Rep. Mark Huizenga donated a new Michigan state flag to the Cedar Springs Public Library on Wednesday, December 23. 

“Ours was tattered,” explained Library Director Donna Clark. 

It will replace the one donated by Rep. Huizenga in February of this year. 

The photo shows Clark, City Councilor Rose Powell, her grandson Turner Powell, who attends Creative Technologies, and Rep. Huizenga.

By Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs Public Library, at the corner of Main and W. Maple Streets, is officially back open to the public.

According to Librarian Donna Clark, they are open regular hours, but with a limited capacity. You do not need to make an appointment, but there is a limit of 22 people at a time. Masks are required.

There is a 30-minute limit on computers, a one-hour limit in study rooms, and a short visit time to browse books/dvds. The playroom is closed.

For those who wish to continue using curbside pickup, that is still an option. They will deliver your order right to your car.

Their programs will remain online for now. “We are having a great response to our online programs and Facebook live mini programs,” said Clark.

Readers won’t want to miss the end of summer celebration program that will air online Wednesday, July 29, featuring a prize giveaway and puppeteer event beginning at 1 p.m. See the details on the library ad below.

Brenda Krueger, her son Nathaniel and daughter Rebekah, won the Cedar Springs Library’s Grand Registration Launch Prize! The Library was able to offer a giant popcorn basket, thanks to Mission Point, (formerly Metron of CS) for one lucky winner, who signed up June 8 and June 16 for the summer reading program online.  

“Brenda’s name was drawn and she and her children came for the prize a few hours later,” said Librarian Donna Clark.  

Nathaniel also had earned enough points by reading and attending special online programs that he was able to claim his packet of local coupons for finishing (5) levels for his age group. 

“They were very excited and mentioned that they plan to take a trip and will enjoy sharing the popcorn and other goodies in the basket,” said Clark.

 Sign up now for the Summer Reading Program at https//cedarsprings.readsquared.com.  Get points for reading and for linking into their many programs. Spend your points on great local prizes in our Reading Raffle—prizes like a hoverboard, a one night stay for a family of four at the Cedar Springs Holiday Inn Express, a subscription to Netflix and a Firestick, $25 gift cards to local restaurants, and more!  Fulfill this year’s theme, “Imagine your story!”

Beginning next week, the CS Library will be open by appointment, and the following week at 25 percent capacity—22 people at a time.

Kids had the opportunity to hone their skills at decorating at the Cedar Springs Library last week.

Just like the popular Netflix show Nailed it, the kids were challenged to recreate Pinterest worthy treats. They had three timed baking challenges, the first an emoji cake pop; second a melted snowman cookie; and for the final challenge they had to recreate a minions cake. 

The winner of the final and largest round won the coveted golden spoon trophy and nailed the challenge. All of the kids worked hard and all deserved to win but Sierra Fifield nailed the minion cake and went home with the golden spoon. 

 “The event was enjoyed by all and the kids raved about it,” said Library Director Donna Clark.

(L to R) Carolyn Davis of Rotary, Cedar Springs City Manager Mike Womack, Library Director Donna Clark, Senator Peter MacGregor, and Louise King and Tony Owens, both of the Cedar Springs Library Board. Post photo by J. Reed.

By Judy Reed

In early July, Senator Peter MacGregor donated a State of Michigan flag to the Cedar Springs Library. On Wednesday, August 29, he donated another flag to the library—this one with the Cedar Springs Public Library’s logo on it.

When he was here previously, he had asked what the third flag pole was for, and Library Director Donna Clark explained that they’d like to get a flag with their logo on it. MacGregor said he could do it. “We had to complete the set,” he said.

“I was glad to do it,” he added. “If you need anything, all you need to do is ask,” he told Clark.

The flag was personally donated by MacGregor and his team. No taxpayer dollars went into the purchase.

Bounce houses and water slides were a big hit at the summer reading celebration last week. Post photo by J. Reed.

Kids loved the sno cones supplied by the Green family at the summer reading celebration. Photo by Donna Clark.

By Judy Reed

Last Thursday, August 2, was a great day for the celebration that ended this year’s summer reading program for the Cedar Springs Library.

Over 1300 people turned out for the event, which was held in Morley Park, from 1-3 p.m. Included in the celebration was a lot of fun stuff for kids to do—bounce houses, water slides, carnival games by the Green family, a petting zoo with Animal Junction and Double K Farms, the Kent County Sheriff mounted police, face painting, and more. 

There were long lines for sno cones supplied by the Green family, and Mayor Gerald Hall and his wife, Amy, popped 12 pounds of popcorn! Lots of great prizes were also given away at the event.

Librarian Donna Clark and her staff sure know how to put on a great party. Hope to see you all there next year!

By Lois Allen

History is unfolding every week. Here in Cedar Springs news is not covered by CNN or other national news agencies, but by a local journalist on the beat.

Thanks to Nancy Nielsen and Donna Clark along with hubby Daniel Clark, Cedar Springs history is much closer to lasting forever in print. The hard cover editions of The Post for 2016 and 2017— all 104 issues, will be bound and donated to the Cedar Springs Historical Society. These local residents will go down in history as contributors to our local heritage, it’s people and it’s growth.

A hundred years from now, our children’s, children’s, children will be able to read all about it. While electronic archives are subject to glitches and even crashes, we can be assured that the hard cover, hard copies will stand the test of time… and technology. These books are a permanent “back-up” that will never go out of style.

Currently, we are just a few dollars shy of making it happen. Our total to date is at $325. The cost of the books for the two years to be bound into hard cover is $500. Only $175 left to raise.

Take a place in history of Cedar Springs, i.e. in The Cedar Springs Post. You may send any amount to help us reach our financial goal.

By Judy Reed

The 2018 Summer Reading program at the Cedar Springs Library kicked off a weeklong summer celebration of events this past Monday.

This year’s reading program theme is “Libraries Rock” and it certainly did. According to Library Director Donna Clark, 1,550 people came through the library Monday, with 823 signups on that day alone. With 367 pre-signups, that means 1,190 people have signed up to be part of the reading program so far. 

“We had incredible crowds,” remarked Clark.

The Red Flannel Court was on hand to pass out “Happy Birthday” stickers in celebration of the Library’s first birthday, with 450 given out. Kelly’s Restaurant bought 900 ice cream cups to last from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. but they ran out at 3 p.m. Mayor Gerald Hall and his wife, Amy, passed out popcorn in the morning and again in the late afternoon.

Kids also could get a balloon hat; pet animals from Double K Farms; enjoy a magic show; see the Cedar Springs Fire trucks; play carnival games; take part in a rubber duck race; and more.

It’s not too late to sign up for the summer reading program. Just head over to the library, at the corner of Main and W. Maple Streets, or call 616-1910 for more info.

For more info on the Summer Celebration week, visit the “Cedar Springs Community Summer Celebrations” page on Facebook, or check out last week’s story and ad in our e-edition at http://www.cedarspringspost.com/pdf/ThePOST2318.pdf.

The Cedar Springs Library one year after opening. Post photo by J. Reed.

By Judy Reed

The patio off of the library community room. Post photo by J. Reed.

The new Cedar Springs Public Library just celebrated one year of being in their new building, and what a year it’s been!

The library, which is designed to resemble a train depot, is a star attraction in the heart of Cedar Springs. The new building is beautiful, spacious, modern, and comfortable. And it sits right in the forefront of a parcel containing lush green grass, a flowing well, a decorative sculpture, a foot bridge, and Cedar Creek rushing by.

The new 10,016 square-foot building was built with donated funds, products, and services from the community and local businesses. The additional 8,000 square feet has allowed for much greater areas for reading, special events, and small group gatherings.

Last summer the library was able to hold many of their summer reading programs on site, both indoors and outside, something they had a hard time doing before.

As a matter of fact, the number of people registering for library cards, and those visiting, has doubled, and in some cases tripled. From April 2016 to April 2017, the library issued 337 library cards; from April 2017 to April 2018, they issued 956! During the summer reading program months of June and July, the old library had 5,469 patrons visit in 2016, but had 15,356 in 2017!

The new library includes separate areas for children, teens, and adults; 12 computer stations that are consistently being used by kids after school, as well as teens and adults; four stations for children’s computers; a cozy reading or meeting area with fireplace and chairs; three small group rooms for tutoring or studying, which has also been constantly in use; and a classroom with white board and screen. 

Another draw has been the community room, which holds up to 75 people with the tables and chairs, and 100 without. “This has been bringing in income and is being rented a lot,” noted Library Director Donna Clark. “It’s a really great resource for area families.”

A complete kitchen opens up into the community room. People can walk out of the community room to a patio with a beautiful view of the creek and other amenities of the parcel, which will  also include an amphitheatre in the near future.

Clark said they plan to celebrate their one-year anniversary with a big party on June 11, in conjunction with the big community summer celebration and their summer reading program kickoff from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“The entire Heart of Cedar Springs will be buzzing with fun activities, games, animals (no, not the kids!), the City, the Fire Dept., the Chamber, local organizations—everyone is getting in on celebrating all that is wonderful in Cedar Springs!” said Clark. 

“I want to personally thank all of you for the part you played, and still play, in the success of our new library; and for being forward-thinking to the amphitheater and other projects. The Library is just one example of what we can do as a team. Every day that we can work and serve our community in this new, spacious building is a blessing, and it all happened in our CBDT (Community Building Development Team) meetings with Kurt Mabie’s reminders to look up and say, ‘What’s best for Cedar Springs?’  That was our guiding star…and still is.  On the ground there are things to complain about, but that’s why we look up!

 “I’ve often said that God could have given us a new Library building years ago, but now, after years of the process of working together, we have a community library! Thank you all for helping our community get to this special day! You are all invited to come to the Heart of CS on June 11 to celebrate!” 

The new Cedar Springs Community Library was a dream that finally became reality in 2017. Photo by J. Reed.

By Judy Reed

This is one of the library’s newest visitors, who seems to be enjoying reading and returning books. Courtesy photo.

A lot of things happened in Cedar Springs in 2017, but one that will be remembered and treasured for generations to come was the building and grand opening of the new Cedar Springs Community Library, located in the heart of Cedar Springs, at the corner of Main and W. Maple Streets.

The project, which was many years in the making, became a reality on May 13, with a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony. The library, which is designed to resemble a train depot, is now a main attraction in the heart of Cedar Springs. 

The new 10,016 square-foot building was built with donated funds, products, and services from the community and local businesses. The additional 8,000 square feet (the former library was 2,000 square feet) allows for much greater areas for reading, special events, and small group gatherings.

The new library is beautiful, spacious, modern, and comfortable. It includes separate areas for children, teens, and adults; 12 computer stations; four stations for children’s computers; a cozy reading or meeting area with fireplace and chairs; three small group rooms for tutoring or studying; and a classroom with white board and screen. 

Another draw is the community room, which holds up to 75 people with the tables and chairs, and 100 without. A complete kitchen opens up into the community room. People can walk out of the community room to a patio, which is facing the creek. 

The Community Building Development Team partnered with the City, Solon Township, and the Library board to get the project up and running. Many local residents and businesses made generous donations or provided in-kind services, and frequent fundraisers were held to help raise the funds. In July, the $1,845,190 project was officially paid off.

“We are so excited to be able to announce that our community’s library building is now completely paid for,” said Library Director Donna Clark, in a previous Post article. “With a lot of substantial financial help and support of the Community Building Development Team, the Library Board’s Building Committee and the wonderful members of our community, we have no mortgage, no interest, no debt!”  

Also sitting on the property is a Veteran’s Clock Tower, a bridge across Cedar Creek, a steel dragonfly sculpture, and the historic flowing well. An amphitheatre is slated to be built on the rear of the property in the near future.

If you are interested in helping the library raise funds for books and other equipment, you can purchase a brick for $50 or $100, or simply make a donation. For more information, visit http://cedarspringslibrary.org/news/bricks-and-blocks-for-new-library/ or call the library at 696-1910 for more information.

by Donna Clark and Sue Wolfe

The asphalt being poured on the walking trail at the Library.

Volunteers continue to work hard to complete the projects around the library and surrounding park areas, which includes the flowers around the stainless steel structure and the native grasses in the rain garden on the south. Naturalists Tom Mabie and Perry Hopkins took oversight of these two projects, gathering most of the native grasses and plants from the area around Cedar Creek, and then babying them to be sure they survived.

From the first days of May to the Grand Opening of the new Library, many good folks from the Community Building Development Team (CBDT) and beyond came together to put in the shrubs, trees, stones and lawn around the Library. An underground watering system on timers has been key in aiding in the growth and stability of the healthy plants and lawn. The system was provided by Dan McIntyre and his company, Splash, and then installed at no extra cost to the Library. Several free visits have been made as adjustments or replacements to sprinklers have been needed.

City Councilor Dan Clark has put in a lot of hours tending to the library grounds.

Councilman Dan Clark has spent many evenings and weekends around the Library and walking path in the surrounding park areas off Main and Pine Streets, hand-mowing the lawn,  edging, checking on the sprinklers, making sure the timers are set right, and cleaning around the new asphalt and placing sod to prevent any washouts. Clark is doing the finishing touches that take a lot of time but really pull things together for a neat and crisp appearance. Also spending many hours toward cleaning up the grounds, trimming bushes, and sweeping sidewalks has been donated by Andy Dipiazza.  The public grounds are really beautiful!

Along the new path you can now see the (36) 10”x8” brass plates inset into the retaining wall blocks. Thanks to Don Snow and his team at CS Tool Engineering, Inc., the plates and engraving are finished, and at no cost to the Library. Thanks to Dale Larson, owner of Northwest Kent Mechanical and his team, 36 plates were installed with great care and precision on September 27 and 28. 

An example of one of the many bricks available to purchase.

The 129 bricks that have sold this past year have arrived and will be installed very soon. With the help of our new DPW Director, David Ducat and his team, and any other volunteers needed, the plan is to install them at the entrance of the new Library. According to Duane McIntyre, foreman of the project, we have 410 places for bricks, depending on the sizes purchased. The sizes offered are the 4×8 for $50 or the 8×8 for $100. On the 4×8 there can be 3 lines of 21 characters, including spaces between words and for the 8×8, 6 lines. These will make wonderful holiday presents! In fact a long-time community person with lots of family and grandchildren recently said she was going to purchase 21 bricks for her family Christmas presents.  

Mayor Gerry Hall and Councilman Perry Hopkins have been assembling the 10 benches purchased through the CBDT. The nameplates will again be engraved under the direction of Don Snow. Memorial and honorary brass plates will be installed on these benches, also. McIntyre and Hopkins will oversee the installing of the benches on various cement slabs around the library and surrounding park area. 

You perhaps noticed the four six foot benches around the clock tower and the sidewalk at the east side of the Library, ready for Red Flannel visitors.  They were in constant use and a very attractive and useful addition to our festivities!

Director Donna Clark was on hand at the library on Red Flannel Day offering tours and information about the vision our community has embraced called, the “Heart of Cedar Springs.” The entire property, going even beyond the edge of Cedar Creek and the White Pine Trail, will be a park-like area, developed and supported through a base constituency of over 100 volunteers and donors, the Community Building Development Team.  

The next project is building an amphitheater along where the White Pine Trail and Cedar Creek meet west of the park property.  A new fundraising campaign has begun. The City of Cedar Springs and the CBDT will work together on submitting an application for a Economic Development Grant for a $50,000 match within the next few weeks. Watch for details soon on how you can get involved. 

The Kent County Sheriff’s mounted unit appealed to kids of all ages. Post photo by J. Reed.

The water slide was a big hit at the summer reading program party. Post by J. Reed.

By Judy Reed

The Cedar Springs Community Library’s summer reading program ended with a bang last Thursday, July 27, with a big celebration in Morley Park.

According to Library Director Donna Clark, at least 642 people attended the event.

There was a lot going on to keep both kids and adults entertained. Bounce houses, water slides, games, face painting, music, popcorn, ice cream, and water were all part of the festivities. Special guests on hand included the Kent County Sheriff Mounted unit with two of their horses, and the Cedar Springs Fire Department, who kept kids cooled off.

Prizes for the end of the year raffle were also given away—45 in all. At least 389 kids in grades K-12 finished their five-ticket reading goal to be a finisher. For those first 5 tickets local businesses treated the students to pizza, ice cream, meals, and the Whitecaps and Griffins provided tickets to a game. They then got to enter that ticket into a drawing for a prize. “So it wasn’t just read for a chance to win, but they were rewarded every 2-1/2 hours of the way,” explained Clark. “Everyone had a great time!”

Clark said that 1.642 people signed up for the summer reading program, including adults, and the 25 programs they held throughout the summer brought in 1,606 people (not counting the grand finale party).

The annual summer reading program, which costs about $3,500, is funded by donations from area businesses and individuals. See the library’s thank you ad in next week’s paper.