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Puzzle through clues and win $1,000 in free gas
IT’S JUST NOT HERE—But it is somewhere. Organizer Carl Stites has hidden the Cannon Coin and he won’t tell anyone where. Here organizers Don Kurylowicz, Carl Stites and Linda Anderson (in the water), Jim Blackall and Dennis Spitler (afraid of water spiders) look under a rock in Bear Creek. This is not where Carl hid the coin this year. Watch for clues in the Squire next week.
Annual treasure hunt begins Tuesday
Don’t ask Carl Stites’ wife where the Cannon Coin is. He said she can’t keep a secret and is the last person he’d tell.
We should all know how she feels. Each year of the Cannon Area Business Association (CABA) treasure hunt, Carl Stites of Stites Eye Care is the one and only person who knows the location of the solid bronze coin that is worth a cool thousand in free gas.
Clues to the hunt will be released beginning next Tuesday at participating businesses. This year those willing to work a little harder will have a better chance of finding the clues.
This year Stites is breaking each clue into three parts so treasure hunters will have to visit more than one participating business to piece together hints. “This will be more fun,” Stites said.
Clues will also be released each week to the Squire, where readers will find them on the front pge.
Stites has already hidden the coin, and said he is “feverishly” working on clues, which he calls a six-month process. The coin is in Cannon Township, is always hidden in a handicapped accessible location and never on private property.
It is about three inches around and has a cannon stamped on one side, a symbol of the cannon for which the township is named.
The cannon was the town symbol, but after youths fired it off at a fourth of July celebration as a joke and one died, the cannon was hidden by the town fathers and never rediscovered, despite years of search.
Now people search for the coin, and the first one to find it will receive certificates for $1,000 in free gas from the Cannonsburg Grist Mill and the Topp Stop.
“Each year it gets bigger and bigger. There are more people looking,” said Stites, who would not offer an early clud of the coin’s location.
“You will have to go to participating businesses and find out for yourself,” he said. The Cannon Township businesses who are taking part this year are ChoiceOne Bank, ChiroHealth, Rockford Self Storage, David P. Fischer, DDS, S&H Greenhouse, Stites Eye Care, Acme Tire and Auto, Rockford Chamber of Commerce, Euro Autowerks, Lakeside Car Company, Jim Rasmus-Allstate Insurance, Huntington Bank, Cannonsburg Grist Mill, Rockford Kitchen Design, Topp Stop, Health First Chiropractic and online at www.clipngomobile.com. And watch the Squire each week for clues.
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Ric’s Food Center wins customers through service, prices
HAPPY CUSTOMER—Ric’s Food Center Store Director Dave Brickner bags groceries for a customer at the store. Brickner counters rumors about the store due to the stalled development nearby.
Lack of action on development not ‘part and parcel’ to store
Ric’s Food Center Store Director Dave Brickner wonders if rumors over the ongoing lack of action in the Cannon Town Center development might be costing the store customers.
He said the store has a 20-plus-year lease and ownership of the planned unit development at Myers Lake Avenue and Belding Road is unrelated to the financial situation of the store.
“It’s not part and parcel to the food center,” he said. “We have our own decades-long lease, and who owns the property does not affect that.”
Brickner said he believes the property surrounding the store on three sides is a gold mine waiting for the right developer, with great exposure to two busy roads and a location where business and residential is prime for growth.
“This will be the next area in Rockford to grow. It’s an awesome location and we have the best schools in the state. As a person, that’s what I looked at when I was thinking of coming here. All our elementaries are in the process of serious expansions. Where else in the state do you see that happening?” said Brickner, who has a kindergartener starting school in Rockford this week.
People in Rockford appreciate quality schools and understand how important funding is to keep schools effective. “I come from an area where people were notorious about voting down millages. Here people support the school, and that makes a huge difference,” Brickner said.
Qualities such as the school and the community will be a draw when the time is right for a smart developer to take advantage of the opportunity offered by the now nearly vacant Center. Cannon Township Supervisor Pete MacGregor pointed out that much of the expense of a large development is already completed for the Center. He called the development a “plug and play” opportunity, meaning a buyer could obtain the property and begin building and selling with very little extra expense or effort.
Brickner said rumors in the township have been circulating since the Ric’s Food Center opened on February 1, 2008. The rumors have worsened since the development went into foreclosure this summer and became property of the bank. Brickner speculates that some customers may be waiting to see what happens before they make Ric’s their grocer of choice. “If people think we might not be here to stay, they may be reluctant to make it their regular grocery store,” he said.
Brickner said the future residents of the development will be welcome customers, but even without, the store is gaining new shoppers regularly as people price check in a tough economy and discover how competitive Ric’s prices are.
The October world economic crash hit Ric’s, just as it did businesses of all sizes, but the store has weathered the storm well. “I’ve always felt groceries are a pretty safe business because everyone has to eat,” Brickner said. “When all that happened, at first I felt bad for us, but then I realized it’s not just us, it’s the whole world.”
West Michigan has, in Brickner’s opinion, been hit a little less hard than other places. He said he has heard very high unemployment numbers in other parts of the state and thinks we may have escaped some of the very worst of the economic woes. For the store, constantly seeking feedback from customers—and taking action on that feedback—has helped Ric’s serve the needs of the community better in this economy and is the reason Brickner feels the store is regularly seeing new, loyal customers.
“We had to change the way we do some things here, but I hope that never affects the customers. That’ s our goal,” he said.
The small, family-owned chain’s core philosophy is on customer service and never losing sight of their goals. From day one, the store set high standards in staff. Brickner said he conducted 700 interviews while hiring the staff of 70. Recently, some employees left to go back to school, and 300 people applied for the 12 positions.
“I’d rather do 10 interviews and not hire someone than to hire a person just to fill a position,” Brickner said. He believes the friendly and very capable staff is part of the store’s success.
Open house days that Ric’s hosts (watch for another coming soon) are attended by every employee, and they all love the positive feedback from visitors. “We live on that enthusiasm,” Brickner said. “We have several open houses to reintroduce ourselves. It’s wonderful to have our customers come in and say what a nice job we are doing.”
The corporate mentality of “customers first” comes from the Woodrick family and is fostered right on down to every employee. “If you do right by the customer, everything that follows will be all right,” Brickner said.
He appreciates that he doesn’t have to be afraid of making a mistake and stresses that to the staff in the store. “I really don’t want to hear someone telling a customer ‘no’,” he said.
An example is the company’s lenient return policy. If a customer isn’t happy with the product, they get their money back with very few exceptions. “Why would you lose a customer over a 79 cent can of corn?” he said.
A customer who spends $200 a week in groceries spends $10,000 a year. “I am a firm believer that there is no small thing. It is all important,” Brickner stated.
Another example is the storewide philosophy of helpfulness. If the deli is closed, an employee will open it back up to give the customer what they want. “I’m closing tonight,” Brickner said. “I guarantee I’ll make a sandwich or two or scoop some salad.”
Refusing to jump on the self-serve bandwagon is another example of the store philosophy. Brickner said he went into a larger chain store to pick up an item at a busy time of day. He was disturbed to see many more machines than people ready to take care of customers. “We have the technology to do that here, but we won’t do it,” he said of the self-check machines.
The human interaction is a big part of customer satisfaction, he believes. “You don’t even have to do anything wrong to lose a customer, you just don’t have to do something right. It’s very important to have a person available to your customer.” He said continuing to offer taking groceries out to a shopper’s car is still popular and another amenity some stores no longer offer. “We do 200 to 300 take-outs a day.”
Pricing is also a big part of customer service and one of the things the store has worked hard at in response to feedback. “I’d put our sale ad against anyone’s,” Brickner said.
He believes tough times have led people to more careful shopping. “They are shopping less but shopping better,” he observed. People are doing more meal planning than before. Many take advantage of the store’s policy of doubling coupons up to 50 cents. Brickner said if people will take the time to compare prices, they will see how competitive the store is.
The meat department is a gem that not enough people recognize, Brickner believes. Few stores still staff trained butchers who cut meat in-store for the best quality and freshness.
Brickner said he was a little disheartened when he shopped in the annual Lakes yard sales. “There were a lot of people I didn’t recognize.” He believes many folks drive by the store every day and haven’t yet stopped in. If they do, he believes they will be pleasantly surprised. If they don’t, the store still isn’t going anywhere.
“You think we are all alone here, but we aren’t. If you look up and down Belding Road, there are a lot of businesses here,” Brickner said.
Still, Brickner is as interested as everyone else to find out what will happen to the planned Cannon Town Square.
“We are always listening for the next bit of what’s happening with the development. We hear rumors, too. When we were planning to open, we thought there would be other businesses opening right along with us. That hasn’t happened yet. It’s too bad, because this is a great place for any number of businesses, and has great exposure. I’d like to see the community welcome them as well as they have welcomed us.”
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Governor Granholm walks with favorite hometown paper
This past weekend the Squire traveled to Mackinac City, Michigan to participate in the 52nd annual Labor Day Big Mac Bridge Walk. Just after the 7 a.m. start of the walk, Squire reporters Cliff and Nancy Hill hooked up with avid Squire reader Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. Ever gracious and not missing a step, the “Guv” accepted a copy of a Squire featuring front page coverage of the 50th anniversary walk on Labor Day 2007.
This being our eighth consecutive Labor Day Bridge Walk, your reporters established a new personal best time for the five-mile crossing at one hour and five minutes. (Not bad, huh?) Upon crossing the finish line, each and every one of the day’s 49,000 participants was awarded a numbered certificate signifying that on this day they had “Walked across the World’s Greatest Bridge. Our particular certificates were numbered 375 and 376. We won’t tell you which of us crossed the finish line first.
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Scrapbook view of the many faces of law enforcement
REFLECTIONS—Carol Meyer’s scrapbooks contain “inside” views of ‘troopers’ lives on the street, in their off-hours and having fun.
Rockford trooper’s work collected in memories
Your family photo album likely contains happy pictures of a youngster eating spaghetti for the first time, the school field day, a series of birthdays. For Rockford Michgian State Police Trooper Carol Meyer, her family is a different type and her pictures aren’t of children going to their first day of school.
Meyer said law enforcement is a career like no other, and in 22 years at her job, she has books of experience and stories to tell. Meyer has been collecting pictures of her law enforcement “family” for years, and compiles an ongoing series of photo albums to commemorate her work and those of her colleagues on the force.
“I love it. I can’t imagine doing anything else,” she stated, showing off her books.
Meyer allowed the Squire an “insider’s look” at her law enforcement life. Meyer said the Michigan State Police allows officers to do different jobs throughout the years. She’s has been on the drug team, leaning out of open helicopter doors to search for hidden patches of marijuana in crop fields in Operation Hemp. She has trained on how to legally ram a car to disable it during a high-speed chase, and has a close friend who is a D/Sgt. that supervises the Kent Metro Cold Case Team.
WOMEN WITH GUNS—are still a minority in law enforcement. Trouper Meyer has 22 years on the job with Michigan State Police and lovers her profession.
“It is very much a family,” she said of the profession. “We mostlydon’t spend time with friends who aren’t officers, we spend time with other troopers and their wives and families.”
Meyer is still in a minority group as a female in a male-dominated profession. “They treat us well. Whatever the guys have to do, we have to do, too. We wouldn’t want it any other way,” Meyer said. She believes law enforcement is a fine career for a woman as well as a man, and here in Rockford she is one of four female troopers. Her friend who supervises the cold case team is also a female officer.
Currently, Meyer is a court officer. “When they [other troopers] arrest someone, I take if from there,” she said. “I get the subpoenas, see the judges, and take care of the warrants. Once the court stuff is done, I get to play.” By “play,” she means take her vehicle out on the road and patrol.
Meyer, like current Post Commander F/Lt. Chris McIntire, spent time on the Central Michigan Enforcement Team (CMET) team for the State Police. The CMET operates drug-related crime-stopping, such as the Operation Hemp efforts. At one time, Meyer was a sergeant in the Newaygo Michgian State Police post. There her duties were more administrative. It would be a good job for many—answering the phone, supervising the troopers, and entering reports. For someone who likes to be out and moving, it wasn’t her favorite job of her career. “I requested a demotion after six months. I didn’t like sitting at a desk all day. I didn’t like that I had no time to be out on the streets,” she said.
There are three local law enforcement forces that work in the Rockford area. In addition to the Michigan State Police, which has had a post here since 1932,
we also have the local City of Rockford police officers and the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. Meyer
said all three are different, with different duties to some extent. The Michigan State Police is mostly highway patrol and often works with the Grand Rapids Police Department.
Meyer said her job is usually not boring. Training is ongoing. She said she, along with other troopers, used the empty home on Main Street in Rockford for training before it was demolished. “We loved that. We had our run of the house for three or four months and were able to do a lot of training there,” Meyer said.
She said other law enforcement, as well as fire departments, made great use of the property and all are grateful to the City of Rockford for offering use of the building. “It was good training for everyone. We used it, the City fire and police used it, SWAT used it, and so did county. Everyone had a really good time with the training.”
Each year troopers are required to do shooting training three times, first aid, hazardous material, defensive tactics and small squad tactics annually, as well as other training, such as crowd control techniques. Training uses different techniques that officers may encounter. “In shooting, they may have us shoot at night or through cars. There are a ton of different scenarios they take us through,” said Meyer.
Troopers take advantage of opportunities to have fun, as well. At the Rockford State Police Post, there was a mustache contest one year that kept things lively. “We had different categories, such as most absorbent, most pitiful, most Tom Selleck look-alike,” she said. They also have events such as teachers versus cops in donkey basketball and membership in clubs, such as the Warthog motorcycle club. Membership requires an American-made motorcycle, preferably a Harley, and you must be an officer or firefighter. The Warthogs are a combination of police officers and firefighters who sponsor several charity rides.
Meyer said she also loves her MSP Chicks club, herself and four other Michigan State Police troopers who celebrate each other’s birthdays and take Chick Trips away from their husbands and kids to destinations such as the Grand Cayman, Las Vegas, the Florida Keys and Mackinac Island. The Chicks include the Post Commander of the Reed City Post and three detective sergeants, members of the Kent Metro Cold Case team, the Rockford Post, the Ionia Post and a retired Lakeview Post sergeant.
“I don’t think this job is stressful at all,” Meyer said. “It’s stressful at first, but you get used to it.” She said cops even get used to accidents, although never those involving children. “We are almost all parents ourselves. When kids are involved, you don’t get used to that.”
For anyone who may be interested in a career in law enforcement, particularly with the Michigan State Police, Meyer offered advice. “It’s useful to go in with some other training, like an accounting degree, a second language or any degree in finances or the sciences. You may get tired of being out on the road, and there are so many other jobs you can do within the state police,” she said. Other fields of law enforcement require a degree in criminal justice, but Meyer said the academy for the state police is a rigorous training process that prepares new recruits for their career.
Looking over her series of scrapbooks with photos of colleagues still working and some gone, Meyer feels very satisfied with her choice of job and happy to have the memories. “There are 22 years of memories in these books,” she stated. “It’s not a job for everyone, you have to be a real people-person and know how to treat people. When you are on the road, you are pretty much your own boss. After 22 years, I’m still happy to go to work every day.”
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Student earns full-ride arts scholarship
CREATIVE—North Rockford Middle School student Riana Hain-Gachiri, 13, is selected as a young artist to display artwork in the “Experience Blue Lake” celebration at the University of Michigan next summer.
‘If you really want to accomplish something,
you can do it’
Riana Hain-Gachiri, 13, may have a future in the world of art. The student who began her second year at North Rockford Middle School (NRMS) this week, has earned a full-ride scholarship to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and has also had her work chosen for display at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Riana was highly recommended by her art teacher, Rachel Kibbe, who gave the girl a glowing review. “Riana is creative, hard-working and talented,” Kibbe said. “Riana is not only exceptional in terms of her artworks, she is a natural leader and encourager.” Riana was in Kibbe’s painting and sculpture class at NRMS.
“I think it is inspiring,” said Riana’s mother, Alison. “If you really want to accomplish something, you can do it.”
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp has been mentoring young artists for 43 years and is known as a prestigious institution. Being accepted and having the school cover the tuition is an incredible achievement. Alison Hain gives credit to the Rockford school system. “It shows what a fine school North Rockford Middle School is,” she said. “Riana just loves her school and her teachers.”
Riana’s painting will be displayed at the University of Michigan for the month of July 2010. Carol Tice, art department director at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, said the display will be in an exhibit which is part of the “Experience Blue Lake” celebration, showcasing art by the students of the camp.
Kibbe said, “Riana would be a fantastic addition to any art camp. Her kindness, talent and work ethic make her a delightful student.”
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