Health and Wellness

More than 200 families in and around Three Rivers benefitted from an annual Lions Club event Saturday. Food baskets and toys were sorted, packaged and delivered to families serviced by the county’s Department of Human Services, which provided names and family-member information about prospective recipients. Three Rivers Lions Club members and other volunteers, including the Three Rivers Lady Cats varsity …

A partnership with Southwest Michigan First was one of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners highlights in 2012, according to board chairman Rick Shaffer. Shaffer last week presented a list of the commission’s 2012 highlights, which also included an agreement for additional staffing in the MSU Extension office, the revision of an Animal Control ordinance and the creation of …

A proposal to purchase a dog for therapeutic and calming purposes has been tabled by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. The proposal was raised last month, when Linda Baker, victims’ rights coordinator who works for the county prosecutor’s office, offered to keep the dog privately but bring it to the courthouse for the benefit of victims or witnesses …

A Constantine Public Schools policy committee will have an abundance of information to review next month, following a special meeting its board of education conducted Wednesday. Staged in light of a series of policies employed following an incident last month, the district asked the public for feedback during what turned out to be an hour-long gathering. About 50 participants gathered …

A pair of Sturgis men were arrested on drug-related charges following a search of their residence Tuesday. The men, ages 40 and 39, face charges of maintaining and operating a methamphetamine lab, possession of meth and maintaining a drug house. They were arrested in the 200 block of Susan Street after the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a …

Here’s a reminder that the Constantine Board of Education will stage a special meeting today to review policies and procedures stemming from the recent investigation of sexual conduct demonstrated by a pair of 5-year-old boys. Set for 5:30 p.m. at the high school library, the meeting will include a look at policies applied during the police investigation of the incident.

Members of St. Joseph County’s Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Board took a few moments Tuesday discussing the significance of services for people with mental-health needs. During the board’s monthly meeting in Centreville, Executive Director Liz O‘Dell said while gun control is a popular discussion stemming from last week’s shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the …

Sturgis Public Schools Superintendent Tom Langdon said an email he sent to parents over the weekend served as a reminder that the district employs practices to make its school buildings as safe as they can be. The district’s second-year superintendent said the email was in light of the shooting spree that killed 20 children at a Connecticut elementary school last …

A tip to law-enforcement officials resulted in the arrest of a Sturgis-area man for charges related to the possession and manufacturing of methamphetamine. Members of the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant Thursday night in the 23000 block of Wilson Road in Sherman Township. An active meth lab was found inside the residence and evidence suggesting …

A 16-year-old from Shipshewana said he suffered a medical condition while driving and, as a result, crashed the vehicle he was driving into a tree Friday night in Sherman Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s department said Rylan Hochstetler was driving west on Banker Road when he blacked out momentarily and drove off the roadway around 10 p.m., he told …