Government

Three public hearings will be staged this evening before members of the Three Rivers City Commission. The first is a show-cause hearing regarding the parcel of land at 621 S. U.S. 131, the second centers on the city’s proposed 2015-16 budget and general property tax act, and the final is a user fee ordinance update. In other business before Mayor …

Members of the Colon Community Schools Board of Education this month will debate the merits of a plan being pitched as a prospective money-maker for the district. The concept of owning a self-serve ice and water dispenser was discussed during the board’s May meeting. The device would be the first of its kind in Michigan and only the second in …

An additional use for a proposed, senior center has prompted Sturgis city commission to seek new maintenance assurances from St. Joseph County. County officials recently added a 1,100-square-foot adult day care space to the initial plan for the $2.6 million development, now called Community Enrichment Center. Plans show it added to the southwest corner of the proposed building that will …

Michigan State Police officials say preliminary numbers show a drop in traffic deaths statewide during the Memorial Day holiday weekend compared with last year. Officials say eight people died in six separate crashes between 6 p.m. last Friday and 11:59 p.m. Monday. That compares with 20 deaths in 19 crashes during the same period last year. The numbers reflect deaths …

Cash and jewelry were among the items taken from a residence during a breaking-and-entering incident that occurred last week in White Pigeon Township. Troopers from Michigan State Police were called to the 14000 block of U.S. 12, where a residence was burglarized between 5 a.m. May 21 and 9:30 p.m. May 22. Access was gained through a front door that …

State troopers found a bicycle not far from the Three Rivers Walmart in Fabius Township. The bicycle is a 20-inch BMX-style in decent condition. It was found around 6:30 p.m. May 20 in a field southwest of U.S. 131 and Coon Hollow Road.

Several Sturgis representatives and county commissioner Allen Balog said they won’t commit to a proposed new senior center until they see anticipated rent and operating costs for the $2.6 million site. During last week’s commission on aging meeting, Lynn Coursey, COA executive director, called it premature to discuss the rent St. Joseph County will charge the COA for the space …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is offering assistance with learning more about the facts related to arsenic and a home-water test. Arsenic is a natural-occurring element found in rocks and soil, and is used for a variety of purposes within industry and agriculture. It has no smell or taste in drinking water. According to Rebecca Burns, environmental health director …

A 68-year-old Coldwater man was hospitalized after the fishing boat he was in struck a pontoon boat last weekend in Sherman Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Larry Prince was operating a bass boat around 7:45 p.m. Saturday on Lake Templene. Prince was making a left turn and his watercraft struck a 24-foot pontoon boat that was turning …

The first child for State Rep. Aaron Miller and his wife, Alex, was born at 1:02 a.m. Friday at Sturgis Hospital. Jael Tonya weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces, and measured 19 3/4 inches. She is the first grandchild on both sides of the family Miller, who turns 28 next month, said he was in session Wednesday. With his cell …