A Solon Township man was killed early this morning when the vehicle he was driving struck a deer and then hit a tree.

According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, Randall Scott Thomas, 48, of Solon Township, was driving a 2005 Caravan north on Pine Island Drive about 4 a.m. in Algoma Township, when he hit a deer just north of Rector. Police said that after striking the deer, Thomas appears to have lost control of the vehicle. He veered off the west side of the road and struck a tree, which caused the fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Thomas was the only person in the car.

Algoma Fire and Rescue responded to the scene.

There is a rumor that the trees come alive on All Hallow’s eve (Halloween) and cause a great deal of mischief in their neighborhoods, including snatching candy away from unsuspecting trick-or-treaters.  Aaron Piskin, of Pierson, sent us this photo he took of a tree, located on Pine Lake Avenue near 17 Mile, practicing its scary face for Halloween.  If you see a tree like this one on Halloween, don’t try to climb it and don’t play dead. Instead, run as fast as you can in the other direction and don’t look back!

Costume, check. Trick-or-treat bag, check. Comfortable walking shoes, check. Ready for a night full of fun? Double-check!
Pack up the kids and come out Halloween night for the Main Street Annual Halloween Spook-tacular in Cedar Springs! Sponsored by area businesses, the fun starts at 5 p.m. with a reading of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Perry’s Place, 90 N. Main, from 5-6 p.m. Kids can then pick up a trick-or-treat map from the Cedar Springs Library, at the corner of Cherry and Second, and trick-or-treat at businesses around town from 5:45 to 7 p.m. There are more scary stories at Alpha Omega Coffee and Games, 32 S. Main, from 6-7 p.m.; a carnival at the corner of Main and Ash put on by Calvary Assembly of God; trunk-or-treat at the Springs Church (corner of First and Maple) from 6-8, along with a 20-foot giant slide, puppet show, carnival games, and cider and donuts; and the Kent County Sheriff Traffic Squad, Cedar Springs Fire Department and Cedar Springs Police will hand out candy, cider and donuts at the firebarn at W. Maple and Second St. until gone.
The Post will hand out candy again this year, so please stop by and see us!

Proud grandparents Steve and Renee Fisk, of Trufant, brought in this cute photo they took of their granddaughter, Rillie Ann Fisk, 10 months old, of Coral. She appears to have popped right out of this pumpkin, just in time for Halloween!

Lucus Pienton (right) is shown here with his friend, Jadelen, in the football uniforms and the pink they wore for breast cancer awareness.

By Judy Reed

Most fifth-graders are thinking about having fun with their friends, what new video game is coming, or what they are getting for their birthday. Most are definitely not thinking about cancer or how they can help support a cure. But Lucus Pienton is not your average fifth-grader.
Lucus, 11, is a student at Cedar View Elementary. His mom, Julie Pierson, said that Lucus loves school and is very athletic. He plays football for Garfield Park in Grand Rapids on the juniors team. But he is also compassionate.
“Lucus has always been about helping people and doing what’s right for people,” explained Julie. “If he sees someone being picked on he tells the bully that it’s wrong, or if someone is hurt, he helps them up to make sure that person is fine.”
Recently, Lucus and his mom have been talking about cancer, because his grandpa has cancer. Lucus asked her about breast cancer, and she explained that’s why he sees people wearing pink and pink ribbons. So he asked his mom to ask his football coach if the team could all wear socks for breast cancer. She did, and the coach agreed.
But Lucus wanted to do more. He asked for pink ankle tape for his shoes and wrists, and then he asked if they could do posters. His mom readily agreed. And then Lucus decided he wanted to do donation boxes and collect the money for breast cancer awareness. Julie told Lucas that was a lot for him to. “He said, ‘I know but its worth it to help people.’ So I talked to the coach about this and he thought it was a wonderful thing,” she said.
But Lucus wasn’t finished. He wrote a letter to his stepdad’s place of work and asked them to donate to breast cancer bracelets to pass out at the game. He then made an appointment to meet with the CEO and President of Perrin so they could talk to him about what he was doing, and donate money for the bracelets.
Lucus set up his donation boxes on Saturday, October 22, at the last home football game of the season, and raised $137.12 for breast cancer awareness.
“I would have never thought of my son coming this far in a project and he was so committed,” said Julie. “As Lucus’ mother, I am so proud of him.”

Last week we featured a photo of a deer in the woods, by publisher Lois Allen, on the front page. She asked readers, “Can you top this?” Cedar Springs resident Ed Bremmer took that challenge to heart and gave us three photos, including this cute photo of a doe and her triplet fawns. The kicker is that it was taken right here in the city limits! Click here to see the other two photos he sent.

Creative Technologies Academy’s class of 2013 hosted this year’s Sweetest Day Sweetheart Swirl, Carnival Nights, October 15.  Sweethearts and Heartbreakers from the left are: Seniors: Robert “RJ” Whitlatch and Hope Taber, Juniors: Austin Armstrong and Grace VanEnk, Sophomores: Aaron Nutt and Cassie Kibitz, Freshmen: Benett Tomandl and Olivia Wortz.

The Great Lakes Region of the American Red Cross needs to collect approximately 700 units of blood each and every day. However, not nearly enough people are giving blood. Local supplies are insufficient to meet the needs of our community’s hospitals in a timely manner.  There is also an immediate need for platelets, a blood component used to treat cancer patients, for example.
Although the local Red Cross is intensifying phone calls, e-mails and direct mail to blood and platelet donors, the response is still not sufficient to meet current needs.
Anyone who is eligible to donate blood or platelets is asked to do so as soon as possible.  For those who have never donated, or have not donated in a while, now is the time to try.
To get as many donations as possible with the greatest efficiency, Red Cross officials are asking eligible blood and platelet donors to make appointments or to keep the appointments they have already made.
To help, visit Redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

First cost-of-living adjustment since 2009

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for more than 60 million Americans will increase 3.6 percent in 2012, the Social Security Administration announced last week.
The 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 55 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2012.  Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI beneficiaries will begin on December 30, 2011.
Some other changes that take effect in January of each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $110,100 from $106,800.  Of the estimated 161 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2012, about 10 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.
Information about Medicare changes for 2012, when announced, will be available at www.Medicare.gov.  For some beneficiaries, their Social Security increase may be partially or completely offset by increases in Medicare premiums.
The Social Security Act provides for how the COLA is calculated.  To read more, please visit www.socialsecurity.gov/cola.

Remember when we used to dream about a new library? Things have been quiet on that front for a while, but the drive to build a new library is picking up steam, and there are some important things happening in the next week!
The first thing is happening next week Tuesday. Residents of Cedar Springs and the surrounding area are urged to come to a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 1, at Cedar Springs Middle School to hear some big news! The library board and the City of Cedar Springs will be there to talk about the need for a new library and let you in on something new that’s happened to get the ball rolling again, and how you can help keep it bouncing along! The meeting will be held in the upstairs meeting room at the Middle School, at the corner of Northland and 16 Mile.
The second date to note is Thursday, November 3. That is the last day that you have to buy a ticket for the Big Boy spaghetti dinner fundraiser for the Cedar Springs Public Library that will be held one week later, on Thursday, November 10. It will be held at Big Boy from 5-8 p.m. Tickets are available at the library, and will also be available to purchase the night of the town hall meeting. Purchase a meal ticket and enter your stub for a chance to win some great prizes, including a brand new Kindle Keyboard 3G, pies, meals, books and more. Tickets are $6 for children (up to 12th grade), and $9 for adults.  The meal includes an all-you-can-eat buffet of spaghetti, soup, salad and fruit, and kids 10 and under can build their own sundaes. There will also be face painting for kids and a chance to meet children’s author Amanda Litz. She will have her new book series for sale, “Sam and Pam can and you can, too!”
For more information, call the library at 696-1910.

A school bus loaded with 31 kids was rear-ended by another vehicle in Kent City last week.
According to the Kent County Sheriff Department, the accident occurred near the intersection of S. Main and E. Muskegon in the Village of Kent City. The bus driver, Paul Olson, 50, of Cedar Springs, had stopped at the four-way stop, when a 2004 Chevy Trailblazer ran into the back of the bus. The driver of them Trailblazer, Cassi Hansen, 30, of Comstock Park, told police she was reaching into the back seat to give her child a cup when the accident occurred. No one sustained any injuries. The driver was cited for failing to stop within assured clear distance.

Seven new vehicles were broken into early Wednesday morning, October 19, at Tinney Automotive, 11249 West Carson City Road (M-57) in Greenville.
According to the Montcalm County Sheriff Department, suspects broke the rear down window of the vehicles to gain entry and disassembled the dashboard to steal the factory-installed radios and navigation systems. A Sheriffs Deputy Crime Technician responded to the scene to collect and process evidence. They estimate the damage at several thousand dollars.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Montcalm County Sheriff’s tip line at 989-831-7593.