C News

three rivers
PANTHER PRIDE EXCLUSIVEP
threeriversnews.com

ommercial SUBSCRIBER

▼
West Ottawa boys hoops defeats Grand Haven, B1 West
Stories you’ll find only in
Vol. 124, Issue #76 SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 2011 Monday, April 2, 2018 HIGH 28 LOW 12 Details, B8 75¢
BPW, POLICE BPW
today’s printed Holland

Sentinel
Sentinel and in our e-edition:

The ‘universal human

WARN OF A warmer, WAR
■ Zeeland
The Holland Lumber
UTILITY ■ Juarez UTILI
wetter MichiganWOR
experience that connects us’
Mission
WORKER
SCAM, A3 75 cents hollandsentinel.com
might be SCAM
Since July 1, 1896

Longtime Marcellus making

library director potholes worse
cultivating forward-
thinking culture, MLK Jr. holiday
sees growing
By Riley Murdock
sense of community Capital News Service

By Alek Frost LANSING – This spring’s “breakup” of Michigan

Managing Editor

MARCELLUS—Christine
commemoration
roads has been the worst Kirk Steudle has seen in his 31
years with the Michigan Department of Transportation.
“The winter we just had was one of the most brutal
Nofsinger has served as the director of that we’ve had” for weather that causes crumbling
the Marcellus Township Wood pavement and potholes, said Steudle, the department’s
BY STEPHEN
Memorial Library for 22 years, and in director.
KLOOSTERMAN EVENT LIST
addition to providing continuity and He has seen colder winters,
stephen.kloosterman@hollandsentinel.com Sunday ones with more snow. But
(616) 546-4258
sound leadership, Nofsinger has when the weather stays cold, it isn’t as bad on the roads
6:30 p.m. — The greater
promoted civic engagement through a It’s a federalas this oneholiday
was. Holland community is invited
variety of avenues both within and celebrated on “There
an was incon-a week whento gather it wasn’t
for aabove 10 degrees,
commemora-
beyond the walls of the library. theninthedifferent
next week it was tive60,service
” Steudletosaid. honor“ThenGodwe got
Whether it’s making kits to help C hristine ofsinger N sistent basis
communities a rainstorm,
across wethe had 4 forinches
the of liferain. Then
of Dr. everything
Martin
improve living conditions for Syrian United States, frozebut in And
again. Luther King
Hol-everything warmed Jr. atupMaple
again. And
which she says changed the way she viewed the world.
refugees, creating “a network of support” for prisoners through the land, Martin when all of those happen at the same time,427
Luther King Avenue Ministries, that’West
s what
“We lived with a family in a settlement outside of the capital city, Jr.and
Day seems to be cel- 19th St. The featured event
exchange of letters, or making quilts to donate to the Michiana causes pavements to break up.
I still maintain contact with them, made easier by Facebook, so it’sebrated really more than it was will be a one-act play of a
Mennonite Relief Sale, Nofsinger uses her role at the library, and her “Water is the enemy,fictional” Steudlemeeting said. “That is number
between
great. I’ve gone back a couple times to see them, and they’ve comeinhere. previous years.
place in the community outside of it, to make a difference. Area one.” still hold the King and Malcolm X.
schools
So that sort of expanded my worldview,” she said.
“Here’s the thing that’s so great about working in the library: I’m classes on Though the holiday underfunded Therepair
event efforts are the
will include localmain
Nofsinger, who’s originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, values thathermarks the civil rights participants, a commemora-
surrounded by stories and stories connect us with each other. I’m Dennis R.J. Geppert/The Holland Sentinel reason Michigan’s roads continue to deteriorate, Steudle
Tim VandenBosch, Herk VandenBosch, Mark community and strives to make a difference where she lives, but she also
surrounded Fromby left,
the written story but also the stories of all the people that VandenBosch, John VandenBosch Jr., Mike movement — higher
said, in some tive dance,
precipitation levels and and amore community
extreme Fro
Dykstra and Chad VandenBosch. Zeeland Lumber has grownsees fromherself as a citizen
a partnership of the two
between world and aims
brothers intotoa assist others regardless
communities, children get choir will lead the partici- Dy
come through these doors.
corporation of about I think that is the sort of universal human
140 employees of where they call home, evidenced by the library’s programming the day offweather — but might be contributing.
there pants in song. cor
experience that connects us, that pulls us together,” she said. are signs Arguably thethe
suggesting most significant climatological trend
scheduled for April.
“The greatest joy probably in this job is connecting people, bringing communityboth has a seasonally
growingand annually is an increase in
This month the library will celebrate International Awareness Month Monday

Branching out B
people together who would not have met each other (otherwise). […] I appreciation precipitation,
for the holi- said State Climatologist Jeffrey Andresen,
in a variety of ways, including offering
FAMILY FOUNDERS an opportunity for patrons to
day: more an than 11 a.m. — The Rev. Eric Wil-
love coming here because I never know who’s going to walk through the MSUageography
dozen professor.
assemble kits for Syrian refugees. The kits William
will include a “dark colored
door, I never know what I’m going to be asked to do or what I’m going John A. public events Last year set a recordliams,
scheduled for thefaculty
wettestfellow
year ininMichigan,
theol-
hand towel, tooth brush,VandenBosch
large nail clipper and an individually wrapped
VandenBosch by local colleges and ogy and homiletics at West-
to be asked to help somebody with.” going back toSun- 1895, Andresen said, with Seminary,
ern Theological 10 to 15 percent
will
bar of soap.” Patrons and library staff will sew drawstring bags made of
churches beginning
Years before Nofsinger served on the Marcellus library board or day. more annual precipitation be thankeynote
the just 60 years
speakerago.at the
cloth to hold those items.
Family, lumber company grow together
accepted the library’s director position, she was a teacher. She received
her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Goshen College,
“During April,
Harold
we’re part of VandenBosch
VandenBosch
John
— it’s mostly Jr. in St. Joe County —The
dom Grier,
The increase results from more “wet” days and more
the Rev. Denise King- annual Western Theological
extremepastorweatherofevents, both ofMartin
Seminary which Luther
are increasing
King
Fa
Library Hop, we got invited to participate in that, so we’re a hopMaple stop. Avenue Ministries Jr. Service, held at the semi-
and later taught school in Botswana in Southern Africa for three years, with time, Andresen said.
BY GARY BROWER See HUMAN EXPERIENCE, in Holland,
page 3 said
“Weshe’s seen nary,evidence
have overwhelming 101 Eastthat 13this St.
happening,
gary.brower@hollandsentinel.com
Herk Tim celebrations shift from
being held solely at Hope Noon — Grand Valleystate
and it is consistent and widespread across the and
VandenBosch, VandenBosch,
(616) 546-4238
current CEO V.P. of strategic State
the region,” Andresen said.

A A
account College. University Silent March at the
s a young boy, Herk VandenBosch often “The churches Although MDOT have hasAllendaleno officialCampus.positionTheon whether
group s

TRPL to forgive fines, replace lost library cards

patrolled the grounds of Zeeland Lumber & really stepped climateup,”changeshe is causingwillmore
assemble unfavorable
at theweather
Zum- for
Chad Mike Dykstra Mark
Supply Co., picking off nuisance pigeons
VandenBosch, (son-in-law),
said. roads, its officials knowberge thereLibrary
have been entrance
more and extreme
one by one with his BB gun. VandenBosch Grier offered Western march to Kirkhof Center.
free of charge during National Library Week
leader of deck president (grandson), V.P. weather events, and they must consider that shift in
It all ended one day when, instead of a pigeon, and fencing Theological Seminary as It a
he picked off the front window of his family’s of sales and an example
their
of
infrastructure
how things
planning,
12:30-1:30
MDOT
p.m. —
Director
GVSU
of he p
group marketing
business on the corner of Washington Avenue have changed. Communications Jeff Cranson Martin Luther said.  King, Jr. Pro- busi
Beginning on Monday, April 9
and Church Street in Zeeland.
“The front window was in the garage door,”
coming into Three Rivers Public Library. You may return any overdue
library materials with no questions asked. You bring them back;
“When I came
ernweSeminary
“We have
in 2002,
not performed
to West-
is not necessary
gram.a statistical
to be aware
Kirkhof
Allendaleanalysis,
thatCenter
Campus,but one and
the numbers,
Grand especially
River “T
recalled VandenBosch. “That BB went through check them in and clear your records. we had class on Martin
for flooding Room,show
in local areas, featuring Judy Rich-
that multiple events reca
By Lynn theSchofield-Dahl
window and glass went everywhere but Fri- Luther Kingbeyond day,” the she100-year
said. storm ardson, event filmmaker and found-
have happened in the the w
day.Three
I got Rivers
a lot ofPublic
grief from the customers.” If you have lost an item and cannot return it, we will still forgive Now,the the seminary still ing member of the Student day.
Director, Library last 10-20 years,” Cranson said. “The freeze-thaw cycles
VandenBosch, now 61 and the CEO of Zeeland fee during this week. You just have to come by and talk to us to get hastheclasses, but schedules Nonviolent Coordinating Va
Lumber & Supply, heard plenty from the patrons record cleared. the day at least aappear
around special to be more acute due
Committee. She towill
the discuss
increasing Lum
THREE RIVERS — The Three Rivers Public Library cordially invites number of poor pavements that“Scarred
must survive the forces that
that day, and he has been fielding input from This will also work if you have old fines or fees on your record, too.
celebration. her film Justice,”
you, thecustomers
citizens andever library users in the community of Three Rivers, to
since. “That’s been created by a fluctuating
great temperatures.
which details” the 1968 cust
Just come in, show us your library card and ask us to clear your record.
make a freshIt’s start with your
the only way library
he knows account.
how to do business, stride,” Orangeburg,
engineers South Carolina, It’s
Poof! Those old fines and fees will be Grier MDOT said. maintenance have met with a
We andknowit is that
themanyessence of ofyou
what feelZeeland Lumber has People also seem to be massacre.
Michigan State University climatologist twice over the and
gone and forgotten!
uncomfortable
become. coming into TRPL because more aware of the holiday,
past four years and have6 concluded that theLuther
trend is for
beco
That philosophy helped Zeeland Lumber grow What if you don’t know where your
she said. p.m. — Martin Th
you have overdue materials, or even Michigan weather events toJr.beProject
more National
extreme overall,
from a partnership between two brothers into a library card is? If you bring in identification “People are asking King Day from
because you have old fines. This is your Cranson
corporation of about 140 employees, including a or in the case of a minor, an adult‘What’s with going on said.
for Dr. of Service. Reception and corp
chance handful
to make aofclean sweep, clear your
VandenBosches, with annual sales in King?’ People “Two areof the past three
really wintersfair
volunteer haveatbeen somewhat hand
Celebration
identification who signed for the minor
library excess
accountofand $50start all over again.
million. Cinemahad Grand Rapids theNorth,
average exce
card, and we can still forgive fines. looking forunusual
Dennis R.J. Geppert/The Holland Sentinel things,” Grier
in that we have more than
During National
It has evolvedLibraryfrom Week, April
a one-truck operation to a Zeeland Lumber Shop Supervisor Bob VandenBosch cuts said. “One amount thing Ioflament It h
During thisafternoon
week, and this week only, if kids are not warmer days, especially during the second
See EVENTS, A2
9-14, 2018, we are offering the opportunity lengths of two-by-fours for wall studsWednesday is, our given
half of our winters,” Cranson said. “That creates ideal
See LUMBER, A4 for a local building company. you need a new library card because youday off.”
that
to clear your library records of past fines conditions for pavement deterioration, known
washed your old one, or the dog ate it, or
and fees. This one-week-only offer colloquially as potholes.”
whatever the reason, we will issue a
includes forgiving overdue fines or fees Andresen said there’s a clear long-term trend toward
replacement card at no charge. Again,
for lost or damaged materials owned by milder winters in Michigan and the Great Lakes region

Economy stabilizes, but Michigan budget woes continueEco

come in with your identification, and we
the Three Rivers Public Library. that’s been unmistakable for the last three to four
will forego the $1 replacement fee and you
Chances are, your library fines may not decades.
Photo provided by Deborah Haak will have a bright, shiny new card.
be as high as you may fear. Fines can build That doesn’t mean we don’t have cold winters, such as
Don’t have time to come in? Just put the materials in our book-drop.
up to no more than $4 per item, or $8 per item if you are late after in 2013, said Andresen. However, Michigan is getting
We will forgive fines on materials returned that week. If you really can’t
renewingBY theTIM
item. So even if you have
MARTIN a book
to the thatmight
state has been overdue
come in forhelpsmake pay itfor warmer, and abud- significant
der chunk of that warming occurs BY T
to aTRPL
widethatrange
week,ing werules for state
can still forgivespending. Michigan’s
old fines over the upcoming administration.
five years,ThetheAssociated
most we would be able
Press to charge
a little you is than
higher $8. previ- of services from prisons to No major financial prob- get problemsduring aren’tthe ascold
severeseason. Snyder’s first budget pro- The
telephone, but ONLY if you have your library card number so we can
The average cost for a library book is $26expected
ously to $32 plusinthethe costs we add
bud- health care to universities lems are forecast for the as those expected in some posal is likely to be unveiled
look-upface your arecord. Call usstate’s
at (269)current
273-8666fiscaland ask pleasestates. Andresen said the in
us toother number of freeze-thaw cycles has
when we process| the
LANSING materials with
Michigan’s get the
yearnice
thatcovers,
begins labels,
Oct.etc.1. We
— could shortfall year.
actually been down overall February. His goal is to
in the last decade or so, LANSIN
economy might start to But those possible gains will forgive
between your
$1.4 library
billion fines.
and And the state’s fund for pub- But there are still plenty of balance the budget withouteconomy
would happily forgive that $4-$8 you might owe so we can get that book though he istonottest convinced
improve
back onto the slightly, analysts
library shelf! And tobegetmore thaninto
you back offset by theThe
the library.
Library
$1.8 billion inAmnesty,
the fiscalalsoyearknown
lic as Fine Forgiveness,
schools is projected will last
to only for headaches
financial tax orthe fee data for the Lansing improve
increases. area
said Friday, but the state loss of temporary financial that one startsweek: April
Oct. 9-14, 2018.
1 based on You have the
increase opportunity to have all
slightly. your
Republican are accurate
Gov. Rick Snyderand he’d likeRepublican
to see other locations
lawmakers tested.
said
say Frida
only
will fines or fees to
continue we have
cannotchal- forgiveassistance
at this time from
are thosethefines and fees
federal current “I would’ve expected theythewant opposite, to be honest, will” contin
fines expectations.
wiped away andThat have a brandThis new passes
chance fortorelatively
borrow books andand GOP-led Legislature. a simpler, lower
associated with materialsbudget
lenging government borrowedgovernment
from another library.
and other one- shortfall could risecomputers
closer toand good lenging go
movies, use the makenewsuse ofinall athestate that
services “As we put
the library together
Andresen said. the and perhaps broader busi-
However, deep
problems YOU intomust2012.take the time initiative
money to clear your record by
sources. $2 billion, some cautioned, has battled a sour economy budget, there Andresen will certainly said the discrepancy might be becauseproblems
ness tax structure. Changes of
State analysts agreed at a Analysts estimated after if state offers. We look forward
spending pressuresto seeing
andyou hadagain!
chronic govern- be some difficult decisions made in theSee taxPOTHOLES,
code would State an
page 3
revenue estimating confer- Friday’s meeting that the increase and the federal gov- ment budget problems for to make,” said John Nixon, revenue e

Spring
ence that tax revenues paid state’s general fund — which ernment changes account- the better part of a decade. budget director in the Sny- See BUDGET,ence A2 that

Don’t Miss
INSIDE
Benefit Those Special Fit to Hear Fit for Life DEATHS INDEX AUDIBEL INS
CONTACT US

269.273.7237
Moments!
Ask Amy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8
Hearing Center
M ay 1st Daniel Barrett, 83
Angeline Essink, 89
Births . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
Business&Finance . . . . . . . . . A4
Classified: (616)
a division
Delivery:
355-3278
of Acoustic
(616) 392-8800
at Riverside
NEWS 7 p.m. Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B4
Page A5 Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10
News:Audio Service or
(616) 392-2314
newsroom@hollandsentinel.com
SINCE 1957
NEW
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
FREE SEATS
◆ Overnight fire destroys barn in Port Sheldon Township, A3.
◆ Shifting star alignment has horoscope readers buzzing, B8. Horoscope. . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10
◆ Overn
◆ Shiftin
pregnancyhelpline.org 1114 W. Michigan Ave. Ste. 6 • Three Rivers, MI 49093 Life&Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
Lottery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
SPORTS SPOR
▼

Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6
Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10
WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON:

PANTHER PRIDE
◆ Tigers re-sign relief pitcher Joel Zumaya, B1. ◆ Tigers
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1 TODAY’S WEATHER ◆ Hope
SUBSCRIBER
◆ Hope basketball teams set for today’s clashes, B1. Norton Students of the MonthThings To Do Calendar . . . . . A2
▼

To subscribe, place an ad or submit HAVE A GREAT DAY: Gilbert Jackson, Jr. HIGH: 48º LOW: 37º

EXCLUSIVE
©2018 Three Rivers Commercial, Inc. a news tip call: 269.279.7488

West Ottawa boys hoops defeats Grand Haven, B1

 Monday, April 2, 2018 – 3

Commercial-News
Lansing police say
man wounded after
shooting at officers
LANSING (AP) — Police in Lansing say a man was badly wounded
after shooting at tactical officers who tracked him down after he earlier
fired at another officer.
The department says the 25-year-old man was in critical but stable
condition after Saturday’s shooting. No officers were wounded.
Police say officers began searching for the man after shots were fired at
an apartment complex where no one was injured. later reported that
the man shot at her and she returned fire.
Wilbur-Ellis, a stable agricultural company, is looking
for a few great people to join our growing team.
We are currently looking for a Crop Applicator and
a seasonal Class A CDL Driver at our Three Rivers
location. Good driving record required. Hazmat and
Tanker endorsements a plus. Wilbur-Ellis provides
a competitive hourly salary and comprehensive
employee health, dental, vacation and retirement
offerings. Apply online at www.wilburellis.com
‘Hope and dignity:’ Pope calls
for peace in Easter message
VATICAN CITY (AP) — On Christianity’s most joyful day,
Pope Francis called for peace in a world marked by war and
conflict, “beginning with the beloved and long-suffering
land of Syria” and extending to Israel, where 15 Palestinians
were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border two days before Easter
Sunday.
Francis reflected on the power of Christianity’s core belief —
that Jesus rose from the dead following crucifixion — in his
formal “Urbi et Orbi” Easter message delivered from the bal-
cony of St. Peter’s Basilica to a packed square of some 80,000
faithful below.
The pontiff said the message of the resurrection offers hope
in a world “marked by so many acts of injustice and vio-
lence,” including parts of Africa affected by “hunger, endem-
ic conflicts and terrorism.”
“It bears fruits of hope and dignity where there are depriva-
tion and exclusion, hunger and unemployment; where there
are migrants and refugees, so often rejected by today’s cul-
ture of waste, and victims of the drug trade, human traffick-
ing and contemporary forms of slavery,” the pope said.
Francis called for a “swift end” to the seven years of carnage
in Syria, demanding that aid be delivered to the war-torn
country’s needy and calling for “fitting conditions for the re-
turned and the displaced.”
The pope also urged reconciliation in Israel, a place “experi-
encing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do
not spare the defenseless.” His remarks followed the Friday
deaths of Palestinian protesters who charged toward Gaza’s
border with Israel, the area’s deadliest violence in four years.
Turning to Asia, Francis expressed hope that talks underway
could bring peace to the Korean peninsula, urging “those
Today
who are directly responsible act with wisdom and discern-
ment to promote the good of the Korean people.”
The pope also urged more steps to bring harmony to divided
Ukraine, called for peace in South Sudan and the Democrat-
ic Republic of Congo and appealed for the world not to for-
get victims of conflict, especially children.
“May there be no lack of solidarity with all those forced to
leave their native lands and lacking the bare essentials for
living,” said Francis, who has often championed the cause of
migrants and refugees.
The church’s first pontiff from Latin America cited in par-
ticular the problems in Venezuela. He said he hoped the
country would “find a just, peaceful and humane way to
surmount quickly the political and humanitarian crises that
grip it.”
Earlier, tens of thousands of faithful underwent heavy secu-
rity checks to enter St. Peter’s Square to participate in Easter
Sunday Mass celebrated by the pope, followed by his “Urbi et
Orbi” message (“to the city and the world.”)
Security precautions included bag checks and metal detec-
tor wands for everyone entering the square, while the main
avenue leading to the Vatican, as well as smaller adjoining
streets, were closed to traffic.
Francis opened Easter festivities with a tweet to his global
flock: “Our faith is born on Easter morning: Jesus is alive!
The experience is at the heart of the Christian message.”
Elsewhere, hundreds of Christians marked Easter by flock-
ing to Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the
site where they believe Jesus was crucified, buried and res-
urrected.

POTHOLES
Continued from page 1

the way weather scientists define freeze-thaw cycles: days when the
high temperature is above freezing and the minimum temperature is
below.
Many factors go into measuring freeze-thaw cycles accurately, said
Samantha Basile, a climate and space sciences and engineering Ph.D
student at the University of Michigan. Basile’s basic definition of a
freeze-thaw point is when the daily temperature experiences a low of
31 degrees or less and a high of 33 degrees or more.
However, discrepancies between roads can make this harder to
accurately measure. Unsalted roads will freeze at a lower point of 28
degrees and thaw at 34, Basile said. Salted roads do not freeze until a
low of 26 degrees.
If freeze-thaw cycles are trending downward despite Andresen’s
expectations, several factors could help explain why, Basile said. 
Michigan’s “freeze-free” period could be increasing, meaning there
are more days where the weather does not go below 32 degrees at all.
Multiple shifts between freezing and thawing temperatures within a
day could also go unrecorded if only daily minimum and maximum
temperatures are being used, she said.
Though the extreme weather trends could be coincidental, they are
consistent with many climate change projections for the near and
longer-term future in Michigan, Andresen said.
The connection between climate change projections and Michigan’s
unfavorable road weather is “certainly possible, and I think it’s
important to note that those two are in agreement,” Andresen said.

HUMAN EXPERIENCE
Continued from page 1

Our thing is we’re doing coming in to talk about
International Awareness Syrian refugees that she
Month and that’s where works with in Kalamazoo.
we’re going to — we have a And we’re going to have a
couple speakers coming in chance for people to put
from Bethany Christian their hands on something
Services — they’re going to and we’re going to make
talk about refugees in the refugee kits.”
broader Kalamazoo area, Nofsinger also isn’t afraid
and also a woman who is to wander outside of her
comfort zone to help others.
One example is her recent
foray into the issue of prison
reform, which she says she
became interested in after a
Van Driver-Part Time friend of hers went to prison.
What started out as a pen
We are looking to add a part time Van Driver at our Three Rivers pal-type relationship with “a
location. Responsibilities/requirements would include: friend of a friend” has
•Work 2-3 days per week, 5-8 hours per day, during peak season and 1-2 transformed into what she
days during non-peak times calls “a network of support.”
•Deliver parts along a designated route in a company Sprinter Van The network she refers to
includes an exchange of
•Have a clean driving record
letters between prisoners
•Have an extreme attention to details and be very safety conscious and “three or four” members
Interested individuals can apply at our Three Rivers location or of the church Nofsinger
online at: www.greenmarkequipment.com. attends, and facilitating the
sale of items made by
prisoners to improve their
living conditions while
serving their respective
sentences.
“I have a friend who went
Remember the Joy
At the loss of a loved one, remember the joy
to prison (named Doug
Shuman) — I then became
friends with a prisoner
they brought us. Let us help you plan a fitting (Doug) had been visiting
farewell, with personalized attention and a before (Doug) went to
prison, someone (Doug)
wide range of services available. Allow our knew, a friend of a friend
family to serve yours. kind of thing. We started
writing and then I put (that
prisoner) in touch with
other people who had
Eickhoff, Farrand, Halverson, Chapel Inc. known him when he was
much younger, and so now
~Serving the Family for Generations~ there’s this network of
305 Rock River Ave. Three Rivers, MI 49093 • 269.278.1515 support, which I think is
Daniel R. Czajkowski, Director • Dale A. Eickhoff, Director • Philip E. Halverson, Founder really great because if every
AN INDEPENDENT, FAMILY OWNED FUNERAL HOME prisoner had 10 or 12 people
that were willing to come
together and say, ‘What can
we do for this person?’ it
would totally change the
prison population, and the
way we deal with that,” she
said.
“So I just sort of fell into it
through a friendship —
through a pen pal that
developed into a friendship
— and now I’ve probably
gotten three or four other
people to be pen pals. It’s
easy to do — and I’m trying
to sell things, crocheted
items that they make, so
they can buy stuff they need
like food and toiletries and
that kind of thing. And then,
because of that, there are
others that are doing that
too from Florence (Church
of the Brethren Mennonite).”
Nofsinger said she doesn’t
consider herself an expert
on prison reform, which she
recognizes is a complicated
issue.
“Whenever we get to
know people, issues are a
little more complex and it’s
rarely — it’s never a quick fix
solution — I’m not idealistic
about it, and there are a lot
of really good people
working for changes in our
system. I think that it’s pretty
clear that change needs to
happen,” she said.
“Jobs and housing after
(prisoners are released) is a
barrier. Transportation,
jobs, and housing because
otherwise it just becomes
this cycle and access to
education (while they’re in
prison), a college education
and student loans, that kind
of thing. If we really want to
live in and have a safe
society, we have to look out
for everybody, including
those who were victimized
(in the crimes these
prisoners committed). We’re
all sort of in this together.”
When Nofsinger isn’t
involved in learning about
and promoting prison
reform or performing
service orientated work, she
also runs a successful library.
The Marcellus library
received a “Citation of
Excellence” from the Library
of Michigan Foundation in
2015, and in 2005, Nofsinger
was awarded the Rural
Libraries Conference Public
Services Award. In 2017, the
Marcellus library’s collection
totaled 29,583 items, with a
circulation count of 17,345,
and a total of 2,219 people
participated in programs
offered by the library.
Nofsinger said she likes to
think of the Marcellus
Township Library as a “safe
place” for kids and adults
alike, and she takes pride in
watching children develop
from preschoolers to college
graduates.
“I’ve watched babies grow
and eventually graduate
college. So many come back
by, they come back to see me
and see the library, and look
to see what’s going on. They
talk about good memories
of being here and I hope that
that is true for people, that it
was sort of a little window
on the world, a comfortable,
beautiful place.”
Alek Frost can be reached
at 279-7488 ext. 22 or alek@
threeriversnews.com.