SPY’s Community Newsletter
(4/22/24)
Thank You Volunteers
We have some thank-yous to send out to some wonderful volunteers that stepped forward and took on some tasks that needed to be done. First, is the SPY’s Scholarship Application Review Committee that is chaired by John Fisher. This year’s committee consisted of Shari Woodman; Samantha Cappon; Renee Strimback; and Christina Grosshans. We thank them for their time and effort that it takes to review all of the material that is submitted by the applicants and to come up with a consensus report to forward on the Community Foundation.
Next, our illustrious Captain Highway, Derek Desgranges, who heads up the SPY’s Adopt-A-Highway endeavor, would like to send out his thanks for the fine crew that pitched in and did this season’s first trash pick-up last week. Thank you Buddy Collins; Dewey Miller; Stacie Desgranges; Craig Cappon; Alana Cappon; and John & Sandy Fisher. There were 12 big bags of trash collected and well as sundry miscellaneous items.
Contributions
· John & Sandra Fisher made a contribution in memory of Bernie McDiarmid.
News From The Lakewood Lions Club
The following 2 Lions Meetings might be of interest to you, you are most welcome to join us as our guest.
Wednesday April 24th – Kristy Blackmore from “Paws with a Cause” will be our guest speaker and will discuss/demonstrate some of the special skills their dogs have been taught in order to provide assistance to those clients with significant limitations.
Wednesday May 8 – Eversight “Night of Sight” 10th Annual meeting at our Club. Eversight facilitates most of the cornea transplants in Michigan, and is actively involved in significant research into several of the causes of blindness. Our program will host Eversight Director Alex Teska who will review a video on recent research activities. We will have 2 speakers who are cornea transplant recipients, and we will be presenting some awards for vision work with Eversight. Our Club will be making a donation that will qualify us as an “Eversight Sight Leader”. It will be an interesting program to learn about cornea transplants and the work that our Club supports to “Make Vision a Reality”.
The meetings are held at the Lake Odessa VFW Post on Tupper Lake across from the Stock Barns [3600 West Tupper Lake Road]. We start at 6:30 and finish at 8. We begin the evening with a fine meal, hope you might find this interesting. Please let me know if you plan to attend so we can plan accordingly.
This is a FREE event open to anyone. RSVP to Bill Sutton (616) 745-1151.
Centennial Acres Fish Fry Returns THIS Friday
Parting Comments
· Deep Thought of the Week: The hardest thing about “everything happens for a reason” is waiting for the reason to come along.
· Notable Quote: “Pursue what catches your heart, not what catches your eyes.”---Roy T. Bennett
· That’s Puny Department: : If you suck at playing the trumpet…that’s probably why.
· Did You Know Section: While most U.S. Civil War conflicts occurred on American soil, the Battle of Cherbourg was a rare exception — it took place all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of France. This sea skirmish occurred on June 19, 1864, between two opposing warships, the Union’s USS Kearsarge and the Confederacy’s CSS Alabama. The battle was the result of an effort by Union ships to track down Confederate raiders across the globe. Given the U.S. Navy’s loyalty to the Union, the Confederacy contracted various shipyards in Britain to help expand their fleet, which the neutral British government did little to prevent at the time. The Alabama had been secretly built in England, and set sail across the Atlantic in January 1863. The warship struck and sank the USS Hatteras off the coast of Galveston, Texas, before changing course toward Southeast Asia. During this global excursion, it captured 65 Union merchant ships before returning to Europe in 1864 for much-needed repairs.
The crew of the Alabama docked in Cherbourg Harbor on June 11, believing they’d likely be safe in neutral French territory. However, on June 14, the Kearsarge came upon the enemy ship and created a blockade out at sea. Over the next several days, Union Captain John A. Winslow and Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes prepared their respective ships for battle, and the Alabama fired the first shots on June 19. The fighting drew the attention of spectators who gathered on the shore to witness the skirmish. After an hour, the Alabama began sinking, though most of its crew members were rescued by a nearby British yacht. While Semmes escaped into England and evaded capture, the battle was a decisive victory for the Union Army, which had toppled one of the Confederacy’s most destructive warships.
Notices
1. If there is any organization or business out there that has something they would like to advertise or promote, please feel free to submit it to this Newsletter and we will help publicize it. There is no charge. We are glad to provide this means as a public service to help keep the community informed.
2. If you are looking for further information about the SPY’s events---Corporate or Platinum Sponsorship information---scholarship forms---youth sports reimbursement forms---past
SPY newsletters---etc.---just go to the SPY website at www.sunfieldareaspys.com.
3. NOTE: If you know of anyone who would like to receive these SPY’s Community Newsletters, just send me an email at john.sandrafisher@gmail.com with their email address and we will add them to the mailing list.