Sharon Rose Smith, age 72, of Centreville, died Saturday, April 2, 2016 at home surrounded by her loving family. She was born June 10, 1943 in Lansing, a daughter of Charles and Alice (Kimble) Green. On March 31, 1979 she married Francis Lee Smith in Three Rivers, he preceded her in death in 2009. She owned and operated several businesses, Jessica’s …

George B. Garl, Sr., age 69, of Constantine, died Saturday, April 2, 2016 at Alamo Nursing Home in Kalamazoo. He was born November 2, 1946 in Mason Twp, a son of Vernon and Jeanette (Miller) Garl. George graduated from Constantine High School in 1966. George served in the US Army from 1966 to 1968. He worked his farm and also worked …

A new Michigan law offers ways for certain people to access the online storehouse of memories in Facebook and Google accounts after the owner dies, but the bill sponsor says it wasn’t easy to get tech companies and lawyers to agree on the new rules. While mega tech corporations like Google and Facebook tout privacy concerns, lawyers representing families or …

Nicholas Peter “Nick” Ruddock, age 63, of Leonidas, died Friday, April 1, 2016 at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo following a long illness. He was born in Marshall, MI on Dec. 5, 1952 the son of Fred and Arlene (Van Nortrick) Ruddock. Nick graduated from Marshall High School in 1971. He was an independent truck driver, and had worked at …

A man accused in a shooting rampage in Kalamazoo, told detectives that he shot a woman outside a restaurant after she declined his request for a dollar, according to a state police report. Jason Dalton told detectives that he had asked the woman “if she could spare a dollar to make America great again,” The Kalamazoo Gazette reported Friday. State …

Gail G. “Buckshot” Johnson, age 75, of Colon, passed away Thursday, March 31, 2016, at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Buckshot was born Sept. 13, 1940, in Burr Oak, a son of the late Thurman and Lauretta (Fetch) Johnson. On July 2, 1961, he married Patricia J. Haskins. They met when he was 17 and they were high school sweethearts. …

Margo I. (Wagner) Baughman, age 74, of Colon, drove away in her Jeep to meet her Lord, Thursday, March 31, 2016, at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo. Margo was born Feb. 1, 1942, in Union Township, a daughter of the late George W. and Dorothy (Davis) Wagner. On May 18, 1978, she married Jerry O. Baughman in Colon. Margo had lived …

Students all over the U.S. dissect animals as a kind of high school rite of passage. Not many, though, stuff and mount the critters afterward. A Michigan high school is teaching students to do just that. Croswell-Lexington High offered a taxidermy course for the first time this school year. So far, it’s been a hit. Sixty students enrolled in the …

Litigation regarding the proposed development of a multi-sports athletic complex in the Three Rivers area has forced county officials to make a few amendments to its facility agreement. During Wednesday’s county commission executive committee meeting, commissioners agreed to vote on the amendments at next week’s board meeting. County administrator Pat Yoder said time-sensitive dates had to be revised because of …

Reimbursement for college tuition will become an easier process for county employees, pending action taken by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. A matter discussed during this week’s county commission executive committee centered on making the process of applying for reimbursement an easier procedure, Pat Yoder, county administrator, said a few of the likely changes include a provision that …