The Sentinel Leader

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un d C^omdtocL /-^urL C^ourler ~ ewA VOLUME 92 — ESTABLISHED 1870 SPARTA, MICHIGAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7. 1968 NUMBER 32

The f irs t fiscal meeting: of the West-gate Association was held Tuesday eve-ning when officers for the 1968-69 year assumed their posts. They are (left to right) the following: Treasurer, Aub Rogers of 4980 Brookgate; outgoing board chairman and a past president, A1

Brinkman of 5062 Biddeford; recent act-ing president, Mrs. Lee Rozegnal of 414 Brandy wyne; newly elected president, Steve Fordell of 4960 Westshire, and vice president, Ron Simonsen of 165 Lan-tern.

Tornado Spotted at Kent Airport Sparta Sirens Sound Alert .

Sparta s i rens wailed shortly before 8 o'clock on Monday even-ing, August 5, as Kent County experienced its f i r s t "Code Red'* o r "Tornado Warning" of the season . . . . sending residents hurrying to shel ter and activat-ing police volunteer and e m e r -gency units.

Without any previous warning, a funnel cloud was sighted near the Kent County Airport where t r e e s were blown down and damage inflicted to several buildings in that area , causing the county-wide aler t . (The torna-do-cloud formations were wit-nessed by Rev. Henry Hoekstra and his family of S. State St-ree t who were dining in that vicinity.)

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Sparta Police Department, with the assis tance of the Civil De-fense Rescue Squad and severa l volunteer r e se rves , set up e m e r -gency operations at the station and dispatched radio-control led units to lookout vantage points and township pa t ro l . This was maintained until the a l l - c lea r was sounded at 9:15 p .m.

Meanwhile, it was business as usual for the Sparta Village Coun-cil whose monthly sess ion was scheduled for 8 o'clock in the village chambers . At the center of activity, i ts m e m b e r s were able to conduct their a f fa i r s while learning f i r s t -hand the e m e r -gency procedures put into action by the "Tornado Warning , , .

Sparta Scouts To Meet Aug. 19

Sparta Boy Scout Troop 280 will meet at 7 o'clock on Mon-day evening, August 19, at the Sparta Civic Cente r . This meet -ing is extremely Important and all Scouts are urged to attend.

P lans for the fun booth at the Round-Up Days fest ival , the Fal l OA Conclave, and the Fal l Cam-poree will be discussed.

Attends School Principals Meet

Mr. LaGene Quay, Sparta High School Principal, i s attending a conference of Michigan Asso-ciation of Secondary School P r i n -cipals this week August 5 to 7 at Higgins Lake.

BAND SESSIONS END Mr. Plynn Pennock, Director

of the Sparta Summer Band, an-nounces that the sess ions will be completed at the end of this week.

Rep. Gerald Ford's Mobile Office To Be in Sparta August 15

Comstock Park Athletic Physicals

Comstock Park High School athletic physical examinations a re scheduled for Tuesday morn-ing, August 27, at the school, according to Mr. Joe Cass i s , Ath-letic Director.

Examinations for juniors and seniors planning to part icipate in football and c r o s s country is scheduled for 9 o 'clock. F r e s h -man and sophomores will be ex-amined at 9:30.

Mr. Cass is announces that this i s the only time that examinations will be given. Equipment will be issued at the same time.

"o f f i ce to main s t r e e t , " in an 8-s top tour of the Fif th Distr ict .

The Office will be parked at the Village Parking Lot on East Division Avenue. Congressman F o r d will be pleased to visit with anyone about national i ssues or d i scuss personal problems in-volving an agency of the federal government. Everyone is wel-come and no appointment is nec-e s s a r y .

F o r d ' s Mobile Office will be in Caledonia on Fr iday and in Low-ell on Monday at the same time, 2:30 until 6:00.

Rep. Gerald R. Ford Rep. Gerald R. Ford will be in

Sparta with his Mobile Office on Thursday afternoon, August 15, f rom 2:30 until 6:00. The Con-gressman is again bringing his

Smorgasbord The 18th annual Peach Ridge

Smorgasbord will be held at 12 noon Tuesday, September 10, at the o rchard of Mr. and Mrs . Rock Ebers , located on 10 Mile Road three miles south of Spar -ta and just west of M-37.

ELECTION RESULTS Voters in Alpine, Sparta and Tyrone Townships followed the same

patterns as other voters across Kent County in Tuesday's primary election by being: light in numbers as well as registering: their pref-erences in contested races.

All contested posts were in the Republican primary except for the non-partisan judicial post for the newly created first division of the 63rd district.

In this three-way contest, there will be a run-off in November between Edward J. Kehoe, Jr., and Leon Buer. The vote for this post was as follows: SPARTA TOWNSHIP—Philip Hogan, 196; Kehoe, 140, and Buer, 73; ALPINE TOWNSHIP—Kehoe. 162; Ho-gan, 81, and Buer, 63; TYRONE TOWNSHIP—Kehoe, 91; Hogan, 55, and Buer, 3D.

C. Laurence Johnson, Spar ta Township Trustee, turned back an e f for t by Phyllis Weber, 244 to 95. Mrs. Weber was among those opposing extension of the runway at the Spar ta Airport.

S ta te Representative Martin D. Buth of Comstock Park won big in all three townships. His vote was as follows: SPARTA—Buth, 295; Dubiely 52; ALPINE—Buth. 212; Dubiel, 56; and TYRONE— Buth, 152; Dubiel. 18.

Veteran Tyrone Township Supervisor Norman Freeman won an overwhelming vote of confidence in his own township to help him overcome opposition to win in the newly created First Supervisor District. In Tyrone, he scored 152 votes to 26 for John Eggerston of Cedar Springs and 10 for Jack Root of Rock ford.

Locally, in two other county-wide contested races incumbents scored heavilv to help win reelection. Sheriff Ronald Parsons scored

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Jerry Bergmans Named Sparta Elementary School Principal

The Sparta Board of Education approved the appointment of J e r -r y H. Bergmans as Elementary Principal of the Sparta Area Schools. Mr. Bergmans replaces Royce McCarty who left Sparta to become Superintendent of Elk Rapids Schools.

Mr. Bergmans fo rmer ly taught in the Sparta system as a fifth and sixth grade teacher in 1962 through 1964. He has served as an elementary principal in Sand Creek School, Bloomingdale, and West Ottawa,

Mr. Bergmans i s a graduate of Grandville High SchooL He attended Grand Rapids Junior College and Aquinas College be-fore receiving his B.S. and M.A. degrees f rom Western Michigan University.

LOCAL 8 UAW ANNUAL PICNIC

Local 8 UAW will have i ts an-nual picnic beginning at 10 a .m. Saturday, August 17, at Long Lake Park, section C. Dinner will be at noon with each one bringing his own. At 1 p .m. there will be a balloon man to intrigue the children. Mr . Boss-cher will supervise the games for children beginning at 2 p.m. There will be a penny scramble and fish pond for the wee ones. Beano for adults begins at 2 also. There will be ponies for the chil-dren to ride all day.

Honored guests will be the r e -t i r ees of Local 8 and, it i s ex-pected many will be present .

Sharon Smith, Recreation chairman, has spent a lot of t ime and effort to organize this picnic and all members a re urged to attend for a day to good fun and fellowship.

Mr. and Mrs . Bergmans and their daughter have moved to the Sparta area with Mr. Bergmans assuming his new position this past Monday, August 5.

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Sally Nyblad Chosen Queen

Sally Nyblad

Sally Nyblad, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Nyblad o fCas -novia, was chosen Kent County 4-II Queen on Wednesday night at a luncheon competition held in Grand Rapids. Runner-up was Diane Huyghe, daughter of Mr. and Mrs . Arthur Huyghe of Grand Rapids.

The new queen will reign at the Kent County 4-H Fair sch-eduled for August 12 to 16 at Lowell. Members of her court besides Miss Huyghe are: Su-san Kay Fales, daughter of Mr. and Mrs . James Fales of Spar-

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Keller Boys To Be Reunited After Absence of Two Years

FN S Philip Keller

Two Sparta b ro thers , sons of Mr . and Mrs . George Keller of 3G Orchard Drive, expect to a r -r ive home within the next few weeks for their f i r s t reunion in near ly two years .

The Kellers received welcome telephone calls f rom their sons, STG 3 Darryl and PN 3 Philip r e -porting their a r r iva l in the s ta tes af ter extended tours of duty with the U.S. Navy on opposite s ides of the world.

STG 3 (Sonar Technician 3rd Class) Darryl a r r ived at Long Beach, California, aboard the U.S.S. Davidson f rom Pea r l Har -bor , Hawaii (where the above p ic -ture was taken) and has now left the ship to be separated f rom the serv ice a f t e r four years of duty. During his tenure with the Navy, he served as a sonar technician

He expects to re turn to civil-ian life and Sparta within the next week. Darryl i s a 1963 graduate of Sparta High School.

STG S Darryl Keller

PN 3 Personnelman Third Class) Philip ar r ived in Norfolk, Virginia aboard the guided miss i l e c ru i se r U.S.S. Columbus about the same t ime following a seven-month de-ployment to the Mediterranean. (The above photo was taken at Souda Bay, Cre te . ) While de-ployed, he par t ic ipated in the • 20th anniversary celebration of the Sixth Fleet in the Medi ter-ranean. During the c ru i se , Col-umbus and her thousand-man c rew steamed more than 35,000 mi les .

Scheduled for leave in mid-September. the voune sa i lor called his paren ts on Sunday evening to announce that he i s hopeful of receiving a weekend p a s s to come home this coming weekend o r the following weekend. A 1965 graduate of Sparta High School, he still has twenty more months of duty in his enl is tment with the Navy.

One of the highlights of Rock-fo rd ' s 125th anniversary ce le -bration will be a junior baseball game between the Casnovia and Rockford Pony Leaguers sched-uled for 6:15 Thursday evening, August 15> on the Rockford Junior High School baseball diamond.

The event should prove exci t-ing as these two evenly-matched t eams compete in this exhibition

game. The Casnovia team, coached by Dennis Carlson, has claimed the championship of the North Kent Junior Baseball Lea-gue for the past four years . The Rockford squad, coached by Rus-se l l Sage, has won twelve straight games and won the championship of their league fo r the past two years .

The public i s invited.

fOR YOUR Protection

Ed Laiu Answers

Your Insurance Questions

QUESTION: Someone told me the area in which a car owner lives affects the ra tes for collision insurance. I thought t h e use to which the car was put was the determining factor. Can you tell me which?

ANSWER; Both! The area in which a car is normally garaged does affect the in-surance rate.

This public service is our way of advertising. Your insurance questions will be answered without charge or obligation if you'll send or bring them to

Sparta Native Retires After 30 Years in Army

Master Sergeant Bruce W. Fas t , 58-year-old son of Mrs . Crys ta l Fas t , 25 Prospec t St-r ee t , Sparta, r e t i r ed f rom active mil i tary service during c e r e -monies this week at For t Bel-voir .

Fo r t Belvoir, the Home of the Army Engineers , i s located 13 mUes south of Washington, D. C . The mission at For t Bel -voir is to train engineer pe rson-nel for combat and construction assignments whorovor the mil i -t a ry need a r i s e s .

At the t ime of r e t i r emen t . Mas-t e r Sergeant Fas t was serving as chief clerk with Headquarters , U.S. Army Combat Developments Command. This ma jo r Army command is responsible for the development of both doctrine and equipment to be employed by the Army of the fu tu re .

A 1929 graduate of Sparta High Schook, Sergeant Fas t entered the Army in June 1938 and complet-ed his basic training at For t Clayton, Panama Canal Zone.

P r io r to his ass ignment to t ort Belvoir, he was with the Mili-t a ry Assistance Advisory Group (Logist ics Division) in Vietnam. Sergeant Fas t and his wife. Ruby, live at 4800 Old Mill Road in Alexandria, Virginia.

"Headin' For the Last Round'Up?"

"Don ' t Fence Me In" might well have been the theme song of the three s t e e r s belonging to Kenneth Woodhullof 1975 16-Mile Road, Cedar Springs, who broke out of their pas ture late Fr iday afternoon, August 2, apparently heading for the forthcoming Round-Up Days and Rodeo to be held in Sparta.

Their " d a s h " to f reedom was shortl ived, however, as their co-owner, Gary Woodhull of 13400 Lime Lake Road, Cedar Springs, attempted to herd the wayward animals down 16-Mile Road back to safety.

When the round-up reached one-half mile eas t of Pennington Avenue, one of the curious s t ee r s wandered out into the roadway and was struck by a motor is t d r -iving west on 16-Mile Road. Kent Sher i f f ' s Deputy J a m e s Dougan reported that Angela Andrus, ag-ed 16, of 1595 16-Mile Road, C e -da r Springs, was the d r iver of the c a r .

The Sentinel Leader 343 S. UNION ST., SPARTA, MICHIGAN 49345

Published Weekly on Wednesday a t Spar ta , Michigan

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Rockford to Celebrate 125th Birthday Event August 15-18

The City of Rockford is going to celebrate i ts Quasquicen-tennial August 15 through 18. Fest ivi t ies for the 125th anniver-s a r y are being planned for every-one ' s enjoyment youne and old alike. The mood i s set and, in l e s s than two weeks, Rockford's birthday par ty will be in fUU swing.

Kick-off time is Thursday, August 15, with pony r ides for the young set . In the evening, the Rockford Junior Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a P r in -c e s s Pageant contest . The stage i s set for downtown and will in-

Kent County 4-H Fair Set August 12 to 16 in Lowell

Casnovia Pony Leaguers Challenge Rockford in Exhibition Encounter

August 12-16 mark the dates of this y e a r ' s Kent County 4-H -Youth Fa i r at the Lowell f a i r -grounds. Thi r ty- three years of previous experience have gone into making this y e a r ' s Fa i r the bes t ever .

Kent County's F a i r i s a f r e e f a i r . No admission charges , no en t ry fees or parking charges . I t ' s a good way to take in an economical night of enter ta in-ment. Kent County's 4-H - Youth F a i r i s s t r ic t ly a youth f a i r where boys and g i r l s ages 9 to 19

" exhibit the p ro jec t s which they have worked on during the past year . Four-H m e m b e r s f rom urban, suburban and ru r a l a reas will display approximately 3000 exhibits in nearly 40 different types of p ro jec t s .

MONDAY: Judging of exhibits takes place Monday through Thursday, s tar t ing with the judging of ho r ses . Three hun-dred and thir ty h o r s e s a re ade-quate proof that this is the fas tes t growing project in Kent County.

TUESDAY: Judging day in cement block building fo r all non-livestock p ro jec t s . Tuesday evening program will feature a parade in Lowell start ing at 7:30 p .m. and ending at the f a i r grandstand. A dance on the tennis cour ts will be sponsored by the 4-H Service Club. Pop-ular music will have the young folks ' ' r ock ing" , " twis t ing ," "swinging ," and " jumping ."

WEDNESDAY: Activities begin ea r ly Wednesday with the judg-ing of swine, poultry, rabbits, beef and dairy, and all other

exhibits in the cement block building not judged the previous day. Sheep, dogs, and dairy goats will be judged in the af-ternoon. Nearly 70 demonstr -ations will be presented by 4-H members in the cement block building.

The 4-H horse show at 7:30 p .m. will climax the activities for Wednesday. There will be a num-ber of per formances wherein h o r s e s a re used fo r various fun and games . THURSDAY: On Thursday, dairy

cattle type judging gets under-way. Thursday i s also kid 's day where r ides a re reduced until 5 p.m. Thursday at 5 p .m. two bicycles and two t r i -cycles will be given away to the 4 youngsters holding the lucky t ickets. Buck B a r r y will be on hand to help with the honors. The pet parade will be present -ed Thursday afternoon, August 15 at 2:30 p .m. Any youngster 2 - 1 3 years of age may enter any pet . No p r e - en t ry is ne-ces sa ry . Thursday night i s the livestock parade , Share-The-Fun acts , award presenta-tions and other added a t t rac -tions.

FRIDAY: At 1:30 p .m. the l ive-stock sale begins where Kent County's pr ize 4-H animals a re auctioned off to various busi-ness concerns in the a rea . I t ' s a good time to buy premium beef and help the 4-H member at the same t ime.

The evening program will fea -ture a 4-H horse show, which will s t a r t at 7:30.

elude a Battle of the Bands Con-test . Friday, August 16, the Rockford Garden Club is present -ing a flower show. This show has gained popularity the past few years . At 6:30 p .m. The Jaycee ' s will conduct a greased pig contes t , and f rom 8 to 11 p.m. the Rockford Square Dance Club will dance in the s t reets , with everyone invited to join.

A chicken barbeque dinner will be served by the Rockford United Methodist Men's Club starting at 5 o'clock Friday evening and they will also offer the dinner Satur-day evening.

Saturday at 10 a .m. will be a parade with many dlgnataries at-tending the fest ivi t ies and riding in the parade. Rockford's f i r s t annual jogging will take place led by the Road Runners, a national organization. The public is in-vited to run in this event. The flower show continues through this day. In the afternoon the L O.O.F. drill team will demon-s t ra te their various formations. Youngsters will be able to enter a soap box derb y under the di-rection of the Jaycee ' s on that day. Radio Station W.J.P.W. will present a rea l hoe-down from 4 to 5 p.m.

In the evening beginning at 8 p .m. , a teen-dance will be held with music by the winners of the Battle of the Band Contest. Cli-maxing the day at 10 p.m. the Rockford Chamber of Commerce will present a historical pageant, a f i r s t for the city. It will be held at the football field.

Sunday, August 18, the Rock-ford Ministerial Association will dedicate the Pioneer Cemetery and monument on East Division Street at 1 p.m.

A canoe race will begin at 2:30 p .m. and will end at the new park site at the dam on E. Bridge Street . The park will also be dedicated at this t ime. Ending the four day fest ivi t ies will be a log rolling contest and canoe tip-ping event sponsored by Rock-ford Sportsman's Club.

The Rockford Chamber of Commerce extends an invitation to all their neighboring commun-it ies to join them In the celebr-ation commemorating Rockford's Quasquicentennial.

Exhibits a re re leased Friday at 9:00 p.m.

JERRY FORD'S MOBILE OFFICE IN SPARTA

VILLAGE PARKING LOT E. DIVISION STREET

THURSDAY, AUGUST 15 2:30-6:00 P.M.

Visit Your Congressman—Everyone Welcome!

BRACE-LANE (yd/6 K OCf

a l l P O W / v a s o p ' < v

7 7 E D l V i S l O I N

SPARTA