Vicksburg Schools officials are urging the district’s voters to educate themselves in advance of a countywide millage-renewal on a May 2 ballot.
Renewal of the so-called “enhancement millage” is being sought by KRESA, the Kalamazoo Regional Education Services Agency.
At stake for the Vicksburg district is about $1 million annually. The measure was originally approved in 2005 and has been renewed every three years since. If approved, the request would be in place for a six-year period and would be expected to remain on a six-year cycle for renewal.
During the district’s Jan. 16 meeting, board President Skip Knowles explained the thought behind changing from what has previously been a three-year request to every six years.
“The reason the recommendation is to go to six years is so we get an offset in those millages and it gives local districts more time if they have to have elections, or the county needs to have an election, or something else,” Knowles said. “The other thing on the enhancement millage … it’s a KRESA millage only because when Proposal A passed, they said the only way you could pass an enhancement millage is for an intermediate system district to do it.”
Knowles said he has struggled to come to terms with the word “enhancement,” explaining that in his mind, it “sounds like we’re putting frosting on the cake.”
“It fills in big voids for all the local school systems,” he said. “KRESA doesn’t take any of that money, it distributes it to the locals, so that’s where it goes and that’s very important for everyone to understand.”
Knowles stressed that the 1.5-mill renewal request is not a tax increase. Rather, passage would maintain the current millage rate. Funds through the enhanced millage are to be used at the discretion of each school district.
VCS used its first enhanced millage funds to help offset the cost of constructing its football stadium nearly 20 years ago.
Knowles said the district receives more revenue from the enhancement millage than what its taxpayers put in.
“Because they use the county millage rate, for every dollar a Vicksburg taxpayer pays to that millage we get a dollar and a quarter, or real close to that, back,” Knowles said. “So, it’s a very good thing for Vicksburg.”
Superintendent Keevin O’Neill said he plans to support the request.
In other action, Knowles was voted by the board to continue serving as president of the seven-member panel for 2023. Knowles has been a board member since 1984.
David Schriemer, a board member since 2005, was chosen to serve as vice-president. Carol Lohman remains on the board but wished to relinquish the role of vice president.
Amy Manchester will maintain her role as board secretary, a position she has held since 2018. Also, the board voted for Steve Goss to continue his role as district treasurer. Goss has been a district administrator since 2003 and also serves as the district’s assistant superintendent.
The Vicksburg varsity girls’ basketball team extended its record to 12-0 with a 47-16 domination of conference rival Edwardsburg. It since added two more victories to extend the record to 14-0.
The Bulldogs took an early lead against the Eddies and the game was never in question from there as Vicksburg extended the lead in the Wolverine Conference to two games over everyone else. The Bulldog defense was stifling in the game as the girls gave up only nine points in the first two periods and completely shut out the Eddies in the third.
“I tell the girls before every game, if they defend and rebound, I believe we can beat everybody,” Head Coach Tim Kirby said. “When our girls are dialed in defensively, we’re tough. We’re so long in our zone.”
The leading scorer for the Bulldogs was Maddison Diekman. She put up 15 points on five field goals, two free throws, and a three-pointer. Kendra Cooley was right behind her with 11 points on three field goals, a three, and two free throws. Emma Steele had seven points. Scarlett Hosner had six points and led the team in rebounds. Emily Zemitans put up four points. Makayla Allen scored three on a field goal and free throw. Hannah DeVries added one on a free throw and was a force on defense all evening.
The Bulldogs were up 32-9 at the half and only allowed one other basket the rest of the night. The rest of the Eddies’ points came on free throws. Edwardsburg came into the game second in the Conference with an 8-3 record. They were also on a four-game winning streak.
“The girls practice hard, they pay attention to what we’re doing, they understood the game plan defensively, and we got into their shooters, and we just kind of stymied them a little bit there,” Kirby said.
The team has long looked at Edwardsburg as the standard of excellence in the Conference. However, this year’s Vicksburg roster came into the season wanting to change the way people looked at the Wolverine.
“They’ve been the standard for the last five or six years in our Conference, and they went to the state semi-finals last year,” Kirby said. “This is a big one for us, to get over that hump.”
While Kirby acknowledged the win was a big one that had him nervous all day at work prior to the game, he feels like the team can’t afford to let off the gas right now. There’s still plenty of basketball left to be played in the season. They still have another matchup with the Eddies on the road coming later in the season too.
“We haven’t accomplished our goals yet. Our goal is to win a conference championship,” Kirby said. “We can’t have a letdown now. You know, sometimes you get a big win like that and the tendency is to come out flat the next game, or just to think you’ve accomplished something. We accomplished a big win tonight, but we haven’t accomplished our goal.”
After Edwardsburg, the girls picked up two more wins. One against Dowagiac 43-22 and another dominating performance against Otsego 62-24. Kirby has confidence in his team’s abilities, mostly through what he sees in their practices every day.
“This group, every day they come in and they work harder than they did the day before. We’ve had maybe one practice where I didn’t think we gave our best effort,” Kirby said “Every night when we come into the game, you can see in their eyes that they’re dialed in and ready to go. They were dialed in tonight.”
Left: Cooper Androsky, VHS senior. Right: Vicksburg’s Mitchell Graham on top.
By Travis Smola
Vicksburg wrestling has had some difficult years since Head Coach Jeff Mohney first took over, but the Bulldogs are finally starting to see a return to the program of old. There’s still a lot of growing to do, but the roster jumped from 23 to 30 wrestlers this year, giving Vicksburg some of the depth it’s long been craving.
“Having a full lineup is just half the battle. Once you do that, you start wrestling better. It gives you more confidence and that’s what we’re doing,” Mohney said after a recent quad match with Three Rivers, Paw Paw and Sturgis.
The Bulldogs matched up against rival Three Rivers first at the quad. They were down two wrestlers in the lineup and lost 64-14. JP Culver and Cooper Androsky picked up pinfall wins. Ty Barnes had the most thrilling matchup against the Wildcats, scoring a 10-4 points win.
“We wrestled hard. Three Rivers is tough. We didn’t match up,” Mohney said.
The team fared much better against Sturgis, coming away with a 62-18 win. Caden Town, Skye Smith, Daxton Rugg, Barnes, Carter Mann, Grant Daniels, and Brayden Dugray all picked up pinfall victories over the Trojans. Culver and Hunter Town’s matchups both went the distance. Culver won his match with a strong 19-2 points win. Town’s win came down to the wire and was a narrow 3-1 victory.
Mohney said the program has improved significantly over the last two or three years. It helps the team isn’t giving away points by default because they have no one to compete in certain weight classes. Every year, he’s recruiting a few more wrestlers to the team and the crowds seem a little larger and more vocal in the stands. This summer the team sent the boys to a wrestling camp, a move that has paid off so far in 2023.
“You can tell we’re wrestling better “We have two conference wins last year. We have two this year, so we have a chance at three or four,” Mohney said.
The team has two Conference wins so far this year which matches last year’s total. Mohney is hoping they can pick up a few more this year to build some more confidence and interest going into next year, especially since the team will lose nine seniors this year. But the upcoming rosters from the middle school are giving him some hope.
“Once we start getting 40 guys on the team consistently, then we’re really going to start competing,” Mohney said. “And our youth program is awesome right now, so it’s coming up. There are numbers, there’s experience now. I don’t have to teach parents about wrestling. That’s the hardest part too.”
Frustrations continue for the Vicksburg boys’ varsity basketball team as they came just a few baskets away from upsetting rival Edwardsburg on home court. The Bulldogs gave a colossal effort, but ultimately fell to the Eddies 53-47 in the game’s final minutes.
Vicksburg found themselves down early in the contest, but came roaring back several times, once as close as three points. Several missed free throws in the first and second period ended up looming heavily as the Bulldogs tried to mount a comeback in the later periods. Malik Bloodworth led the scoring for Vicksburg, with a couple of key three-pointers and two field goals for 10 points. Lucas Johnson was the next leading scoring with nine points on two free throws, two field goals and a three-pointer. RJ Vallier contributed seven points on a three and two field goals, as did Carter Brown. Grant Anderson had six points. Luke Bainter had four, and Cody Hatridge contributed a three to round out the scoring.
The Bulldogs were down 40-33 after the third period and managed to get things within three points late in the fourth period. A late foul led to Edwardsburg taking a four-point lead with 23 seconds left to go in the game. Vicksburg re-gained possession and tried to get the late three to at least give them a chance, but the ball failed to go.
Vicksburg has only one win since the team returned from holiday break, a 44-41 nailbiter against Sturgis. Since their return, the Bulldogs have lost to Portage Northern and Niles. The team’s record stands at 3-9 after they picked up a 64-35 home court win against Dowagiac. They then lost a nailbiter against Otsego that went into overtime where the Bulldogs lost 57-50.
Varsity Basketball Front row: Lucas Johnson, Jaxson Wilson, RJ Vallier, Garrett Schramer, Bryce Smith, Austin Androsky Back row: Assistant Coach Paul Gephart, Cohen Carpenter, Grant Anderson, Cody Hatridge, Luke Bainter, Carter Brown, Gabe Ryder, Coach Zach Wierenga
JV Basketball Front row: Brady Young, Liam Cohrs, Grant Balazs, Mitch Beyer, Jordan Diekman, Brody DeLoof Back row: Coach Rob Ryder, Jonathan Finch, Carter King, Brady Dorscht, Rilley Briggs, Anthony Marchase
Freshman Basketball Front row: Donnie Yant, Hunter Ambs, Gage Schiedel, Trevor Colter-Coville, Malachi McClelland, Braylen Vallier Back row: Coach Ryan Vallier, Caleb Cox, Anthony Norris-Riddle, Luke Deal, Brody Glenn, Dillyn VanHeukelum
Varsity Basketball Front row: Brooklynn Ringler, Maddison Diekman, Tristan Abnet, Makayla Allen, Amanda Laughery Back row: Assistant Coach Josh Cardosa, Emma Steele, Hannah DeVries, Emily Zemitans, Kendra Cooley, Scarlett Hosner, Coach Tim Kirby
JV Basketball Front row: Ella Mann, Ella Powell, Angeleah Campbell, Kelsie Tuinier, Lainey Wilson Back row: Ellie Lincoln, Shyanne Ruhl, Sidney Jones, Sydney Taylor, Alexis Bennett, Coach Kyle Roberts
Freshman Basketball Front row: Rylee Hemmes, Jylian Dixon, Emmah Schroeder, Ayla King Back row: Coach Andrew Diep, Jayden Rafter, Ava Vermeulen, Madi Smith, Sofia Berardo Segura
Competitive Cheer Front row: Katie Foltin, Isabele Pachero De Andrade, Abigail Dettmar, Anna Bartholomew, Kamie Courtney Middle row: Lauren Zahnow, Balma Roig Canizares, Abigail Soderquist, Hannah Sparks, Adalia Zoeller, Lyla Kling Back row: Coach Jade Farwell, Mackenzie Schiedel, Ava Kimble, Kendall Childs, Jordyn Clarey, Emma Smith, Addison Arnold, Aubrie Chatham, Coach Stacey Childs
Wrestling Front row: Luke Wilson, Braeden Mourey, J.P. Culver, M’Caleb Dean, Ben Culver, Carson Barnes, Greyson Young, Mitchell Graham, Landon Troyer Middle row: Coach Cody Cousins, Coach Eric Stephenson, Corey Hogue, Skye Smith, Ty Barnes, Hunter Town, T.J. Murphy, Chase Manley, Max Housa, Caden Town, Coach James Bippus Back row: Coach Jeff Mohney, Reese Brush, Breckin Meeks, Grant Daniels, Brayden Dugray, Drake Henderson, Harrison Barton, Daxton Rugg, Cooper Androsky, Braydon DePlanche Not pictured: Corban Cox, Gio Gangloff, Carter Mann
Bowling Front row: Austin Junde, Jacob McGehee, Brady Gibson, Brett Hess, Jordon Butler Middle row: Eli Welch, Isaac Allen, Isaac Adams, Isiah Elliot, Brayden Odell, Emmitt Bostocky, Coach Ed Mullins Back row: Coach Chris Adams, Justin Plankenhorn, Caden Bowling, Donny Kinney, Waylon Knowlton, Jake Naster, Owen Moberly
Hockey Blaine Herson, Owen Anderson, Aidyn Garza Not pictured: Zachary Coffinger
Ski Jodie White, Thomas Christiansen, Ella Rohrstaff
Money has been set aside for the purchase of a crane truck.
By Jef Rietsma
Vicksburg Village Council members in January designated more than $500,000 of available funds to support specific future needs.
With passage of the resolution, council members trimmed the village’s fund balance by more than 50 percent, still well above a state recommended minimum of 17 percent.
Village Manager Jim Mallery said assigning portions of the fund balance aligns with practices acknowledged by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, an independent organization which establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments.
The board’s designation of the funds means future councils will be able to use the money only for the purposes indicated through the resolution. This will keep village projects on track, make administrative and council changes more seamless, and provide transparency and clarify expectations to residents, Mallery said.
“More importantly, we don’t require loans and/or bonds to buy needed items, saving our taxpayer additional interest payments,” he said.
The amounts and restricted fund-balance designations are:
$150,000 to the village’s tax-stabilization fund.
$65,000 dedicated to Vicksburg’s benefit-pension reserve fund.
$85,500 allocated to the DPW’s vehicle fund.
$65,000 for DPW future purchases of heavy equipment.
$10,000 to DPW eventual purchase of a crane truck.
$15,000 earmarked for DPW’s ultimate purchase of a Bobcat.
$25,000 toward DPW’s future purchase of a pickup.
$47,500 toward the police department’s future purchase of a patrol car.
$10,000 toward police department’s allocation for weapons, to be purchased as circumstances warrant.
$10,500 earmarked for police communications and radios.
$55,967 for equipment the village will need at its new municipal office.
$82,000 to Parks and Recreation for unspecified purposes.
$64,000 set aside for eventual improvements of the municipal parking lot behind businesses on the west side of Main Street.
The Council also allocated $2 million in carryover funds toward its municipal building. The village is expected to use funds from this account to cover construction expenses related to the new office. Construction is expected to start before the end of June.
Mallery provided an example to better illustrate the steps village council members took in approving the resolution.
“The amounts that were listed, committed and assigned (are) simply putting that money in what would be described in our personal lives as a savings account for when it needs to be spent,” he said. “These items will not be expensed in this fiscal year.”
Using the DPW’s $10,000 allocation for purchase of a crane truck, Mallery provided additional clarity on what the council approved.
“We know that a new crane truck in today’s dollars is $110,000 and we also know that has a 20-year life span, so in 2038, we can predict that the village will need a new crane truck,” he said. “So, by 2038 (the village council at that time) will have the cash (to make that purchase).”
Mallery said the village has made great strides financially. Being able to make annual budget allocations to benefit future councils would have been a luxury he wishes the current seven-member panel had.
“When I started with the village, we looked at purchasing a $1,500 computer and weren’t sure if we should actually purchase that laptop or not,” he said. “Now, we’re talking about purchasing a village hall for cash money and being truly one of the only municipalities in the area to pay cash on that type of a purchase.”
Regarding the $2 million amount for the impending, new village office, Mallery explained the village has set aside a total of $1.75 million over the past five fiscal years. An additional $250,000 added when the village’s 2021-22 fiscal year concluded June 30 brought that figure up to its current $2 million amount.
Council member Carl Keller said Mallery and village staff deserve credit for the forethought put toward Vicksburg’s future needs and how those needs will be addressed financially.
“The citizens need to understand that we’re going to pay cash for a new village hall, hopefully within the next year or so (and) that’s huge,” Keller said. “Other entities, other boards that we’re on aren’t doing this. We’re setting money aside for future needs.”
Trustee Rick Holmes said the work of Mallery, staff and the village board is exceptional.
“It’s not bragging if it’s true (so) I think it’s fair to congratulate everybody to continue to see the success we’re having with our financials,” he said.
