County Information

Six agenda items, including consideration of an annexation request by the village of Mendon, will be fielded by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners this afternoon. Other matters before the board include an intergovernmental transfer of funds with the Workforce Development Board, the annual child care fund plan and budget, and employment agreements with Ann Happel and Brian McDaniel …

Officials from the St. Joseph County Grange Fair reported a strong opening day, boosted by ideal temperatures in the mid-70s. Sunday’s opening of the seven-day tradition in Centreville is the start of what fair manager Bill Johnson said he hopes is a great week of family fun. Today’s grandstand highlight is SJO Motorcross, which starts at 7 p.m. Cost is …

State Rep. Aaron Miller last week hailed passage of a bill by the House Committee on Appropriations that provides health-care coverage for the spouse and dependents of public-safety officers killed in the line of duty only if the family has no other present coverage and only for a maximum of five years. Miller said the panel’s strong bipartisan approval of …

Sheriff’s department deputies responded last week to a three-vehicle collision at the border of Fabius and Constantine townships. Deputies were called shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday to U.S. 131 and Drummond Road, where a southbound pickup driven by a 22-year-old Marcellus man collided into the rear of a vehicle that was stopped to turn left into a driveway. Two Iowa …

Doug Humbert, director of the Three Rivers Wastewater Treatment Plant, said plant officials were notified of a faulty air-release valve last week on U.S.-131. The incident was reported at 2:35 p.m. Wednesday. Humbert said the malfunctioning ARV caused a sanitary sewage overflow onto the roadway. Plant personnel have isolated the malfunctioning valve until repairs can be made. Upon inspection, workers …

Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said deputies responded to a two-car crash Thursday morning last week in Mason Township. The incident occurred around 7:15 a.m. on Cassopolis Road and Grange Street. Investigators said a vehicle driven by 29-year-old Kenneth Abney of Three Rivers failed to yield right of way at the intersection and turned in front of a southbound …

Two major road projects in St. Joseph County will begin next week. Motorists in the Lockport Township area will notice the first task Monday, when crews from Niblock Excavating start the chore of replacing two-thirds of a mile of Lovers Lane from Enterprise Drive east to Buckhorn Road. Chris Minger, manager of the St. Joseph County Road Commission, said the …

A St. Joseph County tradition that started in the mid 1800s continues next week, as the St. Joseph County Grange Fair begins Sunday. The opening-day grandstand attraction is farm truck pulls, which starts at 4 p.m. Other highlights include traditional favorites such as the Miracle of Birth Tent, free music, and, of course, food, rides and midway games. Fair manager …

A bill sponsored by State Rep. Aaron Miller to more equally appropriate funds for county mental-health services has received the support of four St. Joseph County Community Mental Health officials before the House Committee on Appropriations. House Bill 5118 changes the way the state calculates its contribution for services provided by Community Mental Health Service Programs, basing the funds on …

Coldwater will soon be the new home of a public health dental center operated by My Community Dental Centers, Inc. on behalf of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency. The center will serve children and adults enrolled in Medicaid, including Delta Dental Healthy Kids, MiChild and the Healthy Michigan Plan, as well as residents with low-income or who are uninsured. …