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ReMax pilot Robert "Woody," Watson inflates his balloon in a field behind 28th Street in Kentwood. Watson says this is a busy time of year for hot air balloon rides with the fall color season. Watson has been involved with hot air balloons since 1979.
Grand Rapids Fire Fighter Lt. Lee Finlayson puts on his gear before heading into a smoking building Friday afternoon on South Division.
Lannia Gordon, 3, of Grand Rapids admires a 2010 Camaro SS with her big brother, Rydell, 5, left, on Friday, August 28 at Roger's Plaza during the 2010 Foremost 6th annual 28th Street Metro Cruise in Grand Rapids.
April Juarez, 23, wipes away tears while apologizing to the family of Tifanee Crews on Monday, August 30 at the Kent County Courthouse during her sentence for accidentally hitting and killing Crews outside Tap House Bar with her 1998 Cadillac during a drunken fight on March 5. Juarez was sentenced to 20-50 years in prison for second-degree murder.
"We love each other from the heart," says Gregory Shingola of Grand Rapids, giving a kiss goodbye to his girlfriend Virginia Simon of Wyoming while waiting for her bus in Grand Rapids. He calls this the sad time of day, when Simon leaves him. Simon, who is blind, visits Shingola every day at Ferguson Apartments. The two wish to be married.
Tonesha Love, 8, of Kellogsville takes a deep breath and sighs on the swings at John Ball Park in Grand Rapids while enjoying her day off from school with brother LaMont, 10, and sister Tony, 12. 'It's tricky weather," said their mother, Lesha Martin, "but I always bring them to the park."
Kearsley womens varsity soccer team players cheer after scoring their single goal against Davison during the Big Nine Conference girls soccer tournament Wednesday evening at Davison High School.
An Amish man tends to horses Wednesday, October 25 in Newaygo Country before the funeral of eleven-year-old Kathryn Miller. Miller was killed by a drunk driver on Sunday, October 22 when her family buggy was struck in a hit-and-run. Area Amish communities came together in the days after Miller’s death to help her family with chores, organizing the funeral and to grieve.
Two workers re-caulking windows on the sixth floor of Van Andel Institute are reflected in the side of the new Helen DeVos Children's Hospital on Monday, August 30 on Michigan Street in Grand Rapids.
World War II veteran Virgil Westdale, 92, of Ada entered flight school in 1940 and signed up for the Air Force after Pearl Harbor. Westdale loved to fly. "It just felt like God had given me that gift," he said. Because Westdale's dad was Japanese, he was asked to leave the air force and was moved to a lower rank in the U.S. Army, where he fought in Italy, France, and Germany.
Kelly Hilliker, 14, of Linden (lower right) dances with Angela Daugherty,13, of Texas, (left) Tegan Rich, 13, of Florida (upper right) and Cristina Murphy, 14 of Georgia (upper right) during a Joffery Midwest Workshop technique class Saturday morning at The Whiting in the Flint Cultural Center.
An oak tree is reflected in a coffee mug on the front porch steps of a Grand Rapids home in early May.
John Feenstra, 94, and his wife Joyce, 90, have been selling asparagus out of their garage in Allendale since 1954. This season was their last, but the legacy of asparagus farming will be carried on by their two sons, Bernard and Dave, who own and operate Feenstra Brothers farms. (Press Photo/Emily Zoladz)
An audience of children react to a Grey Rat Snake during the Outdoor Discovery Program at Kentwood Library. The event, called "Paw, Claws, Scales and Tales," allowed participants to see and hold different reptiles.
Jacqueline Lopez, 13, of Kentwood swirls her dress while performing with Grupo Tarasco of the Cook Arts Center on Thursday, September 2 during the Stand Up for Rosa Parks dedication ceremony at Rosa Parks Circle in Grand Rapids.
Sydney Riffle, 7, of Belding gets cozy inside a snow cave Saturday at the John Ball Park Zoo during Winterfest 08. Ice sculptures, snow shoeing and behind-the scenes tours were a few of the options for families to take part in during the free event.
"I was hurt. I was humiliated, I wanted to cry," said Tasha Douglas, a Grand Rapids woman who was not allowed to board a Rapid bus last July because her face was covered. Douglas, a Muslim, had been riding the bus with her face covered for over three years and never had a problem until that day. She is now working with an ACLU attorney to encourage sensitivity training and require awareness among Rapid bus drivers.
Azeneth Rangel, 2, of Wyoming rests on her aunt Maria Rangel's shoulder during a rally for immigration rights at Calder Plaza in Grand Rapids. Azeneth's family moved to the United States 18 years ago from Guanajuato, Mexico.
From left, John, Drew, Nolan, Peyton, Gerrit, Kennedy and Sammy VanHouten of Hamilton make up the VanHouten sextuplets plus one in a family of seven children. The sextuplets are turning five this week, and Drew is two. "There's never a dull moment," said mom Amy VanHouten, "we have a lot of fun." Amy says God has been good to her family as He continues to provide her husband Ben with a job during these tough economic times.
Swartz Creek/Flushing senior Julia Johnson swims in the Consolation Heat for the Girls 200 Yard Freestyle Relay during Genesee County's Swimming and Diving Championship at Swartz Creek Middle School. Swartz Creek placed third in the event.
From left, Michael Davis, 7, of Grand Rapids and his sister Janaesha Glasco, 10, climb on the monkey bars at Riverside Park. Warm weather drew many to the park for playing, lounging, and chasing geese.
Three-year-old ballerinas from Integrity School of Dance Arts in Byron Center perform to "God is Love," on the Rosa Parks Circle Stage during opening night of Festival of the Arts 2009 in Grand Rapids.
Josh Hoffman, 26, and his fiance, Heather Lovell, 22, lie with their beds pushed together before going to sleep on Wednesday, March 4 in their Middleville home."Some people look at it and say "oh what a tradgedy," and it is, in a way, but he's still the same person," Lovell said about Hoffman's condition after he was paralyzed from a gun shot wound in Iraq. "If your going to love a person unconditionally, your going to love a person unconditionally, bottom line, and if you love them from the beginning you will love them always."
Chris Panopoulos of Cascade looks at a photograph of himself with former president Gerald R. Ford taken in the 1960s. Ford helped Panopoulos bring his siblings over to America from Greece when Panopoulos was 24. "He was wonderful, he vouched for me," Panopoulos said.
Marissa Neely, 18, clutches a friend after learning that a fourth body was found in a Wright Township home that burned down earlier that morning. Char Zimmer and her two sons, Tyler, 17, and Jeremy, 20, were also lost in the fire. Coopersville High School students and other family friends gathered outside the home after learning the news.
An Orleans Township fire fighter works through the smoldering remains of a barn at Three-Way Acres in Belding on Krupp Road. At least five fire departments responded to the blaze which killed several animals, including baby sheep.
Ashli Bynum, 14, left, and Aisha Bynum, 12, swing together at Meadow Brook Elementary on July 22, 2007 in Grand Rapids.
Olivia Helms, 6, of Grandville clutches a shiny new purse outside her locker at Zion Christian Elementary before class. Olivia was surprised with the purse when an anonymous giver left it for her at the counter at Marshall's on Tuesday, September 2. Oivia's mom, Kristen explains the woman had asked Olivia to help her pick out the purse for her granddaughter, but then left it at the counter for Olivia. "It makes us now think, what can we do for someone else?" Kristen said. Olivia says this is her favorite new purse, and sleeps with it every night.
Theresa and Clarence Brown of Grand Rapids listen to their lawyer outside a courtroom at the Grand Rapids District Court after their hearing was canceled. The Browns were displaced from their home when landlords Tom and Melody Jacobs lost their property to foreclosure. "It's frustrating," said Theresa, who took the day off work only to find the hearing was canceled.
"This is Elizabeth," said Dr. Eugene Shatz, showing off his pet chicken that is not butchered on the Shatz farm in Rockford. The director of adolescent medicine at DeVos Children's Hospital raised and killed 140 chickens for his daughter's wedding in the U.P. last October. "We drove them over the Mackinaw bridge," laughed Shatz.
"Bubba," a male American Quarter horse, rests in his stall at The Equest Center for Therapeutic Riding in Rockford. Equest Center is a non-profit organization that improves quality of life through equine-based therapy to physically, mentally and socially-emotionally challenged individuals.
Ashleigh DeWitt, 9, of Comstock Park swings high into the air at Dwight Lydell Park as temperatures continue to remain above average.
Ben Baird, dressed as Santa Claus, enjoys a coffee at Janies Cookies at Centerpointe Mall in Grand Rapids before beginning his shift. Baird has been dressing as Santa for 30 years at malls and schools, but will be retiring as Santa at Centerpointe after this year.
From left, Devin Barnes, 15, Duane Sherman, 10, and Donnie Ewing, 8, all of Grand Rapids, march across a basketball court at Garfield Park while playing with neighborhood friends.
"I'm thankful to be alive," said Priscilla Shannon of Grand Rapids after getting safetly out of her home when it caught fire. "You can replace your things but you can't replace life." Shannon had just learned all her things had been burned in the fire, but was greatful her two pitbulls were safe.
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