St. Joseph County Sheriff Brad Balk offered a round of thanks to residents, road commission employees, E-911 Central Dispatch workers and county employees for their part in the pair of January snowstorms. Addressing the county’s board of commissioners Tuesday, Balk said cooperation from residents who abided by the snow emergency request to stay off the roads allowed road commission workers …

Donald Gerald Swatek, age 84, of Sturgis, and formerly of Westmont and Brookfield, Ill., died Jan. 30, 2014. He was an Army Korean War veteran and former owner of Holiday Draperies Brookfield. He was beloved husband of the late Jane Swatek, nee Jacob; fond father of Linda (Lenny) Wenz, Wayne (Lynn) Swatek, David (Laurie) Swatek, Susan (Rob) Buege, Barbara (Bill) …

Probably the most popular topic of conversation these days is the weather. If you are a regular reader of this column, then you are aware of my dislike of the winter season. I vent regularly about the frequency of snowfalls, but I do realize that Mother Nature couldn’t care less about how I feel about the cards that I’m dealt …

Graydon Howard, age 62, of Sturgis, MI. passed away unexpectedly on Friday, January 31, 2014 at his home. He was born on Jan. 10, 1952 in Knott County, Kentucky the son of Ell and Goldie (Shepherd) Howard. Mr. Howard served his country in the U.S. Marines and was honorably discharged as a Corporal. He was later employed for over eighteen …

Leroy Bishop, age 69, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014 at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis, following 14 years of illnesses. He was born June 3, 1944, in Johnson City, Tenn., a son of the late Joshua T. and Reba (Humphrey) Bishop. On July 1, 1976, he married Joan Pitman in Sturgis. Leroy’s early life was spent in …

A 33-year-old Constantine man suffered injuries as the result of a firearm malfunction last week. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s office said the man was shooting target practice at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the 53000 block of Olney Road in Leonidas Township. A malfunction resulted in injury to his right hand and a wound to his chest. He was treated …

A drill, hammer and socket set, and other tools were stolen from a shed in Fabius Township over the weekend. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said the incident occurred in the 12000 block of Dutch Settlement Road. The victim said the incident took place between 9 p.m. Saturday and 5 a.m. Sunday.

Officials from the city of Sturgis wish to pass along that due to the recent inclement weather, utility bills will be estimated for the month of January. Bills for water, sewer and electric will be estimated based on past usage. When meters are read this month, the difference between estimated bill and actual usage will be included in the February …

Police say a convicted killer who made a brazen escape from a Michigan prison has been captured in Indiana. Indiana State Police Sgt. Ron Galaviz says Michael David Elliot was captured Monday evening in LaPorte County, Indiana. Galaviz says a sheriff’s deputy investigating a vehicle theft spotted the stolen automobile and tried to make a stop. The suspect ran, but …

A state environmental official says initial tests haven’t found noxious chemicals in the air or water near a northern Indiana fiberglass factory that caught fire over the weekend. Firefighters continued monitoring the smoldering blaze at the Lami-Plast factory in Elkhart on Monday, a day after it went up in flames and some nearby homes were evacuated. A bulldozer was brought …