Smile! It's the holidays in Glenn

Kathy Stanton takes a Christmas card photo of Tonya Hintze, Gail McCormick, Arnie McCormick and Jan Hintze outside the Glenn School Friday, Nov. 25, as part of the community’s Circle of Lights celebration.

Lou Rizzolo pointed over the registration table to the bin of elf hats.

“Do we have to?” asked Tonya Hintze, appealing to her holiday companions.

Yes. They had to.

The quartet from the Saugatuck area pulled on the red and green caps, sat in the vintage sleigh on the steps of the Glenn School and smiled for the camera.

Kathy Stanton snapped the image that will be emailed to the group for a memorable Christmas card.

“We wanted to get out of the house and have some fun,” said Arnie McCormick.

Frank Conklin cracks open a chestnut Friday night.

 The group joined hundreds of people at the Glenn Circle of Lights celebration Friday night in the small Ganges Township town at 114th Avenue and Blue Star Highway. The evening included free photos — elf hats optional — free cookies, a gingerbread house raffle, chestnuts roasting on an open fire — really; Frank Conklin turned the treats over red-hot coals — and lots of lights.

And, of course, Santa Claus.

Dozens of children giggled, screamed and jumped to see Kris Kringle and his wife arrive in a horse-dawn carriage to light the community tree in Glenn Square.

After flicking the switch, Santa was led by the children down a pathway lined with lighted candy canes to Glenn United Methodist Church where the jolly old elf held court for a line of anxious children.

Rachel Ridley made sure her son started the holiday tradition early, placing Grant, 4 months old, on Santa’s lap.  Grant didn’t say much, though, keeping his pacifier tight in his mouth.

The Circle of Lights holiday celebration was originated by William Erby Smith to illuminate Glenn in twinkling lights. Through the  continued support of his brother, Mark Smith, as well as many community volunteers, the tradition continues each year.

To see more photos, visit http://www.hollandsentinel.com/photo/x143553779/Glenn-Circle-of-Lights

To see a short video, visit http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos

An anti-consolidation group?

Douglas City Councilman Greg Harvath dropped a bombshell at last night’s meeting — an anti-consolidation group is forming and should be invited to address the city council.

After the meeting, reporters asked Harvath more about his announcement:

• Who’s forming the group?

• Who’s in it?

• When do they meet?

Harvath refused to answer, saying only that as journalists, the reporters should find out that information. That’s a reporter’s job, he said.

He did drop a hint, saying the reporters should read their own stories from the last city council meeting to find out who’s in the group.

The previous council meeting (on Nov. 14) was a closed session to get “opinion from legal counsel” about consolidation.

Councilwoman Lisa Greenwood said Monday (Nov. 21) the council knew at the Nov. 14 meeting about the anti-consolidation group.

Former Douglas Mayor Matt Balmer spoke at that Nov. 14 meeting. He said in an email today that he doesn’t know of any anti-consolidation group, though he is aware of people gathering information on the pros and cons of consolidation.

Former Mayor Renee Waddell was also at that Nov. 14 meeting. She said that night that she opposes consolidation.

Earlier today, she said she is working with an informal group of people who are not anti-consolidation but are asking more in depth questions relating to the two consolidation studies.

Other than the pro-consolidation people — Jim Storey, Frank Lamb and Steve Hutchins — at that Nov. 14 meeting, there was one other man who waited outside as the council met in closed session. He did not speak to reporters and did not address the council when it came back to open session.

Councilman Eric Smith said Monday (Nov. 21) he would welcome the new anti-consolidation group to talk to the council, but added that the new group’s information might not be accurate.

“I want our city manager to supply us with accurate information,” Smith said.

The council on Nov. 14 instructed City Manager Bill LeFevere to get more details on consolidation.

He is working in a preliminary analysis that will have information — “enough to form an initial conclusion” about consolidation’s impact on Douglas, he said last night.

He will have that information in two to three weeks.

Glenn Post Office celebration

Greg Chanski cuts the ribbon a second time to dedicate the new Glenn Village Post Office inside Gerstner Hardware. Vicki and Robert Amberg are standing in the door to the new facility.

You can joke about the U.S. Postal Service being late, but that wasn’t the case yesterday when postal officials helped dedicate the new Glenn Village Post Office.

The red ribbon was strung across the door to the small postal room in Gerstner Hardware, 6988 114th Ave., and Greg Chanski, manager of post office operations in Grand Rapids, gave a brief talk about the new facility then quickly swung around the hardware hedge clippers and snipped the fabric.

The stunned crowd didn’t even have time to take pictures!


Check out the video at: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/videos/x918438872/Glenn-Village-Post-Office-dedicated

Hardware store owners Vicki and Robert Amberg quickly made the repair, tying the ribbon in a knot and letting spectators — more than two dozen filled the hardware store — get a clear shot at photographs.

The ribbon, cake and coffee were all to celebrate that the small town of Glenn is the first place in Michigan — and the third in the nation — to get a village post office.

There are village post office sites in Washington state and Pennsylvania. Two other sites in Michigan are under consideration for the designation, said postal service spokeswoman Sabrina Todd.

In July, Glenn residents received a letter from the post office that the office on Blue Star Highway north of 114th Avenue would close due to a loss of lease on the property. People in the unincorporated town in Ganges Township rallied to save the office, saying the town would lose its identity and tourists if the post office and ZIP code were erased.

The Ambergs stepped in, offering their store as a postal site.

In fact, the post office was in the hardware store from 1948 to 1955, Amberg said. When she bought the store seven years ago, workers found a faded sign in a barn behind the building. The sign, which reads “Hardware Variety U.S. Post Office,” was affixed above the store’s entry long before the idea of a Village Post Office surfaced this year.

“I guess we’re coming back home,” said Chanski of the postal service.

The old post office sign is above the door.

The Glenn Village Post Office has boxes for mail delivery and pickup, stamps, flat rate priority shipping boxes and other supplies for sale. The site does not weigh packages.

Mail comes through the Fennville Post Office. New post office boxes and renewals are handled in Fennville as well. Hardware staff members cannot open boxes for people who forget their key.

The limited service sites are one way  the post office is saving money, officials said.

The Ambergs put the post office boxes in a side room and have a display of postal products. The post office is open the same hours as the hardware store:  9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

A handicapped-accessible ramp will be built, Vicki Amberg said.

Here are some links to preview Sentinel stories:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/feature/x1837737534/Glenn-residents-afraid-post-office-closure-will-hurt-town

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/feature/x2086385914/Glenn-residents-rally-to-save-their-post-office-service-returns-to-its-roots

Some consolidation links

A resident called me to task last night about not reporting on the consolidation movement in Saugatuck, Douglas and Saugatuck Township.

I was surprised since I've written extensively on the topic for more than 2 years. Here's a sample of back articles for anyone who'd like more information:

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x215402881/Saugatuck-Douglas-weigh-consolidation

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1992209865/Saugatuck-Douglas-consolidation-committee-raises-21-000

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x1278523713/Tale-of-Two-Cities

http://www.hollandsentinel.com/news/x816843345/Saugatuck-Township-analyzes-benefits-drawbacks-to-consolidation-of-services

Cold consolidation facts

From left: Former Mayor Matt Balmer, Commercial Record reporter Scott Sullivan, Consolidated Government Committee spokesman Jim Storey, member Frank Lamb and former Mayor Renee Waddell talk about consolidation outside city hall on Monday night.

People passing Douglas city hall last night witnessed a rare occurrence when the two former mayors of the city stood outside the municipal building with three members of the Consolidated Government Committee and four reporters to talk about what was going on behind closed doors just behind them.

City council members were inside city hall discussing in closed session how they should react to the recent filing of petitions that start the consolidation process. See story http://www.hollandsentinel.com/newsnow/x495075506/Saugatuck-Douglas-investigating-consolidation-facts

Left outside in the cold for about an hour were the media and audience members.

Former Mayor Renee Waddell, used to being on the other, warmer side of the closed session, spoke about her opposition to consolidation to some reporters while Jim Storey, spokesman for the Consolidated Government Committee, Steve Hutchins and Frank Lamb, both committee members, spoke with other reporters, including a TV crew (See story http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/185853/14/Local-consolidation-discussed-in-Douglas)

Then, from the dark of the street, the city's first mayor Matt Balmer walked up and joined the discussion. He was on his way to speak at the meeting.

Both former mayors who both oppose consolidation and the consolidation supporters talked for the rest of the time before the doors of city hall opened again.

Inside, back on the record and warm again, the discussion continued:

Balmer praised the council for getting involved in the consolidation process and seeking independent information.

Lamb also said there needs to be more information out in the public, especially about the consolidation process. Check out the state act itself at http://www.legislature.mi.gov/%28S%284melpcmakzurix55j5xp5xul%29%29/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=mcl-act-191-of-1968&queryid=328513&highlight=

Halloween parade praise

The start of the Douglas Halloween Parade for Adults on Oct. 29.

Organizers of the Douglas Halloween Parade for Adults confirmed what the thousands of participants already knew — the Saturday, Oct. 29, parade was a success.

"I spoke with many of the merchants over the weekend and their perspective was that the steps the city took to control the Halloween parade were a huge success," Bill Schumacher of the downtown development authority wrote to the Douglas City Council Oct. 31. "I didn't hear of any problems."

One of the volunteers at the parade.

Last year's parade overwhelmed the downtown with more than 2,500. There were only two police officers at the event. Many participants in 2010 carried open containers of alcohol and climbed atop garbage cans and light poles to see the parade. No one was hurt, but the potential for trouble frightened the city council.

City Manager Bill LeFevere, who was new in town last year, summed up the 2010 parade: "It scared the crap out of me," he said Monday night. This year, he said, was much better organized.

Organizers added more than a city block to the parade route and started marchers at Beery Field park instead of on the street itself to better manage the swelling sea of spectators. Barriers borrowed from the Holland Department of Public Safety lined the edges of the route, keeping the more than 4,000 spectators from clogging the way.

This year, five uniformed police officers monitored the crowd and 16 orange-vested volunteers made sure the marchers flowed smoothly and nothing got out of control.

"I do think our volunteers were instrumental in the success of this year's parade," Schumacher wrote.

Organizer Ginger Wilkinson thanked the city of helping with the event.

"I think this was the best parade of all and you all played a big part in its success," she wrote to the city manager and staff.

Here's a link to The Sentinel photo gallery of the parade: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/photo/x1321421367/Douglas-Halloween-Parade-for-Adults?page=0

The Morning Grind mix

From left: Mike Johnson, Tiffany Coffins, Tom Rody and David Swan on The Morning Grind Saturday.

Audience members talk during The Morning Grind.

After two years on the air, Mike and Dave’s Morning Grind on WYVN-FM 92.7 is now The Morning Grind — still with Mike Johnson, still broadcasting 7 to 9:30 a.m. Saturdays from The Annex coffee shop on Water Street in Saugatuck, still focusing on Saugatuck-area issues. Dave Mueller, though, recently left the show for a new job.

“Dave could come back,” said Johnson, who hasn’t’ settled on another on-air partner yet. Tom Rody, morning DJ on WYVN, has been sitting in. So has the Rev. Rob Brink, a.k.a The Padre, and Hope College intern Tiffany Coffins.

The show started Sept. 19, 2009, and mixes comedy, a free-flowing format that can jump from community events and sports to local politics. And there are the guests who are ushered in with the ring of the door bell and take a seat around the piano bar with the Kalamazoo River in the background.

Last week, guests were Alexander Fink of Simpatico Coffee Company; Jeff Wilcox, a local Vietnam veteran who spoke about Veterans Day; and David Swan, president of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance who talked about the recent court decision on 320 acres of duneland in Saugatuck Township.

In the background, a cast of regulars share stories and talk about what’s going on in the community while the barista mixes lattes, mochas and a constant flow of coffee for Johnson.