County Information

White Pigeon Police Sgt. Bill Burgoyne was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail for charges related to a driving-while-impaired incident in April. Burgoyne was sentenced Monday by Branch County Judge Brent Weigle, who ordered Burgoyne to serve the time in Branch County Jail. Despite a request for work release and community service, Burgoyne was sentenced to the 30 days, …

Centreville Elementary School will have 10 new iPads this academic year, thanks to a donation from the Monsanto Fund. The third of three donations made to St. Joseph County-based recipients took place prior to Monday’s Centreville Board of Education meeting. Angie Shotwell and Michael Ochsner, representing Monsanto’s Constantine plant, presented a ceremonial check to Superintendent Rob Kuhlman and board president …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department arrested a Colon man after he was involved in a motorcycle crash Friday. According to a department media release, the 45-year-old man was driving north on North Centerville Road when he lost control and drove off the roadway near Mintdale Road. The man was wearing a helmet and refused medical treatment. Deputies found that …

Personnel from three area departments responded to a residential fire last week on Fishers Lake in Park Township. A house in the 55000 block of Resort Road was destroyed as a result of the late-evening fire Friday. Responding personnel said the attached garage was fully engulfed in flames and its roof caved in. The fire spread from the garage to …

A 62-year-old Mottville Township woman died after a utility tractor she was operating rolled into a pond and pinned her underwater. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Betty Hull, of the 11000 block of U.S. 12, was working around 12:30 p.m. Saturday outside her residence when the tractor somehow rolled into the pond, pinning her underwater for approximately 15 …

A Sturgis-based, independent-living facility celebrated its 60th anniversary Sunday, when more than 100 people attended its open-house celebration. Thurston Woods Village was the scene of a morning worship service, which was followed by a tour of the facility and its new garden area.

A two-vehicle crash over the weekend in Colon Township led to emergency care rendered to a Colon woman. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, Amanda Merkle, 27, was airlifted to Bronson Methodist Hospital following the incident Saturday at Wattles and Stowell roads. Merkle was driving east on Wattles Road when she allegedly turned left in front of a …

The July unemployment rate in St. Joseph County rose by more than a full percent compared to the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 9.8 percent July unemployment rate was more than June’s 8.4 percent. Still, the July 2013 unemployment rate was one-tenths of a percent less …

Names of the seven suspects arrested during a pair of drug-related raids at neighboring homes last week in Mottville Township have been released. White Pigeon residents Kenna Patterson, 21, and Timothy Patterson, 27, were released on $10,000 personal recognizance bond. Terri Lynn Nowicki, 40, of White Pigeon, remains in the St. Joseph County jail with a $50,000 bond. Gary Nowicki, …

A 68-year-old Three Rivers man sought medical attention after he was involved in a three-vehicle crash last week. According to Three Rivers Police, Richard Crandall and 56-year-old Debra Edwards, of Marcellus, were stopped on southbound Main Street at Hoffman Road Thursday morning, when a southbound SUV driven by 49-year-old David Hembree rear-ended Edwards’ vehicle, which crashed into the back of …