St. Joseph County commissioners are prepared to take the unprecedented step of offering funds toward the restoration of what is generally considered the worst road in the county. During Wednesday’s executive committee meeting, commissioners agreed to consider a $50,000 allocation toward improving a six-mile stretch of Constantine Road. Commission chairman Allen Balog said the county board has never provided general-fund …

A sanitary-sewer overflow occurred this week in Constantine. The incident took place at 10:50 a.m. Monday in the 300 block of Water Street as a result of critical repairs being conducted on the infrastructure. Village officials said 3,340 gallons of wastewater overflowed from a manhole over the course of the 25-minute event. A contractor was brought in to vacuum and …

State Rep. Aaron Miller this week approved recommendations for the Michigan State Police agency’s 2017-18 budget. The state House endorsed a bill approved by the Michigan State Police Budget Subcommittee, which is chaired by Miller. Included in the plan is the addition of 100 new state police troopers across the state. Miller said there is a need for increased public …

The St. Joseph County Solid Waste Committee wishes to advise residents that the annual spring collection of household hazardous waste, electronics, paper, latex and paint takes place in three weeks. Committee officials said they like to give a few weeks’ advance notice so people with items to drop off can begin the process. A few notes about the April 22 …

The Mackinac Bridge’s towers are getting a new paint job in the coming years. The Mackinac Bridge Authority says starting April 6 contractors will begin a nearly two-year project to remove the original lead-based paint from the north tower and repaint it. The new zinc-based paint will be the same color and is expected to last at least 35 years. …

Nearly two dozen workers at Kellogg Co.’s Battle Creek headquarters have been hospitalized as a precaution following a suspected Freon leak. About 200 people were evacuated about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday from the building and 23 were taken to area hospitals for evaluation. Fire officials say the leak originated from a pipe near a copier room on the fifth floor of …

Alice Cecile Teeters passed away on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, at age 92 at Friendship Village of Kalamazoo. She was born on August 14, 1924, the daughter of the late William R. and Tillie C. (Stuckley) Meutsch. Alice earned her Master’s Degree from the University of Gainesville. She went on to become a Registered Nurse where she was employed in …

Diana Marie (Renz) Johnson, age 71, of Centreville, passed away on Monay, March 27, 2017 at Fairview Nursing Home. She was born in Trenton, NJ on August 22, 1945, a daughter of Jerry and Othelia (Policek) Renz. She graduated from Princeton High School, New Jersey, in 1963. On March 20, 1965, she married Jeffery Johnson, of Centreville, at McGuire Air …

The St. Joseph County Conservation District is hosting a three-hour, bug-collection opportunity at 10 a.m. Saturday at nine separate locations in three different rivers. Conservation District executive director Carolyn Grace said volunteers are needed to collect the aquatic inhabitants as a means of gauging the health of the Portage, Prairie and Rocky rivers. Grace and a team of volunteers – …

State Rep. Aaron Miller on Tuesday voted to increase the state’s allocation for each individual student by $100 as part of a $14.3 billion education budget. Miller, who said Michigan’s future is based on its students and classrooms, is a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid. Miller said his endorsement will hopefully lead to kids being proficient …