News

The Solid Waste Management Planning Committee of St. Joseph County wishes to advise that its twice-a-year collection of hazardous waste, computers, televisions, tires, latex paint and paperboard will take place Oct. 5 at the St. Joseph County fairgrounds. Word about the collection is being made now so people who have items to drop off can start to gather and accumulate …

The Three Rivers City Commission will stage a public hearing later this month regarding a property at 1001 Wood St. During Tuesday’s city commission meeting, Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners set the date, due to a violation of city code. Lowry said the property owner – Consumers Sand and Gravel – has failed to respond to notices of violation left …

School athletic programs and other youth athletics in Michigan are now under strict new rules regarding concussions. The new state law requires youth athletes to be removed from games if a concussion is even suspected, and they cannot return until there is clearance from a health professional. The new rules follow recent news about the increasing number of concussions in …

Officials at a northern Indiana airport have turned to shooting coyotes that wander onto the property after unsuccessfully trying to trap the animals. Elkhart Municipal Airport manager Andy Jones says at least two landings have had to be aborted because of coyotes near or on the runway and one plane taking off missed a coyote by about 20 feet. Jones …

Organizers behind Sunday’s Three Rivers HarmonyFest said they couldn’t have been happier with the turnout for the 20th annual event. Staged on North Main Street, the 10-band, day-long festival had the benefit of good weather and an event-ending fireworks display to lure more than 3,000 people throughout the course of the day and night. The fireworks show was supposed to …

Members of the Sturgis City Commission have granted a 12-year tax abatement to Johnson Precision Mold and Engineering. Located in the North Centerville Road business park, the company is investing more than $100,000 in new equipment – primarily a high-speed machining center. Cathy Knapp, manufacturing specialist for the city, said the investment allows the company to increase its sales. In …

Labor union supporters and the governor who made this the first right-to-work Labor Day in Michigan have been on the march on opposite ends of the state as America observed the holiday honoring working people. Gov. Rick Snyder set a fast pace as he led thousands of walkers across the 5-mile Mackinac Bridge that links Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas. …

More wind and solar energy users in Michigan are getting billing credit for excess power they generate. State regulators issued a report last week showing utility customers with their own windmills and solar panels onsite increased the net metering program’s production size by 55 percent from 2011 to 2012. There also were more than 300 additional residential or business customers …

A 56-year-old Three Rivers man suffered minor injuries last week after his motorcycle was forced off the road in Florence Township. A media release from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department stated Michael Manes was southbound on Constantine Road when an oncoming vehicle passed another car, forcing Manes to drive off the roadway in order to avoid a head-on collision. …

Investigators from the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a search warrant last week for methamphetamine production at a Sturgis location. According to a department media release, SCAN members Saturday descended upon a room at the Country Hearth Inn, where two inactive methamphetamine labs – along with components to manufacture methamphetamine – were found. The room’s occupant, a 43-year-old …