A 38-year-old man will spend up to 22½ years in prison for the stabbing death of another man during a fight at a western Michigan motel. William Stephens was sentenced Monday. He was found guilty of manslaughter in April. His minimum sentence is 11 years and 10 months in last October’s slaying of 20-year-old Trey Yarbrough. Yarbrough was stabbed at …

Roger Dale Collinsworth, 70, of Three Rivers, passed away Monday, June 23, 2014 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Roger was born in Goshen, IN on December 13, 1943, a son of Burnes and Blanch (Rink) Collinsworth. His mother died when he was very young, and he was then raised by his father and stepmother, Gladys (Wolfinger) Collinsworth. Roger attended …

Jury selection for the trial of Andy Brown is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning. Brown, 37, is accused of fatally shooting accountant David Locey at Locey’s office north of Sturgis last October. The trial will begin after Brown‘s attorney, Michael Hills of Kalamazoo, unsuccessfully fought against the bind-over-to-trial process. According to court documents, Hills argued there is not enough evidence …

Sturgis police were involved in a four-hour standoff last week with a man who barricaded himself inside a residence in the 600 block of Devonshire Drive, in the northeast quadrant of the city. According to a department media release, police were called around 9:20 a.m. Friday in response to a suicidal man who had a handgun. A perimeter was set …

A five-person team of volunteers gathered about 300 pounds of debris over the weekend from the Prairie River. The second of five river cleanups this summer involved a 2 1/2-mile stretch of the river Saturday from Burr Oak Road to Middle Colon Road in Burr Oak Township. The event was staged by the St. Joseph County Conservation District. Saturday’s haul …

Theresa Marie Zmudka, age 77, of Mendon, died Saturday, June 21, 2014 at her home following a long illness. She was born in Pontiac, MI on Oct. 3, 1936 the daughter of James Edward and Mary Frances (Phelan) Fitzstephens. He attended St. Michael Catholic School in Pontiac and graduated from Mendon High School in 1954. Soon after she moved to …

Diane Lynn Henkel, 64, of Centreville, passed away Friday, June 20th, at Fairview Nursing & Rehabilitation Centre. Diane was born in Three Rivers, MI on October 7, 1949, a daughter of Lathorlyn (Hagelgans) and Neubert Balk. On April 21, 1968 she married Robert Henkel in Centreville. He preceded her in death on December 14, 1995. She graduated from Centreville High …

Dale Robert Loker, age 88, of rural Mendon, died Friday, June 20, 2014 at his home following a long illness. He was born May 8, 1926 the first of five children to Perry and Marian (Vance) Loker in East Lansing, MI. Dale enlisted in the Army Air Corps where he was a drill instructor and teletype operator. He was married …

Janice L. (McKindley-Osgood) Custard, age 85, of Mendon, died Thursday June 19, 2014 at Bowman Place in Three Rivers. She was born in Akron, Ohio on Oct. 4, 1928 the daughter of Homer F. and Lucile M. (Acker) McKindley. She was a 1946 graduate of Mendon High School . Janice was married to Leonard “Mike” Osgood on Feb. 12, 1949 …

Dorothy Joy Holm, age 87, of rural Three Rivers died Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at Three Rivers Health.  She was born in Three Rivers on Feb. 2, 1927 the daughter of Levi and Flossie (Heckelman) Soule. After graduating from Three Rivers High School she was married to Francis E. “Bud” Holm on March 21, 1946. Dorothy was a homemaker and …