County Information

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved two annual appropriations Tuesday. Commissioners allocated nearly $290,000, an amount it had budgeted, to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency to finance a portion of the agency’s annual operations. Financial transfers will be administered quarterly. The motion also squared the annual $1-a-year rent the agency pays to the county for …

Anyone wishing to address the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners now has one fewer opportunity per meeting. Following brief discussion Tuesday, the five-member panel approved a revision to the rules that spell out protocol at the commissioners’ twice-a-month meetings. A bylaw approved in 1994 that allowed for citizen comment twice a meeting – once near the onset and again …

A 32-year-old Sturgis man was arrested last weekend following a high-speed chase that terminated in Burr Oak Township. The incident took place starting around 6 p.m. Friday, when a volunteer firefighter saw a Cadillac Escalade being driven recklessly on Stubey Road. Sheriff’s department officials said the firefighter began following the Escalade while talking with 911 dispatchers. A sheriff ’s deputy …

The return of an admired former administrator to Mendon Community Schools was, by all appearances, a reunion the district and community were more than ready to embrace. And, for about 24 hours, the idea of Chuck Frisbie coming back to help lead the 580-student district looked like it was going to happen. Interim superintendent Roger Rathburn will stay on board …

A 17-year-old Goshen boy, reported as a runaway, was found Monday evening in a wooded area in Cass County’s Newburg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies responded shortly after 5 p.m. to the 15000 block of Quaker Street in response to three juvenile runaways. Two of the juveniles returned home but the 17-year-old remained in a wooded area. Deputies requested …

Colon village council members last week discussed the unreliable state of village hall’s telephone system, while village president Diane Downs said the office also needs a computer dedicated to village-related business. A general, unassigned office that Down uses in the village office does not have a landline telephone nor does it have a computer. Downs said with a search underway …

A vacancy on the Three Rivers City Commission remains unfilled, as there were no applicants who filed for the partial-term seat before a Friday deadline last week. City officials said the seat was previously held by Diane Clay, who stepped down Dec. 20 in light of her move to another part of the community. The issue is likely to be …

St. Joseph County residents later this year will likely be asked to support a millage request sought by the county’s E-911 Central Dispatch agency. County administrator Pat Yoder said Central Dispatch Director Dennis Brandenburg broached the subject during last week’s executive committee meeting. Yoder said the matter yielded substantial discussion that centered on a variety of needs Brandenburg noted. The …

Cass County prosecutor Victor Fitz formally charged 23-year-old Elkhart resident William Henderson with one count of open murder last week. Henderson is accused in Tuesday’s stabbing death of Juan Mendez, 24, who had lived in the Elkhart area as well as Puerto Rico. Mendez was stabbed early Tuesday during an altercation at Ameri-Kart in Cassopolis. After the stabbing, Henderson attempted …

Despite concerns about the cost for security and an inconvenience for county staff, St. Joseph County commissioners appear likely to stick with a later start time for its twice-a-month meetings. The issue of a 6 p.m. start time was discussed by commissioners during last week’s executive committee meeting after commissioner Kathy Pangle made a motion Jan. 3 to change the …