Page 2/The Sun and News, Saturday, August 28, 2021County reports increase
in positive COVID tests
Taylor Owens
Staff Writer
COVID-19 case numbers
in Barry County have gone
back up this week, with 74
active cases reported
Tuesday.
Barry-Eaton District
Health Department officials
said they believe there are
many more cases that have
not been confirmed, based on
the number of positive tests
in the county.
The most recent seven-day
average for the percentage of
COVID-19 tests that were
positive in Barry County was
14.29.
The percentage hit 24.
percent on Aug. 18, which is
close to the county’s peak of
25.74 percent, recorded on
April 12 of this year.
As of Tuesday, nine Barry
County residents have beenhospitalized with the virus
this month. Two have died. A
total of 71 Barry County res-
idents have died due to
COVID-19 since March
2020.
According to Michigan
statistics, 52.3 percent of
Barry County adults have
received at least one dose of
a COVID-19 vaccine, while
49.1 percent are fully vacci-
nated.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
has said she will not mandate
masks in schools this year,
but some health department
officials have decided to
issue their own mandates.
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention has
recommended masks in
schools for 81 out of 83
Michigan counties, including
Barry.
The Kent County HealthDepartment issued a mask
mandate last Friday for
pre-kindergarten through
sixth grade students.
According to Bridge
Michigan, 46 percent of
Michigan students attend a
school district with a mask
mandate.
No mandates have been
issued for any schools in
Barry County.Wayland fire chief stepping down after nearly 50 years
Jean Gallup
Contributing Writer
Interim Fire Chief James
Stoddard is on track to be the
Wayland’s next fire chief.
Chief Joe Miller has stepped
down as chief after serving
nearly 50 years in the depart-
ment and as its chief for the
past 20 years. The Wayland
Fire Department serves
Yankee Springs Township.
At its Aug. 23 meeting, the
Wayland City Council, fol-
lowing city charter proce-
dure, and after interviewing
Stoddard, recommended that
the city manager hire him.
With the council’s endorse-
ment, the appointment is
seen as a formality.
“Jimmy will do a fine
job,” Miller said.
Technically, Miller has 49
years and eight months on
the department. He will stay
on as a lieutenant until
January.
“I want to stay ‘til the first
of the year, to make it an
even 50 years, from 1972 to
2022,” Miller said.
Stoddard said he appreci-
ates that Miller will be on the
department for another four
months.
“He’ll give me some of his
experience, help me get my
feet wet as chief,” Stoddard
said. “He didn’t leave the
department hanging; he
agreed to stay to help me and
make sure the department is
running smoothly to make it
an easy transition for the
guys.”
Stoddard is confident,
since he has 21 years with
the department, “so it’s
another step for me ... Still,
those are going to be big
shoes to fill.”
“Joe has been a great lead-
er; a great chief for all those
years ... a good representa-
tive for the City of Wayland
and the community,” Capt.
Rick Merren, a 31-year-mem-
ber of the department, said.
“He was very generous with
his time, good with kids. He
founded the Scotty House,
and started the BMX track
on the outskirts of the city.
He founded a lot of proj-
ects.”
Miller also was responsi-
ble for the department get-
ting the Jaws of Life, Merren
added.
The Scotty House is a tiny
house children to go through
to learn about fire safety. It
includes several fire hazards
that a firefighter points out to
children so they can checktheir homes and report to
their parents. The last part of
the tour of the house has the
children climbing out of the
back window and “calling”
911 on a red phone to report
a fire. Scotty’s Fire House is
loaned out for fire prevention
programs all over the state.
The Miller family – the
late Earl and Barbara Miller
and their children Joe, Dan,
Deb, Sue, Bob, Pat and Judy- moved to Wayland from
the Grand Rapids area around
- Earl Miller worked at
General Motors, retiring
from there. In Wayland, he
was a part-time police officer
and on ambulance runs to
administer first aid. Barbara
Miller was a stay-at-home
mom; when the children
were older, she worked in
nursing homes.
Almost everyone in the
community has met Joe
Miller, and most consider
him a friend. He owned the
Phillips 66 gas station for 27
years. He owned and ran
Railside Garage for about six
years, and now works at
Wayland Do It Best
Hardware, celebrating 15
years there, so far.
At his retirement as chief
event at the fire station
Sunday, Miller gave proba-
bly the shortest speech on
record – just 13 words.
Encouraged to make a
speech after receiving gifts
from the firefighters and the
city, he said: “This woman,”
he said, looking at his wife,
Joan, and choking up for a
few seconds. “This woman
and you people made me
what I am today.”
Joan and Joe Miller, mar-
ried for 55 years, are parents
of two, Michelle and Joey.
Joan Miller said doesn’t
see their life changing much
after her husband leaves the
department in January.
“He’s not going to be
home all the time. He’s got
things to do,” she said. “He
has every woodworking tool
imaginable in his workshop.
He likes that. He’ll be doing
a lot more of that.”
Mayor Tim Bala presented
Miller with an official proc-
lamation from the city and a
glass block etched with
flames, the fire department
logo and thanks to Miller for
his service. The firefighters
gave him a large plaque ded-
icated to his career with the
department.
Miller has impacted thelives of many people, both as
a firefighter and as a person.
“When I was still in high
school, 15 or 16, maybe, I
was Joe’s first employee,”
Bala recalled. “I’d come
down before school first
thing in the morning. We had
a lot of fun. Didn’t get paid,
we just thought we were
lucky that he let us come
down to the station.”
Miller would usually find
someone to give Bala a lift to
school so he wouldn’t be
late. “They still live here,
he’ll be around. He’s not
going anywhere.”
Joan Miller recalled one
day when Joe ran the gas
station on the west edge of
town. Across the street, a
woman lost control of her car
and ran into a man, severing
his leg. Joe ran across the
street and applied pressure
on the leg, saving the man’s
life.
“We never did know his
name ... that’s the one that
sticks with me,” she said.
Miller received a Life
Saving Award for his quick
action.
The resolution from the
city council expressed its
appreciation for Miller and
honored him for his service
to the community. It notedthat Miller coordinated fire
service for the City of
Wayland, Wayland
Township, the Gun Lake
Tribe and Yankee Springs
Township and has overseen
the training and development
of countless firefighters who
serve the community.
He has also coordinated
with other fire departments
in the area, EMS services
and law enforcement agen-
cies for the public health and
safety of the community, it
read.
“Chief Miller’s contribu-
tions to our community have
been recognized by Wayland
Union Schools with induc-
tion into the Hall of Fame,
the Wayland Chamber of
Commerce as the recipient of
the Community Service
Award and being named
Wayland Citizen of the Year
in 1980.”
Miller also was recog-
nized by several other orga-
nizations, both locally and
regionally.
“The City Council and
mayor wishes Joe Miller all
the best in his retirement
from service,” the resolution
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Call 616-914-Joe and Joan Miller have been married for 55 years,
50 of which Joe has served the Wayland Fire Department.Joe Miller (right) accepts a proclamation and memento from Wayland Mayor Tim
Bala at Miller’s retirement party.Call any time
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