11-15-18 Letters and Commentary

Thank you

Dear Editor,

Rita Lynch and family would like to extend a most emphatic Thank You to all who attended her birthday celebration and all who extended birthday wishes.

Rita Lynch and family

Watervliet’s Hometown Christmas Parade

Dear Community Members,

The community of Watervliet would like to extend this invitation to you and/or your organization to join us for Watervliet’s Hometown Christmas Parade on Sunday, Dec 2, 2018.

Registration will be at the Watervliet Fire Dept. at 4:30 p.m. Line-up will be on Pleasant Street as directed. The parade will kick off promptly at 5:30 from City Hall and will end at Arclight Brewing Co.

We encourage the community to participate in this event. Equestrian groups are to have clean-up personnel (shovels and garden tractors). The parade application and information card need to be completed and returned by Monday, November 26.

For an application and any questions, please call Rose at 269-325-8230 or email to: rose8233@yahoo.com.

Rose Smith / Erica Kinzler

Parade Chairpersons

Kindness & Compassion Drive at Coloma schools

Dear Editor,

Coloma Elementary and Intermediate Schools continue to encourage and embrace a message of kindness and compassion throughout our campus, and among our student body and staff.  As part of our ongoing efforts to teach and model empathy, we are consciously focusing on the message of kindness and compassion which equips students and adults to create and sustain safe, caring and supportive learning environments essential for academic achievement.

In order to promote kindness and compassion within the school and community, specifically this holiday season, we are encouraging participation in a collaborative Kindness and Compassion Drive from Monday, November 19 through Friday, November 30.  Items we will be collecting include:

New unwrapped toys to benefit the Mosaic Wonderland Toy Store, providing parents in financial crisis a way to shop for their children for Christmas.

Canned goods that will be donated to HOPE Resources (formerly known as the North Berrien Food Pantry) which is currently located at Coloma United Methodist Church.

Waterproof winter gear that will benefit our students who are without weather appropriate snow gear (i.e., waterproof snow gloves and waterproof snow boots).

We hope that you will join us and support our goal of 100% participation in any way that you are able.  We hope that this will provide students with an opportunity to experience extending kindness and compassion through giving.  Thank you so much!

Coloma Community Schools

United Way of Southwest Michigan and Meijer join forces for Operation Thanksgiving

Residents of Berrien and Cass counties are stepping up to join United Way in a national day of service on November 17 that celebrates the power of families who work together to support their communities. Volunteers will help unload turkeys, assemble “Thanksgiving To-Go” kits and distribute them to families.

Thanks to sponsorship from Meijer (Stevensville and Benton Harbor stores), 150 kits will be made available to low-income families in Berrien and Cass counties.

“Supporting the communities we serve, the importance of family, advocating for United Way and combating hunger are all very important to us at Meijer, which made the decision to support Operation Thanksgiving incredibly easy,” said Rob Vassar, store director at the Stevensville Meijer. “Helping families enjoy a special meal together is a very simple way for us to give thanks to our customers and support our communities. A number of our staff will be volunteering on November 17, and everyone is looking forward to making a very important difference in the lives of our neighbors.”

The event will take place at two locations, to be disclosed, in Benton Harbor and Dowagiac. Volunteers will pack the kits from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and then another shift of volunteers will distribute the kits from 12 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Those in need of Thanksgiving food assistance register in advance to receive a “Thanksgiving To-Go” kit by calling 2-1-1.

The kits will contain a frozen turkey or precooked ham, a box of instant mashed potatoes, a gallon of milk, butter, a box of stuffing, a can of green beans, a can of cranberry sauce, a can of turkey gravy, a pack of dinner rolls, and an apple pie.

For more information, visit volunteer.uwsm.org or email volunteer@uwsm.org.

Poisonous politics became Upton’s strategy

Dear Editor,

Now Fred Upton says he wants to “take the poison out of politics!” Does he have any idea how strange that sounds after securing his re-election by accepting massive amounts of “dark money” and running a smear campaign against an honorable man, Dr. Matt Longjohn?

You can’t bombard the 6th district with dishonest attack ads using Trump-like language and, by the close of election day, expect us to embrace you as a gentle man of principle. Sorry Fred – your language doesn’t match your behavior.

If you want us to believe that you will serve ALL your constituents, you will have to start doing things differently. You will have to give as much air time to those who are struggling as you give to lobbyists, corporations, wealthy donors and friends. You will have to fight a legitimate fight for health care for all and take specific steps to protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. You will have to boldly challenge xenophobia and prejudice in all its ugly manifestations. Most urgently, you will have to muster the courage to stand up to Donald Trump, to take on his devastating attacks on our democracy, our environment, and our vulnerable brothers and sisters.

You will have to be DIFFERENT than you have been in recent years. You will have to remind us of the man you were long, long ago. When all this becomes a reality, we may begin to believe you.

Sandy Feldman, Lakeside

Thanksgiving’s  core value Thanksgiving for many is associated with family gatherings. We remember Aunt Violet’s pineapple upside down cake, or we remember Uncle John’s pool table in his basement where we, as kids, spent most of our time on Thanksgiving afternoon. Or maybe we remember that afternoon being when Grandpa took us rabbit hunting, or when Grandma began baking her huge collection of Christmas cookies. Memories, usually positive, always involving other people and some activity. That’s not to say that there isn’t any unhappiness associated with the holiday. This can be a season of depression for some as they remember those who no longer attend the gatherings. That said, let’s hone down on Thanksgiving’s meaningful core. That core goes beyond our traditions and digs down to who we are, what define our perspectives, how we feel about life itself. It’s called contentment. You won’t find Thanksgiving in the Bible, but then neither is our pageant called “Christmas” mentioned either. What we do find is a whole series of festivals in the Mosaic Law that reflect God’s faithfulness and provision for the Children of Israel throughout their history. Not to get into them here, each regularly commemorates the caring relationship God had (and has) with Israel. Unfortunately the feeling wasn’t always mutual. Contentment was not the byword of the Exodus. Like many of us, they found it too easy to take God’s blessings for granted, and felt entitled to a more comfortable existence. Even the manna got old. Baked manna, fried manna, boiled manna, manna soufflés, and manna ala mode – they became discontent with God’s provision. God was not happy with that. In the midst of our traditional Thanksgiving we need to remember to recognize its core value – contentment, being thankful for what we have, and being willing to share it with others. That said, pass the mashed potatoes please.

Social Security,  giving thanks and spending quality time In November, millions of families gather together to give thanks, share a meal, and spend time together. Sometimes it’s hard to find the time to get together, so you want to make every second with the ones you love count. Social Security understands that your time is valuable whether you’re working, running your business, or taking time off to be with family and friends. We put a lot of time and effort into making my Social Security a resource you can depend on — an online tool that saves time and allows you to spend more of it on what you like to do. Even if you’re currently receiving benefits, or aren’t quite ready to file, Social Security has services to bring you and your family holiday cheer. With a my Social Security account, those receiving benefits can change their address and direct deposit information, get proof of their benefits, and request replacement documents like a Medicare card. If you aren’t currently getting benefits, you can still check your earnings record, get estimates of your future benefits, and view your Social Security Statement. In many states, you can even request a replacement Social Security card online. See everything you can do with a my Social Security account and open one today at www.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount. Remember, you don’t need a my Social Security account to: Select or change the way you receive information from Social Security if you are blind or visually impaired at www.socialsecurity.gov/people/blind. Block electronic and automated telephone access to your personal information at www.socialsecurity.gov/blockaccess. Apply for extra help with your Medicare prescription drug plan costs at www.socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp. Whether you’re waiting for the turkey to roast or just waiting for company to arrive, our online services are open 24 hours a day, allowing you to access them on your schedule. There’s no need to stand in line or wait on the phone at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices. So this holiday, don’t just pass the gravy, pass on this wealth of information to the ones you love. Vonda VanTil is the Public Affairs Specialist for West Michigan. You can write her c/o Social Security Administration, 3045 Knapp NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525 or via email at vonda.vantil@ssa.gov.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY IS YOUR HOMETOWN’S RESPONSE TO BLACK FRIDAY… The giant retailers have grabbed hold of the Friday after Thanksgiving as their day to gobble up all the holiday sales. They even have a name “Black Friday”, meaning that’s the day they make a big profit. With their big promotions, buying power and command of the market, many smaller businesses throw in the towel. They don’t even attempt to compete; some actually close down so their employees (and spouses) can go shopping. Adding insult to the small-town retailers (and their fellow citizens) the giant corporate stores evade sales tax in many cases by selling merchandise directly online. While the mom and pop stores struggle with property taxes, donations to the school programs and have to add sales taxes to the price; the big stores undercut those prices by not paying their fair share. While many small stores manage to stay afloat the constant struggle to make ends meet takes its toll. Slowly, Main Street, America is becoming Vacant Street America. Those hometown shops that pay the school and fire department taxes, donate to the church funds and to the needy, and to the Rec. Council are vanishing from the landscape. As will all the good things they support with the money they contribute to their community. All is not so bleak… many communities, across America are promoting the Saturday AFTER BLACK FRIDAY as Small Business Saturday. With leadership from American Express, small towns like Watervliet are supporting their hometown businesses and encouraging folks to shop them on Saturday, November 24. Thanks to the support of the Watervliet Downtown Development Authority and its members there is an ad in this week’s paper promoting sales events at Watervliet area businesses. Thanks to the Coloma Watervliet Area Chamber of Commerce and the North Berrien Economic Development Corporation, there are ads on CoSY Radio 103.7 promoting Small Town Saturday shopping as well.

SCAMMERS LOVE CHRISTMAS… Don’t count on the holiday spirit to catch hold with those charlatans, cheats, and conmen. If anything, those that will steal the food out of your mouth and the money out of your purse love the Christmas spirit. Be careful when asked to donate or help out. While there are innumerable opportunities to do good, the do-no-gooders will go out of their way to ruin your holidays by stealing from you. The best thing to do when a stranger on the phone asks you to help out is to hang up. Don’t give them a chance to threaten you or get mean. Scammers never give up… they know there are kind, gullible folks wanting to help and do the right thing. There are also “greedy” folks that think any scheme for easy money is the pot at the end of the rainbow. Invariably they are asked to pay a small fee to facilitate the check writing or to pay insurance or some such other nonsense. Kind or gullible or greedy… hang onto your money. Only contribute to local causes organized by folks you know and trust.

YUCKY is the appropriate word to describe our first venture into winter weather last weekend. It didn’t help that Anne and I were in the throes of head colds that made navigating the cold, wind and snow a real burden. Anne had to cut short her plans to help out at the St. Joe Catholic rummage sale. We cancelled dinner plans with friends and hunkered down for a dreary weekend. What I didn’t do was miss the Veterans service on Saturday morning in Watervliet. I don’t recall missing any since coming to town in 1984. This year was a bit different as cold weather drove the VFW service indoors at the post on Red Arrow. Commander Corky Openneer told me the weather and the fact there was a post open house following the service made sense to hold it indoors. Veterans Day services have always been a special moment to honor my comrades in military service and recall warm memories of those close friends that has passed on. As the wheel of time rolls forward, that list of deceased heroes grows ever longer. To all those veterans in sight of these words, thanks for your service. If there was any silver lining to the dreary weekend, it was the cold made those awful stinkbugs disappear and along with the wind, knocked down most of the remaining autumn leaves.

CANDIDATES ARE ALL WINNERS… many thanks to all the heroic citizens that stood for election last week. It takes a special person to put their name on a ballot for public office and put themselves in line for public scrutiny and comment. Sadly, for many, that scrutiny includes venomous attack and scorn. Still our candidates brave the storm and are willing to serve. Without them, our freedoms and privileges would be hard pressed to survive. Thank you all for your willingness to serve and congratulations to all the winners. Special mention to Rosemary Bayer, state Senator-elect to the 12th District. Rosemary is my niece. She has made a lifetime of betterment and helping others her career. Her first foray into politics was really no surprise. Her dad, my eldest brother Greg, was a long-time mayor of New Baltimore. Her mom, Marianne has long been active in community betterment notably with the public library and chamber of commerce. I nicknamed Rosemary “Lady” when she was an infant and the name has remained hers for good reason, for she is a real lady with great intelligence, caring for her fellow man and a willingness to do good. I predict she will do great good in Lansing for us all. Congratulations Lady!