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The St. Joseph County Road Commission building is in store for a renovation. The five-member road commission panel recently approved the agency’s budget and within the allowance they allocated $200,000 toward updating the building. Money to cover the work will come from non-road funds. Primarily, proceeds from the sale of old and obsolete equipment will cover the building improvements, road …

St. Joseph County’s Parks and Recreation Department is soliciting residents for ideas and input regarding an update of its five-year master plan. The new, five-year cycle begins in 2012. Department officials said citizen input is used to help develop goals and set a course of action based on the public’s suggestions. The department oversees eight parks that collectively cover 420 …

The city of Sturgis will have a fleet of five new vehicles, following action taken recently by members of the city commission. The new vehicles and departments to which they will be assigned are a Ford Focus for the electric department; two Dodge Charger vehicles for the police department; a pickup for the wastewater department and a mower to be …

Sturgis municipal officials have made two minor changes in order to more equally balance populations in its four city precincts. Prior to action the city took last week, the difference between the most and least populated precincts was about 400 people. The discrepancy was between Sturgis’ first and second precincts. Commissioners agreed to redistrict two blocks from Precinct 1 to …

The heating and air conditioning system at Nottawa Township Library will be replaced thanks to a recent grant. A $25,000 gift from the Robert C. Reinhardt Trust will cover the majority of the cost to replace the 20-year-old units. Bonnie Heflin, library director, said the grant was a welcome gift, as the library will have to pay less than $10,000 …

So-called Layaway Angels have made their mark at the Kmart store in Sturgis. John Brubaker, layaway manager, said three anonymous donors paid a total of $500 toward items that were reserved on layaway and about to be returned to store shelves for non-payment. He said one of the benefactors of the gestures was a single mother of three children. The …

Bell ringers with the Salvation Army have been given a one-week extension to continue collecting change from people outside Kroger grocery stores, including the Sturgis location. Salvation Army bell ringers will be on site until Dec. 31, a full week later than the agency’s traditional bell-ringing conclusion on Dec. 24. The Sturgis Kroger is at 811 S. Centerville Road.

New Year’s Eve revelers will have a chance to catch a free ride home, as the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority is offering complimentary rides to any location in the county. The service, which is resuming after a one-year hiatus, will begin at 10 p.m. Saturday and conclude at 4 a.m. Sunday. The cost to support the special service is …

Kellogg Community Federal Credit Union has announced that its merger with St. Joseph Valley Community Federal Credit Union has been finalized. The deal, which became official earlier this month, completes a process that started in September. As a result, former clients with the St. Joseph Valley Credit Union now fall under the services of Kellogg Community Credit Union, which has …

Constantine Township officials are seeking input from its residents regarding road maintenance and improvements. Township officials said a survey in the latest newsletter will help guide them in deciding what roads need attention and in what manner. A survey question also asks if the township should consider adopting a special assessment dedicated specifically toward road-related maintenance and improvements. The township …