The Sturgis Police Department has issued a media release, indicating it is looking for 37-year-old Chutis  Hicks Jr. Hicks was reported missing last Friday from his residence in the 100 block of North Nottawa Street. Officers advise that caution should be exercised if Hicks is spotted, as his mental state could be volatile. He may be in the Kalamazoo area …

White Pigeon Community Schools Superintendent Ron Drzewicki  said the district is asking its residents to participate in a 15-minute, online survey. He said the district has partnered with the Michigan Association of School Boards to gain perceptions, input and feedback to foster the district’s strategic-planning and goal-setting process. Drzewicki said responses will remain anonymous and confidential. The survey will be …

Bella has a new home I am Teddy, a very happy one year old male Lab Terrier mix. I am very small and feeling kind of lonely. You see my people were not very interested in me any more, don’t understand why, I still like to play and have fun. I wandered off and now I have been here for …

A recount conducted Friday by the St. Joseph County Board of Election Canvassers confirmed Gordon Evilsizor’s primary-election win as Florence Township supervisor. The recount was sought by incumbent Tom Young, who has served the past 10 of his 19 years on the township board as its supervisor. The election-night tally showed Evilsizor with a three-vote margin, 65-62. Following last week’s …

A 45-year-old man from Cass County was charged with a number of offenses after he was found in the company of a 15-year-old girl he allegedly courted through the Internet. Cass County Sheriff’s Department investigators said Dean Young, who had recently moved from Arizona to a residence he shared with a friend in the unincorporated community of Union, was charged …

Nancy J. Betcke, age 61, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Friday morning, Aug. 24, 2012, at Rose Arbor Hospice Residence in Kalamazoo, Mich. She was born Aug. 24, 1951, in Sturgis, Mich., daughter of the late, Albert and Betsy (Poley) Pierucki. Nancy was a lifelong Sturgis area resident and a graduate of Centreville High School with the class of 1969. …

Patricia Jane Sperry, age 67, of Three Rivers (formerly of Nottawa), passed away Friday, August 24th, 2012 at the Heartland Health Care Center. She was born in Sturgis on November 28, 1944, a daughter of Clare and Mae (Miller) Juday. She graduated from Centreville High School in 1964. On July 29, 1967 she married Delbert C. Sperry at the Centreville United Methodist …

Lois Jean (Burghduff) Devlin, age 40, of Centreville, passed away Friday, August 24, 2012 at her home following an 8 month battle with brain cancer. She was born in LaGrange, IN on February 16, 1972. Lois graduated from Sturgis High School in 1990, and married Jack Daryl Devlin on June 16, 1990. She worked as a Telecommunicator/Dispatcher at St. Joseph County Dispatch …

Patrick J. Benner, age 67, of Constantine, died Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, surrounded by his wife and children. He was born Oct. 23, 1944, in Logansport, Ind., a son of John M. and Katherine (Hartwick) Benner. Patrick graduated in 1962 from Delphi High School and attended St. Joseph College in Renssaler, Ind. While living in Constantine, Patrick was a pioneer …

David John Wanko, 63, of Constantine, died Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, at his home of natural causes. He was born Oct. 29, 1948, in Paw Paw, Mich., the son of John D. and Audrey L. (Pease) Wanko. He lived in the Constantine and Three Rivers area most of his life and served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam. He was a …