At least two people were hurt when these two cars collided at Main and Muskegon in Cedar Springs. Post photo by J. Reed.

At least two people were injured in a crash shortly after 4:00 p.m. Friday afternoon in Cedar Springs.

According to Cedar Springs Police Sgt. Ed Good, a van traveling eastbound on Muskegon St. (17 Mile) turned north (left) on Main on a red light and collided with another vehicle. Both drivers were transported to the hospital. The severity of the injuries is not yet known. There was also a passenger in the eastbound vehicle but no info was available yet on that person’s condition.

Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue and Rockford Ambulance assisted at the scene.

Record rainfall in West Michigan caused mass flooding in the area last week, including the City of Cedar Springs.
Cedar Creek overflowed its banks Thursday morning, April 18. According to DPW Director Tom Stressman, they closed Main St. between Oak and Pine St. about 7 a.m. Water flowed across the intersection at Main and Pine as well. Fifth Street between Pine and Cherry was also closed, as was access to the White Pine Trail. The roads were reopened later in the evening after the water receded.
Stressman said that he has been here 24 years, and that was the first time he’s seen it flood. He said others told him the last time was 1987. (However, Grand Rapids had almost 12 inches of rain in 1986, so it could have been that year.)
Doug Durst said he remembers that. “We lived on Third Street across from the football field in 1987 when the flood came. I remember watching as 4 cord of my wood floated across 17 Mile. I also remember our neighbor, George Waite coming over in a canoe to check on us!”
The Cedar Springs Story also tells of a flood, in 1905 or 1906 that washed out the wooden bridge across Main Street, and the cement sidewalks. It was reportedly two to three feet deep, and people used rowboats to get up and down Main Street.
It wasn’t only the city that saw flooding last week. Area townships did, too. Ron Parker, of Courtland Township, sent us a photo of a portion of 15 Mile near Stout that crumbled where a culvert runs underneath. He said that normally you would see fields on either side of the road with just a small pool of water on the south side and a small trickle of water on the north side of the road. But that was not the case Friday—it was more like a fast flowing creek. He said that a portion of the road actually crumbled while he was standing there. This was the second time in the last few years that this has happened. The road remains closed.
Meanwhile, Kent County declared a state of Emergency. There was widespread flash flooding, and the Grand River flooded many areas in Grand Rapids, even causing evacuation of buildings and the closing of bridges. The Grand River in Grand Rapids crested at 21.85 feet, a new record.
If you have any memories of past floods and when they were, send them to us at news@cedarspringspost.com.

There appears to be a foot-bridge on the lam in Courtland Township.
Gerry Cavanaugh is looking for a lost foot-bridge, between 15 and 20 feet in length, and three feet wide, built with two poles and deck boards. She said it was last seen spanning the Beaver Dam Creek in her front yard on Berrigan Avenue, in Courtland Township. Due to the flooding in the area from recent downpours, the bridge decided to set sail downstream, or may have been coerced against its will. The creek runs from 16 Mile to Wabasis Lake. If anyone sees the missing bridge, please call Gerry at 616-799-1828. She said there also might be three rocks along for the ride. Keep your eyes peeled!

Is the Post part of your family? It’s part of Julie Wheeler’s family—she took it all the way to Sacramento, California to the Sacramento Zoo!
There are four generations in the photo: Julie Wheeler, her mom Ellen, daughter Amy and granddaughter Chloe. What a nice looking family! And they all have different editions of the Post! “We’ve been saving them,” Julie told us.
Thanks, Julie!
If you   are going on vacation, take a Post (or more) with you and get a photo! Send it to news@cedarspringspost.com, and we will print them as space allows.

It’s time again for the annual Cedar Creek Cleanup/Earth Day Celebration in Cedar Springs.
The 6th Annual Celebration will be held on Saturday, April 27, from10:00 a.m. until noon. The city will give away commemorative t-shirts to the first 50 participants who register for this event. The participants will meet at the Fire Barn at W. Maple and Main on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. to receive their clean-up assignments and shirts. Pizza will be available at noon for all participants.
An e-waste collection trailer, staffed by Cedar Springs Rotarians, will also be available behind City Hall, for anyone wishing to dispose of electronic waste.
Registration forms are available on the City of Cedar Springs website at http://www.cityofcedarsprings.org. Pre-registration is not mandatory to participate in the cleanup. However, it will allow them to assign clean-up locations ahead of time as well as purchase trash bags and pizza.
There is no city/police auction this year. The drug take-back bin will also not be open Saturday.
Please call 696-1330 with any questions.

Interested kids, fisherman, businesses, boy scouts, landowners, nature lovers and others funneled into the Algoma Township Hall for Trout Unlimited’s Spring Stream Insect Monitoring event on Saturday, April 6, 2013.
They had a record 38 dedicated volunteers sample insects at stream sites on the Rogue River, Cedar Creek, Rum Creek, Stegman Creek, and a newly added site on Blakeslee Creek. This event is held twice a year, in the spring and fall, and is part of the Rogue River Home Rivers Initiative project, a multi-year watershed-based restoration project funded through the Wege, Frey, and Wolverine Worldwide foundations, the local Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited, and Robert DeVilbiss.
The information that these volunteers have collected helps Trout Unlimited determine how our local streams are doing. Stream insects are a good measure of water quality.  Unlike fish, stream insects cannot move around much so they are less able to escape the effects of sediment and other pollutants that diminish water quality. In order to continue these sampling efforts and add additional sampling sites, we need more dedicated volunteers for these events. We will be holding another event in the fall of 2013. If you would like to be involved in this event or any other Rogue River Home Rivers Initiative programs please contact Nichol De Mol at 231-557-6362 or ndemol@tu.org.

The Michigan State Police (MSP) will partner with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other local law enforcement agencies for National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day this Saturday, to provide a venue for citizens to dispose of unwanted and unused prescription drugs.
MSP’s 29 posts will participate in the one-day ‘Take-Back’ effort between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27, by serving as drop-off points for citizens to discard expired, unused and unwanted medications for destruction. No liquids, inhalers, patches or syringes will be accepted. The service is free andanonymous with no questions asked.
“It is important for Michigan residents to have a safe and confidential way to dispose of unwanted or unused prescription drugs,” said Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP. “Take-Back Day provides a convenient way for them to do so and helps prevent potential hazards of the misuse of these medications.”
National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, enough prescription painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for one month. Often, some of these medicines languish in the home and are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high—more Americans currently abuse prescription drugs than the number of those using cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin and inhalants combined, according to the 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies show that the majority of teens who abuse prescription drugs obtain them from family and friends for free, including from the home medicine cabinet.
The Cedar Springs Police Department has their drug take-back bin open at City Hall weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 9-5 p.m. It will not be open Saturday. According to Police Chief Roger Parent, they have done it in conjunction with the Take-back day in the past (which usually falls on the Cedar Creek cleanup day), but they were usually holding a city auction at the same time. This year there is no auction, and no need to have a reserve officer on duty, so won’t be opening up City Hall.

Renee Hunt

Galvin Vilchez

Two Rockford teens reported as missing last week and then arrested in a home invasion in Howard City had additional charges levied against them this week.
Galvin Vilchez and Renee Hunt, both 17, skipped their fourth and fifth hour classes at Rockford High School on Monday, April 15 and disappeared. The teens were arrested Wednesday, April 17, after Howard City Police were called to investigate a damaged door and suspicious situation in the 11000 block of N. Reed Rd., in Reynolds Township.
The homeowner had arrived home and noticed things in the home were out of place. 

Officer Allen, of the Howard City Police, was investigating the scene when the two suspects fled out of the back of the residence. Officer Allen apprehended both suspects, but they both resisted arrest and attempted to flee across a farm field before being apprehended again.
The teens were found to have broken into the home and stolen food, jewelry, and damaged the residence, spending several hours there. While in the home they appeared to have cooked and ate food and used the shower and went from room to room ransacking the house. The suspects also had in their possession property from another home invasion, as well as alcohol and drugs.
The teens were charged with multiple crimes, including home invasion last week. This week police found that the other home invasion also took place in Howard City, and they were charged with another count of home invasion second degree, and larceny.

Bishop-elect David John Walkowiak

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop-elect David John Walkowiak (wall-COE-vee-ack), a priest of the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio, to be the 12th bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, which serves 82 parishes and 182,000 Catholics in West Michigan.
The Vatican made the announcement last week. Bishop-elect Walkowiak succeeds Most Reverend Walter A. Hurley, who submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 at age 75, as required by canon law. Bishop Hurley will retire June 18th, the same day Bishop-elect Walkowiak will be ordained to the episcopacy and installed as bishop of Grand Rapids during a Mass at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew.
“I am grateful to Pope Francis for entrusting me with this apostolic office as bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids,” said Bishop-elect Walkowiak. “In accepting this appointment, I renew my trust in the Lord, who asks me to set out again on a new mission. I thank God for providing me with the opportunity to serve this local church, which I pray will be a blessing to its people.”
Bishop-elect Walkowiak grew up in Westlake, Ohio and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Cleveland in 1979. His first assignment was to Saint Mary Parish in Lorain, Ohio. After receiving a doctorate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America, he was assigned to the faculty of Saint Mary Seminary in Wickliffe, Ohio  and to the Chancery staff of the Diocese of Cleveland, positions he held from 1986 to 2006. He also served as an associate judge of the appellate tribunal for the Province of Cincinnati. His father John and sisters Sue, Jan, and Carol all reside in Cleveland. He is currently pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Chagrin Falls and will celebrate his 60th birthday the same day he is ordained to the episcopacy.
“Catholics in the Diocese of Grand Rapids are fortunate to have someone with Bishop-elect Walkowiak’s experience to lead the faithful of West Michigan into the future,” Bishop Hurley said of the appointment. “Bishop-elect Walkowiak’s education, service to the Church, and pastoral ministry to the people of the Diocese of Cleveland will be of great benefit in this new role to which he has been called.”
Bishop Hurley will retire after almost eight years as bishop of Grand Rapids. He was appointed bishop of Grand Rapids by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on June 21, 2005 and installed on August 4, 2005.
“I will continue to make Grand Rapids my home and assist our new bishop as needed and help in our parishes and the diocese as called upon to serve,” said Bishop Hurley.
Bishop Hurley will serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese, functioning as bishop, until the June 18th ordination and installation.
The Mass of ordination and installation will be a ticketed event. Details, including media access, will be released in the weeks ahead.

The Rev. David Meyers
Holy Spirit Episcopal Church
1200 Post Dr., Belmont, MI  49306

Two weeks ago, churches who follow the Common Lectionary read John 21. The Gospel for the third week of Easter told of Jesus waiting with breakfast on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. As the fishing apostles approached in the early morning, Jesus fed them breakfast and then asked Peter three times if he loved him. Peter emphatically replied in the affirmative and Jesus directed him to feed his sheep.
I had the opportunity to be in that same place two years ago. Over time, the water level of the Sea of Galilee has dropped. Now the shore is much wider than it was in the first century. The receding water revealed a series of large rocks that were used as anchor stones for the fishing boats at the time of Jesus.  Each of these stones is carved in the shape of a heart. I do not know the original intention of the shape, but it seems appropriate to have heart shaped stones in that place where Jesus spoke of loving him and feeding his sheep.
Love and action have always been inseparable partners. A person cannot love God without a loving outlook toward neighbors. Therefore, in all Judeo-Christian (as well as other religious) traditions, looking out for others is mandatory. In fact, Jesus clearly stated (Matt. 21) that when the poor are fed, the naked clothed, and the sick are tended, etc. it is a deed received by God. This is how we feed his sheep.
It is good to live in a community in which that mandate is taken seriously! In Kent County, there are dozens of food pantries. Access of West Michigan (a supervising agency) reported that over 6,500 families, representing almost 20,000 individuals, are fed in Kent County through the loving donations of industries, churches, schools, and service organizations each month! In our own church (Holy Spirit Episcopal Church), together with our wonderful partners at Assumption Roman Catholic Church, Loaves and Fishes Pantry of Belmont distributed over 24,000 food items last year. I know many of you have similar stories of generosity.
When people are hungry, or sick, or cold, life becomes pretty basic. The response is also pretty basic. Without question we are to support those in our communities with special needs. Let us all remember to keep giving to local food pantries, volunteer at a center or shelter, and be aware of the people around us. Simply put, that is what Jesus told us to do when he gave the directive to feed the sheep. In the first century, the Rabbi Hillel reiterated the simplicity of God’s command, “Do unto your neighbor as you would have them do unto you; all the rest is commentary.”

Ken and Judy Wiersma of Cedar Springs will be married 50 years on April 26, 2013. Ken and Judy both are retired from Sparta Area Schools and Ken also retired from ATL/ANR Freight where he worked over 20 years. Their children are Tracey and Joe Blackmer, Nancy Watson, Keena Briggs and Jeremy Ball, all living in Cedar Springs. They have 9 grandchildren, Melissa (Blackmer) and Charlie Dubridge; Lindsay and Zack Blackmer; Madison, Sydner and Quinn Watson; and Paden and Parker Briggs and Luke Ball. All helped celebrate at a family dinner. The secret of their success is lots of patience!

Mrs. Eldona “Donie” (nee Weller) Allington, age 87, of Cedar Springs, went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Donie graduated from Creston High School in 1943. As a Charter Member of Pioneer Christian Reformed Church, she taught Sunday school, Women’s Bible Study, and volunteered to do whatever had to be done. Donie worked for many years as a design/layout artist for the Cedar Springs Clipper, the Rockford Register, and the Howard City Record Eagle. She was a life-long quilter, and for many years a 4-H Leader. She is survived by her husband of 68 years of marriage, George; their children, Dr. Richard and Dr. Ann Allington, Allen Allington, Len and Kimberly Allington, David and Paula Allington, Mary and Kim Coonen, and Dale and Marcey Allington; 19 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews; brothers-in-law, Eugene “Spud” Ensing and Orin “Barney” (Marcie) Townes. She was preceded in death by her parents, Duard and Sylva Weller, her granddaughters, Sarah Coonen and Montego Elaine Allington, and three sisters Thelma Kunst, Alma Ensing, and Arlyn Townes. The Service for Mrs. Allington will be Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. at Pioneer Christian Reformed Church, 3110 17 Mile Rd NE, Cedar Springs, Michigan with Pastor Jim Alblas officiating. Interment in Solon Township Cemetery. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider the World Renew of the Christian Reformed Church. Relatives and friends may meet with the family at the Pederson Funeral Home on Thursday evening from 6 to 8 pm and Friday from 2-4 and 6-8 pm at the funeral home and prior to the service at church on Saturday. Arrangements by Pederson Funeral Home, Rockford www.pedersonfuneralhome.com