County Information

The Sturgis District Library has issued a notice advising patrons that it will be closed from Saturday through March 12, as new carpet is being installed. Library officials said the current carpet is 18 years old and is showing its wear. They said approximately 1.5 million people have patronized the library over the time period. The children’s room is expected …

Emergency crews responded Wednesday afternoon to a diesel fuel spill on U.S. 131 in northern St. Joseph County. Sheriff’s Department personnel said a semi tractor-trailer was heading north when its driver’s side, front tire blew out. The force of the blown tire punctured the fuel tank, investigators said. Traffic was reduced to one lane while emergency personnel tended to the …

Kadant Johnson is asking potential participants in the second annual Hoops for Hope – a 3-on-3 corporate basketball tournament – to start forming and register their teams. The fundraiser, to benefit the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life of Three Rivers, will take place at 9 a.m. March 24 in the Three Rivers High School gymnasium. Event organizers said 100 …

A full-service grocery store in business for more than 30 years in Sturgis announced Wednesday it is closing by the end of the month. Officials from Miller’s Super-Valu said competition from Wal-Mart and other stores and markets in town is too significant to overcome. Mike Doust, general manager of LaGrange, Ind.-based Miller’s, said the Sturgis location simply couldn’t generate enough …

State Rep. Matt Lori said he has filed paperwork to make official his candidacy for re-election this fall. Lori, 55, is starting the final year of his second two-year term. By law, he can serve in the position for a total of three, two-year terms. The Constantine-area resident and former sheriff of St. Joseph County said he has enjoyed serving …

The first day of ticket sales for Alan Jackson’s appearance this fall at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair was overwhelming, fair manager Bill Johnson said. Tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday and a line of more than 250 people was in place outside the fairgrounds ticket window. At the head of the line was a group that …

A memorial marker commemorating the spot where Calista Springer died in a house fire was decorated Monday by people remembering the four-year anniversary of the Centreville girl’s death. The 16-year-old Springer suffered smoke inhalation and was burned while chained to her bed when a faulty vacuum sweeper started the fire. Balloons, flowers and stuffed animals were left at the marker …

Rick Santorum was the top vote-getter in St. Joseph County Tuesday. The presidential primary election in Michigan, however, was claimed by Mitt Romney, who came in second place in St. Joseph County. Unofficial results from County Clerk Pattie Bender’s office show Santorum earned more than 2,500 votes while Romney had more than 1,700. Barrack Obama, the only candidate listed on …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week made appointments to a pair of boards. Three Rivers-area resident Connie Stoppenbach was appointed to fill a term on the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority Board. Her term will expire in April 2013. Meanwhile, reappointments of Sturgis-area resident Betty Massey and commissioners Don Eaton, John Dobberteen and Robin Baker were made to …

The 27th Walk for Warmth, which took place Saturday at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds, raised more than $6,100. The funds will be used to assist people who are elderly, disabled or of low income. Though event organizers were hoping to raise $12,000, they said the amount raised and enthusiasm from the more than a dozen people who participated was …