The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners this week approved funding allocations for improvements at a pair of county-operated parks. Commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting agreed to grant parks and recreation director Jaymes MacDonald financial support to purchase and install two handicap-accessible docks at Cade Lake Campground. In a separate matter, funding was made available for adding personnel to collect daily …

A 60-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the leg Tuesday in Constantine Township. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 10000 block of New England Road shortly before 5 a.m. to find the man in stable condition He was transferred by LifeCare Ambulance to Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo for further treatment. Additional details were not available, as the …

Three Rivers Firefighters responded to a blaze Wednesday morning on East Michigan Avenue. The incident occurred shortly after 9 a.m. at a residence in the 400 block of the city street. Additional details about the extent of damage and whether anyone was hurt were not available by Wednesday afternoon.

St. Joseph County has continued its snow-removal agreement with Adams Excavating. During action Tuesday, commissioners approved the independent-contractor agreement with Scott Adams for the job. Adams will respond when snow accumulation reaches two inches or more. His work will cover the courthouse and courts building lots, an annex lot, the parks building and animal control lots, and the sheriff’s department …

Robert A. Zabel, age 86, of Sturgis, passed away early Wednesday morning, Jan. 21, 2015, at Matthew 7:7 Adult Foster Care Home in White Pigeon. He was born April 27, 1928, in Sturgis, a son of the late Herman and Inez (Reamer) Zabel. Bob was a lifelong Sturgis resident and a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of …

Michigan retailers report that sales during the just-completed holiday season were “positive” and better than last year, even though they did not meet pre-season expectations. A new survey from the Michigan Retailers Association found that a strong December made up for a slow start in November, as retailers posted an average year-to-year sales improvement of 1.1 percent. That was slightly …

Michigans unemployment in December fell to its lowest level in more than 12 years. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says the jobless rate last month was down by four-tenths of a percentage point to 6.3 percent. That’s the lowest monthly rate for the state since the November 2002 rate of 6.2 percent. The states labor force was …

Kristine Anne “Kris” Reid, 64, of Sturgis, passed away Monday, Jan. 19, 2015 at home. She was born May 11, 1950 in Three Rivers a daughter to the late Douglas J. and Elizabeth (Meyer) Bullock. As a young girl Kristie became an avid stamp collector and developed a love of reading with “Nancy Drew Mysteries” and “Superman Comic Books.” As …

Betty Mae Bontrager, age 84, formerly of White Pigeon, died Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. She was born Jan. 26, 1930, in White Pigeon, a daughter of William Stewart and EdnaMae (Simpson) McClain and attended Cook Country School on Vistula Road. Betty was a homemaker who also worked in the shipping department at Kent Company in Elkhart, …

A 51-year-old man has been sentenced to six months in jail after authorities say he beat his girlfriend with a two-week-old puppy, causing the animal’s death.  Timothy Tucker also was sentenced Tuesday to four years of probation and entry into the Swift and Sure Sanctions Program. He was ordered to pay state fees and restitution.  Tucker pleaded guilty in December …