Schools

White Pigeon Community Schools officials are scheduled to stage a ceremonial groundbreaking at 5:30 this afternoon outside Central Elementary. Superintendent Ron Drzewski  said the event marks the informal start of work following voter-approved renewal of a five-year, sinking-fund millage dedicated to school building improvements. The millage renewal request was approved a year ago and money to cover the improvements is …

Nearly 40 people played a role in helping lay more than 9,000 yards of sod over the weekend at Sweetland Stadium in Constantine. The school district’s $100,000 allocation toward the new grass surface covered the entire portion of the stadium’s field, the installation of an in-ground watering system and dirt and seed for two practice football fields, according to Constantine …

More than 40 people took part in Saturday’s “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes” fundraiser for the Three Rivers-based Domestic And Sexual Abuse Services agency. Staying consistent with the event’s name, most of the male participants wore high-heeled shoes as they walked a mile on the Three Rivers High School track. Event co-chair Rose Parshall said the second-annual walk was …

Steve Proefrock, head men’s basketball coach at Glen Oaks Community College, has been awarded the Men’s Junior College Coach of the Year award from the statewide Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan. In his 16th season at Glen Oaks, Proefrock led his team to the Western Conference Championship with a conference season record of 15-and-1, and an overall record of 27-and-4. …

The four remaining schools from the St. Joseph Valley League athletic conference are expected to join a newly created, 10-team league. The Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference was announced this week during the Bronson Community Schools Board of Education meeting. The new league, which will include SJV members Centreville, Bronson, White Pigeon and Mendon, will debut in the 2014-15 academic year. Other …

Nine custodial jobs with Sturgis Public Schools will be outsourced to a Holland-based company, following action by the district’s board of education Monday. The nine employees will have an opportunity to join Enviro-Clean, which will cost the district about $500,000 next year. The current contract with district-employed custodians is in excess of $700,000, district officials said. The new contract, which …

Nearly two dozen Sturgis High School graduates-to-be were recipients of the Sturgis Area Community Foundation Scholarship Reception for 2013. The recent program featured scholarship recipients and representatives from the families who helped make the awards possible. Close to $110,000 was awarded to students in educational and camp scholarship awards. Since 1999, more than 650 students have received in excess of …

Officials from school districts in Three Rivers and White Pigeon saw non-homestead millage renewals pass with ease Tuesday. In Three Rivers, nearly two-thirds of the 612 participating voters OK’d an 18-mill renewal levied to the tax bills of commercial and non-homestead properties. The millage generates nearly $3.7 million annually and represents about 15 percent of the district’s annual budget. White …

Glen Oaks Community College President Gary Wheeler announced Steve Ryno as the recipient of the Shaheen Teaching Excellence Award, which recognizes a faculty member for innovation and quality instruction. A professor of communications, Ryno, 35, is the 29th recipient of the award. Ryno was named the winner of the award during the school’s 45th graduation ceremony, staged Friday in its …

A trio of men who fled from police in Three Rivers earlier this week were arraigned in district court Wednesday. William Powell, 23, Antonio Hearn, 20, and Charles Hearn, 21, face a variety of charges following the Monday night incident in which one of the men held his 6-month-old son while fleeing from police. All three men, originally from Ohio, …