Lois B. King, age 94, of Three Rivers, died on Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers. She was born on August 12, 1922 in South Bend, a daughter of Walter and Sarah (Simmons) Price. She attended school in Elkhart. On July 7, 1947, Lois married Dayton King in Goshen. He preceded her in death …

Following a long illness, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt and faithful servant of the living God, Velma Ree (Shelton) Whitten, 75, made her heavenly transition in the early morning hours of Friday, August 4, 2017 surrounded by her loving family.   Born in Stanton, Alabama on August 22, 1941 to parents Thomas Andrew Shelton Sr. and Christanna Harville …

Frances Arlene Gerkin, age 84, of Sturgis, passed away Friday evening, Aug. 4, 2017, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. She was born March 22, 1933, in Centreville, daughter of the late Leon C. and Blanche D. (Brown) Hepner. Fran was a lifelong St. Joseph County resident. On Oct. 20, 1953, she eloped with Ernest T. “Red” Gerkin in Angola, …

The St. Joseph County United Way is beginning its annual Donut Drive this week. United Way volunteers will be in St. Joseph County’s eight communities over the next week, starting in Centreville today. The agency is not asking for donations, rather it is thanking St. Joseph County residents for their continued support. The Centreville-based agency helps more than 40 local …

The Michigan Department of Education is reminding the public that its “Meet Up and Eat Up” Summer Food Service Program is ongoing through the month of August. The free meal is offered to any child 18 years of age and younger. Locally, meal sites are at Barrows and Huss school sites, and Hoppin and Andrews elementary schools; Constantine High School …

Constantine’s Farmers Market will have a special visitor today. One of the 50 Michigan State Police squad cars painted black and gold to commemorate the agency’s 100-year anniversary in 2017 will be at the market 3 to 5 p.m. Also during the same time span, the company Child Print will offer free ID kits. The kits allow parents to have …

St. Joseph County employees are expected to adhere to a series of customer-service standards following action last week by county commissioners. Introduced by human resources director Teresa Doehring, the resolution to adopt customer-service standards provides four ideals to follow when dealing with the public: *Smile and greet people warmly. *Take ownership of any customer concern. *Assist without being asked. *Respect …

If you want quaintness, all you need to do is visit Shipshewana, Indiana, located about a half-hour southeast of Three Rivers on Indiana Highway 5. We spent a weekend there recently visiting with other Lion friends. It was sort of a reunion. We had all gathered there five years ago, when the Lions of Michigan held their State Convention at …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department has released the name of the motorcyclist killed last week in a Three Rivers traffic crash. Christopher Watson, 29, died after the motorcycle he was driving crashed into a semi tractor-trailer at Broadway and 8th Street. The incident occurred around 10 p.m. Thursday after Watson failed to stop for police for disobeying a traffic-control …

The largest Homes For Our Troops fundraiser in the eight-year history hosted by Jim and Peggy Fassett bodes well for a Grand Rapids-area man and his family. Though it’s not unusual for more money to trickle in a week or two afterward, Saturday’s event at the Fassett’s Park Township farmstead generated nearly $12,000. The figure marks about $2,000 less than …