St Joseph County

Carol Brooks has been named the 2015 recipient of the John E. Oster Award. Brooks, who was honored this week at a meeting of Sturgis Rotary Club at Sturges-Young Auditorium, has taught at Sturgis Public Schools since 1988, the past seven years as K-2 physical education teacher. The John Oster Memorial Fund was established in 1981 by JoEllen Oster, John’s …

Sturgis firefighters were dispatched to ACM Plastics just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, and arrived to find heavy smoke and fire coming from roof vents at the north end of the plant. All employees existed safely. Due to heavy smoke, crews used a thermal-imaging camera to direct the fire-fight. Damage was contained to a malfunctioning mold heater, while the building sustained …

Contracts with six of the county’s nine unions were approved Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. The three-year contracts apply to the District Court Employee’s Association, the 911 Telecommunicators’ Association, and AFSCME groups with the circuit court, probate court, friend of the court and general unit. In all, the contracts affect about 75 people. Terms of the …

A team of Three Rivers High School students was awarded a grant allowing them to lead a campaign aimed at safe driving in winter weather. The Wildcats Weathering Winter program runs through February and feature three student-led events. The campaign kickoff will introduce the team and its goal. The phase includes driving facts mentioned during morning announcements. Next is a …

Three Rivers Mayor Tom Lowry and city manager Joe Bippus joined state Rep. Aaron Miller in Lansing last week to testify about tax fairness before the House Committee on Tax Policy. Lowry and Bippus said big stores should be subject to common-sense property tax rates so that municipal governments don’t have to cut their budgets to adjust to the lower …

Several board and committee appointments were made Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Lon Huffman of Mendon and Edward Bell of Colon were reappointed to the county planning commission, while Flowerfield Township resident Joe Woodin will join the panel. Their terms will expire at the end of 2018. Three Rivers-area resident Eric Shafer and commissioner Don Eaton …

A network of buried utilities has forced the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners to revise its plan for an expansion to the current courts building. County administrator Pat Yoder during Tuesday’s commission meeting said the proposed 14,000-square-foot addition to the west side of the current courts building is being revised due to the discovery. Yoder said the grid of …

A St. Joseph County commissioner said he plans to run for Lockport Township supervisor in next year’s general election. Rick Shaffer, a 20-year commission member, said he will not seek reelection when his two-year term expires at the end of 2016. Shaffer stated he plans to remain active in the community but his main focus will be a run for …

State Rep. Aaron Miller recently conducted a forum in Lansing to discuss safety concerns and other issues involving horse-drawn buggies on roads throughout Michigan. Miller invited fellow lawmakers, county officials and others interested in seeking solutions for safety and road-damage issues caused by the buggies. Miller called the session a productive discussion about the safety concerns surrounding the use of …

Members of the Colon Community Schools Board of Education hope federal officials will continue funding a science-based program that one school official said is the highlight of fifth grade for many of its students. During Monday’s monthly meeting, the board approved a resolution in support of continued funding for the hands-on program STARBASE. Its fate is in jeopardy as a …