— Grand Rapids police say enough fentanyl to kill hundreds of thousands of people was seized by vice detectives on Monday It happened at a Grandville apartment complex Deputy Chief Maycroft put it into perspective like this: the 500 grams of fentanyl seized was enough to kill the entire population of Grand Rapids and Grandville combined Presence in our community poses an urgent threat to public safety and result in devastating overdoses," says Deputy Chief Maycroft A map shown at a press conference puts overdose deaths into perspective: the red dots cover the Grand Rapids map how this epidemic is affecting Grand Rapids police our officers used Narcan or Naloxone for overdoses up to 40 times in the course of their duties," Maycroft said "Another stat is that the Grand Rapids Police Department in the last two years has responded to 180 nonfatal overdoses Those are just ones that were reported to GRPD," Maycroft said GRPD thanked community partners who work in the space of treating addiction "This is a disease that hijacks the brain and convinces the brain that it needs that additive substance to survive It's not always a disease known for its honesty," Rae Green president and founder of Sanford Behavioral Health and a licensed professional counselor with a specialty in addiction GRPD Chief Winstrom was crystal clear about the impact this amount of drugs might've had "This was a disaster of epic proportions waiting to happen I'm so thankful for the vice unit [for] what they did," Winstrom said Darrell Mitchell was arrested in response to this drug seizure He's got a criminal history of drug trafficking When someone's dealing drugs outside your neighborhood drugs are not a victimless crime and a loved one overdoses on fentanyl This fentanyl epidemic that we have in this country has taken this to a whole 'nother level," Winstrom said Mitchell was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Walker Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube Selection thought to be a first for Kent ISD Grandville — Psychology professor Amy Campbell will be the next member of the Grandville Public Schools Board of Education after a unanimous vote by the Kent ISD School Board Monday evening.  “I’m excited that they selected me; I look forward to (serving) building relationships and just getting to know everyone,” said Campbell a professor of school psychology at Grand Valley State University mother of children at Cummings Elementary School and former president of the Michigan Association of School Psychologists Campbell will step into the Grandville board seat vacated by Barb Palmer earlier this year and finish out the remainder of Palmer’s term which runs until the next election in November 2026.  She said her top priorities will be “just getting acclimated to the school board and learning everything I need to get started.” which states that if a vacancy on a local school board is not filled by the district within 30 days the decision must be made by its intermediate school board.  The law also gave the five-member ISD board full control over the interview and selection process they elected to conduct fresh interviews with the two candidates who deadlocked the Grandville BOE Campbell and small-business owner Mary Gunther only two candidates remained as the top choices by Grandville board members and both received a split vote,” said School Board President Andrea Haidle in explaining the ISD’s chosen process and in order to honor the Grandville board’s work in this process to this point we are only considering their two top candidates We sincerely believe — all of us do — that it is the correct thing to pick up where the Grandville board left off.”  said she’s never before been asked to select a board member for a constituent district.  “This is a new one for all of us (board members) … we’re just trying to do our due diligence as necessitated by the rules under which we are governed,” she said.  Of the eight individuals who spoke during the public comment period several requested that the ISD School Board restart the process from the beginning suggesting that the interview process was not completed objectively in Grandville.  because we had three school board members that collaborated that did not follow school board policy and made a mess of the whole process,” said Bob Persky a retired Grandville teacher and former board member who was one of 19 original applicants for this open seat “They did not objectively decide; they did not use independent thought … they only came up with one candidate out of the 19 that they were willing to back.”  ISD School Board treasurer Laura Featherston acknowledged these comments review Grandville’s original 19 applicants and select six to interview as other board members indicated they felt comfortable making a decision that evening.  Grandville Superintendent Roger Bearup said he was thankful for the ISD School Board’s help to finish the selection process and is looking forward to moving on.  When asked if the ISD’s decision reflects the goals and desires of the greater Grandville community “Yes; both candidates were high quality options and I am certain Mrs Campbell will be a great asset to our district.  “The Grandville Board of Education and community as a whole has far more in common than not We all want the best education possible for our students and we love our community I am confident we can and will move forward with a focus on those commonalities.” In a statement provided to SNN following Monday’s meeting “We’d like to thank the 19 members of our community who applied to fill our board vacancy and the Kent ISD for their assistance in filling this position Special thanks to Mary Gunther for agreeing to sit for another interview with the ISD and congratulations and welcome to Amy Campbell for being chosen as our next board trustee.” School News Network reports on the 20 public school districts in Kent ISD Founded in 2013 as an initiative of Kent ISD we are supported by local districts and community sponsors and powered by an experienced team of reporters We specialize in covering classroom teaching and learning analyzing the many issues facing students and highlighting the education magic that happens each day in our public schools Contact us: snn@kentisd.org © Kent ISD | 2930 Knapp NE | Grand Rapids MI 49525 Privacy Policy — One person was hospitalized due to a structure fire in Grandville early Wednesday morning the Grandville Fire Department responded to a structure fire on Earle Avenue Southwest Firefighters arrived to find a fire in the living room of the residence which was mostly extinguished within 10 minutes of arrival The Wyoming Fire Department assisted on scene had evacuated to a neighbor's home before arrival He was transported to Corewell Health Butterworth No information on his condition is currently available The cause of the fire is under investigation 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 man was hurt during a house fire early Wednesday morning but was able to escape from his home on his own The Grandville Fire Department responded to the home on Earle Avenue SW just before 3 a.m Firefighters found part of the living room burning but put out the flames in roughly ten minutes The 68-year-old living there made it to a neighbor's home on his own but had burns serious enough to send him to the hospital The cause of the fire remains under investigation Grandville — In a rare situation for Kent County the Kent ISD School Board has been tasked with selecting the next member of the Grandville Public Schools Board of Education after members of the Grandville board were unable to reach a majority vote on a candidate to fill a vacant seat.  The Kent ISD board will interview two candidates selected by Grandville BOE members and make a decision at a special meeting scheduled for 5 p.m This process follows Michigan law GPS gave public notice in early February of an open seat on its board after trustee Barb Palmer resigned. After receiving 19 applications, the board met in a special meeting February 27 to interview its top six candidates to fill the seat. In discussion afterward the board became deadlocked between its top two candidates neither of whom were able to advance past a 3-3 tie vote.  ‘Board positions are supposed to be non-partisan positions but have become more political in nature in recent years with the politicization of education in general.’ The need to send a vote to the ISD is uncommon in Kent County, although such situations have become more frequent across Michigan in recent years, according to Brad Banasik, legal counsel for the Michigan Association of School Boards.  “(Requiring an ISD to select a constituent district’s board member) used to be more unique than it is nowadays,” said Banasik who said he “hardly ever” saw this happen in Michigan when he joined MASB 28 years ago In recent years, Banasik estimates a similar situation occurs three to five times per year across Michigan’s 56 intermediate school districts he said he “can’t recall” the Kent ISD board ever needing to step in during his time with MASB.  Banasik also noted that once a decision is sent to an ISD that agency has full control over the process of selecting the board member for its constituent district They can choose to interview the district’s top choices ISDs usually don’t have a process outlined in their bylaws and they have a lot of flexibility in the law,” he said.  the Kent ISD board will interview the two candidates who put the Grandville BOE in a stalemate Each will take part in a 20-minute interview on March 17 and the individual chosen will serve the remainder of Palmer’s term in Grandville which runs until the next election in November 2026 Grandville Superintendent Roger Bearup said he remains confident in the Grandville trustees’ ability to serve the district.  so it is not uncommon to have a tie vote until there is a seventh member,” he said “It does not concern me to reach consensus in the future as we have on several other decisions.  “Board positions are supposed to be non-partisan positions but have become more political in nature in recent years with the politicization of education in general it is not surprising that it often becomes political in nature All you have to do is look at local board elections across the country to see this reality.” As he looks toward the Kent ISD vote on Monday the superintendent said he has trust in a good outcome as partners in education I have full faith in our Kent ISD board to interview the two finalists identified from our process and select a candidate that will be student-focused and a team player in our continued journey to support all students in reaching their full potential I am confident that both candidates bring this to the vacant position if selected.” Grandville board President Jason Heyboer declined to comment on the matter and directed inquiries to Bearup.  Read more from Grandville: • A career in auto repair? For some, it starts in high school• Elementary math workshop ‘action packed’ we announce the passing of Grandville Harris Grandville has one surviving brother Robert “Bobby” Harris Grandville served proudly in the United States Air Force during the Korean War rising to the rank of staff sergeant and later worked as a master machinist and cattle rancher in Texas for over 40 years he returned to Louisiana and started his own business Harris was known as a skilled and conscientious craftsman and took great pride in his work Harris was a devoted husband to his late wife and a cherished father of Walter “Pete” Harris and daughters Joan (Harris) Ezell (deceased) and Jerrie Lynn Eckert He was also a loving grandfather to Carly (Reynolds) Nottingham and two grandchildren He will be interred with full military honors beside his late wife Betty at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Rayville on Tuesday A celebration of his life will be held at a later date continues to expand in West Michigan with its first drive-thru location in Grandville The new Foxtail Coffee shop at 4389 Chicago Drive SW in Grandville aims to open in spring 2025, taking the place of the former Wild Roast Coffee, which closed in October. The location will be Foxtail’s first drive-thru in the area and its fifth Michigan location since moving into the market in April under a franchise deal with Baton Collective The new coffee shop, which is slated to open this spring, will follow the opening of a Byron Center coffee shop near Tanger Outlets later this month, locations in Ada and Holland which opened earlier this year, and plans for a Wealthy Street location in Eastown in October an affiliate of Baton Collective purchased the 1,300-square-foot building for $735,000 from Wild Roast Keep up with all things West Michigan business. Sign up for our free newsletters today Wild Roast has moved into a larger roasting facility and will turn its focus to growing its wholesale distribution and expanding its roasting capabilities director of business operations at Baton Collective said the company is finalizing design plans and anticipates starting construction on the building after the first of the year “It looked like a space that we could retrofit to to meet the community feel that we want these Foxtails to (have) while also taking advantage of the drive-thru capability,” he said of the purchase Adding a drive-thru is “just another way to serve the community especially on those business corridors like Chicago Drive,” Nichols said Foxtail’s renovations will add public bathrooms and seating to the restaurant Foxtail also plans to include outdoor seating on the building’s patio to create a three-season space Plans for the new drive-thru location will be similar to the quarter-acre lot on the corner of Wealthy Street and Fuller Avenue SE that’s slated to become a coffee shop and community gathering space with outdoor patios and lawn games Nichols noted that the Grandville location will be slightly smaller Foxtail’s rapid West Michigan expansion is just the start for the brand which Nichols said has “aggressive development plans” for the coming year “We plan to continue to find and develop great community coffee locations around West Michigan from the lakeshore through Grand Rapids,” he said has been expanding rapidly in recent months with plans to add 12 new locations across Florida and Georgia This fall, Foxtail founder and CEO Alex Tchekmeian told Forbes he anticipates adding 10 more states to the company’s footprint by 2025 “We want to be part of (customers’) routine Nichols said Foxtail’s customer focus is paying off “The reception has been wonderful in the two locations that we currently operate,” he said “The most exciting thing is walking into our locations and seeing such a variety of customers It has truly become a place where everyone feels comfortable to grab a cup of coffee and spend time with family and friends and that was the intent of bringing Foxtail to West Michigan “To see that idea be lived out in these spaces is extremely encouraging as we look at continuing to develop into 2025.” Developer, luxury home builder start new firm targeting tourism-workforce housing Benteler secures incentives for $105M EV battery components plant in Wyoming Pide & Stick closes flagship Bridge Street location Staying current is easy with Crain's Grand Rapids Business news delivered straight to your inbox Click below to see everything we have to offer Grandville Public Schools will be closed on Thursday according to Superintendent Roger Bearup in a message to families Wednesday Staff had received a tip from OK2Say that detailed rumors about someone pulling a fire alarm at Grandville Intermediate Thursday and "attacking students outside," Bearup stated on the district's website "We will not be able to conduct a thorough enough investigation by tomorrow morning including Preschool and Treehouse programs," Bearup said The district is expected to provide updates about Thursday evening activities once they have more information The full message posted on Grandville Public Schools' website can be found below: Wednesday's closure comes a week after multiple schools across Michigan closed last week due to various threats no individuals have been charged with any crimes following any of the threats made against the schools practices and extracurriculars at Grandville Public Schools have been canceled according to Superintendent Roger Bearup in an update all athletic contests scheduled away from the district will continue as planned Thursday's announcement comes hours after the district stated Wednesday it would be closing due to an alleged threat The district is expected to provide an update on whether or not classes and extracurriculars will resume Friday — Grandville Public Schools (GPS) is closed Thursday due to a perceived threat Superintendent Roger Bearup says OK2Say informed GPS of a rumor that someone would pull the fire alarm at “Grandville Intermediate” on Thursday to attack students outside of the building We’re told there isn’t enough time for a thorough investigation to be conducted by morning The closure includes preschool and Treehouse programs GPS says updates on evening activities will be provided at a later time 1/6Grandville football 2024.st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Patrick Nothaft | pnothaft@mlive.comGRANDVILLE MI – There aren’t many teams across the state that open their 2024 football season with three tougher games than Grandville The Bulldogs start by making a five-hour drive south to face perennial Ohio power Pickerington North then host returning state semifinalist Davison before visiting Rockford to open OK Red play so the Bulldogs know they’ll have their work cut out for them early They also know they have the talent and experience to compete with each of those teams the Bulldogs will need to play nearly mistake-free football to pull off some upsets which is why the offseason focus has been on fundamentals boring fundamentals that we just have to get a little bit better at,” head coach Eric Stiegel said “If you look back at some of the games we lost and even some of the games we won narrowly you can see what would make the difference in those games “We’ve got the players to beat anybody on our schedule but we have to make sure that path is fundamentally dominated because we are going to see some teams on our schedule that have more overall talent “You look at the first team on our schedule and they’re a really good squad out of Ohio so it’s really just about focusing on us and who we have to become as a team to beat the best teams on our schedule.” Grandville was loaded with athletes on that side of the ball last year but missed tackles led to big plays and longer drives and they were a big reason why the Bulldogs allowed just over 30 points per game “I think we’ve got to be a great tackling team,” Stiegel said “I don’t think we’ve been a great tackling team in the past couple years We’ve had some very physical defenses here when we’ve had great teams and we need to be an extremely physical defense that tackles and takes the ball away “I think those two things right there – tackling well and creating turnovers – put us in a position where we become a really hard team to beat because of what we can do on offense and controlling the ball.” Grandville’s offense is an old-school Power-T attack that would bring a smile to the faces of Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes and the Bulldogs have the athletes to keep it running like a well-oiled machine All-state running back and Division-I college football recruit Jayden Terry is the star after carrying 232 times for 1,872 yards and 26 touchdowns while adding 202 receiving yards and two more scores last year as a sophomore Joining him in the backfield is senior Easton Suidinski who burst onto the scene last year with 568 yards (8.0 per carry) and eight touchdowns despite missing seven contests due to injury Senior Ethan Newville replaces current Davenport University linebacker Cash Ruff as Grandville’s starting quarterback and the toughness and athleticism he showed as a standout safety last year should translate well to his role as a runner in the Bulldogs’ offense With six starters back on offense and five on defense from last year’s 8-3 season Grandville has a lot of experience to pair with its talent but the biggest key will be how well the Bulldogs can play as a unit on both sides of the ball “When we look at some of the teams we play I think we’re greater than the sum of the parts,” Stiegel said Follow along for more info on this year’s Grandville football team 2023 review: Only two teams – Davison and Rockford – defeated Grandville last year with the former beating the Bulldogs in Week 2 and the latter celebrating wins in Week 8 and in Round 2 of the playoffs Grandville went 3-0 in one-score games last year defeating Hudsonville and Caledonia in the regular season before scoring a 22-21 victory over Hudsonville in their playoff opener senior offensive lineman Mike Medawis and senior defensive lineman Stephen Jackson all earned MLive/Grand Rapids Press Dream Team recognition while Medawis and Terry were also all-state honorees 2024 outlook: The Bulldogs return two standout tailbacks three starters on the offensive line and a future Grand Valley State tight end in Gibson Connelly so as long as Newville can adjust to starting quarterback duties Grandville also has an experienced linebacker trio of Reid Graverson Garrett Nawrocki and Braylen Haney that should be able to help last year’s tackling problem as the Bulldogs graduated star safety Cash Ruff and lose Newville to a position change but all-conference performer Miguel Rojas is back and Jayden Terry will see some defensive snaps in high-leverage situations The key for the Bulldogs will be staying confident even if the team gets off to an 0-3 start due to the brutal early schedule Grandville should be favored to win its next six which would comfortably secure a playoff berth confidence isn’t an issue for the Bulldogs who are very much looking forward to facing off with Pickerington North “It’s a great opportunity,” Ethan Newville said of the tough early schedule “We always say the first game is the most important game so we’re really just looking at Pickerington North right now and we’re ready to go down there and take care of business.” “I think it’s going to be a blast,” Jay Weiss said of the trip to Ohio “Not many teams get to travel down to Ohio and play a team out of state and we’ll get to play against some of the best talent in the nation you can’t ask for anything better for your senior season.” 2024 schedule (conference games indicated by *) Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site 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