[joelg236]

I found the solution to this problem, so I'll post the answer for reference.

    public static String getSetting(String name) throws NoSettingFound {
        if(Preferences.getInstance().containsKey(name)) {
            return Preferences.getInstance().getString(name, null);
        }else {
            throw new Errs.NoSettingFound(name);
        }
    }

Basically, there is a method meant just for this problem.