Politics

The Village of Burr Oak recently honored Norma Adams for 18 years of service as a village trustee. Adams, who chose to not seek re-election, was given an oak plaque by village president Shawn Seeba. The plaque, which was designed and created by Burr Oak resident Dave Pant, was presented in recognition of Adams years of work and dedication to …

Three Rivers municipal officials said former police chief and city commissioner Earl Stark has passed away. Stark, who chose to not seek reelection for a third, two-year term a year ago, had represented the city’s Third District. Details about Stark’s funeral arrangements are expected to be announced today.

A few meetings in the area are on deck this evening. Members of the Constantine Public Schools Board of Education plan to assemble at 6 p.m. One matter of potential discussion may come from last week’s defeat of a Headlee renewal. The setback is keeping the district from more than $100,000 Elsewhere, 7 o’clock meetings are slated for the Lockport …

More than 23,000 St. Joseph County residents participated in this week’s general election. The figure means about 54 percent of the county’s registered voters participated in Tuesday’s vote. County Clerk Pattie Bender said the overall number of voters was down from more than 25,000 in 2008. Park Township led St. Joseph County Tuesday with the highest number of residents voting, …

Three Rivers City Clerk Lindsay Howes said the city commission will stage an organizational meeting Monday. At that time, two newly elected commissioners – Alison Haigh and Diane Haley-Clay – will be sworn in. Commissioners Daryl Griffith and Carolyn McNary, who ran unopposed, also will be sworn in during the ceremony. The new-look commission stages its first regularly scheduled meeting …

David Tomlinson and Rob Pattison will be St. Joseph County’s newest judges.  The two candidates claimed victories in Tuesday’s general election, as Colon-based attorney David Tomlinson topped Christine Yancey of Mendon for probate judge. Meanwhile, Rob Pattison, a lawyer for a Sturgis firm, will preside over St. Joseph County District Court after eking out a win over Park Township attorney …

There will be two new faces on the Three Rivers City Commission later this month. District 3 candidate Diane Haley-Clay defeated incumbent Larry Matson in Tuesday’s general election. Matson was appointed to the board in May to replace Ken Baker. Meanwhile, incumbent Elbert Foster, an eight-year commission member, was unable to fend off Alison Haigh as commissioner of District 2. …

A few incumbents on local, township, village and school boards were defeated in Tuesday’s general election. In Colon, challenger Tom Tenney soundly defeated incumbent village president Tom Whitford. Also, Colon Board of Education member and incumbent Eric Wagner was the odd person out in a three-person race for two seats. Incumbent Eric Bower will return and be joined by newcomer …

School districts that acted on Headlee-related proposals batted .500 in Tuesday’s election. Voters in the Burr Oak Community Schools district agreed to continue a Headlee rollback that allows the district to collect the full 18 mills its voters levied in 1995. The district stood to lose $154,000 without voter support. In Constantine, a request to renew its Headlee rate of …

All five proposed constitutional amendments were rejected by voters in Michigan, by wide margins.  They included Prop 2, which guaranteed collective bargaining rights and invalidated certain laws dealing with collective bargaining. Also rejected were Prop 3 which required 25 percent of Michigan energy generation to be from renewable sources, and Prop 4 which dealt with collective bargaining for in-home health …