I don’t know how I would get along if I didn’t have a planner. A lot of people keep a planner in their phones and I’m sure it works quite well for them, as long as they remember to check it regularly. Some have calendars hanging in their kitchen. The biggest problem with planners and calendars is that you must …

Sue Ann Geer, age 63, of Elkhart, and formerly of Sturgis, passed away Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019, at Greenleaf Health Campus in Elkhart. Sue was born Sept. 24, 1956, in Sturgis, to Edwin and Patricia Smoker. On June 23, 1984, she married David L. Geer Sue graduated from Sturgis High School and Glen Oaks Community College, where she received a …

Larry Wilkins, age 78, of Three Rivers, passed into the arms of angels in the early hours of Tuesday, September 24, 2019 surrounded by his loving family. He was born July 2, 1941 in Detroit, the son of Harry and Edna (Hackenberg) Wilkins. He graduated Three Rivers High School in 1960. On June 29, 1963 he married Terry Lusson in …

Thomas Eugene Waltke, age 84, of Sturgis, passed away Thursday, Sept. 26, 2019, at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Thomas was born Feb. 20, 1935, a son of the late Elwood Waltke and Mary Barnell Trattles. On March 12, 1955, Thomas married his wife of 64 years, Helen Wondergem, in Sturgis at Church of the Nazarene. Thomas and Helen would spend their …

Janice Ileen Modert, age 83, of Robbinsville, N.C., formerly of Frostproof, Fla., passed away Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, at Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital, surrounded by her loving family. Janice was born March 28, 1936, a daughter of the late David Earl Vorce and the late Goldie Jasper. She is preceded in death by her husband, Ronald Leroy Modert, in 2013. …

The Michigan Department of Health & Human Services and 12 local health departments will be conducting aerial spraying in 14 counties to combat mosquito-borne disease. This action is due to the large geographic distribution and number of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) cases in humans and/or animals, coupled with warm weather projections. Spraying is scheduled to take place starting Sunday, September …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says there will be no partial government shutdown next week now that the entire state budget is on her desk. The administration emailed all 48,000 state employees Friday afternoon, three days before the deadline to enact the spending plans. There will be no temporary layoffs starting on Tuesday. Department directors told workers that Whitmer “will be …

Two Mexican gray wolf pups at a Michigan zoo have died of a rare mosquito-borne virus as health officials work to curb the spread of the virus in people and animals. Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek says results this week confirm the pups that died in early September were killed by Eastern equine encephalitis. Separately, in Kent County, a …

A southwestern Michigan police chief has died after crashing his vehicle into a tree. Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Sgt. Craig Schmaltz says 59-year-old Nashville Police Chief Chris Allen Koster died in the crash about 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Richland Township. Investigators say Koster’s vehicle went off a road and struck a tree. No other passengers were in Koster’s vehicle at the …

William “Bill” P. Zuzanek, age 88, of Three Rivers, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Bill was born on April 29, 1931 in Chicago, to the late William P. Adams and Helen (Koubek) Adams. Bill leaves behind to cherish his memory, his wife of 30 years, Doris (Mechling) Bell, whom he married on October 28, 1989, two daughters …