No injuries were reported during a house fire earlier this week in the city of Three Rivers. The fire department responded to 424 Fourth Ave. at 9 p.m. Wednesday to find heavy smoke coming from the two-story structure. Crews had the fire under control in 20 minutes. Fifteen firefighters responded and were on the scene for approximately two-and-a-half hours. A …

The Branch and St. Joseph counties offices of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Department will sponsor free hearing and vision screening opportunities in February in honor of Low-Vision Month. Hearing and vision technicians will be available to screen homeschoolers or children who have missed their screening date and need to be screened. An in-house clinic takes place 9 a.m. to …

Sturgis city commissioners have approved a contract for construction of a handicapped- access ramp to the fishing pier at St. Joseph County’s Pahl Point Park, near Centreville. The $10,100 project was endorsed by the board during its Wednesday meeting this week. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission required Sturgis to make recreation improvements at its hydroelectric plant as a prerequisite for …

A Kalamazoo man accused of killing his 2-year-old son faces sentencing next month after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.  40-year-old Brian Keith Roberts entered the plea Wednesday, the same day his trial was to begin in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.  Under a deal with prosecutors, felony murder and first-degree child abuse charges will be dismissed.  Kalamazoo officers found Nehemiah Dodd …

Laura May Neamen, age 89, of Three Rivers, MI passed away Wednesday, January 14, 2015 after a recent illness. She was born July 9, 1925 in Mishawaka, IN the daughter of Raymond F. and Marie F. (Smith) Johnson. She was raised in Edwardsburg, MI by her maternal grandparents Theodore and Samantha Smith. On July 23, 1944 in Elkhart, IN she …

Hi, there. It’s me again. I was Pet of the Week last week but the ladies think I would make such a nice pet that they wanted me to be P.O.W. again. I am a female black lab/sharpei mix, about 6 years old. I’m very cute, with a face that is just a little bit wrinkly and I am a …

St. Joseph County has been awarded $3 million over the next three years for a new Early Head Start program that local educators say has the potential to change the landscape of preschool child care countywide. The competitive grant — one of only three awarded in Michigan — is expected to have impact on the kindergarten readiness of more than …

The St. Joseph County Water Trail Master Plan will be open for public comment starting Friday. The document will be available in hard copy at the county courthouse in Centreville and digitally on the county’s website. The public-comment session runs through Feb. 16. According to Suzanne Fromson, landscape architect with Edgewater Resources, the plan outlines a strategy to help the …

Three Rivers Waste Water Treatment Plant personnel caused a spill of untreated biosolids inside the facility around 4 p.m. Monday. According to department officials, an operator was transferring biosolids from one tank to another and neglected to close the necessary valves before disconnecting the transfer hose. Approximately 100 gallons were released onto the snow near the transfer location. Plant personnel …

A 21-year-old Kalamazoo man has been charged in the shooting death of an Oshtemo Township woman. The Kalamazoo County prosecutor says Korbin Thomas is charged with open murder and felony firearm. He’s accused of fatally shooting 21-year-old Jazmyne Gibson in her town house on Sunday night. Undersheriff Paul Matyas says the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a …