Ezra J. Bontrager, age 87, 4 months, of Centreville, Mich., passed away March 20, 2015, at 7 p.m. at home surrounded by family. Ezra was born Nov. 30, 1927, in Sikeston, Mo., a son to the late John M. and Elizabeth (Mullet) Bontrager. Ezra lived in Centreville most of his life, where he had farmed and was a member of …

Three people were hurt when a methamphetamine lab exploded near Battle Creek early Sunday. Calhoun County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Bronson-Battle Creek hospital shortly after 3:00 am when the victims arrived. Deputies say they believe a 45-year-old man was cooking meth in his Burlington Township home when the explosion occurred, leaving him with severe burns to his face and hands. He has …

Indiana Michigan Power is working to refuel Unit 2 of the Cook Nuclear power plant in Berrien County. The unit had been running for 18 months with no issues, and the refueling outage will start at midnight Tuesday. About 25-hundred contracted workers are being brought in to help about 12-hundred regular employees at the Cook plant, according to Cook plant spokesman Bill …

The Archives of Michigan are now making available images of Michigan death certificates from 1921 to 1939. The certificates join others from 1897 to 1920 that were previously made available. The Michigan collection now contains 2.6 million death certificates for researchers. The images of death certificates are free on the Archives of Michigan website at seekingmichigan.org. State Archivist Mark Harvey says the index …

A new historical marker has been dedicated along the Ohio-Michigan state line to commemorate surveyors and their work 200 years ago. The Daily Telegram of Adrian reports an event took place Saturday along U.S. 127 at the border between Medina Township in Michigan and Gorham Township in Ohio. Fulton County, Ohio’s chief surveyor Joseph Fenicle unveiled the marker. Fenicle spearheaded …

A former Constantine Police reserve officer was sentenced Friday to at least 20 months in prison for lying under oath in a case related to the homicide of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack. Raymond McCann II, who previously pled no contest to lying under oath during the investigative subpoena into the 2007 homicide of Parrack, was sentenced in St. Joseph County Circuit …

A pair of funding requests from the St. Joseph County E-911 Central Dispatch was approved by county commissioners last week. The agency was allotted $4,128 for security cameras to replace black-and-white cameras that are 15 years old, and $74,200 was granted to repair and make improvements to the Centreville communications tower. County administrator Pat Yoder said the upgrade for security …

Organizers behind the twice-a-year collection of electronics and household hazardous waste would like the public to be aware of an important change coming next month. Due to circumstances impacting recyclers of electronics, there will be a $10-per item charge for all televisions and computer monitors when the annual spring collection takes place April 18 at the county fairgrounds. There will …

Indiana Michigan Power has announced that customers have the option to be notified by text message or email when their home or business is affected by a power outage. Customers enrolled in I&M ON THE GO – Mobile Alerts, will receive a notification when an outage has been reported in their area. Customers will continue to get immediate updates as …

Harry Scott Brown, age 86, of Three Rivers, died Sunday, March 22, 2015 at his home. He was born in Three Rivers on March 31, 1928 the son of the late Elmer E. and Emma C. (White) Brown and attended Three Rivers Schools. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953. While stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland he …