Page 10 — Thursday, September 16, 2021 — The Hastings Banner
Carveth Village
of Middleville
http://www.CarvethVillage.com
“Remember... if you can’t live alone... live with us!
690 W. Main Street, Middleville, MI 49333
269-795-Carveth Village
HOUSEKEEPERS WANTED
Part-time hours available
with competitive wages.Apply in person at
690 W. Main St., Middleville, MI 49333
or online at http://www.carvethvillage.comCarveth Village
of Middleville
http://www.CarvethVillage.com
“Remember... if you can’t live alone... live with us!
690 W. Main Street, Middleville, MI 49333
269-795-Carveth Village
CAREGIVERS FOR THE
ELDERLY WANTED
Looking for professional and dedicated
caregivers for our community to provide
assistance with ADLs, med passing, charting,
and contributing to life enrichment activities.
Long term opportunities and benefits available
with full-time and part-time flexible hours.Apply in person at
690 W. Main St., Middleville, MI 49333
or online at http://www.carvethvillage.comQUESTIONS:
ASK US...Hulst Cleaners Pick-Up StationSisters Fabrics
218 E. State St., Hastings • 945-
OPEN: Monday-Friday 8 am-5:30 pm;
Saturday 9 am-3 pm
Pray for our Country >
QUESTIONS:
ASK US...
Sisters Fabrics
218 E. State St., Hastings • 945-
OPEN: Monday-Thursday 8 am-5:30 pm;
Friday 8 am-7 pm; Saturday 9 am-5:30 pm- Halloween & Christmas
Fabrics - now in stock - 108" Cotton Quilt Backing
- Thread, Tapes, Zippers, Buttons,
& Patterns
More than 50% of adults have a positive
perception of ads in print newspapers.*
Want to be next to trusted
content? Place your ad in this
newspaper and a network of
newspapers in the state!
Call this paper
or 800-227-
*Kantar Millward Brown, Feb. 2018THIS AD FOR SALE!
http://www.cnaads.comBanner CLASSIFIEDS
CALL... The Hastings BANNER • 945-
Business Services
MATT ENDSLEY, FABRI-
CATION and repair, custom
trailers, buckets, bale spears,
etc. Call 269-804-7506.
BUYING ALL HARD-
WOODS: Walnut, White
Oak, Tulip Poplar. Call for
pricing. Will buy single Wal-
nut trees. Insured, liability &
workman’s comp. Fetterley
Logging, (269)818-7793.Pets
HEELER MIX PUPPIES for
sale, loves attention, 1st shots
& wormed. $200.00. 269-
223-9194.Help Wanted
DEPUTY TRIAL COURT
ADMINISTRATOR: Qual-
ified individual must have
a minimum of a Master’s
Degree in public adminis-
tration, social work, criminal
justice, or closely related field
and 5-7 years of experience
in casework and/or case
flow management preferably
in a court or closely relat-
ed setting. This position is
part of the management and
administration team of the
Trial Court. Responsibilities
include (but are not limited
to) writing and applying for
grants, budgets, preparing fi-
nancial and program reports,
monitoring expenditures and
revenues, supervising pro-
fessional and support staff,
monitoring workflow and file
management standards. Full-
time, salary range $67,641.- $81,161.60, plus benefits.
Detailed job description can
be viewed at barrycounty.org.
Please send cover letter and
resume to: Ms. Daisey Cher-
niawski; 102 S. Broadway,
Hastings, MI 49058. Or email:
[email protected].
BARRY COUNTY FRIEND
OF THE COURT CASE-
WORKER: Provides case-
work functions to review,
independently assess, and
analyze domestic Friend of
the Court cases for the pur-
pose of enforcing, reviewing,
and modifying child support,
parenting time, and custody
provisions of court orders.
Completes investigations,
reports, and drafts orders
and recommendations for
the court as necessary. Must
possess a Bachelor’s degree in
psychology, criminal justice,
social work, counseling, or a
closely related field as well as
1-3 years of case supervision
experience preferably in a
court or counseling, mental
health, substance abuse agen-
cy or related area. Full time,
$21.89/per hour, plus bene-
fits. Detailed job description
can be viewed at barrycounty.
org. Please send cover letter
and resume to: Ms. Daisey
Cherniawski; 102 S. Broad-
way, Hastings, MI 49058.
Or email: dcherniawski@
barryco.org.DRIVERS FOR WHEEL
CHAIR VANS NEEDED.
THIS IS MORE THAN
JUST A JOB. YOU’LL BE
HELPING PEOPLE TO
AND FROM DOCTORS
APPOINTMENTS AND
MORE. YOU NEED TO BE
DEPENDABLE, TRUST-
WORTHY, AND RELI-
ABLE. PLEASE CALL
269-420-1708 FOR AN
APPLICATION.PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:
All real estate advertising in this
newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing
Act and the Michigan Civil Rights Act
which collectively make it illegal to
advertise “any preference, limitation or
discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, handicap, familial status,
national origin, age or martial status, or
an intention, to make any such
preference, limitation or discrimination.”
Familial status includes children under
the age of 18 living with parents or legal
custodians, pregnant women and people
securing custody of children under 18.
This newspaper will not knowingly
accept any advertising for real estate
which is in violation of the law. Our
readers are hereby informed that all
dwellings advertised in this newspaper
are available on an equal opportunity
basis. To report discrimination call the
Fair Housing Center at 616-451-2980.
The HUD toll-free telephone number for
the hearing impaired is 1-800-927-9275.Online glossary helps with
terms and acronyms
Vonda VanTil
Public Affairs Specialist
Some of the terms and acronyms people
use when they talk about Social Security can
be a little confusing. We’re here to help you
understand.
We strive to explain your benefits using
easy-to-understand, plain language. The Plain
Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies
to communicate information clearly in a way
the public can understand and use.
This can be particularly challenging when
talking about complicated programs like
Social Security, Supplemental Security
Income and Medicare. If there’s a technical
term or acronym you don’t know, you can find
the meaning in our online glossary at ssa.gov/
agency/glossary.
Here are a few examples.
If you’re considering retirement, you may
want to know your full retirement age, or
FRA, and your primary insurance amount, or
PIA. These terms determine your benefit
amount based on when you when you start
getting requirement benefits. The PIA is the
amount payable for a retired worker who
starts his or her benefits at full retirement age.If you start your retirement benefits at your
FRA, you’ll receive the full PIA.
Most years, your benefit amount will get a
COLA (cost-of-living adjustment), which
usually means extra money in your monthly
benefit.
What about DRCs, short for delayed
retirement credits? DRCs are the gradual
increases to your PIA that occurs the longer
you delay taking retirement benefits after your
full retirement age. Every month you delay
taking benefits, up to age 70, your monthly
benefit will increase.
If one of these terms or acronyms comes
up in conversation, you can be the one to help
clarify the meaning, using our online glossary.
Learning the terminology can deepen your
understanding of how Social Security
programs work for you.Vonda VanTil is the public affairs specialist
for West Michigan. You may write her c/o
Social Security Administration, 3045 Knapp
NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525, or via email to
[email protected].flooding problem in a region that benefits
1,082 parcels, property owners and
municipalities in Prairieville and Barry
townships. The district involves the areas
around Pleasant, Upper Crooked and Lower
Crooked lakes.
Dull mentioned that negotiations have been
concluded with the Southwest Barry County
Sewer and Water Authority, which agreed to
pay $250,000 as part of the project.
Also, they intend to purchase solar panels
as part of the project, Dull said.
Building a solar system to power those
panels would likely cost a half a million
dollars, he estimated.
While that’s not in the plan, the purchase of
these solar panels may someday offer a
potential backup source of power for the
pumps.
Dull attributed the last-minute overall
increase in project cost to the addition of
$120,000 for those solar panels, $420,000 for
a monitoring system, and 10 percent
($606,818) to cover contingencies.
As far as why the original estimate did not
include these costs, he replied, “Sometimes
you miss things.”
Jim Minich of Delton said, “I think the
people who are involved deserve an honest
answer as to what their bill is going to be. The
increase was a huge surprise to me. Most of us
had resigned ourselves to the cost in the
estimate – then some of our assessments jump
by $1,000 a year.”
“This is a legitimate project to keep the
lake at a reasonable level. The $1.175-million
mistake was a big miss. It’s inexcusable. The
obvious question is, do we have the right
engineering team running this?”
Dull pointed to the constraints created by
the law that make it almost impossible for a
small team like his to put together such a
large, complicated project in the time allotted.
“The way the law is written, [engineer]
Brian [Cenci] was literally working on [cost
estimates] the night before” the day of review
so they would have all the financial details
ready, he said.
“A week before, I thought it was under $5.
million.”
The overall cost for the project will not be
reduced by any successful appeals, he
emphasized.
If individual assessments were to be
lowered as a part of the appeals process, that
reduction would have to be offset across the
rest of the district, Dull said.
In their appeals, Fleckenstein, Newland and
Farmer are “aggrieved by the apportionment
of benefits made by Jim Dull, Barry County
Drain Commissioner on Sept. 3, 2021, for
improvements to a certain drain known as
‘Watson Drain’ in Prairieville Township, and
this property owner takes appeal therefore,”
according to a probate court order setting a
$1,500 bond on the notice of appeal.
Chief Judge William Doherty has appointed
a three-member board of review to consider
these appeals: Kerri Selleck, the county’s
chief public defender, and local attorneys
James Kinney and Robert Byington.
“Some of you have indicated questions
regarding the procedures that should be
followed,” Doherty wrote in a letter to them in
the court file. “I have enclosed a copy of the
statutes, which specify the requirements of
the board of review.”
Then Doherty offered them the followingguidelines:- View the lands benefited by the drain. If
at all possible, go as a group. - Review apportionment made by the drain
commissioner. - Select a chairperson to preside during
public proceedings. - The chairperson should introduce
members of the board, make a short statement
as to their purpose of how the hearing will be
conducted. - Allow the petitioners and their attorneys
to address the board. Thereafter, the drain
commissioner may make a statement. (At no
time should the board of review and the
commissioner privately discuss matters
pending before the board.) - The hearing may be continued to hear
additional proofs. - The board’s decision must be in writing,
signed by a majority of the board and delivered
to the commission with any other papers
relating to the decision. - The findings to be made are to sustain the
apportionment of the commissioner, or if
there is a manifested error in equality in the
apportionment, order and make changes to the
apportionment, which are just and equitable. - Each board member shall submit an
itemized statement to the probate court as to
the time and travel incurred.
A date for a hearing has not yet been
scheduled, according to probate court staff
Tuesday.
The law pertaining to drain district appeals
is dictated under the Drain Code Act 40 of
WATSON DRAIN, continued from page 1
Watson Drain computation of costs summary
Surveying, establishing drain
and laying out drain district ..............................................................................................................................................................$29,Board of Determination ......................................................................................................................................................................$1,Rights of way, easements,
property purchases ..........................................................................................................................................................................$488,Michigan Department of
Environment, Great Lakes
and Energy permitting ....................................................................................................................................................................$868,Engineering, design
and bidding .....................................................................................................................................................................................$482,Drain construction ........................................................................................................................................................................$3,574,Appeal for apportionments
(estimated) .........................................................................................................................................................................................$38,Notices, drain project website
and public scope meeting ...................................................................................................................................................................$5,Probate judge fees (estimated) ............................................................................................................................................................$1,Legal costs ......................................................................................................................................................................................$300,Interest and borrowing
expenditures ......................................................................................................................................................................................$29,Financing expenses ...........................................................................................................................................................................$67,Reimbursements/payments ...............................................................................................................................................................-$7,First years capitalized interest
for 12 months at 2.8 percent ...........................................................................................................................................................$186,Gross sum of expenses ................................................................................................................................................................$6,068,Contingent expenses (minimum
10 percent, maximum
15 percent) ......................................................................................................................................................................................$608,Total cost
of Watson Drain �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������$6,675,Source: Barry County Drain Commissioner Jim DullCall 269-945-
for Hastings Banner
classified ads
Governor, legislators OK
deal to avoid shutdown
Bridge Michigan
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration and leaders in Michigan’s Republican-
led Legislature have reached a budget deal to avoid a government shutdown, officials
announced Wednesday.
While details of the likely $50 billion to $60 billion spending plan will not be public until
next week, negotiators described the handshake deal as a significant step.
“This is a budget that is good for Michigan,” Budget Director Dave Massaron said in a state-
ment. “It reflects shared priorities that will move Michigan forward as we continue to emerge
from the pandemic as an even stronger state.”
The Michigan Constitution requires Whitmer and the Legislature to finalize a balanced bud-
get by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Assuming they do so, the state will avoid its first
temporary government shutdown since 2009.
With that deadline approaching, lawmakers are expected to begin voting as early as next
week on an “omnibus” budget bill “covering the funding for all state departments and agencies
for the next fiscal year,” according to a joint release with Senate Appropriations Chair Jim
Stamas of Midland and House Appropriations Chair Thomas Albert of Lowell.
As Bridge Michigan reported last week, the deal is not expected to include any of the $8.
billion in federal stimulus funds available to the state. Whitmer and legislative leaders are
expected to continue negotiations over that money following completion of the budget.
Whitmer and the GOP-led Legislature agreed to a record-setting $17.1 billion K-12 educa-
tion budget in July, a major breakthrough after a prolonged and acrimonious standoff over
statewide COVID-19 orders the governor ultimately lifted this summer.
“And now we are close to finishing work on other parts of the state budget that will help
meet the needs of Michigan residents and continue the state’s recovery from the COVID pan-
demic,” Albert said in a statement.
“I look forward to votes on the budget soon.”