News

Some state lawmakers are trying to burn holes in Michigan’s two-year-old smoking ban, which has cleared the air in public places and enjoyed support but contributed to cash-flow problems at some bars.  An amendment added to a budget bill by one lawmaker this past week would stop enforcement of the ban at longtime charitable fundraising events. A Senate bill introduced …

Authorities say a 64-year-old man has been killed in an early morning fire at his Kalamazoo home.  The Kalamazoo public safety department says in a news release that officers arrive at 1:30 a.m. Saturday and found the house engulfed in flames.  It was extinguished several hours later, and the man’s body was found.  No one else lived in the house. …

The price of admission to musicals presented by Three Rivers High School will be lowered starting next year, a measure being taken following action taken this week by the district’s Board of Education. Superintendent Roger Rathburn said $15 for adults and $12 for students was found to be the highest among schools in the county as well as in the …

Sturgis High School is preparing its students – and their parents – for a technology advance in the 2012-13 academic year, when all high school students will be provided an iPad to use for the school year. Sessions staged Tuesday and Wednesday this week collectively drew more than 100 parents, who were given more information about security features that will …

The Three Rivers Citizens of the Year, Jim and Vera Bippus, were recognized during a reception Tuesday at Belle Epoque. Hosted by the Three Rivers Lions Club, the banquet attracted more than 100 people and provided an opportunity to formally recognize the lifelong Three Rivers residents for their contributions to the community. The Three Rivers Lions Club has staged the …

Fire officials from the Michigan State Police are continuing to investigate the cause of a fire Tuesday that destroyed the Trilium building, in the 26000 block of West U.S. 12. Located in unincorporated Sturgis Township, the building was fully engulfed in flames as personnel from the Tri-Township and city of Sturgis fire departments arrived shortly after 8 p.m. The fire …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department responded this week to a report of a breaking-and-entering incident in Burr Oak Township. Investigators said a vacant residence in the 64000 block of Sycamore Road was entered between March 17 and April 17. Copper wire was stripped from the residence, investigators said. The sheriff’s department is asking the public for any information known …

A person well familiar with Three Rivers High School has been tapped to speak at next week’s senior honors night at the school. Father William Jacobs, known as Father J, spent 27 years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal at Three Rivers High School. He will be the keynote speaker at the 54th annual event at 7 p.m. Wednesday. …

Concrete repairs will close a lane of southbound U.S. 131 in Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties next week. The Michigan Department of Transportation announced the work will begin around South Street in Schoolcraft and continue south to Flowerfield Road. The work is slated to start at 6 a.m. Monday and continue for two weeks, ending May 11.

Seventeen dogs taken Friday from a Burr Oak Township residence have found temporary residence through a foster program called Up-Cycled Pets. The Shih Tzu-Pomeranian mixes were voluntarily turned over to Up-Cycled Pets volunteers after the previous owner conceded she could no longer adequately care for the animals. The woman said she was no longer breeding the dogs for sale but …