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Former prosecutor charged in crash won’t lose benefits Mark Tower mtower@mlive.com GR A N D R A PIDS — The former Kent County assistant prosecutor charged in connection to a November wrong-way crash is not in danger of losing access to retirement benefits, county officials said. Joshua Kuiper, 42, was driving the wrong way on Union Avenue, south of Fulton Street, early Nov. 19 when he crashed his pickup truck into a parked car. A man getting his coat from the car was injured and has filed a lawsuit against Kuiper. Police put Kuiper through dexterity tests but did not administer a breath test. Kuiper faces a felony charge of reckless driving causing serious impairment of a body function and a misdemeanor charge of moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function. But even if Kuiper were to be convicted, it would not impact his county retirement benefits, according to Kent County spokesperson Lisa LaPlante. The county declined to release the exact amount of benefit payments to which Kuiper would be entitled, citing an exception in Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. At the time of his resignation, Kuiper earned an annual salary of $94,857, which was not affected by his demotion after the crash. Kuiper initially was suspended without pay, but later resigned. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker said Kuiper is contractually entitled to his outstanding vacation and sick time. The union
contract under which Kuiper worked allows accumulation of up to 300 hours of vacation time, which is why Kuiper remained on the payroll for several weeks after deciding to resign, Becker said. The newly elected prosecutor said the decision to allow Kuiper to remain employed was made by his predecessor, former Kent County Prosecutor Bill Forsyth. The crash was not the first time Kuiper’s behavior outside of work was noted by his employer. When placing Kuiper on unpaid leave, Forsyth told MLive the reasons for that decision included the most recent incident and “two prior after hours/off-duty incidents involving alcohol.” Neither incident is noted separately in Kuiper’s personnel file, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. But both are described in a “last chance agreement” Kuiper entered after the November crash. The first incident referenced was during an office excursion to Wrigley Field “several years ago,” when Kuiper became “extremely intoxicated” and “argumentative, belligerent and confrontational.” The document also confirms Kuiper had consumed alcohol prior to being involved in a property damage crash in 2005, and that a test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.07 percent, just under the legal limit for driving of 0.08 percent. In that case, prosecutors dropped a careless driving charge, and Kuiper was found guilty of failure to stop at a property damage accident.
Ottawa unveils 911 text service Maddie Forshee mforshee@mlive.com O T T AWA C O U N T Y — People who need help in Ottawa County now have one more way to reach 911 — they can send a text. Ottawa County Central Dispatch’s text message technology made its debut just in time for the weekend. Residents of Ottawa County and Holland, including the portion of the city in Allegan County, now are able to get in touch with central dispatch via text message. “The volume of people who use it (nationally) is quite low, but in some instances, it is key,” said Tim Smith, executive director of Ottawa County Central Dispatch. “It’s just one more tool we have to help the community.”
The idea of texting 911 was implemented to help people who are hard of hearing, but also can benefit people in domestic violence situations, a robbery or break-ins where it might endanger them to talk on the phone. The call will be handled similar to a voice call with 911. Users are limited to 256 characters in each text. If a person tries to send a photo or video, it will not be received by central dispatch. Users are asked to text clearly and without abbreviations and, especially, not to text 911 while driving. Text message capabilities are available 24/7 at four primary dispatch terminals at Ottawa County Central Dispatch. Calling 911 still is the recommended way to reach central dispatch, because it is the fastest form of communication.
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