TR Cares begins collecting signatures in recall effort

A Cass County judge did not take action on an appeal regarding the effort to recall three members of the Three Rivers school board.
With the 40-day window for circuit court Judge Michael Dodge closed, organizers of the attempted recall against Pete Bennett, Diana DeGraaf and Erin Nowak started collecting petition signatures Saturday.
Dodge in early December was assigned the appeal of a Nov. 18 clarity/factual hearing conducted by the St. Joseph County Election Commission. The three-member panel concurred that wording in petitions showed sufficient clarity in stating the reasons for the attempted recalls.
Bennett, DeGraaf and Nowak on Nov. 30 appealed the commission’s vote and the matter was delegated to Dodge. The 40-day period during which he had to act on the matter is set by state statute and concluded Friday.
TR Cares headquarters, which has a downtown storefront, is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 12 to 5 p.m. Sundays, through Jan. 29.
If it is authorized, the recall vote would take place in May.