The Oceana Echo - Volume 4, Issue 20, October 9, 2026

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: White Lake Food Pantry, Scouts to have new home Volume 4, Issue 20 October 9, 2026

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READER: Samuel & Cinda Moulds Alexxander Evergreen Deborah Shockey Barbara Usiak Betty Smith Geraldine Ellinger Kae Beattie The Ladder Patricia Gamble Gina Garritano Pamela Melichar Melissa Grondsma Ronald Arnson Annette Even Erika Davis Philip Gooch Mary MacGregor In Memory of Lucas Thomas Coley Jackie Boynton Joseph & Peggy Leonardo Robert & Linda Porterfield Illana Hoglund Greg & Boo Gregwer Kenneth & Kathy Mahoney Bill Hegg Gerald Lindow Tim Mroz

Silver Lake gets hooked on new carp culling net By Claire Marshall The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent The afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 27, was the final haul of the most recent and successful attempt to cull the nuisance carp population from Silver Lake. This new method employed in a joint effort between the Friends of Silver Lake and the Silver Lake Improvement Board is surprisingly simple: a large net, baited with a couple bags of cracked corn. What the net lacks in sophistication, it more than makes up for in the sheer volume of fish being removed from the lake, with 15,247 pounds of carp harvested across 12 weeks, amounting to over 3,000 fish. The project was spearheaded by Marty Hayden, board president of the Friends of Silver Lake, who has been working for years on how to improve Silver Lake’s carp overpopulation. Previous attempts, more glamorous and expensive, have been rounds of electrofishing, where an area of water is shocked with a direct current to stun fish for collection. Over two years, this attempt yielded a catch of no more than 30 total fish. Also organized was an annual Kids Carp Cull every June, where anglers under 16 were invited to catch, collect and turn in carp at $2 a head. These events fared better, wrangling in a couple hundred fish, with June 2026 netting about 75-100 fish. Even though the efforts of a few industrious adolescents may not significantly impact the overall nuisance population, Hayden said the Kids Carp Cull is more important for outreach and for stressing the overpopulation issue to the community.

Around a dozen volunteers turned out for the final carp cull of this season in Silver Lake. • Claire Marshall/Echo Overpopulation is cer- season is a little bit dif- efforts. The weight of the necessary to the cull’s tainly a foreboding word, ferent. It’s all weather-re- overall haul is taken as operations, as it's the volbut what does that look lated and water-tempera- well before the boat is unteers who are getting like regarding the carp in ture-related…" hauled off to dispose of in the water, transferring Silver Lake? It looks like a Before the net was the fish. the carp from the net and dramatic shift in the eco- brought in, Carp SoluDisposal is provided into the boat. There were system of the lake, from tions recommended a by Tim Beggs, business 11 volunteers on Sept. vegetation to native fish trial run to see if the carp owner and county com- 27, just a handful of the populations. Carp are actually could be bait- missioner for Golden list that rotated weekly bottom-feeders that up- ed. Last fall, the Friends Township, who has been throughout the summer. root and prevent native of Silver Lake baited the another steadfast supFor one volunteer, who vegetation from taking water over a period of porter of the carp culling lives just down the street hold. This vegetation is two days, to great results project. Beggs has been from the Taylor Road boat integral to the sustaining and the consumption of privately disposing of launch, it may have been populations of native fish over a hundred pounds the fish himself, using the last haul, but it was his commonly enjoyed by of corn. This success was the dead fish to make first day helping out. The anglers: bass, walleye and then presented to the Sil- compost. While Beggs is issue hits close to home bluegill. The agitation of ver Lake Improvement more than happy to col- for him, as he said he fishsediment also drastically Board, who in turn pro- lect thousands of pounds es Silver Lake often, and degrades the water qual- vided the funding to lease of fish throughout the “in the last 40 years it’s ity of Silver Lake, leading a single net at $5,000. summer, Friends of Silver really (gone) downhill. to cloudy water. The culling would have Lake and the Silver Lake Every year it's less and This is not an issue ex- to wait until mid-summer, Improvement Board are less. There’s no bluegill clusive to Silver Lake, as as carp spawning can start also considering finding here anymore. The crapplenty of bodies of water as early as April and run other commercial uses for pie are almost gone (and across the Great Lakes until mid-June, displacing the fish, perhaps offering the) perch are wiped out. region suffer from similar populations from their the hauls to fertilizer or (The) only thing left is overpopulations; Minne- expected spots in Silver pet-food companies. carp, the occasional bass sota in particular. In fact, Lake and rendering the Perhaps the most un- and walleye, (and) that's Hayden got the idea to try net ineffective. It wasn’t expected result of this it.” the net in Silver Lake from until after the Fourth of year’s cull is the local Future volunteers can watching videos of carp July that Carp Solutions’ interest, with crowds ar- sign up on the Friends culls in Minnesota. He net was set up, but the riving every Monday to of Silver Lake website at reached out to Carp Solu- results were immediately watch. For Hayden, who friendsofsilverlake.org. tions, a Minnesota-based apparent with an inaugu- was interested in educatWith autumn arriving company dedicated to ral haul of 800 pounds of ing the community, the in full force, Silver Lake providing tangible solu- carp. outreach is invaluable. has seen its fair share of tions to overpopulation. The weekly process is "It's been great to see how seasonal changes, acHowever, neither the simple. The net is baited the community has kind counting for the lowest Friends of Silver Lake throughout the end of the of rallied around this. haul on Sept. 27. Volunnor Carp Solutions were week and the weekend, We’ve got a lot of people teers wrangled only 19 certain that the methods starting on Thursday. In who really want to help carp into the boat, with that worked in Minnesota the early hours of Mon- improve the lake. If we the largest weighing in at would also be effective in day morning, the net is can get this population 8 pounds and measuring Michigan. As explained set to spring, trapping the down, hopefully we can 28 inches in length. Volby Chuck Persenaire, of fish. Several hours later in see some more native unteers spent the rest of the Silver Lake Improve- the late morning or early plants come around and their time disassembling ment Board, “Spawning afternoon, volunteers ar- fishery improving.” the net for the season. on every lake and every rive to retrieve the carp, Persenaire described The low turnout that day • Contributed wading in the water and the number of onlookers did nothing to dampen rolling the net up, herding and their surprise over the spirits of organizers, the fish to one end where the community interest, however. Hayden is proud a flat-bottom boat awaits. “We thought, you know, of the groups’ experiment The fish are then rounded we should start charging and is looking forward to up into the boat, layers attendance and selling leasing another net next upon layers carpeting the coffee, and maybe we’ll year. hull, sometimes reach- pay for it [the net] that Beggs agreed, “This ing the tops of the seats. way with the amount of has been our most sucWeights and lengths of people that were showing cessful so far… it's been the largest and smallest up just to watch.” a learning experience. specimen are taken, proThe community inter- Hopefully it’ll be even viding precise, scientific est also yielded an influx more successful next Most of the culls yielded hundreds of pounds of carp. numbers for the culling of volunteers, which are year.”

2 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO Living Legacies: Scott Beal reflects on almost a decade of helping local businesses By Sharon Hallack The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent Oceana County residents undoubtedly reside in one of the most stunning areas in the state, possibly even the Midwest. This area not only produces a wide variety of the nation’s most delicious produce, but it is where hundreds of thousands of people come to visit for recreation year after year. While the Silver Lake Sand Dunes are a huge draw, so is the never-ending natural beauty, many great businesses and the people who live here. Over the past several years with the merger of the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Visitors Bureau and the Hart Area Chamber of Commerce, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes-Hart Visitors Bureau (SLSDHVB) has played a major role in maintaining and building on those attributes. Executive Director of the SLSD-HVB, Scott Beal, who retired Oct. 2, has had the privilege of leading the visitors bureau for the past nine years. Before heading into his next phase of life, Beal shared, from his perspective, the bureau’s greatest accomplishments and what this position has meant to him. Before being hired as the executive director for the visitors bureau, Beal worked in managerial positions for the Hilton and Marriott corporations. His main role was to open brand new hotels and train staff. It was a great experience, however, all

of the travel and responsibility were tough. He was ready to settle down and be less busy. After leaving the corporate world, Beal and his wife took a gap year to see the country and decide what was next. They eventually settled back in his hometown of Ludington, when his wife ran into Sarah Tucker at the gym, who told her about a new position opening up at the visitors bureau. “After years of working with chambers, bureaus and boards at Hilton and Marriott, it was something I wanted to try,” Beal recalled. “I was ready for the change.” After years of staffing the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Visitors Bureau with part-time positions, the visitors board was also looking for a change. As the area’s tourism industry was expanding, they realized that area businesses needed more support. In June of 2017, the Silver Lake Sand Dunes Visitors Bureau board took a huge step. Using the PA59 lodging assessment tax collected from the three hotels in Hart and the three hotels in Silver Lake, they created and were able to fund the new fulltime position. While the visitors bureau is mainly funded by the area’s lodging assessment tax and is focused on bringing people to the area, the Hart Area Chamber of Commerce is funded by membership dues and focuses on community events. After becoming one entity in 2020, both

shared in the expense of the thinkdunes.com website. “It’s our biggest cooperative venture to date," Beal said. “As part of the Pure Michigan website, we get a lot of hits and clicks. It’s one of the top five tourism websites in Michigan.” When Beal was first hired in 2017, he was working solely for the chamber. “I said to myself, ‘This is easy.’ Then the global pandemic hit. Some may remember the ‘Discover Oceana’ website that was developed during the shutdown. It was not just tourism; it was survival,” Beal shared. “That website showed more of a county-wide effort. We pooled all of our resources together. That’s still the ultimate goal, to come together someday.” A lot was happening in the Hart area during Covid. The City of Hart was graduating from their Hart Main Street involvement, and Nichole Kleiner was hired as the city’s Community Economic Development Director. “That took Hart, and everyone, to another level,” Beal noted. Not only that, but people were flocking to Oceana County as a place to get outside and away from the crowds. Looking back, Beal reflected, “The funny thing about Covid was everyone was doom and gloom at first. They thought everyone was going to go out of business. Here, businesses did as well as in 2019, even on a smaller scale. Tourists and visitors felt safer here than going to larger areas.

Scott Beal We say it’s when Eastern Michigan discovered Western Michigan. When people got their stimulus checks, they couldn’t go to the Grand Canyon, so they came here; 2021 and 2022 were record years. We were pleasantly stunned.” By 2023, Beal was extremely busy, and overwhelmed. In 2025, the board took a serious look at where they were and where they wanted to go. They made the commitment to hire a marketing manager. Kaitlyn Yonker, a three-year graduate of Aquinas College with a major in business and sports management with a concentration in marketing, was hired and brought a whole other level of support to the organization. “To have two people was a big step, (as) one person just couldn’t do it anymore,” Beal said. At the end of 2025, Beal realized Yonker could do his job, and so he announced his plans to retire. Yonker officially assumed her role as executive director on Oct. 5. Former marketing intern Emily Miles, currently finishing her degree at Ferris State University, will replace Yonker and start

Voter registration open for upcoming election By Sharon Hallack The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent The 2026 midterm elections will take place Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A list of specific township voting locations, addresses and hours is available at mvic.sos.state.mi.us. Early voting will be held from Saturday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Hart Community Center, 407 N. State St. in Hart. Hours for early voting will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily (weekends included), with the exception of Wednesday, when early voting will be open from noon to 8 p.m. Currently there are no write-in candidates for the upcoming vacancy for the District 2 (Ferry and Shelby townships) county commissioner seat. Those wishing to become a write-in candidate for that position or any other must file with the Oceana County Clerk’s office by Friday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. According to Oceana County Clerk Melanie Coon, individuals 18 years of age and older are eligible to vote and need to be registered. From now through Tuesday, Nov. 3, any unregistered voter wishing to vote in the Nov. 3 elections must register in person. Potential voters will need to present proof of residency documentation, such as a driver’s license, vehicle registration, pay stub or tax bill, to complete their registration. Please refer to the above website for information on where to register in person. After checking in with an election volunteer, registered voters who choose to partake in early voting at the Hart Community Centerwill be allowed to mark their ballot and place it in the tabulator, just as they

would on Election Day. Visit https://oceana.mi.us/departments/county-clerk/elections/ for more information. Free Samples!

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full-time as marketing director in December. “It’s not just being nice to people,” Beal said, adding that while public relations is a huge part of the job, it goes both ways. “I’ve been amazed by how nice the businesses have been, especially when we’ve made mistakes. They’ve been so professional and appreciative throughout my time here." “In a weird way, Covid helped Oceana County. So many sharp people moved here. They gave up big-time jobs to settle here,” Beal added. Knowing that young people are the future, Beal hopes that more of the Gen Z-ers will eventually move back to the area. When asked what he had planned for his retirement, Beal laughed, “I wish I had a cool answer. Right now I can’t think of anything more appealing than just relaxing or cleaning out my car!” No matter where retirement takes him, this community will remember his influence for years to come. He will carry with him the friendships formed and the connections made. He leaves big shoes to fill, but in true leadership fashion, he’s prepared his successors, he’s confident in them and he’s ready to let go. He is grateful to the many people who made his time

in this position so enjoyable and rewarding. Going forward, Yonker and Miles plan to continue the bureau’s focus on making the community aware of the work they do. “We find that even though businesses have been members for years, they still don’t fully understand all the chamber does and how much it benefits their business,” Yonker said. Another focus going forward will be the integration of the ever-evolving use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in planning vacations. “We will be doing a lot of website updates this winter, which will allow people to plan their trips using AI. We believe having that capability will bring more attention to our chamber members and help them stand out more.” For more information about the Silver Lake Sand Dunes - Hart Visitors Bureau, please contact Yonker by calling 231873-2247, emailing marketing@thinkdunes.com or stopping at the Visitors Bureau located at 2388 N. Comfort Dr. in Hart, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To connect with their social media pages, please visit “Think Dunes” for the visitors bureau information or “Think Community” for more chamber-related information.

JOB POSTING VILLAGE OF SHELBY

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS DPW LABORER (PARK MAINTENANCE)

The Village of Shelby is seeking applicants for a full-time DPW Laborer. Under the direction of the DPW Supervisor, this position plays a key role in overseeing public works operations, including infrastructure maintenance, water and sewer systems, and construction projects. Regular shift hours are Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Respond to afterhours emergencies related to water and sewer infrastructure while in the on-call rotation is required. Qualifications: High school diploma or GED required, minimum 2 years of experience in public works or related field, valid Michigan Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) required within 90 days of hire, must possess EGLE certifications: Water (S-3, D-3) and Wastewater (L-1, L-2). The salary range is $43,595 to $52,773.00 depending on qualifications. Additional benefits include health insurance, a defined contribution match for retirement, paid time off, and eleven (11) observed paid holidays. Applicants should submit application and resume to:

a

completed

Village Clerk Village of Shelby 218 N. Michigan Ave. Shelby, MI 49455 Or email: clerk@shelbyvillage.com

3731 W. Polk Rd., Hart

For questions, contact Village Hall at (231) 8614400. Applications must be submitted by no later than October 30, 2026, at 4:30 PM.

www.rennhackmarket.com

THE VILLAGE OF SHELBY IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

near the bike trail • (231) 873-7523

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 3

Robbins honored with lifetime achievement award at Hart Historic District open house By Claire Marshall The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent The Hart Heritage Preservation Group hosted an open house at the Hart Historic District on Monday, Sept. 28, offering tours of the facility and exhibits, refreshments and an information and community input presentation from board members. The presentation was primarily led by preservation group members Lloyd Miller and Russ Robbins, as well as Hart Economic and Redevelopment Team (HEART) board members Andrew Mullen and Nichole Kleiner. The historic district is currently at a crossroads, facing a lack of funds, aging board members, and degradation of historic structures. For nearly 40 years, the historic district and the City of Hart have enjoyed a partnership wherein the city provides the property and utilities. Said Kleiner, who also serves as Hart’s city manager, “It’s been a wonderful relationship… [but we] need to think about the next 40 years and what that’s going to look like.” Following financial strains on the city and work to correct fund deficits, Kleiner said, “It is really important to the city that this organization becomes financially sustainable. I think the partnership has just leaned more and more on the city over the years to the point where we’re needing to pull back and see not only what the future looks like, but if it's sustainable financially.” Enter the HEART Board. With only two members left in the nonprofit Hart Heritage Preservation Group (HHPG), the workload needed alle-

Russ Robbins, along with members of his family, was honored with a lifetime achievement award for his decades of service to the Hart Historic District. • Claire Marshall/Echo viation and the district needed new ideas. The HEART board provided new board members and a year’s length to preserve the nonprofit status and restructure the organization, meeting monthly to ascertain the status of the buildings, exhibits and volunteer base. Now that the year interim is complete, the HEART Board is wanting to pass the baton, looking toward that evening's group of almost 50 event attendees for the future HHPG. Said Kleiner, “We’re not just trying to fill board seats tonight, we’re asking the community to help decide what the next chapter looks like - what we should preserve, what we could do differently, what would bring people here, what would make people volunteer and become involved, and most importantly, how do we make this place sustainable for the next 40 years.” Miller explained further, saying, “Tonight’s meeting [is] to see what we can do about reimagining the district

itself and the future… and the community input as well.” That evening, Miller was nominated as the new board president, a role that he accepted, promising that he’d do all he could to keep the historic district open. Miller joined in the HEART Board’s efforts to help the historic district eight months prior, diving head-first into the responsibility. Miller himself nominated Kleiner as the board’s new vice president. Two other attendees and local residents answered the call to serve as the HHPG’s new treasurer and secretary, citing an interest in community involvement and love for the district as reasons for their investment. Mullen, who served as the HHPG’s president in the interim year, will remain on the board, though not as an officer. The HHPG is still looking for additional members to meet, at a minimum quarterly, throughout the year. Prior to the meeting, the HEART Board put out requests for propos-

als to planning companies and engineers, hoping to engage with outsider ideas and bring them into Hart to help the community preserve this piece of history. The hopes are that after one more year, there will be a conceptualized plan - complete with visuals - for the community to consider and offer feedback, after which grant funding can be pursued. While much of the evening was centered around the district’s future, the new leadership took a moment to honor the district’s past, specifically the decades of hard work and dedication poured into the district by Russ Robbins. Robbins’ involvement with the HHPG and HEART Boards has been invaluable, helping share decades' worth of collection information, documentation and, of course, stories of his own. Robbins was invited to share the history of the district - starting in 1985 with the donation of Schaner’s Feed Mill and Robbins’ recruitment to the group the following year - and following 40 years of addition and acquisition. Specially highlighted was the 18,000-square-foot building, constructed in 1994, populated with nine unique exhibits and the subject of the open house tours. Before the close of the event, Robbins - with his family in attendance was honored with a plaque celebrating his “lifetime achievement” for his work with the HHPG and preservation of the district. Robbins spoke highly of the district and all it has to offer the community. “We have a pretty complete exhibit and historic district here. I hope, for my sake, that the younger generations take a hold and take over for us.”

4 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO Visit us!

This page is brought to you by:

The Oceana County Historical & Genealogical Society is open Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Private tours are available by appointment. oceanahistory.org

114 Dryden St. in Hart, Mich. 49420 (231) 873-2600

103 years young: Olive Fordham and County Normal - Part 2 By Claire Marshall That was a necessity for University of Michigan. years of teaching across The Oceana Echo Community Columnist After graduating from high school, the motivation for Olive Fordham to begin her college career is one that many of us can relate to - her dad told her she’d better get a job. “‘You can’t just stay at home and do nothing,’” Olive recalls her father, Tom Fordham, telling her. “I said, ‘No, that’s true.’” It was then that her father suggested Oceana County Normal School, and Olive was presented with her calling as an educator, thinking to herself: “Oh, hell, I don’t want to be a teacher of all things.” Olive then asked the obvious question, “‘Well? Who else is there?’” And after a presentation of a list of local girls already enrolled, Olive relented. Father and daughter traveled to Hart to meet with the sole teacher and administrator of County Normal at the time, a woman named Miss Pearl, or Pearl Berger. Though the school year had already started, Miss Pearl found she could make room for one more girl. That took care of enrollment, but now Olive needed a place to stay.

many of the girls attending County Normal, and Olive was lucky that there was also one more space available boarding with Angela Landon. Landon was an “old maid” who used to work for Hart Schools - Olive believes she was a superintendent - and she was already there to help the girls. Olive couldn’t remember the exact cost of her lodging, but she recalled that it was “nominal.” What Olive clearly remembered, however, was her bedmate, a girl she grew up with named Ruth. And if it is any indication by how Olive uttered the girl’s full government name (which I will not provide out of respect for airing old grievances with someone's great-grandmother), she disliked sharing a room and a bed with Ruth. I’d like to take a moment to share a little bit about Miss Pearl. While she may not be as longlived as Olive, passing away in 1988 at the age of 85, Pearl’s life was no less thrilling. Her obituary explains that she taught for 41 years, retiring in 1968, with a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan and a master’s from the

In those 41 years, Pearl taught all over the world, from a year in England to serving as a director of education in the capital city of Caracas, Venezuela. She traveled the world recreationally as well, visiting Europe, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Her estate sale, understandably, made the local news. Miss Pearl did everything at County Normal, as Olive explained. “She was the teacher, superintendent, everything. She ruled the roost.” Pearl was in charge of enrolling, evaluating and testing the students, as well as teaching every class. Some of the classes involved methods of teaching - reading, writing and arithmetic, as they say - as well as various activities to do with children to keep them engaged and occupied. “She was fair,” Olive remembers. “She taught you like a teacher would; she tried to be like a county teacher to the students like they would be to their children. She really was quite smart.” There was no dedicated instruction to classroom management, but Pearl shared with her students her wisdom from

the local rural schools and across continents. “This is what you will run into, and this is what you will do,” as Olive said. In Olive’s time there was no single classroom for County Normal students to practice teaching; rather, they traveled all over the county on a schedule, experiencing different students at different rural schools on different days of the week. This wasn’t the only way that County Normal students integrated with the community, as there were plenty of social gatherings organized for and by the student teachers. As Olive explained, “A social was a good thing… Every fall, to introduce the teacher and the kids to the community, they put on what they called a box social.” These socials were free, with funds raised through an auction on boxed lunches. Olive recalls them consisting of a couple sandwiches, a cookie or piece of cake, but the main draw was a banana - “always a banana” - which many of the participants had never had the opportunity to try before. The auctioneer at her Flower Creek School was

typically Everett Seaver, known throughout Claybanks for his skills. Olive recalls him holding up the boxes, noting the tasty treats and praising the cook who prepared the box. Everett would start at 50 cents and go up to a dollar, maybe more “if he could wiggle it out of them.” Many of these boxes were put together by local mothers or female students, and, if bananas were available, that was the other draw for certain boxes. Many auction participants would bid repeatedly on a boxed lunch they knew was prepared by a housewife renowned for her cooking skills. Other times, young men would bid on the lunches prepared by girls they wanted to date. It would give the boys a chance to eat with the girl and, if he was really brave, escort her home. Joanne Kessler noted that

1306

The

her Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Doug got together at a box social at the Green School. The money raised from these box socials went on to buy books for the students and libraries for the rural schools (in fact, many of the rural schools hosted box socials themselves). Some of the most coveted books, Olive recalls, were titles like "Tom Sawyer" or "Little Women." Olive recalls her old one-room schoolhouse of Flower Creek and how “we had some really good books… it wasn’t luxurious, but we did have a library.” Olive graduated from County Normal in 1943, and she received her diploma that spring. There was a modest ceremony, and Olive recalls Miss Pearl enlisting her to write the graduates' names on their diplomas because of her wonderful penmanship. “We managed to get through,” Olive concluded. They didn’t realize they were the final graduating class from County Normal. More on that next week.

Oceana Center Grange Agricultural Report for October 2026 By Phil Carter The Oceana Echo Agricultural Consultant Fall is officially ''Ripe in the Land of Oceana,'' bringing all the traditional happenings of the season with it. Day and nighttime temperatures are cooler along with shorter daylight hours and longer evening hours. Football is in season, and fall colors are appearing on deciduous trees. Fall harvest season is also ripe. Corn silage chopping is progressing rapidly, and the early planted grain corn harvest has started. A few soybean fields have been run, and winter wheat planting is beginning. The green bean harvest is ongoing, and squash is rolling into the processing plants. Apple harvest crews are busy picking an already small crop with Golden Delicious, Red Delicious and Spy coming off the trees. The weather has been mostly favorable, and overall quality is good. Some orchards have San Jose Scale, and growers will need to implement more effective control measures in

2027 to manage this pesky insect. Some processors are actively seeking all varieties and are offering attractive pricing to obtain these apples. Many growers are short on most varieties. Agri-science classes and the FFA are ripening nicely at Shelby High School. Ms. Scheffler has a large number of agri-science students that are becoming very interested in the activities of the program. They are currently raising some broiler chickens and following the FFA guidelines even though the contest deadline escaped them. An FFA Alumni and Support Group has been chartered, and plans are being developed to assist the teacher in a number of activities. These include fundraising, developing possible mentors for the students SAE's (Supervised Agricultural Experiences), identifying possible field trip sites, developing leadership team activities and planning a trip to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis later this month. The FFA Alumni group is open to community adults who could assist the program in any way. Former FFA membership is not a requirement to be involved. Currently, a raffle for, among other prizes, a

chance to win a John Deere Gator is being conducted statewide. Tickets purchased through a local alumni return one half of the ticket price of $10 to the local chapter activities. October is one of the deadliest months for vehicle accidents and farm machinery on the roads. Traveling at 55 mph requires 300 feet (the length of a football field) to brake and decelerate enough to prevent a collision. As in every month's article, please be observant when traveling our rural roads.

NOTICE

Patrons of Hart Cemetery All urns are to be emptied and all artificial flowers removed by November 12, 2026. Thank you, Hart Cemetery Commission

The Oceana Echo © is a 501(c)(3) published weekly at P.O. Box 192, Mears, MI 49436 • All rights reserved. General news/inquiry email: theoceanaecho@gmail.com • October 9, 2026 • Volume 4 • Issue 20 Office (Old Town Hall in Mears): M & W: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. • 231-301-8149 • ads@oceanaecho.com

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THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 5

Ongoing

OctOber

The Ladder Community Center: 6th-12th Grade youth program “The Huddle”: Mon-Fri 3-5pm Adult Hours: Mon-Fri 8-3 Women’s Bible Study: Mondays 1-2pm Men’s Bible Study: Tuesdays 10:30am-12pm Visit www.theladdercommunitycenter.com for complete event schedule. Donate returnable cans and bottles to the Hart VFW. Drop off at the hall or call Steve at 231-873-1727 for pick-up.

Oct. 9 - Golden Fair Parade, Downtown Mears, 1 p.m.

Area food pantries and free dinners

Mondays & Thursdays: Hesperia United Methodist Church, 187 E. South Ave., Hesperia (red brick building behind church), Mondays 9-11 a.m. And Thursdays 4-6 p.m. 2nd Mondays: Rothbury Community Church, 2500 W. Winston Rd., Rothbury, 231-893-4965, food distribution hours are 9-11:30 a.m. (number system). 3rd Tuesdays: Pentwater Jr. Women’s Club - Feeding America West Michigan mobile food pantry, Pentwater Fire Department, 486 E. Park St., Pentwater, 11 a.m. Wednesdays: Bread of Life Food Pantry, a ministry of St. Gregory/Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Churches, 11 Washington St., Hart, 231-873-2660, 3-5 p.m. food pickup. Wednesdays: Community Dinner, September through May, Centenary United Methodist Church, 82 S. Hancock St., Pentwater, 4:30-5 p.m., call 231869-5900 to reserve a takeout meal, 5-6 p.m., dine-in, no reservation required. Frozen meals are available at no charge and can be picked up during church hours Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to

noon, and Wednesday during the community dinner, noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays: Christ the Rock World Harvest Church, 6985 Indian Bay Rd., Montague, 231-893-8900, noon to 6 p.m. 1st Wednesday: Walkerville Wesleyan Church, 144 176th Avenue, Walkerville, 231-873-5040, food pantry, 3-6 p.m. 1st & 3rd Wednesdays: Hart Wesleyan Church, 757 W Polk Rd, Hart, free clothing closet, 4-6 p.m. 2nd & 4th Wednesdays: First Baptist Church-Pentwater Community Food Pantry, 101 S. Rush St., Pentwater, 231-869-5149, also basic clothing and household needs offered, doors open at 9 a.m., register by 9:30 a.m. 3rd Wednesdays: New Hope Community Church, 244 79th Ave. Shelby, 231-861-0536, 6 p.m., food pantry (closed in January & July). 1st Saturdays: Trinity Lutheran Church Baby Pantry, 5631 W. Stony Lake Rd., New Era, 8:30-10 a.m. 2nd & 4th Saturdays: TLC Food Pantry, 5631 W. Stony Lake Rd., New Era, 231-861-4059, 8-10 a.m.

30th annual Oktoberfest this weekend in Pentwater Oktoberfest is the perfect time to enjoy a weekend in Pentwater while viewing peak fall colors. With something for all ages, visitors and residents can enjoy activities throughout the town, including the classic car show, Stout Stumble 5K, COVE Home Tour, Comedy Night, Chili Cook-Off, live music and Polish food at Village Cafe, Cousins Maine Lobster food truck, football games on the big screen and more. The Stout Stumble 5K returns Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, as part of Pentwater’s annual Oktoberfest celebration. Participants must register before the day of the event, which kicks off at the Municipal Marina at 10 a.m. and weaves throughout the village. The course ends at the Village Green with an award ceremony. Participants 21 and older will receive a celebratory beer at the finish line, along with an exclusive Stout Stumble shirt and access to the Oktoberfest festivities that follow the race. After the race, enjoy a lineup of classic cars and hot rods. Car registration is 8–10 a.m. the day of the show at the Chamber of Commerce office located at 324 S. Hancock St. Hancock Street will be pedestrian traffic only for viewing of the cars on display from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with an award ceremony after. The Car Show is judged in these categories: Best in Show, Best Engine Compartment, Best Paint Job, Best Post 1998, Best Truck, Driver’s Choice and Top Ten. The first 100 entries also receive a commemorative Oktoberfest Car Show dash plate. For more information and to register for specific events, please visit www.pentwater.org..

Annual

Craft/ Vendor SHOW

Saturday, October 17, 2026 More details 9 AM - 3 PM Many Vendors on Facebook

LOCATION:

& craFters!

Oceana County Council on Aging 4250 W. Tyler Rd. in Hart

Bring a friend and kick off your holiday shopping! Bring a donation for the

Oceana County Animal Shelter

and receive a gift! ANY QUESTIONS CALL OR TEXT

Karen Isley at (231) 742-1150

Oct. 10 - Oktoberfest, Pentwater (Classic Car & Hot Rod Show) Oct. 10 - Penny Fair, Oceana Center Grange, Hart, 5:30 p.m. Oct. 15 - Matinee Movie, Hesperia Community Library, 1-3 p.m. Oct. 15 - Family Fun Night, Hesperia Community Library, 5-7 p.m. Oct. 15 - Friendship Ring Quilt Guild, New Era Reformed Church, 7 p.m. Oct. 16 - Application deadline for Senior Veteran Homeowner Roof Repair/Replacement, Oceana County Department of Veterans Affairs Oct. 16 - Mobile Food Pantry, GHSP parking lot, Hart, 5 p.m. Oct. 19 - Afterschool Movie, Hesperia Community Library, 3:30-5 p.m. Oct. 19 - Area High Schools Marching Band Glow Show, Montague High School. Oct. 20 - Flu Shot Clinic, Pentwater Public Schools Library, 2-4 p.m. Oct. 21 - Workshop, “Protecting Your Online Identity”, Shelby Area District Library, 11 a.m. -12 p.m. Registration is recommended. Oct. 24 - Spooktacular, Downtown Pentwater, 12 noon. Oct. 24 - Mobile Food Pantry, Shelby State Bank parking lot,Shelby, 2 p.m.

Friends of SADL seek holiday fundraiser participants Crafters, holiday decorators, school groups, families, businesses and artists of all kinds are encouraged to participate in the 31st annual Celebration of the Holidays scheduled for Nov. 10–21 at the Shelby Area District Library (SADL). Friends of SADL seek volunteers to create holiday displays, decorated trees, holiday-themed baskets and wreaths for silent auction. Donations of new or gently used holiday decorations are also being collected to be repurposed for displays and can be dropped off at the library until Nov. 3. Organizers request no large trees. This year bidding will start one week earlier on Nov. 10 to allow more opportunity for the community to view the beautiful items on display at SADL. Final bidding ends Saturday, Nov. 21 at noon, and bidders will be notified by phone if they have won any items. Participation forms can be picked up at the circulation desk or by emailing Friends of SADL President Cindy McKinnon at cindymckinnon35@gmail.com for more information. Each year this popular silent auction showcases the talent and holiday spirit of this community. Funds raised at this event benefit SADL. The community’s support is appreciated by the Friends of the Shelby Area District Library, a 501(c)(3) non-profit. .

New Tutor Training event seeks volunteers Read Muskegon will be hosting a training for volunteer tutors interested in supporting English language learners. Tutors meet with learners at a time and public space that works best for them. No experience is required, and Read Muskegon provides all the materials and support. The New Tutor Training will take place Tuesday, Oct. 13 from 5:30-8 p.m. at New Era Christian Reformed Church, 1820 Ray Ave. in New Era. Volunteers can sign up by clicking the link on this page: https://www.readmuskegon.org/volunteer This program is now in its second year, and organizers have matched learning pairs in Oceana since spring 2025 and have supported more than 20 adult learners in improving their English skills. .

Camp Miniwanca celebrates community ‘Tree Party’ Camp Miniwanca will host a “Tree Party” on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 4-6 p.m. at 8845 W. Garfield Rd. in Shelby, Michigan. The community celebration marks a major milestone in a multi-year ecological restoration project to plant 20,000 native seedlings on the Miniwanca property. Funded in part by a three-year grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), this reforestation effort features agroforestry programming from The Tree Lab, an ecological education group that has given more than 350 young people across Oceana County direct, meaningful experience learning how to create a sustainable relationship between trees, land, and people. The project has also included treatment of hemlock trees to protect them from the invasive Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) insect, preserving mature trees that are critical to the health of the surrounding ecosystem and watershed. The Tree Lab has been at the heart of this project’s educational mission, weaving agroforestry learning modules across local schools and Miniwanca’s summer camps, the National Leadership Conference, and community and school programs so that every young person who walks this land leaves with a deeper connection to it. Their immersive programming transforms restoration work into a lived experience, giving students the tools to understand why healthy forests matter and why protecting forests is everyone’s responsibility. The Oceana Conservation District has been an essential partner, providing expert guidance on native species selection, site assessment, and long-term forest health to ensure that every tree is the right tree in the right place. The upcoming Tree Party event brings together Miniwanca, Oceana Conservation District and The Tree Lab, who worked together in creating the Oceana Coastal Conservation Corridor. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore the camp property, meet the partners behind the restoration work and learn about ongoing efforts to steward this landscape for the future. “This is what it looks like when communities come together to decide that something is worth protecting and worth passing on,” said Miniwanca Executive Director Griffin Vogler. “When a young person plants a tree, tends to it and begins to understand their place within something much larger and older than themselves, something shifts. The natural world has a way of inspiring reverence, and that reverence is where great effort begins. That curiosity, that connection to the outdoors — it’s exactly what this partnership is building. We are so proud of what has been made possible and cannot wait to celebrate it together.” The event is open to the public and free to attend. RSVPs are encouraged. Please RSVP at https://bit.ly/4hCsLj7.

6 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO The Journey to the Promised Land: Part 4 - Life as a Shorebird, an introduction By Janet Van Gunst Hasselbring journey of life – The Oceana Echo Community Columnist "At every moment of every day, morning or midnight regardless of the season, there are birds aloft in the skies of the Western Hemisphere, migrating," Scott Weidensaul wrote in "Living on the Wind: Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds." As the hot, lazy days of summer transition into the crisp, cooler days of autumn, billions of birds, mostly unseen by us, will cast themselves upon the breeze and fly overhead. William Cullen Bryant's 1818 allegorical poem, "To a Waterfowl," describes a shorebird's migratory flight and reminds us that our lives, too, are migratory journeys, like those of the shorebirds and songbirds aloft in the skies: "Whither, 'midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way?" This series explores Bryant's poem verse by verse, seeking what wisdom we can glean from the shorebird about the

from birth 'til the crossing of the River Jordan. Guided by the stars, the sun, Ruddy Turnstone crystals in their little bird bodies, landmarks, and following a path graven in their genes, these amazing avian fliers undertake long, arduous journeys to winter feeding grounds. Their flights are examples of perseverance, determination, and pure grit, also known as faith. When the Ruddy Turnstones take to the wind from the Arctic mudflats and journey to their winter homes in Patagonia, they fly for five to eight days at a time, without food or water. Their wings will flap a total of 3 million times in their quest for food. When they return north in the spring, they will have flown over 13,000 miles. On its way north from Patagonia to Delaware Bay, the Red Knot flies over Brazil's bulge for 10 days straight – a 240hour trip, without stopping for food or water. This plucky flier, banded B95, is nicknamed “the Moonbird,” because after more than 20 years of migrating, he’s flown the equivalent mileage of traveling to the moon and back. The oldest Red Knot has become an icon for birders.

3757 W. Polk Rd. Hart, MI 49420

Sunday Services

English: 10 a.m. Spanish/Español: 12:30 p.m.

Red Knot White-Rumped Sandpiper Arctic Tern Blackpoll Warbler The White-Rumped Sandpiper flies dropping. He sprints forward on long 9,000 miles twice each year, pursuing flights, folds back his wings, and drops – summer. That was a record until bird- over and over again - 20 times a minute. ers banded and tracked the Arctic Tern. Migratory birds fly mostly at night What they found was astonishing! when the air is less turbulent, so they exThis 4-ounce wonder flies 44,000 pend less energy. The cooler air diffusmiles round trip from Nova Scotia across es dangerously high levels of body heat the Atlantic to the southern shores of Af- from the constant flapping and reduces rica, back over the Atlantic to Patagonia, dehydration. Enemies, mainly hawks, are back to Africa, and then back over the diurnal, and owls, though night prowlers, ocean for the fourth time to Nova Scotia aren't agile enough to harm them. Deand from there to the Arctic mudflats – a spite flying against incredible odds, indazzling aerial figure-8 in pursuit of food. cluding dehydration, starvation, disease, The Blackpoll Warbler is one of predators, skyscrapers lit up at night, and the gutsiest songbirds. This little sprite satellite towers that can take out unwitstarts from Alaska and flies 3,000 miles ting fliers, the GPS systems of these mieast to Nova Scotia, where it gorges gratory wonders guide them back and on webworms and sawflies. When a forth to the same locations every year! strong northwest wind blows, he's off This is the bird Bryant memorializes on a 2,000-mile transoceanic flight. At a in his poem. As we journey to the Prommere 4 inches long and weighing one- ised Land, towards light and peace, our third of an ounce (that's 50 birds to the travels are often fraught with difficulties pound), he's all feathers, hollow bones, and trials, resembling a shorebird’s miand heart. He cannot swim, so he must gratory flight. keep flying – up to 90 hours at a time! He To access the entire poem, visit doesn't glide, so if he's not flapping, he's https://poets.org/poem/waterfowl.

St. Joseph & St. Vincent Catholic Churches

St. Gregory-Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Parish

www.stjosephweare.org

Saturday: 4 p.m. (English) OLF Sunday: 9:30 a.m. (English) STG Love our community toward Christ Domingo: 11:30 a.m. (Español) STG Sunday 10:30 am Streamed on Domingo: 6 p.m. (Español) OLF Safe Haven: Every Wed. 3-5 pm

Office: 231-873-5776

Check out our Facebook page

Clothing Closet: Every Wed. 4-6 p.m. St. Joseph, Weare Family Dinner: 1st & 3rd Wed. 5-6 p.m. 2380 W. Jackson Rd., Hart

Church Directory

(231) 873-0832

Full class schedule on our website:

hartwesleyanchurch.org

Saturday Mass: 7 p.m. Sunday Mass: 9 a.m.

St. Vincent, Pentwater Hesperia CENTENARY UNITED 637 E. Sixth St. Presbyterian Church Saturday Mass: 4 p.m. METHODIST CHURCH Be the Breath of God in Community. Everyone is welcome to join us Sunday Mass: 10:30 a.m. - Easter through October June 28 through September 6 in worship Sunday mornings Sundays at 9:30 AM at 10 a.m. Confessions: 1/2 hour before Pentwater Village Green

Fall, Winter & Spring Worship 10:30 AM - Yellow Brick Church at 82 S. Hancock St. in Pentwater Rev. Dr. Vaughn W. Thurston-Cox, Pastor www.pentwaterumc.org

claybankS united MethodiSt church

Sunday WorShip 10:30 a.m.

82 Church St. P.O. Box 336 Hesperia, MI 49421 (231) 854-3075 hpc11@frontier.com

all Masses, except 10:30 Mass

Rev. Phil Sliwinski, Pastor

Misas en inglés y español Sunday Mass Times:

Walkerville Wesleyan Church

Daily Mass & Adoration Times:

Open gym and showers available

Tuesday: 6 p.m. (English) STG Wednesday: 9 a.m.(English) STG Jueves: 6 p.m. Misa y Adoración después de Misa (Español) STG Viernes: 6 p.m. (Español) STG Friday: 8 a.m. Adoration & 9 a.m. Mass (English) OLF

Reconciliation:

9:30 a.m. Wednesday @ STG 9:30 a.m. Friday @ OLF 3:30 p.m. Saturday @ OLF 5:30 p.m. Tuesday-Friday @ STG St. Gregory: 214 S. Peach Ave., Hart Our Lady of Fatima: 1372 S. Oceana Dr., Shelby www.stgregoryathart.org Fr. Juan Palomar • (231) 873-2660

Hart United Methodist Church

231.873.5040 144 S Hamon St, Walkerville

Office@walkervillewesleyanchurch.org

St. Peter’S-By-the-Lake ePiScoPaL church 8435 Old Channel Trail, Montague 616-894-0172 SUNDAY EUCHARIST – 9 a.m. stpetersmontague@gmail.com stpetersbythelake.weebly.com

Blessings Abound!

St. Stephens

Lutheran Church

308 S. State St., Hart, MI 49420

(LCMS) 82 S. Wythe St. in Pentwater 7400 W. Johnson Rd., (231) 869-7351 hartunitedmethodist.org A warm welcome is extended 5631 W. Stony Lake Rd. Shelby • 231-861-2952 www.facebook.com/HUMCmichigan to all who worship here Join Us For Worship 49446 • 231-861-4059 Sunday Service: 9:30 a.m. New Era, MI 10:30 AM Sunday Service 9197 56th avenue Sundays at 10 a.m. office@tlcnewera.org • tlcnewera.org Pastor Cydney Idsinga Summer Outdoor Service joinus@stjamesepiscopalpentwater.org Montague, Mi Rev. Sarah J. Samuelson If you would like an appointment Rev. Kurt Overway We Believe That God Loves Sunday Worship Service: 8 & 10 a.m. 231-923-0573 with Pastor Cyd, please call www.ststephensshelby.org Barrier Free Access Nursery Provided claybankSuMc@gMail.coM You - No Exceptions 231-873-3516

231-873-3516

Ferry Memorial Lighthouse Reformed Church Lutheran Sunday Worship: 10:00 am Church LCMS

Our independent, non-denominational church is committed to reaching and serving those in our communities.

Youth Group: Sundays 5-7 pm

Wed. Family Night: 6-8 pm

Barrier Free • Nursery Provided 231.894.9415

8637 Old Channel Trail Montague, Michigan

www.ferrychurch.org

First Methodist oF shelby (Formerly Shelby UMC)

We are an independent, local church serving our communities and reaching beyond.

SUNDAY WORSHIP: 11 AM

Shelby Congregational UCC building

FMCShelby@gmail.com

Find us on Facebook:

First-Methodist Church Of-Shelby MAiling Address Worship Address

8463 W. Shelby Rd., Shelby

51 E. 3rd St., Shelby

8786 N. Business US-31 Pentwater, MI • 49449 231-869-2527 Pastor John C. Hansen Sunday Worship - 11 a.m.

For more information, call 231-233-7703

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Mears United Shelby Methodist Church Congregational

Sunday Service: 10 am

Last FRI: Free Soup Supper, 5:30-7 pm

4075 S. 132nd Ave., Hesperia 231-861-5007 NEWMANC3.ONLINE

Do No Harm, Do Good, Stay In Love With God

1990 N. 56th Ave. Mears, MI 49436 10 am Service 231-873-0875 www.mearsumc.org Pastor Bev Williams

All Are Welcome

followers gathered. disciples scattered

1820 Ray Ave. 231-861-5554 Sunday Services: 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Rev. John Medendorp www.neweracrc.org

Growing in Relationship with God, with Each Other, and with Our Community.

2500 W. Winston Rd. • 231-893-4965 9:30 a.m. Morning Service 11:15 a.m. Sunday Bible Classes

Nursery provided Senior Pastor - James Enns Associate Pastor - Bryan Wolff Associate Pastor - Luke Craymer Adult small groups and family ministries every week Second Monday Food Pantry 9:15-11:30 a.m.

Becoming Committed Followers of Jesus Christ www.rothburycommunity.com

4775 First St • 231-861-2501 SUNDAY SERVICE: 9:30 a.m. Children’s SS: 9:45 a.m. Nursery Provided Pastor Benjamin Oliveira Coffee fellowship after service

newerareformedchurch.org

United Church of Christ

51 E. Third St.

231-861-4404 • shelbycucc@gmail.com on Facebook • website under development

Sunday Service - 9:15 a.m. Coffee time follows

Sunday School (Ages 4-12) • Nursery available • Chancel Choir & Bell Choir meet Wednesdays • Adult Bible Studies - Thursdays, Fall - May • 5th Saturday - Free Breakfast 8-10 a.m. • Hearing Loop • Barrier Free

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

White Lake UMC

Worship God, Follow Jesus, Love & Serve all

Sunday Worship

9am Traditional Service 11am Praise Band Service 11am Kids Church/Youth Class/Nursery Weekly Faith Groups for All Ages Choir and Handbells Mission Opportunities Home of the White Lake Free Store and The Gathering free meals 8555 Cook Street Montague, MI 49437 (231) 894-5789 www.whitelakeumc.org

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 7 In Loving Memory of our Family, Friends and Neighbors

obituaries

John Karl Schmidt

August 17, 1955 ~ October 4, 2026

Our amazing John has made his final journey. Born in Hollywood, Florida, he made his home in the Ft. Myers, Florida area. He worked in the construction industry as a successful truss manager at a local lumber company. He was not only an effective leader, but also a friend and mentor to many an employee. John retired in 2010 and made a permanent move to Montague, Michigan. He loved his summer kitchen, where Mary (Leone) Funke Kaminski passed away on Sephe worked his magic on all his creations. What a cook! tember 26, 2026. She was 90 years old. She is survived by The parties he hosted with all his wonderful friends her husband, Edward; her brothers, Donald and Richand beloved family were epic! He loved to socialize at ard; her sister, GeorgeAnn; her children, Ann (husthe local Eagles club, always making new friends. His genband, TJ), Mark (wife, Christine), and Paul; and her erosity and love of people were as big as his 6-foot-7 frame. grandchildren, Madigan, Warren, Ronan, Griffin, and He will leave a hole in so many hearts. Gretchen. John is survived by: his devoted wife, June; sons, Troy (Diane) and Travis Born in 1936 in Sioux City, Iowa, Mary was num(Kalli); grandchildren, Ashlee, John, Nicholas, and Jack; sister, Vicki; and brother, ber two in a family of seven. Losing her father at 12, Paul. she grew up quickly and discovered a passion for math. John was preceded by his parents, Amos and Janice, and also his sister, BarShe studied mathematics at Briar Cliff College in Sioux bara. City and taught high school math as a nun for 10 years. She A Celebration of Life will be held next summer at his beloved Eagles club. then left the convent to pursue her master's in math at MarRemember this gentle giant with a big smile and love. quette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There she met Edward. They courted Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, White Lake Chapel, is in charge of aruntil they finished schooling and were married on Beethoven’s birthday in 1967. rangements. www.beaconfh.com They moved to Connecticut, and almost exactly nine months later, their daughter, Ann, was born. Two years later, Mark followed, and four years after that, Paul. Obituary Information: While the family lived in different areas in Connecticut, one place remained We, at The Oceana Echo, offer our deepest condolences for your loss and are here to help you tell others about consistent: Montague, Michigan. Every summer, the family packed their bags your loved one’s life and the plans you have made to honor, celebrate and remember them. If you would like to and headed to their cottage on Lake Michigan. When Edward flew back to work, place an obituary with us, please tell your arrangement specialist or email us at theoceanaecho@gmail.com. Mary took on all three kids, showing them how to have fun with things as simple as beach rocks, a ball of string, and a library card. As the children grew, Mary was itching to use her degrees for something more than tutoring grade school math, but it wasn’t until 1980, when the family relocated back to the Midwest in Illinois that Mary decided to return to studies to prepare for her next step. Mary pursued computer science when the internet was barely more than a noisy box and a phone line. She became a computer systems programmer at Bell Labs. There, she thrived. She enjoyed her job and the people she worked with very much she’d found her new passion. Mary’s house was never empty. If there was an open room or bed, it was filled. As her own kids grew up, went to colleges, dropped out of colleges, transferred colleges, got their first jobs, got fired from their first jobs, etc. - others, typically friends of her original three - were welcomed to stay for as long as they needed Lakeshore Keepers is excited to be- outlined to include repairs to the lightwhile getting on their feet. Mary treated them as extended family. At this point, gin restoration work at Big Sable Point house’s cladded tower. she became something more than Mom; she became a friend. Lighthouse this fall as preparations The timing of the restoration is esMary remained at her evolving workplace until she and Edward got the begin for a major restoration project pecially meaningful as 2027 will mark chance to retire early and build their dream home on the Michigan cottage propplanned for 2027. the 160th anniversary of Big Sable Point erty and become permanent residents of Montague. There, Mary taught comThe fall 2026 work will focus on two Lighthouse standing along the Lake puters at the senior center and built her own computer from the ground up, still key areas of the historic lighthouse: Michigan shoreline. The historic lightproving she was a computer math nerd for life. She also had a vast reading rechimney repairs and restoration of the house, completed in 1867, remains an sume, was quite skilled at knitting, played Scrabble with the classiest words, and north porch foundation wall. Northern important landmark and destination maintained a home her kids, honorary “kids,” and extended family loved to visit. Restoration & Waterproof Systems Inc. for visitors from Michigan and beyond. About 15 or so years ago, dementia, then Alzheimer’s, took over her brilliant has been selected to complete the proj“Preserving Big Sable is a signifimind and slowly chipped away at it until she succumbed to it and natural causes ect, with work expected to finish about cant undertaking, and these projects at 90 years. a week after construction begins. are part of our long-term commitment Mary led an incredible life, defying stereotypes, breaking through with her “Northern Restoration won the bid to maintaining the lighthouse for future career, traveling abroad with her husband, and opening her home and her famfor this job because of their prior work generations,” Greve said. “We are excitily to kids who were in the midst of finding their way. She will be missed by all experience at lighthouses across the ed to begin this work now and continue she touched. state, including at Tawas Point Light- that momentum into Big Sable’s 160th Fading photograph house,” Executive Director of Lake- anniversary year.” Memories lost like a dream shore Keepers Jack Greve said. “This Lakeshore Keepers is committed to Our hearts you will stay fall project will support the $450,000 preserving and maintaining Big Sable - Paul Big Sable restoration project planned Point Lighthouse and its surrounding In lieu of flowers, Mary’s family asks all to consider a donation to the National for 2027 by allowing the north porch to historic structures while ensuring the serve as an access point for guests vis- lighthouse remains accessible for visiAlzheimer’s Association for research. http://www.alz.org Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, White Lake Chapel, is in charge of ar- iting the lighthouse next season. With tors to experience and enjoy. this work, we will now be able to guide For more information about Big rangements. www.beaconfh.com the traffic flow safely in and out of Big Sable Point Lighthouse, restoration efSable.” forts, upcoming events, and the other The fall restoration work will not historic lighthouses Lakeshore Keepaffect Big Sable Point Lighthouse’s cur- ers cares for, visit lakeshorekeepers. Synopsis of Meeting rent operating schedule. The lighthouse org. September 28, 2026 is open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of the About Lakeshore Keepers The regular meeting of September 28, 2026 was called to order at season. Big Sable will close for the seaLakeshore Keepers is a nonprofit 7:00 PM with all Board members present and 2 visitors. The agenda son on Oct. 25, 2026, and is projected organization with a mission to prewas approved with additions. The minutes of the regular meeting to reopen in the spring on May 4, 2027. serve, promote, educate the public, and the Truth in Taxation hearing of August 24, 2026 were approved and make their lighthouses accessible with corrections. Action was taken on the following: Major Restoration Planned for 2027 to all. Lakeshore Keepers is commit• 2027 Shelby-Benona Fire District budget adopted. The fall work is an important first ted to maintaining these historic landstep toward the larger restoration proj- marks and providing educational op• Contract with Shelby Area District Library approved. ect planned for Big Sable Point Light- portunities that connect people to the • Election Commission meeting scheduled for Oct. 5, 2026 at 10:30 AM. house in 2027. The estimated $450,000 maritime heritage of the Great Lakes. • Fifth/Third Money Plus account approved to be transferred to project will address significant main- The organization manages White River Fifth/Third Business Checking account. tenance and preservation needs at the Light Station in Whitehall, Little Sable • Bills approved for payment, with additions. historic Keepers’ Quarters. Point Lighthouse in Silver Lake, LudThe 2027 restoration is planned to ington North Breakwater Light, Big Meeting adjourned at 8:15 PM. include removing the existing paint Sable Point Lighthouse in Ludington, A copy of the complete minutes is available from the Clerk at Benona from the Keepers’ Quarters, removing and Manistee North Pierhead Light. Township Hall or on the township website (www.benonatownship.org). and replacing worn brick, repoint- For more information: LakeshoreKeep- Margie Shaw, Clerk ing the masonry, and repainting the ers.org; office@lakeshorekeepers.org; building. The project is also now being (231) 845-7417.

Mary (Leone) Funke Kaminski September 2, 1936 ~ September 26, 2026

Lakeshore Keepers begins fall restoration work at Big Sable Point Lighthouse ahead of major 2027 project

BENONA TOWNSHIP

• On Oct. 8, 1957, a pianothumping, bible-school dropout named Jerry Lee Lewis gave the music world what would become the definitive version of “Great Balls of Fire” for Sun Records. Hours into the session, Lewis began arguing with the label’s head, Sam Phillips, that the song was “too sinful” for him to record, but Phillips prevailed and the tune quickly became Lewis’ second smash hit, after “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” • On Oct. 9 2004, Afghans made his• On 27, 1981, 6-year-old tory byJuly holding their first direct Adam presiWEEKLY SERVICE, Walsh was abducted from a shopping dential election. Despite security conmall in Hollywood, Florida, and later FROM KING FEATURES WEEKLY th FLOOR, NEW cerns, more thanAfterward, 10SERVICE, millionhis Afghans found murdered. father, FROM KING FEATURES WEEKLY SERVICE, had to vote,an41% of them Johnregistered Walsh, became impassioned 300 W. 57th STREET, 15th FLOOR, NEW women; 8.1 host million victims’ approximately rights activist and of 300 W. 57th STREET, FLOOR, NEW ultimately cast show ballots. the 15th television “America’s Most FROM KING FEATURES WEEKLY SERVICE, 2008, former the Hollywood 800) 708-7311 EXT. YORK, NY 10019 Wanted.” • On Oct. In 10, 1991, U.S. postpolice announced that the case al worker Joseph Harris shot andagainst killed YORK, NY 10019 300 W. 57th STREET, 15th FLOOR, NEW confessed killer Ottis Elwood Toole two of his former co-workers the CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800)enough 708-7311 EXT. was strong to close the at invesRidgewood, New Jersey, post office. tigation into Adam’s death. Toole had CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800) 708-7311 EXT. his The before, he’d murdered YORK, NY 10019 345_20260713 died night 12 years earlier. 257 • On Oct. 12, 1990, South former supervisor, Carol Ott,Dakowith WEEKLY SERVICE, • On July 28, 1942, Soviet Union ta became theStalin first state rename apremier samurai sword andissued shotto her fian257 Josef Order No. , 2026 CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800) 708-7311 EXT. Columbus “Native American ce, Kasten, the couple’s 227,Cornelius aka theDay “Not one in step backward” h FLOOR, NEW STRANGE BUT TRUE #12345_20260928 Day,” honor of theGerman initial inhabitants home. After a four-hour standoff with order,in following advances STRANGE BUT TRUE #12345_20260720 of theRussian Americas. years later,stipthe police at the territory. postTwo office, was into TheHarris order 257 FOR RELEASE SEPT. 2026 ulated that “panic makers andwould arrested. His crime was one ofcowards severcity of28, Berkeley, California, be must beto liquidated on the spot. Not al high-profile that led to one the the first call itattacks “Indigenous Peoples’ FOR RELEASE JULY 20, 2026 step backward without“going orders from inclusion of the phrase postal” NOW HERE’S A 800) 708-7311 EXT. NOW HERE’S A TIP TIP #12345_20260817 #12345_20260928 By Lucie WinborneDay.” higher headquarters! Commanders in the American vocabulary. • On 13, 1925, groundbreak… whoOct. abandon a position without By Lucie Winborneing • On Oct. 11, 1987,headquarters the newBruce, AIDS stand-up comedian Lenny an order from higher are FOR RELEASE AUG. 17, 2026 FOR RELEASE SEPT. 28, 2026 Memorial Quilt, largerand than profanitya football traitors to the Motherland.” whose freewheeling field and pieced together withIsabella 1,920 laced routines tabooMarie topics nota• On July 29,on1862, 45_20260928 panels memorializing thosefor who died By JoAnn Derson bly attacked societal conventions and “Belle” Boyd was arrested the first By JoAnn Derson from theUnion disease, wentin on display at time by troops and held atwas the occasionally resulted arrests, OldNational Capitol Prison in Washington, the Mall in Washington, D.C. born in Mineola, New York. , 2026 D.C. A skilled thoughSynd., teenage spy © 202614, King Features Inc. • Onprovided Oct. 1892, “The Adventures who vital information to the of Sherlock Holmes” by Arthur Confederate army during theConan Civil Doyle was published. The book was War, she eventually parlayed her experiences a book of andHolmes acting career. the first into collection stories, which published in maga• On had Julybeen 30, 1956, two years after urgingsince insertion phrase “under zines 1887.ofItsthetitular detective God” intoinspired the Pledge ofJoseph Allegiance, was partly by Dr. Bell, President Dwight Eisenhower whom Conan Doyle had met signed at the a law officially declaring “In God We University of Edinburgh when he studTrust” to be America’s official motto. ied medicine there. • On July 31, 1964, the unmanned • On Oct. 15,Ranger 2024, 7researchers U.S. lunar probe took 4,308 announced seven of newthespecies tree close-up images moon of before frogs in Madagascar whose highimpacting with its surface northwest of the Sea of Clouds. The reminispictures pitched whistling calls were wereof 1,000 times as clear anything cent sound effects fromasthe sci-fi previously through telescopes series “Star viewed Trek,” prompting the monon Earth. ikers Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, • On Burnham Aug. 1, 1782, Caroline HerArcher, and Pike. schel discovered a comet after view• On Oct. 16, 1906, German ing it through a telescope — theshoefirst maker Wilhelm credited Voight, who already such discovery to a woman. had a long criminal record, embarHer brother, astronomer William Herschel, had discovered Uranus the year rassed the German army by impersonbefore. firstand professional ating an The officer leading anfemale entire astronomer, she to would go on dissquad of soldiers the town of to Kopecover seven more comets in 11 years. nik, where they helped him steal 4,000 • On 2, 1992, marks fromAug. the mayor’s office. Jackie Joyner-Kersee became the first wom• On 17,two 1974, PresidentOlymGeran everOct. to win consecutive ald to Congress that he pic Ford gold explained medals in the heptathlon. had chosen pardon Richard Nixon, © 2026to King Features Synd., Inc. rather than allow Congress to pursue legal action against him, claiming that a long, drawn-out trial would have further polarized the public — a decision that was condemned by many and may have helped cost Ford a victory in the presidential election of 1976. • On Oct. 18, 1963, Félicette, a Parisian stray cat, had the honor of becoming the first (and to date the only) cat to visit outer space. The black-andwhite feline’s journey lasted 98 miles and a grand total of 13 minutes before her capsule safely parachuted back to Earth.

8 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO

By Lucie Winborne By Lucie Winborne

for you waist-watchers • Here’s Soakinga tip window decals with baby out there: HalloweenallowDay wipes will Wait softenuntil the adhesive, to buy in-house ing youthe tocandy. removeThe a decal fromsweets glass won’t be haunting you throughout easier. October. • “Potty training can be stressful for both the child window and the parent. We tried • Update treatments to many things, but the end, you have compensate for indropping temperato waitTrade for theyour childsheers to want train. tures. fortosturdy, One thing that panels. helped keep our daughdraft-blocking ter• Now’s motivated Be the was timeatosticker installchart. weatherbought all kinds of stickers, and whenstripping or caulk for the fall and the ever she used the potty, she would get winter. To find drafts, try this trick. to choose a sticker to put on the chart. Light a taper candle and many run itstickvery We would remark on how slowly along the cracks of your winers she had and the variety, which made dows. you see— theD.R. flame flicker, her feelWhen successful!” in Iowa that’s where you have a draft leak. • “Last week, we found my son’s • Wantsippy to save and be a good favorite cupmoney half-filled with sour environmental servant? Get with the milk under the couch. I washed it very times — the old times, that is. Buy well with hot soapy water, but it still secondhand and have smelled bad.items I stuffed the household cup with items repaired of throwing newspaper piecesinstead and screwed the top them on. out.The Good-quality canthe be back newspaperclothes absorbed sold orI donated to charity smell. took about a week,shops; but it’sfurniback ture and—household items can be sold in use.” T.L. in Texas or• donated to charity as well, repur“My pup loves to ride in theorcar, and posed new rooms. my carinto seats love his hair, too. Seems • “To keep sauces splattering like it’s impossible to from get out! A vacuum work, so my of neighbor sugand didn’t dirtying the inside your microgested I use dish gloves. put apaper latex wave, cover the food withJust a damp rubber on filter.” your hand and towel orglove a coffee — E.C. in wipe Utah over seats.you A very damp tea sponge • Now canlightly have your and can as well.”too. — P.I. in Washingcleanwork something Teabags can be ton used to clean woodwork. Rub wood • Lotion too strong? Purchase softly with scent a damp bag. a pump bottle of unscented lotion, and Send about your atips remove thirdtoto Now a smallHere’s bottle ora Tip, a1800 Pembrook 300, even plastic zipper-topDr., bag.Suite Add your Orlando, FL 32810. scented lotion, and mix well by shaking © 2026 Features Synd., Inc. stick. the bottle or King stirring with a long The scent will be diluted, and you can always add more scented lotion or top off with the excess unscented lotion. Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, 1800 Pembrook Dr., Suite 300, Orlando, FL 32810. © 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.

• The first documented carrots were • According recognition purple, yellow toandfacial white. Orange software, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona carrots became popular in Europe in Lisa”1500s, is 83%and happy, 9%food disgusted, 6% the many historians believe Dutch fearful and 2%growers angry. promoted them to• The honor the Dutch royal the low air pressure of a family, twister can House Orange, duringeardrum a politically literallyofpull a person’s outcharged ward. period in the Netherlands. • When resources were scarce during • In 1900, motor boating was includWorld War II, some German and Austried in the printed Olympic Games. Only a few an banks emergency banknotes races were held, however, and on wood, leather and playing cards.they were eventually discontinued due to • Electric eels and electric rays posinconsistent weather and mechanical sess enough electricity to kill a horse. failures. •• Swimmers, surfers and fishermen One acre of peanuts can make sometimes wear pantyhose under or 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches. instead of swimwear because their • Themesh first prevents Europeans to discover the nylon many types of jelGreat stingers Lakes named them thethe “Sweetlyfish from touching skin. water andwas believed China • TheSeas” $2 bill once that considered bordereddue their unlucky toshores. its ties to gambling. The Latin skin of a jellyfish is sonon thinolet” that •• The phrase “Pecunia the animal can breathe through it. (“Money does not stink”) derives from a •urine taxDaniel levied Crawford by Romancomposed emperors Cellist Nero and Vespasian in the firstincentury a musical piece for the cello which A.D. each note represents a year on NASA’s record of global averageare temperature, • Studies show women 18% more from 1880-2012. likely to be attracted to the color blue. 1930 and 1935, nearly • Between Before founding Wendy’s, Dave Thomas struggling 750,000 helped American farms KFC were franlost chises Columbus,orOhio, themthroughinbankruptcy sheriffturn sales. selves around 1962. He was paid • A man onceinsued Anheuser-Busch with ownership. When he sold ads his with 45% the claim that the company’s share back, he used the money to open misrepresented his potential attractivehis first Wendy’s. ness to the opposite sex, if he would just • Intheir early Rome, Aulus Cornelius drink beer. Celsus documented his attempts at • The Persian epicby“Explanation of straightening teeth applying presChatrang andhands the Invention of Nard” sure with his at regular intervals. tells the story of chess being introduced Connery stopped for to• Sean the royal courtwas byonce an envoy from speeding India. by a policeman named James Bond. • During the 18th and 19th centuries, • According to NASA, autumn is many andbecause American newspa“auroraBritish season” geomagnetic pers featured elegies dead pets. storms are about twice for as frequent as Among them, one scholar found the annual average during the fall.six for monkeys, 12 for canaries, 17 for cats and 53 for dogs. *** Thought the Day: “Everyone • Egyptiansfor used vast amounts of linshould have kids. They are the greaten to mummify a body — in fact, the est joy in the world. But they are also fabric on one mummy from the 11th terrorists. You’ll realize this as soon dynasty 9,095they feet,start enough to as they measured are born and using cover deprivation three tennisto courts. sleep break you.” — Ray *** Romano © 2026for Kingthe Features Synd., Inc. Thought Day: “You’ve got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing.” — Arthur Ashe © 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.

© 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.

OC ANIMAL SHELTER Rosie is an approximately 2-year-old, 45-pound female who is full of happiness and pure joy! Her age will be confirmed at the vet, and she will be spayed soon. Rosie loves kids, although older children may be a better fit since she can be a bit of a wild child and may knock over smaller kids. She does well with male dogs but not female dogs. We’re unsure about cats, though she may do well with cats who have a safe space to retreat while she adjusts. Rosie is strong for her size and would benefit from continued manner training. She’s still new to us, but we already know this sweet girl has lots of love and excitement to share!

Meet Rosie

Rosie is available for adoption from the Oceana County Animal Control. If interested, please call the shelter at 231861-5395. The adoption fee for cats is $35 and you receive certificates for $25 towards spay/neuter and $10 towards rabies if not already done. The adoption fee for dogs is $95 and will receive a $50 certificate good for spay/neuter if needed. Every dog should have an ID tag. L.A.S.S.I. provides free dog ID tags to all Oceana County residents. To request tags, send a text to 231-730-3906. Free tags are also available at the OCEANA County Animal Shelter.

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THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 9

Community Foundation welcomes OCF and MCC renew partnership to help adults overcome education barriers new Youth Engagement Officer Oceana The Oceana Community Foundation (OCF) and Muskegon Community College (MCC) formally signed an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday, Sept. 10, at 10 a.m. at MCC, reaffirming their shared commitment to helping Oceana County adults pursue the education and training needed to move forward in their careers and lives. The updated MOU formalizes the organizations’ continued collaboration on the OCF’s Complete Your Degree (CYD) program, which helps adult students overcome financial and life challenges that can make it difficult to stay on track and complete a certificate or associate degree. MCC President Dr. John Selmon and OCF CEO Tammy Carey signed the updated MOU and offered remarks about the program and its impact on Oceana County adults. CYD goes beyond tuition assistance. Participants may receive financial assistance but also access to a success coach and help addressing life needs that may otherwise interrupt their education. The program

The Oceana Community Foun- ness of scholarship opportunities, supdation (OCF) is pleased to announce porting early literacy initiatives and the addition of Angela Ortiz as its first building meaningful relationships with Youth Engagement Officer, a newly cre- students, families, educators and comated position designed to strengthen munity partners. connections with youth and families "Angela's passion for education and throughout Oceana County deep roots in Oceana County while supporting the OCF's make her an exceptional fit educational initiatives and for this new role," OCF CEO scholarship programs. Tammy Carey said. "Her exA lifelong Oceana Counperience working directly ty resident, Angela brings a with children and families, strong background in early combined with her commitchildhood education, comment to helping young people munity engagement and succeed, will help us expand youth development to the opportunities and strengthen Angela Ortiz role. A 2020 graduate of Shelour impact throughout the by High School, she earned an Associate county." of Science and Arts in Early Childhood Born and raised in Shelby, Angela Education from Muskegon Community credits Oceana County's strong sense of College, along with her Child Develop- community as one of the reasons she is ment Associate (CDA) credential. excited to serve locally. For the past six years, Angela Or"Oceana County is truly a hidden tiz has served children and families in gem," she said. "There is a unique spirboth assistant and teaching roles across it of compassion, engagement, and Oceana and Muskegon counties. Her neighborly support here. I am excited professional experience has also in- to dedicate my time and energy to the cluded work in the hospitality industry, community where I grew up and benwhere she developed strong customer efited from so many opportunities. My service and community-building skills. goal is to help create those same oppor"I am thrilled to serve as the Youth tunities for others." Engagement Officer at the Oceana Outside of work, Angela enjoys Community Foundation," said Ortiz. spending time with her dog, Chili, "The opportunity to grow, contribute learning to play golf and enjoying all and make a meaningful difference is all that Oceana County has to offer, from I could ask for. I look forward to using local events to the area's natural beauty. my experience and perspective to help The creation of the Youth Engagepromote scholarships for students and ment Officer position reflects the Oceayoung adults, as well as support the na Community Foundation's ongoing Read Early, Read Often program." commitment to supporting educational In her new role, Angela will focus success, fostering community connecon increasing youth engagement across tions and creating opportunities for OCF programs, strengthening aware- young people across Oceana County.

Dr. John Selmon and Tammy Carey is designed for adult learners balancing work, family and other responsibilities while pursuing a certificate or associate degree. In its fourth year, the CYD program is currently supporting 16 students across three local institutions. To date, 12 students have graduated, earning degrees in nursing, machining, business administration and other high-demand fields. “Education can change the trajectory of a person’s life, but sometimes life gets in the way of education,” Carey said. “The Complete Your Degree program is about recognizing those barriers and helping remove them. It’s not just about paying tuition. It’s about surrounding students with the resources, guidance and support they need to stay on their path and reach the finish line.”

Selmon said the partnership demonstrates the value of helping adult learners overcome challenges that extend beyond the classroom. “MCC and OCF share a simple but important belief: adults in our communities deserve the opportunity to continue their education,” Selmon said. “Partnerships like this remind us that when we invest in people and give them a chance to finish what they started, we help create opportunities that can have a lasting impact on Oceana County for years to come.” The renewed MOU represents an investment in Oceana County residents, educational attainment and workforce development, helping more local adults earn credentials that can lead to expanded career opportunities and greater economic stability.

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10 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO

Over $890,000 in grants Bougie Breakfast Jam wins will benefit Michigan $5K North Pitch Competition fish and aquatic systems Funding will support 10 projects across the state

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced recipients for the 2025 Fisheries Habitat Grants, which include the Pentwater Lake Improvement Board and the Village of Hesperia. Ten conservation projects on lakes and streams throughout the state will share $892,200. The funds are matched by more than $240,000 in partner contributions, for a total conservation value of over $1.1 million. Funded projects are located in the following counties: Allegan, Calhoun, Cheboygan, Crawford, Grand Traverse, Manistee, Newaygo, Oceana, Shiawassee and Wayne. “Supporting partner organizations with these projects is crucial to create healthier lakes and streams with healthier fish populations, better habitat and cleaner water,” said Randy Claramunt, chief of the DNR Fisheries Division. “Michigan’s natural resources are an important part of our culture and economy, and these projects will provide long-lasting benefits to protect and enhance aquatic ecosystems in the state.” The funded projects will rehabilitate and protect valuable fish habitats that provide the foundation for Michigan’s fisheries. DNR Priority Habitat Conservation Projects — those proactively identified by the department as important to sustaining healthy habitats, fisheries and aquatic communities — accounted for five of the funded projects. Seven of the selected projects directly benefit priorities of Michigan’s Wildlife Action Plan. The Fisheries Habitat Grant program provides funding for a variety of activities including fish habitat conservation, dam removal and repair, and resource assessment studies. Funding for the program comes from fishing license sales and state of Michigan general funds. For this grant cycle, fishing license sales contributed $542,200, and an additional $350,000 comes from general funds for dam management grants, applied to two eligible projects this year. Partners leverage matching funds and additional grants and funding sources to complete projects that would otherwise be financially out of reach for a single organization. Fisheries Habitat Grant funds also were used to support dam removal projects throughout the state, providing $50,000 in match for a $5 million federal

America’s Ecosystem Restoration Initiative grant as a broader project to remove over 27 dams and barriers to fish passage in Michigan. Joe Nohner, a resource specialist with the DNR Fisheries Division, said the funded projects will protect and rehabilitate aquatic habitats across the state, while in many cases also improving public safety through the removal of dams. “These projects are critical to strengthening and maintaining populations of fishes and other aquatic species,” Nohner said. “They will contribute to fish migration in over 147 miles of Michigan streams and boost public safety by working toward the removal or replacement of five dams." This year’s projects (and counties where projects are located) include: • Pentwater Lake Improvement Board — Pentwater Lake habitat improvement project (Oceana County), $35,000. • Village of Hesperia — Hesperia Dam fish passage project (Newaygo and Oceana counties), $119,300. • Caledonia Charter Township — Brick Plant Causeway removal (Shiawassee County), $87,600. • Calhoun Conservation District — Athens Dam feasibility study (Calhoun County), $65,000. (Athens Dam pictured above) • DNR Wildlife Division — Swan Creek Dam Removal, Highbanks Dam Modification and Koopman Marsh restoration (Allegan County), $270,000. • Friends of the Rouge — Johnson Creek culvert inventory and monitoring (Wayne County), $80,600. • Grand Traverse Conservation District — Boardman River woody habitat project (Grand Traverse County), $123,600. • Little Manistee Watershed Conservation Council — Little Manistee River woody habitat project (Manistee County), $54,100. • Michigan Trout Unlimited — Au Sable River woody habitat project (Crawford County), $27,000. • Michigan Trout Unlimited — Pigeon River ice storm wood management (Cheboygan County), $30,000. Fisheries Habitat Grant funding is available to local, state, federal and tribal governments and nonprofit groups through an open, competitive process.

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Bougie Breakfast Jam has been named the winner of the Start Garden 5x5 North Pitch Competition, earning a $5,000 investment after competing against four other finalists and pitching before a live audience and panel of judges at Birch & Blossom in Hart. The company was selected from a field of more than 30 applicants. Owned by Lisa and Royce Zook, Bougie Breakfast Jam creates specialty jams and spreads featuring alcohol-inspired flavors and a variety of fruits, delivering unique products for breakfast, charcuterie boards, baking, glazes and cocktails. The business partners with local distilleries to create distinctive flavor experiences that help set its products apart in the marketplace. The annual competition brings together emerging entrepreneurs from across the region, with finalists receiving business coaching and the opportunity to compete for startup funding by presenting five slides in five minutes. "We are incredibly excited and grateful to receive this investment," said Lisa Zook. "Winning the 5x5 competition is a tremendous honor and comes at the perfect time for our business. This funding will help us continue growing, expanding our reach and preparing for new opportunities. We're thankful for everyone who has supported us along the way and believed in what we're building." The award comes as Bougie Breakfast Jam prepares for another significant milestone. From Nov. 18 through Dec. 23,

Lisa Zook of Bougie Breakfast Jam the company will operate at the inaugural Studio Park Market in Grand Rapids, bringing its gourmet jams and spreads to shoppers throughout the holiday season. The seasonal market location positions the business in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids and provides an opportunity to introduce its products to thousands of new customers. "Bougie Breakfast Jam exemplifies the type of entrepreneurial innovation we want to encourage in the county," The Right Place Economic Development Director for Newaygo County Mark Kraus said. "Lisa has built a unique brand with strong market potential, and we're excited to see how this investment helps accelerate the company's growth both locally and throughout the region." The Newaygo County Economic Development Partnership’s mission is to drive sustainable economic growth in Newaygo County and surrounding areas. The Start Garden 5x5 North Pitch Competition is a collaborative effort between the Newaygo

County Economic Development Partnership, Oceana County Economic Alliance, Lake County Economic Development Alliance, Chamber Alliance of Mason County, The Right Place and Start Garden. The competition is designed to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems in rural communities by connecting founders with capital, mentorship and business development resources. The Right Place, Inc., is a regional nonprofit founded in 1985 with the mission to drive sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity for all in the Greater Grand Rapids Region. The Right Place works to achieve this mission by focusing on three core areas: People, Place, and Prosperity. The Right Place is an Accredited Economic Development Organization as designated by The International Economic Development Council. For more information about future entrepreneurial programs and volunteer opportunities, please contact Kraus at krausm@rightplace.org or Curtis Burdette at burdettec@rightplace.org.

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 11

More than horses: the Oceana County 4-H Horse Program is growing, learning and reaching new heights - Part 1 By Jennifer Payne Oceana County 4-H Program Coordinator For many young people, a horse is so much more than an animal. A horse can be a teacher, a teammate, a challenge, a source of confidence and a reason to show up and work hard even on the days when things do not go as planned. As the Oceana County 4-H Program Coordinator, one of the things I love most about our horse program is that there truly is a place for everyone. Whether you have a riding horse, a driving horse, a draft horse, a miniature horse or simply a love for learning about horses, there are opportunities to get involved. The 2026 season has been an exciting one for Oceana County 4-H horses, with youth earning state recognition, competing successfully at the state level, expanding opportunities through new programs and earning a spot at one of the biggest equine competitions in the country.

Not every child grows up on a farm or has a horse in their backyard. Horse ownership can be expensive, and access to riding and quality instruction is not always easy. By partnering with local horse owners, facilities and supporters, we can open that door a little wider. For me, that is one of the most important parts of 4-H: creating opportunities for young people to discover a passion, build confidence and learn something they may not have had the chance to experience otherwise.

There Is More Than One Way to Love Horses While riding is a big part of our program, it certainly is not the only way to participate. Our hippology and horse judging programs are perfect for youth who love horses and want to learn, even if they do not have a horse of their own. Horse judging teaches youth how to evaluate horses and explain the reasons behind their decisions. Hippology takes that learning even further, challenging youth to develop a strong understanding of the science, care, management and industry surrounding horses. Some of our most successful equine youth are not necessarily the ones spending the most time in the sadA Hippology Team Headed to Kentucky dle. They are the ones who love asking questions, studyOne of the biggest highlights of our 2026 season has ing and learning everything they can about the animal been the success of our Oceana 4-H Hippology Team. they love. This year, 12 youth participated, and our Senior Team earned 1st Place Overall, qualifying them for the EastThe Three-Year Futurity Challenge ern National 4-H Horse Roundup and Contest. Another unique opportunity within our program is In November, our team will travel to Louisville, Kenour three-year futurity program, and this year we have tucky, to compete at NAILE, the North American Intertwo Oceana 4-H participants taking on that challenge national Livestock Exposition, Nov. 6–8, 2026. This is an incredible accomplishment for our youth and are in their final year. Youth begin with a weanling or yearling and comand something I am extremely proud of as their 4-H comit to raising, training and developing that horse over a ordinator. Hippology is not simply about knowing how three-year period. The youth are responsible for doing to ride a horse. It is the academic side of the horse inthe training themselves, making it a tremendous handsdustry. Youth study anatomy, breeds, nutrition, health, on learning experience. equipment, management, care and so much more. They It requires patience, consistency, responsibility and learn to identify items, solve problems and demonstrate a lot of work. their knowledge under the pressure of competition. At the completion of the three-year program, youth These youth have worked hard for this opportunity, earn a futurity belt buckle, but the real reward is everyand now we need our community's help to get them to thing they learn along the way. Watching a young perKentucky. son develop a horse over several years and seeing the The cost of attending an event of this size adds up partnership they build is one of the things that makes quickly with travel, lodging, registration, meals and othprograms like this so special. er expenses. We are currently looking for community businesses, organizations, families and horse enthusiHorse Camp, Memorial Show and Halloween Fun asts who would like to sponsor or donate toward our Our horse program is also about building friendteam's trip to Eastern Nationals. Our youth have earned their spot. Now we want to ships and community. Our Oceana 4-H Horse Camp gives youth a chance make sure they have the opportunity to stand in that to spend time together, learn new skills and enjoy horsarena and represent Oceana County. es in a camp-style environment. It is about learning, but it is also about making memories with other young peoState Recognition Our youth have also been recognized for their ple who share the same passion. We also host the Kaitlynn Scott Memorial Show, equine knowledge and dedication at the state level. which gives our horse community an opportunity to This year, Emery Velat, a Junior member, and Alaycome together while honoring Kaitlynn's memory. na Hammerle, a Senior member, both earned Michigan And we are looking forward to adding some fun this 4-H Equine Science State Awards. Lillian Wasson, Oceafall with our Halloween Horse Show on Oct. 24, 2026. na Horse participant and Junior member also earned a It will be a chance for our youth and families to enjoy Michigan 4-H State Award in Leadership. horses in a fun and festive atmosphere and remind ourThese awards are especially meaningful because selves that while competition is important, having fun they recognize the educational side of 4-H horse projwith our horses is just as important. ects. Our youth are learning far beyond what happens in the show ring. They are learning about horse health, The Horse Barn Came to Life at the Fair nutrition, anatomy, breeds, training, management and Many saw our 4-H horse youth in action during the responsible care. Those are skills that stay with them long after the Oceana County Fair. Some of our youth haul their horses in and spend show season ends. the fair right alongside the rest of our 4-H exhibitors. Our Light Horse participants hauled in on Thursday Creating More Opportunities for Youth One of the things I am most proud of in our horse and begin showing Friday morning. This year, the kids even voted on a theme for decoprogram is finding new ways to bring more young peorating the horse barn: Candyland! ple into the world of horses, including those who may The decorations are a fun example of the ownership not have a horse of their own. we want our youth to have in their program. These are This winter and spring, we hosted a Horse SPIN not just events planned for kids. We want the kids to Club at Paradise Ranch, made possible through funding have a voice in what their program looks like, what they from the Gerber Foundation. SPIN, or Special Interest, want to learn and how they want to make it their own. clubs give youth the opportunity to explore a specific interest without needing to own all of the animals or equipment required for a traditional 4-H project. Our Paradise Ranch Horse SPIN Club introduced youth to horsemanship and riding who may not otherwise have had the opportunity. This spring, we also hosted a Horse Clinic at Dumaw Sands Ranch in Pentwater, featuring guest clinician Taylor Fabus, MSU Equestrian Team Coach and experienced horse show judge. Youth spent the day working on showmanship and horsemanship skills, gaining valuable instruction and new tools to take back into the show ring.

Community Support Makes a Difference Programs like this do not happen without the support of our community. This year, the Great Lakes Energy People's Fund helped Oceana County 4-H purchase a new horse show timer and equipment. That may sound like a simple piece of equipment, but having reliable equipment allows us to provide better horse shows, practices and learning opportunities for our youth. Community support helps us build the program instead of simply maintaining it. And right now, we have another big opportunity in front of us. Our Hippology Team has earned the right to compete at Eastern Nationals in Kentucky. We want to give these young people the opportunity to experience that level of competition, represent Oceana County and see just how far their hard work can take them. We are asking our community to help us get them there. If you are a business, organization, family, horse enthusiast or community member who would like to support the Oceana 4-H Hippology Team's trip to Kentucky, we would be incredibly grateful. Every donation or sponsorship helps move these youth one step closer to standing in that national competition arena. More Than a Horse Program When I look at our Oceana County 4-H Horse Program, I see much more than horses. I see kids learning responsibility by caring for an animal every day. I see youth learning how to work as a team. I see young people studying late for hippology contests, practicing their judging reasons, training horses, hauling to shows, helping each other and cheering each other on. I see kids gaining confidence. I see youth learning how to handle both winning and losing, how to communicate, how to problem solve and how to take responsibility for something outside of themselves. And I see a program that is continuing to grow. Whether you have a draft horse or a miniature, a riding horse or a driving horse, whether you are an experienced exhibitor or someone who has always wanted to learn more about horses, there is a place for you in Oceana County 4-H. And if you do not have a horse at all, but you simply love horses and want to learn, our judging, hippology and SPIN opportunities may be the perfect place to start. I am incredibly proud of what our youth have accomplished this year, and I am even more excited about where our horse program is going. From Paradise Ranch to the fairgrounds, from our local horse shows to state competition, and now all the way to Louisville, Kentucky, our Oceana County 4-H youth are showing us that when young people are given an opportunity, supported by caring adults and surrounded by a community that believes in them, they can accomplish incredible things. Our horses may be the reason they walk through the barn door, but it is the skills, friendships, confidence and memories they gain that will stay with them for a lifetime.

Consumers Energy for purchasing my 2026 Market Hog!

THANK YOU

To Ken Adams for the donation of his time and equipment at the Weare Township Dump Day.

In gratitude, Melanie Sayles, Weare Clerk

- Knox Roskam & Little Buddy Fern Roskam

12 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO

OCMCF improves quality control rating, discusses finances and staffing By Claire Marshall bility and Accountability and replacements of the board that OCMCF offers was made to comply with in comparison to other

Act) violation complaint The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent was filed. An internal review found no evidence Administrative staff of an information breach, of the Oceana Coun- and the claim was conty Medical Care Facility cluded to be “unsubstan(OCMCF) celebrated fin- tiated,” explained Choishing a month of surveys ponis, adding that the - particularly those at facility’s annual security state and federal levels - risk assessment is also with satisfactory results at underway. Administration reits Sept. 28 Oceana Counported on a variety of ty Department of Health August outings, includand Human Services (DHHS) and OCMCF ing two separate groups Board meeting. OCMCF taking field trips to the remains at a 5-star over- Oceana County Fair. Upall rating for Centers for coming activities include Medicare and Medicaid color tours for residents, Services (CMS) nursing particularly those withhomes, with the lowest in the memory care unit. score for quality control Also at the memory care of 2.5 stars, upgrading to unit, Choponis reported that OCMCF is fine-tun3 stars. CMS staffing rating ing the activities available also remains at 5 stars, “to be more therapeutic, despite ongoing strug- on a schedule to meet the gles to retain permanent various activity preferencstaffing, which has been es and the needs of our supplemented with con- residents.” This shift has seen tracted nurses and aides. increased numbers and Another federal-level variety of activities, as survey reviewed OCMCF well as greater staff inoverall favorably, finding volvement with residents. only two areas of concern, for which the fa- Choponis also took a mocility has submitted cor- ment to commend facility rections that have been volunteers who “continue approved by surveyors to be just a huge part of and are awaiting official helping us create these amazing activity opporstate approval. Last month, the board tunities for our residents.” For further commenrecognized a decision dation, Choponis recmade by Administrator ognized two facility emSally Choponis to apply ployees for her monthly to decertify 12 offline “Spotlight of Excellence” beds not currently in service. These 12 beds who share a common were formerly attached commitment to the exto double-occupancy cellence expected at OCrooms, which OCMCF is MCF. First is LPN Lacy no longer allowing. A re- Zoldan, who is described cent state ruling, which as a team player and was would have been effec- recognized for the “amaztive Oct. 1, would have ing care and dedication seen those beds either re- she demonstrates every newed as online - which day.” Choponis continwould have had negative ued, saying, “Lacy’s comeffects on the facility’s mitment to our residents overall census numbers is truly remarkable. She - or lose 24 beds entirely consistently goes above due to their status as dou- and beyond to ensure that they receive compassionble-room beds. While approving the ate, high-quality care.” Next was registered August minutes, Board dietitian Heidi Findorff member Larry VanSickle for providing outstanding asked a clarifying quescare with “dedication that tion regarding the doumakes a difference to our ble-occupancy status of residents every day… She the de-certified rooms. This was sorted, though embraces every task, evChoponis explained that, ery challenge, every opin the end, the effective portunity to help others date of the ruling was with a positive attitude extended beyond Oct. 1, and genuine compasputting the facility and sion,” explained Chopobed status in limbo. As nis. OCMCF Environmenfor now, OCMCF will protal Services Director Darceed with the status quo ren Troyer, who oversaw until they receive news much of the building’s of the decertification apoperation, maintenance plication. Following the discussion of beds, the and continued improveminutes for the August ments, resigned in Aumeeting were approved. gust. Clark Kelly, who had In discussions of been working alongside corporate compliance, Troyer as a consultant, the board was informed accepted the role as plant that on Sept. 1 a HIPAA manager in Troyer’s de(Health Insurance Porta- parture. While repairs

kitchen HVAC and drains have been awarded bids, due to scheduling around contractors’ vacations and August surveys, projects have not yet begun. Financial controller Cindy Leone gave the financial report, beginning with an explanation of receipt of Certified Public Expenditure (CPE) funds and its impact on the overall financial report. While CPE funds to the tune of $1.7 million have been received, they were not calculated into the total revenue for the facility in the month of August. Said Leone, this is to properly display the actual net loss of $12,992, producing a negative budget variance of $40,114. Leone further clarified that the CPE funds are not set in stone, as they are based on the 2025 financial cost report, which has not yet been audited, and the Medicaid rate adjusted to reflect the audit. As such, historically, some of the CPE money is paid back in the future, with an average payment of $500,000. Leone said she wanted the board to see the reality of the finances before the CPE is factored in “because, otherwise, it’s going to look like we had an absolutely phenomenal month. And we didn’t have a bad one, not by any means, but it wouldn’t give you a clearer picture of what we really did.” The month’s census has also been on a downward trend, though Choponis believes it’ll swing back up come autumn, especially in consideration of expected temporary residencies following surgeries, which many folks typically schedule after summer has finished. Choponis also announced a possible cost-saving change in drug-expense oversight. This would require looking closer at incoming residents’ medication lists and weighing the benefits and risks of changing to less expensive drugs should resident health allow. Administration staff are optimistic that this shift will have a positive impact on the facility’s monthly expenses. The expense of contracting agency nurses and nurse aides continues to be high, and, as said by Leone, “They’re going to remain high until we can get some applications for nurses.” VanSickle asked if OCMCF is remaining a competitive employer, considering wages and benefits. Choponis assured the

the highest wages of every medical care facility, though sign-on bonuses are no longer offered, as they did not seem to entice new applicants or help long-term retention. Board chair Linda East also prompted discussion of the ever-confusing world of cable and streaming services, as it had been a reported concern for residents. OCMCF administration explained the difficulty of trying to balance cost efficiency, content requested by residents and keeping the required technology as minimally confusing for residents as possible. Even at the OCMCF, the struggle to figure out which streaming service offers the day’s Detroit Lions game remains a consistent aspect of modern life. Following these discussions, the board accepted the financial report. Also discussed and accepted, although with some trepidation, was resolution 2026-03, which would discontinue reimbursements for Direct Care Wages (DCW) for non-Medicaid hours. With this change, which

state and federal government regulations, OCMCF is now responsible for calculating and tracking the separate hours and associated wages. Said Choponis, the “administrative burden” is “actually going to be quite a nightmare.” The situation is further complicated by the fact that Medicaid rates will be determined based on last year's reports, while hours will be evaluated at the current level. OCMCF would forfeit the now dwindling DCW pay if the board were to not accept the resolution, which would cut off wages that employees have now come to expect. In the interest of retaining as much of the DCW pay for employees as possible, the board accepted the resolution, with the stipulation that they will discontinue DCW pay if deemed necessary. One public comment was given by an OCMCF nurse, Tara Bateson, who offered criticism of the facility’s employee retention, or perceived lack thereof. While she admitted that OCMCF offered competitive wages

medical care facilities, they are losing staff to hospitals with better offers. Bateson was also critical of the facility’s recent nursing staff restructuring, which she claims is “pushing people out of their current positions,” essentially laying them off, unless they take these restructured, non-union positions. Said Bateson, the environment is hostile and stressful - “I don’t think that we’re actually trying to keep staff because a lot of the attitude towards employees when any of us question anything is ‘Oh, well, if you don't like it, there's the door.’” Bateson went on to explain that, “I’m not the only person feeling this way. And I’m not a disgruntled employee; I love my job. I’ve been there for 22 years. I see myself retiring there, but at this point, I don’t know what my future looks like there. And that’s scary, because I love my residents.” The next meeting of the DHHS and OCMCF Board is Monday, Oct. 26 at Hart City Hall at 10:30 a.m.

Notice of Public Hearing on Increasing Property Taxes The Colfax Township Board of COLFAX TOWNSHIP will hold a public hearing on a proposed increase of 0.0821 mills in the operating tax millage rate to be levied on property in 2026. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026 at 7 PM at Colfax Township Hall, 5594 N. 192nd Ave., Walkerville, MI 49459. The date and location of the meeting to take action on the proposed additional millage will be announced at this public meeting. If adopted, the proposed additional millage will increase operating revenues from ad valorem property taxes 2.69% over such revenues generated by levies permitted without holding a hearing. If the proposed additional millage rate is not approved, the operating revenue will increase by 0.31% over the preceding year’s operating revenue. The taxing unit publishing this notice, and identified below, has complete authority to establish the number of mills to be levied from within its authorized millage rate. This notice is published by: COLFAX TOWNSHIP 5594 N. 192nd Avenue Walkerville, MI 49459 (231) 301-5685

9 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 13

Echo SPORTS

Football Standings

THE

Hart • Hesperia • Pentwater • Shelby • Walkerville

Hart: 2-4 (1-4, 7th WMC Lakes) Shelby: 2-4 (1-4, 5th WMC Rivers) Hesperia: 1-5 (0-3, 6th WMC Rivers)

ECHO SPORTS

Tigers ride explosive plays to win over Hesperia By Andy Roberts

The Oceana Echo Community Contributor

The Oceana Echo's Amanda Dodge contributed to this story. Shelby raced to a big early lead and withstood a small bump in the road against county foe Hesperia Friday night, picking up a West Michigan Conference Rivers win, 52-20. The Tigers scored touchdowns and two-point conversions on each of their first two possessions to swiftly gain command of the game. Explosive plays propelled Shelby all night. It started right from kickoff, when Jaylin Henderson took the ball and bolted 45 yards to the Hesperia 20yard line, setting up a short touchdown drive. On Shelby's second possession, Elijah Dashiell ripped off a 31-yard gain to set Brody Fessenden up for his second scoring run of the game, making it a quick 160. "The biggest thing I'm excited about is, we were 1-4 and we've now got our second win and feeling much better about ourselves," Shelby coach Jacob Tumele said. "The reality is, we played a gauntlet the last four weeks. I'm just proud of our kids at the end of the day. I'm just excited for them and their opportunity to have some fun tonight." After giving up a safety that made it 18-0, Hesperia did storm back to make a game of it into the second half. Tucker Bolles connected with Zach Loughridge twice in the final minute of the first half, the second getting into the end zone, and the Panthers then received the second-half kickoff and put together another scoring drive, again spearheaded by a pass from Bolles to Loughridge, for 26 yards. Malakai Sellers caught a short touchdown moments later, and it was 18-13. The Panthers aired it out all night, as Bolles threw 41 passes. He connected on 26, for 306 yards and

Shelby's Brody Fessenden (33) powers for more yardage during Friday's WMC Rivers game at Hesperia. Fessenden ran for 154 yards in the Tigers' 52-20 win. • Amanda Dodge/Echo

three scores, with over half the yardage - 174 - going to Loughridge. "I didn't want to throw that much, but we couldn't run the ball at all," Hesperia assistant coach Doug Bolles, Tucker's dad, said; head coach Tyler Fehler had an out-of-town commitment and was not at the game. "It felt like, if they were going to give us some stuff, let's plunk away a little bit, and then once they start cutting that off, then we're going to try to go over the top. It worked really well on a pass to Zach Loughridge, where they played up a little bit, and we saw something and we were like, 'Let's hit it.'" Bolles said the offensive line, including Mackie MacKinnon, deserved credit for Hesperia's secondhalf success through the air. "Henderson and Fessenden coming off the edge, Tucker Bolles launches a long pass as Shelby's Tigers beat Hesperia Hesperia's Jacob Regeczi tries to knock it down during Friday's game continued on page 14

at Hesperia. • Amanda Dodge/Echo

Pirates hang in early, but fall to Whitehall By Andy Roberts The Oceana Echo Community Contributor WHITEHALL — Hart's sizzling start to the season - thrilling wins over Reese and Montague - has faded a bit after four consecutive lopsided losses, the latest a 31-8 defeat to Whitehall in West Michigan Conference Lakes play, but Hart coach Joe Tanis sees a team refusing to give up. The Pirates (2-4, 1-4 WMC Lakes) hung in for the first half against Whitehall, turning back two different Viking scoring chances - one on a fourth-down stop and another on an interception by Elijah Anastasiades, after which Hart ran off the final 5:11 of the first half by picking up a couple of clutch third and fourth downs. Unfortunately for Hart, the sheer size advantage Whitehall enjoyed wore the Pirates down eventually, and their star running back, Liam Leeke, gained 181 yards on the night with two scores. "We're a young team," Tanis said. We had three freshmen out there on both sides tonight and had three seniors. With that comes some growing pains, and we're playing a lot of bigger schools with a lot of kids that have been in the weight room.

Whitehall's Liam Leeke is brought down by a host of Hart defenders, including Elijah Anastasiades (7) and Sawyer Boos, during Friday's game at Whitehall.

• Andy Roberts/Echo

"What we do have right now is amazing senior leadership. I would take our leaders against anybody around. We have not been finger-pointing. Our culture is not cracked. We've had four tough weeks in a row now, but in the previous three weeks, we've continued to show up." The Pirates were able to gain a couple of first downs on their first possession of the game, but were stopped on fourth down at the Vikings' 40-yard line. Hart then got its own stop in its own red zone and moved the

Whitehall's Tanner Woodworth (left) tries to take down Hart's Easton Hopkins before he can get off a pass during Friday's game at Whitehall. The Vikings won, 31-8. • Andy

Roberts/Echo

ball a bit again, but a long jump ball pass was intercepted, and the Vikings scored on the ensuing drive. That was their only score in the first half, though, and Tanis said it was where the Pirates wanted to be at the half. However, Whitehall took the ball

to start the second half and scored, converting a fourth-and-long with an 18-yard touchdown pass. On the next Hart possession, another long pass was intercepted, and the end of the play

Pirates drop game continued on page 14

10 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR 14 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO

Pirate teams score home wins, work on postseason form By Andy Roberts The Oceana Echo Community Contributor HART — Part of the beauty of having far more firepower than your conference competition is that it gives you the opportunity to experiment. The Hart Pirate boys have been utilizing that option throughout West Michigan Conference season and did so again in Tuesday's home jamboree win. The Pirates opened WMC action at the 14-school Mega Meet in Fremont working on pack running rather than focusing on scoring specific times. Tuesday's jamboree saw lead runner Silas Ackley experiment with how he prepared his body for the race, eating closer to race time than he usually does. Ackley still raced well, placing second overall with a time of 16:25.9, but said he got a cramp a little past the halfway mark of the race. He won't be repeating that experiment. He also raced with different shoes, ones suited to the golf cart paths that are plentiful on The Colonial Golf Course. Ackley said it wasn't the Pirates' best day overall, but there was still no stopping them as they topped secondplace Whitehall by a healthy 38-81 margin. Hart's goal has been clear all season: A state title. It's in position to accomplish that goal, having competed well against top-ranked Hanover-Horton at Saturday's Shepherd Invitational. The Pirates lost by six points, but Ackley said the team could easily have performed better because his brother Carson Ackley, who depending on the day can be the

Hart's Mason Opalewski (left) and Carson Ackley head toward the finish line of Tuesday's Hart jamboree. The Pirates cruised to the win.

• Andy Roberts/Echo

Pirates' No. 2 or No. 3 boys runner, has to fight through allergy issues on courses with tall grass, like Shepherd's. The Michigan International Speedway course at the state meet, notably, does not have tall grass. "We'll probably race a lot better (at state)," Ackley said. "If (Carson) would've run his PR time at Shepherd, we would have beaten them. If we can just have a good race for everyone, we should beat them." Silas added that the Pirates continue to work on their pack running - state titles can be decided by just a couple of seconds for one runner due to the number of racers in the field - and their in-race strategies. "We just try to figure out how we're going to race, how we're going to get out," Ackley said. "Make sure we don't get out too fast, make sure we don't get out too slow, experiment with the races before and just find what's best for us and stay consistent."

Tigers beat Hesperia

continued from page 13

we're picking stuff up and giving Tucker time to throw," Bolles said. "He could be a great quarterback and have a great arm and all that, and (if you aren't playing well up front), you're getting blown up every time. He got tackled a couple times in the backfield, but his lineman kept him protected, as well as Dom Rivera, the running back that blocks for him." Shelby quickly responded to Hesperia's third-quarter touchdown, though, as Henderson exploded for a 55-yard touchdown run. The Tigers then got a stop and put together another scoring drive, capped by a short run by Dashiell. Fessenden and Henderson both got to triple digits in rushing, with Fessenden gaining 154 yards and Henderson running for 101, plus 64 passing yards. Dashiell ran for 65 yards. Hesperia made one last gasp with a 70yard touchdown pass to Loughridge late in the third quarter, but Fessenden's 61-yard scoring run essentially

Hart runners, from left, Trevor Vander Kodde (37), Owen VanderVlucht, Carson Ackley (32) and Mason Opalewski form a pack as they make their way through the course Tuesday at the Hart jamboree. The Pirate teams both took first place in the meet.

• Andy Roberts/Echo

Ackley was one of four Pirate boys to place in the top 10. Timothy Wolff finished in seventh place and had a time of 16:49.5, followed by Trevor Vander Kodde in eighth place (16:59.6) and Owen VanderVlucht in ninth (17:10.7). Carson Ackley finished 12th (17:16.2), followed immediately by Mason Opalewski, Alex Schiller and Aiden Schaner. The girls' race was far more dramatic, with the Pirates eking out a three-point win over Ludington, 38-41. All five Hart scorers placed in the top 13, led as usual by Natalie Rosema, who was third. Her time was 20:10.5. Bryn Riley followed with a season best time of 20:56.9, good for fourth place, and Luisa VanderZwaag also had a season best time of 21:16.5 to finish seventh. Alaina Schaner was 11th (21:45.6) and Emma Miller finished 13th (22:14.1).

Hart's Natalie Rosema rounds a turn early in Tuesday's Hart jamboree. Rosema took 3rd in the girls' race, helping the Pirates edge Ludington for the team win.

• Andy Roberts/Echo

Hart's Elijah Anastasiades (7) pulls in an interception as Whitehall's Elijah Smith looks on during Friday's game at Whitehall. The Pirates lost the game, 31-8.

• Andy Roberts/Echo

Pirates drop game

continued from page 13

Shelby's Elijah Dashiell breaks a tackle and looks for more running room during Friday's game at Hesperia. The Tigers won, 52-20. • Amanda Dodge/Echo

sealed the win. "Hesperia wasn't going to lay down to us, and they didn't lay down," Tumele said. "They battled for four quarters. The coach over there did a really good job getting their kids to play hard for four quarters." Bolles said while no one ever wants to lose, he was pleased with the Panthers' refusal to quit even when the chips were down. "We're really happy with the effort," Bolles said. "We're just not tough enough yet. We're not strong enough physically. Playing so many young guys, we're just not as physical as we need to be, and their older guys exposed that a little bit. They had too

many big plays on us, but we showed a lot of heart." The Tigers now gear up for homecoming week against Muskegon Catholic. Tumele said it'll be the first time he's in charge of a team for the annual celebration, always a different task for a coach given all the activities surrounding it. "There's going to be a lot of distractions and a lot of opportunities for high school boys to do a lot of things they shouldn't be doing," Tumele chuckled. "The biggest thing is, we've got to narrow our focus. We've got to be locked in on Muskegon Catholic because they're going to be wanting to fight for a W as well."

featured some shoving by each team, resulting in a player from each side being ejected. Tanis said his players were sticking up for him in that instance, responding to some comments from the other side, and didn't fault their emotional response. "I'm grateful for the guys I coach," Tanis said. Whitehall again scored on the next drive, but Hart wasn't quite done yet. The Pirates managed to put together a good drive and converted a fourthand-long of their own when Kolton Rockwell reversed his field and lobbed a pass to Anastasiades for a 17-yard score. The two-point conversion made it 24-8 with 9:43 still to go. However, the Hart defense couldn't make the last play needed to get the ball back, as speedy Whitehall quarterback Brayden Brown scrambled for a 25yard touchdown on fourth down. "We make those two plays and take away two scores, and now it's a onescore game," Tanis said. "We make one more play (from there,) it's a different outcome." Hart didn't have much luck with

its running game, but saw some bright spots from young players, including three freshman starters. Easton Hopkins, who saw heavy duty against Orchard View, got involved again Friday, with some carries and even some passes. Freshman Carlos Guijarro started on both sides of the ball and was second on the team in tackles with six, and Landon McCulley continued his solid work up front. "We have some guys that were thrown in the fire," Tanis said. "There's a good young group there, and they are so blessed to have this senior group leading them." Haegan Hansen led the team with 11 tackles plus five assisted tackles, and converted a fourth down early with a short run up the middle. He also had 48 total yards of offense. Hopkins and Keaghan Monroe had 23 yards rushing each, and Rockwell threw for 55. It doesn't get easier next week for Hart as it faces unbeaten Ludington. Following that is archrival Shelby. "We've got to do some things to close the gap," Tanis said. "We've got to get stronger in the offseason, and we've got to continue to build."

Volume Issue 48 October October 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 15 Volume 3,3,Issue 48 9,9,2026 Total Raised: $143,842 Lead this Legacy REFLECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY Reflections of our community

OCTOBER9,9,2026 2026 THE THEWHITE WHITELAKE LAKEMIRROR MIRROR 1 1 OCTOBER

Reflectionsof ofour ourcommunity community Reflections

White Lake Lake Mirror White Mirror YOUR LOCALLYOWNED OWNEDAND ANDOPERATED OPERATEDNONPROFIT NONPROFIT NEWS SOURCE YOUR LOCALLY OWNED NEWS SOURCE YOUR LOCALLY AND OPERATED NONPROFIT NEWS SOURCE

WhiteLake LakeFood FoodPantry, Pantry,Scouts Scoutsto tohave havenew newhome home White Groundbreaking Groundbreaking tookplace placeSunday Sunday took fornew newbuilding building for slated to open slated to open April ininApril By Andy Roberts Andy Roberts ByBy Andy Roberts

White Lake Mirror Editor White Lake Mirror Editor White Lake Mirror Editor WHITEHALL —— — After After WHITEHALL After WHITEHALL yearsof of ofoperating operatinginin inthe the years operating the years limited space available at the limited space available the limited space available at at the LebanonLutheran LutheranChurch's Church's Lebanon Lutheran Church's Lebanon main building, the White LakeAtAt main building, the White Lake At left, members of the area's local Scout Troop 1048 take Scouting oath small ceremonyprior priortotoSunday's Sunday'sgroundbreaking groundbreakingfor forthe thenew new main building, the White Lake left, members area's local Scout Troop left, members of of thethe area's local Scout Troop 1048 take thethe Scouting oath inin aa small ceremony Food Pantry and local ScoutWhite White Lake Food Pantry and Scout Troop building Food Pantry and local Scout White Lake Food Pantry and Scout Troop building next door to Lebanon Lutheran Church in Whitehall. At right, volunteers at the food pantry Food Pantry and local Scout Lake Food Pantry and Scout Troop building next door to Lebanon Lutheran Church in Whitehall. At right, volunteers at the food pantry Troop 1048 are on their way towere were just one of few groups to participate in Troop 1048 their way were just one aa few groups participate the groundbreaking. The building scheduledtotobebecompleted completednext nextspring. spring. Troop 1048 areare onon their way toto just one of of a few groups toto participate inin the groundbreaking. The building is isscheduled Andy Roberts/Mirror having their own building after• Andy •• Andy Roberts/Mirror having their own building after Roberts/Mirror having their own building after ceremonial groundbreaking aa ceremonial groundbreaking a ceremonial groundbreaking familiesper perweek. week.From Fromthere, there, The White Lake area's Scout down downthoughts thoughtsthat thatOgden Ogden the thelate lateIrene IreneSwenson, Swenson,who who families The White Lake area's Scout The White Lake area's Scout took place Sunday afternoon Troop took place Sunday afternoon took place Sunday afternoon the pantry has grown by leaps Troop 1048 has been operating shared at the ceremony. The was tutoring kids through 1048 has been operating shared at the ceremony. The was tutoring kids through the pantry has grown by leaps Troop 1048 has been operating next door to the church. next door the church. and bounds. Partnerships out of the church for several White Lake Food Pantry has the Blue Lake Cooperative next door toto the church. outofofthe thechurch churchforforseveral several White Lake Food Pantry has the Blue Lake Cooperative and bounds. Partnerships out Thebuilding buildingis is isprojected projected years The building projected with Love Love InIn the the Name Name ofof yearsnow, now,since sincethe theScouts Scouts been beenoperating operatingout outofofthe the Tutoring TutoringProgram, Program, observed observed with The now, since the Scouts years forcompletion completionearly earlynext next were completion early next Christ (Love INC) and other were informed that the rental church even longer and now that kids learned better when forfor informedthat thatthe therental rental church even longer and now that kids learned better when Christ (Love INC) and other were informed spring; Lebanon Lebanon Lutheran Lutheran house they had been using serves over 100 households they had sufficient food. She organizations grew the pantry spring; Lebanon Lutheran spring; housethey theyhad hadbeen beenusing using serves over 100 households they had sufficient food. She organizations grew the pantry house pastor Doug Ogden said there was uninsurable, according to per week. pastor Doug Ogden said there andsome somevolunteers volunteersworked worked pastor Doug Ogden said there was uninsurable, accordingto per week. and was uninsurable, according isa aa"very "verytentative tentativedate" date"ofof of former longtime Scout leader "very tentative date" The pantry, Ogden said, together to provide food is is formerlongtime longtimeScout Scoutleader leader The pantry, Ogden said, together to provide food toto April 25 set for an open house. former April open house. Brian Holmblade, who wrote began very humbly, humbly, when when some someofofher herstudents students- -a afew few April 2525 setset forfor anan open house. BrianHolmblade, Holmblade,who whowrote wrote began very continuedon onpage page22 Brian continued on page continued

Groundbreaking Groundbreaking

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The White White Lake Lake Fire Fire Authority Authority and and Montague Montague Fire Fire District District conducted conducted their their annual annual team-up team-up Tuesday Tuesday for the the Fire Fire Prevention Prevention Week Week parade, parade, which which saw saw fire fire trucks trucks make make their their way way from from The The White Lake Fire Authority and Montague Fire District conducted their annual team-up Tuesday forfor the Fire Prevention Week parade, which saw fire trucks make their way from the WLFA building to the Montague Fire District building. The parade, as well as Fire Prevention Week open houses taking place at local fire district buildings, raise awareness of how WLFA building Montague Fire District building. The parade, well Fire Prevention Week open houses taking placeatatlocal localfire firedistrict districtbuildings, buildings,raise raiseawareness awarenessofofhow how thethe WLFA building to to thethe Montague Fire District building. The parade, asas well asas Fire Prevention Week open houses taking place to avoid accidental house fires and what to do if you find yourself caught in one. • Claire Marshall/Mirror Photos avoid accidental house fires and what if you find yourself caught one. • Claire • Claire Marshall/MirrorPhotos Photos to to avoid accidental house fires and what to to dodo if you find yourself caught inin one. Marshall/Mirror

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Generations of of White White Lake Lake area area residents residents have have Generations Generations of White Lake area residents have walked through the doors of the building now known walked through the doors the building now known walked through the doors ofof the building now known as Pekadill’s, Pekadill’s, but but not not always always for for sandwiches sandwiches and and as as Pekadill’s, but not always for sandwiches and ice cream. Over more than 150 years, the property cream. Over morethan than150 150years, years,the theproperty property iceice cream. Over more

HistoricalSociety Society Historical Society Historical continued on page 8 continued page continued onon page 88

The early Pekadill's building was used for more than the Reeths-Puffer crowned its homecoming royalty following Whitehall crowned its homecoming royalty at halftime The early Pekadill's building was used for more than crowneditsitshomecoming homecomingroyalty royaltyatathalftime halftime Reeths-Puffercrowned crowned itshomecoming homecomingroyalty royaltyfollowing following Whitehallcrowned The early Pekadill's was used than thethe Reeths-Puffer current restaurant,building and its history willfor bemore explored during of Friday's homecoming game against Hart. The king Friday's homecomingits game against Union. The queen and Whitehall current restaurant, and its history will be explored during of Friday's homecoming game against Hart. The king Friday's homecoming game against Union. The queen and current restaurant, itsArea history will be Society explored during Friday's Friday's Hart. Westerlund The king homecoming game The queen and ofand next week's Whiteand Lake Historical meeting. queen homecoming were Garrettgame Tayloragainst and Clare king were Darcy Keefe andagainst Parker Union. Samuels respectively. next week's White Lake Area Historical Society meeting. king and queen were Garrett Taylor and Clare Westerlund king were Darcy Keefe and Parker Samuels respectively. next week's White Lake Area Historical Society meeting. and queen were• Andy GarrettRoberts/Mirror Taylor and Clare Westerlund were Darcy Keefe and Parker • Courtesy Photo respectively. • Joe Lane/Courtesy PhotoSamuels respectively. • Courtesy Photo respectively. • •Andy AndyRoberts/Mirror Roberts/Mirror • Joe Lane/Courtesy Photo • Courtesy Photo respectively. • Joe Lane/Courtesy Photo

2 OCTOBER LAKE MIRROR 16 OCTOBER9,9,2026 2026 THE THEWHITE OCEANA ECHO

Groundbreaking

continued from page 1

from a handful of families per week to dozens. Ever since COVID-19 lockdowns and the several years of economic uncertainty that have followed, patronage of the pantry has increased even more. Things run well out of the church, but there are drawbacks. Space limits, to some extent, how much can be stored, and more importantly, the pantry's storage is in the church basement. Items have to be brought up to ground level for distribution; Ogden joked that the elevator that is sometimes utilized for this purpose is marked "not for freight," and so much for that. That will be remedied in the new building, which will be a one-level structure with no stairs needed. There will also be an overhang to protect volunteers and food pantry items from the elements on distribution day. The pantry will take up about one-third of the building, which will measure 48 feet by 90 feet. Another third will be garage space for storage, with Scouting activities taking up the final third. Like the pantry, Scout activities have run alright out of the church building, but the increased space will be a boon. Scout master Matt

Cope, who's been working with the Scouts for 12 years, said projects sometimes have to be disrupted or delayed because of other activities going on at the church. The garage storage space will give the Scouts the opportunity to store equipment, such as canoes, that occasionally are unavailable to the Scouts because of other events, as well as display awards and honors that, at present, there's not really room to show off. Cope said he's also hopeful the enhanced space for Scouts will result in more kids being interested in joining. He noted that while he grew up on a farm in a two-parent household and learned at a young age skills such as cooking or how to start a fire outside if needed, that's not the world every child lives in. Bringing kids into the Scouts provides the opportunity to learn many of those life skills as well as serve the community. The building has been financed over several years thanks to the generosity of several groups. The White Lake Area Women provided an annual donation to the Scouts starting in 2021 in the amount of $10,000, which was then doubled thanks to help from Rob Markiewicz, a friend of

Members of the area's local Scout Troop 1048 participate in the ceremonial groundbreaking for its new building next door to Lebanon Lutheran Church Sunday. The building will house local Scouting operations as well as the White Lake Food Pantry. • Andy Roberts/Mirror

Ogden's who put that money through a nonprofit donation matching program at his thenemployer, Battelle Memorial Institute. In 2024, the WLAW added support for the pantry to its portfolio, and Battelle doubled its maximum match at the same time, enabling even more money to be raised. Markiewicz no longer works at Battelle, eliminating that annual donation match, which is part of the reason the decision was made to move forward with the building now. Ogden added that funds raised through Wesco's Round Up program, which offers shoppers the option of rounding up their in-store fuel purchases to the next dollar, have also been a big help to the building, contributing about $25,000 annually. Visscher Construction, which is working with the

church on the building, has assured Ogden that potential cost overruns and the current tariffs in place should not be a factor in the timeline of the building's opening. The pragmatic Ogden is still steeled for the possibility that that won't be the case, but so far, things are on schedule for the building to open next

spring. "We're celebrating today because we have many talented and committed people," Ogden said in brief remarks prior to the groundbreaking. "We don't know what the future holds, but we have many volunteers on the church side, the pantry side, and the Scouting side."

Dirt Dauber club to explore house plant creativity Oct. 20 The Dirt Dauber Garden Club will present “Thistle Be Great: Creative Ways to Display Houseplants with Windswept Farm” at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, at White Lake United Methodist Church in Montague. Guest presenter Tina Wasley of Moonlit + Windswept will share creative ways to combine houseplants, decorative planters, varying heights and textures to create personalized indoor “plantscapes.” Learn how to transform simple potted plants into beautiful living art that brings warmth and nature into your home. The community is invited to attend.

WHITE LAKE VFW POST 3256 PRESENTS

OKTOBERFEST

SATURDAY • OCTOBER 10, 2026

1 PM - 9 PM • FAMILY-FRIENDLY • OPEN TO THE PUBLIC LIVE GERMAN MUSIC • 6-9 PM • ENZIAN AUS DETROIT GERMAN FOOD & BEER • BOUNCE HOUSE • CORNHOLE • BINGO KEG THROWING • STEIN HOLDING • SILENT AUCTION BEST-DRESSED MAN AND WOMAN BAVARIAN TRACHTEN CONTEST

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY OUR MAJOR SPONSORS

WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM ARTS COUNCIL OF WHITE LAKE • NORTH GROVE BREWERS • WALMART • GNARLY HEIFER • KNIT & SPIN EWES CRAZIE FIBER FARM • JOEL & CINDY EVERTSEN • HOT ROD MOTOR SPORTS • CUMULUS RADIO • OCEANA ECHO MEYERS CHEVROLET • OUTBACK AUTO • BLUE LINE BBQ • SLINGIN’ WEENIES • HAPPY MATT’S KETTLECORN

VFW POST 3256 • 9370 WALSH ROAD • MONTAGUE, MI

COME CELEBRATE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY!

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 17 THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR OCTOBER 9, 2026 3

Community Calendar Saturday, Oct. 10 Montague Farmer's Market is open, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. White Lake Area Pumpkinfest in downtown Montague, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fall fun, food and drink options available, and the traditional Pumpkin Roll at 11 a.m. White Lake Knitting Club meets @ Book Nook & Java Shop, 1 p.m. SmittyVision performs @ North Grove Brewers, 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 Steve Thielman performs @ Book Nook & Java Shop, 10 a.m. White Lake Ukulele Club meets @ Book Nook & Java Shop, 1 p.m. Pumpkins, Treats & Fall Fun @ Sytsema Whitehall Chapel. 1-3 p.m. Free pumpkins, seasonal treats and fall beverages. Monday, Oct. 12 White Lake Community Library welcomes knitters and crocheters for a weekly gathering, 3 p.m. Cookbook Club meets @ White Lake Community Library, 5:30 p.m. Fetch Brewing Running Group meets at 6 p.m. All are welcome to participate at their own pace and dis-

tance. Strollers also welcome. Tuesday, Oct. 13 Baby Time @ White Lake Commnuity Library, 9:30 a.m. Bring your kids 2 and under for early literacy skills, listening and joyful interaction through play. Older siblings also welcome. Steve Thielman performs @ Book Nook & Java Shop, 10 a.m. GriefShare group meets @ White Lake UMC in Montague, 1-2:30 p.m. Those grieving a loss are welcome to attend. Child care is available if needed. Wednesday, Oct. 14 Family Storytime @ White Lake Community Library, 9:30 a.m. Children of all ages and their caregivers invited to join for stories, songs, music, and movement that support early literacy and language development. Eric Michaels & Chris Kennedy perform @ Book Nook & Java Shop, 11:30 a.m. Youth Open Studio @ ACWL-Nuveen Center, 3-5 p.m. Bring in projects you’re working on or start something new with help from staff. Maker's Market @ Healthy Roots,

3-7 p.m. Farm produce, home baked goods and more. Big Read Lakeshore Series: The Cost of Knowing Everything @ White Lake Community Library, 5:30 p.m. Discussion of Dave Eggers' book The Circle. The Oat Bran Boys perform @ North Grove Brewers, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 Toddler Storytime @ MADL Montague, 11 a.m. Toddlers ages 2-3 invited for books, fingerplays, music, movement, and other activities. Adult Open Studio @ ACWL-Nuveen Center, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Bring studio materials from home or explore available supplies in the classroom. Original Dulcimer Players Club hosts its monthly acoustic jam @ VAC, 1-6 p.m. with a break at 3 p.m. All are welcome, and any acoustic instruments can join in the jam. 1-2-3 Play with Me @ White Lake Community Library, 5:30 p.m. Designed for caregivers and children 5 years and under. Early childhood specialist available to answer questions. Registration encouraged @ wl-

clib.org. Fetch Cycling Group meets at 6 p.m. All skill levels welcome. Friday, Oct. 16 Play and Learn @ White Lake Commuity Library, 9:30 a.m. Children ages 5 and under and their caregivers invited to join for stories, songs, rhymes, movement, and play that build early literacy skills. Mahjong at the Library @ White Lake Community Library, 10 a.m. Beginners and experienced players welcome - bring your own sets if you like. Afternoon Hang @ White Lake Community Library, 2 p.m. Tweens 10 and up are invited to play video games, do crafts, eat snacks or just hang out! White Lake Wonders Mural Dedication @ Whitehall Pocket Park, 4-6 p.m. Ribbon cutting, artist talk and family-friendly activities. Gina and Jordan perform @ North Grove Brewers, 7 p.m. The Formers perform @ Red Rooster Tavern, 8 p.m.

Echoes of History: History Flower Creek Mills (Part 3) By Tom Eitniear Volunteer Contributor Parts 1 and 2 of this article ran in the Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 issues of the Mirror. Porter Plaisted was a farmer from St. Clair County, Michigan. Amos Armitage, originally from Canada, married Florence Plaisted, daughter of Porter, on May 25, 1875. Amos Armitage came from a family line that was experienced in sawmill and grist mill construction and operation. He may have been instrumental in convincing Porter Plaisted to move his family from the east side of Michigan to the west side of Michigan, whereupon he and his father-in-law engaged in farming and sawmill operations. The 1880 Michigan census identified the occupation of 60-year-old Porter Plaisted as “runs sawmill.” When the dam impoundment was at maximum capacity it created a fall of 12 feet 10 inches but exceeded the West boundary of the property jointly

owned by Porter Plaisted and Amos Armitage. Subsequently, on April 8, 1878, they paid $50 to the adjacent landowner to the west, John Ballard, for the small portion of his property that was inundated by the impoundment. On Feb. 16, 1884, Porter Plaisted passed away, leaving sole ownership of the property to Amos and Florence Armitage. They promptly sold the 60-acre parcel to Amos’ brother-in-law and sister, Charles and Mary Haehnel, on March 17, 1884 for $3,000. This property transaction contained a small error in the legal description that would later become a huge problem. The parcel was described as the NE1/4 of the SW1/4, and the half of the SE1/4 of NW1/4 of Section 35, T13N, R18W, failing to indicate which “half” was being transferred. This error, seemingly blatant, would be perpetuated in subsequent property transfers. One day after acquiring the property, Charles

and Mary Haehnel exercised a $3.000 mortgage with Amos and Florence Armitage as the mortgagees. The Haehnels paid $3,000 and then received the same amount back to them the next day in the form of a mortgage, and it is believed that Charles used this money to construct the grist mill which became operational by September 1885. Amos and Florence Armitage transferred the $3,000 mortgage held on the 60-acre property owned by Charles and Mary Haehnel to William Banks Dec. 15, 1884. This transfer was made known to the Haehnels but still contained the legal description error. William Banks was well known in the Claybanks area as “Miller Millright” and was an early settler in the area, emigrating from England with his parents and nine siblings to Canada. William and his wife, Jane Ann, immigrated to Oceana County, Michigan in the early 1860s while the rest of his family immigrated to Kane County, Illinois.

Big Read 2026 - Dave Eggers coming to Frauenthal By Virginia DeMumbrum Volunteer Contributor Dave Eggers is the award-winning author of Muskegon’s 2026 Big Read titles - The Circle, The Eyes and the Impossible, and What Can a Citizen Do? - and he is coming to Muskegon this fall! He will be appearing at the Frauenthal Tuesday, Nov, 17, at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. with an exhibit in the Frauenthal DeMumbrum Lobby featuring student projects inspired by Dave Eggers’ books. The conversation between Eggers and Muskegon Community College's English faculty member, Sean Colcleasure, begins at 7. This event includes a Q&A session and an author signing immediately following in the lobby. There is no cost to attend, but the event is filling up quickly. Be sure to visit wlclib.org/calendar to reserve your seat at what is sure to be an in-

spiring event! Two more events coming up soon include a book discussion on The Circle at the library Oct. 14 at 5:30 p.m. and, in recognition of Banned Books Week, a short film and panel discussion at the Muskegon Museum of Art Thursday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. The film is called “To Be Destroyed”, and it is a documentary about how a Dave Eggers book was among those pulled from the shelves of a school library in a small town. Check out all 100+ Big Read programs happening throughout Muskegon County this fall at bit.ly/ BigRead2026AllEvents. Bright Lights, Big Book Drop You may have noticed some small improvements at the library in the last few weeks. First, we upgraded the lighting in the Legacy Room. It is much brighter and more welcoming now, making it a more pleasant space for the knitting group, the mahjong players, the book discussion groups, and everyone else who uses that beautiful room. The Legacy Room is open to the public when not reserved for small groups, so come on in and check it out. Want to reserve it for

your own club or group? Visit wlclib. org/reserve-a-room to see the reservation policy and make a reservation. We also moved the indoor book drop! Instead of returning your books through the slot at the front desk, you can now return them in the freestanding book drop located on your left as you come from the lobby into the library. This will help relieve crowding at the circulation desk and make it easier to return your books while someone else is checking out. FUN FACT: 24,000 library books have already been tagged and we only have 21,000 to go before we are ready to introduce our self-checkout station! Each book, audiobook, and movie has to have a special RFID tag added to it and each tag has to be programmed to work with our circulation software. Thanks to the hard work of staff and volunteers, we have made great progress in the last 6 weeks. At this rate, we might be done by Thanksgiving! Memory Cafe This Week The next Memory Cafe is scheduled for Oct. 14 from 10:30 until noon. The inaugural meeting in September went very well, and we look forward

The

Bookworm

Bulletin

to welcoming even more attendees as this group continues to meet at the library on the second Wednesday of every month from 10:30 to noon. Memory Cafe gatherings offer conversation, activities, refreshments, and opportunities to connect with others who share similar experiences in a relaxed and understanding environment. Whether you're living with memory loss or caring for someone who is, you'll find a warm welcome and understanding faces at Memory Cafe. Registration is appreciated at wlclib.org/calendar.

4 OCTOBER LAKE MIRROR 18 OCTOBER9,9,2026 2026 THE THEWHITE OCEANA ECHO

MIRROR SPORTS • montague • Reeths-PUffer • Whitehall •

Football Standings Whitehall: 2-4 (2-2, T-3rd WMC Lakes) Montague: 2-4 (2-3, 5th WMC Lakes) R-P: 3-3 (1-2, 4th O-K Green)

A championship week for local golfers Montague, R-P win regional titles; Whitehall also qualifies for state By Andy Roberts White Lake Mirror Editor MONTAGUE — Montague's depth has been its greatest strength all season, and there was no better example of it than Wednesday's regional championship, the fourth in Wildcat history and their first in Division 3. The team shot a 367 to best second-place Whitehall by nine strokes. The team's top seed, Addi Smith, Montague's Addi Smith chips out of a sand trap during Wednesday's regional tournament played solidly with a 91, and No. 2 at Old Channel Trail Golf Course. Smith and the Wildcats won their 2nd consecutive Brynlee Kessler bounced back from regional title, with Whitehall finishing 2nd. • Andy Roberts/Mirror

a poor start to stabilize things and score a 101. However, the No. 3 seed, Marguerite O'Connell, seized the lead around the halfway mark and held it until the final two holes - and even when that lead got away from her at the end, it was the No. 4, Molly Mulder, that was there to grab it. Mulder shot an 87, with two birdies, and then made par to defeat Grant's Kyra Zerlaut in a onehole playoff to earn medalist honors. "Saturday (at Katke Golf Course) was her worst round of the year, and then we talked last night about just staying calm," Montague coach Phil Kerr, who was also named regional

Regional champs continued on page 7

Montague rallies past Whitehall in rivalry match By Andy Roberts White Lake Mirror Editor MONTAGUE — The tenacity was there for both sides Tuesday when Whitehall and Montague faced off, but the Wildcats were the team that delivered the big plays when they mattered, and they got to celebrate a 18-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-20 win in a rivalry match. Both squads have struggled in the win-loss column, but they brought the energy to Tuesday's showdown. Whitehall pulled away after a 13-13 tie in game one to get the win, but the Wildcats (5-18-5, 2-2 West Michigan Conference Lakes), as coach Gretchen Schneider said they often do, adjusted, and they had early leads in each of the remaining three games. "That first set is pretty notorious

for us," Schneider said. "We like to see how the other team plays first, and then we make some adjustments and go from there. Usually it's just mental adjustments. They just have to see how that other team is going to play, even though we saw the film this last week. They really don't know until they get out there and test the water." Annelyse Schneider and Hallie VanTuyl delivered big plays on offense in game two as the Wildcats cruised to the win, but game three was a coin flip. After falling behind 10-5, Whitehall battled back to keep it close and had it within a point late, 23-22, before a service error stifled its momentum and enabled the 'Cats to move ahead two games to one. Annelyse Schneider wins a battle for the ball at the net with Whitehall's Clare Rivalry match Montague's Westerlund during Tuesday's match at Montague. The Wildcats won, 3-1. continued on page 7 • Andy Roberts/Mirror

Whitehall overcomes miscues, rolls past Hart By Andy Roberts White Lake Mirror Editor WHITEHALL — Whitehall finished strong and disposed of Hart Friday night, 31-8, for its second consecutive win. There were a lot of positives. However, for Vikings' coach Tony Sigmon, one particular negative - penalties - is one that will have to be corrected in order for Whitehall to keep its momentum going and reach the playoffs. The official record is that Whitehall (2-4, 2-2 West Michigan Conference Lakes) had six penalties for 40 yards, but the miscues came at very important moments. The Vikings twice had the ball in the Hart red zone in the first half without scoring, and both drives were pushed back by penalties. "We've got to get it through

At left, Whitehall's Jevon Hilliard (right) takes down Hart's Kole Thomas on a carry during Friday's WMC Lakes game at Whitehall. At right, Whitehall's Liam Leeke closes in on the end zone as Hart's Elijah Anastasiades approaches to defend. Leeke scored a touchdown on the play, one of his two in a 31-8 Vikings win. • Andy Roberts/Mirror

our heads that penalties are going to kill a drive and kill a game," Sigmon said. "Tonight, it's almost like being in the twilight zone with it. It's driving me nuts. We've got to correct

it. At this point of the season, we have to clean up penalties. We have to. That's my biggest message as far as things that we can improve upon." Another penalty, in the

third quarter, didn't cost any the ejection of a player on each yardage, but a small shoving team. Sigmon said his team match, which broke out after has to put a lid on mistakes an interception by Keandre Maybanks, resulted in unsportsmanlike penalties and

Whitehall wins continued on page 5

19 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE OCEANA ECHO

THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR OCTOBER 9, 2026 5

Wildcats fight back, but fall to unbeaten Ludington By Andy Roberts White Lake Mirror Editor Montague couldn't get much going early on against unbeaten Ludington Friday night, though the Wildcats did briefly battle their way back into the game before falling to the West Michigan Conference Lakes leaders, 29-13. Montague struggled offensively in the first half, but thanks to a couple of timely turnovers and a solid effort on defense were nearly able to get to halftime down only 7-0. Ludington, though, did kick a field goal to end the first half, making it a 10-0 halftime margin - one Montague coach Phil Koops said he'd have taken coming into the game considering the Wildcats' injury problems, which included star receiver Levi Auger being out with the shoulder injury suffered against

Whitehall. In the third quarter, Ludington scored two touchdowns in a 40-second span, both on fumbles. Oriole quarterback Asher Forfinski scooped up a fumbled snap and took it 25 yards for a score with 8:23 to go in the third. Right after that, the Wildcats fumbled the ball into their own end zone on offense, and Forfinski scooped that one up too for six more points. The game was in danger of getting out of hand, but Koops said he was pleased with the way his team was able to respond. The offense, which had gone eight quarters without getting into the end zone, was able to put together a good drive, and Gavyn Maddox went in for a two-yard touchdown to get his team on the board. Cole Moss followed with a 23-yard scoring burst, and it was 23-13 after a missed two-point

conversion. "At 23-0, it could've been 50-0 real fast, and our kids kept playing and kept fighting," Koops said. "I'm really proud of our kids' effort. They're a good football team. They're pretty big and tall up front and they have some skill." The O's regrouped and put a touchdown on the board in the fourth quarter, sealing the win. Ludington entered the season with many questions after the graduation of several key players and the transfer of the talented Himes brothers to Mona Shores, but Koops said he was impressed with the Orioles. "Everyone kind of doubted those guys when the Himes brothers moved, but I knew they'd be really solid," Koops said. "They have a lot of height and a lot of size, and they played solid football tonight and beat us."

Maddox led Montague with 84 yards on the ground, and Moss added 74. Maddox recorded a team-best 10 tackles, and Kian Peters and JJ Atchison had seven apiece. Koops said Peters, who played offense in place of Auger, also performed well as a blocker. At 2-4 (2-3 WMC Lakes), Montague's road to playoff qualification is tough, especially with a trio of good teams (North Muskegon, Fremont, Ravenna) left to play. But Montague rallied from 1-4 to reach the playoffs a year ago, so the 'Cats know they have it in them. "We probably have to win two out of three to get ourselves to 4-5, and with our schedule, especially if one of those wins is against a really quality opponent with some wins on their resume, we feel like we'd probably be in," Koops said. "That would be a huge accomplishment for this group."

Rockets finally gain fast start, rout Union By Andy Roberts White Lake Mirror Editor Reeths-Puffer has been looking for a fast start again every week since it got one to start the season, and the Rockets finally found another one Friday on their way to a 35-6 homecoming win over Union. The Rockets (3-3, 1-2 O-K Green Conference) opened the game with a defensive stop, stuffed a fake punt attempt, and got in the end zone on their first offensive play, an 18-yard run by Dre Sanders. R-P's second offensive play was a long touchdown pass from Braylon Swain to Jamichael Williams, and the team had a lot of fun from there. "I felt like our kids were locked in to playing

Whitehall wins

like that in order to be the team it wants to be. After a frustrating first half ended with the Vikings ahead 8-0 - Liam Leeke's 13-yard touchdown run and following two-point run were the difference at that point Whitehall regrouped and leaned on its significant size advantage up front, turning the game over to Leeke as it did against Montague the previous week. Leeke again responded, gaining 181 yards on 25 attempts, including two touchdowns. "We felt like it was going to be one of those situations where, we've been able to come out against Swan Valley and score (to start) the second half, and we were very physical against Montague in the second half as well, so we felt like this was leading into, 'Hey, we've been here before. We've done this before,'" Sigmon said. Brayden Brown also played a bigger role than he had in his previous two starts. The sophomore quarterback hit Elijah Smith for an 18-yard touchdown on fourth down on the first possession of the second half. He also ran in a two-point conversion after Leeke's second scoring run, late in the third quarter. Later, with the Vikes ahead 24-8, it was Brown who sewed up the win by scrambling for a 25-yard score, again on a fourth down. He had 90 total yards in all. "Think about a kid who's playing against one of the top teams in Division 5 his first start, goes and plays in arguably the

football," R-P coach Cody Kater said. "We got the monkey off our back with highly pressurized county games the last couple weeks. It was good to see our kids enjoy themselves out there." Swain was remarkably efficient passing, missing on only one of his 13 attempts, which went for 170 yards and three scores, each to a different receiver. Sanders scored twice on eight carries for 69 yards. The Rockets held the shutout until the game was long decided, including a stop at the one-yard line to end the first half. "It was good to see some guys in some different spots," Kater said. "We're a little banged up, so not everyone went out and played. We were able to build some depth. Our offense was really efficient today,

which was nice to see because we hadn't been able to do that the last couple of weeks." Mistake-free football was an emphasis all week in practice after the Rockets' errors helped blow open losses to Muskegon and Mona Shores, and R-P took the message to heart. "It was good to see the guys get over (the last two weeks) and eliminate those kinds of things," Kater said. "Hopefully we can springboard it going forward."

Sports in Brief Boys Soccer Jenison 4 Reeths-Puffer 0 The Rockets dropped into a 3rd-place tie with Mona Shores in the O-K Green Conference at 4-4-1. Statistics were not reported.

continued from page 4

North Muskegon 2 Montague 1 Montague played a tough game against the Norsemen on their home turf field, but came up just short. Isaiah King scored an early goal for the Wildcats before the Noresmen ralied for the win, scoring the winning goal on a penalty kick in the final minutes.

Ravenna 1 Whitehall 0 Statistics were not reported from the Vikings' shutout defeat.

Reeths-Puffer 7 Kelloggsville 1 London Carpenter led the Rockets' offensive outburst with 4 goals. Matthew Hansen and Connor Simerick each had a goal and an assist.

North Muskegon 3 Whitehall 0 Statistics were not reported from the loss.

Volleyball Montague 1-1 at Cedar Springs Tri Montague won a close match over Cedar Springs 25-22, 25-22, and fell to Covenant Christian 25-23, 25-13. Annelyse Schneider had 18 digs for the Wildcats, and Ava Dean added 16. Layla Denhof posted 27 assists.

Jenison 3 Reeths-Puffer 1 The Rockets didn't come out on top but saw reasons for optimism in a 25-18, 27-25, 17-25, 25-14 defeat. Kate Tindall posted 40 assists for R-P, and Lexie Danz and Peyton Radel had 12 kills each. Leah Zuniga and Addison Whittaker had 14 digs apiece.

Hart's Carlos Guijarro (left) tries to hang on for a tackle against Whitehall's Keandre Maybanks during Friday's game at Whitehall. The Vikings won, 31-8.

• Andy Roberts/Mirror

most important rivalry in the community and then follows it up with homecoming," Sigmon said. "Don't worry, we've got a road game next weekend. He's really going through a baptism by fire. There's a lot of different challenges for a lot of different places in that schedule. He's growing, and he's progressing, and he's doing the things we're asking him to do." Whitehall isn't out of the playoff hunt, even at 2-4, but at a minimum the Vikings will likely have to win two of their final three games, and it will decidedly not be easy. They visit Oakridge, which even at 1-5 is likely to be a tough out, followed by unbeaten Ludington and area foe ReethsPuffer. Sigmon knows better than to think the Vikings can accomplish

their goals by worrying about anything, though, besides the next week's game. Whitehall also may have to bounce back from the loss of lineman Eli Loera, who had to leave the game Friday and got X-rays. "If you want to go make the playoffs, great," Sigmon said. "You've got to do things playoff teams do well. That is, attention to detail, effort and energy at practice, extra film work, and then when it's time to play, you've got to be at your absolute best. That's where I think we have to be at. With Oakridge coming up, we have to be able to lock in to do that. "We've got three weeks to make some things happen here, and it starts with how we approach our Sunday meeting and how we approach Monday."

Montague 0-4 at Portage Central tournament Montague dropped matches to Marshall, Edwardsburg, Hastings and Livonia Stevenson at the tournament. Annelyse Schneider had 32 digs, 13 kills and 3 blocks, and Layla Denhof had 34 assists.

Reeths-Puffer 3-0 at Spring Lake Quad R-P defeated Spring Lake, Muskegon Catholic and Ravenna at the quad. Kate Tindall recorded 91 assists, and Lexie Danz had 33 kills. Leah Zuniga racked up 39 digs, and Mackenzie Danz had 8 aces.

Cross Country Whitehall boys 7th, Montague 8th at Allendale Invite The Vikings were without Bobby Jazwinski due to his participation in a national event (see page 6), but still edged Montague for 7th in their division thanks to a good effort from Rex Pumford, who finished 2nd overall and had his 2nd-best career time. Nolan Kessler placed 6th and Wesley Mair 7th for Montague, and Ian Dennis placed 14th for the Vikings. Neither girls team could score, but top finishers were Gabrielle Chevez for Whitehall (20th) and Erica Hansen for Montague (54th).

Girls Golf Reeths-Puffer 2nd at O-K Green Finals The Rockets edged Caledonia by a stroke to accomplish their goal of a 2nd-place finish. Sophia McCollum closed her conference career as O-K Green medalist, shooting a 76. Ella Voorhies made an eagle and shot a personal-best 87 to help propel R-P to the runner-up position.

Montague 2nd at Katke Classic Montague edged fellow state title contender Lansing Catholic by a stroke in the state finals preview tournament. Addi Smith and Marguerite O'Connell tied for 10th place individually with 2-day scores of 187.

Boys Tennis

Reeths-Puffer 5th at O-K Green Finals Rockets No. 2 singles player Roman Ponce scored his team's only win in the tournament, in straight sets.

6 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 20

Jazwinski, Viking boys continue big season at Hart Jazwinski was 2nd at a Race of Champs event Saturday; Vikings finish 2nd at Hart By Andy Roberts White Lake Mirror Editor

HART — Whitehall senior star Bobby Jazwinski had a busy week, traveling to Terre Haute, Ind. for a national Race of Champions event Saturday, but he still returned to the Vikings Tuesday to compete in the West Michigan Conference Lakes jamboree in Hart. Jazwinski took it easy Tuesday, though 'easy' is a relative word; he still won the race by 47 seconds, posting a time of 15:38.3 as the Viking boys edged Ludington for second place behind the host Pirates. The defending Division 2 state champion said his dad Robert, who also coaches him, told him to run a more leisurely race after a terrific effort Saturday, in which he led almost the entire race and finished a close second against a field of superstars. "He said if I was leading in the first mile, then I wouldn't need to do a double workout tomorrow, so I just took it easy so I can be recovered for a workout," Jazwinski said. "I'm just ramping up the train again this week. I'm excited to race at Portage this Saturday." Junior Rex Pumford, as usual, was second on the team, and sixth overall, with a time of 16:49.5. Ian Dennis was 22nd (18:08.9), Scout Freiheit placed 30th (18:35.7) and Alex Winczewski was 35th (19:10.0). The Vikings' goal all year has been to qualify to state as a team rather than have Jazwinski running at Michigan International Speedway alone. Coach Jeff Bassett said the team is progressing well towards that goal, and the Oct. 17 GMAA meet will be a big benchmark as runners attempt to drop their times for the postseason. "We're going to see what we're capable of at the city meet," Bassett said. "We know that's a good course, so people are excited about it. We're trying to move up (our) three, four and five (runners) Hopefully, it all goes as planned." Jazwinski is a runner

At left, Whitehall's Bobby Jazwinski takes a big early lead at Tuesday's Hart jamboree. At right, the Vikings' Alex Winczewski tries to chase down Montague's Gibson Smith late in the race. Jazwinski won the race, and Whitehall took 2nd place as a team. • Andy Roberts/Mirror

about which no worries are needed, and his efforts at the Terre Haute race, with over 400 runners in the field, 97 of whom ran 16 minutes or less, showed it. Jazwinski kicked himself for going out too fast to start the race - Bassett said his first kilometer was run in a blazing 2:39 - which allowed Rockhurst (Mo.) junior Jack McGovern to edge him out at the line by a second and a half. But his ability to lead almost the entire race and run a time - 14:40.0 - that beat the previous meet record showed his remarkable talent. "I learned a lot from (McGovern), how you've just got to control that first part of the race and just keep getting more detailed and keep getting the little percentages I can get in races to be on top when it really matters," Jazwinski said. Jazwinski's being in Terre Haute gave Pumford the opportunity to run a race as the clear No. 1 at the Allendale meet the same day, and Pumford responded, running his second-best career time. Bassett said he's seen the junior get smarter in competitions this year, putting him in position to be an all-state contender. "I see him getting a lot smarter in his racing throughout the season," Bassett said. "He's been starting aggressive and just trying to hold on. Now he's starting to do some tactics and try to pace well, and he's doing very well at it. The better the competition gets, the easier it is." It'll be the rest of the team behind Jazwinski and Pumford that will likely determine the team's postseason fate, though. Jazwinski has faith in his teammates to deliver runs that will get them all to state. "As long as all the guys continue to lock in and do the right things

and not slack in training and get good sleep, eating enough, I think we can make it," Jazwinski said. "It's just about the mentality we have going in, to be honest, and we have a good mentality." The Whitehall girls finished third, squeaking by Fremont by three points. Gabrielle Chevez and Madi Hueschele finished fifth and sixth respectively but were marked with the same time (21:00.4) on Athletic.net. Kassie Sapp finished 18th (23:30.0), Vivian Hesse was 22nd (24:18.3) and Ryanne

Ellsworth was 23rd (24:25.9). Montague placed fifth in the boys' race but had two top-5 finishers. Wesley Mair placed third in a time of 16:32.3 and Nolan Kessler was fifth with a time of 16:41.1. Gibson Smith (34th, 19:07.2), Brock Hunter (38th, 19:46.4) and Caleb Vincent (52nd, 22:01.2) also scored for the 'Cats. Montague girls finishers were Amelia Liskey (28th, a personal best 25:55.9), Erica Hansen Whitehall's Gabrielle Chevez (left) and Madi Hueschele (30th, 27:17.8) and Willa round a turn during Tuesday's Hart jamboree at The Van Loon (37th, 30:26.8). Colonial Golf Course. The Vikings edged Fremont by 3 points to finish in 3rd place. • Andy Roberts/Mirror

Regional champs

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR OCTOBER9, 9, 2026 2026 21 7

continued from page 4

coach of the year Wednesday, said of Mulder. "I told her last night before she left, 'I need GMAA Molly,' because the last two GMAAs, it's not just that she's performed (well), but she just carries herself differently. She had that mindset today. She just stayed calm." Kerr cited an early hole on which Mulder shot an 8 but had a series of bad breaks after hitting three shots he felt were of high quality. The softspoken Mulder didn't let that affect her and calmly made par on the next hole. "I just told myself that they were all good shots and the hole just didn't go my way, and then bounced back and hit all the same shots in the next hole," Mulder said. O'Connell had an 88 to tie for third place, ending her round with an 8 and a 7 - a sour ending to what was to that point a spectacular performance that included two birdies. "An amazing day and definitely a learning experience," Kerr said. "You don't know how to come home with the lead until you've done it before, and usually it goes the way it went. It's really hard to hold a lead in a big event like this...She's been playing the best on the team the last couple of weeks, so her performance is not a surprise. I know she really badly wanted to win, but the consolation is that one of her teammates ended up winning." The Wildcats are used to big-meet pressures, and those definitely existed heading into Wednesday due to the caliber of teams playing. In addition to the Vikings, Sparta, Ludington and Big Rapids entered the day with their own high hopes; Sparta ended up taking the third team qualifying spot. "We knew if we had an off day today, forget winning, there was a chance we could not get out," Kerr said. "There was definitely some anxiety, I'm not going to lie, for the girls and for me, but we're kind of used to it. We know how to play with that anxiety." Whitehall, which began the day ranked No. 6 to Montague's No. 2, also knew quality play would be necessary to reach state. They got it, with Kelsie

McClure leading the charge. McClure took an early lead in the individual standings and finished solidly to record an 88. Riley Shafer shot a 92 and was in a three-way tie for eighth. Avarie Bentz shot a 96 and Kadee TenBrock managed a 100. "I think we did really well," Whitehall coach Bill Borgman said. "That's pretty close to what we've been shooting. I think our best is 355 this year. We played out of our mind that day. 370 was our goal and we were very close to it." The Wildcats will enter the state meet hoping to make a run, though top-ranked NorthPointe Christian and Lansing Catholic, old nemeses from Montague's Division 4 days, will have plenty to say about it. Kerr said the 'Cats have not yet gotten all four of their top players' best on the same day; if it happens at state, anything could happen. "We're just looking to to go and have a good performance, and then we'll see what happens," Kerr said.

• Andy Roberts/Mirror

Reeths-Puffer wins regional title Reeths-Puffer has spoken all year of wanting to take the whole team to state this season after Rocket star Sophia McCollum played alone the past two seasons. Tuesday, R-P played one of its best rounds of the season and secured that goal - along with a regional championship trophy. The Rockets earned the title with a score of 368, taking the win over Grand Rapids South Christian (376) and Grand Rapids Christian (377). The win marked their third-ever regional title and first since 2018, but most importantly it extended the team season after missing out on state qualification by two strokes in 2025. They also missed by one stroke in 2023. “Regionals is a gut-wrenching and emotional day," Rockets' coach Matt Pallett said. "I am so proud of my team. When we needed it the most we played our best. “It is great to see my three seniors

Rivalry match Montague broke open a close game four to take a 12-6 lead and built an advantage as big as 10 points before the Vikings made a late push that fell short. Schneider said the Wildcats' passing was one of the team's biggest weaknesses earlier in the season, but you wouldn't have known it Tuesday as Montague kept the ball in play well, setting up Annelyse Schneider for big kills. "I am extremely proud of the way we passed the ball tonight," coach Schneider said. "It's a differencemaker, otherwise girls like Annelyse can't do their thing and girls like Hallie can't do their thing. Both of them hit over .300 tonight." Schneider had 13 kills, six blocks and 18 digs, and Ava Dean totaled 26 digs along with three aces. Layla Denhof notched 33 assists, and Hallie VanTuyl had 11 digs and four aces. Serving and serve receive are other areas coach Schneider felt the team has improved over the course of the season. The tenacity has always been there - Schneider said even in preseason scrimmages the team

Montague's Molly Mulder, left, tees off during Wednesday's regional tournament in Montague. Whitehall's Kelsie McClure, right, fires a shot out of a sand trap. Mulder picked up medalist honors at the meet and led the Wildcats to a regional title, and McClure tied for 3rd place as the Vikings placed 2nd as a team to advance to state.

Reeths-Puffer players celebrate after winning the Division 2 regional title Tuesday on the Rockets' home course. Left to right are Abby Davis, Kayleigh Brown, Sophia McCollum, Olivia Ambler and Ella Voorhies. • Courtesy Photo

help lead the team to the State Finals for the first time since 2018. After all the heartbreaks and near misses, it was great to take the next step as a program.” McCollum was rock solid as usual for R-P, scoring a 78 and taking second place overall. She finished her round with two consecutive birdies. Aiding McCollum were her senior teammates, Ella Voorhies and Olivia Ambler. Voorhies continued her lateseason surge by taking second on the team in scoring and ninth overall, shooting a 92. Ambler added a 95. Montague's Marguerite O'Connell connects Kayleigh Brown was the Rockets' No. 4 on a tee shot during Wednesday's regional scorer, with a 103. Abby Davis posted a meet. • Andy Roberts/Mirror 116.

continued from page 4

was holding up well against quality opponents, even when the 'Cats didn't necessarily win - but the skill is starting to come along too. "I know they're at the cusp," Schneider said. "We just need to find the wins like we did tonight. They really need to want it. It comes from inside, and all the outside skills are coming along." Whitehall (2-16-1, 2-3 WMC Lakes), meanwhile, has been figuring things out after losing hitter Kailyn Skuse to a season-ending injury. Vikings' coach Claire McGrew said the team hasn't really stuck to any one lineup, which in a way offers unpredictability to an opponent, but also does keep the team from getting used to an alignment. "At the end of the day, our system has to get a little bit more consistent for districts," McGrew said. What the Vikings did do Tuesday was play as aggressively, McGrew said, as she's seen them. The team does not have a stat keeper at the moment, but McGrew noted Clare Westerlund's strong play at the net on defense, Delaney Kramer's ability to get the

Montague's Ellee Smith rises up to make an attack against Whitehall's Braelee Fogus (6) and Rachel Szot during Tuesday's match at Montague. The Wildcats won, 3-1.

• Andy Roberts/Mirror

Vikings some points, and Aaliyah Jamison's hustle as key positives from the match. All three are seniors. The win-loss record might not be sparkling, and some untimely errors certainly hurt the Vikings' chances to gather momentum, but McGrew sees her team's improvement and hopes it can put it all together for the postseason. It's tough to lose a rivalry

match, but it can also provide an extra dose of motivation. "We're slow growers each season," McGrew said. "Hopefully (we'll see it) in the postseason. We're playing our best volleyball right now. I see good things. "They feel this one, for sure. I let them feel it tonight. Tomorrow, we're going to be back to work."

8 OCTOBER 9, 2026 THE WHITE LAKE MIRROR

THE OCEANA ECHO OCTOBER 9, 2026 22

Recent local police activity Behind the

Badge Whitehall Police Report Oct. 2 At approximately 10:46 p.m., officers were called to the 400 block of Muskegon St. on a shots fired complaint. The reporting party indicated they had heard a gunshot near their residence. Officers then checked the area and surrounding streets but saw no evidence of a shot. The officers also verified that there had been no power outages in the area in case the noise had been a transformer. Oct. 3 At 12:34 a.m., officers were called to the 200 block of E Lewis st in reference to a civil dispute. The reporting party indicated he was in an on-again offagain relationship with the involved female subject. He also admitted they'd gone to a local bar and consumed alcohol and that there had been a verbal dispute between the parties regarding their trustworthiness. Officers tried to encourage the parties to separate for the evening, but neither party wished to leave the residence. At approximately 5:02 p.m., officers were called to an alleyway in the 700 block of S Mears Ave. on a driving complaint. The complainant advised that

his neighbor had been driving at a high speed in the alley. The complainant then attempted to confront his neighbor and tell him to slow down, but the neighbor then loudly informed the complainant to stay off his property. The neighbor refused to answer the door, and officers noted all the windows were covered in aluminum foil. At approximately 7:39 p.m., officers were called to the 800 block of E Colby St. on a dumping complaint. The owner of a local business contacted police to advise that subjects behind the business were dumping property without authorization. Officers made contact with the involved parties, who were from Fennville and had heard it would be OK to leave property in that location. Officers verified with the owner that they did not want the subject to leave the abandoned property. Officers then remained on site while the subjects reloaded their attempted dump and left the area. Oct. 5 At approximately 12:17 p.m., officers were called to the 600 block of Warner St. regarding a concern that an individual's tobacco pouches had been adulterated. The individual advised that, on Aug. 17, he'd been at his desk at his place of employment and put a pouch in his mouth, and shortly thereafter became violently ill and threw up. He believed someone may have done something to contaminate it but did not have any potential suspects in mind. The subject said he did not still have the pouch and had not visited the doctor on that occasion. The reporting party was directed not to leave his items out at work and to go to the doctor and contact officers immediately if

Historical Society

and building have been home to different businesses, different owners, and different chapters of local history. At its October meeting, the White Lake Area Historical Society will explore that story from 1869 to the present, including the property, the building, the businesses and uses it has housed, and the people connected with it through the years. The meeting will take place Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. at Lebanon Lutheran Church. Sue and John Dillivan, owners of Pekadill’s restaurant and of the historic building, will present “Pekadill’s: One of the White Lake Area’s Oldest Buildings.” The meeting is free and open to the public. For longtime White Lake residents, some chapters of that history may bring back familiar names and memories. Before it became Pekadill’s, the building housed other businesses, including Panzl’s grocery and George’s Market. The Dillivans will look

block of Cook St. Oct. 1 9:02 a.m., parking violation, 8600 block of Water St. 1:49 p.m., other investigation, Montague PD 9:14 p.m., medical assist, 8700 block of Staples St. Oct. 2 7:23 a.m., domestic, 8600 block of Sheridan St. 4 p.m., civil dispute, 8600 block of Ferry St. 5:49 p.m., medical assist, suicidal subject, 8800 block of Water St. Oct. 3 12:42 p.m., vehicle accident, no injuries, 9000 block of Water St. 2:17 p.m., harassing calls report, 4500 block of Dowling St. 4:41 p.m., dog complaint, 8100 block of Old Channel Trail Oct. 4 5:11 p.m., custody dispute, 5000 block of Dowling St. Oct. 5 10:33 a.m., shoplifting, report only, 8700 block of Water St. 5:03 p.m., dog complaint, owner found, 8000 block of Grant St. 5:29 p.m., medical assist, 9200 block of Water St. 11:07 p.m., assist to Whitehall PD, suspicious situation, 300 block of E Colby St. Oct. 6 10:40 a.m., suspicious situation, 5300 block of Wilcox St. 1:29 p.m., medical assist, police asMontague Police Report sist citizen, Montague City Hall Oct. 7 Sept. 30 1:15 a.m., assist to Whitehall PD, 2:40 p.m., police assist citizen, 8300 open door, 600 block of E Colby St. block of Cook St. 5:17 p.m., unknown problem, 8000 it happened again. At approximately 11:04 p.m., officers were called to the 300 block of E Colby St. on a suspicious occurrence. The reporting party advised that they were staying in a rental in the area and heard noises from the attic and possibly back window of the rental. Officers checked the area and noted a number of green apples on the ground that had been falling from an overhead tree. Officers noted the possibility that those same apples accounted for the noise on the roof and verified that there was no attic space for anyone to be in at the rental. Oct. 6 At approximately 8:27 a.m., officers were called to the 1100 block of Warner St. on a littering/juvenile complaint. The reporting party advised that they lived in the area and had approximately 15 acres of woods and fields on their property. They advised that they had caught teenagers on the property on several occasions and warned them not to trespass, but believed the teens were continuing to do so and had also written vulgar graffiti on an old treehouse. The reporting party did not want any action taken at this time but wanted to let officers know in case the situation recurred. Officers advised the party that placing a security camera on the site would be helpful in identifying the offenders if it happened again.

continued from page 1

at these and other periods in the building’s history as they follow its changing role in the community from 1869 to today. Historic buildings survive because successive generations find new uses for them while valuing what came before. As current owners, the Dillivans will also share a look at its possible future, adding another chapter to a story that has already spanned more than 150 years. The program offers an opportunity both to learn about one of the White Lake area’s historic buildings and, for those who remember its earlier businesses and uses, to reconnect with a familiar piece of local history. After the program, there will be a reception to honor Roger Scharmer, who is leaving active participation on the board after many years of service in various capacities.

GriefShare meetings resume Oct. 13 at White Lake UMC

The GriefShare group is resuming meetings beginning Tuesday, Oct. 13 from 1-2:30 p.m. at the White Lake United Methodist Church in Montague. Meetings will continue each Tuesday at that time through Jan. 5. The group welcomes anyone who has lost someone close to them and is struggling with grief to share their feelings in a supportive atmosphere aimed at helping its attendees take steps towards moving to the next step in their lives. GriefShare is based on the awareness that not everyone in someone's life can understand

the feelings of grief they are going through after a recent loss of a spouse, friend or someone else close to them. Especially for those who have not gone through the process before, it can be a confusing and frustrating time personally. Child care is available for those who need it while attending the group meetings. For more information about the GriefShare group, contact group leads Suzanne Cox at 616402-2487 or Rich Tuttle at 517902-1162. You may also contact the White Lake UMC offices at 231-894-5789.

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