St Joseph County

A White Pigeon High School graduate last weekend claimed the crown of Mrs. America. The former Mekayla Diehl claimed the crown at the Westgate Resort and Casino from a field of 51 contestants Saturday. Mekayla Eppers, a Bristol resident, represented Indiana, as she did during the Miss USA competition in 2015. The 28-year-old Eppers qualified for the Mrs. America pageant …

Members of the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Board of St. Joseph County terminated the agency’s executive director Tuesday. The board cited four points that its members said constitute cause for the termination of Liz O’Dell. The 68-year-old O’Dell has been with the agency more than 20 years, the past 10 as its director. Board member Kathy Pangle made …

Thirty Abbott employees and seven members of the St. Joseph County Conservation District took part in a special river cleanup Monday. The volunteers broke into three groups and cleared debris from the Portage River from the Portage Lake public access in Mendon Township to Carpenter Road in Lockport Township. Event organizer Carolyn Grace said the Abbott employees were given the …

Enrollment for the 2017-18 academic year is higher than expected at Centreville Public Schools, the district’s board of education learned Monday. First-year superintendent Stephanie Lemmer said the count is 810 students, 40 more than projected. Lemmer said as a result, she recommended hiring additional sixth-grade and kindergarten teachers, a junior/senior high reading interventionist, and fill part-time librarian, physical education and …

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett last week presented village council members with documents related to medical marijuana facilities. The documents, he said, were delivered by attorney Travis Copenhaver of Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan. Copenhaver has made numerous municipal presentations on the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, including a recent presentation in Three Rivers. Honeysett said he was not asking the …

The law firm representing St. Joseph County’s board of commissioners has filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against the city of Three Rivers. Troy-based Abbott Nicholson filed the paperwork Monday in St. Joseph County Circuit Court. The issue centers on the current validity of a contract between the county and the city, and whether Three Rivers has breached its terms …

State Rep. Aaron Miller said all local K-12 school districts in communities he serves will receive the maximum increase of state funding in the new school budget. Miller said every K-12 school district in the state is in line for an increase per student under the 2017-18 school-aid budget. The schools in the communities he serves will all receive the …

Here’s an announcement from Amy Roth, director of the Three Rivers Department of Public Services. Roth said the department has started a one-month project involving the contractor of its drinking-water well. She said the well will be cleaned and overhauled, procedures that were approved last month by the city commission. The work started Monday and is expected to be completed …

A construction company trailer was stolen last week from a location in Park Township. State police were notified that the utility trailer was stolen sometime after 6:30 p.m. last Wednesday from a construction site in the 18000 block of Moorepark Road. The trailer contained tools and materials for use in making and pouring concrete. The 18-foot trailer has double doors …

July’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was 1.3 percent higher than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 5.1 percent July unemployment rate marked an increase from June’s 3.8 percent. St. Joseph County was above the state unemployment average, which was 4.9 percent in July. The agency …