Government

St. Joseph County’s newest recreation-related attraction is open for business, as the dog park at Meyer Broadway Park in Fabius Township was dedicated Friday. The fenced-in, five-acre property is divided into a four-acre area for larger dogs and one acre for smaller dogs. Parks and recreation director Jaymes MacDonald said pet owners will have to use their best judgment but …

A 30-year-old Jones woman entered a plea of no contest in a case related to an early-morning arson at a Three Rivers business last year. Fawn Mott appeared in St. Joseph County Circuit Court last week on a charge of arson, third degree, from a June 23 incident at the Three Rivers Walmart. Judge Paul Stutesman revoked Mott’s $50,000 bond …

St. Joseph County and its Commission on Aging will break ground at 9 a.m. Tuesday for the senior service agency’s new Sturgis facility. Lynn Coursey, COA executive director, said the amount of monthly rent her agency will pay for space in the new South County Community Enrichment Center still has not been set. Last week, however, Coursey told her board …

Narcotics Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant last week on East Main Street in Sturgis. SCAN officers received information about a residence in the 700 block that was reported to have illegal drug activity. After further investigation officers were able to obtain a search warrant. Officers subsequently found methamphetamine and numerous items associated …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is advising the public to be aware of a phone scam reported this week by a Fabius Township resident. Deputies were dispatched Tuesday to the 56000 Block of Shady Lane for a complaint regarding fraud. The victim told authorities she was contacted over the phone and told she and her spouse were being pursued …

A former Three Rivers High School teacher who had pleaded no contest to a charge of misdemeanor embezzlement was sentenced Tuesday in St. Joseph County District Court. Judge Robert Pattison sentenced Sara Freeman, 33, to 180 days in the St. Joseph County jail. Freeman, a Burr Oak resident, will serve 120 days of the sentence, with 60 days deferred. She …

Two weeks after she was recognized for giving her final annual report as county clerk, Pattie Bender was once again the center of attention Tuesday. The 64-year-old Bender was saluted as Tuesday was the final county commission meeting before her June 30 retirement. The fanfare included a resolution in her honor, and gifts of a watch from the courthouse employees …

A Three Rivers man was charged with drug-related offenses after a search warrant was executed last week by the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit. Investigators on June 9 served a search warrant in the 200 block of East Michigan Avenue in the city of Three Rivers. SCAN investigators were alerted after Three Rivers officers were called to the location …

A 1-year-old Mendon boy was treated for minor injuries following a two-vehicle accident last week in Mendon Township. Sheriff’s deputies said Brayden Wolf was in a vehicle driven by 21-year-old Amy Jo Cooley, also of Mendon. Cooley was driving south on Silver Street at 2:30 p.m. June 10 when her vehicle was struck by a car driven by Carroll Haas, …

A village president in Michigan is trying to ban recordings at the community’s offices and the surrounding grounds, prompting opposition from those who don’t want restrictions at the public building. Just before the end of a recent council meeting, Goodrich Village Council President Mark Baldwin announced a ban on recordings. The announcement was met with talk of a lawsuit and …