Larry Back, age 56, of Centreville, passed away Saturday, August 22, 2015 at Borgess Medical Center. Larry was born in Seymour, IN on February 20, 1959, a son of Willis and Dora (Short) Back. He graduated from Austin High School, Austin, IN, in 1977. Larry proudly served in the US Army. On November 21, 1987 he married Rebecca “Becky” Rowe in …

Michael Stanley Swiatkowski, 74, of Baldwin, passed away at home on June 26, 2015 with his loving wife by his side. He was born March 11, 1941 in Chicago, Ill. to Casimir and Della (Beben) Swiatkowski. Michael leaves behind his loving wife of 48 years, Carol (Masunas); and children, Marilyn (Ward), Tammy (Ostrowski) and Michael J. Swiatkowski. Michael had six …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has released the names of the two men involved in a fatal shooting Thursday evening in Three Rivers. McDonough said Westley George, 28, of Three Rivers faces a number of charges after fatally shooting Eugene Jackson, 24. The incident, McDonough said, is believed to be the result of a dispute between the two, and …

A Lake Michigan surfer is credited with aiding in the rescue of two teenage girls who were caught in an apparent rip current, according to police. The girls, ages 13 and 14, were approximately 800 feet from the pier in Grand Haven State Park, said Grand Haven Public Safety Director Jeff Hawke. Surfers and emergency personnel pulled them from Lake …

Three Rivers traveled to Arbor Hills Golf Club in Jackson for the Jackson Western Invitational with mixed results. Erin Taylor finished T15 overall with a score of 101 (out of 90 players). However the team ended up 17th out of the 18 teams. Also playing for the Wildcats were Maddie Reus, Sydney Ruth, Cara Smith and Sara Haydon. “This event …

Temporary substitute teachers hired by all St. Joseph County school districts will get a $5-per-day pay hike beginning this fall. The St. Joseph County Intermediate School District Board of Education this week approved the pay scales for everyone from substitute teachers to fill-in maintenance workers. Temporary classroom substitute teachers will be paid $85 for a full day in the classroom …

A prosecutor says a southwestern Michigan man won’t face reckless driving charges after police say he posted videos online of himself driving up to 160 mph on an area highway. TV station WWMT aired videos of the man driving on US-131 that were posted on a Facebook page. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says in a statement there are no witnesses …

Rita Mae (Walton) Erdos, 66, of Three Rivers, passed away suddenly on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015 at Three Rivers Health surrounded by her loving family. She was born on Nov. 24, 1948 in Three Rivers the daughter of the late Gerald Ray and Ella Mae (Goodwill) Walton. Rita has been a lifetime resident of this area. She was employed for …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is keeping an eye on three townships where an inordinate number of larceny-from-vehicle incidents has been reported. Sheriff Brad Balk said several incidents in the past few weeks have been reported by victims in Fabius, Lockport and Park townships. Balk issued a suggestion, urging residents to ensure their vehicles parked outside are locked day …

A Dowagiac woman recently submitted her claim for a lottery jackpot in excess of $195,000. According to a media release from the Michigan State Lottery, Joanne Kingman matched five out of five numbers in the Fantasy 5 lottery game. Kingman won after matching the digits 01-09-16-20 and 31 in the Aug. 7 nightly drawing. She bought her winning ticket at …