This & That

Around the county and a bit beyond

The Honorable H. Kevin Drake is stepping down from the bench at the end of the month. He has presided over the District Court for just shy of 3 decades hearing countless cases over that period of time.
Judge Drake is a class act who has served his community well. May his retirement prove to be all the adventure and enjoyment he deserves.

The Grant School Board has its share of interesting discussions. Check  out their March 11th meeting on youtube.
Board Member Richard Vance during a discussion stated “Kids are like little sheep. We have to keep them calm. Keep things still.”
After fellow board member Rob Schuitema expressed concern at the number of times Vance had  referred to the students as farm animals, Vance  later took the floor to say ”Rob, I think you have expressed poor judgment in your whole life. I never had a problem with boys and girls, males and females. No matter what, you cannot take a bull and put it in a corral with heifers and think that bull is going to act like a heifer. You know what's going to happen. And it's the same way in human life. I’m talking about basic biology that is taught in school. We have male and female. We teach that. Do we not?”
The above monologue can be found  around the 2:14 mark in the video.

Two Perspectives: 
Recently Bryan Kolk, Chair of the Newaygo County Board of Commissioners, put out a ‘State of the County’ message that spoke to our slice of the Mitten not just doing well but actually thriving. He cited economic development efforts that are bringing jobs to the area and housing initiatives for the people who work those jobs along with many other high points. Here’s the article.
https://www.nearnorthnow.com/the-pulse/state-of-newaygo-county
On the other end of the spectrum we had the apocalyptic scene drawn by our State Rep. Joseph Fox  in his letter to his backers referencing the battle raging through the 101st District (including Newaygo County)
“We are in perilous times. The battle between good and evil, between common sense and nonsense is intensifying. We do not have to stretch our thinking to notice that was once conspiracy theory has now become reality,... “
After a reference to Orwell’s novel '1984' he goes on to invite folks to a fundraising event and if they can’t make it to maybe send a donation.

There seems to be  a serious battle going on in our neighbor to the north. Gotion Inc. has filed suit against Green Township for, among other things, breach of the development agreement between Gotion Inc and the former township board of trustees who approved the agreement this past August. The agreement has to do with the project that is bringing an electric vehicle battery component facility to the area. The Big Rapids Pioneer has been covering the many aspects of the ongoing, many layered and very public issues surrounding this ongoing project and we would encourage all with an interest to follow their reporting on what has become a hotbed item resonating  well beyond the Mecosta County line. 

And that’s a wrap. Spring Is here via the vernal equinox’s arrival on Tuesday and we are, as of this writing, just 8 days from Opening Day for the Tigers.
And I got a good feeling about this team. Cautiously optimistic, but optimistic just the same.

-Ken De Laat

“She turned to the sunlight
    And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
    "Winter is dead.”
A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

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