SN 1-8-2022

The Sun and News, Saturday, January 8, 2022/ Page 3

Getty to serve on health department board

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Barry County’s represen-
tation on the Barry-Eaton
District Health Department
board is changing.
Two new county commis-
sioners – Catherine Getty and
Bruce Campbell – will join
the board, replacing Dave
Jackson and Jon Smelker,
county board chairman Ben
Geiger said after Tuesday’s
committee of the whole meet-
ing at the county courthouse.
“2021 was a trying year for
public servants, especially
those serving on the Board of
Health,” said Geiger, who also
is chairman of the BEDHD
board. “Commissioners Getty
and Campbell were willing to
step up.”
Speaking at a Middleville
Village Council committee
of the whole meeting
Tuesday afternoon, Getty
said she looked forward to
joining the board.
“I’ve worked with the envi-
ronmental arm of the health
department for some time ...
in planning and zoning,” said

Getty, who is also zoning

administrator for Thornapple

Township. “I think it’ll be a

good fit for me to work with

public health in general.”

Both Getty and Campbell

are in their first terms as

county commissioners. Getty

represents the village of

Middleville, the portion of

Thornapple Township west of

M-37 and the portion of

Yankee Springs Township

north of M-179. Campbell

represents the southeast cor-

ner of Barry County – Assyria,

Baltimore, Johnstown and

Maple Grove townships.

Jackson had served on the

health board for more than six

years, while Smelker joined

the board last January, replac-

ing the late Dan Parker. Both

agreed to switch committee

assignments, with Jackson

replacing Campbell on the

Solid Waste Committee and

Smelker taking Getty’s place

on the Community Mental

Health Authority board.

“It’s one of these boards

that people always have

questions about,” Jackson

said of the BEDHD board. “I

think it’s good for us to get

new people on board.

Different perspectives are

helpful.”

Health board meetings

were among some of the most

contentious in the county last

year, boiling over at a Sept.

22 BEDHD meeting where

there was an attempted citi-

zen’s arrest on Health Officer

Colette Scrimger, five days

after she had issued orders

mandating the wearing of

masks among kindergarten

through sixth-grade students

throughout Barry and Eaton

counties to prevent the spread

of the COVID-19 virus. The

order enraged some county

residents who believe deci-

sions on masking children in

school should be left to par-

ents.

The health board consists

of three commissioners from

Barry County and three from

Eaton County.

It typically meets the

fourth Thursday of every

month at 9:30 a.m. Meetings

in odd-numbered months

take place in Barry County

while meetings in even-num-

bered months are conducted

in Eaton County.

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that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are

available on an equal opportunity basis. To report

discrimination call the Fair Housing Center at

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ber for the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.

116

Middleville soon to consider fiberoptic internet service

Greg Chandler

Staff Writer

Residents and businesses
in Middleville could soon be
asked their views on the
introduction of fiberoptic
internet service to the vil-
lage.
The Village Council at its
committee of the whole
meeting Tuesday voted to
move onto its agenda for
next Tuesday’s regular coun-
cil meeting a proposal to
have the village’s Local
Development Finance
Authority (LDFA) develop a
survey on high-speed inter-

net and whether the village

should enter into a pub-

lic-private partnership to

increase fiberoptic service to

the community.

Village residents already

have access to internet ser-

vices, transmitted via coax-

ial cable lines through

AT&T and Spectrum.

However, fiberoptic service

is seen as faster and more

reliable than coaxial ser-

vice, Village Manager

Patricia Rayl said.

“The one thing that the

pandemic has pointed out is

how important internet con-

nectivity is,” Rayl told the

council.

“Some people would

argue that internet access is

an infrastructure, just as

important as roads and water

and sewer,” she added.

“That’s why the LDFA wants

to make sure that council is

willing to authorize a survey

of the community members

and businesses, to see if

everyone is happy with their

service that they have now,

or if they might be interested

in exploring a public-private

partnership with a fiberoptic

company.”

Bradford White Corp.,

Middleville’s largest employ-

er, had fiberoptic lines

installed serving their com-

pany, Rayl said.

Council Trustee Tom

DeVries asked fellow

Trustee Kevin Smith wheth-

er the expansion of 5G wire-

less service might reduce

the need for fiberoptic ser-

vice. Smith said fiberoptic

offers advantages that 5G

doesn’t.

“Wireless is wireless, no

matter what,” Smith said.

“They could roll out 5G, but

that doesn’t change the fact

that I only get two bars on

my Verizon phone in down-

town Middleville.”

The survey is expected to

be promoted on Facebook, as

well as possibly on the vil-

lage’s website, Rayl said.

In other business Tuesday,

the council heard an update

from consultant Brandon

Mieras of Williams & Works

on the expansion of the vil-

lage’s wastewater plant.

Mieras said the project

remains on schedule.

“The first wall pour of the

main process tanks was made

(Tuesday),” Mieras said.

“Last month they had poured

both slabs for the main pro-

cess tank and the sludge stor-

age tank.”

The $4.8 million project

will boost the plant’s daily

capacity from 500,000 gal-

lons of sewage to 900,

gallons.

The council also reap-

pointed Tom Hamilton to a

four-year term on the

Thronapple Area Parks and

Recreation Commission.

Hamilton, who was first

appointed to the board in

November 2020, serves as

the board’s treasurer.

COVID cases surge as Omicron numbers grow

Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
Health officials say the
current surge in COVID-
cases in Michigan is being
driven by the new Omicron
variant, which appears to be
more contagious, but less
lethal, than previous strains.
Since Christmas Eve,
more than 1,400 COVID-
cases have been reported to
the Barry-Eaton District
Health Department.
While the presence of
Omicron has not been offi-
cially confirmed in Barry
County, it has been con-
firmed in neighboring coun-
ties.
“Due to this surge in cases,
you may not be contacted by
the health department if you
test positive for COVID-19,”
the health department advis-
es on its Facebook page.
This prioritization by the
BEDHD is not unusual.
Throughout the pandemic,
the department has not had
the resources to contact

every positive case, so it has

been prioritizing those aged

65 and up, then ages 12-

and then children up to 11.

Department staff members

are advising people who test

positive to stay home, moni-

tor their symptoms, notify

their close contacts along

with school or workplace

and contact their healthcare

provider.

Free rapid and PCR

COVID testing is available

at the BEDHD  office on

Woodlawn Street in Hastings

from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Mondays, Wednesdays and

Fridays. 

Last week, while the tests

were being administered out-

side the back door of the

building, a long line of cars

snaked around the parking

lot and out into the street. 

Some people told  The

Banner they waited between

two and three hours to

receive tests that were

administered as they sat in

their cars.

BEDHD reported 347

cases of COVID in Barry

County on Tuesday.

Two additional deaths due

to the virus were reported

since last week, for a total of

133 deaths caused by COVID

since the pandemic was

declared in March 2020.

No new cases have been

reported at Barry County

long-term care facilities in

nearly a month.

On Monday, Spectrum

Health Pennock had seven

people with the virus who

had been admitted to the

hospital, including two

patients in the intensive care

unit.

The Omicron variant is

most prevalent in metro

Detroit, where 201 of the 289

Omicron cases have been

found, according to  Bridge

Michigan. 

But health experts also say

there are likely many more

cases of Omicron, since the

state only performs genetic

sequencing of 400 cases of

the virus each week.

Michigan has reported

more than 12,400 cases of

the virus each day, which

represents a 75-percent

increase in the number of

cases being confirmed com-

pared to last week.

The testing positivity rate

has steadily increased over

the past 15 days, according

to numbers released by the

state. About 33 percent of

the 40,584 COVID tests

conducted Sunday were

positive. That’s the highest

positivity rate since the

tests became widely avail-

able.

Barry County was slightly

below that rate, at 31.4 per-

cent.

Signs at Barry-Eaton District Health Department direct traffic flow, which has

been heavily headed toward testing.