VOLUME 167, No. 24 Thursday, June 17, 2021 PRICE $1.

1

THE

HASTINGS

Devoted to the Interests of Barry County Since 1856

Council narrows list of

city manager candidates

Benjamin Simon

Staff Writer

Hastings City Council cut its list of

candidates for city manager from 10 to five

during a closed session Monday.

Names of the applicants have not been

released since they have all requested

confidentiality, said Kathie Grinzinger, lead

executive recruiter from the Michigan

Municipal League.

Once they accept an interview, however,

they can no longer maintain their anonymity,

she said.

Names, cover letters and resumes for the

candidates selected for interviews should be

released to the public by the end of this week,

Grinzinger said.

Interviews will take place Thursday, July

8, with about 1 ½ hours allowed for each

applicant. The council’s intention is to select

a city manager that day.

Although they have a schedule in place,

Interim City Manager Gregg Guetschow said

people should expect adjustments in the

process.

“We don’t know for sure how long it’s

going to take,” he said. “We don’t know for

sure that the candidates the counselors

identified are still available and still willing to

be interviewed for the position.

“We think so, but, you know, things can

change and minds can change.”

The city started recruiting potential

applicants after former City Manager Jerry

Czarnecki submitted his resignation in the

winter and stepped down in early May.

Czarnecki took over the role after Jeff

Mansfield retired in 2019.

While Czarnecki came from in-house – he

was the deputy city manager/zoning

administrator – the council searched nationally

this time. Candidates from as far away as

California applied for the position.

The recruitment process began by mapping

out the ideal candidate. The city is seeking

someone with a degree, experience in

municipal government, comfort with planning

and zoning, strong communication skills and

Yesterday’s dreams

become today’s reality

See Editorial on Page 4

Divers earning spots in

national competitions

See Story on Page 11

Barry County Jail

is COVID-free

See Story on Page 3

NEWS

BRIEFS

See NEWS BRIEFS, page 2

See CITY MANAGER, page 2

“I encourage as many people from

the community that can, if they

have time, to go to the interviews

and learn about the applicants and

use public comment time to make

sure their opinions are out there.”

Kathie Grinzinger,

Michigan Municipal League

lead executive recruiter

Marking a major milestone

Adult Drug Court honors

recent graduates

Benjamin Simon

Staff Writer

Chad Cullers watched his graduation from

a seat in the jury box.

One by one, team members stood up and

shared memories of Cullers’ time in Barry

County Adult Drug Court, a program that

helps people recover from substance addiction.

They talked about his motivation –– how

he walked into their offices, said he wanted to

get sober and then never wavered. They

talked about his work ethic – how he managed

to graduate from the program while

maintaining a full-time job at Hastings

Manufacturing Company and raising his

7-year-old daughter as a single parent. They

talked about how he achieved two years of

sobriety.

Thursday, June 10, Cullers and Ashley

McCarty represented the two most recent

graduates from the Adult Drug Court. There

were no streamers or caps and gowns at this

graduation –– only the bare plaster walls of a

district courtroom and sweets for the

graduates.

But this graduation didn’t need any

pageantry to showcase its importance.

“When you take someone like the two

graduates [Thursday], who have been using

since they were teens – many times a multitude

of drugs – for them to stop, something like

that is really amazing,” Schipper said. “It’s a

much more significant accomplishment to me

than graduating high school.”

To graduate from Adult Drug Court, one

must pass through four phases. The first phase

is intense, Cullers said, with 15 different

requirements. That includes meeting with a

case manager four times a month, finding a

job, attending three self-help groups a week

and maintaining a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Although the requirements ease up as these

phases progress, the program is intentionally

strict.

“We’re holding them accountable, and

trying to reach them before they get too far

down the wrong path,” specialty courts

Manager Tammi Price said. “But also, we

really try to wrap them in services and a

caring, compassionate team that has their best

interests in mind.”

Adult Drug Court is part of a number of

specialty court programs that Barry County

provides, including Sobriety Court, for people

with a drunken or drugged driving offense,

and the Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation

Program, for people with a felony offense.

Adult Drug Court began in Barry County in

2000 and, since then, has graduated 387

participants –– about 66 percent of the people

who started –– with 23 participants currently

enrolled. There is no set timeline for the

program, and everyone moves at his or her

own pace.

The intent, said Price, is to provide support

for people struggling with addiction, rather

than punish them.

“For the short term, placing them in jail

may help,” Price said. “But you can only keep

See GRADUATES, page 2

Hastings Live

expands this week

Hastings Live will increase its free

concert lineup this week with local and

regional musical entertainment in down-

town Hastings.

Playing at the Plaza will open at 11

a.m. Thursday, June 17, with Brenna

Harm, who will share tricks and tips

using a hula hoop. This event will be at

Thornapple Plaza, near the intersection

of Apple/Boltwood and West State

streets, a different location than in the

past.

Singer/songwriter Gary Niemenski

will kick off Fridays at the Fountain con-

certs at noon June 18 on the Barry

County Courthouse lawn, playing melo-

dies from the 1960s to 1990s.

Friday Night Features will return to

Thornapple Plaza at 7:30 p.m. June 18

with FlyLiteGemini, which draws inspi-

ration from some of the world’s greatest

rock’n’roll bands.

Hastings City Band will present “An

Evening with John Williams,” beginning

at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 23.

Concert-goers are encouraged to bring

their own chairs or blankets – and visit

local shops or restaurants before or after

concerts.

More information can be found at

facebook.com/mihastingslive.

Hours extended at

Hastings library

Hastings Public Library staff has

announced that, as of June 14, hours

have been extended Monday through

Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday,

9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 9 a.m. to

3 p.m.

The Summer Reading program, “Tails

and Tales” for preschoolers to teens, is

underway. Other programs include the

Walking Book Chat and numerous spe-

cial interest clubs and activities. The

Library of Things also includes non-tra-

ditional lending items, such as yard

games and metal detectors.

The website hastingspubliclibrary.org

has additional information.

No Family Left

Indoors exploring

pond life

No Family Left Indoors encourages

families and individuals to get outside,

learn more about Barry County and have

fun.

The next event will be virtual pond

exploration Tuesday, June 22, hosted by

the Battle Creek Outdoor Education

Center in Dowling. Participants can get a

peek at what lies beneath the surface of

the water and learn about the world of

macroinvertebrates. Advance registra-

tion is requested and may be completed

at http://bit.ly/NFLIponds

Digital or paper passports are avail-

able this summer. Those who complete at

least six activities will be eligible for a

prize. Paper passports and small prizes

for passport completion may be picked

up at Hastings Public Library or Pierce

Cedar Creek Institute.

More information can be found at

cedarcreekinstitute.org.

Dads admitted free

at bird sanctuary

The W.K. Kellogg Bird Sanctuary,

south of Hickory Corners, will give dads

free admission from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday in honor of Father’s Day.

Visitors can walk the sanctuary’s trails

and see birds of prey, waterfowl, game-

Chad Cullers sees the view from Judge Michael Schipper’s chair. (Photo by Scott

Harmsen)

Broadband expansion committee moves to new phase

Taylor Owens

Staff Writer

High-speed internet has remained an elu-

sive goal for many Barry County households,

but a large committee of local leaders hopes to

change that soon.

Last year, the Barry County Broadband

Expansion Committee combined with several

existing groups, and is now comprised of 16

elected officials, community leaders and busi-

ness representatives who are researching the

county’s broadband needs.

Members of the committee say they’ve

known about the need for better internet for a

long time.

“We have been talking about broadband for

over 10 years,” Committee member and Barry

County Commissioner and committee mem-

ber Catherine Getty said.

Barry County Chamber of Commerce and

Economic Development Alliance President

and committee member Jennifer Heinzman

said she sent out her first email on broadband

two days after she started in the role in

February 2020.

“We already knew it was a huge issue, and

we heard from people all the time saying,

‘Can you help us?’ ” Heinzman said. “Over

and over, it’s been brought to our attention.”

“It’s a continual topic of discussion for the

area,” Barry County Administrator Michael

Brown said. “Certainly there are areas that are

not served, areas that are underserved, and the

technology is ever-changing.

“The need for bandwidth will only increase

as time goes on.”

But the pandemic gave the issue new

importance, as thousands of people across the

county suddenly needed to learn and work

from home.

“It was a huge issue because so many peo-

ple who were forced to work from home

weren’t able to,” Heinzman said.

“I think we have all agreed that broadband

is 100 percent an essential service for all of

our residents,” Barry Community Foundation

CEO and committee member Bonnie Gettys

said.

“Fast, reliable broadband is not a luxury –

it’s a necessity,” Barry County Board of

Commissioners Chair Ben Geiger said. “It

opens the world for young minds, binds our

economy together and connects us with each

other.”

Heinzman said the initiative really took off

last October, when the committee started

mapping out areas of the county that are the

See BROADBAND, page 2

Orphan dam dilemma

Barr y County commissioners learn about problem

for property owners on Canterbur y Lake

Rebecca Pierce

Editor

They call them orphan dams.

Few people, if any, know who built these

dams or why, but there are orphan dams in

Barry County and the state wants someone

to take responsibility for them, Drain

Commissioner Jim Dull said.

During the county commissioners’

Committee of the Whole meeting, Dull and

Attorney Doug Kelly briefed the board on

the recent failure of an orphan dam in

Orangeville Township.

“About a month ago, we were called out

to Canterbury Lake,” Dull said. “911 got

some calls; DNR got calls. We got calls that

lake was dropping. The dam was failing. An

18-inch culvert dropped down.”

The last inspection of that dam was in

2005, he noted.

“Somehow, the (state) Department of

Environmental Quality (DEQ) didn’t catch

it for 15, 17 years,” Dull said. “It should

have been inspected every three years.”

It’s a dam that nobody owns, he con-

firmed, but nine property owners abut the

lake, so these lake dwellers have a couple of

choices: Pay for the repairs to the dam or to

go through the court and establish a special

assessment district that would require every-

one who benefits from the dam to contribute

to the cost of its repair and maintenance.

“It’s a really bad deal for these people,”

Dull told the commissioners.

But the dam is leaking and people don’t

want to lose their lake. “They don’t want an

onion field when they’re done. DEQ has

been very forward-thinking in explaining to

them, if you let this water leave, then you’re

going to be accountable for all wetlands

impacts that are created.”

“If I lived on it, I’d rather pay $1,000 or

$1,500 to keep my lake,” Dull added.

But that amount is, at best, a guess.

The exact cost of dam repair and mainte-

nance is not known.

Some Canterbury Lake property owners

didn’t sign the petition to initiate action to

determine the normal level of the lake

because they say somebody else should pay

for it.

During the meeting, some concern was

expressed about the cost.

Commissioner Jon Smelker asked, “Do

you have any idea what this might cost?”

Dull replied: “Somewhere between zero

and $330,000.”

Kelly said, “The quick math is if this

costs $200,000, we can defray it through

special assessments over 20 years that would

See DILEMMA, page 3