The Hastings Banner — Thursday, June 10, 2021 — Page 5they were classifying it as a COVID-related
fatality.”
Given what this process entails, deJong
added, “I think some of those would be defi-
nitely be overcalls. ...But we also know that
there were a lot of deaths ...that may have
been COVID, but never were tested. So those
wouldn’t be in the mix.”
“That’s how I believe that the state is com-
ing up with the figures; I actually saw that on
their state website, too. Click enough places
and go deep enough into the rabbit hole, they
mention that’s how it’s done.”
Jackson called it “fuzzy math,” and asked
why people weren’t hearing about deaths
from other common causes, such as cancer,
flu and pneumonia.
“People were still dying of cancer,” deJong
replied, “they were still dying of natural dis-
eases. So the total numbers of deaths were up,
I just don’t know if they were all necessarily
COVID-related. They may have been related
to other factors because of COVID – such as
not getting the care you needed.”
“But we were doing some pretty significant
testing, including for influenza,” she noted.
“... We didn’t see a single positive flu. So I
think whatever measures were taken, between
the masks, and the isolation, just not going out
and staying home, I think that actually dimin-
ished the transmission of flu as well.”
Ultimately, to reach a more accurate
COVID count, deJong said, “you’d have to
look at every single death and try to sort it out
and go through all the medical records. I
think it would be a big job to figure it out. ...
I think what is interesting, though, is to see
there were more deaths in the county, in all
the counties.
“That’s a number that’s a little hard to
argue with. Did some of those deaths occur
because people were afraid to go to the hospi-
tal? I think that’s certainly the case as well.
We definitely saw a surge and I think it’s
going to take a long time to really sort out
what the numbers truly are.”
In deJong’s annual report to the county, she
said her office experienced a 33-percent
increase in the number of deaths that were
reported to the medical examiner in 2020.
“So, although the scene investigation and
just keeping track of the bodies that were
being reported to us was busier, the actual
total number of bodies that required postmor-
tem exams actually went down.”
Last year, the number of deaths caused by
falls and drugs increased.
But the number of suicides in the county
dropped, which came as a surprise to the com-
munity.
“There was concern,” deJong said, “but it
was one of the lowest years ever in Barry
County.”
As far as drug-related deaths, there were
four in 2018. “It went to five in ‘19; and it
doubled in 2020, up to 10,” deJong said. “A
good number of those actually involved opi-
oids. When we say that, they’re most com-
monly not prescription opioids. These are
illicit opioids. So it’s the fentanyl that’s being
illicitly produced. That’s sort of the heroin.
They think they’re buying heroin, but it’s fen-
tanyl – and sometimes a fentanyl and heroin
mix. These are on the increase in Barry
County and they’ve been on the increase else-
where. That’s something we’re seeing pretty
commonly as well.
“Other than that, when I look at accidentaldeaths, the 30 of them that occurred, the big
jump, like I said, was in drug-related deaths.
“Falls were also up.”
Those incidents are usually related to the
elderly population, she said.
Typically, these incidents have significant
contributing factors, other pre-existing fac-
tors. DeJong said.
“The question we ask is: Would this person
have died on that day had they not fallen and
broken their hip? Was it a significant factor?
How do you classify those?”
Her office works with health care providers
and community organizations that serve these
populations to help address the risk factors
and raise awareness as far as prevention.Hastings Township receives clean audit, approves signage for cemetery
Sophie Bates
Staff Writer
Hastings Charter Township is in sound
financial standing, according to an audit
report given by Walker, Fluke and Sheldon
partner David DeHaan at the township board
meeting Tuesday evening.
DeHaan opened by saying the audit was
finished later than normal due to the pandem-
ic, but the township’s financial statements
were free of misstatements, earning it the best
audit opinion possible.
“The only issue was on our end. We did
have some people that were contact-traced,
quarantined, so it’s a little bit later, and I got
the draft to the township a little bit later than
normal due to that,” DeHaan said. “But from
the township side, everything went very, very
well. We give our opinion on the financial
statements, and Hastings Township received a
clean opinion, or an unmodified opinion —
this is the highest form or the best opinion you
can receive — that your financial statements
are free of material misstatement and this is
the opinion you guys have always received in
the past.”
DeHaan summarized the report with a few
highlights.
“General government [expenses] were up a
little bit. That was due to the township hall.
You guys had some repairs and sealcoating
done with the parking lot, and your election
[expenses] were up from the prior year about
$12,000,” DeHaan said. “Public works
[expenses were] $255,000 compared to
$117,000 the year before. That’s basically the
road projects you had going last year. 2020
was a sealcoat year for the road commission,
and so more [expenses] occurred during that
year.”
Total expenses for 2020 were up $656,000,
compared to $508,000 in 2019, while total
revenues stayed relatively consistent at
$570,000 in 2020 and $572,000 in 2019.
The general fund balance, which consists
of assets and liabilities to finance government
operations, decreased.
“General fund total assets [were] 1.
million, liabilities roughly $72,000, so an
unassigned fund balance of roughly $955,000.
And basically unassigned means it can be
used for really any purpose,” DeHaan said.
“There was a deficit or decrease in your fund
balance of $71,000 due to all the road projects
that were done in the current year, but still,
fund balance is $955,000 which is still very,
very healthy.”
“It sounds like we’re very financially bor-
ing,” Township Supervisor Jim Brown said
after DeHaan’s report.
“That’s a good thing. That’s a very good
thing,” DeHaan said.
After the report, Township Clerk Anita
Mennell shared some concerns regarding
cemetery decorations.
“We have a big problem with people not
knowing what the rules are as far as putting
up decorations out there,” Mennell said.
According to the township’s cemetery ordi-
nance, non-permanent hard-surface exten-
sions, sometimes called patio blocks, can be
made to the permanent grave foundation.However, stones, bark, mulch or other loose
materials and vegetation are prohibited.
Additionally, all tokens, keepsakes, step-
ping stones, urns and the like must be on the
concrete of the permanent or non-permanent
foundation. Vertical rods, poles, flag holders,
solar lights and shepherd’s hooks must be
within the non-permanent foundation.
Mennell said these rules are not followed
nor widely known by residents, which poses
problems for routine maintenance crews who
cannot perform their duties if decorations are
not appropriately placed.
Mennell suggested they create and place
signs throughout the cemetery where the rules
will be posted and hopefully more easily seen
by cemetery-goers.
The signs would be 12 by 18 inches, with a
bright background to attract attention. Mennell
said the signs would cost approximately $
each and would be made of aluminum and
guaranteed for 10 years.
She also requested permission from the
board to send a two-week notice to someone
who placed stones and garden edging around
a gravesite, which is not allowed by the cem-
etery ordinance because the stones can
become a hazard if thrown about by mowing
or edging equipment.
“I would also like to get your permission to
send a certified or registered letter to the per-
son who has the stone and garden edging to
remove it in two-weeks’ time or the township
will go out and remove it for him,” Mennell
said. “I’m just trying to get it easier for
[groundskeepers] to go out and clean andmow so they don’t have to pick up all this
stuff.”
The board approved Mennell’s request,
allowing her up to $500 to purchase the signs.
Trustee Scott Savage said the township
should show compassion to cemetery visitors
as they continue to enforce the cemetery
rules.
“People who go out to the cemetery to
adorn your gravesites are doing it because
they have a really strong emotional connec-
tion to the people that are there. And I would
like to think that we have empathy to put
something in our message that shows that we
have empathy for their loved ones that are
gone,” Savage said.
Mennell said adding an empathetic mes-sage to the signage may not be possible
because of size constraints; however, the
board agreed with Savage and said they will
find ways to show their empathy through
other township communications about the
cemetery.
The board also approved $1,885 in dues for
their membership in the Michigan Townships
Association and $17,315 in invoices for town-
ship expenses such as salaries, maintenance
and other expenses previously approved by
the board.
Trustees Savage and James Partridge vol-
unteered to be on the election commission,
which will meet after next month’s board
meeting, ahead of the Aug. 3 election.Request for Proposal
Michigan Works! West Central is soliciting pro-
posals for Region 4 Offender Success Program
for the thirteen county area – Allegan, Barry, Ionia,
Kent, Lake, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm,
Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, and
Ottawa. The Request for Proposals (RFP) will be
posted on the Michigan Works! West Central
website, http://www.mwwc.org on or around June 7,- There will be multiple RFPs being released
for Housing Providers, Health and Behavioral
Health Providers, Resource Navigators,
Employment Services Providers, and Social
Support Providers. Proposals are due July 22,
2021 no later than 3:30 pm and shall be submitted
based on the instructions in the RFPs. The RFP
documents will be made available in alternative
format, e.g. large type, audio tape, or other format
upon request to Ellen Williams at (231) 538-0735,
TTY:711. Michigan Works! West Central is an
Equal Opportunity Employer. Female and minority
owned business are encouraged to apply.
City of Hastings
Request for Bids
City Hall Custodial Services
The City of Hastings is accepting sealed bid pro-
posals for custodial services for Hastings City Hall.
Sealed bids will be received at the Office of the
City Clerk/Treasurer, 201 East State Street, Hast-
ings, Michigan until 9:00 AM on Friday, June
25, 2021 at which time they will be opened and
publicly read aloud.
The City reserves the right to reject any and all bids
and to award the bid in a manner which it believes
to be in its own best interest, price and other fac-
tors considered.
Bid specifications are available at the office of the
City Clerk. Perspective bidders will be required to
provide satisfactory evidence of successful com-
pletion of work similar to that contained within the
bid package to be considered eligible to perform
this work. All bids must be clearly marked on the
outside of the submittal package “Sealed Bid –
City Hall Custodial Services”.
Travis Tate
Director of Public Services161824City of Hastings
Request For Bids
City Property Grounds
Maintenance
The City of Hastings is accepting sealed bid pro-
posals for grounds maintenance services for city
property. Sealed bids will be received at the Office
of the City Clerk/Treasurer, 201 East State Street,
Hastings, Michigan until 9:00 AM on Friday,
June 25, 2021 at which time they will be opened
and publicly read aloud.
The City reserves the right to reject any and all bids
and to award the bid in a manner which it believes
to be in its own best interest, price and other fac-
tors considered.
Bid specifications are available at the office of the
City Clerk. Perspective bidders will be required to
provide satisfactory evidence of successful com-
pletion of work similar to that contained within the
bid package to be considered eligible to perform
this work. All bids must be clearly marked on the
outside of the submittal package “Sealed Bid –
City Property Grounds Maintenance”.
Travis Tate
Director of Public Services161825Carveth Village
of MiddlevilleCarveth Village
- Independent and Assisted Living
- Spacious one and two bedroom apartments available
- Providing the comforts of home including
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Family Owned and Operated since 1999
Call for details: 269-795-4972 • http://www.CarvethVillage.com
690 W. Main Street, Middleville, MI 49333
Charges of third-degree arson and entering
with intent were dropped at the time of sen-
tencing.
Barry County Prosecutor Julie Nakfoor
Pratt said her office weighed Sochor’s age,
along with the impact that the fire had on the
community, in prosecuting the case.
The intent is for Sochor to come out of
prison a better person, Pratt said.
“If they end up accepting him into the boot-
camp program, I think that would be good for
him,” she said. “That might be what he actu-
ally needs.”
After receiving input from multiple parties
involved, including the property owner, the
Barry Community Foundation, Pratt said her
office was satisfied with the outcome of the
case.
“We felt good about it,” she said.
A second suspect, Steve Aladics II, 34, of
Hastings, pleaded guilty to a charge of entry
with intent.
Aladics, a four-time habitual offender,
received the most severe sentence of the four.
He was ordered him to serve between four to
32 years in prison.
In a separate case earlier this year, Aladics
pleaded no contest to second-degree criminal
sexual conduct, with a victim under 13-years-
of-age. He was sentenced by Schipper to
serve between 14 and 32 years in prison on
that conviction.
Aladics’ previous convictions include six
counts of burglary and one count of grand
theft in Clay County, Florida in December
2015.Two other men, James Miller and Zachary
Locklin, pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for
entering with intent, for which they were
fined.
The vacant Royal Coach building, at 400
East Mill Street in Hastings, burned down in
the early-morning hours of Oct. 7. The
three-story, 31,000-square-foot former facto-
ry had been the focus of a major economic
development project to create an upscale resi-
dential complex in a setting near downtown
amenities.
About 40 firefighters fought the blaze,
pouring approximately 625,000 gallons of
water on the conflagration as it burned to the
ground. They were able to keep the fire from
spreading to the nearby Hastings
Manufacturing Company, but Royal Coach
was lost. After the fire, hot spots flared up
there for days.
Heat from the blaze set a nearby power
pole on fire, and Consumers Energy cut off
electricity to the area. Because of the place-
ment of the line, Consumers had to shut off
power to four distribution substations, which
cut off electricity to 6,543 customers that day.
Officials said it was one of the largest fires
in the city’s history.
Hastings City Police said they suspected
arson almost immediately, since the building
did not have gas or electricity service con-
nected at the time.
The department connected Sochor with the
arson several days later, then Pratt charged the
other three men several weeks after that.ARSON, continued from page 1
COUNT, continued from page 1
Nearly $6 million in ARPA
funds in county coffers now
Rebecca Pierce
Editor
Exactly $5,977,683 was deposited late
Tuesday in Barry County coffers, County
Administrator Michael Brown told commis-
sioners during their board meeting Tuesday.
The funds, the first payment of the
American Rescue Plan Act to Barry County,
will be held in a separate account until a deci-
sion is made as to how those funds will be
used.
“We’ll just continue to hold onto those until
... the process moves forward,” Brown said.
“There continues to be guidance that comes
out through the Department of Treasury most-
ly in the way of Frequently Asked Questions,”
he said, adding that the details as to the pro-
cess for using the funds is “still fuzzy.”
“The issue I and my peers have – we’re
looking for details, bounds, if you may – ...
but the rules seem to shift and change.”
That’s the challenge they’re trying to work
through now, Brown said. “Conceptually,
some of the rules are still out there. The level
of detail, we may never get that.”
It’s not like receiving a grant where the
funder signs off on the project, so there’s a
level of assurance that the use of the funds
won’t be questioned later.
“That’s not really how it’s working,” Brown
said. “There’s not that level of pre-approval
on projects so it provides a bit of uncertainty.”
In other business, county board Chairman
Ben Geiger noted that, at the May 27 Barry-
Eaton District Health Department board meet-
ing, a $90,000 appropriation was accepted by
the health department for reimbursement to
Barry County food establishments.
“This was discussed by this board previ-
ously,” Geiger noted. “The issue we found
was that the county of Barry did not have the
ability to reimburse a fee that it did not assess.
“Because the health department assessed
the licensing fees, we did not legally have the
ability to give that money back.”
As a result, Geiger and fellow commission-
ers Jon Smelker and Dave Jackson insisted
that the reimbursement to food establishments
in Barry County needed to happen. And the
health board agreed to pass that reimburse-
ment back through to those specific local food
service businesses.
Brown confirmed that the money would be
disbursed to the health department this week.
Then the Barry County businesses will
receive the distribution at the end of the fiscal
year in September, Geiger said.Barry County medical examiner Dr.
Joyce deJong