High school students have learned many interesting tidbits about the residents they are getting to know at American House Senior Living Community in Kentwood.
Each resident has a story, they’ve learned: Betty Reynolds was the first teacher at Battle Creek Christian School; Lois Laffey was a pilot. Margie Halstead is an artist who has 10 children, 35 grandchildren and 53 great-grandchildren. Margaret Gazella’s husband had to leave on their wedding day to fight in World War II.
“I love talking to the residents,” said Kelloggsville freshman Miles Thomas-Mohammad, while crafting glittery cardboard flowers with several ladies, and learning even more details about their lives. “They are so nice.”
They’ve learned other things as well while joining residents for crafts, games and snacks. Kelloggsvile senior Thu Nguyen, who is from Vietnam, said special moments happen over Bingo and just getting to know each other. “I want to make them feel happy so they don’t feel lonely,” she said.
And residents like it too. “It makes you feel young again,” said Elaine Wigger.
Added Ginger Kay, “It’s nice to have young people here, because they are so positive.”
Kelloggsville freshman Miles Thomas-Mohammad sets up crafts for senior citizens
A group of about eight Kelloggsville students, many who are English-language learners, visit the assisted-living and memory-care facilities monthly to spend time with seniors. Coordinated by EL teacher Susan Faulk, the volunteering opportunity is a way for students to give back and step out of their comfort zones and get to know others.
“The students gain patience and confidence as they work with the seniors,” Faulk said. “Many students are really shy and feel awkward around the seniors at first. I see their confidence grow as they realize that they are able to help someone else. I also see them having to learn patience, as a game of Skip-Bo and Rummikub can take a long time with a senior who has to think for a long time before taking action.”
For the past two years, Faulk has also coordinated a volunteer group at Women At Risk International Volunteer Center, a Grandville-based nonprofit organization that unites and educates women and children in areas of human trafficking and sexual slavery.
American House staff said the visits are very meaningful to residents.
Kelloggsville High School senior Dim Ciin eyes her Bingo board
“It’s always exciting to see people cross age barriers relationally,” said Susan Faulk’s husband, Steven Faulk, American House chaplain.
Activities assistant Betty Torres said the residents “love relating to the younger crowd. They have a lot of good stories to tell, our residents. They get so exited about a group coming in. It fulfills their whole being.”
Be sure to check out School News Network for more stories about our great students, schools, and faculty in West Michigan!
In the beginning, he was WKTV’s mascot, always cheerful and unassuming. He often stayed into the wee hours of the night after everyone else had gone home. For months, we marveled at his always-sunny, can-do attitude, which is no mean feat in today’s dangerously depressing world. No matter what, Nigel was consistent in his utterances and deeds.
Lesser folk would have run chittering from the building, but Nigel put up with the station’s less-than-ideal working conditions like a champ. Our station director’s temper tantrums didn’t faze Nigel. He tolerated the bizarre antics of our managing editor. Even the newest CJ reporter’s grammar Nazi tirades didn’t crack him.
Ironically, it was a well-deserved promotion that did him in.
In his capacity as station mascot, Nigel thrived and excelled. His attendance was exemplary. When things got crazy around here, his easy-going manner and uplifting chirps kept the station on course. And he never got in anyone’s way.
Then we began taking him for granted. As often happens with mild-mannered folk in the corporate realm, Nigel was overlooked for plum assignments. He seemed happy enough. His chirps seemed genuine. But at WKTV, we do not stand for the status quo. We celebrate each team member’s strengths and help them overcome their weaknesses.
I believe it was on a Wednesday we first realized that Nigel’s talents were being wasted in such a limited role. The community needed to know about him, about what he stood for, about his very existence. Nigel needed to be celebrated and exalted for his simplicity and love for nature. It was sure to be a win-win.
And so we promoted him to broadcasting associate.
There is always a learning curve with any new position, and Nigel put up a brave front. He appeared to soak up new knowledge like a sponge, and we coached him in his new role. But it soon became apparent that Nigel, for all of his seemingly extroverted traits, was an introvert at heart. In his new, highly visible role, Nigel faltered. He couldn’t bring himself to attend meetings. I remember seeing him once by a pipe close to the window, but when I tried to talk to him, he quickly escaped down a tiny black hole.
No amount of persuasion could entice Nigel to contribute to our on-air broadcasts. He began wandering around the office, unseen. But we heard him. He chirped incessantly.
In any other situation, one might have considered Nigel mentally ill, but we knew better. Nigel was a unique individual, and at WKTV, we celebrate diversity. However, when someone’s happiness is at stake, swift action is required.
And so Nigel returned to the position where he was happiest, as our mascot. Two days later, he disappeared.
We believe a wolf spider sealed poor Nigel’s fate.
Click here to listen to an interview with Nigel. (Before he went missing.)
APRIL FOOL’S!
Post-script: Nigel was real. He was the office cricket.
For a young pre-teen girl whose family was struggling to survive the Great Depression, baseball – specifically the teams that made up the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association – brought a little bit of hope to Marilyn Jenkins.
Jenkins was living on the south side of Grand Rapids in the 1940s, near the corner of Cass and Hall Street “which was about a long block and a railroad track from South Field where the ‘Chicks’ played,” she said during a 2008 interview for the documentary “A Team of Their Own: The First Professional Baseball League for Women.” There is a screening of the documentary set for Wednesday, March 23, at noon at Grand Valley State University, 1 Campus Dr., Allendale. Also on Wednesday, March 23, at 8 p.m. and again Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m., WKTV will be airing “Women in Baseball, a Veterans Oral History Special,” featuring a panel of women who played on the Grand Rapids Chicks during World War II.
For Jenkins, baseball was the one thing she had to do. “I knew there was no money to go to college. There weren’t scholarships and all that business, and in what? I wasn’t qualified,” she said. “I was a good student in hight school [Jenkins attend South High School], but anyway, I had to play ball.”
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was started by Philip Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, during World War II to fill the void left by the departure of most of the male baseball players for military service. Female players were recruited from across the country, and the league was successful enough to be able to continue on after the war. The league had teams based in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, and operated between 1943 and 1954. The 1954 season ended with only the Fort Wayne, South Bend, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and Rockford teams remaining. The League gave more than 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball. Many of the players went on to successful careers, and the league itself provided an important precedent for later efforts to promote women’s sports.
For Jenkins, who developed her love of the game through her father, the experience was profound. She went from helping with the grounds at age 11 to batgirl at age 13 to playing for the team right out of high school. She would be one of the last players when the league ended in 1954. Jenkins would stay in Grand Rapids, earning an associate degree to become a radiologist and later working in an attorney’s office.
Jenkins said she enjoyed her time as a “Chick” and has continued as a member of the AAGPBL, but knew at some point it would end.
“…there were good ball players, but there are today too, but the skirts, the uniform, the time, it’s in a little pocket of history, where it fit in perfectly and I don’t know where you’re going to find another pocket like that…,” she said.
For more on the documentary “A Team of Their Own: The first Professional Baseball League for Women” visit gvsu.edu/wibdoc. For the full interviews with the AAGPBL players, visit www.gvsu.edu/vethistory. For WKTV programming, visit wktk.org.
With spring just around the corner, a time when many people take advantage of the warmer weather and head outdoors, the City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department is hosting the first ever Wyoming Community Health & Wellness Expo Saturday, March 5.
“Spring is a great time to focus on health and wellness,” said Rebecca Rynbrandt, director of community services for the City of Wyoming. “This event was created to inspire the community to prioritize their well-being, and connect them to local resources.
The free event will run from 1 – 3 pm. at the Wyoming Senior Center, 2380 DeHoop Ave. SW. About 20 different businesses, clubs and organizations from the Wyoming area will host tables and hand out samples, coupons, and other goodies. Fitness demonstrations, nutritious snacks, speakers, and health screenings will be some of the activities.
The Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department will be offering a sampling of its fitness programs such as yoga, Zumba and line dancing, said Valarie Mester, a recreation programmer for the department.
“We offer a number of programs through our offerings at the senior center and through our youth and family programs,” Mester said, adding this is a chance for people to try these programs and see what they are like.
Also on hand will be Shape for Life Studios, 1290 36th St. SW. Through its partnership with the recreation department, Shape for Life Studios offers spin classes and personal training. Mester said the studio representatives will be bringing in spin bikes for participants to try. Another recreation department partner is Metro Health, which will be providing health information.
Several other city departments will be at the expo such as the city’s water department, which will be covering the topic of clean water, and both the fire and police departments will be on hand to talk about related health and safety issues.
“It’s really about getting people more active, thinking about the food that they are eating and making sure they are visiting their physicians for regular check ups and screenings,” Mester said.
While a brand new event, Mester said organizers are expecting between 200 to 400 participants this year which is based on the number of current participants in the Parks and Recreation Department’s programs.
“The event is free and open to anyone, both residents and non-residents,” Mester said.
For more about the Wyoming Community Health and Wellness Expo or other programs offered by the City of Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department, visit www.wyomingmi.gov or call 616-530-3164.
Kalamazoo’s Big Boss Blues makes its first Concerts in the Park appearance this year.
After that brief encounter of chilly weather this past week, about everyone’s thoughts have turned to warmer weather. Well here’s something to warm you up: there is only 105 days before Wyoming’s Concerts in the Park returns to Lamar Park.
O.K., so it is a little more than three months, but to put together a 10-week concert series, the planning has to start almost when the last series ended. The Wyoming Community Enrichment Commission, which oversees the series, has been hard at work, lining up the performers for the 2016 Concerts in the Park and even have begun releasing a few teasers as to who is coming on the Wyoming Concerts in the Park Facebook page.
“We like to say that we are continuing the tradition of good entertainment at Lamar Park,” said Brandon Simmons, who is on the Wyoming Community Enrichment Commission. Simmons is referring to Lamar Park’s history of hosting the rodeo at Fort Wyoming which was located at Lamar Park. The site also was host to numerous concerts featuring Bob Hope, The Oakridge Boys, Crystal Gale, and Huey Lewis & the News.
The Concerts in the Park series has done well attracting some of the most popular regional stars with this year’s line-up including the very popular folk/rock band The Crane Wives, Kalamazoo’s Big Boss Blues, Grand Rapids honky tonk group Delilah DeWylde and the Lost Boys, rock ‘n’ roll group Foolish Plezyer, country group Kari Lynch Band, Tejano/Mexican/Conjunto music group Grupo Viento and The Legal Immigrants.
According to Simmons, more than 10,000 people were in attendance to last year’s fireworks show, always the Tuesday before July 4. This year’s fireworks will be on June 28 and feature two bands, one of which is Foolish Plezyer.
A total of 11 groups will perform over the 10 weeks. Simmons said the complete lineup should be available in March and that there is some big news to this year’s concert series, so make sure to be checking the series’ Facebook page and WKTV’s Wyoming/Kentwood NOW.
Also, the Wyoming Community Enrichment Commission hosts the Music & More August event designed to give residents a last summer hurrah with three concerts, food dancing games and activities all in one night. For more on the August event, click here to visit its Facebook page.
Concerts in the Park is free. Lamar Park is located at 2561 Porter St. SW.
President’s Day, a federal holiday originally meant as a day to remember our first President, George Washington, now is a day in which we remember all presidents that have served the office. In the over 200 years that our country has had a President, technology has evolved. In the interest of this holiday and technology, and with 2016 being a presidential election year, here are a few factoids about technology and the leader of the free world.
President Andrew Jackson, the 7th man to hold the position, was the first president to travel by train in June of 1833. President Jackson traveled a few miles down the road, 12 to be exact, from Relay to Mt. Claire Depot, Maryland.
While many of us are familiar with President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th to serve our country, did you know he is the only one to hold a patent? Patent #6469, “A device for buoying vessels over shoals” was revised by Honest Abe May of 1849. A couple of trips on waterways, including the Great Lakes, led him to his invention. You can see the patent details here.
Interesting enough it wasn’t until 1891 that the White House was wired for electricity. We owe our 23rd President, Benjamin Harrison, for pushing ahead with this form of technology. According to The White House Historical Association, while President Harrison may have installed the electricity, it didn’t mean he trusted the fairly new invention. The President and First Lady had the domestic staff operate the switches over the fear they might get shocked.
With social media and cell phones being such an integral part to election campaigns in 2016, I found it interesting that President William McKinley, our 25th president, was the first president to campaign using the telephone.
We blast into the twentieth century with number 26, President Theodore Roosevelt. This Rough Rider seemed to embrace new technologies. The first president to been seen in a car, the first to ride in an airplane and the first president to be filmed on the job.
It wasn’t until June in 1922 that the voice of the President, in this case 29th president Warren G Harding, was transmitted and heard on the radio. Those who listened heard the President dedicating a memorial for Francis Scott Key, the man who gave us our National Anthem.
It was nearly 20 years later that we were able to see the president on a television. In April of 1939, in beautiful black and white, we were able to watch President Franklin D. Roosevelt open the World’s Fair. We would have to wait until 1955 to see the President in “living color.”
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter was responsible for being forward thinking and installed solar-panels on the White House roof. Way to be green, number 39!
Do you wear contact lenses? So did your 40th President Ronald Regan, the first president to do so.
Finally, President Bill Clinton and the internet. He was the first president to have a White House website, to send an e-mail via the internet, and hold an online chat. Interestingly enough, his relationship with a White House intern broke online. You could read the article online before you could see it in print.
Happy President’s Day!
Deidre owns and operates Organisum: Technology Services, a business serving the West Michigan area. In her free time she likes to hike & bike local trails with friends and family when she isn’t pinning, instagram’ing or Netflix’ing.
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson reminds residents that all branch offices and the Office of the Great Seal will be closed in observance of Presidents Day on Monday, Feb. 15. So, make sure to plan your responsibilities accordingly!
The Secretary of State’s Office mails notices to motorists 45 days before their driver’s license or license plates expire to give them ample time to renew. Licenses and plates that expire on a day when state offices are closed, such as a holiday or weekend, can be renewed the following day without penalty.
Most people renewing license plates, driver’s licenses and ID cards can do business online at www.ExpressSOS.com or by mail. Easy to follow instructions can be found with the renewal notice. Additional services can be done online as well.
License plate tabs can also be renewed at Self-Service Stations, many of which are available around the clock. Visit the Branch Office Locator at www.michigan.gov/SOS to find a Self-Service Station near you.
With the exception of holidays, offices are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Smaller offices may close for the lunch hour. On Wednesdays most offices are open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with those in city centers open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PLUS offices and SUPER!Centers are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. SUPER!Centers also provide Saturday hours from 9 a.m. to noon.
Treat yourself or your loved one to an unforgettable night of food-focused entertainment. Enjoy the classic romance film, Like Water for Chocolate in the UICA Movie Theater. Then, head to the Downtown Market where market chefs will put together a delectable six–course dinner inspired by the food featured in the movie complete with drink pairings.
Chef’s Dinner:
– Cocktail: Mezcal, pineapple, chile, honey, cinnamon, and lime
– Green salad with crispy pork, avocado, and tomato
– Vinho verde rose
– Chiles in walnut sauce
– Chateau L’Aqueria Tavel
– Quail in rose-petal sauce
– Adelsheim Pinot Noir
– Turkey mole
– Langmeil Shiraz-viognier
– Oaxacan cream fritters
– Cocktail: tepache, blanco tequila, wild thyme, and lemon
About Like Water for Chocolate:
The youngest daughter in her family, the beautiful Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is forbidden to marry her true love, Pedro (Marco Leonardi) because tradition dictates that Tita must care for her mother. So, Pedro weds her older sister, Rosaura (Yareli Arizmendi), though he still loves Tita. The situation creates much tension in the family, and Tita’s powerful emotions begin to surface in fantastical ways through her cooking. As the years pass, unusual circumstances test the enduring love of Pedro and Tita.
$75 per person
Includes six-course chef dinner, drink pairings, and movie.
Like Water for Chocolate
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Movie: 3:00 pm
Class/Dinner: 5:30 pm
By the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (with a little help from Victoria Mullen)
Hey! Happy New Year, Grand Rapids! We start out the year by making it onto yet another top-20 list, but this one’s nothing to brag about. According to the Huffington Post, Grand Rapids ranked 19th among the 20 cities most likely to experience the worst cold and flu season in 2016.
Great job, guys. Way to go. (Well, at least we weren’t #1 but still, among millions of cities, coming in at 19th?)
Both dreaded and dreadful, flu season can begin as early as October, but most of the time it peaks between December and February. Sometimes it can last as late as May. That’s what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say, and they’re the experts.
Wash your hands!
Suffice it to say that the exact timing and duration of each flu season varies. About half of the U.S. population gets a flu shot each year, but those nasty little viruses can still pack a punch. Flu is responsible for nearly 17 million lost workdays and costs the U.S. more than $87 billion annually. Tens of thousands of people get sick enough to be hospitalized, and thousands die from flu-related illnesses each year in the U.S.
Children are the most likely to become infected with flu, and children younger than five years of age are among those who are at high risk of serious flu complications.
Think about that the next time you go to hug your sweet little petri dish.
How to spread the flu
It’s easy! Just cough, sneeze or merely talk, and those nasty viruses will spread through itty-bitty, teeny-tiny little droplets. Flu also spreads when people touch something with the virus on it and then touch their nose, mouth or eyes.
Here’s the thing: if you’re infected with flu, you can infect others beginning one day before symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days after becoming sick. That’s right, you can spread the flu to someone else before you even know you’re sick (in addition to doing so while you are sick).
Young children, people who are very ill and those with severely compromised immune systems can infect others for longer than 5-7 days.
We needn’t go this far… unless there’s a pandemic.
Symptoms of the flu
How do you know you have the flu? Uh, you’ll feel lousy. Specifically, you may have:
– Fever or feeling feverish (note that not everyone with flu will have a fever)
– Chills
– Cough
– Sore throat
– Runny or stuffy nose
– Muscle or body aches
– Headache
– Fatigue
– Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, but this is more common in children than in adults
Most people will recover in a few days to less than two weeks, but some may develop complications (such as pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus and ear infections) as a result of the flu, some of which can be life-threatening and even deadly.
The flu can make chronic health problems worse. For example, people with asthma may experience asthma attacks while they have the flu, and people with chronic congestive heart failure may experience worsening of this condition that is triggered by the flu.
When to go to the emergency room:
In children
– Fast breathing or trouble breathing
– Bluish skin color
– Not drinking enough fluids
– Not waking up or not interacting
– Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
– Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
– Fever with a rash
In adults
– Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
– Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
– Sudden dizziness
– Confusion
– Severe or persistent vomiting
– Flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and worse cough
In addition to the signs above, get medical help right away for any infant who has any of these signs:
– Being unable to eat
– Has trouble breathing
– Has no tears when crying
– Significantly fewer wet diapers than normal
Isn’t it pretty? Looks like an art project, but it’s not.
The best way to prevent flu
Get your annual flu shot every fall, say the CDC. Their statistics show that during the 2012-2013 flu season, an estimated 45 percent of the U.S. population got vaccinated and helped to prevent an estimated 6.6 million flu-related illnesses, 3.2 million flu-related mediation visits and 79,000 hospitalizations. (How they came up with these numbers is a mystery, but there you have it.)
People at high risk (such as children younger than 2 years, adults 65 and older, pregnant women, people who have medical conditions) or are very sick (such as those hospitalized because of flu) should get antiviral drugs
The flu vaccine protects against several different flu viruses, providing protection all season long. Flu viruses can change from season to season and immunity declines over time so it is important to get vaccinated each year.
CDC plays a major role in deciding which flu viruses the annual flu vaccine will protect against, so be nice to them.
How to protect yourself from the flu:
Stay away from sick people (not a problem for introverts) and don’t be offended when they stay away from you when you’re sick (tit for tat)
Wash your hands to reduce the spread of germs
If you or your kid is sick with flu, stay home from work or school at least 24 hours after the fever is gone to prevent spreading flu to others (one exception: you may go out to get medical care or for necessities but keep your distance from others). No cheating: The fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and throw the tissue in the trash after you use it
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth (germs love to spread this way)
Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs (such as doorknobs, phones, and computer keyboards/iPads, you get the idea)
If you begin to feel sick while at work, go home as soon as possible
Follow public health advice, which may include information about how to increase distance between people and other measures. (I would think that if we ever reach this point, it wouldn’t hurt to wear a necklace of garlic.)
Fun Fact:
The title of ‘peak month of flu activity’ is bestowed upon the month with the highest percentage of respiratory specimens testing positive for influenza virus infection. February is typically the top peak month, so happy birthday out there to all you Aquarians!
For more information, visit www.cdc.gov, or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.
Gladys Misiewicz ran a 5k race at the ripe, young age of 100 in a benefit of Oasis of Hope Center, sponsored by Grand Valley medical students. She is now 102, and still running up and down the many stairs of the six building complex of Villa Maria Senior Living Center on Walker Ave.
This petite lady looks more like a 75-year-old as she runs through the building with no cane, no walker, nor any other type of aid. She exercises daily in her room and in the Physical Therapy Department. Her doctor comes to her apartment in the Villa Maria complex once a month to check her general health, which is excellent except for glaucoma. No grass grows under this plus-two centenarian’s feet!
Gladys was born as a part of the Dubis family in East Chicago on October 31, 1913. One of her earliest memories was the noisy celebration of Armistice Day, which frightened her so badly she hid under the kitchen table. That same day, her mother gave birth to her brother Stan, so she was unavailable to calm little Gladys’ fears.
The Dubis family moved to Hammond, Indiana, and then made their way north to the Twin Lake area near Muskegon, Michigan. While in Michigan, they lived on a farm, with no heat source except a wood burning kitchen range, one bedroom, and a path to the out-house. Her father worked in Grand Rapids, only coming home every two weeks.
Both of Gladys’ parents were Polish immigrants. She taught her father to read and write so he could attain citizenship and vote. Since her mother became a U.S. citizen when her husband’s paper were processed, she never learned to speak English well and she couldn’t read or write. The family spoke Polish within the home,
St. Adalbert’s Catholic Church became home for the Dubis family by the time Gladys began school, where she attended through the eighth grade.
Her family sustained themselves during the Depression Years by doing piece work for the String Factory by inserting string through paper tags to mark prices on goods for sale. The entire family of six children, with their parents, sat at their kitchen table each evening to string the tags. Once the tags were completed, they were delivered to the factory the next day and a new supply was picked up in their little wagon.
Mrs. Dubis worked as a dishwasher in a local restaurant where she was given left over food for her family when it was available.
Gladys began high school at Union, but she did not fit in with the life style and teaching methods of public school. So, she quit there and went to Davis Tech.
By obtaining a work permit at age 16, she was able to work at Steketee’s Department Store. While working at Steketee’s, a former teacher gifted her with the ‘fortune of $500′ to be used to go to college. Before college, she had to complete her high school courses, which she did with several classes each morning until her graduation at age 22.
Her family never considered education important, and none of her family attended her graduation.
Gladys attended her first year of college at Catholic Junior College, now called Aquinas College. While there, she played the roll of a very grumpy Mother Superior performed at Ladies Literary Club. Every minute of practice, rehearsal, and performance was cherished.
The following year, Gladys moved on to Western State Teacher’s College to follow her dream path as a teacher. Unfortunately, that dream never materialized because of a call from home; “Come home immediately. Your mother is very sick and in the hospital having surgery. We need you to take care of the house and children.”
There was no hesitation to answer the urgent call to aid her family, but as soon as her mother’s health returned, her dad demanded she pay rent or move out.
She chose to move out to a farm that had 800 Leghorn chickens. In exchange for room and board, she cleaned the chicken house each morning, gathered eggs, and then delivered the eggs to local hospitals before gong to work as a secretary in a law firm.
By December of 1941, Gladys became the Insurance Adjuster for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company in Chicago. She married Army Engineer Chester Misiewicz in May of 1945. He was career Army for 23 years, while Gladys remained stateside performing various nursing duties and raising her three children – Kevin, now 70, Karen, age 67, and Lynee, age 64 – and continuing her self-taught scheduled learning and exercise.
Gladys’ father was later diagnosed with leukemia, and once again she gave up home and hearth to move closer to care for her family. She moved with her three small children to live with her in-laws, who lived within a mile of her ailing father. She would walk over each day to bathe and care for him, and would sit beside his bed for hours just to be close and reassure him that she cared.
This ‘young’, 102-year-old dynamo radiates energy, love, and happiness along with a sharp, intelligent mind. She assists at Mass in the Villa Chapel, lights Altar candles, and leads the singing with a clear and pleasant voice. She is an avid reader, especially of historical and medical topics, and enjoys line dancing. She enjoys listening to lectures by noted doctors, especially Dr. Sinja Gupta and Fareed Sakaria. Her favorite fiction author is Nicholas Sparks.
“As long as I can remember, I have always believed that Jesus was close, guiding me, blessing me with good mental and physical health,” remarks Gladys as she looks back over a century of life. “Today is the most important day of my life. I must make the most of it. With my daily thanks, I use these blessing to influence and help others to make the most of their day.”
Gladys has a wonderful attitude on life, which may be the secret to her longevity. She is content in her space in this world
Getting old can really suck if you’re not in the greatest shape. Aching, stiff joints. Decreased mobility. And moving from one’s beloved, long-time home into a retirement community or assisted living facility isn’t a pleasant thought either. For some, this transition is especially traumatic. My mom’s experience was no different: It’s an understatement to say that she wasn’t too keen on moving to a retirement community.
“I don’t want to live around a bunch of old people,” she repeatedly said. At the time, she was 80 years old, but I knew what she meant. Mom is very young at heart. After months of persuasion, though, she finally acquiesced, and we found a fabulous community for her. Now she wishes that she would have moved there sooner. On the day she moved in, she met the love of her life, and these days she reassures me often with, “It’s never too late to find a man.”
Uh, thanks, but I’m fine. Really.
Granted, people normally don’t transition to a senior community and find their true love; my mother’s experience is the exception. But it serves to illustrate that life is full of surprises and one should approach this huge milestone with an open mind.
Back in 2006, when I was searching for a retirement community suitable for my mother’s needs, First & Main, 5812 Village Drive SW, Wyoming, Mich.–the upscale residential component of Metro Health Village–was still being developed. Gary Granger, president and CEO of Granger Group, had been planning the community since 2003 and this past September 23, the Wyoming senior community welcomed its first resident.
“Care is a very important piece of every assisted living community because that is the foundation of what makes this so necessary,” said Granger in a press release. “We try to do that maybe in a little bit different way. … Even though the average age is in the mid-80s, people still want to feel valued and feel like they are tied into the community. The wellness component of our program is probably going to be the biggest area of emphasis for us, because the two most important things for wellness and health are diet and exercise.”
First & Main is a 102-unit senior living community with a 170-resident capacity. It is designed with a marketplace atmosphere that is evocative of a town center. The first two floors provide assisted-living options and the third floor is for memory care.
The 180-acre healthcare village is not only home to the first suburban hospital in the region, it’s an entire community of support services, retail shops, a grocery store, restaurants and more with Metro Health Hospital at its core. There are also an in-house chapel, theater, salon, bistro and patio, fitness center, and a courtyard with a putting green and raised gardens.
I had noticed components of Metro Health Village slowly appearing over the years—doctors’ offices, the Pain Clinic, Metro Health Hospital, and now the most recent addition, the residential community. There’s also Family Fare grocery store, which I thought had been an odd placement, but now it all makes sense.
Every building in Metro Health Village is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, focusing on energy conservation, recycling and storm water management. The village also integrates the natural environment to provide a healthy, calm, healing setting to serve patients, families and neighbors nearby.
First & Main boasts some newfangled technology that makes life easier for its residents. Instead of door keys, residents use digitally encoded, radio-frequency wristbands to unlock their suites. Also featured is interactive engagement software called ‘It’s Never Too Late,’ which can be used for a variety of activities such as trivia games, vintage radio shows, and using Street View to tour a resident’s hometown.
“The wellness program, hospitality and community engagement are part of the goal to support residents’ lifestyles,” according to Granger. “Several of the programs and services offered in the new development will incorporate third-party providers, such as hair stylists in the salon, bringing in health experts for diet and exercise training classes, and yoga and fitness instructors.”
Other amenities include 24-hour staffing, transportation to physician appointments, housekeeping, activities and wellness, chef-prepared meals, apartment and suite maintenance, assistance with digital communication and reminders and assistance to dinner.
Some features may take getting used to, especially for people who are used to being self-sufficient. For example, ‘Point of Care Solution,’ a handheld mobile device, provides real-time documentation for staff so that more time can be spent with residents; ‘Quiet Care’ determines residents’ nighttime behavior patterns and alerts staff when that pattern changes; ‘Real Time Location Service Pendants’ alert staff to a resident’s location if assistance is needed; LG CNS Electronic Health Records and Medication Management Systems provide a detailed electronic record for each resident; and special spectrum lighting helps reset the natural Circadian rhythms for memory care.
Metro Health Village is a groundbreaking concept and the first of its kind in the nation. Granger has plans to build similar villages in other areas of Michigan as well as in Ohio. We can thank the Baby Boomer generation for this trend as more and more cohorts from that population transition to retirement communities.
For more information, call 616.622.2420 or visit the website.
Every year as the chills of fall set in, seniors compete in the coveted Bayberry Farms Village Chili Cook-Off. The steaming hot pots of chili presented for the October 23, 2015 competition included white and tomato based chilies, hot to mild.
This year’s lighthearted competition was judged by a team of jovial, yet highly-respected, Wyoming Firefighters. The winner of the 2015 Annual Bayberry Farms Village Chili Cook-Off was Ms. Ruby Roberts. After winning Second Place for two years in a row, Ruby tweaked her delicious white chili recipe to make it become the favorite chili of the day! Her mixture of chicken, white beans, cheeses and secret ingredients was the hands down favorite. Congratulations, Ruby!
Ruby intends to keep her recipe secret at this time as she is determined to win future competitions!
However, another big hit and highly requested recipe was “Catherine’s Cornbread.” It is not dry like a typical cornbread and not as fluid as a corn casserole. When firefighters ask for the recipe, you know it is good!
Catherine’s Cornbread
Ingredients:
Two Jumbo Eggs (Or Three Large Eggs)
1 Can Cream Corn
1 Can Drained Whole Corn
¼ Cup Sugar
2 Packages Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
Splash of Milk
Directions:
Mix the eggs, both corns and sugar together until well blended. Stir in the corn muffin mix. If too thick, add a splash of milk.
Pour into a greased 9 x 11 dish.
Bake at 350 (325 for glass dish) until toothpick in center comes out clean (around 20 or so minutes) and top is golden brown.
Do not over bake.
If you’re a heavy-duty online shopper, you’ve already discovered that as of October 1, you’re paying a Michigan sales tax when you check out.
The end of a tax-free zone on the Internet has raised a howl of protest from some who charge that the state is imposing yet another new tax. That’s just not so, says Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce President, Bob O’Callaghan, “Some people are against any kind of taxes, but this is not new. It’s always been a law, it just hasn’t been enforced because there was no good way to track it.”
The original legislation required Michigan residents to keep records of their online purchases and make a tax payment to the state. “But of course no one did,” notes O’Callaghan. So like many other states, Michigan now requires online companies to collect and forward the sales tax.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder estimates that somewhere around $60 million in new revenue will be added to the state’s treasury.
While O’Callaghan says there is no way to predict how much of that amount will find its way into the Wyoming-Kentwood community, he is an enthusiastic cheerleader for brick and mortar businesses here that must charge sales tax. “I think it’s a great idea,” he says. “Businesses here have the same products, so all things being equal, we want people to shop here because it keeps our tax dollars supporting our community services.” O’Callaghan points out that local taxes are key to essential public services such as police and fire protection, adding that local businesses also provide jobs for residents.
O’Callaghan says people forget that many online businesses are owned or operated outside the state of Michigan or even internationally. That means dollars spent online usually end up far from home, a fact that does not strike Bob O’Callaghan as fair to Michigan business or to other residents. “People who live here and shop here pay taxes here. It’s only fair that if you live here, you pay the same tax if you shop online.”
The American system of justice has at least two basic tenets: a person is innocent until proven guilty, and if found guilty, the punishment should fit the crime. But far too often, even after a person has served time and earned release from prison, the punishment can go on and on.
Recently, the Michigan legislature recognized that people with a prison record are less likely to return to jail if they can get work and reintegrate with society. Eric Givihan, 42, knows only too well the burden an ex-con carries when looking for work. “It’s not just the job,” he says. “Most apartments or housing won’t let you rent. That was hard on my daughter.”
New Michigan law creates a process to grant a “certificate of employability” to some one who leaves prison with a good record of behavior and completion of training or course work. Legislators hope the new law will encourage businesses to give a second chance to those truly reformed by their sentences, a move that could reduce recidivism and save tax dollars.
Givihan was driving when he was arrested in 2000. Police found a pound of marijuana in his car along with an unregistered gun. Four years later, he emerged from Marquette Branch Prison with actual letters of recommendation written by the correction officers there. Unfortunately, that was 11 years before the state’s new legislation. The letters meant nothing in the face of companies with policies that simply do not permit hiring of anyone with a prison record.
A big man, Givihan ended up cage-fighting to support his daughter, who eventually begged him to quit the ring.
Givihan started his own security business a year ago and sells scrap metal to tide him over between jobs. His daughter is now poised to graduate from high school.
“I have to continue to try to make it,” he says. “We took “can’t” out of our vocabulary.”
Now married with a blended family of seven children, Givihan says when times are tough, his family is the only thing that keeps him from making a wrong choice, adding, “They keep me grounded.”
Editors Note: Ex-Felon was changed to Ex-Con in the story. Our previous phrasing gave the impression that all ex-cons were also felons. That is not true. We apologize for any misunderstanding.
Children with special needs create special families. Five years ago, some of those family members got together to create the Family Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting not only their own children, but all special families. They’ve hit on a sure thing: the Special Families Fun Fest, returning for its 4th year at the DeltaPlex Arena on Saturday, October 17 from 10am-4pm. Lara Kitts is in charge of the event. “Some of us who have special needs family members know how hard it is to get the family out the door together. This is fun and there’s nothing else like it.”
Admission $5 per person, which includes 10 carnival game tickets (ages 2 and under free!). Tickets are available here.
Kitts says the Fun Fest provides a wide variety of events set up to provide physically and emotionally safe environments without stress, including carnival games, crafts, a petting zoo and a number of other activities—all without waiting in line. Even better, no one has to stay behind to take care of the special needs family member. “We have amenities such as a sensory room to provide family support if a child is overstimulated,” says Kitts. “We have volunteers who cover every exit to make sure a child doesn’t dart away. We’ve pretty much thought of everything.”
Those concerned that the Special Families Fun Fest may not have anticipated their particular need are invited to call in advance at 616-780-3839. Visit the Family Hope Foundation to learn more about this very special organization. For more information about Fun Fest activities, check out the event. If you would like to volunteer, Kitts says she would be pleased to find you a special role to fill at the event, sure to fill a special place in your heart.
The new chip protected credit cards are coming! As of the first of this month, stores were required to have a new credit card reader installed to complete this new and improved credit card system. With this new technology, you can expect improved security and reduced chances of identity theft. That’s because the new chip, or “EMV” cards, make it harder for thieves to counterfeit your card or steal the number for charging up fraudulent purchases.
There are just a couple hitches in the plan – namely most people haven’t received their new chip cards, and it’s certain most stores won’t have the new and improved chip card reader installed any time soon. Even if they did, banks will not require you to use a special pin number every time you use the card, which is the ultimate step to crime fighting credit card fraud. So what’s the big deal?
According to City of Wyoming Police Officer Lt. James Maguffee, the change is slow in coming, but can make a difference when it gets here. Especially in fraud cases he’s been involved with recently like credit card numbers being skimmed from gas pumps in the west Michigan area. “The new chip cards make it harder to get the card number, so skimmers or a server at a restaurant won’t be able to see it.” The chip card will protect the data that is currently easily readable on the magnetic strip, so accounts held by big box stores like Target and Walmart likely will be safer. Walmart already accepts chip-enabled cards at all of its locations thanks to chip card readers installed as of November of last year. But chip embedded credit card are still rare.
In the meantime, even if the store has no chip reader you will still be able to swipe your chip card, when it eventually arrives. But this also means you are still vulnerable to credit card theft. “The new credit card chip will have very little impact on consumers,” says Lt. Maguffee, “because without a pin number requirement, someone can still smash your window and steal your purse. They can still get the card number and use it at a store, even online.”
And by the time you actually have to use a pin number to activate the chip card, Maguffee predicts there will likely be even more sophisticated protections involving biotech systems currently being explored. This reminds us that identity and credit card theft prevention is something we should all be aware of while we wait for the future to arrive. The Wyoming Police make the following suggestions to help keep you from becoming a victim:
Check your accounts as often as you can, looking for unauthorized activity; daily if possible, and report any such activity to your bank immediately.
•Do not write passwords or PINs anywhere on or near your credit or debit cards.
•Protect your passwords and pins by using caution when entering or using them in a public place.
•Do not carry your social security card or number on your person. Memorize it and secure it at home.
•Never leave purses, wallets, ID, credit cards, etc. in your unoccupied vehicle.
•Never give out personal information over the phone to any source you are not absolutely certain is legitimate.
Lt. Maguffee says since the recent big bust of gas pump credit card skimmers in west Michigan, the number of fraud cases may have “dipped just a bit.” So good old fashioned crime fighting doesn’t hurt either.
If your mouth is watering for fresh apples, cider and doughnuts; the kids want pumpkins bigger than beach balls; and/or you want something to do on the weekend while we enjoy this fabulous fall weather, here’s a list of where to look.
Michigan’s most important commercial apple growing region, the area west of Grand Rapids, features orchards of apple trees in all directions. The slope of the land up from Lake Michigan make this area perfect for apple production. It’s not bad for pumpkins, either!
“The best summers of my life were spent in the cottage Pop had built on Lake Muskegon in 1908.” Buster Keaton in his autobiography, “My Wonderful World of Slapstick”
How did actors survive hot summers a 100 years ago, when theaters without air conditioning shut down for the season? About 200 of those performers chose to head to Muskegon where an artist colony of vaudeville performers flourished in the 1900s. Buster Keaton and his performing parents joined their fellow artists in card-playing, fun in the sun and the bracing waters of Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan.
Those glory days are celebrated this weekend with the return of the International Buster Keaton Society to the city Buster Keaton claimed as his hometown. The group numbers between 400 to 500 members, some from as far away as the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. Annual attendance for the convention is usually between 50-100. 88 people are registered for the convention this year!
Society member Ron Pesch, who lives in Muskegon, will conduct a private tour for convention-goers to explore the neighborhood where Keaton lived, and other areas in the Bluffton community where the big names of the vaudeville circuit partied and sunbathed during their off-season.
1924: American comedian Buster Keaton (1895-1966) sitting in the funnel of a ship in a scene from the film ‘The Navigator’.
If you’re inclined to ask, “Who’s that?” when you hear Buster Keaton’s name, you can probably be forgiven. His star shone most brightly after vaudeville waned in the 1920’s. As a major star of silent film, Keaton’s comic routines and deadpan expression landed him equal billing with comic geniuses such as Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd–and if you’re still saying, “Who?” you probably like video games more than movies.
But Pesch says Keaton’s influence is cited by a number of major stars including Johnny Depp, Jackie Chan, and even Drew Barrymore. Pesch added, “The first ten minutes of the Pixar classic ‘Wall-E’ are filled with references to Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.”
On Saturday night, October 3, 2015, at 8 p.m. (doors open at 7:30), two Buster Keaton films will be screened for fans, “The Railrodder” and “Battling Butler” at the Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts. Director Gerald Potterton will attend, who actually directed Keaton in his film “The Railrodder.” Potterton is best known for directing the cult classic, “Heavy Metal.” Dennis Scott will perform on the Barton Theater Organ, and Pesch notes, “Anyone who experiences a silent film in that theater with the organ accompaniment will be a Keaton fan forever.” Tickets are $8 per person or $21 for the whole family. For more information, visit www.frauenthal.org .
How about winning up to $1,000 on top of the excitement of seeing your film short (five minutes or less) on a big screen? If those are the kind of thrills you seek, the Saugatuck Center for the Arts (SCA) has just the contest for you. The SCA is registering filmmakers for the third annual “Saugatuck Shorts” film competition. Registration is open now until October 9th, and can be completed online at the link below. Winners will be screened on November 7, 2015 at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts, located at 400 Culver Street, Saugatuck.
If you’re young enough, your entry is free. However, keep in mind your short has to include some sort of Michigan “flavor,” whether the film is set in Michigan or simply contains a reference to a unique Michigan feature such as “Yoopers.”
The two basic filmmaker categories come with different entry fees:
Student—Age 18 and Under; Film Entries are Free
Adult—Age 19 and Up; Film Entries $15.00
“Saugatuck Shorts” is the only film competition in West Michigan that offers a cash prize for short film submissions in three categories: one for adults and one for students where winners are determined by a panel of judges; those ten shorts will be shown at the November screening of “Saugatuck Shorts.” A separate prize will be awarded at the end of the evening to recognize the “Audience Favorite” out of both juried categories. Winner of the “Audience Favorite Prize” will be awarded $1,000. Another $1,000 prize will be awarded to the Adult Winner and $500 goes to the Student Winner.
“Over the past three years, the SCA’s “Saugatuck Shorts” competition has brought in filmmakers from across the state for a wonderful night of engaging entertainment on the big screen,” said Kristin Armstrong, SCA Executive Director. “The competition is a great way for students and professionals alike to get their work in front of the community. We are very excited to bring this special competition back!”
More information and registration details for “Saugatuck Shorts” can be found at Saugatuck Center for the Arts or by calling 269-857-2399.
We can spend a lot of money on cleaning supplies. There are two ways to curb that spending. One way is watching how often we clean and another way is using inexpensive household products as do-it-yourself cleaners. Here are a few tips along those lines.
How often should you clean:
Bed sheets – Once a week
Car – 1 to 3 weeks
Jeans – Every 4 – 5 wears
Bras – Every 3 – 4 wears
Windows – Twice a year
Oven – Every 6 months
Carpets – Once a year
Dishwasher – Once a month
Bed Pillows – Every 3 – 6 months
How to clean up after a pet accident to get the smell out:
On carpet: Blot up all that is possible (do not rub). Mix one cup of water and 1/8 tsp. dish soap:
blot with a clean dry cloth. To remove any remaining soap, mix 1 Tbsp. white vinegar in 1 cup water and
dab. Blot dry with paper towels.
On ceramic tile: If tile is glazed, wipe up with your normal tile cleaner. If the tile isn’t
glazed or the liquid has spread to the grout, use grout cleaner. To remove odor, make a thick paste
with water and baking soda, rub in let set until dry and wipe up.
On wood flooring: If it has a sealant, use paper towel to clean up accident and clean with your normal floor cleanser.
If the urine has soaked into the floor and odor lingers, use an enzyme-based pet-odor remover on the area (sold at pet stores).
Useful secrets of vinegar
Use white vinegar to remove sticky labels and it will peel right off!
To eliminate a burnt odor in the kitchen, mix 1 cup of vinegar in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn off to cool.
Within 15 minutes the smell should be gone.
Clean your shower by mixing one part vinegar with 10 parts water. Pour in an empty spray bottle to use as cleaner.
Stung by a wasp? Apply apple cider vinegar to the area with a cotton ball and the sting will subside.
Clean the dishwasher by running it on an empty cycle using vinegar instead of detergent. It will be sparkling clean and your next load of dishes will be too!
Greasy Hair? Simply shampoo your hair as usual, rinse, then pour 1/4 cup vinegar over it and rinse again.
Never buy fabric softener again! Simply use white vinegar. Use the same proportions as you would for a liquid fabric softener you will never notice the difference. Try it!
Meet Fred Winter, a 100-year old World War II US Navy veteran. He plans on competing in this year’s Meijer State Games of Michigan Track & Field event. Not just one event, but five (javelin, shot put, 50-meter dash, 100-meter dash, discus) Track & Field events.
Fred grew up in Scranton, PA, a coal mining town where natives were destined for a life of black lung disease due to inhaling coal mine dust. “These gold miners would only live till about 50 because of the diseases they got,” Fred explained. “They knew it was just a matter of time for the Grim Reaper to call their name.” Determined to have a better quality of life, Fred enlisted in the US Navy as his only way out.
Fred served a total of 25 years while in the Navy, which included a term during World War 2 in the Battle of Okinawa. He started as a deck scrubber, and eventually worked his way up to a Chief Petty Officer. Fred recalled fresh water being so scarce in the Pacific that each crew member was handed a bucket of water to start the day. This was all they got to wash their clothes and bathe. All showers onboard operated with salt water from the ocean. Among his many years enlisted as a member of the Navy, Fred served upon the USS Mississippi, Enterprise Air Craft Carrier, and the Amphibious Command, which was the second line of defense behind the Marines.
When his time in the Navy was up, Fred studied pre-med at York College in York, Nebraska. It was at York College he met his eventual wife of 65 years, still going strong to this day. Following graduation from York, Fred had trouble getting accepted into medical school, so he turned his studies to Accounting. After receiving his master’s at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, Fred became a college professor in the subject. In a state that runs its economy off crops, however, the teaching salary in Nebraska was not cutting it. At the age of 65, Fred got a job offer as a high school accounting teacher in Holland, Michigan, that offered $3,000 more per year. Needless to say, Fred jumped at the opportunity. He has lived there ever since.
When Fred turned 70-years old, he decided he wanted to start competing in Track & Field through the Senior Olympics, something he hadn’t competed in since high school. “I wanted to compare myself, physically, mentally, morally, with people my own age,” Fred said about his desire to enter the sport, “and the one way to do that is to go into Track & Field.” At first, Fred struggled to qualify for most events, but through hard work, he slowly started earning bronze medals, then silver medals, all the way up to the point where gold medals became expectations.
You might think that Fred has a collection of all the gold medals he has won, but you would be wrong. During combat in the Navy, there was a time that Fred was 10 feet under the Pacific Ocean surface and was certain he was going to die. A fellow member of the Navy, however, rescued Fred and brought him back to the surface. Beyond grateful for having his own life saved, Fred decides to give his gold medals away to anyone he can find that has saved a life. According to Fred, “They deserve it more.”
To be successful in Track & Field, Fred relies heavily on maintaining a healthy living. Every day Fred does aerobics at six in the morning, gradually increases in push-ups (currently at 110 a day), and runs outside. If the weather is poor, Fred avoids excuses and simply runs alongside the walls of his house. When asked what the key to a long lifespan is, Fred answered, “Face God, face your fellow man, and face yourself.” Fred also encourages staying active no matter how young or old you are.
With the Meijer State Games of Michigan just a week away, Fred looks forward to competing and trying to win a few more medals to handout to those who have saved lives. At 100-years old, Fred Winter is nowhere close to slowing down. His wisdom, generosity, determination, and no-quit attitude is something we can all learn from.
To view our interview with Fred, you can find it on our YouTube page or by viewing his athlete spotlight on our website: http://stategamesofmichigan.com/fredwinter.
Would you think the man who helped eradicate leprosy and polio from the interior of Nigeria would live in your neighborhood? Dr. Dirk Vander Steen has been serving with Rotary International for 37 years, and the last 20 years with Kentwood since he moved back to the United States and the West Michigan area in 1990.
“It is an accomplishment that I really treasure,” Vander Steen said proudly. In Rotary and even before that, Vander Steen has stamped his passport with numerous locations and different experiences all around the world.
As a youngster he was already traveling around the world– but not for a good reason. He spent months in Grindelwald, Switzerland with three hundred other boys from his homeland of the Netherlands to be researched on the trauma effects of wars on children. The reason being he was suffering heavily from lack of essential foods and vitamins.
He then moved to Canada, quit school at the age of 13 and began working in a grocery chain store. At the age of 21 Vander Steen said God gave his life a purpose.
“I went to a young people’s convention where I heard a missionary speak and that touched my life then and there,” Vander Steen explained. “After that, I drove to Grand Rapids, met the Dean of Calvin College and he took me in, even if it was on probation from my two years of high school experience.” Here at Calvin, Vander Steen met his wife Jean who also wanted to be a missionary, and after a year they were married and on their way to Nigeria.
Dirk’s group of missionaries work as a team.
The Vander Steen’s stayed full time in Nigeria for 13 years, and even today make it a point to go once or twice a year to complete his ten years as a Trustee of the University of Mkar in the Benue State of Nigeria. They also help out and bring gifts they collected from Rotary. The Kentwood Rotary’s most recent gift was musical instruments to a Rotary club in Jos, Nigeria.
“It was part of Rotary’s peace project in Nigeria,” Vander Steen said. “To make music instead of war.”
Vander Steen has served many roles in Tivland, Nigeria- being a Rotary Club member, making prosthetic limbs for polio and leprosy patients, translating a steward manuscript, working with local churches, and his most rewarding role of being a teacher.
A gift from a Nigerian student to show appreciation is a treasure to Dirk.
“I see kids that I taught and have watched them grow to become heads of organizations and the university or even being my boss,” Vander Steen shared enthusiastically. “It is one of the most rewarding feelings to see them succeed.”
One woman in particular has stood out in his memory.
“In 1965, I had the first female students in my secondary school class,” Vander Steen explained.
In Nigeria, young ladies were not allowed to attend any secondary school due to social customs. Rhoda Ako, one of those first ten females in his class, became the Head of Nigeria’s Customs. Vander Steen said that he is most proud of her work to create unity in a country torn apart by tribalism, and by her kind heart.
“When Rhoda Ako heard that I was back in Nigeria about seven years ago, she came to say ‘thank you for believing in me and helping me when I wanted to drop out’,” Vander Steen remembered fondly. “I think that is the best reward a teacher can get.”
Vander Steen has put more than 50 years of his life into his mission work in Nigeria and in serving Rotary. He takes great pride in the role he played in eradicating and educating people from Nigeria in regards to leprosy.
“I have done so many different things.” Vander Steen recalls. “My life has been so enriched. God has blessed me and helped me be a blessing to many people on both sides of the globe.”
Awards, trophies and plaques are given in appreciation of Dirk’s efforts around the world.
People with limited income can benefit from these helpful tips to spread their money further. There are several websites that help match-up coupons to sale items at many local stores. These have been great resources for those new to and less experienced in saving as well as for those who are seasoned. Although there are too many websites to list, here are a few:
Many of the coupon websites offer access to locate and print coupons easily. When we teach savings classes, we share several resources and techniques to make saving fun and less challenging. Typically stores have their weekly advertisements available to view online a few days prior to the ad starting. This is helpful to know if you should purchase certain items ahead of time or wait until the new ad starts.
If stores offer a savings card or program, check and see if it would be beneficial to you. Several stores have linked sales and savings to these cards and without them you may pay more for the same item. There are ways to take advantage of these savings to save even more. Many stores have in-store coupons that can be stacked with manufacturer coupons to save even more money on an item.
In our savings classes, we share ways to spread the monthly food budget further by prepping and packaging items to save time and money. For example, most people don’t know what to do with the remaining portion of a 12 ounce can of tomato paste when only needing 6 ounces for a recipe. They may place it in the refrigerator thinking they will use it later only to let it go to waste. We suggest taking the unused product and placing it into plastic storage bag to label and freeze. An onion can be diced up and either frozen in a storage bag or an ice cube tray for use in the future recipes. When fresh items are available and you can’t use all of them before they spoil, a little time and effort to preserve them can mean savings for the future.
Money can be saved by using less electricity during the peak daytime hours. With the smart meters we get charged a higher rate between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. When possible wait until after supper to run that load of laundry or the dishwasher. Changing the load of laundry before bedtime gets the laundry done and also saves money. Adding a dry towel into a wet load can speed up the drying time of the load.
Did you know it cost less to make a meal in the crock-pot during the day than to use the oven for a few hours? When you do use the oven try baking/roasting more than what you can use in one meal. The extra cooked food will be a future meal with a little planning ahead.
Finally, some money saving tips to have FUN!
Free Birthday Freebies & Clubs
Applebee’s Free Treat on your Birthday
Atlanta Bread Company Free Birthday Cookie
bd’s Mongolian Grill Free meal on your birthday
Bob Evans Free kids Meal on their birthday
Carino’s Free Birthday Dessert
Chuck E Cheeses Birthday Freebies
Denny’s Free Grand Slam on your birthday
Famous Dave’s Free meal on your birthday
Hard Rock Cafe Free Dessert
Logan’s Roadhouse Free birthday & More
On the Border Free Birthday Appetizer
Outback Steakhouse Free Birthday Dessert
P.F. Changs Free Dessert
Qdoba Mexican Grill Free Burrito
Red Lobster Free Surprise
Red Robin e-club Free Burger
Texas Roadhouse Free Food
Ice Cream, Smoothies & Coffee
Dairy Queen Free 16 ounce Blizzard
Starbucks free drink on your birthday
Fast Food
Burger King Kids Meal free
Culver’s Free Sundae
Fazolis Free Dessert
Krispy Kreme Free Donut
Noodles & Company Free Dish (plus B1B1 coupon)
Quiznos Free Cookie
Orange Julius Free drink
Papa Murphy’s Free Cookie Dough
Sonic Free Wacky Pack Kids Meal
Retailers
Ace Hardware $5/$20 coupon on your birthday
American Eagle Outfitter 15% off the month
Barnes & Noble Free cupcake for your birthday
Columbia Sportswear 20% off
CVS $3 Extra Care Bucks for your birthday
DSW $5 Certificate for your birthday
Hallmark Free Card & 20% off 1 item
Hot Topic $10/$20 purchase
Old Navy Free Birthday Surprise
World Market Surprise Birthday Gift
Petco Special Message & Savings for Pet’s Birthday
Pet Supplies Plus Card and Gift for Pet’s Birthday
In my last article, I said I would next write about our trips in retirement. Well maybe not after all. Before retirement, there was the trip to Scotland in 1982 that set the traveling stage for us. It was key to determining if we really could afford to jump off the deep end and go places. It all started with an Ann Arbor photo instructor inviting us to attend a meeting about an opportunity to go to Scotland and live in a castle for a week. My wife, Jan, is an established watercolor artist, and the instructor wanted to have her comments on the fine art aspects of images there.
Penkill Castle in Scotland
Our first impulse was No way! The cost for the two of us seemed astronomical. But the next week, Thanksgiving week in 1981, we were talking with our 35-year-old neighbor across the street while she was raking leaves. She told u s she was going into the hospital for exploratory surgery, but did not think it was anything serious. It turned out to be advance cancer and she passed away just after Christmas.
That got us thinking about how quickly something can change in your life. We looked at our finances (we had a daughter in college and one in high school, plus we had the usual home mortgage and car loans. And my wife was enrolled in the fine arts program at Grand Valley College). But we had enough insurance to cover all that, plus we were healthy. So we said “Yes!” In the spring, off we flew to Scotland.
The infamous Loc Ness on a cloudy day.
Since we were spending most of the money on air fare, we went a week early, rented a car, and did some sight seeing. Loc Ness was of course on the agenda. The day we were there, it was gray and blustery. If you looked out over the water, it would not take much to convince yourself that something big and snake-like was out there.
In 1692, the Massacre at Glencoe took place in this beautiful glen. History claims different versions of why the Campbells clan slayed members of the MacDonalds clan.
One of the really spooky places we stopped was where the Massacre at Glencoe took place in 1692. Scottish history claims one Scottish clan, the Campbells, slayed another Scottish clan, the MacDonalds for not pledging their allegiance to the newly appointed King William. The ground here was soft and spongy, and it felt like one could be swallowed up. We found out later that only 38 MacDonalds were killed but over 300 were led to safety by Captain MacDonald. Ill feelings between the two clans still exists today.
We spent our nights at bed and breakfasts which are plentiful in Scotland. At one of them, we were so far north we could take photos at midnight because it was so bright.
After a week of our own sightseeing, we met our group at Penkill Castle, in Ayshire near Girvan. Built in the 16th century, it was, at the time we were there, considered to be the second longest inhabited castle in the United Kingdom. Our group was small: my wife and I, another couple, the photography instructor and the laird of the castle, Elton Eckstand of Detroit. Around 1848, the castle had been a popular rendezvous for the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of painters, poets and critics trying to reform art at that time. As a result, many castle walls had paintings and murals of their work. One is buried on the castle grounds.
The Upps shared a bedroom with a former resident at Penkill Castle.
Because the castle was built in the 15th century, there is no central heat. Each bedroom and bathroom has its own fireplace. It wasn’t until the last night of our visit that my wife asked for a fire in our bathroom!
One evening, as we were getting ready for bed, we heard a very faint voice calling out “Albert.” The next morning, at breakfast, we were told that was the name of one of the previous owners that had met a very untimely death. Apparently former guests of that bedroom said they heard the voice as well. (That was the same night that the castle houseboys clipped a rose blossom from a hundred-plus-year-old rose bush on my wife’s pillow. A nice touch!)
Evening entertainment at the castle focused on Scottish culture.
Each evening after dinner, we were entertained by local dancers, singers, bag pipers and, one night, by the ceremony of the haggis. The tradition of the haggis is based on the first lamb or sheep to be slaughtered for the season. All the parts that cannot be stored (mostly the organs) are chopped up, mixed with oatmeal, and roasted in a sheep’s stomach. A person in full kilts recites a poem by Robert Burns dedicated to the haggis, and cuts it open. After that, two men in kilts did the dance of the spinning sabers.
The castle was our home base for exploration. One of our trips was to Ailsa Craig, a solid granite island. The granite from here is the official source of all Olympic curling stones. It is now a nature preserve, and so granite can only be quarried every 20 or 25 years. Around noon, we always tried to get to the woolen goods store – they served the best lemon meringue pie in all of Scotland!
Ailsa Craig, a solid granite island is the official source of all Olympic curling stones.
While we were in Scotland, we became curious as to why so many ruins had no roofs. We learned that in the UK, if a building has three walls and a roof, it is taxed as habitable. No roof, no tax. Many of the original buildings had lead roofs and much of the lead was also taken for use in WW1.
At the end of the week, we all went our separate ways. I flew home, and Jan went to London, where she and another Grand Valley student attended Richmond College to complete some fine arts work. She then went on to Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight, and to Brighton. There, she was able to meet the sister of our Swedish exchange student who was coming to live with us the following fall. The timing could not have been better for us taking the trip to Scotland after all.
A month or so ago, I was asked to write about my life during retirement with comments on places I might have traveled. During the conversation, I casually remarked that my wife and I had visited all seven continents. It was then suggested that I should write a series of articles on each of our trips. I said I would, and so started to review where and when and how each trip unfolded.
Where do I to start? Well, when all else fails, start at the beginning. In my case, this would be back in the 1940s when I was given the book “The Flying Carpet” by Richard Haliburton. The story begins in Timbuktu, as the main character is landing his two-seater airplane in the desert. By the end of the last chapter, I discovered my desire to travel. Timbuktu is still on my bucket list.
Soldier Don UppTaken in March of 1958, Upp took this photo of the Fountain of Trevi in Rome during his $250 tour of Europe.
The Army, in the late 1950s, gave me my first opportunity for real travel. Although I had been to the Great Smokey Mountains and had visited my sister in New England, the Army sent me traveling through 12 states by train from Ohio to California. Then I was sent to Germany and France for two years. While there, I saved up my leave time of 42 days to visit Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Spain, England and Austria, as well as more of Germany and France. Remarkably, I did it all on only $250! My last day was spent riding across France in a small bread truck standing up the whole way. The railroad workers were on a one-day strike.
Shloss Mespelbraunn in Germany is a small hunting castle.
Besides the bread truck, there were several other highlights of this trip I recall. For instance, while being on top of the Arc of Triumph in Paris, I saw an “older” couple who looked familiar. It turned out they lived across the street from my mother! Although I had never met them, I had seen them going in and out of their home many times. Small world indeed!
Another memorable incident that trip happened in Switzerland. Early one morning I walked out on the dock by the hotel and discovered a body in the lake! Someone had fallen in and drowned. I was afraid the police would detain me, but they knew who the person was – the town drunk as fate would have it – and he had fallen off the dock many times before.
In Monaco, I had a much more pleasant experience. I went to the casino, put a French frank into a slot machine and won 150 franks! That paid for my dinner and my hotel room.
In 1970, one of our daughters sang in a high school choral group that was invited to sing in several churches in Italy. My wife and I, along with our youngest daughter, went as part of the chaperone group. We stayed on to visit our son who was in the Army in Germany. After that, we visited more of Germany and then Luxembourg and Switzerland.
In addition to these personal trips, I was fortunate that my business career took me to countries like England, Germany, Mexico, Canada and Switzerland. I retired from my first job in 1987, and the next installment of my travel adventures will take over from there.
Model railroads have captured the imagination for decades.Ken Skopp is the Grand Rapids Valley Railroad Club’s train show coordinator.
by Ken Skopp
I was five-years old when I visited my grandparents in Waterloo, WI. A train track ran next to their farm. One day while I was playing near the track, a steam engine was moving freight cars back and forth. After some time passed, the steam engine stopped. The engineer leaned out of the cab and asked me if I would like to take a quick ride in the engine. I screamed “Yes!”
I rode with the engineer five miles down the track and back. I didn’t realize it then but I was bitten by the “train bug” and there is no cure.
Now fast forward, 60 years. My wife bought me a HO scale train set made by the Bachmann Company for Christmas. It had a steam locomotive, three passenger cars, a small DC power pack and a loop of track. I had model train layouts in the past but it had been 20 years since I had built my last layout. Those layouts mainly consisted of a track with a few buildings laid on a sheet of plywood. I started buying “Model Railroader” magazines to learn more information about what was available in the hobby.
Ken’s model railroad uses the latest technology for the hobby.
After being an “armchair railroader” (thinking and dreaming about building a model railroad), I decided it was time to start working on a layout. I wanted it to be more than just track on a piece of plywood. I wanted realistic track work and realistic scenery. One day I visited Rider’s Hobby Shop and found a flyer promoting a local train show. So I started going to train shows to see what new products were available in locomotives and cars. I was amazed at how many shows there are in Michigan and Indiana.
Two years ago this past November, I attended a train show at the Home School Building in Wyoming. At the show I bought a HO scale diesel locomotive and wanted to see if it worked. The Grand River Valley Railroad Club (GRVRR Club) which was running the show had a test track there. The club member who tested the engine invited me to visit their club. I did and discovered that many improvements had been made in the hobby. I realized that the ideas I had for my railroad would require learning new techniques from others who had more experience in the hobby. I joined the club three years ago.
Photos courtesy of Ken Skopp
Over the past three years, I have started a model railroad layout in a 9′ x 10′ room in our condo basement. Roger Fenske former president of the GRVRR Club helped me build the bench work, lay the track, wire the layout and how to make realistic scenery. Most importantly, I learned about Digital Command Control (DCC).
Up to the advent of DCC control, trains ran on electrical current from a DC transformer that powered the electrical motor in the locomotive. You could only run one locomotive at a time on your layout. If you wanted to run more than one locomotive, you had to divide the layout into isolated electrical blocks or segments. The wiring and controls are somewhat complicated and not very flexible.
Because of the advance in computerization and miniaturization provided by DCC, each locomotive has a computer chip in it with an individual address. With a DCC control cab, you can send signals to each individual locomotive address. This allows you to control the direction of motion, speed and sound functions for that particular locomotive address. So now, you can have multiple locomotives running at the same time on your layout and each is under individual control.
The Grand Rapids Valley Railroad Train Shows offer fun for kids of any age.
But the biggest advancement in locomotives is the sound in them. It brings them to life! You hear the chuffing of your steam locomotive as it moves on the tracks. You can ring it’s bell and blow it’s whistle just like a real train! Now I can have my Pere Marquette Railroad Steam locomotive chugging around my train layout while my diesel switcher locomotive is switching cars in a train yard. All this action is complete with realistic locomotive sounds – engines, bells, and whistles!
Model railroading is a hobby that combines, motion, sound, 3D modeling, painting, sculpting, woodworking, electrical work, historical research and so much more! At the Grand River Valley RR Club’s Train show on Saturday, April 11th, you can see all the aspects of the hobby in action. You’ll see everything from a Garden Scale railroad that you can put in your backyard to a Z scale railroad that you can fit on the top of a small desk. Your children will love the large LEGO operating layout, playing with LEGOs in the play area, and seeing a “Thomas the Train” display. In addition, there will be two large HO scale operating layouts provided by The Holland Modular RR club and the Battle Creek Model RR Club. I invite you to come and enjoy it all! There will be food available, free parking, door prizes and 120 tables of model railroad items for purchase.
Most of us have no idea how our computer works or what tool you would need to fix one – and worse, no way to explain the mystery of modern technology to our kids. A group called GR Young Makers is out to change that. Recently about 150 6th graders from Godwin Heights were invited to find some answers to how things tick by taking things apart. A number of teachers volunteered to assist the students at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in an event called “Take It Apart Day.”
“Take it Apart Day” helps kids see how things work.
Robyn Bowles, Director of GR Young Makers, says the mission is to provide hands-on project-based learning opportunities for students and educators. The group has already visited classrooms in Jenison and Godwin Heights to introduce students and teachers to ways that science, math, and social studies can come together to help kids learn.
Lori Barr, 6th Grade Teacher at Pinewood Elementary in the Jenison Public Schools District says her students take things apart that would have ended up in a landfill and in the process learn about ecology and, “the mechanics involved…how electrons are involved in magnetics. So many things we’re learning about in the 6th grade are applied right before their very eyes.”
Tools are donated to help students explore the inner workings of machines.
Director Bowles says the group is an extension of GR Makers, a company that operates like a community tool shop and design studio to encourage people to try out ideas that may require expensive or hard-to-find tools and explore entrepreneurship. The GR Young Makers focus, however, is on students, educators and other community members.
One of the founders of GR Makers, Casey Du Bois, says, “This ‘take-it-apart’ thing has really taken off. We’ve got lots of free stuff so we’re hoping to be able to encourage other schools to do this.” The GR Makers have received hundreds of free tools from sponsors that make the GR Young Makers program possible as well.
So if you would like to fix a mechanical problem that can’t be solved by switching batteries, check out the GR Makers and think about inviting the GR Young Makers to visit your school. For more information contact https://www.grmakers.com/
Years of unrestricted dumping of pollutants into the Great Lakes have created several trouble zones where even fish can no longer live. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) describes these hot spots as “a location that has experienced environmental degradation,” dubbed Areas of Concern (AOC).Michigan’s U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, both members of the Great Lakes Task Force, recently announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is awarding $7.9 million to fund habitat restoration projects in the Great Lakes Areas of Concern.The Great Lakes Commission will lead a regional partnership in coordination with NOAA, the Great Lakes states and local agencies.
The U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreementdesignates AOCs as sites with the worst legacies of toxic contamination and environmental degradation in the Great Lakes ecosystem. The EPA currently lists 11 different AOCs in the State of Michigan.
A list of the 43 AOCs identified includes 26 located entirely within the United States, 12 located wholly within Canada, and 5 that are shared by both nations. To see the areas of concern on a regional map of the Great Lakes check out this link:
If your school media room needs a makeover, the Grand Rapids Griffins and Farm Bureau Insurance Company want to hear from you. Your elementary or middle school in Kent County or the Thornapple-Kellogg district could be a big winner. Simply answer the question “Why does your school need a media room makeover?” Provide an optional photo of your existing media room, computer lab or library. Applications may be submitted by anyone interested, including school principals, administrators or teachers. Applications are due online between now and April 1, 2015 at griffinshockey.com/mediaroommakeover
The media room makeover could consist of a variety of new resources such as computer hardware, software, books, furniture, paint, carpet and light construction, with a value ranging from a minimum of $5,000 to as much as $10,000-$15,000.
Following the application deadline on April 1, all entries will be reviewed by the Griffins and Farm Bureau Insurance and narrowed to a pool of three finalist schools, each of which will receive a site visit as part of the final selection. The Griffins and Farm Bureau will choose the winning school by April 30, assist school officials in the makeover of the school’s media room this summer, then host a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the start of the new school year in August or September.
Several partners have signed on to provide assistance with the makeover as needed, including Comprenew and Mike Case of Case Construction. In addition, the Kent Intermediate School District and the Diocese of Grand Rapids Office of Catholic Schools are supporting the contest by communicating the opportunity to every elementary and middle school principal in Kent County, as well as the Thornapple-Kellogg district in Barry County (which is served by KISD). All eligible schools with a need are encouraged to apply.
Official rules and regulations of the contest are available here .
The Kentwood City Commission will interview three finalists to fill the remainder of the Commissioner-at Large term expiring this November in a Committee of the Whole Meeting at 5:30 p.m. on March 3rd. The three were chosen from recent first round interviews of 20 interested Kentwood residents. The candidates are as follows: Ed Kape Jr. of 2576 Mapleview, Steve Redmond of 5949 Wind Brook, and Ronald Woods of 5396 Discovery. The position was vacated when former Kentwood City Commissioner Sharon Brinks stepped down in order to accept the position of Attorney Magistrate for the 62nd District Court.
A record 103 breweries and 1035 beers will be featured at the 10th Annual Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, coming up Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28 at Fifth-Third Ballpark just north of downtown Grand Rapids. Tickets for Friday’s session, which will run from 3-7pm (2pm entry for Enthusiast Members), remain available for $45 each at MiBeer.com.
Overall, 1000 fewer tickets are available for Friday meaning slightly smaller crowds and shorter lines. Friday will also feature special beer releases and tappings, a live ice carving demonstration by The Ice Guru Randy Finch, sideshow acts and street performers, musical entertainment and fireworks (weather permitting). If the Friday session does not sell out prior to the event, tickets will be available at the gate for $50 the day of. There will NOT be tickets at the gate on Saturday.
In part one of Lou Haveman’s story about Creation Care, Lou wrote of his family background in rural Michigan as an inspiration for his commitment to installing and promoting solar energy systems. His childhood built an appreciation for nature into his life.
In part two, Lou writes about his decision to move forward with the installation process even after he got a bid of $40,000 to make it happen. Bottom line – start wherever you can afford to and plan to grow.
We started with 4.5 KW system, about 50% of what we need. I took the 30% tax credit and saved just shy of $800 off the first 12 months of my Consumers electric bill. In the meantime I received three S-REX (Solar Renewable Energy Credits) each worth about $15.00. These credits will continue to grow the more alternative energy I contribute to the grid. I have a system that is estimated to last 40 years with a payback in about nine. The tax assessor did not raise my assessment. However, the value of my property increased substantially. Over-all not a bad investment looking just at the economics.
When it is hot and sunny. I do not complain. The electric meter is running backwards. When it rains my garden flourishes and produces. The Solar panels work every day and require zero maintenance unless I want to brush off the snow. My carbon foot print is zero. I love to read my solar inverter. As of today I have “saved” 6,364 lbs. of CO2. Best of all I believe in creation care, living within and on the abundance of energy God through nature has already provided…free!
Yet, this is only the beginning. I feel like we are only at the model T stage of renewable energy. As I think about expanding, technology already has expanded. Here are a few new things we are thinking about:
Complete our system to cover 100% of our energy needs.
Add a solar circuit to our breaker box so I can run the furnace fan and thermostat independently of our grid.
Purchase a 100% electric vehicle.
Build a solar powered hydroponic high density garden with a fish pond as a nutrient base.
And there is so much more: geo-thermal, replacing the gas HWHs with electric on demand, more LED lights…All of this should keep us busy for a while!
A cold grey day in Michigan may not seem like the best time to rely on solar heating systems, but Lou Haveman in Grandville would disagree. “We produce our own electricity,” says Lou, “and when we produce more than we need, it goes back on the grid.” More than he needs to power a house full of appliances, including his furnace? Yes, even in the coldest weather.
Lou still gets some of his electricity from Consumers Energy. But in December 2013 he installed a solar system in his home and spent all of 2014 watching his energy bills go down by nearly 60%. At 12 cents a kilowatt, that adds up to a savings of about $725.
It wasn’t all about saving money for Lou. He’s a strong supporter of what is sometimes called Creation Care – acting as a loving steward for Planet Earth http://www.creationcare.org/
Lou explains, “Simply to live in balance with nature, recognizing environmental issues need to be addressed. It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s another thing to act on it.”
And it’s not easy to take action. “Consumers Energy actually has a lottery system. They allocate so many kilowatt hours for solar. You submit your application and by lottery if you’re selected, then you’re approved.” Lou says finding someone you trust who is skilled and experienced in solar installation is critical. “Initially, I’m pretty handy. I thought this is something I could do, but realistically that isn’t a viable option.”
Some rebates or tax incentives are available for homeowners who want to install alternative energy programs. But even though Lou got lucky in the lottery, eventually found Solar Winds to plan and install his system, and qualified for a 30% tax credit, he still had to spend about $20,000 to make it happen. Still Lou looks to the future. He expects to recover all the cost of the installation in about 10 years’ time, after which his electricity will be virtually free.
“But in addition to that,” says Lou, “it’s just incredibly rewarding to look at that meter and see it run backwards. I realize not everyone has the financial resources [to invest in alternative energy], but if we do I think it’s imperative that we do so.”
For a video version of this story, click on the play button at the top of the page.
Majorie Steele, member of the local Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, shows off vintage Red Cross uniforms and supplies used during World War II, the era in which “South Pacific” takes place.
Set sail for the South Pacific with the Grand Rapids Civic Theater from February 27 through March 22. An amazing cast will take you to the other side of the world and back in time to World War II. This iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical tells two honest love stories from a different era where prejudice often complicated romance.
The first of these romances is Nellie’s, a lively nurse from Arkansas. Upon arriving in the South Pacific, she is quickly swept up in a romance with Emile who is a local plantation owner. When Nellie learns of his romantic past with another local, she refuses his proposal.
Lieutenant Joe Cable’s story is the second. His love affair with Liat, the young daughter of Bloody Mary who is a local grass skirt peddler, leaves him struggling with his prejudices and fears of social consequences.
Rodgers and Hammerstein’s play, South Pacific was based on James A. Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Tales of the South Pacific. They believed that their musical adaptation could be financially successful and would also send a strong, open-minded message on the prejudices that were prevalent in the 1940’s.
In addition to the social message of South Pacific, there are the wonderful songs that are still sung today. “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair” and “Some Enchanted Evening” are two of the musical’s hits that have been sung for generations.
Civic Theater has partnered with the Red Cross for this production of South Pacific. The Red Cross had a strong presence in World War II when volunteers soared from 17,000 to 7.5 million. Volunteers supported service men and women by donating blood and also serving alongside the military in the South Pacific. The Red Cross has organized a letter writing campaign that will take place during the performance. Audience members can write a note of thanks to veterans who are returning home.
Come escape this Michigan winter and see South Pacific at Grand Rapids Civic Theater. Show times are 7:30 PM Wednesday through Saturday with a 2 PM matinee performance on Sunday.
Small business owners and interested members of the public are invited to register now for free sessions in a variety of topics designed to help companies grow. Offered by Beene Garter, West Michigan’s largest independently owned accounting and consulting firm, the series kicks of Thursday, May 21 from 7:45 AM – 9 AM with the topic “The Internet of Things.” Discussion will focus on how the Internet of Things is evolving and how you can use it to grow your business.
Each session is limited to 50 attendees. Sessions will be held at Beene Garter in downtown Grand Rapids. Pre-registration is required. Individuals can register for the series at: www.beenegarter.com/taxtips
Other topics in the series include
Pros & Cons of Outsourcing Your Accounting Thursday, June 18 | 7:45 – 9 AM
State & Local Tax Issues for Your Small Business Thursday, September 17 | 7:45 – 9 AM
Designing a Retirement Plan for Your Small Business Thursday, October 22 | 7:45 – 9 AM
Ironically, it was a well-deserved promotion that did him in.
Robinette’s Apple Haus & Winery
