2020 has been a year unlike any we’ve experienced in recent memory.
We first heard rumblings about the coronavirus wreaking havoc in the city of Wuhan in China early in the year; by late March, COVID-19 had disrupted nearly every aspect of our society.
While the effects of COVID-19 have certainly dominated the headlines this past year, there are many other stories that contributed to the landscape of 2020.
Over the next several days, we’ll take a look back at the stories that defined the past 12 months across the Tri-Cities. Today’s coverage begins in January and continues through March.
On Wednesday, we’ll feature April, May and June; Thursday’s Tribune will look back at July, August and September; and we’ll wrap up the series on Saturday with a look back at October, November and December.
January
Jan. 1 – Coopersville man missing. Eighteen-year-old Hunter Klompstra was reported missing after walking away from a New Years Eve party.
Jan. 6 – Four Pointes celebrate 50th anniversary. It began as the North Ottawa County Council on Aging in 1969. It was renamed several years ago to Four Pointes Center for Successful Aging and relocated to 1051 S. Beacon Blvd. The name reflects the agency’s four focus groups – physical, social, spiritual and intellectual – but it continues to offer services to people over the age of 50.
Jan. 8 – Chinook Pier shops shut down due to mold issues. The three buildings were eventually razed. Businesses that occupied the buildings were left looking for new homes; several moved into the Depot building.
Jan. 8 – Smith’s Bridge opens to traffic. The Ferrysburg City Council voted 4-3 to reopen the bridge to traffic after a second engineering presentation indicated the bridge was safe for use by most vehicles (the bridge remained closed to semitrailers and other heavy trucks). The bridge had been closed to vehicle traffic since June 2019.
Jan. 10 – Scott Flahive Memorial Highway. Signs actually went up in early December marking the stretch of U.S. 31 through Grand Haven as Officer Scott Flahive Memorial Highway in advance of the approval by Michigan’s legislature. Flahive was a 28-year-old Grand Haven police officer who was shot and killed by a jail escapee on Dec. 13, 1994.
Jan. 21 – Hank Jones sent back to prison. Jones was arrested for an incident in March 2019, when he led police on a high-speed chance before crashing into a house in Grand Haven.
Jan. 22 – Harbor Island boat launch closed for the season. Due to high water levels, the Grand Haven Department of Public Works announced that the boat launch on Harbor Island would be closed for the season. Several other projects were announced to deal with rising water levels, including raising Harbor Island Drive at U.S. 31.
Jan. 24 – Sexually explicit material in school libraries? Community member Jennifer Stuppy raised the question at a recent GHAPS school board meeting after learning that some of the books her kids were checking out detailed explicit scenes.
Jan. 25 – Winterfest breaks records. A record number of sleds took part in the annual Winterfest Cardboard Sled Race, as the event took place despite warmer-than-average temperatures, with rain and snow earlier in the week.
Jan. 31 – Changes to Tanglefoot Park? Spring Lake village leaders approved a focus group to research the park’s redevelopment.
February
Feb. 2 – Building boom. Most local municipalities saw an increase in the total number of building permits in 2019. Grand Haven Township, the City of Ferrysburg and the Village of Spring Lake saw the most significant growth.
Feb. 4 – Wildlife in distress? Several sick raccoons were reported around Grand Haven. City officials and the DNR warn to stay away from animals that are acting sick or injured. The same day, a deer fell through the ice on Lloyd’s Bayou, drawing a crowd.
Feb. 6 – What’s the forecast? GVSU’s Dr. Paul Isley used the word “recession” several times during his annual economic forecast breakfast. Isley also discussed the changes that the little-know coronavirus in China could have an impact on the local economy.
Feb. 7 – Fighting Mother Nature, and the courts. A Grand Haven Township couple went to court in an attempt to put erosion controls in front of their home on an eroding Lake Michigan bluff.
Feb. 8 – Local manufacturers feel the affect of coronavirus. Local manufacturing facilities, including Grand Haven-based GHSP, say the coronavirus in China is affecting their business. “It’s having an effect on pretty much the entire market due to the shutdowns in China,” said GHSP’s Dave Jerovsek.
Feb. 8 – City approves $100K to spruce up Depot. The City of Grand Haven poured the money into the building to help accommodate new tenants who would soon be moving in after the Chinook Pier buildings were closed due to mold concerns.
Feb. 10 – League of Women Voters celebrates 100 years. The local group dedicated to educating voters started during the National American Suffrage Association convention in 1920. The Grand Haven Area League of Women Voters started in 1945.
Feb. 12 – Tribune building hits the market. The building at 101 N. Third Street, which has been home to the Grand Haven Tribune since 1938 – was put on the market. The Tribune no longer prints or distributes papers out of the building, which was eventually purchased by local developer Denny Cherette.
Feb. 13 – Sims Plant officially ceases operations. The BLP’s J.B. Sims Generating Station shut down for the final time after its final load of coal was burned. The plant is slated for demolition in the coming year.
Feb. 18 – Thin ice. Two fishermen fell through the ice and had to be rescued from Spring Lake. Later the same day, a bald eagle landed on the ice and its wings froze to the ice. As the sun warmed the lake’s surface, the ice eventually melted, allowing the bird to fly away.
Feb. 19 – Mill Point Park closed. Due to high water, Spring Lake village officials announced the riverside park and boat launch are closed “indefinitely.”
Feb. 19 – Paid parking in Grand Haven? The topic raised plenty of eyebrows when discussed during the Grand Haven City Council meeting. The topic came up on a recommendation from the Grand Haven Main Street Downtown Development Authority. Many community members felt that charging for parking would hurt local businesses.
Feb. 20 – Farley returns to Grand Haven. Mike Farley, who led the Buccaneer football team to 44 victories and three playoff appearances during his eight years in Grand Haven from 2006 through 2013, was hired to reclaim the reigns of the GH football program.
Feb. 21 – Clean water at Robinson Elementary. Elevated PFAS was found in the water at the GHAPS elementary school in October 2018. Students and staff had been drinking water ever since, until now, when a new water filtration system costing around $60,000 was installed at the school.
Feb. 26 – Rev. Richard Rhem remembered. Rhem was the longtime leader of Christ Community Church. He died on Feb. 23 after a battle with congestive heart failure. He was 85.
Feb. 29 – Celebrating Leap Year. Several local residents who were born on Feb. 29 celebrated their ‘real’ birthday for the first time in four years.
March
March 5 – Overcoming the odds. Max Baykowski, a Lakeshore Middle School student who was born blind due to a rare genetic condition, joined the Grand Haven wrestling team, and won his first match on March 3, much to the delight of his teammates and coaches.
March 6 – Coronavirus concerns elevated. Local businessmen who travel extensively have seen their schedules disrupted due to the coronavirus. At the time, no cases of COVID-19 had yet been reported in Michigan.
March 7 – Preparing for COVID-19. As cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to rise around the world, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health has been monitoring news from other states and has reached out to health care providers, schools, faith-based organizations, first responders and long-term care facilities to offer guidance and preparedness.
March 10 – Klompstra’s body found. A body found in the Grand River on March 8 has been identified as missing Coopersville teen Hunter Klompstra. Klompstra had been missing since leaving a party on New Years Eve.
March 10 – Former city employee jailed for embezzling. Joseph James Balder, a former mechanic for the Grand Haven Department of Public Works, was sent to jail for embezzling more than $21,000 worth of equipment and supplies from the city. It was reported that 175 city-owned items were found on Balder’s property.
March 11 – SL man charged in GHT stabbing. Scott Alan Pardee was arraigned in Grand Haven District Court and faces up to four years in prison if convicted on charges of felonious assault and battery. Pardee allegedly stabbed another man with a box cutter knife.
March 12 – Ottawa County residents tested for COVID-19. Seven county residents have undergone testing for the coronavirus. Three cases tested negative and four more are pending results. As of March 11, there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Michigan. “We’re taking every step we can to mitigate the spread of the virus and keep Michiganders safe,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who declared a state of emergency.
March 13 – NOCHS implements visitor restrictions. As a safety precaution, the North Ottawa Community Health Systems implemented visitor restrictions in its facilities in response to the coronavirus.
March 13 – GH psychologist charged with sexual misconduct. William Peter Kooistra was arrested and released on bond after being arraigned on charges that he maintained a sexual relationship with one of his clients during therapy appointments.
March 13 – Sports put on hold. The Michigan High School Athletic Association suspended all winter sports state tournaments, and also halted spring sports that were just getting ready to start practicing. Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Fruitport boys basketball teams were all poised to play in their respective district championship games when the suspension hit. Those seasons were never concluded.
March 14 – Life on hold. With COVID-19 numbers increasing across Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered local schools to close. Those closures lasted the remainder of the school year. Many local churches transitioned to online worship services. The list of COVID-related closings became the Tribune’s top online story for the next several weeks.
March 17 – The last supper. Local restaurants celebrated their final day of indoor dining before being shut down due to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s orders, which also closed bars, coffee houses, movie theaters, performance venues, gyms and fitness centers, indoor sports facilities, spas and casinos.
March 17 – Local testing center opens. The North Ottawa Community Health System worked with the Ottawa County Health Department to open a testing center at the former Panera Bread restaurant on the 1100 block of Beacon Boulevard.
March 17 – Tulip Time canceled. The first major festival to succumb to the coronavirus was the annual Tulip Time Festival in Holland.
March 18 – Local grocers working to keep food on shelves. First, it was toilet paper and disinfectant wipes. Then, as people began to panic about shortages, shelves at local grocery stores were nearly devoid of many items, from fresh meat to flour and yeast. To help out, many area restaurants began selling staples.
March 18 – Court proceedings halted. In an effort to protect the public, Ottawa County Courts suspended many civil and criminal proceedings in their lower and upper courts.
March 20 – Dozens tested at NOCH site. More than 100 people contacted NOCH to express interest in being tested. Of those, 12 were accepted the first day and 14 the next day.
March 20 – Spring Lake to expand SXI program. Spring Lake Public Schools’ Board of Education voted unanimously to expand the district’s SXI special-education program to serve students in grades 5-8 with severe multiple impairments at Spring Lake Intermediate School. For the past few years, the district has housed a K-4 program at Holmes Elementary School.
March 24 – Stay-home order issued. Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Monday, March 23, told Michigan residents to stay home. Her order prohibits employees from requiring workers to leave their homes unless necessary to protect life or conduct minimum basic operations. It also bars all gatherings of any number outside a single household. As of this date, Michigan has seen 1,328 positive COVID-19 cases, with 15 deaths.
March 25 – A parade of support. With students learning from home, Peach Plains Elementary School staff drove through local neighborhoods waiving at students in an attempt to connect with the kids during the state’s “stay-at-home” executive order.
March 28 – Parks remain open for exploration. While most of Michigan is shut down due to COVID-19, Ottawa County’s parks remain open as a way for people to get out of their homes and stay active.
