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www.hollandsentinel.com
Sunday, June 5, 2016
CRIME AND COURT
FREE
IN MEMORIAM
Holland Township
leader dies at 87
Woman liable for 2012
squirrel fire, court finds
By Amy. Biolchini
By Andrea. Goodell
@hollandsentinel.com
(616) 546-4219
@hollandsentinel.com
(616) 546-4275
A Holland Township woman could again
be on the hook for a squirrel dinner gone
horribly wrong.
The Michigan Appellate Court overturned
a lower court ruling that held defendant
Barbara Pellow liable for $15,000 worth of
damages as opposed to the $2 million Travelers Insurance sought in compensation for
its payout to ClearView Apartments, 12100
Clearview Lane, to cover damages resulting
from an Oct. 10, 2012 fire.
In what the court called a “fur-burning
escapade,” Pellow’s boyfriend, who is not
named in the suit, used a blowtorch to
remove the fur from a squirrel carcass to
prepare the animal as a meal. He left the lit
torch unattended on the apartment’s deck
next to a potted plant for about 15 minutes
when he noticed the flames.
Although it is undisputed the defendant
was sleeping during the incident, under the
terms of her lease, she can be held liable
for the actions of herself, roommates and
guests, according to the court.
It remanded the decision back to the lower
court.
“[W]e reject her argument that she is
immune from the contractual liability that
she voluntarily agreed to,” the appellate
court’s opinion read.
It also ordered the lower court to issue a
summary disposition in favor of the plaintiff
and determine appropriate damages.
Fire fighters battle a blaze at ClearView Apartments in Holland in October
— Follow this reporter
on Twitter @SentinelAndrea.
2012. A Holland Township woman could be on the hook for $2 million in compensation after a decision by the Michigan Appellate Court on Wednesday,
May 25, 2016. SENTINEL FILE
Bill Driesenga saw 30 years of growth
For 30 years, Bill Driesenga was the
man to call
if there was
a problem
in Holland
Township.
The
Driesenga
longtime
township superintendent
died at the age of 87 on
Wednesday, May 25.
“Everyone knew Bill by
his first name,” Township
Supervisor Terry Nienhuis
said. “He had a humble way
about him, because he knew
how to get the best out of a
situation. He had a tremendous sense of humor and
was a very likeable individual and that’s how he
got things done.”
Driesenga oversaw three
decades of Holland Township’s transformation from
a farming community into
a residential and industrial
hub of 33,000 people.
Driesenga, a Holland
native, was the oldest of a
family of four boys — and
went on to have a large
family of his own.
He met wife Lois DeJonge
while cruising Eighth
Street, and the couple had
eight children.
Driesenga served with the
U.S. Army in the Korean
War. Upon his return and
marriage, he moved to Holland Township with his new
bride Lois.
Before becoming Holland
Township’s key leader, Driesenga had a 15-year career
with the Holland Board of
Public Works in the wastewater department.
When he became superintendent in 1977, Holland
Township had two traffic
lights, no sanitary sewers and
300 water customers.
“The year he retired, we
had 15,300 water customers
and about 12,000 sewer customers (between Holland,
Park and Zeeland townships),” Township Manager
Don Komejan said.
Driesenga helped lead the
intergovernmental collaboration to establish water and
wastewater contracts with
neighboring townships.
“From an overall standpoint, his significant focus
of time and effort and intergovernmental efforts were in
utilities,” Komejan said.
There is a Driesenga Drive
in Holland Township’s industrial park. “He guided the township
through a tremendous growth
period — lot of it was due to
SEE MEMORIAM, A3
A2
Sunday, June 5, 2016 | My Holland North
GRADUATION 2016 WEST OTTAWA HIGH SCHOOL
DIVISION 1 DISTRICT SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Well-rounded Panthers top
Hudsonville in districts
By Dan. D'Addona
@hollandsentinel.com
(616) 546-4276
West Ottawa graduates smile and wave to their families at the graduation ceremony on Thursday.
ERIN DIETZER/SENTINEL STAFF
Keynote quote:
West Ottawa goalie Katie Preikszas watches a shot from Hudsonville
on Tuesday, May 31, at West Ottawa. DAN D’ADDONA/SENTINEL STAFF
a talented back line of
defense, which includes
Lily Keene and Kennedy
Sauer, who have been fouryear varsity players.
“I have complete and
total confidence in Lily
and the whole back line,”
Preikszas said. “There is
never a time where I think
they aren't going to get
it. Our back line is pretty
awesome.”
The offense is not bad,
either.
Eight minutes into the
game, Yojaira Campos
made the most of a beautiful pass from Autumn Van
Vuren and scored to put the
Panthers up 1-0.
After a few West Ottawa
chances, the Panthers got
another goal when Maddie
Carter scored with 12:43 to
go in the half, leading the
Panthers to a 2-0 halftime
lead.
The Panthers kept up the
pressure with several strong
scoring chances to start
the second half, including
a goal that was called back
HOLLANDSENTINEL.COM
The West Ottawa girls
soccer team launched
chance after chance at
Hudsonville in the opening
round of the state playoffs.
The Panthers got so many
chances it was easy to overlook how well the defense
played.
With the exception of one
long rocket shot that ended
up just out of the reach of
goalie Katie Preikszas, the
Panthers dominated defensively in a 3-1 win over the
Eagles in the first round
of the Division 1 district
tournament.
“It is big. We knew we
had to defend our home,”
Preikszas said. “It is going
to build momentum for
the next games. We want
the district title and we are
willing to do whatever we
have to do get it.”
West Ottawa advanced
to face Mona Shores on
Wednesday at 3 p.m. at
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer.
“Hudsonville is great
when they get going vertical. But we controlled the
tempo of the game,” West
Ottawa coach Brent Wyckoff said. “That was huge
because we were trying to
keep the game from getting
stretched.”
Preikszas has been key
for the Panthers during the
stretch run of the season.
“The biggest thing with
Katie is coming into the
season, when she was great,
she was great. But she had
moments of being inconsistent,” Wyckoff said.
“This year, she has been
extremely consistent and
communication is key, and
she has built confidence.”
Preikszas plays with
for offsides.
Then came Hudsonville's
big chance. Emma Gray
launched a long shot that
tipped the fingers of Preikszas as it went into the net.
It was the first chance for
the Eagles, but they made
the most of it to make it a
one-goal game.
The Panthers turned
up the offensive pressure
again and after 14 scoring
chances in the second half
that didn't result in a goal,
Sydney Burke made a nice
hesitation move and found
the back of the net with 7:22
to go in the game.
“I have full confidence
that the offense will get it
done. The more chances,
the more probability of
them going in,” Preikszas
said. “Our team's strong
point is connecting with
each other and making the
game go our tempo.”
— Follow this reporter
on Twitter @DanDAddona and Facebook @
HollandSentinelSports.
“Y
ou’ll have an easy option and a hard option. The easy option
is to give up, complain, be someone’s else’s fault, stay in the
confines of what you think you know, what you’re comfortable with. The hard option is to bootstrap, find a way how to go. I implore
you to find a way.” — Keary Engle, 2003 West Ottawa High School graduate
Valedictorians:
Salutatorians:
Benjamin Hahn, Elaine Chau, Lindsey
Drost, Robert Ganzi, Katherine Hoekstra,
Benjamin Snoek, Izabel Vandermolen,
Kailie Wielenga.
Paige Buhl, Ethan Heyoer, Elizabeth
Hoekstra
—Compiled by Sentinel reporter Erin
Dietzer
“Being free from “Going to
“Not going to
the vice of public college. I’m going high school
education.”
to Ferris State.” anymore, and
college.”
—Ben Snoek
—Felix Payan
—Ethan Heyboer
“I’m excited
to have more
choices, and to
go after what
I’m passionate
about.”
—Izabel
Vandermolen
PARK TOWNSHIP
Officials explore public
transit possibilities
By Andrea.Goodell
@hollandsentinel.com
616-546-4275
For those who are elderly,
infirm or disabled, transportation can mean the
difference between being
independent and being separated from the community.
Transportation in Park
Township has changed
little in 20 years, said Jack
Kooyman with the Holland
Deacons’ Conference, which
operates five My Brother’s
and My Sister’s houses in the
area for adults with developmental disabilities.
But it soon could.
The township is looking to the Macatawa Area
Coordinating Council to
determine the need and cost
for dial-a-ride-style public
transportation.
Lucas Vanderkolk lives
at Benjamin’s Hope in Park
Township. The relatively
new nonprofit serves as a
home to adults with developmental disabilities, at the
same time providing services to those with autism
and other learning differences, their families and the
community at large.
“Right now we are lacking at Benjamin’s Hope. I am
not as independent as I can
or would like to be because
we don’t have the MAX bus
come out there,” Vanderkolk
said.
He works as a dishwasher
at Logan’s Roadhouse. He
relies on his family to help
him get around, but if they
aren’t available, Vanderkolk
would need to take a cab to
get to work on time.
Benjamin’s Hope and
other similar outfits are
feeling the pressure to be
as integrated into the community as much as possible,
but transportation is one
serious hurdle, said Elissa
Lappenga, director of community engagement.
Park Township’s transit subcommittee has been
meeting for several months,
discussing the issue. A 0.4
mill like ones other municipalities served by MAX
transit would net the township about $400,000, much
more than Supervisor Jerry
Hunsburger estimates would
be necessary.
It takes about $8.50 to
transport each dial-a-ride
passenger door to door.
Some of that is subsidized
by federal and state dollars.
Fares can cost a dollar or
two, leaving the township
to pick up the rest.
“We have no idea what the
budget implications will be,”
Hunsburger said.
The MACC expects to
hear in the next few weeks
whether they’ve received
a Michigan Department of
Transportation grant that
“would dovetail very nicely,”
Director Steve Bulthuis said.
If they receive the grant,
they will study public transit needs across the area. If
not, Park Township would
commission a MACC study
of transportation, costing a few thousand dollars.
Data would be collected
late summer/early fall with
results soon after.
“There’s a need out
there and people want it
yesterday,” Hunsburger
acknowledged at a recent
Park Township meeting.
Doug Kloosterman spoke
at the meeting. He lives in
one of the My Brother’s
House locations and works
at Taco Bell. The taxi he now
uses for transportation costs
$7 each way, taking up a
good portion of his earnings.
With the shuttering of
Kandu Industries also came
the closure of transportation
service Pioneer Resources,
which ran a handful of routes
across Ottawa County to
Kandu and Community
Mental Health offices.
“When it comes to people
with disabilities, transportation and employment
— those two things — are
very much linked,” Kooyman said. “... It’s been a
challenging year in many
regards.”
—Follow this reporter on
Twitter @SentinelAndrea.
My Holland North | Sunday, June 5, 2016
RALLY
MEMORIAM
Hundreds of Cushman
scooters heading to Holland
From Page A1
By Andrea. Goodell
@hollandsentinel.com
(616) 546-4275
The last Cushman
scooter left the assembly
line in 1965.
“When I was 14 or 15,
I thought I had to have a
Cushman. Then when I was
67 years old, I got one,”
joked Terry Blanchard with
the West Michigan Cushman Club.
Many of the Cushman
Club members are men
and women who grew up
in the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s
who, as teens, wanted
Cushman scooters of their
own, but couldn’t afford it,
Blanchard said.
As many as 700 Cushman scooter enthusiasts
are expected in Holland on
June 6-10 for the Cushman Club of America’s
34th annual national rally.
At least 21 states will be
represented.
Many will ride their
vintage scooters through
downtown Holland shortly
before 6 p.m. Monday
evening, June 6. West
Michigan Cushman Club
is hosting the weeklong
event.
Cushman started out
making engines in 1901
and got into the scooter
business in 1936. The U.S.
military used Cushman
scooters during World War
II with some being designed
to be dropped by parachute
with airborne troops into
areas unreachable by conventional vehicle. The
Lincoln, Neb.-based company still makes specialty
vehicles today.
The public can visit
the event at the Ottawa
County Fairgrounds,
West Michigan Cushman Club rides in the 2014 Coast Guard Festival parade. The scooter club will host
the 34th annual Cushman Club of America national rally at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds on June
6-10. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS
Township Airport, 1269
Ottawa Beach Road, across
from the fairgrounds is also
open to the public 10 a.m.
Tuesday, June 7.
At 6 that evening, a car
show will join the scooters
at the fairgrounds.
The West Michigan
Cushman Club has planned
excursions to Meijer Gardens and Grand Haven,
games such as newspaper
toss, slow ride and ride
over a plank, a 22-class
scooter show and classes
on scooter restoration.
The West Michigan Cushman Club attends a 2014 car show in
“We’d like to be a host
Hamilton. The scooter club will host the 34th annual Cushman Club of
city that people rememAmerica national rally at the Ottawa County Fairgrounds on June 6-10.
ber,” said Bob Breuker,
1286 Ottawa Beach Road, a.m. will include appear- c l u b t r e a s u r e r a n d
throughout the week to see ances by Holland’s Town co-organizer.
show scooters on display. Crier John Karsten, Dutch
Parking is free. Monday’s dancers and local officials. —Follow this reporter on
opening ceremony at 8
An auction at Park Twitter @SentinelAndrea.
A3
from his career as superintendent at the age of 79 in
December 2008, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a
tribute to Driesenga for his
years of service.
His legacy: stories of
skilled conflict resolution,
as employees recalled his
strength at solving heated
disputes that arose within
the township within his
tenure.
“He was very capable of
working through issues and
difficulties and coming to
options and solutions,”
Komejan said.
Driesenga remained
active in his retirement
and sat on the township’s
seven-member planning
commission.
There is now a vacancy
on that commission with
his passing.
Memorial services have
not yet been set. Messages
can be left for the Driesenga
family at lakeshorememorial.com.
his whole positive outlook
on things, that nothing
was impossible,” Nienhuis
said. “He played a big part
in bringing the West Shore
Mall here, and in developing the industrial parks on
the north side that have
brought thousands of jobs
here.”
Komejan filled Driesenga’s position upon
Driesenga's retirement,
moving into the role from
the assistant superintendent position.
“I had both the opportunity and the privilege to
work for and with Bill,”
Komejan said. “Bill allowed
me as the assistant superintendent to gain knowledge
and experience in many of
the operational aspects of
the township. He shared a
lot of wisdom and practical application with those
things with me, which I’m
really grateful for.”
— Follow this reporter on
When Driesenga retired Twitter @SentinelAmy.
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Sunday, June 5, 2016 | My Holland North