A request to restore nearly three-tenths of a mill to the maximum rate of 2.75 mills for special-education services fell Tuesday, 1,150 to 1,018. Restoration of the mills would have generated an additional $620,000 annually for St. Joseph County’s nine school districts. The 132-vote difference was slightly less than the combined difference between yes and no votes in Cass County’s …

I’m a Vietnam veteran, I get choked up when I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I vote regularly, I remove my hat when the colors pass by during a parade, and I really love America, despite its faults, and yet, there are times when I feel like I’m not a true American because I’m not a sports fanatic. My wife …

Linda Nel Lee Hochstetler, age 65, of Constantine, passed away Saturday, August 3rd, 2013 in Middlebury, Indiana. She was born in Wolf Lake, Indiana on April 11, 1948, a daughter of Carl and Glema (Preston) Hochstetler. Linda worked as a waitress at Middlebury Hills Restaurant in Middlebury. She graduated from Centreville High School in 1966. Linda loved animals, especially horses, …

Louise M. Norton, 75, of Colon, passed away Saturday, Aug. 3, 2013, at Thurston Woods in Sturgis. Louise was born Aug. 17, 1937, in Sturgis, a daughter to the late Jacob and Elsie (Kime) Baker. She had made her home in St. Joseph County most all of her life, where she had worked for the former Union Products Company of Sturgis, …

The Michigan Department of Community Health has confirmed that the first human case of West Nile Virus for 2013 has been identified in St. Joseph County. According to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, the case involves an adult male, over the age of 50 years, from the southwest corner of St. Joseph County. The man was hospitalized with symptoms …

Three Rivers High School will have a neighboring rival in its league in the 2014-15 school year, as Sturgis Public Schools is expected to join the Wolverine Conference. An invitation requesting St. Joseph County’s largest school district to join the league was extended by conference officials late last week. Sturgis school officials have indicated they intend to accept the offer, …

Indiana Michigan Power is advising the public it will begin trimming trees around transmission power lines in St. Joseph, Cass, Van Buren, Kalamazoo and Berrien counties starting today. The work is part of the company’s ongoing vegetation-management program aimed at improving the safety and reliability of electrical facilities, according to a company media release. The work will continue through the …

Graduates from two area high schools put on a crowd-pleasing alumni football game over the weekend. With a full house of more than 3,000 fans looking on, Mendon’s alumni squad topped the host Schoolcraft Eagles, 30-21, Saturday night. Mendon’s alumni team featured a roster of 50 players, the oldest was Joe Baker, a 1977 graduate who contributed by recovering a …

Ronald Dale Hochstetler, age 64, of Constantine, passed away Thursday, August 1st, 2013 at Three Rivers Health. He was born in Three Rivers November 11, 1948, a son of Donald and Martha (Garrett) Hochstetler. Ron graduated from Constantine High School in 1966 and received an associates degree in business after attending Albion and Glen Oaks. On July 21, 1967 he …

Jean Ann (Jeannie) Bright, age 78, of  Sturgis, passed away Friday, August 2nd, 2013 at her home. She was born in Hillsdale, MI on August 2, 1935, a daughter of Carl and Katherine (Mohoney) Kamhout. Jeannie graduated from Grand Haven High School in 1953. She worked at Sturgis Molded Products for many years and operated a day care for 14 …