helping hand, sage advice or just information to get them where they need to go.
Spreading Her Influence
Davis started her career as a counselor in Kelloggsville in 2004. She has returned to the district part-time as a social worker and trainer at 54th Street Academy, which serves students from several Kent County districts. She also works part-time as a social worker at Alpine and Zinser Elementary schools, in Kenowa Hills.
Brooke Davis discusses goals with a student in her 54th Street Academy office. (School News Network)
“Kelloggsville is so excited to have Brooke Davis back,” said Assistant Superintendent Tammy Savage. “Brooke has such a passion for working with students, staff and families and this comes through in everything she does. … Having Brooke back is just like finding a long-lost friend or relative; they have come home and everyone’s life is better because of it.”
When she’s not working with students, Davis is training staff members in various districts through her company, BTD Consulting, on how to reduce suspensions in their buildings. (Not one to shy away from work, she also works retail at Younkers department store.)
She said her roles are about being a servant leader in every aspect of her life. “You always have more to give,” Davis said. “I love being back at Kelloggsville because it gives me the opportunity to work with economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse students. It is really hitting that passion that I have.”
Her passion developed over time. Davis, originally from Detroit, received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Aquinas College. “I thought I was going to be a speaker and urban planner,” she said.
But when she began working at St. John’s Home (now D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s), which offered residential care for foster children, she fell in love with the work. She decided to return to Grand Valley State University for a master’s in social work. At St. John’s, she connected with a Kelloggsville principal who hired her to work as a counselor. Over the next five years she worked at the elementary and middle school levels there, then for 11 years at Wyoming Public Schools at the elementary and secondary levels.
Last year she joined the staff at Kenowa Hills and started her consulting firm to work with principals, superintendents and teachers to set up systems concerning student behavior, and to teach them how to look at data to address behavior.
Many students have a hard time re-acclimating to school after they are suspended, she said, which puts them at a higher risk for dropping out. “The nice thing about Kelloggsville is we still have an alternative program that really seeks to get those students into school, and to know the barriers that keep them from learning in a traditional program. It helps them overcome those barriers so they can transition back into a traditional program.”
Brooke Davis sits down with junior Sky Hommerson to help her get back on track in school (School News Network)
The Ability to Connect
Davis said she was raised by good role models, but can relate to students with whom she works. Her parents emphasized education and demonstrated a great work ethic. Still, “I was a little tough as a kid — with really no reason to be be tough — but I was very verbose. I had two parents that loved me, and a great education, but coming from the city of Detroit, I want kids to have those same things that I had.”
At Kenowa, Davis works with the elementary students and does it well, said Alpine Elementary Principal Jason Snyder. “She is phenomenal,” he said. “The thing with Brooke is she has a passion for kids that is unmatched.”
She steps up to meet the needs of every child she works with, going “above and beyond” to make sure that child is successful. “She’s inspiring to me and pushes me to be a better leader,” Snyder said.
‘Little, Life-Changing Things’
Davis said she loves her jobs because she wants to serve others, to share knowledge and resources. That’s the “why” of it: “If you call me and I have it, I’m going to give it you,” she said.
That mentality is what made the difference for Lexis Pearson, the Wyoming grad who now is a certified nursing assistant and works in a nursing home. “To repay Brooke, I would have to give her the world,” she said.
Davis showed her possibilities. Pearson said she had a rocky life at home and was looking at the future through a narrow lens. “I grew up in a rough neighborhood. For me to see an African-American woman who was this successful … She is my inspiration.”
Brooke was just always present, she said. “When trouble came to find me, she was there to redirect me and let me know that the choices I was making were poor.
“It was the little things that counted,” she added. “Little things that, for me, were life changing.”
Check out School News Network for more stories about students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan.
Local state Sen. Peter MacGregor was one of the state lawmakers who discussed no-fault insurance law reform at Monday’s chamber Government Matters meeting. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The Michigan House of Representatives and Senate are both at work tackling reform of the state’s no-fault auto insurance law, but there are no quick fixes or easy solutions local legislators said at the October’s Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Government Matters meetings.
The monthly meeting brings together government leaders of all levels to discuss issues of importance and presents those discussions through WKTV’s live, delayed and on-demand broadcasts.
At the Monday, Oct. 9, meeting at Kentwood City Hall, state representatives Tommy Brann and Steve Johnson, and state senators Tonya Schuitmaker and Peter MacGregor, each discussed the issue as part of a session that included a local insurance businessperson addressing the government panel.
“I have been working on this issue since 2011,” MacGregor said. “It doesn’t seem like it is complicated, but it is … it is a battle.”
Among the competing interests in any overhaul of the current auto insurance system, which has produced some of the highest rates in the country, are not only the cost to the average insurance customer but also the sometimes conflicting interests of insurance companies, medical providers and trial lawyers. And the problem what to do with uninsured, unlicensed motorists hangs over the reform efforts as well.
At times, the issue seems almost too big to handle in a single act of reform, but, MacGregor pointed out: “Maybe we eat this elephant one bite at a time.”
Among the other multi-level government discussions topics at the meeting were the the status of federal tax reform, the planned grand opening of the City of Wyoming’s 28 West development (set for later this month), and the Kent County and the State of Michigan’s emergency management plans.
The Chamber’s Government Matters meetings include representatives of the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming, Kent County, local Michigan House of Representatives and Senate, and, often, representatives of other regional, State of Michigan and Federal elected officials. The next meeting will be Nov. 13 at Kentwood City Hall.
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 Cable Channel 25. Replays are also available online at WKTV’s government meetings on-demand page (wktv.viebit.com) and on the chamber’s Facebook page.
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mi.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, in an Oct. 5 press release, announced more than $1.8 million will be come to the state to support specialty crop growers who produce fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery plants, and flowers.
The funds come from a U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Specialty Crop Block Grant Program award of $1,805,339 million to support 19 projects throughout the state.
“Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables are not only a source of great pride — they are also critical to our state’s diverse agricultural economy,” Sen. Stabenow said. “This new support will help Michigan farmers get their products off the farm and onto our plates.”
Each of the 19 projects are targeted to help specialty crop growers sell more products locally and globally, protect crops from pests and diseases, and market products to be competitive. Grant recipients include the Cherry Marketing Institute, Michigan Apple Committee, Grow Eastern Market, Michigan Carrot Committee, Michigan Vegetable Council, and Michigan Wine Collaborative, among others.
In 2008, Senator Stabenow authored the first ever fruits and vegetables section of a Farm Bill to provide support for so-called “specialty crops” which includes fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery products and floriculture. These crops are critical to the state’s diverse agricultural economy, as Michigan leads the nation in producing a wider variety of crops than any state other than California.
Rep. Huizenga touts his vote on balanced federal budget plan
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, shown on the set of “WKTV Journal: In Focus” recently. (WKTV)
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-2nd District) released the following statement on Oct. 5 after voting to balance the federal budget in 10 years, reduce the deficit by $6.5 trillion, and lay the groundwork to provide tax relief for hardworking families and small businesses in West Michigan:
“With our nation’s debt surpassing a whopping $20 trillion, not only do we need to cut spending and reform government, we must also grow our economy. The budget passed today by the House achieves all three of these objectives by balancing in 10 years, reducing the deficit by $6.5 trillion, and laying the groundwork to enact tax relief for hardworking families,” Rep. Huizenga said in the statement.
“By reforming our nation’s outdated tax code small businesses can create more jobs, employees can receive bigger paychecks, and we can reduce our debt and deficits faster. Lastly, this budget seeks to reduce waste by eliminating $700 billion in improper payments made by the federal government with instructions for Congress to identify an additional $203 billion in mandatory savings and reforms.”
Sen. Peters supports review of IRS’s contract with security-marred Equifax
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mi.)
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mi.), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management, in an Oct. 5 press release, announced he had joined eight of his colleagues in a letter demanding further scrutiny of the Internal Revenue Service’s decision to award Equifax a sole-source contract to verify taxpayer identities and help prevent tax fraud. This, despite the company’s recent disclosure of a massive cybersecurity breach exposing the personal information of as many as 145.5 million Americans.
“By awarding this no-bid contract, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is paying Equifax $7.25 million in taxpayer money to protect the very same taxpayers from an identity theft risk that Equifax helped create,” the letter stated. “The decision to award this contract to protect the identities of taxpayers and the integrity of federal tax dollars in light of Equifax’s recent and severe breach of the public trust is highly concerning.”
In September, Equifax disclosed a cybersecurity breach that potentially exposed the sensitive personal information of more than 145 million consumers, including Social Security numbers, home addresses, and driver’s license numbers. Equifax had known about the breach for months, but did not publicly disclose it until September.
In the interest of protecting taxpayers’ money, the senators urged IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to explain why Equifax was awarded the sole-source contract in light of this cybersecurity breach.
