News

Linda Gearhart and Larry Matson will square off in the November general election, as they were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s primary election. At stake in the November vote is a two-year, at-large seat to the seven-member Three Rivers City Commission. Gearhart, 65, claimed 99 votes, while the 69-year-old Matson earned 71. Matthew Gearhart earned 40 votes. Matson was …

A request to restore nearly three-tenths of a mill to the maximum rate of 2.75 mills for special-education services fell Tuesday, 1,150 to 1,018. Restoration of the mills would have generated an additional $620,000 annually for St. Joseph County’s nine school districts. The 132-vote difference was slightly less than the combined difference between yes and no votes in Cass County’s …

The Michigan Department of Community Health has confirmed that the first human case of West Nile Virus for 2013 has been identified in St. Joseph County. According to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, the case involves an adult male, over the age of 50 years, from the southwest corner of St. Joseph County. The man was hospitalized with symptoms …

Three Rivers High School will have a neighboring rival in its league in the 2014-15 school year, as Sturgis Public Schools is expected to join the Wolverine Conference. An invitation requesting St. Joseph County’s largest school district to join the league was extended by conference officials late last week. Sturgis school officials have indicated they intend to accept the offer, …

Indiana Michigan Power is advising the public it will begin trimming trees around transmission power lines in St. Joseph, Cass, Van Buren, Kalamazoo and Berrien counties starting today. The work is part of the company’s ongoing vegetation-management program aimed at improving the safety and reliability of electrical facilities, according to a company media release. The work will continue through the …

Graduates from two area high schools put on a crowd-pleasing alumni football game over the weekend. With a full house of more than 3,000 fans looking on, Mendon’s alumni squad topped the host Schoolcraft Eagles, 30-21, Saturday night. Mendon’s alumni team featured a roster of 50 players, the oldest was Joe Baker, a 1977 graduate who contributed by recovering a …

Mendon Community Schools has been named the recipient of a grant of almost $10,000, which will help the district purchase iPads for classroom use. The Monsanto Fund, which recently awarded Riverside Health Clinic with a $10,000 grant, will provide a ceremonial check in the amount of $9,975 to Mendon school officials today during a media event at Mendon Elementary School. …

The St. Joseph County United Way is asking for donations to be included in the 2013 Silent Auction at September’s St. Joseph County Grange Fair. Kelly Hostetler, executive director of the local United Way, said with more space gained as the result of a move to inside a barn, plenty of room is available for items to be displayed during …

A prison term in excess of seven years was issued to a corporate official with South Haven-based Village Market Food Centers. Christopher Pratt, who was charged with embezzlement, was sentenced this week in a Kalamazoo federal court after the 42-year-old Pratt admitted a gambling addiction and an extensive car collection were financed through the $6 million he stole. Village Market …

Michigan health officials have identified the states first confirmed human case of West Nile Virus for 2013 in a man from St. Joseph County. Last year, the West Nile Virus was responsible for 202 illnesses and 17 fatalities reported in Michigan. Department of Community Health Chief Medical Executive Dr. Matthew Davis says there is clear evidence that West Nile Virus …