Government

National Adoption Day was observed locally in St. Joseph County Tuesday, as Probate Court Judge David Tomlinson administered an adoption proceeding for a Three Rivers family. Taylor and Sara Tompkins, 12- and 8-year-old sisters, were made the legal children of Jessen and Brooke Tompkins. The public procedure marked the 14th year of acknowledging National Adoption Day locally. Tomlinson said the …

Adams Excavating will provide snow-removal and plowing services for St. Joseph County again this winter. The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week renewed a contract for the winter services at the courthouse parking lot, the parks building and animal-control parking lot, and the sheriff’s department/central dispatch parking lot. Scott Adams, a Centreville resident, will provide his services when …

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has elected to not seek charges against the driver of a vehicle that killed a Sturgis man last month. McDonough said the accident – on Bogen Road, west of M-66 in Sturgis Township – was unquestionably a tragic event. However, McDonough added, circumstances in the case do not warrant authorization of charges at this …

Authorities say a van crashed into a horse-drawn buggy on a northern Indiana highway, killing the buggy’s driver. The Elkhart County Sheriff’s Department says the crash happened Monday evening on Indiana 119 a few miles southwest of Goshen when the van drove into the buggy from behind. The department says 51-year-old Ammon Imhoff of Goshen was thrown from the buggy …

State police are investigating a hit-and-run incident during which a sign outside a Sturgis restaurant was damaged. Troopers were called Monday morning to Hot ‘n’ Now on South Centerville Road after store employees found the drive-thru sign near the business entrance was destroyed. Investigators said it appears a double-axle vehicle drove over the curb and onto the restaurant property. The …

Members of the Centreville Public Schools Board of Education joined district administrators Monday and thanked the community for its Nov. 5 support in passing a $12.8 million request for building improvements district wide. Monday’s meeting was the first since the 2.95-mill request was approved, 351-to-226. Superintendent Rob Kuhlman said the board and the millage committee worked hard to promote the …

A 25-year-old Constantine man was injured last week after the vehicle he was driving crashed into a tree in Florence Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said it fielded a call around 1 a.m. Friday in response to a one-car accident on Sevison Road near Mintdale Road. Upon arrival, deputies saw a 2007 Ford F-250 crashed into a tree …

Appointments and re-appointments were made by members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week. Constantine-area resident David Miars was reappointed to another three-year term on the county’s Board of Public Works. His current term expires at the end of the year. Deb Leyes of Sturgis was tapped to serve a one-year term as a general-public representative on …

The St. Joseph County Probate Court will celebrate on Tuesday the 11th annual Michigan Adoption Day during a program at the county courthouse. Staged in conjunction with the Department of Human Services, the event takes place in Judge David Tomlinson’s courtroom from 10 a.m. to noon. “Giving Thanks for Families” is the theme of the 2013 celebration. Organizers said Tuesday’s …

Two people were injured early Monday in a 1-car crash at 1am. The driver was identified as 37-year-old James Devries. He rolled his full size conversion van at the intersection of Wakeman and Baer Roads. County sheriff’s deputies say he fled the scene of the crash, but was later found walking up to his home by an awaiting officer. Devries …