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A pay raise was granted Tuesday to St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel. Commissioners had previously authorized Wenzel’s job be expanded from 28 to 40 hours, but no action was taken regarding his $33,000-a-year salary. After reviewing the matter Friday at their executive committee meeting, commissioners without comment Tuesday agreed to up Wenzel’s annual pay to $47,500. The amendment …

Three Rivers municipal officials on Monday issued a public thank-you to the city of Sturgis for its help with cleanup efforts from the 2012 Water Festival. According to a Three Rivers news release, after the city’s street sweeper failed to operate over the weekend, Three Rivers DPS crews turned to their counterparts in Sturgis for assistance. Sturgis sent its own …

Members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education have expressed an interest in looking at consolidating business-office duties with other districts in the county. The concept is not unprecedented, as Mendon and Centreville school districts currently operate under a joint business office. Three Rivers Superintendent Roger Rathburn said potential retirements within the district in the next few years …

The Three Rivers Lion Club will provide free vision screening for people of all ages Friday and Saturday afternoons, during the Three Rivers Water Festival. The screenings will take place near L. A.’s Coffee Café, on West Michigan Avenue, starting at 1 p.m. Infants through children age 5 are seated on a parent’s lap and photographed with a vision screener, …

Here’s some road-construction information on two projects in St. Joseph County. The first matter comes from the Michigan Department of Transportation, which has announced a lane shift on M-86 at Industrial Drive in Centreville through 5 p.m. today. One lane will be open in each direction while crews make repairs to a water main. The other project involves the St. …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners had a special guest in attendance at its meeting Tuesday. Tim McGuire, executive director of the Michigan Association of Counties, was on hand for a portion of the meeting. McGuire said he tries to visit as many county commissions as possible and his schedule allowed for him to be in Centreville this week. …

The job of St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner is now a 40-hour-a-week position. Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved the increase from 28 hours weekly. Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel, who is being contested for the post in the November election, will see no pay raise, as his salary will remain $33,000 a year. Wenzel, …

The Three Rivers City Commission on Tuesday approved a $15,000 bid for a new mower and deck. The low bid was received from Three Rivers-based Fillmore Equipment. City officials said the majority of the cost will be covered by the municipality’s insurance company, as the previous mower caught fire and was damaged beyond repair.

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is teaming up with MSU Extension this summer to offer special classes that will help participants learn how to buy, clean, store and cook with fresh produce. Project FRESH is a program that makes fresh produce available to low income, nutritionally-at-risk women and children who participate in the Women, Infants and Children program. WIC …

A Three Rivers-based company has been recognized by a trade publication as one of the elite bail-enforcement agent-training programs in the nation. The agent-training provided by MI Security was ranked in the top 17 by Collateral Magazine as one of the top fugitive-recovery programs in the United States. The company, owned by Ed Becher, was noted for the thoroughness of …