The Hastings Banner — Thursday, May 27, 2021 — Page 5Graduation awesomeness: Students we remain!
Pastor Rick Foster
We’re here this evening to recognize the
hard work and effort of these young men and
women who are seated among us. They are
about to make a major transition in their lives.
Graduation is a sign of achievement and suc-
cess – and we congratulate them.
Thy Word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.- Psalms 119:
I hope that everyone considers the Bible a
gift – for the Bible can provide guidance as
you travel through life.
Today, I want to share three thoughts from
one verse of the Bible. The verse I want us to
look at is Romans 8:28. It is found at the bot-
tom of your bulletins and it reads:
“And we know that God causes all things to
work together for good to those who love
God, to those who are called according to His
purpose.” - Romans 8:28 (NASB)
The first thought I would share with you is:
- Learn from LIFE.
Some people would try to read into this
verse an interpretation which would say,
“God works good into all things,” but this is
just not true.
Not everything that is going to happen in
your life is going to be good. All you have to
do is look around and you can see that there
are a lot of bad things happening in this world.
I could give you a list, and you could come up
with one, too, but I’m not here today to talk
about bad things.
What I want to say to you is that whatever
happens to you learn from it.
We know this world is full of good things
and bad things – we all have been in this
world for a while.
You will, in all likelihood, experience both
good and bad.
But notice what the verse does say, “All
things work together for the good to those
who love God.”
I would encourage you to learn from all
your experiences – both the good ones and the
bad ones.
Learn from them and grow from them.
Paul, the writer of much of the New
Testament, said it best when he wrote, “I have
learned to be content in whatever circum-
stances I am in. I know how to get along with
little, and I also know how to live with a lot
and every circumstance I have learned the
secret of being filled and I have learned the
secret of going hungry.” (Philippians 4:11)
As you travel through life, I encourage you
to learn from all the things that you experi-
ence.
Let me give you a real important secret:
Education does not stop with graduation.
Life is the greatest classroom that there is.
Learn from it.
The second thought is like the first: - Learn what has REAL VALUE.
Some of you may be considering continu-
ing your formal education.
I would encourage you to do that, but, first
and foremost, realize that education is more
than going to school. It is learning to treat
others with respect, being honest, and having
a sense of integrity about you.
It knows the difference between right and
wrong and. when a choice must be made, it is
choosing that which is right every time.
Remember that your friends may come and
go, jobs may change, and your life may take
you halfway around the world. But there is
someone who will always be with you wher-
ever you go. That person is you.
Honesty, integrity and faithfulness are
qualities that show through your character. In
fact, they are your character. Live life so that
you can look at yourself mirror and see a per-
son who does not stand ashamed of anything.
But, if you mess up, admit it.
Seek forgiveness and move on.
Learn those things which hold real value.
The third thing I would encourage you to
do is:- Learn who GOD IS.
I want to read Romans 8:28 to you one
more time.
“We know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to His purpose.”
- Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
Did you notice that God is mentioned two
times in this verse?
The first time He is mentioned, the verse
speaks about our relationship with Him. He is
able to cause all things to work together for
our good if we love Him. God has created us
to have a relationship with other people, but
He has also created us to have a relationship
with Him and, if we have a relationship with
Him, He is able to cause all things to work
together for our good.
What this tells me is that there are situa-
tions or circumstances that will come my way,
that I may not like. But, if I have a relation-
ship with God, I can gain from that experi-
ence.
I may feel down and discouraged. I may be
disappointed and devastated. I may feel
dumped on or deserted. But, if I have a rela-
tionship with Him, I can know with certainty
that He can cause all things to work together
for my good.
Because of the relationship that I have with
God, I can live a life of hope – because I know
that God is on my side.Rev. Rick Foster is pastor at Country
Chapel United Methodist Church in Dowling.
His church hosted a baccalaureate service for
all local seniors on Friday, May 21. This is
the message he delivered to seniors during the
service.The Hastings Banner
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Taylor OwensPastor Foster offers a blessing for his grandson, a graduating senior, Gabriel Pusey,
17, of Eaton Rapids. (Photo by Rebecca Pierce)Pastor Rick Foster gave a special ser-
mon for seniors Friday night. (Photo by
Scott Harmsen)GUEST COMMENTARY
BIRCH Association moves
forward on fire station renovation
Mercy Ambulance contract
extension considered
Sophie Bates
Staff Writer
The BIRCH Association, which represents
Baltimore, Irving, Rutland, Carlton and
Hastings townships, met for its first meeting
of the year on Thursday, May 20 to discuss
renovating the City of Hastings Fire Station
and extending their contract with Mercy
Ambulance.
Before discussion, the association elected
officers for 2021. Jim Brown of Hastings was
re-elected as chairman, Brad Carpenter of
Carlton was elected vice chair and Jamie
Knight of Irving was elected treasurer/secre-
tary.
The Hastings Fire Station, operated both by
the City of Hastings and the BIRCH
Association, is in need of renovation because
the station is too small for their equipment,
making the space cramped and difficult to
navigate.
Last year, the City of Hastings, BIRCH
Association and Mercy Ambulance each con-
tributed $1,000 to have an architect draw
plans to rehabilitate and expand the station.
Now that the plans are drawn, the BIRCH
Association discussed making them a reality.
The plans, which received input from
Hastings Fire Chief Roger Caris, as well as
Mercy Ambulance, entail building extensions
on both the north and south sides of the sta-
tion, where fire equipment would be stored. It
also would include space for Mercy
Ambulance’s equipment and staff.
“The present structure that we have right
now, that houses all our equipment, that par-
ticular structure would be used to house
Mercy Ambulance. And then the new con-
struction, it would be a wing on both sides of
the old building there. That new construction
would be dedicated strictly for the fire end of
it — our equipment,” Brown said in an inter-
view with The Banner Monday. “So it’s a
combination of renovating the old for another
use, which would be Mercy, and then the new
construction would be built literally for the
next 50 years for the larger fire equipment
that we have.”
The renovation’s cost, as estimated by the
plan, would be $1.6 million.
Brown said $1.6 million is a rough estimate
so they can begin figuring out how to finance
the plan.
Daren VanSyckle of Baltimore inquired
whether the design is sufficient for the fire
department and Mercy Ambulance’s needs.
“For us, absolutely yes,” Mercy Ambulance
President and CEO Rodney Palmer said. “It
took into account how EMS [Emergency
Medical Services] is probably going to evolve
over the next few months and years in terms
of having enough vehicle space and how you
would locate them. Of course, I’m not going
to speak for the fire department, but that’s
more than adequate for us.”
Caris said the renovation plans meet the
fire department’s needs.
With approval from Palmer, Caris and the
BIRCH Association membership, Brown said
he will begin discussion with the City of
Hastings to finance and implement the reno-
vation plans.
“I would love to continue this dialogue
with the city and just keep it going. a step at a
time. so at least when we get really serious
about it, we’ll be going the right direction,”
Brown said.
Palmer was present at the meeting to brief
the BIRCH Association on the state of Mercy
Ambulance’s operations, since Mercy
Ambulance’s contract with the BIRCH
Association ends in 2022.
The current contract is five years and costs
the BIRCH Association nothing because
Mercy Ambulance operates off user fees.
BIRCH has contracted with Mercy
Ambulance since 1975 and Palmer said he is
hoping for a five-year contract extension.
Palmer told the association that, in the last
year, Mercy Ambulance’s call ratio went up
by 25 percent. At the same time, they are hav-
ing difficulty finding enough paramedics and
emergency medical technicians to keep both
their ambulances operating.
“There’s enough money in the system,
there’s just not enough people. The reason I
know that is we’ve been throwing money at
the problem to keep people in the seats, keep
good paramedics and EMTS, for the last year-
and-a-half,” Palmer said.
Additionally, Palmer estimated that on
about half of their calls they are transporting
to hospitals other than Spectrum Pennock,
which takes their ambulances out of the coun-
ty.
Mercy Ambulance also transports patients
from Spectrum Pennock to other hospitals and
specialized care facilities as far as Detroit or
Fort Wayne, Ind.
“Half of those calls are actually going out
to another hospital. And we only are contract-
ed for two ambulances. You can start doing
the math and timing and you’ll see that we
may only be doing a few more runs a day, but
we’re doing a whole bunch of calls outside of
the country,” Palmer said. “We’re doing the
best that we can, but, I’m not going to lie, it
seems rather hopeless when we are so con-
stantly short.”
Brown said he will talk to Palmer about
how the issues Mercy Ambulance is facing
may be reflected in a contract extension and
then he will return with ideas for the new
contract.
Normally, the BIRCH Association would
not meet again until December; however, the
association set a meeting for 6:30 p.m. Aug. 5
to continue discussion on the fire station and
Mercy Ambulance contract.PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION
PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
NOTICE OF INTENT (POSSIBLE) TO USE A VIRTUAL
PLATFORM FOR PUBLIC HEARINGTO: THE RESIDENTS AND PROPERTY OWNERS OF THE TOWNSHIP OF
PRAIRIEVILLE, BARRY COUNTY, MICHIGAN, AND ANY OTHER INTERESTED
PERSONS:PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a public hearing will be held on June 10, 2021
commencing at 7:00 p.m. at the Prairieville Township Hall, 10115 S. Norris Rd., Delton
MI, 49046 within the Township, as required under the provisions of the Michigan Zoning
Enabling Act and the Zoning Ordinance for the Township.PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that, pursuant to any State of Michigan legislative
changes to the Open Meetings Act, the Township Planning Commission may hold its
meeting (including public hearing) electronically, in order to limit in person government
activities, to protect critical infrastructure workers to the extent possible. If the meeting
is held electronically, information to electronically attend the meeting will be posted on
the Township’s website at http://www.prairievilletwp-mi.org. In addition to participation
during an electronically held public hearing, members of the public may also provide
comments for the Planning Commission’s consideration by emailing or mailing those
comments to the Planning Commission for receipt prior to the meeting, in care of the
Township Zoning Administrator, Eric Thompson ([email protected]) or by leaving
a phone message prior to the meeting with the Township Zoning Administrator, Eric
Thompson at 269-948-4088.PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the item(s) to be considered at said
public hearing include, in brief, the following:- A request from property owner, Jim Parker, 6426 Heather Ridge. Kalamazoo.,
MI 49009, for a Special Land Use/Site Plan Review to allow for the construction
of a detached accessory structure failing to meet the required setbacks and lot
coverage requirements pursuant to section 4.20 “Accessory Structures”. The
subject site is located at 11228 Long Point Dr., Parcel # 08-12-290-020-00 and
is currently zoned R-2 - Residential. - Such other business as may properly come before the Planning Commission.
The Prairieville Township Planning Commission and Township Board reserve the
right to make changes in the above-mentioned proposed amendment(s) at or following
the public hearing.]
All interested persons are invited to be present at the aforesaid time and place,
or, if an electronic meeting is held, to participate via the electronic meeting.Prairieville Township will provide necessary reasonable auxiliary aids and
services, to individuals with disabilities at the hearing upon four (4) days’ prior notice to
the Township Clerk. Individuals with disabilities requiring auxiliary aids or services should
contact the Township Clerk at the address or telephone number listed below.PRAIRIEVILLE TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION
By: Myron Kox, Chairperson
Prairieville Township Hall
11015 S. Norris Rd.
Delton, Michigan 49046 161235GET ALL
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“The present structure that we have
right now, that houses all our equip-
ment, that particular structure would
be used to house Mercy Ambulance.
And then the new construction, it
would be a wing on both sides of the
old building there. That new con-
struction would be dedicated strictly
for the fire end of it — our equip-
ment. So it’s a combination of reno-
vating the old for another use, which
would be Mercy, and then the new
construction would be built literally
for the next 50 years for the larger
fire equipment that we have.”
Jim Brown, BIRCH chairman