Tag Archives: Barri Tiggle

Ride Along with Mayor Jack Poll

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Local Faces, Our Cities, Recreation, , , ,

Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll is looking to have his first bike cruise through Wyoming, and you’re invited!

 

“The Mayor does a neighborhood walk every summer in the community, so it’s the same concept, just with bikes.” said Jennifer Stowell, administrative assistant to the city manger.

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The two-mile bike ride starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 16, from the Women at Risk parking lot, 27900 44th St. SW and concludes at 7:30 p.m. at Monelli’s Italian Grill and Sports Bar, 5675 Byron Center Ave. SW. After the ride, all participants are invited to join Mayor Poll for food, drinks, and mingling with other Wyoming residents.

 

“It will be a leisure bike ride through the neighborhood. The mayor will be stopping throughout the ride, periodically, to talk and greet people,” said Stowell.

 

Participants are encouraged to bring their own bikes and protection, such as helmets, as there will be no bikes available for rent or borrowing. During the bike ride, there will be limited t-shirts and bike lights given out to those who attend. You must have a bike In order to receive a bike light.

 

“If it is a successful turnout, it will most likely become an annual event added to the community walks that happen yearly in the community,” Stowell said.

 

For more information on the bike ride with Mayor Jack Poll event, visit http://wyomingmi.gov/ or call the City of Wyoming’s City Hall at 616-530-7226.

Four LUCAS Life Saving devices are now in Kentwood

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, Health, Our Cities, , , , , ,

By: Barri Tiggle

A $115,000 grant may have given the Kentwood Fire Department an edge in saving a life.

 

lucas cpr
The LUCAS Chest Compression System

The Kentwood Fire Department recently received a big hand with the help of LUCAS.

 

The 2014 FEMA Assistance to Firefighter grant – which totaled $114,949 – was used to purchase four LUCAS chest compression devices. These devices are designed to allow CPR to be done without human help, outside the first initial 15 – 20 seconds it take to set up the device

 

“The LUCAS devices will be a great asset to the Kentwood Fire Department and the community,” said Kentwood Fire Department Deputy Chief Greg Ginebaugh. “Having the LUCAS CPR device allows more time for airways to be made on the patient, as well as starting IV’s and completing all other needs on the patient.”

 

The idea for the CPR assisted mechanical device derived back in 1991 by Norwegian paramedic Willy Vistung. Years later, the  first LUCAS was created and has since progressed throughout the years.

 

The LUCAS device is used during pre-hospital treatments, in-hospital treatments, and even percutaneous coronary intervention (also known as a PCI, a non-surgical procedure used to open narrow or blocked coronary arteries). LUCAS is equipped with 10 accessories that allow it to work to its full function.

 

It takes a maximum of 20 seconds to set up and adjust LUCAS correctly on a patient. LUCAS is intended to save time for first responders to help in other areas the patient may need, or lack assistance, during manual CPR.

 

Manual (human to human) CPR requires first responders to rotate performing CPR on the patient every two minutes. Since CPR can sometimes last up to 30 minutes, the availability of a LUCAS can save precious time for help in other areas.

 

As of right now the Kentwood Fire Department has four LUCAS devices. There are three fire stations with four primary vehicles and one LUCAS device is placed in each vehicle. There are currently no future plans to receive additional LUCAS devices.

Poetry Slam Competition makes its way to Kentwood Library

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poetry slam
Spoken word poetry slam competition to be held at Richard L. Root Kentwood Branch Library

By: Barri Tiggle

 

Kentwood (Richard L. Root) Branch library is hosting its first live and uncensored spoken word poetry slam competition on Tuesday, May 17 from 7-8 pm.

 

There were up to 300 entries from Kent county residents between the grades of 6 through 12. The event is free and open to all general public. The event was created based on the original 13th Annual Teen Poetry Contest held at the KDL branch.

 

“We decided to add a spoken word component in an effort to breathe a little life into the event, and hopefully attract a segment of kids who otherwise have no outlet for their creativity,” said Greg Lewis KDL Teen Paraprofessional.

 

Poets are supposed to submit their work online in hopes of being selected. “We amped it up to get more teens involved,” said Carlita Gonzalez, KDL Program and Outreach Specialist.

 

There are two different categories for the competition, which are written and spoken word. Any submissions are automatically added into the competition.

 

“GF Korreck will be judging the written portion only,” said Kelsey May, a member of The Diatribe Staff. The Diatribe is an organization used to empower individuals through written and spoken word. Their values consist of helping others cope with challenges and struggles, while finding their own voice and story through the use of poetry. The Diatribe will be participating in the KDL poetry slam event as the master of ceremonies, also known as emcees.

 

Each winner will be given a prize. The prizes given away are centered on a book and music theme and will be provided by Schuler Books. 20 winners will be chosen, ten from the written portion and ten from the spoken word, and given a $50 gift card. All winning entries will be showcased on the KDL website’s Teen page. As of right now the event is not set as an annual event.

 

“As long as there is interest, we hope to offer this event, we are definitely planning on next year,” said Lewis.

 

The entire event is in correlation to as well as funded by KDL READS. For more information on the KDL poetry slam event or upcoming events with The Diatribe please visit kdl.org or thediatribe.org.