News

Ellen Eisele has been chosen as the 2019 recipient of the John E. Oster Award for Teacher Recognition. She was honored Monday at a luncheon hosted by Sturgis Rotary Club. Eisele, who came to Sturgis in 1990, was instrumental in piloting the Connected Mathematics Program, ensuring access to some of the finest teaching materials and professional development on the market. …

The Centreville Village Council voted Monday to have its lawyer develop a joint-ownership agreement for the Old Centreville Cemetery, under which the village and Nottawa Township would each own it equally. Nottawa Township had presented the village with an agreement under which the village and township would form the Old Centreville Cemetery Committee, consisting of one representative each from the …

The annual Shop With a Hero event was held last weekend in Sturgis. Twenty-seven students from Wall, Congress, Wenzel and Eastwood schools were selected by Sturgis Public School staff to participate in the event. The participants went shopping at Walmart with local heroes from the community. Each student received $ 90 to spend on presents, according to Sam Watson, Sturgis …

A Burr Oak man died Tuesday night following a single-vehicle accident in Burr Oak Township. Sheriff’s officials said the incident occurred at 9:18 p.m. on Middle Colon Road at Kibolski Road. According to a department media release, deputies were called to the scene and found that the vehicle was traveling north on Middle Colon Road. It left the east side …

Officials with the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Department said work is progressing in Mendon to contact and test the water of a dozen homeowners who have wells with possible PFAs at dangerous levels. Paul Andriacchi, director of environmental health, said when a contamination site was first discovered a number of years ago, the village constructed a municipal water system. About a …

St. Joseph County commissioners this week OK’d a number of reappointments, starting with Kristina Eaton, Ruth Perry and a sheriff’s department representative to the Animal Control Advisory Board. The positions are for three-year terms. Meanwhile, Sturgis-area residents Warren Atkins and Douglas Pagels, along with White Pigeon-area resident Mark Ripplinger, were reappointed to the county’s planning commission. Those posts, too, are …

A four-wheeler was stolen from a residence this week in Flowerfield Township. State troopers are investigating the incident, which involves a 2010 Honda 4 Trax four-wheeler. It was taken late Monday or early Tuesday from a residence in the 52000 block of Lewis Lake Road. The four-wheeler has a toolbox on its back with a dent from being struck by …

Two teens were arrested after attempting to break into an ATM on the campus of Glen Oaks Community College. Sheriff Brad Balk said deputies were called Friday to the Centreville-area campus regarding a disorderly subject. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the college had been broken into and the suspects also attempted to break into an ATM. Two subjects, a 17-year-old Sturgis …

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the theft of an auto trailer. The incident occurred Friday in the 19000 block of M-60 in Lockport Township, according to authorities. The goose-neck trailer is made of steel, 50 feet in length with white wheels and a gas grill attached on the driver’s side of the trailer.

Employees of the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency will be getting a raise in pay starting Jan. 1. Rebecca Burns, health officer for the agency, offered a balanced budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year. It shows the proposed raises in salary classification and compensation are within budget. By accepting the budget this week, the board also approved a compensation study …