The St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit arrested five people Tuesday night after following up on a tip regarding suspected drug activity in a Three Rivers trailer park. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, complaints of frequent traffic at the residence on 14th Street led SCAN unit members to execute a search warrant. Three males and two females, …

A trust and investment officer with Century Bank and Trust was appointed to the Three Rivers City Commission Tuesday. Jared Hoffmaster, one of three candidates to seek the post vacated with the resignation of Judy Gilchrist, was chosen by Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners at their twice-a-month meeting this week. Danielle Moreland and Larry Matson were also seeking the seat …

A three-year contract with St. Joseph County’s Central Dispatch Unit was approved Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Effective Jan. 1, the contract covers 11 employees and will offer a 2 percent pay increase in each of the first two years, and a 3 percent wage improvement in the third year. Matters related to health insurance and …

Jerry E. Lash, age 66, of Colon, passed away Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, at Thurston Woods Village in Sturgis. Jerry was born May 8, 1946, in Sturgis, a son of the late Philip E. and Ellen C. (Shafer) Lash. Jerry had lived all of his life in the Colon area. He had worked for the Newport Company in Sturgis until …

Constantine Public Schools Superintendent Chuck Frisbie on Tuesday sent a letter to parents of Eastside Elementary students and provided general information about a police investigation at the Pre-K-through-second-grade school. In the letter, Frisbie indicated the investigation centers on “incidents which may have occurred in a kindergarten classroom” at Eastside. Frisbie said parents of children from the classroom in question were …

With little fanfare, members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved the county’s 2013 fiscal year budget. The $28.8 million budget goes into effect Jan. 1. It is more than $780,000 less than the 2012 fiscal-year budget, thanks in part to a lower-than-expected allocation sought by the St. Joseph County Road Commission. According to a breakdown of …

The St. Joseph County United way is staging a Celebrity Waiter Night fundraiser this evening at a Sturgis-based restaurant. Fiesta Mexicana will be the location of the event, set to take place 5 to 9 p.m. A number of representatives from the Sturgis City Commission as well as municipal staff members will be on hand to host and help the …

A 17-year-old Three Rivers woman was treated for minor injuries following a single-vehicle accident at 3 p.m. Monday in Fabius Township. According to the St Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, the woman was driving south on U.S. 131 when she lost control of her vehicle due to a wet roadway around Hoffman Road. The vehicle went into a ditch and rolled …

Tony Warren Cole, age 34, passed away suddenly on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at Three Rivers Hospital. Tony was born October 24, 1978 in Three Rivers, Michigan the son of Lonnie and Ethel (Moore) Cole Sr. Tony has been a resident of Three Rivers his entire life, except for an eight year period spent in Chicago. He graduated from Three …

Ruby Grace Hall, age 94, of Jones, died Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 at Cass County Medical Care Facility in Cassopolis, MI. She had been in declining health for two years. Ruby was born in Elkhart County, IN, on November 8, 1918 to Clarence and Dessie (Walker) Blough. On February 16, 1941 she married Chester George Hall at Chapel Hill Missionary Church. He …