Page 10 — Thursday, August 12, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Watson Drain project estimated at $5.5 million
Rebecca Pierce
Editor
The Watson Drain project – at a cost of an
estimated $5.5 million – will be one of the
most expensive projects undertaken by the
Barry County Drain Commissioner’s office.
That project, which will get underway after
Oct. 15, will be up and functional by April 1,
2022, Barry County Drain Commissioner Jim
Dull told the county board Tuesday.
Bids on the Watson Drain project came in
last week, and assessment rolls were reviewed
Monday.
“It’s a really expensive project,” Dull said,
noting that $5.5 million is what they came up
with in their computation of costs. “We will
come to the county and ask for full faith and
credit because it will save people interest
rates.”
A “phenomenal” interest rate of 1.8 percent
for 20 years looks likely, he said.
The district involves 1,082 parcels, proper-
ty owners and municipalities. The cost will be
spread over 20 years.
The project will involve the installation of
684 linear feet of 12-inch storm water force
main at an average depth of 5 feet; 4,006 lin-
ear feet of 18-inch storm water force main at
an average depth of 5 feet; grading, excava-
tion and construction of two pump station buildings, including intake and distribution
lines; and the installation of pumps and pump
filters in the pump station buildings; along
with bringing the system online for initial
operation.
Dull said 117 contractors were invited to
bid on the project.
“We had 15 showed up for pre-bid with six
actually submitting bids on the work,” he
said.
One of the pump houses will have four
pumps while the other will have one pump,
Dull described, noting that the timing of the
work is being dictated by the Michigan
Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR asked them not to draw down
Crooked Lake until after Oct. 15. And the
work must conclude by April 1, he said.
Dull also is specifying building materials
made to last: “I don’t want any maintenance
being done on this for the next 50 years,” he
said. “I want cement block buildings and steel
roofs. They last forever.”
During the public comment portion of the
meeting, commissioners also heard from sev-
eral citizens who expressed concern about the
potential for mask-wearing to be mandated in
the county.
Kaylin Rhoades of Dowling said, “I’m just
very fearful that these kids are going to have
to be in masks.”
“I know you guys have a hand with the
health department somehow,” she told com-
missioners. “Please stand up for the children.
...Help us with that.”
Faith Byykkonen, also from Dowling, said
that masks are not healthy.
“I despise them,” she said. “We’re all
Americans here; we have a right to choose.”
She urged commissioners to encourage the
health department to let mask-wearing be a
choice, not a mandate.
Denise Baughman of Middleville got up
and proceeded to reach a series of numbers.
“Those are my blood pressure readings when
I was forced to wear a mask,” she told com-
missioners. “Masks are not for everyone. ... I
just implore you to use whatever you have in
your heart, in your mind, in your power to
keep our choice our choice, to take care of ourhealth the way we see fit.”
Rick Moore, from Barry County Parks and
Recreation Commission, offered the follow-
ing response:
“I would prefer to err on the side of safety
rather than opinions from the internet,” Moore
said. “And children, if they saw their parents
wearing masks, they would be more likely to
wear them. ...You notice in oriental countries
where they’ve been worried about epidemics
for years, they wear masks all the time. And
you can breathe while wearing a mask. I wore
a mask for a long time and had to get rid of
the habit of breathing through my mouth
because of the mask. But, then again, I might
not have gotten COVID because of wearing
that mask. So it is a good idea to do that.
“Where I consider myself a Libertarian in
some ways, and always erring on the side of
liberty; at the same time, I wish to take care of
friends and families -- and if something as
simple as wearing a mask can do that, then
that’s great.”
Then Moore thanked two men in the audi-
ence who were masked.
“The children are so important and their
lungs are so delicate, they need to be taken
care of to the utmost degree.”
In other business, the commissioners:- Approved pre-paid invoices of $3,419,146,
claims of $54,101 and commissioner reim-
bursements for mileage amounting to $184. - Approved, in accordance with the Airport
Commission Joint Operating Agreement, the
expenditure of $19,685.60 to close and cap
underground storage tanks at the Hastings
City/Barry County Airport - Approved a tentative successor collective
bargaining agreement with the Command
Officers Association of Michigan, Barry
County Command Division, for Jan. 1, 2021
through Dec. 31, 2025. - Approved the Municipal Employees
Retirement System (MERS) Health Care
Savings Program Participation Agreement for
the Barry County Sheriff Deputies Unit and
Command Officers Unit employees and
MERS Health Care Savings Program
Participation Agreement for the Barry County
Transit employees effective July 1, 2021. - Authorized the chairman of the county
board to approve the 2021-2022 Child Care
Fund Plan and budget. - Approved the Title IV-D Cooperative
Reimbursement Program contract Amendment
Number 2, which covers Fiscal Year 2022 and
- Appointed Commissioner Bruce Campbell
as officer delegate and Central Dispatch
Director Stephanie Lehman as officer alter-
nate to attend the 2021 MERS annual meeting
on Oct. 6-8, 2021, at the Amway Grand Plaza
Hotel in Grand Rapids.
Breath of fresh air
Dr. Universe:
How do lungs work to help keep you
alive?
Ellie, 11, North CarolinaDear Ellie,
Take a deep breath. As air travels
through your nose and mouth into your
lungs, it brings oxygen into the body. To
find out exactly how it all works, I talked
to my friend Kim Chiok, a researcher at
Washington State University.
In the lab at WSU, she designs exper-
iments to help us learn about diseases that
impact our lungs and other parts of the
body that help us breathe.
When you breathe in, little hairs in
your nose help filter out particles like
dust, so they don’t enter the body. The air
warms up as it flows into a tube-like
structure called the trachea. The trachea
leads down to the bronchial tubes and
into the pink, spongy lungs.
Chiok said to explore how lungs
work, we also can think about them as if
they were made of bubble wrap.
“But imagine that the bubbles don’t
pop. Instead, whenever you squeeze the
bubbles, they deflate but then go back to
their own shape,” she said.
The air sacks in the lungs are like the
individual bubbles in the bubble wrap.
We call these air sacks alveoli, and there
can be hundreds of millions of these
sacks in the lungs. The alveoli fill up with
air and release air all day long.
The air sacks are lined with lots of
tiny, living things called cells. These cells
may be small, but they have a big job to
do. They help bring the oxygen to blood,
so the blood can transport it around the
body.
Oxygen in your blood can help do all
kinds of things — repair cells, boost theimmune system that helps protect you
from getting sick, and even give you
energy.
Not only do the air sacks bring oxy-
gen to the body, they also help release
carbon dioxide, which is a kind of left-
over from the work some of your cells do.
When you get the flu or have other
respiratory problems, it can sometimes
make it hard to breathe. That’s because
the alveoli lining becomes thick when
fluid, and inflammatory cells build up in
the thin layer of tissue. The alveoli then
have a hard time collapsing and expand-
ing.
This also happens when smoke from
wildfires or from smoking cigarettes fills
up the lungs. While smoke can make it
hard to breathe, it also can kill lung cells.
Lung cells can repair themselves, but
it takes a long time for them to get back
to normal. In some cases, the cells never
fully recover. Chiok said it’s as if the
bubbles in our imaginary bubble wrap,
those alveoli, get destroyed.
That’s also why it’s really important
to protect ourselves from smoke and
other small particles that might make it
hard for the lungs to do their job. When
we keep our lungs healthy, the life-giving
oxygen is allowed to flow into our bodies- and carbon dioxide to flow out – so we
can all live our best lives.
Dr. UniverseKnow a kid with a science question?
Adults can help kids submit a question for
a chance to be featured in a future video,
podcast, or Q&A post. Send an email to
Washington State University’s resident
scientist and writer at Dr.Universe@wsu.
edu or visit her website, askdruniverse.
com.P POLICE BEATOLICE BEAT
No suspects in theft of welder
A 61-year-old man called police at 2:26 p.m. July 23 to report a welder and equipment
had been stolen from underneath an open car port at his residence in the 11000 block of
Enzian Road in Prairieville Township. The man said it was stolen the night before, and
he did not have any suspects in mind. The cost of the equipment is estimated at $350.
The case is inactive.Man alleges hay taken from field
A 74-year-old man called police at 4:07 p.m. June 20, to report someone had stolen
the hay from his 71-acre field in the 7000 block of East Cloverdale Road in Maple Grove
Township. His 53-year-old son said that sometime in the previous 10 days someone had
cut the hay, bailed it and taken it off the property. A neighbor reported seeing farming
equipment belonging to a 54-year-old Hickory Corners man on the field. The son said
the man had expressed interest in farming the field, but he told the man he didn’t think
his father would be interested. The man told police he had a verbal agreement with the
owner of the field to farm it, but he’d some confusing correspondence with the owner
since then. The value of the hay is estimated at $16,400. The case remains under inves-
tigation.Wallet, empty pill bottles stolen from car
A 29-year-old woman called police at 6:20 a.m. July 30 to report her wallet and some
pill bottles had been stolen overnight from her car in the 400 block of Lincoln Street in
Middleville. The woman said she had locked the vehicle with her phone, but her daugh-
ter may have been playing with the key fob and unlocked it by accident. The woman said
the pill bottles, for a methadone prescription, were empty, but she needed a police report
to get it refilled. The case is inactive without any suspects.$8,000 Skid-Steer stolen from farm
A 39-year-old man called police at 3:36 p.m. July 31 to report a Skid-Steer had been
stolen from his family’s property in the 5000 block of Head Road in Hope Township.
The man said the thief must have had a key, or hot-wired it, because he still had the key
for the machinery. He said the Skid-Steer, and the property, belonged to family members
who recently died. Another family member was currently serving as head of the estate,
but the man said there had been some issues with ownership of the estate, and another
family member may have taken the Skid-Steer. The value of the machinery is estimated
at $8,000. The case remains under investigation.K-9 tracks down suspect
Police officers responded to a report of a breaking and entering in progress in the 100
block of State Street in Middleville at 7:53 p.m. July 31. A caller gave a description of
the suspect vehicle, which was headed north. An officer passed the vehicle on
Woodschool Road and, as the officer turned around, the vehicle sped up. When the offi-
cer arrived at the Wing Road intersection, the vehicle was empty. The officer saw a man
walk toward the vehicle, then turn and run when he saw the police cruiser. K-9 officer
Grizzly was let out of the vehicle and tracked the man into the woods and swamp, before
finding him lying near a tree. The suspect, age not given, came out and was arrested.Two laptops stolen from unlocked car
A 60-year-old man called police at 2:05 p.m. July 20 to report the overnight theft of
his backpack from his car while it was parked in the 1000 block of West State Road in
Rutland Township. He said two laptops, his passport and other items were inside the car,
which was unlocked. He said the backpack was stolen the night of July 16, and no sus-
pects came to mind. The case is inactive.GET ALL
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Denise Baughman of Middleville says
wearing masks affects her blood pressure
level.Faith Byykkonen of Dowling tells the
county board that mask wearing can be
harmful.Kaylin Rhoades of Dowling urges com-
missioners to discourage any mask-wear-
ing mandates in the county.Rick Moore listens to comments about
masks; he offered his view during public
comment as well.Commissioner Dave Jackson poses a
question during the drain commissioner’s
presentation.(Photo by Rebecca Pierce)Barry County Drain Commissioner Jim Dull details the Watson Drain project with the
county board Tuesday. (Photo by Rebecca Pierce)