Government

Foggy conditions contributed to a single-vehicle accident last week in Colon Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Shree Goble, 22, of Colon, was driving on West Palmer Lake Road around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Due to heavy fog, Goble did not stop at the Burr Oak Road intersection. The vehicle went through the three-way intersection, up an embankment and …

M-51 near Niles in southwest lower Michigan had to be closed on Thursday morning after a crash involving a truck that was hauling an excavator machine. Michigan State Police say that the boom of the excavator was up too high to be able to clear the US-12 overpass on M-51, causing the boom to strike the bridge. It spilled diesel fuel …

St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman announced Thursday the appointment of Lindsay Oswald to the position of county clerk/register of deeds. The choice was made two days after Stutesman and a panel of county officials convened Tuesday to discuss the appointment. Second interviews were conducted last week with finalists Oswald and Tabitha Wedge, a 28-year county employee and …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a breaking-and-entering incident in Leonidas Township. According to a department media release, force was used at some point in the past three weeks to gain entrance into the residence in the 32000 block M-60. The residence was unoccupied at the time of the incident. A department media release does not indicate if …

St. Joseph County Friend of the Court would like to remind the public that it has started using the so-called Denver Boot as a manner of collecting delinquent child-support obligations. The vehicle-immobilization device has been available to the agency for two years but was introduced for the first time over the winter on two separate occasions, according to Friend of …

Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz said alert police work during a routine traffic stop led to a felony methamphetamine conviction of a Sturgis man Wednesday. Fitz said sheriff’s deputy Clint Roach was on patrol in Porter Township when he observed David Greene, 46, driving a vehicle with expired license plates. Greene was stopped and cited for expired plates and no …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is accepting registration for its boater-safety class. Offered to prospective participants 12 years of age and older, the class will be offered on four different occasions this summer. The one-day course runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is slated to take place on consecutive Saturdays: June 6, 13, 20 and 27. The course …

Two Marcellus residents were hospitalized after they were involved in a single-vehicle accident last week in Flowerfield Township. State police said Jerry Altimus, 40, was driving west on M-216 when his vehicle crossed the centerline, drove off the road and struck a tree. The incident occurred around 4 p.m. March 5, about a mile west of U.S. 131. Altimus and …

A proposal has surfaced in Lansing to remove Michigan from Daylight Savings Time.  State House Democrat Jeff Irwin of Ann Arbor says D-S-T has worn out its welcome, noting that after time changes in March, traffic and workplace injuries have gone up, presumably due in part to the loss of sleep over the time change weekend. He says it originally worked …

A charge of embezzlement has been authorized by the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office against a Three Rivers High School teacher accused of allegedly taking thousands of dollars from the school. According to WWMT, the Three Rivers Police Department has been investigating Sara Freeman, a language arts teacher at the school. In her additional capacity as yearbook advisor, Freeman is …