News

Irrigation wire was reported stolen last week from a location in Constantine Township. State police said the theft occurred between April 28 and last Friday from a pivot off Zerbe Road, east of U.S. 131.

In addition to providing an annual report as register of deeds, county clerk Pattie Bender presented county commissioners a summary of her department’s operations in 2013. Bender, who will mark her 44-year anniversary as a courthouse employee later this month, said her department’s revenue report showed collections in circuit and juvenile courts were down in 2013 compared to 2012. She …

Three people were hospitalized following a hit-and-run accident last weekend in Cass County’s Penn Township. Sheriff Joe Underwood Jr. said 49-year-old Delbert Raeder of Elkhart was driving east on M-60 around 3 p.m. Sunday, when his vehicle was rear-ended by a newer-model pickup. The force of the contact pushed Raeder’s vehicle off the roadway and into the front deck of …

The investigation continues into a car-pedestrian accident two weeks ago which resulted in the death of a Three Rivers resident. Mary Hanchon, age 92, died several days after the April 23rd incident, which occurred at the intersection of Millard Street and South Douglas Avenue. The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office has identified the driver as 27-year-old Lavarr Funches of Three …

White Pigeon Community Schools will have more than $1.6 million additionally to spend each year over the next five years, as the district’s voters approved a request for a 1-mill increase Tuesday. The measure prevailed with 359 yes votes to 336 opposed. Superintendent Ron Drzewicki said the community support helps keep the 750-student district on a positive road. He said …

A request to restore special-education funding to St. Joseph County’s nine school districts was approved Tuesday. The request to reinstate nearly three-tenths of a mill to a full 2.75 mills passed, 1,261 to 1,158. With the Headlee Rollback in effect, school districts were not receiving the full number of mills established in the 1960s for special-education support. The full 2.75 …

Facility upgrades and major repairs are on tap in Marcellus Community Schools, where voters on Tuesday approved a $12.9 million bond request. The district received the support it needed, with 543 votes in favor to 497 against. Approval of the request means remodeling of the cafeteria and media center at its elementary school and middle school/high school, as well as …

The August primary ballot in St. Joseph County will be a bit more crowded following action Tuesday by the county’s board of commissioners. The St. Joseph County Road Commission will present to voters a two-part request. The first asks for renewal of 1 mill for a 10-year period. The current mill has been in place a decade and expires at …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a larceny from a vehicle earlier this week in Burr Oak Township. The suspect stole a purse out of a vehicle parked at a business in the 64000 block of M-66 between 6:30 and 10 p.m. Monday. The purse was described as pink and green in color with a Native …

A 22-year-old man has been found guilty in the killing of a 1-year-old Kalamazoo girl who authorities say had hemorrhaging in her brain and eyes as well as alcohol and marijuana in her blood. A jury convicted Toren Hains Tuesday of felony murder and first-degree child abuse in the December 2012 death of Zoie Grace Johnston of Oshtemo Township. The …