Page 2 — Thursday, October 13, 2022 — The Hastings Banner
However, the rub for commissioner Jon
Smelker was that the board of commission-
ers granted the Sheriff’s office funding for a
third detective back in November – at that
time, the office only had two detectives – to
handle an influx of violent crime in Barry
County. The board provided the sheriff’s
office with funding and an additional vehicle
to facilitate a third detective with the prom-
ise that the detective would help shoulder
the load.
Instead, nearly a year later, the office has
one detective handling almost all of the cases
while one detective exclusively focuses on
voter fraud investigations.
“We asked for a detective to take care of
these crimes listed and we got a detective that
got one job and one job only. Am I correct on
that?” said a heated Smelker, who motioned
to eliminate the funding for that position in
the next budget. “So we don’t need that
detective. You’ll still have two detectives....I
feel that the person was hired to detective for
election fraud.”
Sixberry spoke on behalf of the Sheriff’s
office at Tuesday’s meeting. A week before,
at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole,
Smelker and the board grilled Leaf about the
detective positions.
“I cannot answer that part of it because I’m
not in charge of that person,” Sixberry repliedto Smelker’s questions concerning Deputy
Noteboom.
Sixberry did, however, say that the request
in November for additional help was genuine.
“I don’t think the Sheriff asked for that per-
son,” Sixberry said. “I was asking for that third
detective for the same reason as the prosecutor
as well as Detective Sergeant Maki.”
“I agree, and that’s why we gave it to you,”
Smelker responded.
Smelker made the motion to cut funding for
the position without any idea if he would gain
support. However, he did find support for the
motion from commissioner Catherine Getty.
“The Sheriff was in last week and expressed
he didn’t determine there was voter fraud in
Barry County. It seems like we could reprior-
itize public safety,” Getty said. “We know
(the sheriff’s office) has vacancies. We have
a detective where, maybe his work is done.”
Vice chair Vivian Conner, who was sitting
in as chairman for the meeting, asked if
detective deputy Noteboom would be able to
pivot from his investigation into voter fraud
to focus on other cases. Sixberry said that
wasn’t the plan.
“He will go on the road for his field train-
ing (upon completing the voter fraud investi-
gation),” Sixberry said. “That (detective) spot
would be filled by another deputy that has
requested to be a detective.”Smelker, Getty and Hoot Gibson voted to
pass Smelker’s motion. Conner and Bruce
Campbell voted against it while chairman
Ben Geiger and commissioner David Jackson
were absent.
The motion was able to pass without sup-
port from a majority of the seven-person
board because the move didn’t solidify the
budget issue – a public hearing is still sched-
uled before it can be finalized.
The Banner spoke with Barry County
prosecutor Julie Nakfoor Pratt, who lobbied
alongside the sheriff’s office in November
to secure additional funding for a third
detective.
“I advocated for that position because it is
needed,” Nakfoor Pratt said. “There are too
many cases, they’re too violent....We don’t
see that trend changing and what you end up
with is fatigue and people who are over-
worked and that doesn’t help any of us.”
“We’re lucky to have police officers that
go the extra mile because they’re serving
their community and care about their commu-
nity,” she added. “That doesn’t mean it
doesn’t wear them out.”
While she didn’t necessarily disagree with
the board’s rationale, Nakfoor Pratt said she
remains optimistic and hopeful that funding
for that position will be restored because it is
indeed still needed.Thornapple Wind
Band kicks off
concert season with
spooky favorites
The Thornapple Wind Band invites
the public to enjoy some “spooky sea-
son” tunes on Sunday, October 23 at 3
p.m. at the Hastings Performing Arts
Center.
The band will feature songs from
“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” “The
Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Cruel-
la,” “Ghostbusters,” “Scooby Doo,”
“Dracula” and more. Children attend-
ees are encouraged to attend the concert
in costume. Children who come dressed
up will receive a special treat, accord-
ing to organizers.
The Thornapple Wind Band is a
community band based in the Barry
County area. The band, open to anyone
regardless of ability, gives adults the
opportunity to make music and bring
music to the community.
The Halloween-themed concert
will be the first of the season for the
band.COA seeking Senior
Citizen of the Year
nominations
Barry County Commission on Aging
(COA) has announced the opening of
nominations for the annual Senior Cit-
izen of the Year award. This award
highlights the contributions made by
persons aged 60 and older to civic and
social life in Barry County. It focuses
on the positive benefits of remaining
active while growing older.
The 2022 award will be presented at
the Barry County Commission on
Aging’s Christmas Party on Dec. 16 at
the COA building in Hastings. The
Senior Citizen of the Year winner is
also invited to ride as an honored guest
in the annual Hastings Summerfest
parade.
Nominees for Barry County’s Senior
Citizen of the Year award should be 60
or older and residents of Barry County.
Consideration should be given to the
contribution each nominee has made to
the Barry County community in their
senior years. Examples could include
the types of activities the nominee has
been involved in, how his or her
involvement has benefited the commu-
nity and the number of people whohave been affected by those contribu-
tions.
Nomination forms are available at
the Commission on Aging office or on
their website at barrycounty.org/com-
mission_on_aging_new.
Nominations can be from individu-
als or groups.
Nominations should be sent to the
Commission on Aging, 320 West
Woodlawn Avenue, Hastings, Ml- All nominations must be
received no later than 5 p.m. on Friday,
Nov. 18.
BooFest stops
in Middleville
Barry BooFest, a new month-long
series of fall festivities throughout
Barry County, will be in Middleville
tomorrow for the Fall Fest.
The celebration of fall will take
place in Sesquicentennial Park from 3
to 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14.
Middleville’s turn of hosting BooFest
will feature a farmers and artisan mar-
ket, pumpkin giveaways, pet costume
contests, 5K run, games, music and
more.
Local organizations will also be
present at BooFest, including the Fam-
ily Promise of Barry County. Family
Promise, an organization that helps
those in Barry County experiencing
homelessness, will have a cardboard
haunted house building event at the
Middleville United Methodist Church
from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. tomorrow
during BooFest.
More information about BooFest can
be found by searing “Barry BooFest”
on Facebook.Thornapple Garden
Club hosts fall
meeting
Gardeners are wrapping up outdoor
work and getting ready to enjoy indoor
gardening with succulents and house
plants this winter.
Danny Barker and Stephanie Clark
from The Plant Parlor in Grand Rapids
will share their knowledge of both
types of plants tonight, Oct. 13, at the
Thornapple Garden Club’s meeting.
The meeting, which is open to the
public, is held at Green Street United
Methodist Church in Hastings and
starts at 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be
served at 7 p.m.NEWS NEWS BRIEFSBRIEFS
Join the Grassroots Movement
to Elect
BRADLEY “SCOTT”
SAVAGE
AS BARRY COUNTY COMMISSIONER
in DISTRICT #
Please vote for
Scott Savage on
your mail-in ballot
or at your
voting location
on election day.
Don’t forget to
check the back side
of your ballot!I believe our County Commission is and
should be a non-partisan Board that
focuses on the administration of our
county government. I also believe that
even at the local level, it’s important to
have balanced representation and that is
why I am running for this office. There is a
segment of our population in Barry County
that is under-represented and I wish to be
their voice if the need arises.- Current Hastings Charter Township
**Trustee
- Vice Chair of the Barry County
Dems - Precinct Delegate
- Retired UAW Skilled Tradesman**
Paid for by The Committee to Elect Bradley Savage, 1602 E. State Rd., Hastings, Michigan 49058SHERIFF, continued from page 1 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
T.J. Maxx grand opening slated for Oct. 23
Three years after the closing of Kmart,
Hastings will once again be home to a big-box
clothing store.
T.J. Maxx, one of the nation’s leading off-
price retailers, will open at Hastings Center on
State Street on Oct. 23. The store is located in
a portion of the old Kmart building.
In addition to providing a new shopping option
for residents, the new store plans to add approxi-
mately 60 full and part-time jobs to the area.
A grand opening event for T.J. Maxx will
take place on Oct. 23 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Local shoppers are invited to visit the store.“Our newest store in Hastings will offer an
ever-changing selection of high-quality,
on-trend and brand-name merchandise at the
amazing prices T.J. Maxx is known for,” Tim
Miner, president of T.J. Maxx, said in a state-
ment. “Our buyers create a unique mix that
offers value for styles in every department,
and we’re excited to bring this experience to a
new neighborhood.”
“With a constant flow of new arrivals, we
offer an exciting one-stop-shop that makes it
easy for consumers to stay on-trend with
styles they love and save big every singleday,” he added.
Following the grand opening, T.J. Maxx
will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mon-
days through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sundays.
In celebration of its new Hastings location,
T.J. Maxx will contribute to the local commu-
nity by donating $10,000 to Safe Harbor Chil-
dren’s Advocacy Center. The new store will
also join all other stores nationwide in spon-
soring Save the Children’s U.S. Programs
through T.J. Maxx’s annual in-store fundrais-
ing campaign.HHS crowns
new homecoming
king and queen
Hastings High School
crowned its 2022 home-
coming king and queen
on Friday night during
the varsity football
team’s win against
Parma Western.
Valentina Arias-Fran-
co and Jack Kensington
came away with the
crowns, both members
of Hastings High
School’s senior class.
Arias-Franco is a
multi-sport athlete and
member of student
council, having served
two years on the execu-
tive board of student
council. In addition,
Arias-Franco has been a
member of the band and
drumline for all four
years of high school,
along with being a
member of SONOS and
varsity choirs and a fre-
quent star in Hastings
High School musicals.
Arias-Franco keeps
busy with additional
extracurriculars, includ-
ing the Interact Club, Key Club, fall play, Zero-Hour Choir, National
Honors Society, Youth Advisory Council, ski club, Link Leaders,
SAB, Science Olympiad, club soccer and Y-Mentors.
Kensington, a senior at Hastings High School, has played football
for four years, along with four years of varsity swim and varsity golf.
He is an active Link Leader and member of Science Olympiad and the
Robotics Club.Delton Kellogg
crowns its 2022
homecoming royalty
Felix Houssemaine and Abby Fichtner are crowned the 2022
Delton Kellogg High School homecoming king and queen
during a ceremony at halftime of the Panther varsty football
team’s 35-20 loss to visiting Decatur in Delton Friday night.
(Photo by Perry Hardin)Seniors Jack Kensington and
Valentina Arias-Franco are crowned the
2022 Hastings High School homecom-
ing king and queen during halftime of
the Hastings varsity football team’s 48-
win over visiting Parma Western Friday
night inside Baum Stadium at Johnson
Field. (Photo by Jason Slaughter)