Local resident is new county sheriff
Sheriff Kevin Hoch, Courtesy photo
By Mark McAlpine, Contributing Writer
On Friday, September 8, Kevin Hoch started his day as the Undersheriff for Antrim County. He finished the day at his Elk Rapids home as the new Antrim County Sheriff following the Friday retirement of longtime Sheriff Daniel Bean.
A special Antrim County board comprised of the county prosecutor, probate judge and clerk named Hoch interim sheriff to replace Bean following interviews with several candidates. Hoch will take over a 60-person department and responsibilities over the jail staff, prisoners, road patrol, marine division, and kitchen staff. He will serve out the remainder of Bean’s current term and plans to run in 2024 for a new four-year term starting January 2025.
Sheriff Hoch started his law enforcement career as a marine deputy with Grand Traverse County. That two-summer assignment followed by reserve deputy duties led him to an opportunity with the Mancelona police department in 1994. He found a home with the Antrim County Sheriff Department in 1996 as a corrections officer. From there, Hoch began a 27-year climb through the ranks as a road patrol officer, accident investigator, detective, road patrol sergeant, field training supervisor, admin sergeant, and finally undersheriff. Over that period, he was a member of the Michigan Mutual Aid Dive Team for 22 years, assisting local municipal police departments in rescue, investigation, and recovery. He added a Police Staff and Command certificate through the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety program before his advancement to undersheriff.
Hoch has called Elk Rapids home for the past eight years and Milton Township for 20 years before that. He recently celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary with wife Kimberly and their two daughters, both recent graduates of Elk Rapids High School. “Elk Rapids is beautiful,” Hoch said. “The people are phenomenal. When you walk down the street everyone greets you with a hello. My wife is from a small town and wanted to raise our children in a small-town environment. She participated in sports against Elk Rapids and has always liked the town.”
Hoch will begin his duties as Antrim County sheriff with department staff meetings to review several planned changes to road patrol coverage. George Lasater, most recently with the Charlevoix County sheriff office, has joined the Antrim County staff as undersheriff to support Hoch. According to Hoch, their top priorities will be to establish quicker road patrol response throughout the county, finalize plans for a new public safety building and deal with a growing drug problem in northern Michigan. The road patrol realignment will create east to west patrol coverage which Hoch believes will improve response time for citizen calls.
Plans for a new public safety building started with Sheriff Bean and will continue under Hoch. The new facility has been designed to replace the existing jail, built in 1955. The plans for the building include space for the sheriff department staff, 911 dispatch center, emergency manager and operations center, training room and space for a secure mental health treatment facility. According to Hoch, initial plans have been completed but engineering drawings will be required before final construction bids are obtained.
Approval from voters would be required for an estimated 1.0 mill property assessment over a period of 15 or 20 years to cover the cost of the new facility. The county, with the assistance of Grand Valley State University, is in the process of surveying Antrim County residents to determine the level of support for the new facility. If the proposed Public Safety Center is approved, the Sheriff Department will relocate to the renovated health department building until completion of the new facility.
Hoch sees the planned mental health treatment facility in the new center as a vital addition to county services. Antrim County participates in the Stepping Up program, a national initiative that, according to program literature, “provides county leaders with resources and tools needed to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders in local justice systems.” Antrim County, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Otsego, along with 26 other Michigan counties, have signed on to the initiative with the hopes of developing programs to reduce court and sheriff department involvement with citizens with behavorial health needs. Hoch believes that Antrim County is ahead of most other counties in plans to implement the program.
Sheriff Hoch believes that drug abuse is a significant piece of that puzzle and his department’s biggest challenge right now. According to statistics from a National Center for Drug Abuse (NCDAS) estimate release in May 2023, 109,680 people died from drug overdoses in 2022. A total of 2,993 of those deaths occurred in Michigan. Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, drove the majority of the deaths. While Michigan overdose deaths decreased in 2022, experts credit the availability of Narcan for that decrease. Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, can reverse an opioid overdose if administered correctly and in time. The FDA has approved Narcan for over-the-counter sales. It is now carried by all local and county police and emergency responders in Antrim County.
“All of our deputies carry Narcan,” Hoch said. “We have a plan with the road patrol and detectives to deal with the problem. Can we stop it all? No – I wish we could, but we definitely will put a dent in it.”
While his days will start with a drive to the office in Bellaire, Hoch plans to continue providing updates to township and village meetings throughout the county. He looks forward to continuing to be a part of the Elk Rapids community. “I appreciate the support of everyone,” Hoch said. “My door is always open.”
On Friday, September 8, Kevin Hoch started his day as the Undersheriff for Antrim County. He finished the day at his Elk Rapids home as the new Antrim County Sheriff following the Friday retirement of longtime Sheriff Daniel Bean.
A special Antrim County board comprised of the county prosecutor, probate judge and clerk named Hoch interim sheriff to replace Bean following interviews with several candidates. Hoch will take over a 60-person department and responsibilities over the jail staff, prisoners, road patrol, marine division, and kitchen staff. He will serve out the remainder of Bean’s current term and plans to run in 2024 for a new four-year term starting January 2025.
Sheriff Hoch started his law enforcement career as a marine deputy with Grand Traverse County. That two-summer assignment followed by reserve deputy duties led him to an opportunity with the Mancelona police department in 1994. He found a home with the Antrim County Sheriff Department in 1996 as a corrections officer. From there, Hoch began a 27-year climb through the ranks as a road patrol officer, accident investigator, detective, road patrol sergeant, field training supervisor, admin sergeant, and finally undersheriff. Over that period, he was a member of the Michigan Mutual Aid Dive Team for 22 years, assisting local municipal police departments in rescue, investigation, and recovery. He added a Police Staff and Command certificate through the Northwestern University Center for Public Safety program before his advancement to undersheriff.
Hoch has called Elk Rapids home for the past eight years and Milton Township for 20 years before that. He recently celebrated his 30th wedding anniversary with wife Kimberly and their two daughters, both recent graduates of Elk Rapids High School. “Elk Rapids is beautiful,” Hoch said. “The people are phenomenal. When you walk down the street everyone greets you with a hello. My wife is from a small town and wanted to raise our children in a small-town environment. She participated in sports against Elk Rapids and has always liked the town.”
Hoch will begin his duties as Antrim County sheriff with department staff meetings to review several planned changes to road patrol coverage. George Lasater, most recently with the Charlevoix County sheriff office, has joined the Antrim County staff as undersheriff to support Hoch. According to Hoch, their top priorities will be to establish quicker road patrol response throughout the county, finalize plans for a new public safety building and deal with a growing drug problem in northern Michigan. The road patrol realignment will create east to west patrol coverage which Hoch believes will improve response time for citizen calls.
Plans for a new public safety building started with Sheriff Bean and will continue under Hoch. The new facility has been designed to replace the existing jail, built in 1955. The plans for the building include space for the sheriff department staff, 911 dispatch center, emergency manager and operations center, training room and space for a secure mental health treatment facility. According to Hoch, initial plans have been completed but engineering drawings will be required before final construction bids are obtained.
Approval from voters would be required for an estimated 1.0 mill property assessment over a period of 15 or 20 years to cover the cost of the new facility. The county, with the assistance of Grand Valley State University, is in the process of surveying Antrim County residents to determine the level of support for the new facility. If the proposed Public Safety Center is approved, the Sheriff Department will relocate to the renovated health department building until completion of the new facility.
Hoch sees the planned mental health treatment facility in the new center as a vital addition to county services. Antrim County participates in the Stepping Up program, a national initiative that, according to program literature, “provides county leaders with resources and tools needed to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders in local justice systems.” Antrim County, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Otsego, along with 26 other Michigan counties, have signed on to the initiative with the hopes of developing programs to reduce court and sheriff department involvement with citizens with behavorial health needs. Hoch believes that Antrim County is ahead of most other counties in plans to implement the program.
Sheriff Hoch believes that drug abuse is a significant piece of that puzzle and his department’s biggest challenge right now. According to statistics from a National Center for Drug Abuse (NCDAS) estimate release in May 2023, 109,680 people died from drug overdoses in 2022. A total of 2,993 of those deaths occurred in Michigan. Fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, drove the majority of the deaths. While Michigan overdose deaths decreased in 2022, experts credit the availability of Narcan for that decrease. Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, can reverse an opioid overdose if administered correctly and in time. The FDA has approved Narcan for over-the-counter sales. It is now carried by all local and county police and emergency responders in Antrim County.
“All of our deputies carry Narcan,” Hoch said. “We have a plan with the road patrol and detectives to deal with the problem. Can we stop it all? No – I wish we could, but we definitely will put a dent in it.”
While his days will start with a drive to the office in Bellaire, Hoch plans to continue providing updates to township and village meetings throughout the county. He looks forward to continuing to be a part of the Elk Rapids community. “I appreciate the support of everyone,” Hoch said. “My door is always open.”
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