A City of Kentwood Police Department officer shows police car controls and features to participants during a lesson about traffic stops, from the Kentwood Police Department’s 2019 Youth Academy. (City of Kentwood)
The City of Kentwood Police Department knows that local youth often consider the field of law enforcement to be something they might want to pursue after graduation, but they also know that those same youth might not really know what the career field is all about.
The Kentwood Police Department’s Youth Academy, currently accepting applications for this year’s academy scheduled for July, gives those youth that “first-hand” knowledge.
The academy allows “them to just come in and see what it is like to be a police officer, to be involved with some of the training, some of the scenarios,” Kentwood Police Chief Richard Roberts said to WKTV during a recent visit to our studios. “We think that is important to offer that to individuals who might be considering law enforcement.”
Chief Roberts also pointed out that “we are offering (the academy) to any high schooler — they don’t have to be a Kentwood high schooler — as long as they are graduating this year, or they will be (a returning high school student next year) …, if they are interested in law enforcement.”
This year’s four-day program will take place Monday to Thursday, July 26-29, and is open to all graduating seniors and students who will be a sophomore, junior or senior in the 2021-22 school year. Applications are due May 14.
The free program will run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at the Kentwood Police Department, 4742 Walma Ave. SE, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place, according to a statement from the City of Kentwood.
Students will experience a wide-range of police training activities including traffic stops, drunken driving enforcement, building searches, subject control and handcuffing, as well as tactics of the Special Response Team.
Eligible participants “must possess good moral character and pass a background check,” according to the statement. They will be interviewed before being accepted into the program and will be required to attend a pre-academy informational meeting with a parent or guardian. Each participant will be provided a uniform and daily lunch.
To participate, students must contact Sgt. Tim Wierenga for an initial screening and application at wierengat@kentwood.us or 616-656-6561. Applications may be delivered in person at the Kentwood Police Department or by mail to Sgt. Wierenga at 4742 Walma Ave. SE, Kentwood, MI 49512. Applications are available online here.
Wyoming High School head softball coach Kaitlin Failing visits the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection to catch us up on her team and the Wolves program. (WKTV)
On this latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, as part of our coverage of local high school athletics, we talk spring sports — specifically Wyoming Wolves softball.
When the MHSAA announced a week’s delay in the beginning of practice and the scheduling of games for the state’s softball teams, Wyoming high head softball coach Kaitlin Failing wasn’t too concerned about the delay. It was last year’s lost season that was of more concern … a year lost not only to her players but to the Wolves program.
In late March, just before the start of the season, Coach Failing sat down with WKTV’s Mike Moll to talk about her program, the new normal for high school sports still impacted by the pandemic, but also her optimistic outlook about her team and what it might look like this season.
Wyoming high head softball Coach Kaitlin Failing’s WKTV Journal Sports Connection interview with WKTV’s Mike Moll is just one part of our video, online/print and game coverage of local high school athletics. And we are always looking for community volunteers to join the team. (WKTV)
WKTV Journal Sports Connection brings its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, on-line, on cable television, and on our on-demand and YouTube channels. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting wktvjournal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of high school athletic events and other sports, at WKTVlive.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
A couple weeks ago, we talked about the general noise ordinance. Did you know that there’s a separate ordinance that addresses music from vehicles? It falls under “disturbing the peace”, and the ordinance divides the day into 7 a.m.-7 p.m. (daytime hours) and 7 p.m.-7 a.m. (nighttime hours).
This week’s Traffic Tuesday question: Fill in the blanks! It is unlawful for any person to disturb the public peace and quiet by operating or allowing a sound system of a vehicle to produce a clearly audible sound at a distance of ___ feet from the vehicle during daytime hours and ___ feet from the vehicle during night time hours.
Wyoming High School head baseball coach Travis Stricklin visits the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection to catch us up on his team and the Wolves program. (WKTV)
On this latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, as part of our coverage of local high school athletics, we talk spring sports — yes, the weather may delay prep baseball and softball this season, as usual, but at least there is likely to be some action on Wyoming and Kentwood diamonds this year.
Last year, high school spring sports was washed away by the pandemic.
Wyoming high head baseball coach Travis Stricklin. (WKTV)
In late March, just before the start of the 2021 spring sports season, WKTV sports volunteer Paul Kabelman sat down with Wyoming high head baseball coach Travis Stricklin to talk about the lost season for the Wolves last year, and how it is just another obstacle for his team to overcome.
Coach Stricklin also talks about the new normal for high school sports still impacted by the pandemic, and — of course — what his team might look like this season. (Hint: they like “small ball”!)
WKTV Journal Sports Connection brings its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, on-line, on cable television, and on our on-demand and YouTube channels. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting wktvjournal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of high school athletic events and other sports, at WKTVlive.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Grand Rapids South Christian High School hosted a boys basketball district final on March 27 between the host Sailors and the Grand Rapids Christian Eagles. (WKTV/Ellington Smith)
Despite an unfilled gymnasium at Grand Rapids South Christian High School, due to pandemic restrictions, the atmosphere and energy was high with fans on both sides in a district final March 27 between two consensus top 30 teams in the state, the host Sailors and the Grand Rapids Christian Eagles.
In the end, the Sailors weathered a hectic fourth quarter and sent their fans home happy with a 62-54 win and a Division 2, District 44 championship. Christian ends the year at 9-3.
South Christian head Coach Jeff Meengs was proud of the team’s composure in the tight game, especially in the fourth quarter, and was specifically proud of his seniors.
“They weathered a lot, (against an athletic Eagles team), and dealt with the pressure,” Meengs said to WKTV. They “kept their composure, and kept making plays.”
The Sailors (17-2) now have a tall task ahead of them as they advance to the Division 2 Region 11 tournament — also on South Christian’s home floor — starting on Tuesday, March 30, at 5 p.m., against rival Grand Rapids Catholic Central.
South Christian only two losses on the year were to Catholic Central by a combined margin of five points.
The fans on both sides were limited (due to COVID-19 restrictions) but loud as Grand Rapids South Christian hosted a boys basketball district final on March 27 between the Sailors and the Grand Rapids Christian Eagles. (WKTV/Ellington Smith)
District final was back and forth game
In the District final game, both teams set out to be evenly matched, with both only having two losses going into this contest, but the Eagles were without their star, University of Michigan commit Kobe Bufkin, which completely changed the outlook of their team.
Despite Bufkin’s absence, early on both teams were consistently trading baskets back and forth with offensive rebounds and getting out in transition being two early keys to success that saw South Chrisitan jump out to an early lead due to the height advantage they possessed with senior forwards Elliot Grashiuis and Connor Dykema.
As a result, the first quarter ended with South Christian leading 18-13 in a very high action game with the refs letting them play. It was not all positive for the Sailors as their lead guard Isaac Northouse picked up an early knee injury, and was out for the remainder of the game.
In the second quarter, South Christian was able to gain separation jumping out to a double-digit lead due to stifling defense that left Christian’s offense stagnant.
Much of the Eagles’ offense has been singularly isolation focused as they are used to McDonald’s All American Bufkin leading them. Due to Bufkin’s absence, senior Donovan Brown Boyd carried much of the load of the offense, scoring and making plays for his teammates. The half ended with South Christian up 34-23, dominating on both ends of the floor creating turnovers and generating good looks with Dykema leading all scorers with nine points.
The third quarter began with much of the same as the Sailors are able to jump out to an 18-point lead, their biggest of the game. However, the game was clearly not over as Christian was able to cut the lead to nine later in the quarter due to timely buckets from Brown Boyd leading his team with 21 points. Brown Boyd picked it up defensively as well with 2 blocks in one possession.
But the Sailors were still comfortably in the lead with a score of 47-36 at the conclusion of the third quarter.
For much of the fourth quarter the score stayed at about a 10-point spread in a sequence dominated by fouls and turnovers on both sides.
The game’s momentum then picked up when the Eagles came out in a press that generated turnovers in consecutive possessions and were able to cut the lead to five.
However, Sailors were able to regain their composure and take command of the game as with about 40 seconds to go South Christian went to the line repeatedly to keep its separation and successfully closing out the game with free throws and offensive rebounds resulting in a final score of 62-54.
For the game, the Sailors had a very balanced attack with three players in double figures, as guard Jacob Dehaan led the team in scoring with 18 points, followed by Dykema and Sam Meengs, each with 12 points.
After the game coach Meengs spoke on the fluidity of the Sailors’ offense.
“We had an inside presence with Connor, especially in the first half, that forces (the defense) to worry about that, and that set up some nice outside shooting,” he said. “And we hit them.”
The shortened 2020-21 boys high school basketball season came to an end this week for several local teams in state district tournaments, but the Grand Rapids South Christian Sailors are in the finals of their Division 2 tournament, and the Wyoming Tri-unity Christian Defenders are in the finals of their Division 4 tournament.
Both teams will be on their home floors for games Saturday, March 27.
South Christian (16-2, with two wins in the district tournament) will take on Grand Rapids Christian (9-2) at 6 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Division 2 Region 11 tournament — also on the Sailors’ home floor — starting on March 30.
Tri-unity Christian (9-2, with one win in the district tournament) will take on Martin (6-6-1) at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Division 4 Region 29 tournament at Niles starting on March 30.
South Christian, in early district play, defeated Kelloggsville (2-8 to end the season), by a score of 66-20, in opening round action March 23. The Sailors then handed Godwin Heights (10-1) its only loss of the season, by the score of 79-49, in the semifinals March 25.
Tri-unity, in early district play, defeated West Michigan Lutheran, 83-22, in semifinals play on March 25.
Other local district results
In the Division 1 tournament at East Grand Rapids, Wyoming high won an opening round game March 23 against Byron Center, 54-53, but then lost in the semifinals March 25 to host East Grand Rapids, 54-52. The Wolves finished the season at 7-9 overall.
In other Division 1 tournament action, East Kentwood lost to Caledonia, 53-49, on March 23, to end the season at 3-12. (WKTV was there and a report is available here.)
In other Division 2 action at South Christian, West Michigan Aviation Academy lost to Grand Rapids Christian, 74-48, on March 25, to end their season at 12-6.
In Division 3 action at Fennville, Wyoming Potters House Christian lost to Calvin Christian, 38-37, on March 23, and ended their season at 5-5.
After a hectic week of local teams battling in state girls basketball district tournaments, the East Kentwood Falcons are in the finals of the Division 1 tournament at Middleville Thornapple Kellogg High School, while the South Christian Sailors are in the finals of the Division 2 tournament in Wayland. Both finals will be Friday, March 26.
East Kentwood (13-3, with two wins in the tournament) will face off against East Grand Rapids (12-2) at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Division 1 Region 3 tournament at Holland West Ottawa starting on Monday, March 29.
South Christian (11-4, with one win in the tournament) will take on host Wayland (9-2) at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the Division 2 Region 12 tournament at Edwardsburg, also starting on March 29.
In this week’s early district play, East Kentwood defeated host Middleville, 69-44, on Monday, March 22, and then defeated Byron Center, 41-34, in semifinal action Wednesday, March 24.
South Christian, also in early district play, had a bye and then defeated Kentwood Grand River Preparatory Academy, 71-15, in the semifinals March 24.
Other local district results
In the Division 1 tournament at Middleville, Wyoming high lost an opening round game to Byron Center, 63-41, as the Wolves ended their season at 10-7.
In the Division 2 tournament at Godwin Heights, Kelloggsville defeated the host Wolverines (5-6 overall) in opening round action by the score of 41-39. The Rockets then lost in the semifinals to Grand Rapids Catholic, 44-36, to finish their season with a 5-8 record.
In the Division 2 tournament at Wayland, West Michigan Aviation Academy defeated Hopkins, 53-42, before falling to Wayland, 57-22, in the semifinals to finish their season at 12-6.
In the Division 3 tournament at Covenant Christian High School, Wyoming Potter’s House lost to Grandville Calvin Christian, 49-39, in semifinal action and ended the season at 9-5 overall.
In the Division 4 tournament at Martin, Tri-unity Christian lost to host Martin, 49-41 in semifinal action and ended their season at 5-10.
The East Kentwood Falcons boys basketball team opened post-season play March 23 against host and fellow OK Conference Red member Caledonia, in what was their third matchup in the shortened 2020-21 boys basketball season.
Caledonia won the first two games by margins of two and 15, and while it proved difficult to defeat a team three times in the same season, the Fighting Scots accomplished just that with a hard-fought, 53-49, victory to open district play.
Caledonia (9-6) moves on to face Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills (7-10) Thursday, March 25, in district semifinal play.
Falcons head coach Jeff Anama’s young team — which started a freshman, two sophomores, and two seniors in the game — finish the year with a 3-12 record that included a 3-11 conference mark.
In contrast, Caledonia head coach Phil Visser’s Scots team is loaded with height as three starters are 6-foot-5 or taller, and experience, with four seniors and a junior starting.
Caledonia got off to the early lead because of several offensive rebounds to set the stage for second- and third-chance points to take a 17-9 lead after the first quarter. That contrasted with East Kentwood, as the Scots zone defense limited them to few second opportunities.
East Kentwood super sophomore Marshaun Flakes scores two of his team high 17 points. (WKTV/Mike Moll)
Sophomore Marshaun Flakes led the scoring for the Falcons in the quarter with five points, including a 3-pointer to open the game’s scoring, while Caledonia senior Koby VanderWoude had 9 points, including a pair of 3-pointers of his own.
The second stanza had the Falcons connecting from the outside after Caledonia changed defenses to start the quarter, as sophomore Jy’Air Harris hit a pair of threes and a free throw to finish with 7 points in the quarter, which matched Flakes as the leading scorers for East Kentwood.
VanderWoude had another five points in the quarter, including his third triple of the half, to lead all scorers with 14. Nick Henry chimed in with 7 points at the half for Caledonia as the 8-point deficit was cut to five at the half, 27-22, after the Falcons scored the last three points in the quarter.
The third quarter started with Caledonia’s VanderWoude shooting a pair of free throws after the referees assessed a technical foul on the Falcons for dunking during halftime warm-ups. He made one to give the Scots a 28-22 lead, but the Falcons offense really came to life after that with a 12-0 run to secure a 34-28 lead.
That run was led by senior Chris Brown with six points, including a 3-point make that, after a foul by Caledonia’s Henry, turned into a 4-point play. Caledonia’s Liam Mulnix stopped the run with an old fashioned 3-point play on a basket and made free throw, but the Falcons immediately went on another 5-0 run including another triple from Brown, before Caledonia finished the quarter by scoring the last four to cut the deficit in half, 39-35.
Flakes had 11 points. and Harris and Brown each had nine after three quarters while VanderWoude led all scorers with 19.
After an opening basket by East Kentwood to again increase the lead to six, 41-35, it was Caledonia’s turn to make a run as they scored the next seven including VanderWoude’s fourth triple of the night, to go ahead 42-41.
The fouls quickly mounted for East Kentwood after that as the Scots were in the bonus with just over six minutes remaining in the game and in the double bonus at the 3:43 mark. While the Falcons were scoring from the floor and attempting to use time, the Scots made 14 trips to the charity stripe in the quarter, where they converted nine to win the quarter, 18-10.
The game looked like it was possibly heading to overtime before a key turnover by East Kentwood with the score 51-49 in favor of Caledonia, which forced the Falcons into committing another foul in hopes of getting a late shot. But Mulnix calmly dropped a pair of free throws with just over six seconds remaining to put the game out of reach.
On the night, East Kentwood made 2-of-6 free throw attempts, while Caledonia was plus 11 from the line, sinking 13-of-22 attempts.
East Kentwood freshman Christian Humphrey scores two of his eight points. (WKTV/Mike Moll)
East Kentwood was led by Flakes with 17 points, Brown had 11, Harris nine, freshman Christian Humphrey eight and senior Joshua Mayhue added four.
The victorious Fighting Scots were paced by Vanderwoude with a game high 27, Henry nine, Mulnix five, and four each from Paul Vogeler, Andrew Larson, and Brooks Day.
Caledonia will now face O-K Gold Ottawa Hills on Thursday after they defeated Middleville 60-55 in their district opener. The winner of that game will play the winner between Wyoming (7-8) and East Grand Rapids (5-5) for a district championship on Saturday.
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity has been in the news a lot over the last year for programs to support workers in the state in this time of pandemic economic hardships, including the Futures for Frontliners program, which is providing free tuition to certain Michigan essential workers for them to continue their education.
But that temporary program is only one of several ways the LEO, as it is often called, supports workers.
With us via Zoom is Susan Corbin, acting director of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, who details Futures for Frontliners and well as other work by her department to support all workers in the state.
For more information about Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity visit michigan.gov/leo/.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule. For dates and times on Channel 99, visit here). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Having cheered together for most of their high school careers, the five seniors who are the Wyoming Lee Cheer team make the moves look effortless as members lift up their flyer, anticipating her movements.
“We have come a long way,” said senior Amy Sosa. “There is just the five us and we have this really strong bond. We’re happy that we are all here and we do really well together.”
Like so many of the winter high school sports teams, the Wyoming Lee cheer team had the long wait to find out if it would even have a season. When the green light was given, the Wyoming Lee team came ready to tuck and roll as they quickly snagged second and third place wins at their first two meets.
They are the Legends. (WKTV)
Not an easy feat considering that there was a change in divisions for the cheer programs in the OK Conference, according to Coach Jody Hankis Snyder. Wyoming Lee is now part of the OK Silver which includes Comstock Park, Sparta, Kelloggsville, Godwin Heights, Belding, Hopkins, NorthPointe Christian and Calvin Christian.
“We have all worked so hard,” said senior Arely Fernandez. “We have built so many memories and so many friendships that it would have been really sad if we couldn’t finish it out on our last year.
“This is like our opportunity to show that we can do something that is fun and cool.”
There have been challenges as the team has had to work with new rules to prevent the spread of COVID 19, one of which is the requirement to wear masks even when performing.
“It is not the same voices,” said senior Elsy Bonilla. “You can’t show the excitement like you could without a mask.
“Still we have been doing really well despite the challenges, landing in the top tier of the teams.”
Also many high school sports teams saw a reduction in participation due to COVID. This meant new challenges from some on the Wyoming Lee cheer team as they filled spots that were open.
“I’m a base,” said senior Arely Fernandez. “I have always been a flyer so I never would have thought that I could be a base.
“This has shown me how strong I am and now round three has become my favorite round because I am able to show off that strength.”
With senior Adriana Landis adding that the team has gained other strengths as well.
“We have learned to teach each other and to motivate each other,” Landis said adding this has helped not only on the floor but to cement the bonds of friendship as well.
Godfrey-Lee School District athletic director Jason Faasse visits the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection to catch us up on his Lee High School Legends news. (WKTV)
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, as part of our coverage of local high school athletics, Godfrey-Lee School District athletic director Jason Faasse visited our studios to catch us up on Lee High School sports.
And what’s new with the Legends includes a planned athletic conference change coming in 2021-22, some long-awaited continuity in their coaching staff, and — oh, ya — there is that infrastructure bond measure that was passed last year and what it will mean for the Lee teams and programs.
And, like all schools across Michigan, there have been impacts of COVID-19.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection brings its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, both on cable television and on our on-demand and YouTube channels. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting wktvjournal.com/sports.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTVlive.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Carlton Brewster II, shown in the colors of Kalamazoo Central High School, will be wearing a different color when he takes the field as Wyoming High School football head coach. (Coach Brewster’s Twitter Page)
Wyoming Pubic Schools announced this week that Carlton Brewster II, who most recently was head football coach at Kalamazoo Central High School but is no stranger to the Wyoming Wolves football sidelines, has been named Wyoming high head football coach as well as the school’s Dean of Students.
Brewster takes over the Wyoming program from Irv Sigler Jr., who resigned his coaching position in January after four years leading the Wolves.
Brewster, at Kalamazoo Central, also served as “Character Development Coach” and WPS superintendent Craig Hoekstra stressed that the new coach brings knowledge and skills both on and off the playing field.
“After a thorough interview process, we are confident his knowledge and experience makes him the right person to lead our team,” Hoekstra said in supplied material. “Brewster knows what it takes to be a successful student-athlete both on and off the field and he brings to Wyoming an impressive plan to grow and develop our football program.”
After graduating from and playing football at Grand Rapids’ Creston High School, Brewster played football at the college and professional levels, and coached at three Wyoming-area highs schools — Wyoming high, Lee and Godwin Heights — before his stint at Kalamazoo Central. Coach Brewster and his wife, Cassondra, live in Wyoming with their five children: Aniyah, Kevin, Teonna, Zara and Carlton III.
And being back in the community where he lives and where much of his coaching history was made is important to “Coach Brewster”.
“I have been living in Wyoming for the past 10 years and coaching at Wyoming High School has been a dream of mine,” Brewster said in supplied material. “I look forward to serving our community and students.”
Wyoming Public Schools Athletic Director Ted Hollern not only knows Coach Brewster well but has high expectations for the football program under its new coach.
“Coach Brewster is a great addition to the Wyoming High School staff and athletic department,” Hollern said in supplied material. “He brings excitement, experience, and a tremendous work ethic. I know our student athletes will be prepared and have fun while competing against teams in the O.K. Conference.”
A wealth of experience and success
After playing at Creston high, Brewster was a standout wide receiver at Ferris State University, ranking high in the Bulldogs record book for wide receivers with 234 receptions for a total of 3,184 yards. Also at Ferris State, he earned his Bachelor of Integrative Studies of Arts and Science in 2010, and then his Masters in Educational Leadership from Grand Valley State University in 2013.
Following his tenure playing for the Bulldogs, Brewster spent two years in the NFL as a wide receiver and punt returner for the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos. Later he also played semi-pro ball for the Grand Rapids Rampage, Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz and Chicago Rush.
Once his playing career had finished, Brewster moved to the sidelines to coach.
His first stops were as wide receiver coach at Creston High School, Ottawa Hills High School, Grand Rapids Catholic Central and Forest Hills Eastern.
In 2014, Brewster served as the Wyoming high offensive coordinator. That season, Wolves quarterback Brendan Berg threw for 2,001 yards and wide receiver Michael Williams was named 1st Team All Conference.
Brewster was then named head coach at Godfrey Lee Public School’s Wyoming Lee High School in 2015. He then spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons as the head coach at Godwin Heights, where his teams went 5-5 and then 7-3. In 2018, Brewster was named head coach at Kalamazoo Central, and in three years his team complied an 11-15 overall record, including the COVID-19 disrupted 2020 season.
This week WKTV Sports features two high school girls basketball match-ups beginning Tuesday, March 2, with an OK Conference Red match-up as Grandville visits East Kentwood, the state’s No. 4 ranked team in Division 1.
Later in the week, on Thursday, March 4, the WKTV crew will be at South Christian as Forest Hills Eastern visits for an OK Gold contest. The Sailors enter the week 6-1 in conference and 7-1 overall; FH Eastern is 3-5 and 3-6 overall.
The WKTV Featured Game sports crew includes volunteer announcers including, from a 2020 game at East Kentwood, Ron Schultz and Mark Bergsma. (WKTV)
The Tuesday contest will tip off at 7 p.m., and WKTV will record the game and replay it later Tuesday night, at 11 p.m., with more replays to be scheduled, and it will available on-demand later. (See details at end of story.)
The Grandville Bulldogs come into the game with 2-7 record (1-6 in OK Red) and coming off a 73-38 loss at Holland West Ottawa on Feb. 27.
The Falcons come into the game with a 6-1 record, all in conference, after a 54-43 road win at Grand Haven Feb. 27, and riding a 2-game winning streak following their only loss of the season, a 56-52 nail-biter at OK Red leader Hudsonville (7-0, 8-1 overall). The Falcons and the Eagles will have their rematch, at East Kentwood, on March 13.
According to information provided to WKTV by Eric Large, East Kentwood head girls basketball coach, the Falcons are a deep, experienced team with four seniors nominated for McDonald’s All American: Alexis McCully, Kaybriana Hallman, Madisyn Tillman and Keliese Christopher.
Christopher is averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds a game; McCully is averaging 17 points and 8 assists; junior guard Deyonce Thompson is averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists; and Tilman is averaging 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Hallman is currently out due to an injury but, coach Large reports, she is ranked nationally (ESPN #46 in the country) and has signed to play at Xavier University next season. Tilmann will be playing at Eastern Michigan next season, and both Christopher and McCully have Division 1 offers.
To see the Grandville at East Kentwood basketball game on WKTV on-demand visit WKTVlive.com.
WKTV featured games will be on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, on various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of winter high school sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
WKTV’s featured game crew was at this 2019 baseball game between Wyoming and South Christian high schools — the last season the Wolves were able to take the field due to the cancellation of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 restrictions. (WKTV)
High school baseball and softball games in March routinely get rained, or snowed, out in West Michigan. But this year, even if delayed, they stand a chance to played — unlike last season, which was canceled as COVID-19 hit the scene.
So even before the announcement last week from the Michigan High School Athletic Association that spring sports practices and competitions would be delayed by a week, which is expected to have little impact on the Wyoming High School’s ball teams, the Wolves are mostly simply eager for their first live action in more than a year.
“With the delayed start being only one week, as well as the MHSAA allowing us to continue both four man workouts and conditioning workouts, I see no real impact,” Travis Stricklin, Wyoming head baseball coach, said to WKTV. Stricklin is entering his first year leading the Wolves onto the field. “If anything, it gives us an extra week with the kids to prepare and get ready for the start of our season.”
Kaitlin Failing, Wyoming head softball coach, agrees — but includes an additional reason the delay isn’t so bad.
“I think that the later start date is good considering basketball got pushed back,” Failing said to WKTV. “We share a lot of athletes with basketball and it would become pretty difficult to field teams if they are overlapping. We never really get games in the first couple of weeks anyways, so it doesn’t really matter to us that we are starting later.”
Both coaches, however, see last year’s hiatus from high school competition as being the real obstacle to be overcome by their 2021 teams and their entire programs.
“I think (losing) the entire season really affected our program and other programs in similar economic situations,” Failing said. “We tend to run a lot of opportunities for the girls within Wyoming to participate in softball through the school system, for 5th grade up. With the season being cancelled, our girls lost out on their only opportunity to participate in softball. … (Also) without being allowed to run clubs and clinics for all of our younger students, we are not able to get new students interested in playing or give our younger girls the opportunity to get better.”
Failing also pointed out that some high school programs had a high level of travel participation, with their athletes able to play throughout the summer and fall despite Michigan restrictions, “while a lot of our athletes haven’t played in over a year now … our athletes missed out on their only opportunities to play if they do not play travel” ball.
And, she pointed out, with the missing season, many student-athletes are choosing not to play this season “for a number of other reasons because of COVID.”
Much the same is true for the Wolves baseball program.
“Not having a season last year took a toll on our program for sure,” Stricklin said. “We feel that we are beginning to progress as a program, so losing a year due to the pandemic was definitely not easy.
“That being said, I am beyond proud of the way our kids handled it. Rather than getting upset and letting it keep them down, they simply asked when we could begin working out together again to try and get better for whenever we do actually get to play.”
Delay aside, a 2021 season is expected
The MHSAA announced Feb. 22 that its Representative Council had approved an “adjustment to the Spring 2021 schedule delaying the start of practices in those sports one week to March 22 and competition to March 26 “to accommodate a later end to Winter sports this season,” according to the statement.
“The calendar change should alleviate pressures on indoor facility usage and athletes changing seasons with Winter sports concluding up to two weeks later this school year after a delayed start due to COVID-19,” according to the MHSAA statement.
The MHSAA said it based its decision in part on feedback from a survey of MHSAA member high schools, which saw 74 percent favoring a delay in spring sports activity of at least one week. State coaches associations for spring sports also were consulted, and, according to the MHSAA statement “the great majority of Michigan schools are unable to begin consistent spring sports outdoor activity and competition until early April.”
All spring sports tournament dates remain as originally scheduled, however, with MHSAA finals in baseball, softball and girls soccer concluding the 2020-21 postseason June 19.
Previously, the MHSAA council approved an allowance for spring teams to meet for voluntary practices over 16 contact days in September and October, 2020. General conditioning with an unlimited number of students was allowed, with other out-of-season training (four-player workouts, open gyms/facilities) allowed to continue through March 21, with council having eliminated the preseason downtime restriction for Spring sports this year.
But those allowances did not necessarily benefit all schools, or programs, equally.
“We couldn’t really do much with the 16 days because we do not have enough athletes to scrimmage ourselves or run practices because our athletes all play other sports in the fall,” Failing said. “We held open fields but we knew we wouldn’t have a ton of participation because they were not available. I know other schools were able to get their teams together and scrimmage themselves.”
This week WKTV Sports features a OK Green Conference showdown between the Zeeland East Chix and the Wyoming Wolves boys basketball varsity teams, Thursday, Feb. 25, at Wyoming High School.
The contest will tip off at 7 p.m., and WKTV will record the game and replay it later Friday night, at 11 p.m., with more replays to be scheduled, and make it available on-demand later. (See details at bottom of story.)
The Zeeland East Chix come into the game with a perfect 6-0 (5-0 on OK Green) record coming off of a Feb. 23 victory against rivals Zeeland West in which they outscored them 44-39.
The Chix are led by seniors Trip Riemersma and brothers Brandon and Nate Claerbaut.
Wyoming has not fared quite as well this year, as they have gotten off to a 3-4 start (3-2 in OK Green), but the Wolves are coming off of a 63-54 victory this week against Grand Rapids Union which snapped a 3-game slide.
Both of these teams are looking to continue the success they experienced during the 2019-20 season where the Chix finished with a 14-6 record, and the Wolves finished with an 18-2 record. In the state tournament last season, both teams were victorious in their first two playoff games and made it to the district championship, which was eventually cancelled due to COVID-19.
To see the Zeeland East vs Wyoming boys basketball on WKTV on-demand visit WKTVlive.com.
WKTV featured games will be on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of winter high school sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
Ansel Adams (American, 1902-1984), “Half Dome, Merced River, Winter from The Photographs of Yosemite Suite” (Silverprint photograph, 1938. Gift of the Friends of Art, 1989)
This year, the Muskegon Museum of Art is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Friends of Art, an independent non-profit organization established in 1921 that promotes the study of art and supports the museum.
Two exhibitions organized by the MMA recognize the contributions of the Friends of Art, highlighting works of art that the group has contributed to the MMA over the past century — including one exhibit featuring iconic photographs of Ansel Adams which opened Feb. 18.
The exhibit “Friends of Art: 100 Years” features almost 30 artworks donated by the “Friends” to the museum’s permanent collection over the decades.
Tunis Ponsen (American, 1891-1968), “Yacht Club Pier” (Oil on canvas, 1931. Gift of Friends of Art, 1931)
“Visitors will discover a rich diversity of objects along with some of the museum’s most significant works of art, including pieces by James Richmond Barthé and Paul Howard Manship and one of our signature paintings, Tunis Ponsen’s ‘Yacht Club Pier’,” Art Martin, MMA senior curator, said in supplied material.
The exhibition runs through May 2, and includes a video, “Friends of Art 100th Year Anniversary”, which tells the story of the history of the group through the years. The video and exhibition information can be found here.
Also on exhibit as part of the celebration is “Ansel Adams: The Photographs of Yosemite Suite” which features 24 iconic images taken in the 1940s of Yosemite National Park — the location and pictures that defined Adams’s internationally celebrated career.
In preview material of the exhibit, it is stated: “The artistic and technical contributions Ansel Adams made to photography established him as a legendary figure in American art. Seen by millions of viewers during his lifetime, Adams’s images documented the American wilderness, capturing transitory moments of light and weather that gave his subjects an emotive power not previously seen in landscape photography.”
Friends of Art members purchased the photographs for the museum collection in 1989. The exhibition runs through May 9.
Paul Howard Manship (American, 1885-1966), “Flight of Europa” (Bronze on onyx base, 1928. Gift of the Friends of Art, 1944)
The museum is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, and closed Mondays. Health and safety measures include limited occupancy in galleries and other public spaces, enhanced cleaning, and mask wearing is required for guests and staff.
Visit muskegonartmuseum.org for museum updates, visitor information, and exhibition information.
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Michael Jordan, who was once cut from his high school basketball team
Bowling for school pride — Wyoming, East Kentwood, Kelloggsville
As the winter sports season started off slowly, with no basketball, WKTV had the opportunity to give some airtime to local high school bowling teams. We loved it, and you might too. Go here for all WKTV on-demand high school sports replays.
Prep basketball season begins — and WKTV was there
The WKTV sporty crew opened its delayed 2021 prep basketball schedule with a game at East Kentwood as the Falcons hosted the Caledonia Fighting Scots on Feb. 12. If you don’t know the result, we won’t tell you — but it was a great game. Go here for the on-demand game replay.
And for more basketball — this week, its up, up and away
WKTV’s prep basketball featured-game coverage truck will be at West Michigan Aviation Academy this week for a rival game against The Potter’s House, and we’ll bring both the girls and boys games to cable and, later, to on-demand. (And the tentative schedule from there has us at Wyoming Lee on Feb. 26, at South Christian on March 4, at Wyoming high o n March 11 … with the district playoffs in late March also being eyed for coverage. Go here for the story of this week’s games.
Fun fact:
281,992 prep athletes
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, Michigan high school sports participation statistics for the 2018–19 school year had a total student athlete count of 281,992, with 120,378 girls and 161,614 boys taking part. (MHSAA)
It is still early in a very strange prep basketball season, but after WKTV sports’ featured-game crew visited East Kentwood last week to open the delayed basketball season, a Friday, Feb. 19, boys and girls doubleheader at West Michigan Aviation Academy will feel like the season is in full swing.
In the Friday, Feb. 19, contests, WM Aviation will host The Potter’s House High School for a girls’ contest at 5:30 p.m., followed by a boys’ matchup at 7 p.m. WKTV will record both games and replay them Friday night at 11 p.m., with more replays to be scheduled, and make it available on-demand later. (See details at bottom of story.)
The WM Aviation boys will enter the contest with 3-1 record following a 39-31 win over Wellspring Preparatory on Feb. 17. Potter’s House (2-1) defeated Holland Calvary, 59-22. on Feb. 16.
In the two teams’ previous matchup, last season, Potter’s House defeated WM Aviation, 67-53. In the 2019-20 season, WM Aviation posted a 12-8 record and lost in the district opener to Ada Forest Hills Eastern. Potter’s House (13-7) made it to the district semifinals, falling there to Grandville Calvin Christian.
The WM Aviation girls will enter the contest with a 2-2 record, coming off a 50-44 win over Wellspring Prep this week. Potter’s House comes in 2-0, with wins over Muskegon Catholic Central and Muskegon Orchard View.
In the two teams’ last match up, last season, Potter’s House defeated WM Aviation, 40-22, to complete a 2-0 season sweep between the two teams. WM Aviation was 8-12 overall last season, falling in the district semifinals to Grand Rapids South Christian. Potters House was also 8-12, also ending their season in the district semifinals.
To see the East Kentwood vs. Caledonia boys basketball on WKTV on-demand visit WKTVlive.com. WKTV also has recent local prep bowling coverage on-demand.
WKTV featured games will be on cable television in Wyoming and Kentwood on Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Channel 99 Community Channel, on the night of the game and various days and times the week after. See the programming schedule at wktv.org. For more information on WKTV coverage of winter prep sports, follow us at wktvjournal.org/sports.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV’s video coverage team, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.com.
Thomas Jefferson, as portrayed by Bill Barker of Monticello, speaks during a 2019 event at the U.S. Chamber Foundation in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Chamber Foundation YouTube)
Grand Rapids’ Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, along with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies at Grand Valley State University, continue to offer virtual programs this month.
The next program, available via Zoom meeting, will be “Bill Barker: President’s Day Celebration — Man and Legacy”, with Barker talking as Thomas Jefferson, on Thursday, Feb. 18, starting at 7:15 p.m.
To register for the free event, including on the day of, visit here.
In a description of Barker/Jefferson event, it is stated:
“In times of great strife, Americans have often looked to our nation’s founding fathers for guidance. In doing so, we inevitably address the paradoxes they posed. The same Thomas Jefferson who penned the idea that ‘all men are created equal’ in our Declaration of Independence, is the same founder who owned hundreds of slaves through the course of his life. How could this be, and what are the lessons to us today?
“To help us unpack these and other historically loaded questions, the Hauenstein Center, along with our partners at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and Library, welcomes Monticello’s William Barker back to Grand Rapids. Widely regarded as the nation’s foremost Thomas Jefferson interpreter, Barker joins us for a celebration of Presidents’ Day and for a conversation that plumbs our difficult past.”
Timely topic webinar coming later in February
Next up on the schedule will be a live webinar virtual event — “The Constitution, Elections, and Democracy” on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m.
In a description of this event, it is stated:
“January 6, 2021, served as the culmination of a series of issues left to fester: a global pandemic, racial injustice, and social and political divisions that continue to grow. Across the country, citizens continue to wonder how the world’s leading democracy can move forward and how, as a nation, we can begin to heal the pain and wounds created that fateful afternoon.”
In the first installment of the Presidential Roundtable series, with support from the Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and other groups, Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, joins GVSU president Philomena V. Mantella and past GVSU presidents for a discussion that “probes our nation’s most revered document, the Constitution.”
For a list of more events hosted or co-hosted by the Ford Museum, visit here. For more information on the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, visit fordlibrarymuseum.gov.
St. Cecilia Music Center has announced its 2021 recipient of the now annual Helen DeVos Legacy Award, with Karen Henry Stokes the third person so honored. However, the annual gala event to honor Stokes, originally scheduled for March, has been postponed until March 5, 2022, due to the pandemic.
“We are thrilled to honor Karen Henry Stokes with the next Helen DeVos Legacy Award, but sad that we have to wait to do so until 2022,” Cathy Holbrook, executive and artistic director of St. Cecilia Music Center, said in an email announcement. “We felt it was the best option to ensure that people felt safe attending a gala ceremony and dinner event. We wanted as many people to attend and pay tribute to her as possible and March of 2022 felt like the best choice.”
St. Cecilia started the Helen DeVos Legacy Award in 2019 to pay tribute to the late Helen DeVos for her support of and involvement in the arts.
Last year’s recipient, the late Stella Royce, “embodied the same spirit of giving and love of the arts,” according to the announcement. “Karen Henry Stokes is the perfect person to receive the next Helen DeVos Legacy Award as she has demonstrated exemplary service within the arts community and her efforts have helped expand the cultural landscape of West Michigan.”
Stokes has been involved with many arts organizations in the region, as a board member, trustee and committee member, including the Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard Festival, Grand Rapids Symphony, Opera Grand Rapids, St. Cecilia Music Center, as well as other organizations such as Grand Valley State University, Hospice of Grand Rapids, Gilda’s Club and Hope Network.
Stokes, also a pianist, was a member of the piano faculty of Grand Rapids Baptist College (now Cornerstone) from 1974 to 1981, as well as a member of the piano faculty of Calvin College from 1981 to 1989. She holds performance degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Toronto and the University of Manitoba.
She has lived in Grand Rapids since 1970, was married for 28 years to the late Paul B. Henry and has three grown children and four grandchildren. Additionally, she was married for 20 years to the late James L. Stokes. gaining five more children and eight more grandchildren through that marriage.
“Karen’s true connection to SCMC is our partnership with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center,” according to the announcement. “She is a dedicated subscriber, and when we launched the series in 2012, Karen helped us spread to the word to other classical music lovers in the community.”
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced early this month that the state plans to offer a voluntary COVID-19 school-based testing program to provide weekly tests to educators with the “goal of having all Michigan school districts offer an in-person learning option for students by March 1.”
But many local school districts, including Wyoming Public Schools, either are already using or plan to use a Kent County Health Department testing program which initially proved successful during a December 2020 pilot testing program at Godfrey-Lee Public Schools — one of may local district also already providing in-school education to any student household requesting it.
The county program “is not part of the MDHHS testing program that is available to schools,” Joann Hoganson, Director of Community Wellness for the Kent County Health Department (KCHD), said to WKTV. “Our pilot predated that program, and since it is up and running smoothly, most schools in Kent County have not chosen to take advantage of the state’s offer for testing.
“In fact, I am not aware of any schools that are using the testing supplies (and) program offered by the State,” said Hoganson, who serves as liaison between the KCHD and the schools . “They are using the saliva tests offered by Arctic Lab and organized by the Kent County Health Department.”
Wyoming Public Schools is one of the school districts taking advantage of the county system.
Wyoming Public Schools Superintendent Craig Hoekstra. (Supplied)
“Our testing clinic will be located at the Cherry Health Wyoming Community Health Center (in Wyoming) and will be up and running on Tuesday, Feb. 16,” Craig Hoekstra, superintendent of Wyoming Public Schools, said to WKTV. “In this partnership, we will be working with Arctic Labs and the KCHD.
“The credit for making this happen goes to Sarah Earnest, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources. She did an excellent job working through the logistics, and we are excited about getting this going for our students, staff, and the greater community.”
The saliva COVID tests to be used, provided by KCHD in a partnership with Arctic Labs, are the same one used by the students, staff, and families of students and staff at Godfrey-Lee schools, Hoganson said. “This was a pilot, which went very well. We now provide similar testing for all of the schools in Kent County at several regional sites.”
Hoganson also provided WKTV with some KCHD numbers associated with the school-based program.
The first school testing site opened on Dec. 1, was available for full access on Jan. 18, and there are now four different sites available in Kent County. According to Hoganson, 20 schools and school districts have participated in testing at the regional sites, with 303 test “records” since the beginning of this year, resulting in 42 COVID-19 positive tests, 255 negative and six inconclusive.
“It is not a ‘rapid’ test … (but) it allows teachers and other staff who wake up with symptoms to get tested quickly,” she said. “They miss that day of school, but they get their results back within 24 to 36 hours. If they are positive, we have kept them out of school and prevented exposure to others. If they are negative, they can return to school much more quickly, thus reducing absenteeism by both students and staff. It is convenient and costs nothing to the person being tested.”
The MI Safe Schools Testing Program, announced Feb. 2, by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) provides no-cost COVID-19 rapid antigen testing for Michigan educators from both public and private schools.
Approximately 300 schools and 9,000 staff have signed up for testing so far, according to the state.
The rapid antigen testing program is modeled after Michigan’s successful pilot project that tested student-athletes and coaches who were participating in playoffs for high school fall sports such as football, according to the MDHHS. In that program more than 8,300 people were tested, including the Grand Rapids South Christian High School football team.
In November 2018, Kent County voters approved the Ready by Five Early Childhood Millage to fund more than $5 million annually, from 2018-2024, to be directed toward community-based early childhood health and support programs. First Steps Kent was selected to lead the program.
In late 2020, the latest round of funding was approved by the Kent County Board of Commissioners, after First Steps Kent and its Resident Proposal Review Committee recommended funding 12 programs — including a focus on parental outreach and involvement.
Continuing WKTV’s coverage of the program and its efforts, and to bring you details of the latest funding and the program’s overall status, we will talk in studio with Joslyn Ward, a Kentwood parent serving on the review committee, and we welcome back to WKTV — this time via Zoom — Annemarie Valdez, First Steps Kent President.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule. For dates and times on Channel 99, visit here). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
In honor of Black History Month, Woodland Mall will host the first LOVE.ART.HISTORY. art exhibit as well as screenings of “In Between the Trees,” a documentary about African American history in the Michigan produced with the support of WKTV Community Media, over Valentine’s Day weekend, Feb. 12-14.
With themes of love, Black culture and Black history, the pop-up art exhibit by ArtXchangeGR, will “acknowledge and celebrate talented local artists of color, Black History Month and Valentine’s Day,” according to a statement from Woodland Mall.
Shoppers will be able to view original works of fine art and reproductions available for purchase during the three-day exhibit, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., starting Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13, and noon-6 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 14. The free show will be located in the mall’s center court.
“We are honored to host this timely pop-up art exhibit to lift up local artists of color,” Cecily McCabe, marketing manager for Woodland Mall, said in supplied material. “We appreciate the opportunity to showcase an amazing group of artists and their artwork, which will highlight Black culture and history.”
Artists who will be featured throughout the weekend include Olivia Thorns, Lowell Reynolds and Steven Reynolds. ArtXchangeGR will hold a reception for all participating artists at the mall from noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 13.
Rare Idlewild photos collected by Rose Hammond. (Supplied)
Across the hall from the exhibit, Rose Hammond will be showing her documentary, “In Between the Trees,” multiple times a day. The film, which has just been selected to be shown at the Montreal Independent Film Festival, is loosely based on Hammond’s book “Idlewild & Woodland Park, MI (An African American Remembers).”
Hammond, who has a long history as a community volunteer and producer at WKTV, edited much of the film at WKTV.
Inspired by her grandparents’ stories, Hammond’s film shares what life in Idlewild and Woodland Park, Mich., was like for people of color “with the intent to educate youth and individuals of the African American history in our country,” according to supplied material.
“After seeing the racial justice events that occurred throughout our nation last year, many of us made a promise to educate ourselves,” McCabe said. “Presenting this documentary allows Woodland Mall to provide the opportunity for our community to continue engaging in these important conversations.”
Woodland Mall asks all guests to follow CDC pandemic recommendations by using the hand sanitizer stations located throughout the mall, wearing face coverings and practicing physical distancing.
In order to comply with Michigan health department requirements, occupancy numbers remain limited as the mall operates on reduced hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 8 a.m., Friday through Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m., Sunday.
President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, shake hands as they meet for the first time, June 12, 2018, at the Capella Hotel in Singapore. (state.gov)
The World Affairs Council of West Michigan (WACWM) continues its virtual series of special discussions and its Great Decisions Global Discussions 2021 series this week, starting with the rescheduling of a special program on the future of Korea and its alliance with the United States.
The program “The Korean — U.S. Alliance”, originally scheduled to take place in mid- January, was rescheduled to Feb. 4. The program will feature the U.S. Department of State’s Dr. Jennifer Brannon, Sung-hoon Park, of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the U.S., and Korea Economic Institute vice president Mark Tortola. A program of the World Affairs Councils of America in partnership with the Korea Economic Institute, this will focus on broadening and deepening public understanding of Korea and the U.S.-Korea relationship.
While the program was available live is is also viewable as an archive on YouTube here.
The WACWM’s Great Decisions Global Discussions series will be live-streamed to YouTube Mondays from 6-7:15 p.m., starting Feb. 8 and running through March 29. The public is invited and the webinars will be viewable live and as archived on-demand. The cost to the public is $10 per discussion, $60 for a series pass, with prior registration required.
The February series dates, topics and guest speaker are as follows:
Feb. 8, “North Korea: Getting Diplomacy Back on Track” with Suzanne DiMaggio, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
After a historical summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in 2018, hopes of a change in relations have faded. Now, with a new president in the White House, landslide legislative victories in South Korea, and rumors of an unwell Kim, do new dynamics have the potential to change a perennially thorny situation?
DiMaggio is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Board Chair of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a new think tank she co-founded in 2019, and is currently directing a U.S.-DPRK dialogue that has included several visits to North Korea. As part of that process, she facilitated the first official discussions between the Trump administration and North Korean government representatives in Oslo in May 2017.
Feb. 15, “Have We Learned Anything about this Pandemic?” with Andrew Natsios, director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, The Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University.
COVID-19 took the world by surprise, but it shouldn’t have been surprising. The question remains how our global health systems can be more responsive and resilient to pandemics. Professor Andrew Natsios will discuss the structural problems in the World Health Organization that have created dysfunctions laid bare by COVID-19; the need for a global pandemic early warning system and how it might be achieved; and next steps in vaccine distribution in the developing world in light of great power competition and larger global health challenges.
Professor Natsios is an executive professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University and Director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs. He was previously a Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. He is also the author of three books: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1997), The Great North Korean Famine (2001), and Sudan, South Sudan, and Darfur: What Everyone Needs to Know.
Feb. 22, “The European Union: The New Agenda Post-Brexit” with Tomas Baert , Head of Trade and Agriculture, European Delegation to the U.S.
Containing 5.8 percent of the world population but accounting for 18 percent of world GDP, the European Union holds enormous influence in the world, driving economic growth, advancing sustainable development, and championing peace and security by promoting democratic norms. While Brexit has been the focus, other key priorities of the Union remain: stabilizing transatlantic relations, continuing response to the COVID crisis, leading in the climate fight, and transforming the digital economy.
Baert, Head of Trade and Agriculture for the European Delegation to the United States focuses on the future of the EU in this presentation. Prior to his work in the U.S., Baert was the Head of Unit for Trade Strategy at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade). From 2014 to 2016, he was an assistant to Director-General for Trade, advising on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and WTO negotiations.
In-person education will look a little different than in this 2018 photo from Godfrey-Lee High School, but a new state education council led by the district’s superintendent will guide what it will look like. (WKTV)
When Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced this week the creation of an Student Recovery Advisory Council of Michigan to “provide guidance and recommendations to ensure Michigan students have the tools and resources they need to get back on track,” a local education leader was named to lead the committee.
Kevin Polston, superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, will be the chairperson of the council, established via the governor’s Executive Order 2021-02 and set to include 29 members from diverse backgrounds who are appointed by the governor and will be “housed” within the Department of Technology Management and Budget.
“It’s an honor to serve our students, families, and educators as the chairperson for the Student Recovery Advisory Council and advise Governor Whitmer,” Polston said in supplied material. “I look forward to serving alongside the talented team of engaged citizens as Michigan strategically plans the recovery from the effects of COVID-19.”
The council will guide the work for our education system to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 including, among other issues, academic recovery, social-emotional and mental health, and physical health and wellbeing.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has hit Michigan hard, and our students, families, teachers, and school staff have all felt the strain,” Gov. Whitmer said in supplied material. “Still, our educators have worked tirelessly to teach our children during this pandemic under the most stressful conditions … (And) it is important to remember that schools also provide other services that students need to succeed including reliable access to the internet, nutritious meals, and mental health supports.”
The newly established committee follows others actions by the governor and state government to support Michigan’s education system.
In summer 2020, the governor launched the Return to School Advisory Council which “developed a framework to inform K-12 districts planning for the 2020-2021 school year,” according to a statement from the governor’s office. This past month, the state prioritized educators for vaccine distribution.
And this week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced plans to offer a voluntary COVID-19 testing program that will provide weekly tests to educators. The MI Safe Schools Testing Program is part of he governor’s goal of having all Michigan school districts offer an in-person learning option for students by March 1.
“COVID-19 has exacerbated inequities in our education system, and we know more work is needed to address the significant impact this pandemic has had on our children,” Gov. Whitmer said. “This Council will be integral to ensuring our students and educators are equipped with everything they need to thrive.”
Polston was a member of the earlier Return to School Advisory Council as well.
“Last summer, this collaborative group of engaged citizens developed the MI Safe School Roadmap, which was vital to supporting in-person learning,” Polston said. “We look forward to ‘fixing the road ahead’ for the state of Michigan through a safe, equitable, and high-performance educational system that provides access and opportunity for each child to reach their full potential.”
Tasks, makeup of the new council
Among the goals of the council are to:
Develop and submit recommendations to the governor, state superintendent, and state budget director regarding student recovery.
Recommend actions to develop and improve systems for academic support for students who experienced learning loss due to COVID-19; actions to develop and improve systems for mental and physical health for students impacted by COVID-19; recommend actions to develop and improve systems to support high school students transitioning into postsecondary education; and recommend actions to develop and improve out-of-school time supports, including, but not limited to, summer school, before and after school programs, and extended school years.
Other goals are to assemble “critical voices from the education and public health communities to assist in identifying key challenges students face due to the pandemic,” providing other information or advice or take other actions as requested by the governor and report regularly to the governor on its activities and make recommendations on an ongoing basis.
The members of the council reflect “the diverse geographic and demographic composition of this state and representing parents, students, school leaders, educators, individuals with expertise in public health, pediatrics, mental health, and community members,” according to the statement from the governor’s office.
In addition to Polston, other West Michgian members of the group include: Nicholas J. Paradiso, III, of Grand Rapids, vice president of government relations for National Heritage Academies; Lisa M. Peacock, of Traverse City, health officer for the Health Department of Northwest Michigan; Bill Pink, Ph.D., of Ada, president of Grand Rapids Community College.
The council will also include four participating members of the Michigan Legislature: Sen. Wayne Schmidt and Sen. Dayna Polehanki and Rep. Lori Stone and Rep. Brad Paquette.
Within hours of Gov. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announcing that high school winter contact sports could begin full activities next week, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced that member schools had the green light to being practice and competitions.
But there will be restrictions.
Girls and boys basketball, competitive cheer, ice hockey and wrestling can begin contact practice on Monday, Feb. 8 — “with some precautions to continue limiting the spread of COVID-19,” according to a MHSAA statement. Competition in those four sports can also begin, with basketball and hockey able to also start play Feb. 8, and cheer and wrestling able to compete starting Feb. 12.
Those four winter contact sports have been able to practice since Jan. 16, but only with non-contact activities.
“All four Winter contact sports also must participate with some level of masking and/or rapid testing,” according to the MHSAA statement. “All testing will be coordinated between schools and MDHHS or their local health departments. … Participants are defined as athletes, coaches and other team personnel active in practice and competition.”
For the Governor and the state health department, the action continues a gradual expansion of allowed activities driven by increasingly lower numbers of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, at a large January news conference. (State of Michigan)
“We are pleased at our continued progress in Michigan that has allowed us to take this step forward in a phased approach,” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive and chief deputy for health at MDHHS, said in supplied material. “As a parent and former student-athlete myself, I get how important athletics are to our children’s physical and mental health.
“However, parents and athletes need to understand the risk involved with contact sports if they choose to participate. Sports that require frequent closeness between players make it more difficult to prevent disease transmission even when mitigation measures are in place, including masks. Even when not required, we urge teams to implement a testing program to protect athletes, coaches and their families.”
Sport by sport details
The MHSAA statement gives some detail on the masking and testing requirements, as well as competition limits, for the various winter contact sports.
WKTV’s coverage of high school basketball could be returning soon as local teams can begin play as early as Feb. 8. (WKTV)
For girls and boys basketball, all participants must wear face coverings at all times – during all practices and non-game activities, and during games. There will initially be a competition limit of up to three games per week. However, a testing requirement “may allow participants to remove masks while in active participation on the floor if they test negative that game day.”
More details of the testing option “will be provided to schools when confirmed,” according to the MHSAA.
For competitive cheer, teams may compete without testing or face coverings, but must wear masks at all times outside of active competition or stunting/tumbling practice. And teams may participate in 12 days of competition, not counting MHSAA tournament events.
For ice hockey, all participants must wear face coverings at all times – during all practices and non-game activities, and during games. The competition limit will allow teams play up to three games per week, but “teams also may play two games on one non-school day twice; during those two weeks, teams are allowed up to four games Monday through Sunday.” The same testing and mask removal option exists for hockey as for basketball.
For wrestling, testing will be required but competitors will not be required to wear face coverings.Teams may compete two days per week, with no more than four teams at a site, “with each individual (wrestler) competing in up to three matches per day,” according to the MHSAA.
The same masking and testing requirements will be in place for all junior high/middle school teams wishing to participate in the four winter contact sports.
The updated MDHHS epidemic order allowing for the resumption of winter contact sports remains in effect through March 29. at this point in time.
Positive results led to change
“We continue to make progress in reducing cases and hospitalizations, helping protect our families and frontline workers and saving lives,” Gov. Whitmer said in supplied material. “Michigan continues to be a national leader in fighting this virus, and we must continue using a fact-based approach so we can return to a strong economy and normal day-to-day activities.”
According to the MDHHS statement, the state “has been closely monitoring three metrics for stabilization or declines over the past several weeks, and Michigan continues to see improvements” in the following areas:
Hospital capacity dedicated to COVID-19 patients has been in 10-week decline, with current capacity at 6.6 percent for beds with COVID-19 patients. The number peaked at 19.6 percent on Dec. 4, 2020.
Overall case rates are currently at 159 cases per million after peaking at 740 cases per million on Nov. 14. The rate has been in solid decline for 24 days.
The positivity rate is currently at 4.9 percent and declining — the last time positivity was as low was mid-October.
Every visit to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park is a different experience than any other — there is always something new blooming in the gardens, or up on the art gallery’s walls, or a sculpture placed in a new or changed setting in the nearly 160 acres of land encompassing the West Michigan entertainment and cultural landmark.
And the last three years, there has even been even more changes to the Gardens’s buildings and grounds as part of a massive expansion — changes that are near completion with the recent opening of the new Welcome Center.
The WKTV Journal In Focus team recently visited for a special interview with David Hooker, president & CEO of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
We talked about the Gardens nearing the end of its multi-year expansion, the successful completion of a $115 million dollar capital campaign that funded it all, as well as keeping the doors open in 2020 despite pandemic restrictions.
Mr. Hooker also discussed the beautiful mystery that is the future of the Garden’s “natural area” — a one-time golf course but at this time unplanned area of donated land adjacent to the current park.
Fred and Lena Meijer portraits hanging at the gardens.
And Mr. Hooker has plenty of stories about Fred and Lena, but did you ever hear the story about his beginning experience at Meijer Gardens? Bet it is not what you think!
For more information about Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, visit meijergardens.org.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule. For dates and times on Channel 99, visit here). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Pretty Lights
The wintery fun continues downtown with the exhibit “Ice Luminaries” running this weekend only, Jan. 29 – Feb. 2. The exhibit features 10 giant icicles with lights frozen in the center that will light the way along the Gillett Bridge located near Ah-Nab-Awen Park. While out and about, make sure to check out the other exhibits such as HYBYCOZO,” a series of large-scale installations and artworks that investigate geometric exploration and patterns through light, shadow, and perception, located at Ah-Nab-Awen Park. For more, click here.
We are suppose to be getting a snowstorm on Sunday, which means you might have some downtime. If so, the Kent ISD Board of Education is asking community members for their input on Kent ISD’s next superintendent. The 14-question survey, which takes about 10 minutes to complete, asks participants to rank skills, character and education traits in determining what qualities would make a good superintendent. Surveys must be turned in by Jan. 31.
William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse on Detroit’s Belle Isle Park. (Wikipedia/Public Domain)
Fun Fact
Michigan has the distinction of the state with the most lighthouses and perhaps one of the most unique is the William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse, which is made entirely of George marble. Located on Detroit’s Belle Isle, the marble was selected because the builders knew that it would have to withstand Michigan weather. The 58-foot structure has a 47-foot shaft with a bronze light at the top that still functions today. It was completed in 1930 at the cost of about $100,000. William Livingstone was a prominent Detroit resident who was best known for his shipping accomplishments on the Great Lakes, including the creation of a deep-water channel in the lower Detroit River which became known as the Livingstone Channel. For a peek inside the lighthouse, click here.
The Tri-unity Christian boys basketball (shown here in a 2019 practice) is one of the many local sports teams currently unable to hold full-contact practices or compete. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
Anybody hoping for the rapid resumption of high school winter contact sports such as basketball and wrestling — athletes, coaches, parents and fans — after the successful state-approved fall sports rapid testing pilot program, are going to be disappointed.
Despite the touted success of the recent testing of football and volleyball players engaged in contact sports, in a dual effort of both the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), the testing protocol will not be used for winter sports. And, so, current plans are that it will be at least Feb. 21 before prep basketball, hockey, wrestling and competitive cheer can begin competition.
“The purpose of the pilot (program) was always to ease the pathway to expanded use of antigen testing to support school reopening, which is the state’s priority given limited testing resources,” Bob Wheaton, MDHHS public information officer, said to WKTV this week.
The MHSAA “also have said all along that MDHHS told us testing would never be an option for winter sports,” Geoff Kimmerly, MHSAA assistant director for communications, said to WKTV. But the state governing body for high school sports still touts the success of the program and advocates for the beginning of winter contact sports, even without rapid testing.
The South Christian High School football team returns to practice Wednesday, Dec. 30, after mandated COVOD-19 testing was completed. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“This past weekend the MHSAA concluded its remaining Fall tournaments with 11-Player Football Finals,” a Jan. 27 statement from the MHSAA reads. “Earlier this month, Girls Volleyball, Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving and 8-Player Football Finals were competed to conclude those seasons.
“All four were allowed to complete their seasons because those teams took part in the MDHHS rapid testing pilot program. Results of that program were overwhelmingly positive. A total of 5,376 individuals (athletes, coaches, team personnel, cheerleaders, etc.) were tested, and 57 — or 1 percent — tested positive at some point in the pilot. Nearly 30,000 rapid antigen tests were administered — and 99.8 percent were negative.”
(According to the statement, the statistics were through Jan. 19, and were provided to the MHSAA by the MDHHS.)
And MHSAA leadership clearly believes not allowing Michigan athletes to return to the basketball courts and wrestling mats is unfair and could be putting the athletes at a greater risk of COVID-19 infection.
“Each week, we see hundreds of examples of children and families competing in non-school competition, both in-state and out-of-state,” Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director , said in the Jan. 27 statement. “This not only is in violation of current MDHHS orders, but sending all of these families into different states will only become an impediment to getting students back in school full time.
“But we can contribute to students returning to in-person learning by allowing MHSAA member schools to begin full activities, participating locally and against more local competition, and under the guidance of trained, professional educators,” Uyl said.
State’s goal is safe communities and schools, first
“Counties around the country have faced outbreaks of COVID-19 associated with sports teams,” MDHHS’s Wheaton said to WKTV. “In Michigan, there were 42 outbreaks associated with athletics (K-12 schools, professional, collegiate, and commercial venues) in August and September 2020 before restrictions on contact sports were implemented … Outbreaks of this magnitude have the potential to affect not just a sports team, but the community in which the players and coaches reside as well.”
Competitive cheerleading is just one of several high school winter sports on hold at this time. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Sports that require “frequent closeness between players” — including basketball and wrestling — make it more difficult to prevent disease transmission, according to the MDHHS. And the risk of COVID-19 transmission is increased by the number of individuals a player physically interacts with, as well as the intensity and duration of that interaction.
“The arrival of the new B.1.1.1.7 variant also means even more caution must be taken so we avoid the rapid rise in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths that other countries that have seen this variant have experienced,” Wheaton said.
“Even with mitigation measures in place, such as wearing of masks, disease transmission cannot be completely prevented when players are in prolonged or intense contact,” Wheaton continued. “These risks are even greater for indoor contact sports where there is not natural ventilation to mitigate the close proximity of participants. Teams that can implement robust public health measures may be able to decrease risk, but risk remains elevated.”
And when asked about when contact sports might be able to begin in 2021, Wheaton said that is at unknown at this time — for several reasons, including the lack of resources to implement a more widespread rapid testing program.
“Contact sports can be more safely played at this time when teams undertake significant infection control steps that include testing participants at least three times a week on alternating days, ensuring no social contact outside of school and the team, and supervision by medical staff,” Wheaton said. “It is not easy to meet these standards, and typically requires institutional support from a college or university, or professional sports organization, to have sufficient resources and infrastructure to comply.
In the fall sports pilot program, about 200 schools that allowed several thousand high school athletes to safely complete their fall volleyball, football, and swimming and diving championships under these protocols, according to the MDHHS. But the enhanced testing during this pilot uncovered dozens of positive cases that could have otherwise spread to the rest of the team and their communities.
“We will continue to carefully watch the data to assess what other activities can be permitted,” Wheaton said in conclusion.
And the MHSAA will be ready when — and if — the state allows winter contact sports to begin.
“We have said from the start of the 2020-21 school year that we would do everything possible to have three seasons, and play all three to completion,” Uyl has previously said. “Our strong advocacy for all sports and seasons — and especially winter sports —continues every day.”
Kent ISD Ron Caniff retired in December. (Supplied)
Do you feel the next Kent ISD superintendent should have a doctorate degree? Should he or she have been a principal? Should he or she be a good listener?
These are just some of the traits that the Kent Board of Education is asking the community to weigh in on the Kent ISD Superintendent Search Stakeholder Survey. The data from the survey will be compiled to build a profile that will be used in the superintendent search, which is being facilitated by the Michigan Association of School Boards.
The survey consists of 14 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It asks participants to consider and rate the education level, experience, expertise, skills, and characteristics they feel are important to have in a Kent ISD superintendent. The anonymous survey is open to all community members — residents, business leaders, teacher, and Kent ISD staff.
Kent Intermediate Superintendent Ron Caniff retired in December after more than 30 years in education, the last eight as the superintendent for the Kent ISD. Ron Koehler is serving as interim superintendent.
Applications for the Kent ISD superintendent are being accepted through March 15. The Kent ISD Board of Education hopes to have a new superintendent in place by July 1.
Wyoming Public Schools Athletic Director Ted Hollern could not give a specific timeframe for replacing Wolves head varsity football coach Irv Sigler Jr. — who resigned his coaching position last week after four seasons — but there is a sense of urgency.
The Wolves need a head coach “as soon as possible,” Hollern said this week to WKTV. “We need him now.”
Sigler, who will continue as Dean of Students at Wyoming High School, spent four seasons coaching the Wolves as part of a 30-year coaching career including work at Cadillac (1993-1997), Grandville (1998-2004), Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., (2005-2007) and Jenison (2008-2012). Prior to coming to Wyoming, he served as the offensive coordinator at Hope College.
“I just decided this is a good time after 30 years of coaching,” Sigler said this week to WKTV. “There are some other things I’d like to do. I’m not completely done coaching but this is more of a pause. I love working at (Wyoming high) and look forward to it every day.”
And his work at Wyoming high is certainly appreciated by the Wolves community.
Wyoming High School AD Ted Hollern. (WKTV)
“Just want to say how grateful Wyoming Public Schools is for everything (Sigler) has done for our kids … and I know people out in the community do also,” Hollern said. “He has done a tremendous job, there is no question about it.”
As far as the process of hiring a new head football coach, Hollern said “right now, we are reaching out to our stakeholders, to get as much input as we possibly can. The kids, the parents, the coaches … to find out what they want in the leadership of our football program.”
Then they will post the job and start the interview and hiring process.
As Sigler steps away for the sidelines, for however long, he does so with appreciation for his four seasons leading the Wolves.
“I want to thank everyone in the Wyoming community, school district, teachers administration and especially the young men who’ve played in our program,” Sigler said in a reported statement last week. “Our coaching staff has served with honor and dignity — our assistant coaches are the finest people.
“It has been my honor to be a Wolf. I spent a lot of time in thought and prayer, and this is a good time to turn the page.”
Wyoming was 1-4 this 2020-21 season, and lost two weeks of games in the middle of the season due to pandemic issues. Earlier in 2020, Sigler was honored as the West Michigan Officials Association Coach of the Year in 2019.
“I feel very honored, but it is truly a reflection of our program, players and assistant coaches,” Sigler said to WKTV about the Coach of the Year honor. “It is more significant than any award I’ve received in coaching. … It means so much to me, because officials have the chance to see coaches at our best and our worst. To know that I’ve earned the respect of this group of men tells me that we are doing things right as a team and program.”
Sigler’s other coaching accomplishments include MHSAA Regional Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003 while at Grandville, the MHSFCA Community Service Award in 2009. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences from Adrian College in 1990 and his Master of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Michigan in 1992.
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal Sports Connection, we go bowling.
One of the first winter sports given permission to resume competition following pauses by the state health department and the MHSAA is bowling, with many local teams beginning as early as this week. WKTV not only plans to bring you some prep bowling coverage but, before that, WKTV sports volunteer Bill Rinderknecht spent some time with the head coaches of East Kentwood High School’s boys and girls bowling teams, talking about their sport and their teams.
WKTV volunteer host Bill Rinderknecht on WKTV Sports Sports Connection. (WKTV)
Falcons head boys coach Ed Colburn and girls head coach Todd Sellon talk about how their athletes dealt with the pause in high school athletics due to the pandemic, then being allowed to resume practice but with restrictions, and now the quick turnaround to the beginning of competition. We also got a breakdown of some of the unique rules and format for the high school game, and also a look ahead to their upcoming season.
Coach Colburn and Sellon also discuss how it is not just football and basketball players getting college scholarships.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection brings its audience interviews and stories focused on local Wyoming and Kentwood area high schools sports, both on cable television and on our on-demand and YouTube channels. Readers can catch up on all our local sports coverage by visiting wktvjournal.org/sport.
WKTV Journal Sports Connection is available on-demand, along with WKTV coverage of highs school athletic events and other sports, at WKTVlive.com. It also airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 (For dates and times on Channel 26, see our Weekly On-air Schedule). Individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal Sports Connection are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, at a Jan. 22 news conference. (State of Michigan)
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the governing body for high school sports in the state, has been dutifully working with the state health department and the governor’s office as rules and restrictions have repeatedly changed during the last 10 months.
And they will again work with the latest changes, announced Friday, Jan. 22, but they are expressing their “disappointment” both from their own scheduling and logistical standpoint, and from the expected impact on student-athletes across the state.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), in its latest directive, altered the allowed number of spectators at events such as this weekend’s prep football finals as well as delayed until at least Feb. 21 all contact sport’s full-contact practices and any possible beginning of those sports’ competitions.
Winter contact sports such as basketball, hockey, wrestling and competitive cheer currently are only allowed non-contract practice but they had been expecting to begin full-contact practice on Feb. 1 and completion later that week.
Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director, from a previous Zoom meeting. (MHSAA)
“We found out about this decision at 9:30 a.m. (Jan. 22) like everyone else, and we will address it as quickly as possible after taking the weekend to collect more information,” Mark Uyl, MHSAA executive director, said in supplied material. “We did not anticipate this delay in winter contact practices and competition, and today’s announcement has created many new questions.
“Obviously, this is disappointing to thousands of athletes who have been training with their teams over the last week and watching teams in other states around Michigan play for the last two months.”
The latest state pandemic-related changes in rules and regulations also could have allowed more people to attend this weekend’s football finals — but news came too late for the MHSAA to alter established plans to meet now-altered MDHHS rules and regulations.
Also on Jan. 22, Gov. Whitmer and MDHHS announced that sports arenas with capacities of at least 10,000 spectators may allow up to 500 to attend events. But, the MHSAA later announced, “no additional tickets will be sold for today and Saturday’s 11-Player Football Finals at Ford Field” due to the lack of sufficient notice.
“We have been planning these Finals for weeks to include immediate family, and unfortunately this isn’t a process we can adjust midstream,” Uyl said. “Distributing more tickets would put stress on those plans and Ford Field staffing, and force schools to make more hard decisions on who will be able to attend, but at the last second instead of with prior planning.”
Local high school basketball is a huge step closer to hitting the floor. (Photo from previous year game televised by WKTV with East Kentwood High School’s boys basketball team at Wyoming.)
When high school sports teams including football and volleyball were allowed to begin competition early this month after following extensive COVID-19 rapid testing protocols, not only were those sports given a chance to finish their season but winter sports including basketball could see a path ahead for their restart of practice and competition.
The antigen rapid test results — which showed more than a 99 percent non-infection rate among the student athletes as of last week — were seen as a success by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA).
And last week, both state officials and the MHSAA moved forward with plans to lift all restrictions on non-contact winter sports such as bowling and gymnastics, and began easing of restrictions even on contact sports, many local high school basketball teams began “non-contact” practices this last weekend and they are shooting for a beginning of February start to their seasons.
“We have shown with our remaining fall sports this month that our schools can participate safely, and we’re confident teams will continue to take all the appropriate precautions as we jump back into indoor winter activities,” MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl said last week in supplied material.
And the success of the rapid testing pilot program with the fall sports was a key factor in the continuing opening of high school athletics.
Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid test. (Abbott)
According to numbers supplied by the MDHHS on Friday, and of Jan. 15, the antigen test results (which included multiple tests of same individuals) there were 25,601 total tests with 25,533 negative (99.73 percent) and only 69 positive (0.27 percent).
“Overall, schools have deemed this testing pilot a success that has allowed close to 7,000 student-athletes and staff to safely compete in high school athletics,” Bob Wheaton, spokesperson for the MDHHS, said to WKTV Jan. 15. “More than 99 percent of the tests were negative, however, testing allowed the department to find dozens of positive COVID-19 cases among student-athletes.”
One local school which participated in the testing pilot program was the Grand Rapids South Christian High School football team, which was able to finish their season on the field on Jan. 9 after beginning testing beginning just after New Years Day.
“The MHSAA and the MDHHS have clearly outlined their expectations and have given very sound guidance on the process so we are ready to begin the testing,” South Christian athletic director David Kool said to WKTV at the time testing began.
And that success was good news to local basketball coaches, including Wyoming High School’s head boys basketball coach Thom Vander Klay.
“We are so excited to get back in the gym go to work,” Vander Klay said to WKTV. “We could only see them via remote media using zoom meetings. The kids could not use school facilities either so we are a bit behind. … (But) even with masks and non-contact we will make up a lot of time, being to install our fundamentals and schemes.”
Vander Klay also said that at this point he is not sure if his team will need to work within the same rapid testing protocol or not, but “regardless of what the mandates are as long as we can practice and work on our game we will have plenty to do” in preparation for a scheduled Feb. 4 opening against South Christian.
MHSAA acts as state health department eases restrictions
The MDHHS updated its epidemic order last week to allow re-opening of additional activities including indoor group exercise and non-contact sports — with non-contact practice for contact sports such as basketball also allowed. The new order will last until Jan. 31, according to the MDHHS statement.
Currently, basketball, hockey and wrestling are allowed to practice but not allowed to have competition, while other winter sport include girls gymnastics, girls and boys bowling, and girls and boys swimming and diving are allowed to begin competition.
Masks will be required of all participants of the three sports now allowed competition “except when they are actively participating in gymnastics and swimming & diving,” according to the MHSAA statement. Spectators will be limited to 100 persons in school gyms or 250 in stadiums and arenas, “per MDHHS orders” in place.
“We are glad to have three more sports join skiing in returning to full activity, but we understand the disappointment and frustration on the part of our athletes and coaches whose sports are not yet able to restart completely,” MHSAA’s Uyl said. “We will continue to adjust schedules to provide all of our winter teams as substantial an experience this season as possible, as part of our greater plan this school year to play all three seasons to conclusion.”
Additionally, spring sports teams and fall teams not participating in the MDHHS rapid testing pilot program may begin four-player workouts and resume conditioning but only with non-contact activities.
“We are reopening cautiously because caution is working to save lives,” MDHHS director Robert Gordon said in supplied material. “The new order allows group exercise and non-contact sports, always with masks and social distancing, because in the winter it’s not as easy to get out and exercise and physical activity is important for physical and mental health.”
Clearly the Grand Rapids South Christian High School football team hoped and practiced for a better result than the 47-7 road loss at state-power Edwardsburg, Saturday, Jan. 9, after the state playoffs resumed following a six-week, state-mandated pause due to COVID-19 restrictions.
But Sailors head coach Danny Brown had nothing but praise for his team, which finished the season 8-2, their best season since 2014, and never backed down from the challenge of a night road game in freezing January temperatures against the Division 4 powerhouse Eddies (now 9-0).
Sailors head coach Danny Brown talks to his team during the Jan. 9 game. (Eric Walstra)
“Our team as a whole deserves a lot of praise,” Brown said to WKTV this week. “This has been a tough journey for these kids and they never wavered. They were always ready no matter what was thrown their way.”
And a lot was thrown their way, including the nearly two-month layoff, less than a week in pads to prepare for the game, and a rigid COVID-19 rapid testing protocol the team and staff had to pass. And that was before they took the field.
In the game, South Christian took the opening kickoff and drove to Edwardsburg 28, keyed by a 22-yard pass from senior Ty Rynbrandt to Trevor Hansen that got the ball to the Eddies’ 28. But the drive stalled, Edwardsburg took over, and the Eddies scored first. The Sailors answered later in the first quarter with a 7-play, 60-yard scoring drive finishing with Hanson’s 28 yard run and Nate Brinks’ PAT to make the score 8-7.
But Edwardsburg, and its prolific offense, proved just too much from there on out. For the game, the Eddies out-gained the Sailors in total yards 306-138, and the host team marched to their fourth Regional title in five seasons while continuing a streak of scoring at least 43 points in every game this season.
For the game, Sailors’ quarterback Rynbrandt was 11-of-26 for 96 yards while returning to the field after recovering from an injury in the November.
But finishing the season on the field was important to Rynbrandt, and to the rest of the South Christian team.
“I think it was important to get closure on the season,” Brown said. “There would of always been this thought of ‘what if’ if we weren’t allowed to continue. We always just wanted a chance to complete the season. The game didn’t goes as we hoped but at least we know we got to play in our last game of the season.”
Try as they might, South Christian could not stop the high-scoring Edwardsburg offense in the Jan. 9 game. (Eric Walstra)
