As more people take their dogs outside to enjoy the summer weather, Humane Society of West Michigan (HSWM) is launching its “Always Ask” campaign, sharing safety advice for interacting with dogs. More warm and sunny days means more dogs on the streets, and HSWM believes it’s important that the community knows how to approach dogs to protect themselves and the animals.

“The goal of this campaign is to make a habit of respecting the animal’s needs over our own,” said Trudy Jeffers, Executive Director at HSWM. “Animals, especially dogs, have boundaries just like humans and simply need their space. They will let you know if they don’t want to interact by giving basic cues.”

HSWM provides the following tips when meeting a dog:

Elzinga & Volkers (E&V), a leading provider of construction management services, announced today the firm has completed a $3.2 million renovation of Hope Church located at 77 W 11th St. in Holland. The project included a 10,000-square-foot renovation of the youth area, nursery, gathering area, meeting rooms and administrative offices, and a 3,900-square-foot chapel addition provides an alternate worship area for parishioners.

The project, which began in April 2016, will be revealed to the community on Saturday, April 29 at 2 p.m. The celebration will begin with a dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony and conclude with an open house featuring group tours.

As enrollment in online learning continues to increase across the county – by 80% over the past five years – two statewide, tuition-free, public virtual education schools, Great Lakes Cyber Academy (GLCA) and Michigan Connections Academy (MICA), are inviting the local community to learn more about the benefits of virtual education. Families that attend can expect to meet with staff and/or families from the school and gain valuable insight on the rigor and flexibility of virtual education and how it may be the solution for their child’s individual learning needs..

If interested, RSVP for any of the upcoming information sessions below:

Great Lakes Cyber Academy:

Pizza Party with Great Lakes Cyber Academy

Tuesday, May 9, 6:00 p.m.

Fricano Place

1050 W. Western Ave., Ste. 210

Muskegon, MI 49441