12:01 PM Aug 29, 2011
The First Baptist Church rolled out the sidewalks and threw a street party for the community on Saturday. "What's fun is the wide variety of people coming in,' the Rev. Doug Bytwerk said as several hundred people milled about the free event. The event included a roast pork dinner, children's games and magic shows. "We roasted three hogs and we're serving 1,000 hot dogs,' Bytwerk said. "It's our purpose to never charge for any of this. We always want to give this as a gift to our community.'
10:42 AM Aug 29, 2011
A Grand Haven couple received serious injuries in a two-car accident late Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Cleveland Street and 24th Avenue. Walter and Sonja Draeger, both 72, of Grand Haven, were traveling east on Cleveland Street just after 5 p.m. Sunday when their 1990 Mazda Miata was struck by a southbound car, said Sgt. Jon Wolffis of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. The driver of the other car, 16-year-old Ashley Keizer of Marne, failed to stop her 1998 Chevrolet Venture at a stop sign before proceeding into the intersection, Wolffis said.
10:29 AM Aug 29, 2011
U.S. flags in Michigan will be lowered Monday in honor of a soldier from Kent County who died in Afghanistan. U.S. Army Cpl. Joseph A. VanDreumel was killed Aug. 14 by a roadside bomb while recovering a vehicle hit by an earlier blast in Paktika province. The 32-year-old from Standale joined the Army in January 2010 and trained at Fort Knox, Ky., before serving in Germany from August 2010 through July 2011 and then Afghanistan. A funeral service for VanDreumel is scheduled for Monday in Grand Rapids.
10:28 AM Aug 29, 2011
Elexis Curry brought her two young daughters to Harbor Island on Saturday, hoping to snare some tickets for the circus. "I'm excited,' Curry said. "I think I'm more excited than they are.' The Tri-Cities Kiwanis Club sponsored the two Kelly Miller Circus shows on the island on Saturday. It was the seventh year in a row the local club brought the circus to town.
10:22 AM Aug 29, 2011
Grand Haven advanced to the championship game of the WMOVA Tournament at East Kentwood on Saturday before falling to the host Falcons in the finals. The Buccaneers raced through pool play with wins over Northveiw, Kenowa Hills and Forest Hills Eastern. The Bucs topped Lakewood in the quarterfinals and Rockford in the semifinals before coming up short in a pair of close games against East Kentwood, 25-23, 26-24.
8:09 AM Aug 29, 2011
The city had planned for a crowd of up to 900 for its seventh annual Bayou Picnic on Saturday. About an hour into the two-and-a-half-hour event at East Grand River Park, Mayor Roger Bergman had to announce to the people waiting in line that they've run out of food. "I never had to announce we ran out of food before,' he said. The city scrambled to order dozens of pizzas from several Grand Haven pizzerias, but still didn't have enough to go around.
8:03 AM Aug 29, 2011
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. Calm wind becoming west between 7 and 10 mph. Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. Southwest wind between 9 and 11 mph. Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Southwest wind between 10 and 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
4:07 PM Aug 27, 2011
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.
4:06 PM Aug 27, 2011
Artists are are being given an opportunity to show their talents to the public in an ongoing art series being conducted at the C2C Gallery, 41 Washington Ave. in downtown Grand Haven. The third event in the series took place Friday night and featured Ypsilanti-based pastel artist Shaun Williams. "I just got into the pastels four years ago and I've been heavily into it since then,' he said.
3:48 PM Aug 27, 2011
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.
2:00 PM Aug 27, 2011
Spring Lake Wesleyan Church, 15550 Cleveland St., is hosting an evening of free family entertainment beginning with a show by illusionist Tom Coverly at 4 p.m. Sunday. Coverly, a Grand Rapids resident, is known as the Christian Criss Angel and David Blaine and has shared the stage speaking with many of the nation's most recognized speakers and Christian bands. Following Coverly's performance will be a concert, games and carnival concessions.
12:00 PM Aug 27, 2011
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.