Elizabeth Sue Marchand, age 73, of Sturgis, passed away early Thursday evening, July 5, 2018, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo, following a long hard-fought battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was born July 6, 1944, in Greensboro, N.C., a daughter of the late Joseph W. and Lucille E. (Bullyboy) Smith. Sue resided most of her life in Sturgis and was a …

Shirley Mae Boersma (Wagner), age 76, died on Thursday, July 5, 2018.  She was born on March 5, 1942, the youngest of 12, to Thomas and Anna Wagner. She is survived by her husband, Leonard Boersma and their children Scott and Barbi (Wittl) Boersma, Sheri (Boersma) and Andy McGrail, Sandy (Boersma) and Tim Gray, and Steve and Erin (Niewoonder) Boersma. …

John J. Neuenschwander, age 75, of Burr Oak, died Thursday, July 5, 2018 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. He was born in Berne, Indiana on May 11, 1943 the son of Jonas C. and Lovina (Schwartz) Neuenschwander. He was married to Elizabeth Schwartz in Berne on Dec. 1, 1966. They have lived near Burr Oak since 1996. He was …

A Three Rivers resident died Thursday morning at the scene of a car/pedestrian accident on M-40 near Spatterdock Lake Street in Cass County’s Porter Township. The victim was identified as 76-year-old Shirley Boersma. She was reportedly crossing the highway when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Dale Hoekwater, age 77, of Jenison. Investigators said alcohol was not a factor in …

Michigan State Trooper Erik Gantert was dispatched Thursday at 5:30pm to a two-year-old accidentally locked inside a vehicle for approximately 5 to 10 minutes and was in distress in the 10,000 Block of James Street, Mottville. Trooper Gantert arrived on scene shortly after the initial call. Due to the temperature being approximately 90 degrees, Trooper Gantert quickly broke the driver’s …

More than $738,000 is being spent by the Michigan Department of Transportation for more than 10 miles of M-216 beginning Monday. The new road surface will improve the ride quality and safety, as well as extend the life of the road. There will be single-lane closures under flag control and the estimated end date for construction is Friday, August 24. …

Three Rivers Health is pleased to announce Otavio Pereira-Rodrigues, MD, will be joining our internal medicine specialty services beginning July 15. Dr. Rodrigues joins our staff as a board certified infectious disease specialist. He is a primary care provider certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of …

Mary K. (Parrish) Burmeister, age 88, of Colon, passed away on Saturday, June 30, 2018. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. July 21, 2018, at Colon Baptist Church. The family is being assisted by Schipper Funeral Home in Colon.

The Michigan Supreme Court has reinstated a first-degree murder conviction against a man who stabbed a woman 29 times in 2014. Christopher Oros killed Marie McMillan, but he claimed it wasn’t premeditated. The appeals court reduced the conviction to second-degree murder, saying there wasn’t enough evidence for the higher crime. The Supreme Court, however, says the Kalamazoo County verdict should …

The St. Joseph County Conservation District crew cleaned 3.4 miles (2.2 of Nottawa Creek and 1.2 of the St. Joseph River) Saturday. The crew went from Rawson’s King Mill Park to the M-66 bridge. Twenty two volunteers participated and gathered the following items from the waterways: 175 pounds of trash, three barrels, four shoes (none matching), a boat seat, toy air …