Letters to the Editor: Rep. William Huizenga, when will you care?
Rep. William Huizenga, when will you care?
Assault weapons, bullets, blood, death.
Rep. Huizenga, when will you care?
Grieving families of the victims, their lives changed forever, ruined.
Rep. Huizenga, when will you care?
Children perish. Schools grizzly murder scenes.
Rep. Huizenga, when will you care?
Mass shootings in movie theaters, shopping centers, workplaces, schools, concert settings.
Rep. Huizenga,
When will you care more about U.S. citizens,
Than you care about the gun lobby?
Carol Tanis
Jenison
Get food assistance for your family this summer
Summer is right around the corner, and for kids it’s often the most joyful time of the year. But many parents and caregivers may be worrying about how they’ll stretch their budget to replace the meals their kids usually eat at school.
During the school year, kids can rely on school programs like breakfast, lunch and after-school meals. But when school is out, many of those critical meals disappear, making summer a hungry time for many children.
Luckily, Meet Up and Eat Up summer meal programs run by local schools and community groups can help fill that gap by providing healthy meals at no cost at familiar places like parks, pools, libraries and rec centers.
No Kid Hungry’s summer meals texting service makes it quick and easy for families. Parents, grandparents and caregivers can simply text ‘FOOD’ or ‘COMIDA’ to 304-304 to find free Meet Up and Eat Up summer meals in their community.
All kids deserve to enjoy a happy, hunger-free summer so they can return to school in the fall fueled and ready to learn.
Mindy Grant
Senior Program Manager, No Kid Hungry MI
Flag varietals allow freedom of expression
Lots of residents of Holland and nearby areas display different kinds of flags in their yards.
Many patriotic families display the Stars and Stripes 24 hours a day. Others proclaim their support of the University of Michigan, Michigan State, the Detroit Tigers or the Chicago Cubs. Rainbow flags and Black Lives Matter signs are common in the core city neighborhood where I reside. Some folks a couple blocks to the south already have a Trump 2024 flag on the side of their house, others have not yet taken down their faded Trump 2020 flags.
In the past few days, I’ve seen some blue stripe “support the police” flags here and there. What is stirring in me is a possible design for a flag in support of vulnerable school kids. I wonder if the Stars and Stripes could provide a model. Instead of 50 stars, 50 faces of children, and perhaps a stripe or two with lines of children holding hands. The “blue stripe” model has broken the ground for this kind of design. I’m grateful.
David Alexander
Holland
Welcome to the world of wheelchairs
It seems to me it would be good to address something that has been ignored, either purposely or accidentally.
Unknown to me, a decade ago, there was another world, I was living in the midst of it. This other world is unique but made up of people just like you and me. It’s the world of wheelchairs.
There are many reasons for being confined to and totally dependent upon a wheelchair: spinal cord injury, extreme arthritis, stroke, MS, ALS — even surgery mishaps.
It’s important to realize when you meet those in a chair, they would love to live in your world, if only they could. Most once did. They are sons and daughters, students, parents, spouses, grandparents, working and retired, married and single, young and old.
Most would welcome a visit, a chat, a phone call, be part of social gatherings, be acknowledged. Parents seem afraid to let their children approach a person in a chair, when the person would love to visit with a child. (Boys love to touch the power wheelchair).
Unfortunately, there are places not suited for wheelchairs. There are dangerous parking lots that are poorly marked and poorly planned. There are restaurant lots where a person in a chair cannot get to the building. There are wait staff and greeters who are either not observant or poorly trained and might not be aware of where the accessible tables are. Many places of business might have a handi-cap symbol on the door, but the only thing it refers to is the restroom.
When greeted at a restaurant once, we were asked, “Do you prefer a booth or a table?”
My response, with a smile, “Are you serious?”
The Holland/Zeeland area has done wonderful things to accommodate wheelchair folks, and are improving these things.
Rosemary and I have been part of this other world for about 11 years and we have so much to learn.
Vince Reidsma
Holland
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letters to the Editor: Rep. William Huizenga, when will you care?
