A planning, assessment and feasibility study related to a proposed addition to the county courts building in Centreville was approved last week. County commissioners agreed to the $72,500 cost to tap the expertise of the National Center for State Courts. The Denver-based agency will spend the next six months analyzing the county’s needs in advance of what will potentially be …

St. Joseph County officials last week approved a measure that will ultimately lead to a water and sewer infrastructure at a county park in Fawn River Township. Commissioners agreed to fund a $160,000 plan that will upgrade the services to Cade Lake Park and Campground, thanks to an existing line servicing the village of Burr Oak. County administrator Pat Yoder …

A Sturgis woman accused of stabbing her sister in October 2014 pleaded no contest last week. Erica Gosnell will be sentenced Friday. As part of an agreement, Gosnell pleaded no contest to assault with intent to murder. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s intern dismissed all other charges connected with the assault, along with a separate assault charge. The prosecutor’s office …

Spring has finally sprung across many of the markets served by Frontier Communications, bringing with it construction projects large and small.  Spring is the perfect time of year to remind homeowners and construction companies to call 811 at least three working days before projects start. Calling 811 connects homeowners and contractors to their state’s one-call center, which in turn notifies …

A Detroit-area man who can’t see says a restaurant eschewed requirements of federal disability law when it asked him to remove his service dog. The Macomb Daily reports 38-year-old Nathan Schneck and his wife, Stacy, were at Grand Azteca restaurant in Fraser, with his service dog, Husker, sitting under the table. Schneck said the manager asked him to put the …

Valerie Ranee (Harvey) Gregrich, age 62, of White Pigeon, passed away Saturday, April 25th, at Borgess Medical Center. She was born on January 3, 1953, in Colon, a daughter of Miller Earl and Alberta (Schrader) Harvey. On June 17, 1995, she married Philip Gregrich. He preceded her in death on August 14, 2014. Valerie worked at Coachmen Industries, Middlebury, for …

The Wildcat golf team had their best team score of the year at Allegan’s jamboree on the Red Fox nine at Cheshire Hills Golf Course. The squad had a total of 179, good for third overall. The totals looked like this: Otsego 164 Plainwell 176 TR 179 Vicksburg 180 Sturgis 185 Allegan 189 The individual scores were, Collin Meyer 40, …

The March unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by one-tenth of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 4.6 percent March unemployment rate was more than February’s 4.5 percent. March’s unemployment rate, however, was 2 percent less than the same month one …

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz has charged Kurt DeYoung, 46, with two counts of home invasion and two counts of larceny in a building. The charges were issued Wednesday after the Cass County Prosecutor’s Office received a warrant request late in the afternoon the day before. The charges are based on an incident that occurred earlier this month at Diamond …

The city of Sturgis recorded an 8.1 percent gain in its overall financial position last fiscal year, posting a worth of just over $71 million at the end of the 2014 fiscal year, according to a recent independent audit. The audit, presented to the Sturgis City Commission last week, showed the city collected about $16.5 million in governmental operating revenue …