On Wednesday at the Sturrus Center in Downtown Muskegon, a presentation was made to talk about the different options for the future of the Muskegon Area Transit System and how it can be better shaped to work within the budget it's has, which currently, it tends to go over with some regularity. 

It's an event that's been going on as long as most can remember.  It's the signature fundraising annual event for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lakeshore and it happens over a couple of months at a few different locations.  It involves a little fundraising, a LOT of bowling and a great time for any individual or team that wants to make a difference in the lives of the kids in the community and a group who's work is synonymous with the betterment of the next generation. 

The Disability Network of West Michigan is an agency in Muskegon that provides independent living resources for people with disabilities in Muskegon, Oceana, Lake, Newaygo, and Mason counties.  Their website goes on to say that "Disability Network West Michigan is committed to inclusion and diversity while being consumer directed and accountable.  Our mission is to advocate, educate, empower and provide resources for persons with disabilities.  We promote accessible communities, fulfilling our vision of accessibility is an accepted civil right."

Britta Cleveland reports. Recently I sat down with some of my favorite people in West Michigan about one of our favorite annual events in West Michigan. Dancing with the Local Stars to help raise funds and awareness for our local area food banks that help to feed our areas needy. Clarence Colegrove of Trensyd Realty, Bob Szymoniak - Superintendent of Fruitport Public Schools, the Honorable Judge Brenda Sprader of Muskegon County Court System and Larry Romanelli of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians with the Little River Casino in Manistee, MI.

If you are into the arts then City Center Arts Muskegon is the place for you. The new gallery was formally known as The Red Lotus and is located at 356 W. Western Avenue in the lower level of the historic Century Club building. City Center Art is a place Art lovers of all kinds from performance events, art classes, concerts, art receptions, locally created art and gifts for purchase.

Developers of an old restaurant formerly known as Johnny Carinos on Harvey Street kindly donated the building to the Norton Shores Fire Department. They used this Building to perform ventilation exercises on a clay tile roof which is uncommon to the area.

We grow up with what we know.  Most of us also grew up in a time that was a little different when we stayed in touch in ways that were not quite so digital.  We heard things like bells and horns that told us to get home...of course, there was always the "street light" rule about being home before dark.  Getting the "what for" from your friends mom generally meant double was coming at home and things like a "phone tree" were the way word got around town to let you know what was going on.  We grow up...we move away...life evolves and then we look back and wonder "what happened" when we go back and see what was and what's become. 

The Muskegon Area District Libraries (MADL) has committed to increase literacy skills for every age and are actively involved with this effort, one way to achieve this is through a new early literacy initiative called the Muskegon Storyville. The Storyville Villages are located in their Montague, Muskegon Heights, and Norton Shores branches. They are created to inspire children age zero to five.

Do you have or know of someone with a child? Chances are that that child LOVES macaroni in some form. That is exactly what the founders of Macaroni thought of when they named the very first Macaroni Kid website.

Community Economic Development Association of Michigan is hosting the event "Show Me The Money Day Muskegon" - an event designed to promote our community’s free and low-cost financial services, resources for financial literacy, and provides workshops on methods to better save and spend money with the intent of financially empowering the community as a whole.

I recently visited with my dear friend Kris Collee, Executive Director of Age Well Services of West Michigan with Meals on Wheels. We sat in their newly renovated Driftwood Cafe at Tanglewood Park Senior Service Center in Norton Shores which is truly beautiful and the food is amazing! We chatted about the wonderful Holiday Meal that the Agewell Service’s Chefs are busily preparing for this Thursday, December 19th DTE Energy Foundation FREE Holiday Meal.

Seven and a half years ago the pool at Muskegon Heights Academy was ordered to be closed due to budget. Lots of effort put into place in the recent years and now the pool is officially re-opened.

Carmel McKentry is a long-time friend of mine, but we lost touch. Busy lives, growing kids, but when we get a chance to connect, the conversation is easy. Her smile lights up a room. She recently posted on social media that she was working at The Hideout, a bar and grill in downtown Muskegon Heights. I was intrigued.

 The Old Newsies and Goodfellows of Muskegon County have been around for 83 years. Their purpose has always been the same for all these years, that is to make sure “Let no child be forgotten” in Muskegon around Christmas time.

After much research by both the Principal and Vice Principal they felt that having a therapy dog at the school was indeed something that they wanted to pursue. This leads us to Buddy the little bundle in the middle of the story. Karyn the Vice Principle set off to the Humane Society and Animal Rescue of Muskegon County where she met and fell in love with Buddy. Follow the Petco Foundation on Facebook

It was an incredible day to be a part of such a great company giving back to Muskegon. We captured the entire event as well, the best we could anyway with a room full of excaited kids and teachers and a very anticipation filled crowd as the presentation got closer.  You are welcome to click below and enjoy the whole program.  Our many thanks to Petco and Skechers for this incredible opportunity to be a part of something so magnificent.

We're always very excited to welcome a new partner on with the Muskegon Channel and Positively Muskegon.  We work very hard to provide Muskegon with news that reflects our community for what we really are.  We don't claim perfection and we know that what we do is just a tiny bit of the incredible things we are seeing happen in and around town.  Our message will always stand though...we're proud of our people, our community and we always believe that our best day is yet to come.  When a business sees all of that in us and sees the value we offer as well, it's an honor of the highest magnitude.  Follow Smitter Pest Control on Facebook

Smitter Pest Control reached out to us and said "We're in!"  We were very excited and proud at the same time.  Family run for 3 generations.  Smitter Pest Control is now run by John Koval of Muskegon and while the business is based in Grand Rapids, their service area is pretty much anywhere on the west side of the state.  John didn't waste any time getting involved in Muskegon when he moved his family here either.  He gave a lot of time and energy to the Sandy Corely Memorial Run during it's 30 years.  He's also a huge proponent of area athletics with Koval Softball.  He helps out a lot at Ross Park and Softball World.  If you follow John on Facebook too, while he's out working in his pest control business, he finds time to make life easier by posting traffic snarls he finds, and while he might no ever say it out loud, he's been known to reach in and give his last couple of bucks in his pocket to help someone out.  John, is truly "that guy" and we even did a little story on him in 2017 on Positively Muskegon when a little league had all it's equipment stolen, and he led the drive to get it all replaced.  

Now, on to the business!  Smitter pest control takes care of it all.  From catch and release of larger critters like raccoons, squirrels, skunks and more to ants, termites, mice, spiders....anything creepy crawly and especially bed bugs....Smitter handles it all.  They also use environmentally friendly products that are safe for kids and pets.  Pests can happen to anyone John explains in our video below and it's not about cleanliness or lifestyle, it's just a matter of bad luck in some cases or in others, pests find an "in" and in they come.  The cure?  Quick, affordable and efficient handling of the problem with friendly service that you'll want to recommend to others!  No better form of advertising in the world, and they know that at Smitter Pest Control.

John and Andy go back a few years, so...he just swung by the house to say hi and chat about Smitter Pest Control.  Take a listen!

Great local company, great stweards of the communities they serve.  We are very proud to welcome Smitter Pest Control.  We highly recommend giving them a call if you've got an issue.  Take the number and put it on your fridge!  616-245-7215.  Click on the image below and save Smitter Pest Control in your favorites so when you need them, you've got immediate access to the help you need!

Alison is known locally for her portrait and fashion photography, most recently with Wildflower Studios. The cooperative project began as several professional portrait photographers combined forces to provide a more dynamic offering. The studio has been highly successful over its six years in operation and continues to be a top recommendation for families looking to capture their most important and intimate moments. So I had to ask - why would Alison choose now to step away from the business? Click Here for the Pound Buddies Website

You can click on the photo below to visit Minty Vintage online!

Muskegon County has so many hidden gems. With the downtown hub becoming the place to be these little-known places are becoming more popular. One of those places are the Greater Women’s Club.

We were given the great honor to be invited to help out on Veterans Day of being asked to accompany The Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, Zaneta Adams on a tour of West Michigan to meet Veterans and find out from them first hand what their needs are and how her office can assist them. Making sure that what's in place to help those who were willing to protect our great freedoms are being used to their full potential and that every benefit they are entitled to, they are aware of and that they know that if they are not aware of them... there is someone there to help them understand how to access the help they have coming.  

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  During a recent interview, Mary Suarez of The Hope Project has revealed that Sex Trafficking is a very real problem in Muskegon County. The Hope project is currently helping 68 women & young girl that had been the victim of trafficking in the county, with three new 'clients' just this week.

It was a great event to be a part of last year as Padnos Muskegon (formerly Shoreline Recycling) came to us to ask if we'd be be willing to partner with them on helping out the Muskegon County Department of Veterans Affairs with some of the things that they do that go so far above and beyond what's required of their services.  It was an even greater day when Kurt Aldreink got a hold of us again this year and asked if we'd return to help the push and spread the word so that Padnos Muskegon could again give a hand to some remarkably deserving folks the Vet's Affairs takes care of, as well as their customers who donate a little something who will be given a little incentive for their participation. 

Like last year, the Padnos customers are the key to this.  If you're bringing in a load of recyclable material that Padnos handles, bring in a canned good or two, up to 10 and for every canned good you'll get an extra $1 per ton on your pay out.  This also applies to personal care items too, like soap, toothpaste, deodorant etc.  The do have to cap it off at 10 items per ton, but don't let that slow down your generosity if you are able to give more.  Padnos will also be looking for a Veteran here in town who can use a night out and gifting them some tickets to a hockey game, dinner out and an overall relief from the day to day. 

Padnos as you may remember back to a couple months ago is undergoing some major renovations on their property.  They are located on Ottawa Street in Muskegon and they are one of the first places many see as they come in to town from the North.  With their long time presence here in Muskegon, and long standing building, the time had come for a major face lift and it's just now getting under way.  Don't let that stop you though.  As the work gets underway, watch it happen!  See the renewal happen first hand and help support a company deeply rooted in Muskegon and who places so much stewardship in it's people.  Business as usual for the customers of Padnos outside of a new spot for the scales and a temporary new spot to collect the cash for your recyclables.  

Kurt Aldreink and I sat down to go over this years canned goods drive and talk a little about the renovation again.  It might very well be the last piece of video ever filmed in the old building... take a listen.

Love what Padnos does for our community.  Padnos helps reclaim finite resources, keeps the level of junk down in Muskegon and all surrounding areas while providing top dollar to their customers for doing what needs to be done anyway.  Add to that their commitment to making sure that our Veterans are taken care of in return for being willing to pay the ultimate price for all we know and love.... Padnos Muskegon is exactly the kind of company Muskegon should be proud of!  Make sure when you stop there in November you get that added bonus and even if you're not in the scrap world, stop in to Padnos and help the effort.  You can learn more about their renovation project if you click on the photo below!  It will take you to our story from a couple months ago when Kurt joined us for the announcement. 

Rotary in any community has a simple creed.  Service above self.  The idea from their website is that Rotary is where neighbors, friends  and problem solvers, join leaders to take action to create lasting change.  Not a bad set of standards at all in a world where we are increasingly drawn into our own little silos more and more.  There are currently about 1.2 million Rotarians in 35,000 clubs who actively work to improve their communities and the people in them.  From working to end Polio, to helping provide clean water, Rotary digs into some heavy tasks all to make the world a better place. Get Tickets to Matt Williams

The White Lake Rotary is made up of members from Whitehall and Montague.  They have worked tirelessly to make improvements around the area.  New band shell to name one, and of course other areas that need a hand from community minded people who want to see better things happen.  Their meetings are held in a picturesque setting and like a lot of other Rotaries...they are a great place to connect.  To meet others who'd like to do the same you do when it comes to something good. 

There is a great night of fun coming up to benefit the group.  It's going to be November 2nd at the newly renovated Playhouse at White Lake and it's got two levels of fun!  Country artist Matt Williams is coming from Nashville to play.  If you really want to do it up, you can get the $100 ticket that includes food, a silent auction a concert and more.  If you're just in for the concert, you can get a ticket for the show only for $25.  For the premium ticket...talk to a member of the Rotary or maybe stop in to the White Lake Chamber.  If a ticket for the concert will suit ya you can find a link for that in the picture to the right!

Amy VanLoon and Jeff Johnson are members of White Lake Rotary and they joined Andy O to talk about the event, the White Lake Rotary Group itself and how you can be a part.  Take a listen.

A great night out and a great chance to see the newly renovated Playhouse!  It really is remarkable inside and an awesome venue to see something in.  Head up to Whitehall for a fun night with some purpose behind it on November 2nd and maybe find a spot for yourself among the Rotary bunch.  It's a great way to get involved and make a difference.  To learn more about White Lake Rotary, click on the photo below to visit their Facebook page.

It's a tradition 10 years strong in Muskeogn.  A living history lesson provided to the community about some of our more prominent members over the years in Muskegon.  The names who made us who we are and got us to where we are!  Stand out names like Hackley, come to mind immediately, as do names like Walker, Torrent and or Hume.  But there are also names like MIllie Peck, Nelly Torrent, Emily Easton and Alberta Catherine Vandervwerf.  They all have a story to be told and it happens this weekend at the Evergreen Cemetery as the cast of the City of the Dead Muskegon bring their annual living history lesson to life! 

What a call to get!  "Something awesome is happening at Edgewood Elementary tomorrow, can you be there?"  The call came from the United Way of the Lakeshore and Dominique Bunker was on the other end of the line, and when that call comes in, arrangements get made to be there, because it's no April Fools joke.  Upon our arrival at the school bright and early the sights and sounds of the kids, faculty and guests echoed the excitement because a gift had been given to all of the students there!

Mission for Area People of Muskegon County is gearing up for a Fall fundraiser that will help with their incredible outreach for those in our community who need a hand with the essentials that are sometimes just not able to be met because of one reason or another.