“If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing.”
— Coco Chanel
Hooray for Hollywood!
Photo by Sam Howzit
OK, so you’ll have to wait until May or June, but time doth fly, doth it not? (And so can you.) Check out Allegiant Airlines’s new nonstop destinations! (Hint: The list includes LA.) Go here for the scoop. Gerald R. Ford International Airport is excited about this, and you should be, too.
Time to thrive
Courtesy Vista Springs Assisted Living
Maybe you’re not quite there, yet, but it’s always wise to know what you’re up against. Aging adults can thrive in assisted living communities versus aging in place and living alone at home. Even seniors who live alone in a new home face the same issues with isolation, security issues, and in some cases driving restrictions apply due to medical, or vision problems. Go here to learn more.
Stella!
Paws With A Cause dogs-in-training visit the cast of Grand Rapids Civic Theatre’s ‘A Street Car Named Desire’ (Supplied)
Blanche is the quintessential tragic figure, and Stanley is just a brute. There’s still time to catch the famous Tennessee Williams play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which runs through Jan. 26 at Civic Theatre. Streetcar follows the story of Blanche du Bois who goes to live with her sister (Stella) and brother-in-law (Stanley) in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Go here for the details.
Fun fact:
80 is the new 65
It’s true! American Senior Communities reports that with innovations in healthcare and a focus on prevention, seniors today are living “longer, more active and healthier lives.” In fact, by the year 2040, the population of older seniors — people aged 85 years and above — is expected to triple from the 5.7 million there were in 2011 to 14.1 million.
The holidays are over. The tree has been dragged outside for pick-up, the ornaments packed up and stored in the attic until next year, and that surprise pup you gave the kids for Christmas?
About to be kicked to the curb.
Alas, Bowser’s novelty has worn off, and the kids have moved on to the next new, shiny thing. Pup is growing fast, eating you out of house and home, and because no one makes time to train or exercise him, behavioral problems arise—chewing is a biggie; so, too, is possessiveness. If Bowser hasn’t been neutered, well, you can look forward to other ‘problems’.
He knows he’s been bad—just train him
So, you’re probably at your wits’ end, amiright? You’re thinking about rehoming the critter. Maybe take him to a shelter and let someone else deal with the behavioral issues.
Or possibly you’re taking another tack. Maybe you’re thinking of posting Bowser on Craig’s List and other social media sites. Something like this, perhaps: ‘Cute puppy FREE to a good home’.
First off:
Always charge a rehoming fee. Always.
We get it. Sometimes life circumstances precipitate the need for rehoming. Holiday gift disaster aside, maybe you’re moving overseas, or perhaps there is a severe illness or death in the family.
Animal testing
Anyway you slice it, rehoming can be a challenge: On the one hand, you want to be open-minded to different ways of life, yet you don’t want Bowser to fall into nefarious hands.
“The danger with free pets is that people are devious,” said Ginny Mikita, animal advocate and attorney in Rockford, Michigan. “Some acquire free animals to supply to medical testing facilities.”
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to discern the true motivation for potential adopters wanting a free animal, Mikita said. Dog fight trainers acquire animals in myriad ways. Live bait animals come from shelters or from ‘free to good home’ ads. Some animals are stolen out of yards.
Maybe someone responding to your ad shows up on your doorstep looking clean-cut and respectable. It’s a common ruse. In Florida, a young man and a woman purporting to be his grandmother led a family to believe that their pet would be a companion animal for the elder. The family waived their rehoming fee. Once home, however, the two tossed the pup into a cage with a fighting dog; things did not end well.
Maybe you’re not all that fond of Bowser, but would you really want something like that to happen to him?
Puppy mills—the reality
Other atrocities abound. Aside from cats and submissive canines becoming bait for fighting dogs, smaller animals become food for snakes or star in crush videos—and we’re not talking Hollywood. (We’ll wait here while you look it up.)
Some people want free animals so that they can breed them—un-neutered Bowser could end up neglected in a puppy mill, producing scores of unsocialized, ill pups, and living in a small cage without vet care or affection.
And then there are the hoarders, people with a compulsion to collect free animals. We’ve all read stories about how that ends up.
The best way to ensure that your pet is going to a bonafide good home is to post a rehoming fee and to vet prospective adopters carefully. Here are some tips:
• Visit the home. Speak with other members of the family and ask questions—are there other pets in the household? Where will Bowser live? Who will care for him? Does anyone have allergies? Are all family members aware that Bowser is being adopted? • If you can’t visit, ask someone to visit the home for you. Perhaps the interested party lives far away from you. Ask a rescue in the town to perform a home visit for you. Some rescues have volunteers that will help facilitate long-distance adoptions. • Ask for personal references. And call the references—ask if the interested party takes good care of their current or former pets. See if you can find out what happened to their past pets. Did they die of natural causes? • Ask for a vet reference. Call their present or former veterinarian about the party’s other pets and how well they were cared for. At the very least, the vet can confirm that the party has a relationship with the vet. Ask if the vet recommends the party as a good guardian. • Check animal abuser registries. Michigan doesn’t have one set up yet, but other states might. In response to pressure from the public, registries are becoming more commonplace. • Google the potential adopter. Google is an amazing resource. A search may turn up past crimes. • Be prepared to take Bowser back. Sometimes even the best intentions don’t work out—maybe Bowser can’t stand the new family’s other pet. Maybe a family member discovers a previously unknown allergy. Keep Bowser safe by being ready to take him back; let the adopter know that you are willing to do so if things don’t work out. • Have the adopter sign an adoption contract. Here’s a boilerplate pet adoption contract that can be downloaded and printed out. • Beware of Craigslist. There are reputable animal databases like Petfinder, breed-specific rescue sites, and local shelters. Most people sourcing animals on Craigslist are looking for free cats and dogs; these people can come off as charming and are confident that they can get you to waive the re-homing fee. Don’t risk it. • Check out breed rescues. If your pet is a purebred, contact a breed-specific rescue, which will perform a thorough vetting of any potential adopter.
From Lin, Doris. (2019, October 24). Why You Should Never Give Pets Away ‘Free to a Good Home’. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/dont-give-pets-away-free-127759
This… is how it should be
Pets are a huge part of our lives; they’re family. Companion animals give emotional support and help reduce stress levels. They ease the pain of loneliness and encourage us to get involved in social activities. They offer unconditional love and can boost a child’s self-esteem.
In return, as responsible pet owners we have a duty to ensure that our animal friends are kept healthy and fit, are exercised regularly, consume nutritious food, and are provided with love and affection, as well as proper housing and care. And if you absolutely cannot keep him, make sure that the home he is going to will be safe and that the family will give him love and affection.
On Nov. 25, 2019, the president signed the bipartisan Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act into law, making it federally illegal to engage in cruelty to animals. The bill immediately went into effect, meaning those found violating the act could be federally prosecuted, fined, and jailed for up to seven years.
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”
— The eternal optimist
Hope is a roof over your head
The 3:11 Youth Housing Program is for youth ages 18 to 24, to transition from homelessness to stability. They focus on that age range because it’s when people are entering adulthood. It now consists of eight rehabbed duplex-style homes in Grand Rapids, each with room for three to four youths and a mentor or mentor couple. More info here.
Still time
David Wiesner (American, b. 1956), Art & Max, 2010. (Supplied)
If you haven’t taken your kids to the Grand Rapids Art Museum yet during winter break, you’re still in luck. The GRAM will waive admission fees for visitors age 17 and under through Jan. 5.
Grieving the loss of a loved one?
The holidays can often serve as a stumbling block on the journey from grief to healing. The topic of grief is not often something anyone wants to talk about, especially at a time of year that, for most, is a time of great joy and happiness. Here are some tips on how to cope.
Fun fact:
It’s nothing new
Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) began the concept of celebrating the new year in 2000 BC. Back then, people observed new year in mid-March, around the time of the vernal equinox. See? We’re not so special.
The Last Apostle: Journeys In the Lost Holy Land will air on WKTV Comcast Channel 25 and AT&T Community Channel 99 at midnight Friday, Dec. 6; 11pm Monday, Dec. 9, and 3pm Thursday, Dec. 12. For the past 25 years, Dr. Mark Fairchild has discovered mysteries in the Turkish countryside, including the oldest synagogue in the world. In The Last Apostle, the film follows Fairchild as he travels one of the historic routes of the apostle Paul and explores Paul’s origins. Go here for the scoop.
Booyah!
WKTV is bringing you another exciting season of Boys & Girls High School Basketball! Each Tuesday game will be broadcast that night on WKTV 25 @ 11pm & repeat on Wednesday @ 5pm. Every Friday game will be aired that night on WKTV 25 @ 11pm & repeat Saturday @ 11am. The games can also be seen on AT&T U-verse 99. WKTV has got you covered! Here’s the schedule.
‘Listen To The music’
Tickets are available now for four-time Grammy Award winners and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees The Doobie Brothers, who are performing in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, at 7:30pm at Van Andel Arena® on their tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s founding. Go here for info.
Fun fact:
Receptionists are underpaid
You know that one scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark where Belloq opens the Ark of the Covenant, and a ghost floats toward the camera only to turn into a hideous visage? Yeah, that one. Well, to pull off the special effects, the filmmakers outfitted a Lucasfilm receptionist in long, white robes and painted her face a “ghostly shade of blue and white.” She then sat on a flat trapeze mechanism in front of a bluescreen and swung away from camera—which was run backwards in the final film to achieve a dreamlike quality. The end result is a composite with a grotesque, skeletal model. We sure hope she was paid well.
“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.”
Shirley Temple
Treat the kids to some holiday fun this Sunday
This holiday season, the Holland Area Arts Council is reprising their partnership with Grand Rapids Ballet in two special performances for children ages 4 to 10 and their adult guests on Sunday, Nov. 17th. The gallery will be filled with the enchanting giggles of children as they experience the magic of music, dance and storytelling. Performances will be held at 12:30 and 2:30pm. Details are here.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year (isn’t it?)
Courtesy Vista Springs Assisted Living
Visiting family this holiday season? Or is grandma bringing Uncle Dave and the wild bunch to your place? Here are some life-saving tips on how to survive. Go here.
Miss the Nov. 10th Community Conversation on Homelessness?
No worries, the podcast is available on-demand here.
Fun fact:
Santa Claus wasn’t always fat and happy
You’d be brooding too if you had to lug something like this around(to be fair, this is probably an image of Father Christmas, a precursor to Santa)
We know, we know. It’s not even Thanksgiving and here we are talking about Christmas. Well, the malls have holiday decorations up, right? So, fair game.
Early images portray the bearded one as gloomy and brooding — even kind of scary. As he evolved, he gradually looked more approachable. Then, in 1931, Coca-Cola commissioned Michigan-born illustrator Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images portraying Santa as wholesome, warm, friendly — not just a man dressed as Santa.
Today, Santa’s still fat, jolly, red-faced and, to be honest, a bit nosy. Right? How else does he know who’s been naughty or nice? Oh, wait. Alexa…
I’m not big on fuzzy or fleecy slippers. I just don’t like the texture and the heat. It just gets to be too much.
Aidy Bryant
‘Code Blue’ helps keep homeless neighbors safe and warm
In preparation for plummeting temperatures, Mel Trotter Ministries (MTM) is shifting into a “code blue” status to ensure men, women and children experiencing homelessness are safe. Various warming centers have been identified throughout the city, including at Mel Trotter Ministries | View complete warming center list. MTM is collecting new and like-new coats, boots and various other items for all ages and genders. Go here for the details.
Coffee aficionados, rejoice!
After tracking nearly 105,000 Danes for an average of eight years, researchers found that those who downed more than six cups per day of the world’s most popular beverage saw their gallstone risk drop by 23%. Here’s the story.
Happiness is warm jazz
Vocalist Ashley Daneman and her husband, trumpeter Benje Daneman, center. (Supplied)
Jazz standards, African-American spirituals and a little something new will be on the setlist as the Jazz in the Sanctuary concert series opens its sixth season Sunday, Nov. 17, in the acoustically inspiring sanctuary of Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids. Read all about it here.
Fun fact:
And now for a truly warm, fuzzy fact
A group of wild rabbits is called a ‘fluffle’. It’s also called a ‘colony’, but does that really convey the essence of ‘bunny’ very well? We think not. So, fluffle, it is.
“What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.”*
Aristotle
*Aristotle probably would have said it this way: “Ποια είναι η ουσία της ζωής; Να υπηρετείς άλλους και να κάνεις καλό.” But in Ancient Greek and with waaaaay more accent marks.
Sounds like a dare
Ask Me Anything! is Nov. 2 at Kentwood Library. Learn about your community and your neighbors in a fun, relaxed environment. Visit the branch to “check out” different members of our community for a chance to learn from them and ask them anything. More info here.
In the ‘mark your calendar’ category…
Courtesy Grand Valley State University
Zapatos Rojos | Red Shoes is an itinerant installation originally organized in 2009 by artist and architect Elina Chauvet in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Comprising 33 pairs of red shoes donated by the women of Ciudad Juárez — each pair representing a woman who had disappeared in that community — the piece is designed to draw attention to the fact that women were being killed without any consequences. Nov. 1, 2019-Feb. 28, 2020. Get the details here.
Do some good — here’s how
The SpartanNash Foundation invites store guests to join the fight against hunger during its companywide fundraising effort, Oct. 23 to Nov. 3. The SpartanNash Foundation’s retail scan campaign supports more than 100 local food pantries and food banks, and 100 percent of dollars raised will support food pantry partners in eight states. Learn more here.
Fun fact:
Volunteering keeps you young
Volunteering not only engages your mind and body, but it can actually help you age well and reduce the risk of age-related diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
“Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.“
Dalai Lama XIV
Say yes to saying no
Just say no
Do your part to keep prescription drugs out of our waterways and out of the hands of kids and teens — Oct. 26th is National Drug Take Back Day, and the cities of Kentwood and Wyoming are taking part. Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 469 tons (more than 937,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and almost 5,000 state and local law enforcement partners. The details are right here.
Lucky flag is going home
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) and OBON Society are in the process of returning a rare Japanese “Good Luck Flag” to its rightful family. OBON Society provides reconciliation between American and Japanese families through the return of personal items acquired during World War II. A Grand Rapids resident donated the flag, along with a WWII newsreel and a map of Iwo Jima, to the GRPM in 2015. The items were possessions of the donor’s deceased father, a former American soldier, who collected the flag during the war. Read all about it here.
Say ‘hello’ to ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’
Elton John is coming to the Van Andel Arena on April 23, 2020, and tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Nov. 1 at 10am local time. But highfalutin American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets before the general public beginning Thursday, Oct. 24 at 10am local time through Monday, Oct. 28 at 10pm local time. Tickets and VIP packages can be purchased at EltonJohn.com. Don’t delay! More details here.
Fun fact:
>1,000
Elton John has over 1,000 pairs of shades. Rumor has it that he has to book a separate hotel room to accommodate all of them.
Grand Valley State University’s 17th annual Fall Arts Celebration features dance that combines movement and technology; art that challenges perceptions; music that captures the power and mystery of the sea; and more — this year’s events at Grand Valley State University are set to bring out ‘all the feels’.
Zapatos Rojos | Red Shoes, an installation by Elina Chauvet
When: Nov. 1, 2019-Feb. 28, 2020
Where: Kirkhof Center Gallery, Allendale Campus
Zapatos Rojos | Red Shoes is an itinerant installation originally organized in 2009 by artist and architect Elina Chauvet in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Comprising 33 pairs of red shoes donated by the women of Ciudad Juárez — each pair representing a woman who had disappeared in that community — the piece is designed to draw attention to the fact that women were being killed without any consequences.
A bit of back story on the artist’s use of red shoes as the focus of her work: Chauvet researched the disappearances extensively; in the course of her fact-finding, she discovered that many of the women who vanished had worked in shoe stores, had been buying shoes at the time they disappeared, or were looking for a job in a shoe shop.
Chauvet had also used shoes as a metaphor in the past to express her concern for the missing and dead women.
In 2017, Zulema Moret, Grand Valley professor of modern languages, arranged for Chauvet to direct an installation of Zapatos Rojos | Red Shoes in Grand Rapids. This exhibition documents many of the community groups that participated in painting the shoes, as well as the installation at the Richard M. DeVos Center courtyard on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus.
The Fall Arts Celebration shines a spotlight on some of the world’s preeminent artists, poets, musicians, dancers, and scholars. Each fall for the past 17 years, West Michigan audiences have enjoyed a series of six free events that celebrate the positive impact of the arts. For more information, visit gvsu.edu/fallarts.
More art
Art of Today: Contemporary Collections from Chicago
When: Through Nov. 1, 2019
Where: Art Gallery, Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Working with Chicago-based artists, gallery owners and collectors, Grand Valley has acquired a collection of contemporary art over the last 15 years.
Curated from Grand Valley’s collection and enhanced with additional loans from Chicago, Art of Today comprises more than 40 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, sculptures and mixed media works — bold and minimalistic works exploring simplicity in design, society’s relationship to the environment, as well as the intersection of pop culture and art by artists Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, David Nash and Takahashi Murakami.
The challenging imagery of other artists — such as Tony Fitzpatrick, Jane Hammond, Erika Rothenberg and Kara Walker — examines the meaning of identity, race, culture and sexuality.
Lecture
Jill Lepore: American History from Beginning to End
When: Nov. 5, 2019; public reception at 5pm and lecture at 6pm
Where: L.V. Eberhard Center, second floor, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Jill Lepore (Courtesy GVSU)
What do you see when you look at 500 years instead of the last five minutes? Jill Lepore, the leading narrative historian of her generation, offers a different perspective on history. Lepore asserts that the United States is an experiment founded on three ‘truths’: political equality, natural rights, and the sovereignty of the people. Her thesis will challenge your imagination to put yourself in a place in history to help give context to the present.
Lepore is the David Woods Kemper ’41 Professor of American History at Harvard University. She is also a staff writer at The New Yorker. One of her latest books is These Truths: A History of the United States (2018), on TheNew York Times Best Seller list. Her most recent book, This America: The Case for the Nation, was published in May 2019.
GVSU Art Gallery
For more information about Grand Valley State University art exhibits, call 616.331.2563 or visit gvsu.edu/artgallery.
Mathias J. Alten: An Evolving Legacy
When: Exhibition dates are ongoing
Hours: Friday and Saturday, 1-5 p.m.; closed on holiday weekends
Where: George and Barbara Gordon Gallery, DeVos Center, Bldg. E, Room 103 and 202, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Often referred to as the ‘dean of Michigan painters’, the German-born American artist Mathias Joseph Alten (1871-1938) worked in a traditional representational style, incorporating the aesthetics and techniques of the Impressionist Movement in his paintings. Based in Grand Rapids, Alten created more than 3,800 works over his more-than-40-year career, including landscapes, seascapes, portraits and florals, all infused with light and punctuated with deft brushwork. Grand Valley State University holds the largest public collection of Alten’s work in the world.
Wandering Seeds: Experiencing and Engaging Haiti Through Study Abroad
When: Through Dec. 13, 2019
Where: Blue Wall Gallery, DeVos Center, Bldg. B, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
In 2018, a dozen GVSU students and three faculty members traveled to Haiti as part of a study-abroad program, led by Peter Wampler, associate professor of geology. Designed to provide an opportunity to experience Haitian culture and gain an understanding of daily life in rural Haiti, students from various backgrounds participated in a variety of service-learning and community-based teaching experiences, allowing them to contribute their energy toward real-world problems in Haiti.
Included in this exhibition are narratives and reflections by both faculty members and students who participated in the trip. Additionally, a number of photographs document their encounters, and a variety of original Haitian works of art attest to the vibrant and diverse artistic culture in the country.
Carnivals, Cognac and Cycling: Works of Art from the Robert L. Haskins and Erwin A. Raible Collection of Fin-de-Siécle Prints
When: Through Dec. 13, 2019
Where: Red Wall Gallery, Lake Ontario Hall, Allendale Campus
Courtesy GVSU
At the turn of the century, an explosion in print media occurred in Paris, one of the most vibrant cities in the world. Now-familiar artists — Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, and others — made names for themselves producing items such as posters, journal illustrations, theater programs and advertisements.
Drawn from the Robert L. Haskins and Erwin A. Raible Collection of Fin-de-Siécle Prints in the GVSU Print and Drawing Cabinet, Carnivals, Cognac and Cycling provides a view into the visual culture of late 19th-century France.
In 2019, 14 GVSU students conducted research for this exhibition for the course Modern Art and Modernity. Each student focused on one work of art for in-depth study, produced original research, and presented findings to classmates and now to a wider audience.
José Guadalupe Posada: Calavera Prints from the GVSU Print and Drawing Cabinet
When: Nov. 1, 2019-Feb. 28, 2020
Where: Eberhard Center, Pew Grand Rapids Campus
Courtesy GVSU
José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) — a printmaker and engraver who illustrated historic scenes, board games and commercial items, religious images, various books and newspapers — is most famous for his use of calaveras (depictions of skulls and skeletons) to satirize and mock the corruption of the wealthy and political elite.
He created La Calavera Catrina, his most iconic image, in 1910 at the start of the Mexican Revolution. The image shows a grinning skeleton wearing a women’s feathered hat, pointing out that death comes to everyone, even those in the upper class.
This exhibition includes 20 reproductions of his prints, from the GVSU Print and Drawing Cabinet. The works were purchased in 2002 from the family of Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, who printed them using the original plates and press.
Performances from the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance
For more information about performances from the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance, visit gvsu.edu/mtd.
Faculty recital — Sookkyung Cho, assistant professor of piano, artist performer
When: Nov. 4, 2019, 7:30pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Hall, Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
Pianist Sookkyung Cho uses a thoughtful expressionist style in her performances. A founding member of the New York-based Almava Trio, Cho has appeared at venues that include Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and Château de Fontainebleau in France.
Additional recital by Sookkyung Cho
When: Nov. 23, 2019, 4-5pm
Where: Sherman Van Solkema Hall, Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
The performance will include a variety of piano solo and ensemble music.
ReACT! presents: Difficult Dialogues
When: Nov. 17, 2019, 8-10pm
Where: Kirkhof Center, Room 2263, Allendale Campus
Grand Valley’s anti-violence peer theater troupe will use low-risk, interactive performance and discussion methods to help participants prepare to better engage someone on difficult dialogues about sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Bard to Go: Tossing on the Ocean public performance
When: Nov. 2, 2019, 1-3pm
Where: Keller Black Box Theatre, Haas Center for Performing Arts, Allendale Campus
A 50-minute program introducing audience members to Shakespeare, Bard to Go takes the audience on a sea-faring journey with Prospero, a powerful magician, and his assistant Ariel, a magical spirit with strange powers. When Prospero and Ariel conjure a storm to shipwreck Prospero’s enemies, their magic spills over from their own play, The Tempest, and causes havoc for many of Shakespeare’s characters. This production includes scenes from The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Pericles, The Comedy of Errors and The Merchant of Venice.
Grand Valley Writers Series
The Grand Valley Writers Series brings in distinguished and emerging writers to read from their work, visit classes, and interact with students. For more information, visit here.
Craft talk and reading with Stephen Mack Jones
Stephen Mack Jones (Courtesy GVSU)
When: Nov. 5, 2019; Craft talk 1-2pm, Reading and book signing 6-7:30pm
Where: Kirkhof Center Room 2270, Allendale Campus
The first adult fiction novel by Stephen Mack Jones, August Snow, has received wide acclaim, including the 2018 Nero Award from the Nero Wolfe Society; it was also named a 2018 Michigan Notable Book by the Library of Michigan. Jones has received the Hammett Prize for literary excellence in the field of crime writing from the International Association of Crime Writers.
A poet, award-winning playwright and winner of the Kresge Arts in Detroit Literary Fellowship, Jones lives in the metro Detroit area.
The numbers are staggering, the financial and societal costs exorbitant. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 5.7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s today. By 2050, the number is expected to increase to nearly 14 million.
Courtesy Alzheimer’s Association
And here’s a sobering thought: Cognitive decline begins at the age of 25. Dementia — the deterioration of memory most often seen in aging adults — takes hold early on and starts gradually, but then accelerates when we are in our 70s and 80s.
But what if solving brain games and puzzles on a computer could reduce the chances of developing dementia and delay the debilitating loss of function?
That’s the premise behind a new clinical trial, which is seeking volunteers for a three-year study. The PACT (Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease with Cognitive Training) Alzheimer’s clinical trial needs 600 people of all ethnicities from the West Michigan area to play computer games. Overall, the study needs 7,600 people to enroll and will be conducted at 15 locations across the U.S.
The study is spearheaded by David Morgan, Ph.D., Professor of Translational Neuroscience at Michigan State University, who relocated here in late 2017 from the University of South Florida in Tampa.
The study began in East Grand Rapids this past July, and a second study location just opened this Fall in South Grand Rapids.
Specifically, participants will be provided free access to a series of computer games designed to increase your brain’s processing speed. If you qualify to help, you will complete three study visits of one hour each at the PACT Research study location nearest you. You will then complete 45 one-hour sessions on your own, in your own home, over the next three years.
“This study will definitely prove if computer games can (or cannot) reduce the risk of developing cognitive impairment leading to dementia,” said Morgan. “A critical piece is that everyone who declines cognitively during the study will receive a medical diagnosis, something not done in the earlier study.”
Participants must be over 65 years old, free of severe neurological or psychiatric illness, and able to play computer games. You may qualify if you:
are 65 years of age or older
do not have any neurological disorders
have not had a stroke or brain injury
do not have mild cognitive impairment or dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease
What’s in it for you? There’s no monetary compensation, but research has shown that brain games may:
protect against dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease
enhance mental quickness and visual attention
improve gait speed and balance
improve driving safety
maintain health and well-being
allow you to perform everyday tasks more efficiently
protect against depression
In short, all the things that money can’t buy.
If the researchers can enroll enough older adults in the trial, they will apply for a larger grant to train and monitor a cohort of participants for five to seven years. That study will include genetic testing and neuro-imaging of the brain to gain a better understanding of who is more likely to develop dementia and would benefit from this training.
Heartside Neighborhood in downtown Grand Rapids has a rich, colorful history. In the 1850s, it was a shanty town, home to immigrants who were new to America. The area grew quickly—at first small houses dotted the landscape, then commercial and industrial businesses, hotels, a railroad depot, stores and apartment buildings. Today, it’s a historic district containing many original buildings, 55 of which are historically significant.
The area’s renaissance is mirrored in modern apartment buildings with both market-rate and income-based units; high-end condos; parking structures; offices; a feast of food establishments; a cat café; art studios; and recently built Studio Park, which adds movie theaters, more restaurants, more offices, more apartments, and a music venue to the mix. Heartside is becoming denser by the day.
Photo by Victoria Mullen, WKTV
There’s a palpable tension in the air as newcomers and longtime residents alike struggle to co-exist with a younger, more affluent crowd and the age-old problem of gentrification. The place is dynamic and vibrant but also plagued by criminal activity—vandalism, drug activity, trespassing, prostitution and the like—and an ever-growing transient population.
As services and resources increase in number, organizations like DwellingPlace, Heartside Ministries, Mel Trotter Ministries, Guiding Light, Dégagé, and others have been inundated. Grand Rapids is known as a “destination city” for homelessness as West Michigan police departments and judges send parolees here, and Mel Trotter routinely receives folks who have been given a one-way bus ticket to downtown Grand Rapids by missions, churches, and families in other cities across the Midwest.
VOICES has hosted several people who live and work in ever-evolving Heartside. Lisa Blackburn, Victoria Kool, Tommie Wallace, Larry Dean White, and Dr. Mark Vander Meer are just a few of the folks who shared their stories recently.
Listen to their voices—and others—on the VOICESFacebook page.
* * *
Photo by Victoria Mullen, WKTV
Dwelling Place connects people to programs and resources that can help folks become self-sufficient and find affordable housing. The nonprofit advocates for the neighborhood to make it safer—like street lights so people feel comfortable when they’re out at night and accessible sidewalks so children can easily walk to school. The nonprofit also unites neighbors and strives to bring in businesses that enrich the community.
Lisa Blackburn, Resident Services Coordinator at Dwelling Place, has fond memories of the Heartside District; it was her old stomping grounds when she was a kid growing up in the 1970s.
“Back then, it wasn’t called Heartside,” said Blackburn. “There were a lot of old, abandoned buildings. I remember playing around the train tracks—I may or may not have thrown a rock through a window. It feels good now as an employee in this area to see how it has grown.”
* * *
Artist Victoria Kool lives in Heartside. Her story, while unique, shares commonalities with others who live in the neighborhood: She was abused as a child, and she struggles with mental illness and addiction. She first attempted suicide at the tender age of 8.
Lisa Blackburn
“My parents had threatened to kill me if I told anyone about the abuse,” Kool said. “I had given up on life. My mom was an alcoholic. From a very young age, I took care of my siblings. I’ve had adult responsibilities since I was 5.”
Kool began having flashbacks in her 40s and 50s. She remembers standing in a closet, counting the stripes on the carpet to pass the time.
“It was either the closet or the attic or the basement; I spent a lot of my childhood in my own little world,” she said. “Until the age of 18, I felt invisible because of the trauma.”
No one believed her, not even the police. As a kindergartener, Kool knew that ‘Policeman Ralph’ wouldn’t help.
“I was a cynical kid,” Kool said.
A high-school acquaintance thought Kool had an ideal, well-adjusted family. But it was all a facade.
Victoria Kool
Kool had planned to attend college and then start a career in social work. Those hopes were dashed when family members told her she was expected to marry. She had children and for many years played the role of little homemaker. She struggled to cope with the flashbacks.
“I had no memory of the abuse and ended up with multiple personalities to compartmentalize the trauma,” said Kool. “My family didn’t want me to talk about it and threatened to silence me. I fled my marriage.”
She sought refuge with a friend, but Kool’s ex-husband threatened the woman, and Kool was asked to leave.
At one point, Kool drove to Florida, where her 4-year-old car’s engine blew. She lived in a homeless shelter for a week, until a church bought her a plane ticket to fly back to Grand Rapids.
Photo by Victoria Mullen, WKTV
“I ended up in a recovery house with women who had just gotten out of prison,” Kool explained. “I had a mental breakdown and got kicked out after a month. Then I called Mel Trotter and started in their emergency shelter—up at 6am, out at 8am, can’t get back in until 6pm. I dragged my suitcase around all day. It really opened my eyes to the reality of homelessness—a lot of mental illness, addiction, lack of a support network.”
Mel Trotter Ministries has served the greater Grand Rapids area since 1900. Founded by Melvin Ernest Trotter, a former alcoholic, the organization was first located at 955 Canal Street. Offering substance abuse counseling and other services, the mission moved to its present location at 225 Commerce Ave. SW in 1968.
The reasons for homelessness are many—domestic violence that forces someone to flee; an illness or injury that causes loss of employment and income (eviction is often close behind); addiction; mental illness; rising rents and lack of affordable housing; the list goes on.
“Homelessness is exhausting,” Kool said. “Living in a neighborhood with so many homeless people around me—I had to be prepared. I had grown up judgmental, with an air of superiority, and I had to deal with that so I could adjust and coexist with folks who were different from me. The diversity was new to me.”
Photo by Victoria Mullen, WKTV
Kool sees many people going through the same struggles as they try to somehow make a better life for themselves.
“Living in Heartside, I am attuned to those who have suffered abuse,” she said. “I have a sense of who has been through a bad situation; I have compassion and empathy now versus being judgmental. Most people who have addictions have been abused. A lot of the people here in Heartside are mentally ill, too.”
* * *
Muralist Tommie Wallace (aka Town Hall Auk Med) lives in an income-based apartment made possible by Dwelling Place. Originally from Kalamazoo, he came to Grand Rapids after seeing a commercial for ITT Technical Institute (now defunct).
“I stayed with a cousin until his wife felt I needed to move on, and that’s how I ended up in Heartside,” Wallace said. “I liked the area, had a lot of fun. I stayed here because it’s near a bus line, the library, the store.”
Photo by Victoria Mullen, WKTV
Wallace created his first mural at the site of Goodrich and Commerce.
“People would stop and talk to me as I worked,” he said. “I met such interesting people; some bought me lunch; one lady came by and brought me an umbrella as I worked in the rain.”
Wallace lived in Washington DC for a time.
“DC is different from the Midwest,” he said. “The difference is friendliness—you don’t see it much in DC, people keep to themselves, don’t want to get into conversations; I had to adapt because I was used to saying, ‘Good morning.’ People shun you there for that.”
After graduating from ITT Tech, Wallace got a job working for an airline company. As his income increased, he moved from an income-based apartment at The Weston to a market-rate residence at Goodrich Apartments. He lived there until being laid off after 9/11.
Tommie Wallace
“I came back to The Weston and I have been there over 20 years now. Heartside is my home. I know people here, they know me. I get a good feeling when people recognize me as an artist.”
A recovering addict, Wallace attends meetings at Heartside Ministry every Friday. Heartside Ministry serves people who live in the margins of Grand Rapids. It strives to provide basic needs; in addition, it offers a GED program, art gallery, yoga class and chapel for people to practice their faith.
Wallace meets a lot of people who are older, ill or injured.
“They’re newcomers to these issues and don’t know what to do,” Wallace said.
Larry Dean White
Wallace has served on the board of directors for Dwelling Place since 2005. He likes seeing the various development projects in downtown Grand Rapids.
“So many different people are coming down, young people, rich people. Residents were afraid that they would be pushed out.”
* * *
“I got the ministry in prison,” said Arkansas native Larry Dean White. The self-described ‘redneck Christian minister’, shares his love of God with the folks who people Heartside.
“I studied for six years; my textbooks are the old and new testaments,” he said.
White sat down to share his story with Dr. Mark Vander Meer, a pastor and founder of Community Recovery International, a nonprofit organization that helps address family, individual, addictive, marital, and mental health issues of all types locally and overseas.
Dr. Mark Vander Meer
White thinks there is too much judgment on the outside.
“Instead of putting people down, help them up, like Jesus did,” he said. “People should be treated with respect.”
Vander Meer agreed.
“There needs to be more ‘heart’ in ‘Heartside’,” he said.
* * *
VOICES is available to partner with nonprofit organizations. To learn more, and to schedule an event, go here. Be sure to visit and listen to the conversations on our Facebook page here and our YouTube channel here.
Russian-born pianist Olga Kern was the first woman in 30 years to win the Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She performs with the Grand Rapids Symphony Oct. 4-5. Story here.
Right en pointe
A scene from rehearsals of Ballet 5:8’s “Butterfly”. (Supplied/Ballet 5:8)
Ballet 5:8, the Chicago-based dance company known for providing audiences with “a unique opportunity to engage in conversation on relevant life and faith topics addressed in the company’s repertoire”, will return to Grand Rapids Oct. 5 with a program both emotionally heavy and delightfully spiritual. At the DeVos Center for Arts and Worship on Saturday, Oct. 5, starting at 7pm. Go here for more info.
Got leaves? Go here.
Beginning Oct. 5, the City of Kentwood will again offer its brush and leaf drop-off sites at the Kentwood Department of Public Works, located at 5068 Breton Ave. SE. The sites will run concurrently from Saturday, Oct. 5, through Saturday, Dec. 7, with open hours from noon to 8pm, Mondays through Saturdays, and noon to 6pm on Sundays. Here’s the info.
Fun fact:
A new trip for Alice
Mad Hatters Tea Party in the eye of a needle by Willard Wigand
Willard Wigand makes these teeny-tiny sculptures — so itty-bitty, in fact, that he uses a microscope to create them. Wigand enters a meditative state, slows his heartbeat and sculpts between pulses. And holds his breath, apparently — one time he inhaled Alice from an Alice in Woodland tableau he was working on inside the eye of a needle.
Pamela Benjamin came to the U.S. from Australia on a spousal visa only to discover she couldn’t even check out a library book.
Angelique Mugabekazi fled the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide when she was five years old, then struggled to survive daily life in a lawless refugee camp.
Grand Rapids native Donna Troost remembers a rubber shortage during World War II and the time her dad had to get permission from the government so that she could ride her bicycle to school.
Angelique Mugabekazi
Three women with very different backgrounds—and one thing in common: Each shared her unique journey with WKTV’s VOICES, a personal and family oral history project. The project’s mission is “to collect, share and preserve the narratives of people in our community”—of our lives; of people from all walks of life.
Oral history—the collection and study of individual histories, experiences of disasters, important events or everyday life—is a tradition as old as civilization itself. Using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews, oral history strives to obtain information from different perspectives, most of which cannot be found in written sources. Some academics consider oral history akin to journalism as both are committed to uncovering truths and compiling narratives about people, places, and events.
Since its launch in September 2017 at ArtPrize Nine, VOICES has collected the conversations of people from a myriad of places, such as Indonesia, Kenya, Rwanda, Australia, Spain, as well as the U.S. (California and Michigan (including Wyoming, Grand Rapids, and Lansing).
VOICES’s vintage 1958 Airstream® trailer has been made into a mobile studio
A free public service, VOICES travels throughout the West Michigan region to encourage neighbors, friends and family to tell their stories—the narratives that make us human—of our lives, experiences, sorrows, triumphs and tragedies. We all benefit from knowing each other’s background; the shared bond that helps us build community.
VOICES offers a comfortable, mobile video recording studio with a relaxed atmosphere, and utilizes high-tech video and audio equipment to capture the narratives for posterity. Conversations usually take place between two people who know and care about each other. These can be friends, family, or mere acquaintances. Any topic may be explored, whether a specific event in a person’s life, a childhood memory, a family tragedy—no subject is off limits.
Jimmy King
Those who step inside VOICES’s 1958 Airstream trailer—outfitted as a mobile studio— are welcomed into an inviting atmosphere to sit back, relax, and have a conversation. All VOICES conversations are audio- and video-recorded to provide participants with a link to each conversation and for possible airing on Channel 25 in Wyoming, Kentwood and Gaines Township (U-Verse Channel 99).
VOICES participants find the experience valuable and gratifying.
“I hope that people will listen to my story and learn what it’s like to come from a different country—what we had to do to come to America,” said Lana Lie, who emigrated to the U.S. from Indonesia.
Lana Lie
Jimmy King, who shared his experiences as a young man with autism, said, “The experience was absolutely incredible. They really listened to me and had a genuine interest in my voice.”
Every second Saturday, VOICES is at Marge’s Donut Den at 1751 28th St, SW for ‘Second Saturday at Marge’s’. The next date is April 14. It’s free, just go here to reserve a time.
“People leave traces of themselves where they feel most comfortable, most worthwhile.”
Haruki Murakami
This is not Kentwood
Road trip!
The City of Kentwood has released its tentative road construction and maintenance schedule for the summer. Go here for the details.
Audacious Hoops performs July 24 at the KDL Kentwood Branch
How audacious!
“Hooping” has become its own art form and perhaps no one has done more for it than Grand Rapids’s own Audria Larsen, the founder of Audacious Hoops. Here’s the story.
Courtesy Rumours: The Ultimate Fleetwood Mac Tribute Show
Get your tickets now!
Tickets now on sale at the DeVos Place® and Van Andel Arena® box offices and online at Ticketmaster.com. See Ticketmaster for all current pricing and availability. Here’s the story.
Fun fact:
Only once
Seems hard to believe — especially with millions of albums sold — but the original Fleetwood Mac band had only one song top the Billboard Hot 100 chart at #1 — Dreams, from their 1977 album, Rumours. Thanks, Stevie.
Kick up your heels. Better yet, leave the heels at home.
The Grand Rapids Symphony celebrates the 25th anniversary of the D&W Fresh Market Picnic Pops by recreating its inaugural Picnic Pops concert July 11 and 12. Go here for the scoop on dates, music, and ticket options.
Celebrate the Dog Days of Summer at Downtown Market
Yippee! It’s Yappy Hour!
Join fellow dog lovers at the Downtown Market for Yappy Hour, on July 10, 17, 24 and 31 from 11am-1pm, to enjoy lunch outside with pups! Go here for more info.
A woman of her words
After teaching English and Journalism, Elizabeth Meyette retired and began a full-time writing career. An Amazon best-selling author, she has published six novels, her latest being 2018’s The Last Crossing. She has also published poetry and writes a blog called Meyette’s Musings. Read about Meyette here.
Fun fact:
189,819
The number of letters in the longest English word, the name of a protein. Go here to read it for yourself because honestly, we just don’t have the time and space. Its nickname is ‘titin’. Isn’t that cute?
How disappointing. Somehow we were expecting something a bit more grandiose.
First comes the meet-and-greet with council members and city officials. And then, the grand affair — the meeting proper — at 7pm. This past Monday marked the Wyoming City Council’s first summer outdoor meeting. Read all about it here.
The council meets every first and third Monday of the month at 7pm. The July “on the road” meeting will be July 15 at St. John Vianney Church, 4101 Clyde Park Ave. SW, and the August meeting is Aug. 19 at Aurora Pond Senior Living & Retirement Community, 2380 Aurora Pond Dr. SW. Beats being cooped up indoors.
You’re only young once
Hello West Michigan, West Michigan’s regional talent attraction and retention organization, will host its 6thannual Intern Connect conference on Wednesday, June 19, in Grand Rapids. The organization hopes to impart “essential skills” such as interpreting dress codes, navigating networking events, creating positive workplace communication and how to #adult to the more than 350 summer interns participating in the conference. More info here.
‘I could be a contender’
Recently, students and teachers gathered in the Kelloggsville High School auditorium for a time-honored tradition: signing day. The tables on the stage had logoed caps and contracts just waiting for signatures from high school seniors, ready to commit to a team for the coming year. Go here for the story.
Fun fact:
142.18
The number of licks it takes to reach the center of a Tootsie Pop. You’re welcome.
“I go to Costco every weekend. It’s my favorite part of the week.”
~ Jimmy Kimmel
Kicking off so you can kick up your heels
Circle June 4th on your calendar. That’s the date Concerts in the Park kicks off with local favorite Midlife Crisis, a classic rock band that was formed in 2001. The free, nine-week summer concert series held at 7pm Tuesdays at Lamar Park, 2561 Porter St. SW, features a wide variety of musical styles, interactive themes, and local food vendors. More info here.
Summer reads make me feel fine
Summer reading at KDL starts Monday, June 3 this year and runs through Saturday, Aug. 10. Sign up online at READsquared or pick up a paper form at your nearest KDL branch. Log your summer reading activity and earn prizes! Get more info here.
More active souls ought to check out the third annual Liquid Force Field Day on Saturday, June 1 at Action Wake Park, 3320 Hudson Trails Dr., Hudsonville, MI 49426. It’s a great opportunity to try Action Wake Park completely free of cost. Here is more info.
Fun fact:
25 years
Up to 25 years is the jail sentence you’ll get if you cut down a cactus in Arizona. Talk about harsh.
“Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives . . .”
~ Carl Sagan
Painting the town … purple
Because red is just so overrated. Seriously, though, Paint the Town Purple offers an opportunity to check out the artwork of some of the talented and creative students of Wyoming High School. But hurry, because it all goes away this Thursday. Go here for the deets.
“Here am I floating ’round my tin can…”
On Wednesday, April 17, WKTV will be featuring, via the NASA channel, the launch of the newest Northrup Grumman Cygnus Cargo Craft, the S.S. Roger Chaffee, to the International Space Station. For more info, go here.
Looking for a few, good members
Get involved! The Kentwood City Commission has approved a resolution to establish an advisory committee that will review and prioritize improvements to Kentwood’s parks, trails and recreational programming to align with the needs of the community. Here’s your chance to do your part! Go here to learn more.
Fun fact:
$12,000,000
That’s how much an entire NASA suit costs — just ONE suit, mind you — and 70% of that is just for the backpack and control module. And you thought a Birkin bag was expensive.
“I don’t really go out partying, but I’m definitely a social butterfly.”
~ Eliza Doolittle
Well, hello, gorgeous!
Excuse us? We’re dressing!
The fluttering you hear at Meijer Gardens this time of year? It isn’t your heart beating with excitement — it’s the butterflies! There’s still time to get a good dose of gorgeous — the winged ones are on display until April 30 during the 24th Annual Fred & Dorothy Fichter Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition. More here.
They call me MISTER Robot
Big things have small beginnings
Hope you’ve cleared your calendar for this weekend. About 40 teams will compete at the FIRST Robotics event this Friday and Saturday. This includes host team East Kentwood’s Red Storm, Wyoming High School’s Demons, Potter House’s Tactical Hams, and the community team Code Red the Stray Dogs. Fun stuff! Go here for further details.
Ready for Act II
And so begins a new chapter in Gina Mancha’s life
Gina Mancha was displaced from a long career in automotive manufacturing and needed to find a new career. As a dislocated worker, Gina was eligible for services through Michigan Works!. Read her success story here.
Fun fact:
Goblin sharks might be the closest we’ll ever get to a real alien
The gift of song has always been Thomas Carpenter’s saving grace. His deep baritone-bass voice has opened doors many times, and he delights in singing at church, for Dégagé, nursing homes, Heartside Art Studio and Ministry, and other organizations that help the homeless.
He sang when he was in the military. And he even sings on the street.
Music has always been a big part of his life.
“My mother sang when I was little,” said the Detroit native. “I had a sister who was a musician. She and I sang in church. She was an alto who could sing tenor, so we could sing all the parts.”
Carpenter, 62, said he grew up in a God-fearing family.
“We couldn’t hang out in the summer. We had to go to summer school or Bible school. Dad was a disciplinarian.”
When his parents and older sister were eventually diagnosed with cancer, he became depressed and started using drugs. Through a series of misfortunes, he eventually became homeless.
“One day, someone stopped me on the street and fed me,” said Carpenter. “We went to a revival and I sang, ‘Just a Closer Walk with Me’.”
His singing led to a scholarship at Marygrove College in Detroit where he was a voice major with a concentration in classical music. One of his classmates was Madonna, who was studying to be an opera singer.
“God was trying to help me out,” Carpenter said. “But I got careless and squandered the scholarship.”
Carpenter has lived in the Heartside district for seven years and is thankful to many organizations. Mel Trotter gave him shelter when he was homeless. Dégagé helped arrange his mother’s funeral and transport for her body to go back to Detroit.
He helps out wherever he is needed.
“I had worked at a shelter before, so I had experience,” he said. “I needed to turn the lemons into lemonade, so I volunteered without actually taking a job there. Whatever needed to be done, I just stepped up. And then I went to have surgery on myself at the Veterans Hospital.”
When he came back, Dwelling Place provided him with a low-rent apartment.
“They saw how I interacted with people and developed a position, ‘resident engagement mentor’, so that’s what I’m doing for Dwelling Place.”
He also serves on the board there.
“I work primarily in fund development and resident engagement, and I have a mentor who’s a lawyer as I need to know more about the laws of the land.”
And the First Methodist Church of Grand Rapids, which partners with Dégagé, has opened the doors for him to come in and do special music for their services.
He finds the work rewarding on many levels.
“When someone who has been broken or lost or defocused receives the help from Dégagé, my joy is when that person brings another person,” he said. “Or when I see them putting the same tools and resources to someone who is in the same situation they were in. When I see that, I get charged up.”
When he was a kid growing up in Saigon City, Vietnam, Fr. Peter Vu’s parents strove to provide him and his two sisters the semblance of a normal, middle-class life — a stay-at-home mom, a dad with gainful employment at a government job working in national security. Consequently, Vu didn’t feel the pain of war, at least not until the very end.
“I remember a lot of family time, touring places in Saigon like the cathedral and Independence Palace, driving the roundabout — those are the memories I have before the war ended,” said Vu.
Then, reality reared its ugly head.
“The last day of the war was like the apocalypse — the end is here,” he said. “My home was not too far from the airport, and I saw a lot of airplanes being bombed.”
Vu was only five years old.
The communists got right to work, gathering up people they perceived to be threats, particularly government workers.
“The communists tricked them, told them that they were going to re-education camp,” said Vu. “‘Oh, you’ll come back in about a week.'”
So, when his father was taken away, the family thought it would be for only a short time. Vu would not see him again for 12 years.
“The communists evaluated the prisoners based on rank and seriousness of your job with the South Vietnamese government and they either shipped you to ‘Hanoi Hilton’ where Senator John McCain was held, or they sent you to the Gulag in Russia, never to be seen again,” he said.
From 750,000 to over 1 million people were removed from their homes and forcibly relocated to uninhabited mountainous forested areas.
“When the communists took over, we didn’t have any of the rights or freedom that we used to have,” Vu said. “We had to ask for permission to go from one town to the next. They could enter our homes and search any time they wanted, in the middle of the night. There wasn’t enough food. We had to live very resourcefully.”
As Vu grew up, he thought that maybe he could stay in Saigon and be the head of the household, but as the son of a former regime official, he was already on the blacklist. He knew that they would not allow him to go to college, even though he was at the top of his class in high school.
“When dad was released from the camp, he had to leave Vietnam because he was still being oppressed and persecuted by the communists,” said Vu. “He said that if he left, maybe they would leave our family alone. Wrong. Because after my dad left successfully — he had to try several times by boat — they knew my dad was in the U.S., so they watched our family even closer because there ‘had’ to be some connection with the western government.”
He began to think about leaving Vietnam and emigrating to the U.S. to join his father and pursue his calling of the priesthood.
“My dad had told me that if I wanted to become a priest, I might be able to come to the U.S. So, I had to make that tough decision about leaving. I knew that I might die. I knew that I might not see some of my family and friends again. Those are the reasons I took the risk to come over here by boat.”
First, he had to raise the money to get on a boat, and even then there would be no assurances. He didn’t make it on the first try.
“But with God’s help and my family’s savings, I was able to make it in the end. I was stranded at sea for quite a few days and ran into the perfect storm — like that movie Perfect Storm — and thought that I might never make it.”
His boat encountered pirates, and the refugees suffered gravely. In the end, he and his fellow refugees were rescued by a South Korean tanker that took them to Singapore, where Vu spent the summer before he was able to get in touch with his dad.
“I was a minor, and I didn’t know if I would ever see my family again,” he said. “I see what is going on now with minors being separated from their parents at the southern border — I shared the same fate and had to deal with that. I know what those minors had to go through.”
He didn’t have his father’s address or phone number, so he risked writing back to his family when he was in the Singapore refugee camp. All the mail that goes through a communist country gets opened and censored at any time. For some reason, his mail got through — he says it was God’s will — and his mother was able to give him the address to contact his dad, who sponsored his passage to the U.S.
It was always Vu’s goal and focus to serve God and help others, especially the poor and unfortunate. After acclimating to his new life in the U.S., he entered the seminary. He credits the hardships he experienced in Vietnam with instilling the deeply ingrained values he preaches, including kindness and generosity.
“Like many of the figures in the Bible, I bargained with God: If you save me, I will make sure I serve you,” said Vu. “And I kept my end of it. Some people might say, you know what, I have a good life here, so God, thank you but I’m going the other way. But I try to keep my end of the bargain.”
Vu has been a Catholic priest for over 21 years and currently is pastor at Saint Mary Magdalen Parish in Kentwood. He is also the author of the book, Living for a Higher Purpose:Story of a City Boy Who Survived the Vietnam War by Living for Jesus and Others, which is being adapted into a movie.
As children, neither musician was interested in studying stringed instruments, much less classical music. Baptiste, who wanted to study the saxophone, told NPR he ended up in the string section due to a bet between two teachers. The duo, who are Black Violin, are set to perform at the Grand Rapids Symphony’s Symphony with Soul Feb. 18 concert. Read more here.
Waiting by the window for the cats and dogs to come raining down
Before Jimmy King was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (a developmental disorder on the Autism spectrum), his parents knew only that he was different from other kids. Read King’s story here.
And all that jazz…
Xavier Davis
Pianist Xavier Davis will be the featured artist during a concert Sunday, Feb. 10, at 3 p.m., at Fountain Street Church, 24 Fountain St. NE. Tickets are $15 general admission and $5 for students with ID, on-line or at the door. More info here.
Fun fact:
No kneecaps = no jumping.
Elephants are the only land mammals that cannot jump. Unlike all other mammals on earth (well, except for maybe whales and dolphins), elephants do not have kneecaps. Therefore, they are unable to bend their legs and acquire the needed propulsion to leave the ground.
In 1994, Rwandan native Angelique Mugabekazi’s life was upended when the Hutu majority government ordered the mass slaughter of Tutsis. Only five years old, Mugabekazi fled along with her family, but everywhere they went, conflict followed. The young girl saw people raped and killed in front of her, as well as starvation and disease outbreaks. She lost many family members, including her parents, uncles, and siblings, also neighbors.
“Before the genocide happened, my family was well off,” said Mugabekazi, a graduate of University of Massachusetts School of Law. “My dad was a civil engineer; we came from an upper-middle class country. And then we experienced poverty on a level that we had never seen before.”
Civil war conflict met the family when they reached the Congo. By that time, Mugabekazi’s mother and uncle were gone. The little girl and her family moved on to a refugee camp in Burundi, where they lived from 1994 to 1996.
“When you first come to a refugee camp, you get basic things like a tent and food,” Mugabekazi said. “When you have the means, you can make your own house. As a civil engineer, my dad built a really good mud house out of bricks.”
But her father lost his life in Burundi, and the remainder of the family had to move on when civil war broke out there, too.
“You see a lot of rapes and killings when you are a refugee in another country,” said Mugabekazi. “When you are in a camp, you don’t have laws that protect you.”
Mugabekazi said that the UN tried to protect them, but there were conflicts within the camps, and women and children were the most vulnerable.
“You are seeking shelter to keep yourself alive — shelter like a tent or mud hut. Basic, basic medical attention. It was hard. We starved a lot.”
The next move brought Mugabekazi to Tanzania in 1996 where she and her family stayed until 1998, when their house burned down. Next, she and four siblings made their way to a city in Zambia where they lived the next two years
“Then we had the opportunity to apply to come to U.S.,” she said. “We went through rigorous questioning, blood work, medical exams. It’s not an easy thing to come to this country. They interview family members separately, it’s a very invasive process.”
Mugabekazi and remaining family members settled in Boston, in the less-than-desirable Dorchester neighborhood, where gunshots were heard during the day. Culture shock added insult to injury. She was bullied in school because she looked and smelled different.
“It was not safe for us to keep living [in Dorchester], so we moved to a more Hispanic neighborhood, but it was still not safe. So we moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, where it was more predominately Caucasian but still had a diverse population. For the first time, I had friends who were white. That’s first time I enjoyed my experience in the states.
“It’s hard because I feel like I don’t have a home really. Although I know I’m from Rwanda, I feel that has been ripped from me. And moving from one place to another, even here in America, it just caused more trauma.”
Mugabekazi said that surviving all those tragedies has made her strong.
“Africa is a huge continent, so when I moved from each country, I learned a new culture and language — that was the benefit,” she said. “When I lived in more under-resourced communities, it opened my eyes to the poverty in this country. Before, I had this Disney picture of what America was. People of color don’t have wealth in this country.”
Mugabekazi has lived in Grand Rapids since 2013 and is a Community Health Worker with Health Net of West Michigan. She works with the African community; folks that come from same region she did, single mothers who are trying to navigate this culture, working, taking care of their homes.
“We work with them to connect with resources,” she said. “I get excited about social work and am passionate about injustice to women and children, especially because of my experience. I feel like my calling is international work. I feel there is more of a need there; they lack basic human rights.”
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Meet a musical treasure
“Music has always been a big part of my life,” said Bruce Ling, who began playing slide guitar when he was 4 years old and whose father and uncle are both professional musicians. “When I was 8, my band made $5 playing in a basement for a birthday party. I’ve been playing ever since.” Read the story here.
Just the facts, folks
The latest episode of WKTV Journal In Focus offers two discussions focused on important topics: improving Michigan’s prison environment and how Calvin College is reaching out to inmates with education and life-changing opportunities, as well as the current opioid abuse and addiction public health crisis and how Kent County is working to address that crisis locally. Go here to read the story.
Common ground… troubled crossroads
Grand Valley’s Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies and the university’s Division of Inclusion and Equity will host a discussion about how Americans can work toward finding common ground for the common good, especially at the troubled crossroads of race and American memory this Thursday, Jan. 24 at 7pm. More info here.
Fun fact:
One month
The time it would take a sloth to travel one mile (.15 mph). Road trip!
Animals. Music. Nature. The river. These are just four things that Grand Rapids resident, Bruce Ling holds dear.
During his lifetime, the Chicago native has lived in many locales, always near water — from the Calumet River, the Pacific to Cape Cod — currently on the Grand River with wife and musical partner, Becca.
Bruce and Becca sat down with VOICES recently to talk about Bruce’s musical background, his affinity for animals and nature, and life on the river. According to Becca, Bruce is considered a kind of Michigan treasure when it comes to old-time music, being a collector of tunes, and teaching them to younger generations.
“Music has always been a big part of my life,” said Ling, who began playing slide guitar when he was 4 years old and whose father and uncle are both professional musicians. “When I was 8, my band made $5 playing in a basement for a birthday party. I’ve been playing ever since.”
After injuring a finger in an industrial accident, Ling turned from guitar to mandolin and fiddle out of necessity, mastering those instruments in very little time. Ling founded the ‘Hawks & Owls’ band in 1997, so named as a tribute to the many birds of prey that have crossed his path over the years.
In addition to music, Ling has enjoyed stints as a self-employed electrician and volunteer animal caretaker at Blandford Nature Center.
“I was the kid on the block with a menagerie in the basement,” he said. “People would bring me animals and birds that were injured. I could feel bones for a break and crafted popsicle stick splints with some paper medical tape a number of times on wings and legs and whatnot.”
He holds a reverence for all creatures, and it was an encounter with a red-tailed hawk years ago that led Ling to volunteering at Blandford Nature Center back when it had an animal hospital on site; he focused on the care and healing of raptors.
“I learned a long time ago that sometimes if you’re very quiet, a creature will tell you what needs to be done,” said Ling. “Whether it needs to go away and be euthanized with a quick crack and it’s done, or if it needs the energy of healing.”
Living on the river can be rejuvenating, exciting, challenging; the Lings and their neighbors always help each other out. The flood of 2013 wrecked the Lings’ house, and making matters worse, a vandal came in and destroyed the interior; Bruce and Becca were homeless for five months. Then out of the blue, an older couple with a house the Lings had coveted for years made it possible for them to obtain the title to that property.
“It was a karmic thing,” said Ling. “We try to help out where we can and now live just three doors down from the old house, but on higher ground.”
Listen to Bruce and Becca’s VOICES conversation here.
Share your story with VOICES. It’s easy — just go here to reserve a time!
Only 354 days until Christmas! Now, about that tree…
Don’t let your Christmas tree dry out — drop it off at a designated site
Wondering what to do with that Christmas tree? If you’re a resident of Wyoming, there is a drop-off site at 2660 Burlingame Ave. SW. Kentwood residents can drop off their trees at the city’s Department of Public Works, 5068 Breton Ave. SE from 7:30am-4pm Monday-Friday, through Jan. 31. Get the details here.
No. 89… No. 89… Oh, wait…
Cool, old-timey photo of the Grand Rapids Symphony in the 1930s
The Grand Rapids Symphony officially organized on Jan. 11, 1930, making it 89 in 2019. Coincidentally, the Symphony has a concert performance on Jan. 11. So to celebrate its 89th birthday, one of the featured pieces is Hayden’s Symphony No. 89. Pretty clever, no? Go here for more info.
And now, a blast from the past
Remember them now?
Hey! Remember S&H Green Stamps? No? Maybe your mom does — well, your grandmother definitely does. You can trace the roots of Meijer’s MPerks and Hallmark’s Gold Crown Rewards back to about 1896, when Sperry & Hutchinson (the S&H — get it?) started to offer its loyalty retail program to supermarkets, gas stations and stores in the form of small green stamps. Managing editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma dishes on this once-ubiquitous homemaker staple here.
Fun fact:
45%
That’s the percentage of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, to stay fit and healthy, and to quit smoking. While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them give up on their resolutions by the second week of January. That’s next week, y’all.
"It doesn't matter where you came from. All that matters is where you are going.”
-- Brian Tracy
It’s been an interesting year. Let’s take a look back.
Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus rehearses its holiday music.
Managing editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma has rounded up the most popular stories of 2018 and corralled them into one spot. Go here to see what readers read the most.
Everybody has a profile. Even Kent County.
Cool, fun graphic
Counties have profiles? You bet! Thanks to the Kent County Administration and their most excellent bilingual survey, the secret is out: Kent County’s median age of 34.9 years old is more than five years younger than Michigan as a whole and 50 percent of the population of about 648,594 is 35-years-old or younger. Go here for the cool details.
Get ahead of the game.
Wouldn’t it be fun to pay your tax bill with Monopoly money?
You know that big tax cut we’ve all been hearing about? The one that has corporations so excited? Well, there’s a tiny bit of relief for single people and families, too. Standard deductions for single taxpayers nearly double from $6,350 for 2017 taxes to $12,000 for 2018 taxes (the ones you file in 2019). It might get confusing, but there’s free tax help here. Take advantage of it.
Fun fact:
April 11, 1954
According to Cambridge computer scientist William Tunstall-Pedoe and his search engine project, ‘True Knowledge’, that’s the ‘Most Boring Day in History‘. After sifting through and analyzing 300 million facts, ‘True Knowledge’ divined that on April 11, 1954, a general election was held in Belgium, Turkish academic Professor Abdullah Atalar was born, and an Oldham Athletic footballer by the name of Jack Shufflebotham died. That’s it. Nothing else that matters happened.
“It’s relatively easy to act nice and normal in front of a crowd, or in public. The tricky part is doing it in private.”
~Robert Black
Where are they coming from?
Where are they going?
We really want to know.
After serving more than a quarter-million passengers in the month of July, the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GFIA) topped that with an August that served close to 300,000 passengers.
August marks the eighth record-breaking month in a row for 2018, and the airport has seen growth in 61 of the last 68 months. August 2018 was the busiest August ever, with passenger numbers up 17.8-percent year-over-year.
Through August 2018, GFIA has already surpassed its annual total reached in 2012, with 2,176,525 passengers served in 2018. Read more here.
It’s about time:
Kent County appoints
first female sheriff
Kent County administration announced Thursday that Undersheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young has been appointed Sheriff to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Larry Stelma, who retires on Nov. 1 of this year.
Two individuals applied for the position — Undersheriff LaJoye-Young and Lt. Marc Burns. Kent County Chief Probate Judge David M. Murkowski chaired the statutorily mandated selection appointment committee and served along with Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker and Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus-Lyons. The committee’s decision was unanimous. Read more here.
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Secrets revealed
Manufacturers throughout West Michigan are holding community open houses and student tours that showcase their facilities and career options. The tours are part of Manufacturing Week 2018, which runs through Oct. 5, 2018. More than 100 manufacturers are hosting more than 1,000 students during this year’s event.
According to Talent 2025’s 2017 West Michigan Talent Assessment and Outlook, manufacturing is the largest industry in West Michigan, accounting for more than 20 percent of all jobs in the region. Manufacturing has added more than 38,000 jobs since 2009, a growth rate of 33.3 percent. Read about it here.
Fun Fact:
51% of people think stormy weather affects cloud computing.
"If you can't tolerate critics, don't do anything new or interesting."
~Jeff Bezos
Food, glorious food!
Blue Spoon will again be at Kentwood’s End of Summer Food Truck Festival. (WKTV)
And there will be food trucks galore! The free-to-attend event will run from 11am to 10pm, on Saturday, Sept. 15 in the parking lot of the Kent District Library — Kentwood (Richard. L. Root) Branch. Throughout the day, there will be live music, a beer tent and a variety of local eats.
Ferrand Park got quite the facelift, and Wyoming residents are thrilled. The park features a number of new amenities such as a shelter, pathways into the park, architectural features that help to identify the park, and a new, expanded playground area.
Gerald R. Ford International Airport has launched a new app that features real-time flight departure and arrival information, updates on parking availability at the airport, and security wait times. Additionally, amenities such as food and beverage locations, kids play areas, nursing rooms, and the military welcome center are featured on the app.
"The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it."
~Chinese Proverb
Good things come in threes
Three well-deserving organizations recently received grants from the GM Foundation: the Greater Wyoming Community Resource Alliance, West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC), and Feeding America West Michigan Food Bank. Read all about it here.
The dude abides (er, rides)
Kentwood resident and bicyclist-on-a-mission Ken Smith, after a brief stop at home for his anniversary and time with family, quietly headed off from downtown Grand Rapids this week as part of a 3,500-plus west coast-to-east coast trip to raise funds for his grandson, Jakob, and awareness of all persons with neurological damage. More here.
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Beam me up, Scotty
Well, maybe healthcare technology isn’t quite that advanced, but still…
Not only are physicians and other healthcare professionals becoming more accessible, but personal health information, billing, and care instructions have also become easier to find thanks to electronic health records and healthcare portals. Before electronic health records, or EHRs, patients had to request physical copies from their healthcare providers’ offices, an inconvenient process that meant that most people only received their records when they were absolutely required. Read all about it here.
Fun Fact:
A sneeze travels about
100 miles per hour.
We're not sure who clocked it or why. Maybe some things are best left unknown.
The 2018 Metro Cruise kicks off at 4pm Friday, Aug. 24. The alternative Latin rock group Cabildo will be on the main stage at 4:30pm, followed by local favorite, Delilah DeWylde at 7:30pm performing a range of hillbilly and blues. Friday closes at 10pm.
Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Kent County is on the hunt for a new sheriff. If you have leadership skills and a background in law enforcement, you might want to consider applying for the position. With the announced retirement of Kent County Sheriff Larry Stelma, the county has formed a Kent County Sheriff Appointment Committee and is looking for applicants for the position. The individual appointed by the committee will hold the position through Dec. 31, 2020.
Metro Health Village has a number of walking routes and even a bike trail — all perfect for an afternoon stroll with the kids or a quick, weeknight workout. Download a Walking/Bike Route map here.
Need a little push to get started? Check out the Couch to 5K Training Program. Even if you’re not looking to set any world records, this program will have you up and active in no time!
No, not locusts, but we didn’t have a photo depicting the droves of voters who showed up for the primary election on Aug. 7. Take a good look at this photo — that’s the power inherent in sheer numbers, people. A pat on the back for all who voted.
The Chamber’s WKTV Government Matters committee analyzed the impressive voter turnout during their meeting on Aug. 13. The committee also discussed county staff additions. All in all, pretty important stuff.
Fun Fact:
In Switzerland, it is illegal
to own just one guinea pig.
This is because guinea pigs are social animals, and they are considered victims of abuse if they are alone. Source.
The City of Kentwood announced today that Kalamazoo Avenue from 52nd Street to 60th Street is slated to be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2 while the road receives a joint repair treatment.
The MSU Extension Master Gardener Program changes lives. Committed to improving the quality of life in Michigan through horticulture-based volunteerism and beautifying communities throughout the state, the program provides instruction in basic, research-based horticulture science to motivated and active gardeners through an adult (18 years or older) educational program offered by MSU Extension. More info here.
We’ve been fed alternative facts: There is no such thing as multi-tasking. You’re not doing two things at once, you’re switching back and forth. And if you have three or four or five things going, your performance suffers.
Wyoming-Kentwood Community Media’s VOICES: a community history projectpowered by WKTV is taking reservations for its appearance at Wyoming Public Library (3350 Michael Ave SW, Wyoming, MI) Monday-Thursday, Oct. 23-Oct. 26, from 10am-8pm*.
VOICEScollects, preserves, and shares the stories of West Michigan people from all backgrounds and beliefs, with a focus on Wyoming, Kentwood and the greater Grand Rapids area. It’s a free public service, offering a comfortable video recording studio with a relaxed atmosphere.
High-tech video and audio equipment records the stories of our neighbors, friends and family — any story from anyone — that make up the fabric of our lives and our community. Participants tell their stories of hardships and successes, of what shaped them and their families into the kind of people they are today. Our lives, experiences, joys, sorrows, triumphs and tragedies are what make us all human.
Interviews usually take place between two people who know and care about each other. They can be friends, family or mere acquaintances. At the end of each 40-minute recording session, participants receive a complimentary DVD of their interview. Each recording is also archived with the Library of Congress.
VOICES sign at the Wyoming Public Library
Interviews can be “life reviews,” conducted with people at the end of their careers. Or they can focus on a specific period or a specific event in people’s lives, as with war veterans or survivors of an earthquake, flood or hurricane.
The project launched at ArtPrize Nine, welcoming scores of visitors to tour our renovated 1958 Airstream® mobile studio and learn more about the oral history project.
Barry Brown knew it was time to retire when the daughters of his first waitresses from 1996 began applying for jobs at the diner.
“It feels like I moved this diner here just yesterday, the time has gone by that fast,” said Brown, whose classic 1950s-style diner, Pal’s, has been a mainstay at 6503 28th St. SE for more than two decades.
Come October 1st, Brown and his wife, Sam, are hanging up their aprons to begin the next phase of their lives — retirement. They’ll still be busy with other businesses, but the long hours that a restaurant requires will be a thing of the past. This summer, the Browns sold the lot on which Pal’s Diner stands, and the new owners have no intention of moving the diner; they would like to see it keep running. So the hunt is on for a new operator.
Interested parties must be realistic, however. Maybe you’re a great cook at home, but are you up for supervising employees, buying inventory, maintaining equipment and putting in round-the-clock hours this type of business requires? Going in blind is a recipe for disaster.
“The restaurant business is highly stressful,” said Barry. “It’s a lot of work and long hours. The new owner should be experienced and should know the business. It’s not as simple as saying, ‘I make a great cake.’ You need to be on board 100 percent.”
That said, operating Pal’s Diner could offer the perfect situation for the right person. Some people may have the smarts and the dedication to take on a business like this, but lack the capital. It takes at least $500,000 to open a restaurant.
The interior of Pal’s Diner
“Someone could just step in on a turnkey business,” Barry said.
The Pal’s Diner name will attach to the business, but the new operator would have to set up a new LLC and buy workers’ compensation insurance. Rent would be paid to the new property owner, and it would be necessary to hire a seasoned crew. Barry would train the new operator.
This time is bittersweet for the Browns. On the one hand, there are so many wonderful memories.
“We’ve had three marriage proposals and an actual wedding in here,” said Barry. “I’ve made two marriage matches. Several films have used Pal’s as a location.”
Business is booming — up 25 percent in the last few months. Barry credits the millennial generation for that.
“The trend seems to be in the direction of home cooking and away from franchise restaurant food,” said Barry. “We’re seeing this on a national level, with i-Hop and Applebee’s shutting down in some locations.”
Sam and Barry Brown in the 1980s
And a lot of people from New Jersey are making a special trip here as the diner began life in that state before relocating to Grand Rapids. A couple who met standing in line at Pal’s out east renewed their wedding vows here.
But the hard work has taken its toll. Brown has had a hip replacement. At 65, it’s difficult to stand on his feet all day. It’s time to pass the baton and relax.
Peters Honored as Legislator of the Year by Vietnam Veterans of America
Peters Recognized for Fairness for Veterans Provision to Help Service members with PTSD
By Allison Green and Zade Alsawah
Senator Gary Peters
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) was recognized by the Vietnam Veterans of America as a Legislator of the Year and delivered remarks at the organization’s annual national convention. Peters was recognized for his efforts to pass bipartisan legislation to help veterans who may have been erroneously given a less than honorable discharge from the military due to negative behavior resulting from mental traumas such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Peters, a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, introduced the Fairness for Veterans legislation in 2015, and it was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2016.
Peters Statement on Release of Brandon Road Study to Limit Spread of Asian Carp
Study Outlines U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Plan to Prevent Invasive Asian Carp from Reaching the Great Lakes
By Zade Alsawah and Allison Green
U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) has issued the following statement on the release of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Brandon Road Draft Integrated Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Statement, which seeks to prevent the spread of invasive Asian carp into the Great Lakes:
“The Great Lakes power Michigan’s economy, supporting our multi-billion dollar commercial shipping, fishing, tourism and agricultural industries, and we must move quickly to ensure the Great Lakes are protected against invasive Asian carp that can disrupt this important ecosystem. I urged the Trump Administration to swiftly release this long awaited report, and I’m pleased we can now move forward with the public comment period and work with stakeholders to determine the next actions needed to prevent the spread of this harmful invasive species and keep our economy growing.”
Earlier this year, Peters introduced legislation with U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow to require the Trump Administration to immediately release the Brandon Road Study. Peters also joined with Stabenow and other Great Lakes Senators in a letter calling on President Trump to release the study and expedite potential measures to stop Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. In June, a silver carp was discovered within nine miles of Lake Michigan and beyond an electric barrier designed to prevent invasive species from entering the Great Lakes.
Senator Stabenow Highlights Great Lakes Restoration Success Stories Across Michigan, Importance of Federal Funding
By Miranda Margowsky
Senator Debbie Stabenow
This month, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow is highlighting Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) success stories throughout Michigan and the importance of federal funding to protect our lakes and waterways.
The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative provided $196,000 in federal funding to the Kalamazoo Nature Center to restore wetlands and prevent erosion and runoff into the Kalamazoo River. The GLRI funding has led to increased economic activity in the area, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing, and boating on the river. Arcadia Ales, a locally owned brewery, opened a new location on the Kalamazoo River, allowing patrons to take advantage of the riverfront.
According to the University Research Corridor, more than 700,000 Michigan jobs, one in five in the state, are tied to water. GLRI is critical to cleaning up our Great Lakes, beaches, and waterways for swimming, boating, and fishing; fighting invasive species like Asian carp, and protecting our Michigan way of life. Michigan projects have received more than $400 million in funding from the GLRI since its establishment. Michigan has an estimated 2,850 miles of coastal water trails as well as an estimated 1,280 miles of inland water trails. Our canoe and kayak industry annually contributes $140 million to our state’s economy.
Senator Stabenow Announces More Than $3.5 Million to Expand Double Up Food Bucks throughout Michigan
By Miranda Margowsky
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, has announced more than $3.5 million in new federal funding to expand the successful Double Up Food Bucks program in Michigan. The funds come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive grant program, which Stabenow authored in the 2014 Farm Bill. The grant will be matched by private funding, totaling to $7 million in new investments.
Double Up Food Bucks makes it easier for low-income families in Michigan to eat healthy by doubling the value of food assistance dollars spent on fresh, regionally grown produce. This has helped families stretch their food budget while supporting Michigan farmers and rural communities.
Fair Food Network will utilize the new funds to expand the Double Up Food Bucks program to more farmers market and grocery stores throughout Michigan. Additionally, funding will be used to expand new technology to make purchases easier for families and farmers, and expand year-round rather than seasonal programming at farmers markets and groceries.
Senator Stabenow Announces Medicare at 55 Act
By Miranda Margowsky
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) has introduced the Medicare at 55 Act, which provides an option for people between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy into Medicare. There are 1.4 million people in Michigan between the ages of 55 and 64, and many of them are burdened by high insurance premiums, unaffordable deductibles and limited options.
People in the 55-64 age group face unique health challenges and especially high health care costs. The average person in this age group pays more than $1,200 in annual out-of-pocket costs and is at a greater risk of suffering from chronic conditions such as diabetes or arthritis and medical emergencies such as heart attack and stroke.
Under the Medicare at 55 Act, an individual between the ages of 55 and 64 who buys into Medicare would receive the same benefits and protections as an individual enrolled under Medicare parts A, B, and D.
Senate Commerce Committee Approves Peters-Young Legislation to Update Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps for Great Lakes
Maps Help Assess Ecological Risks of Oil Spill & Natural Disasters; Great Lakes Maps Have Not Been Updated in Over 20 Years
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has approved bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Todd Young (R-IN) to update the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in the Great Lakes. ESI maps are used to assess coastal resources that could be at risk in the event of an oil spill or natural disaster, including endangered and threatened species, sensitive shoreline habitats, and human-use resources like beaches, parks and boat ramps. The Great Lakes region ESI maps have not been updated since between 1985 and 1994, though maps for the East coast, West coast, and Gulf coast have seen updates within the last five years.
ESI maps, which are administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are used to document the potential ecological impacts to natural and human-use resources from risks such as oil spills, natural disasters, and resource damage assessments. The maps are also used in disaster planning and recovery, research and restoration efforts. ESI maps must be regularly updated to ensure they are providing an accurate representation of vulnerable locations and areas that require protection in the event of a disaster. Updates would also improve the accessibility of the ESI maps by making them available in searchable formats.
Peters, Grassley & Feinstein Call for Increased Transparency in Administration Ethics Disclosures
Letter Urges Administration to Make Ethics Waivers Immediately Publicly Available
By Allison Green
U.S. Senators Gary Peters, Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) sent a letter urging Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney to ensure that any executive branch ethics pledge waivers granted by the Trump Administration are immediately provided to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) and made publicly available.
On January 28, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13770 requiring all incoming political appointees to sign an ethics pledge as a condition of their employment in the federal government. The Administration’s ethics pledge places certain restrictions on appointees’ participation in matters directly related to their former employers, clients, or matters on which the appointee lobbied prior to their appointment.
The executive order also includes a provision allowing the President or his designee to issue a waiver to any individual appointee from any of the ethics pledge’s requirements, though there is no specific requirement that the waiver be issued prior to an appointee’s first day of employment.
