News

The St. Joseph County Grange Fair Board of Directors voted this week to dismiss Bill Johnson as fair manager, a move that was followed by Jim Barnes stepping down as president of the 15-member board of directors. The moves came during Monday’s monthly board meeting. Johnson was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Barnes declined to comment on the matter. Tom Miller, …

A 48-year-old Constantine man was arrested Tuesday after fleeing from police in Florence Township. According to the St. Joseph County Sheriff ’s Department, deputies attempted to stop a vehicle on Lutz Road near Roys Road for excessive speed. The driver, however, refused to stop and continued east on Roys Road, then through neighborhoods of Decker Road and Hills Street. Authorities …

The suspect who allegedly robbed and assaulted a 70-year-old man last week in Sturgis was arrested Tuesday. Police will seek a charge of armed robbery against Andrew Jordan, 25, of Sturgis. According to Sturgis police, two men beat and robbed the man around 6 a.m. Oct.11 at a business in the 1200 block of East Chicago Road. The victim was treated …

Thirteen employees were recognized Tuesday for their milestone years of service to St. Joseph County. County commissioners staged their annual recognition ceremony, which was capped by an emotional tribute to sheriff Brad Balk by commission chairman Dennis Allen. The recipients were 10-year honorees Betty Persons, Commission On Aging senior center coordinator; Tim Hochstetler, building and grounds director; and Joseph Bingaman, …

State police are investigating the theft of firearms from a storage unit in Sturgis. According to a department media release, the incident occurred between Oct. 1 and Monday at H2 Self Storage. The suspects took multiple long guns along with other personal items. The victim reported the incident around 2 p.m. Monday, according to authorities.

Three Rivers Health welcomes the addition of Samantha L. Leonard, MD, a general surgeon who will be providing services to patients at Three Rivers Surgical Services located at 715 S. Health Parkway in Three Rivers. She is accepting new patients now. Please call 273-8471 to schedule an appointment. “My areas of interests are breast disease and breast cancer, diseases of …

A U.S. Postal Service truck was stolen from the Sturgis post office and its driver led police on a high-speed pursuit late Sunday. Around 9:30 p.m., White Pigeon police spotted the truck near the intersection of U.S. 12 and Lutz Road. When an officer attempted to stop the vehicle, its driver continued west on U.S. 12 at high speed. The …

A longtime fixture with the Centreville Downtown Development Authority is stepping down due to health reasons. Members of the Centreville Village Council last week accepted the resignation of Carol Snow Penn, program manager for the community’s DDA. Snow Penn’s resignation is effective Nov. 15. In the role she has held since February 2012, she helped businesses any way possible and …

The St. Joseph County Road Commission is wrapping up work on the Dean Street bridge, north of Centreville. The process includes a step called post-tensioning, which was used on a Heimbach Road bridge last year. Road commission officials said the procedure begins with stripping all pavement, pulling out pins that held the bridge together, performing the post-tensioning, refastening, then repaving. …

Two people were injured in a two-vehicle crash over the weekend in Fabius Township, just outside of Three Rivers. Michigan State Police said a pickup driven by a 51-year-old Three Rivers man was southbound on U.S. 131 when the driver attempted to make a left-hand turn onto North Main Street. His vehicle, however, struck a northbound car driven by a …