County Information

The U.S. Post Office in Three Rivers will be one of thousands across the country to take part in what is believed to be the largest food drive in the nation. The annual National Association of Letter Carriers “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive will be May 12. Post office officials are asking for anyone wishing to participate to leave non-perishable …

The 55th annual Mendon Dust-Off takes place Sunday with the usual impressive variety of old cars, muscle cars and other vintage vehicles. It starts at 7 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m. Three Rivers resident Arnold Alexander is a charter member of the event sponsor, Three Rivers Classic and Antique Restorers Club. He said Sunday’s show marks the 30-year anniversary …

A Cassopolis woman was injured after she was involved in a motorcycle accident earlier this week in Calvin Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly after 5 p.m. Monday to Day Lake Road, near Jeffries Street. Behnke said a motorcycle driven by Debra Hartline, 51, was heading north on Day Lake Road when she attempted to pass a …

The Cass County sheriff’s department handled an accidental death Tuesday on White Temple Road in Penn Township. Authorities said Robert Wright, 73, of Vandalia, was struck by two trees while he was cutting wood. An investigation revealed Wright was cutting a tree that fell into another tree, which uprooted itself. The two trees fell on Wright. Emergency personnel extracted Wright …

A grant application for St. Joseph County’s Community Corrections was approved by commissioners Tuesday. The grant seeks nearly $175,000 from the Michigan Department of Corrections. According to Erin Goff, community corrections coordinator, the funding would be put in the agency’s 2019 budget and go toward programs that serve as alternatives to incarceration. Goff said the request is a renewal and …

St. Joseph County commissioners have approved a request to fill vacant hours in the Animal Control Department. Undersheriff Mark Lillywhite said the department recently had a support assistant resign, leaving a void of 29 hours a week. Lillywhite asked if 11 of those 29 hours could be reassigned to another part-time assistant position, which would make it a full-time job. …

A Dowagiac man died in a motorcycle accident earlier this week in Cass County’s Calvin Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly after 5:30 a.m. Monday to Calvin Hill Street near North Shore Drive. An initial investigation shows a truck was turning out of a driveway to go west on Calvin Hill Street when it was struck by an eastbound …

In a field crowded with worthy nominees, Kelli Lusk stood slightly above all others as the recipient of this year’s, “Jeanette Schirs Recognition of Kindness to Animals” award. Bestowed by the Animal Rescue Fund of St. Joseph County, the award was presented to the 31-year-old Sturgis-area resident during the organization’s annual mostaccioli dinner and live auction fundraiser Saturday at Three …

Cases of chlamydia and other sexually-transmitted diseases are rising in the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph County area, according to 2016 data. Lauren Vogel, medical officer at the tri-county agency, said HPV exposure remains the most common sexually transmitted infections, with chlamydia being the most frequently reported disease. Vogel during last week’s department board meeting, said St. Joseph County showed 207 cases reported in 2016 …

March’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was four-tenths of a percent lower than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.7 percent March unemployment rate marked a decrease from February’s 4.1 percent. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 4.6 percent in March. …