Page 4/The Sun and News, Saturday, July 10, 2021Area Obituaries
Valeree Kay Gross, age
74, of Caledonia, passed
away unexpectedly to be
with her Lord on Tuesday,
July 6, 2021. She was
preceded in death by her
husband of 54 years, Vernon.
She will be lovingly
remembered by her children,
Matthew and Marsha Gross
(Jack) of Alaska, David
Gross and Erin Osman (Ash,
Chase, Bryce) of Holland,
Kim and Lauren Wright of
Grand Rapids; great
grandchildren, Phoenix,
Felix, Evelyn May, and
Remington; and other
extended family and friends.
Valeree was a proud
mother, grandmother, and
great-grandmother, and she
was devoted to her two long-
haired dachshunds. Her
family was the center of her
universe. She touched the
lives of many through her
kindness and generosity.
She enjoyed watching the
birds and wildlife in her
backyard. She liked to
explore the West Michigan
area while antiquing with
her husband. Shopping
brought her joy and she was
just as good at it online as
she was in person.
Funeral services will be
held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July
13, 2021 at Matthysse
Kuiper DeGraaf Funeral
Home, 616 E. Main St.,
Caledonia. Entombment at
Chapel Hill Memorial
Gardens. Relatives and
friends may meet the family
Tuesday, July 13 from 4-
p.m. at the funeral home.
Those who wish may
make memorial
contributions to any pet
rescue or a local food pantry
of your choice. Condolences
may be sent online at http://www.
mkdfuneralhome.com.Valeree Kay Gross
Friday, July 23rd
7:00 p.m.
VFW Hall
735 S. Main St.
WAYLAND, MI
512-433-
HealthAwarenessClinics.orgTad Thatcher, D.O.
July 11, 1972 - July 6, 2001Everything is temporal!
All lovely things pass away:A Sunset, A Morning Breeze
A Lover’s Touch, A Starry Sky
A Budding Tree, A Crashing Wave
A Perfect Rose
Tad.
But each remains in our hearts.
Love, Mom & DadQuestions raised on half-pipe
addition to Calvin Hill Park
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Middleville’s village
manager is proposing an
addition to the skate park at
Calvin Hill Park, but some
council members are
questioning the proposal.
Village Manager Patricia
Rayl brought forth a proposal
at Tuesday’s committee of
the whole meeting for the
addition of a half-pipe feature
at the park on Ellis Street.
Rayl submitted a quote of
more than $51,200 for the
addition from American
Ramp Company, which had
supplied the original
equipment when the skate
park was built in 2009.
“Staff planned for an
improvement to Calvin HillPark in the FY2021 budget,
and adding the half-pipe
equipment is within the
budget,” Rayl wrote in a
memo to the village council.
On top of the half-pipe
quote, Rayl also supplied an
estimate for a new concrete
pad that would support the
half-pipe feature at nearly
$19,300 from Aten Cement
Contractors.
However, Village
President Pro Tempore
Sherry Ronning questioned
the proposal and whether it
fit the plan for the East Bank
area of the village.
“We should be looking at
a splash pad or something
like that,” Ronning said. “I
wonder how we got off
track.”Rayl said the splash pad
is still in the plan for the
park, but that would be about
a $300,000 project.
“The idea was to add
some smaller equipment that
we could afford to the Calvin
Hill Park, and work on
making a design for the
splash pad,” Rayl said
In addition, Rayl
proposed replacing old park
equipment that is no longer
in compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities
Act and replace it with ADA-
compliant equipment, and
tightening up the park
footprint to allow for space
for the splash pad.
Ronning and Council
Trustee Kevin Smith
suggested Rayl get morequotes for the half-pipe
feature.
“With projects like this,
I’d like to have three quotes
and three options, with
costs,” Smith said.
Calvin Hill Park, which
takes up about 1.1 acres, is
named for Calvin G. Hill,
who founded the village in
1834 when he purchased 400
acres of property,
encompassing both sides of
the Thornapple River. The
park property once housed a
two-room schoolhouse that
was named for Hill.
The village council is
expected to further discuss
the proposal at Tuesday’s
meeting, which will take
place at 7 p.m. at the village
hall, 100 E. Main St.Yankee Springs pursuing updated park plan
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
It’s been more than 15
years since the plan for
Yankee Springs Township
Park was developed.
Now, the township is
looking to update that plan.
The township board
Thursday night approved
spending up to $1,000 to
have the engineering firm
Fleis & Vandenbrink update
the park plan.
Among possible additions
to the park are converting the
existing basketball court into
two additional pickleball
courts. That would go along
with the two existing
pickleball courts at the park,
which have been popular
with township residents.
The township parks
committee also is interested
in adding more parking,
restrooms, a full-court
basketball court,
improvements to the baseball
and soccer fields, a cornhole
court and an information
kiosk to the park. The
committee, which met earlier
this week, put together
computer-aided drawings
depicting future additions to
the park which Fleis &
Vandenbrink will use to
update the plan.
“You can’t put something
in if you don’t have a plan
where things are going togo,” Township Supervisor
Rob Heethuis said.
Clerk Mike Cunningham
updated the board on cracks
that have developed in the
concrete on the park’s
existing pickleball, tennis
and basketball courts. The
company that installed the
courts, Racquet Sports Inc.,
will visit the park to take a
look at the cracks.
“We may have some
repair to do on that again,
maybe next year,”
Cunningham said. “None of
the cracks are elevation
changes where there’s
tripping hazards or anything
like that.”
Racquet Sports made
repairs to cracks at the courts
two years ago. The company
has provided a quote of more
than $18,500 for new repair
work, but nothing has been
approved by the township
yet.
The township park will
soon host new activities. A
six-week Yoga in the Park
program begins Monday at 6
p.m. The program is free.
Then July 17, a free concert
will take place at the park
pavilion with Mike Key. The
concert will begin at 7 p.m.
In other business, the
township board:- Approved spending
$800 to have two private
residential wells outside of
the township water system
tested for PFAS, a group of
man-made chemical
substances used in
manufacturing and industry
settings that have been linked
to problems with the immune
system in humans.
The township in 2019
had three abandoned wells
tested for PFAS, one of
which resulted in a positive
test. That led to a
recommendation from the
Michigan Department of
Environment, Great Lakes
and Energy to have additional
testing done, Township
Trustee Larry Knowles said.
The wells to be tested are
south and east of the earlier
well sites that were tested in
2019, according to township
documents.
“If they did test positive,
I think EGLE would come in
a little harder, to find out
more [about what’s going
on], and probably help us. It
could be a couple of different
things, either expanding the
[water] system or providing
private systems,” said
Knowles, who also is
executive director of the Gun
Lake Area Water and Sewer
Authority.
EGLE has applied for
funding to do additional
testing for PFAS in the
township next year, he said.- Approved hiring Fleis &
Vandenbrink to update the
township water system’s
wellhead protection plan at a
cost of $10,000. A grant from
EGLE would cover half of
the cost.- Approved a new two-
year contract with township
assessor Dan Scheuerman
with a 3 percent raise. The
township will pay
Scheuerman $3,870 a month,
or $46,440 a year. - Approved spending
$200 to purchase a Terminate
termite detection product to
fight termites at the township
fire station. Termites recently
damaged two exterior door
frames on the south side of
the fire station, Trustee Dave
VanHouten said. - Awarded a certificate of
recognition to Nancy Near,
who recently retired from the
township after nearly 25
years of service.
“She started early on as a
deputy clerk and has most
recently maintained all of the
voter registration and
qualified voter files,”
Heethuis said. “Through her
many years of experience,
she had become very
knowledgeable and
instrumental in answering
various questions of township
residents.”
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