St Joseph County

A hand-held tool is thought to be the source of a fire that destroyed a garage last week in Sturgis. The Sturgis Fire Department was dispatched around 1:30 a.m. Friday to the 200 block of First Street. It was reported by Sturgis Police Officer Frank Noel, who was patrolling the neighborhood and discovered the blaze in a detached garage. Upon …

Two travel trailers were stolen last week from a property in White Pigeon Township. State police were called at 7:30 a.m. Friday to the 69000 block of Sevison Road, where the victim told authorities the thefts occurred between 2 p.m. July 4 and 7:30 a.m. Friday. The trailers are described as a 2018 Coachmen Freedom Express by Forest River and …

Colon’s interim high school principal was promoted Wednesday to interim superintendent. Ginny Kowalski will step in to the position Aug. 1. Christine Barnes, who was named superintendent in June 2015, is resigning at the end of the month to oversee Keokuk Community Schools in Iowa. Colon’s board of education meets at 6 p.m. Monday and its members will decide what …

State police are investigating the theft of a trailer and riding mower from a residence in Mottville Township. According to a department media release, the theft occurred between 5 p.m. July 7 and 3 p.m. July 8 from a location on M-103, just north of the state line. The trailer is single-axle with a white, fiberglass body. It measures 6-by-12 …

Flowerfield Township officials this week heard a number of comments from township residents concerned about a proposed pig farm. Backed by H&H Feeds of Vicksburg, the potential operation would be located on the north side of M-216 between Stuck and Oak Plains roads. Township supervisor Carroll Parmeter said according to H&H’s petition to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural …

Members of the Constantine Village Council earlier this month adopted a statement on civility. The statement was originally approved by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. The statement was drafted by Bob Wertkins, a professor at Western Michigan University, and was amended by public policy committees from both the Sturgis and Three Rivers chambers of commerce to make it …

St. Joseph County’s second-smallest K-12 school district is looking for a new leader, as Colon Community Schools Superintendent Christine Barnes has announced her plan to resign effective Aug. 1. Barnes, 53, has spent the past two years as chief of Colon Community Schools. She previously served as principal at Constantine High School. An Iowa native, Barnes said she has accepted …

A Three Rivers man was arrested this week after he led officers on a foot chase outside a Three Rivers business. St. Joseph County Sheriff’s deputies said they attempted to arrest 26-year-old Chase Rohm Monday after initial contact with authorities took place inside the Three Rivers McDonald’s. Authorities said Rohm fled on foot and ran into a nearby trailer park. …

St. Joseph County has hired a new finance director to replace Joni Smith, who resigned to take a position closer to her family in South Carolina. Ryan Post started work Monday. He most recently was controller at Family Health Center in Kalamazoo. Prior to that, he was finance director for Health Services of Kalamazoo County.

A crash early Monday on the Indiana Toll Road claimed the life of a Sturgis man. Indiana State Police said 41-year-old Brian Fox was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which occurred shortly after 7 a.m. at mile marker 109.6, about 2 1/2 miles east of the Middlebury exit. Police said Fox was driving west when his vehicle …