VOLUME 167, No. 26 Thursday, July 1, 2021 PRICE $1.

1

THE

HASTINGS

Devoted to the Interests of Barry County Since 1856

Storm spawns two

twisters; deluge

causes minor floods

Taylor Owens

Staff Writer

Two tornados hit southern Ionia County in

quick succession last Saturday afternoon,

damaging houses, silos, vehicles and barns.

According to the National Weather Service

Grand Rapids, the first tornado touched down

about two miles east of Freeport at 4:31 p.m.

It was on the ground for two minutes and

traveled northeast for one mile, crossing East

Freeport Road and ending at the intersection

of East Vedder and North Messer roads.

It produced winds of up to 75 mph, dam-

aged barns on two properties and ripped the

roof off a silo.

The second tornado touched down at 4:

p.m. northwest of Lake Odessa, around the

train tracks north of West Musgrove Highway.

It travelled northeast, covering 4½ miles in

five minutes, and ended northeast of

Clarksville Road near M-66.

Winds from the tornado reached 90 mph,

and damaged multiple homes, destroyed a

barn, bought down power lines and smashed a

trailer.

The property of Janelle and Andy Eastridge

received some of the worst damage.

“Thankfully, we were not home,” Janelle

Eastridge said. “I was at the grocery store; my

husband was out helping some friends.”

While she was out, a friend called and

asked if she was OK, then told her house had

been hit by a tornado.

“I thought, ‘Oh, my gosh,’” Eastridge

recalled.

The couple came home to find their

40-by-50-foot pole barn was completely

destroyed and their house may have been

damaged beyond repair. Three trees were

uprooted, one was on their roof, and broken

branches stuck out of their lawn like spears.

“That was a little sickening to drive up on,”

Eastridge said.

A vehicle inside the pole barn was “tat-

tered,” she described, and some contents of

the barn are still being found miles away.

The couple’s nieces and nephews walked

the path of the tornado and found a freezer

door to the refrigerator. They later found out

the rest of the refrigerator had landed in a yard

about 7 miles away.

Eastridge said she was glad no one was

hurt.

Parts of the siding and roof on the

Eastridge’s house had been torn off, and water

has been leaking inside since then.

They put tarps over the house and had some

help getting their belongings out and into stor-

age.

“We had a great team of friends and family

with trailers that came over,” Eastridge said.

They don’t know if they will be able to

move back into the house, which they have

lived in since 2012. Eastridge’s husband,

Andy, is a builder, and he’s found evidence of

structural damage from the tornado, including

cracks in the walls.

“You can almost visualize that it was

picked up and set back down,” Eastridge said.

The property was insured, and the couple is

currently working with their insurance com-

pany to find out next steps.

In the meantime, friends, neighbors and

even strangers have been showing their sup-

port.

People have been stopping by the house to

offer condolences, help and even bring them

homemade cookies.

“I really want to thank the community who

have given their support and offered their

help,” Eastridge said.

The Gutierrez family, who lives nearby,

also received major damage to their property.

Their barn was destroyed, their boat was

flipped over and smashed and tree branches

Read-or-flunk law could

hold back third-graders

See Editorial on Page 4

Yarger in USA

Junior Nationals

See Story on Page 12

Health dept. medical

director steps down

See Story on Page 3

See TORNADO, page 2

Winds from the tornado reached 95 mph, and flattened barns at the Gutierrez family residence. (Photo by Ingham County Office

of Homeland Security and Emergency Management)

What’s up for July 4 –

fireworks and more

James Gemmell

Contributing Writer

Many places in southwestern Michigan

will help Uncle Sam celebrate his 244th

birthday on this Fourth of July holiday, so

there are plenty of activities to pick from this

weekend.

For many communities, 2021 marks a

return to traditional fireworks and other fes-

tivities that were canceled or scaled back last

year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting off the holiday weekend this

Friday, the Hastings Live summer concert

series will feature Ellie Youngs at noon for

Fridays at the Fountain on the Barry County

Courthouse lawn. Hastings’ own singer/

songwriter, Youngs will offer soulful music

she also performs at venues in Wayland and

Grand Rapids.

On Friday evening, Denise Davis and the

Motor City Sensations will be the Friday

Night Features group, with music beginning

at 7:30 p.m. at Thornapple Plaza. Known for

her powerful vocals and stage presence,

Denise Davis has performed at the most pop-

ular entertainment venues in Metro Detroit,

earning award nominations from The Detroit

Music Awards Foundation and The Detroit

Black Music Awards. Thornapple Plaza is on

the east end of downtown near the intersec-

tion of State and Boltwood/Apple streets. All

concerts are free, and attendees are encour-

aged to bring their own blankets or lawn

chairs. For more information, visit facebook.

com/mihastingslive.

The Legacy at Hastings, 1550 N.

Broadway in Hastings, is celebrating its

100 th anniversary this month and, fittingly,

its birthday party falls on the Fourth of July

weekend. An All-American barbecue buffet

and golf scramble are among the festivities

on Saturday’s schedule there. Events from 3

p.m. to 11 p.m. are kid- and family-friendly.

Free snow cones, popcorn, and cotton candy

with a professional fireworks display at 10

p.m. will cap the celebration. People don’t

have to play golf to attend the party, which

will feature live music and lots of activities

for both children and adults. A party-only

entry fee is $25 for members and $40 for

guests, which includes the buffet lunch. Kids

12 and under are free.

Weather permitting, Gun Lake is planning

a blast on Saturday night with fireworks

beginning around 10:20 p.m.. The Gun Lake

Protective Association sponsors the show

and they are saying that, if it gets rained out

Saturday night, the event will take place

Sunday night instead. The GLPA also says

that money collected for last year’s canceled

fireworks will be used to help supplement

this year’s show. The rest will be held in

escrow.

The Village of Hopkins and Gun Lake

Casino are co-sponsoring Fourth of July

Fireworks on Sunday at dusk. Viewing areas

will be available at 22nd Street and Fulton

Street, and east of Hopkins High School,

among other spots. Event activities get

underway at 8 p.m.

In Middleville, downtown festivities on

the Fourth of July will conclude with a fire-

works show at 10 p.m. Sunday at AYSO

Soccer Fields by the middle school and bus

garage along Green Lake Road. To start the

day, community worship will be offered

from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the village

Pavilion on E. Main Street. Also on tap: a

Picnic in the Park from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Kids Games in Stagecoach Park from 1 p.m.

to 6 p.m. A “Touch a Truck” event sponsored

by Thornapple Township Emergency

Services, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. And a “Walk

Through History” from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at

the Pavilion. At 7 p.m., there will be live pre-

show music (including the national anthem),

as well as concessions, games, and giant

beach balls.

In Richland, a parade at 11 a.m. Saturday

along D Avenue East will get the

Independence Day weekend underway there.

The annual Gull Lake Fireworks show will

take place beginning at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

The fireworks go off at dark from the Gull

Lake Country Club in Richland. Only club

members will be allowed into the club that

night, but anyone can view the fireworks

An architect’s rendering of the proposed laundry facility for Bay Pointe Woods.

Bay Pointe Inn rezoning plan stalls

County planning

commission

deadlocks on request

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

Barry County planners are saying “not so

fast” on two proposed additions to the Bay

Pointe Inn resort on Gun Lake in Orangeville

Township.

After 2 1/2 hours of debate and public com-

ment, the county planning commission

Monday night defeated a motion to approve

the addition of a laundry facility to the resort’s

Bay Pointe Woods cottage complex.

Commissioners also voted to recommend

that the county board deny a rezoning request

from Bay Corp. Inc. that would lead to con-

struction of five more two-story cottages at

the complex.

The motion to approve the laundry facility

was defeated on a 4-2 vote.

However, on a subsequent motion that

would have denied the request, commission-

ers deadlocked at 3-3, since one board mem-

ber was absent. That led to a motion to table

the request and bring it back before commis-

sioners at their next meeting on July 26.

It was the second time that Bay Pointe

owner Mike Powers had sought approval for

the laundry facility. An earlier request was

defeated on a 6-1 vote of the planning com-

mission in late April.

Powers appealed to the commission for

approval of the laundry facility because its

existing facility, which is attached to guest

rooms at the main inn, is not adequate to serve

the entire resort complex. Housekeepers

transport sheets, pillowcases, mattresses,

blankets and towels by vehicle between the

existing laundry facility and Bay Pointe

Woods to be washed, dried and folded, Powers

said.

“On an average month, we’re doing about

30,000 pounds of laundry. We’re doing all

that right now with one washing machine,” he

said. “Obviously, it’s imperative that we are

able to build this laundry facility so we can

simply process the laundry that we have.”

“We typically process laundry 10 hours a

day. [It takes] about 30 hours to process one

day’s laundry. Every day, we fall behind with

our one washer by 20 hours, or two days’

supply. Even at 50-percent occupancy, we

can’t process our daily laundry with one

washer,” Powers added, saying that occupan-

cy at the resort is currently “in the high 80s.”

Powers displayed a poster describing the

accumulation of laundry.

“This accumulation of dirty laundry stacks

to the ceiling,” he said. “That’s a Monday

morning picture. That’s just laundry from

[Bay Pointe] Woods. That’s 1,000 pounds of

laundry,” he said. “With that much laundry

that comes in every day, it becomes an issue

that is overwhelming for our staff. They can’t

even move in that room. It’s unsanitary, quite

See EVENTS, page 6

“Thankfully, we were not

home. I was at the grocery

store; my husband was out

helping some friends.”

Janelle Eastridge

See REZONING, page 3