County Information

Local officials said more than three-quarters of St. Joseph County was without power in the days after last week’s storms. The estimate was shared by St. Joseph County Emergency Management Director Erin Goff, who addressed county commissioners Tuesday. At the peak of power outages last week, 78 percent of the county was without electric service, Goff said. As of late …

Six “Fresh Food Distribution” events will occur over the next week. Three take place Thursday: 10:30 a.m. at Gateway Village Apartments in Sturgis, 3 o’clock at Mendon High School and 4:30 at Colon High School. The next area distribution after Thursday will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at The Huss Project on 8th Street in Three Rivers. Next week, there …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Chairman Dennis Allen has declared a county-wide state of emergency. In a statement dated Saturday, Allen noted a series of storms Wednesday and Thursday caused widespread and severe damage, fostered by straight-line winds. Allen said critical infrastructure was compromised, homes and other properties were damaged, and hazardous debris impacted emergency response. The state of …

Focusing on the state of the agency, and its many road, bridge and maintenance projects, St. Joseph County Road Commission Managing Director John Lindsey provided annual reports from 2019 and 2020 Tuesday before the county board of commissioners. Highlights from 2019 included upgrading a one-mile stretch of Constantine Road from Mintdale to Featherstone roads on the border of Constantine and …

St. Joseph County officials appear ready to discontinue the format of virtual meetings. During their executive committee meeting last week, commissioners agreed to not renew the state of emergency that allows them to meet virtually only. The declaration is set to expire July 5. While commissioners have been using a hybrid format – in-person and via Zoom – for their …

A fundraising effort is underway to purchase automated CPR machines for all EMS departments in St. Joseph County. Spearheaded by Jeff Brazo, a member of the Burr Oak Community Fire and Rescue Board, the fundraiser goal is $200,000 by Sept. 1. Brazo said automatic CPR machines can aid responders in performing consistent and effective CPR with fewer staff on site …

The St. Joseph County Human Resources Commission has released an updated list of “free stores” in the area. There are five locations in and around St. Joseph County. In Athens, the Pass It Forward Shop is on Factoryville Road, though it is closed for the summer. Meanwhile, in St. Joseph County, the Centreville Free Store – Building Hope – is …

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners discussed a few matters of note Tuesday. Chairman Dennis Allen said the county’s Commission on Aging is hosting karaoke at its Sturgis location 5 to 8 p.m. Monday. The Three Rivers site will host karaoke from 5 to 8 p.m. June 29. In addition, commissioner Ken Malone said the county’s parks …

A unique training opportunity later this month in St. Joseph County will combine air and ground emergency responders for a mock, multi-vehicle, crash-response simulation. The exercise will involve a multi-vehicle crash, with a responding helicopter for getting patients to definitive care as quickly as possible. In addition to West Michigan Air Care, participating fire departments will be Three Rivers, Centreville …

St. Joseph County received the first installment of its American Rescue Plan allocation Tuesday. County finance director Angie Steinman informed commissioners during their meeting Tuesday that the amount totaled $5.9 million. County officials have been told to expect a total of nearly $12 million. Steinman said she will await direction from county treasurer Kathy Humphreys to decide in which fund …