A nationally known pageant contestant returned to her roots Wednesday. Mekayla Diehl, a 2007 White Pigeon High School alumna, was the guest speaker at the White Pigeon Rotary Club meeting. Diehl, an Elkhart resident, represented Indiana in last June’s Miss USA Pageant. She placed in the top 20. With high school students from the White Pigeon Rotary’s Interact Club present, …

J.H .“Jay” Kelley, Sr. ,age 75, of White Pigeon went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, January 7, 2015 at his home surrounded by his family. He was born on February 18, 1939 in Perryville, AR the son of Rudy and Lucy (Dancer) Kelley. On June 21, 1956 he was united in marriage to his loving wife, Janette (Swihart) …

Larry Lee Malsch, 71, of Three Rivers, passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, as a result of an accident on Shavehead Lake. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Clark Chapel and Cremation Services, 405 Center St., Dowagiac, officiated by Father Kevin Covert. Visitation will be held from 10-12 p.m. …

Helene Lillian Hull, age 92, of Centreville, passed away Tuesday, January 6th, 2015 at Fairview Nursing & Rehabilitation Centre, Centreville.  Helene was born in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, on March 21, 1922, a daughter of John and Martha (Kolecki) Zygar.  On June 11, 1946, she married Carl George Hull, Sr. in Pennsylvania.  He preceded her in death on December 29, 2008.  …

Investigators are trying to find the cause of a fire in a Three Rivers mobile home that killed two young boys on Wednesday. Antonisha Winters lost her four and two-year-old sons in the blaze on the west side of the city. Firefighters found the bodies of the boys in a badly-burned bedroom shortly after arriving on the scene. The children …

Three Rivers Health is the latest hospital to implement precautions in light of a spike in reports of the flu. The temporary measure is now in place and calls for a number of safeguards, including a requirement that visitors must be 12 years of age or older. In addition, emergency-room visitors are limited to two per patient and OB patients …

An Indiana woman and a Sturgis man appeared before a magistrate Wednesday related to their alleged involvement in an armed robbery last week. Charges of armed robbery and felony firearms were officially leveled against Kayla Cockburn, 20, of Middlebury, and Michael Z. Strong, 20, of Sturgis. Their bond was set at $100,000 each and they remain in the St. Joseph …

A pair of legislators who collectively represented St. Joseph County for a full decade was honored by a panel of county officials this week. Former State Sen. Bruce Caswell and former State Rep. Matt Lori were acknowledged by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting. Resolutions honoring the pair were read by Commissioner Rick Shaffer and approved …

A family of four somehow escaped without any major injuries after their minivan was dragged for 16 miles early Wednesday by a semi on Interstate 75 in northern Michigan. Matt Menz says he rear-ended the big rig around 2 a.m. in a white-out in Roscommon County because he couldn’t see that the truck had slowed down. He and his wife …

Darryl L. Cook, age 52, of Colon, passed away Jan. 5, 2015, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. There will be no visitation. A graveside memorial service and burial of ashes will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015, at Lakeside Cemetery in Colon. The family was assisted by Schipper Funeral Home in Colon.