Last week’s column focused on those first responders from the Three Rivers Fire Department, Station Number Two. I failed to mention the volunteer firefighters, who are called upon whenever the need arises. An example might be whenever a major accident or fire occurs and the four firefighters on duty are needed to respond, which would leave no one at the …

Mendon Community Schools Board of Education members gave interim superintendent Roger Rathburn a vote of confidence Monday, as the seven-member panel agreed to extend Rathburn’s contract through the 2016-17 academic year. Rathburn joined the district after board members agreed last spring to not continue to participate with Centreville Public Schools in a shared-superintendent agreement. Rathburn said he’ll confirm his decision …

State police arrested a 31-year-old Indiana woman for alleged drunken driving following a traffic stop over the weekend in White Pigeon Township. Authorities said a motorist phoned police at 7:15 a.m. Sunday to report a vehicle with two flattened tires traveling east on U.S. 12 in the village of White Pigeon. The caller indicated the vehicle was not staying in …

A Sturgis man faces four counts of felonious assault and additional charges after he allegedly pointed a handgun at his girlfriend’s ex-husband during a child-custody exchange. Sturgis police said officers were called at 7:30 p.m. Sunday to the 600 block of North Lakeview Street in response to a man with a gun. Officers were told the 43-year-old man was intoxicated …

Sturgis city commissioners must decide if they’ll spend a large share of this year’s local road millage to make an industrial access road a concrete surface, at the expense of doing some other city streets. City engineer Barry Cox last week said the initial plan for resurfacing Wade Road, off M- 66 South, called for asphalt paving. That total project …

Teresa Christine Smith, age 56, of Juneau, Alaska, and a former resident of Sturgis, passed away Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, at her home. She was born Feb.2, 1959, in Sturgis, a daughter of David Lee and Karen K. (Paxton) Gilbo. Teresa resided in Alaska for the past several years. She also lived in Oregon for more than 20 years and …

Authorities say one person died and more than a dozen were injured after about 60 vehicles were involved in a series of crashes in snowy weather along Interstate 94 in southwestern Michigan. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports three people were critically injured and 11 others, including a Van Buren County sheriff’s deputy, had minor injuries following the crashes near Hartford about …

Helen E. Engle, age 91, of Colon, went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016. She was born March 31, 1924, near Centreville, a daughter of the late Ed and Ranetta (Lahrke) Brueck. She had one brother, LeRoy Brueck, who preceded her in death. She was a graduate of Centreville High School and worked at …

Nottawa County Park, located on Sand Lake in Nottawa Township, will no longer operate as a campground and will instead shift its focus toward becoming a more family-friendly, day-use park. Parks and Recreation director Jaymes MacDonald said the St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Commission reached its decision last week after several months of debating the issue. The commission is …

Miscommunication, coupled with a language barrier and post-Vietnam War issues, resulted in tense moments Thursday at a Mottville residence. Michigan State Police were called to a home on Thomas Street to check on the well-being of a woman. Troopers had been led to believe the woman was being held at the home against her will. She had communicated to a …