News

Names released – Fatal shooting in TR

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough has released the names of the two men involved in a fatal shooting Thursday evening in Three Rivers. McDonough said Westley George, 28, of Three Rivers faces a number of charges after fatally shooting Eugene Jackson, 24. The incident, McDonough said, is believed to be the result of a dispute between the two, and …

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Surfer helps in rescue of 2 girls from Lake Michigan

A Lake Michigan surfer is credited with aiding in the rescue of two teenage girls who were caught in an apparent rip current, according to police. The girls, ages 13 and 14, were approximately 800 feet from the pier in Grand Haven State Park, said Grand Haven Public Safety Director Jeff Hawke. Surfers and emergency personnel pulled them from Lake …

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Pay increase for local substitute teachers

Temporary substitute teachers hired by all St. Joseph County school districts will get a $5-per-day pay hike beginning this fall. The St. Joseph County Intermediate School District Board of Education this week approved the pay scales for everyone from substitute teachers to fill-in maintenance workers. Temporary classroom substitute teachers will be paid $85 for a full day in the classroom …

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No criminal charges after videos posted showing man speeding

A prosecutor says a southwestern Michigan man won’t face reckless driving charges after police say he posted videos online of himself driving up to 160 mph on an area highway. TV station WWMT aired videos of the man driving on US-131 that were posted on a Facebook page. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting says in a statement there are no witnesses …

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Vehicle larcenies in three townships

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department is keeping an eye on three townships where an inordinate number of larceny-from-vehicle incidents has been reported. Sheriff Brad Balk said several incidents in the past few weeks have been reported by victims in Fabius, Lockport and Park townships. Balk issued a suggestion, urging residents to ensure their vehicles parked outside are locked day …

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A big win for a Dowagiac resident

A Dowagiac woman recently submitted her claim for a lottery jackpot in excess of $195,000. According to a media release from the Michigan State Lottery, Joanne Kingman matched five out of five numbers in the Fantasy 5 lottery game. Kingman won after matching the digits 01-09-16-20 and 31 in the Aug. 7 nightly drawing. She bought her winning ticket at …

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Michigan adjusted unemployment rate dips to 5.3 percent

Michigan’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipped last month to match the national average. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget released state and regional employment figures Wednesday. July’s statewide jobless rate was 5.3 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from June. It was 7 percent in July 2014. The state says the number of unemployed in Michigan dropped …

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Michigan folk art comes alive in wooden fish decoys

Craig “Curly” Spink swirls a hand-made jig above a water-filled 15-gallon galvanized steel tub in his Kalamazoo back yard, tugging and relaxing the line attached to a wooded fish decoy he carved and painted. He’s trying to make it swim as realistically as possible. “This is how I test them,” Spink told the Kalamazoo Gazette. “See, how I can make …

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Officials: Part failure causes sewage spill at lake, beach

Officials say a part failure caused about 20,000 gallons of sewage to overflow at a lake and beach in Branch County. Jason Laney, utility manager for the village of Quincy, says the part was from a pump inside a facility at First Lake. The Hillsdale Daily News reports t spill happened Tuesday at the lake in southern Michigan. Due to …

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Hot Mustang rolls off the assembly line

Ford Motor Co. has let loose of the latest souped-up, high-performance Mustang. The 2015 Shelby GT350R drove off the line Thursday at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant, southwest of Detroit. Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford, who drove the car, said in a statement that it’s “a special day for all Mustang enthusiasts.” Ford says the vehicle rolling off the line …

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