The Hastings Banner — Thursday, September 16, 2021 — Page 3COVID cases continue to rise locally
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
The Barry-Eaton District Health
Department reported 148 active cases of
COVID-19 in Barry County on Tuesday, up
from 123 the week before.
The average number of COVID-19 tests
which were positive over the most recent sev-
en-day stretch hit 17.16 percent, which health
department officials say indicates there are
likely many more cases of the virus which
have gone reported.
The positive rate of tests has continued to
climb, and had its highest single day number
yet – 26.15 percent on Sept. 6.
There have been a total of 5,941 positive
cases, 676 probable and 72 deaths in Barry
County since the pandemic started early last
year.
Thornapple Kellogg Schools reported five
new cases of the virus on Monday, for a total
of 33 since the school year began.
Hastings Area Schools has reported 41
cases of the virus since the school year began,
including 11 in the second week of September.
Both school districts have reported more
than one “outbreak” of the virus; health offi-
cials found it likely that the virus had spread
between staff or students at school or a school
activity.
An outbreak, defined by the state of
Michigan as two or more confirmed cases of
the virus which arise within a 14-day period,
were epidemiologically linked within the dis-
trict, but no connection outside of a school
setting could be found.As of Monday, Thornapple Kellogg schools
reported a five-person outbreak at the high
school, and a two-person outbreak at Lee
Elementary.
Hastings reported a three-person outbreak
at Star Elementary, a two-person outbreak at
Southeastern Elementary and a four-person
outbreak at the middle school.
On Tuesday, Lakewood Public Schools
reported two new cases of the virus, for a total
of 15 since the school year began.
The Delton Kellogg district has reported
four cases of the virus since the school year
began last week.
Maple Valley Schools has had eight con-
firmed cases of the virus, as of Tuesday. A
three-person outbreak was reported at
Maplewood School.‘We want the green monster to continue to thrive.’
Recycling overflows – that’s the challenge
for Hastings Township’s program
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
Barry County Commissioner Ben Geiger
calls it the “green monster” – the gigantic recy-
cling unit that seems to tower over the Hastings
Charter Township Hall.
Everyone at Tuesday’s Township meeting
expressed pride in how well the unit has worked.
It’s always filled to the brim with recycling.
“It’s very successful,” Supervisor Jim Brown
said. “It’s one of the best things in the county.”
But there’s also a problem: It’s always filled
to the brim with recycling.
“This is Tuesday,” Brown said. “And that unit
out there is full.”
“It was full last Tuesday,” Trustee Timothy
McNally responded.
“It was full the Tuesday before that,” Brown
said. “They’ll start emptying it tomorrow. Before
the weekend is here, it will be full again.”
They have an “inflow volume” problem,
Brown said, and they need to find a solution. At
the moment, cardboard is emptied from the unit
each Wednesday, and the rest gets taken
Thursday. Brown noted that six townships and
the City of Hastings use the unit, and something
needs to change.
Could they have more pick-up days? Limit
the residents who can use it? Create a designated
drop-off time? ID people who show up?
Encourage more townships in the county to
invest in a recycling unit?
McNally argued that it would be challenging
to regulate who and when people may drop off
recycling.
“You would have yourself a nightmare,” he
said. “It would be a total nightmare to lock it
down and say you can come between 12 and 4.
They’re just going to throw it by the can. You’re
better off either trying to find a way to expand
what we have there or finding some other way to
get additional pickup.”
“Or,” Treasurer Jenee Phillips said, turning to
Geiger, who was in attendance, “get more of
them in the county!”
Although he initially had opposed having a
recycling coordinator, Geiger said he has been
“impressed” with the new Barry Conservation
District recycling coordinator, Rachel Frantz.
But he said he worried about the very problem
Hastings Charter Township has encountered.
“If you increase opportunities to recycle, peo-
ple will take advantage of it,” Geiger said.
“You’re supplying space, and they will meet the
demand. ... I will say it would be sad if the suc-
cess of this was restricted because of lack of
space.”
Others on the board expressed concern about
enlarging the township’s recycling operation.
“You could make us bigger, but then we’re
just making it bigger for everybody else,”
Phillips said.
“It’s just – what’s the solution?” McNally
added. “We can’t tell other townships what to
do. So, it comes down to – we have to solve our
township’s problem without making another
problem.”
Geiger called it the most successful recycling
project in the past 10 years, noting that he would
help the township secure more money if they
need it.
“We want the green monster to continue to
thrive,” he said.
In other news at the meeting:- Geiger, who represents a portion of the
township in District 5, attended Tuesday night’s
meeting to present the county board report. He
discussed multiple topics, including reappor-
tionment and the county’s American Rescue
Plan funds.
He said the county board is considering an
expansion to eight members. It currently has
seven. He predicted 60-40 that it will stay at
seven.
Regarding the ARPA money, Geiger said the
county is soliciting feedback from residents on
how the funds should be spent.
“My only thing on the ARPA fund is, I don’t
want to spend money on any more consultants,”
he told the township board. “I don’t want more
studies. I want the money to be put to use to
improve the lives of your constituents.”
In response, Brown brought up the topic of
broadband service. Geiger said the county is
looking into expanding the infrastructure, but
wants to learn more about “what it means to
invest in broadband.”
“It’s not a quality-of-life thing. It’s a utility,”
Geiger clarified. “The challenge is, we as a
county government can’t create a company to go
out where we want. And those counties that try
to do it usually fail. So how do we promote
companies to invest in broadband?”- The board voted to opt into Social Security
benefits for elected officials. Township Clerk
Anita Mennell said it is one of few townships
that has not paid part of paychecks to receive
Social Security. Mennell added that this is her
last term, and she wants to make sure the insur-
ance program is in place for the township’s
younger and future employees.
“I would like Hastings Township to join
everybody else and pay Social Security on our
workers so that we can get people willing to
come into these jobs,” Mennell said.
The motion passed unanimously. - The board approved Brown to attend the
Michigan Coalition Recycling conference for no
more than $800.
Hastings Charter Township will hold a special
meeting with Carlton Township regarding weed
control at Leach Lake. The meeting will take
place at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 11, in the Carlton
Township Hall, 85 Welcome Road, Hastings.
Rutland board revises
cemetery plans, roadwork
Algonquin Lake weed control report recommends ‘stay the course’
Jean Gallup
Contributing Writer
Rutland Charter Township Attorney Craig
Rolfe has been sent a revised cemetery
ordinance with the goal of restoring the
township cemetery to a place of quiet and
solitude. Rolfe will study the content and
language before sending it back to the board
for final readings and publication.
The board discussed possible changes
designed to control the overall appearance of
the township cemetery, banning extravagant
displays that interfere with maintenance of the
cemetery and its atmosphere. The ordinance
would not be ready to go into effect until
2022, and notices would be published in the
newspaper and on the township website to let
residents know what and when changes would
go into effect.
Discussion centered on the changes
proposed: confining decorations to the space
of the gravesite, limiting the height of displays,
and what constitutes a marker. Urns,
memorabilia or decorations may be placed in
line with the headstone in the area of the
gravesite and may be no taller than the
headstone, unless it is a plant or flower
planted in an urn. Veterans’ flags are exempt
because they are temporary and removed in
October, Clerk Robin Hawthorne said.
Other changes in the ordinance include a
ban on planting shrubs, trees or vines,
installing fences or curbs, as well as mounds,
memorials, decorations or benches that hinder
the free use of a lawn mower. The township
reserves the right to trim or remove any trees
or shrubs to maintain the proper appearance
and use of the cemetery.
One rule stipulates that urns not used for
two years may be removed by the sexton.
Trustee Sandy James suggested that be
amended to allow the urn to be turned over if
it is not deteriorated. The board agreed the
family members should be the ones to remove
urns, if it is necessary.
Treasurer Sandra Greenfield said she would
like to make clear that a bench could be set in
place of a headstone on a gravesite so family
could sit and talk to their loved ones.
How long decorations can be left at a
gravesite after interment was set at 60 days,
but some board members were concerned
about how to keep track of how long the items
have been in place and how sexton Nancy
Halifax would feel about removing family
statues.
Generally, the board agreed floral
decorations on graves should be allowed from
Memorial to Labor Day or perhaps October
before being taken up. If they weren’t, the
township would have them removed.
Trustee Gene Hall prepared the report on
the possible changes to the ordinance.
“I would also suggest that the revised
ordinance become effective either six or 12
months after it has been revised with several
notices being published in the local papers
during that period,” he said.
Supervisor Larry Watson said they should
send the ordinance to the attorney, get a draft,
review it in March or April of next year, leave
it over the course of the summer and address
it again in September 2022.
Hawthorne suggested putting a notice in
the paper in April reminding residents that in
the annual October cleanup of the cemetery, if
the items are not gone, they will be removed.
They will put a notice in the paper and online
that changes are coming in the cemetery and
the entire ordinance will be published in thepaper after the board’s second reading, she
said.
In his road committee report, Hall said that
after the township set its plans for four years
with the Barry County Road Commission,
they discovered the 1 mill dedicated to roads
approved by township voters would not be the
estimated $165,00 a year, but $157,000.
That leaves the township short about $8,
a year, or $32,000 for four years, of roadwork,
he said. The road commission suggested they
eliminate resurfacing Hammond Road,
considered a “nice to have, not need to have”
project and, in 2023, do $20,000 in gravel
work instead of $22,000.
“That doesn’t come out to $32,000, but
they said, ‘We’ll take that out and call it
even,’” Hall said.
When inflation takes effect and new
construction begins, that 1 mill could possibly
be more, he said.
“We’re not going to make up $32,000 in
four years, but it will take up part of it and,
when subcontractors’ bids come in, that will
cover it,” he added. “The road commission
has been working with us over the years; I
think we’ll be fine with it.”
Also at its Sept. 8 meeting, the board
released the updated master plan for a required
42-day public comment period. After the
public has the opportunity to comment on
plans that cover future land use in the
township, it will be the subject of two readings
by the board and a public hearing before
adoption. A copy of the plan can be found on
the township’s website, rutlandtownship.org.
Pat Sharpe, president of the Algonquin
Lake Community Association, updated the
township board on the lake treatment program
for control of exotic and invasive species in
the lake for next year. Sharpe said the lake
looks good, and the 2022 budget does not
include an assessment increase for taxpayers.
He introduced Jaime Desjardins, West
Michigan regional manager from PLM Lake
and Land Management Corp., who gave a
report on the 2022 schedule for lake treatment.
She said the program is going well with the
control of exotic plants like Eurasian milfoil,
and some new herbicides have provided
control for a longer time.
“We’re managing it as well as possible, and
that helps native plants,” Desjardins said.
Moving forward, they are looking to
mitigate phosphorus with a new treatment that
strips it from the water. That will be used in
nutrient-rich areas.
Basically, she said, “it’s ‘Stay the course.’ ”
The report, approved unanimously by the
township board, gives the timeline for 2022.
Later this year, PLM will apply for a permit
from the Michigan Department of
Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. Next
spring, the company will notify all residents
of the treatment schedule by letter, perform a
survey, make the initial herbicide/algaecide
application and take water quality samples.
June and July will bring more surveys,
applications and water testing. August and
September may see another application, the
fall survey and water quality testing, followed
by a year-end review of the program.
The report lists the treatment methods used,
the cost and application rate of both the
systemic herbicides and contact herbicides
used. The estimated maximum budget for
2022 is $80,000.
The board also appointed Carl Lickly to the
zoning board of appeals as an alternate.Maple Valley sets policy on quarantines
despite objections from superintendent
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
Maple Valley Schools will not require stu-
dents who have been close contacts of people
who test positive for COVID-19 to quaran-
tine.
After more than two hours of public com-
ment and discussion Monday, the board of
education voted 6-1 create the quarantine
policy, with a requirement to review the poli-
cy at its next meeting.
Justin Keiffer, who made the motion, said
the board already agreed over the summer to
enact only what viral mitigation efforts were
legally mandated by the state and local health
department.
Since the health department only recom-
mended that districts force students to quaran-
tine, the district does not have to do so.
Keiffer also said he is more concerned with
the mental health of students who are isolated
by quarantine, than their risk of illness from
the virus.
Board President Brian Green cast the only
dissenting vote against the motion.
Green said he was trying to weigh the loss
of learning from quarantining individual stu-
dents to the loss of learning if the school dis-
trict is forced shut down due to a major out-
break. He also said he worried that, if the
district is shut down, the health department
will mandate additional viral mitigation
efforts, such as masks.
“I don’t want to go there, I really don’t,”
Green said.
Superintendent Katherine Bertolini voiced
her opposition to the decision.
“I just need to publicly state,” Bertolini
said, “I’m gravely concerned of the potential
impact, legally to the district, financially to
the district – and this does not have my sup-
port.
“This is a precedent that would be danger-
ous to set.”
Bertolini said the district’s legal counsel
had strongly advised against the decision,
since the district could be vulnerable to law-
suits. If a child catches the virus from a fellow
student the school chose not to keep quaran-
tined, the district could be liable.
And, since the district chose not to follow
the health department’s recommendations, it
could lose its government immunity to those
kinds of lawsuits, she said.
It would only take one lawsuit to eat up the
financial cushion the district has built up in
the three years since it fell into deficit,
Bertolini added.
Currently, Barry County school districts
have largely chosen to leave quarantine deci-
sions up to the parents, while most Eaton
County districts have required students toquarantine. Maple Valley crosses into both
counties.
More than a dozen residents spoke during
public comment at the meeting, which was
moved to the junior/senior high school library
to accommodate the attendance.
Almost all of those who spoke were in
favor of leaving the decision to quarantine up
to parents.
“Your job is to educate our children, not to
worry about lawsuits,” Lori Denton said. That
was a statement that many other attendees
echoed.
After the motion was passed, two Maple
Valley teachers, Aaron Saari and Victoria
Harris, voiced their concerns that the district
may lose staff because of the decision.
“I just pray that, when you have sick kids
coming to school, exposing staff, that you
have enough staff left to work, to educate
these kids that you so badly want educated,”
Harris said, “because there’s already a staff
shortage... staff don’t want to come to work.
Staff don’t want to get sick.”
As of Monday, 48 students had been quar-
antined. The district has reported eight cases
of the virus. The state of Michigan considered
Maplewood School to have a COVID out-
break after a link was established between
three students who tested positive for the
virus.City council puts permanent
fence at dog park
Benjamin Simon
Staff Writer
Hastings City Council approved the
purchase of $37,964 for a permanent fence for
the Hastings Dog Park during Monday’s
meeting.
The fence had been taken down Aug. 15,
after the city settled a lawsuit with a group
named Dog Park Companions. The old fence
has been moved to 490 Powell Road, in
Hastings Charter Township, where Dog Park
Companions is setting up a new dog park.
Council member Brenda McNabb-Stange
questioned whether the council should have
more discussion on the topic and consider a
less expensive temporary fence or push back
the decision until the spring.
There was little conversation, and the
council unanimously moved to install the
permanent fence.
Mayor David Tossava expressed a desire to
get the dog park up and running again. In the
past few weeks, he said he has noticed trash
starting to pile up at the site.
“You have people, you have eyes behind
that sewer plant – daylight to dark, every
day,” he said during the meeting. “... We need
the dog park back in there to keep the
undesirables out.”
Public Service Director Travis Tate said
there will be no changes to the layout or
location of the fence. They will, however,
replace sharp corners with more rounded
corners to fit the latest trends in dog parks.
Sarah Moyer-Cale attended her first city
council meeting as the new city manager. She
said she spent her first day meeting with
department heads, and she encouraged people
in the council room to set up appointments
with her.
“That just helps me get to know you guys
better and what your priorities are,” Moyer-Cale said during the meeting. “That helps me
adjust the way I do things to know that I’m
really serving you guys. So I’m really looking
forward to working here.”
In other action, the council declared Sept.
17-23 as Constitution Week, marking the
234th anniversary of the United States
Constitution.
Tossava presented the proclamation to the
Daughters of the American Revolution. Nancy
Bennett stepped forward to accept the
proclamation on behalf of the Battle Creek
chapter of DAR.
“We do historical preservation, education
and patriotism,” Bennett said. “We’ve given
several hundred copies of pocket Constitutions
to schools, libraries and officials, and I thank
you very much for this.”New City Manager Sarah Moyer-Cale
speaks during her first City Council meeting.Health department hosting
pop-up vaccine clinics
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
The Barry-Eaton District Health
Department reports it administered 19
vaccinations during a pop-up clinic at
Thornapple Kellogg Middle School Saturday.
Nurses from BEDHD administered both
the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines
during the four-hour clinic, department
spokeswoman Sarah Surna said.
In addition to providing vaccines at its
offices in Hastings and Charlotte, BEDHD is
continuing to hold pop-up clinics around
Barry and Eaton counties. It held a pop-up
clinic Monday at Olivet College, Surna said.
“We will take anyone who wants to get
vaccinated at this point,” Surna said. “Every
person makes a difference who decides to get
vaccinated.”
The Pfizer vaccines are available to
anyone age 12 and older, while the Johnson &
Johnson vaccines are for those 18 and older.BEDHD will host a pop-up clinic
Thursday, Sept. 23, at Delton Kellogg High
School. Vaccinations will be given between 3
and 7 p.m. that day.
Another clinic at TKMS has been
scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday,
Oct. 2.
More information on vaccines and
scheduling a clinic is available online at
barryeatonhealth.org/schedule-vaccine.