News

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the first identified case of the Omicron variant in Michigan. Specifically, the case came from Kent County. Officials from the Branch Hillsdale St. Joseph Community Health Agency said anyone who has been in Kent County since Dec. 1 is encouraged to get tested for COVID-19 and take appropriate steps to …

Michigan’s record-high number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients dipped Wednesday, the first drop in 49 days as health leaders continued to urge vaccinations while describing a dire situation inside hospitals. The state recorded 330 additional deaths, including 100 in the most recent 48-hour period. The seven-day average of daily deaths, 120 as of Monday, was up substantially from 67 two weeks …

Pennfield Public Schools has narrowed its choice to one finalist for the position of its superintendent, and the candidate is a St. Joseph County resident. Stephanie Lemmer, currently chief of Centreville Public Schools, is the finalist identified by Pennfield district officials. According to the district’s website, the board decided after interviewing four prospective superintendents Saturday that Lemmer was the lone …

State Rep. Steve Carra recently approved two bills to provide greater transparency for key governmental processes. Formed by a constitutional amendment in 2018, the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is tasked with drawing new congressional and state legislative districts following the decennial census. Carra said the Michigan Constitution states the commission shall conduct all of its business at open meetings. …

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers and ice rescue personnel clad in dry suits worked today to try to recover a dozen elk that died Tuesday after falling through the ice of a private lake in Otsego County. “This is a very tragic and unfortunate event,” said DNR Director Dan Eichinger. “Elk are an important species in Michigan’s successful …

A decision last summer to close Leonidas School could cost Colon Community Schools a significant loss in student population. The district closed the K-8 building prior to the start of the current school year after enrollment dipped under 40 students. But a parent and spokesman for the Amish families told Colon’s board of education Monday they plan to take their …

A Centreville woman accused of embezzling from two local churches was sentenced last week. Carol Kotschevar, 60, was ordered Friday to serve three months in the St. Joseph County jail after she entered a no-contest plea Oct. 28 to embezzling money from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Centreville over a four-year period starting in 2015. Similar charges from St. Paul’s …

The contract of Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency Health Officer Rebecca Burns was renewed for another 12 months. In addition, Burns will receive a 10 percent pay raise. The action took place during Monday’s tri-county board meeting. Burns, whose salary is nearly $90,000, will remain in place through at least the end of 2022. The board also approved a $3,500 …

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting event Monday saw Centreville Public Schools officials observe its new bus garage and maintenance facility. The 5,000-square-foot building also serves as a storage facility, replacing a now-razed structure that sat north of Centreville Elementary. Superintendent Stephanie Lemmer said the original bus garage was built in the early 1950s, shortly after the end of WWII. Unlike its predecessor, …

October’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by seven-tenths of a percent from September. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget was released recently. It showed St. Joseph County’s unemployment rate fell from 4.9 percent in September to 4.2 percent in October. The rate was 5.4 percent 12 months earlier. Meanwhile, Cass County …