Schools

It appears Three Rivers Community Schools Superintendent Roger Rathburn will finish his career with the district. Rathburn and Paw Paw Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bielang were the finalists for the job of superintendent of Portage Public Schools. Portage officials announced Friday afternoon their decision to offer the post to Bielang. The 50-year-old Rathburn made public last year he would be …

After a ten-year hiatus, Glen Oaks Community College is pleased to announce it has recently completed maintenance and restoration work on three of the six tennis courts on campus and they are now open for public use. “Our maintenance crews patched up quite a few cracks, some of which were pretty severe,” said Bruce Zakrzewski, dean of finance and administrative …

The Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education is looking toward the selection of a new superintendent to succeed Roger Rathburn who has announced his intention to retire from his current post in 2014. Since making his announcement, Rathburn has also surfaced as one of two finalists for the position of superintendent for the Portage Public Schools. The selection issue …

The Three Rivers Area Community Foundation (TRACF) has awarded over $20,000 through scholarship endowment funds. The TRACF has been serving the Three Rivers area and surrounding townships since 1975. Its mission is to build endowment funds and redistribute those investment returns back into the hands of the community. By focusing on people, organizations, and sustainability, the Foundation addresses community needs …

The Southwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees adopted the college’s 2013-2014 operating budget during its June 17 meeting held on the Dowagiac campus. The budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 is a balanced budget of $22,824,000. Board Chairman Dr. Fred L. Mathews said, “Southwestern Michigan College has adopted a structurally balanced budget each and every year since the …

The Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education has adopted the 2013-2014 Preliminary Budget for the new fiscal year beginning July 1. The action came Monday evening (June 17) following a public hearing during which there were no citizen comments. The budget projects revenues of $23,781,274 and expenditures of $24, 656,659, thus showing a revenue shortfall of $875,386. The resolution …

The Chiefs mascot in White Pigeon appears to be safe following a federal decision to dismiss a case in which the use of Native American names and images would be banned in 35 Michigan school districts. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights had sought the ban, which would have included White Pigeon’s use of Chiefs as the school mascot. The …

The non-profit, Three Rivers-based organization *culture is not optional (*cino) has completed its purchase of the former Huss Elementary School in Three Rivers. As noted in a Tuesday (June 11) post on The Huss Project website, “As of today at 3:15 p.m., we signed the final papers and received the deed to the historic Huss School building in Three Rivers, …

A 12-year member of the Sturgis Public Schools Board of Education announced her resignation last week. LeeAnn McConnell, who did not elaborate on the reason for her resignation, was serving a term due to expire in November 2014. The board must fill McConnell’s spot within 30 days of her date of resignation. A district resident wishing to complete McConnell’s term …

The 2013 Sturgis Relay for Life event begins this afternoon, as cancer survivors and participants walking in memory of a cancer victim will assemble a Sturgis High School’s track. The event starts at 3 p.m., with a number of special laps planned. At 6 o’clock, cancer survivors will walk a victory lap and a luminaire ceremony starts at 10, when …