News

State police are investigating what is being called a suspicious fire stemming from an incident last month in Fawn River Township. Coated copper wire was found to be burning at 7 a.m. Jan. 25 in a forested area on private property in the area of Freedom and Carls roads, according to a department media release.

State Rep. Aaron Miller last week joined his colleagues in support of bipartisan legislation that gives people access to public records and makes state government more accountable to the public. Miller took part in a Capitol news conference as an 11-bill package was unveiled. The package will subject the governor and lieutenant governor to provisions of the Freedom of Information …

The St. Joseph County United Way set a new record for its annual collection campaign. Executive director Kelly Hostetler said $887,526 was raised during the Centreville-based agency’s 12-month effort that concluded Tuesday. The total surpassed the year’s goal of $875,000 and continues a several-years trend of the local United Way surpassing its annual goal. The campaign’s top donor was Morgan …

Three Rivers Community Schools has announced the sale of its $9.6 million 2017 refunding bonds. The bonds are being issued for the purpose of refunding the school district’s 2007 refunding bonds and to pay the costs of issuing the bonds, according to the district’s director of business operations, Sara Hermann. This refinancing reduces the district’s payments by more than $1.2 …

Sheriff’s officials are expected to charge the mother of an infant hospitalized for allegedly ingesting methamphetamine. According to a department media release, deputies at 9 p.m. Monday were making a welfare check at a residence on Fifth Street in Burr Oak. Deputies learned the person they sought was at Sturgis Hospital’s emergency room seeking treatment for her child because the …

Two Colon residents were arrested on drug-related charges following a case executed by the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit. Deputies and SCAN members responded Wednesday to a residence in the 59000 block of Long Lake Road in Colon Township following an anonymous tip. A search warrant allowed SCAN members inside the residence, where they located crystal methamphetamine, marijuana and …

Sturgis Hospital recently honored two employees for their job performance. Carmen Grove, CCU/medical/surgical clinical coordinator, was named Associate of the Year 2016. Grove has worked as a registered nurse for more than 11 years, most recently assuming the role of clinical coordinator in April 2016. The honor is given to a Sturgis Hospital associate who provides superior customer service and …

The St. Joseph County Conservation District this week announced its 2017 river-cleanup schedule. Following a meeting Monday involving river-cleanup planning members, the schedule was set and features eight cleanups on seven dates. The upper St. Joseph River will be the focus of the first three cleanups, starting June 10 at Farrand Road in Colon Township. It will continue June 24 …

A 24-year-old woman was hospitalized following a single-vehicle accident this week in White Pigeon Township. Sheriff’s personnel said a vehicle driven by Kelsie Leigh-Marie Lane lost control, crossed the centerline, struck a tree stump and rolled over multiple times before coming to rest on its roof. The incident occurred near the intersection of Fawn River and Mill Pond roads. According …

Dual enrollment and Career Technical Education classes at Glen Oaks Community College are having an impact on the number of high school seniors enrolling in post-secondary education. Glen Oaks Board of Trustees last month learned that within the past four academic years, 1,007 St. Joseph County high school seniors have attended Glen Oaks as a dual enrollment or CTE student. …