County Information

The Constantine Fire Department has surmised that an overloaded electrical outlet was the cause of a fire Dec. 23 at a residence in the 300 block of Canaris Street. Portions of the residence were damaged but the house was not deemed a total loss. There were no injuries as a result of the blaze.

American Axle and Manufacturing appears to be in store for a new product line that could generate at least 200 new jobs at the Three Rivers plant. Company officials said the local plant would benefit from American Axle’s $1.1 billion overall corporate expansion to create components for a passenger/crossover vehicle being developed and introduced by a yet-unnamed manufacturer. A public …

The St. Joseph County Road Commission building is in store for a renovation. The five-member road commission panel recently approved the agency’s budget and within the allowance they allocated $200,000 toward updating the building. Money to cover the work will come from non-road funds. Primarily, proceeds from the sale of old and obsolete equipment will cover the building improvements, road …

St. Joseph County’s Parks and Recreation Department is soliciting residents for ideas and input regarding an update of its five-year master plan. The new, five-year cycle begins in 2012. Department officials said citizen input is used to help develop goals and set a course of action based on the public’s suggestions. The department oversees eight parks that collectively cover 420 …

Constantine village officials this week approved a 12-year, 50 percent abatement of about $55 million in equipment and building improvements to a prospective new tenant at the former Rexam packaging plant. During Wednesday’s special meeting, the council agreed to support the tax exemption sought by Indiana-based Nature’s Fuel. The company converts scrap wood into marketable bio-fuels. The Rexam plant closed …

The city of Sturgis will have a fleet of five new vehicles, following action taken recently by members of the city commission. The new vehicles and departments to which they will be assigned are a Ford Focus for the electric department; two Dodge Charger vehicles for the police department; a pickup for the wastewater department and a mower to be …

The St. Joseph County United Way is in the homestretch of its 2012 campaign. Executive Director Kelly Hostetler said the local agency has reached 80 percent of its $650,000 goal for the campaign. The campaign kicked off in August and concludes at the end of January. Hostetler said last year’s goal of $575,000 was surpassed by about $26,000. She remains …

Four firearms-related charges have been filed against a Flowerfield Township woman who allegedly shot her husband in the upper torso Monday night. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department officials said Connie Tolbert, 54, was taken into custody after she allegedly shot her husband, 52-year-old Darryl Tolbert, at their residence. He is the pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Three Rivers. His …

Sturgis municipal officials have made two minor changes in order to more equally balance populations in its four city precincts. Prior to action the city took last week, the difference between the most and least populated precincts was about 400 people. The discrepancy was between Sturgis’ first and second precincts. Commissioners agreed to redistrict two blocks from Precinct 1 to …

Sturgis attorney Andrew Rogness has announced his candidacy for St. Joseph County District Court judge. The position will be vacated a year from now by current seat holder William Welty. Rogness said he has filed necessary paperwork with the Michigan Bureau of Elections. He previously served as a judge pro-tem in LaGrange County, Ind. Rogness is a graduate of Michigan …