Schools

Glen Oaks unveils new gym floor

Glen Oaks Community College last weekend unveiled “Ken Schuler Court” prior to the school’s 2016-17 basketball home opener. The hardwood gym floor was restored over the past summer thanks to a donation in the name of the Glen Oaks basketball icon. Sturgis resident and Ken Schuler’s widow, Vi Schuler, funded the refurbishing of the floor where her late husband spent …

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Mendon volleyball out of tournament

St. Joseph County’s lone remaining representative in the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s volleyball tournament lost Tuesday. The Mendon Hornets were in the Class D “Elite Eight” for the fifth consecutive year and went up against Plymouth Christian at Climax-Scotts High School. Mendon, however, fell in four sets, keeping it from advancing to the “Final Four” at Kellogg Arena in …

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School board election results

Only one of two incumbents on the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education will return following the results of Tuesday’s vote. Mike Bosma will be joined by Anne Riopel, Julia Awe and top vote-getter Dan Ryan to four-year terms. Incumbent Carl Barth finished seventh in the eight-person race. Longtime Colon Community Schools board member Ernie Baker was a casualty …

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Mendon advances in football playoffs

Only one of four local varsity football teams survived the weekend’s opening round of the Michigan High School Athletic Association playoffs. Friday’s lone winner from St. Joseph County was Mendon, which won a road contest over St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic, 39-12. The Hornets, now 8-2, will square off this upcoming weekend at Climax-Scotts, a 10-0 team and ranked No. …

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Study shows financial impact of GOCC

An economic-impact study conducted for Glen Oaks Community College indicates the college, its students and regional alumni added more than $119 million in income to the local economy in the school’s 2015-16 fiscal year. The figure is approximately equal to 4 percent of the area’s Gross Regional Product. Idaho-based Economics Modeling Specialists International conducted the study. Its report concluded the …

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New fund benefits at risk kids

In honor of Dan and Beulah Fryling, their family has established a fund to help at-risk kids in the Mendon Community Schools district. Mendon teachers can apply for grants to fund programs for students who have difficulty learning. The fund will be administered through the Mendon Schools Foundation. The Frylings, who met while students at Mendon High School, were fixtures …

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White Pigeon Schools seek community input

Officials from White Pigeon Community Schools are seeking input from the community regarding the state of the district’s facilities and needs. The session, taking place at 6:30 tonight at the high school library, is being staged in advance of the district’s attempted renewal of a sinking-fund millage renewal in May. Superintendent Jon Keyer said input from the public is critical …

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EEOC responds to complaints

The latest development regarding what is being alleged as unfair termination of three administrators in April 2015 centers on a recent rendering by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Three separate complaints were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year and the district, in a media statement issued Tuesday, said all three cases have been dismissed; one in January …

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Former coach charged with embezzlement

A former Constantine girls’ basketball coach has been charged with embezzling more than $11,000 from a non-profit organization. Joseph Stacey was arrested Oct. 4 and arraigned. He was freed on a $15,000 personal recognizance bond. Stacey allegedly embezzled $11,060 between May 2012 and November 2015. According to an affidavit of probable cause, Stacey opened a checking account in May 2012 …

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Local principal honored in DC

Nicole Airgood, principal at Eastwood Elementary School in Sturgis, is among 58 elementary and middle school principals named as 2016 National Distinguished Principals by the National Association of Elementary School Principals. The recipients were honored last week at a banquet at Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. The program recognizes public- and private-school principals who make superior contributions to their …

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