Voters in the Three Rivers Community Schools district will decide later this year whether to support a 1.95 mill, sinking-fund request. District officials on Monday agreed to put the measure before voters during the May 5 vote. If approved, the request would generate an estimated $9.9 million over its eight-year life. The proposal would cost the owner of a house …

St. Joseph County Sheriff Brad Balk said the department last month recognized a day designated for support of law enforcement nationwide. Jan. 9 was Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, an occasion endorsed by the Michigan Sheriff’s Association. Balk said the event was staged in conjunction with the group Concerns of Police Survivors. According to Balk, the event was created in response …

A Mendon High School junior was the recipient of a prestigious honor recently at the annual Winter Beef Classic in East Lansing. Ty Cool competed in the heifer showmanship event, along with showing his own stock in other classes. Cool received the Michigan Junior Livestock Society’s senior division Showman Award as well as the coveted Supreme Champion Heifer Showman. Staged …

Roger Bird has been named to Sturgis Area Community Foundation’s board of trustees. Bird, an attorney with the firm of Bird, Svendsen, Brothers & Scheske, has served as the city attorney for Sturgis since 1993. A longtime Sturgis resident, Bird has served many community organizations since moving to the city after graduation from law school. He currently serves as president …

Constantine Police Chief Mark Honeysett said an area near Constantine High School will see a greater presence in response to complaints about reckless driving by students at the end of the school day. Honeysett said complaints stem from the manner students operate their vehicles on Falcon Drive and Riverside Drive. Honeysett said he has sent a letter to parents of …

The Michigan Senate Tuesday on a 28-9 vote approved legislation designed to speed up the process for obtaining a concealed weapons permit in Michigan. Specifically, the bills eliminate county gun boards and transfers the permit procedure to county clerks, sheriffs and the Michigan State Police. An earlier version of the measure had been vetoed by Governor Rick Snyder, who said it also …

A lucky Labrador has been rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after falling into an icy northern Michigan channel. The Grand Rapids Press reports that staffers at the Frankfort Coast Guard station saw the dog go into the waterway Tuesday morning between Betsie Lake and Lake Michigan. Boatswain mate Tim Putnam and others quickly tossed on ice rescue suits and …

Violet Ann Stepp, age 1 month, of Marcellus, MI passed away Monday, February 2, 2015 at Mott’s Children Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI. She was born December 4, 2014 the daughter of Cameron A. Stepp and Penelope J. Landgraf. She is survived by her parents, her twin sister Magnolia Joy, maternal grandparents, Major Joseph and Kelly Caldwell Landgraf of Marcellus; maternal …

Janice J. Biland, 88, of White Pigeon, died Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, at Bowman House in Three Rivers, following an extended illness. She was born March 14, 1926, in Saint Clair, a daughter of P. Raymond and Lucille A. (Markle) Borntrager. She was a White Pigeon resident since 1968, coming from Manistee, L’Anse and Pontiac. She was a homemaker, employed …

I’m one of the luckiest guys in town. I’m retired, am happily married to my best friend, and I keep busy volunteering. I love writing and am honing my writing skills by writing this column, plus a couple of other newsletters. For the past eight years, I’ve occupied a small office upstairs at LA’s Coffee Cafe. As a matter of …