VOLUME 169, No. 30 Thursday, July 27, 2023 PRICE $1.
T HE
H AS T INGS
Devoted to the Interests of Barry County Since 1856
Royal Coach housing
development gets final
green light
See story on page 3
Hastings grapplers close camp
with outdoor dual
See story on page 9
Bids approved for city’s $3.
million streetscape project
See story on page 3
City appoints Mark Jordan as new fire chief;
Others make case to promote interim chief
Hunter McLaren
Staff Writer
Hastings City Council members voted to
appoint Mark Jordan as the city’s new fire
chief in a decision that split the council.
Council members Don Bowers, Al Jarvis,
John Resseguie, Bill Nesbitt and Mayor
Dave Tossava voted to confirm City Manag-
er Sarah Moyer-Cale’s appointment of Jor-
dan as the city’s new fire chief. Council
members Jim Cary, Mandy Furrow and Norm
Barlow voted no. Jacquie McLean was
absent from the meeting following a loss in
her family, Tossava said.
Moyer-Cale selected Jordan following the
conclusion of a months-long interview pro-
cess. The city received 15 applications for the
position, which it narrowed down to six, who
were reviewed by a panel consisting of Moy-
er-Cale, Fire Chief Kerry Minshall from
Mason and Fire Chief Mike Burke from Elba
Township. The top three candidates, Mark
Jordan, Rick Krouse and Jared Willman, were
publicly interviewed on July 12.
Krouse has been serving as the interim
chief since the death of former chief Roger
Caris in April. Krouse worked alongside
Caris for many years, with 28 of his 39 total
years of tenure at the Hastings Fire Depart-ment being served as assistant fire chief.
Jordan has worked in fire services for 30
years, including five years as Bellevue’s fire
chief. A memo to council members from
Moyer-Cale noted Jordan also has an Associ-
ate of Science Degree, various certifications
and experience as a business owner and a
communications engineer.
The agenda item was the topic of much
discussion at Monday’s council meeting, with
firefighters and members of the public urging
the council to deny Jordan’s appointment in
favor of Rick Krouse, currently serving as
interim fire chief.
Jim Brown, chairman of the BIRCH Fire
Association and Hastings Charter Township
supervisor, was the first to address the coun-
cil Monday and said Krouse’s experience and
knowledge of the community would make
him the best pick for the role.
“In talking to our BIRCH members, Rick
Krouse would be the best choice,” Brown
said. “We realize this is the city’s decision,
but we all have a price to pay for the changes
coming and we need Rick Krouse to be a part
of those changes and our future.”
Resident and former city council member
Therese Maupin-Moore supported Krouse
and said his proximity and familiarity withthe city and department made him the best
choice.
“I think it speaks to Rick’s leadership when
you can see that half of his personal family
and half of his fire services family are here to
support him,” she said. “I think they would
probably all agree it would be nice if you
guys would turn down the recommendation
(to hire Jordan) and would make the recom-
mendation to hire Rick Krouse.”
Bryon Lehman, Woodland Township fire
chief, said he was trained by Krouse 20
years ago. He said Krouse has been very
involved in running the department before
and after his appointment as interim fire
chief, and he thought the department stood
to lose a lot without Krouse’s training and
teaching abilities.
“I fear if we lose Rick, we might lose
something else,” Lehman said.
Retired Hastings Fire Department member
Bruce Conan spoke in favor of picking Krouse
for the chief position. Conan, who retired in
2019 after 42 years of service with the depart-
ment, said Krouse worked closely to train and
run the department even when Caris was chief.Livestock sale at Barry
County Fair generates $1.
million for local 4-H students
Jayson Bussa
Editor
EDITOR’S NOTE: Pick up next week’s
issue of the Hastings Banner for our 2023
Barry County Fair wrap-up section. In it,
we will honor the accomplishments of a
long list of 4-H participants and get reac-
tions from organizers on what made this
year’s fair special.
As organizers expected, the 2023 live-
stock sale at the Barry County Fair set yet
another new record by raking in a grand
total of $1.17 million for 4-H students
around the county and beyond.
The livestock sale is one of the marquee
events to help close out the fair. This year’s
sale played out on Friday as community
members packed into the show arena to bid
on beef, swine and lambs.
Last year’s sale was notable because it
was the first time the livestock sale broke
the $1 million barrier, bringing in a grand
total of $1.09 million.
With just five animals more up for bid
compared to last year, the sale generated
just south of $100,000 more than last year.
This is exactly what livestock auction
superintendent Chris Morgan had forecast
before the sale.
“We’ve had years where we had toomany animals and the dollars per pound
dropped but the total dollars spent doesn’t
drop,” Morgan said.
“Prices don’t drop on commodities like
that. They’re buying a commodity. They’re
paying premium for it to help the kids out
but all in all they’re buying a commodity,”
he added.
This year’s total, by the numbers, is as
follows:- Beef: 112 beef steers, combining for
141,817 total pounds of meat, generated
$585,499, or a $4.12 per pound average. - Swine: 437 hogs, combining for
214,734 total pounds of meat, generated
$499,841.50, or a $7.93 per pound average. - Lamb: 80 sheep, combining for 9,
total pounds of meat, generated $87,660.50,
or a $8.84 per pound average.
The success of the livestock auction
hinges on the generosity of the local com-
munity – both private residents and local
businesses that choose to purchase an ani-
mal.
When a buyer purchases an animal, they
are presented with three options: Have the
animal processed at one of the select local
processors, donate the animal to a local
food bank or resell the animal to a pool of
resale buyers.
County Republicans forge ahead as State
GOP grapples with disunity within party
Jayson Bussa
Editor
As headlines paint the Michigan Republi-
can Party as one entrenched in general strife
and conflict, leaders of the Barry County
GOP say they’re experiencing quite the oppo-
site here at a local level.
“At the county level, we’re very solid,”
said Phillip Joseph, who serves as the chair-
man for the Barry County GOP. “When we
vote as a board – when we all come togeth-
er – we do so almost unanimously. I would
say we’re extremely solid right now. We
haven’t had any major strife or any major
fall-offs.”
While Joseph and his party have found
common ground, the same cannot be said for
the party at a state level.
Earlier this month, reports from a Michi-
gan GOP state committee meeting held in
Clare stated that the party had around $93,
in its bank accounts, putting it in peril of
financial insolvency.
Also, at a closed-door committee meeting,
a physical altercation broke out between
Mark DeYoung, chairman of the ClareCounty Republican Party and James Chap-
man, a Republican from Wayne County.
This is all happening under the watch of
newly elected chairperson Kristina Karamo,
who has also butted heads with fellow mem-
bers of the party.
Jon Rocha, a Hastings resident and mem-
ber of the Barry County GOP who serves as
a state committee member, was at the meet-
ing and said that the physical altercation‘Barbenheimer’ brings droves
of locals back to the movies
Molly Macleod
Copy Editor
On paper, there really aren’t two movies
that are more different than “Barbie” and
“Oppenheimer” gracing theaters right now.
Despite this, movie-goers across the coun-
try, and right here in Hastings, are coming out
in droves to see the two films – a double-fea-
ture that has been dubbed “Barbenheimer” in
circles online.
The unlikely double-feature featuring a
beloved doll and the inventor of the atomic
bomb comes off of months of online chatter
preceding the two films, which both released
on Friday, July 21.
“Barbenheimer” was by all metrics a
resounding success, with “Barbie” bringing
in $337 million worldwide and “Oppen-
heimer” netting $174.2 million across the
globe in the opening weekend.
Hastings was no stranger to the “Barben-
heimer” mania, with local theater-goers
flocking to the GQT Hastings 4 for their night
at the movies.
Steve Miller, manager of the Hastings 4,
said the box office hits brought in hundreds
of people to the theater over the weekend,
more than the theater has seen in ages.
“For us, Friday and Saturday were real
busy, we had more than 400 people come in
each day for the theater, which is quite a bit
for us on a weekend,” said Miller. “(On Sun-
day,) we had just over 500 (people) and most
of those were for ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppen-
heimer.’”
See REPUBLICANS, page 3
See MARK JORDAN, page 2
Jim Brown, BIRCH Fire Association
chairman, urged city council members to
appoint Rick Krouse as chief of the
Hastings Fire Department. (Photos by
Hunter McLaren)
Therese Maupin-Moore, former city
council member, said she was disappoint-
ed in the city council members who sup-
ported the appointment of Mark Jordan as
Hastings fire chief over Rick Krouse.Potential buyers pack into the show arena for the 2023 livestock auction at the
Barry County Fair on Friday morning. The sale brought in $1.17 million. (Photo
provided)“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were released last weekend, smashing box office
records and bringing people back to the movies in droves to see the two critically-ac-
claimed films. In Hastings, at the GQT Hastings 4, several locals participated in a
double feature of the two films, dubbed “Barbenheimer.” (Photo by Jayson Bussa)See BARBENHEIMER, page 3