VOLUME 167, No. 14 Thursday, April 8, 2021 PRICE $1.

1

THE

HASTINGS

Devoted to the Interests of Barry County Since 1856

Development targets rural Irving Township

Rebecca Pierce

Editor

A rezoning request, if approved by Barry

County commissioners, will open the door to

residential development on 35 acres of wood-

ed rural property in the northwestern portion

of the county.

At their first in-person meeting since Nov.

17, commissioners briefly considered a

request to rezone the property in Irving

Township’s Section 30, north of State Road,

as rural residential, instead of its current zon-

ing classification of conservation reserve.

They voted unanimously to recommend the

request for approval at their in-person board

meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Leason Sharpe

Hall in the Barry Community Enrichment

Center.

Planning Commission Director Jim

McManus told commissioners that, when this

particular zoning ordinance was done, they

knew the owners, the Robinson family, wished

to have a portion of their property placed into

a conservation easement with the Southwest

Michigan Land Conservancy.

“So we planned and zoned it all for that

purpose,” he said. “This (particular) acreage

was not included in the conservation ease-

ment. They have since sold it. They went

through the land division process and they

deeded split rights to the purchaser for the

purpose of dividing the property.”

Jon Raymond, of Kay-D Development

LLC in Middleville, made the request, which

went before the county planning commission

during a Zoom session of a March 22 public

hearing.

“There was some public comment; most of

it was against the recommendation,”

McManus told commissioners Tuesday. “But

the Planning Commission voted, 4-3, to rec-

ommend approval to you to rezone it.”

“Our Master Plan is 15 years old,” he

added. “It needs to be updated. We hope to be

able to start that this year. If this were a

3-year-old Master Plan, we might think a little

bit differently. But some of the commitments

out in that area have already been done.

“We’ve already rezoned some property --

kind of against the Master Plan recommenda-

tions -- near this property. So this recommen-

dation, I think, is thought-through.”

Commissioner Vivian Conner serves on the

planning commission board and she voted to

OK the rezoning request.

“This property was not conserved with the

rest of it. They had the development rights,”

she pointed out to commissioners Tuesday. “It

was pretty clear that the trust, the family,

knew that this was going to be developed. It

was pretty clear and, with our need for hous-

ing, I thought it fit, especially where it’s

located.

“I drove out there. There’s lots of nice land

out there. He (Raymond) is going to have

some pretty nice lots. They’re not going to be

small. But it’s going to be, I think, consistent

with some of the other housing in the area.

“As Jim said, our Master Plan is way past

due. (And) the fact that they didn’t conserve

it, I thought it met the requirements for being

rezoned.”

When Conner voted for the request during

the March 22 public hearing, she was joined

by fellow planning commissioners Jack

Nadwornik, Jack Miner and John LaForge.

Voting against the request were planning

commissioners Joyce Snow, Robert

Vanderboegh and Chairman Clyde Morgan.

Vanderboegh, who was having trouble con-

necting to the planning commission meeting

audio, signaled his disfavor with a thumbs-

down to indicate his “no” vote.

Residents who live near the property also

expressed their opposition during the March

22 public hearing.

Wayne Conard said he is in the process of

building a house next to his mother’s resi-

dence. He said he’s worried the development

would have an impact on taxes, wildlife and

stargazing. He asked, if the rezoning were to

be approved, would it have to involve all 35

acres.

Trailblazer for Hastings girls’ athletics

reflects amid NCAA women’s controversy

Sophie Bates

Staff Writer

When Judy Anderson heard about the

differences in the National Collegiate Athletic

Association’s treatment of male and female

athletes last month during the March Madness

Tournament, the situation sounded, well,

familiar.

Men’s teams were provided a large, well-

stocked weight room, while women’s teams

were given a single stack of 12 weights and a

few yoga mats. Along with dining at buffets,

the men also received larger swag bags than

did the women, who ate pre-packaged meals

out of plastic boxes.

The women were even given less reliable

and less expensive COVID-19 tests.

To Anderson, the NCAA tournament

represents another chapter in the long, hard-

fought battle for opportunity, recognition and

equal rights in women’s athletics.

She remembers facing some of the same

challenges herself, in the fall of 1970.

Anderson had recently graduated from

Indiana University and was starting her first

job teaching physical education at Hastings

High School.

One of the first things Anderson noticed

when she arrived was that the school lacked

an interscholastic athletics program for girls.

Instead, cheerleading and a recreational after-

school program were available through the

YMCA.

This, to Anderson, was unacceptable.

Growing up in the small, rural town of

Milroy, Ind., Anderson didn’t have the

opportunity to play sports, although this was

something she desperately wanted to do. Her

school didn’t offer girls’ athletics; and, for a

while, she found fulfillment in playing games

and riding bikes with a group of friends.

But, in high school, Anderson took matters

into her own hands.

She went so far as to organize her own

girls’ softball team. She convinced a teacher

to coach them during games and scheduled

practices and games herself.

In college, she had more opportunity,

playing basketball, softball and volleyball for

three years at Indiana University.

Still, at IU, the women athletes weren’t

eligible for scholarships and didn’t receive

varsity letters or any sort of recognition. They

weren’t provided uniforms, either.

So, when Anderson came to Hastings, she

was determined to give her students the

opportunities her high-school self never had.

Anderson began her crusade at the

principal’s office.

Several days a week — every day if she

could — Anderson walked to the office of

then-Hastings High School Principal Bob

VanderVeen. She tried to convince him to let

her start a girls’ interscholastic athletics

program.

“I came here, and there’s no sports program.

And so I’m kind of poking around and all the

other schools around us had (girls’) sports,”

Anderson recalled. “So, then I started making

appointments with the principal and said,

Code Red in

Barry County

See Editorial on Page 4

Ferris and Brumm reach

championship goals

See Story on Page 14

Courts and Law Building

revamp on a fast track

See Story on Page 2

NEWS

BRIEFS

See REZONING, page 2

See FUNERALS, page 3 See ATHLETICS, page 2

Judy Anderson, Cynthia Robbe, Jim Atkinson and Ken Robbe pose for a picture.

“If you believe in something

and you feel strongly about it,

go for it. ... Don’t let anything

stand in your way.”

Judy Anderson

Hastings library

hosting guest

presenter,

children’s book sale

Hastings Public Library is planning a

children’s picture book sale today, April

8, through Saturday, April 10. The event

is hosted by the Friends of the Library,

which selected gently used picture books

to be included in the sale.

The sale will be in the children’s room.

Hardcover books will cost $1 and

softcover books will be priced at 50

cents.

Also, on the last day of the sale,

customers may fill up a Friends bag with

as many books as possible for $5.

The sale will take place from 10 a.m.

to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow and from

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The library also will host a virtual

presentation by award-winning voice

actor Lauren Ezzo at 7 p.m. Thursday,

April 15.

Ezzo, a Michigan native and Hope

College graduate, will discuss publishing,

recording audiobooks and voice acting.

The presentation will be via Zoom,

and participants must register to receive

a Zoom link through the HPL website

calendar.

City yard waste

pickup begins

Monday

Spring clean-up in the city of Hastings

will begin Monday, April 12, weather

permitting.

Residents may put yard waste out at

the curb (not in the street) for pickup by

city crews. Residents should make piles

for twigs and branches, separate from

piles of leaves and grass clippings.

Also, beginning Monday, the city

compost site will be open Mondays from

3 to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A Department of Public Services staff

member will be at the compost site to

sign in residents and check their loads.

Questions regarding either the com-

post site or spring cleanup may be direct-

ed to the city Department of Public

Services at (269) 945-2468.

St. Rose hosting

St. Paddy’s Run

April 17

St. Rose School in Hastings has

bypassed a couple of holidays to host its

St. Paddy’s Day 5K/1-Mile Fun Run

Saturday, April 17.

The 5K will begin and end at

Thornapple Plaza in Hastings, following

the trail of the Hastings Riverwalk. Both

younger and older people may join in the

1-mile fun run.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. and is

limited to the first 100 registrants.

Participants likely will step off every 15

seconds, (or however the race committee

determines, based on city and state

guidelines).

The finish line will be marked, but this

will not be a timed race. It’s intended to

celebrate spring in a fun, socially distant

way, and support the school at the same

time.

The 5K entrance fee is $30, and the

fun run fee is $10. Packets will be

available for pickup beginning 9 a.m.

April 17. Participants may register online

at stroseschoolhastings.com or

itsyourrace.com.

FEMA will

pay families

for COVID

funerals

Taylor Owens

Staff Writer

Families who have lost loved ones to

COVID-19 could have up to $9,000 of their

funeral expenses covered by the federal gov-

ernment.

On March 24, the Federal Emergency

Management Agency announced a policy that

will pay for COVID-19 funerals not covered

by insurance or other, outside sources.

Individuals can be reimbursed for funerals

dating back to Jan. 20, 2020.

“This is going to be so incredibly valuable

for our families,” Daniels Funeral Home

Director Scott Daniels said.

Daniels said he has seen families use

crowdfunding websites or liquidate their sav-

ings accounts to pay for funerals, and has had

some families postpone their funerals because

of financial stress.

“This really, for our families, is a godsend,”

Daniels said.

FEMA will start accepting applications on

Monday.

Funding for the program comes from the

Coronavirus Response and Relief

Supplemental Appropriations Act and the

American Rescue Plan Act, which were

approved earlier this year.

“At FEMA, our mission is to help people

before, during and after disasters,” Acting

FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton said. “The

COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense

grief for so many people. Although we cannot

change what has happened, we affirm our

This Irving Township property in Section 30, along the north side of N. State Road, is being proposed for rezoning to allow for

rural residential development.