News

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church became the first church in Michigan to have a comfort dog. Jude, an 18-month-old golden retriever, became part of the family Sunday during a Leash Ceremony at the Three Rivers church. The event was attended by six other comfort dogs and their handlers, most from Illinois. The effort to land Jude was spearheaded by parishioner Gretchen …

Two public hearings and eight matters of new business highlight this evening’s Three Rivers City Commission meeting. The public hearings center on a budget hearing and property-tax act, and a user-fee ordinance update. Business to be considered by Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners include the sale of 125 East Broadway Street to Clark Logic for $275,000, a resolution related to …

Two Illinois men were involved in a collision on a Cass County lake over the weekend. Authorities said the Cass County Sheriff’s Department marine division was called at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in response to a personal watercraft striking another personal watercraft on Shavehead Lake in Porter Township. A personal watercraft driven by 25-year-old Kyle Hughes of Mokena went out of …

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners will consider the purchase of a new laptop computer for the prosecutor’s office as one of its five items of new business this evening. Other items before the five-member panel include accepting the sheriff’s department annual report, an employee handbook revision related to ID cards and the purchase of property for …

The St. Joseph County Conservation District is staging the first of its seven river cleanups of 2017 this Saturday. The Centreville-based agency is looking for volunteers to assist with cleaning the three-mile stretch of the St. Joseph River from North Farrand Road in Colon Township to Jacksonburg Road in Leonidas Township. All equipment will be provided, but organizers need to …

A proposal to allow Michigan’s state lawmakers to cast legislative votes from their home districts instead of only at the Capitol building has been suggested. Mackinac Center for Public Policy President Joseph Lehman proposed the concept last week. The option, he said, would give lawmakers more flexibility to divide their time between the districts and Lansing. Removing the geographic voting …

The St. Joseph County Literacy Council has hired J.P. Yoder as its new executive director. Yoder’s first day on the job was Thursday. He replaces Rebecca Lilly, who retired earlier this year. Yoder spent nine years in the 1980s and ‘90s as administrator at Thurston Woods senior-living center in Sturgis. He has also served on executive boards of several non-profit …

A Burr Oak High School student graduated last month with perfect attendance throughout his K-thru-12 education. Brandon Hernandez said the only exception was excused absences during Fair Week. Hernandez said he values his work in 4-H but would have quit the organization if it meant losing his standing of perfect attendance. Hernandez said his mother is a kindergarten teacher in …

The Three Rivers 139-foot water tower, located on Broadway, is sporting a new coat of paint. Fedewa, a firm located in Hastings, was awarded the $122,000 contract. Engineering costs totaled $13,000. The tower, which was constructed in 1964, is repainted, on an average, every 15 years.

Authorities say a 71-year-old man has died after falling from a sailboat while working on the vessel at a marina in southwestern Michigan. The Allegan County sheriff’s department says John Edward DeBoer of Kalamazoo was found in Kalamazoo Lake less than 15 minutes after falling Thursday. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where the sheriff’s department says he …