This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page — A Byron Center man is facing a federal charge for allegedly targeting teenagers online coercing them into sharing disturbing photos The suspect was identified through a tip submitted to Michigan's OK2SAY program a nationally recognized student safety initiative now in its tenth year of operation allegedly engaged in explicit discussions with several minors on social media platforms According to documents filed in federal court Terrell encouraged one teenager to carve his name into her skin An anonymous tip to OK2SAY in January initiated an investigation that revealed shocking details Terrell allegedly admitted to FBI investigators that he knew he was speaking to people who were underage on the social media platforms The court documents say chat logs reviewed by investigators suggested Terrell was speaking with more than 28 people who identified themselves as being under the age of 18 “I may seem sweet and innocent but I promise my tastes are much darker than my personalityyyy,” Terrell allegedly said in one chat message to a teen You are playing a very dangerous gameee.” [sic] How his case will proceed will then be determined OK2SAY empowers students throughout the entire state of Michigan to confidentially report criminal activities or threatening behaviors directed at students the program has received more than 63,709 tips They saw a 20% increase in the number of tips coming in from 2022 to 2023 “We’re always trying to encourage kids to talk to a trusted adult maybe a trusted adult isn't available,” Drew explained Monday what we're trying to do is prevent bad things from happening and identify issues quickly and address them efficiently.” their school resource officers received 893 tips in 2024 One hundred thirty-seven of them came through the OK2SAY program while 680 stem directly from students or staff members “These tips are a vital tool in maintaining a safe learning environment staff and community members has helped save lives and allowed deputies to intervene before situations escalate into major incidents,” Sgt public information officer for the sheriff’s office parents and school staff to continue speaking up if they see or hear something concerning Every tip plays a role in keeping our schools safe.” Anyone can submit an anonymous tip through OK2SAY's website HERE. You can also text a tip to 652729 (OK2SAY) or call it in to (855) 565-2729 Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube Doug French was a cab driver in Grand Rapids "They asked me if I wanted to come in and see it and so I did." “They brought me in the garage and there was right there was a like a stagecoach lift for like changing wheels They told Doug the mid-19th-century home used to be a stagecoach stop Doug was curious to know if it still stood Eventually we identified the house on an unassuming road in Byron Center with its wraparound porch and gable roofing Liz and Chad Pierce are the current owners The house has been remodeled since Doug visited and the garage he saw doesn’t exist anymore Liz Pierce said she believes it sat where the kitchen does today What better place to have our conversation To learn more about the building's history, Grand Rapids historian Stephen Staggs joined us at the table it started as a Native American trade route "There is copper from from Isle Royale that was coming down here There was mica and seashells from the Atlantic seaboard There was trade items coming from the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains to this area," Staggs said "This long-distance trade that was occurring in and around this area already way back then we're talking the time of the ancient Roman Republic and the Empire." It was so useful that when colonizers took the land “Engineers to this day find it remarkable how Native Americans found the higher ground to get between places It's an engineering marvel that they're finding it The plank road was a mid-19th century wooden toll road — once a major connection between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo The home was built by a lumber baron named James Milford Lane in 1863 “There are no written records according to the Byron Center Historical Museum and the Grand Rapids Historical Museum from the period in which people say it was a stagecoach stop that it was indeed a stagecoach stop,” Staggs explained And that garage where question-asker Doug French saw historical coach-related items is gone it’s certainly possible that stagecoaches stopped here “They would allow people to stop here and rest their horses and most people were not invited into the home except for people who were amongst the more wealthy or famous.” Staggs added some insight into the rare few who may have stayed the night “According to the Byron Historical Museum and the accounts they've put together apparently, it's been said that Louisa May Alcott and Jesse James were guests in this home.” The author of “Little Women” and the infamous outlaw meaning we can only confidently say that the building was once the summer home of a wealthy Grand Rapids man But that’s not where the building’s history stops Liz showed us the remnants of the home’s other past Faded squiggly black lines cover the walls Liz said the basement used to be a fake jail cell when the building was a haunted house in the 1970s this is what her home is mostly remembered for by many local residents “If someone asks me where I live and I start describing it "Did you grow up in the area?" And if they say yes Jim's Old Haunted House?" And they're like It was called "The House of Dark Shadows," owned by a man named Jim Westra Liz said the Haunted House's true purpose was to fuel Westra's other passion He had a love of animals and exotic plants and my belief is he created the haunted house as a means to fund all of that." Some of these animals and plants were kept in the house with Westra also operating a pet store called "Mr But these many uses of the home would bring Westra into conflict with local leadership "He did have some run-ins with the township because of the haunted house The township did not like the haunted house nor did they like some of the people that would be here as a refugee," Chad Pierce said Those "refugees" were often members of the LGBTQ+ community who were allowed to stay in the home in exchange for working at the haunted house They added that this arrangement would give the building another nickname setting up another haunted house attraction in Greenville called the "Haunted Mill." his brother Eugene claimed Jim was innocent of the crimes He suggested Jim should be remembered for the compassion Eugene said he showed toward people and animals I told our question-asker Doug French about what I’d learned He was impressed that we made it back to 10 B.C “The Grand Rapids we know has only been around for a couple hundred years That area in Michigan has been developed for much Michael Symonds reports for WMUK through the Report for America national service program an announcement that shocked many residents It was devastating news for Byron Township resident Taylor Emert we can't even say dog park in our house," Emert said at the park Saturday It's a sentiment shared by Byron Township resident Ryleigh Galer She often takes her deaf pup Echo to Whistlestop two residents expressed "concerns" about the dog park asking for it to be "shut down." Byron Township trustee Jay DeKleine then motioned to shut down the park and in a four to three vote the board decided to close it on the first day of May especially that just two voices could shut down an entire park," Emert said like the fact that that there was only two people who just said something like Emert, Galer, and others have signed the petition and passed out flyers in an effort to keep the park open Emert is concerned with the precedence the shutdown of the dog park could set "The way we look at it is they went for the dogs first they have an announcer booth that's got to be quite loud The township's next board meeting is scheduled to be at 5:30 p.m "It's not going down without a fight," Galer said Fox 17 spoke with Byron Township Supervisor Don Tillema on Friday We also called and messaged Jay DeKleine on Friday and have not heard back from him 1/43Gull Lake hosts Byron Center in state-ranked girls soccer .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Matthew Ehler | mehler@mlive.comRICHLAND it might’ve looked like an ole mid-April regular season Friday night on the pitch With intensity and physicality cranked all the way up playoff vibes were palpable for both Gull Lake and Byron Center girls soccer as the state-ranked squads duked it out and settled for a 1-1 draw in a heavyweight but we matched their physicality and brought the energy from our bench which made it really feel like a postseason game for us,” Gull Lake soccer coach Jeff Corstange said “That’s what I really like about these games it makes us realize that we can play with anybody in the state.” the high school girls soccer state tournament is still a good four weeks out but the competitive nature of both programs Division 1 No 14-ranked Byron Center (3-1-3) and Division 2 No 3-ranked Gull Lake (7-1-1) brought out a quality match –– one that heated up quickly in the game’s opening half Byron Center wasted little time bursting out of the gates playing on the front foot and pressing in the attacking third and with sophomore forward Nora Leavitt finding seams the Bulldogs were in business 10 minutes in With Leavitt racing behind the Blue Devil defense it left no choice for Kenadie Schuemann –– the sophomore was charged with a foul in the box and calmly passed in a shot past Gull Lake goalkeeper Bella Carr for a 1-0 lead “It was good to come out and score a goal quick but then we just have to keep fighting,” Malek said “We wanted a couple more to not let them get back at us.” Byron Center’s fast start was a welcome sight for its coach we’ve been pretty slow out of the gate and that’s allowed teams to hang around,” Conlon said “I was hoping to get a second one right away started to gain territory and that wasn’t good for us.” Gull Lake discovered its footing on the counter –– something Tessa Cothron was ready for The sophomore received a through ball from Kilee Halladay over the top settling the ball and looping a chip shot over Byron Center’s Nora Schans for a energizing equalizer midway through the half “I saw Kylie had the ball in open space and so I ran through and I was planning on chipping it,” Cothron said knowing that could be used to his team’s advantage “Tessa is lightning-quick and we knew that if we could get it up and over their center backs we’d get Tess in behind them,” Corstange said “She’s been missing a lot of them lately but she connected tonight and it gave us momentum It was that swing that we needed because the pendulum was swinging their way for most of the time and a little bit of light that we can play with these guys.” That setup a back-and-forth second half –– both teams had grade-A chances Byron Center’s Ella Alexander nearly called game with less than five minutes but her transition shot near the six-yard box was laced just wide of frame “This was a heavyweight battle and obviously you want to get out of here with a result but overall and I think we had a lot of chances to win Byron Center had entered Friday winners of three straight games outscoring its opponents by a staggering 24-1 margin And while that’s certainly a boost in confidence know the significance of testing the Bulldogs in preparation for the postseason “We have to get better at the little things and we can’t waste moments at the end of the game,” Conlon said Gull Lake and Corstange feel like they’re just scratching the surface of a young and hungry squad and are relying on a lineup that features just one senior Gull Lake’s confidence is through the roof “Lilah was our rock for the past three years and we’re out here playing for her but this just made me realize that we can play with anybody in the state,” Corstange said “We’re not the biggest team out there but we can play just the same size as everybody else “The grit that these girls have is unbelievable.” Gull Lake visits Stevensville Lakeshore on Monday while Byron Center visits Muskegon Reeths-Puffer on Tuesday Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site 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All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices — Byron Center football claimed their second straight district title in division two with a 30-23 win over Mona Shores This was an OK Green matchup where back in week four Byron Center started the scoring early in the first quarter with a pass from Landon Tungate to Will Lake even after BC scored again to start the third quarter Mona Shores stormed back and scored three times unanswered to tie things up at 23 all with 8:33 left in the game The Bulldogs would march down the field and earn a one yard TD run from Tungate to give them back the lead The Sailors took the ball down to the 10 on the ensuing drive But the pass from Pittman was pulled down in the end zone from Will Lake to seal up the win Byron Center now faces Portage Central at home next week in the regional final For more scores, highlights, and the latest news on high school sports in West Michigan, go to the FOX 17 Blitz page Follow the FOX 17 Blitz on social media: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) The body of a man found in Byron Township has been identified according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office in an update Tuesday found his body in the woods along Kenowa Avenue SW between 60th Street SW and 64th Street SW at about 1:42 p.m — The body of a man found in Byron Township has been identified according to the Kent County Sheriff's Office in an update deputies with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office were called to the same area Sunday after someone reported a car was abandoned in a driveway near 60th Street and Kenowa Avenue SW and were told the 37-year-old regularly used the car Delarosa's mother believed her son ran out of gas and had gone to a friend's house but there were no active missing person reports or suspicious circumstances reported to the Kent County Sheriff's Office the 37-year-old's family and friends formed a search party finding Delarosa about a quarter-mile from the abandoned car His body and the car keys were found together a specific cause of death remains pending per further investigation and toxicology results deputies believe alcohol and weather conditions may have been contributing factors "The Kent County Sheriff’s Office extends its condolences to Delarosa’s family during this difficult time Detectives continue to investigate all circumstances surrounding his death," deputies said Anyone with information that could help the investigation move forward is asked to call the Kent County Sheriff's Office at 616-632-6125 or Silent Observer at 616-774-2345 (WXMI) — It was a battle of 9-0 Northview and 8-1 Byron Center The Wildcats won the OK Black outright and had an undated regular season for the first time since 1970 The Bulldogs were 8-1 with their only loss of the year coming to Mona Shores Both teams traded field goals in the first half Byron Center found the end zone in the second quarter and took a 10-3 lead into halftime The Bulldogs got the ball to start the third quarter and marched right down the field Byron Center quarterback Landon Tungate capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run That sparked a 28-point second half for Byron Center The Bulldogs move on to the district final with a 38-17 win over Northview Byron Center will play Mona Shores in the district final next week — The Invite basketball tournament was back in action in 2024 and put together some great matchups Byron Center took down South Christian 63-57 Unity Christian defeated Catholic Central 53-49 Grand Haven outshot Grand Rapids Christian 78-61 — A body has been found in a wooded area in Byron Township according to Kent County Sheriff's Public Information Officer Sgt The body of a man in his late 30s was found on Kenowa Avenue SW between 60th Street SW and 64th Street SW Tuesday afternoon including how the body got into the woods or how the man died deputies are treating the incident as suspicious and are expected to be out at the scene for at least a couple of hours Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes while Kenowa Avenue SW remains blocked off Stay with News Channel 3 as we work to bring you more details Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here