The Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education voted this week to endorse the district’s move to the Wolverine Conference. The decision means Sturgis High School will join Three Rivers and 10 other schools in the 12-member league starting in the 2014-15 academic year. With about 3,300 students, Sturgis Public Schools will be the largest in the all-Class-B conference.

Glen Oaks Community College officials have announced the school will expand its distance-learning offerings to include online programs as a result of approval received from the Higher Learning Commission. Patricia Morgenstern, associate dean of learning and workforce development, said the college has been offering distance learning classes for more than 15 years. The Higher Learning Commission’s approval, however, gives the …

Authorities say the body of a 58-year-old man has been found in a southwestern Michigan lake after a boat was reported empty on the water. The Cass County sheriff’s department says it was called Wednesday night to Indian Lake in Silver Creek Township. Witnesses told them a person was fishing from the boat and they later noticed the boat still …

County sheriff’s deputies investigated a 2-car crash Wednesday evening at the intersection of US-131 and M-60 on the southwest side of Three Rivers. Randal Anderson, 47, of South Bend, was eastbound on M-60, when he reportedly pulled away from the stop sign, and collided with a southbound vehicle. That car was driven by 41-year-old Brett Schiefelbein of Hinsdale, Illinois. Both …

Barbara Lee Wortinger, age 77, of Three Rivers, passed away Tuesday morning August 13, 2013 at her home with her loved ones by her side. She was born February 6, 1936 in Lima, OH., the daughter of the late George Herald and Mary Lou (Espen) Ruth. Barb started her college career at Nazareth College in Kalamazoo and went on to …

Kenneth Lee Middleton, 86, of Three Rivers, passed away at the home of his only daughter, Kim (Middleton) Schedin, in the early morning hours on Aug. 10, 2013, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Mr. Middleton was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Ann (Stears) Middleton and their only son, Thomas Lee Middleton. Kenneth was a great …

A $1.3 billion project is moving forward to replace a 210-mile oil pipeline that stretches across Michigan and caused a 2010 spill.  Enbridge Inc. last month began the second phase of construction on Line 6B and it should be in service by mid-2014. Thousands of sections of pipeline are at a site in the Mendon area. The company has five …

Mollie Arnett, 98, of White Pigeon, passed away Sunday, Aug. 11, 2013 at Heartland Health Care Center where she had been for a short time. Until then she had lived alone, and every summer until a year ago had a little garden she took care of. She is survived by a daughter, Charlene (Ray) Wooster of White Pigeon; sons, Harry …

A 55-gallon drum and a bail of fencing were among the items recovered from last weekend’s St. Joseph County Conservation District river cleanup. The fifth of seven cleanup events this season took place Saturday in a 2.7-mile stretch of the Rocky River, from Bent Road to Flatbush Road in Flowerfield Township. A group of seven volunteers also snagged three tires …

Two of three people involved in a breaking-and-entering incident in downtown Sturgis were arrested early Sunday after they attempted to flee from officers. According to the Sturgis Police Department, a 22-year-old Sturgis man and a 15-year-old male were arrested after officers were called at 2 a.m. Sunday to the 100 block of West Chicago Road in response to a sound …