News

St. Joseph County commissioners appear to have a brief meeting before them this afternoon. The only item under new business is accepting the annual report from Central Dispatch. In a separate matter, commissioners will discuss whether to appoint Kathy Pangle, Rick Shaffer and Kay Decker to the Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Board. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. …

Cass County Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched over the weekend to the scene of a one-vehicle accident in Howard Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies responded shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday to a location along M-60 where a vehicle went off the roadway. Shawn Hoover, 34, of Niles was the driver and 58-year-old David Crespo, also of Niles, was a …

A man accused of killing two people in two counties in southwestern Michigan has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for one of the crimes. A Kalamazoo County judge sentenced 33-year-old Zachary Patten on Monday after he was convicted last month of the first-degree murder of Graciela Portillo-Esparza last July. The mother of four was fatally shot after …

A southwestern Michigan 15-year-old has been arraigned in juvenile court following a threat of violence at his school and the discovery of guns and pipe bomb materials at his home. The youth faced charges Monday of making a terrorist threat, two counts of possession of a shortened barrel firearm, possession of stolen firearms, and possession of bomb-making materials. Van Buren …

An out-of-state travel request for two St. Joseph County employees was granted recently by county commissioners. The circuit court and county clerk employees were approved a five-day training in Cleveland. The training would allow them to become system administrators on the ImageSoft program. The training amounted to a $6,000 cost and travel expenses were to not exceed $2,000. In an …

The terms of two Animal Control Advisory Board members were renewed by members of the county board. Veterinarian Suzanne Lee and marketing/community awareness coordinator Laura Barley were recently approved to serve three-year terms, beginning retroactively to Jan. 1. The reappointments were made at the request of animal control advisory board chair Emily Frohriep. In another appointment, county treasurer Judie Ratering …

Ninety-five percent of the income St. Joseph County Treasurer’s Office took in last fiscal year was from two sources. During her annual report to county commissioners earlier this month, treasurer Judie Ratering said the department had revenue of nearly $943,000. Two-thirds of that – more than $660,000 – was from delinquent-tax fees, while investment earnings generated the balance, about $235,000. …

Eighteen companies received recognition for employing adults who have mental illness with the support of Clubhouse employment and recovery centers across Michigan. Seventeen state legislators earlier this month at Michigan’s Capitol building presented awards to the companies in recognition of their leadership in choosing to give people who have mental illness an opportunity to re-enter the workforce, with support. The …

The U.S. Small Business Administration is working with the state police and local emergency managers to conduct damage assessments following flooding last month in Michigan. The survey is taking place in eight Lower Peninsula counties after Gov. Rick Snyder recently requested the assessments so people could be eligible for more aid. If approved, the SBA disaster assistance program would make …

Michigan shipwreck hunters have found the remains of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in 1873 during a storm. The Lizzie Throop was found in 280 feet of water along western Michigan’s coastline some 15 miles northwest of the city of South Haven, the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association announced this past week. The vessel set sail from Muskegon on …