Letters to the Editor

Recognizing the school board

Coloma Schools community,

In January, districts in Michigan celebrate School Board Recognition Month to acknowledge the dedication and commitment school board members bring to ensuring students have the resources they need to grow while representing the community’s best interests. At Coloma Community Schools, we are grateful for the school board’s vision and passion that supports our goals and strategy as a district and community. Join me in thanking our esteemed Board of Education; Heidi Ishmael, Doug Kraemer, Nicole Hickmon, Steve Groendyk, William Stowers, Cynthia LaGrow and Tandy Ulleg.

School boards are an essential part of public education. These elected officials adopt policies, govern the annual budget, approve contracts and, most importantly, support student success. Because of their devotion to our students and the community, our schools continue to run efficiently and effectively.

With this in mind, the Board recently approved moving forward with two bond proposals totaling $23.9 million for the May 2024 ballot. If passed, the funds will be used to address areas that are vital to student learning, including replacing worn windows, doors, ceilings, flooring, lighting and heating and cooling systems, among a number of other areas in need of improvement.

The environment students learn in is critical to their success, which is why we hope to address these areas with the bonds that will be presented to the community. I encourage residents looking to learn more to visit Coloma’s website to see the entire proposal and to keep an eye out for additional information in the coming weeks.

Having strong leadership at all levels of a school district greatly impacts student achievement and success. We are thankful to have a whole team of board members, principals, teachers and staff members looking for the best ways to advocate for our students every step of their educational journey. To learn more about Coloma Community Schools, or to enroll your child, please visit ccs.coloma.org.

Superintendent Dave Ehlers

Support the Hartford After Prom event

Dear Local Businesses,

The Hartford High School 2024 After Prom committee has begun plans to bring back an event as big and successful as years past. Our goal is for this special night to provide a safe, alcohol and drug-free, FUN environment for our Junior and Senior classes to spend the night after prom. Since COVID there has not been an After Prom, but through the committee’s hard work and generous contributions, we hope to have a successful event in 2024.

We are reaching out to you with the hope that you will be able to support us in this endeavor. We are hoping to do an off-site event if funds allow. Any monetary donation would be helpful and the Juniors, Seniors, and their parents would be grateful to you for making this a night to remember.

As a thank you for any contribution made, you will be recognized as a supporter of the event.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact committee member Jill Cardenas at (269)364-0907. We would like to thank you in advance for your support.

Respectfully,

Hartford After Prom Committee

Challenges and opportunities in 2024

Dear Editor,

There is no way around it - 2023 was a difficult year for the cause for life in Michigan. After the vote on Proposal 3 in the 2022 election, we saw energized abortion supporters join with our abortion obsessed Governor to tear down common-sense protections for women and unborn.

Shockingly, Governor Whitmer even signed a bill legalizing the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion. She and the Democrats in our state legislature also removed basic health and safety standards for clinics that perform abortions, putting women at even greater risk.

There is no doubt the challenges for 2024 are many. Legislation to allow commercial surrogacy in Michigan has already been approved in the State House and is in the Senate for consideration. If made law, it would square the circle of treating unborn children in Michigan as things, rather than human beings. Not only would they be bought and sold, but the women involved reduced to wombs for rent.

Last November, four bills were introduced in our State Legislature to legalize the dangerous practice of physician-assisted suicide in Michigan. Yet the medical profession is strongly opposed to physician-assisted suicide. In 2023, both the American Medical Association and the Michigan State Medical Society reaffirmed their opposition to the dangerous practice.

Rising healthcare costs and pressures from insurance companies to cut costs are already threatening access to quality healthcare and access to prescription medicine across the board. Inject a lethal option for those who often have the highest healthcare costs, and the pressure to “choose the more economic” lethal option quickly threatens any achievement in expanding access to high standards of healthcare.

The time to reach out deeper into our communities with the truth about the value of life from conception to natural death is now.

Success doesn’t always look like what we think it might. Let us not forget that in 2022, even as Proposal 3 passed, abortions for state residents (Michigan women) decreased from 28,409 to 27,359 – down by 1,050! The ratio of abortions to live births also declined, from 273 to 261, meaning more Michigan women who found themselves pregnant chose to carry their pregnancies to term even in the midst of an onslaught of proabortion propaganda.

Ultimately the truth wins. Our charge is to persevere in the days ahead and ensure every Michigander, starting with our friends, families and neighbors, is presented with a compelling vision of life that invites them to make a choice for life, one person at a time. If you want to get more involved, email us at info@rtl.org.

Anna-Marie Pluymert

Director of Education

Right to Life of Michigan

Michigan blazes a trail in federal climate investments and transformative clean energy policy

(Press release) Michigan leads the nation in federal climate investments, strategic initiatives, and groundbreaking legislative victories that put our great state on track to achieve 100% clean energy by 2040 while creating thousands of jobs. Michigan’s commitment is exemplified by the MI Healthy Climate Plan 2023 Report, an annual report developed by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s (EGLE) Office of Climate and Energy (OCE). The report provides a summary of 2023 progress on the implementation of the State’s MI Healthy Climate Plan (MHCP).

“Michigan is leading the nation on clean energy and climate action,” said Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “Last year, I signed a game-changing package of clean energy legislation including a 100% clean energy standard by 2040, efficiency upgrades to lower costs for consumers, and the strongest labor standards in the country so we build American energy using American workers. Our commitment to taking climate action while creating jobs and lowering costs will make a real difference in people’s lives. This report caps one of the most productive years in EGLE history. Together, let’s keep building a brighter future for Michigan.”

Anchored in legislative victories, state investment and action, and federal investments, the MHCP positions Michigan as a national leader in clean energy and climate action. By implementing policies that reduce costs; protect land, air, water, and public health; foster equity; and create family-sustaining jobs, Michigan is creating a blueprint for a more sustainable, just, and prosperous future for all.

According to the 2023 Clean Jobs Midwest report, Michigan was No. 1 in the Midwest for clean energy jobs, and the sector is growing twice as fast as the overall economy.

Ringing in 2024 presents opportunity to open a disability savings account, making for a happier new year

(Press release) With the dawn of the new year, the Michigan Department of Treasury is encouraging hundreds of thousands of Michiganders with disabilities to open MiABLE savings accounts and discover more about gaining greater financial freedom through MiABLE.

Approximately 500,000 individuals in Michigan are eligible to open MiABLE accounts, but only about 1% of that number is currently enrolled statewide.

“As people all over the world make New Year’s resolutions to diet, exercise or make some other self-improvement, we’re recommending that people with disabilities and their families add a commitment to achieving financial freedom through MiABLE to their list of pledges,” said R. Scott de Varona, MiABLE program director.

De Varona added, “There is no better way to start off the new year from a financial opportunity standpoint for people with disabilities and their families than to open a MiABLE account.”

While de Varona noted that “any time of year is a good time to open a MiABLE account,” he called the dawning of the new year “an opportunity to remind people that MiABLE serves as an important financial equity tool for Michiganders.”

Established in Michigan in 2015, MiABLE is a disability savings program administered by the Michigan Department of Treasury. It stands for Michigan Achieving a Better Life Experience and was designed to help ease the financial burden challenging people with disabilities and their families. MiABLE accounts help people with disabilities save for current and future expenses without jeopardizing government assistance like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

In Michigan and nationally, a $2,000 federal asset limit is imposed on people with disabilities who receive government benefits. Compared with their peers, people with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty, less likely to be employed and more likely to be underemployed.

MiABLE allows individuals who became disabled before age 26 and their families to save up to $18,000 annually in various investment options. On top of that limit, beneficiaries who are employed can contribute an amount equal to their current-year gross income, up to another $14,580.

Setting up a MiABLE account is quick and easy, generally taking about 15 minutes, de Varona said.

A MiABLE account lets you make your own decisions about how to spend your money on qualified disability expenses (QDEs), without getting permission from a special trust. QDEs are expenses to maintain or improve your health, independence or quality of life. Examples include health care costs, housing, education and transportation.

MiABLE also allows family members, guardians, powers of attorney and others to open and manage an account on behalf of a person with a disability. Earnings on MiABLE savings grow tax-free, and no federal or state tax is owed on withdrawals used to pay for qualified disability expenses.