County Information

Glen Oaks Community College’s 50th anniversary celebration came to a close earlier this month with a final event. Faculty and staff gathered at the site of the new flag plaza for a dedication ceremony that included placement of a 50-year anniversary time capsule in the brick plaza. The capsule contains an array of items from throughout the year, including the …

State police are conducting an investigation after three Branch County residents recently overdosed on synthetic marijuana. According to a department media release, two incidents occurred Sunday in Ovid Township. One of the two men remains in critical condition at Borgess Hospital, the other was treated locally and released. Meanwhile, a 22-year-old man overdosed Monday in Batavia Township. After he was …

The village of Constantine was awarded more than $20,000 from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources as part of its Recreation Passport grant program. The village was one of 33 recipients from a field of 45 applicants to receive a portion of the $1.3 million available for recreation-related purposes. Funds are made available through the $11 annual pass residents purchase …

State Rep. Aaron Miller and former state Reps. Matt Lori and Rick Shaffer gathered at the Capitol Tuesday to say goodbye to retiring staffer Susan Martin, who served as legislative aide to all three lawmakers during the past 13 years. Miller commended Martin for the hard work she has done for the people of the 59th House District while working …

Carol Brooks has been named the 2015 recipient of the John E. Oster Award. Brooks, who was honored this week at a meeting of Sturgis Rotary Club at Sturges-Young Auditorium, has taught at Sturgis Public Schools since 1988, the past seven years as K-2 physical education teacher. The John Oster Memorial Fund was established in 1981 by JoEllen Oster, John’s …

Sturgis firefighters were dispatched to ACM Plastics just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, and arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from roof vents at the north end of the plant. All employees existed safely. Due to heavy smoke, crews used a thermal-imaging camera to direct the fire-fight. Damage was contained to a malfunctioning mold heater, while the building sustained …

Contracts with six of the county’s nine unions were approved Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. The three-year contracts apply to the District Court Employee’s Association, the 911 Telecommunicators’ Association, and AFSCME groups with the circuit court, probate court, friend of the court and general unit. In all, the contracts affect about 75 people. Terms of the …

A team of Three Rivers High School students was awarded a grant allowing them to lead a campaign aimed at safe driving in winter weather. The Wildcats Weathering Winter program runs through February and feature three student-led events. The campaign kickoff will introduce the team and its goal. The phase includes driving facts mentioned during morning announcements. Next is a …

Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry and city manager Joe Bippus joined state Rep. Aaron Miller in Lansing last week to testify about tax fairness before the House Committee on Tax Policy. Lowry and Bippus said big stores should be subject to common-sense property tax rates so that municipal governments don’t have to cut their budgets to adjust to the lower …

Several board and committee appointments were made Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Lon Huffman of Mendon and Edward Bell of Colon were reappointed to the county planning commission, while Flowerfield Township resident Joe Woodin will join the panel. Their terms will expire at the end of 2018. Three Rivers-area resident Eric Shafer and commissioner Don Eaton …