The Hastings Banner — Thursday, March 7, 2024 — Page 5Measles in Michigan: Three
counties with confirmed cases
Janelle D. James
Bridge Michigan
The Michigan Department of Health and
Human Services is urging residents to get
vaccinated for measles after at least three
confirmed cases in the state.
“Now measles is in Michigan, and it’s
important to make sure you protect yourself
from this vaccine-preventable disease,” said
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, MDHHS chief
medical executive, in a press statement.
Residents can contact their health-care
provider or local health department for infor-
mation on getting vaccinated, MDHHS said.
In addition, eligible children may be able to
get vaccinated at no cost through the Vac-
cines for Children program, administered by
the Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion.
Wayne County Public Health and the
Washtenaw County Health Department
reported the latest cases on Sunday. Those
reports came after MDHHS confirmed a case
in Oakland County on February 23. It was the
first confirmed case of measles in the state
since 2019. The Oakland County child con-
tracted the virus from international travel,
according to the MDHHS.
The Wayne County resident also contract-
ed the virus from international travel, Wayne
County Public Health said in a statement.
The county is warning individuals who
visited the following locations to contact the
health department to receive post-exposure
treatment:
- WellStreet/Beaumont Urgent Care at
23100 Michigan Ave in Dearborn on Tues-
day, February 27 between 2 p.m. and 5:
p.m. - CVS Pharmacy 2701 S. Telegraph Rd in
Dearborn on February 27 between 4 p.m. and
6:30 p.m. - Henry Ford GoHealth Urgent Care at
26763 Ford Rd in Dearborn Heights on
Thursday, February 29, between 11:30 a.m.
and 4 p.m. - Corewell Emergency Department at
18101 Oakwood Blvd in Dearborn on Febru-
ary 29th between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Washtenaw County also reported a case on
Sunday and is warning people who visited an
Ypsilanti hospital on Friday that they may
have been exposed to the virus.
The Washtenaw County Health Depart-
ment says people who visited the Trinity
Health Ann Arbor Emergency Department’s
waiting and triage areas on Friday between
10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. could have been
exposed.
“We are seeing increased cases of measles
abroad and outbreaks of measles across the
United States in the setting of declining child-
hood vaccination rates,” said Dr. Bagdasarian.
Measles is a respiratory virus that can
cause a high fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit,
cough, coryza and conjunctivitis (red, watery
eyes) followed by a maculopapular rash
which can appear 14 days after exposure,
according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Other symptoms include a runny nose and
tiny white spots called Koplik spots on the
inner cheek, gums, and roof of the mouth.
These symptoms can occur within 2 or 3 days
of exposure.
Measles is spread from direct contact withan infected person and can live in the air for
up to two hours.
The MDHHS says the Measles, Mumps
and Rubella, or MMR, vaccine is effective in
preventing illness if administered within 72
hours of exposure.
Adults born before 1957, who may have
evidence of prior measles illness, and people
who had two spaced doses of the measles
vaccine are considered immune. One dose of
the vaccine has been proven to be 93 percent
effective at preventing measles, and two
doses can be 97 percent effective, according
to the MDHHS.
Nearly 9 in 10 people who are exposed to
the virus will also be infected if they aren’t
already immune to it, according to a report
by the National Foundation for Infectious
Disease. About 1 in 5 people who get mea-
sles and aren’t vaccinated will be hospital-
ized.
Cases of measles have not only increased
in Michigan but across the country this year.
As of Thursday, 41 cases of the virus had
been reported in 16 states, according to the
CDC. There were 58 cases reported in 20
states in 2023.Rule of law falling by the
wayside in the
community
Editor:
I wonder what has happened with the lack
of respect for the law in our town. People
running stop signs or just slowing down for
them – both cars and even bicycles – ignoring
the law. Even the speed limit doesn’t mean
anything to some (25 miles per hour seems to
be just a suggestion). Then there is the poor
pedestrian in the crosswalk (good luck!) Even
some running red lights.
What has happened to just old common
sense? Looks like “me first” and “get out of
my way” is now the norm. Come on people.
This is all wrong and someone is going to get
hurt.
Robert H. Brooks
HastingsNew voting process
came with its share of
issues, confusion
To the editor:
As an election inspector working in Irving
Township, here are some of my observations.
First off, kudos to the clerks and their dep-
uties who administered elections in their
precincts. There was a lot to do and a lot to
learn with all the new requirements from the
state. They put in the longest days at the polls
and had to solve the various problems and
challenges that occurred.
The nine days of early voting may be seen
by some as a waste of time and resources. I
thought so too at the time as the turnout was
very light at the onset. However, the consec-
utive days of in-person early voting allowed
the volunteer poll workers to get familiar
with the equipment and the procedures.
Unfortunately, early voting was so light that
we didn’t experience the many problems that
could occur, such as with voters being eligi-
ble but not properly registered, which did
occasionally occur. So, there were some hold-
ups and delays for the voters as the clerks and
the workers had to discover the proper rou-
tines to make sure these early voters were
registered and able to vote.
After the nine days of early voting, the poll
workers had a day off before Election Day on
Feb. 27. The clerks and deputies still had to
be at the precincts on that Monday to register
people so they would be able to vote on the
27th. So, they put in an extra day of work
compared to the poll workers. Plus, systems
and equipment changed from the early voting
period to the actual day of the primary.
Another layer of complexity.
As I said, the voter turnout in the early
voting period was pretty low; Election Day
itself was another matter. The voters came in
at a rate that kept the workers occupied and
provided some challenges. Typical problems
were people who had so recently registered
that they didn’t turn up in the electronic poll
book like they should have. People who had
recently moved posed another challenge as
did people who actually lived in a different
precinct. Then there were the new, young
voters who didn’t show up in the e-poll book
for one reason or another. Each of these prob-
lems made delays in processing their ballot
requests and sometimes backed up the line.
Irving Township had nearly 400 voters on
Election Day, about 25 percent of the possi-
ble turnout according to the clerk. If we had
the projected 75 percent turnout that is antic-
ipated for the general election, I can see
where it may be a real mad house.
To be sure, in the upcoming general elec-
tion in November, having experienced poll
worker is going to be a real advantage to run
the precincts smoothly and the August prima-
ry will be another good practice session for
the clerks and the workers. In summary, I was
disappointed in the initial training I got from
the county. I may have received a certificate
for attending a three-hour training module,
but what we needed was hands-on training
with the e-poll book and an actual tabulator.
The biggest challenge was closing the polls
on Election Day (Feb. 27). I had the impres-
sion, maybe inaccurately, that no one there
was exactly sure how to smoothly organize
all the various bits and pieces of equipment
and data. There were multiple county agen-
cies that required sets of data and proof of the
turnout and results of the election with veri-
fied security items. Determining which items
went where was not clear to me. At times our
signatures were required to assure compli-
ance for sets of equipment and data and I’m
not even sure now if we did that correctly.
That could lead to potential problems going
forward. Whose fault would it be if there
were missteps made at this critical step?
Looking back on the process now, I think
poll closing should have been laid out like a
pictorial recipe book, especially for the
receiving board, which is where I saw the
most confusion.
I am critiquing the process, not the people.
All the poll workers, clerks and deputies did
their best.Scott Savage
Hastings Charter TownshipSUBMIT A LETTER TO
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typed
Hearing set for Hastings man
charged with holding woman,
child captive with bow
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
A preliminary hearing has been set for next
week for a 34-year-old Hastings man on
charges he held a woman and her 18-month-
old daughter against their will inside a home
with a compound bow last month.
Cory Robert Mulder appeared in Barry
County court Wednesday morning before
Judge Michael Schipper, who set the hearing
for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday before Judge Vicky
Alspaugh. Mulder is being held on a $100,
bond at the county jail, County Prosecutor
Julie Nakfoor Pratt said.
Mulder is charged with felony unlawful
imprisonment, assault with a dangerous
weapon, resisting and obstructing arrest, mis-
demeanor child abuse and domestic violence
second offense as a habitual offender in con-
nection with the Feb. 24 incident inside a
home in the 900 block of Boxwood Drive. He
is also charged with violating his probation
from an August 2023 incident in Barry Coun-
ty, and the probation violation hearing has
also been set for Tuesday.
“If you did many of these things, almost
anything in here that you did, would be a
violation of probation,” Schipper told Mulder.
“If you end up pleading to any of those
charges, even the most minimal, it would be
a probation violation, and you could serve for
that probation violation up to two years in
prison.”
The unlawful imprisonment charge carries
a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, but
because of the habitual offender charge that
has also been leveled, that could double the
potential maximum sentence in the case to 30
years, Schipper said.
According to Hastings Police, a 31-year-
old Hastings woman said she was being held
at the Boxwood Drive residence and wasn’t
allowed to leave. When police arrived, they
found a door to the home open with a closed
screen door. When officers tried to speak to
Mulder, they saw he was carrying a com-
pound bow before he closed the door. Offi-
cers saw what appeared to be drops of blood
on the front porch and continued to try con-
vincing the man to come outside, police said.
The woman was eventually able to exit thehouse and talk to officers. She told them
Mulder had pointed the bow with an arrow at
her, telling her he was going to kill everyone
in the house and the police. The woman said
the blood outside was from her hand after
pushing away the razor-broadhead tip of the
arrow. She said her child was inside sleeping
in bed.
Hastings police continued to try to con-
vince Mulder to exit the house, then eventu-
ally asked for assistance from the Barry
County Sheriff’s Office entry team to enter
the home with a search warrant. Mulder was
found hiding in a back room of the home and
was taken into custody. The child was found
and returned to her mother unharmed, police
said.
Mulder is also facing another domestic
violence charge as well as interfering with an
electronic communication device from a Feb.
20 incident, four days prior to the crossbow
incident.
Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Elsworth
told the court that Mulder made a phone call
to the victim from the county jail shortly after
he was arraigned, which violated terms of his
bond. As a result, Schipper ordered that
Mulder not be allowed to contact anyone
other than his attorney, Kathryn Russell.
“I met with my client last week, and I was
unaware of the phone calls that he made at
the time,” Russell told the court. “My first
thing that I was always tell my clients is ‘do
not, do not, do not’ make any phone calls to
the victim or anybody that might be (tied to
the case).”
“Everybody told him that, and he ignored
everyone, so he’s lost his privileges,” Schip-
per said.
Mulder told the court he didn’t know he
couldn’t call the victim.
Mulder was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2023, to
two years’ probation on charges of assaulting,
resisting or obstructing a police officer and a
fourth-degree charge of fleeing and eluding a
police officer on Aug. 23 of last year. As part
of his probation, he must not own or possess
weapons, he must undergo drug and alcohol
testing and cannot possess alcohol or intoxi-
cants, according to the Michigan Offender
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Cory Mulder (right) appears in Barry County court on Wednesday morning with his
attorney Kathryn Russell (left). (Photo by Greg Chandler)Washtenaw County Health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated for mea-
sles after one confirmed case and other were exposed at a hospital. (Courtesy photo)