BERRIEN COUNTY WELCOMES TWO NEW COMMISSIONERS & SIX DEPUTIES TO START THE 2023 YEAR

By DEBRA HAIGHT
ST. JOSEPH – 2022 ended with county officials welcoming two new county commissioners, the sheriff’s department welcoming new deputies, the Berrien County Trial Court handing out awards and area leaders still trying to find ways to fund broadband expansion.
Commissioners began 2022 by setting aside $6 million for broadband from the nearly $30 million the county is getting in American Rescue Plan Act funds. After awarding $1.26 million in grants to two townships for their broadband projects, county commissioners realized by the end of the year that they don’t have enough money to fund all the townships’ requests.
Three south county townships met the county’s Oct. 31 deadline for grant requests and submitted some of the biggest grant requests to the county.
Buchanan Township’s application to the county asked for $5.5 million in county funds which would be matched by $300,000 in local funds. Three Oaks Township submitted the second highest request to the county with a request for $4.51 million. Galien Township also submitted a grant request for nearly $3.1 million.
County Commissioner Teri Freehling reported in November that 17 communities in all submitted applications asking for a total of $34 million to fund broadband projects. She and other BC Bit taskforce members said at the time that they expected to not be able to fund all the requests and would have to seek other funding.
“With only $6,000,000 available for local broadband projects, if the county chose to fund only a handful of local requests, a considerable number of residents would remain unserved,” BC Bit members wrote in late December. “Moreover, it is difficult to develop objective criteria to determine which of the $34,000,000 in ARPA requests merit county assistance.”
They are recommending that the county defer any decision on township applications for funding until additional state and federal broadband grant programs become available. For example, the Michigan High Speed Internet Office will soon make $250 million worth of new grant opportunities available.
“The County should leverage its $6,000,000 ARPA allocation, and other necessary administrative resources, to procure additional state and federal grants to cover the cost differential between what the County has available for broadband deployment and what the true cost of county-wide deployment will likely be,” they concluded.
As county officials prepare to make those applications for additional funding, Freehling had one more request of people at the county board’s last meeting of 2022. She’s asking county residents to check out the Federal Communications Commission’s latest broadband availability map to make sure it’s accurate.
The county has already hired a firm to map broadband availability in the area but wants residents to do their own checking. The FCC map can be found at broadbandmap.fcc.gov and people are asked to check it make sure it’s accurate by Jan. 13.
“Whether it’s your location or your accessibility that’s being reported, this is being used for additional funding that’s coming from the state and the federal government. So, we are asking that the public help us to be able to verify that the information that’s there is accurate and correct,” she said.
The county board’s final meeting of 2022 also featured the swearing in of commissioners elected in November. The new county board meets for the first time this Thursday, Jan. 5 and elect new officers. The meeting is at the Berrien County Administration Center in St. Joseph and can also be viewed on the county’s YouTube channel.
Everyone elected in November were sworn in for new terms on the county board. In addition to the 10 incumbents re-elected, newcomers Chokwe Pitchford will represent the 3rd county board district for Benton Township succeeding James Martin and Alex Ott will represent the 9th county board district in Harbor Country succeeding Ezra Scott.
Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey introduced six new Berrien County Sheriff’s Department deputies at the county board’s Dec. 22 meeting. They have completed their law enforcement training at Oakland Community College and will now be taking on local assignments.
The new deputies are Marcus Chartrand, Dominic Forestieri, Sydney Gardner, Nick Jewell, Sabrina Laratta and Gregory Suida.
The end of the year also brought the announcement of the Berrien County Trial Court’s Employee Recognition Program Awards. Two of the three annual awards are named in honor of Trial Court Bailiffs Ronald Kienzle and Joseph Zangaro who lost their lives in a gun battle with an inmate being escorted from a St. Joseph courtroom on July 11, 2016.
The court’s Excellence in Service Award honors Zangaro who was the Security Supervisor for the court at the time of his death. “A man of highest integrity, Joe provided intentional leadership, dedication, diligence and service. He modeled these traits while expecting the same from his team,” a court press release stated.
Recipients of the Joseph Zangaro Excellence in Service Award are chosen due to their demonstrated leadership, dedication and excellence, thus enhancing the Mission, Vision and Core Values of the Berrien County Trial Court.
Nominations for this award can be made by any Trial Court employee and this year’s winner was Jean Lawrence, the intake manager/juvenile register for the court’s Family Division.

The United in Service Award honors Kienzle. “Known and beloved by every Court employee to cross his path, Ron knew everyone and displayed his infamous mischievous smile whenever he encountered his many friends and colleagues,” the press release stated. “Ron was described as a gentle giant, a lovable brute – but when you needed him, his presence brought security and stability to the situation.”
Recipients can be an individual or a team of employees and are chosen for their unique ability to bring people together through their intentionality in reaching across the aisle to develop and strengthen engagement between employees, the public, departments and/or divisions, thus enhancing the Mission, Vision and Core Values of the Berrien County Trial Court.
Nominations for this award can also be made by any Trial Court employee. This year’s winner was Paul Grenon, Sr., a court security officer.
The Employee of the Year Award is given every year to an employee who is productive and carries out his/her responsibilities with enthusiasm and initiative, is dependable and has a positive eye toward their responsibilities as well as fellow colleagues and customers, and stands as a role model for others.
The employee must also deliver exemplary service in their daily work and makes notable contributions to their department and/or the Court as well as takes ownership of their sphere of influence so that the reputation of the Court is protected, while remaining committed to professionalism and teamwork.
Nominations for this award will be made by each Court Administrator. This year’s winner was Rebeca Payne, a central assignment clerk.

A Selection Committee composed of the Chief Judge, the Presiding Judge from each division, the Friend of the Court Administrator, the Family Division Administrator, the Civil/Criminal Division Administrator and the Trial Court Administrator made the final selections.

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