St Joseph County

Less than a week after St. Joseph County Probate Court Judge Tom Shumaker announced his retirement, a third prospective successor has announced his candidacy for the post. Three Rivers attorney John Barnes, of Barnes Law Office, has announced his candidacy for the position. Barnes, who has been practicing law for 30 years, said his qualifications include thousands of probate, estate planning, …

The Three Rivers Fire Department is cautioning residents that it has been made aware of a phone scam taking place throughout the city. Fire department officials said the illicit callers are going by the name Firefighters Charitable Foundation. Would-be victims are asked to provide credit card information to make a donation to the fictitious charity. The Three Rivers Fire Department …

St. Joseph County Clerk Pattie Bender announced Monday that she plans to file her petitions to seek the office of clerk and register of deeds in 2013. The election for the newly combined offices is in November. Bender, 61, was hired into the clerk’s office in 1970 and has served as county clerk since 1991. She is completing her fifth, …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department was called over the weekend to Sherman Township, where a farmer reported the theft of copper wire from an irrigation system. The incident took place late Friday or early Saturday at a location on Grim Road, near Schrader Road. Stolen from two towers was about 165 feet of copper wiring, wrapped in black casing. …

Three Rivers Fire Department firefighters pulled a man from a smoke-filled apartment over the weekend. Fire personnel responded to a report of activated smoke detectors and the smell of smoke at an apartment on Lockport Drive around 6 a.m. Sunday. After getting no response from the occupant of the apartment, firefighters forced their way into the smoke-filled residence and found …

The Animal Rescue Fund of St. Joseph County has announced the date of its annual dinner-auction benefit. The agency’s 10th annual dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. April 28 in the cafeteria at Three Rivers High School. The auction portion of the event starts at 6:30 p.m. Outback Steakhouse of Kalamazoo is donating, preparing and serving the meal. Tickets are $10 …

A Delaware man whose testimony implicated the estranged husband of Venus Stewart has been released from the St. Joseph County Jail. Ricky Spencer, who served as an alibi for Doug Stewart while the 30-year-old Stewart kidnapped and killed Venus Stewart, was released from the Centreville facility on Sunday, jail officials said. Spencer, 22, served eight months of a one-year sentence …

St. Joseph County Probate Judge Tom Shumaker announced last week he will not seek re-election in November. The 69-year-old Shumaker said he has contemplated retirement for several months and has decided his current term – which expires at the end of the year – will be his last. Shumaker has served in the position for 22 years. To date, three …

Three area boys basketball teams remain in competition for the state playoffs. The trio will kick off the opening round of regional action tonight. In Class D, Howardsville Christian will put its 19-3 record on the line against an 11-12 Covert team. The contest tips off at 6 o’clock in Litchfield. In Class C, the Constantine Falcons, sporting a 9-13 …

Indiana Michigan Power Co. has announced that work on the upgrade of power poles and lines from Park Township to Sturgis Township is expected to get started by the end of next month. The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based company said the 14-mile improvement is in addition to an eight-mile line improvement between Schoolcraft and the Moorepark neighborhood. That project is slated …