News

Centreville Board of Education took action on a number of items during its monthly meeting Monday. Highlights include the hiring of Centreville alumna Katie Logan as varsity softball coach; and the renewal of varsity coaching contracts for Jerry Schultz, football; Alicia Schmidtendorff, cross country; and Deric Mostrom, volleyball. Board members also approved a travel request for three upcoming events involving …

Southwest Enforcement Team arrested a man during a drug raid last week in St. Joseph County. SWET members conducted the raid Nov. 21 at a Three Rivers residence. The suspect, a 41-year-old Three Rivers man, already had warrants out for his arrest. Detectives found psilocybin mushrooms, hundreds of unknown pills, suspected stolen property, and evidence the man was dealing meth …

Sturgis police arrested a 53-year-old man on drug-related charges last week following the execution of a search warrant. Sturgis Public Safety Director Ryan Banaszak said officers followed through on the search warrant around 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 600 block of South Park Street. According to a department media release, 12 ounces of methamphetamine were found within the residence. The …

Free Ride Home, a program sponsored last week by St. Joseph County Transportation Authority, drew a total of 17 participants. CTA executive director Allen Balog said the seven-hour program started at 7 p.m. Wednesday to benefit Thanksgiving Eve revelers. Balog said 10 of the patrons rode the Sturgis-based bus while seven took advantage of the bus positioned in Three Rivers. …

Concerns over lead-polluted water in Three Rivers were voiced at last week’s city commission meeting. WWMT is reporting that city officials and community members have been discussing this issue ever since homes in the area tested positive for lead in August. However, Mayor Tom Lowry said it’s not so much a local issue but more so a nationwide issue. Lowry …

A commercially and residentially underserved area of Centreville will soon include a new apartment development and a retail development featuring a self-serve laundry facility. What will ultimately be a 54-unit apartment complex on the west end of town is situated on the south side of M-86. Though much further delayed in development, a different and unrelated project has cleared hurdles …

The Diaper Bank program serving St. Joseph County has been extended through September 2024. Department of Health and Human Services’ Lori Williams said there have been several changes in the guidelines and regulations. For example, age requirements have been lifted; the service can now be provided to any age child and pull ups are now an option; and senior citizens …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last week joined advocates, doctors, faith leaders and state leaders to sign the Reproductive Health Act. The package of bills repeals restrictions on abortion care that criminalized nurses and doctors, forced health care providers to close, raised costs for patients and restricted access to abortion. The Reproductive Health Act builds on efforts to expand access to abortion in Michigan after the …

Nine of the 11 drug-related deaths in St. Joseph County last year involved either methamphetamine or fentanyl, according to the county’s medical examiner, Joyce deJong. She said there have been six drug-related fatalities in St. Joseph County through the first half of 2023. In every case, meth and/or fentanyl were involved, deJong said. Eight men and five women were drug-overdose …

St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners made appointments and a re-appointment during their meeting this week. The board re-appointed commissioners Ken Malone and Rick Shaffer, and appointed John Kroggel, to the county’s Parks and Recreation Commission. Meanwhile, Ivin Riddle was re-appointed to the Department of Health and Human Services board. Also, Amanda Miller was appointed to the Pivotal Board. Pivotal …