Former Wyoming lieutenant Dan Bigalow (seated with ball cap) looks over the certificate he received with family and friends. Bigalow was honored during a special 60th anniversary celebration for the city’s police department which started in 1959. (WKTV)
For Dan Bigelow it all started when he came back from the Korean War in 1953.
“My brother-in-law stopped by the house and said he had put in an application to the Wyoming Police Department,” Bigelow said. “I thought if he could do it, so could I. So I put an application as well.
“I got hired and he didn’t and I have to say, it was not a bad decision.”
Bigelow along with Bill Catlin were honored during a special program celebrating the Wyoming Department of Public Safety’s 60th Anniversary. They each received a certificate and retired officer badge.
“I think you cannot build upon the future and look forward if you don’t know you history, where the community came from, what was the culture, what changes were made,” said Chief Kim Koster about the importance of celebrating those who have served the department.
Wyoming Township became the City of Wyoming Jan. 1, 1959, with the Wyoming Township Police Department becoming the City of Wyoming Police Department. Years later, the city’s fire and police departments merged to create the Wyoming Department of Public Safety.
Retired detective Bill Catlin (seated with Veterans hat) visits with friends and family. Ctalin also was honored during the 60th anniversary celebration. (WKTV)
Bigelow joined the Wyoming Township Police Department in 1955 and Catlin joined in 1956. They were among the 17 township officers who were part of the city’s first police force. Both followed the department through its many transitions, each serving the department for 33 years. Bigelow retired as a lieutenant in 1988 and Catlin as a detective in 1989.
In attendance at the event were several retires spanning the 60 years of the department, including former Chief Edward Edwardson, who along with others shared stories about the department. Capt. Kip Snyder talked about the history of the department. The department now has 86 sworn officers. About 45 are on road patrol with another 11 serving as detectives.
The department also has a forensic science department and a canine unit that includes four dogs, who Snyder admitted were often more popular than the officers. Koster said the department will be adding four new motorcycles this year, another item that is often popular with the public.
Bruce Fogerty, with his wife Doreen, has been retired from the department for 26 years. (WKTV)
“I really enjoyed the work,” said Bruce Fogerty, who has been retired from the department for 26 years. “This was a great way for us to get together and see people we haven’t seen in awhile.”
Also as part of the 60th anniversary for the police department, Senator Peter MacGregor and Rep. Tommy Brann presented the department with a proclamation from Brann, MacGregor, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at the City Council regular meeting on Monday, May 6.
With more than a 1,000 traffic fatalities in the state of Michigan, distracted driving has certainly become a concern with law enforcement.
The Wyoming Department of Public Safety, through a recent grant from the GM Foundation, hopes to educate area students about the dangers of distracted driving from alcohol to cell phones.
“We are going to be going into all of our local high schools partnering with them and bringing in the Save a Life tour. We will have some presentations and hopefully some interactive displays with the teenagers there just showing them the potential of distracted driving and the consequences that could be,” said Wyoming Chief Kim Koster.
An interactive display from Save a Life.
The Greater Wyoming Community Resource Alliance, which received the grant, plans to help the Wyoming Department of Public Safety bring in the program Save a Life, an international campaign designed to get the message out about the dangers of distracted driving. The program includes highly advanced impaired and distracted driving simulators that give participants a completely realistic, sober perspective on the effects of driving while impaired or distracted.
“We are receiving generously from General Motors a check that will be used specifically by our police department for distracted drivers,” said Mayor Jack Poll, who was at the opening ceremonies or the 28th Street Metro Cruise where the grants were presented. The 28th Street Metro Cruise is usually the last weekend in August.
For the past several years GM has recognized and supported local organizations that help with a number of projects within the community. The GM Community Grants program, funded by the GM Foundation, is providing about $2 million to hundreds of organizations in 48 communities where GM employees live and work. Of that amount, $30,000 was awarded to the GM Components Holdings LLC in Wyoming to give to local organizations.
GM Foundation awards three grants totaling $30,000 recently at the 2018 28th Street Metro Cruise.
That amount was split between three organizations, the Greater Wyoming Community Resource Alliance, the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC), and Feeding America.
WMEAC will use most of its grant money toward its Teach the Watershed program at Godfrey Lee Elementary School, said WMEAC Director of Development Mary Robinson.
“We work specifically with fourth graders to teach them about the watershed and air pollution and how then can be actors in stopping pollution,” Robinson said. “We will also have a fall water festival that will include kids from the elementary school but also from the early childhood center.”
The last group was the Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank which will utilize the grant to help support 14 school mobile pantries feeding more than 14,000 families. One of the locations is Wyoming’s Parkview Elementary.
As Wyoming Public Safety officers and city leaders visited block parties and participated in activities for the annual National Night Out event last night, residents headed in record numbers to the polls to overwhelmingly approved the permanent renewal of the dedicated 1.25 mills for its public safety department.
A total of 11,432 people voted in Tuesday’s primary election, which determined party candidates for a number of races. That is 22.9 percent of the registered voters in Wyoming coming to the polls. The proposal passed 7,306 to 2,223.
The percentage turnout was one of the highest the city has seen in the past four primary elections, said City Clerk Kelli Vandenberg. In 2010, when Gov. Rick Snyder first ran, the city had a 20.1 percent voter turnout. In 2012, it was 9.26 percent, 2014, it was 13.5 percent and 2016, when President Donald Trump was elected, it was 10.6 percent.
“In talking to several other clerks in the area, the comment was it definitely felt more like a general election than a primary election,” Vandenberg said.
Indication that it could be busy primary election day started with the absentee ballots. The city received 2,261 absentee ballots which was about 600 more than in 2016. As to why the high turnout, VandernBerg said there could be a number of reasons such as the fact that there was a term-limited governor and this was the first time the Libertarian Party was included on the ticket.
As to the city millage renewal request, VandenBerg said it was certainly a nice surprise to see at the end of a very long night. City officials had no indication as to how the millage renewal would go as there was little commenting, except for a few positive posts on the city’s Facebook page, and no formal opposition presented.
This morning, city leadership expressed gratitude for the community’s continual support and stated they look forward to maintaining the excellent public safety programs and initiatives developed since the initial millage was first approved in 2010.
“We are pleased with last evening’s results and want to thank everyone who came out to vote yesterday,” says Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll. “Over the years, we have worked hard to be good stewards of the funding this millage provides, and it is clear our residents recognize we’ve made good on our promises.”
Public Safety Chief Kim Koster concurs with Mayor Poll’s sentiments, remarking the Public Safety Department’s efforts to work more closely with residents are bringing about excellent results for the community as a whole.
“Safety is at the core of the City’s mission, and the public safety millage allows us to maintain funding for critical services and programs,” Koster said. “We are fortunate to have the confidence of our residents and businesses, who continue to support our officers and firefighters. We look forward to working with the entire community to ensure Wyoming remains safe and welcoming.”
Following are some of the Public Safety Department’s accomplishments since the dedicated millage was first approved in 2010:
Achieved and maintained Gold-Standard police accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., putting the department in the top one percent of law enforcement agencies nationwide
Provided a professional public safety response to more than 37,000 calls for service every year
Implemented efforts to visit every school in Wyoming each school day, totaling 5,738 school visits last year
Conducted daily and nightly visits to businesses, making 8,606 contacts and 6,852 closed business checks in 2017
Equipped every police cruiser with an automated external defibrillator, or AED, as well as supplying every officer with Naloxone, which reverses the effects of overdoses
Increased forensic laboratory capabilities providing faster, more comprehensive results which have contributed to a higher success rate in solving crime
Reduced response times with the 24/7 operation of the Gezon Fire Station and the addition of two quick-response vehicles, or QRVs
Added three full-time fire fighters
Utilized part-time employees to implement a peak load staffing model which employs more staff during times of high call volume
Crossed-trained and licensed 22 City employees as fire fighters and utilized paid-on-call staff
Secured grants that allowed staff to become licensed as EMTs and purchase CPR assisted compression device
Various city leaders and local law enforcement were on hand for the official reading of the National Night Out proclamation at Consumers Energy this morning.
The annual morning event, which was at the Consumers Energy offices, 4000 Clay Ave., have officials and officers from Rockford, Walker, Grandville, Grand Rapids, Kentwood and Wyoming.
Wyoming Chief Kim Koster and Kentwood Chief Thomas Hillen
Kicking off at 5:30 a.m., Consumers Energy had two of its large trucks with buckets extended above U.S. 131 to help draw attention to the annual event. Consumers Energy employees were handing out light bulbs to those traveling down Clay Avenue.
For the 24th consecutive year, Consumers Energy has been recognized by the National Association of Town Watch as the recipient of “National Electric Utility Award” for its participation in National Night Out 2017. National Night Out promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. Area residents are encouraged to turn their porch light on and go out and meet their neighbors.
More activities will be taking place later this afternoon and evening in both the communities of Kentwood and Wyoming.
In Kentwood, the city’s big kick off will be at Woodland Mall from 3— 5 p.m. Residents will have to opportunity to met with Kentwood police and firefighters and get an up-close look at emergency vehicles. There will be a bicycle raffle and a special visit from McGruff the Crime Dog.
There is about 20 different neighborhood events taking place throughout the city, several of which will have a variety of entertainment. Those with special activities are:
• Christ Community Church, 2400 Forest Hill Ave. SE, 5— 7 p.m., will have water slides, games, food and beverages.
• Wingate Apartments, 3151 Wingate Dr. SE, 5— 7 p.m., will have a dunk tank and live music.
• South United Methodist Church, 4500 S. Division Ave., 6— 8 p.m, will have live music, a water slide, games, hot dogs, ice cream, snow cones and punch.
• Faith Church, 1412 44th St. SE, 6— 8 p.m., will have face painting, music, games, hot dogs, and pop.
Walker Mayor Mark Huizenga, Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll, Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley, and Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss.
• Pentecostals of Kentwood, 2627 44th St. SE, 6—8 p.m., will have a bounce house, puppets, live music, games, food and beverages.
• St. Paul’s United Method Church and Forest Pointe Apartments, 3334 Breton Ave. SE, 6—8 p.m., will have lawn games, sidewalk chalk, basketball, food and beverages.
In Wyoming, the city’s big event is the National Night Out Concerts in the Park hosted by the Wyoming Enrichment Commission. The event starts at 6 p.m. with activities and at 7 p.m. Chief Kim Koster will make a short presentation and announcing the Yellow Brick Road, dueling pianos that will feature the music of Billy Joel and Elton John.
The City of Wyoming has about 15 neighborhood parties ranging from small gatherings to those with an arrange of activities. Those open to the public are:
• Oriole Park Neighborhood Watch will host an event at Oriole Park, which is located off of 40th Street, from 6—8 p.m.
• South Godwin Neighborhood Watch will host an event at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson Ave. SE., from 6—8 p.m.
• Grace University, 1011 Aldon St. SW, from 5—7 p.m.
Also near Kentwood Community Church will be the South Kent National Night Out event from 4—8 p.m.The event will include a number of emergency vehicles from several area departments, food and other activities. The event will have demonstrations by the K-9 Unit, vehicle extraction demonstrations, the Kent County Sheriff’s Mounted Unit, children ID packets, a bounce house and dunk tank. The church is located at 1200 60th St. SE.
Once again the communities of Kentwood and Wyoming will be participating in National Night Out — this year on Tuesday, Aug. 7 — where residents are encouraged to turn their porch light on and come out and meet their neighbors.
A nationwide movement started by the National Association of Town Watch in 1984, the annual event promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.
“The City of Kentwood is committed to fostering a strong sense of community where neighbors look out for neighbors, which is what National Night Out is all about,” Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley said. “The City’s police, firefighters, and entire leadership team encourage all to participate and to become active citizens in their neighborhoods.”
Various activities will be offered at several neighborhood National Night Out event.s
All residents have to do is turn their porch light on between 7— 10 p.m. to participate although many neighborhoods do much more hosting block parties that range from potlucks to an array of activities. Between the cities of Wyoming and Kentwood. there are about 35 different neighborhood parties taking place, most between 5— 8 p.m with local officers and firefighters attempting to make it to as many events as possible.
The day kicks off with Consumers Energy hosting an early morning event with both Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll and Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley there along with Kentwood Police Chief Tom Hilton and Wyoming Police Chief Kim Koster. The event also will be attended by officials from the Walker, Grandville and Grand Rapids communities as well as representatives from the Michigan State Police and the Kent County Sheriff’s Department.
Two large Consumers Energy trucks also will have buckets extended 75 feet above U.S. 131 to help draw attention to the event. which is from 5:30— 8 a.m. with a proclamation read at 7:15 a.m. Police and fire vehicles will line up in front of the Consumer Energy’s building at 4000 Clay Ave. SW.
City of Kentwood National Night Out Activities
The City of Kentwood will get its National Night Out activities started with an event at Woodland Mall from 3— 5 p.m. Residents will have to opportunity to met with Kentwood police and firefighters and get an up-close look at emergency vehicles. There will be a bicycle raffle and a special visit from McGruff the Crime Dog.
There is about 20 different neighborhood events taking place throughout the city, several of which will have a variety of entertainment. Those with special activities are:
• Christ Community Church, 2400 Forest Hill Ave. SE, 5— 7 p.m., will have water slides, games, food and beverages.
• Wingate Apartments, 3151 Wingate Dr. SE, 5— 7 p.m., will have a dunk tank and live music.
• South United Methodist Church, 4500 S. Division Ave., 6— 8 p.m, will have live music, a water slide, games, hot dogs, ice cream, snow cones and punch.
• Faith Church, 1412 44th St. SE, 6— 8 p.m., will have face painting, music, games, hot dogs, and pop.
• Pentecostals of Kentwood, 2627 44th St. SE, 6—8 p.m., will have a bounce house, puppets, live music, games, food and beverages.
• St. Paul’s United Method Church and Forest Pointe Apartments, 3334 Breton Ave. SE, 6—8 p.m., will have lawn games, sidewalk chalk, basketball, food and beverages.
“A strong alliance between citizens and law enforcement is necessary for achieving safer neighborhoods,” said Police Chief Tom Hillen. “Members of our department are always eager to connect with residents during National Night Out as it offers a great opportunity to build positive relationships and promote open communication.”
The City of Wyoming’s biggest National Night Out event is in conjunction with the Concerts in the Park series hosted by the Wyoming Community Enrichment Committee. There will be activities from 6—7 p.m. with Chief Koster making a presentation at 6:55 p.m. Then at 7 p.m. the Yellow Brick Road dueling pianos take over for a night of Billy Joel and Elton John music. The theme for the concert is super hero with everyone encouraged to dress as or where something from their favorite super hero.
The City of Wyoming has about 15 neighborhood parties ranging from small gatherings to those with an arrange of activities. Those open to the public are:
• Oriole Park Neighborhood Watch will host an event at Oriole Park, which is located off of 40th Street, from 6—8 p.m.
• South Godwin Neighborhood Watch will host an event at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson Ave. SE., from 6—8 p.m.
• Grace University, 1011 Aldon St. SW, from 5—7 p.m.
Kent County Sheriff’s National Night Out Activities
The Kent County Sheriff’s Department will be part of the South Kent National Night Out event from 4—8 p.m. at Kentwood Community Church, 1200 60th Ave. SE.The event will include a number of emergency vehicles from several area departments, food and other activities. The event will have demonstrations by the K-9 Unit, vehicle extraction demonstrations, the Kent County Sheriff’s Mounted Unit, children ID packets, a bounce house and dunk tank.
For more on the South Kent National Night Out event visit its Facebook page.
Capt. Jim Maguffee (right) with newly appointed Fire Chief Brian Bennett (left)
The City of Wyoming has promoted Lt. James Maguffee to administrative captain in police services. He takes over the position that was vacated by Chief Kim Koster upon her recent promotion. In this role, Maguffee will oversee the department’s administrative processes such as those related to accreditation, annual reporting, internal affairs, public information and grant funding.
Maguffee began his career with the Flint Police Department where he served for seven years before joining the Wyoming Department of Public Safety in January of 1998.
He was promoted to sergeant in 2005 and specialized in patrol operations, investigations and community services. He served as a member of the department’s motorcycle unit and is the current leader of the department’s Honor Guard. In 2012, Maguffee earned a promotion to lieutenant where he worked as a patrol commander, oversaw the department’s community policing efforts, and was eventually assigned as the investigative division commander.
“For the past three-and-a-half years, Jim’s leadership of the Investigative Division has been instrumental in the department’s ability to bring some of our most challenging and intricate cases to a successful conclusion,” Koster said. “I look forward to his contributions to the overall direction of the administration of our Public Safety Department.”
Maguffee is a graduate of Cornerstone University and Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff & Command. He currently serves as an adjunct instructor for both the Grand Rapids Community College and Grand Valley State University police academy programs.
Recently, the City of Wyoming also promoted Brian Bennett to the position of fire chief. Bennett has been with the city since 2015. Bennett has served in fire services for more than 30 years and received his initial certifications from the Rockford Fire Academy. Bennett plans to continue working on the department’s commitment to customer service through the efficient delivery of emergency meeting services. For more on Bennett, click here.
The Wyoming City Council took “the show on the road” by having its first meeting of the summer at the Godfrey Lee Early Childhood Center.
Started last summer, the Wyoming City Council has three of its summer meetings, usually the first meeting in June, July, and August, at a location in the city. The goal is to provide an opportunity for residents to meet with council members in their own neighborhoods while taking part in council meetings.
“These are just great opportunities to get out in the community,” said Mayor Jack Poll. “We want our citizens to feel that we are very approachable and that they can come and talk with us.”
Chief Kim Koster addresses the council
In fact, the seats at the Monday night meeting were full as the council went through the Wyoming Department of Public Safety’s annual report and approved several resolutions which included naming Brain Bennett as the city’s new deputy director of fire services.
“We encourage citizens that when we get around to your community to feel free to come in and see what a council meeting is all about,” Poll said.
The council meets every first and third Monday of the month at 7 p.m. The next “on the road” meeting will be Monday, July 2, at 7 p.m. at Delmar Community Room, near 56th Avenue and Wilson Street. The meetings are broadcast live on WKTV Channel 26 and rebroadcast at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
A familiar face will be taking over as the City of Wyoming’s new fire chief.
At its regular Monday meeting, the Wyoming City Council unanimously approved a contact to hire Brian Bennett as the city’s new deputy director of fire services or fire chief. Bennett replaces former Fire Chief Chuck Lark who retired.
Bennett came to the department three years ago when Lark was hired to serve as the assistant deputy director of fire operations for the City of Wyoming. Before coming to Wyoming in 2015, Bennett was the fire chief for the Caledonia Fire Department 12 years and before that, served as the deputy chief for that department. Firefighting runs in the family as Bennett’s father was a firefighter for 30 years and his sons,Tony and Brad, are also firefighters with Brad received a unit commendation during the 2017 City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety’s awards ceremony.
“About three years ago we approached Brian Bennett along with Chuck Lark with an idea and asked them if they would come and lead our fire department,” said Wyoming’s Public Safety Chief Kim Koster. “We deploy our fire department in some traditional ways, so we were looking for someone who was willing to think outside of the box and be willing to come in and work hard and provide some excellent leadership. Brian stepped up to the plate along with Chief Lark at the time.
“Lark has since retired and we decided we would like to go in the same direction that we have been going for the last three years and we believe that Brian Bennett will continue the forward movement of the fire department.”
The positive momentum has included opening the Gezon Fire Station 24/7 which has helped to reduce the city’s overall response times to 4 minutes and 27 seconds, which Koster pointed out earlier in the meeting with her presentation of the Department of Public Safety’s annual report.
While response times have gone down, the department has seen a 15 percent increase in calls every year since 2015, Koster said, adding that she credits some of that increase to continue growth of the south side of the city which has had a number of commercial and residential construction projects. The department also added three full-time firefighters, expanded its part-time program and all firefighters are trained to the EMT Level 1.
About 17 parks and public works employees have been cross-trained to help the fire department during structural fires and the department has developed a special response program that includes water, ice, trench, hazmat, and machine rescue.
“We really have been progressive the last three years,” Bennett said after the meeting, pointing out that a combination of full- and part-time firefighters allowed the city to have the Gezon Fire Station operational 24/7. Members of the department also have been involved in a number of community events such as Soups-On, WinterFest, WY-FI Concerts in the Park, Relay for Life, Pumpkin Path and National Night Out.
He said he sees the department continue to build on that progress to provide the best service it can to the city and its residents. This includes continuing the accreditation process for the Wyoming Fire Department.
“We’ve appreciated your service over the last couple of years and trust that the fire department will continue to show great progress and there has been a lot of good continued to happen since Chief Lark and you have been here and we trust that will continue on,” said Mayor Jack Poll at the meeting.
