Members of the Colon Area Chamber of Commerce are moving forward with plans to celebrate the Fourth of July. During their monthly meeting Thursday, members of the chamber board agreed to place donation jars throughout the village, as contributions will help offset the expense of hired attractions to be featured in the village’s Independence Day parade. Board members said Michigan …

Speed and alcohol are believed to be factors in a single-vehicle accident that seriously injured a Three Rivers man last week in Flowerfield Township. Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said deputies were called around 11 a.m. Friday to Johnson Road, near Pulver Road, in response to a vehicle that had gone off the roadway. Lillywhite said the car was traveling southbound on …

Richard James “Ricky” Paffhausen, age 41, died on Sunday, May 9, 2021. In accordance with family wishes, cremation will be conducted, and services will be held at a later date. Arrangements by Hohner Funeral Home.

People in Michigan who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear a mask any longer, and people who aren’t vaccinated don’t have to wear one outdoors, officials said Friday, noting that the state’s indoor mask requirement will expire in July. The announcement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state health department came a day after the Centers for …

St. Joseph County commissioners were asked Wednesday to consider the purchase of a video and recording system for animal control officer Greg Musser and his work truck. Undersheriff Jason Bingaman, addressing commissioners during their executive committee meeting, said the $8,900 mobile/video recording system will audio record Musser as well as video record from a dash-mounted camera. The system, Bingaman said, …

The former director of Sturgis Department of Public Safety was sentenced this week from a DUI charge last year. Geoffrey Smith was placed on one year probation and is required to use an alcohol-monitor for 90 days. His arrest for driving under the influence occurred Aug. 15. Smith was sentenced Wednesday via Zoom by Calhoun County District Court Judge Paul Beardslee. …

St. Joseph County commissioners appear in favor of recommending an exception to the hiring freeze, as the sheriff’s department is seeking a typist/clerk. The position became open when Jennifer Meyer was recently promoted to administrative assistant. Its pay is about $57,000 a year, including benefits. The matter was discussed during Wednesday’s executive committee meeting. Meanwhile, another exception to the hiring …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has begun vaccinating children ages 12-15 years old with the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Appointments are encouraged but walk-ins are taken at our ongoing vaccination clinics in the tri-county area. Appointments can be made at www.bhsj.org/scheduling. Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are also available for individuals 18 years of age and older. All individuals …

State Sen. Kim LaSata welcomed her March is Reading Month literacy challenge winner Aaleyah Tomorrow to the Capitol on Thursday to serve alongside her as junior senator for the day. “It was great to have Aaleyah and her family join me at the Capitol today and to have her serve alongside me as a junior senator,” said LaSata, R-Coloma. “It was an …

Sandra J. Cooper, age 79, of Sturgis,passed away early Wednesday morning, May 12, 2021 at her home. She was born March 26, 1942 in Toledo, daughter of the late Charles A. and Myrtle C. (Branson) Ogren. Sandy resided in Sturgis for the past 25 years coming from Toledo, where she was a graduate of Rogers High School. Most of Sandy’s …