Government

Members of the Sturgis City Commission have approved the sale of three tax-foreclosed residential properties to Sturgis Neighborhood Program. SNP will rehabilitate and resell the properties, returning them to the tax roll. The city agreed to accept $48,000 from SNP for property at 330 W. Jerolene St.; 602 S. Clay St.; and 1002 Greenlawn. The figure is $11,600 below the …

Police say a 12-year-old child was playing with a shotgun at a Kalamazoo home when the weapon accidentally discharged, killing a 28-year-old family friend. Kalamazoo officers responded about 5:50 a.m. Friday following a report of the shooting, which happened while the child’s family slept. In a statement, police described the child as “mentally impaired.” The boy’s grandfather, Daniel Hummel, told …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Chairman John Dobberteen said a trip to France earlier this month has given him a new perspective of Memorial Day. During the chairman’s report portion of last week’s meeting, Dobberteen said he has visited a number of military cemeteries through the years, but a stop at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial was unequal …

The first sign of change as a result of county clerk Pattie Bender’s impending retirement was seen last week, as Lindsay Oswald took Bender’s seat at the dais and recorded the minutes of Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Oswald will have two more opportunities to perfect the task before Bender calls it quits June 30. Oswald, a 35-year-old Lockport Township resident, …

St. Joseph County Administrator Pat Yoder this week provided an update on the commission’s search for a consultant to review financial and procedural operations at the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County, as well as its health department. During Tuesday’s county commission meeting, Yoder said he and human resources director Teresa Doehring have reviewed three …

St. Joseph County and Fabius Township are entering a long-term relationship regarding road and water law-enforcement coverage. Members of the county commission this week agreed to a plan in which the sheriff’s department will continue to provide police coverage. Instead of renewing the agreement annually, however, the pact will work on a five-year cycle. The 40-hour-a-week coverage costs Fabius Township …

Sturgis city commissioners last week reappointed incumbent planning commissioners Michael Caywood, Don Eaton and Peter Stage. The commission also appointed newcomers Jeff Mullins and Garry Allen to fill one- and two-year vacancies, respectively.

Officers from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a hit-and-run crash that resulted in a vehicle fire inside the Langley Covered Bridge. According to a department media release, deputies were called around 6 p.m. Monday to the Lockport Township landmark, where a motorcycle was found on fire closer to the north end of the bridge, Investigators determined the …

An attractive financial offer from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources prompted members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to allocate more than $200,000 for property acquisition. The county’s commitment of nearly $227,000 represents 31 percent of the almost-$732,000 needed to purchase a 126-acre property in Burr Oak Township. The land is to be managed and overseen …

Approval to fill two positions at the sheriff’s department and authorization to a change in employment status for three Juvenile Day Treatment Program monitors was issued by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday. The action means the sheriff’s department can proceed with filling a full-time corrections officer spot and a full-time road patrol position. Also, the employment status …