County Information

Four awards were presented during Wednesday’s 65th St. Joseph County Conservation District annual meeting. A committee of Conservation District officials chose Mendon Township residents Roger and Ann Gentz as recipients of the Soil and Water Steward award. The couple last year was Environmentally Verified through the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program. Flowerfield Township farmer Mark Proxmire was presented the Livestock …

Investigators from the Michigan State Police at White Pigeon detachment are awaiting autopsy results to determine the cause of death of a White Pigeon man on the job last weekend. Robert Knight, 61, was a 25-year veteran at White Pigeon Paper Mill. He died Sunday morning after falling into machinery at the plant. Investigators are trying to determine if Knight …

The Centreville Village Council is one person short after longtime trustee Christine Sheteron turned in her resignation this week. Sheteron, 44, submitted a letter Monday to the village council. In it, she indicated she has no interest in working for what she called a non-working and uncooperative body of elected officials and community members. Sheteron did not elaborate on specific …

A 16-year-old girl from Constantine was treated for minor injuries after she was involved in a one-vehicle crash in Constantine Township earlier this week. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said the girl drove off the roadway in the area of North River and Winding River roads after she swerved to avoid hitting a dog in the road. The SUV …

A number of people were appointed or reappointed to various county boards Tuesday. The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners agreed to reappoint Dennis Bradley to the county’s Jury Board for a six-year term. Action by commissioners also will see the St. Joseph County Transportation Board served for two more years by Allen Balog, Charles Thompson, Joseph Haas, Aaron Cullifer, …

Two Sturgis residents asked members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners if they would be willing to meet one-on-one to discuss plans for a proposed senior center in Sturgis. Lois Ware and Bob Holt said they weren’t happy with the lack of answers during past meetings with representatives from the county’s Commission on Aging. They said the proposal …

St. Joseph County Clerk Pattie Bender said two positions are up for grabs on the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District Board. One is for a six-year term and the other is to fill an unexpired, four-year term. The deadline for filing the petitions is May 3. Bender said prospective candidates must file at the county clerk’s office in Centreville, …

The St. Joseph County Board of commissioners Tuesday postponed a work session slated to take place Monday with representatives from Holland-based 2 Fish Company, a marketing firm in line to potentially help the county promote itself to Chicago-area residents as a retirement destination. County officials agreed incoming administrator J. Patrick Yoder should be in attendance when the meeting takes place. …

Members of the Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education Monday approved a three-year contract with the Sturgis Educational Association. The contract includes half a percent salary increase for the first year, and “wage openers” for the second and third years, according to Vicki Watson, director of finance. In a related matter, assistant superintendent Julie Evans said the calendar has been …

Michigan had a tenth-of-a-percent gain in population from July 2011 to July 2012, according to U.S. Census data. Estimated figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau show Michigan will gain 6,559 new residents since July last year, pushing its population to more than 9.8 million. It would be Michigan’s first net increase since 2004. Locally, St. Joseph County is on …