VOLUME 170, No. 6 Thursday, February 8, 2024 PRICE $1.
T HE
H ASTINGS
Devoted to the Interests of Barry County Since 1856
Housing attractive for developers
looking to build in Hastings
See story on page 5
Mounties overtake Saxons
on I-8 mats
See story page 14
Sheriff's election fraud
presentation rescheduled
See story on page 2
Nashville woman charged
months after fatal crash
with Amish buggies
Jayson Bussa
Editor
A woman has been criminally charged
for her alleged role in a Sept. 12 auto acci-
dent that claimed the lives of a father and
son and rocked the Amish community to
which they belonged.
Brinna Lavonne Cobb of Nashville was
arraigned in 56-B District Court on Tues-
day morning where the 19-year-old faces
six counts, including operating while
intoxicated causing death, operating while
intoxicated causing serious injury and
moving violation causing death.
The criminal complaint filed against
Cobb alleges that she was under the influ-
ence of THC when she was involved in a
fatal crash with two sulky carts.
Cobb’s bond was set at $50,000 and
she will have to post 10 percent of it to
remain free as she awaits her trial. As of
Wednesday morning, Cobb had not post-
ed bond and remained lodged at the Barry
County Jail.
A probable cause conference will be
held before Judge Michael Schipper on
Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.
Cobb will be represented by criminal
defense attorney Heath Lynch of GrandRapids-based SBBL Law.
The accident involved two sulky carts
while Cobb was driving a Volkswagen. The
crash occurred around 7:17 p.m. that day
on East Cloverdale Road, east of Guy Road
in Maple Grove Township.
The Barry County Sheriff’s office inves-
tigated the accident and, upon conclusion,
reported that a westbound Volkswagen
Tiguan collided with two carts, which were
both heading in the same direction. The
crash killed a 40-year-old man and his
14-year-old son while a 17-year-old boy
was seriously injured but survived.
Cobb was not injured in the accident.
An announcement from the Sheriff’s
office initially stated that investigators did
not believe drugs or alcohol were a factor
in the accident, but that assessment came
with the investigation still ongoing.
Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf told
media following the accident that he
believed the driver, Cobb, was blinded by
the sun, prompting the accident.
In the days following the accident, fel-
low members of the Amish community
from a widespread area traveled to Maple
Grove Township to pay their respects to the
deceased.Hastings Performing Arts Center marks fifth anniversary
Blend of private, public partnerships has
put facility on strong financial footing
Hunter McLaren
Staff Writer
The Hastings Performing Arts Center is
turning five years old this month.
Since its construction in 2019, the facility
has seen five years of musicals, honor cere-
monies and countless concerts. It has also
hosted several community events in that time,
providing itself as a unique public asset.
Spencer White, HPAC site coordinator and
Hastings High School band director, said it’s
been a journey to get the facility running as
smoothly as it does today. Shortly after the
HPAC opened its doors, the COVID-19 pan-
demic turned the world upside down. Public
education was largely virtual, and public
events became non-existent.
“You couldn’t use the performing arts cen-
ter for a pretty long time,” White said. “There
was about a year without anything at all.”
It was a time of financial hardship and
uncertainty for Hastings and school districts
across the nation. The HPAC facility man-
ager, and other staff associated with the
facility, had to be cut from the school’s bud-
get in 2020.
White saw an opportunity to transform
how the district utilized the performing arts
center. Having a single, full-time manager for
the facility was costly and inefficient. He
presented a proposal to district Superinten-
dent Matt Goebel – what if the facility had a
dedicated team overseeing its operations?
Goebel, serving in an interim role at the
time, took the idea to school board members
for approval. It was a pivotal moment for the
facility that has allowed it to become what it
is today.
The team was fully in place by 2021, con-
sisting of White, Joe LaJoye and Carl Schoes-
sel, aided by stage technicians Craig Holley
and Jeff Buehl. From there, the team began to
work together to utilize the facility in the best
way possible.
“There’s a lot of schools and districts in our
state that have beautiful facilities like ours,
and they don’t do much outside of the band
concerts, choir, district meetings and assem-
blies because they’ve structured their manage-
ment as just one person,” White said. “With
Matt being open to having this team in place,
with Joe and Carl and myself, it’s allowed all
of us to have different things to focus on.”Hastings-located B2 Outlet Store
one of the many to shut down
Jayson Bussa
Editor
A statewide retailer closed the doors of its
Hastings location this week, leaving a
20,000-square-foot storefront vacant.
B2 Outlet Stores, which originated in Hud-
sonville and, at one time, maintained over 20
stores throughout the state, confirmed rumors
that had swirled for weeks and announced
that the Hastings store was shutting down.
In its final weeks, the store was largely
empty and featured only steeply-discounted
items. This week, the store was finally cleared
out and the business released a statement
confirming the closure.
“The challenges and complexities of navi-
gating a sluggish retail economy have resulted
in significantly declined sales,” said the state-ment penned by President Duane Smith and
CEO Matt Smith. “This has impacted nearly
every retailer and B2 is not immune. We have
pivoted with various creative ways to drive
foot traffic, yet a turnaround has not occurred.
Although closing stores is never an easy deci-
sion, B2 has reached that point where closing
a small number of stores is imperative.”
However, saying that it is closing a “small
number of stores” appears to be an understate-
ment. Before the closure of the Hastings loca-
tion, B2 Outlet Stores had already shut down
several locations throughout surrounding com-
munities, including the B2 Bargain Bins loca-
tion at 4660 M-37 in Middleville, which had
just held its grand opening in August of 2022.
The Banner reached out to the corporate
offices of B2 Outlet Stores via email andtelephone. The phone number had been dis-
connected and emailed messages went unan-
swered.
The Banner could not verify if any of B
Outlet Stores’s 20-plus locations were still
open and operational.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our
valued customers who shopped stores that
may be closing,” the company’s statement
continued. “Thank you for helping us ‘be a
blessing’ in the Hasting (sic) community. We
hope to see you at a nearby location soon.”
Some readers on social media highlighted
the fact that the company misspelled the
city’s name as “Hasting” in its statement.New crop of election inspectors
prepare for kick-off to election season
Jayson Bussa
Editor
Strictly in terms of demographics, Adri-
anne VanDenburg and Larry Osborne don’t
have much in common.
VanDenburg is a 17-year-old Hastings
High School student. Osborne, on the other
hand, is a 67-year-old retiree from Barry
Township.
What the two do share is a desire to help
move along the election process smoothly in
Barry County, which is why they both under-
went training to become certified election
inspectors for the upcoming election season
and beyond.
VanDenburg and Osborne were both part
of a group of 76 people who completed their
certification work via a course held in Hast-
ings on Jan. 11 at the Tyden Center. This
surge of newly trained election inspectors
was sorely needed because nine days of early
voting will be required for each of the three
elections this year – presidential primary,
primary and the general.
The change in state election law means
staffing polling locations with at least three
election workers for eight hours on all nine
days.
The nine days leading up to Feb. 27’s pres-
idential primary will be the state’s first go at
offering early voting. Barry County Clerk
Cindy White, her staff and the respectiveThe Hastings Performing Arts Center has become an unmistakable part of the Hastings High School facility since it’s construction
in 2019. Here, the center is filled with attendees during one of the Grand Rapids Symphony’s annual visits to present a holiday
performance. (Photo by Bob Gaskill)See HPAC, page 2
See B2 OUTLET, page 3
Election inspectors work at Castleton Township Hall during the primary election in- Changes to election laws have now mandated nine days of early voting leading
up to state and federal elections, including those that will be held this year. To help
staff those days of early voting, townships have certified over 70 new election inspec-
tors combined. (File photos by Jayson Bussa)
ELECTION 2024 COVERAGE
— City cements early voting plans in place (Page 3)
— First stretch of early voting kicks off Feb. 17 (Page 3)
— 1.3 million Michigan voters have applied for absentee ballots
See INSPECTORS, page 2A sign has been placed on the door of B2 Outlet Store in Hastings announcing its
closure. (Photo by Jayson Bussa)