July 12, 2010

The DigestWhat’s Happening at KVCC

What’s below in this edition

Unprecedented gift (Pages 1/2) Kids-safety camps (Pages 11/12) Lake winners (Pages 2/3) Walk the city (Pages 12/13) Best in sports (Pages 3/4) The Bard’s best (Pages 13/14) Costumes exhibit (Pages 4/5) Trash team (Page 14) Wind summit (Pages 5-7) KVCC’s stories (Page 14) Presidents in town (Pages 7-9) Keep them fresh (Pages 14/15) Volunteer callers (Page 9) Our want ads (Page 15) Project update (Pages 9/10) Vets scholarship (Pages 15/16) Wednesday fun for kids (Pages 10/11) Chemical Kim (Pages 16/17) Wind-energy camp (Page 11) And Finally (Pages 17/18)

☻☻☻☻☻☻Museum receives major bequest

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum has received a bequest amounting to $1.79 million from the estate of a Kalamazoo couple whose family has requested anonymity.

The funds will be used to build the museum’s endowment that can be the source of future financial support for projects and programs, according to Steve Doherty, executive director of the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Foundation.

The museum has also received a $10,000 grant from the foundation to host guest lecturers and special programs that will complement the upcoming nationally touring exhibition on race.

“Race: Are We So Different?” has been booked into the downtown-Kalamazoo museum from Oct. 2 through Jan. 2.

Doherty also reports that the annual Opportunities For Education fund-raiser, which attracted a record number of 330 to hear Jim “The Rookie” Morris talk about baseball and keeping one’s dreams alive, netted nearly $38,000 in scholarship assistance earlier this spring. The foundation’s Annual Fund campaign has raised almost $40,000 through May of 2010.

In personnel shifts, completing their maximum trio of three-year terms on the foundation’s board of trustees are:

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Dawnanne Corbit, senior sales manager at Ship-Pac Inc. and the reigning chairwoman of the board.

Attorney Catherine Metzler, a partner in the law firm of Miller Johnson. Charles Wattles, the board treasurer who is a principal in the Arcadia

Investment Management Corp. James Weber, chairman of Weber Specialties in Schoolcraft.

Replacing Corbit as chairman of the board will be Jeff Gardner, president of the Gardner Group. Moving up as vice chair is attorney Michele Marquardt. The new treasurer is David Tomko, PNC Bank’s regional president for Southwest Michigan while Larry Leuth, president of First National Bank of Michigan, will remain as board secretary.

New three-year terms were extended for Gardner, and for trustees Ed Bernard and David Jarl. Needing four new trustees, one has already been confirmed. He’s Tom Schleuter, president and chief executive officer of Keystone Bank.

Museum staff are expecting attendance to jump by 30 percent during the stay of “Race: Are We So Different?”

“We plan a broad range of programming that will appeal to a variety of audiences,” stated Elspeth Inglis in the grant request. “Students and adults will be particularly interested in the lecture-discussion series, while families with younger children will enjoy hands-on programs and performances.”

The exhibit addresses the fallacy of the idea of race, showing that people of all cultures and ethnicities have more in common than not. The museum is seeking to bring in scholars and anthropologists who play roles in the development of the exhibit, while KVCC faculty members will volunteer to help host and moderate the programming.

Also planned in an open house for K-12 teachers that will include teaching materials and opportunities to speak with anthropologists. A special Art Hop event will focus on the photography of Wing Young Huie of Minnesota whose work will be on display in the first-floor gallery during the stay of “Race.”

Tennis star, hurler win Lake awardsThe 2010 recipients of the Dale B. Lake Presidential Award for athletic, academic

and leadership achievement are tennis standout Stephanie Fortney and Tim Bellmer, a pitcher for the Cougar baseball squad.

“In my 16 years of coaching tennis at KVCC, no one has been more successful than Stevie,” said Coach Jim Van Zandt.

The 2008 graduate of Allegan High School was the 2008 and 2009 singles champion of the Michigan Community College Athletic Association (MCCAA), along with being state doubles champion with Courtney Diebold in her freshman year and the runner-up with Brittany Johnson in 2009.

Bellmer, a 2008 graduate of Petoskey High School, completed 57 credit hours at KVCC with a perfect 4.grade-point average, which made him one of the eight KVCC baseball players to make either the MCCAA Academic All-Conference or MCCAA Academic All-State teams.

For the 2008 tennis season, Fortney was also the Region XII, first-flight singles champion and the Region XII, first-flight doubles winner with. Johnson. In the 2010 nationals, the duo were runners-up in the first-flight, doubles consolation bracket.

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“Stevie clearly demonstrates the value of athletics in conjunction with the importance of academics,” Van Zandt said, “as she started college with a respectable 2.62 grade-point average in the fall of 2008, but struggled academically the following semester. After losing her eligibility, she battled back with a remarkable 3.81 over eight hours in summer classes. This 2009-10 academic year. she earned dean’s-list honors both semesters, while leading her team to another national tournament appearance.”

Fortney switched majors from psychology to business while at KVCC and is transferring to Davenport University in Grand Rapids. She has been awarded a scholarship in tennis at Davenport.

“Although Tim realized that his time on the mound would be limited this past season,” said baseball mentor Bernie Vallier, “he nevertheless continued to work hard in practice, dedicating himself to becoming a better player. His maturity as a player makes him a positive role model, not only for his teammates but also for all intercollegiate baseball players.”

Bellmer, who was recognized by the National Junior College Athletic Association as a “Distinguished Academic All American,” is planning to major in accounting at Michigan State University.

KVCC Athletic Director Dick Shilts notes that Bellmer and Fortney “are what college athletics are all about. They are uniquely close to being the best that they can be in their sport, and they have focused relentlessly upon achievement in the classroom. They help us re-emphasize what really matters in sport, and they stand as shining examples for all who participate in college sports to emulate”.

Each recipient will be presented with a plaque signifying them as Lake recipient, and their names will be engraved on a large plaque that is on display in the KVCC athletic office.

This award is a yearly endeavor that honors KVCC’s founding president, Dale B. Lake. It salutes outstanding student-athletes at KVCC. Exceptional academic achievement, outstanding athletic contribution, and evidence of uncommon leadership and character are among the criteria.

All-sports trophy is again KVCC’sFor the second time in three years, KVCC Cougar athletes and coaches have won

the Michigan Community College Athletic Association’s all-sports award.Athletic Director Dick Shilts reports KVCC’s seven-sport average of 87.16 edged

runner-up Oakland Community College (83.93) among the MCCAA’s 19 participating schools. Grand Rapids Community College (77.41) finished third and Lansing Community College (72.13) fourth in the annual competition.

KVCC now sports the highest-average finish over the past seven years in MCCAA competition at 2.43. Lansing ranks second at 2.71, and Grand Rapids rounds out the Western Conference dominance over this time period with 3.29.

The Cougars earned conference championships in tennis and volleyball and enjoyed runner-up finishes in golf and softball. All seven Cougar teams posted impressive won-lost records and none finished lower than fourth in conference play.

“When I took the job as athletic director in 1979,” Shilts said, “Dr. (Dale) Lake (KVCC’s founding president) emphasized that one goal he had for KVCC athletics was to ‘become competitive’ in all sports. I feel good that we have been able to accomplish that rather consistently over the past three decades.

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“Another criteria for our program,” Shilts said, “was that ‘of equal or greater importance was the extent to which our student-athletes were able to achieve their academic goals.’ I have great pride in the fact that, annually, we continue to produce impressive numbers of academic all-conference, all-state, and all-American players, thereby ranking among the best in the MCCAA year-after-year in this category as well.”

Shilts praised his coaches as well as the student-athletes for these achievements, stating that the current KVCC coaching staff is “second to none, not only in the state, but in the nation as well”

The coaching staff includes: Women’s tennis -- Jim Van Zandt. Volleyball -- Chad Worthington. Women’s basketball -- Ron Welch. Men’s basketball – Shilts. Baseball -- Bernie Vallier. Softball -- Mike Clark. Golf -- Jerry Wright.

“Plaudits should also be given to the entire KVCC academic-support system, from the dedicated staff in the Learning Center, the quality academic counselors, the fine assistant coaches, an unmatched athletic secretary, and the innovative people in the Student Success Center,” Shilts said.

Get up close to Batman, Captain KirkBatman, Captain Kirk, Luke Skywalker, The Terminator, the Wicked Witch of

the West, and Indiana Jones are all in Kalamazoo.Well, not really, but the costumes that helped define those characters in major

motion pictures and popular TV shows are.“Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television” is

showcasing these fantasy creatures and more in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s third-floor gallery.

The work of the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle, Wash., began its national tour in 2007 and will stay in downtown-Kalamazoo until its closing on Sept. 12.

More than 40 costumes, artifacts and objects from “Star Wars,” “Blade Runner,” “ The Terminator,” “Superman,” “Star Trek,” “Battlestar Galactica” and other popular science fiction-related productions are encapsulated in glass tubes or globes to reinforce the out-of-this-world theme.

The exhibition allows visitors to examine how costume design incorporates color, style, scale, materials, historical traditions and cultural cues to help performers and audiences engage with the characters being portrayed in the mode of visual storytelling.

Offering visitors new ways of seeing characters as defined by their costumes, “Out of this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television” is organized into themes, including “Heroes and Villains,” “Creating the Character” and “Caped Crusaders,” as well as specific franchises such as “Star Trek” and “Star Wars.”

The exhibition offers close looks at such costume highlights as the: Hat worn by Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West in “The Wizard

of Oz” (1939) Robe worn by Sir Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars” (1977)

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Leather jacket worn by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989) and Indy's whip from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)

Leather jacket worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator” (1984) Costume worn by Dan Aykroyd as Dr. Raymond Stantz in “Ghostbusters II”

(1989) Embroidered robe worn by actor Joe Turkel as Eldon Tyrell, creator of the

replicants, in “Blade Runner” (1982) Costume worn by George Clooney as Batman in “Batman and Robin” (1997) Darth Vader cape, helmet, and light saber from “Star Wars” and “The Empire

Strikes Back” (1980) Tunic and sash worn by William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the 1967 “Star Trek”

episode "Mirror Mirror" (1967).Costumes details, such as color, military styling and cultural associations, work as

visual cues, telling the audience that the character is a villain or hero. Costume designers create looks that send ambiguous messages, indicating that a

perceived hero or villain might not be quite what they seem to be—as with the leather jacket worn by the future governor of California in “The Terminator” and the fearsome alien mask worn by Louis Gossett Jr. in “Enemy Mine,” a highly underrated space film that co-starred Dennis Quaid.

No exhibition about the power of costumes would be complete without examining the brightly colored tights, masks and capes of comic-book characters.

“Caped Crusaders” offers a look at the costumes that have become iconic representations of good, evil and in-between—from the sinister stylings of “The Riddler” to the vigilante bat/demon look of Batman.

“Star Wars” creator George Lucas is a master at creating strong characters—instantly recognizable and distinctively costumed. The exhibition displays amazing costumes and props from the best-known science-fiction movies in the world.

Darth Vader’s jet-black helmet and cape mark him instantly as a villain, their design influenced both by the bad guys of Hollywood’s cinematic past and by the Samurai warriors of ancient Japan.

In contrast, Luke Skywalker’s heroic flight suit is crisp and brightly colored. The exhibit shows that the Lucas films’ costume designers are among the most imaginative and thoughtful when it comes to creating characters.

Science-fiction clones will recognize many of the iconic costumes and objects on display in the section dedicated to Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek.”

With the Enterprise serving as a metaphor of Earth and its people throughout the original series and the spinoffs that followed, the uniforms worn by the crews of Federation starships represent a near-utopian future of equality, opportunity, and adventure, while the pirate-like sash and tunic worn by Captain Kirk in the “Mirror Universe” episode show what might happen if society loses its sense of community and cooperation.

Summit focuses on economic power of windKVCC will be providing two of the presenters at a three-day summit designed to

chart a course that would make the Great Lakes region an economic power because of its wind-energy potential.

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Cindy Buckley, executive director of training at the M-TEC that is home to the KVCC Wind Turbine Technician Academy, will be on a panel that looks at the skilled labor needed to construct offshore wind farms and maintain the giant turbines that are clustered there.

Her presentation is planned for 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, July 20, on the second day of “Freshwater Wind 2010: Building the Successful Business Case for Offshore Wind Development in the Great Lakes” that will be held in Cleveland.

Tom Sutton, the academy’s instructional manager, will speak on “Servicing Offshore Turbines.” In addition to the technological considerations in operating and maintaining offshore turbines, he’ll address safety-training requirements on Wednesday, July 21, at 3:15 p.m.

The keynote speaker will be U. S. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Conference planners are bringing together developers, equipment manufacturers,

suppliers, legislators, financiers, and other stakeholders who believe that wind energy, because it is the fastest-growing industry in North America, could be the force that leads to billions of dollars of investment and restores the economic might of the Great Lakes region.

Across this part of the United States, major developments are being proposed to take advantage of some of the most reliable and strongest wind resources in the world.

Several sessions over the three days will address the specific topic of tapping those resources by developing the offshore wind industry that is still in its infancy. Brown will look at the challenges and opportunities for doing that.

Another session is titled “Mother Nature: Assessing the Environmental Impact of Offshore Wind Development in the Great Lakes.” Also on the agenda is a presentation that looks at “preemptive strategies used to address the most frequently encountered concerns raised by local communities” and ways “to increase public acceptance.” A wind-assessment study that focused on Lake Michigan is another topic.

Buckley’s audience will hear about KVCC’s second wind-turbine academy that started 26 weeks of intensive training on June 12. This class includes a female, three students from western states, and 11 from Michigan.

The first-of-its-kind training academy in the nation received 90 applications for the 16 slots. Six of those applicants have been accepted into the academy’s third edition scheduled to begin in January.

The academy graduated its first 16 technicians in April. Twelve of them have already been hired for state and global jobs, while the other four are being recruited.

Class No. 2 hails from Kalamazoo, Greenville, Clawson, Port Sanilac, Zeeland, Marcellus and Battle Creek in Michigan, along with Marana and Casa Grande in Arizona, and Carbondale in Colorado.

The first female accepted into the program hails from New York. The other midwesterner calls Waukegan, Ill., home. Students from Pennsylvania and Kentucky will fill spots in January.

The academy received a $550,000 federal appropriation to purchase specialized laboratory equipment, including a 90-foot tower and turbine-unit platform that are scheduled to be installed in the M-TEC’s parking median for training purposes this summer.

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Only KVCC’s program is certified by Bildungszentrum fur Erneuerebare Energien (BZEE) in the United States. Its English equivalent is “Renewable Energy Education Center.”

Located in Husum, Germany, and founded in 2000, BZEE was created and supported by major wind-turbine manufacturers, component makers, and enterprises that provide operation and maintenance services. As wind-energy production increased throughout Europe, the need for high-quality, industry-driven, international standards emerged. BZEE has become the leading trainer for wind-turbine technicians across Europe and now in Asia.

An educational partnership with Fuhrlaender North America, based in North Kingston, R. I., and Fuhrlaender AG, its parent corporation in Germany, gives KVCC academy students the chance for in-depth exposure to the maintenance requirements and hands-on monitoring of utility-scale wind turbines, and to cutting-edge software.

Fuhrlaender AG and its global family of branch companies are among the world leaders in the wind industry. They offer a wide range of equipment and are currently manufacturing turbines ranging from producing 600 kilowatts to 2.5 megawatts. The company’s growth in the world market includes plans for several manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Additional program support is the result of a collaboration with the Michigan firm of Crystal Flash Renewable Energy L.L.C. That allows academy trainees to work with professional wind-turbine technicians as active participants in both preventive and corrective maintenance. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Crystal Flash Renewable Energy owns two wind turbines in Mackinaw City at the top of the state’s Lower Peninsula.

The first step to gain access into the next academy is to complete the written application, which can be downloaded at this web site - www.kvcc.edu/training. Applications can be mailed or faxed to the college.

“Wind Academy II” will conclude with a Dec. 10 graduation ceremony.A math test is also part of the screening process, along with the results of a

medical examination and documented work experience in technical fields. The last step in the application process is a screening for an ability to function in

tight quarters and work at great heights. The fee is $12,000. For more information, contact Buckley at (269) 353-1250 or cbuckley@kvcc.edu.

A video about the program is available at http://www.mteckvcc.com/windtechacademy.html

Kalamazoo and America’s presidentsOf those who have served as president of the United States since Michigan was

admitted to the union in 1837, 15 have reportedly been to Kalamazoo as the holders of the highest office in the land, as candidates for that position, or in some other capacity.

Tom Dietz, the curator of research at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, recounts some of those visits in the July edition of the museum’s television show.

The episode will be aired by the Public Media Network (formerly the Community Access Center) on Channel 22 on the Charter cable system at 7 p.m. on Sundays, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 11 a.m. on Saturdays throughout the month.

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Kalamazooans can flash back to Abraham Lincoln being the first in this line of notables in 1856, while fresh in their memory is the visit of Barack Obama to help the Class of 2010 at Kalamazoo Central High School celebrate its graduation.

When Gerald Ford brought his 1976 campaign to Kalamazoo that May, he became the first sitting president to visit the community since William Howard Taft in 1911.

Dietz will detail Taft’s visit, along with that of fellow Republican, the assassinated William McKinley.

“McKinley came on short notice,” Dietz said. “Invited to attend a street fair, McKinley did not let the community know of his visit until a week or two before coming on Oct. 17, 1899.”

Because his train was running late, Dietz said, “all he did was get off at Michigan Avenue and the Michigan Central Railroad and take a carriage ride through town.”

Dietz traced the route to Pitcher Street, back to Park Street, Park to Burdick Street, and then to the railroad depot.

“He didn't speak,” Dietz said. “He just waved good-bye. Nevertheless, large crowds greeted him. Security was so lax that young men could run up and touch his carriage without problem. Security was provided by the Knights of the Grip, an organization of traveling salesmen. Probably because the visit was so short, it was forgotten by many.”

Politics brought Taft to Kalamazoo in 1911, according to Dietz’s research. He was in political trouble for the 1912 presidential election, which he would lose to Democrat Woodrow Wilson primarily because Theodore Roosevelt split the party vote in his bid as a member of the Bull Moose Party.

Taft was making a grand tour of the Midwest to rally support for his policies. That brought him to Kalamazoo to lay the cornerstone for a new YMCA building at Michigan and Park, replacing one that had been destroyed by fire. He visited the Kalamazoo College campus and Nazareth Academy, and then attended a banquet at the new, highly modern Burdick Hotel. At K-College, students gave their version of a cheer from Taft’s alma mater, Yale University.

“His emphasis was on education,” Dietz said, “which is why students from college to grade school lined streets to greet him. The Taft visit was organized by the Commercial Club, today's Chamber of Commerce.”

Taft was driven around town in a Pierce Arrow owned by A. B. Connable. One of the occupants was a fellow named A. W. Butts, who a year later would be aboard the Titanic when it hit the iceberg.

Since Ford’s visit, three reigning presidents have campaigned here -- both George Bushes and Bill Clinton.

Among those who eventually called 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. home and sampled Kalamazoo’s hospitality were Ulysses Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Ronald Reagan. Grant came shortly after the Civil War and was given “a great ovation,” while Roosevelt, destined to be McKinley’s vice president, visited Kalamazoo in 1900 while governor of New York.

Charles Evans Hughes, edged for the presidency by Wilson in 1916, received the gift of a cane that Lincoln reportedly gave to famed Kalamazoo politico David Walbridge

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60 years earlier. It has been reported that Wilson visited here in 1916, but that has not been verified.Volunteers needed for upcoming student-calling campaign

Here's another chance to put the thinking behind the new .edyou brand into play -- the twice-a-year calling campaign to contact enrolled students who have not yet paid for classes in the upcoming semester.

It's a creed to live and work by, and it's also a numbers game. For the winter-semester effort, 4,554 calls were made by 119 people. That’s

about 35 calls per person, which is a manageable burden. The more KVCC’ers who step forward to help – and most of us at KVCC can help – the lesser the burden for those colleagues who volunteer.

Calling-campaign organizer Pat Pojeta is seeking a cadre of volunteers to take part in the effort from Monday, Aug. 2, through Monday, Aug. 9, at 7 p.m.

And it works. It's a chance to help prospective students not lose their fall-semester classes, and to help the college keep its healthy, vital, ever-growing enrollment. So there is a self-interest factor at play as well. Those who have made the calls in past years report that students, their parents, and friends deeply appreciate the gentle reminder, and the college's caring environment.

A typical effort results in about 80 percent of the contacted students making their payments prior to batch cancellation the following week.

Pojeta can be contacted at extension 7880 or ppojeta@kvcc.edu. Here are the volunteers so far:Nancy Taylor, Travis Hall, Amy Louallen, Candy Horton, Bonita Bates, Jackie

Cantrell, Mike Collins, Rose Crawford, Steve Doherty, Judy Rose, Ken Barr Jr., Sarah Hagen, Laurie Dykstra, Sheila White, Pat Wallace, Nancy Young, Lauren Beresford;

Susan Reynolds, Joyce Tamer, Lisa Gruber, Gloria Norris, Russ Panico, Larry Belan, Jennie Huff, Sue Newington, Melissa Farris, Pat Pallet, Colleen Olson, Robyn Robinson, Diane Vandenberg, Brenda Moncrief, Lisa Peet, Gerri Jacobs;

Betty VanVoorst, Sue Commissaris, Karen Steeno van Staveren, Lynn Hall McLeod, Ike Turner, Lynne Morrison, Bonnie Bowden, Rita Fox, Su Cutler, Joyce Zweedyk, Pam Siegfried, Jack Bley, Valerie Jones, Ola Johnson, Christine Goolsby;

Marcia Shaneyfelt-Niles, Robyn Schieber, Amber Rees, Stefan Luke, Amy Triemstra, Byron Foster, Catherine West, Diana Haggerty, Ebba Spyke, Isabela Robinson, Jacob Johnson, LaJoyce Brooks, Ray Andres, Shawna Smith, and Sheila Rupert.

Volunteers may make their calls during the workday at their work stations. They will have the full week to complete their calls.

Scripts will be provided with clear, easy-to-follow instructions on how to record information. These scripts will be delivered to each volunteer.

“Many a volunteer has remarked how fun it is speaking with our students,” Pojeta said. “They seem happy to hear from us.”

Campus projects continue in high gearCompletion dates have been assigned for the various phases of the $12-million

expansion and renovation at the Texas Township Campus.

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The new wing, which will be home to the Student Success Center, several student-service functions, and a 150-seat auditorium, is slated to be ready for occupancy on Oct. 22.

The former financial-services offices have been converted into a multi-purpose science lab. Cabinetry and student-work stations have been installed.

In the lower-level 8000 hallway, crews are transitioning four existing teaching areas into a trio of labs for physics, chemistry and geology. That phase is set to be completed by Aug. 5.

Once counseling services and several Student Success Center functions were moved to a temporary location in the Student Commons Theater, their previous locations were being converted into two 48-seat classrooms and two that will hold 60 students. This conversion should be done by July 27.

In the 7500 corridor, crews are changing four classrooms into faculty offices. They should be ready for occupancy on Aug. 9.

The faculty-office area is being “opened up with natural lighting to help it be more student-friendly.” It will also include student-waiting space and additional conference rooms. Those phases are pegged to be finished by Aug. 16

The new wing will house the Student Success Center on the second floor and the Office of Admissions, Registration and Records, the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of Institutional Research, and Central Receiving on the first level. Once those functions are moved to the new wing, work will begin on converting that space into six classrooms. The timetable for that is Oct. 25 through Dec. 31.

Work crews will also attempt to do as many of the “noisy” jobs in converting classrooms into faculty offices in the 7100 corridor prior to the start of the fall semester on Sept. 7. Once the demo phase is done, the rest of the job, and hopefully the quieter, will take place through Thanksgiving.

One of the final phases will be the relocation of the college’s “receiving” area to the outer section of the new wing.

KVCC’ers can take a look for themselves at the progress by going to the college’s home page and keyboard in up at the top – home.kvcc.edu.

In all, KVCC will lose eight classrooms and gain 10, plus the 150-seat mini-auditorium/lecture hall in the new expansion. The Student Success Center will revert to serving as The Gallery.

Dollars for such projects are banked in capital funds by the state and by the college, and are not part of each’s general fund. Michigan’s formula for higher-education projects has not changed from past years. Each community college and the state provide 50 percent of the costs.

The Kalamazoo architectural firm of Eckert Wordell designed the expansion and remodeling, while the Miller-Davis Co. is serving as construction manager.

The Digest is working in conjunction with Maley to present project updates. Contact him at extension 4298 with any questions or concerns.

This is the college’s first major construction initiative since the Student Commons in 2001.

Free summer fun for kids at museumThis summer’s free hands-on programs for children at the Kalamazoo Valley

Museum are taking their theme from the current nationally touring exhibition -- “Out of

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this World: Extraordinary Costumes from Film and Television” – that features attire and gear worn by some of the most famous characters in science-fiction and fantasy history.

On Wednesdays from 1 to 4 p.m. from June 30 through Aug. 4, activities will target families with children aged 5 to 12. Youngsters will be able to make crafts at 10 different tables each week.

“Fans of “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” Batman and Indiana Jones have been flocking to see ‘Out of This World,’” said Annette Hoppenworth, coordinator of programs at the museum. “But what if you weren’t born before these shows where created?

“If there was an exhibit of costumes and artifacts from movies that a 5 year had seen,” she said, “what would be on display? What movie clips would be shown? That’s exactly what we tried to figure out in putting together this summer’s free series of hands-on art programs.”

Children and their families can move from table to table making crafts that represent items they might find in a museum exhibit of popular children’s movie memorabilia.

Visitors are encouraged to watch some of these movies at home before or after the program. The series continues on July 14 when “Rescue Me” activities will spotlight the superheroes and heroic stories. “Good Versus Evil” is the theme for July 21.

For a complete schedule of events and activities, go to the museum’s web page at www.kalamazoomuseum.org. Another source of information is Hoppenworth at (269) 373-7955 or ahoppenworth@kvcc.edu.

Second wind-energy summer camp this weekBuilding a scale-model wind turbine is the capstone project at a summer camp for

teen ranging in age from 15 to 17.Slated to be held at KVCC’s Texas Township Campus, it is scheduled for July

12-14. The fee is $135.Guiding the camp, which will be in action from 9 a.m. to noon on each of the

three days in Room 5820, will be John Stahl, a physics instructor at KVCC who is working on a master’s in that discipline at Western Michigan University.

Among the camp activities in addition to building a turbine will be collecting and analyzing wind data, experimenting with blade design, learning the ins and outs of the 145-foot wind turbine that is operating on the Texas Township Campus, and learning about careers in wind energy.

Camp participants will tour and inspect the 50-kilowatt wind turbine at the west end of the Texas Township Campus.

To register or to receive more information, call the college’s Wind Energy Center based in the M-TEC of KVCC at 353-1270 or visit this web site: www.windenergycenter.kvcc.edu.

Museum to host first 911 child-safety campThe edition of the 911 Camp booked for the Kalamazoo Valley Museum is full

with a waiting list, but there are other opportunities for area youngsters to enhance their safety and wellbeing in a fun setting.

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These free camps designed for youths ages 9 to 11 are being offered by Life EMS ambulance service at eight locations this summer. The museum session – the first of the eight – is set for Tuesday (July 13).

Kimberly Middleton, community relations coordinator for Life EMS in Kalamazoo, said the all-day camps will focus on everything from the basics of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and first-aid to self-defense moves to thwart potential abductions.

There will be information on fire and bike safety, and participants can be fingerprinted for identification in case they go missing.

“We try to go above and beyond what the students learn about in school,” Middleton told The Kalamazoo Gazette. “They won’t be certified in CPR or first-aid, but they’ll know the basics.”

The interactive camps focus on a host of health and safety issues for youngsters at an age when many may begin staying at home alone or watching younger siblings, Middleton said. “Participants are taught how to prevent injuries and to avoid dangerous situations, as well as what to do if they should find themselves in a life-threatening situation,” she said. “For example, the kids will learn moves to thwart being grabbed from behind and that crawling under a parked car could save them from an abduction.”

Life EMS provides snacks and a free lunch for participants. The medical-response service is partnering with the museum and area fire departments in providing the record eight Camp 911s this summer.

Here are the dates and locations for the other seven 2010 camps, all scheduled for 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.:

Thursday (July 15), Oshtemo Township Fire Station No. 2, Sixth Street. Tuesday, July 20, a return engagement at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. July 22, Texas Township Fire Department, Q Avenue. Tuesday, July 27, camp sponsored by Parchment/Cooper Fire Departments at

St. Ambrose Catholic Church, G Avenue, Parchment. Thursday, July 29, Portage Fire Department, Station No. 1, Shaver Road. Thursday, Aug. 5, Allegan City Fire Department, Monroe Street. Tuesday, Aug. 10, Kalamazoo Township Westwood Fire Department, Nichols

Road.To register, call (269) 373-3116. Registrations are taken on a first-come, first-

served basis, and callers who leave contact information will receive sign-up materials in advance of the camp they specify.

Stroll the Winchell, Oakland Drive neighborhoods With Kalamazoo Valley Community College being a part of the downtown-

Kalamazoo neighborhood since opening a branch campus in 1983, students, faculty and staff are invited to sample the urban environs and community history in a series of free public walks around historic areas this summer and fall.

Sponsored by Gazelle Sports, the walking tours will be led by Lynn Houghton, regional history curator at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections and author of “Kalamazoo Lost and Found.” For the last nine years, she has organized 50 tours and has created six more for 2010.

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The walks will be on Fridays at 8 a.m. and Thursday evenings at 6:30, weather permitting, and will last approximately 90 minutes. No registration is needed.

Here’s the schedule: Thursday, July 22, Oakland Drive and Winchell neighborhoods, meet at Winchell

Avenue and Aberdeen Drive, 6:30 p.m. Friday, July 30, Stuart Historic District, meet at Elm and West Main streets, 8

a.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, Kalamazoo State Hospital and Western Michigan University

East Campus, meet at Oakland Drive and Oliver Street, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 13, Eastside Neighborhood, meet at East Main Street and Charlotte

Avenue, 8 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, Riverside Cemetery, meet at Gull Road and Riverview Drive,

6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, West Main Historic District, meet at Monroe Street and Grand

Avenue, 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 10, Haymarket Historic District, meet at Gazelle Sports, 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 24, Fairmont Neighborhood, meet at North Street and Douglas

Avenue, 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 8, Bronson Park and South Street, meet at Gazelle Sports, 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 22, West Main Historic District and Kalamazoo College, meet at

Monroe Street and Grand Avenue, 8 a.m.For more information, contact Gazelle Sports at (269) 342-5996. Information is

also available at http://www.gazellesports.com.

John, Trevor, wherefore art thou? In the park!If Newton’s three laws of motion and Archimedes’s principle have any

application to the world of theater, two KVCC physic instructors are on their way to Tony Awards.

Part-timers John Stahl and Trevor Stefanik are in the cast of “Romeo and Juliet” that will be performed outdoors at this summer’s “Shakespeare in the Park” plays at Celery Flats in the city of Portage.

The schedule of performances is: Friday (July 9) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (July 10) at 7:30 p.m. Sunday (July 11) at 6:30 p.m. Included in this billing will be a costumed

tea with cast members. Friday, July 16, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for children 12 and under. In case of showers, the show will go in the Hayloft Theater at Celery Flats.Among the sponsors of “Shakespeare in the Park” are the Dorothy U. Dalton

Foundation, BDO Siedman, Discover Kalamazoo, the John E. Fetzer Institute, and the Harold and Grace Upjohn Foundation.

The “Shakespeare in the Park” production got a bit of ink in the Sunday, June 27, edition of The Kalamazoo Gazette.

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Gazette freelancer Mark Wedel mentioned that Stefanik will play the part of Mercutio while Tybalt’s lines would be mouthed by Stahl. Both were classified as “Shakespeare-in-the-Park” regulars.

KVCC clean-up crew to take the road again July 16 Are you appreciative of those litter-filled plastic bags you see along Michigan’s highways and freeways, and of the folks who give of their time to clean up after some people’s thoughtlessness?

You can turn appreciation into action by joining the KVCC Faculty Association in its participation in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Adopt-A-Highway program. Steve Walman, who can be reached at extension 4136, is gathering a cadre of volunteers for a second time to clean up a section of state road on Friday, July 16. Faculty, staff and students are invited to gather by 9 a.m. at the intersection of M-43 and M-40 west of Kalamazoo in the car-pool lot and share a cup of joe in the Outpouring Coffee Shop. Walman reports that volunteers only need to bring a pair of gloves. Trash bags and safety vests will be provided.

Maryalice Reck and Tim Kane have signed up so far to clean up that section of road.

Spreading the word about KVCC initiativesOK, your new program, project, activity, community service or happening has

been given the green light by the powers-that-be. Or, you have been selected to make a presentation at a statewide or national

conference. Your next telephone call or e-mail should be to Tom Thinnes (extension 7899,

tthinnes@kvcc.edu) to begin spreading the word both around the college and around the community.

Don’t - REPEAT - don’t wait around until the week before to contact those whose duties include public relations, promotions, marketing, communication and dealing with the news media.

What’s important to remember is that members of the news media and other venues of communications don’t sit on their hands waiting for calls giving them clues on what to do.

As with all of us at KVCC, they have schedules, full platters and agendas, and plenty to do. They appreciate as much advance notice as the rest of us so that they can properly apply their resources and their responses.

The same modus operandi applies to those who organize and present annual and repeating events. They, too, are often just as newsworthy and require as much advance notice in order to generate the public exposure many of them deserve.

Helpful Hint No. 2 - There is no such animal as making a contact too early.

Helpful Hint No. 3 – If something in the program, project, activity, community service or happening

changes or is eliminated, make another contact - and quickly -- so that the material/news release can be revised or updated.

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Members of the news media appreciate being alerted so that they get the facts straight.

Also, if something changes days or even weeks later after the news story has been distributed and printed, still contact Tom Thinnes (see above) because the college’s news-and-information website is constantly edited, updated and refreshed. Many of these distributed news reports have extended shelf lives.

‘Swap Meet’ is place for fix-it projects, eggs, booksThe Office of Human Resources’ web page contains a want-ad system to link

KVCC folks with their colleagues in the sharing of talent, knowledge, skills, goods and services. There is also the technology to attach a photo to what you want to market.

It could be thought of as KVCC’s e-Bay shopping center, and it works. The “KVCC Swap Meet” provides a forum to barter goods (made or grown) and

to post information about services that can be provided -- painting, sewing, computer assistance, etc.

It can also be used to post an announcement about services or goods that are being sought.

There are five categories on the site: Services for Hire, Services Needed, Goods Wanted, Goods for Sale, and Miscellaneous. This site is for KVCC employees only and is intended as a way for employees to network with each other for trade or sale purposes.

KVCC will not be responsible for any transactions or the satisfaction of either party, and will not enter into dispute resolution. “KVCC Swap Meet” is housed on the Human Resources website under Quick Links.

To post a service or item, just click Post Ad, select the appropriate category, complete the online form and click submit.

Co-workers will be able to view the posting by the next business day. It is requested that the postings be made during non-working hours.

Among the services for hire are music combos for events, interior and exterior painting, drywall repairs, deck staining, landscaping, and light-maintenance tasks.

For sale are a breadmaker, a rocking chair, a plantation saddle, an entertainment center, a washer and dryer, brown-shelled eggs, and paperback hard-cover books. Also on the market are 30 cement blocks (decorated on one side), and these are free.

Wanted are checkerboards and sets of checkers for a math project and video games for a Playstation 3.

Under the Miscellaneous category is hosting an international student as well as the opportunity to rent a bungalow in Carmel, Calif.

Honors grad earn scholarship from vets groupA KVCC Honors Program graduate is one of 10 students across the country to

receive scholarships from a veterans organization that was spawned on the battlefields of Vietnam.

He is Aaron Cook of Portage, who is now majoring in psychology at Western Michigan University. Kristina Graham of Ann Arbor was a second Michigan recipient of 2010 Blackhorse Association scholarships that amount to $3,000 each.

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The Blackhorse Association was born from a promise made by two officers to a dying soldier on May 2, 1969, in Vietnam. The vow was to “not let people forget us” and “take care of our kids”.

This became the inspiration to form the Blackhorse Association later that year at Fort Knox, Ky. Over the years, the association has provided more than $300,000 to help educate the children of Blackhorse Troopers killed in action or incapacitated by wounds, and now, any child of a member or former member of the regiment.

Cook is the son of Edward Cook, who served in Vietnam for a year at the end of the 1960s.

According to the association, the 2010 recipients are the children of Blackhorse troopers whose service to their country and regiment spans 45 years from 1965 to the present day. Three of their fathers received the Purple Heart for wounds suffered incombat, two were awarded the Bronze Star for valor and one was awardedthe Silver Star.

Cook was featured in a past edition of the college’s CareerSource magazine. “I didn’t really have career plans when I graduated from Portage Northern High

School in 1999,” Cook said. “I worked construction a couple of years before joining the Army in October 2002.”

While serving in the infantry, Cook’s military experience included deployments to Iraq (12 months) and Afghanistan (14 months), where he was injured.

“It wasn’t combat-related,” Cook explained. “Some local Afghans were blasting to widen the road when a piece of rock hit my jaw and broke it.”

This required hospitalization in Afghanistan for one week, another week in Germany, and three weeks in the hospital at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Cook also received injuries he described as “minor wounds from building debris” when his camp was hit by numerous mortar rounds during deployment in Iraq.

He was eventually discharged in August 2007. At the time of his discharge, Cook heard from friends there were not a lot of jobs available at home. The training of an Army infantryman does not translate into many civilian jobs, and he knew he did not want to do construction, police work or security.

A return to school to restart the education process felt like the way to go. Each semester at KVCC, Cook said he was exposed to fields that interested him.

Eventually settling on psychology, Cook completed his transfer courses and enrolled at Western Michigan University where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree with a double major -- psychology and applied ethics -- with a minor in social psychology.

Cook also has begun writing a book, encouraged through the strong support of a KVCC faculty member.

While it is about the life of a soldier in Afghanistan, Cook emphasizes that it is fiction. It brings out the different aspects of war that can affect soldiers -- not just the fire fights and explosions, but the emotional conditions, including being far from home and in a strange environment.

‘Water, water everywhere. . .’KVCC instructor Kim “Chemical Kim” De Clercq led youngsters on a look at the

astounding and remarkable properties of water at the Washington Square Branch of the Kalamazoo Public Library.

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“Water Is Amazing” is targeted for children from the second grade and older as they explored the percentage of H2O that makes up each person, its capabilities as the universal solvent, and why, although it is so soft and pliable, it can be as hard as a rock.

In addition, DeClercq is continuing her duties as “resident scientist” every other Friday on “Take Five & Company,” a regular feature on WZZM-TV, Channel 13, in Grand Rapids.

And finally. . . Call it great “lawyering,” bad judges or brain-dead juries, juries, all of these

examples of justice being served belong in Ripley’s “Believe It or Not.”They are classified as the annual Stella Awards, named for the 81-year-

old woman who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued a McDonald's in New Mexico. She purchased coffee, took the lid off, and put it between her knees while driving. Voila! She scalded herself and won a lawsuit.

Try these on for size:Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas, was awarded $80,000 by a jury of

her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.

Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a car. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.

Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pa., was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage-door opener malfunctioned and he could not get it to open. He couldn't re-enter the house because the door to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental anguish. A jury said the company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish.

Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Ark., was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next-door neighbor's beagle that was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked. Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pa., won $113,500 from a jury that ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to fork some cash over. She slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tailbone. The soft drink was on the floor because Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument.

Kara Walton of Claymont, Del., sued the owner of a night club because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies-room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000 plus dental expenses.

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Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Okla., had purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an Oklahoma University football game, and having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set.

An Oklahoma jury awarded her $1,750,000, plus a new motor home.Winnebago actually changed its manuals as a result of this suit, just in

case she has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.Similarly, at the corporate level, McDonald’s had to make some changes

in the name of customer safety because of the spilled-hot-coffee suit.

☻☻☻☻☻☻

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