Sturgis High School’s Chance Stewart was named a member of the Class B All-State basketball team by the Michigan Associated Press. Stewart, who has signed a letter of intent to play football for Western Michigan University in the fall, was a Class B honorable-mention basketball recipient a year ago. Stewart is second in career scoring leaders for the Trojans and …

A preliminary examination for a Burr Oak woman charged with murder is set for 9 a. m. April 25 in St. Joseph County District Court. Maria Audrey-Louise Williams, 34, is a suspect in the shooting death of 33-year-old Dennis Brooks. Brooks was fatally shot March 13 on Townline Road in Colon Township. Authorities said that after shooting Brooks, Williams left …

Congressman Fred Upton has announced that Schoolcraft resident Thomas Hurst has been accepted to attend the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colo. Upton recommended Hurst for selection to the service academy and has personally congratulated him on the appointment. Hurst is the son of Edward and JoAnn Hurst. Hurst’s older sister, Chloe, is also attending the Air Force …

Bonnie Sue Walter of Three Rivers, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend has lost her long, valiant fight with cancer, but is now walking victoriously, hand in hand with her savior, Jesus Christ. Bonnie was born November 14, 1955 in Grand Rapids Michigan to Tony and Carolyn (Bremer) Flack. On September 6, 1975 she was married to Marlin …

I spent about twenty-five years working and living in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. I was very familiar with the area near O’Hare Airport, and, at that time, had no plans of ever returning to Three Rivers to live. A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I spent a weekend in the O’Hare area. She was attending a Lions …

Faye Ann (Platz) Van Ness Letner, age 84, of White Pigeon, passed away Monday, March 24th, 2014 at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. She was born in Elkhart, IN on August 13, 1929, a daughter of George and Mae Ann (Hurst) Platz. On June 30, 1945, Faye married Bernard W. Van Ness at Fort McClellan Army Base in …

The January unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was unchanged compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 6.9 percent January unemployment rate was equal to December’s figure. January’s unemployment rate was 1.7 percent less than the same month one year earlier, when the figure was …

Gary Lynn Gales, age 51 of Sturgis, passed away early Sunday morning, March 23, 2014 at his home. He was born Sept. 9, 1962, in Malden, Mo., a son of the late Charles Lloyd and Mary Christine (Kellum) Gales. Gary resided most of his life in the Leonidas area. On Dec. 28, 1990, he married Alana Hennessee in St. Joseph. …

The Three Rivers Lions Club has announced tickets for its Bruce C. Snook Citizen of the Year banquet went on sale Monday. The tickets are $20 each and will not be available at the door, where Jerry Wright will be honored at a 6:30 p.m. dinner April 22 at Belle Époque. Tickets are being sold at Ridgeway Floral in Three …

Upgrades in the booking and intercom systems at the county jail were approved last week by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. The five-member board authorized a $178,000 quote from Midstate Jail Security, one of three bidders for the project. Sheriff’s department officials said the current intercom/speaker system is outdated and spare parts are too difficult – and in …