George Wayne Coomer, age 62, of Centreville, died at Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo on Monday, November 24, 2014, surrounded by his loving family and friends after a valiant four year battle with cancer. George was born in Sturgis, September 21, 1952 to Robert and Wilma (Davis) Coomer of Nottawa. He graduated from Centreville High school in 1970 and was a graduate …

Thursday is Thanksgiving. You still have time to invite someone to join you for Thanksgiving dinner. If you look carefully, I’m sure you can find someone who is in need of the family atmosphere. Thanksgiving is the one day when no one should have to work. Unfortunately, there will be a few stores that will be open so that shoppers …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week approved letters of understanding with seven different parties, including four units affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. The agreements, along with a 3 percent raise, were reached with AFSCME employees from Probate Court, Friend of the Court, the General Unit and Family Division. In addition, …

St. Joseph County’s township supervisors were given a detailed summary of the county’s delinquent-tax fund during their quarterly gathering last week at White Pigeon’s township office. County administrator Pat Yoder was a guest at Thursday’s township supervisors meeting. The delinquent-tax account is one of a few matters he was asked to speak about. He said the county over the past …

A structural assessment will be conducted of the mill building at Rawson’s King Mill Park in Leonidas Township. During last week’s county commission meeting, commissioners approved Fleis and Vandenbrink to conduct a structural evaluation of the historical building. Human resources director Elishia Arver said the inspection will allow the county to debate future options of the building. Those options include …

About a dozen homes in Sherman Township were evacuated late Sunday after a thousand-gallon propane tank began to leak. Authorities said the tank slid off of its base due to soft ground and rolled down a hill around 9:30 p.m. The tank then struck a tree at the tank’s valve. Homes were evacuated in an area that included Banker Street, …

Vernon H. Wadsworth, age 88, of Three Rivers, formerly of Centreville, MI, passed away Saturday, November 22, 2014 at his home. Vern was born in White Pigeon on May 19, 1926, a son of Lowell and Aletha (Hammond) Wadsworth. He served in the US Navy during WWII. On July 20, 1946, Vern married Barbara J. Snook in LaGrange, IN. She preceded …

Janette L. Bainbridge, age 83, of Marcellus, MI passed away Saturday morning November 22, 2014. She was born September 28, 1931 in Three Rivers, MI the daughter of Leonard C. and Margaret L. (Caul) Parmeter. On March 11, 1950 in Marcellus, MI she married Eugene E. Bainbridge who preceded her in death in 2008. Janette managed their family farm and …

Kenneth Paul Mann, age 91, formerly of Mottville, passed away Sunday, November 23, 2014, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. He was born in Elkhart, IN on September 29, 1923, a son of Roland and Mary (Koebernik) Mann, Sr. Ken attended White Pigeon Schools and served in the U.S. Army as a Sgt during WW II. Ken met Gloria Horn on …

Firefighters sent to an apartment in Kalamazoo found a 47-year-old resident dead in a bedroom.  The cause of the fire and the woman’s death are under investigation. The Kalamazoo Public Safety Department calls the fire “suspicious.”  The fire was quickly extinguished Saturday night. No other apartments at the Clayborne Court complex were affected. (AP)