News

The St. Joseph County Transportation Authority saw a decrease of more than 3 percent in its ridership last fiscal year compared to the previous 12-month period. The Three Rivers-based agency closed the books on its 2015-16 fiscal year Sept. 30. It provided 94,435 rides during its 12-month fiscal year. That figure was down from 97,502 rides provided in the 2014-15 …

A 36-year-old Three Rivers woman suffered serious injuries in a one-vehicle accident this week in Burr Oak Township. State police said Kristy Strowzewski was driving north on Carpenterson Road shortly after 3 p.m. Monday when the 2005 Ford Taurus left the roadway and struck a tree near Leverence Road. Strowzewski was airlifted to Bronson Methodist Hospital; details of her injuries …

A Schoolcraft teenager was arrested last weekend after he implied an act of violence would occur at a school. Schoolcraft Police Department Chief Bryan Campbell said the department received a report around 5 p.m. Saturday from administrative staff with Schoolcraft Community Schools. The School had been contacted about an Instagram posting that inferred violence was going to occur at a …

Nicole Airgood, principal at Eastwood Elementary School in Sturgis, is among 58 elementary and middle school principals named as 2016 National Distinguished Principals by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The recipients were honored last week at a banquet at Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. The program recognizes public- and private-school principals who make superior contributions to their …

A boil-water advisory in the village of White Pigeon has been lifted. Municipal officials said the cancellation of the boil-water advisory was issued around 4:30 p.m. Monday after a series of tests reported negative for the presence of coliform bacteria. The advisory went into effect around 4 p.m. Wednesday after four of eight samples being tested as a routine procedure …

State police are conducting an investigation into allegations of financial irregularities at sister churches in Colon and Bronson. According to the Catholic Diocese of Kalamazoo, an audit of finances at St. Barbara in Colon and St. Mary Assumption in Bronson was conducted at the request of the diocese. Diocese officials said the audit yielded questionable financial practices and transactions over …

A 32-year-old registered sex offender was arrested last week in White Pigeon on a charge of indecent exposure. According to police, the incident occurred at Wash King, where Deshawn Terrell Allen, 32, was loitering and exposed himself to a woman at the laundromat. Police obtained video surveillance and identified Allen, who confessed to the incident before being arrested, authorities said. …

Sturgis resident Lauren Roberts had the good fortune of holding the $5,000 winning ticket during Thursday’s Mega Raffle drawing conducted by the St. Joseph County United Way. The 33-year-old Morgan Olson employee actually won twice: Roberts was one of 10 employees whose names were randomly drawn last month and given a ticket from company president Mike Ownbey. Kelly Hostetler, executive …

Two Elkhart residents were arrested last week after they allegedly stole mail in Cass County. Ontwa Township Edwardsburg Police Department Chief Timothy Kozal said officers responded around 11 p.m. Wednesday to the area of Sunrise Drive and Redfield in Ontwa Township in response to a report of a subject opening mailboxes. With the assistance of the Cass County Sheriff Department, …

A 54-year-old woman was arrested after the vehicle she was driving struck a state police patrol car. The incident occurred at 7:20 p.m. Wednesday in the Wendy’s parking lot in Three Rivers. State police said a trooper was driving through the parking lot when the vehicle was struck by a Chevy Malibu driven by a Mendon woman. The suspect was …