WHAT ISN’T IN HER JOB DESCRIPTION? - Candy Lancioni of Aunt Candy’s Toy Company painting pumpkins in her shop on Courtland Street in downtown Rockford. “It’s easier to say what isn’t in my job description,” she said when asked of her duties as owner of Aunt Candy’s Toy Company.

Children will star in Children’s Weekend October 11 and 12 with plenty of kid-friendly activities. A highlight is trick or treating the Squires Street square on Saturday at 2 p.m. with a costume contest to follow in the Rotary pavilion on the corner of Squires and Courtland streets.

The Jaycees kids pedal tractor pull is always a fun time, this year at noon at Rockford City Hall, and Animals on the Go! at Garden Club Park (2 to 6 p.m.) is also popular.

Candy Lancioni, of Aunt Candy’s Toy Company in downtown Rockford will throw in a bit of extra fun with a party celebrating her 15 years in business.

On Sunday, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the pavilion, Aunt Candy’s will provide food and fun for children. There will be cake and cider, face painting, games and prizes, crafts and a popcorn wagon. “We’ll play games and have fun,” she said.

Lancioni said her 15 years in her very unusual business have gone by ‘way too fast.’

She came up with the idea of opening her own store when she was a young mom who had just lost her own mom. “I was a stay at home mom and the kids were in school and I needed more to do. A toy store seemed like a perfect fit,” she said. “I loved it from the moment I opened it. That’s the secret. After 15 years I love it even more.”

“It’s fun to go to work, it’s exciting every day. And Rockford makes all the difference. So many people are envious of us, and rightly so, we have it all.”

Lancioni’s shop grew to be crammed into a 2,000 square foot building on Squires Street before she made the move to purchase her own building on Courtland. It’s a roomy 4,500 square feet formerly owned and occupied by Herman’s Boy. She promptly painted it the unmistakable yellow. She said the city had no problem with the bright color and only one customer expressed disapproval. “Someone came in to ask what color it was so she could paint her laundry room the same,” she laughed.

For others who might consider opening a store of their own, she offered advice. “Love it, number one, and two, be prepared. Be prepared to not be paid for awhile and enjoy it,” she said. She said ittook eight years before she could begin to give herself a paycheck, and still it’s not a lot. “I hardly make anything. You put your money back into your business.”

She said in her business the trick is to stay with the trends but not be trendy. She doesn’t offer any mass marketed products and has to be careful to try and have what people want when they come in.

Over the years Ty plush toys have stayed popular as have potato guns. Dolls for girls remain a favorite as does fake food.

Recently she has seen several of her suppliers go out of business - three in the last year. “It’s sad. You call to place an order and the phone is disconnected. She believes everyone is feeling the bite of the economy and it’s sad and a little bit scary.

“Absolutely I’ve felt the crunch, everybody has. It’s understandable. People have to buy gas and food for their families.”

“I’m blessed, though. I live in a great town. We are very fortunate because local people do support their downtown. Our merchants work really hard to offer goods and services that people really need.”

Aunt Candy’s Toy Company customers are anyone from age 0 all the way up to men in their 80s. Lancioni said she started her store, briefly, in Grandville. “Then I moved to Rockford and it was a perfect fit. I joined the Chamber the day I opened my doors and have been a member ever since.”

Lancioni said the Chamber is a big part of the success story of Rockford. “It’s an organization I am always happy to volunteer for. We couldn’t do all we do down here without the Chamber.”

Join Lancioni in celebrating her ten years of a labor of love Sunday and enjoy all the events of the last two wonderful days of this year’s Harvest Festival.

Dave Brickner, store director for Ric’s on Belding Road, knows shopping in a courteous, clean store doesn’t mean prices are high. SHE LIKES THE SALES, THEY LIKE THE CANDY - Toni Preisner with children Colin, 8, and Kelsi, 2, shops at Ric’s Food Center. “It’s close to our house so it’s convenient. They have pretty good sales and we like the service. They bag the groceries for us,” Preisner said. Colin and Kelsi said they like the candy.

“We’ve made a major attempt to be competitive with store-wide price restructuring,” he said. “Reducing prices is a way to offset the economic fears so many people are having.”

Lowering prices on hundreds of staple items - corn, cereal, spaghetti sauce - doesn’t sound exciting, but it is just one example of how the family-owned and family-friendly grocery responds to customer requests.

The store opened its doors in Rockford this year and is in the process of building life-long relationships with customers. Ric’s is owned by second-generation store owner Andy Woodrick. The store is in the enviable position that smaller or family-owned stores enjoy - able to quickly respond to the needs or requests of their customers.

Brickner has seen this happen in his store in ways both small and large - from bringing in new items on request to the lowering of prices on every day cooking items.

Brickner hopes the tightening of family budgets won’t mislead shoppers into thinking that shopping in a courteous, friendly store is beyond their means.

Ric’s places a strong emphasis on customer service with the belief that courtesy doesn’t cost more, but is priceless for the shopping experience. “We make it fun for our employees by creating incentives,” said Brickner. “They do things like get an item a customer forgot, carry their bags out to the car because they can see their hands are full with small children. We will do something for the employee, like give them a free 12 pack of pop to recognize their efforts.”

Cleanliness, a beautifully designed and shopper-friendly store as well as a personal touch add significantly to the routine of filling a cart or basket. “I don’t care if you are spending fifteen cents or $150, you get treated the same way,” Brickner stated. “It’s really important. We don’t pick and choose our customers. They choose us.”

The philosophy at Ric’s is a store-wide pride in customer service that shows in the wide aisles significantly lower than many stores - a convenience for customers. It also shows in the personal attention that has gone away from many sellers in an increasingly impersonal world.

At Ric’s Brickner said shoppers often drop off their bottles and go on to shop, with the bottle return clerk finding the shopper in the store to deliver the slip. “A lot of stores are getting rid of their service clerks,” Brickner said. Ric’s has no plans along those lines and is proud to emphasize service. Bags are filled by an employee and an offer to carry the bags to the car is mandatory. There is no self check-out. “We have the technology. We choose not to use it,” Brickner explained. It’s too impersonal.

Customers can also count on a no-hassle return policy, a mainstay at all of the Ric’s stores, as well as the opportunity to sample the deli items before buying. It’s all part of the policy of offering the best service and building relationships that may last a lifetime. “It’s not just customers, it’s employees too. I tell them when they start, this might be the first day of a 20-year career. A lot of our employees are surprised how much they love working here.”

Building the new store in Rockford - as in any venture - was a leap of faith for the company. Owner Andy Woodrick and his wife Monica drove down Belding Road years ago and saw the potential of the site as well as the community here in Rockford. The store is still in the process of earning the trust and loyalty of area shoppers.

The Rockford store is the first Ric’s built from the ground up. The care and thought put into the building shows from the custom floors to the non fluorescent lighting and everything in between.

“It’s the first store we built and that’s a big deal for us,” said Brickner. “We wanted it to be the best it could be, right down to the floors.” He said the floors are not only unusual in design, but had much thought and care into the surface to prevent accidents. “You could put anything on these floors and not slip,” be boasted. “You don’t normally think about getting compliments on a floor, but a lot of people commented on them.”

The store turned out show room quality and as beautiful as hoped for. Brickner said the aesthetic appeal of the store - touted as a “boutique grocery” - has almost worked to its disadvantage. It looks expensive.

“We have worked very, very hard to be competitive,” Brickner assured. He said cereal, soup and vegetables may not sound exciting, but keeping costs low on such staples is important, whether families are struggling with costs or not. Premium items are available as well, including a impressive selection of cheeses and wines, but aren’t the items families need to buy day in and day out. Ric’s prides itself on its responsiveness to customer requests in pricing as well as product.

The store changed its dairy provider at customer request and knows people appreciate input at their local grocery. This may be part of the reason Brickner has noticed some people are willing to drive a surprising distance to shop here.

When the store was planned, sales in for a neighboring commercial presence and both single and town homes were expected. The Town Square development was designed with the personal, friendly style of Ric’s in mind and was part of the draw of the location. The new community was literally at the doorstep.

When new home sales began to drop - and then to nearly stop - in Michigan, the development felt the blow. Today Town Square has yet to sell one home and Ric’s stands alone commercially. Brickner is confident the building market will pick up and, as far as Michigan goes, our area remains relatively stable economically. And his customer base has been building.

Brickner said he is enjoying getting to know his customers well, a big part of how he perceives his job and role in Ric’s. He is also interested in how Rockford shoppers differ from the client base in the other Ric’s stores.

The emphasis on quality meat has been a tradition at Ric’s. All beef is hand cut by butchers with decades of experience. It is all ground at the store as well as packaged fresh there. Many other of the meats are handled and packaged by the professional butchers at the store. Even chicken is often cut and packaged, which is rare for a grocery. “It’s about quality and consistency,” Brickner said.

In Rockford, shoppers are responding well to the high quality of the meat department, but give even more feedback on the deli where a variety of hot and cold foods are available. Brickner said one customer is well known to the deli staff and buys the pot pies to give as gifts. The Boarshead deli meat is also an item that is very popular here.

In produce Brickner said Rockford shoppers are much more pro-organics than in any other Ric’s. Happily, the price on organics has come down compared to other produce. The difference in price continues to diminish as organic products become more mainstream.

In meats Rockford loves the kielbasa made with a recipe brought in by one of the butchers. The flavor helped him win the job when he brought in hot samples to his second interview. Also popular here are the mock chicken legs. “It’s kind of a sausage shaped like a drumstick. Some of our younger employees didn’t know what it was, but the older butchers knew and we sell a lot of it,” Brickner commented.

Brickner is also surprised by the politeness of Rockford shoppers. “They let you know what they want, but they aren’t yelling at you,” he said. “They are very, very polite.” Brickner said he is proud to serve this well-behaved customer base with a store with a strong customer service focus. “It’s what we do every day, all day long,” he said of the store’s focus on their shoppers.

“If you don’t have that, none of the other things you do matter. At the end of the day, if you aren’t putting your customers first, it doesn’t matter what else you do.”

POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION - Neighbors complaining of gunshot led police to the bodies of Norma and Robert Bean in an abandoned sand/gravel pit. Lt. Kevin Kelly of the Kent County Sheriff Department addresses the media at a press conference in Grattan.

by JUDY REED

A Howard City couple were found murdered Monday morning in an abandoned sand/gravel pit in Oakfield Township.

According to Lt. Kevin Kelley, of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, sheriff’s deputies and troopers from the Michigan State Police Post in Lakeview made the discovery in the area of 14000 Beardslee Road in Oakfield Township, after neighbors complained of hearing gunshots early Monday morning, October 6, about 7:45 a.m.

The couple was identified as Robert Bean, 66, and his wife, Norma, also 66. Both died of fatal gunshot wounds. The couple’s vehicle was found stuck in the mud on a two track near where their bodies were found.

A manhunt ensued for the possible suspects. Using descriptions from neighbors of suspicious subjects seen on foot near the shooting, the police apprehended one suspect near the scene, and two other potential suspects at the Log Cabin grocery near 14 Mile and Lincoln Lake. They later determined that only one of the people at the store was a suspect, and the other is believed to be a witness that gave the person a ride.

The other two suspects were placed in custody and taken to the Kent County Sheriff’s Office where they were interrogated. They have not yet been arraigned.

The Beans lived in Howard City, and were owners of R. Bean and Son Transportation, Inc., which they founded in 1977 with just one truck. According to their website, it has now grown to more than 18 late model conventional tractors, and numerous trailers.

All are invited to take part in the CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) Hunger Walk Sunday, Oct 12 at 2 p.m. Participants walk 3.2 miles on the beautiful Fred Meijer White Pine Trail-Belmont. Registration starts at 1:30 p.m. at the White Pines United Methodist Church Welcome Center at 2350 Belmont Center Dr. suite 300, Belmont. Join as a walker or as a sponsor.

CROP Hunger Walks help children and families worldwide including in the U.S. - and right here in northern Kent County (North Kent Service Center) - to have food for today, while building for a better tomorrow. Each year some two million CROP walkers, volunteers, and sponsors put their caring into action, raising over $16 million per year to help end hunger and poverty around the world - and in their own communities. Together we can be part of the solution!

STARS - Dennis Morris, the inspiration for the movie ‘The Rookie’ is pictured with Dennis Quaid, who played him in the show.

Johnny Agar, 14, is a Rockford freshman and veteran of the Conductive Learning Center, where children with motor challenges such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida learn to become as independent as possible. Agar, who became a student at the Conductive Learning Center at age four, selected the theme for the evening. He and a few fellow classmates will share the stage briefly with Morris to tell their own stories of dreams fulfilled through their education there.

Many high value, high adventure items top this year’s auction agenda. The high bidder for four tickets to a 2009 Detroit Tiger baseball game will be escorted onto the field to watch batting practice and meet the Detroit players and coaches. This auction item also includes a separate day of actual participation in a three-hour batting practice against former Tiger pitchers.

Another auction winner will enjoy an all expense paid weeklong vacation at Colorado Trails Dude Ranch, just outside Durango, Colorado, with fly-fishing, white water rafting, participation in a cattle drive, their own horse for a week, and gourmet meals.

Thrill seekers may bid on a three-day all expense paid trip to Phoenix, Arizona, to attend the Bob Bondurant High Performance Racing School to learn how to drive like a professional racecar driver.

A weeklong stay on the Mexican island of Punta Mita with personal chef and maid, typically a $2,000 per night luxury, is also among the bid items.

Featured speaker Jim Morris will be available at some time during the evening to meet attendees and sign autographs. Tickets for this year’s event are still available and can be purchased by calling Terry Stelter at (616) 575-0575. The ticket price for adults is $125 and $50 for children 10 and over.

According to reports, a witness saw a 1983 Ford F-350 driving southbound on Northland Drive, driving erratically. The witness later located the vehicle in a ditch and it had rolled several times.

The crash claimed the life of John Fouse, a 46-year-old Grand Rapids man. He was the lone occupant of the vehicle and was ejected as a result of not wearing a seatbelt. Alcohol is believed to be a factor.

FATAL ACCIDENT - The pickup truckpictued at right was involved in a single-vehicle accident that claimed a Grand Rapids man’s life.

Volunteers at the busy Democratic Headquarters at 1344 Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids said demand for new signs can barely keep up with supply. Fortunately for Rockford residents, a new Obama headquarters has been established at 119-1/2 Courtland Street next to Gliks. Anyone interested in volunteering to support the Obama campaign or getting bumper stickers, pins or yard signs can call Emily Byl at (616) 901-0351.

The Department of Natural Resources is seeking volunteers to help harvest native prairie seeds on weekends throughout October and early November.

Seeds collected will be used to restore tallgrass prairie, lakeplain prairie and oak savanna ecosystems throughout southern Michigan. Prairie and oak savanna ecosystems, nearly eliminated during European settlement, exist today in small remnants, many in Michigan’s state parks and recreation areas. Seed collection is a key step in restoring these lost landscapes, but a step that requires many hands.

“This is an important opportunity to restore and expand these natural ecosystems and preserve them for future generations,” explained Ray Fahlsing, stewardship manager of the DNR’s Parks and Recreation Division. A complete schedule of the 14 collection dates, meeting locations and registration forms are available on the DNR Web site at www.michigan.gov/dnrvolunteers.

At approximately 8:40 a.m. a white Oldsmobile driven by a Grandville woman swerved to avoid another car which had driven into her lane. The white Oldsmobile swerved sideways into the path of another northbound vehicle, a full-sized pickup truck pulling a horse trailer. The driver of the truck could not avoid a collision.

Both vehicles came to a rest in the right side of the ditch. The white Oldsmobile suffered heavy damage to the passenger side. The Grandville woman was taken to Butterworth Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The pickup truck was heavily damaged but the driver was uninjured.

There is no description of the car which originally caused the driver of the first vehicle to swerve and lose control. Troopers ask that anyone who was driving north on US-131 at the time and may have witnessed the crash to contact the Rockford Michigan State Police Post with a description of the car.

Anyone with any information that could help with the investigation is asked to call Trooper Kurt Ehrke at (616) 866-4411, reference report 61-4411-08.

The 13th annual concert event is scheduled for January 24, 2009 in the Rockford High School Performing Arts Center and will feature West Michigan¹s own Brian Vander Ark. As the principle songwriter for The Verve Pipe, Brian sold more than 3 million albums worldwide and produced a string of hit singles. In 2005, Brian struck out on his own. In his most recent selftitled CD, Vander Ark¹s music once again takes an intimate look at life while exploring themes of family, love and loss. This is guaranteed to be a special evening for all as he performs with a full band. Brian¹s wife, Lux Land, a talented recording artist in her own right, will open the show at 8:00pm, making it a family affair ... that is family friendly! Tickets for the event go on sale October 15th.

REF is a non-profit organization, created in 1991, to raise money and award grants for creative and innovative ideas in education within the Rockford community. Since the beginning, they have awarded more than $681,000 in grants to the community. REF would like to thank United Bank for this very generous gift. For more information regarding REF or the annual event please contact the REF office at 616-863-6317.

A Rockford man robbed this Mobile gas station at gunpoint early in the morning on Saturday, October 4. He fled the scene in pursuit by an officer who happened to be at the store and noticed the man appeared intoxicated and drove away at a high rate of speed.

The DNR officer observed the suspect drop something as he exited the store and he appeared intoxicated.

The suspect took off at a high rate of speed with the officer following to make a traffic stop. The suspect failed to stop. At this time the call for assistance for an armed robbery was dispatched and a pursuit was initiated.

The pursuit ended on 13 Mile Road east of Myers Lake Avenue when the suspect drove his vehicle into a cornfield and attempted to elude officers on foot, not realizing officers had surrounded the area. When the suspect realized he was surrounded, he turned himself over to Deputy Morey of the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. The suspect is lodged in the Kent County Jail.

The gun was located in the cornfield by Wyoming K-9 Officer Aungst and his dog Zeke.

Alyce had earned an Alpha Beta pin that was awarded to students who graduated first and second in their class. But she never received it because of a record keeping mistake. Her high school principal William Poppink wrote to her stating, “Every effort is being made to get the actual pin, and you will be notified when it is received.”

Sixty-two years later, at a 1946 high school reunion, Alyce asked Dr. Shibler, Superintendent of Rockford Schools, if he could help her get the pin that was awarded to the three salutatorians in that senior class, one of which was her.

Then known as Alyce Brower, Hole was looking back on some old high school photos around the time of her high school reunion, and came upon some pictures of her school friends who had entered the Honor Society and thought, “Let’s get that taken care of.”

In a follow-up letter she wrote to Dr. Shibler, Alyce said, “I have been waiting 62 years for my pin and, at my age, I don’t have many years left to wait.”

Dr. Shibler enlisted the help of school staff, who located Becky (Gill) Holstetter, the sister of a former central office employee who was in possession of two pins made from the jeweler Terryberry, the same jeweler who made the originals. She sent one of the pins gladly. Requests were made, and Terryberry obliged by recasting Alyce’s graduation date on the pin.

Along with her husband, Ervin Hole, Alyce received her Alpha Beta pin in a ceremony, led by Dr. Shibler. “We are so happy to correct this mistake,” said Dr. Shibler.

TWOFER - Lynn Rotier picks up two Corner Bar chili dogs as did her husband Glenn (not pictured). “You can’t have just one,” she says, calling the dogs a Rockford classic. “Corner Bar chili dogs are Corner Bar chili dogs.” The Rotiers say they never miss the Independent Bank tailgate party and have stopped by every year. THREE GENERATIONS OF ROCKFORD EDUCATION FOUNDATION FANS - Thom and Sue Arends, long-time supporters of REF, enjoy the day along with a visit from their daughter Jodi (center) and grandchildren Caleb, 5, Haiden, 3, and Zoe (newborn). At the tailgate just under 1,000 hotdogs were given away, most with chili. TOO FUNNY! - Three blind mice took prizes at last years’s trick or treating on the Squres Street square. What crazy costumes can you come up with? This year the trick or treating is at 2 p.m. starting at the Rotary pavilion on Squires and Courtland streets. A costume contest will follow, also at the pavilion.

The event is held annual to celebrate the Rockford homecoming football game and raises funds for the Rockford Education Foundation (REF). This year the weather was a sunny 78 degrees, and those who visited had a great time.

With one weekend remaining in this annual fund-raising promotion organizer Denise Bradley says, “We are easily within striking distance of last year’s record of 973 scarecrows.

The Historical Society is seeking the child in all of us to purchase and build at least 166 more scarecrows enabling the Society to establish a new record.

Weather permitting this should be a relatively easy goal to reach! The Squire has done its part and proudly displays their “make-it and take-it” scarecrow in front of the paper’s office at 331 Northland Dr.

While in town for the upcoming Children’s Weekend, why not stop by and participate in the making of a new record.

An ACCESS-County Wide Food Drive will take place from Saturday, October 11, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Food can be dropped off at the following places:

• North Kent Service Center
  
• D & W Foods ñ Rockford
  
• Family Fare Stores ñ Cedar Springs and Sparta
  

The North Kent Service Center mission is ìHelping our Neighbors in Needî in northern Kent County. North Kent Service Center provides service to families, individuals living north of 6 Mile to 22 Mile (the county line) and the entire width of the county. The numbers of individuals and families seeking service from NKSC for food, shelter and utility assistance has increase over the past five years from 1,367 families in 2002 to currently 6,277 families. We are currently averaging 14,740 pounds of food being distributed to families per week. This is an increase of 53.6% from last year. Last year we averaged 10,889 pounds per week. Our average day consist of assisting 125+ families with food needs, shelter needs -eviction notices, utilities shut off notices, and gas vouchers to doctor appointments.

Items needed:

• Canned Meats (tuna, chicken, stew, chili, ham)
  
• Canned Fruits and Applesauce
  
• Jell-O / Pie Crust/ Pie Filling
  
• Cake mix & Frosting
  
• Boxed Potatoes / Stuffing Mix & Gravy
  
• Canned Yams / Cranberry Sauce
  
• Jelly / Mayonnaise / Catsup / Salad Dressings
  
• Cereal / Pop Tarts / Granola Bars
  
• Coffee / Tea
  
• Boxes Dinners Products (Hamburger & Tune Helper)
  
• Pasta Sauce (please no glass jars)
  

In the first 8 months of 2008, we have distributed 471,700 pounds of food averaging 58,962 pounds per month. In the month of July alone we distributed 98,016 pounds of food. The need for assistance and the numbers of families seeking assistance is increasing weekly.