Bath

MCAH works “behind the scenes” to end homelessness

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Chronic homelessness is defined as living on the streets for 12 months out of the last 36. A number of shelters and organizations are finding their own ways to address the needs of these citizens in Lansing. One of the organizations is the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (MCAH). According to MCAH’s communications manager Amy Stephenson, MCAH works more “behind the scenes.”

Delta-Waverly
The Waverly High School building. Many students attending Waverly use Anna Piazza's mental health resources.

Anna Piazza Guides Waverly High School Students Toward Mental Wellness

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In her initial two years as the sole therapist at Waverly High School, Anna Piazza conducted 1,452 therapy sessions with students.

As part of the Expanding, Enhancing Emotional Health (E3) Program, Piazza, a therapist from Child and Family Charities, serves as a resource for students grappling with mental health issues.

Mental health issues among adolescents are on the rise. According to the CDC, in 2021, over 42% of students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with nearly 29% experiencing poor mental health. Additionally, in 2021, 22% of students seriously considered attempting suicide and 10% attempted suicide.

Eaton County

Order in the court! Judge describes way to her career path

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Recently,  Eaton County District court Judge Julie O’Neill sat for a Q&A to discuss her journey of becoming a District court Judge. 

Judge O’Neil expounded upon her inspiration for wanting to become a judge and how it was not the path she expected herself to go down. 

Judge O’Neil also spoke about her personal experiences growing up on a farm and also shared how she balances her emotions in the courtroom. 

Spartan Newsroom reporter Anthony Brinsonn III spoke more with Judge O’Neil

Anthony Brinson III: What inspired you to pursue the judicial system and become a judge? Was it always something you wanted to do?  

Judge O’Neil: “Well, that’s a big question. I graduated from Michigan State with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a specialty in Juvenile delinquency and after that I worked as a youth specialist for four years.” 

“So… I started going to Law School at nights, on the weekends and around this time I also had my first two children  and then when I graduated from law school I was a practicing attorney for about 14 years.” 

“I practiced throughout the state of Michigan and the last seven years of my practice I was on the Federal Public defender panel, so I was doing work in the federal courts, going to Grand Rapids as well. So, I had pretty good practice on a state and federal level.” 

Anthony Brinson III: What was your reaction  to finding out the Judge before you (Judge “Hoffman”) was stepping down after what she said was 24 or 25 years? 

Judge O’Neil: “When that news came out, myself and a whole bunch of other attorneys were like, ‘what? Oh my gosh, what does this mean?’ He announced his retirement kind of last minute and I couldn’t have imagined him not being in that seat.”

“After that, we all started talking about who was going to run for the position and what was going to happen.

Business & Economy

Grand Ledge offers space for those who love the outdoors

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The logo for Toads (a toad wearing climbing gear) hangs down in front of the downtown Grand Ledge restaurant. The city of Grand Ledge has several beautiful parks and natural areas for people to enjoy. For the residents of Grand Ledge who have wanted to enjoy nature without going out of the city limits, there is now a place that caters to those same residents. City highlights include the Grand River that runs through downtown, Island Park which provides people a place to walk down into the middle of the river and a vibrant climbing scene which takes advantage of numerous beautiful climbing spots. Chris Haman and his family quickly realized that for those who loved the natural parts of Grand Ledge, there was no facility for them to go and hang out.

Delta-Waverly

Humane Society helps control big Mill Pond Village cat population 

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The Capital Area Humane Society building in Lansing where some of the fixed cats from Mill Pond Village are taken to be adopted. 

Capturing wild cats in an effort to combat overpopulation has been a cooperative venture between the Capital Area Humane Society and Mill Pond Village residents. Since July, the shelter has seen approximately 90 Mill Pond Village cats go through its spay and neuter clinic. 

“When we got in here a few months ago, we realized that there is a huge cat problem,” Jade Storball, the Mill Pond Village community assistant, said. “I can’t even make an estimate. I’d say around 100 or 150 [cats].” 

With so many cats roaming the mobile home park, Mill Pond Village staff turned to the Capital Area Humane Society for help, which oversees the Community Cat Program, aiming to limit cat overpopulation issues by providing a resource for members of the community to consult to get the cats fixed. 

“We went in, we trapped them, we fixed them, vaccinated [them], and returned them to where they were,” said Holly Thoms, director of the Capital Area Humane Society Spay and Neuter Clinic. 

“We did take a few over to the shelter that we were able to verify were not owned pets, because we don’t want to go into the trailer park and take people’s pets away,” Thoms said. Once the cats are ready to be released, they each have an ear clipped to show they have been fixed. 

“We’ll also be working with residents in the trailer park to spay and neuter their pets because we believe a large majority of the cats that are running around are people’s indoor-outdoor cats,” Thoms said. 

The shelter will be providing the procedures to the pets of Mill Pond residents for a discounted price. 

“Some [residents] are really happy about it, just because it got so bad.

Article

Grand Ledge businesses see changes after COVID-19 

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Most businesses across Grand Ledge experienced both ups and downs as a result of the COVID-19 and a number of them are still viable after surviving changes brought on by the pandemic. 

Pam’s Pantry

Pam’s Pantry, a gourmet food store situated in Grand Ledge, has been open for twenty years. Since they are a licensed food establishment, they were able to stay open legally. 

Pam’s Pantry was able to stay afloat during COVID-19 mainly due to the gift baskets they made, which they promoted through emails and Facebook. Regular customers also placed orders for the items they already knew they wanted. 

Like many stores, they resorted to customers doing curbside pickup orders, so there wasn’t much contact. 

Pam’s Pantry did local deliveries as well. They sent out care gift baskets filled with goods that had ‘Get Well Soon’ messages. They would drive to customers’ houses and leave them on their porches.  

Even though these gift baskets were keeping Pam’s Pantry afloat, they lost their main source of income, which came from craft shows and fundraisers for schools. 

“It was very scary.

Greater Lansing Community News

Grand Ledge library engages, connects with community

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Like many other public spaces across the country and the world, the Grand Ledge Area District Library (GLADL) was deeply affected by COVID-19, but director, Lise Mitchell, and the staff figured out ways to still stay connected and keep the community engaged.

The library’s main mission is to have a wide variety of informational, educational and recreational resources.

“We are always looking for ways to be relevant to the community,” Mitchell said.

Article

Eaton County Public Safety hears dept. updates, progress

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The Eaton County Public Safety Committee recently met to discuss the recertification of problem-solving courts in the area, in addition to hearing updates from central dispatch and the emergency manager.  

Deputy of Community Corrections, Melanie Achenbach, spoke on the recertification of Eaton County’s problem-solving courts (PSCs) for drug/sobriety, mental health and veterans treatment that serve to rehabilitate people with criminal offenses so that they can live better lives outside the prison system. 

Every four years, the Eaton County PSCs have to undergo a recertification process to ensure that the courts are fulfilling their purpose. 

In Nov. 2021, the Michigan Supreme Court approved a grant of $250,000, intended to be split among the three courts within the Eaton County PSCs. 

“It’s a pretty intensive process for each program,” Achenbach said. “They review all of our documents, attend a staffing session, review hearings, and interview various team members… who work together to accomplish the goals…through these programs.”

Kelly Cunningham, central dispatch director for Eaton County, gave an update on the replacement of the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) System.