County Information

St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel said 2014 was another good year for his office. Addressing the county’s board of commissioners, Wenzel said with the additional duties of administering soil-erosion permits, the office is keeping busy and maintaining a high profile in the county. The office in 2014 issued 147 permits and more than 600 inspections were conducted over …

Plans to begin pursuing a major addition to a portion of the St. Joseph County Courthouse were approved Tuesday by members of the county commission. The idea calls for a two-story addition to the west side of the current courts building. Each floor of the proposed rectangular-shaped addition would exceed more than 7,000 square feet and be designated for circuit, …

All seven members of the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority Board were reappointed to serve two more years following action this week by the county commission. The terms of every board member expire April 1, prompting the county commission to act on the reappointment Tuesday, their last meeting before the first of the month. Returning to the transportation authority board …

St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman announced Thursday the appointment of Lindsay Oswald to the position of county clerk/register of deeds. The choice was made two days after Stutesman and a panel of county officials convened Tuesday to discuss the appointment. Second interviews were conducted last week with finalists Oswald and Tabitha Wedge, a 28-year county employee and …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a breaking-and-entering incident in Leonidas Township. According to a department media release, force was used at some point in the past three weeks to gain entrance into the residence in the 32000 block M-60. The residence was unoccupied at the time of the incident. A department media release does not indicate if …

St. Joseph County Friend of the Court would like to remind the public that it has started using the so-called Denver Boot as a manner of collecting delinquent child-support obligations. The vehicle-immobilization device has been available to the agency for two years but was introduced for the first time over the winter on two separate occasions, according to Friend of …

Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Jean Logan issued a media release Wednesday, assuring that the school’s yearbook program will result in a publication in which the students who have worked on this year will be proud. Logan’s comments came a day after it was reported that yearbook advisor Sara Freeman was being investigated and will be charged for embezzlement. Freeman, …

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said alert police work during a routine traffic stop led to a felony methamphetamine conviction of a Sturgis man Wednesday. Fitz said sheriff’s deputy Clint Roach was on patrol in Porter Township when he observed David Greene, 46, driving a vehicle with expired license plates. Greene was stopped and cited for expired plates and no …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is accepting registration for its boater-safety class. Offered to prospective participants 12 years of age and older, the class will be offered on four different occasions this summer. The one-day course runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is slated to take place on consecutive Saturdays: June 6, 13, 20 and 27. The course …

Two Marcellus residents were hospitalized after they were involved in a single-vehicle accident last week in Flowerfield Township. State police said Jerry Altimus, 40, was driving west on M-216 when his vehicle crossed the centerline, drove off the road and struck a tree. The incident occurred around 4 p.m. March 5, about a mile west of U.S. 131. Altimus and …