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GETTY

Continued from Page 1

or conceit, but in humility count oth-

ers more significant than yourselves.

That’s the definition of Catherine,”

Bremer said.

Getty played a leading role in craft-

ing a master plan for a countywide

trail system, which Bremer says helped

result in the awarding of grants from

the state to expand the Paul Henry

Thornapple Trail. In July 2020, the

county received a $350,000 Natural

Resources Trust Fund grant to acquire

26 acres of land to extend the Paul

Henry Trail in Thornapple Township,

including 2.5 miles of abandoned rail

bed toward the goal of linking the

north end of the trail in Barry County

with the south end of Kent County’s

section of the trail.

A current Barry County commis-

sioner, Getty served on the TAPRC

board for more than 20 years, nearly

all of the time either as chairwoman

of the board or as program director.

She launched the organization’s annual

used equipment sale with Emily Dock,

who also spoke at the dinner.

“This woman does everything she

does because she cares so deeply about

our community. None of this (is) about

her,” Dock said. “It was all about us

... I’m so grateful for the contributions

she has made to our community. She

tirelessly works to make Middleville

and all of Barry County a better place.

That is why it is so fitting that she is

our Hometown Hero.”

The daughter of a former Thornapple

Township trustee who was instru-

mental in starting up the Middleville

Downtown Development Authority,

Getty was part of the DDA for 10

years. She helped redesign the village’s

downtown streetscape and sidewalks

and started up the popular Riverbank

Music Series. She also has been a

longtime member of the Barry County

Parks Board and serves on the boards

of Barry County United Way and the

Pennock Foundation.

More recently, Getty has worked as

part of the Barry County Blue Zones

project to encourage county residents

to pursue healthier lifestyles, first as

a volunteer and now as its executive

director.

The first geographic affiliate of the

Barry Community Foundation, TAEF

was formed in 1992 with a $32,

gift from Fern Poland Trouyout, a for-

mer Middleville resident who wanted

to do something to support Thornapple

Kellogg Schools. The first scholarship

fund was established with Trouyout’s

donation. The foundation has since

grown to include nearly 60 funds with

total net assets of close to $2.8 million,

TAEF President Travis Alden said.

TAEF awarded $14,000 in grants

to the TK school district and commu-

nity this year, with grants awarded to

projects such as new batting cages for

TAPRC’s baseball program, the pur-

chase of kinetic sand learning materi-

als for students in the district’s Title I

program, a professional emotional sup-

port counseling library at TK Middle

School, and Spooner Balance Board

trainers for physical education classes

at McFall Elementary School, Alden

said.

“These investments have positively

impacted over 3,000 young people just

this fiscal year,” Alden said.

In addition, TAEF awarded 47 schol-

arships to 2024 TKHS graduates, total-

ing more than $59,000, Alden said.

“Just think about those numbers, that

5K

&FUN RUN Cos tumes encouraged, prizes awarded!

4th Annual

Ha lloween Hustle

SATURDAY,OCTOBER 26

When: 9:00 AM (5K) Where: Caledonia Community Green (in front of the library)| 9:50 AM (Fun Run)

6260 92nd St SE, Caledonia, MI

ALL EARLY REGISTRANTS GUARANTEED A T-SHIRT!

SCAN TO REGISTER:

Most Original

Best Group Costume

“I Can’t Believe You Ran in That!”

Costume

Costume Prizes:

5K Run/Walk: A fun, Halloween-themed

race for the whole family!

1/2 Mile Fun Run: Perfect for runners

10 and under!

What is it?

Hearty breakfast served by

Saladino Smoke

Perfect for participants & spectators

A delicious start to your day!

food truck info:

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer

The head of the Barry County
Sheriff’s Office Middleville unit is
issuing a plea to parents of students
at Thornapple Kellogg Schools in the
wake of a threat that was reported
to the district last month: Stay home
unless you are specifically contacted
by the school or law enforcement to
pick your child up.
Sgt. Scott Ware shared his con-
cern during his monthly report to the
Village Council Tuesday night.
On Sept. 24, administrators at the
high school received information about

TK parents advised: Stay home during shelter-in-place situations

a possible threat. The sheriff’s office

was contacted and an investigation by

deputies found there was no credible

threat to the school, its students or staff.

But the next day, the same information

about a possible threat was circulating

again on social media. That led school

officials to declare a shelter-in-place

while the sheriff’s department investigat-

ed the claim. The investigation resulted in

a similar outcome to the day before.

“There was no threat to the school,

there was no threat to any student, there

was no threat to any staff or the com-

munity as a whole,” Ware said.

But what was disconcerting for Ware

was that during the shelter-in-place

advisory, several parents showed up at

the high school, seeking to pick their

students up because they had heard

about the possible threat.

“That hinders us in our ability to do

what we need to do while we’re there,”

Ware said. “You’re not going to be

able to get your kids out. Your kids

are in the safest place in the county at

that time. If we’re in a shelter-in-place,

that means the threat is outside, if there

even is a threat. There was nothing

internally that we had to worry about.

“We were there investigating, making

sure that if somebody or something did

show up, that we were there already

(to deal with it). You showing up is not

helping. It’s hindering us. It’s blocking

the driveways, it’s blocking the parking

lot, so if something were to go down,

we have no way of getting our emer-

gency vehicles in there.”

Ware added that if there were ever to be

a catastrophic event, the schools and all

first responders have protocols in place to

reunite students with their families.

“These reunifications take place off

campus. Notifications will be sent out

via phone calls, text message, email,

social media and the news media,”

Ware wrote in a report to the council.

Ware plans to share that same mes-

sage with the Thornapple Kellogg

Board of Education Monday night.

See GETTY on 6