SN 3-11-2023

The Sun and News, Saturday, March 11, 2023/ Page 7

Have you built an emergency

fund?

Many people make finan-

cial New Year’s resolutions,

such as reducing their debts

or contributing more to

their retirement accounts —

both of which are certainly

worthy goals. But among

those who planned to make

a financial resolution for

2023, the primary reason

was the desire to build an

emergency savings fund,

according to a December

2022 study by research firm

Morning Consult.

Factors such as economic

concerns and the sharp rise

in inflation seem to be driv-

ing this greater interest in

building an emergency

fund. But it’s extremely

valuable to maintain this

type of fund in any eco-

nomic environment. An

emergency fund can help

you prepare for a temporary

job loss or early retirement,

or pay for large home or

auto repairs, sizable medi-

cal bills and other needs.

So, how much do you

need to keep in an emergen-

cy fund? The answer

depends on your stage of

life. If you’re still working,

you might want at least

three to six months’ worth

of living expenses in your

emergency fund. If you’re

already retired, however,

you may need at least three

months’ worth of expenses

for emergencies, plus

another 12 months’ worth

of expenses, after account-

ing for your other sources

of income, to cover your

everyday spending needs.

And if you are retired, it’s

especially important to

maintain this larger emer-

gency fund so you can

avoid dipping into your

investment portfolio to pay

for any unforeseen costs

and daily expenses. As you

know, the financial markets

can be volatile, so, if it’s

possible, you’ll want to

avoid having to sell invest-

ments when their prices

may be down.

When building an emer-

gency fund, where should

you keep the money? You’ll

need it to be accessible, so

you’ll want it in a liquid

investment vehicle. At the

same time, you don’t want

to take risks with this fund,

so you’ll want to be confi-

dent that your principal will

likely be preserved. Some

possibilities might include

short-term certificates of

deposit (CDs) or money

market accounts. But wher-

ever you put the money,

keep it separate from your

regular checking or savings

account — it’s called an

“emergency” fund for a rea-

son, and you don’t want to

mingle it with the accounts

you use every day.

Given the high cost of

living, it’s not always easy

to sock away money for

emergencies — and if you

wait until all your bills are

paid before addressing an

emergency fund, you may

only make very slow prog-

ress. One possible strategy

is to pay yourself first, so to

speak, by having some

money automatically

moved from your checking

or savings account each

month into your emergency

fund. And whenever you

get a financial windfall,

such as a tax refund or a

year-end bonus at work,

you might use some of it for

this fund.

It will take time and disci-

pline to build and maintain

an emergency fund. But

once you’ve got such a fund

in place, you’ll feel more

confident in your ability to

deal with unexpected costs

that could potentially dis-

rupt your progress toward

your financial goals. So,

make it a priority this year

to build or strengthen your

emergency fund. It will be

worth the effort.

This article was written

by Edward Jones for use by

your local Edward Jones

Financial Advisor.

Edward Jones, Member

SIPC

Caledonia, MI

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Excitement runs high

for Barry County

Commission on Aging

with new facility,

partnership on the way

Jayson Bussa

Editor

The Barry County Board

of Commissioners laid out

a plan that would solve

easily the most pressing

issue facing the county’s

Commission on Aging.

For years, the Barry

County Commission on

Aging, which provides a

variety of services to

seniors throughout all cor-

ners of county, has occu-

pied a facility at 320 W.

Woodlawn Ave. in

Hastings, which is under-

sized, aging and in various

forms of disrepair.

A previous effort to get

taxpayers to approve a

millage that would fund the

construction of a new

building was voted down

in 2015, leaving the depart-

ment in a bit of a conun-

drum for nearly the last

decade.

Until now.

The new plan that was

floated at Tuesday morn-

ing’s meeting of the

Committee of the Whole

would provide the COA

with a newly built,

10,000-square-foot facility

located at a completely dif-

ferent end of town. On top

of that, the board will not

have to approach taxpayers

to fund the project.

While only an idea at

this point, excitement still

ran high at Tuesday’s meet-

ing as Barry County Board

Chairman David Jackson

laid out a plan that would

see both the Commission

on Aging and Hastings

Charter Township-based

nursing home Thornapple

Manor team up to leverage

resources and create a

senior-centric hub in the

southeast area outside of

the Hastings city limits.

Harvest Pointe, a new

assisted living facility

opened by Thornapple

Manor just last month, and

an adjacent parcel of coun-

ty-owned land are ground

zero for this vision.

Jackson said that the

county would be able to

utilize $3 million of cash

assets and use it to con-

struct a 10,000-square-foot

facility on the property

adjacent to Harvest Pointe.

This estimate assumes con-

struction costs will run at

around $300 per square

foot, which could change

once formal plans are put

in place.

The COA’s current home

could then be sold and

repurposed, potentially to

create housing that the

county so sorely needs.

No formal motions have

been made yet by the board

to allocate funds.

“This will allow us to

not have to go after a mill-

age and be more fiscally

responsible,” Commission

on Aging Executive

Director Courtney Ziny

told Sun and News. “That

just makes me so happy to

not have to (do that). With

our seniors included, no

one wants additional taxes.

No one feels they can

afford that and that’s valid

in today’s economy. To be

able to do this without hav-

ing to do a millage is an

amazing opportunity.”

While 10,000 square feet

falls significantly short of

the size that the COA orig-

inally envisioned – more in

the neighborhood of 20,

square feet – sharing spac-

es with Harvest Pointe and

working collaboratively to

create shared outdoor spac-

es would mean the depart-

ment could live with less

space.

Ziny said that she has

met with Rebecca DeHaan,

administrator at Thornapple

Manor, a few times to dis-

cuss this vision.

“We know we have more

active seniors now and

(Thornapple Manor) is

looking at pickleball courts,

and walking trails and

those are some things we

said we wanted, too,” Ziny

said. “So why would we

not collaborate? It makes

much more sense to pool

our resources to make

some of those things. ...

We’re lucky the county has

really stepped up and said

‘This is what we can do,

what do you think?’

Ziny said that the COA

originally took a hard look

Handley bound over for

trial in M-37 fatal crash

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

A 54-year-old Middleville

man will stand trial on

charges he was drinking

prior to a late January crash

in Rutland Charter Township

that took the life of a Jenison

man.

Scott Raymond Handley

waived his right to a proba-

ble cause hearing Wednesday

morning and was bound over

to circuit court by Judge

Michael Schipper. If convict-

ed, he could be sentenced to

up to 15 years in prison.

Handley is charged with

operating while intoxicated

causing death in connection

with the Jan. 27 crash at

M-37 near Whitmore Road.

A preliminary investiga-

tion by the Barry County

Sheriff’s Office found a

Chevrolet Silverado pickup

truck that was eastbound on

M-37 crossed the centerline

and struck a Ford Transit van

that was westbound on M-37,

killing the van’s driver,

62-year-old Matthew Fuller.

The Silverado was then

struck from behind by a

GMC Envoy. The crash shut

down the highway for two-

and-a-half hours.

Handley remains held in

the Barry County Jail. He is

scheduled for a pre-trial

hearing April 19.

Scott Raymond Handley appeared via video for a

hearing last month in Barry County District Court in

connection with a fatal crash on M-37 in early

February. The hearing was adjourned. (Photo by Greg

Chandler)

See COMMISSION ON AGING, page 8