Position Available - Part Time Administrative/Clerical

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT (BUILDING, PLANNING AND ZONING)

Alpine Township is hiring a part time person to work 16 to 20 hours a week for administrative support to the Building, Planning and Zoning Departments.

The person selected will have a basic knowledge of Microsoft Office software and the ability to type and file with speed and accuracy.  Experience in municipal government or with BS&A software is helpful but not mandatory.  The ability to complete tasks directly as instructed is essential.   Good people skills are required as this person will work closely with the public.

This is essentially a day time position but the person selected must be available in the evening to record minutes for scheduled Planning and Zoning meetings.

To apply, please e-mail resume to Alpine Township Supervisor Alex Arends at a.arends@alpinetwp.org or send to Alex Arends, Alpine Township, 5255 Alpine Ave. NW Comstock Park, MI 49321.

Jack Keller Ford and Northwest Youth Soccer Sponsor Ford Escape Soccer Challenge

On Saturday, September 15, 2012, area youth will get the opportunity so show off their soccer skills and get a chance of moving on to regional competition when Jack Keller Ford and the Northwest Youth Soccer sponsor the "Ford Escape Soccer Skills Challenge".  The event is scheduled to take place beginning at 1:00 PM at the North West Youth Soccer League's fields, located at 5290 Alpine N.W., which is on the corner of 7 Mile NW behind the Alpine Baptist Church.

  

Ford has teamed up with iSoccer, the Nation’s premier online skills assessment tool, to develop these fun and exciting challenges to allow youth ages 8-13 to show off, compete and improve their skills and get them on track to becoming a better soccer athlete!

Registered participants will receive a complimentary two month premium plus membership to iSoccer and the first 50 participants on-site will receive a Ford Escape Soccer Skills Challenge T-Shirt. Six winners, one from each gender/age group division, will be invited to attend the Regional Finals in Fall 2012.

Participation in the Ford Escape Soccer Skills Challenge is FREE and it just takes a few minutes to sign up. You will also be automatically entered for a chance to win a two year lease of a 2013 Ford Escape!

To sign up now, head to: FordEscapeSoccerSkillsChallenge.com/register

Event Code: 8LMBMJ5R

Want to start practicing? Head to soccer.org/fessc to watch videos of the skills you’ll be tested on.

Click here to find out more about Jack Keller Ford
Click here to find out more about Northwest Youth Soccer

Click to enlarge

Bow Tie Tavern sponsors 15th Annual Fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosis

Over the past 15 years, staff, friends, and patrons of the Bow Tie Tavern have raised over a hundred thousand dollars to benefit Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  This Saturday they again sponsored a poker run that began and ended at the Bow Tie.  Multiple Sclerosis is only one of several fundraisers Mary Steinbrecher and friends sponsor each year.  Much of the event is organized with the help of the Road Weasels, a local motorcycle club. Other credit goes to Kim Erickson, Cathy DuCharme, and their good friend Dawn Preston, who is stricken with Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord). It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder. This means the immune system incorrectly attacks the person's healthy tissue. MS can cause blurred vision, loss of balance, poor coordination, slurred speech, tremors, numbness, extreme fatigue, problems with memory and concentration, paralysis, blindness and more. These problems may be permanent or come and go.

Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, although individuals as young as 2 and as old as 75 have developed it. MS is not considered a fatal disease as the vast majority of people with it live a normal life-span. However, they may struggle to live as productively as they desire, often facing increasing limitations (from the MS Society).

Approximately 400,000 Americans have MS and every week about 200 more people are diagnosed. World-wide, MS affects about 2.1 million people. Because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not require U.S. physicians to report new cases and because symptoms can be completely invisible, the numbers can only be estimated.

There were bikes.......



........and more bikes......

......and more bikes

Mary Steinbrecher (center) and supporters



A great crowd was on hand again

Dawn Preston (right) and friend

       Norton was one of the grill masters. That explains how the rest of the

               pictures turned up blurry...barbeque sauce on the lens.



Watching cards being drawn

York Creek Resident Appreciation Day

Community celebrations continued in the Comstock Park area this Saturday with York Creek Apartments' annual Resident Appreciation Day. Hundreds of residents came out to celebrate with free food, entertainment, games, and drawings for free prizes at an event that also drew much community support.  York Creek Apartments is one of the largest multiple housing complexes in Michigan. 



Welcome to Resident Appreciation Day

Camera shy

Whell of Fortune at the YMC Booth. Prize: 10 push ups, well done!



Alpine Township Supervisor Alex Arends and York Creek Property Manager Hope Wargo-Stephens

        Members of Compassion This Way, a ministry that serves the greater Grand Rapids
         community by building relationships and meeting physical and spiritual needs of
             families. Their goal is to help transform lives and restore neighborhoods.



Fifth Third Bank had a presence

Gravy from 105.3 Hot FM was on hand



So tragic that children had to see Crash in this position



It all started when Crash called this character "Buffie"

Staff from Buffalo Wild Wings



Crash is a "wannabe" firefighter

Free hot dogs were great

The petting ponies were a new addition this year

The Alpine Township Fire Department kept things cool

Practicing the hula hoop for the contest

Two of the hula hoop contest finalists

Culvers provided various ice cream samples. The raspberry cheesecake is recommended.

A long-time resident loves York Creek

Kent County Sheriff Deputies DeKorte and Ertle with new found friend

The animal balloons were in big demand...

...so were the tatoos

Tats were spectattoolar!

Comstock Park Rotary in Motion

One of the goals of the Comstock Park Rotary this year is to sponsor an Interact Club at Kenowa Hills High School. Interact is Rotary for youth ages 14-17. It is a community based program allowing youth to get involved in humanitarian projects.  Interact clubs run programs to benefit their own communities and the international community.  It also gives club members the opportuniy to work together to achieve a common good, while teaching leadership skills.

On Thursday morning, Comstock Park Rotary President Alex Arends, Kenowa Schools Superintendent Jerry Hopkins, and Kenowa High School Principal Katie Pennington met in Coopersville with representatives from the Muskegon Rotary.  The Muskegon Rotary last year sponsored an Interact Club at the Muskegon Career Technical School and the incoming president of that club, high school senior Brandon Johnson,  provided insight on club operations and mechanics.  Muskegon Rotary is in the process of sponsoring a second Interact club at Mona Shores High School.  Shannon Conrad, faculty representative from the school, was also on hand.

Plans to organize a club at Kenowa Hills will begin after the start of the new school year.

The Comstock Park Rotary also conducted its third and final barbeque of the year Thursday under sunny skies.  Proceeds from Thursday's sales will go towards covering the cost of a clean water well that members of the club plan to drill in El Salvador next February.

The Comstock Park Rotary meets every Thursday at 12:10 p.m. in the banquet facilities of the Swan Inn Restaurant, located on the corner of Alpine Ave (M37) and 6 Mile Road N.W.

Sharon Conrad, Mona Shores Schools, John Noling, Rotary Life Leadership Chairman, and David Sipka, Superintendent of the Muskegon Area Intermediate School System, are all Muskegon Rotarians and dedicated to youth leadership

Kenowa Hills Superintendent Jerry Hopkins and High School Principal Katie Pennington with Muskegon Technical School Interact President Brandon Johnson, John Noling, Dave Sipka, and Shannon Conrad

Sandra Gregware and Sharon Steffens smiling it up at the barbeque.

One of Comstock Park Rotary's biggest supporters, WOOD weatherman Bill Steffen (left), with friends.



Don Boerma and Dana Quick

Lamoreaux Ave Construction Update

It is expected that Lamoreaux Ave will continue to be closed throughout the week ending September 1, 2012. Work continues on the Mill Creek Sewer Trunk across the street and underneath the railroad tracks. Marquette Rail Road is also doing some temporary fixes to the tracks across Lamoreaux and plan to do extensive repairs in 2013. The Kent County Road Commission will microseal all of Lamoreaux the week of September 1 as well so that all the work will be completed by that date.  Residents' patience is very much appreciated.



Repair work being done on railroad crossing

Not quite as complex as the human body, but still plenty of sewer, water, utility pipes, and wires to leave undisturbed during this operation.

Rotary Barbeque at Dwight Lydell Park Thursday, August 23, 2012





Support the Comstock Park Rotary

COMSTOCK PARK ROTARY
BARBEQUE IN THE PARK

Thursday, August 23 2012
11:30 - 7:00 P.M.*
Dwight-Lydell Park, West River Drive
Comstock Park
1/2 Chicken, coleslaw, potato salad, roll, butter, drink - $7.95

1/2 Chicken Only - $6.00

Sausage, coleslaw, potato salad, roll, butter, drink - $6.95

Ribs, coleslaw, potato salad, roll, butter, drink - $8.95

(Ribs available from 3:00 PM On)

Advance Orders Taken

Call (616) 437-5567 or e-mail gregwares@charter.net

We will deliver orders of 11 or more dinners within 10 miles

Come and enjoy a delicious meal in the park or take out.

*or earlier if sold out 

SUPPORT ROTARY  

Comstock Park's next International Project: Drilling a well near Acajutla, El Salvador to bring clean water closer to the people in the village.  Will you help us help them?

One of many local Comstock Park Rotary projects, Grotto Park at the Michigan Veteran's Facility

       Join us for BBQ or Join Rotary

Rotary International Theme 2012-2013

The Comstock Park Rotary meets every Thursday (except BBQ days) at
 Swan Inn Restaurant on Alpine Ave. at 1:10 P.M.

Check us out on Facebook

Comstock Park Community Celebration was a huge success

The Comstock Park Community Celebration on Friday provided an evening of family fun and many activities for the hundreds of people who came for the festivities.  The Community Expo, held from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at Mill Creek Middle School, had to be the most attended event yet to date.  There were a record number of vendor booths with participation from all facets of the community including free food provided by a number of local eating establishments.  Demonstrations, such as the Dancing Performances, were outstanding and well attended as were outdoor activities including bounce houses for the younger ones.

The Zoomba demonstrations and live music at the Comstock Park Library were a big hit with ice cream for the root beer floats running out just prior to the completion of the program.  Hundreds enjoyed the outdoor movie "A Dolphin's Tale" on the big screen at the rear of Dwight Lydel Park.

It took dozens of volunteers and many vendors to make this a successful event and Alpine Township was happy to be one of those.

Here are some pictures to enjoy.  Click on the picture to enlarge...

The Cutting Edge

Once Upon a Child

YMCA

Purdy the Clown advertising the Thursday August 23, 2012 Rotary BBQ

Sam's Hearing Center and Vision Center Associates enticing attendees with cup cakes

Alpine Floral

Katie the Eephant 

Midwest Properties

Cherry Street Health Services

Family Outreach Center, Inc



Alpine Township

Frank Vietze and Comstock Park Rotary

AmOre

The cafeteria was very popular

Alpine Floral

North Park Presbytarian Church

The Comstock Park School mascot is ferocious

The Bauble Patch

Comstock Park School of Dance

Comstock Park School of Dance

The Lemon Drop

Vitale's

Mad Dogz

Mill Creek Inn

AlpineTownship Supervisor Alex Arends and Crash

Alex Arends and Gregoria Martin

Purdy meets new Mill Creek Middle School pupil

Some of the student help

School staff offering assistance

Student entertainment

Faculty entertainment




Rotarian Glenn Miller was one of many volunteers

Students Against Drunk Driving

No fireworks but a great family movie to complete the evening