HURON DAILY TRIBUNE� Saturday,�January�25,�2014

Teachers & HealersShe won’t stand back and watch the miracle happenBy Bill DillerFor the Tribune

PIGEON — Anyone who has ever had the pleasure of visiting the offices of Dr. Julia Deer has probably left with the same impression: She knows what she’s doing. Dr. Julia, as she prefers to be called, is a personable, enthusiastic doctor of chiropractic — a chiroprac-tor to laymen.

Deer moved to Pigeon 10 years ago. She recently had graduated from Palmer University in Iowa, and was looking for a place to prac-tice. The Deer family, which consists of the idealistic Dr. Julia, her husband and three boys, happened to visit Pigeon during the Farmer’s Festival. They immediately fell in love with the small-town atmo-sphere.

“ I was l i ke , ‘Th i s i s Mayberry! I love this place,’” Deer said. “I always liked the Laura Ingalls Wilder books

when I was growing up. I had it in the back of my mind that

I wanted to be Doc Baker — I wanted to help people, and

get to know them, and create relationships. I wanted to take

care of whole families.”She felt Pigeon offered the

perfect opportunity to live that lifestyle.

“When you’re in the city, you just don’t get that same kind of small-town feel,” Deer said. “Plus, I had little boys. I wanted them to grow up in a wholesome community. I think Pigeon hit it right on the nose for us.”

A local chiropractor took her on as an associate, and retired six months later. Deer purchased the business.

Some people may find it hard to be accepted by people in a small town. Deer didn’t have that problem. She’s too likeable.

“I really put myself out there,” Deer said. “When I first came here, I went around the community and introduced myself. We got involved in a lot of community activities like the Pigeon Little League, and different clubs — I belonged to the women’s club for awhile.

I’m no longer with them, just because of time constraints. So, I was really involved, and I was accepted.”

She’s been a business owner in Pigeon for 10 years now. Because of an ever expanding clientele, she opened another office a few years ago.

“I have patients all over Huron County,” Deer said. “With a lot of people travel-ing from the east side of the county, it just made sense for me to have a second office in Bad Axe. It’s more accessible to people, so they can come to me when they need me.”

The Pigeon office is open from 3 to 7:00 p.m. Monday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday. On Wednesday, Deer is in Bad Axe from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Thursday, she returns to her Pigeon office from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and then it’s back to Bad Axe on Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lutheran teacher has worked with students since 1982By AmAnDA TripleTTFor the Tribune

PIGEON — While there are many teachers in our area, they are all unique in their own way. Gwynne Barry is no exception.

Barry teaches third through fifth grade at Cross Lutheran School in Pigeon. She is very familiar with the Thumb, as she attended Cross Lutheran from fourth through eighth grade, because at that time, that is all Cross Lutheran offered. She graduated from Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker High School and continued her education at Central Michigan University, earning a bachelor of science degree in education.

“I love being creative with my students and sharing God’s Word with them on a daily basis,” Barry said.

The mission statement, which all Cross Lutheran staff is dedicated to, is very important to Barry. The school focuses on lifelong guidelines: trustworthiness, truthfulness, no put-downs, active listening and personal best.

“We are in constant conver-sation with our students about these guidelines.” Barry said. “We have high expectations of our students and they know it. Our staff works as a team.”

Barry said kids are kids, no matter what school they attend. The kids at Cross have a special advantage because they staff does work as a team to guide children as well as their families to learn, love and live under the grace of God’s forgiveness.

Being a Christian school is one thing that makes Cross Lutheran, as well as the staff, unique. They openly teach about God, worship and prayer. Unlike many schools in our area, Barry teaches all sub-jects in her classroom, with the exception of music. Classes are split up with kindergarten through second, third through fifth and sixth through eighth.

Previous to Barry’s position at Cross Lutheran, she fulfilled her first teaching job at Kipper School, teaching grades fifth through eighth.

“Country school teaching was an easy adjustment for me, as I had been a student in a

multi-grade classroom,” Barry said. “Kim Brown taught kin-dergarten through fourth, and we had a great time together.”

Sometimes during recess, they would play cards with the older kids when it was too cold to go outside.

While working in the edu-cation field, it is important to stay up to date on the new discoveries as well as the tech-nological changes that come over time. Barry does this by being aware of brain research, and how educators can incor-porate that knowledge in their educational practices.

“In many occupations, you need to be aware of new research developments,” Barry said. “Of course, one should have a passion for children if you are in education because that is what it’s all about.”

Technology advancements definitely has made it easier for those at Cross Lutheran, as technology is another tool to use in education. There are certain things that change the way students are present-ing projects, researching and responding to questions.

For example, each student in Barry’s classroom has a laptop to use.

“I am glad I no longer have to use a thermograph or ditto machine,” said Barry. “I feel human interaction is extremely important and that building and working on relationships with one another is essential.”

Barry and her husband, J.B., both grew up in the Pigeon area, with extended family as well. She said the word “community” describes her town. They live in a com-munity that supports others, helps others and encourages others.

“God has called me to work here for a long time,” Barry said. “I guess I’m here for the duration ... we’ll see what He has in store!”

Barry’s family is very important to her. Gwynne and J.B. have two sons, Russell and Joshua. Russel l is a 26-year-old lineman working in Colorado and is engaged to marry, wi th wedding plans set for Jan. 25. Joshua is a 24-year-old surveyor in Williamsport, Pa.

Local veterinarian experienced with animals of all sizesBy rich hArpFor the Tribune

HARBOR BEACH — Since child-hood, Dr. James McCrea was raised with large animals, as his family owns and runs Wil-Le Farms in Bad Axe.

The veterinarian knows the dif-ference between being a farmer and being a veterinarian is like the differ-ence between night and day.

The young vet has worked at Harbor Beach Veterinary Services since May 2011. He estimates the clinic treats an about equal numbers of large animal and small animal customers.

As may be expected, he was much more comfortable working with large farm animals (particularly cattle) than with small pets. He says he is surprised how much he enjoys small animals today.

He admits his comfort level with small animal owners was not where it should have been. For the first six months, he felt considerable anxiety doing diagnoses.

“My confidence is building,” he said.

He explained his initial problem

when doing diagnoses.“I enjoy diagnosing,” he said.But, giving information to a client

is a challenge. How one delivers the diagnosis and explains the need for care, determines how the customer will perceive and understand all that is happening.

He had to learn how to give this information to a customer so they would feel comfortable about leaving their pet with the veterinarian. Clinic staff has been invaluable in helping him learn this technique.

He was quick to describe the clinic’s staff and how much they

helped him. He says they have been extremely helpful to him since he arrived at the clinic.

“The staff is excellent,” he said. “I’m blessed to be able to work with these people.”

Today, his challenges are different than they were when he was a rookie.

“The biggest challenge for me is managing time,” he said. “Our job takes us out of the clinic and out of the county.”

As he gains experience in this profession, he is learning how better to manage his time.

Being on the road will cause prob-lems with some of the customers. The biggest problem arises when there is a pet emergency. To this regard, he is gaining a working alliance with other clinics. They can handle pet emergencies when he is unavailable, if customers are willing.

He said the clinic’s customers are wonderful. In most instances, they are very understanding about his need to be out of the office. He feels a large percentage of pet customers are will-ing to accept his recommendation to visit another clinic in an emergency.

McCrea works for Dr. Arnold

Hentschl at Harbor Beach Veterinary Service. The facility does not have a business manager. Management and managerial decisions are made by Hentschl and the team.

McCrea understands the ability to run the business and accounting ends of this business is all important. At least for the near future, McCrea will be working on management skills.

“Doc (Hentschl) has been working with me on management,” he said.

Experience for the young vet-erinarian has had several benefits. It allows him time to stand back and see the big picture. It also allows for a certain amount of fun on the job.

“The first year, I spent getting my feet wet,” he said. “I’m getting to see the same pets over and over again.”

Regular contact with the same pets allows him to see how they have progressed. It also has given him the opportunity to see how well the pets and owners have bonded over that period of time. “That’s been fun to see,” he said.

McCrea is married to Briynne. The couple has a 14-month-old daughter, Elinor. Briynne is a paraprofessional at Church Rural School.

Bill Diller/For the TribuneDr. Julia Deer, center, pauses for a photo in her office in pigeon, with part of her staff: peggy Karl, left, and Tamera Feldhouse.

Rich Harp/For the TribuneDr. James mccrea poses outside of his harbor Beach practice.

Amanda Triplett/For the TribuneGwynne Barry assists one of her students at cross lutheran School in pigeon.

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2 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

“I stagger my hours so they can fit other people’s sched-ules,” Deer said.

She has never found it neces-sary to advertise her services. Instead she lets satisfied custom-ers to do that for her.

“I prefer word of mouth,” Deer said. “I want people to know what they’re getting into, because I’m different. I’m not a traditional style of chiropractic. I’m a holistic chiropractor.”

Her definition of the term is ‘whole body.’

“I deal with the entire per-son as a single unit,” Deer said. “Not just their spine. Not just the pain spot. I holisti-cally approach it that the entire body has to be in balance in order to have optimum health potential.”

Her path to practicing chi-ropractic didn’t begin until Deer was in her mid-20s. She took pre-chiropractic classes at Jackson Community College, and then went on to Palmer University.

“That is the fountainhead of chiropractic,” Deer said. “They were the original founder of chiropractic. I wanted to go to the best school, and I felt like that would be it.”

She spent the next four and a half years getting her doctorate in chiropractic.

“I was actually in college for eight and a half years,” Deer said. “People don’t realize the amount of schooling that’s involved in chiropractic. It’s an interesting comparison of doc-tor’s hours to chiropractic hours — we actually have more hours in a lot of things. Comparatively speaking, we get just as much education as a medical doctor. The only difference is they have to do an internship after school and we have to do an externship while we’re still in school. My last two years, while I was going to school, I was also working in a clinic.”

It has been a long road, but Deer managed not only to have three children while attending college, but opened a business in a community she loves. Over the last decade, her business has

increased tremendously, and she’s become a practitioner of chiropractic the way she envi-sioned.

It didn’t happen without a lot of hard work.

“Not only do I work long hours, and regular hours, but what I do is very physical,” Deer said. “I maintain my health through chiropractic and natural supplements. I barely ever get sick, and if I do, I get over it quickly, because of my life-style. I know what to do to keep myself healthy, and I try to pass that along to the patients. I try to educate people about what they’re doing wrong — what not to do — and how to change whatever is causing them to have pain.”

One of the greatest benefits of becoming Deer’s patient is that she’s made it a practice to familiarize herself with what different people do for a living, and how that affects their health. Each profession has its own particular set of physical and mental demands, which can lead to health problems.

“I try to figure out what the person is doing to cause their situation,” Deer said. “Farmers sit in a tractor all day with their heads cranked to the right. Milkers set with their heads to the left every day. Then there are the co-op workers who are throwing things on their shoul-ders, or people who have to lean over and grind all day. For every profession there’s a basic formula for what’s going on with their bodies.”

Deer not only alleviates their physical ailments through chiro-practic techniques, but attempts to show the patient how to keep the problem from returning.

“I try to teach them how to work smarter, so they don’t hurt themselves,” she said. “Sleeping is a big issue. Nobody ever taught them how to do it. Walking up and down stairs — nobody taught them how to do that the right way. People say, lift with your legs and not your back. What does that mean? There’s a way to do that cor-rectly.”

Deer uses a variety of chiro-practic methods in her practice, and treats people of all ages.

“Every person is different,” she said. “You don’t do chiro-practic the same way on every-body. I mix and match, and tailor fit to the patient.”

Her experience, and the health of the patient, helps determine which techniques will work for that particular patient — but there’s more to it than that.

“I also assess their organ system, because some of the techniques I use deal with the organ system,” she said. “Sometimes, a person will come in because their back hurts. It could be because it’s muscles, bones, and/or nerves. Sometimes, a person comes in with back pain, and there is an issue with their pancreas. I have to be able to differentiate that. I try to help them as best I can, but in some cases, I have to refer them to their medical doctor to find out what is going on. That’s where patient man-agement comes in. I have to manage their care.”

She feels that many patients’ problems are associated with the body being out of balance, or in a state of misalignment, and that can cause pain. It’s her job to get them back in balance.

“Misalignments are what put pressure on a nerve,” Deer said. “When we reduce the interference of bone mis-alignment, it creates flow of the nervous system, and the nerve impulses, and lets the brain and the body have that connection again, so it can balance itself. I’m not the healer. The body is the healer. I’m just the mechanic that puts you back together — and then I stand back and watch the miracle happen, which is your body taking over and doing its job.”

Her ever-growing business and satisfied patients prove that she’s doing something right. People seem to be better off after a visit to Dr. Julia Deer. And that’s why she became a chiropractor.

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Center co-director says you learn science by doing itBy Bill DillerFor the Tribune

HURON COUNTY — Scott Whipple is the science outreach/science consultant at the Huron Intermediate School District. He is also co-director of the Huron Mathematics and Science Center. With the titles go the responsibility of helping to educate students from all of Huron County’s school dis-tricts who pass through the science department of the HISD — a task he performs admirably.

A Lansing native, Whipple attend-ed Lansing Community College for two years, and then transferred to Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He also earned a teaching certificate with a biol-ogy major and a physical science minor. He later added a Master’s of Art and Teaching Natural Sciences degree from Saginaw Valley State University.

Like a lot of people with a desire to pursue a teaching career, Whipple found it difficult to immediately find a job in his chosen field following graduation. Instead, he worked in the landscaping industry for a year or so. The following year, Whipple began substitute teaching as a way to get some classroom experience.

“Then I went to a teacher fair, and ended up going to Guam for two years,” Whipple said.

A teacher fair is a gathering where job-seeking teachers peruse a variety of offers from schools that have job openings.

“There were hundreds of people in line for all the Michigan schools for one or two science positions,” Whipple said. “As I was leaving, there were four guys sitting near the exit sign, twiddling their thumbs.”

The people were looking to fill an opening in Guam.

“I started talking to them, and asked where Guam was,” Whipple said.

Desperately wanting to put his education to work, Whipple returned the following day and took a test, which he passed. He was offered the job.

“I ended up in Guam, teaching science in their public schools,” Whipple said. “I was in the more undeveloped, rural end of the island, with the native folks.”

The next two years were a whirl-wind for Whipple. He taught science, which is his passion, learned about native customs, and met and married

a teacher, a native of Guam.“She had just returned from

teaching in California and Florida,” Whipple said. “She grew up in Guam, and was returning home. We got married and taught in Guam for two years.”

Whipple returned to Michigan during summer break each year. While here, he saw an ad for the science department for the Huron Intermediate School District. He applied and got the job. He’s lived in Huron County ever since.

His position at the HISD doesn’t call for Whipple to be in the class-room every day. Instead, he institutes and manages a series of projects that bring him in continual contact with Huron County students.

“We have an Outdoor Education program we started about two years ago with the Michigan DNR and Port Crescent State Park,” Whipple said. “We co-developed that. We work together to go out to fourth and fifth grade classrooms in the county, and then the kids come out to Port Crescent State Park. Prior to that, I

used to do outdoor education on my own, with whoever asked for it.”

A nature lover at heart, Whipple also is involved in the Huron County Nature Center.

“Part of my position is sitting on the nature center board,” he said. “I think it’s written into the nature center bylaws that they have to have an edu-cator or two on their board. There is a connection between the nature center and the math/science center, so I’ve been on that board since I’ve been in this position.”

Whipple is involved in a wide variety of projects at the HISD.

“We’re part of the math/sci-ence department at the state level,” Whipple said. “There are 33 math/sci-ence centers around the state. We’re part of that network, so there are a lot of initiatives.”

Aware of the need for technology-based career options for today’s stu-dents, Whipple is a zealous advocate for some of the projects the HISD is involved in.

“There’s a new STEM initiative — Science, Technology, Engineering,

and Math,” Whipple said. “There seems to be a very high need for those careers. So industry and education are working together to really promote science, technology, engineering and math. That’s really the future, and it’s reflected a lot in what I do.”

One such ongoing initiative is the Integrative Vehicle Design Program.

“That is a high school age pro-gram,” Whipple said. “It’s changed formats over the years, but we work with engineering and design students to build a vehicle.”

The idea is to figure out a way to power a vehicle using batteries. Teams from all over the state compete to see which design will carry the vehicle the furthest before running out of juice.

“We go down to Michigan International Speedway and race against other schools,” Whipple said. “It’s an endurance race. The cars are basically battery powered, so it’s a matter of, given the same number of batteries, how long will your car run. Part of this project is to come up with an innovative idea to go along with

the batteries.”Competing against schools from

all over the state, Huron County students have earned a room full of IVD trophies over the years, includ-ing one year where their innovation was an integrated 15-foot-high wind turbine that was used to recharge the batteries. When the batteries got low, the car was stopped and the onboard turbine was erected. When the bat-teries were charged up, the turbine was disassembled and stored in the vehicle, which then proceeded to finish the race.

“The innovative part of the project is something different every year,” Whipple said. “I’m the coordinator of the project, and sort of a mentor. They call us lead teachers.”

Whipple also is involved in the Mother Nature’s Classroom Program, whereby he works with others in the community to develop programs for local schools, and the community in general.

“That’s much more active in the fall and in the spring, when the weather’s nice and we can get out,” Whipple said. “We have 10 to 15 days in the fall and again in the spring when we’re either in the classroom or out at the park. That’s for fourth and fifth graders. We’re looking to expand that, possibly into the sixth grade.”

Another big event that Whipple is intricately involved with is Embracing Our Earth. An offshoot of what used to be a series of Saturday programs involving trips to places such as the Detroit Zoo, the Detroit Science Center, Johnson’s Pumpkin Patch, or the Huron County Nature Center, Embracing Our Earth (EOE) has become an ongoing springtime event.

“It started at Lakers about 10 years ago,” Whipple said. “Alternative energy was just starting to ramp up. We decided to put together a pretty low budget community day. It’s taken off into a pretty big com-munity event.”

Part of Whipple’s job is to seek sponsors or supporters for Embracing Our Earth, and other projects.

“Sometimes it’s financial, and sometimes it’s just assistance,” Whipple said. “We do have some big donors, DTE being the biggest financial sponsor of EOE every year.”

DTE also provided grant money that was used to upgrade the elemen-tary science program.

Bill Diller/For the TribuneScott Whipple is the science outreach/science consultant at the Huron intermediate School District. He also is co-director of the Huron Mathematics and Science Center.

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By Bill DillerFor the Tribune

S E B E W A I N G — There’s something to be said about getting your dream job within miles of where you grew up and went to school. That’s what hap-pened to Brooke Merchant, and she wouldn’t change a thing about it.

Merchant graduated from Owendale-Gagetown High School and now teaches kindergarten at Unionville-Sebewaing Area Schools.

“I did my student teach-ing here at USA,” Merchant said. “I remember thinking that I hoped I’d get USA. It would make traveling easier, because at the time we lived in Gagetown.”

Now she’s been in the school system for 10 years, and lives within a couple miles of her job. It’s a dream come true.

A f t e r g r a d u a t i o n , Merchant earned a bach-elor of science degree in elementary Education, with minors in Social Studies and Natural Science, from S a g i n a w Va l l e y S t a t e University. She returned to school a few years later and added an early child-hood endorsement. So, she is well qualified to teach kindergartners.

U p o n r e c e i v i n g h e r degree — due to the fact that there were more teach-ers than jobs — she found it difficult to find immediate employment in her chosen field. Then one summer day, she got a call from the principal of USA Schools asking if she’d be interested in teaching a Young 5 kin-dergarten class.

“I jumped at the chance,” Merchant said.

She didn’t always want to be a teacher, but knew from an early age that she wanted to work with kids in some capacity.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,” Merchant said. “I was babysitting for a teacher. Her son, who was about 4, and I were play-ing Connect Four. When he finally figured out how to play the game, and it clicked with him, I decided that’s what I wanted to do

— I wanted to be able to see that light bulb go on.”

Her initial idea was to open up a day care center.

“I was one whole semes-ter into child development classes at Delta,” Merchant said. “I got to spend time in a kindergarten classroom at Owen-Gage. I thought maybe having a day care wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

She decided teaching might be more up her alley.

“I switched the program halfway through,” Merchant said. “I f inished what I needed to do at Delta for pre-reqs, and then trans-ferred over to Saginaw Valley the following fall.”

T h e a t t r a c t i o n f o r Merchant, as it is with a lot of teachers, is seeing first-hand the moment a child understands something. It’s immensely and immediately satisfying when working with kindergartners.

“At this age, they’re like little sponges,” Merchant said. “They soak up so much. It’s amazing. I love,

especially at this grade level, just watching how they change.”

Most kids have a little knowledge of their numbers and letters by the time they reach kindergarten.

“The majority of kids come in knowing the i r alphabet,” she said. “Not just knowing their basic letters, but they have a good idea of what sounds those letters can make. Most of them have a good founda-tion on the numbers one through 10 and some of them can already count to 100. That’s awesome, because you can push them that much harder.”

At the kindergarten level, Merchant sees tremendous advances throughout the year.

“At the beginning of the year, you have a handful of kids that, if they’re not already reading, they’re on the cusp of reading,” she said. “By the end of the year, they’re reading. They’re writing. It’s such a huge change from the

beginning of the year to the end of the year. It’s like, wow, I can’t get over how much they’ve grown.”

Merchant feels that a child’s home life is just as important as their time in class.

“I’ve been so fortunate over the years to have so many wonderful parents,” she said. “It’s not just what I do in the classroom; it’s the parents who work with their kids. They make a huge dif-ference. I can show the kids, and we can practice it in class, but that extra involve-ment at home really makes a difference. You build such nice relationships with the families.”

A t y p i c a l d a y f o r Merchant begins a little after 7 a.m.

She uses the next hour to prepare for the arrival of her kids.

Following attendance, the students make their lunch choices. Then they’re off to a special assembly.

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 3

Bill Diller/For the TribuneBrooke Merchant works at her desk in her kindergarten classroom at Unionville-Sebewaing Area Schools.

Teacher: Kindergartners are like ‘little sponges’

Amanda Triplett/For the TribuneAngela Ankney is a pharmacist at Scheurer Family Pharmacy.

Local pharmacist shows dedication for patientsBy AMAnDA TriPleTTFor the Tribune

ELKTON — When i t comes to the medical field, everyone always thinks of doctors and surgeons, but they never realize that there is one area of the medical field people cannot live without: Pharmacists.

Angela Ankney is a phar-macist at Scheurer Family Pharmacy. She graduated from Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker High School in 2005, and continued her education at Ferris State University for both undergraduate and grad-uate programs. Ankney grad-uated from Ferris’s College of Pharmacy in August 2008, and graduated with her doc-torate of pharmacy in May 2012.

“What I like best about my job is the impact that we can have on patients’ lives, both in the hospital and in the retail pharmacy setting,” Ankney said. “Being able to speak with patients and ensure that they understand not only how to take their medication, but why there are taking it, or how it can benefit them, is one of the greatest aspects of being a pharmacist.”

She said pharmacists go to school and learn more infor-mation about medications and medical conditions than one can even imagine.

However, working with the doctors to ensure the best medical care for each patient is by far the most rewarding aspect of this career.

See MerchAnT • 4 See Ankney• 4

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SANDUSKY 989 West Sanilac (810) 648-2404

CARO 415 Biebel Rd. (M-24 North)

(989) 673-8400

MARLETTE 7454 Van Dyke Highway

(810) 346-2761

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(989) 269-9249

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(989) 791-1234

BURTON 4135 Davison Rd.

(810) 742-3364

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(989) 624-9356

REESE 9952 Saginaw St. (989) 868-4165

LAPEER 3120 N. Lapeer Rd.

(810) 664-3798

4 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

“They bought Battle Creek Science Kits for every school in the county,” Whipple said. “Basically it’s the K thru 6 sci-ence curriculum. There’s typi-cally an earth, a physical and a life science module, or unit, for each grade level. The money bought the teacher manuals, which takes teachers through every step, every activity, and every lesson. And there’s a big tub that has all the hands-on

material. Teachers also receive a day of training in each of the units.”

The training was provided by the HISD.

“One thing I like about the kits is that’s its hands on,” Whipple said. “I’m a pretty firm believer that you learn science by doing it, not by reading about it. You have to read, too, but you have to do it — hands on just makes sense. The next gen-

eration science standards are all about kids doing science.”

Scott Whipple’s position in the science department at the HISD is a perfect fit for him. It’s provided the opportunity to educate kids from K thru 12, while indulging his passion for science and nature.

“I’ve always loved sci-ence,” he said. “It’s an expla-nation of how things work, and that’s always fascinated me.”

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“It lasts about a half hour each morning,” Merchant said. “In that assembly, which is called a character trait assem-bly, one class is presenter every week. Whatever the character trait is for that week, that class will present some-thing in regards to that trait. For example, the last time my class did it, it was about caring. The week before assembly, the kids and I read a book. We broke it up into five different sections. Each morning during assembly a handful of kids got up and made a presentation. Each group practiced a line or two from each page. So, during the week we presented what it was like to care, or how you show someone you care.”

Following the assembly, the kids return to the class-room and begin what’s called literacy centers.

“We have about 15 differ-ent areas within the classroom where kids are working,” Merchant said. “They’re all somehow related to reading and writing. I usually have two para pros in here during that time. There are usually three groups working with an adult. Each group is doing something

on their own. They rotate, and by the end of the week, each group will have gone through all the centers.”

During that time some kids work independently, without immediate adult supervision.

“It helps build some inde-pendence, and some confi-dence,” Merchant said. “We always make sure that the adults are checking on how they’re doing. If there’s some-thing they really don’t get, we pull them off to the side and correct whatever they might have made a mistake on.”

Of course, not every-one learns at the same pace. Merchant tries to make sure anyone working at a faster or slower pace receives adequate instruction.

“We’re pretty fortunate,” she said. “The reading series we use has different abil-ity levels. I’ve actually got a handful of kids that the main part to the series is just way too easy, so I moved them up to the next section. It still covers the main theme and content they’d get out of the regular level, but the words it has them trying to decode are a little bit harder.”

All of this doesn’t even

begin to cover the amount of time the class spends on sci-ence, math, and other subjects such as social studies. It makes for a long day, but Merchant knows it’s necessary to keep the kids busy.

“It is a very physically demanding age group,” she said. “You are constantly up and down, and you have to have every 15 minutes planned. And, we can’t just sit there. They’ll get restless. You can tell when they reach that restless point, so we do some sort of action to get that energy out. We might sing, or something. I’ve found that if I’m doing it with them, it tells the kids that this is important, because I’m doing it, too.”

Even though teaching kin-dergarten is difficult at times, Merchant doesn’t regret her decision to become a teacher. She has learned as well as taught since choosing educa-tion as a career.

“I’m definitely not the same teacher I was when I started,” she said. “It’s like anything else — the more you do it, the more you learn. That’s one of the fun things about this profession.”

And, it’s her dream job.

merchant■■ From 3

“My favorite part about working with the Scheurer Family Pharmacy staff is the sense of family that we have,” said Ankney. “Everyone on staff is inviting, friendly, willing to help when needed and passion-ate for what they do. Although we do not see eye-to-eye all the time, what family does?”

They are all working toward a common goal, which is to provide the best patient care that they possibly can. This can only be done through pas-sion and dedication. Ankney always knew she wanted to be in a career in the health field because of its ever-changing nature and her interest in the

math and science fields. It is important that health

care providers know what their passion is, and know each aspect of the fields they have interest in, and Ankney did just that by doing some research.

“I narrowed it down to pharmacy, family medicine and dermatology. ... I then job shadowed a practitioner in each field and ultimately decided on pharmacy because there are varying aspects to pharmacy and a multitude of practice areas that one can choose from,” Ankney said. “Also, starting my own practice and the idea of always being on-call were not appealing to me.”

While all areas of the medi-cal field are unique, the most unique aspect of Ankney’s position would be that she works in both inpatient and outpatient pharmacies. An inpatient pharmacist works with the patients who are admitted to the hospital, emer-gency room, surgical unit or outpatient infusion centers such as chemotherapy and other IV treatments.

Outpatient pharmacists are what most people know about, filling a prescription that the doctor’s office has given. Both pharmacies are unique and are centered on different aspects of patient care.

“I enjoy being able to use all of the knowledge I gained through my schooling and clinical rotations rather than limiting myself to one practice setting over the other,” Ankney said.

In order to truly be effec-tive in the pharmacy field, you have to be open to change and have the willingness or eagerness to learn. Ankney went on to say it is an ever-changing field of study with new medications and guide-lines that come out on a yearly and sometimes monthly basis. Communication also is impor-tant not just with staff and patients, but insurance compa-nies, doctors and nurses.

“You may know every-thing there is to know about

a medication of condition, but if you are unable to relay that information to others in a way that they can understand, then you are essentially useless in this field,” she said. “ .... Lastly, one has to be compas-sionate and treat every person as though they are their own family member, going above and beyond to make sure that they are being properly cared for and receiving the correct information.”

Ankney was employed for two and a half years as an intern prior to graduation, and has been a pharmacist for a year and a half with Scheurer Healthcare Network. During clinical rota-tions, she also had worked as an intern at Mid-Michigan in Midland, Meijer in Bay City,

McLaren Bay Regional in Bay City and Covenant in Saginaw, ranging from four- to eight-week blocks.

Ankney is from Pigeon and is engaged to Cameron Lackie, who is a school teacher and Elkton Pigeon Bay Port Laker Secondary Schools. She would love to become a certi-fied diabetes educator as well as obtain a medication therapy management certification in order to better help patients whom she comes in contact with in the course of her career. It is a requirement as a phar-macist to complete 25 hours of continuing education every two years as part of licensing requirements to keep up with the changes in the medical field.

ankney■■ From 3

ER doctor loves the hands-on work at local hospitalBy Rich haRpFor the Tribune

HARBOR BEACH — Doctors are known to be well educated. They go to college, then medical school, then residency. Most stay in tune with their field by attending lectures and conferences.

In some respects, Harbor Beach physician Kelly O’Sullivan is simi-lar to the average doctor. In other respects, she deviates from the norm. Her passion for learning goes beyond the norm. When one looks at her life and education, they quickly see she is a learning junkie.

O’Sullivan was born in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit. Her family moved to Harbor Springs, where she grew up and went to high school. Her first shot at advanced education was at Stanford. She had a desire to succeed, and to succeed on her own.

“I paid for college myself,” she said.O’Sullivan transferred to the

University of Michigan and earned a degree in economics. She began work-ing in that field. She soon realized this was not her real calling in life. Before long, she was attending medical school at the University of Cincinnati.

Her medical residency included three years of obstetrics. When she graduated, she was board certified in family practice.

While trying to find her niche in life, O’Sullivan worked at a pri-vate practice in Traverse City. She later worked at a hospital in Sanilac

County. It was in Deckerville that she met Ed Gamache, head of the Deckerville Community Hospital.

Sometime thereafter, Gamache

became CEO of the Harbor Beach Community Hospital. He liked O’Sullivan, and he admired her work ethic and education.

“Dr. O’Sullivan, in our mind, is the perfect candidate for an ER doctor,” Gamache said. “She has the experience we’re looking for. It’s important for a doctor in this position to be well rounded. She is.”

Gamache soon contacted the doc-tor and offered her a job.

“I came to Harbor Beach and I tried it,” O’Sullivan said. “I loved it.”

At first, the doctor worked part time. Her future at this small Huron County hospital looked bright. It became evident the emergency room (ER) was going to be one of her main duties. With this in mind, she began training in ER-Emergency Medicine. She finished the mentorship while still working part time.

When the training was complete, O’Sullivan returned to Harbor Beach on a full-time basis. She has worked full time at the hospital for the past year and a half. She also has risen through the ranks. She now is in charge of the emergency room and is the Harbor Beach Community Hospital medical director.

O’Sullivan’s profession lies totally at the hospital. She made it clear she does not work elsewhere, nor does she have a private practice.

“I really just focus here,” she said. O’Sullivan said she likes coming

to work.“I like it here,” she added. “I like

the people here.”One reason for falling in love with this

small hospital was because of, in part, the nursing staff. She likes their work ethic.

“The nurses take (the job) person-ally,” she said.

While talking about her duties at the hospital, O’Sullivan explained there are three parts to the job. The ER is one of those parts. It is, per-haps, her biggest concern. The ER handles everything from a cut to major trauma.

The second part of her job deals with inpatient services.

“We consult on surgical patients,” she explained.

The final part of her duties is the Harbor Beach Walk-in Clinic.

The medical director normally works a continuous 48-hour shift during the week.

“Most nights you sleep some,” O’Sullivan said. “Other nights, you’re up some.”

She went on to discuss the variety of conditions she likely is to see at any one time.

“Chest pain is pretty common,” she said.

Other conditions include lacer-ations, bone breaks and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). She also sees many patients with colds, the flu, and patients who are vomiting.

As the hospital’s medical director, her duties go beyond treating patients.

“Part of my job as medical direc-tor is trying to get good doctors,” she said. “We have a good group of solid docks (doctors) here.”

Rich Harp/For the TribuneDr. Kelly O’Sullivan reviews a chart.

See O’Sullivan • 5

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VERONA TOWNSHIP — Verona Mills is one of sev-eral rural schools thriving in Huron County. On the surface, it looks much like the other rural schools in the area. Upon closer inspection, one sees a major difference.

Most often, these types of schools have a teacher and one or more paraprofessionals working with the students. At Verona Mills, the school is blessed to have two teachers.

Amy Schweitzer is the full-time teacher, holding that posi-tion since 2010. She oversees 25 students this year in grades kindergarten through eight. In the 2013-14 school year, six students attend kindergarten class.

“That’s our largest grade now,” she said.

Before entering the teach-ing profession, Schweitzer had earned an associate’s degree in business. She real-ized that was not where she wanted to be. She went back to school to earn her teaching

degree. In 2005, she graduated from Saginaw Valley State University, and she has been teaching for the past seven years.

Amy is married to Kevin Schweitzer. Kevin, Amy and their children live in Forestville. Tongue in cheek, one might say her four children are home-schooled. After all, they attend Verona Mills, and mom teaches them in her home away from home.

Kathy Cregeur is the other teacher at Verona Mills. She is part-time at the school. Before she retired, Cregeur was the school’s full-time teacher from 1988 until 2010.

Cregeur said she has seen many changes over the years, particularly in area of technol-ogy.

“We’ve had major changes in technology, computers, computer skills, iPads, (and more),” she said. “Today, kids need to have more knowledge when they enter school.”

Cregeur said parents are

a very important part in the s tudent / teacher/ learning equation.

“We’re fortunate we have supportive parents,” she said.

As a rule, she feels Verona Mills have more supportive parents than do other schools.

One reason for this is the

effort by the teaching staff to stay in touch with their student’s parents. They try to have some type of daily com-munication with the moms and dads. In addition, they create a weekly newsletter which is distributed to the parents.

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 5

O’Sullivan listed several reasons she finds the Harbor Beach position appealing and rewarding.

“You get to do solid medi-cine here — you get to be a real doc here,” she said. “You get to service people. You have time to talk to them (the patients) and read their charts. You know what meds they’re taking because you have the time to read their charts.”

She said there often is dis-jointed care in larger areas — but not in Harbor Beach.

“The (hospital) is very pro-active,” she said.

She feels fortunate the hos-pital administration and board have listened and considered ideas she has presented to them.

Hospital personnel feel as strongly about O’Sullivan as the doctor feels about the hospital.

“She is very personable and

friendly,” said Jean Ferriby, marketing coordinator. “She is very outgoing and bubbly. Some doctors, you can’t talk to. She’s not that way. She is an awesome doctor and person.”

Gamache likes the doctor for her professional abilities.

“As a small facility, Harbor Beach Community Hospital does walk ins, inpatient services and ER,” he said. “She can do all of these things. With docs like her, the hospital can offer a variety of services with only one doctor (on duty).”

The administration also likes the fact O’Sullivan likes to con-tinue learning. She has plans to attend conferences and lectures in the future. She hopes to gather new information that will be helpful to her and the hospital.

While discussing confer-ences, the doctor said she is not the type to go to a conference

and then picks a few lectures to attend.

“I’m the type that goes to every lecture,” she said.

When asked about her per-sonal future, O’Sullivan said she likely will travel, though she has no immediate plans at this point. However, she admits to being very spontaneous.

“I’ve traveled a lot,” she said. “I’m an adventurer.”

Closer to home, she has hopes and expectations for her two children. Her oldest child, Kati, is 21 years old. Her son, Tim, is 16.

“I’m looking forward to my son going to college,” she said.

As for her professional future, O’Sullivan said she wants good things for the Harbor Beach hospital.

“I’d like to see this hospital thrive,” she said. “I’d love to stay here until I retire.”

o’Sullivan■■ From 4

Rich Harp/For the TribuneAmy Schweitzer works in her classroom in Verona Mills Rural School.

Rich Harp/For the TribuneKathy Cregeur works with a student in her rural school classroom.

Rural school teachers work together Rich Harp/For the TribuneCass City teacher Lloyd Schinnerer is a proud University of Michigan alumnus.

Veteran teacher enjoys his jobBy RiCh hARpFor the Tribune

CASS CITY — Some people make decisions about their future later in life. Some decide early on. Lloyd Schinnerer was one of those that heard the call-ing early in life.

Schinnerer has been a teacher for the past 37 years in the Cass City School System. He says he began to feel the influence to teach as early as grade school.

As a Bad Axe High School student, he had one teacher that influenced him more than any other. One thing lead to another, and it wasn’t long before he was

studying to be a teacher at the University of Michigan.

The plan to teach fell right into what Schinnerer really liked in life.

“I’ve always enjoyed kids , and I wanted to coach,” he said, noting teaching was his main interest. Coaching has been a passion, but it always has taken second place to teaching.

The experienced teacher is married to Laura, and the couple has two children. Teaching seems to run in the family. Son, Andrew has graduated with a master degree in school psychology.

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LINCOLN TOWNSHIP — David Phelps’ mother was a teacher.

“I saw the impact she had on kids’ lives,” he said.

In fact, she even taught David for two years while he was in school.

He could feel that same calling, and he knew he should follow in her foot-steps. Part of his mind told him he was going to teach someday. But, at that time, he didn’t want to.

“I fought it,” he admits.After high school, Phelps

went to college at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. He began studying pre-law. After two years, he knew what he had to do. The young college stu-dent dropped out of pre-law, and he enrolled in the school of education.

“And I never looked back,” he said.

Phelps now is a seasoned teacher, having taught for the past 24 years. For the last 19 years, he has been at Church School in rural Huron County.

Phelps works with para professionals Debby Ruth, Briynne McCrea and Michelle McArdle. Together, they instruct 26 students this year.

“The enrollment has remained very steady,” he said.

Over the years, the num-ber attending Church School has fluctuated between 21 and 32 students.

David i s mar r ied to Rhonda Phelps, a teacher in the Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker School District. The couple has three children. His children don’t attend Church School, although they would like to.

“All of my kids have begged me to come here,” he said.

Phelps felt it would not be a good move. His reasoning was simple. He didn’t want

to be with his kids 24/7.The teacher talked about

some of the most notable changes he has seen over the past two decades at Church. The outside of the building looks much the same as it did in 1993.

The difference is most noticeable in the inside.

“ T h e b u i l d i n g h a s changed,” he said. “We’ve doubled the size of the build-ing.”

It has been well main-tained. With its new size came some remodeling of the entire interior.

Other changes he has seen over the years have come from the State of Michigan.

“The expectations on the kids from the state have changed,” he said, noting expectations have gotten

tougher. He feels the students grad-

uating from Church School are well prepared to go on to advanced studies. Word-of-mouth testimony from former students has suggested they were well prepared and ready for high school.

Phelps said he has talked to former students over the years, and he has made it a practice to heed their sug-gestions.

“They’ve had some sug-gestions, and I’ve taken them to heart,” he said.

After 19 years in the same setting, one may feel this experience teacher is ready for a change. As far as Phelps is concerned, this is not the case.

“I loved this job and still do,” he said. “I can’t imagine being somewhere else.”

6 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

He is taking an internship this year. Emily is the younger child. She is in college, prepar-ing to be an elementary teacher.

For the first seven years of his career, Schinnerer taught on the high school level. For the past three decades, he has taught in the Cass City Junior High School.

At the seventh grade level, he teaches about countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. In eighth grade, he concentrates on U.S. History, pre-revolution through 1900.

As might be expected, Schinnerer coaches Cass City Sports.

“I’ve coached all levels of boys’ and girls’ basketball over 30 years,” he said. “I don’t think there has been a year

when I didn’t coach some-thing.”

O n e w o u l d e x p e c t Schinnerer enjoys what he does for a living. After all, who would stay nearly four decades in a profession he doesn’t like?

He not only likes what he does, he seems driven to help students succeed.

“I see 150 different kids on a daily basis,” he said. “Junior high kids are still at a point where you can help mold them and teach them some good habits.”

He has done this over the years, and he will continue to do this in the future.

Schinnerer has high regard for his fellow teachers.

“I think the staff is very professional, and they’re very

dedicated,” he said, noting h e feels the other teachers want the best for the students at Cass City. “Everyone puts their best foot forward.”

He believes the staff is committed to the students, and they tend to do more than they are required.

“ I don’t see t eachers leaving at 3 p.m. each day,” Schinnerer said.

He also has strong feelings about the administrators of the Cass City School System. Overall, there is a good rela-tionship between teachers and administration. He feels they support the teaching staff when support is needed.

“We’ve been fortunate the administration has stood behind the teachers,” he said.

Schinnerer went on to dis-cuss the curriculum and how it has impacted teaching.

“The curriculum is well defined through the State of Michigan,” he said. “We did a lot of standardized teaching this year.”

He feels state-mandated studies have created major challenges for himself and other educators.

“It’s challenging to com-plete the entire curriculum in a year’s time,” he said.

It is his job to teach the cur-riculum. He feels it also is his responsibility for the students to actually learn the material.

“It hard to make sure kids understand all the information in nine months,” Schinnerer explained.

The experienced teacher was asked to discuss some of the major changes he has seen since beginning his career in the 1970s. He felt three things were most interesting.

The first thing he men-tioned was technological advances in the classrooms.

“Technology is a huge

thing,” he said. “Everything was generated on paper when I started.”

In today’s classroom, the use of paper seems to be out-dated and of little use to many students.

School security also has changed drastically over the years. Unlike the past, doors now are locked during the day. “Obviously, the doors were open all the time,” he said. “We now have a viable, a good policy in place for the safety of our students.”

The last thing he mentioned was something known as code blue in the school.

“We have a code blue team in place for medical emergencies,” he said. That was something that was non-existent 30 years ago.

He is impressed with the team’s knowledge and its response time. He believes at least one student’s life was saved by having the code blue team in place at his school.

Schinnerer discussed the changing future of education at Cass City, and at schools in general.

“There is a push for more computers and lap tops,” he said. These things will be more available as the years go by.

He said the school sys-tem tries to stay in tune with colleges and the direction in which they are going. Cass City Schools will continue to prepare kids in such a manner they will be able to compete when they enter college.

Schinnerer sees longer school years in the future. Available evidence shows students do not retain learned information well over elon-gated summer breaks.

“I don’t know if full-time school will come to pass before I retire,” Schinnerer said. Nonetheless, he is sure it is on the horizon.

When one looks around Schinnerer’s classroom, it becomes apparent he is proud of his U of M education, as there are several items with his alma mater’s logo.

When asked if University of Michigan is the best school in the world, Schinnerer gets a big smile, and says,” You bet.”

Schinnerer■■ From 5

Rich Harp/For the TribuneDavid Phelps has taught at Church School for the past 19 years.

Church School teacher can’t imagine being anywhere else

Optometrist came back to Thumb area to open practiceBY NICHOLAS GRENKETribune Staff Writer

BAD AXE — It’s not hard to see that Bad Axe optometrist Keith Messing enjoys his work in the Thumb of Michigan.

Being an eye doctor was a choice he made when he was a junior in high school. He said he was tired of seeing those with jobs around him laid off from work and struggle to make ends meet. So he planned to develop a skill where he couldn’t easily be replaced and, at the same time, he could help others.

Messing graduated from Harbor Beach in 1992, and attended Ferris State University for both his undergraduate degree and for optometry school. He graduated in seven and a half years, sooner than most, because he was ready to get his career moving.

“I was paying my own way through school,” he said.

Messing said he came back to the Thumb because he missed the area.

“I guess I’m kind of a home-body,” he said, adding he likes how personal and loyal people in the Thumb are. His friends who have jobs similar to him in bigger cities have told him it’s difficult to make connections with their clients. At work, he says he’s lucky to have more than just his patients to look forward to seeing each day. He met his wife, Rita Messing, at Ferris State optometry school and they work together at their Bad Axe offices.

“It’s pretty neat,” he said. “We like to do different aspects of work, so we both get to do what we want … it isn’t bad at all.”

Messing said last week that Rita was visiting the country of Dominica on a mission to help local people there receive eye care. Many people in island country live in poverty, and Dominica has one of the world’s lowest gross natural products in the world.

“It’s something to give back, she’s done the trip before a

couple of times,” he said.Messing said it’s important

for people to take care of their vision because it’s the sense that people rely on most of all. He added with people living longer today than they ever had, vision has become more important to a long happy life.

“If you’re healthy you should visit every two or three years as a general rule,” he said. “If you have issues, of course, you should come more often.”

He said it’s important for people who wear contacts to follow the instructions for the lenses carefully. If a patient doesn’t, they’re much more likely to develop serious health problems later on.

Messing said that although the eye hasn’t changed, the way we treat eye care medically has — even in the time since he graduated school. A lot of training goes into remaining at the top of his field.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know, but we’re getting better,” Messing said.

Nicholas Grenke/Huron Daily TribuneDr. Keith Messing sits in his Bad Axe practice.

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By Seth StapletonTribune Staff Writer

DECKERVILLE — For Deckerville Family Practice Physician Terri M. Stuenkel, it’s all about taking care of the community.

“As a family practice physi-cian, I take care of patients of all ages,” said Stuenkel. “We have a small practice now, but it is growing. Our office is dedicated to providing quality health care for our community.”

Stuenkel said her office takes great pride in the fact that most people do not leave the practice once they have established themselves there. Repeat business is key to just about any business.

“I am sure there are a lot of reasons patients stay here,” Stuenkel said. “I try very hard to make sure my patients feel at least a little better after visiting the office. I may not always be able to offer an instant cure, but I can make sure they are listened to and treated with respect.”

Stuenkel has l ived in Deckerville since July 2013. She has a 12-year-old son, Ryan, and a 21-year-old daugh-ter, Erika.

“Though I have been prac-ticing for several years, I still struggle to juggle my job and family,” Stuenkel said. “There never seems to be enough time

for both. However, I feel so blessed to have a beautiful fam-ily and a rewarding career. I have had to make sacrifices in my life, but would not change a thing if I had it to do over.”

She got her start in the medi-cal profession back in high school and has never looked back.

“I have been in the medical field since I was old enough to be a candy striper,” Stuenkel said. “Through high school and college, I worked as a recep-tionist and did medical billing.”

That early experience inter-ested Stuenkel enough to con-

tinue in the field. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree at Michigan State University in 1989, and stayed there for medical school, graduating in 1995. From there, she began her internship at Genesys, and then completed her family practice residency at McLaren RMC. She has been practicing ever since.

“The environment in medi-cine is constantly changing, and with the introduction of electronic medical records and changes in insurance, I’m sure the next few years will pose some challenges,” she said.

By Seth StapletonTribune Staff Writer

KINDE — For many people, figuring out a career path is a difficult process. Tracey Maurer, however, was not one of those people.

“My dad was a PE teacher and coach at Utica Stevenson, and my mom was a para-professional in special education classrooms in Armada and Rochester,” said Maurer. “I always knew I wanted to be an educator.”

Maurer is a special education teacher for North Huron Schools, a position she has been in for quite some time.

“I love my job,” she said. “I have been teaching special education since 1985, so that is 28 years. At the county special education meetings, I think I may be the Grand Dame among other special educators because I’ve been in this field that long.”

Added Maurer: “I have taught 6-8 grade English and Math, as well as provide accom-modations for my students in general educa-tion. All of my students have a disability. Over my many years, I have probably taught almost every disability there is: learning disabilities, cognitively impaired, emotionally impaired, physically impaired, hearing impaired, and visually impaired, as well as students on the autism spectrum.”

Maurer lives between Kinde and Elkton with her husband, Dwayne. The couple has two children — daughter, Sarah, who is a freshman at Central Michigan University, and son, Shane, a sophomore at North Huron.

Each of Maurer’s students has an Individual Education Plan with specific objectives for her to teach. She also is responsible to teach each student the Common Core Standards required for their grade level. She said interacting with the students isn’t the only enjoyable part of her job.

“I also enjoy working with the parents of my students,” she said. “I also have great col-leagues (past and present) at North Huron and throughout Huron County. I consider many of my colleagues great friends, too.”

When asked how her line of work has changed over time, Maurer had an interest-ing perspective on the field of education as a whole.

“The expectations of educators have changed over time,” Maurer said. “I don’t

mind accountability of educators, but it has to be on a level playing field. There are so many variables affecting our students that educa-tors have no control over, and those variables can greatly affect their learning. It saddens me that some in our current political climate have made educators out to be such villainous people, and our educational system devalued. Improvements can always be made in any field, but too many people in government are making educational decisions that shouldn’t be made. It is all the outside pressure that can bring you down.”

Despite that challenging part of her job, it seems that as long as she has students to mold, Maurer will be just fine.

“I continue to love working with my stu-dents,” Maurer said. “I have a deep respect for them and learn from them everyday. I love to see the changes from 6th grade to 12th grade and beyond. I am still in contact with many of my students.”

Maurer noted that we, as a country, educate everyone.

“We should be proud of that,” she added. “Also, I hope we realize everyone should have the opportunity to go to college if they want to, but not everyone needs to. We need our inven-tors, artists, tradesmen, musicians, as well as our college-educated with specific degrees. We are currently squashing many aspects of cre-ativity because we need to test our students.”

By amanda triplettFor the Tribune

BAD AXE — Dr. Nancy Macchiarella specializes in obstetrics and gynecology ,and is a private practitio-ner and sole owner of Lake Huron OB/GYN in Bad Axe. Macchiarella is a Harbor Beach native where she grad-uated in 1989. She contin-ued her education at Hope College, where she obtained her bachelors of science degree in bio-chemistry in 1993, followed by Michigan State University Medical School in 1997. She also did a one-year internship in Bay City and a four-year residency in Saginaw.

Macchiarella enjoys the diversity that her field brings her, as each day is different and she never knows what she may encounter.

“I get to see a variety of people with a variety of prob-lems,” Macchiarella said. “It always makes for an interest-ing day.”

She has worked at Lake Huron OB/GYN for 11 years and has delivered roughly 2,500 babies. Macchiarella decided as a young girl that she wanted to go into the med-ical field and it evolved as she got older.

“I think we all have an innate longing to somehow make the world a better place and leave our mark on this world,” she said. “For me, it was how can I make peoples’ lives better to some degree and OB/GYN certainly offers me the ability to do that.”

She went on to say that delivering a baby does not just affect the mom, it affects so many people in many ways, including the entire family. Or when you take care of a per-sons’ pain or something they have been dealing with for a long time, you certainly can have some sense of accom-plishment that you definitely improved their well-being and life thereafter.

“I’m excited each day offers new potential experi-ences and opportunities for me to get to know different people and to learn different things

from them,” Macchiarella said.

Macchiarella also enjoys working with the staff at Lake Huron OB/GYN because it is an amazing group of peo-ple that work together as a team. Everyone has their own forte and they try to focus on each person excelling at what they do best. The hours of Obstetrics and Gynecology are very unique as they are always different. Working with delivering babies, timing is always different as labor is unique for each woman.

“You never know what you are going to get in gyne-cology as far as one minute someone could come in and it definitely will be a long process as far as delivery or surgery…” Macchiarella said. “So every day is a different day and potentially full of long hours.”

Being hardworking and devoted is something that is very important in the medi-cal field. You have to be will-ing to keep learning as things change such as procedures

and technology. After medi-cal school, you still need to continue to learn and read in your area of expertise and be willing to learn new surgical techniques.

“It is not a profession that at five o’clock you shut the door and shut the lights off and be done with it,” she said. “It’s an identity and not only unique to physicians, but it is to some degree.”

Macchiarella went on to say that you are who you are because of your profession. She is always available 24/7, which does take some dedi-cation.

“I do believe people in rural America deserve qual-ity up to date medicine,” Macchiarella said. “I stay current with new techniques so what we know is offered in any major city is offered her in our little town of Bad Axe.”

Macchiarella is married to her husband, Michael, and she has three children, Shelby, 17, Ethan, 14, and Katey, 10.

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 7

Bad Axe OB/GYN has delivered about 2,500 babies

Amanda Triplett/For the Tribunedr. nancy macchiarella specializes in obstetrics and gynecology.

She believes in education for all

Doctor is all about caring for community

Seth Stapleton/Huron Daily TribuneFrom left, dr. terri Stuenkel poses with the deckerville hospital providers group dr. Bassam afaneh, lori nugent pa-C and Kelly Schuitman.

Seth Stapleton/Huron Daily Tribunetracey maurer always knew she wanted to be an educator.

7

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8 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

She feels working in acute care is more than a jobBy Bill DillerFor the Tribune

PIGEON — For more than 20 years, Cheryl Kowalski of Pigeon has been involved in the health care industry. Soon after graduating from Bad Axe High School, she took a job at a nursing facility in her home town.

“They were h i r ing a t Four Seasons, which is now Courtney Manor,” Kowalski said. “I tried that, and fell in love with it — I fell in love with the program and the peo-ple.”

W h i l e e m p l o y e d a t Four Seasons, Kowalski began meeting other people employed in health care. Another young lady she became friends with was working as a traveling nurs-ing assistant — a home health care nurse’s aide.

“I tried that, and just loved it,” Kowalski said.

She spent the next few years working for TASS — Thumb Area Services for Seniors — and then for the Huron County Health Department as a nurse’s aide.

“The Thumb Area Services for Seniors was somewhat like the health department, but you did a lot more things like cleaning, laundry, that kind of stuff,” Kowalski said.

In the late 1990s, the Huron County Health Department closed its home health care department. Kowalski still wanted to work in home care, so she took a job working out of Bay City.

Her new job took her as far as Sandusky and Lexington, and various places in Huron County. She would begin and end her day at the main office in Bay City, which meant a lot of driving. The constant travel, especially on snow and ice covered roads dur-ing Michigan’s harsh winters, began wearing on her.

“Then they started taking me further up, like to Clio,” Kowalski said. “It was just too much driving ... it was awful.”

About that time, in 2003, another of Kowalski’s health care industry contacts told her about possible openings at Scheurer Hospital. She applied

for a job, and the rest is history.“I’m now a nursing assis-

tant in acute care,” Kowalski said.

Also known as a CNA, or Certified Nursing Assistant, the position has worked out perfectly for Kowalski. It pro-vides the opportunity for her to help people, which she is passionate about, without hav-ing to worry about driving too far on snow-covered and icy roads. She lives a mere four miles from the hospital, and has fallen in love with her work.

“I did a little bit of long term the first year I was at the hospital,” Kowalski said. “I still do some every once in a while, but basically I’m in acute care.”

Her job consists of working in the section of the hospital where people are admitted for overnight stays.

“It’s medical/surgical,” Kowalski said. “If you have surgery and have to stay in the hospital for recovery, and the surgical department is full, they bring you down to us. Or, if you’re admitted to the hos-pital, that’s where you stay.”

Her job is to assist the doc-tors and nurses in the care of patients. Her responsibilities include making sure patients are kept clean and receive nourishment on time.

“I get supplies for the nurses when they’re needed,” Kowalski said. “If I find some-thing wrong with a patient, I go tell the nurse exactly what I find. When they have time, or if it’s needed right away, then they’ll go to the patient.”

It’s a duty she takes seri-ously.

“We’re the nurse’s eyes and ears when they’re passing medicine, or if they’re just busy,” Kowalski said.

CNAs are an intricate part of the care for patients in acute care at Scheurer Hospital. Kowalski enjoys the role she plays in the system, and has no desire to become a nurse.

“I’m pretty content where I am,” she said. “I like it. I think there’s a lot of politics in nursing. I really like the hands on, and now with the computer work that the nurses have to spend time doing —

everything has to be charted on computers —I notice it takes a lot of time away from their patients. So, I like where I’m at. I like being hands on.”

The love of being hands on may be a holdover from her days in home health care. Going into a patient’s home on a regular basis meant a caring aide like Kowalski developed a personal connec-tion with that person. That’s something she still does in her hospital job.

“I love being with a patient, in te rac t ing wi th them,” Kowalski said. “If their fam-ily is out of town and can’t come to see them, I can listen to them — just lend an ear. I don’t have the answers, but I have an ear.”

The unfortunate part of this ongoing compassion is that she tends to become somewhat attached at times.

“You always get attached,”

Kowalski said. “If they should pass, are real sick, or get bad news ... but you can’t let your-self get emotionally involved.”

It’s one of the hazards of being a caring person, and taking the job seriously. It’s also what makes Kowalski so good at what she does. She admits to having crossed the ‘emotionally involved’ line a time or two. When that hap-pens, the patient becomes part of her memories.

“It just depends on how long they’re there,” Kowalski said. “In a hospital setting, they’re not there as long as in home care.”

Some patients, because of special needs, end up staying for quite some time.

“Those are the patients I find myself becoming more attached to,” Kowalski said. “I’d love to see them all get better and go home.”

An outlet for Kowalski is

when she goes home after a tough day. She has a ‘hobby farm.’

“I have horses, goats and chickens,” she said. “I work a lot out there. I love horses. I spend a lot of time with them. That’s my sanctuary — a place to go when you’re having a bad day. They don’t know when you’re having a bad day, and they don’t talk back. They don’t ask for much, only a little bit of water and some hay.”

They provide the release she needs after working all day.

Kowalski’s shift begins at 6 a.m. when she punches in and checks reports from the night shift.

“I make sure they tell me what happened wi th the patients throughout the night,” Kowalski said. “I do my rounds first thing — my a.m. care, which is getting them ready for breakfast, bath-

ing them, and brushing their teeth ... and then breakfast is served. If they need help eating, I assist them. I help transport patients to x-ray, or wherever they need to go. I get them in a wheelchair and get them ready for testing.”

Soon after that comes lunch, followed by other duties, such as taking samples or vital signs. The days go by fast, because there’s always something to do. She loves working at the hospital, espe-cially the people she works with.

“It’s like I have a ton of sisters,” Kowalski said. “I’d miss being there. I am very content.”

Because she loves her job, and is so close to home, Kowalski has no plans to return to home health care. It’s a part of her past. Home health care’s loss is Scheurer Hospital’s gain.

Bill Diller/For the TribuneCheryl Kowalski of Pigeon has been involved in the health care industry for more than two decades.

Nicholas Grenke/Huron Daily TribuneNaeem Haider is the director of anesthesiology at Huron Medical Center.

Doctor finds his home at HMCBy NiCHOlAS GreNKeTribune Staff Writer

BAD AXE — Naeem Haider, the director of anes-thesiology at Huron Medical Center, didn’t expect to come to the Thumb of Michigan after time spent at the presti-gious Cleveland Clinic, but he’s found a home here.

Haider was born and raised in the United Kingdom. There, he started his career in medi-cine, as he was following in the steps of his father and other family members who also were doctors.

“I looked up to my dad helping others and decided this path would make the most sense for me,” Haider said. “It’s something to be proud of.”

H a i d e r ’s f a t h e r w a s an orthopedic specialist . Originally from Pakistan, he was working in Scotland, but spent time doing humanitar-ian work in his native coun-try for those who had been affected by war. To this day, underground land mines have disabled thousands of people

in the years long after wars were over.

Land mines have been used by both militant insurgents and government forces in internal conflicts since the before the Pakistan Soviet war started in the last 1970s.

When Haider moved to the United States, he continued his education in medicine in Chicago. There, he found that working with anesthesiology was his calling.

After that he worked in Iowa, University of Michigan Hospital and The Cleveland Clinic before coming to the Huron Medical Center.

“Huron Medical was look-ing for an anesthesiologist, and my interest in pain medicine made it a good fit,” he said.

Haider said helping people cope with pain is a passion of his.

“Sometimes, people come in with no hope, and it’s worth it to help them,” he said.

One aspect of the job that is very rewarding to Haider is when someone can improve the quality of his or her life with his help. He said he’s had patients

who didn’t think they could return to work find they can. In addition, people who are termi-nally ill who visit him can die with dignity and pain free.

Despite his training and expertise, Haider said he can’t help every patient he has. He said he works with people directly so they know when this is the case.

“People want to have their doctors express their opinions honestly, and sometimes that’s all they need,” he said. “They need to know all that’s been done has been done right.”

Haider expressed hope for his future and new generations of doctors that will continue the work that he has done, just like those who came before him. He encourages people who are considering a life in medicine to follow their dreams.

“When people ask if they should go into medicine, I say that when you take that step, you’ll find some area that suited for you,” he said. “ ... You’ll find something that your appreciated for at the end.”

8

By Dave ShaneTribune Editor

BAD AXE — Don Schadd had no idea he was going to end up being a teacher. He started college with other goals in mind.

“I was going into con-struction, and I never even thought about teaching,” he said.

Schadd, who grew up on a farm and graduated from Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Por t Lakers High School, obtained a two-year degree in con-struction at Delta College. He wanted to be a builder.

But he heard there was an opening at Bad Axe High School for a teacher, a shop teacher.

“I never thought I would be a teacher. ... But about 17 or 18 years ago, they needed a shop teacher and couldn’t find one,” Schadd said.

Someone contacted him about it. And he thought he would give it a try.

Teaching students about building things was a lot dif-ferent than building things yourself. And Schadd said it took him a while to get the hang of it.

“The f i r s t yea r I d id teaching, the learning curve was dramat ic ,” he sa id . “Construction is a physically demanding job. Teaching is more of a mentally demand-ing job. ... And there is a lot more paperwork.”

There also is a lot of inter-action with people, and fig-uring out what makes each student click.

“I used to work 60, 70, maybe even 80 hours in con-struction, and I dealt with a

lot of people,” Schadd said. “But it’s nothing like being a teacher.”

Schadd began to l ike teaching, and pursued more college education to turn teaching into a career. Today, armed with bachelor’s and master’s degrees, he enjoys

the challenge of helping Bad Axe students learn the basics of woodworking, metalwork-

ing, welding, drafting and small engine repair.

“You have your good days and your bad days, but it’s fun.”

Being a shop teacher is a lot different than teaching

English, math or science.Students and teachers

work together on a curricu-

lum, and students often come up with a construction project they would like to work on. That means they could work on anything from an ink pen to a hand-crafted chess set to a grandfather clock or a hunting blind.

“The nice thing about shop class is they have an end product when they fin-ish,” Schadd said.

And, yes, there are few written tests.

“It’s not a traditional class. And it can be an easier class, there is no doubt,” he said.

But that doesn’t necessarily equate into an “easy” class.

Schadd has a reputation of being a no-nonsense instruc-

tor who demands safety rules be followed and students stay busy at all times. He admits he is not afraid to tell a stu-dent if their quality of work-manship is lacking — just like they will be told some day in the working world.

One of his students said Schadd’s honesty and will-ingness to talk to students made him a personal favorite.

“He’s my favorite teacher — hands down,” said junior Joel Harrison. “I come to him for advice. And if I’m having a bad day, he’s a good listener.”

Schadd, 40, and his wife, Kim, have two daughters — Whitnee, a freshman at Central Michigan University,

and Sara, who is in kinder-garten.

More and more girls are taking shop classes, and that at one time included Whitnee.

“There’s a d i fference between teaching girls and boys. I don’t know how to say it,” Don Schadd said. “Girls want to know you’re there to help them. Boys tend to be more forward with their ques-tions.”

The Schadds live between Elkton and Bad Axe.

When Don is not trying to help young people learn how to work with wood or draw a design for a home, he enjoys hunting, fishing, trapping and camping.

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 9

Laker alumnus enjoys serving as Bad Axe shop teacher

Dave Shane/For the TribuneFreshman Charlie hass, left, gets a helping hand from Bad axe high School teacher Don Schadd during shop class. hass is building a winners’ platform for wrestlers to use during tournaments.

“He’s my favorite teacher — hands down,” said junior Joel Harrison. “I come to him for advice. And if I’m having a bad day, he’s a good listener.”

Laker instructors have a variety of experience

Above-left, Seven-year veteran Laker Elementary teacher Linda Pike, shown with student Chloe O’Connor, has taught fifth grade for four years. Prior to that, she taught computers. This school year, as part of the new departmentalization in the upper elementary grades, Pike teaches math to all three sections of fifth grade. Each teacher specializes in certain core subject areas, and the students switch classrooms. Pike also recently started overseeing a media club, which will be putting together brief broadcasts to the entire elementary school each day.

Above-middle, Sara Smith started at Lakers in February 2012 as a teach-er consultant. She taught alongside teacher Mark Estelle in the fourth/fifth grade classroom last school year. This school year, she is a fifth-grade classroom teacher, specializing in sci-ence. She teaches science to all three fifth-grade sections. She’s pictured assisting students with an experi-ment in which they extracted DNA from strawberries. She also oversees the after-school underwater remote-operated vehicle (ROV) team (new to Laker Elementary this year) and assists

Mark Estelle with an after-school recycling group.

Above-right, Spanish instruc-tor Stephanie Segroves started at Lakers in 2011. She not only teaches Spanish, but she assists other teach-ers with incorporating technology - including iPads and apps - into everyday classroom lessons. This school year, during the 30-minute junior high seminar period, Segroves teaches a dance workshop, in which students learn about the Spanish culture and about different forms of Spanish-style dancing. She’s also led an after-school Spanish club at Laker Elementary.

Lower-left, Deb Hasselschwert has been teaching at Lakers since 1994. She teaches various science classes at Laker High School, including chem-istry, forensic science, geometry and physics. She also oversees the Science Club and the Science Olympiad team. The Olympiad team recently attended its first statewide invitational event and did very well. Several students placed at the invitational. Hasselschwert is pictured here with physics students Kaitlyn Reinhardt, Morgan Fitzpatrick and Dylan Schember.

9

10 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

By Rich haRpFor the Tribune

HARBOR BEACH — As a teenager, Anne Kennedy had her future all figured out.

“In high school, I was going to be a nurse,” she said.

Then she made a mistake. She took a career inventory test that helps students decide what career path would be best for them.

“It came up teacher, and I decided that was good,” Kennedy said. “At the time, it seemed like a good idea.”

Nearly three decades later, Kennedy still thinks it was a good idea.

Anne is married to John Kennedy. The coupe has two sons, Jacob (20) and Mitchell (17). The family resides in the Bad Axe area. Along with being a wife, a mother and a homemaker, Anne is a teach-er at Eccles Rural School,

which is located at 5754 Section Line Road, Harbor Beach.

She has told her children, “if you love kids and you truly love teaching, it will be good for you.” Obviously, it has been good for her. This marks the 24th year of teach-ing for Kennedy.

Unlike many teaching pro-fessionals, this is the only teaching job she has ever had. Each of those 24 years has been spent at Eccles.

“I like my job,” she said. “I hate summer vacation.”

Kennedy said she loves the family atmosphere that exists at Eccles.

“This feels like a big, big family,” she said. “The big kids help the little kids.”

The experienced teacher appreciates her students’ par-ents and their involvement in the school.

“The parents are awe-

some,” she said. “The sup-port they give me is great.”

She noted she has daily contact with most of the par-ents. In addition, she says d i sc ip l ine problems are almost nonexistent.

She definitely appreciates the Eccles School Board. It has been very supportive over the years, allowing her flexibility with the job and her personal life.

“They are the best school board,” she said.

Until a year and a half ago, the school had two teachers. Today, everything is done by herself and one paraprofes-sional, Amy Crandall. As with most or all rural schools, there is no hot lunch pro-gram, nor is there public transportation.

Outside of those parents involved with the school, few know this is a public school.

“A lot of parents think we are a private school,” Kennedy said. “Parents don’t look to coming out here. It’s amazing how many people f ind out we are a public school and say they didn’t know their kids could go here.”

A s w i t h a n y s c h o o l , Eccles has a regular routine.

“We start with the Pledge of Allegiance,” she said. Soon af ter, the s tudents discuss the news and cur-rent events. Their first class is math, which Kennedy explained is often the hard-est class for the students. She does it first in order to have time throughout the day to help students with math homework and mathematical problems.

Science and social stud-ies follow math. English, language, and the arts usually are later in the day.

Throughout the week, visiting teachers visit the school. Several are sup-plied through the Huron Intermediate School District (ISD).

“The Huron ISD is won-derful in the support they give us,” Kennedy said. “Our ISD is the greatest.”

Some o f t he v i s i t i ng teachers include Sharon Maurer, an art teacher who visits once per week. Mary Cupery teaches music, usual-ly once a week. Cindy Kraft, special education teacher, visits four times per week.

Other visiting teachers include Brenda Roggenbuck, Ti t l e I t e a c h e r. C u r t i s Boehmer teaches speech, and Bryant Goulet is the school’s social worker.

The job is not without challenges. Kennedy said time, or a lack thereof, is her biggest problem.

“There is not enough time

in a day,” she said. This chal-lenge is followed by paper-work.”

Reports required by the state are very time consum-ing. At a rural school, there are no employees assigned to doing this job, as there would be in a larger school system. This duty then falls onto the teacher or paraprofessional.

There a re o ther tasks done by rural school teacher that often fall on individual employees at large schools. These many include being the janitor or nurse.

“We wear many, many hats,” Kennedy said.

As with many teachers, home life challenges play into the overall picture. There had been times when juggling the job and her kids was dif-ficult.

“I have felt guilty when I had to leave my kids when they were sick,” she said.

Over the years, Kennedy has seen many changes in the classroom.

“When I first started, there weren’t as many require-ments as now,” she said.

One example she cited are the expectations of the state for kindergartners. They are expected to read and write by the end of that first year of school.

“The levels are so much higher than 24 years ago,” she said. “Sixth graders are doing what the eighth graders used to do.”

Math requirements have changed, particularly higher math.

“I never thought I’d be teaching Algebra in eighth grade,” she said.

Kennedy hopes to teach for several more years.

“ I ’d love to cont inue teaching for another 10 years, at least,” she said. “I want my boys to be successful, (and) I want all my school kids to be successful students.”

But that future has some questions attached. She feels the future of rural schools may be in jeopardy.

“I’m scared,” Kennedy acknowledged. “I’m worried what the future will hold for teachers and students. It’s harder and harder to be a

teacher.”S h e s e e s m u c h m o r e

technology coming to the rural schools, although she doesn’t agree with all of it. She doesn’t like many of the online classes, and she doesn’t like the overall con-cept of these types of classes.

Kennedy also feels longer school years are in the near future for the students.

“I see year-long schools coming,” she said . “I’m thinking (it will happen in) five to 10 years.”

Although the future may be somewhat uncer ta in , Kennedy loves what she has today.

She loves her students. She fee ls they are more mature and dedicated to their school than students at larger facilities.

“At the end of the day, the kids are assigned jobs. Everyone does them from k i n d e rg a r t e n t o e i g h t h grade,” Kennedy said. “It teaches responsibility and ownership and respect for the school. After all, it is their school.”

Veteran teacher says Eccles School is like one big family

Rich Harp/For the Tribuneanne Kennedy has been teaching for the past 24 years.

10

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HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 11

She was supposed to teachBy Bill DillerFor the Tribune

OWENDALE — When Jessica Hope graduated from Swartz Creek High School, she enrolled in the College of Wooster, a small liberal arts school about an hour south of Cleveland, Ohio. Over the next few years, she was on the school’s basketball team for three years and played lacrosse one year. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree in business economics. Upon graduating, Hope immedi-ately put her degree to work by accepting a job managing apartments in the Marlette/Sandusky area.

Hailing from a long line of teachers , Hope broke the family mold when she decided to pursue business economics. Taking the job as apartment manager was another s tep away f rom teaching. Or was it?

“Part of my job as a prop-er ty manager was to se t up different activities for the residents,” Hope said. “Primarily, the focus was on the kids of the area.”

She enjoyed working with kids so much, it made her have an epiphany.

“One day I woke up and said, ‘I’m supposed to be a teacher,’” Hope said.

While in college, Hope had included teaching cred-its along with her business economics studies. It wasn’t enough for a teaching certifi-cate, however, so returning to school to pick up a teaching degree seemed like the logi-cal way to go, because teach-ing runs in her blood.

“My grandma was in the school system,” Hope said. “I have five cousins that teach. My sister teaches. My dad teaches. My uncle teaches. I think people assumed I would.”

Now she has three more years of schooling under her belt and a teaching certificate to her credit. She also is in the midst of her first year as the kindergarten teacher at Owen-Gage Schools.

“I really couldn’t ask for a better start,” Hope said. “I have a great group of kids. It’s a very small class, but it’s nice because they get a lot of personalized academic attention. That’s a really nice thing.”

Preparation for her first year of teaching was rushed; Hope didn’t find out she had the job until just a few weeks before the school year start-ed. However, she is a quick study, and extremely enthusi-astic about her new job.

“Our days go fast,” she said. “I think they go fast because we cover so much. We have a routine that I wrote our first day of school.”

Hope feels that having a structured schedule helps the children become accustomed to a school environment, and teaches them responsibility. Her daily schedule includes reading and comprehension drills, art work, phonics and writing, among other things.

“With such a small group, I can work with them one on one, because not everyone needs work in the same area,” Hope said.

The class also studies math on a daily basis, as well as science. In addition, the students learn the days of

the week, and months of the year, and have specials which consist of Spanish and gym classes. They also have free period activities where the kids basically choose what they want to do.

“They can read books or do art projects,” Hope said. “They usually end up play-ing house games, with the kitchen set, or they bring out the doll house. They do a lot of dramatic play during that time. It’s their time to be creative.”

Although Hope enjoys teaching kindergartners , that grade level wasn’t her first choice. She originally thought about teaching older children.

“I was middle school oriented,” Hope said. “My father teaches middle school, and I coached middle school when I was in college. Then I started doing some field work; I was doing elementary certification. I knew I wanted that because it would be a K thru Eight certification. I was placed in a fourth grade room, and then a second grade room. I was also placed in three different kindergar-ten rooms. Between my field work and substitute teaching, I spent a lot of time in K thru Eight, at every level.”

The experience made her somewhat indecisive. When she became aware of the job as kindergarten teacher at Owen-Gage, Hope didn’t hesitate. She applied, and has never looked back.

“There’s a lot of energy here, and I’d like to continue with that,” Hope said. “I feel like I supply it, too. There’s a lot of development that hap-pens in kindergarten. It’s so important.”

She is impressed with how enthusiastically the children embrace their educational opportunities, but feels like she was under prepared to

teach this age group.“I’d like to continue here,”

Hope said. “But if I do, I’d like to pursue further educa-tion — to better myself. I have a teaching certification, but I’m looking into getting an early childhood endorse-ment. I’d like to have that so I can learn more about the development of this age group, and how I can become a better teacher for them.”

Lea rn ing to s t ay one step ahead of a room full of sponge-like minds is chal-lenging, but Hope has thus far been up to the task. She enjoys her job, and feels like Owen-Gage is the perfect place for her.

“I told my principal that I feel like I fit,” Hope said. “I feel like I’m part of the community, and that’s a good feeling to have. I had new programs and curriculum to learn, but there is such a good staff here ... I had a lot of help. I had people offer to stay after school and show me how things worked — not just from the elementary staff, but from the administration. I think that’s one of the perks of being in a small school.”

Part of the attraction of Owen-Gage Schools for Hope is her other job within the system; she also is the varsity girls basketball coach.

Growing up with a passion for the sport, Hope has been actively engaged in basket-ball since she was a little girl. She participated all the way through college, and jumped at the chance when asked whether or not she’d be interested in interviewing for the Owen-Gage coaching job.

Although it seems like it would be difficult to switch between teaching kindergart-ners and coaching juniors and seniors, Hope makes it look easy.

Bill Diller/For the TribuneJessica Hope, kindergarten teacher and varsity girls basketball coach at Owendale-Gagetown Schools, gives instructions to Andrea McCreedy, one of her players on the basketball team.

See HOpe • 13

He strives to be a role modelUPPER THUMB — Brad Fewins attend-

ed Grand Valley University in the Grand Rapids area. He graduated with a degree in teaching, and has spent much of his young life preparing for that profession. Little did he know his education would lead him to a much different setting than he had envisioned.

Fewins teaches at Kipper Rural School, which is located at 4499 Kipper Road near Harbor Beach. Teaching at the rural school was the first and only teaching job he has ever held.

“This is my fourth year,” he said. “This is a very different dynamic. You’re teaching nine grades all at the same time.”

Luckily for the young teacher, he has an excellent pair of paraprofessionals to assist him at the school. He works with Melissa Herman, who now is in her twelfth year. Joe Sutherland, in his first year at Kipper, is the second paraprofessional.

“The para-pros are absolute godsends,” said Fewins. “They do so much more than required. It really is like a family here.”

For the most part, the students have a set schedule.

“Basically, they start out with morning work,” the young teacher said. Morning work is comprised of English language arts, math problems, and creative writing.

Fewins used the term “daily journal” when discussing creative writing. The students are given a journal prompt, and they write about that prompt or subject. Each grade level is expected to write different amounts.

Afternoon studies usually consist of social studies and science. It also includes additional math and additional English.

One day per week, the children will be given an art class, hosted by Fewins. They also will have music class once per week. That is given by a visiting teacher from the Huron Intermediate School District.

When asked what his biggest challenge was, Fewins said it was the increase in the number of students this year.

Kipper’s enrollment has grown noticeably over the past year. Last year, eight students attended the rural school. This year, that figure has jumped to thirteen.

Another challenge is one caused by his own desire to be the best teacher possible. That challenge is “…making sure every stu-dent has what they need to succeed in life.” He said that “need” includes academics, social skills, and emotional skills.

The young teacher explained his passion for teaching.

“I wanted a job that had meaning,” he said. “I’ve always had a passion (to help) children.”

He discussed his awareness of teachers as he was attending elementary and high schools.

“I saw teachers I liked and those I didn’t like,” he said.

He wanted to be a one of those teachers that taught the children well.

“I wanted to be a role model the kids could look up to,” he said.

— Rich Harp/For the Tribune

Rich Harp/For the TribuneKipper School student isaac Depcinski works with his teacher, Brad Fewins.

11

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12 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

Math educator at Ubly says teaching is his missionBy Rich haRpFor the Tribune

UBLY — Joel Leipprandt has taught in the Ubly School System for the past 14 years. If one interviewed 100 teachers, it would be unlikely to find one as dedicated to motivate than this seasoned teacher.

Joel is married to Melanie. The couple lives in Ubly, and they have seven children; Joel (Kelly), Tyler (Rachel), Alicia, Marshall, Dajanae, Diamond and Destiny.

Leipprandt received his teaching degree from Spring Arbor, and his masters degree from Saginaw Valley State University. He began teach-ing at Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker Schools, and he taught there from 1984 to 1988.

He traveled across the state to teach in the Ionia School System (near Grand Rapids) from 1989 to 2000. He has been at Ubly since then, pri-marily teaching math.

“Joel is a good friend, col-league, and person,” said fel-

low teacher, Kathy Perdue. “There are three of us in the math department, and we are a smooth oiled machine.”

Leipprandt explained that math was a strong point of his in high school. He wanted to teach to have a direct impact on the lives of kids. He feels he is accomplishing this on a daily basis.

In particular, he named two students he feels he impacted. One was Joe Buys from Ionia High School.

“He says I impacted his

life by giving him persever-ance, to never give up on your dreams,” Leipprandt said.

The second case in point w a s B r a n d o n D e a c o n s . Deacons played basketball for Leipprandt when he was coaching. The teacher said the student had a tough life, but he persevered.

“We talk every week on the phone,” he said.

The former student will graduate in 2014 with a degree in athletic management. The two are very close.

“We kind of adopted him, but not legally,” said the teach-er. “I’ve become like a father figure to him.”

Leipprandt explained he has a math curriculum to teach.

“Our job is to teach curricu-lum, and to get them prepared to graduate,” he said. “But if kids can’t fight through adver-sity, all the math in the world is useless.”

He said there is so much more to teach than math.

“I feel I’m a motivational speaker every day,” Leipprandt said.

He tries to push the stu-dents to succeed and exceed. He teaches them to not dwell on family life or other things bothering them.

Leipprandt teaches math in grades 9 through 12. One of the hardest things for him to do is to teach the students the necessity for math. He says one of the hardest things to do in the classroom is to teach math and to convey the reason students will need math in the real world.

“It’s a constant struggle on a day to day basis,” he said.

The veteran teacher has taught for nearly three decades, and he understands the class-room hoods many challenges.

“The biggest challenge for me is working with kids that don’t care,” he said. “(In some cases), parental support may not be there. Lack of effort is something that drives me nuts.”

He says he would much rather teach a student who tries and fails over one that gives no effort and, yet, has potential. He went on by explaining some of the motivational techniques he uses with the students.

“I tell my kids there are two things in life you can control: attitude and effort,” he said.

This teacher/mentor obvi-ously loves his job, his school, and his community.

“(My wife) was just saying how she, how we, love this com-munity,” he said. “It’s a great

community to be a part of.”With his education and

knowledge of mathematics, it is likely Leipprandt could make more money in another field. This doesn’t interest him. He feels he is wealthy.

“I tell the kids every day they get to spend the day with the wealthiest man in the world,” he said. “But it’s not monetary wealth.”

The math teacher was asked about his future. What does he plan when his teaching days are over?

“Every day my life is in God’s hands,” he answered. “(My wife) and I have taught and led marriage classes in our church. We thought about teaching something like mar-riage (and/or) parenting class-es.”

For the present, he hopes to stay in Ubly and to be a part of it for quite some time. He also plans to continue teaching for another decade.

“I’ve been teaching for 28 years,” he said. “I hope to teach another 10.”

He summed up his life by saying he feels he has been called to work in public schools.

“I’m a Christian, and that’s my mission field,” Leipprandt said.

Rich Harp/For the TribuneJoel Leipprandt teaches with a cast due to tearing an achilles tendon on Thanksgiving Day while playing basketball with family.

“I tell the kids every day they get to spend the day with the wealthiest man in the world,” Leipprandt said. “But it’s not monetary wealth.”

12

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COLFAX TOWNSHIP — A l t h o u g h M i c h e l l e Daniels lives in Cass City, she teaches at Big Burning Rural School outside Bad Axe.

Daniels is no new-com-er to teaching, nor is she a new-comer at Big Burning. This marks her 15th year as a school teacher, all of that time spent at this rural school.

“I went f rom student teaching to here,” she said.

She and two paraprofes-sionals, Pam Bechler and Lori Perez, start the day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance with the chil-dren. After this, different grade levels begin different areas of study.

Kindergarten through second grade start studies with a calendar class, third grade begins math class, and sixth grade students begin their computer time.

Each of the school’s 22 students is allowed a half hour of computer time each day.

Daniels likes all of the students to have math in the morning. For many of the kids, it is the most challeng-ing class of the day.

Doing math first allows her and the paraprofession-als the remainder of the day to help students with home-work and with any questions they may have.

The teacher tries to not send math homework with the students at night. Her reasoning is simple. Parents can’t really help in most cases.

Over her years of teach-ing, Daniels has seen many changes. In recent years, they seem to be coming at an ever-increasing pace. She feels technology and Michigan State standards are the biggest the biggest areas of change.

“It seems as if the chil-dren are learning one and a half years ahead of their predecessors,” she said.

These changes, in some cases, are causing problems. They place demands on the staff which causes big chal-lenges.

“We try to make changes as smoothly as we can,” Daniels said.

Sometimes, the children

can’t grasp the concepts of the new information and technology now required by the state.

“When we ask a question, we really need to think it through before asking it,” she said.

Daniels said she feels rural schools will be around in the future. Her reasoning is simple.

“I always have parents who want smaller settings,” she said. “They like the one on one attention and smaller class sizes.”

There is no doubt Daniels plans to continue teaching, and she plans to continue at Big Burning. She loves see-ing how the children grow as students and as people.

“I love having the kids year after year,” she said. “I love seeing how they grow.”

Daniels husband, Chad, is the Cass City Junior and High schools. The couple has two sons, Joshua, 16, and Justin, 6.

— By Rich Harp/For the Tribune

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 13

Dentist likes helping peopleBY NICHOLAS GRENKETribune Staff Writer

BAD AXE — Few things can be as painful as a tooth that causes a dental emergen-cy, and one local dentist said the ability to help people that are hurting is one of the most rewarding aspects his job.

“One of the most dif-ficult things about being a dentist is when a person comes in wi th ext reme pain,” said Bad Axe Dentist Justin Straight. “But it’s also one of the most reward-ing aspects of the job.”

Straight remembers com-ing to his dad, Timothy Straight’s, dentist office often as a child and being impressed each time he vis-ited and saw how his father helped people. Now a dentist himself, he works several days each week with his dad at the dentist office that his father built.

“He started it more than

30 years ago,” Straight said. “I’ve learned a ton from him — He’s been a good mentor.”

Straight said he never felt pressure to go into dentistry, rather, it happened naturally. In high school, he wasn’t quite sure what path he was going to take, but he wanted to do something that he felt was important. When he reached Albion College, he signed up for several pre-dental classes and found he took a liking to the profession.

“Since then I’ve never looked back,” Straight said.

After completing his degree at Albion, he went on to dental school at the University Of Detroit Mercy. There, he grad-uated in 2011, before coming back to work in The Thumb.

“I wasn’t 100 percent sure I wanted to come back, but as I went further on in dentistry, I planned to come back to the area,” Straight said.

He added he enjoyed his time in at Albion and in the

Detroit Metro area, but said there’s something special about the Thumb.

“People are friendly here and appreciative of the work we do,” Straight said.

Another aspect of the job that he loves is helping peo-ple who were self-conscious about their smile become confident again.

“One person came in who hadn’t seen a dentist for a number of years. He choose an option that helped him feel better about smiling in public,” he said.

Straight said although it might sound cliché, people could take care of their teeth simply by brushing their teeth twice a day and floss-ing. He added that most mouth disease is preventable and education is a big part of a dentist’s job.

“The health of oral care is important, it shows indica-tions of overall health,” he said.

Nicholas Grenke/Huron Daily Tribune“One of the most difficult things about being a dentist is when a person comes in with extreme pain,” said dentist Justin Straight. “But it’s also one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.”

“You would think it would be harder than it really is,” she said. “I think because I’m so focused on teaching, and since I have this passion for both, I’m finding it to not be as hard as people might think. When I switch to basketball, it’s a different type of con-nection you make with the kids — there are two totally different types of connections — going from emotionally and academically to emotion-ally and athletically.

“You still have the emo-tional part, you’re human, but it’s really not that hard a transit ion,” she added. “You’re juggling your prep time for both. You just have

to be ready — I make myself mentally ready for the day.”

Although Hope is pas-sionate about both teaching and basketball, she had some trepidation about spreading herself too thin, especially since it was her first year.

“The added s t r e s s o f a n o t h e r p r o g r a m w e n t through my mind, but I’m here to learn, and to do some-thing good,” Hope said. “I felt like coaching was going to be part of it, part of my purpose here. My athletic director has been very sup-portive. He’s done pretty much all the leg work to get the season going.”

It has been quite a jour-

ney for Jessica Hope from furthering her education to educating others, in the class-room and on the basketball court. Anyone who sees her in either setting will real-ize the passion she brings to whatever she does — she loves her position at Owen-Gage Schools.

“I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be,” she said. “I feel like I can do some good here. I bring a passion for my teaching, and for the sport I’m involved in. I feel like I can impact the kids I’m working with.”

If dedication and perse-verance has anything to do with, she will.

hope■■ From 11

A career at Big Burning

Rich Harp/For the TribuneMichelle Daniels teaches students in her Big Burning Rural School classroom. Daniels has taught at this school for the past 15 years. She said she always has parents who want smaller settings, and they like the one-on-one attention and smaller class sizes at Big Burning.

13

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14 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

14

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1896

Member FDIC

9840 Main St., Bay Port • 989-656-22311 S. Caseville Rd., Pigeon • 989-453-2225

796 N. Van Dyke, Bad Axe • 989-269-3195

In business since~

1908Pigeon Telephone Company

20 South Main Street989-453-4321

SERVING: PIGEON, TWINING, ALBA, AND LAKES OF THE NORTH

Serving The Upper Thumb Of Michigan Since -

1953

309 S. Hanselman, Bad Axe989-269-7291

Case Surveying

111 1/2 S. Port CrescentBad Axe 989-269-9142

In business since~

1874Huron Daily

Tribune

Published Since

1877

A Hearst Newspaper

THE MARLETTE LEADER

Pigeon 989-453-3113

Cass City989-872-4311

Caseville989-856-2247

Equal Housing Lender

“Where relationships are built on trust!” Since~

1895

Member FDIC

Bay City - Wilder989-667-7200

Bay City - Center Ave.989-894-7100

ACE HARWARE

BAD AXE 989-269-9131

110 Years of Service

1903In business since~

1919Orr’s

Drug Store26 S. Main St.

Pigeon989-453-2234

Over 80 Years of Service

1932 THE POWER

AGENCY, INC.6974 Main St., Caseville

989-856-2745Fax: 989-856-2984

In business since~

1991Bad Axe • Caro

Pigeon • Sandusky

Fine Food since~

1996The Pasta House Kinde

989-874-4070

10 years of service

2004Har Jo’s

Ben Franklin9 S. Main St., Pigeon

989-453-2323

Online since~

2008Huron Daily

Tribune

www.michigansthumb.com

The businesses of the Thumb value the contributions of the

teachers and healers of the area. Quality education and health care are vital to a thriving community.

Serving Port Austin

188462 E. State, Port Austin

738-5235130 Yrs. of Service

Port Austin State Bank

Finding you the perfect home

1948

6974 Main St., Caseville989-856-2980

Serving the Thumb Since~

1962Smith

DistributingBad Axe, MI

In business since~

1981UBLY MOTOR

SERVICE989-658-8533

2115 Main St. Ubly

Serving you since~

1995Kaufman

Funeral Home84 Westland Dr.

Bad Axe989-269-3000

T hank You!

HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com TEACHERS & HEALERS • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • 15

Nicholas Grenke/Huron Daily TribuneKim Jones, who has been an employee at the Meadow Lane Assisted Living Home in Bad Axe since 2010, said no two days are the same when working at an assisted living home.

BY NICHOLAS GRENKE Tribune Staff Writer

BAD AXE — No two days are the same working at an assisted living home, according to Kim Jones, who has been an employee at the Meadow Lane Assisted Living Home in Bad Axe since 2010.

“I love working with the elderly,” Jones said. “The residents are very apprecia-tive of the work we do.”

She said one of the most rewarding aspects of her job is the relationship she forms with people that live at Meadow Lane. Several residents tell her they miss her when she’s gone for just a short vacation, and they like to talk to her about her life outside of work.

“They say if I wasn’t here every day, they’d miss me,” she said. “The more time you spend with someone, the more you get to know them.”

Jones grew up in Ubly, and has spent her whole life in the Thumb. She took courses at St. Clair Community College in order to find a career that helped her leave work each day feeling fulfilled. She said continued education and training are big part of her job. For example, she recent-ly was certified to teach CPR classes to the rest of the staff at Meadow Lane.

“I took a class and ran with it,” she said about her time at St. Clair Community College. “Meadow Lane is great place to work with both management and my co-workers — it’s a family.”

Communication is the most important thing when someone new comes to the Meadow Lane, Jones said.

She said she introduces her-self right away to let people know that she’s there to help them with the transition to the assisted living home.

“When they first move here, it’s a huge adjustment,” she said. “Some people still have their own homes. With the cold that hit us last week, a lot of people were wor-ried that their pipes would freeze.”

Some people can be reluc-tant to have a loved one move into Meadow Lane, but she works hard to put their minds at ease.

“I tell them I’ll treat their mom and dad like I would treat my mom and dad or Grandma or Grandpa,” she said.

Jones’ daily routine can include a bit of everything. She said she helps people with meals, transportation and taking their medication.

“Everything they need, I do my best to help them with,” she said.

That doesn’t mean that issues don’t arise. Some resi-dents have days that are better than others, and Jones said you learn how to help people cope with the challenges they face. Some people have fam-ily issues and others deal with new health problems.

“A positive attitude goes a long way,” she said.

In the near future, Jones said she might take more classes in the medical field so she can do more to help people. It would be tough to attend school and work at the same time, but it’s a challenge she feels like she can focus on.

“The main thing is that I enjoy helping people,” she said.

Assisted living home worker loves being with the elderly

Glad to be working in hometownBY RICH HARpFor the Tribune

HARBOR BEACH — It is not uncommon for gradu-ating high school seniors to plan leaving Huron County. Many will go away to col-lege . Some leave for a job opportunity. David A. Roggenbuck was one of those students.

Roggenbuck attended Eastern Michigan University, where he obtained a degree and teaching credentials. After graduation, he began teaching at Hope Academy Schools for the Future in Detroit. But the young teach-er had a dream, and that was to Harbor Beach and teach in the same school in which he attended high school.

Last year, he was called by Harbor Beach School District Superintendent Lawrence Kroswek and offered a job interview, and Roggenbuck gladly accepted the offer.

“This is the dream job to come back where you started from,” he said.

Roggenbuck said it’s great to be home.

“Harbor Beach is a great community,” he said. “It’s a great place to raise a family.”

When he first arrived, he lived out of outside Harbor Beach. Roggenbuck moved into town in November.

It’s nice to have your own place, to be back in the old town again,” he said. “I have a sense of belonging here that I didn’t have at my others schools.”

Roggenbuck has been teaching computer appli-cations, along with other classes, and has other duties within the school system. It is likely he will teach the same students next semes-ter in an advanced computer apps class.

Semester one includes; Evolution of Computers, History of the Internet, Web Based Applications, File management, Computing Skills, Microsoft Office, and other topics.

He can’t remember any-one teaching computer apps for the past six or seven years. He also will teach Algebra I and work with English/math support groups. This

is a study hall setting for stu-dents who need help in these two areas.

He feels his main job, his main goal, will be to pre-pare his students for the 21st Century.

“I’m trying to prepare stu-dents to be successful in a technology-driven world,” he said. “They may know a lot about computers, but not about technology.”

The young teacher feels students in the county have a lot of promise. He says they show promise in the class room, and they will excel in the future.

“We have a very talented pool of students in Huron County,” he said.

Discussing technology in the distant future would be difficult for anyone. In Roggenbuck’s line of work, the future is vast. He felt he could envision the next few years. But first, he touched on his personal future. David is single, although dating a lady to whom he has become quite close.

“In five years, I’ll be mar-ried,” he said.

As for his professional future, Roggenbuck says he wants to see the computer classes at Harbor Beach flourish.

“My classes have 12-15 kids now,” he said. “I’d love for them to be 20 -25 students per class in the future.”

Presen t ly, the re i s a movement in some schools where all the kids get iPads or tablets, Roggenbuck said. He noted these devices will travel with the students, allowing them to be used at home, on the road, or else-where.

“There are many things to consider before Harbor Beach knows when this may happen to them,” he said.

For example, before the school system makes deci-sions, they will need to consider the cost, student accountability, breakage and other factors.

“(Also), online learning has taken off in the city, (and) we’re adapt ing ,” Roggenbuck said. “We’re in tegra t ing to increase learning and to adapt to the different styles of learning. It is all about giving the students the supports they need/”

He knows students can

learn from a variety of resources through the com-puter.

“There (is) a lot of web-based information out there,” he saidm noting he has built pages for students to use for additional help. He is in the process of increasing its size and types of information.

In some ways, the future looks as if it has arrived in Harbor Beach. Roggenbuck has initiated a Robotics Club at school, which has been approved by the superinten-dent and the board of educa-tion. They meet in the school on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“It’s a wonderful oppor-tunity for them to get schol-arships,” Roggenbuck said. Original ly, 15 s tudents signed up for the club. More have joined since its begin-ning. The club usually has three to 19 students attend-ing meetings on any given day.

These students plan to do more than sit around and dis-cuss theory. They have major, hands on project in the works. They are building a robot and plan to take their show on the road.

Roggenbuck and the students have registered to compete at the First Robotics Competition (FRC). This is a huge, national competition that began in 1989 with 28 teams competing. The orga-nizers expect that number to increase one hundred fold. They expect more than 2,700 teams to compete this year.

Earlier this month, the contest announced this year’s requirements, which include the weight of the robot, it dimensions, number and types of gears. The teams have six weeks to prepare a robot for competition.

After those six weeks, the robots will be “tagged” and no more work will be allowed to the computer-ized machines. Each year, the competition is based on a theme. For the most part, these themes have been sports relate; basketball, Frisbee, etc.

“Our single biggest goal is to go to districts and com-pete with a fully operational robot,” Roggenbuck said. “Some robots get there and are unable to do the tasks needed to really compete.”

The knowledge gained by

the Robotic Club members will not end at high school.

“It really helps students how to use programs and tools used in the industry,” he said. “They can take the stuff they learn here into their careers.”

Roggenbuck made it clear he needs help from commu-nity members. These com-munity members need not be from Harbor Beach.

“We have a lot of tal-ented individuals here,” he said. He gave an open invi-tation to all residents to step up and help the efforts’ of the students.

The team needs those who can offer physical help to contact them. The team needs individuals who may have equipment and parts. They also need community members who have time and talent and knowledge to help the team. They are actively seeking parents, mentors and engineers to assist.

Naturally, monetary help would be appreciated. Mr. Roggenbuck says $6,000 will be needed to register and go to Kettering University in Flint for the competition. Competition is scheduled for March 7 and 8.

More funds will be need-ed if the club competes on higher levels. Funding for robot and computer parts and other types of components is needed.

High ranking government agencies on a national level see these competitions as an important part of the coun-try’s future. Part of the funds needed by the Harbor Beach Robotics team has been given to them via a $6,000 grant from NASA.

Other needed funds are being generated by school fundraisers. Last month, the club members spon-sored a chess tournament fundraiser. To date, the Harbor Beach Chamber of Commerce has donated, as well as McDonald Food and Family of Bad Axe.

“We always welcome more sponsors to help the program,” Roggenbuck said.

Anyone willing to assist with equipment , funds, labor or knowledge should contact the Harbor Beach Robotics Club through David Roggenbuck. Call 989-479-3261 or e-mail roggenbuck@hbpirates.org.

Rich Harp/For the TribuneDavid A. Roggenbuck gladly accepted a teaching position at Harbor Beach Schools, as he dreamed to teach in the same school in which he attended high school.

“I’m trying to prepare students to be successful in a technology-driven world. They may know a lot about computers, but not about technology,” said David Roggenbuck, who teaches computer applications at Harbor Beach Public Schools. He said his main goal is to prepare students for the 21st Century.

15

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16 • Saturday, January 25, 2014 • TEACHERS & HEALERS HURON DAILY TRIBUNE • www.michigansthumb.com

Huron Tech Center instructor has cooking in his bloodBy Seth StapletonTribune Staff Writer

BAD AXE — For a man who wears many hats, it’s a chef’s hat that is at the top of John Miles’ list.

Miles, the hospitality/food service instructor at the Huron Area Technical Center, has cooking in his blood.

“ M y grandmother was classi-cally trained in Paris, and m y f a t h e r worked as a pastry chef briefly,” said Miles of his passion for the profession. “So growing up in an environment based around cooking and in the kitchen seemed very normal to me. I once heard that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life — and I still love what I do.”

The son of Cra ig and Linda Miles and brother of Michelle, Lisa and Kristen, Miles has been in the food and hospitality industry for the better part of 20 years. He grew up in Midland, and said he got his first job at a Subway when he was 17 years old.

After high school, Miles attended Grand Valley State University, and earned a degree in hospitality and tourism management. He has been working at the tech center for the past 10 years, and has been in his current role as lead instructor for the past two years.

Miles teaches his stu-dents and shapes the program around the operation of The Main Street Café, which is housed inside the tech center. It is open from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Fridays, and typi-cally serves between 20 to 40 customers on a typical day.

“Our program works on a weekly cycle based off of the 28 concentrations for our program,” Miles explained. “We let these concentrations

inspire the menu for each week. Monday and Tuesday, we are learning theory in the classroom. Wednesday, we apply hands-on what we learned earlier in the week in the lab, as well as test those concepts. Thursday, we are preparing the food for the buffet on Friday. Friday, we open the Main Street Café to the public for lunch and have everything closed, broken down and cleaned by the end of the school day.”

Each week, Miles’ stu-dents are making prepara-

tions and working toward each Friday, where they open their doors to the public for some instant feedback.

“The restaurant serves mostly local business people, as well as several retired cou-ples,” Miles said. “Several times a year, we offer large buffet luncheons to the pub-lic, where we have had as many as 115 people in atten-dance. We have between 12 to 16 regular customers that support the program on a weekly basis, as well as sev-eral large groups and busi-

nesses that we cater for on a regular basis. I think they come every week to support the students and the program. Many of our regular cus-tomers know my students by name. I think they enjoy seeing what the students have developed for the weekly menu, and obviously every-one enjoys the great food at a great price.”

Miles is assisted in both the classroom and the kitchen by paraprofessional Jennifer Campbell, who also brings several years of experience

to the table. “ M r s . C a m p b e l l h a s

owned her own wedding planning business, organized and worked off-site buffets, as well as worked in tradi-tional fine-dining establish-ments,” Miles said. “She also brings over 12 years of expe-rience in education and has a wonderful knack of working with all of our students.”

Miles said he also receives great support from the admin-istration at the tech center.

“At the building level, I have two wonderful and experienced adminis t ra-tors — Mr. Clark Brock, our building principal and CTE director, and Mr. Doug Hassler, our assistant princi-pal,” he said. “I enjoy work-ing and learning from both of them on a daily basis, as they both have years of experience in many different facets of education.”

In addition to teaching his students how to whip up a great meal each week, Miles also tries to keep them informed on any changes or trends in the industry.

“As equipment and tech-

nology, along with new and innovative chefs, push peo-ple’s ideas of what is normal or acceptable, we will always be learning,” Miles said. “Not everyone wants to go to Ponderosa and stuff them-selves every night as they did in the 80s. People are more knowledgeable about what they want and what they are eating, and that requires me, along with my students, to stay abreast to current trends in the industry.”

Aside from his full-time job, Miles also has owned and operated JD’s BBQ for the past decade.

Within the past year, he s tar ted up another busi-ness called the Lake Huron Mushroom Company, which specializes in gourmet culi-nary mushrooms.

In h i s spa re t ime , he enjoys playing rugby for the Tri-Cities men’s team.

He also likes spending time with his wife, Heather, and two boys, Hayden and Logan, going to their family cabin in Caseville, and trav-eling and camping through-out the summer.

johnmiles

Seth Stapleton/Huron Daily TribuneJohn Miles, the hospitality/food service instructor at the huron area technical Center, meets with students.

“My grandmother was classically trained in Paris, and my father worked as a pastry chef briefly,” said Miles of his passion for the profession. “So growing up in an environment based around cooking and in the kitchen seemed very normal to me. I once heard that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life — and I still love what I do.”

16

Ascent High School309 N. Outer Dr. • Bad Axe, MIDon “Rudy” Rudolph 989-269-2737, Ext. 7106

The students of Ascent HS are writing this to recognize the dedication of our teachers. Without them we wouldn’t have a school to go to. They saw what we were capable of and gave us a chance to make a commitment.

Mr. Durr will stay after every day just to help us under-stand math and physics. He is also the best gym teacher I have even known. He always has jokes that will brighten your day. He works his hardest to not only teach Math and Physics, but he also teaches gym too. He makes class fun. He boring assignments and makes them understandable and fun. He has a great sense of humor that brightens everyone’s day. Mr. Durr is kind, happy, funny, hard-working, and encouraging.

Mr. Weitenberner is one of the best motivators this school has. He cares about our future and is trying to push us to do our best. He works hard to make sure that we have busing to and from school. He encourages us to keep going and strive to be better no matter how big the problem is. Mr. Weitenberner is funny, a “day maker”, hard-working, serious, and encouraging.

Mrs. Johnson is the most dedicated teacher I’ve ever had. She is always ready with a new challenge. She helps us explore new things that widen our minds. She is always showing us new possibilities. She tries her best to teach us things that are new to her as well. Like the other teachers at Ascent she encourages us to not go for the least amount but the greatest. Mrs. Johnson is kind, caring, hard-working, funny, and encouraging.

Mrs. Durr (Mr. Durr’s Mom) goes out of her way every day to make the lives of the teachers and students easier. She manages the lunch meals every day for all of the students here at Ascent. She also keeps track of the fundraising money. She is hard working and tries her best to keep the students in line. Mrs. Durr is funny, entertaining, and serious.

We have the greatest teachers and staff ever! They have a tough job, but they always show up with an encouraging word, an interesting lesson, and smiles on their faces! We are extremely lucky to have such a great group of staff working with us! THANKS AGAIN!

Sincerely, StudentsofAscentHighSchool

FABULOUS TEACHERS OF ASCENT HIGH SCHOOL

THUMB AREA TRANSIT1513 Bad Axe Rd. • Bad Axe, M 48413

1-800-322-1125 • (989) 269-2121FAX (989) 269-8631

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Bad Axe Public Schools is committed to providing quality education for all students to reach their

highest potential academically, socially and physically.

BadAxeElementarySchool BadAxeMiddleSchool 404HatchetDrive•989-269-2736 750S.VanDykeRd.•989-269-2735

BadAxeHighSchool200N.BarrieRd.•989-269-9593