Two members of the St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Commission were reappointed to the 10-member panel this week. During Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, Steve Houts and Jeffrey Knautz were re-appointed to three-year terms. Houts, a commissioner, is a Fabius Township resident. Knautz, who currently serves as president of the commission, lives in Centreville.

State Rep. Matt Lori is congratulating the Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival for receiving a state grant to support continued operation of the annual event. The Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs recently announced a $5,000 grant to support the festival. The Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is a week-long celebration of the arts every May featuring visual …

Thelma Foghino, 101, passed away early Tuesday morning, Dec. 17, 2013 at Clare Bridge of Portage. She was born on Aug. 8, 1912 in Three Rivers, the daughter of the late Chester and Lillian (Bent) Howard and spent most of her life in Three Rivers. On July 30, 1932, she was united in marriage to Charles W. Foghino. Thelma worked …

Larry R. Westphal of Parchment passed away Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013 at home. Larry was born June 7, 1944 in Three Rivers the son of Russell and Jeanne (Herron) Westphal. He was a machinist for General Motors before retirement. Larry was a member of the U.A.W. He enjoyed fishing, woodworking and traveling. On Aug. 15, 2009 in Luna Pier, Mich. …

Three Rivers Health Inpatient Rehab unit recently held their annual Thanksgiving Party for the patients, their families, and staff. Staff and families brought in various homemade dishes to add to the potluck dinner. The Three Rivers Health Dietary department provided the mainstays for the event. Adding to the celebration, patients joined in by preparing the potatoes for the meal earlier …

Charles E. Peasley, age 83, of Three Rivers, passed away Tuesday, December 17th, 2013 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born in Brookfield, Maine on June 2, 1930, a son of Harry & Myrtle (Simpson) Peasley. On February 15, 1952 he married Patricia Parks in Hereford, SC. Charles worked at Robison Woodworking in Edwardsburg for many years, and …

Willa Mae Clark, age 76, of Centreville, passed away on Tuesday, December 17, 2013. She was born April 6, 1937 in Cornette, KY, the daughter of the late Raliegh and Retha (McCallum) Parker. She was married to James R. Clark on September 27, 1958 in Jellico, TN. To that marriage was born three children. She was a member of Mt. …

Members of the Mendon Community Schools Board of Education unanimously agreed Monday to seek approval of a 1-mill, $9.3 million request. If the measure is endorsed, it would allow the 635-student district to make major improvements to Mendon Middle School/High School and Mendon Elementary School, according to board president Roger Cupp. The request will appear before voters Feb. 25. Cupp …

Officials from the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority will find out in March whether their recently submitted application is approved by the Michigan Main Street program. DDA director Christy Trammell said the nine-chapter application was sent to the Lansing-based agency Dec. 5. She said it took more than three months to complete the application, which, if accepted, would put the …

Barns in the 18000 block of Centreville-Constantine Road in Fabius Township were broken into between 6 p.m. Dec. 10 and 8 a.m. the following morning. A variety of tools were stolen, according to state police. Residents are reminded to always lock their homes, out-buildings and vehicles to becoming a victim of theft.