News

Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Agency plans to stage three vaccine clinics this week in its tri-county service area. Whether agency officials are able to follow through, however, is contingent on delivery of an expected allocation of vaccine today. Registration links on its website are open beginning at 9 a.m. each Monday. Appointment slots typically are filled within 20 minutes. Health agency …

Officials from Sturges-Young Auditorium have announced the facility’s Sunday brunch has resumed. The meal is offered 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The auditorium’s brunch had been put on hold due to the pandemic. Patrons may dine socially distanced in the center’s ballroom and masks are required until patrons are seated. Takeout and delivery options also are available. COVID- 19 mandates …

Twelve students in the advanced Career and Technical Education graphic design cohort at Glen Oaks Community College recently presented branding and advertising projects to a panel of outside judges. As part of the project, students developed a fictional company and created corresponding logo designs, print materials, design spec-sheets and website homepage mockups. They presented their work and interacted with judges …

Final details regarding a long-overdue municipal project are being worked out by Vicksburg officials. Village council members heard an update Feb. 1 from village manager Jim Mallery centering on a new public works salt building. It will replace a facility constructed in the 1950s on North Main Street. The building in question is 70 years old and has served the …

Police say a deadly overnight truck crash along the Indiana Toll Road closed the tollway for several hours as crews cleaned up a chemical that spilled from a tanker it was hauling. State police say the truck’s driver, 35-year-old Omar Pleasont of Portage, Indiana was pronounced dead at the scene of Thursday night’s crash in LaGrange County, just south of …

An Indiana man died in a single-vehicle crash Thursday in Cass County’s Porter Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly before 1 p.m. to an area on U.S. 12, just west of Birch Road. A vehicle driven by 63-year-old Douglas Vankirk, of Mishawaka, appeared to be traveling eastbound on U.S. 12. Investigators said Vankirk lost control of the …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel announced Thursday the return of high school sports. Speaking at a press conference from Lansing, Whitmer announced the return to sports will start taking place next week. Indoor contact sports coming back include basketball, ice hockey, competitive cheer and wrestling. Each sport can begin contact practicing, with masks, on Monday. Basketball can begin competition with …

Local Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are appealing to the public for help finding the person who shot and left a button-buck deer in a field near Dauber and Round Lake roads in Noble Township. The location is just east of the St. Joseph County line. A land owner found the buck Monday afternoon and called DNR. The officer …

A ban on popular high school winter sports was lifted Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, days after frustrated parents and anxious teens rallied at the Capitol to try to persuade officials that basketball, wrestling and hockey could safely take place during the coronavirus pandemic. Whitmer said science, not protests, made the difference. Nonetheless, many school officials said they believe …

St. Joseph County Commission on Aging is continuing to provide treats, craft kits to-go and exercise classes on its Facebook page and YouTube channel. In addition, the nutrition department frequently provides special treats and cards to seniors receiving Meals on Wheels. Ruth Mancina, COA marketing and life-enrichment manager, said the pandemic has had a major impact on seniors. But, she …