St Joseph County

The village of Mendon took a significant step this week to better showcase its picturesque location along the St. Joseph River. The Mendon Downtown Development Authority voted Monday to support plans for development of an overlook deck. The elevated platform will feature a 32-by-48-foot deck to offer a panoramic view of the river. Village manager John Hyden said the development …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the larceny of a Polaris Ranger from a home in the 23000 block of Butler Road in Mendon Township. The vehicle was stolen during the evening Sept. 24. Authorities said the owner heard the vehicle start, but thought it was a family member taking it to complete farm chores.

This year’s St. Joseph County Grange Fair attracted about 150,000 people, a figure confirmed Monday by fair manager Bill Johnson. Johnson said the process of establishing an accurate attendance count, however, is a moving target due to several variables. For example, he said, fair officials traditionally calculate attendance by assessing how many patrons paid each day, then using a multiplier …

Traffic flow is back to normal after the final stage of a major road project in a St. Joseph County community began last week. Main Street in Mendon opened to two-way traffic last Thursday after the westbound lane was closed when the $4.1 million infrastructure project started in late March. Village manager John Hyden said the balance of the project …

Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood said the ninth annual National Drug Take Back event Saturday resulted in the collection of about 94 pounds of old and expired prescription medication. Collection sites were set up in Silver Creek, Howard, Edwardsburg and Marcellus townships, as well as the city of Dowagiac. Locally, more than six pounds were collected in Marcellus Township. The …

A 26-year-old Constantine woman was cited for disobeying a stop sign and no proof of insurance after causing a two-vehicle collision last week in Florence Township. Sheriff’s officials said Marranda Rohm was driving south on Fairchild Road at 6:18 p.m. Sept. 23 when she disregarded the stop sign at Centreville-Constantine Road. Her vehicle was struck by a pickup driven by …

The August unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by 1.8 percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 3.8 percent August unemployment rate was less than July’s 5.6 percent. August’s unemployment rate was also 1.8 percent less than the same month one year earlier, …

St. Joseph County’s public libraries are staging their annual “One Book, One County” event tonight in Three Rivers. Author “Jackson” Kaguri will be present as he discusses his book, “A School For My Village,” starting at 7 o’clock at the Riviera Theatre. Kaguri’s book discusses his role in helping build schools for AIDS orphans in his home country of Uganda. …

A routine check for a fishing license led to the arrest last week of a Vicksburg man charged with drug-related offenses. State police said Bruce Lovell, 52, Vicksburg, was fishing the St. Joseph River around 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Sturgis Dam in Lockport Township, when he was asked by a conservation officer for proof of a fishing license. Lovell …

A 24-year-old man from Three Rivers was arrested over the weekend following a two-vehicle accident in Mottville Township. State police said they were dispatched at 12:40 a.m. Saturday to Vistula Road near U.S. 12, where a 57-year-old White Pigeon man suffered minor injuries. The other driver fled the scene and abandoned his car. He was found walking along the road …