News

Emergency crews were already stretched thin Friday morning last week after a six-vehicle collision on Lutz Road in White Pigeon Township. An unrelated crash scene not far from the Lutz Road incident added to the need for fire and rescue personnel. In an attempt to make Lutz Road safe for emergency personnel, it was closed at Stears Road in Constantine …

An Indiana woman died Friday after the vehicle she was driving was struck by a freight train in Pokagon Township. Sheriff Joe Underwood said the woman, Barbara Schult, of Middlebury, was driving east at 3:44 p.m. on Pokagon Highway when she passed stationary vehicles that had stopped when the crossing signal activated. Schult drove through the crossing, despite visual and …

Authorities say a 21-year-old man was struck and killed by a SUV after getting off a public bus in Kalamazoo Township. MLive.com reports that Trevon Williams died Friday afternoon. Williams had just exited a Metro Transit bus and was attempting to cross Gull Road when he was hit by an eastbound vehicle. Williams later died at Bronson Methodist Hospital from …

A 21-year-old man who is accused of shooting at a Battle Creek police officer during a traffic stop has been arrested. The Battle Creek Enquirer reports that the man could face assault with intent to murder charges. He was found hiding Saturday night in the basement of a home that police had surrounded for several hours. Major Jim Grafton says …

Michigan State University is recalling a dark day in its long history: the 100th anniversary of a fire that destroyed the school’s engineering building. The pre-dawn fire on March 5, 1916 likely began in the cement labs in the engineering building’s basement. No one died but the building was a total loss. It was less than 10 years old. A …

The fate of two Mottville Township residents charged with mistreatment of animals will be decided by a circuit court jury following a two-day preliminary examination that concluded Wednesday. District court Judge Jeff Middleton said the home where Jessica Archberger and Troy Leiby lived with several exotic animals “could be construed as an animal torture chamber.” Each faces five counts of …

St. Joseph County’s Friend of the Court had a successful year in 2015 in terms of child support it collected over the 12-month period. During Tuesday’s county commission meeting, director Bill Thistlethwaite gave the department’s annual report and said a good measure for the department’s success was based on a financial incentive given to well-performing agencies. He said the federal …

St. Joseph County’s E-911 Central Dispatch wishes to remind county residents that it will begin its monthly weather alert test of sirens this weekend. Agency director Dennis Brandenburg said the tests are discontinued over the winter months but typically resume in March. The sirens are scheduled to be activated at 12:05 p.m. Saturday and will continue at the same time …

A Cass County man faces six charges following an incident earlier this week in Howard Township. Sheriff’s officials said 39-year-old Daniel Thornton was arraigned Wednesday on charges stemming from the Tuesday, March 1 incident that occurred shortly after 11:30 p.m. on Huntley Road. Thornton was charged with arson in the second and third degrees, assault by strangulation, assault with a …

State health officials say they have identified a cluster of tampon-associated cases of toxic shock syndrome in Michigan. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that five cases have been reported since December. None were fatal. The past 10 years averaged fewer than four reported cases annually. The agency says toxic shock is a rare but serious …