Members of St. Joseph County’s animal control department are optimistic 2018 will be a good year for the agency. Their goal is to secure enough funding to begin firm plans for a new facility. A site – located southeast of the current complex – has been identified. But, Sheriff Brad Balk said, it’s a long road to the goal of …

Kelly Hostetler, executive director of St. Joseph County United Way, recently presented Children’s Trauma Assessment Group with a $10,000 donation. The $10,000 was recently given to the United Way by a county resident who wished to remain anonymous. Also present at the check presentation were Deana Strudwick, CTAG board president; David Tomlinson, probate and juvenile court judge; Tadd Davis, past president United Way Board; and Natalie …

Laura M. Baker, 84, of Constantine, went to be with her Lord on Sunday, December 3, 2017 at her home surrounded by her family. She was born on June 23, 1933 in Staten Island, NY, a daughter of Angelo and Hannah (Martin) Suarez. Laura served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1952 as a clerk typist. On November …

Sally M. Nelson, age 88, of Marcellus, passed away Thursday, November 30, 2017. She was born September 14, 1929 in Lee County, Lynchburg Township, South Carolina the daughter of Russel E. and Sallie Effie (Harrington) Bainbridge.  On August 14, 1949 she married James Martin Nelson and he preceded her in death in 2007. Sally graduated from Marcellus High School.  She …

Alice O. Dobberteen, 94, of Sturgis, passed away in her sleep early Thursday morning, Nov. 30, 2017. Alice Patricia Olds Loomis Dobberteen was born Aug. 19, 1923, in LaGrange, Ind., to George S. and Ethel L. (Wyatt Hissong) Olds. Alice was married briefly to Dick Loomis, prior to his early death. In 1954, Alice married Joseph F. Dobberteen of Sturgis, …

MaryAnn (Kaminski) Tironi, a long-time resident of Three Rivers, died on Friday, Nov. 24, 2017 in Holland, Michigan, at the age of 85. MaryAnn was born in 1931 in Hamtramck, Michigan. Her father, Edmund, was a tool and die maker, and her mother Anna was a homemaker. MaryAnn had one sister, Geri Migan. The Kaminski family moved from Hamtramck to …

Michigan’s minimum wage will rise to $9.25 an hour starting January 1st. That’s a 35-cent raise from the current minimum of $8.90 per hour. It’s the final definitive increase provided by a 2014 law, the state said Friday. Beginning in 2019, however, the minimum wage is due to increase annually with inflation unless the unemployment rate is high. Employers can …

Joanne Morton Sisson, age 92, of Kalamazoo, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017 at Bronson Methodist Hospital. Joanne was born on Nov. 15, 1925 in Kalamazoo, the daughter of the late Owen P. and Wilma (Bosker) Morton. She spent her childhood, high school, and college years in Kalamazoo. She attended Western Michigan University where she studied History of Art, …

Dr. Joseph P. Tironi, who practiced dentistry in Three Rivers, and provided dental services to the poor in Guatemala and St. Lucia, died on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017 in Holland, Michigan, at the age of 87. Joe was born in 1930 in Raton, New Mexico. His father, Pasquale, worked as a miner and bricklayer. His mother, Carolina (Rubini), was a …

Larry Eugene Frohriep, age 69, of Sturgis, passed away Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017, at his home. He was born Oct. 23, 1948, in Sturgis, a son of the late Harold and Frances (Persing) Frohriep. Larry was a lifelong Sturgis resident. He had been employed by Harris Kayot in Burr Oak and also had worked at Forest River RV in Middlebury …