News

Family members of Venus Stewart will finally have closure this weekend (December 15, 2018). According to Schipper Funeral Home in Colon, a graveside service will take place at 1 p.m. Saturday at Leonidas Cemetery. Stewart’s remains were found in October after her estranged husband, Doug Stewart, led authorities to the location in a wooded area south of Fulton. Venus was …

Members of the Centreville Public Schools Board of Education have approved a bid of nearly $30,000 for access control and physical security at the school district. Unified Security Solutions’ bid came in $20,000 less than other bids; Superintendent Stephanie Lemmer said that technology personnel from the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District reviewed the bid and were very comfortable with it. …

A northern Indiana couple has been sentenced in a hit-and-run crash that killed two children and a man. An Elkhart County judge sentenced 43-year-old Leonard Grosswiler on Wednesday to 15 years, with 10 years to be served in prison and the rest in community corrections and probation. The Elkhart man had pleaded guilty in October to leaving the scene of …

Following the intervention of a mediator, a lawsuit filed against a county agency by its former director was settled before going to trial. The issue stems from a November 2017 lawsuit filed by Liz O’Dell, former executive director of Community Health and Substance Abuse Services of St. Joseph County. CMH board members in August last year terminated O’Dell based on …

Police and fire officials in Sturgis responded Tuesday to a bomb threat made at a business in town. According to a department media release, officials were notified at 10:10 a.m. that a bomb threat was placed to Morgan Olson on South Nottawa Street. Police and fire personnel conducted a thorough investigation of the premises and concluded the threat was not …

Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Ron Moag is asking the public to consider weighing in on a survey that follows up on a questionnaire offered earlier in the fall. Moag, the district’s first-year superintendent, said results from the earlier survey indicate recurring themes center on safety and security, updates on technology and learning environments, and extending the life of the …

St. Joseph County Animal Control Advisory Board members are hoping the public will take interest in a fundraiser it is hosting. The group is selling buttons that display an illustrated dog and cat, as well as two messages: “Stop Animal Abuse” and “Spay and Neuter.” Kristina Eaton, secretary and treasurer of the board, said the goal is to raise funds …

Law-enforcement officials from Constantine, St. Joseph County and Michigan State Police are investigating an armed-robbery incident that took place over the weekend in the Whispering Pines II mobile home park. Constantine Chief Mark Honeysett said central dispatch, shortly before 9 p.m. Sunday, received a call reporting someone had been shot. Officers ultimately determined the caller, who was bleeding from a …

St. Joseph County Sheriff Brad Balk said the department is seeking the public’s assistance in providing information about a woman who has been reported missing. The woman, 23-year-old Brittany Nichole Shank, was last seen shortly before 10 p.m. Nov. 30 in the 33000 block of Fawn River Road. Authorities said she was seen earlier that day with a man who …

A northern Indiana police chief who downplayed the beating of a handcuffed suspect by two officers and faced other controversies over discipline has resigned. Elkhart’s Chief Ed Windbigler said in a letter Monday that Mayor Tim Neese asked him to resign. The letter states he’s “not perfect and have made mistakes,” but “always tried to make sure we were making …