Blue Courage - WKTV Journal

WKTV Staff

Quote of the Day

“The prize and the voting are really just mechanisms. It comes back to building a creative culture in West Michigan.”

        ~ Rick DeVos in a 2011 speech about ArtPrize

Don’t Forget to Vote!

If you haven’t made it downtown to ArtPrize, there is lots to see including the WKTV VOCIES trailer which is recording artists’ stories for the next two weekends near the corner of Lyon and Monroe. Local filmmaker and longtime volunteer Rose Hammond is showing a trailer of her upcoming documentary “Between the Trees,” about the communities of Woodland Park and Idlewild at the Grand Rapids African American Museum, which is on the short list for best venue. Also check out Kentwood resident Meochia Thompson’s “Hugs” near the city center and Nidal Kanaan’s “Blue Courage” at Flanagan’s Irish Pub, which features the Wyoming K-9 unit. Round 1 voting ends tomorrow at midnight with the Top 20 Public Vote announced on Sunday. ArtPrize runs through Oct. 7.

Keeping it Real

Self-run cars. Robots taking care of the children. It all sounds a little sci-fi, but it is quickly becoming a reality. On Wednesday, Oct. 3, Switch, Inc. Chief Information Officer Missy Young will discuss artificial intelligence in her presentation “Artificial Intelligence: Keeping the Human in Humanity,” which is part of the Grand Valley State University’s Peter F. Secchia Breakfast Lecture. The program, which is at 7:30 a.m., is at the L. William Seidman Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.

The Leaves Are Changing – Yea!

Henderson Castle and Winery in Kalamazoo

Weather gurus are predicting that the leaves will change later this year with our area being in prime color around Oct. 20. With that in mind, now is the time to start planning that fall color tour. The West Michigan Tourist Association has a plethora of bed and breakfasts ideas in West Michigan that can make any weekend trip a special adventure. So it doesn’t matter if you stay in Kalamazoo’s Henderson Castle Inn and Winery or Saugatuck’s Sherwood Forest Bed and Breakfast, you are certain to see Michigan in full color.

Fun Fact:

1.32 Acres

That is the size of the average football field, which is 120 yards in length and 53 and half yards in width. Times the two numbers together and the total square feet is 57,600. One acre equals about 43,560 square feet, making a football field about 1.32 acres. Now that you know this little fun fact, go out and enjoy some football as many local teams will be squaring off tonight. WKTV will be at the Kelloggsville vs. Godwin Heights game, which is certain to be a good match up.

By Micah Cho

WKTV Intern

Inside Flanagan’s Irish Pub in downtown Grand Rapids, you can find food, drinks, and Nidal Kanaan’s ArtPrize entry “Blue Courage.” Photographing the Wyoming Police K-9 unit, Kanaan produced images that ArtPrize attendees will enjoy while stopping in for a quick refreshment.

“I learned quite a bit” Kanaan told the WKTV Journal. “These dogs are extremely hard working and the humans are also extremely hard working. There’s a lot of teamwork and community between them.”

The largest photograph featured in Kanaan’s entry highlights the relationship a K-9 officer has with his/her partner.

Nidal Kanaan’s ArtPrize piece “Blue Courage” can be found at Flanagan’s Irish Pub.

“My favorite picture is the one in the middle…” Said Kanaan. “It’s officer Ryan [Patterson] and his dog Chase. Just that eye contact between them is so powerful. And it’s not just the eye contact in the training sense that, what is my next move? What do I need to do next? But there’s a lot of love there. They are officers and partners, but they do have that human and dog bond too.”

“I would describe my relationship with my K-9 partner as a love/hate relationship,” said Officer Patterson. “They’re trained to be dominate, and with that there’s always a struggle…But it’s definitely a close relationship when you spend more time with them than you do your spouse”.

From having role models that were police officers to raising dogs for hunting, all four officers have a different story in why they wanted to be part of a K-9 unit. Officer Kelsey Eisen originally wanted to become a dog trainer. She decided to join the Wyoming Public Safety Department in hopes of pursing her passion by becoming a K-9 officer. Her dream came true a year-and-a-half ago when she was paired with her partner Dutch.

Overall, Kanaan is grateful with the time he was able to spend with the officers. A combination of the two parties created photographs that not only represent teamwork, but also love and affection between officer and K-9.

Officer Ryan Patterson with Chase, Officer Kelsey Eisen with Dutch, and Officer Daniel Sanderson with Azar

All photographs featured in Kanaan’s entry are up for sale. Proceeds go towards adoption fees for West Michigan shelters. During last year’s ArtPrize event, Kanaan was able to cover 25 adoption fees for West Michigan dogs.

ArtPrize runs through Oct. 7. All law enforcement officers and firefighters receive 25 percent off their bill at Flanagan’s during ArtPrize.

If you would like to see Wyoming’s K-9 officers in action, the police department will be hosting its annual K-9 carnival at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW, on Saturday, Sept. 22, at 10 a.m.

To learn more about Nidal’s ArtPrize entry, visit his page on the ArtPrize website, https://www.artprize.org/67259. Flanagan’s Irish Pub is located at 139 Pearl St. NW, just a couple of buildings east of the corner of Monroe Avenue and Pearl Street.