Robert A. Smalley, age 80, of Colon, passed away Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Robert was born Jan. 1, 1936, in Middleville, a son of the late Arthur and Lucille (Alger) Smalley. On Sept. 29, 1962, he married Phyllis M. Coble in Kalamazoo. She preceded him in death Aug. 13, 2008. Robert served in the …

Wayne E. Decker, age 84, of Hastings, passed away Tuesday, April 19, 2016, at Spectrum Butterworth in Grand Rapids. He retired as a superintendent at MDOT after 31 years of service. They spent winters at their home in Florida. He loved fishing, hunting, camping, and loved Tiger baseball. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Monafae; daughters Cindy …

Seven individuals were named to the St. Joseph County Remonumentation Peer Review Group this week. The action was taken during Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting. Group members provide advice on original public land survey corners presented by surveyors before the county accepts the corners for filing under its County Remonumentation Plan. Members of the group will serve for a term …

The reward for finding who was responsible for damage at Oak Lawn Cemetery earlier this month in Sturgis has been raised to $3,000, thanks to donations from a number of area businesses. Police said the vandalism occurred between April 1 and 3. In all, 34 headstones – some dating to the 1800s – were damaged. Other damage included shots from …

A 14-year-old girl shot in the head during a deadly shooting rampage in southwestern Michigan has left a rehabilitation center. Mary Free Bed Hospital spokeswoman Betsy Musolf says Abigail Kopf was released Wednesday. Abigail spent six weeks at the Grand Rapids facility and a couple of weeks in another hospital following the Feb. 20 rampage that killed six people and …

Volkswagen, the U.S. government and private lawyers have reached a deal for the automaker to spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners of about 600,000 diesel-powered cars that cheat on emissions tests, including buyback offers to some owners, according to a person briefed on the matter. The “deal in principle” includes a maximum amount of spending, but the final …

The Three Rivers golf team participated in a double jamboree at Lake Doster Golf Club, which is the home course for both Plainwell and Otsego. In the Plainwell portion they finished 10th of the 10 schools and on the Otsego side they finished 8th. Otsego made a clean sweep by winning both sides of the event. The overall results looked …

Everyone here at Animal Control calls me an orphan. They named me “Carson”. I kind of like that name. They are surprised that I eat and drink on my own. I am butterscotch orange and I like to be held, but soon I start climbing shoulders and scurrying all around. I will be available May 17th – I have to …

Cases associated with marijuana and methamphetamine were the most common drug-related incidents handled by the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department in 2015. Led by Sheriff Brad Balk and aided largely by Captain Jason Bingaman, the department’s annual report was presented to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday. The report featured an assortment of statistics related to crime, narcotics …

Indiana Michigan Power has announced it is conducting proactive inspections of poles in areas throughout its service territory in both states. I&M has contracted with GeoForce, a company licensed and experienced in pole inspection, to visually examine the poles. In some cases, the inspection process also involves minor digging at the base of the poles and treatment of the wood, …