The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has been recognized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials for its ability to plan for, respond to and recover from public health emergencies. The local health department demonstrated these capabilities by meeting the comprehensive preparedness benchmarks required by Project Public Health Ready, a unique partnership between NACCHO and the Centers …

Members of the White Pigeon Fire Department stationed their fire trucks at the corner of U.S. 12 and Kalamazoo Street in White Pigeon Saturday and walked through stopped traffic to raise money for Habitat for Humanity of St Joseph County. Organized by fire chief Troy Andrews, the effort over a four-hour period the department raised more than $2,000 for the …

Quick action by employees at Jaywalkers Restaurant in Mottville Sunday kept fire damage to a minimum. Around 11 a.m., White Pigeon firefighters were called to the business in response to a stove fire. First-arriving personnel found that employees had extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported. Troopers from Michigan State Police assisted.

The Constantine Village Council has adopted a resolution to raise industry rates to be more in line with treatment-plant charges. Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett during last week’s meeting said the changes should be made in billing industrial water/sewer users, primarily because the village is being charged about $36,000 a year more than it is billing. Honeysett said changes to …

More than two dozen homeowners in a southwest Michigan community are frustrated after county officials told them to remove their stone mailboxes. On July 14, letters from the Road Commission of Kalamazoo County were sent to 25 homeowners in a Texas Township subdivision, saying they must replace the stone and brick mailboxes by Aug. 14. The letters say the mailboxes …

Alice M. Zinsmaster, 83, of Mendon, died Thursday, July 23, 2015. Arrangements will be announced later by the Eickhoff Funeral Home of Mendon.

Michael Wayne Timm, 56, of Sturgis, passed away on Thursday, July 23, 2015. In accordance with family wishes cremation has been conducted and the family will receive friends from 12:00 noon until time of memorial services beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, August 7, 2015 at Hohner Funeral Home with Pastor Marty Culver officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may …

The June unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was unchanged compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 4.7 percent June unemployment rate was equal to the same figure in May. June’s unemployment rate was 1.2 percent less than the same month one year earlier, when …

A pair of Centreville residents were in fair condition after being involved in a single-vehicle accident last week in downtown Centreville. Centreville police said a pickup driven by 65-year-old Larry Back was heading west on West Main Street shortly before 4 p.m. Thursday, when the vehicle left the roadway, crashed into street signs and brought down a power pole near …

Windows at Flowerfield Township Hall were damaged sometime between July 14 and July 23, according to state police. Investigators said it appears the windows were damaged by a pellet or handgun.