Members of the Lockport Township Board of Trustees delayed until next month whether to approve a so-called PA 425 transfer agreement with the city of Three Rivers. During a special meeting Monday, the five-member board fielded a significant amount of input from citizens who joined the meeting through the remote-conferencing platform Zoom. The issue centers on a township property, the …

St. Joe County Resources is continuing to track by community the percentages of St. Joseph County households that have completed the 2020 U.S. Census. Agency officials would like to remind the public that every 100 people missed in the Census is $2 million dollars that does not come back to local communities in federal funding. From highest responses to fewest, …

Larry Oliver Briggs, age 77, of Mendon, died Monday, April 20, 2020 at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo. He was born in Kalamazoo on Sep. 24, 1942 the son of the late Oliver and Jessie (Evans) Briggs. He graduated from Vicksburg High School and first worked at Tibbots as a welder and then Simpson Paper Company. Larry spent most of …

Municipal officials in Schoolcraft announced last week the village is canceling its 2020 Fourth of July celebration. Village manager Cheri Lutz said cancellation of what would have been Schoolcraft’s 95th annual Independence Day celebration includes the parade, car show, fireworks and all other associated activities. Lutz said while nobody on the village council is happy to have to make such …

Two area health centers have received Michigan CARES supplemental funding awards. CARES, an acronym for Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Securities, is a federally funded source. Nearly $40 million in total was delegated to 39 health centers in Michigan. Locally, nearly $540,000 was bestowed to Covered Bridge Healthcare of St. Joseph County. Meanwhile, Lakeland Immediate Care Center in Cassopolis was …

Connie Pagels, a longtime 4-H leader who died in January, recently received an “Outstanding Community Service” award from Sturgis City Commission members. Daughters Diana Yeager and Pamela Keeslar accepted the award. Pagels became a 4- H leader in 1969 and in 1983 was asked to be the first superintendent for the dog care and training program, a role she held …

Isaac James Snow, age 93, of Three Rivers, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 18th, 2020 at the Heartland Health Care Center.  He was born on January 22, 1927 in Jonesville, Michigan, the son of the late Wayne and Ellen (Guy) Snow. Mr. Snow graduated from Centreville High School and served his country during WWII in the United States Air …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday compared the fight against the cornonavirus to the sacrifice needed during World War II, criticizing protesters who flocked to the Michigan Capitol last week to denounce her weeks long restrictions against work and gatherings. “President Trump called this a war and it is exactly that. So let’s act like it,” Whitmer, a Democrat, said. …

Patricia Joan Hawkins, age 85, died Friday, April 17, 2020 at Heartland Healthcare Center in Three Rivers where she had resided the past two years. She was born in South Bend on Jan. 15, 1935 the daughter of Cecile D. and Carmelita (Ullrey) Hawkins. Pat had lived at several adult foster care homes in the Michiana area for most of …

Donna Marie (Carkenord) Hiemstra, age 97, of Mendon, died Thursday, April 16, 2020 at Fairview Living and Rehabilitation in Centreville. She was born at the family farm north of Mendon on April 11, 1923 the daughter of Nicholas Daniel and Anna Marguerite (Jackson) Carkenord. She graduated from Mendon High School with the class of 1940 where she played softball. and …