St. Joseph County United Way has opened a family catastrophic fund for the relatives of Victoria Rose Marckini. Victoria, who went by the name Tori, unexpectedly passed away the night of Nov. 25. She was a senior at Three Rivers High School, where she was a member of the Aristocrats and a member of the Teachers Academy. Her goal was …

Centreville Public Schools is giving a $1,000 stipend to its employees next month. The matter was approved by the district’s board of education Monday. Superintendent Chad Brady said the one-time stipend will cost the district about $123,000. The expenditure will come out of the district’s general fund. Brady said a student count greater than projected and solid fiscal responsibility by …

Here’s an update on work being done on U.S. 131 in St. Joseph and Kalamazoo counties, according to Michigan Department of Transportation’s Christopher Jacobs. Recently completed work includes all hot-mix asphalt paving; placement of shoulder gravel; median guardrail installation; and long-line pavement markings. Over the course of the next three weeks, work crews plan to: continue permanent sign placement in …

Centreville Board of Education took action on a number of items during its monthly meeting Monday. Highlights include the hiring of Centreville alumna Katie Logan as varsity softball coach; and the renewal of varsity coaching contracts for Jerry Schultz, football; Alicia Schmidtendorff, cross country; and Deric Mostrom, volleyball. Board members also approved a travel request for three upcoming events involving …

Southwest Enforcement Team arrested a man during a drug raid last week in St. Joseph County. SWET members conducted the raid Nov. 21 at a Three Rivers residence. The suspect, a 41-year-old Three Rivers man, already had warrants out for his arrest. Detectives found psilocybin mushrooms, hundreds of unknown pills, suspected stolen property, and evidence the man was dealing meth …

Sturgis police arrested a 53-year-old man on drug-related charges last week following the execution of a search warrant. Sturgis Public Safety Director Ryan Banaszak said officers followed through on the search warrant around 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of South Park Street. According to a department media release, 12 ounces of methamphetamine were found within the residence. The …

Free Ride Home, a program sponsored last week by St. Joseph County Transportation Authority, drew a total of 17 participants. CTA executive director Allen Balog said the seven-hour program started at 7 p.m. Wednesday to benefit Thanksgiving Eve revelers. Balog said 10 of the patrons rode the Sturgis-based bus while seven took advantage of the bus positioned in Three Rivers. …

Concerns over lead-polluted water in Three Rivers were voiced at last week’s city commission meeting. WWMT is reporting that city officials and community members have been discussing this issue ever since homes in the area tested positive for lead in August. However, Mayor Tom Lowry said it’s not so much a local issue but more so a nationwide issue. Lowry …

A commercially and residentially underserved area of Centreville will soon include a new apartment development and a retail development featuring a self-serve laundry facility. What will ultimately be a 54-unit apartment complex on the west end of town is situated on the south side of M-86. Though much further delayed in development, a different and unrelated project has cleared hurdles …

The Diaper Bank program serving St. Joseph County has been extended through September 2024. Department of Health and Human Services’ Lori Williams said there have been several changes in the guidelines and regulations. For example, age requirements have been lifted; the service can now be provided to any age child and pull ups are now an option; and senior citizens …