Todd Reynolds was hired last week by the White Pigeon school board to serve as junior/senior high school principal beginning July 1. He replaces Jon Keyer, who is retiring. Keyer said the district had 12 applicants and interviewed four. Reynolds has served as principal for eight years at Galesburg-Augusta and five years at Lake Fenton. A Marshall native, Reynolds attended …

Damian James Lee Long, age 22, of Sturgis, passed away early Saturday morning, May 26, 2018, in Florence Township, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was born July 22, 1995, in Sturgis, a son of James Long and Dawn (Rhoades) Hayes. Damian resided most of his life in Sturgis and attended Sturgis High School. He was currently …

Juanita M. Diller, 90, of Klinger Lake, White Pigeon, went to be with her Lord on Friday, May 25, 2018, at Bronson Methodist Hospital, following a brief illness. She was born Aug. 26, 1927, in Adamsville, a daughter of Cyril and Lauretta (Fisher) Dale. She was a resident of Klinger Lake and White Pigeon for more than 50 years, coming …

Hazel C. Ray, age 92, of Mendon, died Friday, May 25, 2018 at Heartland Healthcare Center in Three Rivers.  She was born in Sturgis on Oct. 8, 1925 the daughter of George Albert Taylor and France Marie (Lampe) Taylor.  She graduated from Sturgis High School with the Class of 1944.  Hazel was married to Keith Ray on Oct. 26, 1946, …

George E. Koomler, age 91, formerly of Burr Oak and Sturgis, passed away Friday, May 25, 2018, at Caring Circle Nursing Home in Benton Harbor. He was born March 16, 1927, in Waynedale, Ind., a son of the late George C. and Tillie (Kroom) Koomler. George moved to St. Joseph County in 1950 and to Burr Oak in 1966. He …

Gwendolyn Eunice Buys Goodwin McLaughlin, age 97, passed away on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. She was born born on January 21, 1921 in Finley, North Dakota, the twelfth child of Jessie Lossing Buys and Marlin P. Buys. Gwendolyn owned Gwen’s Beauty Shop in Three Rivers for many years. She was also an avid golfer …

Alan Duane Otterson, age 66, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2018, after a difficult illness. Alan was born in Vicksburg, on November 15, 1951.  He graduated from Vicksburg High School, attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College, and served in the US Air Force before marrying his true love, Cathy (Hinz) Otterson, on August 24, 1989.  They …

Three people died over the weekend following a single-vehicle crash south of Centreville. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called shortly before 2:30 a.m. Saturday to Fairchild Road near the intersection of Klinger Lake Road. Investigators said a car driven by 23-year-old Damian Long of Coldwater was heading east on Fairchild Road when it failed to negotiate a curve just before Klinger Lake …

April’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was four-tenths of a percent lower than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.3 percent April unemployment rate marked a decrease from March’s 3.7 percent. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 4 percent in April. …

Two people were taken into custody following a reckless-driving incident last week in and around Three Rivers. According to Three Rivers police, the department was notified around 4:30 p.m. Thursday of a reckless driver on U.S. 131 in Three Rivers. Officers pursued the vehicle until it struck another car near Marcellus Road. The driver and passenger of the suspect car …