MORE SADNESS AND CLOSER TO HOME…we were all shocked last week when 5 police officers were killed and another 7 injured in Dallas Texas. The continued carnage against innocents continues in America and has ballooned to include law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel. CNN reported this week that 27 police officers have died from gunshots this year, compared to 16 in 2015. Now, it has struck closer to home. Two sheriff deputies, bailiffs at the Berrien County Courthouse were gunned down as they were doing their duty. Those good men left family and friends behind Monday morning to report for duty. They had the full expectation to return to their loved ones at the end of the day. Those deputies, like all public safety officers, left loved ones behind that day with no guarantee they would return. Yet they reported for duty. Our thoughts and prayers need to go out to the families and friends of all our heroes; especially those who give their lives saving others. At the very least, we as a nation need to raise the standard of support for our public safety heroes. We need to demand more training, more equipment, more money, and more security to make the survival and safety of officers that pledge to protect and serve our number one priority. As Americans we need to be appalled that those dead and injured police officers in Dallas last week were struck down with armored piercing bullets. Those bullets are designed to killed soldiers wearing body armor in a combat zone. How is it that a crazed gunman can obtain those bullets to shoot police officers? It is a national embarrassment that the greatest, richest nation in the world, for all time, has the highest rate of violent crime on the planet. How is it that it is easier for a psychopath to obtain an automatic rifle and armor piercing bullets than to get medical assistance? Perhaps those who “believe” the right to bear arms are more important than the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness can explain that. Email me the answer at record@tricityrecord.com or mail to TCR, PO Box 7, Watervliet MI 49098.
WBA says Thank You Watervliet!
Dear Editor,
On behalf of the WBA, I would like to give a shout out to all who made the July 4th Independence Festival possible. None of what took place on July 2nd & 3rd could have happen without all the many volunteers. Amy, WBA Co-Chair & Bill Loshbough, steer headed the Kids n the Mud, wrestling event, banners, flyers, advertisement, Kid Zone Sponsor and much more. Kathy Hartman of Coloma Wash-and-Dry handled all the vendors, there registration and placement. Heidi Knight from Robert-Michael Salon was the parade chairman and handled everything from parade applications to parade line-up, the parade was bigger and better than ever. Jen Warsko & Arica Angelo from the Watervliet Recreation Council chaired the Duck Race this year and did a great job selling more Ducks than have been sold in the past. Thank you Mary Spaulding-WBA Secretary, for keeping us on task and taking care of the T-shirts. Tom Gear, WBA Treasurer once again was the official parade and ball game emcee, firework show, and provided sound for the Mudd Run and the Duck Race. Thank you to Mike & Kristy Noack and Noack Construction for sponsoring the Vintage Baseball Game with the House of David Echoes. Beth Wagner from B & B Grocery chaired the Ping Pong Drop this year, getting some 4000 ping pong balls donated and providing an awesome event for the kids. Elizabeth Eggert also from Robert Michael Salon chaired Little Mr. & Miss Firecracker Contest. With her early preparation and organization, she managed to raise over $7000 for the Watervliet Pageant Organization. Special thanks to Watervliet Police & Fire Departments, for keeping all of our events save for our families. Billy Whitney from Able Electric and WFD for hanging the downtown sign a making that work. The Watervliet Public Works Crew , for all the prep work and keeping the town tidied up. New Hope Church did an awesome job manning snow cones & popcorn in the Kids Zone along with Riverside United Methodist Church (face painting, tattoos & bounce house). Thanks to the Watervliet Varsity Cheerleaders for donating your time to help out in the Kids Zone! Best Way Disposal for the trash boxes & portable restrooms! Les Fairbanks and Vic Kinzler for another awesome Car Show, it’s always a great show! Can’t wait for it again next year!
Special Thank you:
Dave Stasiak from Kids in the Mudd Off Road Park in Bloomingdale, you stepping up and helping our community pull off a event like this is so appreciated. You and your family and crew did such a great job creating a safe and exciting event for all ages! Scott Moore and Carol Moore, for the use of your property that allowed us to take a risk and try something different and new. The Mudd Run event was a hit! Thank you Matt Schmidt from Trident Dock and Dredge for assisting in ground prep and cleanup to make the Mudd Run a success. And to everyone we may have missed that stepped up and helped in some way, we appreciate everyone’s willingness to support this awesome community! We hope that all who attended enjoyed this year festival; it takes a lot of time, volunteers and brainstorming to make it happen. We look forward to 2017 and even more volunteers. Good things are happening in Watervliet, you proved that with the out pouring attendance downtown July 2nd, at the airport & Duck race July 3rd.
Sincerely,
Rochelle Ulleg
WBA- 4th of July Chairperson
Hometown Hero… Kenneth A. Evett, a 1962 Co-loma High School graduate, is a U.S. Army Veteran who served in Toul and Verdun, France in 1965-1967 as an MP. After serving his country, Evett re-turned to Coloma and began a 33-year career at Whirlpool’s Plant 7 in Benton Harbor before retiring as the administrator of safety and workman’s compen-sation. Evett resides in Benton Harbor and Arizona City, Arizona. He and his wife Candy recently celebrated 48 years of marriage. The Evetts have one daughter, Kristy, and one son, Ryan. Share a photo of your “Home-town Hero” with your friends, neighbors, and relatives who read the Tri-City Record. Make sure you write your hero’s name on the back of the picture and include any other information about it you’d like to see in the paper, including local connec-tion, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, and so on. Send the “original” photo to the Tri-City Record, P.O. Box 7, Wa-tervliet, MI 49098. Or email to news@tricityrecord.com. Pick up the orginal photo after it ap-pears in the paper or include a stamped, self-addressed envelope and we’ll mail it back to you. Where are your “Hometown Heros”?
Do you remember his eyes?
Sometimes we look at their faces but we don’t see people. I don’t know what we see, but it’s not who they really are. Instead we see everything but their face. We see their uniform, their badge, their cap, their weapon. We miss so much. Sometimes we don’t get a chance to fix that. Eyes close that recently laughed at a grandson’s antics; smiles end that greeted an old friend. It’s not that we couldn’t have seen them if we were looking. We just weren’t looking. How did we let that happen? I don’t know, but it was a mistake. We miss so much. We spend our lives seeing other people as obstacles rather than giving each the same honor we expect for our own personhood. How do we let that happen? I don’t know, but we miss so much. Does “Pray for the families” allow us still to miss their faces? Instead, pray for their widows; pray for their sons; pray for their daughters; pray for their grandsons; pray for their granddaughters, pray for their nephews; pray for their nieces. Pray for all those who really saw his face but who can no longer look in his eyes. And pray for all of us, that we won’t miss so much of whom people really are. For those who claim Christianity, can the world see God’s love through you, or are you just like everyone else, busily pursuing your own agenda and unable to see others’ faces? In whose eyes can you look whom God does not love? You know the answer. If you don’t share God’s love, who will? If you don’t have God’s love, where are you going to find it, and what good are you without it? You miss so much.
Your parents were there for you when you were born. They’ve been with you through the most important achievements of your life. Now it’s your turn to show them that they can count on you. As your parents get older, they may need help making decisions. When you volunteer to become a representative payee, you’re supporting your parents and their future. A representative payee is someone who receives Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments on behalf of a person not capable of managing the funds on his or her own. As a representative payee, you would make sure your parents’ basic needs are met by using the money to provide them with food, clothing, and shelter. Any leftover money goes into an interest-bearing account or savings bond for your parents’ future needs. You’re responsible for keeping records of expenses, and we request yearly reports to see how you’ve used or saved the benefits. Other representative payee duties include knowing your parents’ needs so you can decide the best way to meet those needs with the benefits provided and telling us about any changes that may affect your parent’s eligibility for benefits or the payment amount. If your parents receive Social Security or SSI benefits and are unable to manage their finances, or you think that may be the case in the future, take the time to become familiar with the responsibilities of a representative payee and consider becoming one. To learn more about becoming a representative payee, you can read our publication, A Guide for Representative Payees, at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs and visit the webpage, “When People Need Help Managing Their Money,” at ww.socialsecurity.gov/payee. Or, call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to request an appointment. Take the steps to ensure your parents have a safe and comfortable future. After all they’ve done for you over your lifetime, volunteering as a representative payee is just one way to show how much you care for and appreciate them. Social Security will always be there for you and your parents through life’s journey.
Comments