Officers from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a hit-and-run crash that resulted in a vehicle fire inside the Langley Covered Bridge. According to a department media release, deputies were called around 6 p.m. Monday to the Lockport Township landmark, where a motorcycle was found on fire closer to the north end of the bridge, Investigators determined the …

An attractive financial offer from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources prompted members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to allocate more than $200,000 for property acquisition. The county’s commitment of nearly $227,000 represents 31 percent of the almost-$732,000 needed to purchase a 126-acre property in Burr Oak Township. The land is to be managed and overseen …

Bus service for students in Colon Community Schools in the fall will be provided by a Lansing-based company, as the district’s board of education voted Monday to outsource its transportation department. The agreement with Dean Transportation is expected to save Colon about $158,000 annually, according to district officials. As part of its agreement, Dean Transportation will purchase all 14 of …

Approval to fill two positions at the sheriff’s department and authorization to a change in employment status for three Juvenile Day Treatment Program monitors was issued by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday. The action means the sheriff’s department can proceed with filling a full-time corrections officer spot and a full-time road patrol position. Also, the employment status …

Clifford Merle Ditmer, Jr., age 58, of Nottawa, and formerly of Burr Oak, lost his hard-fought battle with cancer Saturday, May 16, 2015, at home, surrounded by his family. Clifford was born Nov. 3, 1956, in Sturgis, a son of Clifford Merle Ditmer Sr. and Dale (Woodman) Webster. Survivors include his loving wife, Loreane (Conley) Ditmer of Nottawa; his mother; …

Harriet Emeline Altland, formerly of White Pigeon, died March 15, 2015, in Mancos, Colo. She was born Dec. 12, 1922, in Centreville to Millard Roland and Bessie Elizabeth (Brown) Snow. She graduated from Centreville High School and then St. Camillus School of Nursing at Borgess in Kalamazoo in 1945. In 1947, she married the love of her life, William J. …

The internet is full of remedies: everything from curing toenail fungus to preventing baldness. Some of these remedies actually work, and some are just plain crazy and could be harmful to your health. I have several skin tags on my upper body that I’d really like to get rid of. As a matter of fact, one physician in town refers …

A shared superintendent with Bronson Community Schools is an option members of the Colon Community Schools Board of Education have agreed to investigate. The seven-member board Monday decided to consider a partnership with its neighboring district and its first-year leader, Teresa Belote (buh-LOAT). The measure was endorsed as Colon Community Schools is searching for a new school chief after Vic …

A Three Rivers man faces seven counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after he was bound over to circuit court last week. Cary Jones, 46, was charged following his alleged infractions at the Abracadabra Daycare facility in Three Rivers, where his girlfriend was the owner. Last week’s proceedings took place in St. Joseph County District Court, where five children between …

Laura Marie Briggs, age 83, of Three Rivers passed away on Friday, May 15, 2015 at Bronson Methodist Hospital. She was born in Plover , WI the daughter of Edwin D. and Georgina (Gemberling) Slack. Laura was a resident of Three Rivers for over sixty years. She was employed for many years as a retail manager of Spiegel’s in Kalamazoo. …