St Joseph County

A public hearing on St. Joseph County’s proposed 2017 fiscal-year budget generated scrutiny toward the county’s board of commissioners Tuesday. The focus of the scorn centered on the proposed $18.1 million general-fund budget and the $2.8 million the board earlier this year agreed to provide toward expenses related to a 17-field sports complex in the Three Rivers area. The proposed …

St. Joseph County commissioners this week approved the reappointment of Matt Scheske as a member of the county’s Investment Advisory Board. His three-year term will expire at the end of 2019. Scheske is vice president of commercial lending at Sturgis Bank & Trust. Also, commissioners agreed to reappoint four people to the county’s Planning Commission. They are: Warren Atkins of …

Mere hours after St. Joseph County concluded its recount of Nov. 8 presidential ballots, a federal judge ordered further recounts in Michigan and other states be suspended or not proceed. The decision, made late Wednesday, came after St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald and a team of 24 people concluded a recount of more than 24,000 ballots. The procedure, which …

Officials with White Pigeon Community Schools have about six weeks to piece together what will appear before the district’s voters in a May renewal request. The third of three community forums was staged Tuesday, providing a final opportunity for event participants to fine-tune their choices for what should be included in a five-year, 3-mill sinking-fund-renewal request. Superintendent Jon Keyer said …

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners were recognized Tuesday by a representative from the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce. Chamber executive director Cathi Abbs said the agency staged its annual meeting a few weeks ago. During that event, the chamber board agreed to support special-recognition awards to commissioners Allen Balog, Don Eaton, Robin Baker, Rick Shaffer and …

The Constantine Village Council voted Monday to disallow urban chickens to be raised inside the village limits. At several earlier meetings, council members discussed an ordinance allowing urban chickens, following a June 20 discussion with residents Charlie and Beth Cauffman, who approached the board with a request to keep up to six chickens in their yard. At a council meeting …

St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald said she and a team of more than two dozen people will head to Dowagiac this morning to begin what she hopes is a one-day task of recounting presidential ballots. Oswald, who is completing her first full calendar year as St. Joseph County clerk, said the recount of 23,967 presidential ballots cast in the …

The contracts of three county employees were renewed for another year Tuesday. County administrator Pat Yoder, human resources director Teresa Doehring and finance director Joni Smith will receive 2 percent pay raises in 2017, when their respective 12-month contracts take effect Jan. 1. The three have operated on one-year contracts since beginning their employment with the county. Yoder, who joined …

Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce officials said someone claiming to be from Universal Associates is calling local businesses, stating they are creating maps for the chamber and that the chamber will be distributing the maps. The chamber is not affiliated with the company and has not contracted with anyone for such a purpose. Chamber officials said they suspect its name …

Troopers from the Michigan State Police White Pigeon attachment collected non-perishable food items, toys and clothing for St. Joseph County residents this past weekend for the eighth consecutive year. “Stuff A Blue Goose,” the name given to the annual drive, took place outside the Sturgis and Three Rivers Walmart stores. The event took place at the Coldwater Walmart, too. In …