INSIDE
Volume 2, Issue 50 May 9, 2025 Total Raised: $60,831 Lead this Legacy
: Residents share feedback on city-owned land
REFLECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY
SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE
YOUR LOCALLYOWNED OWNEDAND AND OPERATED OPERATED NONPROFIT NEWS SOURCE YOUR LOCALLY NONPROFIT NEWS SOURCE
We need your help!
Please nominate Echo Publishing Inc. for a GLE Community Grant EVERYDAY H E R O E S
EVERYDAY By Sharon Hallack
HEROES The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent
RESIDENTIAL POSTAL CUSTOMER ECRWSS
PAID
BIG RAPIDS, MI 49307 PERMIT NO 62
PRSRT STANDARD NON PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE
Echo Publishing Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is only able to provide The Oceana Echo/White Lake Mirror on a weekly basis to our community through the generous contributions of our readers and supporters. Whether through advertising, regular or one-time donations or grant funds, each dollar goes to producing the newspaper many enjoy and have come to rely on for their local news. In the next two weeks, Oceana Echo/White Lake Mirror readers (who are also Great Lake Energy customers) have the unique opportunity to help fund EPI operations without spending a dime. EPI readers, who are Great Lakes Energy (GLE) members, are invited to nominate our nonprofit for GLE’s annual Community Grant Giveaway program from now until 5 p.m. on May 23, 2025. See simple nomination instructions below. Following the nomination period, GLE staff will review all submissions from across the cooperative’s northern, central and southern regions and select a list of finalists. If EPI is fortunate to be selected as a finalist, GLE members will have from June 9-20 to vote on which organization, from among the finalists, should receive one of three $10,000 grant awards. One vote will be allowed per member. The GLE Community Grant Giveaway program (different from the People Fund Grants many are familiar with) has generously awarded $78,000 in grants over the past four years. The program is made possible through a partnership between GLE and CoBank. To see a list of 2024 finalists and winners, grant guidelines and to nominate EPI please go to gtlakes.com/community-grantgiveaway and nominate us today! Simple nomination instructions: • Visit gtlakes.com/community-grant-giveway • Use “Echo Publishing Inc.” as the name of the nonprofit. • Write a short, heartfelt message why you feel EPI is a good candidate and should receive this donation more than any other of the several hundred applicants. • Use “Paul Erickson” as the nonprofit contact name. • Use “theoceanaecho.com” as the nonprofit website name. • Use “231-301-8149” as the nonprofit contact phone number. • Use “P.O. Box 192, Mears, MI 49436” as nonprofit address. • Enter your name and email address and “Submit.” Everyone at EPI once again extends its thanks to ALL of our readers and financial contributors for their generous support these past two years. On June 2 we will celebrate our second anniversary! Thank you for believing in us and celebrating with us! We invite all GLE customers to add their support and nominate us for this exciting funding opportunity!
Ballot items pass in May 6 Special Election Both the Hart Public Schools Bond Proposal and the Weare Township Millage Renewal were approved by voters in the Tuesday, May 6 Special Election. The Oceana County Clerk’s unofficial election results, which were posted the morning of May 7, showed that the 2.0 mill millage renewal for road improvement purposes passed 11858, and the bond proposal passed 632408. According to the ballot language, Hart Public Schools can now “borrow the sum of not to exceed Thirteen Million Nine Hundred Thousand Dollars ($13,900,000) and issue its general obligation unlimited tax bonds therefor, in one or more series, for the purpose of: remodeling, equipping and re-equipping, and furnishing and refurnishing school buildings and structures; erecting, equipping, and furnishing an athletic facility; and preparing, developing, equipping and improving the site.”
Part 1
CELEBRATING
NATIONAL CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WEEK - MAY 4-10
By AnnaMae Bush The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent This is the first of three articles focusing on members of our community who, although they are not celebrated as traditional superheroes, nevertheless, every day that goes by, they are heroes in someone’s life. They deserve a place in the spotlight of our minds and a grateful round of applause. Maybe even a gesture of support. For May 4-10, we focus on National Correctional Officers Week. Working in jails, prisons, and penitentiaries, their responsibilities for prisoners also play a role in public safety for everyone outside of prison walls. Their tasks and training have expanded over the years. The historical information in the following four paragraphs was found online in an explanation of National Correctional Officer’s Week. In the latter decades of the 19th century, prisons were staffed by a warden and several guards. The guards were called “turnkeys” because their primary responsibility was to lock and unlock the cells. The job had no educational, physical skills, or training requirements, and it paid poorly. With so little demanded of them, the guards shunned uniforms and did not take their work seriously. In the early 20th century, when the inmate population decreased and the prison budget increased, prison administrators expanded the responsibilities of the guards. The guards could specialize, and they responded with a more professional attitude. “In the 1950s, prison institutions became less intense, and inmate programs reoriented with a rehabilitative philosophy. Penitentiaries came to be called correctional institutions, and prison guards became correctional officers.” The pay improved, the training advanced, and the environment became more professional. The positive direction was challenged in the 1990s when the prison population increased, rehabilitation was neglected, and prisoner treatment was extreme. The public charged some facilities with disregard of civil rights and criticized correctional officers for their inability to handle the overcrowded conditions. In response, there was a renewed emphasis on training and professionalism for the officers. Shifting the focus from history to today, some common questions about correction officers include: what training or qualifications are required, what might disqualify someone from the job, how does their job differ from police patrol officers, and do they carry guns? Requirements include a minimum of a high school diploma and training at an academy to learn about prison policies, operations, and security procedures. Having a criminal record would disqualify an applicant. The police academy training is different from the correctional officer training because police carry out their work in the field and correctional officers work inside a building, dictating different behaviors. Normally, correctional officers carry guns only when they work at federal medium- and maximum-security facilities. Bringing this week’s national focus to a local level, Oceana County has a correctional facility on Lincoln Street in Hart. On the website for the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, one reads: The primary goal of the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Division (County Jail) is to ensure the safety of inmates, corrections personnel and residents of Oceana County. This is accomplished by detaining inmates in a secure manner, in the least restrictive setting possible, given inmate classification.
• Contributed Photo
The …Corrections Division strives to provide all inmates with humane living conditions and to protect inmate rights consistent with the United States Constitution, the Michigan Constitution, the laws of the State of Michigan and Department of Corrections guidelines. The Corrections Division is led by Lt. Mark Schneider. A West Shore Community College graduate and former Montague Wildcat, Lt. Schneider started his career at the Oceana County Sheriff’s office in 1997 as a road patrol deputy. Lt. Schneider has also served as a detective, tactical team member, and hostage negotiator. Schneider has seen the role of the corrections deputy develop over the last decade because maintaining security and safety now includes “recognizing and dealing with mental health, health care and drug addiction.” Like road patrol deputies, corrections deputies have annual requirements for continuing education and training. The Oceana County Jail has a maximum capacity of 66. But inmates must be housed by gender, by health risks and by crimes for which they are booked, which limits the jail capacity. According to Schneider, the inmate population averages 45-55 over the year. Schneider’s department has 13 staff members: three sergeants and 10 correctional officer deputies. He shared, “I have only four deputies with more than (three) years of experience serving in the Oceana County Jail. The retention of deputies is a great concern and challenge each year.” He has hired female deputies to ensure there is at least one female deputy per shift to handle the rising number of female inmates. He recounted statistics from the past three years. “In 2022, Corrections booked 1287 inmates with an average stay of 24 days. In 2023 we booked 1420 inmates with an average stay of 17 days. In 2024 we booked 1737 inmates with an average stay of 14 days.” Although most inmates come from Oceana County, at times they come from other counties. An increasing number are Michigan Department of Corrections inmates. Highlighting the significance of these numbers he said, “Our numbers are equal to or above many jails across the state that are twice our size and staffing.” Anyone who has had a loved one serve time in a corrections facility knows the pitfalls of overcrowding and the challenges it presents to both inmates and deputies. It limits the opportunities for inmates to participate in programs and to safely spend time outdoors. Deputies accompany inmates to classes (Oceana Corrections Facility offers ministry, GED and substance abuse programs) and to limited outdoor time. The Oceana facility has a small outdoor area between the courthouse and the jail. Illness is another issue for both inmates and deputies. Schneider reports, “The condition of our jail is extremely clean. We simply don’t have enough space to house today’s inmates.” Correctional officers are important to the safety of inmates, of facility personnel, and of the public. Beyond safety, they are crucial to the morale in the facility environment where they work. Seeing inmates as individuals, correctly assessing the needs of inmates, and treating inmates with respect can help to create an environment of respect…and maybe even hope. A kind word can be life-giving to inmates and to officers. This writer challenges readers to say a prayer for corrections officers everywhere and to find a way to express appreciation for those who work in Oceana this week.