SN 6.19.2021

Page 8/The Sun and News, Saturday, June 19, 2021

with all the new changes and
the unknowns of what mid-
dle school would be like.
“But, to make matters
even worse, it made me feel
isolated from everyone else.
Even though I was the short-
est one in my class, the
teachers would still put me in
the back of the classroom or
at the end of the row because
I didn’t wear a mask.
Teachers would question me
about wearing a mask and
why I was not wearing one.”
Chloe went on to say she
had to undergo COVID-
testing every week to be able
to play sports.
“It was very traumatizing
and scary for me,” she said.
Chloe’s mother, Moni,
shared a story of an incident
toward the end of the school
year involving her daughter.
“A substitute teacher
yelled at her in front of the
entire class, telling her to put
a mask on, saying they had
no idea why she wasn’t
wearing a mask, and demand-
ed that they tell her the rea-
son why in front of all those
students,” Lomakoski said.
At times, the stress got to
be too much for Chloe.
“She would come home
crying and upset numerous
times after fellow students
yelled at her in the hallways,
demanding that she put on a
mask, telling her she looked
weird, and constantly asking
her what’s wrong with her,”
her mother said.
Chloe and Moni
Lomakoski were among
more than two dozen parents
and students who spoke out
against mask mandates and

other COVID-19 measures at

the meeting. Many of the

parents who attended are part

of a group called “Stand Up

TK,” which is part of a grow-

ing number of parent groups

around the state who are urg-

ing local school boards to

eliminate mask mandates

and oppose vaccination

requirements.

The parent group, “Stand

Up Cal,” made a similar

demand to the Caledonia

Community Schools Board

of Education last month, and

is expected to make another

demand when that board

meets next week.

The constant thread

through the more than hour-

long public comment period

in Middleville was to let par-

ents have the final say on

whether their children should

wear masks or be vaccinated,

not the school district.

“I do not feel it’s the

school’s responsibility to tell

me what is best for my kid.

That’s my job,” said Steve

Hildabrand, a father of six

who had a son graduate from

TKHS last month. “I’m

going to ask you to please

stop making decisions for

parents. Leave it out there for

us to make those decisions,

whether it’s vaccinations,

masks, whatever it may be.

It’s time to let the parents

make the decisions for their

own kids.”

Keara Hilton, one of the

organizers of Stand Up TK,

shared results of a Freedom

of Information Act request

she submitted to the district.

She said the district had 134

reported cases of COVID-

among students and teachers

during the past school year.

She said those positive cases

led to 1,186 quarantine

orders, where students who’d

had close contact to a posi-

tive COVID-19 case would

have to quarantine for two

weeks. She said the informa-

tion supplied by the district

disclosed that only six of

those quarantine cases devel-

oped COVID-19 themselves.

“Six! That is 0.5 percent

of students becoming ill as a

result of supposedly being in

close contact with someone

who tested positive,” Hilton

said. “Students missed weeks

of school – many were quar-

antined more than once – and

suffered depression, anxiety

and stress in having to con-

tinuously adjust to changes

in their educational platform

• all for a 0.5 percent risk of
  becoming ill.”
  Hilton appealed to the
  school board and
  Superintendent Dan
  Remenap to speak to the
  county board and to the
  Barry-Eaton District Health
  Department to advocate for
  students.
  “Be leaders. Our children
  are counting on you, and
  now is not the time to be
  complacent or passive,” she
  said.
  Some parents said they
  were ready to remove their
  children from the district and

either homeschool them or

send their children to a pri-

vate school.

In an email Wednesday

afternoon, Remenap said he

would advocate in-person

instruction with no mask

mandate when classes

resume in the fall.

“It is my intention to hold

in-person instruction, five

days a week, without any

masking requirements in the

fall,” Remenap wrote in the

email. “This would only

change by a change in law or

lawful order. We want our

families to be able to choose

what they prefer in the fall.”

TK school board member

Sarah Alden acknowledged

the parental concerns

Monday.

“We’ve heard a lot, not

just tonight, but throughout

the year from our communi-

ty,” she said.

Alden offered a board res-

olution acknowledging stu-

dents, parents, teachers and

staff for all they went through

this past year, and calling for

the board to follow “applica-

ble” guidelines, rules and

regulations regarding

COVID-19, “while advocat-

ing at the same time for deci-

sions to be made locally,

where possible,” she said.

“Each student and family

is different. Each student and

family has their own values,

their own beliefs. We, as a

board and as a district,

acknowledge that and recog-

nize that. We understand that

to be extremely important,”

Alden said. “Our guiding

principle here is that we do

what’s best for kids ... pan-

demic or no pandemic, we

continue to be that way.”

After an amendment by

board member David Smith,

the board approved the reso-

lution unanimously.

Remenap said he hopes

the district is “at the back

end” of the pandemic, and

drew applause from some

parents toward the end of the

meeting about advocating for

students and families.

“I want to make it perfect-

ly clear that I will continue to

advocate for the families of

TK schools to have choices,”

Remenap said. “I also want

to say that it’s important for

all of us to recognize that

every challenge is an oppor-

tunity. Our kids are watching

us right now, in how we

cooperate, in how we talk,

and how we disagree.

“This is an outstanding

opportunity for us, as adults,

to model cooperative dissent

and model things we haven’t

seen on the TV for the last

year.”

162502

VILLAGE OF MIDDLEVILLE

COUNTY OF BARRY, MICHIGAN

NOTICE OF ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE AND

SUMMARY OF THE REGULATORY EFFECTS THEREOF

PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Village Council of the Village of

Middleville (the “Village”) has adopted Village Ordinance No. 2117 (the “Ordinance”).

The principal provisions of the Ordinance are summarized as follows:

Section 1 of Ordinance No. 2117 amends Section 70-131 of the Village Code of

Ordinances (the “Code”) to define “Service Connection” and clarify that it is not part of

the Public Sewer System.

Section 2 of the Ordinance amends Section 70-139 to provide that property owners are

responsible for the operation and maintenance of Building Sewers (up to the property

line) and Service Connections (from the property line to the main).

Section 3 of the Ordinance provides for the publication and effective date of the

Ordinance. Village Ordinance No. 2117 will become effective upon its publication or

upon the publication of a summary of its provisions in a local newspaper of general

circulation in the Village.

A copy of the foregoing Ordinance, Ordinance No. 2117, may be examined or purchased

at the Village offices, 100 East Main Street, within the Village, during Village office

hours.

Dated: June 19, 2021 VILLAGE COUNCIL OF THE

VILLAGE OF MIDDLEVILLE

Father's Day gifts...

for your kids

If you’re a dad, you may

be in line to get some nice

gifts on Father’s Day. But

your greatest gift may be

your ability to help your

children. One way of doing

that is to get them started in

the world of investing –

and making a few invest-

ments on their behalf.

Here are three possibili-

ties:

• 529 plan – If you invest
  in a 529 education savings
  plan, your earnings can
  grow federally tax-free,
  provided the money is used
  for qualified educational
  expenses. (Withdrawals not
  used for these expenses
  will generally incur taxes
  and penalties on investment
  earnings.) If you invest in
  your own state’s 529 plan,
  you might receive some
  state tax benefits, too,
  depending on how your
  state’s tax laws apply to
  529 plans. State-by-state
  tax treatment may vary, so
  you’ll need to consult with
  your tax professional about
  your situation.
  Provided you stay within
  certain limits, you can also
  use a 529 plan to pay for
  qualified K-12 expenses
  and registered apprentice-
  ship programs. And you
  can even use it to repay
  certain qualified student
  loans, within limits.
  A 529 plan can affect
  financial aid, but its effect
  is generally lower than that
  of other assets. And as the

account owner, you have

control of your 529, so, if

one child decides not to go

to college or pursue further

education, you can switch

beneficiaries.

• UGMA/UTMA account


• When you establish a
  special type of custodial
  account known as either
  UGMA (Uniform Gift to
  Minors Act) or UTMA
  (Uniform Transfers to
  Minors Act), you are pro-
  viding financial resources
  that can be used for educa-
  tion or another purpose that
  benefits your child, such as
  summer programs.
  One potential benefit of
  an UGMA or UTMA is that
  some of the earnings will
  be taxed at the child’s rate,
  which is likely lower than
  your own. Plus, UGMA/
  UTMA accounts typically
  allow a wide range of
  investment choices. How-
  ever, once children reach
  the age of majority (typi-
  cally 18 or 21) they gain
  complete access to the
  money and can do whatev-
  er they want with it.


• IRA – A child with any
  taxable compensation, such
  as money from an after-
  school job, is eligibleato
  fund an IRA. You may want
  to open one on your child’s
  behalf – and you can
  “sweeten” the offer by
  matching some of their
  contributions. You can’t
  directly invest in the IRA,
  but you can give your child

money for that purpose.

Keep in mind, though, that

the total amount contribut-

ed can’t exceed your child’s

taxable compensation for

the year.

An IRA is a great intro-

duction to the world of

investing. For one thing,

your child can make small

contributions throughout

the year, so investing in an

IRA doesn’t seem burden-

some. Also, since an IRA

can be invested in different

types of securities, your

child can learn about vari-

ous investment vehicles –

stocks, bonds, mutual funds

and so on. Plus, you can

point out that, with a tradi-

tional IRA, taxes won’t be

due on the earnings until

your child starts taking

withdrawals decades from

now. (And with a Roth

IRA, withdrawals are tax-

free, provided certain con-

ditions are met.)

On Father’s Day, you can

show your appreciation for

whatever gifts you receive

from your children. But by

investing in their future,

you can gain some longer-

term contentment.

This article was written

by Edward Jones for use by

your local Edward Jones

Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member

SIPC

CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF CALEDONIA

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Meeting Minutes

The minutes for the June 2, 2021 Township Board of Trustees

Meeting which were approved on June 16, 2021, are posted at

the Township Offices at 8196 Broadmoor Ave., and on the web-

site at http://www.caledoniatownship.org.

Thornapple Kellogg Schools parent Moni Lomakoski

speaks to the district’s school board Monday night,

talking about the impact mask mandates have had on

her two daughters.

DEMAND, continued from page 1