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Local News

Hastings Birch Fire Department

Hastings Birch Fire Department has free Smoke and Carbon Monoxide alarms for residents in the Hastings District.   The Fire Department welcomes the opportunity to visit facilities to discuss fire safety and awareness.

There is also a new Burn Permit phone number, 269-945-5384 ext. 1. Permits are available Monday thru Friday 7am to 4pm.  If calling outside business hours, please leave a detailed message and your call will be returned during business hours.

Lawmakers introduce bill to rename a part of M-6

Michigan lawmakers introduced a new bill this week that would  rename a section of freeway M-6 after 25 year old Keagan Spencer of Hastings, a tow truck driver who was struck and killed while trying to rescue a dog.

Michigan State Police said a car went out of control near Kraft Avenue, crossed over the road and hit Spencer..  The new bill if passed would rename M-6 to "Keagan Spencer Memorial Highway" between Kalamazoo Avenue and 60th Street.

State Police Investigating Fatal Traffic Crash

Michigan State Police Wayland Post troopers are investigating a single vehicle  rollover crash that occurred Tuesday March 5 around 7:00 p.m. on eastbound 134th Ave near 42nd St, in Heath Twp. The driver, identified as a 49-year-old Hamilton man, suffered life-threatening injuries, and was initially taken to Holland Hospital for care. He was later transferred to Grand Rapids Butterworth Hospital where he died.


Police say the driver loss control while traveling east on 134th Ave, ran off the roadway then overturned before colliding into a fence. Evidence at the scene suggested the driver was not wearing his seatbelt and that alcohol is believed to be a factor.


Troopers were assisted at the scene by Allegan County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton Fire/ Rescue, and Holland AMR Ambulance.


This crash remains open pending further investigation.

Invasive Weeds

The Barry Conservation District was awarded a $196,500 grant to help fight invasive species.

 

The grant, which will be utilized for the Barry, Calhoun and Kalamazoo Cooperative Invasive Species Management area, is one of 31 similar projects across the state that received a portion of the $3.6 million allocated by the Michigan Invasive Species program according to officials.

Hastings to lift Overnight Parking restriction

Hastings City Police Chief Dale Boulter said that as of March 1st,  city police will end enforcement of the 2am - 6am No Parking restriction on city streets. 

 

Boulter said if we do receive another snow event this season that city crews would appreciate if  you would voluntarily remove vehicles from the streets between 2am and 6am for ease of snow removal. 

 

The No Parking 2am - 6am enforcement will go back into effect on November 1st.

Election Unofficial Results

In the closed Michigan Primary Election Tuesday there were no big surprises in Barry County as Democratic voters gave Joe Biden 2,430 votes with 364 uncommitted.

 

Republicans gave Donald Trump 6,794 votes,  Nikki Haley 2,357 votes, with 283 uncommitted.

 

The  County E-911 Millage Renewal passed,  8,166 Yes to  4,590 No.

 

In the Lakewood School District,  an Operating Millage Renewal was approved by both Barry County and Ionia County voters in the school district.

 

As far as the turnout,  27.3% of Barry County’s 48,860 registered voters cast their votes:

   953 during the nine day early voting,

   5,232 by Absentee ballot,

   7,149 voted in-person on Tuesday.  

Tuesday, February 27th Election Day in Michigan

Polls are open from 7am to 8pm Tuesday for Michigan’s Presidential Primary Election.  This follows nine days of early voting in which local turnout was extremely low, for example, in the City of Hastings, fewer than 100 total votes were cast during the nine days of early voting.  

In the primary, voters must request either a Republican, Democratic, or “Proposal Only” ballot.

Locally, the only county-wide proposal is for E-911 Operating Millage Renewal.

COA Woodland Dining Center

Due to staff illness the Woodland dining center will be closed Monday, February 26th.

Domestic Violence with Compound Bow

A 33 year old Hastings man is in jail following a domestic violence incident where he held a women in her home with a compound bow. Hastings Police were called to a home on Boxwood Drive on saturday.

 

Upon arrival, police  found the door to the home open and a screen door shut.

After trying to speak with the man through the screen door, he came  to the door with a compound bow. officers continued to negotiate with him  in an attempt to get him out of the home. With no succes, the Barry County Sheriff's Entry team was able to enter the home and take the man into custody.

 

The woman in the house with a  18-month child, suffered a cut on her hand, which she said was caused from the broadhead as she pushed the bow away from her.

 

Missing children located safe

The Barry County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched Friday to a residence in Hastings Township for two missing children, ages 3 and 4.  It was reported the children had wandered off from the residence and had been missing for approximately one hour.

 

Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted in the search, including canine teams and MSP Aviation.  Approximately two and a half hours after they were noticed missing, the children were located by a neighbor in a wooded area.  The children were returned safe to their parents.   

 

The Sheriff's Office was assisted by Michigan State Police, State of Michigan DNR/Conservation, Barry County Central Dispatch

Fatal Pedestrian Crash on US-131 near Wayland

Michigan State Police (MSP) Wayland Post troopers are investigating a fatal traffic crash that occurred on February 22, 2024, at approximately 7:55pm on US-131 Hwy north of Wayland, in Leighton Twp.


The preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of a white Buick Lacross was travelling northbound on US-131 when the vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian on the freeway. The deceased pedestrian, a 72-year-old Grand Rapids female, had pulled her vehicle over onto the shoulder of the freeway with a flat tire. The woman exited her car and was struck and killed.  Police say she was in the lane of travel when struck.


The driver of the vehicle, a 44-year-old Kalamazoo man, was wearing his seatbelt. It is unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in this crash.


Troopers were assisted by the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department, Wayland Police Department, Wayland and Dorr Township fire departments and Wayland Area EMS.

The incident remains under further investigation.

Hastings Company Files for Bankruptcy

 

The owners of Bay to Bay Building Concepts of Hastings has filed for bankruptcy.

Bay to Bay Concepts LLC and its owner Jerold Saeman had their licenses revoked by the Michigan Department of Licensing and regulatory Affairs in July of 2023 for allegedly violating the state's occupational code and left clients in dangerous conditions from their work.

Pierce Cedar Creek Nature News

Sara Edelman from Pierce Cedar Creek Institute tells WBCH about February's Nature News and events planned at Pierce Cedar Creek. Click on link below to listen.

 

Early Voting

Early voting for the Michigan Presidential Primary and other races began in Barry County and statewide this past Saturday.

Election day is Tuesday, February 27th.

 

St. Patrick's Parade set for Saturday, March 16

The Hastings City Council met Monday evening and enthusiastically approved WBCH's request to hold the 18th Annual St. Patrick's Parade at 4:30pm on Saturday, March 16th in downtown Hastings.

 

As always, the parade will be held on South Jefferson Street.  Grand Marshalls this year are Brian and Angel McGraw, owners of downtown Hastings' newest restaurant, "Somebody Slap Me That's Good BBQ". 

 

Anybody who would like to participate in the parade is invited to wear lots of green and line up at 4pm in the alley behind WBCH Radio. Businesses and organizations are invited to march in the parade, build floats, play music, walk your dog, or any other kind of fun St. Patrick's fun you can think of!  Call or text us ahead of time at 945-3414 and let us know you're coming!  The parade will be held rain or shine, celebrating St. Patrick's Day and the arrival of spring!

Stolen Vehicles lead to Car Chases and Fatal Crash

On Sunday afternoon around 4:17pm, Ionia County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the Ionia Wal-Mart to the Ionia Menards for separate reports of vehicle thefts that occurred in the parking lots. It was later determined that five subjects from the Lansing area had possibly stolen a vehicle from another jurisdiction and drove that vehicle to the Ionia Walmart parking lot where they stole a vechicle. Those subjects then went to the Ionia Menards and stole a second vehicle, leaving the area immediately afterward.

 

Clinton County Deputies advised that they had located the stolen vehicles and were in pursuit of the suspects. The chase continued through Clinton County and Eaton County until it eventually led back into Ionia County. One of the stolen vehicles was stopped after officers deployed spike strips to disable the vehicle.

 

The other vehicle, a 2020 Kia Forte, was pursued northbound on Sunfield Hwy, near Bippley Rd, where it lost control and left the roadway subsequently striking a tree. As a result of this crash, one female occupant from the Lansing area was pronounced dead at the scene. The other occupants of the vehicle were transported to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing for non-life-threatening injuries.


Names of those involved are being withheld at this time. This incident remains under investigation by the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office, Clinton County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan State Police.


Assisting on scene were Clinton County Sheriff’s Office, Eaton County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police, Portland Police Department, Lake Odessa Police Department, Grand Ledge Police Department, Life EMS Ambulance service, Portland Ambulance, Sunfield Fire Department, Reed and Hoppes Towing and Central Dispatch from Ionia, Clinton, and Eaton Counties.

Commissioners to hold open Solar and Alternative Energy Workshop Feb. 13

A Workshop on Solar and Alternative Energy will be held by the Barry County Board of Commissioners Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 6:00 p.m in the Performing Arts Center at Hastings High School.

 

Jim McManus, Barry County Planning & Zoning Director, will present a Planning and Zoning report,  followed by a legal report from Bradley Fowler and Mika Meyers. 

M. Charles Gould will present a Michigan State University Extension report, and Kevon Martis will report on behalf of Citizens for Local Choice.

 

Commissioners and the public will have an opportunity to ask specific questions regarding solar and alternative energy during a questions and answers period,  and there will be a limited public comment opportunity.

 

The workshop is expected to draw a crowd, especially landowners and farmers, due to the controversial move in late 2023 by the governor and Democratically controlled state legislature that strips away standard zoning approval and siting decisions from local governments over large wind and solar projects.  It's seen as part of a larger effort to push the state’s energy systems toward carbon-free power sources in the coming decades.

Driver Arraigned on charges in Fatal Accident

Brinna Lavonne Cobb, age 19 of Nashville, has been arraigned in 56B District Court on six counts of operating while intoxicated causing death, operating while intoxicated causing serious injury and moving violation causing death.

 

The charges against Cobb stem from an accident back on September 12, 2023 that claimed the lives of a 40 year old father and his 14 year old son, and seriously injured a 17 year old boy who survived. The Barry County Sheriff’s Office said a westbound Volkswagon Tiguan driven by Cobb collided with two westbound Amish Sulky Carts on East Cloverdale Road, east of Guy road in Maple Grove Township. The Barry County Prosecutor’s Office alleges Cobb was intoxicated at the time of the crash.

 

Cobb’s bond was set at $50,000.  A probable cause conference before Judge Michael Schipper is scheduled for February 28 at 10:00am.

COW meeting canceled

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee of the Whole of the Barry County Board of Commissioners, for Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 9:00 a.m. has been canceled due to a lack of agenda items.

Season Weight Restrictions

Seasonal  Road Weight and speed restrictions go into affect Wednesday, January 31, 2024. at 6:00a.m. until further notice in Barry County.

MDOT and local agencies are enacting spring weight restrictions.  Effective 6am Friday, Feb. 2nd weight restrictions will be imposed and enforced on all state trunkline highways in Michigan.

For weight restriction information and updates call 800-737-8960 or  visit www.Michigan.gov/Truckers  under restrictions.  All season routes are designated in green and gold on the MDOT Truck Operators Map.

State Police Reminds Motorists of Importance 'Move Over' Law

With the recent passing of Tpr. Joel Popp in Saginaw County last Wednesday, Michigan State Police (MSP) would like to remind everyone of the Move-Over Law which requires motorists to slow down to at least 10 mph below the posted speed limit and move over for stationary authorized vehicles with flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights activated.


The law applies to authorized emergency police, fire, rescue, and ambulance vehicles as well as road service vehicles which include tow trucks and courtesy vehicles operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

 

Authorized vehicles with flashing, rotating, or oscillating lights activated include solid waste haulers, utility service vehicles, and road maintenance vehicles.

 

Popp is the second MSP Trooper this month to be struck by a vehicle while on the side of the road. On Jan. 10, a Metro North Post trooper was seriously injured after a teen driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into his cruiser while he was on a traffic stop in Clarkston. He has been released from the hospital and is home recovering.

Authorities investigate anonymous threat at Thornapple Kellogg High School

The Barry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an anonymous tip received by Thornapple Kellogg Schools shortly after 9am Wednesday morning. The tip indicated a student had brought a gun to Thornapple Kellogg High School and threatened to “Light Up” the school.

 

The School was immediately placed into shelter-in-place protocol while Law Enforcement and School Staff investigated the tip. The Michigan State Police assisted with searching the building with a firearms detection dog. No guns were located at the school. At the conclusion of the search, the shelter-in-place was lifted.

 

This investigation is still open and ongoing.

City of Hastings Early Voting Information Correction

The City of Hastings recently mailed out postcards with information pertaining to early voting as part of the February 27th, 2024 Presidential Primary election.  Incorrect information was provided on the postcard for the address of the early voting site location and contact phone number for questions regarding early voting.

 

The correct address of the early voting site is Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center, 520 West South Street, Hastings, MI. 49058.

 

The correct phone number to call for any questions is 269-945-2468.

 

Early voting dates are Saturday, February 17th to Sunday, February 25th, 2024.  From 8:30am to 4:30pm daily at the Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center.  New postcards will be mailed out to all households with registered voters as soon as possible.

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