House painters won’t need a license under a new Michigan law. The law starts Thursday. It removes painting and decorating from a list of trades covered by a state license for residential maintenance and alteration. The Senate Fiscal Agency says there were 432 Michigan contractors licensed in painting and decorating in December. They had to complete 60 hours of education …

Lidija Aistars, age 91, of Three Rivers, passed away Monday evening, March 25, 2019.  She was born in Kuldīga, Latvia on February 23, 1928 to Hermans & Anna (Mūrnieks) Kalnmals. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Rūdolfs Kalnmals. She is survived by her husband of 65 years Aivars, two children Valdis (Juli), Sarma (Peter) and  …

Rudolfs (Rudy) Kalnmals, age 89, of Three Rivers, passed away early Sunday morning, March 24, 2019 at his home under hospice care after a short illness surrounded by his family.  He was born in Kuldiga, Latvia on June 23, 1929 to Hermans and Anna (Murnieks) Kalnmals. He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 55 years, …

Vickie Lee Collins, age 62, of Schoolcraft, passed away peacefully in the early morning of Saturday, March 23, 2019 surrounded by her loving family. She was born on December 11, 1956 to Gerald and Sandra (Haynes) Walton of Three Rivers. Vickie loved crafting and spent many hours creating works of art. She was an animal lover and has been described …

Shirley A. Holtz, age 84, of Sturgis, passed away Tuesday evening, March 19, 2019, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born March 3, 1935, in Sturgis, daughter of the late Wayne and Bertha O. (Haack) Todd. Shirley was a lifelong Sturgis resident. On Dec. 29, 1955, she married Larry Holtz in Sturgis. Shirley had been employed by the …

Sharon Kay Davis, age 80, of Bellevue, Neb., and nearly lifelong Sturgis resident passed away Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Nebraska. She was born May 30, 1938 in Tiffin, Ohio, a daughter of the late Carl and Marge Bintz. Sherry recently moved to Nebraska to be closer to family, especially her grandchildren. She lived most of her life in Sturgis …

Susanna P. Washington, age 58, Sturgis, passed away at home on March 15, 2019.  She was born in Chula Vista, CA on November 8, 1960, daughter of Javier “Jerry” and Phyllis (Brown) Camacho.  Susanna went to school in California and later received her Certified Nurse’s Assistant certificate from Glen Oaks Community College.  She worked as a CNA at many hospitals …

Sturgis police arrested a Three Rivers man last week following an attempted retail fraud incident. According to a department media release, officers were called shortly before 11 p.m. Friday to the 400 block of West South Street regarding a retail fraud in progress. Officers arrived and took a 21-year-old man into custody. He was also charged with retail fraud and …

According to a March 13 report from Detroit News, Michigan will cut anticipated road-funding payments to local governments by $31 million this year after mistakenly sending them extra money last year. St. Joseph County Road Commission managing director John Lindsey said St. Joseph County’s overpayment was more than $145,000. Michigan Department of Transportation will deduct 10 percent of that from …

Members of the Mendon Community Schools Board of Education agreed last week to change to the amount of community-service hours required for graduation. Currently, students are required to have four hours of community service to graduate. These community service hours must be through an approved organization such as the school, local library, the village or township, a church, or any …