Rockford Boy Scout troop celebrates 100th

September 2, 2010 · Filed Under Top News Stories · Comment 

Rockford Boy Scout Troop 264 celebrated its 100th birthday with a three-day Scout Exhibition at the Rockford Community Cabin August 26 to 28.

Rockford former Troop 1 was the first in West Michigan. photo by KYM STEFFES

The Exhibition was planned and executed by the Scouts themselves under the leadership of John Reedy and Michael Julien with guidance from Assistant Scoutmaster Jennie Betz and Troop Committee Chair Beth Reedy.

Each day began and ended with a flag ceremony. A model campsite was set up featuring tents, an ax yard and first aid station. Scouts demonstrated the safe use and care of axes and hatchets and various first aid techniques. An archway was constructed with poles lashed together and the Scouts demonstrated knot tying and even built a bridge over Rum Creek using only poles, planks and rope.

Bill Gerber, of Rockford, began his Scouting days in 1933. photo by Kym Steffes

 

Inside the Community Cabin, were a display of Scout memorabilia and a history of the Troop from its founding as Troop 1 by Merritt Lamb in 1910 to the present. Saturday, the Scouts built a bonfire which they used to retire American flags according to the flag code.

A Court of Honor was held to present the Scouts with merit badges and rank advancements they had earned. A total of 188 merit badges were earned by 41 different Scouts and 27 of the Scouts earned rank advancements. Gerald R. Ford Council Scout Executive Michael Sulgrove addressed the assembly on the importance of Scouting and congratulated the Troop on being the first in the Council to complete 100 years of service.

Troop 1 was the second Boy Scout troop in the state and the first in West Michigan. photo by KYM STEFFES

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Coach Munger honored by Rockford super-fans

August 26, 2010 · Filed Under Top News Stories · Comment 

by CLIFF AND NANCY HILL

The Rockford High School football program continued the longstanding tradition of holding an annual “Hots & Brats” fundraising event last Friday evening. Held each year at the Ted Carlson Memorial Football Stadium the week prior to the start of football season, the event gathers current football team members along with their families and supporters from the greater Rockford Community.

After a late afternoon team practice scrimmage, all in attendance were invited to the concession area of the stadium where picnic seating waited for the serving up of the event’s annual fare – grilled hot dogs and brats with all the trimmings along with chips, soft drinks or water, and don’t forget the dessert.

“First and foremost, this annual event is meant to honor the kids who will participate in the 2010 football season,” said emcee Don Cadwell, adding, “It’s all about the kids, watching them grow and work together as a team to uphold the tradition of excellence we’ve all come to expect from the Rockford High School football program.”

Long-time Rockford Football Booster Rick Ettinger (class of 1979) tells us, “The annual event is sponsored by the wonderful peoples and businesses of the Rockford Community. School districts from all over the state of Michigan are jealous of the Rockford football program and the outstanding community participation and sponsorship that makes it possible each and every year.”

Coach Ralph Munger then took the mic and expressed his appreciation to parents, grandparents, and the entire Rockford community for their time, their help, and their donations that were freely given to the players, coaches, and staff of the Rockford football team. “Rockford couldn’t be a great team without the total package,” said Coach Munger. He then directed everyone’s attention to a large sponsorship banner that named 94 fine area merchants who had sponsored the evening’s festivities and encouraged everyone present to patronize the generous civic-minded businesses.

“Practices indicate we are currently a good team,” said Munger, “but good is not acceptable. We are working, not to be good but rather, to be great!” To work towards that end, Munger then announced the team motto for the 2010 season – “Stand and Deliver”.

Speaking of community support Lyle English and his mother, Rose Grindle, were called front and center. Lyle, a 1976 graduate of Rockford High School, and mom Rose are widely recognized as “Superfans” of all of the athletic teams in the Rockford School System. Lyle and Rose have attended most every Varsity athletic event, both home and away, for as long as anyone present could remember.

Lyle was on hand Friday evening to present Coach Munger with a stained glass panel to, “personally honor Coach Munger for the past 19 years of football coaching excellence.” Lyle had crafted a two-tone green 2’ x 3’ stained glass panel depicting the turf of the midfield section of the Ted Carlson Memorial Football Stadium, complete with yard line markings. Proudly displayed in the center was the orange and black iconic Rockford “R”. It was beautiful and Munger seemed genuinely moved.

Lyle is an accomplished stained glass craftsman and in recent years, on his own time and using his own funds, has created and presented stained glass “R” panels of appreciation to graduating senior lettermen who participated in football and basketball as well as girls softball. Not to be left out, were numerous coaches and even Rockford Schools’ Superintendent Michael Shibler, himself. When asked how many panels in number he has made, Lyle answered, “There were so many, I’ve honestly lost track.”

Lyle loves his hometown Rockford, his high school alma mater, and the athletic programs of the Rockford School system. To say that he and his mother, Rose, are “Superfans” would be an understatement.

Seek out Lyle and his mom and thank them for years of support. You’ll find them seated, before anyone else arrives, on the 50-yard line during the upcoming football season.

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Court battle ends with Supreme Court denial

July 30, 2010 · Filed Under Top News Stories · Comment 

A long fight to keep a full service courthouse in Rockford has ended with a denial to hear the case by the Michigan Supreme Court. With one justice, Elizabeth Weaver dissenting, the seven member court denied considering the case, citing “We are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.” The denial was issued July 16.

“This has taught me one thing for sure, and maybe I’m naive, but justice isn’t blind, it’s political,” said City Manager Michael Young.

Rockford initiated a lawsuit against Judge Sara Smolenski which was joined by Kent County.

THIS IS IT—all the court presence northern Kent County has in this half of the district. This office is available four hours a month and is only for small claims. The City of Rockford will consider in the coming months what public use will be made of the rest of the building which used to be the Rockford courthouse.

Many northern communities passed resolutions against removing the northern office of the 63rd District from Rockford to a consolidated location on Knapp Street off the East Beltline. A court presence, as required by law, remains in the former court building but is now limited to only four hours a month of service.

Rockford, and Judge Steven Servaas, the judge who served his whole career from the Rockford court, believe legally Kent County is required to offer more service, if not a complete court, to the northern communities from the Rockford court location. They hoped an appeal to the Supreme Court could bring the complete court—judge and all—back to Rockford.

“We fought it, we litigated it and we did not prevail,” Young said. “This is a huge loss of services for not just Rockford, but all of the northern communities.”

Young said the end of the fight means that all the judges of the district, now just Servaas and Smolenski, are located in a facility that is in the southern half of the district. As cases are divided up, Smolenski is presiding over cases from the northern communities and Servaas is presiding over cases originating in the southern half of the district.

“You can’t even vote to remove a judge if you don’t like what they are doing,” Young explains of the significance of this situation.

“I find it incredibly ironic that they can say that Servaas has to live in the northern half of the district, but he can’t work here,” Young noted. “Tell me how that makes any sense at all.”

Kent County Commissioner Roger Morgan said there are no hard feelings over the court issue and the decision about how much court service to offer—and where—is completely under the control of Chief Judge Smolenski. “If anybody thinks I can tell the judge how to run her court they are crazy,” he stated.

Young disagrees, and said as the funding unit for the court, Kent County and Smolenski are making decisions together on the courts. “The chief judge doesn’t have that kind of power. If that was how it worked, say Judge Servaas was chief judge next year. Could he decide he wants to have a court in Cedar Springs and the County would build him a building?” Young said. “It takes a partnership to decide. To think the chief judge can decide this by herself is ridiculous.”

Kent County Administrator Daryl Dellabio has also expressed frustration with Rockford’s insistence on pursuing keeping a court in Rockford. He said the County gave the building the former court occupied as a good faith gesture. “If I gave you a building, would you sue me?” he has commented to The Squire in the past. Morgan also said the gift of a building sharing a parking lot with Rockford City Hall was no small thing. The County could have kept the property, he said, and used it for County purposes in addition to the four-hours-a-month court.

Young said the City has been using the building for storage and for classroom training for firefighters. Deciding on a use for the building has been on hold until the outcome of the appeal to the Supreme Court.

“I’ve always thought it should be some public use,” Young said. “We’ve thought about the Arts Council or the Historical Society Museum. We can take the next six months and take a long look at what we will do. We still have funding issues, but this has a lot of opportunity for public use.” He said the County court space takes up only 20 percent of the structure.

Young said he does not regret the City of Rockford’s perseverance in this matter. “This is a huge loss of services for all the people of the northern communities. There are still people every day in the parking lot looking for the court because that’s where it should be,” he said. Currently the four-hours a month are only for small claims, no criminal and no bill-paying.

“My biggest regret is I lost one of my best friends in the world over this,” Young noted. He said the fight was not just for Rockford, but for all the northern residents who now have to drive that much farther to do business with the court. “It’s been a big issue. It hurt the City and continues to hurt the City, as well as the residents of the more northern communities of Kent County. Before they even put a shovel in the ground we had a lot of the northern communities saying, ‘Don’t do this.’” Young said.

There are no more steps to take in the years-long effort to bring back a judge and full court to the Rockford location. “The court is not coming back to Rockford unless the County and Smolenski decide to bring it back.”

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Five lane plan for Ten Mile examined

July 30, 2010 · Filed Under Top News Stories · Comment 

by Cliff and Nancy Hill

Tuesday evening, July 13, the Kent County Road Commission held a public meeting on proposed improvements to 10 Mile Road between the County landfill entrance east to Childsdale Avenue. The purpose of the meeting was to provide information on proposed improvements along this portion of County roadway.

In 2011 the heavily trafficked and oftentimes-dangerous 1.4-mile stretch of road will be widened to five lanes, two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane, under a plan proposed by the Kent County Road Commission. The improvements will be very similar to those that in recent years were undertaken by the County on Northland Drive between Twelve Mile and Fourteen Mile Roads (M-57).

Wayne Harrall, Director of Engineering for the Kent County Road Commission, pictured at right, answers questions by residents about the County’s proposed plan to widen 10-Mile Road.

Compared to this year’s Road Commission held meetings in Plainfield Township on proposed improvements to Belmont Road, this initial Ten Mile Road improvement meeting was civil. Readers may recall that a contentious group of Plainfield Township residents doomed the Belmont Road project to failure.

The meeting was held in the spacious sanctuary of Resurrection Life Church, conveniently located adjacent to the stretch of roadway much in need of necessary improvements to handle ever-increasing daily volumes of traffic.

An appreciative murmur rippled through the 100+ area residents in attendance when Wayne Harrall, Director of Engineering for the County Road Commission announced that, “A stoplight traffic signal will be installed at the intersection of Wolven Avenue and Ten Mile Road.”

Acknowledging the now difficult and oftentimes dangerous task of turning east or westbound off of Wolven onto Ten Mile Rd. Harrall also added, “The sightlines to the east would be greatly improved by raising the grade of a deep dip in the roadway by five to six feet thus eliminating a dangerous blind spot.” It was also noted that, at Highlander, the five new lanes would begin to transition and taper into the existing three-lane configuration of Ten Mile Road at Childsdale Avenue.

No businesses will be affected because none front the particular corridor of road. Needing access, however, during construction is Resurrection Life Church and numerous driveways of private residences. Those concerned about having access to their homes or attending Resurrection Life Church services or its day care center were reassured that they would have free access during the reconstruction period. The road, however, will be closed to through traffic.

There are no current plans for a traffic light at Childsdale because traffic volume (on Childsdale) does not warrant it. Even though the new roadway will include curbs, no sidewalks or bike paths are in the plans at this time.

It appeared as though those present that evening were pleased that this much needed roadway improvement was finally on the drawing board and scheduled for after school closing in June 2011 through, hopefully, mid to late August that same year.

Longtime Algoma residents Jim and Bev Reeds, the developers of Algoma Center at the corner of Algoma and Ten Mile Roads, said, “We are both thrilled. We travel this stretch of road daily and oftentimes fear for our lives especially at the intersection of Wolven Avenue and Ten Mile Road. It seems the County is attempting to do everything they can, within an already tight budget, to make this stretch (of road) a safe corridor.”

Rockford City Manager Michael Young’s thoughts were, “The City would prefer a four-lane expansion with a boulevard but overall the Road Commission did a nice job with the design presented. The transition back down to three lanes at Childsdale will function well and we are very happy about the traffic light at Wolven. I will be working with the Road Commission during final design to see if we can have sidewalks installed between Highlander and Gibraltar Drives.”

Cost of construction is estimated at $2.4 million, with $1.6 million coming from federal stimulus money and the County paying the rest.

This meeting was the first of a series of open meetings before final plan approval. The next meeting, yet to be announced, will address environmental assessment concerns. Watch for an announcement in local newspapers or on a lighted roadside message board near the entrance of Resurrection Life Church.

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Rockford loses a legend

July 30, 2010 · Filed Under Top News Stories · Comment 
He was a Kent County Commissioner, Rockford’s mayor and a long-term city council member and the father of two mayors, sons Neil and Rodd. For many who knew Clarence Blakeslee—“Mr. Rockford”—he was the kind man who was there with a camera or two and a smile and a hug for everyone.

 

Clarence Blakeslee as a child.

 

The community of Rockford is diminished by the loss of Clarence, who died Friday, July 16 at the age of 95. He leaves a legacy behind in the many kindnesses he regularly bestowed to those around him and in his photographic record of the town, especially sports.

He had a life-long love of cameras and had an extensive collection. After the estate sale of his home, he donated many of the cameras to The Rockford Squire newspaper. They are on display along with photographs of many well-known politicians and celebrities Clarence took over the years.

Clarence was very involved with politics and had opportunities to photograph many well-known politicians. He often picked them up at the Kent County Airport (now Gerald R. Ford International Airport) and spent time with them while in Grand Rapids.

He took many pictures of Jerry Ford, often here in Rockford. Included in his collection is Tip O’Neal, Henry Kissinger, the seniorGeorge H. Bush, and many others.

Celebrity photographs were also donated for display to The Squire. Visitors will see Pearl Bailey and Liz Taylor as well as local artist and philanthropist Paul Collins.

When talking to Clarence, friends could hear harrowing stories of World War II that could bring tears. Clarence used to share those stories in The Squire and Publisher Roger Allen had the works published in a book.

Clarence Blakeslee pictured with Jerry Ford. Clarence, known as "Mr Rockford," died Friday, July 16 at age 95.

 

A Personal Account of WWII by Draftee #36887149 was published in 1998. Clarence donated sales of the book to the Rockford Historical Society, of which he was a founding member, and Rockford Rotary, an organization to which he was dedicated his entire adult life.

Clarence was proud of the book and his contribution to remembering the men who died in World War II. He often spoke of the loss of boys he knew during the war. “They just wanted to know they wouldn’t be forgotten,” he would say with tears in his own eyes.

Inside one of the books Clarence wrote in a shaking script “350,000 U.S. men were killed. One million were wounded.” Below that he wrote, “War is hell. I was there. Clarence Blakeslee.”

Clarence left an impression on those he met and those he helped. Literally thousands of his photographs are at the Rockford Historical Society. As a member of the Rockford community where he did so much and gave so much, Clarence, like the men in World War II he wrote about, will not be forgotten.

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