Page 2 — Thursday, February 8, 2024 — The Hastings Banner
COW meeting canceled; Forum coming
up for alternative energy projects
The Barry County Board of Commissioners’ Committee of the Whole (COW) did not
meet on Tuesday as originally scheduled. The COW’s meetings are slated for every other
week (opposite Board of Commissioners meetings) but did not convene this week
because of a lack of agenda items. The BOC last met on Jan. 23 but will resume next
week with a regularly-scheduled morning meeting on Feb. 13.
Also, that evening, the board’s Committee of the Whole will hold a public forum at the
Hastings Performing Arts Center, which deals with the topic of wind and solar energy
projects. The public is encouraged to attend the informational session, which will be
presented by county commissioners, Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Jim
McManus and the county’s legal counsel.
The session will dissect what a new state law could mean for Barry County when it
comes to permitting the installation of solar and wind farms. The state government
recently usurped those powers from local municipalities.Hastings Elks Lodge hosting
Valentine’s Dinner and Dance to
benefit special needs children
The Hastings Elks Lodge will be raising funds through its Valentine’s Dinner and
Dance at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the Hastings Elks Lodge (102 E Woodlawn Ave).
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Elks Michigan Major Project, which provides
assistance for children and young adults with special needs. The program provides aid
for families who cannot afford or otherwise receive assistance and provides for therapy,
attendance at therapy camps throughout Michigan, medical equipment, communication
technology and more.
Happy hour starts at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 p.m. The night’s dinner menu
includes baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, rolls and sheet cake. Dancing
is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., accompanied by a DJ.
The event is open to the public, and those interested are encouraged to tell their
friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. Tickets are $20 per person or $35 per couple.
There are 100 total tickets available for the event. For more information, contact Nancy
Barnes, 269-804-9432, or Lori Jackson, 269-804-9886.Barry Conservation District seeking
nominations for conservation awards
The Barry Conservation District is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Partner in
Conservation Awards in three categories. One award will be made to a conservation
organization, two will go to conservation professionals and three awards will be made to
conservation volunteers.
Eligibility requirements and more information, along with nomination forms can be
found at bit.ly/3w8oG1V.
All eligible nominees will receive special mention online and in person at the Faces of
Conservation on Friday, Feb. 23. Honorees will receive a plaque and Certificates of Spe-
cial Congressional Recognition provided by Congressman John Moolenaar’s office.
Attendance at Faces of Conservation is not required for either nomination or an award.
This year’s conservation awards are being sponsored by the Michigan Lakes &
Streams Association and the Barry Community Foundation.
Tickets to the annual Faces of Conservation can be found at barrycd.org/projects/
foc24.Applications due Feb. 20 for Gun Lake
Area Women’s Club scholarship
Seniors attending Delton Kellogg, Thornapple Kellogg, Wayland Union and Martin
High Schools are invited to apply to GFWC – Gun Lake Area Women’s Club’s annual
scholarship. Applications are due by Tuesday, Feb. 20.
The Gun Lake Area Women’s Club will award two scholarships totaling $500 each to
area seniors. The club will also give out one $2,000 scholarship to a Barry or Allegan
County senior.
Scholarship applications can be filled out at the Barry Community Foundation website
at barrycf.org.NEWS NEWS BRIEFSBRIEFS
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With the team in place, the facility was
able to blossom in its use as a public asset for
the Hastings community. The HPAC part-
nered with the Thornapple Arts Council,
which assists in promotion, programming and
operations. A fundraising nonprofit, Friends
of HPAC, was started to collect donations.
Through this unique blend of private and
public partnerships, the facility has been able
to thrive.
“Last year, we had over 100 events in the
facility. I’m scheduled to have more events
this school year,” White said. “We’re easily
paying for the management of the facility and
now we’re really actually chipping away at
other costs for the school, and it’s very
unique to what we’re doing.”
Through the generosity of donors, all per-
formances brought to the facility are com-
pletely paid for – that means the majority of
money earned from ticket sales goes directly
to the school, with the rest paying for costs
incurred by the Thornapple Arts Council.
The Grand Rapids Symphony regularly
performs at the HPAC, and several other pro-
fessional programs have been added to the
bill this year. A side-by-side concert with the
Grand Rapids Symphony is scheduled for
March, allowing Hastings students to play
alongside professional musicians.
It’s all made possible through the HPAC’s
unique blend of donors and partners, White
said. Community partners like Highpoint
Community Bank, the Baum Family Founda-
tion, the Douglas and Margaret DeCamp
Foundation, the Groos family and communi-
ty members who have made a monthly
pledge to Friends of HPAC are all responsi-
ble for funding the facility’s yearly programs
and operations.
“I think that’s a really unique branch of our
community, being able to have grassroots
fundraising in combination with very gener-
ous families in our community,” White said.
“That’s allowed the Friends of HPAC to real-
ly take the concepts that we were hoping to
achieve for programming and facility
enhancement and really just get it done.”The effect the facility has had on Hastings
students has been remarkable, White said.
“It’s really changed the mindset of our
students, and I think they’re really proud of
it,” White said. “We go to a lot of places for
marching band and other things, and they see
what other schools have. I think they realize
we really have a world-class facility.”
It’s a facility that consistently impresses
out-of-town visitors, White said. The facility
allows the district to punch above its weight
in many ways, offering students access to
professional programs and providing a sense
of hometown pride.
While the facility is funded through its
various community partners, the facility
wouldn’t be able to function without the
healthy enthusiasm for fine art that’s beencultivated in Hastings and Barry County.
White said he has to thank the great band
directors at Hastings before him, as well as
the area’s many well-established arts pro-
grams like The Lakewood Area Choral Soci-
ety, the Hastings City Band and the Thornap-
ple Jazz Orchestra.
“I think that’s another one of those magi-
cal ingredients that makes what we do here
actually happen,” White said. “If it was easy,
all the schools would be doing what we’re
doing. It’s not easy. It takes some of that
magic.”
“How this community values the arts...
you can’t just put that into a community,” he
said. “It takes decades and decades of build-
ing up to a community that wants it and is
happy to have it.”township clerks have been working diligently
to ensure all the measures are in place –
including sufficient staffing.
“It really was the township clerks (that
helped to recruit so many new election
inspectors),” White said. “They reached out
to people. They got the news out there. I
think social media picked up on it quite a bit,
too. We had a few people sign up that saw it
on there.”
The influx of 76 new election inspectors
adds to the crop of seasoned inspectors who
have already been trained. Once an inspector
is certified, they can work at voting polls
anywhere in the state and they remain certi-
fied to do so for two years.
White, who has only been on the job a few
months, dug into the changes to the election
process almost immediately. She credited the
township clerks and her staff for helping to
tackle such a massive undertaking.
Amongst the changes, White came in
knowing that more election inspectors would
be pertinent.
“It was – just knowing that you have nine
days, and three inspectors each day – we
knew we wanted to get more people certi-
fied,” White said. “Election Day is already
pretty intense with how many people you
need.”
That’s where newcomers like VanDenburg
and Osborne come into play.
Osborne plans to work the polling location
in his hometown of Barry Township, which
will also host Prairieville Township voters
during the early voting period. Osborne want-
ed to become certified for the last election in
2022 but his nephew was running for a spot
on the Delton Kellogg school board, creating
a conflict of interest.
Osborne said he has been led to get
involved with elections because he stays up
on all the latest election news – including
claims of voter fraud that have echoed
throughout the state and pockets of the coun-
try. He wanted to do his part to ensure the
process was fair, easy and accessible for
everyone.
“With all the commotion (about voter
fraud), I started going to the machine certifi-
cation tests,” Osborne said, referring to the
mandated public accuracy tests, where the
voting equipment is tested in front of mem-
bers of the general public.
“I had never seen that before,” Osborne
continued. “I met my township clerk there,
Deb Knight, and she was really open and
really went through all the stuff.”
The seed was planted to become involved
with the elections in an official capacity.“I decided, well let’s do it,” Osborne said.
“I try to be open-minded about stuff. People
are saying there could be fraud about this and
that and I wanted to see it for myself.”
Osborne said that the staffing schedule for
early voting is still being hashed out, but he
expected to be paired with more seasoned
workers so he can get his feet wet during the
first election.
VanDenburg bucked the trend on the
demographic that is typically drawn to these
positions – usually more accessible and
attractive to retirees. Having younger work-
ers involved like 17-year-old VanDenburg
was a welcome sign for White.
“Some of (the new election inspectors)
were from younger generations – we had a
wide spread of people, which I think is
great,” White said. “Sometimes, you see that
it’s all retirees because they have the time But
there is a lot to (elections), especially with
technology.”
VanDenburg said she would work in any
township that might need the help this elec-
tion season.
“I became interested in becoming an
inspector because I wanted to learn more
about the election process,” VanDenburg
said. “I will be a registered voter soon and
with all the controversy on the news, I felt
that I could help the process. I urge anyone
who wants to learn to try and encourage them
to take part in one of the most important fac-
tors of American politics. The people have avoice and they should use it to keep things
fair if they believe it’s not.”
And while fellow kids her age aren’t nec-
essarily lining up to run the county’s elec-
tions, VanDenburg said that there are factors
that could lead to her peers becoming more
interested in the process.
“I think it could become popular among
kids my age because of influences we are
exposed to from the media,” she said. “I think
since our ability to see and experience elec-
tions is practically unlimited, more young
adults will become interested in the process.”
Susan Barnaart of Irving Township is yet
another newly certified election inspector.
She took it upon herself to familiarize herself
with how elections worked after she was
elected as a precinct delegate for the Barry
County Republican Party in 2022.
The formal election inspector training was
essentially a refresher for her and she is now
looking to work during this year’s upcoming
elections.
“I felt the way the country was so divided
over the 2020 election, the smartest thing peo-
ple can do if they have questions, no matter if
you’re a Republican, Democrat or Libertarian,
you should investigate that out,” said Barnaart.
Early voting for the upcoming presidential
primary election (one of three elections this
year), which also includes Barry County Cen-
tral Dispatch and Lakewood Public Schools
millage requests, kicks off on Saturday, Feb.- Election day is Feb. 27.
Sheriff’s election fraud presentation rescheduled
Jayson Bussa
Editor
After a couple of weeks of build-up, Barry
County Sheriff Dar Leaf’s scheduled presen-
tation in front of county commissioners has
been rescheduled.
Leaf was added to the agenda for Feb. 13’s
meeting of the Barry County Board of Com-
missioners, where he planned to reveal some
of the findings he uncovered during a years-
long investigation into voter fraud.
On Tuesday, Leaf told the Banner that the
presentation was being moved to a differentday to secure a larger venue to facilitate
what is presumed to be a more robust gal-
lery of people when compared to a typical
meeting.
The Barry County Courthouse’s mezza-
nine is where the county board regularly
meets, but the room is small and struggles to
accommodate larger crowds.
At the time of printing for this issue of the
Banner, Leaf did not have a new date or loca-
tion but said that it could possibly be an eve-
ning event.
When available, the new date and locationwill be posted on the Banner’s Facebook
page and in a future issue of the newspaper.
Leaf also added that, if the presentation
were moved to the evening and he was allot-
ted more time, he might bring in additional
subject experts who he has worked alongside
throughout his investigation.
Last week, Barry County Board of Com-
missioners Chairman Dave Jackson did con-
firm that, if there was any indication that a
large group might be in attendance for the
presentation, the board would consider
rescheduling to reserve a larger venue.HPAC, continued from page 1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Groos Family Fine Arts Wall of Fame at the Hastings Performing Arts Center,
dedicated in 2022, celebrates the donors that make the HPAC’s mission possible.
Pictured here are the wall’s initial honorees (from left) Steve and Debbie Steward,
representing Arthur Steward; Douglas and Margaret DeCamp; Cindy Bender, Cassie
Moyer Campbell and Jack Bender, representing Herbert Moyer; Larry and Earlene
Baum; Doug Acker; Maggie Groos Coleman; Robert Burghdoff; Cassie Groos
Augenstein. (File photo)INSPECTORS, continued from page 1 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The first of three elections — the presidential primary — will take place on Feb. 27,
with early voting kicking off on Feb. 17.