News

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 …

About 10 Glen Oaks Community College faculty members concerned about the state of contract negotiations attended last week’s meeting of the college’s board of trustees. Ren Hartung, president of the faculty senate, said he does not have inside knowledge of what is happening within the negotiating team, although he has heard comments coming from that team. Hartung said the college’s team …

An elderly Sturgis resident was assaulted as the victim of a strong-armed robbery last week at a business in Sturgis. Officers were called shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday to the 1200 block of East Chicago Road in response to the incident. The 70-year-old victim told police he suffered injuries to his face and head as two males robbed him. Deputy …

A Sturgis man was arrested on drug-related charges this week after he was found passed out in a public place. Sturgis Police were called shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday to the corner of Williams and South Clay streets in response to a man passed out on a sidewalk. It was eventually discovered that the 47-year-old man had a valid warrant …