News

Officers from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a hit-and-run crash that resulted in a vehicle fire inside the Langley Covered Bridge. According to a department media release, deputies were called around 6 p.m. Monday to the Lockport Township landmark, where a motorcycle was found on fire closer to the north end of the bridge, Investigators determined the …

An attractive financial offer from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources prompted members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to allocate more than $200,000 for property acquisition. The county’s commitment of nearly $227,000 represents 31 percent of the almost-$732,000 needed to purchase a 126-acre property in Burr Oak Township. The land is to be managed and overseen …

Bus service for students in Colon Community Schools in the fall will be provided by a Lansing-based company, as the district’s board of education voted Monday to outsource its transportation department. The agreement with Dean Transportation is expected to save Colon about $158,000 annually, according to district officials. As part of its agreement, Dean Transportation will purchase all 14 of …

Approval to fill two positions at the sheriff’s department and authorization to a change in employment status for three Juvenile Day Treatment Program monitors was issued by the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday. The action means the sheriff’s department can proceed with filling a full-time corrections officer spot and a full-time road patrol position. Also, the employment status …

A shared superintendent with Bronson Community Schools is an option members of the Colon Community Schools Board of Education have agreed to investigate. The seven-member board Monday decided to consider a partnership with its neighboring district and its first-year leader, Teresa Belote (buh-LOAT). The measure was endorsed as Colon Community Schools is searching for a new school chief after Vic …

A Three Rivers man faces seven counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct after he was bound over to circuit court last week. Cary Jones, 46, was charged following his alleged infractions at the Abracadabra Daycare facility in Three Rivers, where his girlfriend was the owner. Last week’s proceedings took place in St. Joseph County District Court, where five children between …

A former educator was sentenced Friday to 5- to 20 years in prison for the 2014 sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy who was also victimized five years earlier when the perpetrator was the boy’s fifth-grade teacher. Friday’s sentencing of David Wing, 60, of Three Rivers, caps allegations of inappropriate behavior with underage boys dating to 1997, when Wing was …

Janell Hart, a Three Rivers resident, has resigned her position as president of the St. Joseph County Health Center Board. Hart announced her resignation in a letter last week to health center officials and fellow board members. It was effective Wednesday. In her letter, Hart stated that during the process of building and rebuilding the board, the focus seemed to …

A downtown Sturgis redevelopment project on the city’s drawing board for nearly 18 months received unanimous final approval by the Sturgis City Commission last week after changes to the initial plan. Inquire Partners, developer for the planned Moso Village site bounded by Clay and John streets, recently modified the plan approved by the city in 2013, requiring both the city …

The St. Joseph County Marine Corps Detachment 1401 is seeking participants to join its members at Three Rivers’ annual Memorial Day parade next week. Detachment Chaplain Bill Stevens said the parade this year will step off at 10 a.m., one hour later than in the past. Consequently, the lineup for the parade is at 9 a.m. at the intersection of …