Government

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners will see at least two new faces starting in 2017, as commissioners Robin Baker and Rick Shaffer have decided to not seek re-election. White Pigeon’s Dan Czajkowski, 60, is running unopposed and will replace Baker to the two-year term as District 4 representative. Four contestants are competing to replace Shaffer as commissioner of …

A White Pigeon man was injured last week after the motorcycle he was driving was struck by a car that had failed to yield near an intersection in Fabius Township. Sheriff’s department officials said the man was driving south on U.S. 131 shortly after 9 p.m. Friday when a SUV driven by a 72-year-old Mendon woman entered the roadway near …

The St. Joseph County Animal Control has started a countywide dog census. Led by animal control officers Greg Musser and Josh Shook, the count is expected to take a number of months after it started in a White Pigeon Township mobile home community a month ago. Sheriff Brad Balk said a surprising number of dogs in the county are not …

Constantine municipal officials have approved a pay raise for elected leaders in office after the November election. Village manager Mark Honeysett said the raise for the village president and trustees is the first in 18 years. The president’s monthly pay was adjusted from $75 to $100, and per-meeting pay was raised from $100 to $125. Monthly salary for the village’s …

Indiana State Police are running extra patrols in the area after chunks of concrete and other objects were tossed from an overpass onto the Indiana Toll Road in Elkhart County. Police say four vehicles were damaged after the concrete, a mailbox and a gallon jug of windshield washer fluid were tossed at cars April 22 from the County Road 19 …

Officials say a fire at a recycling plant for byproducts of cereal making in Battle Creek caused more than $275,000 in damage. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports the fire started Monday night at ReConserve Inc. when an end loader with a fuel leak caught fire at an entrance to the building. No one was injured. Firefighters responded and quickly extinguished …

The St. Joseph County Road Commission can start budgeting for some major roadwork set to take place this summer. Agency manager Chris Minger said Michigan Department of Transportation over the weekend awarded its bids statewide for summer projects, including three in St. Joseph County. The three routes are: Silver Street in Mendon Township, Lovers Lane in Lockport Township and Colon …

Two people were arrested on drug-related offenses last week as part of a compliance check for people on parole or probation. Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit teamed with parole agents from the Michigan Department of Corrections on the various checks Thursday. At a location in the 31000 block of Kelly Road in Burr Oak Township, several …

Members of the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority/Michigan Main Street Board last week approved offering a contract to a California man to serve as executive director of the agency. David Vago is a farm technician at East Bay Regional Park District in Oakland. Board members during a meeting Friday agreed to offer a $42,000 salary for the full-time position. Vago …

A cold-case investigation led by Cass County officials resulted in the arrest of an Indiana man related to a case dating to 1977. Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said Raymond Richmond, a 56-year-old South Bend resident, was arrested Thursday in connection with the November 1977 homicide of Robert Stasiak. The 25-year-old Stasiak was found shot at his parents’ Edwardsburg-area house …