Published: September 21, 2009 07:10 am      

Service News: 09/21/2009

Air Force Airman Joshua Vanhouten graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. He is the son of Kenneth Vanhouten, of Ellsworth, and a 2006 graduate of Ellsworth Community School.

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Staff Sergeant Mary Stoops, of Traverse City, a member of the Michigan Army National Guard, recently completed the Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course at Fort Custer in Augusta. Stoops, a combat medic at the State Medical Command in Detroit, has been a member of the military for 16 years and is a 2007 veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. During her military career, Stoops has received numerous awards including the Army Commendation and Army Achievement Medals.

Stoops is a 1982 graduate of Benzonia High School. In civilian life she works for Munson Medical Center as a Licensed Practical Nurse. She and her husband Michael have one child Abigail. She is the daughter of Ray and the late Phyllis Stoops, of Benzonia.