03
nj •
PUBLIC LIBRARY
The
Sentinel
Leader
O
ouner -newA
C^omstocb Parb Ct
S P A R T A , MICHIGAN
V O L U M E 92 — E S T A B L I S H E D 1876
•
W E D N E S D A Y . MAY 22, 1968
Sgt First Class Ronald J. Miller
Is Area's First Vietnam Casualty
SPARTA
Local veterans representing
a l l W a r s and all g r o u p s of o u r
Armed Forces are formulating
p l a n s f o r the annual M e m o r i a l
Day
exercises,
Thursday,
M a y 30.
T h e p r o g r a m will include the
a n n u a l p a r a d e . S e r v i c e s will b e
held at F a i r p l a i n s , M e y e r s and
Greenwood C e m e t e r i e s followed
b y the laying of the w r e a t h at the
American-Legion
Memorial
P l a c q u e at the S p a r t a State Bank.
F o l l o w i n g the p r o g r a m at M e y e r s Cemetery, a short service
h o n o r i n g all men of a l l A r m e d
F o r c e s killed o r b u r i e d at s e a
will be held at the Rogue R i v e r
B r i d g e 500 feet w e s t of M e y e r s
Cemetery.
Schedule
8:30 - V e t e r a n s a s s e m b l e at
Legion Hall
9:15 - Veterans depart to F a i r plains Cemetery
9:30 - S e r v i c e s at F a i r p l a i n s
Cemetery
10:15 - S e r v i c e s at M e y e r s C e metery
10:45 - A s s e m b l e at Division and
Elm Streets
11:00 P a r a d e to G r e e n w o o d C e metery
Upon c o m p l e t i o n of the e x e r c i s e s at G r e e n w o o d C e m e t e r y ,
all u n i t s will m a r c h to the S p a r t a State Bank f o r the Laying of
the w r e a t h at the A m e r i c a n L e gion M e m o r i a l P l a c q u e .
Any o t h e r m a r c h i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n t e r e s t e d in p a r t i c i p a t i o n
m a y m a k e application by c o n t a c t ing H e r b e r t B r i n k , the A m e r i c a n
Legion C o m m a n d e r at 8 8 7 - 9 8 6 2 .
V e t e r a n s and Gold S t a r Mot h e r s who wish to r i d e m a y r e s e r v e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n b y c a l l i n g D.
Leon P a r k e r .
All v e t e r a n s a r e u r g e d to take
p a r t in t h i s M e m o r i a l Day S e r vice.
KENT CITY-CASNOVIA
P a r a d e s at Kent C i t y and C a s novla will highlight M e m o r i a l Day
S e r v i c e s in the North Kent a r e a
T h u r s d a y morning a s m e m b e r s
of E v a n s - S w a n son P o s t , A m e r igan L e g i o n , and C a s n o v i a VFW
join t o g e t h e r to pay t r i b u t e to
d e p a r t e d m e m b e r s of o u r a r m e d
f o r c e s , and to all of o u r d e p a r t e d c o m r a d e s , r e l a t i v e s and f r iends.
T h e l a d i e s of the A m e r i c a n L e gion A u x i l i a r y have i n s t a l l e d an
a t t r a c t i v e M e m o r i a l Day window in S a u r ' s Store. M e m b e r s of
the A m e r i c a n Legion, VFW, and
(Continued on page 11)
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a / i
L i n e of M a r c h :
Color Guard
S p a r t a High School Band
F i r i n g Squad
V e t e r a n s of a l l W a r s
Spanish A m e r i c a n W a r V e t e r a n s
Gold S t a r M o t h e r s
J u n i o r Band
Boy S c o u t s
Cub Scouts
G i r l Scouts
Brownies
Boys Brigade
Pioneer Girls
*ij c 5•£:^ ^ o
r c £
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f
S e r g e a n t MUler
Sargeant F i r s t C l a s s Ronald J.
l o w e d b y d e l i v e r y of a w i r e on
M i l l e r , a g e d 31, s o n of M r s .
T h u r s d a y f r o m Kenneth G. W i c k George (Clara) Nickolaiof B a u m h a m , M a j o r G e n e r a l USA F 23
hoff Avenue, S p a r t a , i s t h i s a r e a ' s
A d j u t a n t G e n e r a l , which r e a d a s
f i r s t c a s u a l t y of the V i e t n a m
follows:
War.
" T h e S e c r e t a r y of the A r m y
M r s . N i c k o l a i r e c e i v e d the d r h a s a s k e d m e to e x p r e s s h i s d e e p
eaded
news
on
Wednesday
r e g r e t that your son, S a r g e a n t
e v e n i n g when h i s wife, who r e F i r s t C l a s s Ronald J . M i l l e r d i e d
sides
with t h e i r f o u r c h i l d r e n
in V i e t n a m on 12 May, 1968, a s
a t 331 R i c h m o n d D r i v e in F a y a r e s u l t of gunshot w o u n d s r e etteville, North Carolina, called
c e i v e d while on c o m b a t p a t r o l
h e r on t h e phone. T h i s w a s f o l ( C o n t i n u e d on page 2)
N U M B E R 21
Sparta Village Taxpayers
And the Sparta Airport
I s the S p a r t a A i r p o r t a good
d e a l f o r the t a x p a y e r s of the V i l l a g e of S p a r t a ?
T h i s i s a f a i r q u e s t i o n to r e view now with the d e c i s i o n about
c l o s i n g Vinton Avenue to m a k e
w a y f o r additional r u n w a y s t i l l
in the h a n d s of the Kent C o u n t y
Road Commission.
As
manager. Jack Norton
leases
the a i r p o r t f a c i l i t i e s
f r o m the Village of S p a r t a . T h e
e x i s t i n g l e a s e will e x p i r e in 1978
when M r . Norton h a s the option
of r e n e w i n g it f o r an a d d i t i o n a l
10 y e a r s .
H e h a s m a n a g e d the a i r p o r t
on t h i s b a s i s s i n c e it w a s o p e n e d
in 1944, o r 24 y e a r s ago.
Looking at the a i r p o r t a s an
i n v e s t m e n t of the Village of S p a r t a , it h a s c o s t the v i l l a g e $8,
4 8 3 . 3 4 f r o m 1944 t h r o u g h D e c e m b e r 31, 1967.
With the 1960 c e n s u s a s the
b a s i s for figures, this means
that the airport h a s c o s t 12.35
c e n t s p e r village resident y e a r l y .
O r t h i s c a n be
b r o k e n down
s t i l l m o r e to .107 c e n t s m o n t h l y .
The village, however, has been
only one of f o u r s o u r c e s of r e venue f o r e x p a n s i o n and o p e r a t i o n of the a i r p o r t . F u n d s a l s o
h a v e c o m e f r o m the State of M i c h i g a n , public d o n a t i o n s and M r .
Norton himself.
R e c o r d s in the Village o f f i c e s
will show to what e x t e n t i n d i v i d u a l s have c o n t r i b u t e d to the
airport.
These same r e c o r d s
s h o w t h a t s i n c e 1944 the M i c h igan Aeronautics
Commission
h a s s p e n t $12,000 on the S p a r t a
Airport.
T h e b i g g e s t s h a r e of f u n d s
s p e n t at the a i r p o r t have c o m e
f r o m M r . Norton h i m s e l f . F o r
e x a m p l e , he h a s r e t u r n e d $14,
576.76 to the S p a r t a Village in
rent
s i n c e 1944. S u b t r a c t i n g
the $ 8 , 4 8 3 . 3 4 of village tax r e v e n u e s going to the a i r p o r t s i n c e
1944 f r o m the $14,576.76 r e t u r n e d to it f r o m M r . Norton shows
a financial gainof$6,093.42tothe
village.
A l s o , M r . Norton h a s i n v e s t e d
$ 4 9 , 9 1 5 . 9 7 of h i s own f u n d s in
t a x i w a y s , r u n w a y s , l i g h t s and
b u i l d i n g s - all of which r e v e r t
to the v i l l a g e when the l e a s e a greement ends.
T h i r t y a c r e s of land a r e i n volved
to a c c o m m o d a t e
the
e x t e n s i o n of the r u n w a y .
The
V i l l a g e of S p a r t a is being a s k e d
to i n v e s t $ 1 2 , 0 0 0 f o r t h i s land and
the r u n w a y e x t e n s i o n .
M r . Norton i s willing to m a t c h
t h i s with $12,000 of h i s f u n d s
which would p r o v i d e a t o t a l of
$24,000.
T h i s f i g u r e i s then
m a t c h e d by the State of Michigan
to m e a n that f o r an i n v e s t m e n t
of $ 1 2 , 0 0 0 by the Village, a v i l l a g e - o w n e d f a c i l i t y would r e c e i v e
$ 4 8 , 0 0 0 in t o t a l f u n d s .
It i s w o r t h noting, too, t h a t
these state matching funds actua l l y o r i g i n a t e d f r o m the S p a r t a
Airport. This is because e v e r y
g a l l o n of gasoline sold at the
a i r p o r t yields a " r o a d t a x " to
the s t a t e . T h e s e funds a r e set
a s i d e by the s t a t e a s m a t c h i n g
funds for airports.
With t h e s e f a c t s in m i n d , d o e s
the Sparta Airport offer Sparta
V i l l a g e t a x p a y e r s a good deal
o r no? We b e l i e v e that it does.'
- Barry Brand
NELCOME
mayor carlso*
Sparta High School To
Qractuate 175 Students
S p a r t a High School will be
g r a d u a t i n g the l a r g e s t c l a s s in
i t s h i s t o r y on F r i d a y e v e n i n g ,
J u n e 7, when one h u n d r e d s e v e n t y five c a p p e d - a n d - g o w n e d young
m e n and w o m e n will r e c e i v e t h e i r
d i p l o m a s . T h e event i s s c h e d u l e d
f o r 8 o ' c l o c k in the high s c h o o l
auditorium.
Although f o r m a l c l a s s e s a r e
b e i n g c o m p l e t e d T h u r s d a y , the
r e m a i n i n g two w e e k s of s c h o o l
will be e x t r e m e l y b u s y , s o m e t i m e s h e c t i c , and a l i t t l e s a d
f o r the s e n i o r s who r e a l i z e that
t h e i r high s c h o o l d a y s a r e a l m o s t
over.
Senior examinations a r e sche d u l e d f o r F r i d a y , May 24, M o n d a y , May 27, and W e d n e s d a y ,
M a y 29, wit h Senior Skip Day
s a n d w i c h e d in b e t w e e n on T u e s d a y , May 28, at the J a c k - a n d J i l l R a n c h in O c e a n a C o u n t y .
B a c c a l a u r e a t e r e h e a r s a l will
b e at 1 o ' c l o c k on F r i d a y a f t e r noon, May 31, with B a c c a l a u r e ate e x e r c i s e s scheduled for 3 o ' c l o c k on Sunday a f t e r n o o n , J u n e
2, at the high s c h o o l .
The Junior-Senior P r o m will
b e h e l d on W e d n e s d a y e v e n i n g ,
J u n e 5, at the P a n t l i n d H o t e l
in G r a n d R a p i d s c o m m e n c i n g with
d i n n e r at 6:30.
Commencement r e h e a r s a l is
s e t f o r 2 o ' c l o c k on T h u r s d a y
a f t e r n o o n . J u n e 6.
L i k e the s e n i o r s , the u n d e r c l a s s m e n will take a b r e a k f o r
M e m o r i a l Day on T h u r s d a y , May
30, when m a n y of t h e m will be
m a r c h i n g with the high s c h o o l
band in the p a r a d e in downtown
S p a r t a . T h e y will r e t u r n to c l a s s e s on F r i d a y , May 31, and t a k e
t h e i r e x a m i n a t i o n s on T u e s d a y
and W e d n e s d a y , J u n e 4 and 5
with the f i n a l day of s c h o o l on
J u n e 7.
Sparta and Walled Lake Officials Exchange Visits
A w a r m r e c e p t i o n f r o m the o f f i c i a l s and r e s i d e n t s of Walled L a k e
w a s r e c e i v e d by S p a r t a Village P r e s i d e n t H a r r y C a r l s o n , P o l i c e
Chief G e n e Heugel, C o u n c i l m e n Howard E m m o n s and H e n r y B e v e r w y k
and t h e i r w i v e s who w e r e M a y o r s E x c h a n g e Day g u e s t s of that c i t y
Monday.
P r e s i d e n t and M r s . C a r l s o n p o s e in f r o n t of the m a r q u e e
o u t s i d e of the r e s t a u r a n t w h e r e t h e y and o t h e r m e m b e r s of the S p a r t a
d e l e g a t i o n w e r e h o n o r e d luncheon g u e s t s . T h e day's a c t i v i t i e s i n e l u d e d a t o u r of the high s c h o o l , s e v e r a l i n d u s t r i e s , and the r e c e n t l y - r-. •
c o m p l e t e d city hall.
W a l l e d Lake Mayor Wendell Kellogg, M a y o r P r o - T e m F r a n k H a m i l t o n , and t h e i r w i v e s s p e n t the d a y in S p a r t a w h e r e t h e y t o u r e d
p o i n t s of i n t e r e s t which included the new f i r e s t a t i o n , the s c h o o l s a n d ^ ^
c h u r c h e s , the a i r p o r t , and f r u i t s t o r a g e s .
^
In the evening, the v i s i t o r s f r o m both c o m m u n i t i e s w e r e jolm
by o t h e r c i t y and village o f f i c i a l s at L a n s i n g in the^evening f o r ^
T H E S E N T I N E L LEADER
Page 2
•
WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 1968
K.C. High School
Award Night
Friday, May 24
REPRESENTATIVE BUTH WELCOMES VICE-PRESIDENT TO
CAPITOL
V i c e - P r e s i d e n t Hubert H. Humphrey visited the Michigan
State Capitol last week.
Welcoming the V i c e - P r e s i d e n t , p i c tured above, is Sparta a r e a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , Martin D. Buth.
Buth, Speaker P r o Tem of the House, was p a r t of a c o m m i t tee assigned to e s c o r t M r . Humphrey to the House C h a m b e r
where he a d d r e s s e d a joint session of the L e g i s l a t u r e .
Roller Skating
Party
I SOLD IT
THROUGH THE
WANT ADS
Englishville-Koon P . T . C . will
sponsor a Roller Skating p a r t y
f r o m 6:30 to 9:30 p . m . T h u r s d a y
May 23, at Bloomfield G a r d e n s
Roller Rink.
Admission 25?;
s k a t e s 25C.
aYt
-
A Senior Awards Night, a c o m bination
Baccalaureate-Comm e n c e m e n t , and a t r i p to New
York C i t y a r e only a few of the
many activities that
the 62
m e m b e r s of the graduating c l a s s
at the Kent City High School
will t r y to crowd into the next
two w e e k s .
The Awards Night is scheduled
f o r 7:30 on F r i d a y evening. May
24, in the Kent City High School gymnasium at which t i m e d e s e r v i n g s e n i o r s will r e c e i v e a c a d e m i c a w a r d s , s c h o l a r s h i p s , and
c i t a t i o n s , according to M r . C . L.
Rupp,
p r i n c i p a l at the school.
Special music will be provided
by s e v e r a l s e n i o r s .
F i n a l examinations f o r s e n i o r s
will be held on Monday, May 27,
Tuesday, May 28, and T h u r s d a y ,
May 29.
F o r the f i r s t time t h i s y e a r ,
a
combination B a c c a l a u r e a t e C o m m e n c e m e n t will be held at
2:30 on Sunday afternoon, June 2,
o u t - o f - d o o r s on L e a v e r F i e l d ,
w e a t h e r p e r m i t t i n g . In the event
of inclement w e a t h e r , the p r o g r a m will be shifted to the high
school g y m n a s i u m .
The R e v e r e n d E . A. H e s s l e r ,
p a s t o r of the T r i n i t y L u t h e r a n
C h u r c h in Conklin, will speak
to the g r a d u a t e s .
Valedictory
and s a l u a t o r y a d d r e s s e s will be
given by R i c h a r d P e t e r s and M a r y
Woltanski, r e s p e c t i v e l y , and the
s c h o l a r s h i p w i n n e r s will be r e c ognized.
M r . Rupp will a s s i s t
at the graduation c e r e m o n i e s .
The s e n i o r s will leave on Monday morning, June 3, f o r the
t r i p to New York City and will
r e t u r n on F r i d a y , June 7.
U n d e r c l a s s m e n will have a holiday on M e m o r i a l Day, May 30,
but will r e t u r n to c l a s s e s on F r i day.
T h e i r e x a m i n a t i o n s will
be on Monday and T u e s d a y , June
3 and 4.
The Sentinel Leader
343 S. UNION ST., SPARTA, MICHIGAN 49345
Published Weekly on Wednesday at Sparta, Michigan
SECOND CLASS POSTAGE PAID AT SPARTA, MICHIGAN
BARRY D. BRAND, Editor - Publisher
Subscription postpaid, one year in advance—$3.00 in Kent,
Ottawa, Muskegon and Newaygo Counties. Elsewhere $4.00
WEEKLY N E W S P A P E R REPRESENTATIVES, INC.
• 104 F i f t h Avenue
1728 Guardian Bldg.
. N e w York 18, N e w York
Detroit, Michigan
Sparta High School Seniors
Baccalaureate & Commencement
B a c c a l a u r e a t e s e r v i c e s f o r the
S p a r t a High School C l a s s of 1968
a r e scheduled f o r 3 o'clock on
Sunday afternoon, June 2, at the
high school.
The R e v e r e n d Hoy S c h r o e d e r ,
p a s t o r of the P e a c e L u t h e r a n C h u r c h , will speak on the topic, " I t
Is Not Idle To D r e a m " . Invocation and benediction will be
d e l i v e r e d by the Rt. Rev. M s g r .
T h o m a s O. Martin o f the Holy
F a m i l y Church.
Included in the s e r v i c e will be
the singing of s e v e r a l hymns and
the p r e s e n t a t i o n of " T h o u Who
Wast G o d " b y t h e G i r l s Glee Club,
u n d e r the direction of M r . R o b e r t Stiles. M r s . J a m e s B e l l a m y
Is the o r g a n i s t .
C o m m e n c e m e n t e x e r c i s e s will
be held at 8 o'clock on F r i d a y
evening, June 7, in the school a u d itorium.
M r . J a m e s R. Anderson, A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r of the Honors
College at Michigan State U n i v e r s i t y and an alumnus of S p a r t a High
School will challenge the group
with a m e s s a g e entitled, " S m a l l
Towns and Big W a r s " .
The valedictory and s a l u t a t o r y
a d d r e s s e s will be d e l i v e r e d by
Julie
Anderson and M a r l e n e
M o m b e r , r e s p e c t i v e l y . . David
G r e e n m a n will give the invocation
and benediction.
M r . LaGene Quay, P r i n c i p a l ,
will a w a r d the special c i t a t i o n s .
4^- n-eeaCm rfoz Aezt&c
GARDENING %
"Come" Browse Through Our Greenhouses
Flowering Annuals
$Z98 Hat
49' Tray
Qeraniums
^
V
Large 4 " Size Pots
49. & 69
Vegetable Plants
FUSCHIA
• VINCA VINE
TUBEROUS BEGONIAS
WAX BEGONIAS
• SPR1NGRI
• MARIGOLDS
• SALVIAS
AGERATUM
• TOMATO PLANTS
• PEPPER PLANTS
• CABBAGE
• CAULIFLOWER
• BROCCOLI
• MANY OTHERS
Advanced
m*
4 " Potted Tomatoes 35 c
3 " Peat Potted 20c
Shrubbery 2.49 to 2.98
Decoration Day
Flower Arrangements^
Real and Artificial
OSTMAN'S
271 N. STATE ST.
GREENHOUSES
PHONE 888-1109
Following the presentation of the
C l a s s of 1968 by c l a s s P r e s i d e n t
William Dauser, the diplomas
will be distributed by M r . Lee
Moore, T r e a s u r e r of the S p a r t a
B o a r d of Education.
Supt. of
Schools Joseph P' vogel will o f f i c i a t e at the f o r m a l graduation
ceremony.
CaJ of DLmL
We wish to thank r e l a t i v e s and
f r i e n d s f o r their many e x p r e s s i o n s of sympathy during our r e cent b e r e a v e m e n t , the l o s s of our
d e a r daughter and s i s t e r , Beth.
We e s p e c i a l l y wish to thank the
Rt, Rev. M s g r . T h o m a s Martin
for
his
comforting
words,
the Little Flower Guild of Holy
F a m i l y Church for the lovely
m e a l s e r v e d , and the H e s s e l C h e s l e k F u n e r a l Home.
M r . and M r s . Donald Thome
Kathleen and J i m
5-
p
^Continued f r o m page 1)
when mistaken f o r hostile f o r c e
by another f r i e n d l y p a t r o l . He
w a s admitted to a navy hospital
ship. P l e a s e accept my deepest
s y m p a t h y . Your d a u g h t e r - i n - l a w
will f u r n i s h instructions f o r the
r e t u r n of your late s o n . "
A
14 - y e a r Army v e t e r a n ,
he was a m e m b e r of the highlyt r a i n e d Special F o r c e s and was
stationed north of Da Nang at
the t i m e of his death.
Sgt. Miller was born on June
3, 1936, in Grand Rapids and attended school there and in Rockf o r d b e f o r e joining the National
G u a r d in Greenville at the age
of 16. Even at that young age,
he was d e t e r m i n e d to become an
Army c a r e e r man and enlisted In
the p a r a t r o o p e r s the following
year.
He r e c e i v e d his b a s i c training
at C a m p Chaffee, A r k a n s a s , and
w a s graduated f r o m jump school
in F o r t Campbell, Kentucky. Aft e r spending a year in Japan, he
r e t u r n e d to F o r t Campbell and
w a s assigned to a t h r e e - y e a r tour
of duty in G e r m a n y .
While In Germany, he met and
m a r r i e d the f o r m e r Johanna
Llndke^on October 1, 1959, under
G e r m a n law, and the following day
by the Army chaplain in D a r m stadt.
Sgt. M i l l e r became a p a r t of the
s e l e c t Special F o r c e s f o u r y e a r s
ago and w a s stationed at F o r t
B r a g g , North C a r o l i n a . The M i l l e r s p u r c h a s e d a home in n e a r by F a y e t t e vllle.
He
volunteered f o r Vietnam
duty and the M i l l e r s spent a
m o n t h ' s furlough
In this a r e a
l a s t s u m m e r at which t i m e
the above photo was taken at the
home of h i s m o t h e r . He h a s been
in Vietnam since last November.
Surviving b e s i d e s his wife, J o hanna, a r e : two sons, Leonrad,
7, and Rolfe, 4; two daughters,
Eva, 14, and S u s a n , 6; his m o t h e r and s t e p f a t h e r , Mr. and
M r s . G e o r g e Nickolai of S p a r ta; his f a t h e r , Leonard Miller of
G r e e n v i l l e ; and his g r a n d m o t h e r ,
M r s . L o r i n d a Nickolai of S p a r t a .
F u n e r a l s e r v i c e s will be c o m p l e t e d by H e s s e l - C h e s l e k F u n e r a l Home of Sparta and a n nounced l a t e r . Burial will be in
Idlewlld C e m e t e r y , Kent City.
M r s , Miller and their four c h i l d r e n a r e expected to a r r i v e in
S p a r t a this week and hope to r e locate In this a r e a .