Yesterday’s News
Pirates blank Falcons Page B1
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Two sections 24 pages
Oceana’s
Remembering the flood of Sept. 11, 1986
Herald-Journal
Page 5a
$1.50
Injuries hamstring Tigers against Montague
Oceana County's weekly news source since 1869
Page B1
ORV improvement plan to be unveiled Saturday The public is invited to offer input into proposed improvements at the Silver Lake State Park Off-Road Vehicle area during an informational meeting set for this Saturday at the Golden Township Hall in Mears. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the
Silver Lake Recreation Association will present a conceptual master plan for ORV area parking and access improvements at the 9 a.m. meeting. The two groups have worked in conjunction to develop a plan to present to the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality for a permit to allow for a parking lot expansion in a critical dunes area. Earlier this year, engineers Beckett and Raeder completed a conceptual plan which showed 234 additional parking spaces on the north-
west portion of the existing parking lot along with new access roads and other changes to improve traffic flow in and out of the dune area. The park and the recreation association have been
working the past year on developing the new plan. As a 501(c)3 organization, the association qualifies for state grants for improvements. Any grant awards would come from the Department of
Natural Resources Off Road Vehicle Trail Improvement Fund. The conceptual plan can be viewed on the Silver Lake Recreation Association Facebook page.
Lucky Lake owner raises concerns over 2nd EFF event
Best buds forever
By John Cavanagh
Herald-Journal Writer
Less than a week after it was formally announced, concerns about a second Electric Forest Festival (EFF) at the Double JJ Resort in Rothbury made their way to the Oceana County Board of Commissioners. Although the county board has no say-so about the event, promoters contract with the Oceana County Emergency Medical Services to provide ambulance personnel on site dur- McCormick ing the event. The events are scheduled for June 22-25 and June 29-July 2 next year. Although past events were under the jurisdiction of Grant Township, future events fall under the jurisdiction of the Village of Rothbury as the Double JJ Resort was annexed to the village ear-
CONCERNS OVER 2ND EFF continued on 7a
• Contributed photos
Above, Chris Contreras, Laurie Garrity (Chris’ mom), Cindi Carlson (Dustin’s mom), Dustin Carlson gather the morning after the transplant surgery in July. Dustin and Chris, below, pose for a photograph at their final doctor’s appointment before surgery.
Chris Contreras gave his pal Dustin Carlson a kidney, and a life By Mary Beth Crain
Greg Means • Shoreline Media
OHJ Contributing Writer
Dustin Carlson and Chris Contreras have been buddies since high school. Although there was a two year age difference between them, they discovered a common bond at Hart High School, playing sports, going camping and just hanging out. Even after they graduated, Dustin in 1999, Chris in 2001, they continued to be close. Their friendship deepened as they both found jobs at GHSP in Hart, where they worked side by side for six years. Then, things changed. They came to the fork in the road, and took different paths. Chris moved to Grand Rapids in 2009, to attend Grand Rapids Community College, and later, Ferris, where he’s finishing his BA in business. Dustin took a job with ADAC Automotive in Muskegon, got married and had two sons. They kept in contact through social media, but saw each other less and less frequently. As so often happens in life, time increased the distance between them; they were young, active and consumed by their own busy lives. One thinks of the famous Carl Sandburg poem, “The Road Not Taken,” where “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could…” The poet must choose one road over another, and pensively reflects, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.” Fortunately for Dustin, Chris’s road didn’t take him
“I never thought of myself as
a hero. When I saw Dustin after the surgery, the gratification was instantaneous. His eye color was normal, his whole appearance was good, and you see the results right there. I’d do it again in an instant,”
Members of the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Department, Dalton Township Fire Department and Eagle Towing inspect the wreckage of 1997 GMC minivan driven by Larry Junior Drake, which lost control, rolled over and struck a tree in the US-31 median north of Riley Thompson Road in Muskegon County last Tuesday, Sept. 6. Drake and his wife, Wanda Faye Drake, both of Hesperia, were killed in the single-vehicle accident, which also seriously injured their adult daughter, Wanda Foster.
away forever. He came back—to save his friend’s life. Last September, Dustin began feeling ill. He grew increasingly exhausted, and was subsequently diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease—a genetic curse. His dad, Bill Carlson, had had the same affliction, and, in July of 2002, had received a kidney transplant. Dustin began undergoing dialysis—but not before he almost died. “He was rushed to the hospital in February, in the middle of the night,” his wife, Jessica, recalls. “I heard him get up, and when I went to check on him, he was totally out of it. He was going in and out. We went to Lakeshore Hospital in Shelby, where he actually stopped breathing. He was intubated and rushed to Muskegon. It was absolutely terrifying.” The prognosis was grim. Like his father, Dustin would need a kidney transplant. But the waiting list for a donor was five to seven years. His only alternative was dialysis—a sobering prospect. “That is no life,” Dustin shakes his head. “You’re on the machine three days a week, and it consumes pretty much the whole day. You feel terrible, exhausted. It eats up your life.” The extended Carlson family has convened for this interview. Dustin, serious and thoughtful, wears a deer hunter tee and camo cap, in contrast to Jessica, an attractive, dark-haired woman with state-of-the-art hot pink and jeweled nails. Sons Christian, 2 ½ and Jack, 7, are quietly absorbed in smartphone games. Dustin’ mother, Cindi, and father, Bill, eagerly offer their memories and perspectives.
To be the primary source of information for our communities
www.oceanaheraldjournal.com
DALTON TWP – A Hesperia couple died at the scene of a one-vehicle crash on northbound US-31, north of Riley Thompson Road, Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 6. Their adult daughter, who was in the back seat was listed in seriously/stable condition at the Mercy Health Hackley Campus in Muskegon. Killed in the crash were driver Larry Junior Drake, 60, of Hesperia and his wife, Wanda Faye Drake, 53, who was the
continued on 6a
INDEX Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8a Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . 9-11b Court, Cops, Gov’t . . . . . . . 5b Obituaries . . . . . . . . . . . . 10a Outdoor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7b
School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4b Social . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9a Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B1-3 Stuff to do . . . . . . . . . 11-12a Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4a
vehicle’s front seat passenger. Both were properly restrained in a 1997 GMC Safari minivan. Their daughter, 35-year-old Wanda Foster, also of Hesperia, was riding in the rear seat. According to police Foster was also properly restrained and was able to extricate herself from the wreckage. Muskegon County Sheriff Dean Roesler, who responded
HESPERIA COUPLE KILLED IN US-31 CRASH continued on 7a
OHJ seeks artist info for local ArtPrize works Oceana’s Herald-Journal is planning
BEST BUDS FOREVER
— Chris Contreras
O U R M I S S ION
Hesperia couple killed in US-31 crash
Follow the OHJ
www.oceanaheraldjournal.com www.twitter.com/oceanahj
to feature area artists competing in ArtPrize 2016 Sept. 21 through Oct. 9 in Grand Rapids. Artists from or with ties to Oceana County who are exhibiting a work of art at the mostattended public art event on the planet are asked to contact the Herald-Journal with details of their work. Artist info can be e-mailed to editor@ oceanaheraldjournal.com with the subject line ArtPrize prior to Wednesday, Sept. 21.
C A LL U S •Report a news tip •Run a classified ad •Subscriber services
873-5602
8<TBDAHJ=a d il>0
6a
• September 15, 2016 • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
71 Young Eagles take to the sky
Seventy-one area children, ages 8-18, took part in the annual Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 772 Young Eagles Flight Rally at the Oceana County Airport Sunday, Sept. 11. The event was rescheduled as inclement weather Saturday kept airplanes on the ground. Kyle Fessenden, left, is all smiles prior to takeoff with pilot Pete Kelly. Matt and Ethan Fessenden, far left are ready to take flight. Lucas Parker looks on as Noel Parker exits Andy Snider’s plane. Andrew Skinner • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
Best buds forever And then there’s Chris, a slender, engaging young man, who was going to participate in the interview via phone, but ended up surprising everyone by driving up from Grand Rapids to be there in person. “It’s no trouble,” he smiles. “I really wanted to do it, especially to make other people aware of the importance of organ donation.” As Dustin labored under dialysis, the call went out for a kidney donor. The family was hoping he’d be as lucky as his dad, a Hart resident who received a kidney from someone he knew—Julie Foster, whose son he’d coached in rec leagues. “It’s amazing, how this community pulls together for you,” the elder Carlson notes. “I was so fortunate, that Julie stepped up to the plate. And people donated so much, and expressed so much support, for me and Dustin. People you hadn’t seen in years.” Meanwhile, Chris, who’d lost touch with the Carlsons over the months, just happened to check in on them via Facebook. Shocked to hear of Dustin’s condition, he thought for a moment about offering to donate his kidney. But only for a moment. “It was the weirdest feeling,” he remembers. “Instantly I was there. You just knew.” Chris made the call to the University of Michigan the next day. He received a blood card, which would determine whether or not he was a match for Dustin. He was. He was then sent a kit for blood work, which indicated that not only was he a match—he was a perfect match. “You almost never see a perfect match,” he smiles proudly. “It was like it was supposed to happen.” The next step was two full days of testing, to make sure Chris was healthy enough to live with one kidney, and that his kidney was healthy enough to give to Dustin. He passed with flying colors, and received the news with mixed emotions. “I was really happy. But I was also scared when we set the date for the actual surgery. I had never had surgery before. And I’m the type of person who gets nervous at the thought of giving blood.” When he arrived at the hospital, however, he was unexpectedly calm. “I wasn’t scared at all. I don’t know why. It just felt so right, to be doing this. You know, meant to be.” The family knew that it was meant to be for another reason. “Dustin’s surgery was July 22, 2016,” Cindi explains. “And Bill’s surgery was July 22, 2002. It was too much of a coincidence—father and son getting a kidney transplant on the same date, 14 years apart.” Chris and Dustin saw each other the following morning before surgery. “It was emotional,” Cindi recalls. “I was more worried for him than I was for me,” Dustin laughs. Although the surgery was supposed to take at least five hours, it was over in two. “We were paged after two hours, and we were terrified,” Jessica says. “What could be wrong? But when we saw the surgeon, he was sitting back in his chair with his hands behind his head, calm as could be. ‘It’s over,’ he said. ‘Everything
went fine.’” So did the boys’ recoveries. Although Dustin suffered some post-op internal bleeding, and Chris wasn’t prepared for the pain that hit him when he came out of anesthesia, by the following morning the two were visiting in Dustin’s room. “The bond between us was so much closer,” Dustin says. “It just changes everything in life.” “They’ve always been good buddies,” notes Cindi. “But the whole thing has brought us all closer. When we call Chris a hero, he really is.” Chris, however, is much more modest. “I never thought of myself as a hero,” he smiles almost shyly. “When I saw Dustin after the surgery, the gratification was instantaneous. His eye color was normal, his whole appearance was good, and you see the results right there. I’d do it again in an instant.” And he encourages others to follow his lead. “The experience has definitely made me a big advocate for organ donation. I hear all the time how incredible it was, to donate my kidney, and how unique I am, but that never registered in my head. There was never a question. There are over 100,000 people today who are waiting for kidneys, and I’m here to show that your life doesn’t change after donating. There are no restrictions for me; I can lead a perfectly normal life. I have no pain, and feel the same as I did with two kidneys. Because you’re dealing with an internal part that you don’t see, it’s almost like it never happened. I mean, it’s not like donating an arm or leg.” Chris spent six weeks in recovery. As for Dustin, he’s been off work for eight months, but will be returning to his job at ADAC this week. Because Chris incurred a number of ex-
“The bond between us was
from Page 1a
so much closer. It just changes everything in life,”
— Dustin Carlson
penses due to lost work time, the family is holding a Thank You Benefit Corn Hole Toss and Pig Roast for him this weekend, Saturday, Sept. 17, at the Oceana Eagles bowling alley. Registration begins at 1:30 for the corn hole, which begins at 2 p.m., followed by the roast at 4:30 p.m. “We held a benefit for Dustin earlier this year,” says Cindi, “and the generosity of this community is amazing. People donated everything from money to groceries. Once we took the kids to the Open Hearth for dinner, and there was a sign up about the benefit, and someone paid for our meal. We do live in a truly awesome community.”
And now, the community can see its good work paid off in Dustin’s grateful smile. “I feel good,” he nods. “The biggest problem is the side effects from the anti-rejection meds. It’s a constant process, getting them to the right level. And the steroids suck! But it’s a lot better than dialysis. If I’d had to wait seven years for a donor, I never would have survived it.” “Dialysis keeps you alive,” Chris explains. “But it’s no way to live. I’ll never forget what the doctor said to me: ‘While you didn’t actually save Dustin’s life, you gave him a life.”
Thank You
Gray & Company
for buying my 2016 4-H Market Steer!
Famous for our Great Taste! Weekly Specials Lunch Specials Mon-Sat 11-3 Tuesday - Senior Day Wednesday - Family Day Special Promotions
Locally owned and operated for 41 years
10 Piece Bonus Box
$
16 59
Includes 10 pieces of mixed chicken & a large mashed potato & gravy Expiration 10/23/16 M-120 & Causeway, North Muskegon 856 W. Sherman • 1317 E. Apple Ave.
WLBSept
BIDS WANTED
Hart Public Schools is accepting bids for snowplowing the town campus as needed for the 201617 school year. Applicants must have insurance and back-up equipment. To request a copy of the bid specifications, please contact Mark Platt, Superintendent of Schools, at 231-873-6214, Option 1. All bids must be received no later than 10:00 AM on Monday, September 19, 2016 to: Mark Platt, Superintendent of Schools Hart Public Schools 301 W. Johnson Street Hart, MI 49420 www.hartschools.net
Thank You
Comstock & Comstock CPAs
for purchasing my 2016 Market Swine!
Ally
Thank You
Burnett Foods
for buying my 2016 4-H Market Steer!
Nicole Rockwell Public Land Auction
Kaylee Herrygers
The following County Treasurers will be offering tax-reverted real estate at public Auction on September 23rd, 2016: Wexford, Missaukee, Osceola, Manistee, Mason, Benzie, Oceana, Leelanau & Grand Traverse. The Auction will be held at The Little River Casino - Ojibwe Room, 2700 Orchard Hwy, Manistee, MI 49660. Registration will begin at 11:30am, Auction will begin at 12:00pm. Online bidding will be available via www.tax-sale.info. For more information or for a list of the properties being sold, visit our website at www.tax-sale.info or call 1-800-259-7470. Sale listings are also available at your local County Treasurer's Office.
Thank You
Eugene Kokx / Dr. Peter Mason for buying my very 1st steer and supporting 4-H each year!
Josiah Walker