Health and Wellness

The St. Joseph County Commission on Aging’s Board of Directors has a pair of openings, following separate moves during its monthly meeting Wednesday. Lori Wright, who was tapped in June to head the board, submitted her letter of resignation, as announced by COA Director Lynn Coursey. According to Wright’s letter, her full-time job and a training commitment to the National …

Investigators from the Michigan State Police post in Coldwater and its detachment in White Pigeon were summoned around 8 p.m. Tuesday in response to an improvised explosive device. The device was found in about two feet of water by a swimmer on the east side of Grey Lake in Sherman Township. Members of the state police bomb squad were called …

Members of the St. Joseph County Conservation District and 18 volunteers removed approximately 500 pounds of debris from a stretch of the Nottawa Creek last weekend. The three-mile stretch, from the Shorts Road bridge to the Fulton Road bridge in Leonidas Township, resulted in the recovery of two sunken aluminum boats, an extensive amount of glass bottles and aluminum cans, …

Three Rivers Fire Department Chief Dan Tomlinson has announced the agency has been awarded an improved rating by the Insurance Services Office. As a result of the agency’s rating from Class 5 to Class 4 effective Aug. 1, insurance premiums for a number of residential, commercial and industrial property owners within the city limits could decrease. Tomlinson said the ISO’s …

Troopers from the Michigan State Police detachment in White Pigeon are investigating an incident during which a man pointed a gun at a group of children at a rural location in Mendon Township. A group of four children were riding bicycles Thursday on Wakeman Road, west of Baer Road, when a man in a green GMC pickup truck pointed a …

A 50-year-old Nottawa woman remains in critical condition as she recovers from being struck by a car while riding her bike last week. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Esther Schmucker has been at Bronson Methodist Hospital since she was struck head-on by a vehicle driven by 28-year-old Jeremy Conley, of Sturgis. The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. Thursday …

Officials from the city of Sturgis have closed the RV dumping station near the municipal airport due to several incidents of improper and illegal use of the site. Road construction on West Lafayette Street this summer forced the station to be closed temporarily. Numerous incidents of illegal use and misuse, however, prompted city officials to close the site for good. …

Five St. Joseph County-based departments played a critical role in helping extinguish a large-scale fire Friday morning in Vicksburg. A 4 a.m. blaze at a former paper mill required the services of 10 fire agencies to douse an intentionally-set blaze at the 435,000-square-foot building. The facility, which has been dormant and used only for storage, served for years as the …

A 74-year-old Elkhart County man was charged with arson following an incident Friday evening in White Pigeon Township. According to the Michigan State Police, the man allegedly set fire to a rental unit in which he was residing, in the 71000 block of Aldrich Lake Road. There were no injuries and no other adjacent structures were damaged by fire, heat, …

Members of the St. Joseph County Conservation District said perfect weather and sufficient water depth Saturday combined for a successful cleanup of the Rocky River. Twelve volunteers participated in the daylong effort, which started at Null Road and concluded just past U.S. 131. An estimated 250 pounds of debris was collected from the river, including a bale of wire fencing, …