A 30-year-old man with a last known address in Three Rivers was identified as the victim of an early morning fire Monday in Fabius Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Thomas Nipper apparently broke into a storage barn at Meyer Broadway Park in an effort to seek shelter for the night. Investigators said Nipper intentionally started a fire …

A house in the 12000 block of Dickenson Road in Mottville Township was destroyed by fire Wednesday night. Fire officials said flames and heavy smoke were coming through the roof. Nobody was home at the time of the blaze, which was reported by a neighbor around 9 p.m. Personnel from the Michigan State Police Fire Investigation Division will follow-up on …

Bill Lentz was named the Sturgis Police Department’s Officer of the Year for 2011. The award was presented during Wednesday’s Sturgis City Commission meeting. Lentz was recognized by Public Safety Director David Northrup for his dedication to the department and his job. Northrup said Lentz has undertaken major cases in 2011 that yielded prosecution, including a criminal sexual conduct incident. …

Gary Lee Beauchamp, age 66 of White Pigeon, died Wednesday morning, Feb. 22, 2012 in a motor vehicle accident in Sturgis Township. He was born in LaPorte, IN on Jan. 30, 1946 the son of Vernon “Bud” and Norma (Bruner) Beauchamp. He attended Syracuse High School and was married to Fannie Hershburger; they were later divorced. Gary had resided in …

Melvis E. “Tex” Morris Jr., age 69, with a favorite saying of “Fire in the Hole,” passed away Monday, Feb. 21, 2012, at Sturgis Hospital. He was born Dec. 10, 1942, in Plattsburgh, N.Y., to Melvis E. Morris Sr. and Margaret (Learned) (Morris) Landry. On Feb. 12, 2010, he married Elaine Kay Jackson in Centreville. Mel was a talented mason …

Kalamazoo — The countdown is on for the Kalamazoo Wings. With just 19 games to go in the regular season the pressure is on as they battle to retain their hold on first place in the North Division. “Every point now from now until the end of the year is going to be harder and harder to get,” K-Wings coach …

James Robert Rahfeldt, 72, of Three Rivers, formerly of Elkhart, Ind., died at 7:50 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20, 2012 at Rose Arbor Hospice in Kalamazoo. He was born Feb. 15, 1940 in Michigan City, Ind. to Robert F. and Evelyn (Reed) Rahfeldt. On Oct. 26, 1963 in LaPorte, Ind. he married Shirley M. Garrett. She died on Jan. 9, 1996 …

Richard Lee Flowers, age 69, of Burr Oak, passed away Monday morning, Feb. 20, 2012, at his home. He was born Oct. 31, 1942, in Sturgis, a son of the late Carl and Florence (Miller) Flowers. Dick had resided most of his life in the Burr Oak area, except for the 15 years he lived in North Carolina. On June …

A 66-year-old White Pigeon man was killed in a two-vehicle accident Wednesday morning on U.S. 12 at Klinger Lake Road.  The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department reports that a vehicle driven by Gary Beauchamp was eastbound on U.S. 12 when it crossed the centerline and struck a westbound vehicle driven by a 91-year-old Sturgis woman.  Beauchamp was pronounced dead at …

Led by cheers from students from 18 area schools, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Toledo Walleye 3-1 during the first of two Education Day games at Wings Stadium Wednesday afternoon. Generating a majority of the shots in the opening period, the Walleye outshot the K-Wings 9-3 and earned the lone goal of the period on a backhander from Riley Emmerson …