News

  The July unemployment rate in St. Joseph County increased by eight-tenths of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 6.9 percent July unemployment rate was more than June’s 6.1 percent. Its July unemployment rate, however, was 2.8 percent less than the same …

  The Three Rivers Department of Public Services wishes to give advance notice about its upcoming hydrant-flushing process. Hydrants citywide will start being flushed Sept. 3. The activity is expected to continue through the end of the month, weeknights from 11 until 5 o’clock the following morning. The department asks residents to please be aware that some rusty water may …

  A crowd of more than 150 people attended Friday’s second annual Local Food Festival, hosted by the St. Joseph County Conservation District. Staged at the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds, the event featured a four-course meal of food grown locally from 23 different sources. John Farrand, from the Sturgis Boundary Waters Café, and Janelle Baranic, food service director at the …

  The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week gave approval to the Three Rivers Area Chamber of Commerce for a special event to be staged next year. As a part of the chamber’s “Discover the Treasures of St. Joseph County” program, the courthouse will provide the setting for a murder-mystery dinner. In response to the request from chamber …

Michigan’s apple growers will harvest nearly 29 million bushels of apples this year, according to the official crop estimate announced Friday at the USApple Outlook meeting in Chicago. Officials say the 28.74 million bushels estimate is in line with the 2013 crop, which was a record size crop of 30 million bushels. Diane Smith, executive director of the Michigan Apple Committee, says …

 St. Joseph County is looking for a new engineer/manager, as Christopher Bolt turned in his resignation Wednesday. The action came after the five-member road commission board met in executive session to discuss personnel matters. Bolt, 44, joined the road commission in January 2012. He said the board is choosing to go in a different direction and he has the utmost …

 Officials from Berrien County-based Edgewater Resources were on hand Wednesday in Three Rivers to present an overview of a river-trail master plan and field input from the group of about 30 people in attendance. County commission chair John Dobberteen made clear the intent of the proposed plan. He said any place in the county where a boat can float, the …

Ron Drzewicki’s employment as superintendent of Mason Public Schools is official, as the district’s board of education voted this week to offer a contract. The 50-year-old Drzewicki has served the past six years as superintendent of White Pigeon Community Schools. He was one of 23 applicants for the job as head of the 3,100-student district 15 miles south of Lansing. …

A new director for the St. Joseph County Conservation District was named this week. The employment of Carolyn Grace, a Three Rivers resident and former teacher at Hoppin Elementary, was approved by the conservation district board Wednesday. Grace, 50, has a degree in environmental education. She previously was employed as program director at YMCA Camp Eberhard following a 20-year career in …

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved filling the position of Geographic Information System cartographer. The opening was created by virtue of a resignation. In another matter during Tuesday’s meeting, the five-member panel approved the hiring of a probation officer, as Jon Marcus has announced his resignation effective Aug. 29. The position pays $38,000 and it is to be …