Government

A request for 2.5 additional mills sought by the St. Joseph Road Commission was turned down by a margin of nearly 5-to-1 Tuesday. The unofficial tally shows 4,544 votes against the request and 961 in favor. The request for what would have amounted to about $5.4 million a year for a 10-year period was a fair question to let the …

Mendon Community Schools’ request to renew 18 non-homestead operating mills was endorsed by more than two-thirds of the voters who participated in Tuesday’s election. The unofficial total shows 339 votes in support and 149 opposed. At stake was more than $900,000 in annual funding, a substantial portion of the district’s $5.3 million budget. Board of education president Regina Schinker said …

A 16-year-old Edwardsburg girl was killed in a two-vehicle collision Tuesday morning in Cass County. Sheriff Joe Underwood said deputies were called at 11:40 a.m. to the intersection of Pine Lake Street and Dailey Road in Jefferson Township. Witnesses told investigators a pick-up driven by Jeffrey Jackson, 25, of Niles, disregarded a stop sign as Jackson was traveling east on …

Voters in Kalamazoo County have approved a five-year renewal of a millage that will fund public transit through 2021. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports unofficial results of Tuesday’s vote included 11,650 in favor of the tax and 8,417 against the measure. The Kalamazoo County Transportation Authority had sought approval of the property tax to fund public transit, including the Metro County …

Two public hearings and four matters of new business will be fielded by the Three Rivers City Commission this evening. An IFT application for a 10,000-square-foot expansion by Metal Technologies and a zoning amendment to a B-2 Zoning District for light industry will be staged during the public-hearing process. New business to be discussed by the commission features a boundary …

St. Joseph County officials are expected to approve a few amendments to their municipal loan fund process. County administrator Pat Yoder said the matter arose through discussions with various townships. One in particular is looking into the purchase of a fire truck, an expense projected to be about $500,000. The township, Yoder said, has saved $100,000 and it will likely …

A 36-year-old Sturgis man was arrested last week after he was discovered unauthorized inside an apartment unit. Sturgis police were called shortly after 1 a.m. Friday to the 200 block of North Clay Street in response to a break-in. Officers entered the unit and discovered the intruder. He was charged with second-degree home invasion, possession of methamphetamine and possession of …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency’s Board of Health released its annual “Certificates of Excellence” in food service for the year 2015. Award recipients represent food establishments that met stringent criteria to adhere to safe food-handling practices. Ninety-two tri-county food service establishments, including restaurants, bars, catering kitchens and schools, received this year’s award. In St. Joseph County, the 35 award-winners …

A 30-year-old White Pigeon man was injured in a single-vehicle accident last week in Cass County. Sheriff Joe Underwood said deputies were called at 7:45 p.m. Thursday to the intersection of U.S. 12 and Sunset Boulevard for a roll-over accident. Deputies said Thomas Defreese, was heading west on U.S. 12, when his vehicle drove off the right side of the …

Seventeen-year-olds can’t vote, drop out of school or buy cigarettes in Michigan. But they’re automatically prosecuted, sentenced and locked up as adults if they commit a crime. That could change after a bipartisan push to raise Michigan’s age for adult offenders from 17 to 18 received a major lift in the Legislature. The Republican-controlled House approved a 20-bill package this …