WKTV Community Media, one of the nation’s oldest continuously operated community television stations, today announced the launch of “Create, Inspire, Connect,” the first major fundraising campaign in its 50-year history.
The initiative aims to strengthen WKTV’s unique role as the only organization providing comprehensive media services that connect and strengthen Wyoming, Kentwood and greater Grand Rapids communities.
“Asking community to invest in our unique services”
“For half a century, WKTV has filled critical gaps in our local media landscape, from providing Spanish-language news coverage to helping nonprofits amplify their impact through professional media production,” said Tom Norton, WKTV Executive Director and GM. “As traditional funding sources shift due to cord-cutting, we’re asking our community to invest in these essential services that no other organization provides.”
Marge’s Donut Den.
Marge’s Donut Den and Wyoming Community Foundation early supporters
The campaign has already gained early momentum, with a $1,925 grant from the Wyoming Community Foundation supporting WKTV’s Veterans Voices project and a $1,000 contribution from local business leader Marge’s Donut Den. These initial investments demonstrate how community support directly strengthens vital programs that preserve local stories and connect neighbors.
Wyoming Community Foundation.
WKTV’s community-driven media services include:
The WKTV Journal, the area’s only dedicated source for hyper-local news coverage
Professional media services that help local nonprofits multiply their community impact
Veterans Voices, preserving irreplaceable local veterans’ stories in partnership with GVSU
Soundbites en Español, the region’s only Spanish-language local news coverage
Youth media education programs that empower the next generation of community storytellers
Free access to media production tools and training that give community members a voice
“When community members support WKTV, they’re not just sustaining a media organization – they’re investing in a platform that amplifies every aspect of community life,” Norton said. “Today’s challenge is to strengthen our unique role in building community through media while embracing new platforms and technologies that expand our impact.”
“Create, Inspire, Connect” campaign supports:
Continued free access to media production facilities that enable community-driven content
Expansion of community partnerships that amplify nonprofit and civic impact
Enhanced hyper-local news coverage that keeps our community informed and connected
Youth media education programs that build tomorrow’s community leaders
Technology upgrades that expand the reach of community voices
Community members can multiply their impact on local media by visiting www.wktv.org or contacting Josh Weston at josh@wktv.org.
About WKTV Community Media
Founded in 1974, WKTV serves the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood from its 10,000-square-foot facility on Clyde Park Ave., which features two studios, multiple edit bays, public spaces, and classrooms for media instruction. As the region’s only comprehensive community media center, WKTV operates with six full-time staff members and over 400 active volunteers, providing unique platforms for diverse local voices and fostering civic engagement through innovative, community-driven media.
Josh Weston WKTV Fundraising and Outreach Specialist josh@wktv.org
WKTV is proud to announce receiving a grant from the Wyoming Community Foundation to help continue its mission of sharing stories of local veterans in West Michigan.
The grant will be used specifically for a WKTV program called Veterans Voices, an initiative designed to support GVSU’s Veterans History Project and to expand the reach of its impact.
“The Wyoming Community Foundation has recognized what a valuable asset WKTV’s Veterans Voices project is,” said Tom Norton, WKTV Executive Director/GM. “For that we are very proud and grateful that they have chosen to start this important project off with this seed grant. Our goal is now to ask the surrounding community to step in and support veterans’ stories.”
A local veteran shares a story with the GVSU Veterans History Project at WKTV.
A local veteran shares a story with the GVSU Veterans History Project at WKTV.
A local veteran shares a story with the GVSU Veterans History Project at WKTV.
Key activities of Veterans Voices:
Editing archives of over 200 interviews into engaging, shareable content for social media
Continuing to provide state-of-the-art studio and equipment for veteran interviews
Enhancing outreach efforts to involve more veterans, particularly those from recent conflicts
GVSU and the Library of Congress
For more than 12 years, WKTV has been a proud partner of Grand Valley State University and the Veterans History Project. This collaboration has resulted in the production of more than 200 in-depth oral history interviews, preserving and sharing the stories of U.S. veterans from World War II to present-day conflicts.
GVSU, in turn, works in partnership with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project as one of a small number of archiving partners across the country, posting their interview videos and other materials on a website that is part of the Special Collections of the GVSU Library.
“Truly special” veterans interviews
Every Veterans History Project interview captures something truly special. Sometimes it’s a harrowing story of survival and triumph over insurmountable odds; more often, it’s a relatable and self-deprecating anecdote of personal growth.
Expanding the audience
The problem is, while these interviews are available through GVSU and the Library of Congress, very few people see them. It’s unrealistic to expect the general public to browse historical archives, much less to watch the interviews themselves, most of which run between 90 to 120 minutes in length.
$5,000 goal
WKTV is seeking $5,000 in funding to support this project over the next two years. This investment enables the station to draw from its archive of over 200 veterans oral histories to produce and publish 50 short-form highlight reels annually, and significantly expand the impact of this vital service.
As a community media center celebrating 50 years of service to Wyoming, Kentwood, and the surrounding region, WKTV has a reputation for providing a platform to the voices and stories that make up our community.
Impact goes far beyond historical preservation…
The impact of Veterans Voices extends far beyond historical preservation. Many veterans report profound gratitude for the opportunity to share their stories, and their narratives serve as invaluable educational resources, enriching our society’s collective understanding of history and the human impact of military service.
WKTV is excited about the potential of this partnership and the positive impact it can have on veterans, their families, students, researchers and the wider community.
If you are interested in helping WKTV achieve its goal with supporting Veterans Voices, please email Josh Weston, WKTV Fundraising and Outreach Specialist at josh@wktv.org
This event is free, but RSVPs are appreciated and can be completed here.
Helpful event details
Volunteers are asked to wear closed-toe shoes and comfortable clothing and bring a shovel, hard rake, and work gloves if they have them.
The group will meet at Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center at 8:45 a.m. to sign in, enjoy refreshments, and watch a planting demonstration with ReLeaf Michigan’s tree experts.
Families are welcome! The event occurs rain or shine. No planting experience is necessary.
One morning of tree planting will leave an environmental legacy that will add beauty to the community for generations (Courtesy, Wyoming Tree Commission)
An environmental legacy
Trees provide incredible benefits to the communities in which they are planted. Trees improve air and water quality, reduce stormwater runoff, improve mental wellness, reduce childhood asthma rates, cool our neighborhoods, and enhance commercial and economic vitality.
Join us for the morning and leave an environmental legacy that will add to the beauty of your community for generations!
Funding for this project has been provided by the USDA Forest Service and MDNR Urban and Community Forestry Programs through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
Teens involved in community activism become more politically active and conscious (Courtesy, pxhere.com)
By Rachel Rickman
WKTV Contributor
While it might stand to reason that teenagers involved in activism within their communities become more politically active and conscious adults – there is now evidence to support the idea.
A new University of Michigan (U of M) study brings to light specific ways teen activism leads to more critical thinking and community engagement in young people. In addition, the data shows how youth engaged in community activism are more likely to continue their community and civic action as they get older.
Elevating awareness and engagement in teens
Community engagement promotes understanding of both local and national inequalities (Courtesy, pxhere.com)
The study, recently published in Society for Research in Child Development, looks at how teenagers (specifically youths around age 16) elevate their awareness, become more politically involved, and develop a better understanding and more active approach to community engagement by participating in community activism—both youth and adult facilitated.
The study shows that addressing local and national political concerns with a group of peers or mentors helps young people develop a better understanding of their place within their community. They also maintain motivation to address problems related to inequity.
Young people joining in community engagement, the study found, are more likely to continue fighting inequities in society once they leave school.
By participating in their community, teenagers gain a better understanding of the ways inequity works within their own lives and communities as well as nationally. A sense of empowerment in their ability to create meaningful change is also a benefit.
Critical reflection and positive change
The study is based on the work of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator, philosopher, and outspoken proponent of critical pedagogy. According to the study, “He believed in the idea of critical reflection and action on the world to make it more just and equitable.”
Freire studied and proved that without development of critical consciousness it is difficult for young people to evolve a sense of their ability to create positive change within their immediate social setting, and that of a larger community.
Empowering action and providing tools
A Grand Rapids organization that has been putting Freire’s work into practice since 1998 is Our Community’s Children(OCC). The organization is a public-private partnership between school systems and city government.
OCC provides a liaison between school systems and city government (Courtesy, pxhere.com)
OCC has multiple programs in place with the similar goal of engaging young people in their community, empowering action, and providing tools and resources to better their own lives and those of others.
Program examples include initiatives such as Kidspeak, a program for K-12 local youth facilitated by the Mayor’s Youth Council that gives young people the chance to talk to school officials, community leaders, and legislators about issues important to them.
The Mayor’s Youth Council, made up of high school city residents, gives these young people the chance to see how city government works. They also gain experience working directly with city officials and programs.
Challenging injustice
Young people participating in community engagement groups reflected in the U of M study are largely of Black, Latino and Hispanic descent—people who experience significantly higher rates of structural inequity. This is also true of OCC.
Engagement in activism programs lead to greater understanding of self and others (Courtesy, pxhere.com)
Participating in community activism gives students an objective look at the social problems and injustices surrounding them, allowing for a clearer perspective to challenge these issues. According to the study, “Youth’s exploration leads to a greater understanding of the self and relationships with others.”
Programs like OCC “give a platform to begin the process,” said Shannon Harris, Director of Our Community’s Children. A chance for youth to “start early in knowing how city government works,” and perhaps most importantly, “a brave space” for young people to “feel safe speaking their opinion.”
A wonderful example of continued community activism is found in Grand Rapids City Commissioner Kelsey Purdue. Purdue, a former member of the Mayor’s Youth Council, is now a City Commissioner for the Third Ward.
The conclusion of the study states, “Community-based activism, then, serves as a key consciousness-raising system that supports youth to recognize, negotiate, and challenge oppression in their lives.”
Create and support youth activism
There are many positive short and long-term implications of this study for schools and communities looking to create and support youth activism programs.
Rachel Rickman is a freelance writer, editor, and former university English Instructor with a BA, MA, and MFA focused on writing. She grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but currently resides in Rosarito, Mexico with her husband and son.
Much of her work focuses on “narrative recipes”—personal essays with recipe/cooking ideas.
It didn’t take long to feel the passion of Kids’ Food Basket Farm Manager Jason Lundberg.
“When I see a child smile at me and say that was the best cucumber they’ve ever eaten, it brings tears to my eyes,” said Lundberg, at the Kids’ Food Basket (KFB) farm he manages at 1300 Plymouth Ave. NE. “This is why I’m here and have been placed in this position at this point in my life.
“I can’t believe I now get to teach kids about all this cool stuff. It has just been magical.”
Breaking down racial barriers
“When kids are telling me I want to be a farmer now, that is huge to me,” Lundberg continued. “The average age of the American farmer is nearly 60, and most of them are white. Only 2 percent of these farmers are of color, and that’s another big reason for what I’m doing.
“We’re here to break down those barriers. The one thing we all have in common is food, and sitting down and breaking bread together is one of the most precious rights we have.”
The Pickerd family farm — 13 total acres
The KFB farm was owned and operated at one time by the family of Don and Eileen Pickerd, who farmed it up until 15 years ago. The land was farmed for well over 100 years; with apple and cherry trees as its mainstay.
Kids’ Food Basket Farm Manager Jason Lundberg picks green beans in early September. (WKTV)
The last remaining property in the city limits zoned for agriculture, KFB purchased the Pickerd farm six years ago. The farm is 13 total acres, including the main building, of which nine are farmed.
“We wanted to continue the tradition of growing food for the community,” Lundberg explained. “It’s pretty special and we want to keep it that way for many, many years to come. This property was going to be turned into a bunch of town homes and the neighborhood association didn’t really like that idea and the opportunity came up for KFB to move in.”
Nearly 139,000 servings of produce have been grown and distributed from the KFB Farm since July 1, 2021.
Lundberg’s deep farming roots
A lifelong farmer from Rockford before working at KFB, Lundberg spent his youth and beyond tending to the family farm, Ingraberg Farms, now Ingraberg Fresh Foods.
Born in Salinas, California, known as the “salad bowl of the world,” Lundberg said his father Dave was immersed in agriculture and saw organic foods picking up steam at the time.
His mom Helen would later inherit a 20-acre parcel of her parents’ farm in Rockford, so they moved from California to Michigan to eventually start Ingraberg Farms.
“I’ve been growing vegetables my whole life, and continued right out of high school doing it full time until Kids’ Food Basket,” said Lundberg, whose dad sold his produce to country clubs and restaurants, including The Bostwick Lake Inn, University Club, The Gilmore Collection, Noto’s and mom and pop businesses as well.
Farm camp
Every year when school ended for summer break in early June, his dad would have him recruit as many kids as possible to pick produce for him. Lundberg called it Farm Camp. Farmer Dave would make them breakfast and then they’d pick strawberries until it got too hot.
“And then we were turned loose and got to be kids and would bounce on the trampoline, swim in the lake and all that fun stuff.
“When I eat a fresh Michigan strawberry in June I’m instantly transported back to that time in my life which is one of my more cherished moments. That experience alone taught me why it’s so important for this farm itself.
“Even if I can only get a kid here for an hour, if I can give them a lifelong, lasting experience for that hour, we’ve done our job.”
KFB farm mission
Their goal is creating access to the community of super fresh, nourishing food, focusing on elementary age children, according to Lundberg.
The one thing that has stayed the same is the KFB flagship sack supper; a brown bag meal that goes home with the child after school. Children receive this before getting on the bus, and that’s their supper, consisting of one serving of fruit, vegetables, protein and a healthy snack.
Nearly 1.4 million meals have been provided by KFB since July 1, 2021, amounting to 9,600 meals a day across four west Michigan counties (Ottawa, Allegan, Muskegon and Kent). The meals are packed daily by 300 to 400 volunteers.
School field trips — stomping garlic?
“Last spring, we had hundreds of kids from kindergarten through fifth grade on the farm — our learn team was able to facilitate multiple field trips,” Lundberg said. “The kindergartners would do something like stomping our garlic plants to help them grow bigger, and the third and fourth graders could help us transplant into the field — and they get taste testings all the time.”
Nearly 4,400 students have participated in the KFB nutrition education curriculum since July 1, 2021.
Volunteers of all ages giving back
Husband and wife volunteers Gary and Chris Fraser-Lee are regulars at the KFB farm, often harvesting produce once or twice a week over the summer.
Kids’ Food Basket volunteers Gary and Chris Fraser-Lee worked once or twice a week over the summer at the 13-acre farm at 1300 Plymouth Ave. NE. (WKTV)
Gary began volunteering when he worked in the IT Department at Steelcase and then got his wife hooked as well.
“We started doing food prep and sack suppers inside, and then as soon as the farm opened up began working outside,” said Chris, a retired occupational therapist from the Northeast side of Grand Rapids. “We’re blessed to be able to retire early and we’re just enjoying life and giving back when we can.”
Gary said they enjoy being outside picking while volunteering.
“It’s good to serve the community, and realizing what they do not only with the food bags, but what they supply from the farm here in the food pantries,” Gary explained. “It’s a great community organization.”
Nearly 30 percent of its volunteers are under age 18. Overall, there have been nearly 45,000 volunteer hours since July 1, 2021.
While strolling through the fields in September, Lundberg pointed to a group of volunteers from Steelcase picking cherry and grape tomatoes for the sack suppers for school children to take home at night.
“We’re probably going to get well over 100 pounds from them; that turns into 800 servings for 100 children,” Lundberg said. “They pick 100 to 200 pounds of cherry tomatoes every day in our little hour to 2-hour volunteer shifts in the morning. Every week throughout the growing season, we have volunteers from up to three corporate groups like Steelcase, FloRight, Perrigo, Amway, Meijer and MillerKnoll.”
“In 2002, Mary K. Hoodhood received a phone call that changed everything. A local school principal reached out and said students were regularly going into the cafeteria after school in search of food to take home. Mary identified an immediate need. With $3,000 and a handful of volunteers, she committed to providing a solution to childhood hunger in our community.“
Lundberg said Bridget Clark Whitney, president and founding CEO of KFB, had the vision of growing food for their sack suppers.
“She knew the importance of eating super fresh, phytonutrient rich foods that are alive and thriving and putting them directly into our body,” he explained. “We are all about elementary age kids because their bodies are developing and their brains are developing.”
Lundberg said the organization has evolved into so much more than just the access of food to children with its educational component and engagement of people and volunteers.
“They all get to see the full circle … It’s really neat to see how all of it connects, and of course when you get the kids here you get to see it all really come together.”
Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, and potatoes
The produce that makes the biggest impact on the farm is cherry tomatoes, followed by potatoes and summer squash.
Tomatoes harvested at the Kids’ Food Basket farm. (Courtesy, Kids’ Food Basket)
“It’s tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes,” Lundberg said. “Thousands and thousands of pounds of tomatoes every year, and thousands of pounds of summer squash. And this fall, we had close to 1,000 pounds of onions come out of the field growing in between the apple trees.”
In many ways, a dream come true
Lundberg still pinches himself while working on the KFB farm, admitting that it’s “truly a dream job.”
He has witnessed everything during the school field trips from kids picking and eating kale to their “many, many huge smiles” enjoying the farm while taste testing different produce and learning about things they never knew.
He has even heard some kids say they now want to be farmers when they grow up.
“Our CEO Bridget nailed it; it’s so much more than the food itself.”
Many seniors want to “age in place” with help from family and/or friends. (pxhere.com)
LANSING – Funding for in-home care and other state senior services is not increasing proportionally to the number of seniors in Michigan, according to Melissa Seifert, the associate state director of AARP Michigan.
“Michigan is one of the most rapidly aging states in the nation,” Seifert said. “But we’re also one of the worst states when it comes to adequately addressing the needs of our senior population.
“A large amount of taxpayer dollars go to nursing homes, but not enough go to at-home care,” she said.
Many seniors have a desire to stay at home
Most senior citizens want to “age in place,” staying at home and being cared for by family or friends, said Seifert, whose organization provides seniors with information and services. But that is impossible for most people with current funding.
The one-time federal funding under the American Rescue Plan Act offers the opportunity to better care for the state’s elderly population, she said.
Though the money is an important step, Seifert said ongoing support is needed. The goal is to bring about structural changes in at-home care funding that will make a positive difference without creating additional financial obligations for taxpayers, she said.
A growing senior population
The two most pressing issues for seniors are unnecessary institutionalization and overcrowded senior care facilities, Seifert said.
These problems are likely to get worse as more people get older and are no longer able to care for themselves the way they used to, advocates say.
The proportion of Michigan seniors is expected to reach 22% by 2050, said Cathleen Simlar, the communications manager for AARP Michigan. And the proportion of people 85 and older in Michigan is expected to reach 4.8% by the same year.
“We are incredibly unprepared for the amount of people who will be needing senior services in the coming years,” said Rep. Laurie Pohutsky, D-Livonia, who is a member of the House Committee for Families, Children and Seniors.
The need for more funding
“We’ll need more funding for them, especially for their health care. Although there are options to help people with paying for health care, it should be expanded,” Pohutsky said.
Seifert agrees. “Not only is there a lack of government funding in health care, but there’s a shortage of direct care workers to serve those who want to stay at home,” she said.
Michigan needs 34,000 more home caregivers than the 165,000 it has, Seifert said. But “noncompetitive pay, low job satisfaction, unpredictable schedules and the absence of benefits” make it difficult to attract and retain them.
That turnover costs Michigan $684 million per year, she said.
Coming up with creative solutions
Services provided by the Tri-County Office on Aging have been strained during and after the COVID-19 pandemic as more people are choosing to age at home rather than move into a senior care facility, said Casey Cooper, the community engagement and fundraising director for the agency serving Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties.
“For example, we do a Meals on Wheels program for our seniors and community members with disabilities,” Cooper said.
“Our services were definitely strained during the pandemic, and we had to get creative in order to serve everyone. Although qualifications for who could request our services were expanded, funding was not,” Cooper said.
There was not enough funding for one hot meal a day for everyone, she said. So, instead, seven frozen meals were delivered once a week. Now, the program has gone back to one hot meal a day, but people can still request frozen meals.
More creative solutions will be needed as the population of Michigan’s seniors grows, Cooper said.
There is a need for volunteers as well
“Right now, we have a shortage of funding and volunteers,” she said. “If funding is not increased along with the increase of seniors, people will not be able to access all of the services we would be able to provide them.”
Seifert said the coronavirus pandemic highlighted many holes in services for seniors.
“These issues were overlooked before and, hopefully now, increased funding and resources will be allotted to us and allow us to serve our senior communities how they want to be served,” she said.
Sarah is a junior at Michigan State University double majoring in Social Relations & Policy and Journalism. She is interested in writing about how politics affects local communities and making information accessible for everyone. In her free time, she likes boxing, yoga, and spending time with friends, family, and her dog.
City of Kentwood city leaders celebrate the city’s renewed designation as a Tree City USA, by planting a tree of course, in 2021. (Supplied)
By WKTV Staff
The City of Kentwood will honor Arbor Day — and its renewed designation as a Tree City USA — by giving away 250 tree seedlings during an Arbor Day Celebration and tree planting on April 29.
Residents of all ages are invited to join Kentwood’s Arbor Day Celebration at Veterans Memorial Park, 355 48th St. SE., according to an announcement from the city. The event will begin at noon with an Arbor Day proclamation, followed by a tree planting and a half-mile guided tree identification walk in the park. Complimentary refreshments will be available at the concession stand.
Arbor Day is an annual day of observance typically held in the spring to celebrate trees and encourage tree planting. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the holiday.
“A healthy tree population and canopy help improve quality of life and promote happier, healthier communities,” Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said in supplied material. “The Arbor Day Celebration enables Kentwood to engage our community members in environmental stewardship to help make the city a more vibrant and beautiful place to live.”
Arbor Day, locally and nationally
The Arbor Day Celebration engages and educates the community in planting and caring for the city’s trees and is part of Kentwood’s participation in the Tree City USA program.
The City of Kentwood will honor Arbor Day — and its renewed designation as a Tree City USA — by giving away 250 tree seedlings during an Arbor Day Celebration and tree planting on April 29. (Supplied)
Kentwood was recently recognized with the 2021 Tree City USA honor for promoting and caring for trees within the community, the second time the City has received the designation. The first was in 2020.
To become a Tree City USA, cities must have an annual Arbor Day observance, a community tree ordinance, a tree board or department and spend at least $2 per capita on urban forestry activities. The program provides the necessary framework for communities to manage and expand their public trees, celebrate the importance of an urban tree canopy and demonstrate their commitment to environmental change.
Residents invited to get trees, get involved
Leading up to the Arbor Day celebration, residents can pick up free red maple or white pine tree seedlings at the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 48th St. SE. The seedlings will be available during business hours Tuesday, April 26 through Friday, April 29 or until supplies are gone.
The City of Kentwood will honor Arbor Day — and its renewed designation as a Tree City USA — by giving away 250 tree seedlings during an Arbor Day Celebration and tree planting on April 29. (Supplied)
Residents are invited to post a picture of their planted seedling on social media using the hashtag #GreeningKentwood.
The Kentwood Activities Center is open 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. During Arbor Day week, residents can check on tree seedling availability by calling the Parks and Recreation Department at 616-656-5270.
Residents who are looking for more ways to get involved beyond Arbor Day are invited to join the Kentwood Park Stewards, an environmentally focused program that helps preserve and maintain neighborhood parks, trails and public spaces.
Renovations to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Volunteer Tribute Garden will soon see plantings come out of their winter stillness, and it will soon have an updated “The Tribute”, by Oliviero Rainaldi, on display. (WKTV.K.D. Norris)
By WKTV Staff
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park appreciates its volunteers enough to give them, and the general public, a Volunteer Tribute Garden with its own work of art — “The Tribute”, by famed Italian artist Oliviero Rainaldi and commissioned for the site.
So it is fitting that as the Gardens readies the competition of renovation, and pending rededication of the tribute garden, still located just outside the hallway leading to the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory, part of the renovation will be an expanded version of Rainaldi’s circular work.
Fifteen years after the dedication of the Volunteer Tribute Garden and Rainaldi’s original sculpture, both the space and the sculpture are getting a new look, according to an announcement from Meijer Gardens.
Renovations to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s Volunteer Tribute Garden will include an updated “The Tribute”, by Italian artist Oliviero Rainaldi, on display. (Supplied)
The Tribute and the Volunteer Tribute Garden will be rededicated Wednesday, April 20, in a special ceremony at 4 p.m., proceeded on April 19 by “A Conversation with Oliviero Rainaldi” at 7 p.m., in the Huizenga Grand Room.
“In 2006, Rainaldi was first commissioned to create a work of art to honor the thousands of volunteers who give their time and talents to Meijer Gardens,” according to the announcement. “As the buildings, garden spaces and number of volunteers at Meijer Gardens grow, so too did this sculpture.”
The artwork was temporarily removed to accommodate the redesign of the Volunteer Tribute Garden.
(Meijer Gardens is always seeking new volunteers, who are “Wanted. Needed. Appreciated.” with various jobs and shifts. For more information contact Valerie Maciejewski at vmaciejewski@meijergardens.org or 616-974-5221.)
Garden, artwork expanded but remains unique
Designed by Progressive AE and the Meijer Gardens horticulture team, the tribute garden has been expanded and redesigned to be more accessible and improve views of the wetland, sculpture and horticulture.
The tribute garden area update includes a new boardwalk area and outdoor classroom that extends on top of a wetland, “providing a great opportunity to teach guests about the importance of the natural environment, water and the ecosystem.”
And, according to the announcement, newly designed aluminum panels are being inserted into the interior of “The Tribute”.
“The exterior bronze panels poetically tell the stories of a diverse group of Meijer Gardens guest experiences,” according to the announcement. “The two interior panels incorporate stories of place and the emotion of love.”
Rainaldi describes the central curve as “the heart of the sculpture, which should be dedicated exclusively to Fred and Lena Meijer, creating an idealized place where horticulture and sculpture dialog together.”
Rainaldi, well known for his artwork focused on the human figure in a post-war and contemporary setting, “takes a linear approach that emphasizes humanity’s most ideal and essential qualities,” according to the announcement.
The structure brings viewers into a water scene, where they look up at the sky through reeds and will notice an aerial view of the Great Lakes, “as if looking down upon the Earth. Water has historically been symbolic of life, power, purity and strength.”
These elements together represent and pay tribute to Fred and Lena Meijer, to the natural beauty of West Michigan, and to the thousands of dedicated volunteers who have donated their time and talents, according to the announcement.
While “A Conversation with Oliviero Rainaldi” — a conversation with Meijer Gardens President & CEO David Hooker and Amber Oudsema, Curator of Arts Education — is included with admission, registration is required at: MeijerGardens.org/calendar.
Wayne Thomas with Brandon Hoezee on a past episode of the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters. (WKTV)
South West Michigan has a rich history when it comes to haunted locations, ghost stories, local urban legends, and paranormal folklore. Certain people and groups have separated themselves from the public mainstream, dedicating their time to chasing shadows during long nights of tedious investigations.
Many of the people pursuing the paranormal have had mysterious experiences at an early age. Brandon Hoezee had his first paranormal experience as an adolescent in his own home. It was there he saw haunting shadowy apparitions and it wouldn’t be the last time he would see ghosts. Hoezee began researching the paranormal early on and progressed to co-founding Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters, where he spent more than a decade investigating 100-plus private and residential locations.
Wanting to be more than a ghost hunter and recognizing the historical significance of some of the haunted locations, Hoezee created another team called Kent County Paranormal. This team adopted a vision with the intent of training new members to investigate not only ghosts but UFOs, Bigfoot, Dogman and other cryptids, lake monsters, and even elemental entities.
For the last two years Hoezee has gone to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for Bigfoot training with Rich Meyer and Jim Sherman of UPBSRO or the Upper Peninsula Bigfoot Sasquatch Research Organization. Currently Hoezee is producing and hosting WKTV’s, Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters Podcast as well as Hoezee Paranormal History Productions YouTube channel.
Brandon Hoezee has received training from the Upper Peninsula Bigfoot Sasquatch Research Organization. (pxhere.com)
As a ghost hunter, Hoezee reports his top three favorite haunted locations and investigations were at Nick Fink’s in Comstock Park, the Old Allegan County Jail Museum, and the LST 393 World War II Navy Ship, docked in Muskegon.
Nick Fink’s, the oldest bar in Grand Rapids and part of the Gilmore Collection, was first established in 1888 as Riversite Hotel but it has been a bar, hotel, barber shop, post office, and rumored to be a brothel as well as wakes being performed at the location. Another rumor has it that Al Capone would frequent Nick Fink’s and his name can be found on an old registry. It was also rumored that Nick Fink’s was haunted. Hoezee and the Grand Rapids Ghost Hunters have investigated Nick Fink’s several times, provided guided tours, ghost dinners, presentations, and annual Halloween parties.
Through the years, Hoezee has compiled several ghost voices, EVP’s or electronic voice phenomenon at this location. Team members names were often heard as EVP’s and several recordings suggest one spirit talking to another spirit and Hoezee even heard “Help” with just his ears, no electronic device used to enhance it. Recorded evidence suggests multiple ghosts may be haunting Nick Fink’s; one male (Larry or Ed), one older woman (Maggie or Clair), one child ghost with the Fink family name “Michael.” Ghosts have even been recorded whistling the song “Oh Susanna” at Nick Fink’s.
Just rumors right? Be careful not to offend, judge, or disrespect the noisy dead!
John Irwin helps a student at the Y’s Safety Around Water program. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Upon retiring as the West Michigan region president for Huntington Bank, John Irwin traded in his business suit for a different kind of suit, swimming trunks. His boardroom is now a swimming pool and instead of talking about financial security, he is now discussing water safety.
“I knew with retirement that I wanted to give back to my community,” said Irwin, who is a triathlete having completed more than 80 events in the past 20-plus years. “I knew I wanted to do something more on a one-to-one basis versus being on a board.”
Being a member at the David D. Hunting YMCA in downtown Grand Rapids, Irwin was aware of the many programs being offered at the Y, such as the water safety program.
“I basically sent an email and said ‘I don’t want to run the program. I don’t want to get paid.’ I just wanted to volunteer,” Irwin said. “I think Becky was like ‘You’re my type of person.’ That is how easy it was.”
Becky Haveman, the YMCA association aquatics and safety director, gives out a little laugh.
“John sent me an email with his story and I said we should talk,” Haveman said, adding that the Y has had volunteers in the past help with the water safety instruction. “It is not unusual for us to have 14- and 15-year-olds looking to eventually teach.”
Irwin went through training with the Y staff, watched classes and in September was set up with his own class of about a dozen six-year-olds who have never been near the water.
John Irwin. a retiring Huntington Bank executive, with his first Safety Around Water class. (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
Jumping in
“You see them now and you think I am their best friend,” Irwin said after just completing a short class demonstration. “It didn’t start off that way. Many of them would not even get in the water, much less near it.”
In Michigan, on average, a person is only about six miles away from natural water, Haveman said. Because of that, the YMCA offers a number of water safety and swimming classes. In fact, these classes are one of the most popular programs at the Y, with the organization teaching more than a million such classes nationwide.
“The water safety class is designed to teach the students that if they fall in the water or see someone fall in, they know what to do,” Haveman said.
There is the “jump, turn, grab” technique where students are guided on learning how to turn and grab onto the side or something if they fall into the water, Haveman said. There is also the “swim, float, swim” technique that if a student is swimming and gets tired, they roll over on their back and float for a while to rest and then resume swimming, she said.
After demonstrating a technique, Irwin asked “OK, who’s going into the water?” A few hands shot up right away and Irwin takes each child, one at a time, until he gets to a little red-headed boy who with a pouty face, shakes his head no.
“You don’t want to do it today?” Irwin asks with a smile. The boy again shakes his head no. “That’s OK. I know. You don’t like to jump in the water.”
Volunteering for the swimming program seemed like a natural fit for Irwin because of his triathlon experience. Irwin also got his level one swim coach certification.
John Irwin with the Y’s aquatics and safety director, Becky Haveman (WKTV/Joanne Bailey-Boorsma)
“I am hoping that now I am retired, they plan on using me a little more,” Irwin said. Havman gives a quick head shake yes.
Irwin also is sharing his story in hopes of encouraging others to follow in his path.
“When people look at the Y, they see the buildings but they don’t think about all the great programs that they offer that are inside the buildings,” Irwin said. “I would encourage people to reach out to the Y, or any organization they want, and take what they love and see how they can use that talent to give back.”
Who knows, you might end up trading your suit for a pair of gloves and a garden or maybe some shorts and a gym, or, perhaps like Irwin, a pair of swim trunks and a pool.
Like to join the fun? The Y will be hosting training classes for would-be lifeguards. The four-day trainings are Dec. 20-23 and Dec. 27-30. Lifeguards must be at least 16, and while most are high school and college students, theranks are made up of professionals, retirees, and stay-at-home moms. For more information, visit grymca.org/events/lifeguard-training-class. For the Safety Around Water program, visit grymca.org/news/water-safety-y.
Increasing more affordable housing would reduce the need for shelters, according to Family Promise of Grand Rapids officials.(pxhere.com)
By Emerson Wigand Capital News Service
As winter approaches, local officials worry that a reported drop in homelessness is misleading or temporary based on short-term pandemic relief.
Michigan’s Campaign to End Homelessness recently reported a 19% decrease in those seeking emergency shelter since 2019.
“Those numbers don’t tell you that homelessness is down,” said Cheryl Schuch, the chief executive officer for Family Promise of Grand Rapids. “What they tell you is that the number of people being served by our shelter system is down.”
Family Promise operates the only family shelter in Kent County. There’s been an increase in families facing homelessness here, Schuch said. Collecting data on the issue can be challenging, especially in the case of families.
Despite the reported decrease in homelessness, Family Promise is at capacity, she said.
Full shelters aren’t limited to West Michigan.
“I don’t see that the homeless population is going down,” said Michelle Munn, the case manager at New Hope Center, in Cadillac. “The numbers look good, but it’s only because there’s extra funds right now for COVID.”
New Hope Center is the only shelter provider in Wexford and Missaukee counties. Its shelters are generally full, with vacancies filled quickly by walk-ins or those on a waiting list, Munn said.
While Munn said she thinks this drop is positive, she worries about what will happen when pandemic relief programs end.
COVID impacts were a large part of the statewide decrease, said Eric Hufnagel, the executive director of the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness.
The biggest help was the eviction moratorium, which ended in August, Hufnagel said. Another factor was the Covid Emergency Rental Assistance funds that are still available.
“That was the No. 1 reason we saw our numbers decline,” Hufnagel said. “We believe that’s slowing down what could be a flood of evictions.”
Imagine a front door and back door, Hufnagel said: The front door is how people come into homelessness, the back door is how people are rehoused.
“Our hope is that we can put a dent in the flow through the front door,” he said. “The challenge we are seeing now is that back door.”
Michigan’s affordable housing stock is the weakest it’s been in decades, Hufnagel said. That means higher prices and rental rates for the housing that is available.
It’s even harder for people to move to new housing because there are fewer options, and existing options cost more.
“The majority of our families can’t afford housing even though they’re working,” Schuch said. “That has really been magnified in West Michigan.”
Family Hope of Grand Rapids has been working with Eastbrook Homes which is developing more affordable homes for the area. Also, Holland Home sold its former Fulton Manor to Hope Network, which plans to turn the former nursing home into a 120 affordable home. The nonprofit housing corporation ICCF is currently working on several affordable housing projects.
The pandemic has decreased shelter space in part due to fewer volunteers to staff facilities, Hufnagel said. Additionally, distancing recommendations have reduced available space in some shelters.
Rising COVID-19 cases adds to these concerns, said Susan Cancro, the executive director of Lansing-based Advent House Ministries. Increasing positive cases could halt new admittances for areas with limited shelters.
“That’s a problem for those on the street who are homeless,” Cancro said. “Especially as the weather becomes more cold and wet, and there’s nowhere to go.”
Schuch said it’s important to increase access to temporary housing to keep people safe for now.
“We have families staying in cars and other places,” Schuch said. “We have to make sure there’s adequate shelter available.”
Without more affordable housing, those problems will only get worse, Schuch said.
“Only investing in shelter doesn’t make sense. They won’t need our shelter if there’s enough housing.”
D.A. Blodgett-St. Johns Communications Specialist Allyssa Murphy stands with boxes of toys received in last year’s D.A. Blodgett-St. Johns Virtual Toy Drive. This year’s drive is being held through Nov. 22. (Supplied)
By Sheila McGrath WKTV Contributing Writer
With shortages happening now in everything from groceries to computer chips to toys, D.A. Blodgett-St. Johns is hoping donors will get in the holiday spirit a little early this year.
Due to Covid-19-related supply chain issues and shipping delays, the nonprofit agency is closing its annual toy drive on Nov. 22, a few weeks earlier than usual. The drive, which opened on Oct. 1, provides gifts for children receiving services from the agency.
DABSJ, a Grand Rapids-based agency, provides services like foster care, adoption, family preservation, and children’s residential treatment.
“We help around 7,000 kids each year, and about 500 of those are kids we provide holiday gifts for,” said Allyssa Murphy, communications specialist with the agency. “Some of them are in foster homes, so they are not with their biological families. Some are in low-income households. We work with each social worker on our team and figure out who is in need and exactly how we can help.”
Closing the drive early will help ensure the gifts get in the hands of kids before the holidays, Murphy said. The gifts need to be shipped to the organization, then distributed to social workers, who get them to the families they support.
This is the second year the toy drive is being held virtually due to the pandemic. Donors can log onto the Virtual Holiday Gift Drive through a website called Roonga to view the gifts that are needed and decide what they might like to donate.
Toys received in last year’s D.A. Blodgett-St. Johns Virtual Toy Drive await distribution to West Michigan children. (Supplied)
Murphy said the vendor they are working with through Roonga put a limit on the number of certain toys they could request due to item shortages. Also, their contact at Roonga suggested they end the drive early to make up for expected delays due to a shortage of delivery drivers.
The toy drive site features items for all ages and price ranges along with basics like socks, underwear and hygiene kits, which are especially important, Murphy said.
“They’re not necessarily the most fun items, but they are necessary, and the kids we support really do need them,” Murphy said. “Gift cards are probably the highest needed item. That really makes up the difference for some families.”
Through Roonga, DABSJ has partnered with a third-party vendor that provides all the toys at wholesale prices, Murphy said. DABSJ typically gives a $50 gift card and at least three gifts per child, depending on how many gifts are donated.
“Sometimes we get more, sometimes less, but we try to give as much as we can,” Murphy said.
DABSJ President and CEO Mary Muliett said many of the kids they help have experienced some type of trauma, and the pandemic has not made things easier.
“These kids need our help now more than ever,” Muliett said. “They deserve a positive and magical holiday season, just like any other kid. We need help making that happen.”
To donate to the holiday gift drive, visit the drive webpage or dabsj.org. For more information or to discuss donation options for businesses, contact Allyssa Murphy at amurphy@dabsj.org.
Recently, the United Veterans Council of Kent County expanded its annual awards from one to three.
The organization will continue with its Veteran of the Year Award but has also added two new awards, Association Member of the Year and Raising Up Veterans, which is a non-veteran award.The Council is seeking nominations for these awards with the deadline being Sept. 14.
The purpose for the expansion, according to Harold Mast, who is serving as the UVCKC spokesperson for the awards, is to recognize and show appreciation for what veterans have done and are now doing outside of the service to their country.
“I think it is a very important thing for our community to recognize veterans,” Mast said. “Particularly today and in the past couple of weeks or last several weeks, recognizing what the military has done, what the military is going through and how much our citizens rely on the military for.”
The Veteran of the Year Award is presented to a veteran who is dedicated to helping veterans and goes beyond what is expected. It is not what the veteran did during their service but rather what they have done after that service. Mast said, who used the the 2019 award recipient as an example. Bob Green, a veteran living in Kentwood, has done a lot for AMVETS and has been instrumental in recognizing veterans, especially those in nursing homes, through pinning ceremonies.
The new Association Member of the Year Award is similar to the Veteran of the Year, but focuses on the Council’s associate group’s such as veteran organizations’ auxiliary groups. The Raising Up Veterans is for those non-veteran residents who help with programs and other veteran-related activities.
Mast said the Council puts out a call for nominees and then the member veteran organizations of the UVCKC nominate candidates who are then blind judge by a panel. The recipient of the award is announced at the Council’s Oct. 23 banquet.
All nominees must be a resident of Kent County and need to be nominated by a Council member organization. Mast said many of the council organizations are willing to work with any resident interested in nominating someone for an award. To nominate a person, Mast said he recommends residents visit the UVCKC website, www.UVCKC.org, where the nomination forms are available along with a list of member organizations. Residents may also contact Mast at hamast@comcst.net.
TheUnited Veterans Council has been serving Kent County for more than 70 years by hosting such events as the Veterans Day and Memorial Day parades, supporting Gold Star mothers, and erecting and maintaining the monuments in Veterans Park. The Council is formed from groups such s the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, AMVETS, Fleet Reserve Association, Marine Corps League, Order of the Purple Heart, and DAV, just to name a few.
The Kent County Board of Commissioners is seeking “qualified and interested” residents to serve the community through appointment to various boards, commissions, and committees.
Some positions require certain experience in select fields, while other simply require people to be interested in serving their community. Some, but not all appointments, require an individual to be a resident or a registered voter of Kent County.
All applications for appointment must be filed with the Board of Commissioner’s office by close of business, Friday, Sept. 30.
One open position which requires a citizen of Wyoming is on the Kent District Library Board, with an opening for a Region 8 resident member from the City of Wyoming. (Also available is the Region 4 resident member from either Bowne, Lowell,Vergennes Township or City of Lowell).
Other boards, commissions, and committees that have openings for terms effective Jan. 1, 2022 (unless otherwise noted) include:
Agricultural Preservation Board (openings for agricultural interest representative and conservation representative).
Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan, Board of Directors (must be 60 years or older).
Community Health Advisory Committee (openings for at-large member, community-based organization representative, health care provider representative, and Kent ISD representative).
Community Mental Health Authority Board (Network 180) Board (Term begins April 1,2022).
County Building Authority.
Friend of the Court Citizens’ Advisory Committee (attorney who engages primarily in Family Law and one representative of the public).
Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRFIA) Authority Board.
Housing Commission.
Jury Commission.
Kent County Community Action Advisory Governing Board (openings for one consumer sector member and one public sector member).
Kent County Family & Children’s Coordinating Council (private agency representatives, private funding representatives).
Kent Hospital Finance Authority (two openings for County Representative members).
Officers’ Compensation Commission (four member openings).
Remonumentation Peer Review Group (openings for four professional surveyor members).
Veterans Services Committee (openings for four U.S. armed forces veteran members).
Qualified residents may apply by completing an online application on the County’s website at accessKent.com/boardappointments. Resumes and cover letters are encouraged. The application deadline is 5 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2021.
For additional information on the boards and commissions visit the Kent County website here or contact the Board of Commissioner’s office at 616-632-7580.
George Keen, left, and Ralph Baker on The Racing Show, taped by WKTV in January, 2020. (WKTV)
By Tom Norton, WKTV general manager
Whenever we receive news of the sudden passing of a colleague, friend or family member, it’s always a shock. All of us WKTV Community Media family were shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of George Keen Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021.
George began his decades of volunteering and creating television at WKTV in 1992. I remember first meeting George and knew instantly that he was a natural for broadcast work. His easy-going, affable and conversational manner made him the perfect television host. We used to joke here that George was so good, he could give a play-by-play of paint drying. The ease from which George could take a guest’s answer and play it into the next question made his television appearances, not so much television, but more a conversation which is where television really shines. It seemed like it was an old acquaintance or friends talking and it was always a pleasure to watch.
And watch they did. In 1992 George and his team created “The Racing Show” to in George’s words, ‘give the racing fans something to talk about over the winter when they were at the races.” I asked him what they were going to talk about and he said, “racing, of course.” Within several months of its launch, “The Racing Show”, every Wednesday at 7 p.m., became appointment television for many in West Michigan. There was no internet or social media to push the audience (or divide it up), but the audience grew quickly.
The show sponsored sold out wintertime racing banquets at the K of C Hall and during a WKTV Buy a Brick telethon in 2002, we gave George and the racing community an entire night of the telethon. All night long the phones jangled with the sound of the racing community buying bricks to support WKTV. We knew, however, that they were really heeding George’s call and it showed that the racing community is a tight knit family.
George stayed with us through the early years of The 28th Street Metro Cruise, again providing that effortless style of good conversation when talking to any classic car owner. Gradually, though his talent led him to work more in radio and at Berlin Raceway and when “The Racing Show” went off the air in 2005 we were sad. For us it seemed an era had passed.
George returned occasionally to host a number of different shows including many years doing play-by-play for Golden Gloves Boxing. In February of 2020 George returned again to WKTV to tape the first installment of the new “The Racing Show” which would’ve also featured a podcast. He just couldn’t stay away from making television and it was a comeback we were glad to have. When the pandemic shuttered productions, things never did come back together, but we have the one episode that will stay in our archive forever.
I never saw the man use notes. He ability to wing it effortlessly always impressed me and we’re sure much more will be said of George who had so many friends and colleagues across so many facets of life. Something tells me that if Heaven has racing and they want the new guy to “call the race,” everyone back here who knew George would recommend him highly.
God speed George Keen. Thank you for 29 years at WKTV.
After more than a century of providing holiday season gift bundles to thousands of western Michigan kids, the Santa Claus Girls will be still this holiday season as the double hit of both COVID-10 and the need for a new home facility has forced the program into hiatus for 2020.
The Santa Claus Girls’s history in Kent County dates from 1909 and from their most recent home in Kentwood at the Knoll Inc. building on 36th Avenue, the all-volunteer group delivered more than 13,500 gift packages in 2018 and topped that number last year.
“Santa Claus Girls has taken a pause for the 2020 season,” Maggie Moerdyke, Interim President of Santa Claus Girls, said to WKTV. “Knoll was sold and the charity inventory is packed in 4 trailers awaiting a new home. It was a tough decision for the board to pass for the holiday season yet the pandemic had made it impossible to carry forward for 2020.”
Undated historic photo of Santa Claus Girls. (Supplied/Santa Claus Girls)
Usually, the Santa Claus Girls packages and delivers gift bags through which in-need kids get a new toy and candy but also get hand-made, knitted winter hats and mittens. Depending on the age of the kids, families can also receive infant receiving blankets, crocheted or knitted or out of flannel, infant toys, and age-appropriate 1-year-old and 2-year-old stuffed animals.
To accomplish such an effort, there is a small army providing gift wrapping and package-assembly, as well volunteers to join another small army of drivers to deliver the packages in mid-December.
But the army will be at home this season.
“The volunteers, the space, the production, are all side by side and the ability to maintain 6 foot of space between was not an option,” Moerdyke said. “The 350 drivers were also on the mind of the board and to send them into the neighborhoods to deliver was not an option either with COVID spreading so rapidly. Safety and health was foremost on the mind of each of us through the cancellation process.”
She said the non-profit’s governing board had to make the decision that “with heavy heart (we) cannot reach the 13,000 children that are serviced during the giving season. The goal is to return in 2021, bigger and better.”
The board is also working a new model for the non-profit but, she said, they “truly need a workshop to make it happen.”
A new home needed for program
Knoll Inc. housed Santa Claus Girls for six years, including all utilities and the company’s maintenance staff.
Knoll had “a heart of gold to support the families in the community, the volunteers, and the charity,” she said. “Just maybe (we) will be fortunate to find another similar blessing.”
According to Moerdyke, Santa Claus Girls needs a facility between 25,000-75,000 square feet. The ideal, she said, would be 75,000 square feet which comes into use during the six weeks of assembling and delivery. The lower square footage figure would be for storage during the other 10 months of the year.
Moerdyke also said “the master plan is to have a facility to accommodate Santa Claus Girls, Y-Service Club (White Elephant Sale) and Toys For Tots. All three charities have worked together for several years yet in separate facilities and moved from one place to another as needed incorporating the use of trailers for storage whenever necessary.”
As with every year, the Santa Claus Girls are also seeking community support both in volunteerism and financial donations.
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus, we host a discussion on the City of Wyoming Lions Club, a local member of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service club organization, with clubs in more than 200 countries.
Wyoming’s club, like all clubs, support the local community in various ways and assist people throughout the world with a focus on programs such as sight programs, guide dogs, donations to vision clinics, and support of various other community organizations.
With us is Kyle Austin, Wyoming Lions Club vice president and membership chairman, and we talk about what the local club does and the need for volunteer member to help them do their good work.
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.
Brian Hartl, supervising epidemiologist at the Kent County Health Department, talked to WKTV this week about the county’s Contact Tracing Volunteer program.
As Kent County, with the rest of Michigan, begins to come out of its “stay-at-home” COVID-19-limiting efforts, the county’s Health Department remains hard at work with efforts to identify and keep track of persons actively infected — and those possibly exposed to the coronavirus.
And a key element in the county’s contact tracing effort is its on-going Contact Tracing Volunteer program.
“It is really important to control the spread of infection, that is our main goal with this … prevention and control of COVID-19 in our community,” Brian Hartl, supervising epidemiologist at the Kent County Health Department, said to WKTV this week.
The Kent County Health Department (KCHD) is currently seeking contact tracing volunteers to work with the department’s staff “mitigating the community spread of the virus and in supporting patients with a suspected or confirmed infection,” according to supplied material.
“We are really looking for someone who is comfortable with talking with people,” Hartl said. “Really, that is our main criteria, the prerequisite, that you feel comfortable talking with people on the phone. I think if you have some sort of science or health care background, where you are comfortable talking about health concerns, or infections, that is an added bonus.”
While volunteers will be asked to use their own home computers and personal phones, they will be give training, including “sensitivity training.”
“Training is obviously necessary, to help them understand what this is all about,” Hartl said. “Anytime you are talking about someone’s health, you have to understand that this in confidential. Sometimes people get concerned with charing their information with a stranger from the health department. And so confidentially is important. Some of these calls can get sensitive, and emotional.”
And always of great help are persons of diverse cultures and languages.
“We are seeing a high burden (of infections) in populations who are non-English speaking here is Kent County,” Hartl said. “So, individuals who are from those populations, who can speak those languages, are of great need at this point and would be an amazing benefit to this endeavor.”
County’s contact and isolation protocol
Hartl also detailed the KCHD’s overall process of “prevention and control of COVID-19” in Kent County.
“When we get a positive case of COVID-19, our investigators will contact that individual by phone to do that interview, an investigation,” Hartl said. “That investigation includes when their symptoms started, what types of symptoms they had, where they may have picked up the virus, if they have an idea. And then we ask a lot of questions about who they came into contact with 48 hour prior to their getting their symptoms, up to the point we are talking to them.
“We want to make sure all the individuals who may have been exposed to the persons who is sick are identified,” he said, adding that the focus of the questions are “high-risk exposures” to the sick individual.
“We get a list of those contacts, and we, in turn, contact them and ask them about their health to see if they have symptoms yet or if they are well. And then we recommend those individuals do a 14-day quarantine period from the last time they were exposed … periodically, our contact tracers call those individuals to make sure they are asymptomatic, and make sure they are still abiding by the quarantine recommendations. On the 14th day … we would release them from that quarantine.”
Hartl said it is also part of the protocol to “contact the (active) patients every couple days, just to make sure they are doing well and their symptoms have not gotten worse, and to make sure those individuals are isolated. … those individuals are isolated for a period of at least 10 days to make sure they are symptom free … and they can be released from isolation.”
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Leslie Vaas, high school sports remote, in-studio crew
“I’m working from home now, and since my coworkers normally do most of their work face-to-face with students at their schools, we’re cancelling everything we had planned for the spring and summer and figuring out new ways to continue providing services. So that’s been a challenge,” Vaas said to WKTV in an email.
Leslie Vaas
“But not all the changes to my life have been bad. It’s just as easy to video chat with a friend in New York as a friend in Michigan, so I’m seeing a lot more of people I don’t normally make weekend plans with. I also attended my first ever online birthday celebration, for a friend in Chicago who decided to host his party on Zoom. So even though it’s a bummer not to be able to spend time with people in person, it’s cool to see how creative people are getting.
“My family continues to get along well even though we’re all spending a lot more time at home, and so far we’re all still healthy. And as I already mentioned, I’m still able to do things with friends and family outside my household, thanks to technology. I’ve always done my workouts either at home or outside, so that required no change. I can still read books, and write stories, and continue watching a lot of my favorite movies, shows, and YouTubers, so most of my solo free time activities are still possible. And of course, Michigan’s weather remains as unpredictable as ever.”
And her words of wisdom:
“Whether you’re super busy now or have more free time than you know what to do with, try to find at least a little bit of time for things that help you stay sane or help brighten someone else’s day (while still maintaining social distancing). These are crazy times, but like High School Musical says, we’re all in this together. Stay safe, be kind, and hang in there, everyone.”
Thank you Leslie, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with our volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
WKTV volunteer Leslie Vaas in station’s remote coverage truck during a 2019 high school sports event. (WKTV)
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Dan Stevens, long-time WKTV volunteer, video partner (and humorist)
Dan Stevens is a man of many skills, including making sweets for WKTV’s volunteer potluck. (WKTV)
“With the crisis, there are no (sports) officiating opportunities thanks to schools being closed for the rest of the year, which doesn’t affect me much as I was not planning officiating high school sports this spring anyway. Thanks to my 25 months spent on active duty with the military, 19 of which involved recovery from two shoulder surgeries, I have enough money saved to support myself while I wait for summer recreation leagues to start providing me income again.
“Until that happens, though my shoulder isn’t 100 percent, it still works well enough to allow me to get lots of exercise by playing with a small (yet growing) group of outdoor pickleball enthusiasts (and yes we ARE maintaining awareness of social distancing when we play!) who like to play for 2-4 hours a day, 2-3 days a week. We all enjoy it as it keeps us sane and in good shape in the midst of these troubling times.”
And his words of wisdom:
“When I’m not out playing pickleball, I’m focusing on writing books, which I was planning on doing even without the pandemic, learning about stock market investing, learning a 2nd language, taking care of my adorable kitty Hobbes, and laying the foundation for starting my own business training future sports officials, so that when this pandemic blows over — and I have faith it will blow over — we can all get back to doing what we enjoy: reconnecting with work, friends and ESPECIALLY our WKTV family! So keep your chin up, everyone, we’ll all be seeing each other again very soon!”
Thank you Dan, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with our volunteer community? Visit wktv.org.
“In Between the Trees”, Rose Hammond’s 2019 documentary film about the historic African-American resort towns of Idlewild and Woodland Park, was more than simply a community project supported by WKTV Community Media.
It is a prime example of a community-led project which WKTV prides itself in being an advocate for and a partner with. And the film will be on display next week as it begins a short cable-television run on WKTV Community Channel 25.
“As Rose went through he process of producing this documentary, we all found it fascinating that she was uncovering this amazing story of local history,” said Tom Norton, general manager of WKTV Community Media. “WKTV is happy and proud that she chose to use this facility to realize that storytelling goal.”
WKTV will air “In Between The Trees Monday, April 20, at 9:30 a.m.; Tuesday, April 21, at 7 p.m.; and Friday, April 24, 10 a.m.
Idlewild was started in 1912 by white investors who created a resort for black vacationers during the Jim Crow era — when most resorts would not allow blacks to book stays. Woodland Park came a few years later.
Rose Hammond at WKTV Community Media for the premiere of her film “In Between the Trees”. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The film about the history of the towns — produced, substantially filmed, and edited at WKTV by Hammond — is based on her 1994 book “Idlewild & Woodland Park, Michigan (An African American Remembers)”.
“I was attracted to the story when coming home and our family went up north to visit our grandpa’s old house,” Hammond said to WKTV. “While in Woodland Park all I heard were the stories of how it used to be. I then decided that someone needed to put a collection of interviews together to maintain the historical value of the community.
“No matter what becomes of the two communities they will always be known as an outlet for thousands of African Americans to entertain and vacation like their counterparts. It will always be Idlewild and Woodland Park.”
For the complete WKTV Journal story, visit here. The trailer for the documentary can be viewed here and another here. For a WKTV video interview with Rose Hammond while the film was in process, visit here.
In future Michigan classrooms, the age of COVID-19 will be studied by all age groups. A new Michigan History Center program seeks to collect stories to tell. (U.S. Army)
The State of Michigan, like most governmental agencies, puts out press releases to media sources on a wide-range of issues almost daily. Some are important for the public to know; some are just routine governmental business. Some make the news and some do not.
We at WKTV have decided that in these times of COVID-19, of often-filtered news, we’d let the state departments say what they want to say to the pubic a little more directly. Following are links to State of Michigan releases from the Easter Sunday holiday weekend, April 9-12 — with a little emphasis given by our staff on what we found interesting.
Michigan History Center seeks public input for COVID-19 pandemic project
The Michigan History Center has announced a new collecting initiative that gives residents the opportunity to share stories that reflect their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, for the benefit of future generations.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is a critical moment in history, and the Michigan History Center is committed to documenting — through objects, archival materials, stories and experiences from diverse Michiganders — how the coronavirus is affecting Michigan residents in the workplace, at home, in communities and in many other settings,” an April 11 press release states.
The first phase of the three-phase collecting initiative is active right now. It offers a web-based platform for people to share and donate photos, videos and audio files that document their daily lives during this emergency— all of which will be considered for preservation in the Archives of Michigan’s collections.
Michigan health insurance providers to waive COVID-19 patient costs
The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) announced that the state has received agreements from nearly all of the state’s health insurance companies to waive cost-sharing, including copays, deductibles, and coinsurance for coronavirus (COVID-19) testing and treatments. The Whitmer Administration and DIFS had worked with insurers to waive these costs.
Consumers with these individual and group health plans will not be charged cost-sharing for coronavirus-related medical treatment, such as primary care visits, laboratory testing, emergency room visits, ambulance services, and FDA-approved medications and vaccines for COVID-19 when they become available.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us all a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Riley Zoet, volunteer cameraperson and sports intern
“Things around here are pretty boring for the most part. I’m certainly jealous of people who live with friends or significant others right now as I have been stuck in the house alone. I’ve made more FaceTime and phone calls these past couple weeks than I have in a long time.
Riley Zoet.
“Like many others, I am laid off from work, which initially was a welcome break from what was becoming an exhausting stretch for me, but now I’d beg for a chance to go back. Even more, however, I miss working with the WKTV crew. I was excited for the Gold Gloves boxing tournament and the other upcoming projects for the station.
“I felt like my life was on a good path before all of this, so the stop in momentum has certainly been taxing. Even things like writing and studying film are becoming difficult during this period of stagnation.”
And his words of wisdom:
“Regardless, I hope everyone is doing well, staying healthy and trying to stay sane. We’ll get through this as individuals, as a country and as a planet. Survival is one of humanity’s defining traits.”
Thank you Riley, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with our volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life? What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Cory Dalton, high school sports announcer and sports show host
Cory Dalton on the set of WKTV Journal Sports Connection. (WKTV)
“My job has not changed much as I am fortunate to still be working at this time. Just taking some extra precautions with social distancing, sanitizing, which I did a lot anyway. I’m spending my time just focusing on my family, my wife and two kids. We have been playing games, watching movies and conversing to past the time … also doing little projects together, which is always fun.”
And his words of wisdom:
“My advice to everyone during this time is to understand that this is real serious. This is a big deal. There are people actually dying behind this virus. Protect yourself. Sanitize your hands … stay home … only go out if it’s absolutely necessary. You don’t know if you are carrying this virus or not. This will past. Be patient and we will get back to normal living.”
Thank you Cory, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with our volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Mike Moll, high school sports director and announcer
“I am still working each day as we are considered to be an essential business … the hours are being cut way back though as there simply are not enough other businesses that remain open for us to service. As a result, it will be interesting over the next several weeks to see how we are affected.
WKTV’s Mike Moll.
“This is certainly a different time for all of us, not just in our lifetimes, but in the generations around us as well. Even as much as I enjoy watching, calling, and participating in sports, I think it’s a time where we have the opportunity to ‘re-focus’ and really look at what is ‘important’ in our lives, but more-so, what SHOULD be ‘important’ in our lives.
“I find it more than coincidental this all happened around the time of year where sports are at their highest in our world. Between college basketball and March Madness, but also basketball, hockey, and baseball being in the small window where all major professional sports seasons overlap for a period of time and became more of a daily routine in many lives. We turn on the television to watch or to get the results of the games, or listen on the radio for the same.
“I think this is giving us a chance to look elsewhere for the where, and the what, is the purpose of our lives and how we can show others around us as well.”
And his words of wisdom:
“We (he and wife Pat, also a longtime WKTV volunteer) have much more recognizance of what and who is around us, as well as how and what we do on a daily basis. As we see and read more of the daily struggles of so many, we lift our family, friends, communities, country, and world up in prayer knowing that they are all being held by much bigger and stronger hands than ours could ever be. May we feel that touch of those hands each day of our lives in some way, but then may we share that feeling somehow with someone else.
“Here is the hope that you all stay healthy and may we all change our focus point to be a little higher than what is in visibly in front of us each day. I know I’m trying!”
Thank you Mike — and Pat, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
WKTV Community Media is all about the communities of Wyoming and Kentwood, as well as our community volunteers who live all over West Michigan — community people who bring life to our building and to our work. So in these days of social distancing we at WKTV wanted to keep us a little more connected.
So, we asked people to “Tell us how are spending your time?” How has your life and work changed due to the COVID-19 restrictions? What has stayed the same in your life. What advice would you give to the other WKTV community members, and the public at large?
Becci Schumaker, cameraperson extraordinaire
“I, we, are doing well, I am stuck at home regardless of the stay-at home-rule. Just one week out from my foot surgery. Already going bonkers,” Becci said to WKTV in an email. “But I am making phone calls to people, encouraging them when needed. Also on Facebook, so I’m in contact through Facebook. Will be doing a short video for my second grade Sunday school class and posting it to our church Facebook page.”
And her words of encouragement:
“Stay safe everyone. Miss y’all.”
Thank you Becci, for all you do.
Interested in learning more about WKTV Community Media, maybe getting involved with volunteer community? Visit https://wktv.org.
If you’re feeling a little cooped-up — and who isn’t? — and longing for a community concert featuring local talent, we have good news and good news.
First, WKTV has been told that the people behind Cutlerville’s Sounds of Summer July concert series are already looking past the current COVID-19 restrictions and planning for 2020 summer series.
The Brena Band. (Supplied)
And if you can’t wait that long for a community concert, WKTV has a bunch of recent concerts in Wyoming and Kentwood covered by WKTV Community Media and available on-demand at WKTVlive.org. For example, check out the great August 2019 City of Kentwood Summer Concert Series concert by Brena. Don’t know the band? Check here for a 2019 WKTV story.
Patty Williams and crew. (Supplied)
“It’s a go,” Patty Williams, of P. Williams Productions, said to WKTV on March 26. Sounds of Summer series “music will fill the park … A variety of bands from country, rock, jazz, and Bluegrass, will be setting the stage to entertain the community.”
Williams, who is a longtime WKTV Community Media volunteer, said the concert series, at Cutlerville’s Cutler Park, has gotten the go-ahead to schedule concerts every Thursday night in July, starting July 2, with concerts starting at 7 p.m.
This popular concert series by P. Williams Productions, and LW Studios, has been entertaining the local community for more than five years at Cutler Park, located at 6701 Cutler Park Drive, just off 68th St., near Division Avenue.
To keep up on news of Sounds of Summer, visit their Facebook page @soundsofsummerculterville, or call P. Williams Productions at 616-818-9874.
After retirement, you may find that you have a lot of extra time on your hands that you don’t know exactly what to do with. While having different hobbies and finding social activities can help fill the time, another thing to consider could be volunteering some of your time within your local community.
Senior volunteers are especially great for charitable programs and other organizations because your free time is more flexible than that of many other volunteers. Being able to make a difference no matter what your age is has benefits both for you and for your community. Here are some reasons why you should get involved and some different areas you can volunteer in.
Why is it important to get involved?
There are many societal and moral benefits to volunteering your time
which we are all well aware of. However, there are other benefits of
volunteer work that can have a more direct impact on your life and your
health.
Volunteering is good for your cognitive health
By being engaged through activities like volunteering, you can lower your risks of memory health issues like dementia. Staying active and keeping your mind busy in healthy ways can significantly decrease your chances of getting memory diseases like dementia or Alzhiemers as you continue to age.
Volunteering prevents senior depression
Senior depression and isolation is a very serious condition that can lead to a degradation of both your mental health and your general physical state. Meeting new people and remaining active in your community can help you avoid feelings of loneliness and isolation that often arise after retirement.
Volunteering encourages physical activity
It can be hard to stay physically active as a senior, but volunteering is a great way to get in some more activity and movement than you might normally get in a day. From walking as you clean up litter, to helping cook food at a soup kitchen, to playing games with kids, there are plenty of opportunities for healthy activities while volunteering.
1. Food drives and soup kitchens
One of the simplest ways to help out in your community as a senior volunteer is helping feed the hungry through food banks, soup kitchens, food drives, and organizations like Meals on Wheels. These kinds of volunteer opportunities have a major impact on those in need.
2. Helping other seniors
Senior volunteers are able to understand other seniors better than younger volunteers, so there are plenty of opportunities to help seniors with dementia and memory care, socialization, and caregiving through programs like Seniors Helping Seniors.
3. Tutoring and teaching
You don’t need to have been a teacher to be able to help kids and younger people learn. Most people looking for tutoring just need someone who is willing to go at their pace and clearly explain, which senior volunteers can provide. Local schools and after-school care programs are often looking for volunteers to help with tutoring.
4. Work with youth and younger generations
Teaching isn’t the only way you can help younger generations. There are many programs where you can work with youths like Foster Grandparents. Foster Grandparents provides role models and mentors for children across America who need help with reading, who have been abused or neglected, or who have disabilities, among other things.
5. Help with animals and animal organizations
Volunteering with animal shelters or local animal rights groups can bring your love for animals into your retirement years. Shelters are always looking for people to help take care of animals and make sure all these lovable creatures get the attention they deserve.
6. Volunteer with your past career
You can use the skills you gained in your previous career in your
volunteering efforts. There are plenty of people who would benefit from
your expertise in areas like:
Another big area that is in need of senior volunteers is the environment. Cleaning up litter from parks and streets in your community can make a difference not only on the environment, but in the appearance of your local community, as you are able to see the direct impact of your volunteer work.
Find a cause that matters to you
While these are some of the most popular volunteering opportunities for seniors, there are plenty of other causes that need the help of senior volunteers. Finding a cause that is important to you helps you maintain your dedication, as the motivation behind your volunteer work strongly resonates with you.
Doing some research into your favorite causes and letting that inform which organizations or programs you reach out to can help ensure that your volunteer work is going to the people you are most proud to volunteer with. Your assistance is invaluable to many different groups, and both you and your community will benefit from your volunteer work, no matter where you focus your efforts.
Kids of all ages and butterflies mix at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s annual Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition. (WKTV)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s annual Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition — reportedly the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the nation — will bring more than 7,000 tropical butterflies to West Michigan beginning Sunday, March 1.
This year’s exhibition highlights Nathaniel Ward and the invention of the Wardian Case.
In 1827, Ward accidentally invented terrariums while studying caterpillars and moths by placing them in jars. He noticed that plants were flourishing in these sealed jars and discovered that plants and insects better survived the harsh conditions in London, a city known for heavy pollution at the time, if they were enclosed in sealed containers. This discovery led to horticulturists being able to transport items around the globe and these early “fern cases” paved the way for modern terrariums, greenhouses and conservatories.
“Step Into the glass house during this year’s Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition and discover how the invention of the Wardian case changed the world,” Lisa Roo, project manager, said in supplied material. “This year’s theme offers our community a sense of wonder with magical glass houses from four feet tall to our iconic fifty-foot-tall Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory.
“We offer our guests the unique experience of stepping into glass houses to see butterflies soaring, caterpillars munching, and learn how the Wardian case paved the way for modern terrariums and greenhouses.”
A new Wardian case will be located in the adjacent Earl and Donnalee Holton Victorian Garden Parlor.
Approximately 60 colorful species of butterflies and moths journey from butterfly-rich regions of Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Philippines and Kenya to fly freely in the five-story tall, 15,000 square-foot Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory. At 85 degrees and 70 percent humidity, this balmy environment mimics the tropical regions that the butterflies call home.
Butterflies and flowers will be on display at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park’s annual Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition. (Supplied/Meijer Gardens)
Species of butterflies expected to arrive include the blue common morpho, whose iridescence impresses in flight, as well as brushfoot varieties such as the Clearwing, Lacewing and Zebra Mosaic. Likewise, the longwings captivate with distinctive wing patterns as seen on the Small Blue Grecian, Doris, Postman and Tiger butterflies. Gliders like the Emperor, Ruby-Spotted and Orchard Swallowtails will also add to the diverse assortment.
More than 1,000 pupae arrive at Meijer Gardens weekly from around the world. Guests can watch as delicate chrysalides and cocoons are placed in the Observation Station, where these unique and fascinating creatures then transform and spread their wings for the first time.
The Caterpillar Room, located within the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse, features monarch caterpillars. (Supplied/Meijer Gardens)
The Caterpillar Room, located within the Grace Jarecki Seasonal Display Greenhouse, features monarch caterpillars. Here guests will have the opportunity to learn more about how plants, butterflies and moths live in and under glass. Caterpillars hungrily feed on milkweed host plants mixed in with the flowering spring plantings and ferns that encompass the perimeter of the seasonal display greenhouse.
A docent will be present to help guide guests and enhance the experience. Volunteers are also “Wanted. Needed. Appreciated.” with various jobs and shifts. Contact Valerie Maciejewski at vmaciejewski@meijergardens.org or 616-974-5221.
There will be extended hours during Spring Break (Monday to Friday, April 6-10, 9 a.m. top 9 p.m.) and There are several special exhibition activities also set for the show. For more information visit meijergardens.org.
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus, we welcome two leaders of the Kent County Board of Commissioners, arguably the most influential group of elected officials in the county. While often little understood, it is a governing body whose decisions and leadership impact residents in a myriad of ways, from its health department to its road crews, from its park system to the county sheriffs office.
The commissioners last month elected their leadership and we have two of those leaders in studio today, Commission Chair Mandy Bolter and Vice-chair Stan Stek. Ms. Bolter represents District 5, which includes all or part of Cascade, Lowell, Bowne and Caledonia townships. Mr. Stek represents District 6, which includes the City of Walker and part of the City of Grand Rapids.
Top among the topics discussed are how and why the county was able to approve nearly $18.7 million for three strategic capital funding projects — all without the need for any issuance of bonds, which are repaid with taxpayers’ money.
Also discussed are the scope of county services and responsibilities, the relationship between the county and both state and federal governments, as well as challenges for the coming year in county governance.
WKTV Journal In Focus airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel (see our Weekly On-air Schedule for dates and times). All individual interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
AIM also invites the public to run, walk or hand cycle your way through Grand Valley State University’s campus in Allendale this Saturday, April 4, for its Wheel Run Together 5K Run/Walk fundraiser. (Supplied/AIM)
By WKTV Staff ken@wktv.org
The local non-profit Alternatives in Motion — whose stated mission is to “enhance independence through access to mobility equipment” — recently announced a successful mobility device collection drive put on by one of AIM’s board members.
AIM will also be the benefactor of the Wheel Run Together 5K Run/Walk fundraiser, held at Gran Valley State University’s Allendale campus in April. And it is not too early to sign up.
Throughout December 2019, AIM board member Leigh Chick hosted a Mobility Drive at Ionia Intermediate School District’s Freedom Acres School.
Throughout December 2019, AIM board member Leigh Chick hosted a Mobility Drive at Ionia Intermediate School District’s Freedom Acres School. (Supplied/AIM)
“I was inspired to host a mobility drive to support AIM because they have given so much to the students and families of Ionia County and directly to Freedom Acres School,” Chick said in supplied material. “I knew there were families and community members holding onto old equipment that their child had outgrown and they didn’t know what to do with it. I wanted to give them a place to pay it forward. I also wanted to spread the word about how amazing of an organization AIM is.”
Chick thanked several people for help with the drive, including Jim VanBeek of Triangle Construction, who loaned an enclosed trailer to house and collect the equipment in until it could be delivered to Alternatives in Motion’s warehouse, as well as, at the school, Principal Angela Miller, maintenance supervisor Jeff Duell, and Brenda Brown, the school’s physical therapist.
Wheels, run, walk, whatever — for a good cause
AIM also invites the public to run, walk or hand cycle your way through Grand Valley State University’s campus in Allendale this Saturday, April 4, for its Wheel Run Together 5K Run/Walk fundraiser.
All proceeds go directly to support the organization, which aids in donating and refurbishing wheelchairs to individuals and families in need.
The event will take place at 1110 Kirkhof Center, 1 Campus Drive, on GVSU’s Allendale campus. In addition to the run, there will be raffles, prizes, music, snacks, drinks, and more. The cost is $25 per person with events starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m.
Kathey Batey in the WKTV studios talking about her various counseling and mediation and training efforts. (WKTV)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
Kathey Batey is known for many things in the West Michigan community, including as an on-air volunteer at WKTV and as moderator of several Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce programs including its Government Matters.
But her day job — and her passion — is helping people overcome hardships as a domestic relations councilor and meditator.
That passion, late last year, earned her an award as Volunteer Meditator of the Year as part of the Dispute Resolution Center of Western Michigan 2019 Peacemaker Awards.
While she has a history in counseling and public speaking, in the last decade she has focused on mediation.
“My interest (in mediation) began when a man in my support group (Divorce Support Anonymous) about nine years ago, stated his legal fees were $129,000 and he wasn’t done with his divorce yet,” Batey said to WKTV. “I was so taken aback, since divorce is destructive enough for the individuals, the family, and especially the children, why should they devastate their finances as well?
“I had heard of mediation so I set out to find out how. I went through mediation training eight years ago and, since, have found mediation as a wonderful challenge that helps people, giving them control over their future with the power to self-determination of their future. And it saves them a lot of money. They can mediate with an attorney or on their own. When they mediate on their own I always advise they have an attorney review it prior to signing. Because the Mediation Agreement is legally binding.”
Also honored at the event, held in October 2019, was Grand Rapid Mayor Rosalyn Bliss.
The Dispute Resolution Center, at the time of the award ceremony, said of Batey:
“Kathey specializes in domestic relations mediation. She has been mediating with the Center since 2012 and has donated over 500 hours of her time. Her passion and dedication shine though everything she does. One recent mediation participant summed it up in her post-mediation survey, ‘I was appreciative of Kathey’s demeanor, skill in facilitation, and ability to keep on task . . . She was thorough and compassionate.’ Kathey is committed to helping those who find themselves faced with Divorce.”
The kind words from the center at the time of the award was an honor, Batey said.
“To be recognized for your commitment to this valuable organization and recognized for your skill as a mediator is very rewarding,” she said. “I believe in their cause and they provide mediation services on a sliding scale, the most it will be is $150 per person for 3 hours. So those without a lot of means can get these services and minimize legal costs.
“Plus, the only way to truly be skilled in any profession is to work at your skill continuously. There is a lot to know in the many facets of divorce. There are the individual needs, self-determination, financial issues, co-parenting children, the law, critical thinking. The art and science of a good question, discipline of the mind, dealing with multiple personalities, managing fears, tears and still maintaining professionalism.”
For Batey, however, there is also a very simple, and personal, reason for her mediation work with the Dispute Resolution Center and on her own — a reason that makes her earning a Peacemaker Award all the more fitting.
“It is a part of my giving back into the world,”, she said, referencing the biblical passage “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
The Dispute Resolution Center, also at the time of the Peacemaker Awards ceremony, said of Mayor Bliss:
“Bliss is the first woman mayor of Grand Rapids, MI. In honor of United Nations International Day of Peace, she declared September 21, 2019 as the International Day of Peace in Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Public Schools participated in activities throughout the week in honor of the occasion. The Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan is all about helping to create community and repairing broken relationships. Mayor Bliss understands that, ‘[H]aving a safe community is critical to our success, and that requires our continued commitment to strengthen community-police relations,’ Bliss said. ‘This requires building a strong foundation of trust between community members and our police officers.’”
For more information on the Dispute Resolution Center of Western Michigan, visit drcwm.org.
Batey is the author of “Suddenly Single: Rebuilding Your Life After Divorce” and, among other projects, is the founder of Divorce Support Anonymous. For more information on Batey and her other efforts, visit StayMarriedAmerica.com and/or spiritedpresentations.com.
Historic postcard of Idlewild Lake dock and boat (Supplied)
Rare Idlewild photos collected by Rose Hammond. (Supplied)
Idlewild’s Michigan State Historic Site sign. (Supplied)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
To say “In Between the Trees”, Rose Hammond’s 2019 documentary film about the historic African-American resort towns of Idlewild and Woodland Park, was a labor of love is only the first part of the story.
“I was attracted to the story when coming home and our family went up north to visit our grandpa’s old house,” Hammond said to WKTV. “While in Woodland Park all I heard were the stories of how it used to be. I then decided that someone needed to put a collection of interviews together to maintain the historical value of the community, but Idlewild came first.”
Idlewild was started in 1912 by white investors created a resort for black vacationers during the Jim Crow era — when most resorts would not allow blacks to book stays. Woodland Park came a little later.
Rose Hammond at WKTV Community Media for the premiere of her film “In Between the Trees”. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
The film about the history of the towns — produced, substantially filmed, and edited at WKTV Community Media by long-time WKTV volunteer Hammond — is based on her 1994 book “Idlewild & Woodland Park, Michigan (An African American Remembers)”.
Hammond is from West Michigan and is retired as an Executive Administrative Assistant in the mental health field.
“In Between the Trees” had its initial screening at WKTV in December 2019 with Hammond discussing the film with an audience of special guests, friends and interested persons in attendance. She previously entered the trailer for the film, and three creative designs on canvas, in 2018 ArtPrize event.
“I began working on the book after completing the interviews for the documentary,” Hammond said to WKTV. “The documentary was (initially) put on the back burner.
“Some of the key interviews were Rita Collins, Steve Jones, Lillian Jones, Ann Hawkins, Sonny Roxborough. But, there were so many. We interviewed at least 12 people over a course of two summers, every weekend.”
The interviews with Steve Jones and Ann Hawkins were the key interviews, she said. “But all of them had historical stories of value.”
Rose Hammond at WKTV Community Media for the premiere of her film “In Between the Trees”. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“This probably is not a surprise, but all of the interviews that weren’t used … still told history. Locating the actual ownership to the utility company in Idlewild that brought the first lights to Idlewild. The second interview with Lillian Jones, Merrill Township first African American Township Clerk. Ole Man Tyson touring one of the first buildings right off the lake, telling us who all spent the night.”
And how much work does it take to nearly single-handedly produce at documentary film?
“Hard to count the hours and hours of editing, changing to work with two editors, just about everyday over the course of one and a half years. But the project began in the (19)90’s,” she said.
But she doesn’t regret a minute of her work.
“History has no percentage of value,” she said. “No matter what becomes of the two communities they will always be known as an outlet for thousands of African Americans to entertain and vacation like their counterparts. It will always be Idlewild and Woodland Park.”
Future screenings of the film are planned. The trailer for the documentary can be viewed here and another here. For a WKTV interview with Rose Hammond while the film was in process, visit here.
Tri-unity boys basketball is one of the many local sports teams WKTV’s Featured Game coverage team will be covering this season. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
By Mike Moll sports@wktv.org
The holidays are in the rear-view mirror as the calendar has turned over to 2020, and January is jam-packed with high school sports most every night of the month as the winter season goes into full force.
Be sure to get out and show your support for your local school and its student-athletes in person, but then watch the replay on WKTV or watch on-line at any time within a few days of the event.
WKTV has your weekly high school sports schedule, and our coverage crew will be out twice the week. The Featured Game coverage schedule for January includes the following:
Friday, Jan. 3 — Boys Hockey Portage Northern at East Kentwood/West Michigan Aviation
Tuesday, Jan. 7 — Girls Basketball Tri-Unity Christian at Godwin Heights
Friday, Jan. 10 — Girls/Boys Basketball Kelloggsville at Wyoming Lee
Tuesday, Jan. 14 — Girls/Boys Basketball Wayland at Wyoming
Friday, Jan. 17 — Girls/Boys Basketball Hudsonville at East Kentwood
Tuesday, Jan. 21 — Boys Basketball NorthPointe Christian at Godwin Heights
Friday, Jan. 24 — Boys Basketball Zion Christian at Tri-Unity Christian
Tuesday, Jan. 28 — Girls/Boys Basketball Grand River Prep at Zion Christian
Friday, Jan. 31 — Girls/Boys Basketball Caledonia at East Kentwood
Want to be a television sports announcer?
If anyone has ever thought about trying to announce a sporting event, WKTV has a great chance for you to do exactly that! We are always looking for additional announcers, especially for the spring games. If you would like to try it or have any questions, please email Mike at sportswktv@gmail.com.
Where and when to see the game
Featured games are broadcast the night of the contest and then at least once later in the week.
WKTV offers on-demand viewing of the Wyoming and Kentwood high school sports, community events, and government meetings. (WKTV)
WKTV broadcasts on Wyoming and Kentwood cable channels. On Comcast cable, Channel 25 is the Community Channel, where sports events and other community events are shown; Channel 26 is the Government Channel, where local government meetings and events are shown. The games can also be seen on AT&T U-verse 99.
All Featured Games, as well as other high school sports and community events covered by WKTV, are available on-demand within a week of play at wktvlive.org.
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and feature stories on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports/.
Following is this week’s schedule:
Monday, Jan 6 Boys/Girls Bowling Kelloggsville @ Godwin Heights Wyoming @ South Christian Potter’s House @ Wyoming Lee
Tuesday, Jan. 7 Girls Basketball Northview @ East Kentwood Tri-Unity Christian @ Godwin Heights – WKTV Featured Event Wyoming @ Rockford Wyoming Lee @ Holton Kelloggsville @ Wayland Potter’s House @ Ravenna Kent City @ Grand River Prep West Michigan Lutheran @ Hudsonville Home Schoolers Holland Black River @ Zion Christian West Michigan Aviation @ Martin Boys Basketball Wyoming @ Rockford Holton @ Wyoming Lee South Christian @ Byron Center Potter’s House @ Kenowa Hills Kent City @ Grand River Prep West Michigan Lutheran @ Lansing Martin Luther Holland Black River @ Zion Christian West Michigan Aviation @ Martin
Wednesday, Jan. 8 Girls Cheer East Kentwood @ West Ottawa Wyoming @ Zeeland West Wyoming Lee @ Belding Kelloggsville @ Belding Boys/Girls Bowling Godwin Heights @ Hopkins Unity Christian @ Wyoming Wyoming Lee @ NorthPointe Christian Tri-Unity Christian @ Calvin Christian South Christian @ Zeeland East Boys Wrestling Belding @ Godwin Heights Wyoming @ Hamilton Wyoming Lee @ Hopkins Kelloggsville @ Ravenna Boys Hockey Rockford @ South Christian Girls Basketball West Michigan Aviation @ Wellsprings Prep Boys Basketball West Michigan Aviation @ Wellsprings Prep
Thursday, Jan. 9 Boys Swimming South Christian @ Union Boys/Girls Bowling Potter’s House @ Muskegon Orchard View Girls Basketball West Michigan Lutheran @ WMAES Boys Basketball West Michigan Lutheran @ WMAES
Friday, Jan. 10 Boys/Girls Bowling Godwin Heights Ottawa Hills Girls Basketball Godwin Heights @ Hopkins South Christian @ Wyoming Kelloggsville @ Wyoming Lee – WKTV Featured Event Covenant Christian @ Potter’s House Hudsonville Libertas Christian @ West Michigan Lutheran Fruitport Calvary @ Zion Christian Boys Basketball Godwin Heights @ Hopkins South Christian @ Wyoming Kelloggsville @ Wyoming Lee – WKTV Featured Event Bridgman @ Tri-Unity Christian Covenant Christian @ Potter’s House Hudsonville Libertas Christian @ West Michigan Lutheran Fruitport Calvary @ Zion Christian
Saturday January 11, 2020 Girls Dance East Kentwood @ Kenowa Hills Boys Wrestling East Kentwood @ West Catholic – Dunneback Invite Kelloggsville @ Fruitport Wyoming @ West Catholic Boys Swimming/Diving East Kentwood @ East Grand Rapids South Christian @ East Grand Rapids Boys Hockey East Kentwood/West Michigan Aviation @ FH Central Rochester @ South Christian Girls Cheer FH Eastern @ Wyoming Wyoming Lee @ Allendale Kelloggsville @ Allendale
Monday, Jan. 13 Boys/Girls Bowling Godwin Heights @ Belding Wyoming @ Zeeland East Wyoming Lee @ Calvin Christian Tri-Unity Christian @ Sparta – Boys Hopkins @ Kelloggsville South Christian @ Unity Christian
“In these days of difficulty, we Americans everywhere must and shall choose the path of social justice …, the path of faith, the path of hope, and the path of love toward our fellow man.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Supporting parole reentry
In Focus talks with Todd Cioffi, an associate professor at Calvin College, and director of Calvin Prison Initiative. This five-year program results in a bachelor of arts degree from Calvin College, but it is much more than simply an educational effort. Go here for the story and YouTube link.
Working on poverty in Kent Co.
WKTV Journal In Focus talks with Susan Cervantes, the Director of the Kent County Community Action program which, according to its 2018 annual report, served more than 7,000 individuals including more than 3,800 families, and also handled more than 42,000 information and referral calls. Go here for the story and YouTube video link.
Helping homeless LGBTQ-plus youth
WKTV Journal In Focus talked to two members of Grand Rapids HQ, a drop-in center for youth ages 14-24 in housing crisis, including but not limited to LGBTQ-plus youth. Go here for the story and YouTube video link.
Facts to Give Hope:
$30 billion and $75 billion
The National Retail Federation (NRF) placed holiday spending in 2018 at nearly $30 billion. Foundation giving in 2018 increased to $75.86 billion. Source.
