A White Pigeon woman was ticketed for being unable to stop within an assured distance following a two-vehicle accident Monday in Sturgis Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Tambra Bryant, 48, was cited after she swerved to avoid striking the rear of a car that had slowed on westbound U.S. 12 in front of Lake Area Veterinary Clinic. …

Thirty chickens and a duck were reported stolen from a Mendon Township residence earlier this week. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department deputies were called Monday to the 23000 block of Portage Lake Road, where the victim told police the animals were taken late Sunday or early Monday. The animals were about two months old and different varieties.

Members of the White Pigeon Fire Department recently took delivery of a new truck. The 2013 Rosenbauer pumper and rescue will be in service by early June. The truck must first be outfitted with rescue and firefighting equipment, Township Supervisor Don Gloy said. The truck holds 1,000 gallons of water, but has the capability to pump 1,500 gallons of water …

Johnny D. Hicks, age 46, of Sturgis, passed away Saturday, May 11, 2013, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born March 16, 1967, in Sturgis, a son of the late Vernon and Gracie (Huff) Hicks. Johnny was a lifelong Sturgis resident and a graduate of Sturgis High School with the class of 1985. For the past year, he …

We are all mortal, which means that we are all terminal and our days on earth are limited. I will, on occasion, mention the passing of friends in this column. I don’t do this to be morbid, but I do it because these individuals meant a lot to me, and I’m sure they meant a lot to many readers. Dan …

Police say a pickup truck driver ran down several Canada Goose babies that were attempting to cross a suburban Detroit roadway. The police department in Oakland County’s Waterford Township says about six adult geese and five goslings were seen trying to cross the roadway Sunday night. Police say two goslings are believed to have died. The witness told police the …

Leslie C. Schrader Sr., age 79, of Colon, passed away, Sunday, May 12, 2013, at Fairview Nursing and Rehabilitation Community in Centreville. Leslie was born Dec. 15, 1933, in Wasepi, a son of the late Charles and Zella (DeLong) Schrader. He had lived most of his life in the Colon area, graduating from Colon High School with the class of …

A federal appeals court ruled last week that a jury should decide whether the rights of a Sturgis resident were violated by officers from the Sturgis Police Department. A three-judge panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Friday rendered its opinion regarding the 2010 incident involving then-20-year-old Charles Smith over the theft of a phone charger from Walgreens …

For the second time in less than 10 days, a 75-year-old Constantine man was forcibly restrained while his residence was burglarized. Constantine Police Chief Jim Bedell said three men in the early morning hours of May 6 forced their way into a residence in the Whispering Pines neighborhood and tortured the man with second-degree burns on his legs and back. …

Two people were arrested over the weekend after they attempted to leave a Sturgis business without paying for more than $2,300 worth of merchandise. Sturgis police said the two suspects shortly before midnight Sunday tried to leave the Wal-Mart store on South Centerville Road through a side door with a cart full of electronics and other high-priced items, police said. …