News

Fire damaged a vacant home in the 16000 block of Fawn River Road in White Pigeon Township late Wednesday night. Early Saturday morning, firefighters and St. Joseph County Sheriff deputies were called to the same home for a fire on a deck at the rear of the home. Sheriff deputies called the fire arson. A Michigan State Police fire investigator …

The Trump administration has approved Michigan’s plan to require able-bodied adults in the Medicaid expansion program to meet work or job-related requirements. The waiver was authorized Friday. The federal government has now approved work requirements in seven states, with others pending. Starting in 2020, adults age 18 to 62 in Michigan will have to show workforce engagement averaging 80 hours …

St. Joseph County’s board of commissioners is expected to approve a budget of nearly $18 million for its 2019 fiscal year. The preliminary budget was at the center of a public hearing during Tuesday’s final county commission meeting of the year. Officially $17,949,839, the proposed 2019 budget represents a 5 percent decrease from the county’s 2018 amended budget of nearly …

E-911 Central Dispatch will soon have a new communications tower toward the south end of the county. St. Joseph County commissioners this week approved a request from agency director Dennis Brandenburg to enter into a land-lease agreement with the St. Joseph County Conservation and Sportsman’s Club. Brandenburg said central dispatch would like to erect the tower and access drive on …

Reappointments to three different panels were made Tuesday by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners. Sturgis-area resident Tracey Parker will serve three more years as an at-large representative on the Animal Control Advisory Board, along with Cathi Abbs of Sturgis. Abbs also will serve in the capacity of at-large member. The nine-member board still has one vacancy to fill. …

A toddler has become the third person to die from a weekend hit-and-run crash in South Bend. Authorities say 17-month-old Isabelle Jasper died Thursday. She was a passenger in one of three cars involved in a crash near South Bend International Airport on Sunday. Police say a Dodge Avenger rear-ended another northbound car, sending that vehicle into southbound traffic. Joel …

A proposed ordinance related to solar-energy systems in Mendon Township was modified by its planning commission Tuesday. The five-member panel agreed to change the distance of a setback from 125 to 50 feet in select areas where a solar-panel development is proposed. The original distance was 125 feet all the way around the proposed White Pine Solar project, slated for …

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett said municipal officials recently received a notice indicating the village is not in compliance with the Three Rivers Sewer-Use Ordinance. Cited violations include failure by the village to adopt an ordinance that complies with the city’s sewer-use ordinance, and lack of an inter-jurisdictional agreement between the municipalities with regard to sewer treatment. Three Rivers also …

Centreville Village Council has filled the seventh of its seven seats with a longtime resident. Matt Swanwick was appointed to the panel during the council’s Monday meeting. He was one of three candidates to apply for the seat left unfilled after last month’s election. Trustee Gary McClain dissented on the motion to appoint Swanwick, as McClain had nominated previous council …

An unprecedented run ended Tuesday, as St. Joseph County commissioner John Dobberteen attended his last meeting as an elected member of the board. His 20-year tenure on the county board is believed to be the longest in the county’s history. It will officially end Dec. 31, but Tuesday was the board’s final meeting of 2018. A 59-year-old Sturgis resident, Dobberteen …