Government

It’s election day and voters in three St. Joseph County communities will head to the polls. In Three Rivers, a newcomer is expected to join three incumbents to the municipality’s seven-member city commission. All four positions are uncontested, meaning 16-year mayor Tom Lowry will oversee the commission for at least two more years. Joining him will be Jared Hoffmaster and …

For the second time in 2015, Sturgis voters will decide how many dogs can be kept at any single-family residence inside the city limits, without requiring an approved kennel designation. In May, voters rejected a proposed ordinance amendment that would have lifted any limit on the number of dogs at Sturgis properties. Following that vote, several residents asked the commission …

Burr Oak Community Schools again will ask voters to approve a 3-mill, five-year sinking fund request. The Nov. 3 request is identical to what was on the ballot in the May 5 election, when voters defeated the measure, 111-91. The millage would bring approximately $125,000 per year for the schools for the next five years for a total of $625,000. …

Thirteen items, including a request for funds for the Child Trauma Assessment Group, await the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners this afternoon. Other matters on today’s agenda include labor agreements with three governmental units, a request for a letter of support from Covered Bridge Healthcare, a request to fill the position of deputy equalizer and a request to close …

The Michigan Supreme Court said Anthony and Marsha Springer, parents of the late Calista Springer, are entitled to a hearing in St. Joseph County Circuit Court to determine whether their attorney provided ineffective assistance in 2010. Springer was the 16-year-old Centreville girl who died in a 2008 house fire while chained to her bed. A jury subsequently convicted Anthony, 52, and …

Jury selection is set to begin today in St. Joseph County Circuit Court for the trial of Marie Audrey-Louise Williams. Williams is accused of shooting Dennis Brooks in the head as the two argued on Townline Road in Burr Oak Township in March 2014. Williams was arrested after telling police she shot Brooks. She has been held in the St. …

Patrol officers with the Sturgis Police Department will be outfitted with body-camera technology in the next two to three weeks. Sturgis city commissioners this week approved a five-year contract to purchase the hardware and data storage. Geoffrey Smith, director of public safety for the city of Sturgis, recommended the no-bid purchase, saying Arizona-based Taser International is the only firm that …

The city of Three Rivers last week made official its acquisition of a downtown building given as a gift. Tom Meyer, of Meyer Ventures, offered the former Whitehouse Manufacturing building, as the city is studying the idea of relocating the Three Rivers Public Library to the downtown location. Meyer also deeded the city a six-acre parcel that borders the Rocky …

Sixteen St. Joseph County restaurants were paid more than $193,000 last fiscal year for nearly 30,000 meals they served to senior citizens participating in a Commission on Aging-sponsored nutrition program. The restaurant program served nearly 1,800 clients last fiscal year and is one part of the COA’s efforts to offer nutrition services to St. Joseph County’s 60-and older population. The …

A commercial mower was reported stolen from a Park Township business. The report was filed Wednesday by representatives from GreenMark Equipment, but it is believed the John Deere zero-turn mower with a 48-inch deck was likely taken during Fair Week last month.