St Joseph County

The village of Colon has temporarily relocated its operations to Colon Township due to its heat system not working. Village officials said the village will be in the township office at least through 3 p.m. Thursday. Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting has been postponed a week and will instead begin at 7 p.m. Jan 16.

With a heavy heart, Mendon Community Schools Board of Education made an emotional but necessary decision Monday to appoint an interim superintendent. During a board work session – the board’s first assembly since the Dec. 26 passing of former superintendent Roger Rathburn – Leasa Griffith was tapped to serve the role until a permanent chief is sought later in the …

Sturgis Area Community Foundation recently completed its 2017 competitive grant program. Recipients include: Sturges-Young Auditorium, $50,000, to assist with the makeover project, contingent on confirmation of Phase l of the project. City of Sturgis, two grants. One for $5,000 supporting a signage project for the pedestrian walkway honoring the Sister City relationship with Wiesloch, Germany. The other in the amount of …

Michigan’s Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal filed by the city of Three Rivers regarding a property dispute with Lockport Township. As a result, a state appellate court’s May ruling will stand. The ruling supported Lockport Township’s claim that the city’s 80-acre annexation was not permissible because the property in question is not vacant by virtue of an …

A Sherman Township residence was forcibly entered and burglarized last week. Sheriff’s deputies were called around 9:30 p.m. Thursday to the 63000 block of East Fish Lake Road. A number of items were taken, though a full inventory was not indicated in a department media release. The manner through which access to the residence was gained was not mentioned, either.

November’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was six-tenths of a percent lower than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.6 percent November unemployment rate marked a decrease from October’s 4.2 percent. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 4 percent in November. …

A crowd of about two dozen people were on hand Saturday to help the White Pigeon Township Library open its newly renovated Kathryn Kistler Children’s Room. After library officials staged a ceremonial ribbon cutting, the public had a chance to explore the 1,000-square-foot room in the southwest corner of the building. Library director Perri Saunders said highlights of the renovation …

St. Joseph County’s first baby of the new year was born Monday at Sturgis Hospital. Meanwhile, staff at Three Rivers Health had to wait an additional day but its first arrival of 2018 came Tuesday. Jazelyn Peyton May Deter was born at 8:32 p.m. New Year’s Day at Sturgis Hospital. She is the daughter of Sturgis residents Crystal Sue May …

A major transformation of a popular area at White Pigeon Township Library will be unveiled this weekend. A ribbon-cutting ceremony takes place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday to make official the restoration of the Kathryn Kistler Children’s Room. The project was identified by library director Perri Saunders last spring and work got started in the fall after the township’s library board …

The Monroe-Brown Internship Program, a partnership between Southwest Michigan First and the Monroe-Brown Foundation, announces its 2018 summer college internships. This year’s 23 internships will be hosted by 18 Southwest Michigan companies and include opportunities in engineering, financial planning, human resources, marketing, architecture, construction and product management. The Monroe-Brown Internship Program provides interns with $3,000 in scholarship funding for college, …