From the Thursday, August 4 Calhoun County Board of Commissioners Meeting

At this meeting of the Board of Commissioners, there were two special orders of business, including a resolution recognizing the 2022 Joanne Konkle Senior Services Achievement Award recipients and a special resolution honoring Eagle Scout Kevin Grady. Read the information below to learn more about this year's recipients of the Joanne Konkle awards. On the Consent Agenda, Commissioners approved a Resolution of Support for the Road Department's application under the newly offered Federal Bridge Improvement Program, and the certification of 2022 Municipal Employees’ Retirement System of Michigan (MERS) officer and employee delegates for the upcoming annual conference. Click here for the meeting agenda and video
In new business, the Board approved,

  • a Road Department bid award for plow blade Cutting Edges
  • a Public Health Department staffing request
  • and a Prosecutor's Office staffing request
A message from Calhoun County Administrator/Controller Kelli Scott

Starting August 1, Calhoun County's emergency response agencies—including our independently operated Consolidate Dispatch Authority and the Sheriff’s Office Emergency Management Division—began using Rave Alerts as the official text notification platform. Notifications include emergency updates, traffic alerts, and weather statements. Download the Smart911 app or use this link to create a Smart911 Safety Profile, where you can specify which notifications you'd like to receive and by which methods—email, voice, or text. Creating a Smart911 profile is useful also because the software is integrated with the 911 Dispatch Center. If you have a Smart911 profile and you call 911 for any reason, whatever profile information you have previously entered will show up for the dispatcher so that they are able to more quickly and accurately customize the emergency response to your situation. All of this information can be found on the County’s website at, calhouncountymi.gov/rave.

I want to congratulate the team who helped to successfully implement Rave Alerts, including the Calhoun County Consolidated Dispatch Authority’s Director Mike Armitage, Calhoun County’s Emergency Management Director Lt. Chris Young, and the County’s Communications Director Lucy Blair. By the end of the day on August 1, Calhoun County's Rave Alerts had more than 2,700 subscribers, which exceeded the number of people we reached with the previous emergency alert system. The County continuously seeks out effective ways to inform our residents of emergency situations.

Learn more at calhouncountymi.gov/rave.
Highlights from a few boards, committees, and events:
An internal Risk Management Committee meeting was held on July 28. Staff discussed annual trainings for Hall Monitors, Rave Panic Button training for all employees, and the Toeller Building security plan.
Update from Juvenile Home
In partnership with the Youth Arts Alliance, residents at the Calhoun County Juvenile Home participated in a group art project this week. They celebrated the end of the project with a ceremony during which each resident received a certificate and t-shirt. Together, the students worked on artwork that will hang in the Juvenile Home, as well as individual mosaics that they can take with them when they leave. They were encouraged to create abstract art based on their feelings. A 17-year-old resident said the artwork “was very calming and helped me relax my mind,” and a 14-year-old said it was a cool project: “I like that I can take my artwork home with me to show my family.”  

The Youth Arts Alliance provides arts workshops to young people across Michigan, often in residential programs like the Calhoun County Juvenile Home. At the final celebration, Youth Arts Alliance Founding Director Heather Martin reminded the students that these artworks demonstrated how the youth can take risks and try something new to create something meaningful. “I’m so unbelievably impressed with each of you,” Heather Martin shared before handing out the certificates to each student.
Questions or comments? Please contact our Communications Manager. If you were forwarded this email, sign up to receive future emails.