Government

Sturgis voters will decide Nov. 3 whether residents of single-family homes will be able to have three dogs at their residence. Members of the city commission last week approved language for a possible dog-ordinance amendment and have sent it to St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald. If voters approve the amendment, owning three dogs within the city limits will require …

The Michigan State Police Post at Coldwater, which has jurisdiction in St. Joseph County, has added two recent graduates. Rudyard native Robert English and Lynard Oliver II of Jackson will begin their law-enforcement careers with the agency. The pair was a part of the 128th Trooper Recruit School graduation last week. A total of 62 people were in the class.

About a quarter of the motorists involved in a massive 193-vehicle pileup during a winter storm on a southwestern Michigan freeway were fined. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports Thursday that 48 drivers collectively paid more than $5,600 for driving too fast for road conditions or impeding traffic in the Jan. 9 pileup on Interstate 94 near Galesburg. Details of the fines …

Former Michigan lawmaker Harry Gast, a straight-talking Republican who served for 32 years and led the state Senate’s budget panel his final 18 years in the Capitol, died Thursday. He was 94. The farmer from St. Joseph was respected for delivering budget news bluntly to legislators and telling them what they did not always want to hear. He served in …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department investigated a larceny from a motor vehicle at a residence in the 56300 block of Buckhorn Road in Park Township. The theft is suspected to have taken place between 9 p.m. Tuesday and 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. It was reported at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Six people were recently reappointed to serve on the St. Joseph County Commission on Aging Board. County commissioners agreed to reappoint Allen Balog, Barbara Fisher, Charles Thompson, Dawn Everett, Jim MacTavish and Joseph Heivilin. Their terms will expire June 30, 2017. In an unrelated matter, county commissioners approved permission to fill the position of probation officer following the resignation of …

A Three Rivers-area man is at the Branch County jail following a police pursuit involving a stolen vehicle. Around 6:45 p.m. Sunday, Michigan State Police attempted to stop a vehicle with improper plates in the area of U.S. 12 and St. Joseph Road. The driver fled south on St. Joseph Road, but eventually pulled over and gave himself up. Christopher …

St. Joseph County’s board of commissioners last week approved a pair of out-of-state travel requests. Clerk Lindsay Oswald requested permission for deputy county clerk Catherine Rigby to attend OnBase computer training in Cleveland on two separate occasions. The first session is Aug. 17-21 and the second is Sept. 21-25. The other request was made by E-911 Central Dispatch Director Dennis …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency has been recognized by the National Association of County and City Health Officials for its ability to plan for, respond to and recover from public health emergencies. The local health department demonstrated these capabilities by meeting the comprehensive preparedness benchmarks required by Project Public Health Ready, a unique partnership between NACCHO and the Centers …

Members of the White Pigeon Fire Department stationed their fire trucks at the corner of U.S. 12 and Kalamazoo Street in White Pigeon Saturday and walked through stopped traffic to raise money for Habitat for Humanity of St Joseph County. Organized by fire chief Troy Andrews, the effort over a four-hour period the department raised more than $2,000 for the …