Area fire departments wish to remind residents that due to the mild winter, vegetation is unusually dry for this time of year. As a result, the risk of grass fires is especially great. Fire officials in White Pigeon and Constantine stated that they believe discarded cigarettes triggered grass fires Tuesday in Constantine and property surrounding a residence on Mintdale Road. …

The Constantine Public Schools Board of Education has taken on changes at the state level that allow school districts to extend the terms of board of education members from four to six years. The matter was approved earlier this week by board members. Those in favor of the revised term length said the option provides more stability than what is …

The number of births in St. Joseph County in 2011 exceeded the number of deaths, according to data provided by County Clerk Pattie Bender. Bender, the county’s most tenured employee with more than 41 years of employment, presented her annual report Tuesday to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Bender said 717 people were born in the county in …

Downtown Constantine will be the site of a quilter’s exhibit Saturday. Area residents will be displaying their quilts at various locations throughout the village’s downtown district 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, the Barry House will be hosting for the first time its heritage with a display of generational and heirloom quilts during the same four-hour timeframe. A quilt …

Susie, the sweet Plott Hound is still in need of a loving home. Hi everyone, my name is Jim. I am a two year old male terrier mix, we are not too sure what I am mixed up with but I’m just a little guy. I am now two years old and it is past time for me to have …

A potential change in the leadership of the Three Rivers Public Library Board could be forthcoming. Mayor Tom Lowry and members of the Three Rivers City Commission on Tuesday discussed the option of removing Sharon Rogers as president of the library board. Commissioners, however, agreed to wait until after the library board stages its monthly meeting Tuesday next week and …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has put off at least until April setting the date for a public hearing on a millage renewal request in support of the county’s E-911 Central Dispatch. Commissioners on Tuesday agreed to ask E-911 Central Dispatch Director Jonathan Uribe to provide them a long-term financial picture, including the department’s potential major purchases and …

Three Rivers Police are reporting that a 46-year-old man believed to be from Indiana has been approaching women in downtown Three Rivers and acting in a suspicious manner. Police said they believe the man is Jerry Hillegas. They said Hillegas over the weekend confronted a woman at a downtown business and asked if she would contribute to the Children’s Museum …

The unseasonably warm weather in Michigan is giving mushroom hunters an early jump on morel season.  The Kalamazoo Gazette reports at least one morel sighting has been reported in March, about two months before the usual peak season in the state. If mushroom hunters use the calendar to determine morel season this year they could miss out on the chance …

Mildred Rose Fetch, 92, of Three Rivers, died Monday, March 19, 2012, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids. She was born Dec. 25, 1919, in Penn, to John H. and Myrn E. (Thomas) Dussel. She lived in the Three Rivers area except the last four years, with her daughter. She was a lifelong homemaker and founding member of The Three Rivers Square. On Sept. …