Ladd E. Carpenter, age 55 of White Pigeon, Michigan passed away Saturday July 28, 2012 in White Pigeon Township. He was born October 30, 1956 in Sturgis, Michigan son of the late Faye and Joann (Cochran) Carpenter. Ladd resided nearly his entire life in the White Pigeon and Sturgis area and was a graduate of Sturgis High School.  He continued …

Ardis J. Philo, age 84, of Colon, passed away Sunday, July 29, 2012, at her home, after an extended illness. Ardis was born Dec. 23, 1927, in Hillsdale County, a daughter of the late Otto and Louise (Beem) Wasnich. Ardis graduated from Reading High School with the class of 1946. On Feb. 18, 1955, she married Walter Philo in Quincy. …

This next weekend promises to be one filled with plenty of activities. If you plan carefully, you and your family will be able to get Out and About and take in most of them. So, put away the video games, hide the TV remote, get out the kitchen calendar and your family planner, and prepare to do things as a …

Personnel from fire departments in Sturgis and across the county are in mourning after learning Monday about the weekend passing of Ladd Carpenter, Sturgis assistant fire chief. A 45-person search for Carpenter’s body was staged Sunday morning after the 55-year-old Sturgis Fire Department veteran failed to show up for an early shift Sunday. Undersheriff Mark Lillywhite said searchers focused their …

A 74-year-old Elkhart County man was charged with arson following an incident Friday evening in White Pigeon Township. According to the Michigan State Police, the man allegedly set fire to a rental unit in which he was residing, in the 71000 block of Aldrich Lake Road. There were no injuries and no other adjacent structures were damaged by fire, heat, …

Members of the St. Joseph County Conservation District said perfect weather and sufficient water depth Saturday combined for a successful cleanup of the Rocky River. Twelve volunteers participated in the daylong effort, which started at Null Road and concluded just past U.S. 131. An estimated 250 pounds of debris was collected from the river, including a bale of wire fencing, …

Howard A. “Dick” Bell Jr., 76, of Three Rivers, died Friday, July 27, 2012 at his home following an extended illness. He was born on May 12, 1936 in Constantine the son of Howard A. and Dorothy (Manbeck) Bell, Sr. He was a Three Rivers-area resident all of his life. Dick served in the U.S. Army and was a member …

Marguerite “Peg” E. Wilson, age 95, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at the Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. Surviving are five children, Robert Schuster of McNabb, Ill., Richard Wilson of Flat Rock, Mich., Sharon Ricke of Lebanon, Ore., twins, Thelma “Tammy” Noirot of Colon, Mich., and Thomas Wilson of Indianapolis; numerous grand and great-grandchildren. She was …

Roger Joseph Lapierre, age 86, of Sturgis, Mich., passed away Saturday evening, July 28, 2012, at his home. He was born March 13, 1926, in Detroit, a son of the late Hermenegilde and Albertine (Villeneue) Lapierre. Mr. Lapierre resided in Sturgis since 1971 coming from Vista, Calif. On Oct. 9, 1948, he married Emmaline L. “Amy” Tulloch in Honolulu, Hawaii. …

Twenty-year-old Three Rivers native Marco Drayton, who had been missing since July 22, has reportedly made contact with his family and is safe.  A variety of news reports stated Drayton left the area without informing his family, whose members reported him missing after he failed to show up at a friend’s house a short distance from his residence.  Drayton reportedly …