News

Three Rivers Health Auxiliary is continuing a long-standing holiday tradition once again this year. The annual Lights of Love provides an opportunity to remember or honor someone special by lighting a bulb on the Lights of Love Christmas tree at Three Rivers Health. Donations, which are a minimum of $5, will allow the hospital to achieve its goal of purchasing …

St. Joseph County United Way continues to accept food and monetary donations for its 2024 “Thanksgiving for All” event. The annual event provides a Thanksgiving meal for up to 500 families who otherwise might not have a Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy. Non-perishable foods can be dropped off at the United Way’s Centreville-based headquarters. In addition, collection boxes have been set …

Here’s a reminder that Fibre Converters of Constantine is offering a matching grant of up to $100,000 toward installation of new playground equipment at Meyer Broadway Park in Fabius Township. St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Director Jaymes MacDonald said total cost of the project is $320,000. The county has already received a $77,000 grant and plans to provide in-kind …

Salvation Army Kalamazoo is appealing to the public for volunteers at an event it is hosting next week. Volunteer coordinator Oliver Knuth said the agency is hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for seniors from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at its Kalamazoo location, 1700 S. Burdick St. Volunteers are needed to serve meals, socialize with seniors who might otherwise be …

St. Joseph County Administrator Teresa Cupp has agreed to a two-year contract renewal. The matter was confirmed during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. Cupp, a 50-year-old Mendon Township resident, is completing her seventh year as the highest-ranking, non-elected employee in county government. She said she appreciates the confidence the seven-member board has in her and her ability …

Kalamazoo Diocese Bishop Edward M. Lohse, a number of St. Edward’s Catholic Church dignitaries and more than 60 people gathered Monday for the blessing of a new section of cemetery in Mendon. The area is south of the church’s current cemetery and large enough to accommodate 770 graves, church officials said. The land was purchased by a parishioner’s family and …

A number of appointments and re-appointments were made during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. The seven-member board appointed Thomas Sikorski to the newly created Materials Management Planning Committee, Elena Meadows to the St. Joseph County Planning Commission, Raul Morales to the Pivotal Board (formerly Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County), and Joe …

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is making birth control and sexually transmitted infection prevention supplies available for free across the state of Michigan in November. Agency officials said access to contraception empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and keeps people healthy. Locations across Michigan will have supplies at no cost available on a first-come, …

A Branch County man was injured last week after a propane tank exploded at his residence. Sherwood Fire Department personnel were called just before 7 a.m. Friday to a home on Blossom Road, west of Ralston Road, in response to a man suffering burns on his hands, face and head. The 70-year-old victim told authorities he was attempting to light …

Shipshewana’s holiday tradition, Lights of Joy, is returning this year with more lights than ever before, making it one of the biggest drive-through light experiences in the region. More than two million LED lights will illuminate a nearly two-mile route filled with holiday scenes, traditional Christmas stories, lighted arches and animated displays. The 2024 event begins Friday and runs through Dec. …