News

The 2015-16 operating budget for Sturgis Public Schools was approved by district officials last week. The school district, which is St. Joseph County’s biggest at nearly 3,300 students, is in strong financial standing, according to Superintendent Tom Langdon. Projections from the board show a 15 percent fund equity, which allows Sturgis schools to make payroll without borrowing money to cover …

Chuck Frisbie has been named Citizen of the Year in Constantine. Frisbie, 53, has been the superintendent at Constantine Public Schools for seven years and plans to retire after the 2015-16 academic year. He previously taught in Mendon for eight years, coached and taught physical education at Glen Oaks Community College for two years, then returned to Mendon, where he …

Michigan State Police continue to investigate the theft of items from a vehicle in the 11000 block of Flowerfield Road in Flowerfield Township. Stolen were several locksmith tools, including a portable key-making machine.

A geological expert says a small earthquake centered in southern Michigan likely was an aftershock of a larger quake that hit eight weeks earlier. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 3.3-magnitude that hit Tuesday morning at 11:42 was centered 3 miles underground in Calhoun County’s Tekonsha Township. It’s northeast of Union City, about 20 miles from where a 4.2-magnitude earthquake …

The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that another earthquake has rattled Michigan. The magnitude 3.3 quake was centered seven miles northeast of Union City, and occurred at 11:42 Tuesday morning. The earthquake appears to be an aftershock from the quake which happened on May 2nd, five miles south of Galesburg, and had a magnitude of 4.2 on the richter …

Constantine High School Principal Christine Barnes has accepted an offer from Colon Community Schools to serve as its superintendent. The job was presented following interviews with three candidates last week. Board president Eric Wagner said Barnes brings to the 600-student district an impressive work ethic. In addition, Wagner said, she used to live in Colon, still attends church in the …

A 33-year-old Marcellus man was injured over the weekend in a motorcycle accident in Fabius Township. County sheriff’s deputies said the man was driving east on Coon Hollow Road around 6 p.m. Saturday when he lost control near Vernon Road, went off the right side of the roadway and the motorcycle struck a mailbox. The driver was thrown into the …

The upcoming Fourth of July parade in Colon will include a float featuring a quilt handmade by women at Covenant Church in Burr Oak. There will be a drawing immediately following the parade to win the quilt. The drawing will take place at Trees Youth Center in downtown Colon. Tickets for the drawing cost $1 and can be purchased at …

A medical condition is suspected as the reason an Indiana man drove his vehicle off the roadway and into a tree last week in Fabius Township. Sheriff’s deputies said Delmer Wireman, 34, of LaPorte, Ind., was driving west on M-60 near Youngs Prairie Road when he experienced a medical issue that caused him to lose consciousness. His van rolled onto …

Organizers of this past weekend’s shoreline landscape workshop are calling the morning-long program a success. About 50 people Saturday gathered at Fabius Township Hall to hear a slate of speakers provide a wealth of information related to shoreline landscape projects, including the use of indigenous plants and other measures to ensure a healthy lake ecosystem. Sponsored by Barnes Law Office …