SN 11-20-2021

Page 6/The Sun and News, Saturday, November 20, 2021

Two re-appointed to Middleville DDA

Two incumbent members

have been reappointed to the

Middleville Downtown

Development Authority

board of directors.

The village council

Nov. 9 approved the reap-

pointment of Kim Jachim

and Kristen Fisher to

four-year terms on the

DDA board, starting in

February 2022.

DDA Director

Katherine Schmidt said

the two appointments

provide stability for a

board that has seen five

new members appointed

in the past year.

“They were both appoint-

ed to partial terms and we’d

love to see those two ladies

fill a full term,” Schmidt

said.

Jachim, who is the DDA

board chairwoman, was

appointed to the board in

2019, while Fisher was

appointed to the board last

year. Their new terms will

run through February

2026.

Middleville

UMC plans

for holidays

Middleville United

Methodist Church has

announced several

upcoming holiday

events.

The church, at 111

Church St., Middleville,

will a free community

Thanksgiving dinner

Sunday, Nov. 21. Turkey

with all the fixings will be

served from 2 to 4 p.m. in

the fellowship hall. Carry-

out meals will be avail-

able.

Tuesday, Dec. 21, the

Holly Trolley will be giv-

ing rides in Middleville

from 5 to 8 p.m. from the

MUMC parking lot. Ticket

pre-sales will start at 4:

p.m. The cost is $1 per

person over the age of 5

with a maximum charge of

$5 per family. Children

seated in an adult lap are

free.

Free hot chocolate and

music will be provided in

the fellowship hall.

Crafts and Santa helpers

will be provided by

Journey Church.

The Christmas Eve

observance of Christ’s

birth will be in the sanctu-

ary at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec.

24, with Pastor Tony

Shumaker.

Permit approved for new sign at Pinewood

James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
The Gaines Township
Planning Commission has
approved a special-use per-
mit for Kentwood Public
Schools to install a new elec-
tronic sign near the entrance
to Pinewood Middle School.
A KPS official said the
district plans to eventually
upgrade the exterior digital
signage for all of its school
buildings.
The Gaines Township
Planning Commission Nov.
18 voted 6-0 to approve the
request from KPS and Byron
Center-based Midwest Sign
Company for the sign out-
side Pinewood Middle
School. One commissioner
was absent. Under a town-
ship ordinance, a special-use
permit is required for elec-
tronic signs to be placed in a
single-family residential
zone.
The school is on 60th
Street, which is a border road
between Gaines Charter
Township and the City of
Kentwood. East Kentwood
High School, immediately to
the west of Pinewood, also is
in the township, and just east
of Kalamazoo Avenue.

Kentwood Public Schools

Manager of Facilities and

Operations Brett Baker

addressed the planning com-

mission at its meeting

Thursday night.

“It seems like just about

everybody is going down

this path of electrical mes-

sage boards,” he said. “So,

what we’re looking for is a

beautiful monument that will

have the name of our school,

and our address (2100 60th

St. SE) clearly stated.

“Then, we’ll be able to

present things that are going

to happen in the school. They

could be anything from com-

munity events to school

events. We’re looking at

doing that for all of our

schools, so there is some

consistency. And that look

would be at all of our schools

across the board.”

Community Development

Director Dan Wells said the

new ground sign will be a

little farther south than the

existing sign in order to meet

a zoning requirement that it

be situated 10 feet off the

property line.

“The sign does meet all of

our general standards. The

sign itself is 60 inches high

by 134 inches wide. [There

is] 39 square feet of display

face, and that includes a

60-inch LED panel,” Wells

said.

The permit application

indicates the sign will be on

daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Mike Tiesma of Byron

Center-based Midwest Sign

Company filed the request

for the special-use permit in

September.

Baker, in an interview

after his presentation, said

Watchfire Signs is the brand.

“So, it’s state of the art,

with LEDs that can be

changed at any time,” he

said. “It’s important for us to

have messages that are accu-

rate and current, so our fami-

lies and visitors can see

what’s out there.”

Watchfire Signs is based

in Illinois. It makes many of

the large signs that can be

seen along the nation’s high-

ways and on marquee bill-

boards.

“It’s nice to see that the

Kentwood Schools want to

make their signs consistent,”

planning commission

Chairwoman Connie Giarmo

said in a post-meeting inter-

view. “They are, in my opin-

ion, very attractive, the ones

they’ve chosen to use ... it’s

nice to have them focusing

on their signage and alerting

the public to what they’re

doing. And we hope to work

in cooperation with them.”

Work with life partner to achieve

mutual goals

When you and your life

partner work together to

achieve your important

long-term goals, such as a

comfortable retirement life-

style, the experience can be

greatly rewarding. Howev-

er, your success will require

commitment and discipline.

So, what steps should you

take along the way?

One key move is to

decide early in your rela-

tionship how you will han-

dle money. Many couples

merge their finances and

make joint decisions on

major purchases. But some

couples like to keep at least

part of their finances dis-

tinct, perhaps by maintain-

ing separate checking or

savings accounts. There’s

really no one correct solu-

tion for everyone, but what-

ever you decide, you’ll

want to be assured that all

the bills will be paid and

that neither one of you feels

the pressure of an unfair

financial burden.

Here’s another sugges-

tion: Try to avoid keeping

financial secrets from your

partner. That means disclos-

ing your debts, hidden

funds or uncommon invest-

ments. These types of sur-

prises can lead to difficul-

ties and mistrust. Even if

you’re entering the relation-

ship carrying something

like a heavy student loan,

it’s best to get it out in the

open right away so, togeth-

er, you can strive to gradu-

ally eliminate it.

Of course, there’s also a

practical side to not keeping

secrets. Your large student

loan could affect your credit

rating – an issue that may

arise when you and your

partner are seeking a mort-

gage or some other type of

loan. Clearly, you both

should be aware of this

potential stumbling block

before you begin the appli-

cation process.

Now, let’s consider your

investments. You each may

have your own IRA and

401(k) or similar employ-

er-sponsored retirement

plan, but you might also

share a joint investment

account. However, you

might not share the same

risk tolerance – perhaps one

of you tends to be more

aggressive, willing to take

more risks in exchange for

potentially higher returns,

while the other is more con-

servative, preferring to keep

down the risk level of a

portfolio, even if it means

lesser capacity for growth.

Again, neither you nor

your partner is necessarily

“right” or “wrong” in your

views on investing – and

nobody’s feelings about risk

should be ignored. But once

you’ve clearly identified

your retirement goals and

estimated their cost, you

may find that compromise

is possible. In other words,

perhaps the conservative

partner will realize that a

too-cautious approach

could hinder progress

toward the desired retire-

ment goal, while the partner

who focuses on maximum

growth will learn that a

somewhat less aggressive

approach can still yield the

desired results. This type of

compromise may affect the

investment choices you

make in your individual

accounts as well as your

joint accounts. And the way

you choose your invest-

ments may even change

over time, especially if your

financial goals evolve.

Ultimately, communica-

tion is the key. As long as

you’re talking to each other

and openly expressing your

wishes and concerns, you

and your partner can find a

way to keep moving toward

your mutual goals.

This article was written

by Edward Jones for use by

your local Edward Jones

Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member

SIPC 616-891-

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A new electronic message board will greet visitors to Pinewood Middle School

on 60th Street. (Sketch from Kentwood Public Schools).

Brett Baker, Kentwood

Public Schools manager

of facilities and opera-

tions, spoke to the

Gaines Township

Planning Commission

about a new sign to be

placed outside Pinewood

Middle School. (Photo by

James Gemmell)