The St. Joseph County United Way is poised to start its 2014 campaign with the annual Donut Drive event coming next week. Executive director Kelly Hostetler said the donut drive also serves as a public thank you for the support provided to the Centreville-based agency. United Way volunteers will be in each of the county’s eight municipalities over an 11-day …

St. Joseph County’s Board of Commissioners last week agreed to a modification regarding its lease agreement with renters at the Meyer Broadway Park house. Tenants Dan and Sarah Hershberger have requested use of an attached, two-car garage known as Dimmick Lodge. The Hershbergers said they wish to park their vehicles inside the structure, and have offered to pay an additional …

Teresa Lee Heiber, age 45, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Sunday afternoon, Aug. 11, 2013, at her home. She was born Jan. 11, 1968, in Sturgis, Mich., daughter of Richard and Clara Mae (Metzger) Vargo. Teresa resided most of her life in the Sturgis area with the exception of the nine years the family lived in Missouri. On June 29, …

Helen May Boals, 91, of White Pigeon, died Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013, at Bowman House in Three Rivers, Mich., following an extended illness. She was born Oct. 23, 1921, in Sturgis, Mich., the daughter of Harry and Catherine (Kuhns) Eberhard. She was a Three Rivers resident since 2011, coming from the White Pigeon and Constantine area. On Dec. 24, 1936, in …

A 48-year-old man has received the mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder in the 2010 gun slaying of a man in the victim’s Kalamazoo front yard. Police found the body of 38-year-old Joseph A. Salib on Oct. 3, 2010. Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Pamela L. Lightvoet sentenced Randy P. Smith on Monday, also giving him life for …

A disabled man will be able to take a shower without assistance thanks to a hands-free, automatic shower system designed by students from a college in northeastern Indiana. A team of senior engineering students at Trine University developed the shower for 60-year-old Terry Haffner of nearby Fort Wayne. Haffner was born without arms and with partial legs. He says the …

The June unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by seven-tenths of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 8.4 percent June unemployment rate was more than May’s 7.7 percent. June’s unemployment rate, however, was four-tenths of a percent less than the same …

Saturday’s Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce fundraiser was deemed a success by event organizers. A catered dinner inside the Langley Covered Bridge drew about 100 guests, who were seated at a cluster of 16 tables for a meal prepared by the Sturges-Young Auditorium. Christy Trammell, chamber president, said pontoon-boat rides and a professional photo next to the historic landmark …

The 76th Abbott’s Magic Get-Together is in the books and Greg Bordner, head of the four-day event, said the event went as smoothly as it possibly could. Several hundred fans and participants of the trade spent at least a portion of the four days in the village, where nightly performances at Colon High School drew strong crowds and world-class talent. …

A Three Rivers man was cited for failure to yield after he was involved in a two-vehicle accident last week. According to the Three Rivers Police Department, Larry McNair, 49, turned left from Main Street onto Michigan Avenue when he was struck by a southbound vehicle driven by Jennifer Hertsel, 30, of Three Rivers. She was treated for undisclosed injuries …