News

St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald said undersheriff Mark Lillywhite recently hosted a voter-registration information class for jail inmates awaiting trial. Staged in conjunction with Oswald, the class resulted in 10 percent of the jail population registering to vote and several others were able to verify their registration. Oswald said the purpose was to inform people of their constitutional rights …

An appeals court has upheld a life sentence for a man who was blamed for the drug-related death of another man in the Kalamazoo area. The federal court says the sentence is “severe and perhaps even misguided as a matter of criminal justice policy” but still constitutional. Steve Whyte was accused of providing heroin that caused the fatal overdose of …

St. Joseph County Clerk Lindsay Oswald said a procedure is in place for anyone interested in serving the remaining 11 months of Sheriff Brad Balk’s term after he retires Jan. 31. According to a notice Oswald posted Friday, prospective successors are advised to submit a letter of interest and résumé to her office by 4 p.m. on or before Nov. …

Members of the Centreville Village Council voted recently to sell six acres of property in its industrial park to a company looking to put in a manufacturing facility. The Centreville Downtown Development Authority previously approved up to $60,000 to build 400 feet of road to the facility. In an unrelated matter, the village has purchased new Christmas decorations. As a …

A workday was held last month at Old Centreville Cemetery, the first in a series organized by the Amos Sturgis Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, as they attempt to restore the plot of land. An active cemetery from 1833 through 1971, the area was designated a Michigan State Historic Site. It is located at the corner of Dean …

Hunting wildlife has long been ingrained in Michigan’s culture, but it is currently on a decline across the state. The decline is partly due to more baby boomers aging out. Young adults, urbanites and others are also far less likely to participate in hunting. Michigan had as many as 1.2 million hunters in the 1970s, ’80s and into the ’90s. …

An Elkhart man died in a single-vehicle crash last week in Cass County’s Porter Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were called shortly before 4 p.m. Friday to an area on Bellows Road, near Idlewild Street. Chase Miller, age 28, was driving north on Bellows Road when his vehicle left the roadway and went into a pond. Miller’s body was …

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department last week arrested a man driving a stolen vehicle in Sherman Township. According to a department media release, deputies were called Thursday to a report of a man driving a stolen vehicle. They responded to an area near Banker Street and Shimmel Road and eventually found the vehicle in question. John Fox …

Here’s this week’s Michigan Department of Transportation update regarding the US-131 redevelopment project in Three Rivers. Crews on Monday are expected to begin top-course paving and a shoulder-gravel process on the northbound stretch toward the north end of the project. Also Monday, crews will begin base-course and leveling-course paving on M-60. MDOT officials said workers will finish winter paving markings …

The remaining two St. Joseph County high schools in the Michigan High School Athletic Association football playoffs went 1-and-1 over the weekend. In Division 6, Constantine fell to Hillsdale on Friday, 20-to-14. The Falcons finish the season 8-and-3 while Hillsdale maintained its perfect record. In 8-man action, Colon is one win away from playing for a state championship after it …