Page 4 — Thursday, April 8, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Have you met?
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Editorial page 1
Elks officers
Banner April 3, 1978
Officers of the Hastings Elks Lodge
were installed Saturday evening, April 1,
at a dinner held at the lodge on North
Church Street. Officers installed were
(from left) Bill Romick, leading knight;
Smith Sherman, tiler; LeRoy “Butch”
Waldron, esquire; Ron Bodenmuller,
exalted ruler; Russell Nash, secretary;
Darold Crandall, chaplain; and Jim
Courtney, inner guard. William Eastman,
trustee, was not present for the photo.At 66 or 67 (age is only a number) Eric
Longman is finding that retirement seems to
only shift “assignments” from a boss to his
wife and family. Currently in the process of
converting a 110-year-old summer cottage
with no heat into a year-round home, con-
struction work fills his hours.
The cottage, on the north end of Gull
Lake, has been in his family since 1910.
Winterizing is a major goal, but keeping the
original character of the cottage also is
important to his family members.
The son of the late Ernest and Marion
Longman, he graduated from Parkside High
School in Jackson and went on to earn a
bachelor of science degree from Michigan
State University and a master’s in public
administration from Grand Valley State
University.
Longman and his wife of 39 years, the
former Charlene Dennis, are the parents of
four grown children – Benjamin and James,
adopted from Korea, and Lucia and Maria,
adopted from Costa Rica – and have a
3-year-old granddaughter.
Retirement from Hastings Mutual
Insurance, where he worked with various
business accounts as a loss-control consul-
tant, still results in a few nights where
Longman’s sleep is interrupted by dreams
about late deadlines or missed appointments,
but these have lessened over time.
Now besides the work on the cottage, he is
actively involved in the Chief Noonday
Chapter of the North Country Trail and with
the Friends of the Delton District Library. A
major role in both groups involves writing a
quarterly newsletter intended to be both
informative and entertaining.
Writing articles that would be of interest to
both memberships gives him plenty of oppor-
tunity to learn and expand his knowledge at
the same time, he said. One recent example
concerned the fact of opossums eating up to
5,000 ticks a year, leading to several ques-
tions: Is it opossum or possum, and why?
Along with, why are they out hunting ticks?
(The answer: Ticks find the warm-blooded
opossum, and while grooming, opossums eat
the ticks.)
Longman is quick to admit he’s far from
the most organized person in the world. He
hopes his spontaneous and creative nature
make up for the many piles stacked around
his workspace. A couple of examples of his
creativity are “Road Bowling” and the “Hike
the County” Challenge this year in the three
counties for which the Chief Noonday
Chapter is responsible (Barry, Calhoun and
Kalamazoo).
Road bowling, a combination of golf andbowling, was part of the Delton Founder’s
Festival for four years, with teams throwing
bowling balls down streets and counting
strokes taken to reach the “hole.”
The hiking challenge has more than 200
people and families working to hike the NCT
miles in the three separate counties.
Longman’s idea in creating this challenge
was to get folks outdoors and enjoying
nature. The response has been gratifying, he
said, and more people are accepting the chal-
lenge as the weather warms up. More infor-
mation can be obtained by sending an email
to [email protected].
For his contributions to his community
and local organizations, Eric Longman is this
week’s Banner Bright Light.
If I were president: I would press to shut
down all TV, social media, radio, etc., one
evening a week, say Wednesday. It could
become a time for family or socializing with
neighbors.
Favorite historic period: This may sur-
prise people, but I’d say right now. America
is so fortunate with all that we have. Without
modern medicine, one can only imagine how
tragic the past year would have been, and I
believe we are coming out of the darkness
that COVID has brought upon us. While
there are poor, struggling people, even these
folks are far better off than much of the
world where famine, unsafe drinking water
and war threaten their very lives.
Thoughts on Barry County: Our popula-
tion is made up of caring and intelligent
people. The support the schools and the
libraries receive is proof of this fact.
How I spent my childhood summers: OnGull Lake. As soon as school was done, we
packed up and didn’t return until Labor Day.
My dad, an electrical engineer, took Fridays
as vacation and was able to have three-day
weekends through the summer.
Earliest construction experience: I don’t
have a single memory of the Longmans hir-
ing a contractor for anything. At a very early
age, I was re-shingling, helping with plumb-
ing and wiring. Many hours were spent in
crawl spaces “assisting” my father. Generally,
that involved crawling back to get a forgot-
ten tool or switching breakers on or off.
Recent realization: Many jobs get done
more quickly and with better quality if I hire
someone else. But I also like the challenge of
figuring the best (perhaps not the best, but a
workable) way to complete a project. Most
come complete with a “learning lesson.”
Quotes that have impacted my life:
Henry Ford was known for saying, “If you
think you can, or you think you can’t –
you’re probably right.” Mark Twain had
many quotes, but one I most appreciate is,
“The secret to getting ahead is getting start-
ed.” When I’m faced with a challenge, I
often remember these quotes. They have
served me well.
Favorite books: Two books I read a long
time ago and was sorry when they ended
were “Lonesome Dove” and “Far Pavilions.”
Recently, I think my favorite and most mean-
ingful book was “Killers of the Flower
Moon,” a non-fiction account of a series of
murders in the 1920s, largely caused by sud-
den riches that Native Americans obtained
through oil leases in Oklahoma.
What I’d like people to know about the
North Country Trail: Not just about the
NCT, but about every aspect of life: The
more you put into something, the more you
get out of it. I have been a non-participating
NCT member for 20 years. For the first 12
years, I had only occasional involvement. As
I became more active, I met more people and
made friends. If you wait for something or
someone to come to you, you are likely to
have a long wait. But lastly, after this past
year, simply getting outside and active can
be a major cure for just about anything that
ails you.
Each week, the Banner profiles a person
who makes the community shine. Do you
know someone who should be featured
because of volunteer work, fun-loving per-
sonality, for the stories he or she has to tell
or any other reason? Send information to
Newsroom, Hastings Banner, 1351 N. M-
Highway, Hastings, MI 49058; or
email [email protected].Eric LongmanDid you see?
Field maneuvers
Dancing reportedly enhances the
bond between Sandhill crane pairs, like
these two gracefully moving atop a ridge
in field near Hastings last week. But
even when they’re not intentionally
dancing, their movements suggest a
form of choreographed steps. Resident
Sandhill cranes have migrated between
Michigan and Florida for thousands of
years. Some were seen locally in late
February, among the earliest bird
species to return.Code Red in Barry County
How ironically appropriate that our
county commissioners declared a state of
emergency two weeks ago in the wake of
bumbling leadership from state government.
No one saw a funnel cloud or a fire raging
through town or water flooding our
highways, but today we’re living under the
same sort of state of emergency that would
typically be declared after a natural disaster.
But this time, the emergency is the absurd
way government works – a realization many
of us have felt for years.
Barry County commissioners declared a
countywide state of emergency last week in
response to the continuing struggle with the
COVID-19 pandemic and the constrictions
it has caused in how government operates.
Last week’s specific focus was the Open
Meetings Act and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s
executive order that had amended the law
allowing local government boards and
committees to meet virtually via computer
rather than the required in-person meetings.
Because the executive order expires at
the end of this month, many county
governmental bodies that meet in person
will be non-compliant with additional state
executive orders that require social
distancing and maximum meeting attendee
numbers in their small square-footage
facilities. Without the virtual meeting
option, some boards and committees would
be unable to conduct business at all.
Hence, the bold move to declare a state of
emergency by the Barry County Board of
Commissioners.
“This is a technical resolution we would
need to pass in order to allow other local
governments within the county to continue
meeting on Zoom,” said county commission
Chairman Ben Geiger. “The law that allows
local governments to conduct meeting by
Zoom expires at the end of the month so, if
we were not to adopt a resolution today, that
means we could potentially throw some
local governments into a little bit of chaos.”
“A lot of communities have been waiting,
expecting the Legislature to amend the
Open Meetings Act to extend the date from
the end of the month to some date in the
future,” said County Administrator Michael
Brown. “But the Legislature has not done
that, does not appear to be interested in
doing that, so it now becomes up to each
unit of government, or county, if you may,
to do so.”
The county’s state of emergency
resolution allows local bodies to meet
virtually through Dec. 31, ensuring that
local government business can continue
under current social distancing and
maximum meeting number restrictions.
It all seems a bit crazy, but so is the
twisted road that our leaders have rumbled
down to get us here.
When the governor continued to extend
her executive orders regulating business and
citizen behavior during the pandemic
without input from the State Legislature,
legislators felt they had no choice but to file
a lawsuit to reduce her executive order
authority. The issue made its way to the
Michigan Supreme Court which ruled in
favor of the Legislature.
A defiant Whitmer, contending she didn’t
agree with the court’s interpretation of
Michigan’s Constitution, said she would
never stop fighting to keep families safe and
vowed to find “alternative sources of
authority” to control the spread of the virus.
Within days, the state Health Department,
which the governor controls, issued
directives reinforcing Whitmer’s executive
orders.
Apparently, it’s the new way of doing
politics. Now, like the governor, Barry
County commissioners have had to find a
“work-around” to allow local governmental
bodies to continue to use the virtual meeting
option. The situation is a good example of
government dysfunction and its inability –
or unwillingness – to find some common
ground as to what’s best for allowing
governments to meet and be safe while still
allowing taxpayers to participate.
County residents can take some comfort,
I believe, in local officials who are carefully
and responsibly finding ways for local
boards and committees to continue to
operate and still be accountable to the
people they serve.
County commissioners were not
comfortable in taking this state of emergency
action, but they realized it was in the best
interests of local government and taxpayers.
Many of our public servants were burdened
with difficult tasks in the past year, due to
the pandemic. Most of them accepted the
challenge and have done their best to
continue to do the work of the people they
represent.
But it’s also important that citizens pay
attention and are engaged in the process –especially under today’s extenuating
circumstances.
A great example of citizen participation
happened recently in Hope Township where
protesters exercised their rights to protest a
gravel pit permit. Allegan-based excavating
contractor R. Smith and Sons submitted a
request to mine for gravel on 139 acres at
8409 Miller Road, property not zoned for
that use. At a March 18 township planning
commission meeting – held in-person but
with state meeting regulations limiting
attendance – 50 protestors lined the parking
lot with “No Pit” signs to protest the action.
More than two dozen people filed in and
were able to speak in person or remotely via
Zoom during the public comment portion of
the meeting. Meanwhile, citizens gathered
outside and listened intently to the public
comment. After each resident spoke, cheers
erupted from the people outside, the sounds
carrying through the windows of the
township hall.
Due to those voiced public concerns,
township officials decided to table the
action pending several studies over the
impact the mining and activity could have
on the area.
“I look forward to the results of these
studies that will help us make better
decisions,” said Hope Planning Commission
Chairman Bob Norton following the
meeting.
So, for now, there won’t be any mining
on the property until township officials get
enough information to make an educated
call on the request.
Another good example of civic
engagement in the midst of mitigating
meeting factors came at a recent county
board meeting when more than 35 people
filibustered the meeting to voice concerns
via Zoom over the impact that the governor’s
executive orders were having on local
businesses. Speakers referred to the price –
financially, physically and mentally – that is
being paid for the isolation in communities,
beset by anxiety, discouragement and
depression, leading to business closures and
spikes in suicides.
Some county commissioners said they
were overwhelmed by what they heard and
it prompted them to take up the issue at the
next board meeting. They agreed then on a
resolution imploring the governor to hear
the voices of the people who had spoken to
them, to see their tears and begin delivering
a pandemic response that values the lives,
livelihoods and vitality of our communities.
These are good examples of the
importance of taxpayer participation in local
government that wouldn’t have been
possible without the option for meeting
virtually.
“I’m still a little uncertain how it’s all
going to play out,” said Commissioner
Bruce Campbell before casting his vote in
favor of the state of emergency declaration
and the continued virtual meeting option.
“The Legislature has left it up to us, so I’m
voting yes to give the flexibility to operate
as need be – and it’s not because I agree
with everything that goes on in the
governor’s office. But I want our townships
to have the choice to do what they deem
necessary.”
“A number of counties have already
made this declaration for the same reasons,”
said Brown, the county administrator. Its
scope is narrow, he noted, because if the
current executive order was to expire on
April 30, the county would have “closed the
door” on virtual meetings if no action was
taken.
Based on what’s happening, maybe it’s
time we demand a real state of emergency
applying to all government bodies until they
find some common ground on so many
issues facing our state and nation.
“A government big enough to give you
everything you want is a government big
enough to take from you everything you
have,” warned former President Gerald R.
Ford.
Let’s not allow contentious politicians to
take away our rights as citizens to be
involved. We’re in a state of emergency, all
right – we just haven’t declared it yet.Fred Jacobs, CEO,
J-Ad Graphics Inc.Call 269-945-9554 any time for
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