The Hastings Banner — Thursday, April 1, 2021 — Page 3Middleville begins village, DDA branding effort
Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Community and business leaders inMiddleville have been meeting this week with
a planning consultant to work on rebranding
the village and its downtown area.Ben Muldrow of the South Carolina-based
urban planning firm Arnett Muldrow held a
virtual design workshop Tuesday night and
met virtually with local business owners
Wednesday morning to work on crafting the
new brand for the village and downtown
development authority.
“The final designs will serve as the face of
our community and shape how we market our
festivals, downtown businesses, and much
more in the years to come,” DDA Director
Katherine Schmidt said.
During Tuesday’s design workshop,
Muldrow fielded thoughts from local residents
and leaders on themes they’d like to see in the
rebranding. A common theme was celebrating
Middleville’s small-town feel.
“When you think about community and
you think about family and you take a look at
why people are moving here, it ceases to
become the middle of nowhere and it becomes
the middle of everything,” village council
Trustee Kevin Smith said. “It’s family,
community, great schools, quaint businesses.”
Smith spoke of the many family-oriented
activities that go on in the village during the
summer.
Rhonda Van Polen, who was hired as
deputy clerk by the village last year, spoke
about the activity in the downtown area.
“I can look outside from where I sit at my
desk, and there is always something
happening, whether it’s little kids that are
skateboarding and they shouldn’t be, or
somebody shoveling the walk across the
street,” Van Polen said. “I’m so excited to see
a store going in across the street [in the Lofts
of Middleville building]. If I walk across the
street to get lunch, I meet somebody on the
road. There is always something happening.”
The village hired Arnett Muldrow in early
February to develop the village/DDA
co-branding campaign at a cost of no more
than $15,500. Arnett Muldrow has worked on
past branding initiatives in the City of
Wayland and with the Kalamazoo Downtown
Partnership.
“There is some beauty behind being
small,” Muldrow said. “It doesn’t mean
you’re against new things, it doesn’t mean
you’re against new residents. It just means
we’re not trying to grow at all costs and we’re
not trying to see how many people we can fit
into Middleville.”
At 4 p.m. today, the new design for the
village and DDA will be revealed. The event
will be hybrid, where people can attend either
in-person or online. The in-person portion of
the event will be at the Thornapple Township
Emergency Services fire station, 128 High St.
Those wishing to attend in person must email
Village Clerk Glorimar Ayala, ayalag@
villageofmiddleville.org, to reserve a space.
“Space is limited, social distancing will be
in place, and masks must be worn by those
medically able to do so,” Schmidt said.
Those wishing to attend virtually may
click on the Zoom line at https://us02web.
zoom.us/j/86306161102. The meeting ID
number is 863 0616 1102 and the passcode is
966137.Main page 3
90
You are our Hero and we love you!
90 years young and still going strong!Please join us in wishing her the best by sending a
card, note or postcard to:
Catherine / Katy Colvin
236 W. Benson St.
Hastings, MI 49058Happy Birthday, Mom!
(Grandma & Great-Grandma)Kate Colvin
will be celebrating her
90th birthday on
April 9, 2021Young Kindergarten/Kindergarten registration will take place
at the Community Education and Recreation Center,
520 W. South Street, between the hours of 3:00 p.m.
and 7:00 p.m, on Thursday, April 29, 2021.Enrollment forms are now available online at our website -
http://www.hassk12.org, at the administration office or at any elementary
building. Parents will need to bring:- Certified State copy of birth certificate
- Updated immunization records and
- Proof of residency.
Children must be five years old before September 1, 2021. However,
if a child will be five years old before December 1, 2021, he/she can still
attend school with an approved waiver.
BY STATE LAW immunizations and vision and hearing testing must be
complete before school attendance in the fall. At the time of registration,
parents will also be given an appointment for the vision and hearing test.Spectrum Health announces
new visitor restrictions
As a result of significantly increasing num-
bers of patients admitted with COVID-19 and
the increase in community positivity rate,
Spectrum Health has revised its visitor poli-
cies to reduce the number of people in its
hospitals and outpatient care sites.
As of Wednesday, March 31, adult patients
are allowed one adult family member or guest
per patient. This must be the same person for
the patient’s entire hospital stay. Some excep-
tions will apply.
Labor and delivery obstetrics patients are
allowed two adult visitors. These must be the
same two people for the patient’s entire hospi-
tal stay.
Patients with COVID-19 are not allowed
in-person visitors, however the care team will
work with patients and families to coordinate
virtual visits.
Emergency department patients are limited
to one adult guest per patient.
Adult radiology and laboratory patients at
the hospital or outpatient care sites are not
allowed guests, except for those having an
obstetric ultrasound, with cognitive impair-
ments, or who need assistance with activities
of daily living. These individuals will be
allowed one adult guest.
Adult patients at Spectrum Health physi-cian offices and surgery centers are allowed
one adult family member or guest for surgical
sedated procedures, but no visitors unless the
patient needs physical or cognitive support.
Patients may contact office staff for extenuat-
ing circumstances.
Pediatric patients under age 21 are allowed
two adult family members (parent or guardian
or their designee only) per patient stay.
For pediatric outpatient services, physician
offices and surgery, pediatric patients are
allowed one family member or guests per
patient visit.
Pediatric radiology patients are allowed
one adult family member per patient.
Pediatric hematology and oncology clinic
and infusion center patients are allowed one
adult family member per patient.
In addition, in order to prevent the spread
of coronavirus, all visitors will be screened
and are required to wear a mask that covers
the mouth and nose to enter the hospitals and
outpatient facilities. Spectrum Health dining
rooms continue to be closed to visitors.
Hospital food service will be available in the
cafeteria through to-go orders.
More information can be found at spec-
trumhealth.org.911 Dispatch Center expansion underway
Construction is currently underway on an expansion of Barry County Central Dispatch. The work, which began in January and
is expected to be completed in June, will expand the number dispatcher bays from four to six. The $500,000 project will include
the purchase of new furniture, equipment and software, Central Dispatch Director Stephanie Lehman said. The dispatchers are
working out of the emergency operations center in the basement until construction is complete. (Photo provided)Hastings Area Schools goes
remote ahead of spring break
Sophie Bates
Staff Writer
After an increased number of COVID-
cases, the Hastings Area School System
moved to virtual learning for one week start-
ing Monday, March 29.
“We have been closely monitoring the
uptick in our COVID numbers in all build-
ings,” Superintendent Matt Goebel wrote in a
letter to Saxon families last week in announc-
ing the switch to remote learning. “Because of
the increased number of COVID cases dis-
trict-wide, in Barry County, and the close
contracts, we have decided to move to remote
learning for 3.5 days next week. We feel for
the safety of both staff and students, this is the
responsible path to take.”
Spring break for the district begins today,
April 1, with a half-day. Teachers were asked
to send paper copy assignments home with
students last Friday or to provide work for
students via Google Classroom.
Students will return to in-person learning
after spring break Monday, April 12.
Goebel meets with staff from the Barry-
Eaton District Health Department each
Wednesday, so he was aware of the spike in
cases in the area.
“I think Tuesday and Wednesday we had a
couple support staff test positive and then we
had a bus driver test positive,” he said. “And
then, just like anything, it exponentially
increases as far as close contacts.”
No teachers tested positive, he said.
Throughout the past week, Goebel said,
cases quickly began cropping up. It began
with a couple of support staff at the middle
school and Southeastern Elementary testing
positive. Then, staff at Northeastern and Star
Elementary tested positive Thursday, March
25.
“[Friday] I got the call from the high school
to have one more positive case and that was
going to create more close contacts, and then
we were going to have to go virtual at Star
— it was just kind of a breaking point,”
Goebel said. “... just enough kids were either
being held out [of the classroom or were]
close contacts. And then with the health
department data that I was getting, theincreased positivity rate and close contacts, I
just felt it was right, the safe way to do this
right now, especially leading into spring
break.
“It will give us some time to get into all the
buildings and clean them, disinfect, Clorox
360 all the surfaces and everything.”
The number of confirmed positive cases is
reported monthly on the district’s website.
From March 1 to March 29, six confirmed
COVID-19 cases were reported at the high
school, 13 at the middle school, two at Central
Elementary, three each at Star Elementary and
Southeastern Elementary, one at Northeastern
Elementary and zero at the central office.
The number of positive cases has increased
since February when the district report only
six COVID-19 cases — three at the high
school and one each at the middle school, Star
Elementary and Southeastern Elementary.
These figures do not include quarantined
students or staff members, but do include
probable cases in the number of positive cases
reported.
The positive cases and close contacts fluc-
tuate as staff and administration work to com-
plete contact tracing.
“The amount of hours that our administra-
tors are putting into contact tracing, it’s a tre-
mendous load,” Goebel said. “The health
department’s not doing the contact tracing.
They depend on us for contact tracing ...
school is still happening, but all of our admin-
istrators are working constantly on contact
tracing. So the labor of that is pretty tremen-
dous.”
Once students return from spring break,
SAT testing will be held on April 13 and
M-STEP testing over the course of that week.
Goebel encouraged students and families to
continue following U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention guidelines over spring
break, so students can return to in-person
learning without issue.
“I’ve encouraged them to follow CDC
guidelines over spring break, making sure that
they social distance, wash their hands, wear
their masks so that we can all come back after
spring break and are ready to go,” Goebel
said.John C. Haines, age 62 ,of Hastings,
passed away unexpectedly Saturday, March
27, 2021.
The fourth son of Merle and Phyllis
Haines, John grew up in Hastings, graduating
from Hastings High School in 1976. He
went on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree
from Western Michigan University in 1980.
While working at City Food and Beverage
in 1978, John met the girl of his dreams,
Diane (Barlow). One year later he finally
worked up the courage to ask her out, and in
August of 1981, he sealed the deal and
married her.
John had only just begun to enjoy his
retirement after celebrating a more than
35-year career split between time at both the
Battle Creek Federal Center and Flexfab in
Hastings. John spent many weekends over
20 plus assisting his father-in-law Gordon
Barlow with his auction business.
Even before his retirement, John could
frequently be found on the golf course for
“meetings” with his son Brandon and friends
Marty Haywood and Bob Snow. He was a
member at the former Riverbend Golf
Course, as well as The Legacy at Hastings.
John served on the Board of Directors for the
Hastings Bowling Association and was a
member of the Michigan State USBC.
A former member of the Hastings High
School Marching Band John shared his love
of music and the trumpet with his daughter
Michelle. Much to his granddaughter’s
dismay, John and Michelle also shared a love
of “Dad jokes”.
A proud father and grandfather he had
recently started learning German in
anticipation of travel to visit his eldest
daughter Sarah and grandson Sebastian in
Germany.
An avid sports fan, John loved the
Michigan State Spartans; Detroit Tigers,
Redwings, Pistons, and the perennially
disappointing Lions. He enjoyed and
simultaneously dreaded, the Michigan -
Michigan State rivalry he had with his
brother-in-law Tim and co-workers atFlexfab.
John was preceded in death by his father,
Merle Haines; father-in-law, Gordon Barlow;
sister-in-law, Katherine Haines; and mother,
Phyllis Haines.
John is survived by his wife of 39 years,
Diane Haines; children, Sarah (Michael)
Hofmann, Michelle Krebs, Brandon (Kim
Tebo) Haines; grandchildren, Molly Krebs,
and Sebastian Hofmann; brothers, William,
Brad, Mark, and Peter Haines; mother-in-
law, Jane Barlow; five sisters-in-law; two
brothers-in-law and his 15 nieces and
nephews.
The family asks those who knew him to
share a fond memory with them through the
online condolences page at http://www.
girrbachfuneralhome.net.
A visitation for John will be held at
Girrbach Funeral Home on Saturday, April 3,
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., facemasks are
required. A graveside service will follow at
1:30 p.m. at Rutland Township Cemetery on
M-37. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the
graveside service’s open environment may be
a better option for those who wish to say
their goodbyes. Guests attending the
visitation or graveside service are
encouraged to wear their favorite college
team colors... green and white are preferred.
Arrangements by Girrbach Funeral Home.John Charles HainesArea Obituaries
Call 269-945-
for Hastings
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