By Judy Reed

Family, friends, local officials, and community members all paid tribute to Brown Saturday, when a monument from the “Fallen Heroes Memorial Foundation” was dedicated in his honor at Veterans Park in Cedar Springs.

“It is awesome to witness the community come together to support something that means so much to so many,” said Mayor Charlie Watson, in his introductory speech.

Timmy, as he was affectionately called, is the son of Tim and Cindy Brown of Nelson Township, and brother to Stevie. He grew up in Cedar Springs and played soccer for several years. He graduated from Cedar Springs High School in 2002, and in 2003, joined the Michigan National Guard.

In January 2005, he was activated in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was deployed overseas as a member of Company “B,” 125th Infantry. Timmy was nicknamed “UPS” by his comrades, like the company’s slogan, “What can Brown do for you?”

One of his friends spoke about that at the ceremony and said Timmy lived up to that slogan. “He would go on every mission,” he said.

His friend noted that Timmy mentioned his family often. “He mostly talked about his mom and dad and sister. He loved you guys a lot,” he said.

On November 4, 2005, while engaged in combat operations in Habbaniyah, Iraq, Timmy was killed when a land mine detonated near his humvee.

The news was more than the Brown family could bear. But the family, led by Timmy’s uncle Dan Brown, turned their grief into something good: the creation of Veteran’s Park, in honor of all Veterans.

“Dan Brown took his family’s personal loss and turned it into something great,” remarked Watson.

The land for the park was donated by the city, and the all the work and landscaping was done through donations. The monument for Timmy was paid for separately through donations and fundraising.

John (Skip) Bushart, president of the Fallen Heroes Memorial Foundation, explained that a small amount of soil was taken from the sites all of the other fallen heroes monuments and mixed in with the concrete under Timmy’s monument. A small bit of soil was also taken from his, and it will be mixed with the soil and concrete of future monuments.

And we won’t forget.

Last Friday night the cross country teams from both Cedar Springs High School and Howard City Tri County helped kickoff the high school football game between the two entities in an unusual way. The two teams ran the football 13 miles down the White Pine Trail from Howard City to Cedar Springs, and then got a police escort from there to the back entrance of the stadium. They handed off the football to the captains just prior to the start of the game.

An 85-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of a motorcycle accident Monday afternoon.

This was the scene on Cedar Springs Avenue earlier this week after a motorcycle ran off the road.

According to the Kent County Sheriffs Department, a man in a red pickup was traveling southbound on Cedar Springs Avenue, near Egner, in Nelson Township, about 1:20 p.m. Monday, when he saw a motorcycle, coming from the other direction, suddenly veer off the east side of the road, strike a mailbox and land in a ditch. The motorcycle then rolled over on top of the driver.

Both Sand Lake and Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, and administered CPR, along with Rockford Ambulance personnel until shortly after 2 p.m., when the driver,    Joseph Patin, of Nelson Township, was pronounced dead.

Police said that it does not appear that alcohol, speed, road, or weather conditions was a factor in the crash. The accident is sill under investigation.

Visitation for the family of Mr. Patin will take place today (Thursday) at Bliss-Witters and Pike Funeral Home, and the Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday at 11 a.m. at Mary Queen of Apostles Church in Sand Lake. Please see the obituary on page 5 for complete details.

A Grand Rapids man died in this crash west of Rockford last week.

Rockford Police officers spent hours processing the scene of a Wednesday, August 25 crash that cost Stephen Michael Ostaszewski, 58, of Grand Rapids his life. The collision of a gray Ford F150 into a tree in a residential yard on Summit Avenue west of Rockford at about 1:30 p.m. was so loud that neighbors heard the crash from over a block away. The southbound vehicle first struck a crossing-guard sign before colliding with the tree. It did not appear that Ostaszewski applied his brakes at any time prior to the crash. Rockford’s Sgt. Mike Miller said authorities did not know if a medical condition might have led to the crash.

Rockford Ambulance transported the victim, and officers measured and photographed the scene until about 4 p.m. when River Valley Auto moved the truck. According to the family who live at the house, their teen boys heard the crash and called 9-1-1. The family asked that their address not be published.

Three people were injured Wednesday afternoon in Oakfield Township, when an SUV ran off the road and rolled several times.

Several people were injured in a rollover crash in Oakfield Township Wednesday. Post photo by L. Allen.

According to witnesses, a Ford Explorer was on Wabasis Avenue north of 15 Mile about 1:35 p.m. Wednesday when a Dodge Durango pulled up to the stop sign at the intersection of MacClain and edged up to see. The driver of the Ford Explorer swerved, apparently thinking that the Durango was going to pull out, and lost control and rolled the vehicle.

The rear seat passenger was ejected, and the two front seat passengers were pinned in. All three were sent to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard to get her families some food, but when she got there, the cupboards were bare, and she didn’t know what to do.

North Kent Service, who helps area families in need of food, knows exactly how Mother Hubbard must have felt. And they are asking area residents for food and cash donations to help fill the cupboards back up.

Sandy Waite, Executive Director at the center, said that request to use the food pantry has dramatically increased over the summer months. “Food request are up 25 percent, and we have given away 336,155 pounds of food to area families,” said Waite. She said that through July, they provided 12,161 families with emergency food.  “With families having children home for the summer months the request for food has increased and our shelves are getting depleted with all the extra food demands.  These families have needed us more than ever this summer.”

With cash donations to the center, they can purchase produce at 6 cents per pound, dairy at 8 cents per pound, and regular groceries at 16 cents per pound.

Christians from area churches came together last Sunday, August 29, at Morley Park in Cedar Springs, to do something that’s often difficult for churches to do—they put their denominational differences aside and worshiped as one body.

“The feedback I’ve received from people has been extremely positive,” said Pastor Craig Carter, Pastor at North Kent Community Church, and chair of the Cedar Springs Ministerial Association.  “There were many new people attending, and they told me how neat and exciting it is to see what the Lord is doing in our community.”

Nine area churches participated, and about 500 people attended. All the pastors gathered on the stage and prayed for area churches, families, state, federal and local officials, schools, youth, businesses, ministries, our military and more.

A worship band comprised of members of area worship teams led the praise portion of the service and Pastor Barry Briggs of The Springs gave the morning message based on Jesus’ last orders to his disciples. He noted how much good the church of Jesus Christ could accomplish with everyone working together, and challenged each person there to invite someone to church this fall. “Wouldn’t it be great if our churches were filled?” he asked. “We have an assignment called the Great Commission. We are charged with making disciples despite our theological bent,” he said.

The message appeared to resonate with those in attendance, as many stood to show they had someone they would invite to church this fall.

After the service, there was lunch, games for kids, and a praise and worship concert.

Try out free classes September 9

If you’ve been wanting to try out some new ways to get fit but aren’t sure what to do, you can try out some free classes with Cedar Springs Parks and Rec on Thursday, September 9.

The program demo, which will be held at Cedar Springs Middle School at 6:30 p.m., will include cardio kickboxing, body boot camp (a mix of cardio kickboxing with sculpting and abdominal exercises), and Zumba, the aerobic fitness dance craze.

The first fall session for Parks and Rec classes starts September 13. Other classes they will hold include Tae Kwon Do for children and adults, youth tumbling, and Hawks Hoops, a rocket basketball program for girls in 3rd through 6th grade.

They will also offer Fantastic Fridays again this year, an enrichment program for grades 1 through 6 on the Fridays that school releases early. Those classes will be held at Red Hawk Elementary on Oct. 1, 15, 29, Nov. 12, Dec. 10, Jan. 21, Feb. 4, 25, March 18, April 22 and May 6. They will run from after school until 5:30 p.m. Preregistration is mandatory, and the deadline is the Wednesday before each early release date. The cost is $55 for all 11 Fridays, or $8 per Friday. Price reductions are available to those on free or reduced lunch by applying with the Parks and Rec office, located in the Hilltop District Office.

New this year for seniors will be the senior/retiree lunches hosted every third Thursday of the month at 11:30 a.m. by Parks and Rec and area Townships. Each month will have a guest speaker, entertainment, and/or craft project. Space is limited to 40, and reservations are required. The cost is $9 per person, or $15 per couple. The lunches will be held on September 16 at Algoma Twp. Hall, October 21 at Courtland Twp. Hall, November 18 at Nelson Twp. Hall, and December 16 Solon Twp. at Solon Center Wesleyan.

For information on any of these or other programs, call 696-7320, visit www.csaparksandrec.com, or email director@csaparksandrec.com.

An 85-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of a motorcyle accident Monday afternoon.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, a man in a red pickup was traveling southbound on Cedar Springs Avenue, near Egner, in Nelson Township, about 1:20 p.m. Monday, when he saw a motorcycle, coming from the other direction, suddenly veer off the east side of the road, strike a mailbox and land in a ditch. The motorcycle then rolled over on top of the driver.

Both Sand Lake and Cedar Springs Fire and Rescue responded to the scene, and administered CPR, along with Rockford Ambulance personnel until shortly after 2 p.m., when the driver, Joseph Patin, of Nelson Township, was pronounced dead.

Police said that it does not appear  that alcohol, speed, road, or weather conditions was a factor. The accident is sill under investigation.

The medical examiner was called in to determine the cause of death.

This was the scene at a motorcycle accident Monday afternoon on Cedar Springs Avenue near Egner.

A memorial will be dedicated Saturday at 1 p.m. in the new Veterans Park to Spc. Timothy Brown, 23, who was killed on Nov. 4, 2005, when a land mine detonated near his humvee during combat operations in Iraq. He is the son of Tim and Cindy Brown, of Nelson Township.

Dan Brown, Tim’s uncle, headed up the initiative to create Veterans Park on city property at the corner of Oak and Main Street as a tribute to all veterans. It was funded with donations and volunteer labor, and includes a sidewalk, trees, benches and three spots for monuments representing different wars. It was dedicated on Memorial Day. Tim Brown’s monument, which was paid for separately, will be the first monument to be placed there. Tim’s monument was paid for through fundraising and the recent golf outing held in his honor.

Donations are still being taken help pay for some improvements to the park, such as a handicapped parking spot. If you’d like to donate, please call City Hall at 696-1330.