County Information

The village of Colon’s computer system was hacked at some point in the early morning hours Wednesday last week. Village president Tom Tenney said no personal information was compromised. Tenney said the email looked authentic and it indicated it was from the village of Colon. Tenney said when the email is opened, what looks to be the homepage for Google …

Members of the Constantine Village Council are studying a proposal to ban assault weapons. No mention was made at last week’s council meeting regarding a problem with such weapons within the village. Police chief Mark Honeysett said a memo regarding the matter was included in council packets for review at the request of village president Pat Weiss. Weiss was absent …

The city of Sturgis is considering a new contract with the Sturgis Neighborhood Association that will increase the city’s annual financial commitment to the housing non-profit by more than $35,000. City Manager Mike Hughes endorsed the new proposal, saying the local private, non-profit group provides valuable services that improve the city’s overall housing stock and bring abandoned properties back on …

A state-administered survey found that people who had dealings with St. Joseph County courts this year are satisfied with the experience. Using a survey conducted in courts statewide, the 45th Circuit, 3B District and 75 Probate courts asked questions about their level of satisfaction with court services. Across the board, court users said all of the county’s courts were accessible, …

St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Director Jaymes MacDonald said he plans to work on the creation of a bike trail at the county’s premier park. He said the plan for a trail up to 12 miles long at Meyer Broadway Park is being studied. The trail would be created specifically for use by mountain bikes. MacDonald said if plans …

Members of the Constantine Village Council were given an update earlier this month regarding negotiations with the city of Three Rivers about sewage-treatment operations. Attorney Scott Smith led the update but details were not disclosed when the board reconvened following a 60-minute closed-session discussion. Constantine pumps its sewage to the Three Rivers wastewater treatment plant in accordance to a contract …

The Leo Club, a high school service group hosted by the Sturgis Lions Club, was recently chartered into the national organization. The group needed at least 35 high school members in the Leo Club to be considered for the charter, said Frank Iannarelli, president of Sturgis Lions Club. That goal has been reached and there is one honorary member, Abdiel …

Future city of Sturgis employees will have new pension rules designed to reduce the city’s future pension costs. Under the proposed amendment to city ordinance, new hires beginning Jan. 1 will have to work 10 years, rather than the current eight, to be vested in the municipal retirement plan. In addition, the city is expected to begin requiring all new …

The attorney representing the leader of the grass-roots group TR Cares issued a cease-and-desist order to Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Jean Logan. Kelly Ward – whose client, Sherrie Nowicki, sought the directive – issued the two-page notice to Logan Monday. Nowicki read the order to board members during a special meeting Tuesday morning to deal with two student-expulsion matters. …

St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman has sentenced Maria Williams to a maximum of 35 years in prison for the 2014 shooting death of a 33-year-old Burr Oak-area man. Stutesman on Tuesday issued the sentence, stemming from a March 2014 case involving Williams and Dennis Brooks. Williams had been accused of shooting Brooks once in the head during …