WCSG Local News

The Grand Rapids Griffins win the Calder Cup series!

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:14:58 -0000

The Grand Rapids Griffins beat the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 Tuesday night to win their first Calder Cup ever.

Tomas Tatar won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy for the most valuable player in the playoffs after scoring a league-best 16 goals in 24 games.

There will be a celebration Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Van Andel Arena downtown Grand Rapids. Doors will open at 5 p.m. The event will be free. The first 3,000 fans will get championship T-shirts.

Grand Rapids to open Disaster Relief Service Center

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:21:55 -0000

Federal officials are opening a service center in Grand Rapids today for those property owners that want to apply for disaster relief loans and have not done so already on-line. The U.S. Small Business Administration said last week that it would offer loans to uninsured homeowners and businesses that were affected by record April flooding in West Michigan. The Loan Outreach Center is located at the Kent County Sheriff Department offices on Ball Avenue NE.

The office will be open for operation until next Thursday, June 27th.

Drunken driving enforcement varies across Michigan

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:15:14 -0000

â�� An analysis of law enforcement records found that drunken driving enforcement varies across Michigan.

Mlive is planning to publish a multi-day series and says the small Kalamazoo County community of Richland has more drunken driving arrests per officer than anywhere else in the state.

Last year, the two-officer department arrested nearly 60 drunken drivers. Police Chief Jeff Mattioli says the area is home to Gull Lake, which is known for partying and boating, and there are area two state highways. Mattioli says those likely are factors.

The analysis used staffing data for more than 500 police agencies since 2003. It also used information on nearly 126,000 arrests from 2006 through last year.

It found smaller departments tended to rank higher in arrests per officer, but not always.

18-month-old drowns in Kentwood pond

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:28:03 -0000

The Kentwood Police and Fire Departments responded to an apparent accidental drowning at the Old Farm Shores Park, 2350 Embro SE, Kentwood Thursday afternoon. The victim, 1 1/2 year-old-male Shamon Gant-Hayes of Kentwood, is believed to have fallen into the pond on the south side of the park. He was completely submerged and pulled out of the water by a City of Kentwood Recreation Department staff member. CPR was initiated at the scene. The child was taken to DeVos Children's Hospital by Ambulance but was pronounced dead.

Additional information on the case will be released at a later time.

Storms move through West MI,....could have been worse

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:50:08 -0000

The big storm that threatened to do serious damage from Iowa to Maryland hasn't been as ferocious as forecasters warned. The storm is now moving toward the Mid-Atlantic.

In West Michigan, the storm impacted several areas and there are downed trees and power lines.

Consumers Energy spokesman Dan Bishop, says about 33,000 of the utility's customers were without power this morning. Allegan, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties were most affected. Bishop says most customers will have power restored by this afternoon while some in the hardest-hit areas will have to wait until Friday.

MSU Extension to have space at downtown market

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 07:47:53 -0000

Michigan State University's Extension Service has signed a lease that will provide them with space at the new Downtown Market on Ionia Avenue in Grand Rapids. This will allow educators to connect with market vendors and visitors. They will be able to present workshops and demonstrations throughout the year and connect with local vendors.

Hit & run driver tracked down and arrested

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:23:26 -0000

The man accused of backing out of his driveway and then hitting and killing a Hasting motorcyclist, is now under arrest.

The accident happened over the weekend in Barry County along M-43. Police say Tobias Bowers was backing his pickup out of the drive-way when he hit Bill Madden who was on his bike. Madden was then thrown off and hit by a van.

Tobias Bowers has been in trouble with the law before and it appears alcohol could have been a factor in this latest incident.

Grand Rapids museum plans planetarium upgrade

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 08:20:48 -0000

â�� The Grand Rapids Public Museum is planning a $1.2 million project to upgrade the planetarium at the West Michigan attraction.

The museum recently announced that it received a $800,000 grant from The Wege Foundation to help upgrade the technology, seating, design and display in the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium starting this fall. Efforts continue to raise the rest of the money.

Work on the planetarium is expected to wrap up in early 2014. The upgrade will allow for new, high definition programming to be shown.

Since it was built in 1994, the Roger B. Chaffee Planetarium at the museum's Van Andel Museum Center has averaged 60,000 visitors annually.

The Wege Foundation is led by philanthropist Peter Wege, former CEO of Steelcase Inc.

Airport de-icing fluid disposal plan gets hearing

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 08:30:52 -0000

â�� Residents living near the Grand Rapids airport have sounded off on the facility's plans to dispose of a chemical used to melt snow and ice on aircraft.

About 250 Kent County residents attended the meeting Thursday organized by two associations representing property owners along the Thornapple River. They learned about Gerald R. Ford International Airport's plans to divert and diffuse the chemical in a retention area before it goes into the river.

Residents called for greater transparency and an independent review of the airport's plans.

The proposal follows a 2010 order by state environmental officials to stop the runoff of de-icing fluid from the airport into a tributary of the river. The chemical is blamed for filling the creek with a smelly, cream-colored slime.

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Body found was that of Vestveer

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:29:47 -0000

The body that was found in Lake Macatawa on Monday has been identified as that of Barbara Westveer. The 55 year-old woman was reported missing May 28th when she missed an appointment.

A jet skier noticed the body Monday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. It was found just a few blocks from where Westveer lived.

Autopsy results showed there were no signs of traumatic injury to her body.