William L. Petty, age 76, of Orland, Indiana passed away unexpectedly Monday, January 28, 2019 at his home. He was born October 24, 1942 in Valley City, Illinois son of the late William A. and Ruby (Couse) Petty. Bill resided at Wall Lake in Orland for the past 28 years coming from Cassopolis. On July 6, 1960 he married Donna …

Sheriff Richard J. Behnke advises that stuck vehicles blocking plows and current road conditions in Cass County are making travel unsafe.    Cass County area is experiencing near-blizzard conditions.  Frequent whiteouts, resulting in slide offs and stuck vehicles are causing dangerous road conditions for traveling emergency crews and road commission plows, in addition to record low wind chills and temperatures adding to life …

Norma Jacqualyn (Berger) Hartman, age 94, of Marcellus, passed away late Monday night on January 28, 2019. Norma was born October 7, 1924, in Three Rivers, the daughter of Clarence and Elsie (Welty) Berger. On May 25, 1946, she married Jack C. Hartman, in Three Rivers. Together they had four children; two sons: Paul Hartman of Marcellus and Peter (Deborah) …

The last I checked, we were fighting a war on drugs. This is a great idea, but I’m afraid we’re losing. Perhaps the penalties for drug possession aren’t strong enough. Who knows? I did some research recently by watching television in the evening. I don’t care what network or channel you might enjoy watching, but just about all of them …

The City of Sturgis has opened a warming station at Sturges-Young Auditorium (201 N. Nottawa) today until 8:00 p.m. The warming station will also be open on Wednesday, January 30th and Thursday, January 31st from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. For those in need of a warm place to stay overnight, Keystone Place in Centreville will have space available. Keystone …

Richard “Dick” Easton, age 78, of Idlewild, Michigan passed away early Friday morning on January 25, 2019. “Dick” was born May 1, 1940 in Boyne City, Michigan, the son of the late Charles W. and Esther M. (Griffin) Easton. Dick was married to Joanne (Letcher) Easton. Dick attended Boyne City High School and served in the US Army as a …

Two Calvin Township residents suspected of being involved in a number of burglaries throughout the area have been arrested by deputies from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Richard Behnke said a large quantity of stolen property was recovered from an address on Brownsville Road after the Cass County Drug Enforcement Team and deputies executed a search warrant related to …

Constantine Village Council members this week discussed allowing recreational marijuana businesses to operate in the village. Village manager Mark Honeysett said an ordinance needs to be adopted against it or recreational marijuana businesses can come in if they so desire. Michigan became the 10th state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, when Michigan voters approved the measure …

A Niles man died on icy roads earlier this week in Cass County’s Milton Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called to a three-car accident shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. 12 near Frantz Drive. Investigators said Ryon Koth, a 31-year-old Niles resident, was driving east on U.S. 12 when he lost control of his vehicle. It crossed into …