A Hero's Tribute

Kalamazoo County Sheriff Department Lt. Terry VanStreain's funeral service was today and I attended. The man was a hero to many and received a fitting farewell by hundreds of citizens and law enforcement officers. He will leave a lasting impact on the community, particularly now that the Kalamazoo Holiday Food Drive will be named in his honor. I'm already making plans to help the food drive again this year - one of the best warm feelings you can give yourself in December - try it!

Highlights of Sean at the First Candidate Forum

If you don't have your health ...

Here's the well known Kalamazoo Rotarian Karl Sandelin kicking off the Fit 2007 walk in celebration of the conclusion of this year's fitness calendar.

From the brochure: Fit 2007 is a free self-directed fitness program designed to help you increase your level of physical activity. Fit 2007 is for individuals, worksites and other organizations. Fit 2007 is supported by events and recognition awards to make it FUN for all. Fit 2007 will help us become a healthier community.

Another commitment kept me from walking along today, but I'm certainly in no deficit of walking for the time being.

Spaghetti Friends

This austere group gathered at the Edison Neighborhood Association anxiously awaiting spaghetti with sauce and garlic bread. This was a nice fundraiser for the ENA and will support their various improvement programs.

What's New...

The Northside Ministerial Alliance held their annual Community Prayer Breakfast this morning. It was a room full of great people who care about Kalamazoo's future. An uplifting message was delivered by the President of the Detroit NAACP, Wendell Anthony.

This evening was a meeting of Vine Neighborhood residents about traffic and parking concerns around Oakland Drive and Wheaton. Briefly put, the long-time residents in the area are rightly concerned about potential changes in roads and traffic on WMU's campus and how it may negatively impact their quality of life. A chain of events has left them with the symptoms of a parking and campus planning problem. A positive, considerate solution needs to be sought or the situation will be resolved unsatisfactorily as a win/lose outcome. We can do better than that in Kalamazoo.

Coming up: Candidate Forums! First one is the Downtown Retailers Association/Downtown Kalamazoo Restaurant Association this Thursday at 6:00. Watch this space for video highlights and more!

Interacting with students

Last night I spoke with some students in an KVCC Urban Sociology class in Downtown Kalamazoo. We had a great conversation about all kinds of urban issues, challenges and successes. I was invited because of my viewpoint that ran in the Kalamazoo Gazette several weeks ago (and appears earlier in this blog).

Today was a day that makes you feel good about being a commissioner. I started out at 7 AM helping Washington Writer's Academy elementary students walk safely to school - an annual tradition of the SAFE KIDS Coalition. We ask kids about safety and talk about hazards they might encounter on their way to and from school.

Wrapping up the day was a chance to speak for a couple minutes at the regular meeting of the Western Student Association on WMU's campus. Visiting a WSA meeting always brings back great memories of my days when I was active in student government. It's an honor to speak with college students there now and let them know that their servant leadership is what will make the world a better place. (Photo by Chris Praedel, WSA President)

Catching up...

Sorry if you've been waiting for a new post. We're proud of our videos and wanted to let friends see the latest one before it gets buried down the blog. The next one is underway with great new stuff.