News

Two area communities will celebrate Independence Day with parades and other related fanfare. The 4th of July in Colon will be celebrated Monday with activities split between downtown on Blackstone Avenue and further west at Colon Community Park. The holiday parade starts at 11 a.m. Meanwhile, the Colon Historical Museum will be open 1 to 3 p.m. Also, a variety …

The cost for hot lunch in Sturgis Public Schools is going up. Business manager Ray Sterling said the district is required to raise lunch prices due to the Federal Paid Lunch Equity Program. The district next year plans to raise prices the minimum amount required, which is 5 cents per lunch. That makes the price at the high school, middle …

Sturgis Township’s contracted zoning administrator is recommending adoption of the International Property Maintenance Code. Randy Schmeling recently told the Sturgis Township Planning Commission that the rules would give township officials more tools to address structurally compromised homes and buildings. Ultimately, he said, the measure is geared more toward making a structure safe. Examples he referenced include structures open to animals, …

Constantine Village Council members recently discussed a request by residents Charlie and Beth Cauffman to keep six so-called urban chickens in their yard. Charlie Cauffman told the commission chickens help control the bug population and there is an additional benefit from the eggs the chickens produce. Village manager Mark Honeysett reminded the council he once had to send a letter …

A graduation party June 18 in the Sturgis area is suspected of being the source of foodborne illness that affected six people. According to Steve Andriaachi, environmental health officer for Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency, a member of the family with food-service background catered the party. There has not yet been a laboratory report completed to determine what caused the …

The Constantine Fire Department last week took delivery of its newest equipment addition, a 2016 Rosenbauer pumper/tanker fire truck. The truck has a 3,000-gallon water capacity. It replaces a 1993 truck that had a 1,000-gallon tank. Cost of the new truck is $315,000. Its expense will be shared by the village of Constantine, Constantine Township and Florence Township. The truck …

Authorities say commercial lawn equipment, farm implements and construction equipment are being targeted by thieves in Michigan. State police Detective Sgt. Todd Petersen tells the Kalamazoo Gazette that dealerships, with large lots and sometime lax security, are frequent targets of theft in Three Rivers, Cass County, Coldwater and other areas along southern and southwestern Michigan. Petersen says such equipment is …

Sturgis Hospital has been awarded a three-year term of accreditation in ultrasound as the result of an extensive review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Ultrasound imaging, also known as sonography, uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of internal body parts to help providers diagnose illness, injury or other medical problems. “Medical imaging has changed tremendously over the …

A motorcyclist from Mendon was injured after his bike was struck by a car at an intersection last week in Sherman Township. Sheriff’s officials said Mark Stephenson, 63, was riding on Shimmel Road around 10 p.m. Thursday, when a car driven by a 16-year-old boy from Troy failed to stop at the Featherstone Road intersection. Stephenson was transported to Borgess …

  Four new directors have joined the Glen Oaks Community College Foundation Board. Members of the quartet will begin their terms with the new academic year in July 2016, according to college president David Devier. The new members are: Terry Conklin, superintendent of Burr Oak Schools; Murray Malinoski, a Three Rivers-area dentist; Anita Sholl, staff accountant at Burr Oak Tool; …