News

The first session of the Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of 2013 begins Saturday. Overseen by the Michigan Department of Transportation, Adopt-A-Highway involves volunteers picking up litter along state highways from April 13 to 21, the first of three scheduled pickups this year. In 2012, Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups collected about 65,000 bags of trash, a cost benefit to the state of $5.6 million. …

Electronics and jewelry were among items taken during a daytime break-in at a residence in Park Township. State Police personnel are investigating the Tuesday incident, which occurred between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at a residence in the 55000 block of Wilbur Road. Access was gained to the residence by forced entry. MSP officials suggest checking to see doors and …

Michigan State Police said a felony murder warrant has been issued for a Kalamazoo man suspected of murdering a woman whose body was found in Three Rivers nearly 20 years ago. A warrant from the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s Office was issued Tuesday for Grady Shields Jr., 43. He is charged with the murder of Lois Cox, 59, who disappeared Oct. …

A deputy from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department was sentenced to probation for stealing prescription medicine from the jail while on duty. Stephen Morris, 39, was placed on probation for one year, as ordered Monday by Van Buren County Circuit Judge Kathleen Brickley. Morris, a Fulton resident, pleaded to two counts of larceny of more than $200 but less …

A vehicle driven by a 47-year-old Union woman was broadsided in a two-car crash at 9 p.m. Sunday in Park Township. State Police investigators said the incident occurred at Michigan Avenue and Parkville Road, where Scotts resident Daniel Shankleton, 17, failed to stop on Parkville Road at the Michigan Avenue intersection. His vehicle struck a car driven by Kristine Nichols. …

Remnants of a meth lab were found last week along a rural road in Flowerfield Township. Michigan State Police troopers were alerted to the debris around 8 p.m. Thursday in the 53000 block of Delong Road. A resident told investigators he noticed trash bags dumped into a nearby stream, but snagged by a fallen tree. The resident discovered the meth …

Two teenagers were taken into police custody after a Three Rivers Police Department canine unit found drugs in their vehicle. According to a department media release, a 19-year-old Kalamazoo man and his 16-year-old passenger were stopped Thursday at North Main and Moore streets following a traffic violation. An officer had reason to believe narcotics were in the vehicle and was …

An eight-foot, flatbed trailer was taken from outside a residence in Nottawa Township. Investigators from the Michigan State Police said a report of the incident was filed last week by the owner, who told police the trailer was likely stolen in March from outside a pole barn on Findley Road. The trailer, which is four feet wide and has three-foot-high …

Residents in the Lake Templene area are being advised to stay alert for suspicious activity. The Michigan State Police at White Pigeon detachment reported a break-in occurred in late March or early April at a residence on Park Ridge Lane near Bayshore Drive. The incident, during which electronics and money were stolen, was reported at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday last week. …

The St. Joseph County Conservation District received confirmation of its annual allocation for river clean-up projects. Provided by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the Great Lakes Commission, the $2,750 grant awarded to the Centreville-based organization will allow it to fund transportation and materials necessary during seven river and river bank clean-up events this summer. The first is slated …