St Joseph County

The Michigan Department of Community Health has confirmed that the first human case of West Nile Virus for 2013 has been identified in St. Joseph County. According to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, the case involves an adult male, over the age of 50 years, from the southwest corner of St. Joseph County. The man was hospitalized with symptoms …

Three Rivers High School will have a neighboring rival in its league in the 2014-15 school year, as Sturgis Public Schools is expected to join the Wolverine Conference. An invitation requesting St. Joseph County’s largest school district to join the league was extended by conference officials late last week. Sturgis school officials have indicated they intend to accept the offer, …

Indiana Michigan Power is advising the public it will begin trimming trees around transmission power lines in St. Joseph, Cass, Van Buren, Kalamazoo and Berrien counties starting today. The work is part of the company’s ongoing vegetation-management program aimed at improving the safety and reliability of electrical facilities, according to a company media release. The work will continue through the …

Graduates from two area high schools put on a crowd-pleasing alumni football game over the weekend. With a full house of more than 3,000 fans looking on, Mendon’s alumni squad topped the host Schoolcraft Eagles, 30-21, Saturday night. Mendon’s alumni team featured a roster of 50 players, the oldest was Joe Baker, a 1977 graduate who contributed by recovering a …

Mendon Community Schools has been named the recipient of a grant of almost $10,000, which will help the district purchase iPads for classroom use. The Monsanto Fund, which recently awarded Riverside Health Clinic with a $10,000 grant, will provide a ceremonial check in the amount of $9,975 to Mendon school officials today during a media event at Mendon Elementary School. …

The St. Joseph County United Way is asking for donations to be included in the 2013 Silent Auction at September’s St. Joseph County Grange Fair. Kelly Hostetler, executive director of the local United Way, said with more space gained as the result of a move to inside a barn, plenty of room is available for items to be displayed during …

A prison term in excess of seven years was issued to a corporate official with South Haven-based Village Market Food Centers. Christopher Pratt, who was charged with embezzlement, was sentenced this week in a Kalamazoo federal court after the 42-year-old Pratt admitted a gambling addiction and an extensive car collection were financed through the $6 million he stole. Village Market …

Smoke emitting from inside a garbage bag led to drug-related charges against a Colon Township man Tuesday. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department earlier in the day acted on a citizen’s tip regarding a suspicious bag of what appeared to be trash alongside Decker Road in Colon Township. The St. Joseph County Area Narcotics squad was called to the scene …

Jamie Rydman was the winner of the gift bag from the “Sass in the City” promotion in downtown Three Rivers. Billed as a spectacular girls’ night out, the event was July 12. Contributors to the gift bag – which contained items with a value of more than $150 – were Love Your Mother, World Fare, Riviera Theatre, UniQ Jewelry, Parker …

An alumni football game between two former St. Joe Valley Conference powerhouses is set to take place this weekend. An alumni squad from Mendon will challenge an alumni squad from Schoolcraft at 7 p.m. Saturday in Schoolcraft. Proceeds from the event will benefit athletic departments at both schools.