News

Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Jean Logan has issued a media statement centering on the termination of former employee Kevin Hamilton. Logan said the district has received notice of pending litigation and it believes, as does its legal representative, that the proper processes were followed in terms of the non-renewal of Hamilton, Logan stated. Termination of employment was based upon …

A Western Michigan University basketball player charged with murder in the shooting death of a student during a robbery says his co-defendant pulled the trigger. Joeviair Kennedy testified Wednesday during a hearing about whether Jordan Waire would stand trial that the Dec. 8 robbery in Kalamazoo was planned by the two former high school teammates from Muskegon. Kennedy says he …

The Michigan Supreme Court last week denied the final appeal of Andy Brown in the David Locey murder case. Brown was found guilty of second-degree murder in the October 2013 shooting death of Locey. Brown in August 2014 was sentenced to as many as 75 years in prison. Locey, a Sturgis CPA who had employed Brown, found evidence of embezzlement …

A 37-year-old teacher at Sturgis High School is on paid administrative leave pending a police investigation into allegations of criminal sexual conduct. The teacher was arrested Monday after a police investigation showed he allegedly had a sexual relationship with a student. A day later, St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough charged the suspect with one count of distributing or promoting …

A 42-year-old Cassopolis man was injured after he was struck by a bullet from a gun fired by a neighbor conducting target practice. Cass County Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies were alerted shortly after noon Monday that a Milton Township man had been accidentally shot. The victim, Justin Anderson, suffered a non-life-threatening injury. It was determined that a 46-year-old neighbor …

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved two annual appropriations Tuesday. Commissioners allocated nearly $290,000, an amount it had budgeted, to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency to finance a portion of the agency’s annual operations. Financial transfers will be administered quarterly. The motion also squared the annual $1-a-year rent the agency pays to the county for …

Anyone wishing to address the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners now has one fewer opportunity per meeting. Following brief discussion Tuesday, the five-member panel approved a revision to the rules that spell out protocol at the commissioners’ twice-a-month meetings. A bylaw approved in 1994 that allowed for citizen comment twice a meeting – once near the onset and again …

A 32-year-old Sturgis man was arrested last weekend following a high-speed chase that terminated in Burr Oak Township. The incident took place starting around 6 p.m. Friday, when a volunteer firefighter saw a Cadillac Escalade being driven recklessly on Stubey Road. Sheriff’s department officials said the firefighter began following the Escalade while talking with 911 dispatchers. A sheriff ’s deputy …

The return of an admired former administrator to Mendon Community Schools was, by all appearances, a reunion the district and community were more than ready to embrace. And, for about 24 hours, the idea of Chuck Frisbie coming back to help lead the 580-student district looked like it was going to happen. Interim superintendent Roger Rathburn will stay on board …

A 17-year-old Goshen boy, reported as a runaway, was found Monday evening in a wooded area in Cass County’s Newburg Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies responded shortly after 5 p.m. to the 15000 block of Quaker Street in response to three juvenile runaways. Two of the juveniles returned home but the 17-year-old remained in a wooded area. Deputies requested …