Robert Lee Alburtus, 78, of Centreville, passed away at 7:28 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at his home. He was born Dec. 28, 1934, in Flint to Charles and Bertha (Weber) Alburtus. On July 23, 1955, he married Janet Johns. On Jan. 15, 1983, he married Shirley A. Carlin in Three Rivers. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, of …

Lisa Ann Mains, age 60, of Sturgis passed away Monday afternoon, Sept. 30, 2013, at The Laurels of Coldwater, following a long, courageous battle with dementia. She was born September 16, 1953 in Sturgis, a daughter of David and Phyllis (Easterday) Jordan. Lisa was a lifelong Sturgis area resident and a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of …

Faith Simonson, a daughter of Adam and Emerlyn Simonson of Sturgis, was stillborn Sunday evening, Sept. 29, 2013, at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. Faith is survived by her loving parents, Adam and Emerlyn; brothers Jaden and Cobi Simonson at home; grandparents Joan Frederick, Howard Casimer, Carol Simonson, Charles Simonson, Gayla Perry and Todd and Tami Shawver; great-grandmother, …

Fannie J. (Yoder) Bontrager, age 85, of Colon, passed away Oct. 1, 2013, at her home. She was born July 9, 1928, a daughter of the late Joseph and Katie (Beechy) Helmuth. On Oct. 28, 1951, she married John Henry Yoder. He preceded her in death Nov. 9, 1990. on Oct. 24, 1999, she married Harry Bontrager of Yoder, Kan. …

Sylvia Ann Welborn, 74, of Sturgis, passed away Monday, Sept. 30, 2013. Sylvia was born in Bronson and grew up in Sturgis. In 1966, while living in Omaha, Neb., she met and married her husband. Thus began her life of travelling the world. From Nebraska, they moved to Virginia, then Okinawa, Japan, and on to Oklahoma. Next was Panama, then …

A township official in St. Joseph County has asked the county’s board of commissioners for financial help to rebuild a portion of a major north-south roadway in Florence Township. During Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, Florence Township Supervisor Gordon Evilsizor said the deteriorating condition of Constantine Road is a concern that needs attention. Evilsizor said the three-mile …

Three people were taken into custody after a residence in Three Rivers was raided and methamphetamine production was discovered. According to a sheriff’s department media release, members of the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit acted on a citizen tip regarding potential drug activity at a residence in the 200 block of North Hooker Avenue. Once inside the residence, SCAN …

We had the best turn out at our booth this year, that we have had in a long time… perhaps ever! While there are many dis-satisfied people in general with the political landscape of our nation, most visitors were very happy with the direction of the State of Michigan. That was refreshing. They seemed to recognize the change of course …

Minor injuries were sustained by motorists involved in a three-vehicle, fog-related accident Monday. State police officials said they responded to a 7 a.m. accident on U.S. 131 and Anderson Road in Mottville Township, where a southbound semi swerved into the northbound lane and struck an oncoming semi that had stopped to turn west onto Anderson Road. The collision also impacted …

Refueling started Tuesday night for the Cook Nuclear Power Plant’s Unit 2 reactor in southwest Michigan. The unit in Bridgman ran for 18 months at 100.6% capacity, including a 452 consecutive day run that fell 19 days shy of the unit’s record. Over the course of the outage, about 1,900 contracted workers will supplement the regular 1,198-person plant staff. This …