News

Stephanie Lemmer, the Superintendent at Centreville Public Schools, received a one-year contract extension at Monday’s board of education meeting. The board rated Lemmer as “effective.” Lemmer, beginning her second year in the district, received a two percent increase on her $107,000 base salary, a $2,000 annuity, and for her “effective” rating, a $1,000 bonus. Board president Jeff Troyer said they …

A 24-year-old Decatur man was injured while riding his bike on Decatur Road on Sunday. Authorities said the man suffered minor injuries in the accident, where he was struck from behind in a hit-and-run crash. Jason Howard was riding his bike north on Decatur Road when he was hit, that resulted in him being transported to Borgess Hospital in Dowagiac …

A 57-year-old Three Rivers man was killed in a two-vehicle accident Friday in Charleston Township in southeastern Kalamazoo County. The Kalamazoo County sheriff’s department has identified the man as Robert Wayne Neidlinger, who was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The incident happened around 7 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Mercury Drive and Watkins Road. Authorities said …

Michigan Department of Transportation will be investing $1.5 million to repave nearly one mile of U.S. 12 in a Cass County community. Construction includes road resurfacing, concrete curb and gutter, sidewalk ramp reconstruction, drainage and sign upgrades, pavement markings, and railroad-crossing upgrades from the west village limit of Edwardsburg to M-62. There will be single-lane closures on U.S. 12 with …

A Constantine man was injured in a single-vehicle accident earlier this month in Cass County’s Porter Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said 24-year-old Joshua Miller was driving north on M-40 around 6:20 p.m. June 14, when he lost control of his vehicle. The vehicle then drove off the roadway and struck a ditch. Witnesses said the vehicle rolled six times before …

State Rep. Aaron Miller’s plan to streamline the approval process for farmers who use irrigation to grow crops was signed into law Friday by Gov. Rick Snyder. Miller said the new law fixes a broken process previously used by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to review water well applications. He said government inefficiency was unnecessarily costing local crop farmers …

St. Joseph County Domestic And Sexual Abuse Services recently received a $4,100 donation thanks to the “100+ Women Who Care” event earlier this month at Sturges-Young Auditorium. Seven charities were entered into a drawing and representatives from the three drawn randomly were given five minutes to present their organization. The charities were Children’s Trauma Assessment Group of St. Joseph County, …

A man convicted of murder in the robbery and death of a Western Michigan University student has been sentenced to life in prison. Jordan Waire’s no-parole sentence was automatic Monday, weeks after his conviction in Kalamazoo County. A co-defendant, Joeviair Kennedy, was acquitted of murder. He was on Western Michigan’s basketball team when he was arrested. Nineteen-year-old Jacob Jones was …

Indiana State Police say skeletal human remains recovered in April from a field in northeastern Indiana have been identified as those of a woman missing since 2012. Police say Tiffany A. Huffman was reported missing after last being seen in the nearby town of Stroh. Indiana State Police reported that DNA testing and an exam by a forensic anthropology team …

May’s unemployment rate in St. Joseph County was one-tenth of a percent lower than the previous month. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed the county’s 3.2 percent May unemployment rate marked a decrease from April’s 3.3 percent. St. Joseph County was below the state unemployment average, which was 3.8 percent in May. …