CEDAR SPRINGS, Mich. – Creative Technologies Academy teamed up with a volunteer group to assemble approximately 200 bags for the Grand Rapids Police Department. CTA parents, Laura Wortz and Ruthanne Brinks, were asked to be involved and plan an appreciation dinner for the GRPD as their husbands both protect and serve as police officers.

“We wanted our school to be a part of this,” Wortz commented. “We wanted them to have the opportunity to give back to the men and women who give so much to all of us.”

18 members of the CTA Cross Country team, along with their coaches, helped pack the bags with chips, granola bars, gum and mints. CTA’s elementary students and Charger Kid’s Club spent time decorating the bags before they were filled. The bags that were leftover from the appreciation dinner were given to the community officers to share with the youth that they encountered during their shifts.

Meijer was a major sponsor and provided a generous donation for the supplies for the event.

Sylvester Jacob Estes

The man who told officers last April that he “wanted to blow up a cop shop” pled guilty Monday, November 30, to making a false threat of terrorism, and being a second felony offender.

The incident occurred on April 23, when Sylvester Jacob Estes, 32, called police dispatch, from a location in Kent County (not the City of Cedar Springs), and said he was going to harm police officers and others, and that he was going to get weapons.

He was later found by Kent County Sheriff Deputies on Main Street in Cedar Springs, and allegedly told officers that he wanted to “blow up a cop shop.” According to Sgt. Jason Kelley, of the Kent County Sheriff Department’s Cedar Springs Unit, the man didn’t specify to deputies what “cop shop” he wanted to blow up, but a witness said he heard him say the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Estes was charged as a habitual offender because he stole a car in July 2009, and was convicted and sentenced to prison in November 2009. He was released in July 2012.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on the threats charge on January 6.

Undersheriff Jon Hess

Undersheriff Jon Hess announced last week that he plans to retire June 1.

“My years at this wonderful organization have been an absolute blessing. My many positive experiences both professionally and personally will always be remembered fondly,” said Hess. “The Kent County Sheriff Department is a tremendous organization with a strong, adhesive management team that has a clear strategic direction for the future. This Department is second to none. It has been a privilege and a pleasure serving the citizens of Kent County the last 36 years.”

Hess graduated from Ottawa Hills High School, and received an Associate of Science from Grand Rapids Community College. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Science in Administration of Justice from Southern Illinois University.

Hess started his career in the Grand Rapids Police Department in 1980, and then became a Corrections Officer at the Kent County Sheriff Department the same year.

He moved up through the ranks in corrections, being promoted to Corrections Sergeant in 1987, Corrections Lieutenant in 1994, and Corrections Captain in 1996. He was promoted to Undersheriff in 2001 by Sheriff Lawrence Stelma.

Over the years, Hess took several educational courses to help him in his career: He graduated from Northwestern University Staff and Command, 1994; became a Certified Jail Manager in 1998 through the American Jail Association;  graduated Kalamazoo Valley Community College Police Academy in 2000;  graduated Federal Bureau of Investigation LEEDA Session #3825, 2004; graduated the Federal Bureau of Investigation National Academy Session #221, 2005; and is a graduate of General Electric’s Executive Leadership Class—November 2014.

Hess took part, along with Chief Deputy Michele Young, in the planning and presentations to the public, when the Kent County Sheriff Department took over law enforcement in Cedar Springs.