News

Slide-off leaves truck hanging from Indiana tollway overpass

A semitrailer was left dangling from an Indiana Toll Road overpass for hours Wednesday after it slid off the tollway amid icy, frigid conditions that caused other accidents, state police said. A car traveling in front of the FedEx semitrailer lost its traction and skidded about 9 a.m. Wednesday, prompting the truck’s driver to swerve near Mishawaka, just east of …

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Michigan deaths in 2020, first year of COVID, topped births

Deaths exceeded births in Michigan in 2020, a rare result influenced by COVID-19, statistics show. “We can blame a lot of deaths on COVID,” demographer Kurt Metzger told the Detroit Free Press, “but the fact is the trend of increasing deaths and decreasing births is a problem for Michigan outside of COVID.” Slightly more than 117,000 people died in 2020, while …

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Centreville names interim superintendent

Centreville Public Schools Board of Education on Monday named Chad Brady interim superintendent. Brady, 44, will spend the week transitioning from his current role as junior high/high school principal. His term of employment as interim superintendent is Feb. 1 through July 31. Now in his fourth year as a Centreville employee, Brady said afterward he is fortunate to walk into …

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Centreville plans for filling superintendent position

An agenda regarding Centreville Public Schools and its permanent superintendent was established Monday. Now that the district has secured junior high/senior high principal Chad Brady as interim superintendent through the end of July, board members are now turning their attention to filling the position permanently. The board has retained the services of Patrick Kreger, a consultant with Michigan Association of …

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Bronson boil-water order lifted

After three days of a boil-water order, the city of Bronson on Tuesday lifted the advisory. The declaration was made after lab samples came back negative for the presence of bacteria for two consecutive days. City manager Brandon Mersman says the advisory was a precautionary measure because of a drop in pressure in the municipality’s water supply due to equipment …

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Circuit court trial adjourned

St. Joseph County Circuit Court Judge Paul Stutesman has issued a statement regarding today’s court procedures. Stutesman said administration of St. Joseph County Courts met last week and received input from the Public Health Director for the county. As a result, the decision was made to adjourn the circuit jury trial scheduled for today. However, all other matters will continue …

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Area man wins lottery

A Kalamazoo County man recently won half a million dollars in a December Powerball drawing. Bruce Wall, 58, recently went to lottery headquarters in Lansing and collected his $500,000 prize. The winning ticket was a Powerball “Double Play” drawing. Wall purchased his winning ticket at the Shell gas station in Augusta. Wall’s numbers matched all five white balls in the …

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County COVID-19 cases increase

New coronavirus cases increased 9.2 percent in Michigan in the week ending Sunday. St. Joseph County reported 696 cases and seven deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 412 cases and four deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 12,324 cases and 179 deaths. Within Michigan, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in …

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COA director raises parking concerns

St. Joseph County Commission on Aging executive director Pam Riley last week expressed concerns about parking at Oaks Enrichment Center in Sturgis when the city’s new splash pad moves in next door. Riley brought up the matter during her director’s report at a meeting of the COA advisory board. She said she had previously met with Sturgis city manager Mike …

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School district makes masks mandatory after community vote

Masks are mandatory in a southwestern Michigan school district after officials set the policy in an unusual way: They took a vote of the people. Parents, guardians and staff in the Pennfield district voted for masks, starting Monday and lasting through Feb. 18. There were 1,041 votes, and about 58% were in favor. Masks to reduce the risk of COVID-19 …

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