John Douglas Brackett, age 70, of Scotts, passed away Monday, February 19, 2024 at Ascension Borgess Hospital. He was born May 2, 1953 in Three Rivers, the son of John and Adella (Bresnick) Brackett, and graduated from Three Rivers High School. John worked for many years as an auto mechanic and was a proud member of the Teamsters Union. A …

Brian Lee Petoskey, age 61, passed away on February 15th at his home in Three Rivers among family. Brian was born as the son of Brazil Petoskey and Barbra (Sallows) Petoskey on March 24th,1962. Five years later, Brian gained two older “sisters” when cousins Sharon (Gillespie) Wilkins and Rosie (Gillespie) Ebbinghaus, came to live with the family. They remained dear to …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution this week that could impact the number of Canada geese in the area. During their monthly board meeting Tuesday, commissioners agreed to support a plan that allows citizens to destroy goose nests and eggs. Commissioner Luis Rosado brought up discussion on the matter. He said the action was prompted by residents …

An electrical fire in the attic of a Branch County house earlier this week forced one person to seek medical treatment for smoke inhalation. Bronson Fire Department officials responded around 7:30 a.m. Monday to a residence on Southern Road in Gilead Township. As fire trucks arrived, smoke was visible from the single-story house at the southeast corner of Steffey and …

St. Joseph County voters will see a millage-renewal request on the August ballot. The request to place the 1-mill renewal proposal was made by the St. Joseph County Road Commission, represented Tuesday by board president Eric Shafer. A week after broaching the subject during the commission’s executive committee meeting Feb. 13, Shafer addressed the board during its monthly commission meeting …

St. Joseph County Undersheriff Jason Bingaman said the department has been requested to investigate an inordinate number of larcenies from vehicles and motor vehicle thefts. The uptick in occurrences has occurred between Friday last week and Monday this week. A department media release did not state the general area of the problem. Bingaman would like to remind the public to …

Glen Oaks Community College later this week will host a ceremonial ribbon-cutting to recognize the completion of one project and the start of another. Set for 10 a.m. Thursday, the fanfare celebrates the end of the school’s north campus renovation project. Meanwhile, college officials will mark the beginning of the south campus renovation project. Funding for the $7.3 million renovation …

Discussion on an urban chicken ordinance for Sturgis and developing potential ballot language continued last week at the Sturgis City Commission meeting. City officials examined ongoing changes to a proposed ordinance that laid out details on keeping chickens legally within the city limits. Commissioners were invited to weigh in on that language during the meeting. Commissioners also asked how six …

Margaret Joan (Brown) Bellaire, age 82, of Sturgis, passed away in her sleep Sunday, February 18, 2024 at home surrounded by her loving family. She was born January 20, 1942 in Sturgis, a daughter of the late Anson and Sylvia (Sutton) Brown Jr. Margaret had worked in Indiana and Michigan and had been employed by Summit Polymers, Inc. for 17 …

Gloria Elizabeth Crago, age 90, of Otsego, and former Mendon, Sturgis, and Three Rivers resident, passed away Saturday morning February 17, 2024 at Ely Manor in Allegan. She was born January 22, 1934 in Paw Paw, daughter of the late John and Alla (Lamphere) Hellinsbeck. Dallas Davis adopted and raised Gloria from the time she was five years old. Gloria’s …