News

Members of the Centreville Village Council have rejected bids for the Dean Street lift station – a facility designed to move wastewater from lower to higher elevation. They also authorized rebidding. Tim Woodhams, of Civica Engineering, said with the time of year and competitive atmosphere, bids were higher than expected. Council members said $290,000 had been budgeted and quotes came …

Ben Fries of Constantine is the newest member of the St. Joseph County Intermediate School district board. He was recently elected to the chair vacated by Robert Trenary, who chose to end his 20-year stint on the board. Fries said his passion for education and commitment to the community was motivation for seeking the position. A school board member for …

Mendon High School’s varsity football team is one win away from playing for the Division 8 state title. The Hornets improved their season record to 12-and-0 with a 14-6 win Saturday over Climax-Scotts and claiming a regional title. Mendon’s next opponent is Ottawa Lake Whiteford, also 12-and-0 on the season. It rolled to a 60-20 win Saturday to set up …

Constantine Village Council members viewed a second, 11-page ordinance draft Monday authorizing commercial medical marijuana facilities in the village. The council reviewed licensing information provided by village Manager Mark Honeysett at the last four council meetings, and directed village attorney Howard Bush to work on a draft of the ordinance. The first draft was presented Oct. 16 and Bush attended …

Members of the Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education have begun their search for the district’s next superintendent. School officials last month held a planning meeting to begin the process of replacing Tom Langdon, who plans to retire in March. Among those in attendance were Gary Rider, regional president of Michigan Leadership Institute, and Doug Knobloch, senior associate and consultant …

One area high school football team remains alive in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s playoffs. Mendon High School will try to advance to the Division 8 “Final Four” bracket Saturday, when it squares off in a matinee contest against Climax-Scotts. The Hornets are 11-0 and will face for perhaps the final time a 9-2 Climax-Scotts squad. The showdown takes …

Police say a 4-year-old boy has died after being wounded in a shooting that left his estranged parents dead. Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety Assistant Chief Vernon Coakley said the shooting Thursday morning outside a home killed Julina G. Gibson and Nicholas A. Mitchell. Coakley told the Kalamazoo Gazette the boy, Nicholas J. Mitchell, died later Thursday at a hospital. …

A southwestern Michigan woman and her ex-boyfriend both have been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the deaths of her two young children in an apartment fire nearly 25 years ago. Krysta McFadden and Clint Dunning were sentenced Thursday after being found guilty of two counts each of first-degree murder in the Nov. 29, 1992, deaths of McFadden’s …

Follow-up inspections to a White Pigeon Township trailer park have found the owner did little to bring code violations into compliance since a checkup in August. Township supervisor Don Gloy said an update on the situation was provided at Tuesday’s monthly board of trustees meeting. Gloy said after the Aug. 14 compliance check conducted by the township’s code-enforcement officer Doug …

Cass County Sheriff Richard Behnke said the county’s 9-1-1 call center now has the ability to receive emergency texts to the three-digit emergency number from anywhere in the county. Behnke said voice calls to 9-1-1 are preferred, as voice calls allow dispatchers the ability to locate from where a call is being placed. But the text option will suffice in …