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.

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.

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.

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.

Lake Odessa Fire Deparment responded to a Chimney fire Sunday evening  in the 600 block of Lakeview Drive in Lake Odessa.  The 2 story home was fully evacuated and the fire was contained to the attic.

Woodland Township and Lake Odessa Fire Departments & Surrounding Fire Departments battled a blaze at Smith Welding & Repair on Velte Road in Woodland Thursday evening.

A Barry Central facebook post reported a traffic alert and road closure to avoid the area of Velte Rd. (M-50 Hwy.) between Brown and Eaton Roads due to several Departments battling the blaze.

The road reopened Friday morning.  It is unknown at this time cause of fire.

Firefighters Wednesday were called to a structure fire M-43 between Guernsey lake road and the Long lake access road. M-43  was closed at that location for a  time,  M-43 is reopened.

No additional  information available...

The Barry County Sheriff's Office in Hastings, Front Office will be closed from 8:00am til 2:00p for repairs Thursday, Jan.18th.

Due to the frigid temperatures the Hastings Fresh Food Initiative will not be distributing food at the Green Street United Methodist Church Parking lot Wednesday Jan. 17th.  However Free Bags of food are available for pick up Wednesday,for those in need at the Barry County United Way Office, 231 S. Broadway in Hastings from 8am til 5pm.  Barry County resident walk-ins welcome.  

Winter weather finally made its presents known in in Hastings and West Michigan as a powerful storm dropped heavy snow along with high winds from friday through sunday.

The National Weather Service  Station in Hastings recorded up to 8-inches of snow.. The heavy snow along with winds up to 40 miles per hour produced heavy drifing .

 and closed a number of schools including

Hastings area schools, St Rose in Hastings, Delton Kellogg.. Day care will remain open,

Barry ISD and Lakewood Public Schools closed.

TheCommunity Education Recreation Center in Hastings and Day care open at 8-am.

JACKSON, Mich., Jan. 13, 2024 – Consumers Energy lineworkers and contractors worked throughout the night to restore power to more than 60,000 customers after a winter storm struck the state Friday, bringing high winds and wet, heavy snow that felled limbs and downed lines across several regions. Crews forged ahead Saturday morning to help the roughly 65,000 customers remaining without power in the face of high winds that could create additional outages.

“We have over 450 crews of lineworkers and contractors working tirelessly to restore power,” said Melissa Gleespen, one of Consumers Energy’s Officers in Charge of restoration. “The high winds forecast for today will continue to present obstacles. But our crews are up to the challenge. We thank our customers and communities for their patience.”

Consumers Energy crews are being supported by contractors from Michigan and nine other states, including crews from as far away as Colorado, Oklahoma, Alabama and New York. Lineworkers can work up to 16 hours at a time, which helps power Consumers Energy’s around-the-clock commitment to Michigan.

Customers can continue to check the status of outages at www.ConsumersEnergy.com/OutageCenter. They can also sign up to get outage alerts and restoration times sent to a phone, email or text message, Text ‘REG' to 232273 or visit www.ConsumersEnergy.com/alerts.

Consumers Energy urges the public to keep important safety tips in mind:

• Be alert to crews working along slick roads. Drivers should slow down or stop and wait for oncoming traffic to clear so they can go safely past workers on roadsides.

• Stay at least 25 feet away from downed power lines, and to report unguarded downed lines by calling 9-1-1 and Consumers Energy at 800-477-5050.
• Never use a generator in an attached garage, basement, enclosed patio or near any air intakes. Doing so could cause a generator to produce hazardous levels of carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless and deadly gas. Read more guidance on safe generator use here.
• Consumers Energy will trim or remove trees interfering with electric restoration activities. Once safe to do so, clean-up of debris from tree trimming or removal during a storm emergency is the responsibility of individual property owners.
• In some cases, the mast that holds the electric service wires to a home or business may have been damaged or torn away. Crews will reconnect the wires to a home, but only a licensed electrician can repair or replace a mast or a cable.

Consumers Energy is Michigan’s largest energy provider, providing natural gas and/or electricity to 6.7 million of the state’s 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.

Ionia County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched Tuesday night along with LIFE EMS, and the Berlin/Orange Fire Department to a reported accidental fall at the Menards store just south of Ionia.

Officers determined that a store employee, a 26 year old Ionia man, was working on an elevated platform machine when he accidentally fell approximately 20 feet onto the concrete floor. 

Paramedics and fireman treated the man on scene before transferring him to Sparrow Ionia Hospital where he was later pronounced deceased. 

The initial investigation by the Ionia County Sheriff’s Office showed that safety equipment was working but was likely not used appropriately.  Further investigation of this industrial accident will be turned over to MIOSHA and the Ionia County Medical Examiner’s Office as no foul play is suspected and no criminal offense has been committed.

The Hastings City Council held its’ first regular meeting of the new year Monday night. A public hearing was held on the draft 5 year Parks and Recreation Master Plan for 2024 through 2028, which was later adopted.  Council heard the Mayor’s annual address, received a presentation on the city’s financial audit for the fiscal year June 30, 2023, adopted updated Council Rules of Procedure, elected Second Ward Councilman John Resseguie as Mayor Pro Tem, and approved Mayor David Tossava’s  Boards and Commissions appointments. A Council workshop was set for January 22nd to discuss Council’s goals for the upcoming fiscal year.

Barry Township Police Department has concluded an investigation regarding death threats made on multiple Barry Township residents and a hostile take-over of the Township of Barry on Monday, December 11th, 2023. A preliminary investigation revealed that 40 year old Christopher Charles Mickey who made the threats, had the means to carry out his threats.

Township Police Chief Jenny Johnson said minutes after receiving the complaint, Barry Township Officers, along with Prairieville Officers, determined Mickey's location while he was traveling towards Barry Township. When officers attempted a traffic stop, Mickey fled into the Delton VFW parking lot where he was arrested, transported and lodged at the Barry County Jail. 

He was arraigned and charged with carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent,  fleeing and eluding police, making a threat of terrorism, carrying concealed weapons, and reckless driving.

Mickey is currently at lodged at Barry County Jail with a $100,000. cash surety bond.

Bay to Bay, a Hastings construction company, failed to pay back thousands of dollars in restitution after it reached a settlement, according to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

A spokesperson for LARA confirmed that Bay to Bay Building Concepts and its corporate officer, Jerold Saeman, still owes $66,703.83 to 12 homeowners.

Radon can't be seen, smelled, or tasted, but high levels of radon gas may be in residents’ homes, increasing their risk of lung cancer. Fortunately, testing is easy and high radon levels can be lowered. As the cold weather rolls in, individuals and families are spending more time at home, making it even more important to check for high radon levels.

According to a Michigan survey, high levels of radon are expected in one out of eight Michigan homes. The only way to know if a home has high radon levels is to test it. Homes should be tested every 2 years for high radon levels.

Easy, do-it-yourself radon test kits are available for free to residents of Barry and Eaton counties during January, which is Radon Action Month. There is a limit of one kit per address. Kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and supplies are limited.

Residents can pick up a kit at one of the below locations. After using it at home, residents should send it to the lab for testing.

Hastings: Health Department, 330 W. Woodlawn Ave. (269) 945-9516

Charlotte: Health Department, 1033 Healthcare Dr. (517) 543-2430

Lansing: Delta Township Hall, Assessing Department,
7710 W. Saginaw Hwy. (517) 323-8520

Delton: Delton District Library, 330 N. Grove St. (269) 623-8040

The Barry County Board of Commissioners held its' 2024 Organizational meeting and the first Committee of the Whole session of the year on Tuesday morning.

David Jackson was elected to serve another year as Chairperson of the Board, while David Hatfield was re-elected as Vice Chairperson. Their selections were confirmed unanimously.   Adoption of Board Rules, the Chairperson's appointment of members to committees, and meeting schedules for 2024 were adopted. 

The first regular Board of Commissioners meeting of the year will be held next Tuesday, January 9 at 9am.