Government

St. Joseph County’s Board of Commissioners last week agreed to a modification regarding its lease agreement with renters at the Meyer Broadway Park house. Tenants Dan and Sarah Hershberger have requested use of an attached, two-car garage known as Dimmick Lodge. The Hershbergers said they wish to park their vehicles inside the structure, and have offered to pay an additional …

A 48-year-old man has received the mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder in the 2010 gun slaying of a man in the victim’s Kalamazoo front yard. Police found the body of 38-year-old Joseph A. Salib on Oct. 3, 2010. Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Pamela L. Lightvoet sentenced Randy P. Smith on Monday, also giving him life for …

Saturday’s Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce fundraiser was deemed a success by event organizers. A catered dinner inside the Langley Covered Bridge drew about 100 guests, who were seated at a cluster of 16 tables for a meal prepared by the Sturges-Young Auditorium. Christy Trammell, chamber president, said pontoon-boat rides and a professional photo next to the historic landmark …

A Three Rivers man was cited for failure to yield after he was involved in a two-vehicle accident last week. According to the Three Rivers Police Department, Larry McNair, 49, turned left from Main Street onto Michigan Avenue when he was struck by a southbound vehicle driven by Jennifer Hertsel, 30, of Three Rivers. She was treated for undisclosed injuries …

Sturgis Police were dispatched to the corner of Farwell and Lockwood early Sunday for an assault. A man was found lying on the ground bleeding heavily from several places on his head and face. The victim had been struck in the face and head by a piece of asphalt and then kicked several times in the head after he fell …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is looking for the suspect in a hit-and-run incident that occurred around 8:30 p.m. Monday in Constantine Township. Department officials said Centreville resident Steven Bontrager, 41, was driving south on U.S. 131, when an eastbound pickup on Stears Road failed to stop at the intersection and struck the driver’s side door of Bontrager’s vehicle. …

The congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Three Rivers-Centreville will be a part of a milestone service Sunday, August 11. The Three Rivers-based church is observing its 175th anniversary with a variety of observances. The first is the 11 a.m. service Sunday, August 11. Then, an open house is set for Sept. 28, when historic artifacts and documents will …

Officials say a woman who owns a child care center bilked the state government out of almost half-a-million dollars. Catherine Taylor owns Kiddy Care Kingdom Daycare in Kalamazoo. Prosecutors say over a four-year period, she billed the Department of Human Services for child care she didn’t provide to the tune of 440-thousand dollars. Earlier this week, the 58-year old Taylor …

A woman believed to be in her 20s staged an all-day protest Wednesday related to tree-clearing in Cass County’s Newburg Township. After nearly 10 hours on a plywood platform about 40 feet up a tree, the woman came down around 6:30 p.m. Her descent came after lengthy negotiations that involved the Cass County Sheriff’s Department and the Michigan State Police. …

Members of the Animal Rescue Fund of St. Joseph County have appealed to county officials for greater enforcement of animal-abuse and cruelty cases. During Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, three members of the agency brought to the attention of commissioners a pair of situations in the county where abuse and cruelty had been documented. Cheryl Strohm , …