Editor’s note: This is the second part of two-part story. See last week’s issue for the first part.
When contractors for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are done, the Kalamazoo River will take a significantly different course near the unused Otsego Township Dam.
The project was authorized with the aim of cleaning up time-critical PCB contamination in the river and along its banks, but part of the way it will do that is removing the more than 100-year-old dam.
Work will soon begin reshaping the river’s channel above and near the dam, which is near Bittersweet Ski Area along River Road.
EPA on scene coordinator Paul Ruesch said the channel would be reshaped.
“A pilot channel above the water control structure will get the water to go down a new channel right in the middle,” he said.
The machine, which sits on a barge, uses GPS to dig the channel precisely where engineers have calculated it needs to go. It then sucks up the soil from the river bottom along with water and pushes it through a pipe.
“It’s like a big wet vac,” Ruesch said.
The soil will be discharged into an area south of the dam that is currently a backwater area next to the old concrete spillway of the dam. Contractors will fill most of the area with soil and what open area is left will become a wetland.
“When he gets done, most of that will be filled in, but not all,” Ruesch said.
The water that carries the soil will be filtered through a mass of bundled Christmas trees and what the EPA calls turbidity currents to make sure that a minimum of the soil being pulled up ends up going down river.
If too much sediment gets into the water, it can crowd out the oxygen fish need to breath and kill them, so the EPA is focused on making sure that is kept to a minimum.
Sensors are placed in the river below the work area that monitor the amount of sediment in the water.
“If turbidity elevates, my phone gets a text and we’ll stop work,” Ruesch said.
At the dam, the concrete spillway will be broken up into smaller pieces and covered with soil.
Ruesch said that water has been infiltrating under the dam’s spillway. The soil under the spillway has also eroded away, causing a void at the front.
“The Allegan County Sheriff’s dive team has been out and explored it for us as a training exercise,” he said. “They measured how deep it is so we know how much we have to deal with.”
Ruesch said the fall was the best time of year for the work to happen, because the river would be too high in the spring.
The dam’s problems made failure to likely and caused the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to install the temporary water control structure the EPA is currently using to regulate the river’s level.
Once the work is done, the river’s surface will be about five feet below where it is now with the water control structure at work. The river’s course will stick toward the middle of the current river flow passing along an island south of the dam.
Also, once the EPA is done with the former dam site, it will leave behind a public access site for river users.

Time critical only
On the site, Ruesch pointed to examples of gray soil as examples of what old paper mill sludge looks like.
“That’s what it looks like, but the sludge doesn’t mean it has PCBs,” he said.
The contamination won’t all be removed when the project is finished (if it stays on schedule that will be next year) because the time-critical removal focuses only on the contamination that is likely to be discharged into the river if nothing is done, mainly that actually in the stream or along banks that eroding.
A major part of the work includes stopping that erosion.
In the part of the work that is very visible from the M-89 bridge west of Otsego was focused on that aspect as the river’s bend there was pushing the southeast bank back alarmingly quickly.
The rocky structures contractors installed in the river are called J Hook Vanes.
“They take the energy out of the water, the idea is to stop erosion on this bank,” Ruesch said.
The structures are anchored deep into the bank and shaped to withstand the water, so they should be a fairly permanent feature in the river.
A new channel was also dug in that section, also encouraging the water to stay away from the bank, which has been extended with clean fill.
“We did stream modeling and it showed the ideal depth to width ratio,” Ruesch said.

Odds, ends and misconceptions
This fall the EPA will continue work along the banks near Pine Creek and will also plant a wide variety of native plants and shrubs in the areas.
One they call a live stake, which is a cut willow tree branch which should take root and help provide bank stability.
One rumor Ruesch said he’d like to dispel was about the large white bags visible on site.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say the bags are full of chemicals that are dumped on the PCBs at night,” Ruesch said. “That’s not true, we can open one up and it’s nothing but clean sand.”
The contractors will be at work clearing some timber this fall, as they are prohibited from cutting trees during part of the year by the presence of several endangered bat species that migrate to Michigan in the summer and live in tree bark, but head back south for the winter.
Ruesch said the crews have been very welcomed by the community, but one resident, Maré Westin, was above and beyond.
One day this summer she hosted the whole crew for Cheboygan bratwurst.
Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Kalamazoo County police officers will seek charges against a couple after finding two active methamphetamine labs at their home in Alamo Township.
According to a press release, the Southwest Enforcement Team—a drug enforcement team consisting of a number of local police departments, sheriff’s offices and the Michigan Sate Police—went to the home  near Ravine Road and D Avenue Tuesday, Sept. 26.
An interview led to the discovery of two operating meth labs on the property.
“The Methamphetamine labs were in an “active” state, meaning that the dangerous chemical reaction that produces methamphetamine was ongoing when the detectives made the discovery,” the press release said.
Trained officers rendered the labs—which were running the chemical reaction needed to make the drugs—safe and found methamphetamine, additional meth components, precursors and evidence of previous meth making activity.
The names of a 44-year-old man and 46-year-old woman were withheld pending arraignment.

Otsego juniors kept their SAT scores above the state average in the second of two years of the mandatory college prep testing.
That was one of the takeaways from an overview of the spring scores and testing data given by Heather Kortlandt, the district’s director of instruction.
“What’s essentially on the SAT is a reading, writing and math test,” Kortlandt said, noting that the 11th-graders also take a portion of the MSTEP to cover social studies and science.
Of the total possible score, Otsego’s juniors’ mean score (an average of their scores) was 1,047. That’s up from last year’s mean of 1,036. Those scores were ahead of the state means of 1,001 and 1,007.6, respectively.
That put the district ahead of the rest of the schools in the county; Plainwell’s mean score was apparently only 1 point lower.
Of the possible 800 points for the reading and writing portion, Otsego juniors had a mean score of 529.8 this spring; they had 532 last year. As with the overall mean score, those were ahead of the state means of 509.9 and 507.4.
Of the possible 800 points for the math portion, Otsego juniors had a mean score of 515 this spring; they had 506.8 last year. Again, those were ahead of the state means of 497.6 and 493.6.
While she said that broadly implied there was some work to do on the math side of things, there was some variation in which subjects a given class of students was better or worse at.
School board member Jay Petty asked if it just came down to a matter of one or two questions being answered incorrectly. Kortlandt said it was possible, as there were only about 40-60 questions for the entire subject.

Data
This is the second year high school juniors statewide have taken the SAT since Michigan switched away from the ACT as the mandatory college preparedness test. They take it in April right after spring break.
Kortlandt said the state pays for districts to administer the test as well as administer the Pre-SAT to ninth- and 10-graders. Otsego Public Schools chipped in to give the test to its eighth-graders both years as well.
She said that has resulted in some very individualized help for the students. As part of taking the PSAT, the students are given accounts with the College Board, a nonprofit that provides materials to help prepare for the test.
That company’s partnership with Khan Academy provides videos on the content areas students answered incorrectly on the PSAT.
Kortlandt said, “Through their Khan Academy account, they can practice what they need to learn. It’s so differentiated; it gives students some real control over their future.”
Whereas that helps individual students, Kortlandt and the teaching staff pour over the data to understand how to improve instruction more broadly.
“Students find out their scores before the summer; we don’t get it until more like July,” she said. After she dives into understanding how students scored, she provides the data to the teachers and throughout the year, they meet in teams to break things down—that is among the things teachers do with the time provided them by the delayed starts that occur most Wednesdays.
“They look for the breakdowns,” she said. “Were these students struggling with words and context? Was it writing specifically or algebra or higher math content? And then they discuss how to target those areas to improve student understanding.
“They’ll dissect. They’ll think about how they’re teaching it. They can pinpoint why students are doing well or poorly.”
Find more SAT results countywide and statewide at www.mischooldata.org.
Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.

Plainwell city council members voted to approve a purchase that will keep the city smelling better.
Council members voted unanimously Monday, Sept. 25, to approve the purchase and installation of organic mulch at the Water Renewal plant.
Water renewal superintendent Bryan Pond said the system uses fans to move the air from where sewage enters the plant.
“Air from the headworks of the plant gets drawn in and distributed through the mulch,” Pond said. “It creates an environment for organism to remove the noxious odors.
“It’s a low cost alternative to a mechanical process.”
The mulch in question is made from hardwood chips, much like that used in ornamental landscaping. The process is commonly called Bio-Filters or Bio-Beds.
The council approved spending $5,312 with Super Ground Cover for the project.
Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Those who organize a mentoring program at Plainwell Middle School are hoping to find new mentors in the community.
The school, in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, has a site-based mentoring program that matches an adult with a student for one hour per week.
Joanne Coy, a student support specialist at Plainwell Middle School, said the impact of this program, now in its 18th year, is far- reaching.
“As many of our mentors have stated, ‘I don’t know who gets more out of it, me or my mentee!’” she said.
The program, recently honored as the top school-based mentoring program in the region, offers students an opportunity to spend some time with a positive adult role model each week.
Coy said, “‘What do I have to offer?’ you wonder. How about your time, attention, caring, wisdom—just for starters.
“Often we see the results in the form of improvement in self-esteem and confidence. This then blossoms into an improvement in achievement and further development of good character traits, which is a great way to improve the community.
“Our program, district-wide, has many wonderful adults and teens matched with great kids from kindergarten through high school, but we’re always looking for more mentors.”
To sign up or for more information, call (269) 685-5813.
Coy said, “After the application is returned, we’ll schedule an interview, and in no time at all you will be able to change the future—two lives at a time, yours and your mentee’s!”

The Collywobbles Theatre in Plainwell is getting its start in the community by performing a reader’s theater production of “Love, Loss and What I Wore” by Nora Ephron in November.

The theater’s founder and director Carole Catherine said performers will not have to memorize lines; it will be a staged reading of the script.

Auditions will be Thursday, Oct. 5, from 6 to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 8, from 1 to 2 p.m. at Ransom District Library, 180 S. Sherwood Ave., Plainwell.

Catherine said she is “seeking several women—age 45-plus—for an intimate collection of stories (that) celebrates women’s resilience in loss and brilliance in love, as told through deeply poignant and often hilarious monologues about clothing.”

She said rehearsals will be flexible.

For more information, email msucarole@yahoo.com or see the Collywobbles Theatre on Facebook.

Performances will be Nov 11-12.

Catherine said she recently moved to Allegan from St. Joseph and was in the process of starting up a new theater group in Plainwell.

“I’m looking for a permanent venue,” she said. “It used to be at the Box Factory down (in St. Joseph), then we performed in South Bend, too, so we made it a more generic name.

“We are planning an “It’s a Wonderful Life” radio drama for Christmas too,” she said.

Marlee, the Siberian Husky sporting a red, white and blue bowtie, was named Otsego Main Street’s Pet Mayor of Otsego during the 30th annual Otsego Creative Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 30.

Princess Lulu the pug was so close to winning, she was named mayor pro-tem.

It was a hard fought canine campaign over the summer with candidates sniffing out and digging up votes.

Voting started May 29, as a fundraiser for Otsego Main Street. Votes were $1 each and people could cast a vote as many times as they liked at downtown business venues.

Marlee and Lulu quickly became the two front-runners among the 10 candidates who altogether raised $802.

With voting until 11 a.m. on festival day, the lead kept flip-flopping back and forth between the two canines until 11:30 a.m. when the winner was announced. That’s why the position of mayor pro-tem was given to Lulu. It was not a position the dogs campaigned for but one that was earned.

“We’ll include the pet mayor and mayor pro-tem as much as possible in downtown events such as ribbon cuttings, parades, other Main Street events and the Riverfront Family Fest on Oct. 15, at the Historical Museum for a meet and greet with the community,” said Riki Dorothy, chairman of the promotions committee for Otsego Main Street.

“We also have Otsego’s Hometown Christmas on Dec. 2.”  

Marlee is owned by Ashley Brown. Marlee campaigned “To talk all the time, so no issues will go unresolved.” As a pack dog, Mayor Marlee also promised to lead as an example for all dogs of the Greater Otsego Area and to officially be the center of attention.

Lulu is owned by Steve and Helen Walters. Lulu’s campaign profile said she loved spending time with her family and posing for pictures (usually dressed in an outfit for every occasion and her own custom vehicle).

As mayor, or in this case mayor pro-tem, Lulu will be loyal and value family.

The pet mayor contest was a first for Otsego’s Main Street. The fundraiser was not only successful, but something fun for people to get involved with in downtown, Dorothy said.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at vransbottom@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Plainwell Community Schools received praise from the firm that audited its financial reporting for the 2016-17 budget.

Accountant Molly Fish, manager with the firm Yeo & Yeo, told school board members at their planning meeting Monday, Oct. 2, that the district had received an unmodified opinion.

“That’s the highest level of assurance provided by auditors,” she said. “It’s a clean opinion; our gold star, A-plus. It really means everything was materially correct and all presented in accordance with accounting standards.”

The audit also highlighted the health of the district’s reserves kept in its general fund. It ended the 2016-17 year on June 30 with $4,473,576, continuing a three-year trend to increase it.

As a percentage of how much it spent, that represents a 17.3 percent balance. Fish said that was a healthy level and pointed out that similarly sized districts typically only had 12.5 percent fund balances. The statewide average, not including Detroit Public Schools, was 11 percent.

The district reached that level by adding approximately $143,000, a far cry from its original projected losses to the fund.

The Plainwell district’s director of finance Melissa Gelbaugh said, “I always like to put the worst case, most conservative estimates in front of the board to start off. That way, they’ll know where our fund balance will be if say the perfect storm were to happen.”

That meant not accounting for then-as-yet-undecided increases in state per-pupil funding as well as budgeting for a loss of 20 students. So, while the budget initially projected drawing down the district’s reserves by $400,000, the district ended up adding to its fund balance.

“It’s the same process we go through every year,” she said.

State funding went up by $120 per pupil; Gelbaugh said funding increased in other areas of targeted funding. The district also gained students instead of losing them. The original budget accounted for a 20 student drop; by the end of the year, the district was funded for an enrollment of 2,768, an increase of approximately 27 students over the previous year.

That enrollment brings the district nearly back to where it was in 2010.

Fish said the audit showed the district had very reassuringly consistent finances. Both revenues and expenditures each rose by approximately 4 percent.

“We look for consistency like this. We get concerned when an expenditure line goes way up and a revenue line goes way down,” she said.

School board president Amy Blades said, “We think Melissa and the staff do a great job. We couldn’t ask for anything better than this.”

State Rep. Mary Whiteford is inviting residents of Allegan County to meet with her at her monthly “local office hours” on Friday, Oct. 16.

Rep. Whiteford will be available Friday, Oct. 16:

• 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Fillmore Township Hall, 4219 52nd St., Holland

• 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Fennville District Library, 400 W. Main St.

• 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at J.C. Wheeler Library, 1576 10th St., Martin

No appointments are necessary. Those unable to attend at the scheduled times may call Whiteford’s office at (517) 373-0836 or email MaryWhiteford@house.mi.gov.

A 32-year-old Allegan man facing his third domestic assault charge pleaded guilty to assault by strangulation and lesser charges during a hearing on Monday, Oct. 2, in circuit court before Judge Margaret Zuzich Bakker.

Nestor J. Martinez appeared in court by video from the Allegan County jail. He said on June 16, at a residence in the 300 block of 12th Street in Plainwell, he got into an argument with a woman with whom he was in a relationship.

The argument proceeded to get worse and he pushed the woman numerous times and put his hands on her throat restricting her airway. He said the woman did not lose consciousness. During the course of the evening, he said he had a butcher-type kitchen knife present while arguing with her.

Martinez also told the judge he had two prior domestic assault convictions in 2010 and 2006.

Martinez pled guilty to one count of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm or strangulation, which has a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; third offense domestic assault which has a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and assault with a dangerous weapon, which has a maximum sentence of four years in prison.

As part of the plea agreement, charges of third degree criminal sexual conduct involving force or coercion; another count of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm or strangulation; and as a habitual offender third offense, were dropped.

Prosecuting attorney Roberts Kengis agreed with the minimum guideline recommendation sought by Martinez’s attorney Matthew Antkoviak for 43 to 76 months in prison for the assault by strangulation. The other two charges would be of a lesser sentence.

Bakker accepted the plea and set a sentencing hearing for Monday, Nov. 27, at 9 a.m.

Virginia Ransbottom can be contacted at (269) 673-5534.

After months of delay, an Otsego man pleaded to several crimes connected to a series of home invasions in Watson Township in August 2016.

Kenneth Earl Lapham, 35, admitted to breaking into his former mother-in-law’s home on 116th Avenue, a home he’d lived in for 10 years. He said he stole a Ruger 0.22 pistol, and then drove away the Chevrolet Impala parked there.

“I took the keys and took the car,” he said.

He was charged with eight crimes between that and other break-ins the same day.

Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cronin accepted Lapham’s plea Monday, Oct. 2.

He pleaded guilty to one count of home invasion, one count of unlawfully driving away a motor vehicle and one count of a felon in possession of a weapon.

Lapham was not allowed to possess firearms due to his 2009 conviction for operating a methamphetamine laboratory.

All three charges were entered as a habitual offender, second offense, reduced from a fourth offense. That designation increases by 50 percent the maximum sentence provided in sentencing guidelines.

His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 4.

The home invasion charge normally comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years prison and/or $5,000 fine. The other two charges come with maximum five-year sentences, but could end up being entered as consecutive terms due to their connection to the home invasion.

Prosecutors, as part of a plea agreement, dropped a different count of home invasion, another count of driving away a motor vehicle, two felony firearms charges and two counts for stealing firearms.

Lapham had been scheduled to plea in July, but, after conferring with his attorney, called it off. It was then set for August, but that was changed due to a scheduling conflict.

Lapham was arrested along with his then-girlfriend at the end of the spree; she pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the case earlier this year.

Lapham remains in the Allegan County jail. He is also awaiting a jury trial beginning Dec. 13 for two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, felonious assault and aggravated domestic violence.

Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.

Otsego junior Alex Comerford finished the Division 2 race at the Bulldog Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 30, in a time of 14:55.7. That was, according to Milesplit.com, good enough to give Comerford the 13th fastest time in the nation this season.
It was not, however, quite good enough to win the race.
Coldwater’s Shuaib Aljabaly crossed the finish line in 14:53.6—the ninth fastest time in the nation—to edge out Comerford.
It was unlike anything Otsego coach Steve Long had ever seen before.
“This was the best show in town, the state and maybe nationally,” Long said.
And while they weren’t able to break the 15:00 barrier, a pair of Comerford’s teammates joined him in finishing under 16:00 to take the third and fourth spots: senior Will Finch was third at 15:41, while sophomore Hunter Zartman was fourth at 15:55).
“I’ve never had three boys under 16:00 on the same day before,” Long said. “Alex, Will and Hunter are a rare breed. They are so incredibly dedicated, not just to their sport, not just to pursuing excellence, but also to making each other better. It’s pretty awesome to watch them practice each day and race twice a week.
“Al and Will are the two fastest boys I’ve coached. Hunter is the fifth fastest. To have those boys on the same team is fun.”
As a team, the Bulldogs had the best finish of the five Allegan County teams, placing fifth with 152 points. Allegan (196 points) was eighth, Hamilton (258) was 11th, Plainwell (277) was 12th and Wayland (425) was 15th.
Hamilton’s Luke Koopman placed fifth at 15:55, while Allegan’s Blane Johnson also made the top 20 with his time of 16:44 put him 17th. Daniel Hopson (36th at 17:27) had the best showing for Plainwell, while Elijah Gamelin (73rd at 18:30) posted Wayland’s best time.
On the girls’ side, Otsego took runner-up honors behind Grand Rapids Christian. The Bulldogs finished with 96 points, compared to 66 for G.R. Christian.
Wayland was fifth with 155 points, Plainwell was eight with 209 points, Hamilton was ninth with 224 points, Otsego’s “B” team was 11th with 298 points and Allegan was 16th with 462 points.
Senior Madelyn Marciniak (third at 18:52) and junior Sydney Kubiak (fourth at 18:53) led the way for Otsego, both setting personal records. Senior Gracie VerHage ran a season-best 19:34 to place 14th.
“The girls’ race was also pretty fantastic,” Long said. “How many good things can I say about this group of girls? All of them. They’re dedicated. They’re hard working. They’re committed. They’re intense. They have great attitudes. And they love each other. They’re living the Otsego cross country tradition.”
Plainwell’s Makenna Veen led the individual honors, winning the race with a time of 18:03. That was 44 seconds faster than runner-up Molly Thompson of Paw Paw.
Wayland’s Rylee Cronkright (fifth at 19:04) and Maggie Whitney (seventh at 19:15) also cracked the top 10, while teammate Mie Tornbjerg placed 23rd at 20:03. Audrey Freyhof placed 27th for Hamilton at 20:09 and Sasha Mills placed 80th at 22:11 to lead Allegan.
All in all, Long said it was a great day of cross country.
“I judge how things went based on the number of smiles I see all day and I saw a lot of smiles,” he said. “So I think the Otsego put on an incredible event. Our volunteers are amazing. The community support is fantastic. What a really fun day.”
 

There are no instruction manuals for many important aspects of life—parenting and long-term relationships among them.

They may not be solving those two problems, but a group of volunteers from several local churches wants to help.

They decided to put together a three-day conference called Winning at Home. It kicks off tonight with an evening focused on marriage and long-term relationships. Saturday, Oct. 14, there will be a focus on parenting. Sunday, Oct. 15, it will focus on personal and spiritual growth.

Jason Smith is the student ministries pastor at Friendship Wesleyan Church in Plainwell. He helped organize the conference and said the idea for it was sparked by an effort to find out what the community truly needed.

“After we did some research, we discovered people generally had two desires,” Smith said. “If people were married, they wanted to learn how to make it work for the long term.

“Because the statistics are pretty bad (with divorce). And then, for folks who are considering marriage, they wanted to know how that works.”

The other major desire was parental guidance. Smith said there were not only many children in homes in the area but also that they were being raised by non-traditional guardians—uncles, grandparents, single parents, in addition to two-parent homes.

“People would tell us they felt like right when they learned how to guide their children at one age, those children had already grown past that,” Smith said. “A lot of parents would tell us that they just always felt they were running behind.”

So, the group wanted to step in to help.

“That’s kind of where this event came out of,” he said. “We realize it doesn’t fix our community. But it begins a conversation.”

He said many area churches pitched in to help organize it and he’s excited to see how it helps.

The speaker for the conference is Dan Seaborn, a non-denominational Christian evangelist who founded Winning at Home Inc., He speaks throughout the United States for events such as Promise Keepers.

Despite its roots in Christian ministry, Smith said the event was not explicitly about church.

All three days of the conference are also completely free, open to any in the community and take place at the Plainwell High School Performing Arts Center.

The Wednesday event tonight on relationships begins at 7 p.m. and runs to 9 p.m. The website says, “We will be exploring what it means to thrive in our love lives.”

The Saturday session runs 7 to 9:30 p.m. and is all about parenting.

“We like to say it’s for parents of children from age 3 to 33,” Smith said.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. both nights.

Sunday’s session starts at 11 a.m. and is based more around personal growth; the website says, “(It’s an opportunity to come back and hear from our speaker on a more personal level, to give thanks to our Creator and Author, and contemplate what it means to ‘go the next level.’”

Smith said, “There is going to be a ton of fun involved. And both Wednesday and Saturday involve applicable, hands-on types of things you can do.”

For more information, visit www.wah17.com.

Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.

Police have decided not to seek criminal charges in a fatal crash that killed a Kalamazoo County man and injured two others.
The crash happened Thursday, Sept. 14, about 9:30 p.m. on 10th Street near 110th Avenue north of Plainwell. A northbound vehicle hit a trailer and vehicle which were stopped along the side of the road, killing Theodore Michael Cole, 34, of Kalamazoo.
The Allegan County Sheriff’s Office completed a reconstruction of the accident.
Undersheriff Mike Larsen said, “No charges will be filed due to the inability to find any violations by the driver and the trailer being over the fog line and in the lane of travel.”
The heavy flatbed trailer was disabled on the side of the road. Police said it appeared the northbound vehicle’s driver didn’t see it.
Another man seriously injured in the crash was standing on the trailer when it was struck.
Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

Officials at the Environmental Protection Agency have adopted a record of decision that includes a removal of the Otsego City Dam.
In the decision, the agency said dam removal would help achieve a major goal of the Kalamazoo River Superfund cleanup, separating the river’s main area of flow from side branches where there are high concentrations of PCBs, which the agency considers cancer causing.
“Removal of the dam will result in the northeast anabranches not conveying water under normal flow conditions.
“As such, fish will no longer have routine access to these areas with higher PCB concentrations. Dam removal is also desired by the City of Otsego and the State of Michigan for several reasons, including reducing long-term dam maintenance and restoring natural free-flowing conditions to the river.”
The remedy was selected from among several considered in the last month and outlined at a public meeting in Otsego.
In addition to removing the dam, the EPA will realign the river’s channel. This, the agency said, will create a single stable channel and will protect the river’s flood plain from erosion, including of PCB-contaminated soils into the river.
The soil along the banks will be excavated and contamination will be removed, providing a buffer between the new channel and the floodplain.
Some PCB hotspots on an island in the river will be excavated and others will be capped with clean soil.
The Gun River will also be modified when the Kalamazoo River is reconfigured.

Dix Street Elementary School in Otsego was recently named by the U.S. Department of Education a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School.
Dix Street is one of only 342 schools nationwide and 13 in Michigan receiving the honor.
“I am so proud of the staff, students and parents of Dix Street Elementary,” said principal Mark Rollandini. “The teamwork, dedication and hard work of the members of the Dix Street community have paid off in this national recognition. What we do, as a team, every day to support the social, emotional, and academic growth of every child is why we qualified for such a prestigious award.”
District superintendent Jeffery Haase said, “We are extremely proud of, and excited for, our staff, students and their families for achieving this incredible honor.
“This was a school that was designated a Focus school in 2013, achieved the status of a Reward school the following year and is now nationally recognized for its achievement.
“This is an example of our district’s focus on the individual learner and commitment to our belief that all students can excel.”
The national award is designed to honor schools that are “on education’s cutting edge, pioneering innovative educational practices from professional learning communities and project-based learning to social and emotional learning and positive behavior systems,” according to the Education Department.
Schools are nominated by the state department of education after detailing their school practices. Schools may be nominated as “Exemplary High Performing”—among the top schools in a state—or “Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing”—schools making the fastest progress in their state in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
District director of instruction Heather Kortlandt said, “Dix Street Elementary has embraced a culture of deep professional collaboration driven by data. The staff always puts the whole child at the center of all decisions and works tirelessly to impact student achievement.
“Each and every teacher, paraprofessional and support staff members have impacted the building leading to this blue ribbon status.”
School officials will represent Dix Street Elementary at a two-day awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 6-7, where they will hear U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and esteemed educators share best practices and celebrate their hard-won achievements.
Rollandini said, “I am delighted to be a part of this celebration of learning and continuous growth at Dix Street.”
Dix Street celebrated the award locally Tuesday at their annual Family Fall Festival.

Otsego’s search for a new city manager continues.
Mayor Cyndi Trobeck said the Michigan Municipal League’s executive search team is compiling input gathered Sept. 26 and will design a recruitment pamphlet.
“Last week, we spoke with some stakeholders,” she said. “We invited some people in, business leaders, people who’ve been active in the city with Otsego Main Street.
“There was also a separate meeting with department heads. Then (the MML) met with city commissioners, all on the same day.”
After the pamphlet is assembled, MML will post the open position for a month among a variety of periodicals that serve city organizations.
The MML team will then vet the applicants and provide city commissioners with a group of people to choose from.
“All the initial legwork is handled by them,” Trobeck said. “It’s still very, very early in the process.”
Otsego is working to find a successor to Thad Beard, who resigned in August to take the city manager job in Rockford.
Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.
 

Otsego officials are pleased a project to improve the city’s wastewater treatment plant is moving ahead.
Mayor Cyndi Trobeck said city commissioners officially awarded the bid for approximately $1.3 million to Davis Construction at their meeting Monday, Oct. 2.
“The goal is to modernize,” Trobeck said. “The plant is old now. We don’t want to end up dumping sewage into the river. These are improvements we really needed to happen.”
With the bid in place, crews are expected to be on site on or about Oct. 23, according to city treasurer Matthew Storbeck.
“Davis Construction is estimating completion by the end of May, Storbeck said.
A state-administered low-interest loan program will fund the project, to be paid back over 20 years. Davis Construction was the low bidder on the project and was selected preliminarily in July.
The project includes installing new equipment to disinfect the water; replacing blocked or aging equipment on the storage tanks; replacing the aforementioned electronic controlling system; expanding and renovating the lab where the water is tested; and replacing sewage pumps with dry-pit pumps with variable frequency drives.
The city will spend another $300,000 of its own in addition to the project, for improvements not covered by the state loan. One of the main pieces of that portion of the work involves controls for the system that could be accessed remotely through computers. Such a system couldn’t be covered by the state loan. So, the city worked with Davis Construction to remove a control system from their bid, among other things, reducing the scope of the work by approximately $137,000.
In addition to the remote monitoring system, the city is also replacing a lift station at North Street. Storbeck said the current small building’s roof is deteriorating but is too dangerous for city crews to replace due to its proximity to a power line.
So, part of the project the city is paying directly for will move that station underground so it will be easier access.
Wastewater treatment superintendent Luke Keyzer said, “The facility should be operating normally throughout this project. There may be a few minor switchovers, but we will be using bypass pumps to compensate for this.”

Rate changes loom
Storbeck said the rates that supported the city’s aging water and sewer infrastructure had not been enough to provide money now to replace failing components.
“(We) had hoped some of our commodity sales and use would have increased over the past few years. That hasn’t happened,” he said. “And now, with aging key components of each system requiring additional maintenance or replacement, the additional funds are necessary.”
He estimated that total average residential rates, including water and sewer, increased approximately 15 percent for the 2017-18 budget which began July 1. Usage will vary and will affect the size of the increased utility cost.
“We knew this was going to be significant,” Storbeck said. “The last major upgrade to the wastewater plant was in 1989.
“Users can anticipate similar increases next year.”
Specifically, the sewer commodity charge per thousand gallons of use went from $6.56 to $7.15, a 9-percent increase. Readiness to serve fees increased 65 percent, up from $20.38 per quarter to $33.63 per quarter for typical residential service. He estimated the average residential increase for sewer utility costs was 17 percent.
The water commodity charge per thousand gallons of use went from $1.92 to $2.04, a 6-percent increase. Readiness to serve fees increased 20 percent, up from $12.82 per quarter to $15.38 per quarter for typical residential service. He estimated average residential water utility costs went up 10 percent.
“Over the next budget year we will start planning to begin repayment of the Sewer Fund debt for the current project and improvements to the water system to maintain required service levels,” Storbeck said, stressing that revenue raised for the sewer fund could only be spent on waste water treatment and likewise for the water fund.
Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.

Otsego Township will try to head off future problems and possible inconsistencies by commissioning a technical review of its zoning ordinance.
The board voted 7-0 at its Monday, Oct. 9, regular meeting to hire McKenna Associates to make sure the zoning ordinance comports with the township’s master plan.
Clerk Joan Squibbs said, “There is money in the budget for this. We knew we’d have to do this after we updated our master plan.”
The consultant will sit in with the township planning commission to go through the zoning ordinance and the master plan to make sure they are in accordance.
Township trustee Lori Bumgart asked why there was only one proposal rather than multiple bids.
Squibbs said because McKenna had also done the master plan it made sense to contract with the same firm again and that others would be reluctant to do the work.
“It would likely cost more, too, because they’d have to review the master plan, too,” she said.
Trustee Rick Moll moved to go ahead and trustee Karen Burns seconded the motion.
The total budgeted cost was $5,900.
In other business, the township board voted 7-0 to hire MnS Lawncare to plow snow at the township hall and on the path along M-89 on the Strip.
Trustee Matt McPherson asked why they only had one bid. Supervisor Bryan Winn said that they were happy with the work MnS did mowing the cemetery and the cost was the same as it had been last year when Harold Immekus handled the snow removal.
The price includes $75 per hour for clearing the township parking lot and $65 per hour for clearing the path. Winn said he thought the township spent a total of roughly $1,500 last year.
Contact Dan Pepper at dpepper@allegannews.com or at (269) 673-5534.

(UPDATED) The community of Plainwell and young cancer patients across the country are mourning the loss Dustan Colyer, the founder of DC Strong. Colyer died from a rare kidney cancer he had been battling since the age of 6.

The 23-year-old passed away Wednesday, Oct. 11. The news was posted by his mother Karelyn DeBoer Meert.

“Tonight we lost a gift that can’t be replaced. Our warrior. Our hero. Our angel. Dustan Colyer.  9-11-94 / 10-11-17.”

Colyer created DC Strong when he was still a student at Plainwell High School. The 2012 graduate is still honored there each year at the alumni basketball game.

While battling cancer five times in his short life, he found the time to start DC Strong’s “Cancer Response Unit,” an army of friends that bring hope and happiness to children battling cancer.

The group helps other children live life to fullest by providing care packages, “dream days,” and long-term mentoring to relieve the pain and depression of cancer.

As the mission spread to help as many kids as possible, DC Strong became nationally known with support offered from the likes of the band Shinedown who even collaborated with them on a short YouTube film, “No one fights alone.”

The day after Colyer’s passing, DC Strong president Larry Gonzalez said Colyer’s family and DC Strong family could not have imagined the outpouring of phone calls and messages of condolences already received in just a 15-hour period.

One condolence message, from Plainwell Community Schools, said, “Dustan forever touched the lives of many people both in the Plainwell community and throughout the country. He set an example of strength and perseverance. In his 2012 Graduation Address, he encouraged his fellow graduates to not waste their lives. Dustan’s own life, while far too short, was a fine example of living to one’s fullest and doing the most good.

“While we will all miss Dustan, we are comforted in knowing that DC Strong, the nonprofit he helped establish with intentions to bring joy to other pediatric cancer patients, will live on and continue to do the good work he envisioned.”

Gonzalez said when families felt their worst, that’s when Dustan was always at his best.

“All he ever wanted to do in life was leave a legacy and we will continue to do that in his honor,” he said. “He had a lot of life goals and he accomplished them.”

Visitation will be Monday, Oct. 16, from 4 to 8 p.m. The service will be Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m. both at Radiant Church, 8157 E. De Ave., Richland.

This story was updated to include the dates and times for memorial services.