Nancy O'Neill has been a Love INC volunteer since 2003 and she has seen her share of area residents in need of food. But the Grand Haven resident said she's never seen that need reach the level that she has witnessed in the past two years. "The need is great in these difficult times,' she said. Love INC and other area food pantries - The Salvation Army in Grand Haven and The People Center in Spring Lake - are finding their shelves devoid of food stock, especially protein foods.

A Northwest Ottawa County demolition company has purchased the Sappi paper mill in Muskegon, which closed two years ago. Officials from Melching Inc. of Nunica announced Friday that they have purchased the former paper mill site in hopes of redeveloping the nearly 120-acre property on Lakeshore Drive, along the south shore of Muskegon Lake.

Fifty to 75 pounds of kitten food a week - that's how much Harbor Humane Society uses, and right now they are within a few days of running out. The local humane society is asking the community to help by donating non-colored canned and/or dry kitten food. Cash donations or gift cards to places that sell kitten food are also welcomed. Any and all donations are appreciated and no amount is too small, Harbor Humane Society officials said.

Peder Eide returns to Worship On the Waterfront at Grand Haven's Waterfront Stadium on Sunday evening. The show goes on, rain or shine, from 7:30-8:45 p.m. Come early and join the First Reformed Praise Team in a time of singing at 7:10 p.m. This is a free concert and no tickets are needed. A free-will offering will be taken, focused on a mission to feed Haiti.

Spring Lake and Grand Haven schools had mixed results in the Michigan Department of Education's 2011 Top to Bottom list. All of the Spring Lake schools scored in the 90th percentile or better among schools across the state, but Grand Haven High School and Lakeshore and White Pines Middle Schools scored 87, 78 and 72, respectively. The Top to Bottom scores are based on a complex formula of state test scores in math, reading, science, social studies and writing, as well as graduation rates.

I recently heard a statistic that the average golfer - who obviously makes much more money than I do - has spent several thousand dollars over the past five years on golf clubs, and about $100 over that same period of time on golf lessons. I find it ironic that so many people feel that an upgrade in equipment will fix their game, yet they ignore the glaring flaws in their swing.