The Sun and News

Your Hometown Newspaper Serving Middleville and Caledonia Areas

No. 49/December 4, 2021 Published by J-Ad Graphics, Inc. • 1351 N. M-43 Highway, Hastings, MI 49058 143rd year

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Caledonia will ring in the
holiday season today as the
village hosts its annual
Christmas in Caledonia cele-
bration.
Activities will begin at 4
p.m. on Main Street, with ven-
dors along the street as well as

a variety of food trucks.

Everyone wishing to take

part in the annual Christmas

Parade is asked to gather in

the parking lot of Ralph E.

Meyers Stadium at 5:30 p.m.

“It’s open to everyone,”

Village Manager Jeff Thornton

said. “You don’t have to regis-

ter. Decorate your wagon, your

dog, anything.”

The parade will step off at

6 p.m. from the stadium and

work its way west on Main

Street to Maple Street, then

turn south to conclude the

route. Santa Claus will be on

a Caledonia Fire Department

truck.

“Santa will stay on the fire

truck for [the parade’s]

entirety,” Thornton said.

Immediately after the

parade, dancers from the

Caledonia Dance & Music

Center will perform at the

main intersection in town.

Village President Jennifer

IN THIS ISSUE...IN THIS ISSUE...

• High-speed chase ends in arrest,
  charges against Alto man


• Holiday Luminary Walk set for
  next Saturday in Caledonia
  Township


• Caledonia eyes limiting RVs,
  other zoning ordinance changes


• WINTER SPORTS PREVIEWS
  for Thornapple Kellogg and
  Caledonia

Today’s the day for Christmas in Caledonia

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
The village of Middleville
has many holiday traditions,
but this year, for the first time,
all of those traditional activi-
ties, plus some new events, are
being combined into one
three-day celebration.
“Christmas On the River”
will begin next Thursday and
run through Saturday. The
Middleville Downtown
Development Authority, local
businesses and community
organizations are teaming up
to put it all together.
“There’s something fun
happening every night,”

Middleville DDA Director

Katherine Schmidt said.

The celebration will begin

with a Holiday Business Open

House on Thursday. Festivities

start at 5 p.m. and run through

8 p.m. Kids will be able to see

live reindeer downtown and

get their pictures taken with

Santa under the gazebo next to

the Village Hall. The decorat-

ed Holly Trolley will provide

rides around the downtown

area.

In addition, local businesses

will be offering goodies and

activities for kids of all ages.

Participating businesses in the

celebration include:

McKeown Kraai

Professional (MKP) CPA -

Live reindeer

Advanced Stone & Tile

Fabrications Inc. - Santa at the

gazebo; gift bags for kids

Thornapple Valley Church

• Free popcorn bar – create a
  favorite flavor with sweet and
  salty mix-ins
  Opus Artisan Boutique –
  arts and crafts activities
  Highpoint Community
  Bank – serving hot dogs and
  refreshments in the MKP park-
  ing lot
  Thornapple Credit Union –
  Make-and-take activities
  Kindred Shop & Studio –

Write a letter to Santa and his

friends at the North Pole and

get a reply back later this

month

Left Field Cafe on Main –

Meet Anna and Elsa from

“Frozen”

My Sister’s Closet – Sweet

treats

Dearly Loved Bridal –

Candy canes

Balanced Counseling LLC/

Openchair Counseling Service

• sensory crafts and activities
  in Stagecoach Park
  On Friday, a “Night of
  Lights Luminary Walk” will
  take place from 6 to 9 p.m.,
  with donations to benefit the
  Serenity Village Hospice
  House. A Charlie Brown
  Christmas Winter Wonderland
  display will be set up in the
  open space just east of the
  Village Hall, and there will be
  an opportunity to snap “Elfie”
  photos. Also, tour the village
  and check out the homes that
  are taking part in the annual
  Christmas light-decorating
  contest.
  Also on Friday night, mem-
  bers of the Thornapple
  Township Emergency Services
  Department will sing carols in
  the downtown area to raise
  money for a needy family.
  TTES Chief Randy Eaton
  said this is the first time the
  department has undertaken
  such an effort. The idea came
  from Lt. Nate Otto. “He called
  me and asked about it. I said,
  ‘Certainly, we should do
  something,’ ” Eaton said.
  Fire booths will be set up
  near where department mem-
  bers will be caroling, where
  donations can be dropped off,
  and there also will be a Venmo
  donation option as well, Eaton
  said.
  Saturday’s events begin
  with the Holiday Market on
  Main Street from noon to 4
  p.m., with artisan-crafted gifts
  and more. From 3:30 to 5:
  p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus
  will be back for a Christmas
  Artists from the Thornapple Arts Council work on creating a 8-foot-high Tea & Cocoa under the
  Christmas tree that will be part of the Charlie Brown Christmas Winter Wonderland
  display in downtown Middleville. (Photo provided)

Holiday traditions come together for

Middleville’s Christmas On The River

James Gemmell

Contributing Writer

Business was steady on the

first day the newest Meijer

Express gas station/store

opened on M-37/Broadmoor

Avenue in Caledonia. The

address is 6700 Broadmoor

Ave. SE, which is on the

Gaines Township/Caledonia

Township border.

Even while a ceremonial

ribbon was being cut inside

the store Dec. 2, customers

quickly made their way

inside and out. With 35 mph

winds whirling outside, the

decision to hold the grand

opening event indoors was a

popular one with the partici-

pants.

The Meijer Express

includes 3,600 square feet of

space on the selling floor and

5,800 square feet for the

entire building. Vice

President of Meijer Express

Adam Whitney said a tenant

partner, Starbucks, will open

on the site in a few months,

and that will occupy 2,

square feet. The Starbucks

partnership is relatively new

for Meijer Express.

“We are thrilled,” Whitney

said. “This is in our backyard,

and our mission is to improve

the lives in the communities

of the customers that we

serve. We feel we are doing

that here. We’ve got a tremen-

dous fresh offering with our

crafted brand. We’re going to

have cheeseburgers, pizza (by

the slice) and a lot of fresh

food, as well as our Better For

You offerings; a great coffee

experience and an even better

fountain and icy bar.”

The coffee section is a

bean-to-cup experience.“We

have a very bold, great bean.

So, it’s delivered straight from

the bean and ground right

Meijer’s Alexander Smith and Meijer Express store

team leader Sam DeHaan cut the ceremonial ribbon

for the store’s grand opening Thursday. (Photo by

James Gemmell)

Meijer Express

opens on M-

See HOLIDAY SEASON, page 2

See OPENS, page 2

See CELEBRATION, page 2