Hear ye, hear ye! Gather 'round, good citizens of Cedar Springs!…read more Let it be known far and wide that the Cedar Springs City Hall is the finest establishment in all the land! Home to our esteemed local polling station, where our Constitutional Republic thrives and votes are cast with the swiftness of a falcon in flight! I, your humble town crier, have ventured to this noble hall solely to exercise my right to vote. And lo, what a splendid experience it was! The workers, ever so friendly and helpful, greeted me with smiles brighter than the morning sun. The building itself, a paragon of cleanliness, sparkled like the crown jewels. Not a speck of dust dared to linger in its hallowed halls. Last I visited, I was in and out in but a few minutes, quicker than a rabbit on a mission! So, I proclaim to all who hear: if you have voting to do and are registered in this fair area, or if you have City Hall business to attend to, make haste to Cedar Springs City Hall! You shall find no complaints here, only efficiency and cheer. God save the City Hall! Hear ye, hear ye!

I've utilized the resources at our library and Marcia has been there every time. She's been so nice…read moreand helpful. I appreciate her dedication and Thank Her for Helping me.

I am so very excited about the new library!! This is an expansion of the historic Carnegie library,…read morewhich is still there right next door, and will be remodeled. Located on Allegan's riverfront, the library stuns from both sides. From across the river, it looks like an origami book. From the road, it is also gorgeous, with broad windows, and stairs and a beautiful accessibility ramp. Head inside, and you'll never want to leave. Besides the aforementioned windows, there are gorgeous lamps that look like book pages, plenty of space for the stacks, quiet study centers, a media lab, a teen space, and my favorite part, comfy seating all along the riverfront windows. Wow! Downstairs (pass a wall of copper fish, quite appropriate for a waterfront location) will be a robotics lab and a friends of the library bookstore (yay!). When finished, the historic Carnegie building will house staff offices and an expanded children's section. I worked at the old library from middle school until summers in college. There was never enough space, even way back then. The staff workroom was cramped, and the rest of the library felt that way, too. I never could have imagined this beautifully designed, light-filled, welcoming to all ages space. Bravo, and thank you, Allegan, for investing in such an important community resource.

Mel Trotter Ministries: A Resident's Reality This place…read morewakes you up around 6:50 AM, then forces you to stay until 9:00 AM if you want to access your belongings from storage and get back in. You can leave as soon as you get up, but then you won't have the stuff that you need. Their heat only seems to be at the proper temperature on certain floors; the main lobby, where we are forced to be if we aren't leaving, is not one of those areas. They give you a small blanket and sheet and expect you to be warm enough. Their food quality and quantity are not enough--restrictive meal times, no lunch, and small portions. Wifi is available, but you're not allowed to use it. The TV is on only for a limited time and only plays the news. There is no real sign of the advertised "enrichment" programs. Instead, the programs that do exist favor select people, creating a tiered or hierarchical system. The south side is for employed residents and comes with more privileges, while the north side is "in the trenches," where residents are exposed to unpredictable and sometimes chaotic situations, including illness and bodily harm. The Night-Shift Problem perfectly illustrates this divide. For a resident working a shift like 10 PM - 7 AM, the standard 7 PM curfew can be waived with "documentation of reason." Once approved, a flag is put in the system to allow re-entry. However, the shelter typically forces these residents to stay on specific "program floors" so they won't be disturbed by the general population's 6:30 AM wake-up call. If you aren't in that specific program or don't have that flag, you're not getting back in. If you want a place to stay, you need to arrive around 9:00 AM. Regulars wake up first and reserve their beds for the day, and then everyone else reserves theirs. Rooms are shared (usually 2 per bunk bed) with a shared bathroom that can be locked from the outside. The shelter's operations are often inefficient. For example, severely intoxicated guests are technically not allowed under the MTM Code of Conduct, yet I've seen them admitted anyway, only to have to be picked up by an ambulance later. This slows down service for everyone else and creates unnecessary risk. Despite the decent rooms, free laundry, and security, the system is designed in a way that makes survival harder than it needs to be.

Mel Trotter Ministries is a beacon of hope and compassion in the heart of Grand Rapids. Their…read morecommitment to serving individuals experiencing homelessness goes far beyond providing shelter -- they offer dignity, support, and a path toward lasting transformation. Grateful for all they do to bring healing and restoration to so many lives.

This is one of several softball fields at the Byron Center. They have adult fields and junior…read morefields and seem to be very busy throughout the softball season. They also have soccer fields.

We actually went to Fallasburg to drive over the Fallasburg covered bridge (no faster than a walk)…read more Erected in 1871 on the Flat River, located in the Fallasburg Historic District. 5 miles from Lowell, Michigan, USA

The FHS exists for the purpose of preservation of the 1850s historical Fallasburg village located…read morenortheast of Lowell in Kent County. The flagship museum is the one-room schoolhouse. The museum is open on Sundays from 2 to 4 pm, May through October. What makes this museum unique is that it is an entire historical village with the Fallasburg Covered Bridge leading into it. When you visit, you step back in time in a simple era before phones and computers.