Tag Archives: City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety

National Night Out activities take place today, spend sometime getting to know your neighbor

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Wyoming firefighters help some local children cool off during last year’s National Night Out. (WKTV)

WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Today is National Night Out, a time set aside for residents to turn their porch lights on and get out and meet their neighbors.

Both the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming will have a number of National Night Out events and activities taking place throughout the day. Below is a list of just some of those activities.


Consumer’s Energy Kick-Off Event

Consumer’s Energy will host its early morning event from 5:30 – 8 a.m. at its Wyoming headquarters, 4000 Clay Ave. SW. Mayors from several cities including Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll and Kentwood Mayor Stephen Kepley will participate in a joint reading of the proclamation in recognition of National Night Out.

Employees will be handing out light bulbs along Clay Avenue along with area police cruisers on display with lights on.


City of Kentwood

The Kentwood Police Department has partnered with Woodland Mall to offer community members an up-close look at emergency vehicles both outside and throughout the mall from 3 to 5 p.m. Large emergency vehicles will be on display outside by Celebration! Cinema, while other vehicles will be placed throughout the mall for shoppers to learn about and explore. A table featuring Kentwood Police Department giveaways will be located in the Barnes and Nobles wing.

In addition, several public community-based events will be hosted from 6 to 8 p.m. and feature a variety of activities, including appearances from McGruff the Crime Dog. Locations of those events include:

Pentecostals Church, 2627 44th St. SE, will host a party featuring a bounce house, free meal, face painting, music, carnival games and other kids’ activities.

South United Methodist Church, 4500 S. Division Ave., will have free ice cream and hot dogs, a live band, door prizes and a small water slide for young children.

Faith Church, 1412 44th St. SE, will have food trucks and a live band.

More information about National Night Out events in Kentwood is available at kentwood.us/NNO.


Various activities will be offered at several neighborhood National Night Out events. (WKTV)

City of Wyoming

The Wyoming Department of Public Safety will join several other law enforcement agencies for activities at Celebration! Cinema at RiverTown Crossings from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Wyoming Concerts in the Park series hosts its last concert tonight with Shadows of the Night, music of the women of rock from 7 – 9 p.m. The evening is centered around National Night Out with a variety of activities taking place along with a visit from a couple of representatives from the city’s most popular police unit, the K-9 Unit. 

Other National Night Out events, which will take place between 5 – 9 p.m., taking place are:

The South Godwin Neighborhood Association at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson Ave. SE. This is one of the biggest National Night Out events with lots of activities.

Grace University, 1011 Aldon St. SW, will have activities and food.

Calvary Christian Reformed Church, 3500 Byron Center Ave. SW, will have activities and food.

Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St. SW, will have activities including a children’s parade.


South Kent National Night Out

The Kent County Sheriff’s Department and the Kentwood Community Church have teamed up to host the South Kent National Night Out set for 4 – 8 p.m. at Kentwood Community Church, 1200 60th St. SW.

The free event will feature food, games, splash pads, AeroMed Helicopter, KCSO Mounted Unit, and much more! For more information on the South Kent National Night Out, click here.

Get to know your neighbors at the annual National Night Out Aug. 6

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Several area neighbors in the City of Wyoming will be hosting National Night Out activities Aug. 6. (WKTV)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org


One thing Sgt. Brian Look is certain of is that Aug. 6 is going to be a busy night for the Wyoming Department of Public Safety.


It’s a good busy because that is National Night Out, when residents are encouraged to turn their porch light on and come out and meet their neighbors.

“This is one of the biggest years we have had for National Night Out,” Look said, adding that there are going to be a number of neighborhood and community events including the wrap up event for the Wyoming Concerts in the Park series at Lamar Park.

Started in 1984, National Night out is a nationwide movement created by the National Association of Town Watch to promote involvement in crime prevention activities, police-community partnerships, neighborhood camaraderie and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. Always the first Tuesday in August, the event has evolved to neighborhoods hosting block parties, festival, parades, cookouts and other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personal, exhibits and much more.

“National Night Out is one of my favorite nights of the year,” said Mayor Jack Poll. “I love seeing neighbors come together with our public safety personnel to promote safety and strengthen community engagement. Together we are building a stronger Wyoming.”

 

For the City of Wyoming, the activities start in the early morning with a kick-off celebration at Consumers Energy, 4000 Clay Ave. SW, from 5:30 – 8 a.m. Mayor Jack Poll will join other area mayors from Kentwood, Grandville, Walker and Grand Rapids for the reading of a joint mayoral proclamation at 7:15 a.m. Consumers Energy employees will be distributing energy-efficient LED light bulbs along Clay Avenue. 

Area mayors and law enforcement officials gather for the Consumers Energy kick off for National Night Out. (WKTV)

The Wyoming Department of Public Safety will join several other law enforcement agencies for activities at Celebration! Cinema at RiverTown Crossings from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. 

Look said most of the National Night Out programs take place in the evening from 5 – 9 p.m. Many of these activities in the City of Wyoming are specifically for the individual neighborhood, he said.

“We really do not have a big National Night Out party because the purpose is for people to get out of their houses and get to know their neighbors,” Look said. “You really want residents to get to know each other, because once they start to know each other, they start to care about one another and that creates that sense of community and pride which in turn helps deter crime.”

The Wyoming Concerts in the Park series will host the Shadows of the Night, music of the women of rock from 7 – 9 p.m. Other activities will be taking place along with a visit from a couple of representatives from the city’s most popular police unit, the K-9 Unit. 

There are a few other community events as well. One of those is hosted by the South Godwin Neighborhood Association at Southlawn Park, 4125 Jefferson Ave. SE. Look said the South Godwin event is one of the city’s biggest National Night Out programs. 

Other community National Night Out events are at Grace University, 1011 Aldon St. SW; Calvary Christian Reformed Church, 3500 Byron Center Ave. SW; and at Oriole Park, 1380 42nd St. SW. Look noted that the Oriole Park event usually features a children’s parade. 

Also expect to see Mayor Jack Poll, who makes it a goal to visit as many of the National Night Out events as possible. Many of the City Council members will be visiting along with city staff and other area county and state officials.

There will be safety demonstrations, fun games and food at many of the National Night Out events. (WKTV)

Wyoming Police seek help in locating missing person

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Eric Webb (Supplied from 2016)

By City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety


UPDATE: Investigators have received credible information that Eric Webb has taken a bus out of the Grand Rapids area and is, most likely, out of state. due to Webb;s mental state, he is still listed as a missing endangered person. anyone with information on Webb’s whereabouts is still asked to contact the Wyoming Department of Public Safety.



The Wyoming Department of Public Safety is requesting assistance in locating an endangered missing person.

The missing person is Eric Webb, a 45-year-old white male who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 210 pounds. He has a shaved head and wears glasses. Webb was last seen wearing a black/gray/red coat, shorts, white shoes, and carrying a backpack.

Webb and his wife are not from the area and checked into a hotel in Wyoming on June 5. Webb was scheduled for a medical procedure at a local area hospital at 5:30 a.m. on June 6. At approximately 4 a.m., Webb told his wife that he would wait for her in the lobby to go to the hospital. Surveillance footage shows Webb walking out of the hotel lobby at 4:21 am and he has not been seen or heard from since. It is believed that Webb is not thinking clearly due to his medical condition.

A screen shot from the video camera at the hotel. This is what Eric Webb was last seen wearing.

Webb was last seen walking east on 28th Street between Buchanan Avenue and S. Division Avenue.

Anyone with information on Webb’s whereabouts is asked to call 9-1-1 or the Wyoming Department of Public Safety.

Wyoming’s Public Safety hosts drive to raise awareness about Veterans Home

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The Wyoming Department of Public Safety’s Honor Guard with some of the veterans at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

What started as a request from a City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety officer to visit the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans led to the department hosting its 12th annual donation drive for the Home.

 

The members of the department’s Honor Guard, which many residents may have seen in parades or special events such as Veterans Day and Memorial Day, work to reflect on why many of the officers join a police force, choosing to serve their community. The Honor Guard visits various places, working with veterans and other groups.

 

“One of the officers in the Honor Guard had requested we visit the Veterans Home because his father was there,” said Officer Pam Keen. Once there, the officers saw a need.

 

“It was a reminder that this was a nursing home and that many of these guys were in need of things such as shampoo or body wash or diabetic socks. Basically items that mean the difference of just surviving to making life comfortable.”

 

Items sought for donation include $25 gift cards (local fast food restaurants, Meijer, Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, Gordon Food Marketplace, etc.), candy bars, pens, batteries, stamps, grooming, hygiene items and clothing (new or gently used.)

 

So after that 2007 visit, the Honor Guard decided to host a donation drive. In the past couple of years, the drive has become a citywide event, however; most of the donations come from city staff, Keen said.

 

“It is more to raise awareness of the Home,” Keen said. “We saw a need and we are trying to help fill it. We hope others will see it and help too.”

 

Donations will be collected through the month of November and can be dropped off at the Wyoming Department of Public Safety, 2300 DeHoop Ave. SW.

Wyoming, Metro Health partner on fall drug take back event

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WKTV Staff

joanne@wktv.org

 

National Take Back is this Saturday with the City of Wyoming once again partnering with Metro Health-University of Michigan Health to provide a location for residents to dispose of unused medications safely and property. 

 

Hosted twice a year, National Take Back Day was started in 2010 by the Drug Enforcement Administration to address a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6.2 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet, accord go the Take Back Day website.

 

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., area residents will have the opportunity to dispose of unused medications with no questions asked at Metro Health – University of Michigan Health, 5900 Byron Center Ave. SW, or the Wyoming Public Safety Department, 2300 DeHoop Ave. SW.

 

According to a media release from the Wyoming Department of Public Safety “properly disposing of your medications is critically important to protecting individuals in our community, as well as our environment.”

 

Growing concern over pharmaceutical pollution in waterways and the environment also had an impact on creating the Take Back campaign. According to a 2002 analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey of 139 streams across 30 states it was found that 80 percent of waterways tested had measurable concentrations of prescription and nonprescription drugs, steroids and reproductive hormones.

 

The City of Wyoming also offers a prescription drug drop-off service 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday at its Public Safety office.

 

The Kent County Department of Public Works has established the SafeMeds Program that includes a list of many local pharmacies and law enforcement agencies that will accept unwanted medications. For more on the SafeMeds Program, visit www.reimaginetrash.org/safehomes/safemeds/.

Wyoming Fire Department partners with Metro Health Hospital Foundation

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The new equipment allows them to connect the patient to the CPR compression device and let the machine do CPR perfectly and efficiently for any amount of time, thereby lessening injury to first responders and improving outcomes for individuals in critical situations.

 

By The City of Wyoming

 

The City of Wyoming Department of Public Safety – Fire recently partnered with the Metro Health Hospital Foundation to purchase much-needed emergency medical response equipment. The Foundation grant, which totaled $44,100, was used by the department to purchase three Zoll compression devices. These devices provide automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to victims of sudden cardiac arrest.

 

City of Wyoming firefighters are trained and equipped as Emergency Medical Technicians, thanks to previous support from the Foundation for training and equipment. In this capacity they respond to more than 4,500 medical calls throughout the City each year. The medical interventions they provide include administering aspirin or EpiPens, using advanced airways, and checking blood glucose levels. They are often called upon to perform CPR as well.

 

Prior to being awarded the grant and obtaining the equipment, staff were required to perform CPR manually.  The new equipment allows them to connect the patient to the CPR compression device and let the machine do CPR perfectly and efficiently for any amount of time, thereby lessening injury to first responders and improving outcomes for individuals in critical situations. The Zoll devices have already saved three lives since the department has started using them.

 

“Having three Zoll compression devices is a game-changer for our department,” said Brad Dornbos, EMS coordinator and firefighter for the Wyoming Department of Public Safety. “Thanks to the grant and the on-going support from the Metro Health Hospital Foundation, we are now able to administer a new level of care to our residents in their greatest time of need. Using these CPR devices allows another firefighter to perform other critical tasks early on to improve the outcome of the patient.”