Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter Benefits from Michigan Taxpayers

By Christina Strong
Entirely East Lansing staff writer

Several animal shelters across Michigan have been awarded thousands of dollars from Michigan taxpayers to develop and expand spay and neuter services. Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter was one recipient of 2010 Companion Animal Welfare Fund money.

Photo Courtesy of Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter

The state established the fund in 2007. It is backed by donations of part or all of a Michigan resident’s tax refund or a voluntary donation.

“We’re happy to have the ability to pay back into these programs. It’s heartwarming to see its citizens willing to put money into this,” said Steven Halstead, state veterinarian.

Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter received $10,000, the maximum allowed for any shelter that applies for the grant.

The money will allow the shelter to “comply with 100% of spay and neuter services of animals that are going to be adopted,” said Jamie McAloon, director of the Shelter.

The shelter will have to implement and complete the expansion of its spay and neuter program before it will receive the funding.   

“We’re getting $10,000. Seven thousand will be used to purchase equipment like surgical tables, and $3,000 is being put aside to assist with additional labor that is going to be needed for this program,” McAloon said.

Photo Courtesy of Ingham Animal Control and Shelter

The shelter is one of several in the state of Michigan who received grants. Others included Eaton, Benzie and Isabella Counties.  

Jill Irving, executive director for the Humane Animal Treatment Society said the grant will allow Isabella County Animal Control, like Ingham “to provide spay and neuter services to assist us in successfully controlling the animal population.”

The grant will also supplement private funding and donations they receive.

The program raised $118,372.58 in 2010 and will distribute money until it is gone.



Click on each county's color for exact dollar amounts.

Community College is not for the Lesser Brain

By Christina Strong

If you are in the process of applying to and picking a college, you’re probably weighing a variety of options. Whatever you decide will affect the next four to five years of your life in more ways than one. You can choose to complete your first two years at a community college; this will save you money and allow you to slowly adjust to the new college life before being consumed by a massive campus full of thousands and thousands of students.

On the other hand, some people look down upon community colleges as places for the lesser brain and those who just couldn’t get in to universities. Don’t let these negative connotations turn you off to community college. It is an excellent option for a lot of people, depending on their preferences and needs.

I've listed a few key differences below. After reading about them, I think you’ll have a better idea as to which type of institution is better for you for the first couple years of your college education.

Classroom Size

If you like smaller classroom sizes, then a community college may be for you. Their class sizes usually hover around 30-40 people, similar to the high school setting. This allows for more one-on-one attention from professors and more availability in office hours. Some claim that at a large university you are “just a number.” This is true in some lecture-size classes where hundreds of students are enrolled and the classroom is really an auditorium. It’s hard to bond with professors in this environment, which is typically seen when taking General Education courses. But keep in mind that class size at a university depends on your major—there are still many classrooms that have 30 or so students.

Living Arrangements

Living arrangements are also very different between universities and community colleges. If you are one of those people who would like to leave home and get away, then a university is probably right up your alley. Most universities offer dorm rooms or on-campus apartments that students can reside in during their time at the school. Community colleges are typically commuter schools, which means most students drive to school and live off campus either with their parents or in an apartment.
The cost of living on your own and commuting back to school may be cheaper than the actual cost of living on campus and buying meal plans. If you live at home while attending community college, you are likely to save a few thousand dollars over the course of your first few college years. Living on campus at a university puts you in the middle of the college student life and makes it easier to participate in extracurricular activities and student life on a daily basis. This daily interaction increases your chances of successfully finishing your college degree and decreases your chances of dropping out.

Cost

Cost should also play a factor in which type of education you choose. Starting your education off at a community college can save you thousands of dollars. Consider this: two years at Henry Ford Community College, for example, adds up to about $7,800 versus attending Eastern Michigan University for two years which would cost $14,280. (This is based off their tuition calculator.) That’s a difference of $6,480. This savings can be used toward other necessities, such as food, gas and textbooks (or luxuries!).
There are pros and cons to attending both community colleges and universities. While a university calls to some people, community college calls to others. Whatever your choice, make an educated one (no pun intended), compare and contrast your options, and weigh the benefits of which one you should attend based on your specific circumstance.

Good luck in your college career!

*** Published on Igrad.com

New college program offers high school students tuition and books

By Christina Strong
Entirely East Lansing staff writer

At the East Lansing Public School Board meeting on Jan. 24, board members listened to the presentation of Kathy Dewsbury-White, director of Curriculum Development for Ingham Intermediate School District on The Early College program being launched this fall at Lansing Community College.            
                                                                    

Dewsbury-White’s presentation highlighted some features of the program and gave board members a chance to digest the information. TEC is a new program for high school juniors. The program is open to public school students in the Ingham Intermediate School District. Students who join the program will remain in TEC for grades 11 through 13.

Kathy Dewsbury-White at East Lansing Public School Board Meeting
on Jan. 24./Photo Christina Strong

“It’s a three-year program and students come in and it takes one year off the time they have to get the associate’s degree,” said Micki O’Neil, director of Public Relations and Communications at Ingham Intermediate School District.

The high school students will attend LCC, where they will be able to go tuition-free. The students will also be able to receive free books for classes.

The program is a partnership between LCC and Ingham Intermediate School District. TEC was created in 2010 and is funded by a grant LCC received.

“We got involved because the MDE had a grant announcement about a middle college and we named ours The Early College. We were awarded $400,000 in November 2010 to fund the program,” said Judith Berry, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at LCC.

The reason for the program’s creation was, “we wanted students at the secondary level to begin to work on college.” O’Neil said.

The program has 90 slots for fall 2011 and will choose students from different school districts such as East Lansing, Mason, Williamston, Stockbridge and others by lottery.

While TEC could reduce college costs, some parents are not captivated by the program.

Jeanne Maguire, a parent of a 10th grader, says she does not intend to apply for TEC for her child.
“It would cede into local public universities.” Maguire said. Instead, she is looking for smaller colleges outside Michigan.

Students who are selected will be asked to focus their studies at LCC on science, technology, engineering and math. Students will be allowed to choose fields outside those areas to obtain an associate’s degree or for general education classes for transfer to a four-year college.

In addition to the TEC presentation at the school board meeting, a presentation on a new program for students in grades K-6 to improve reading efficiency was presented. The program will be research-based and the goal is to have 80% of students at low-risk for illiteracy.

The school budget was also presented as well as public comment announcements.

East Lansing Citizen Emergency Response Team Underway

By Christina Strong
Entirely East Lansing staff writer


Photo: Clip Art



        The city of East Lansing is looking for you. Its new program, CERT, or Community Emergency Response Team is now accepting volunteers.

        CERT “is a group of volunteers from a geographical area that are trained in basic disaster response type techniques,” said East Lansing Police Officer Steve Gonzalez.  The emergency program is a first for East Lansing. The program is accepting volunteers for 20 hours of mandatory training that will cover areas such as terrorism, fire safety, natural disasters, basic first aid, and search and rescue. The East Lansing Police Department, the East Lansing Fire Department and the Michigan State University Police collaborate on the project.

        “MSU campus does have a CERT team that is primarily focused on the university’s campus. They are available to the city of East Lansing if we were to need them, however the police department and the fire department in cooperation with MSU Police are going to create a CERT team that will focus within the city limits itself, then the two teams could work jointly in the need of a major disaster or if we have a large event that we need a lot of volunteers for,” Gonzalez said.

        Training for the program will take place in a conference room at the East Lansing Police Department. There, volunteers will receive table-top training, they will also visit external sites such as the fire department to train for more complicated hands-on procedures such as fire suppression.

        Volunteers are not required to have experience in emergency preparedness but are expected to be 18 or older, sign a waiver and submit to a background check.

        Volunteers will not only assist during disasters but will be called upon to assist in non-emergencies such as the NCAA celebrations and the East Lansing Art Festival.

        The CERT program is expected to be a helpful resource for the East Lansing community, said East Lansing Fire Marshal Bob Pratt. “It will be a big bonus for the community in several ways simply having 20 or 30 trained volunteers out there will be that many less people that need help in the case of an emergency.”

        According to citizenscorp.gov, the national website for CERT, the Community Emergency Response Team concept was employed and developed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985. The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake illustrated a need for emergency training for civilians for their own self-reliance in case of emergencies. The Los Angeles City Fire Department created the Disaster Preparedness Division to educate and train citizens.

        The idea for a CERT program for East Lansing was conceived in 2010 and one of the goals is educating East Lansing citizens on disaster preparedness, said MSU Police 1st Lt. Penny Fischer.

        Fischer also offers advice to citizens on disaster preparedness for those who will not become members of the program.

        “Think about what you need in a disaster, how you can best prepare yourself, because to help someone else you and your own family need to be prepared first. So think about what things you could do proactively, think about the resources that are available to you and around you in the community, so be informed in terms of what sort of resources are available,” Fischer said.

         Citizens in East Lansing also agree the program will help the community.

        “I think that creating a CERT program will be nice especially around a college campus such as Michigan State University, because there is a lot of crimes that will happen. I’m sure students come up missing all the time.  It’s really nice just to have a program that is available and made specifically for trying to help find people and first aid, and accidents are bound to happen,” said Anna Slogor, a sophomore at Michigan State University.

          Applications for CERT are being accepted until Feb. 15. Training will begin in early March. Volunteers can submit an application online at cityofeastlansing.com or pick up a paper application from East Lansing City Hall, 410 Abbot Road. For more information, contact ELPD Officer Steve Gonzalez at 517-319-6897.