Thursday, February 9, 2017
Hart takes 2nd place at WMC finals; Shelby 3rd
Two sections 22 pages
Oceana’s
Page B1
Herald-Journal
Page B1
Alvesteffer earns Scholar-Athlete award Falcons’ senior 1 of 4 Class D selections; 1st Pentwater athlete to ever win MHSAA award
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Proud to be an American
Miguel Quinteros shares how kindness inspired his desire to become an American citizen By Amanda Dodge OHJ Contributing Writer
To become a United States citizen, immigrants must pass a series of tests, interviews, fingerprinting, background checks and more and the financial cost is quite high. One portion of the naturalization test, the section on civics, is comprised of 100 questions, and those applying are given an oral examination of 10 of those questions, and are required to get six correct in order to pass. While, well over 90 percent of applying immi-
grants pass this test without issue, a 2012 study by Xavier University, gave the same test to American citizens, and one out of three failed to answer the required six questions correctly. In 2014, things were not looking much better, as a new poll showed that slightly over a third of respondents could name all three branches of the U.S. government, but the same amount could not name a single one. Worse still, the test was given to high school students in Oklahoma and Arizona, and less than four percent of those students passed.
Yet to Pentwater Public Schools teacher, Miguel Quinteros, citizenship and history are a personal and professional passion that he wishes to impart on those around him, especially his students. He is a proud legal immigrant, and passed the civics portion of his naturalization test by correctly answering only one question in such accurate depth, that the person administering the test learned something they did not know about U.S. history that day. Quinteros was born in the Central American country of El Salvador, and grew up into adulthood during the horrific and violent civil war there that plagued the country for over a decade. “It started when I was 7 years old and ended when I was in high school. When you are here, you don’t realize how lucky
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“Something that
I think is really wonderful was the capacity of people welcoming me when I came here. I will never forget that and will be eternally grateful,” — Miguel Quinteros
Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Miguel Quinteros recently shared his experience of becoming an American citizen on April 15, 2015.
Trailer fire claims Walkerville woman
Love on the water
A fire at single wide trailer just east of the Oceana County line in Newaygo County’s Lilley Township Wednesday, Jan. 25 claimed the life of 36 year old Mari Sue Conkle of Walkerville. According to Jerry Frick of the Walkerville Area Fire & Rescue his department was dispatched to assist the Lilley Township Fire Department around 10:30 a.m. for a trailer fire on 13 Mile Road. Despite being the closer department Walkerville was not the primary department for the fire since it occurred in Newaygo County Frick said late last week. According to Frick his department was the first on scene but only learned that Conkle was in the trailer after arriving at the fire. After extinguishing the fire,
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Prosecutor terminates assistant Search underway for successor
Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
A pair of swans come together to form a heart with their heads and necks Monday morning, Feb. 6 in the frigid partially frozen water of Pentwater Lake near Longbridge Road. Valentines Day will be celebrated around the world next Tuesday, Feb. 14. According to Hallmark (the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States), 141 million Valentine’s Day cards (excluding packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges) are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion; and over 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight.
Walkerville’s Sweet to step down Board sets community forum to start search for new superintendent/principal
WALKERVILLE — With the pending departure of Walkerville School Superintendent/Principal Mike Sweet, the Walkerville Board of Education is taking the steps to seek out a successor. Sweet said he submitted his resignation to the board last October with June 30 to be his last day. Sweet said he is not retiring and at some point will have to return to work force after completing a large ambition. “I’m going to walk the Continental Divide Trail,” Sweet said. Once his employment ends, Sweet said he’ll leave for Montana and walk the trail
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to New Mexico. Sweet said he walked portions of the Appalachian Trail when he was in his 20s, and wants to take advantage of this opportunity while he’s still young and in good health. He does not plan on leaving the Walkerville area. In the meantime, Sweet will assist the board with the search for a new superintendent/principal where he can. Once candidates are developed, Sweet said he’d take a step back and let the board make a good
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Former deputy pleads to misdemeanor Former Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Wesley John Hanks pled to one of two misdemeanor charges filed against him last fall and the other charge was dismissed. Hanks, 52, of 216 Lincoln St., Hart, pled to the charge of malicious destruction of trees, shrubs, crops and grass and was sentenced to 93 days in jail to be served at the court’s discretion with credit given for time served. He was ordered to pay fines and costs of $400. A one year no contact order was issued. The second charge, police radio receivers/ scanners — use during the commission of a 93-day misdemeanor, was dismissed. Hanks’ employment with the sheriff’s office was terminated last September. The case was investigated by the Michigan State Police Special Investigation Services, Rockford Post. The case was assigned to Newaygo County Prosecutor Robert Springstead after Oceana County Prosecutor Joe Bizon has recused himself.
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Oceana County Assistant Prosecutor Jeffrey Kabot’s employment with the county was terminated by county Prosecutor Joe Bizon Jan. 26. Although he couldn’t elaborate, Bizon said some issues were brought to his attention that he and Kabot attempted to correct, but were unsuccessful, prompting Kabot’s release from employment. Bizon is currently conducting a search to seek out a new assistant prosecutor. He said the position vacancy has been posted in places where he’s received adequate applications in the past. He’s also using word-of-mouth to see if any local attorneys might have interest and has posted position with Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan at michiganprosecutor. org.
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