Government

A 250-pound urn was stolen from a burial site between March 4 and 11 at Leonidas Cemetery. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department, the cement urn was painted black, stands about 30 inches high and has a diameter of about 18 inches. The item was reported stolen last Saturday.

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department arrested two men last weekend after they were found to be manufacturing methamphetamine on an island in the St. Joseph River. The men, whose ages and hometowns were not included in a sheriff’s department news release, were arrested at a boat launch in Mottville Saturday after they came ashore from an island downriver. A …

Constantine Police Chief Jim Bedell is heading up a cause that would allow for the purchase of a headstone for Jodi Parrack’s gravesite. Bedell said the 11-year-old Constantine girl, whose killer remains at large, is buried at White Pigeon Cemetery and lacks a permanent headstone. Parrack was last seen riding her bike home from a friend’s house in November 2007. …

Southwestern Michigan authorities say a 64-year-old woman died after arriving at her home, where a propane tank explosion and fire took place.  The Cass County sheriff’s department says Arlene Kern’s 36-year-old son had started a fire in a wood burning stove on Monday and propane tank exploded at the home in Porter Township. Authorities say the man got out unharmed …

A carbon-dioxide alarm early Monday afternoon resulted in the evacuation of a lunchtime crowd at the Three Rivers McDonald’s restaurant on West Michigan Avenue. The Three Rivers Fire Department arrived shortly before 1 p.m. to find the manager had evacuated customers and employees from the restaurant. Responding firefighters turned off supply valves from the restaurant’s C02 storage tank, which is …

A 23-year-old Sturgis man was charged with a number of offenses after he fled from Sturgis police late last week. Phillip Royer was charged with fleeing and eluding, resisting and obstructing an officer, driving on a suspended license and also was charged with a parole violation. His arrest culminated after Sturgis police attempted to stop him for a moving violation …

An Indiana man who was brought to the attention of police after a number of incidents March 17 was arraigned in court Friday. St. Joseph County officials said Jerry Hillegas, 46, was charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and violation of a charitable solicitation. Hillegas on March 17 confronted a woman at a downtown business and asked …

Flags in Sturgis are flying at half-staff today to honor a former mayor, Don Easterday. Easterday, 84, passed away Thursday. He served as mayor from 1988 through 1992. City offices will close at 3:30 p.m. today so employees may attend Easterday’s funeral.

A crowd of about 150 people attended Saturday’s annual St. Joseph County Lincoln Day banquet at the Sturges-Young Auditorium, in Sturgis. U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers delivered the keynote speech, which focused on the shortcomings of President Obama and underscored the need to vote for Republican candidates in the November general election. Congressman Fred Upton also gave a brief speech during …

Deputies from the Cass County Sheriff’s Department responded to a report of a breaking and entering at 7 a.m. Friday last week at Marcellus Elementary School. It was discovered that the school, an outside greenhouse and the concession stand had been vandalized and items taken, including electronics and a small amount of money. Marcellus School officials stated that repairs from …