Pledge of Allegiance

When I was dead

When Tom Feeney, 53, woke up last year on May 20, he did not know he was going to die that day.

He also did not know he would be dead for 30 minutes and then rise again, so to speak.

Tom Feeney and his partner, Glen Powell, own Greenville Floral. I have known these two creative, kind, gentle spirits since they bought the store from my dear friend, Nelda Cushman.

On that Thursday, Tom had some tests done as he had been having sporadic chest pressure. All the tests turned out great and they were about to do a stress test to wrap it up. It was then that he noticed more pressure. The doctor told him he was in the midst of a heart attack and sent him by ambulance to Spectrum Health Grand Rapids.

In the ambulance, he was told everything looked great and not to worry.

Quickly, he remembers his room being full of doctors, nurses and busyness as his chest pressure got stronger. “I had no pain and even the pressure wasn’t bad.”

He recalls a nurse asking several times, “Shall we call it? Shall we call it?” His body was shaking all over and seemed banging out of control. This is how he describes it.

“I lost earthly consciousness. I can’t find earthly words to describe it. I slipped into another realm. Then I would regain consciousness. I couldn’t move anything. I felt like I was in a crashing airplane and everything was hammering all over my body. I had a heavy warmth on the center of my chest. There were lots of people in my room trying to save my life.”

“I saw a bright circle. Everything was red, blue, turquoise, purple and there was a bright light in the center of the circle. It seemed to be a portal and I was headed towards it, into it. I felt like there was a veiled area and I was passing through it.”

As he shared with me, he had to stop as tears and emotion overwhelmed him several times.

“I was being shocked with paddles and being given CPR. A nurse was on top of me, performing CPR. I felt zaps. It seemed like a tug of war was going on, lots of back and forth. I definitely felt my life was being taken from me. I felt a voice within me tell me to surrender and I’d be okay. A warmth feeling of love felt like it was inviting me. I knew it was God and my creator was with me.”

“The CPR and the paddles didn’t work. I felt I would go between this heavenly veil and back to my earthly life. It felt like I had large broken pieces of glass falling off of me, behind me, towards earth. Nothing mattered. Not one earthly thing mattered. I was okay with going forward and not coming back. I felt like I was home. I was free.”

“It seems here on earth so much holds us down like a heavy weight. I felt like the weight of the world was gone, just like that. I felt pure love, like I was finally home and whole. I felt complete, light as a feather.

“Since I have ‘come back,’ I have been hyper-sensitive. I am very emotional much of the time.”

As Tom was going through this ordeal, doctors asked his mother about his final wishes. “He has been 30 minutes with no pulse or heart beat. We can try a clot busting medication, but it could kill him.”

At this point, Tom’s mother fell on her knees, asking Jesus to please save her son’s life.

After the med, his heart began to beat immediately. At this point, they rushed him into surgery, gave him three stints and found his heart had 80% and 90% blockage. They warned the family he could have brain damage and would most likely be brain dead.

The next morning, Tom woke up and they took him off life support. He was completely clear headed and remembered everything. His memory of this experience has never changed. Doctors and nurses visited him all that day, each sharing that it was a total miracle that he lived and had his clear mind. His heart and brain showed no scarring or damage.

“This was the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I have not one negative thought about it. It doesn’t feel real. I don’t feel real. I realize now that earthly problems are no worry for me. We should all let things go, have faith, be happy, because when it’s over, it’s really over on this earth. It’s a new beginning. You take nothing with you except the love and I felt that strongly. This isn’t permanent, so why are we living like it is? There is so much negativity in this world. We could be a nicer society.”

“If I had been at work when this happened, I would be dead. I feel I lived to tell people my story, to affirm there is life after death. I hope this helps one person. We are headed to great things. It will blow your mind.”

In the florist business, Tom works with death every day. He is finding he is not alone. Others have experienced things like this. He finds others are hoping for a sign that there really is life after this. Tom is happy to assure them.

I thank God for sparing Tom Feeney. Our world needs his message.

May God continue to bless him.

MAUREEN BURNS

maureenburns@maureenburns.com

“I feel I lived to tell people my story, to affirm there is life after death. I hope this helps one person,”

Tom Feeney said. — Submitted photo

Unpublished wind ordinance dominates talk in Douglass Twp.

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“I’m curious, did you guys know 2017 didn’t exist, or that you messed it up and that it wasn’t legal?” asked township resident Melissa Bannen during public comment on Wednesday.

“Didn’t have a clue,” Supervisor Terry Anderson responded.

“OK, because I feel offended by you up there yelling at us that if we referendum this (pending new wind ordinance) it’s going to go back to 2017,” Bannen said.

“I felt a little silly because Elisabeth at the newspaper knew about it way before I did,” Anderson said. “It’s news to us and I apologize for that. I felt a little silly about it myself.”

Anderson confirmed with Bannen that she is correct that if residents choose to referendum the township’s currently pending wind ordinance after it’s approved by the township board, the township will not revert to the 2017 ordinance.

However, the township board stopped short of voting to formally rescind the 2017 ordinance, despite a request from Kay Scott of Sidney Township.

“We have an opportunity for this board to do the right thing,” Scott said. “I’m not hearing the right thing from your lawyer. Are you willing to rescind 2017 tonight by a voice vote? And if not, why not?”

Board members did not respond.

“That’s our answer,” Scott declared

The topic of the never-published ordinance dominated public comment of Wednesday’s meeting.

In response to case law cited by township attorney Ron Redick, who called the 2017 ordinance never being properly noticed or published “much ado about nothing,” Douglass Township resident Julie Weipert cited the case law of Forest Hill Energy Fowler Farms versus Bengal, Dallas and Essex townships. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against those three Clinton County townships in that lawsuit.

“This was an ordinance that was voted on and passed without a large majority of the citizens of Douglass Township being made aware,” said Weipert of the 2017 ordinance. “This is evidenced by the insufficient notice of public hearing whereas the township itself was not even identified in this notice, as well as the fact that the notice of adoption was never published at all. Ultimately, this deprived the public of the right to referendum, an action which would have been taken just as it was with the previous 2020 ordinance.

“The ordinance specifically states, ‘This ordinance shall become effective seven days after its publication or seven days after the publication of its provisions in a local newspaper of general circulation’ — an action which was never taken,” Weipert summarized.

Ben Reynolds of Douglass Township also responded to Redick’s comment to the Daily News that courts are apt to reject “technical deficiencies” if a certain amount of time has gone by.

“How long does it take for a lie to become truth?” Reynolds asked. “How long does it take a wrong to become right before nobody will contest it? Wrong is wrong. I don’t think a nickel should be spent on legal fees by the township fighting to keep that ordinance on the books. It should just go away.”

Also during Wednesday’s meeting, Keith Phelps of Douglass Township called the Daily News “a tabloid” for printing a personal opinion column titled “Beware of township corruption” by Renee Smith of Evergreen Township last Saturday (the Daily News publishes a variety of opinions on its weekly Views page and anyone is welcome to submit a column).

“This article was spot on for who is really corrupt — it is the Douglass Township Energy Coalition the Montcalm County Citizens United and their supporting attorneys, plus the Daily News are the ones who are really corrupt,” Phelps said. “The Daily News will be printing the anti’s response to this meeting no later than Friday or Saturday.”

Douglass Township and Montcalm County residents hold up signs stating “Recall,” “Recuse” and “Referen-

dum” during public comment at Wednesday’s Douglass Township Board meeting. — Submitted photo

Bob Sayers and Tom Fedewa stand with the Denny Craycraft Veterans Freedom Park Committee outside of Third Wave Coffe in Belding. Sayers has sold 100 bricks for the park’s buy-a-brick fundraiser, the 100th one

going to Fedewa. — DN Photo | Brandon Schreur

The Douglass Township Board listens to public comment on Wednesday, from left, Treasurer Amy Laper, Clerk Ronda Snyder, Supervisor Terry Anderson and Trustee Pat Althoff (Trustee Tom Jeppesen was

absent). — Screenshot

Korean War veterans sells 100 bricks for Veterans Freedom Park

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didn’t help my dad before he passed on in getting recognition for the park and things like that.”

Around the same time, the Veterans Freedom Park launched a buy-a-brick program as a fundraiser for the park. Those wanting to honor a friend, family member or business can purchase a customized brick with up to three lines of text for $50 that are placed in front of one of the many monuments in the Belding Veterans Park.

Wanting to honor Craycraft’s memory, Sayers began selling bricks to anyone and everyone he could think of who lived around the local area.

“A lot of people know me,” Sayers said. “(When I’m talking to someone), I’ll hand someone a pamphlet and it’s kind of a starting point of talking about the war and stuff.”

Now having been at it for a little less than three years, Sayers has officially sold his 100th brick for the park.

“He will drive down the roads around Belding or Ionia all the time,” Noble said. “If he knows that there’s somebody who’s a veteran, he’ll just go for it. He’ll go right up, knock on their door and start talking to them about the bricks.”

The 100th buyer was Tom Fedewa of Ionia. Fedewa bought the brick for his son, Scott, who served in the Iraq War.

“I kind of thought it was a good idea to get one for my son. He was kind of tickled about it,” Tom told the Daily News. “I think he (Sayers) tried to get me to buy one a while back, but I didn’t bring in approximately $5,000 worth of donations is something she and the rest of the Veterans Freedom Park Committee are grateful for.

“We, as a board, really want to thank him,” she said. “He’s an invaluable asset to the park. Just invaluable. He’s there at every event, relentlessly. It doesn’t matter what it is. He’ll be there. If we need anything, he makes sure that he’s present for it and helping however he can.”

When stopping at the Belding American Legion or VFW Post 4406, Noble says she’ll often find an envelope with a brick order form from Sayers that’s already there waiting for her.

“I’ll just see envelopes (with the orders) hanging on the wall,” she said. “I’ll go get it and there’s also a candy bar (that Sayers) put inside of it.

“We can’t thank him enough,” she continued. “We try to say thank you to him and we try to do things, but he just tells us that he’s going to get some more bricks for us. It’s amazing. He’s a part of the park.”

During the warmer months, forms for buy-a-brick are available to fill out inside a box at Veterans Freedom Park. Forms, opportunities to donate and t-shirts or hoodies that are available for purchase can also be found online at beldingveteranspark.net. Those looking to get further involved can also contact the Veterans Freedom Park over the website.

“I want to thank people for buying a brick and for their donations,” Sayers said.