The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners was on the receiving end of compliments for its commitment to its parks and recreation department. During the “Citizens Comments” portion of the Dec. 19 county commission meeting, a half dozen people approached the podium and complimented the board for a job well done in 2017. The praise came in contrast to the …

Centreville Village Council members recently responded to a letter from Nottawa Township regarding a variety of issues. The communication from Nottawa Township asked the village to help pay for ambulance service, take care of the maintenance on the Pioneer Cemetery and increase the rent payment for the village offices. The council declined in all cases. Its members said taxes it already …

Judy Ann Russell, age 67, of Vicksburg, died Friday, Dec. 29, 2017 at Kairos Dwelling in Kalamazoo following a long illness. She was born in Kalamazoo on July 30, 1950 the daughter of Lyle V. and Ethelin G. (McLaughlin) Coburn and was a lifetime resident of the Vicksburg/Scotts area. She graduated from Galesburg-Augusta High School, and worked briefly at Brown …

Barry W. Cheeks, age 64, of Constantine, died at 5:30 pm on Thursday, December 28, 2017 at Fairview Nursing and Rehabilitation Community in Centreville.  He was born on May 14, 1953 in Welch, WV, to Charlie M. and Ethel Mae (Robinson) Cheeks. Survivors include his son, Earl Cheeks of Constantine; two grandchildren and several brothers. He was preceded in death …

Blanca Weaver, age 72, of White Pigeon, passed away at her home on Wednesday, December 27, 2017. She was born in Germany on January 22, 1945 to her late parents Gustav and Hella (Nuemer) Conradi. On March 6, 1963 she married Larry Weaver of Mishawaka. He preceded her in death January 15, 1987. You would always see her in the …

Two people were injured in a snowmobiling accident Wednesday night in Porter Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke’s office reported the incident happened after 8 p.m. on M-217 north of Wayne Street. Eric Black, 42, of Union, was reportedly northbound in a field east of M-217 when he lost control of his snowmobile, which resulted in him being thrown off and caused …

The Michigan State Police are continuing to investigate a breaking and entering that occurred in Sturgis Township last week. Troopers said the incident happened in the early morning hours of Dec. 19 in the 69000 block of Hazel St. Taken from the home were a JBL Bluetooth speaker, a Fitbit brand fitness watch that was still in the box it …

Roger “Rocky” Matheson Rathburn, age 55, passed away tragically on Tuesday, December 26, 2017.  He was born to Roger and Sally Rathburn on August 29, 1962 in Grand Rapids. Roger graduated from Hackett High School in 1981 where he met his high school sweetheart and lifelong love, Susan Reisterer. He graduated from Western Michigan University where he earned a Bachelors …

Hi! They call me Tutti here at Animal Control. I was found as a stray. I am a female and appear to be terrier and beagle. I am Tan and Black about five years old. I will need my spay surgery. The ladies here say I am housetrained, I know sit and shake, and I sit or lay quietly while …

Randy W Strawser, age 68, of White Pigeon, passed away Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 26, 2017, at his home. He was born on Sept. 28, 1949, at Sturgis Memorial Hospital. He has been a life-long resident of White Pigeon, graduating from White Pigeon Community Schools with the class of 1969. He attended Glenn Oaks Community College and was employed at Weyerhaeuser …