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Resolutions honoring a trio of county officials highlight today’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. The board’s final meeting of 2012 will see resolutions honoring District Court Judge William Welty, and commissioners Jerry Ware and Larry Walton. Welty is retiring after a 22-year tenure as judge, while Ware and Walton are leaving the county board, which is shrinking from …

Mayor Tom Lowry and members of the Three Rivers City Commission are expected to field bid recommendations for the downtown Mural Mall project when they assemble at 6 o’clock tonight. The commission’s last meeting of the year also includes matters related to change orders at the city’s clean water plant. Today’s meeting takes place at city hall.

An outbreak of the flu in Constantine Public Schools has prompted Superintendent Chuck Frisbie to close the district’s schools Tuesday and Wednesday. Frisbie said the 1,434-student district saw an absence rate of about 15 percent last week. On Monday, about 25 percent of Eastside Elementary’s population was absent, about 15 percent more than usual. Vomiting and children showing symptoms consistent …

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 …

Two methamphetamine laboratories were discovered at a residence in Park Township Wednesday. Members of the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit were drawn to a house in the 54000 block of Wilbur Road by a tip from a neighbor, who suspected the man and woman who reside at the house were involved in meth production. The man and woman were …

Investigators with the Michigan State Police responded to an attempted breaking and entering into a shed and trailer at a residence in the 51000 block of Buckhorn Road in northern Park Township. The incident occurred in an area around Cotherman Lake Road, where a number of theft-from-motor-vehicle situations were reported early Wednesday. In a separate matter, MSP investigators are looking …

A St. Joseph County department head was suspended for a day without pay over a hunting-related incident last month. John Pence, parks and recreation director, served the one-day suspension Nov. 21 after it was discovered he gave permission for a party of four to hunt at Cade Lake County Park. The hunters were found on the 52-acre, county-owned parcel after …

Numerous windows in a house in the 100 block of Pleasant Street in Sturgis were shattered around 10 a.m. Wednesday. Officers from the Sturgis Police Department are investigating the matter. The homeowner, meanwhile, is offering a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or people responsible for causing the damage.

Constantine Board of Education members will stage a special meeting next week 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. Wednesday next week at the high school library, the parents-only meeting will include a look at policies such as the paid, temporary suspension of …