Schools

A trio of area high school football teams will move on to the second week of the playoffs after posting wins over the weekend. Three Rivers will hit the road to play Williamston after the Wildcats upset Battle Creek Pennfield Friday night, 20-14. Meanwhile, Constantine also gained a road win Friday, beating Watervliet, 48-33. The Falcons will face a stiff …

White Pigeon Community Schools had four of its 14 buses red-tagged during annual inspections earlier this week. Superintendent Ron Drzewicki (joo-VICK-ee) told board of education members Wednesday the violations were on three of the district’s four oldest buses, which are 14, 15 and 17 years old. Drzewicki said Michigan State Police inspectors indicated the violations were minor and would not …

A projected decrease in student enrollment wasn’t as severe as White Pigeon Community Schools officials had expected. Members of the district’s board of education on Wednesday noted the district lost fewer than the 17 students for which it had budgeted. That and an increase of nine students overall from a year ago translates into about $120,000 for the district, Superintendent …

White Pigeon Community Schools’ Board of Education member Christie West was awarded Level One Certification by the Michigan Association of School Boards earlier this month. Level one certification is earned by completing nine Certified Board Member Award classes ranging from school finance and school budget to labor relations and board governance. The nine classes cover a wide range of school …

Three-quarters of a $400,000 donation presented last week to the city of Three Rivers has been designated to a newly created capital-improvement fund. During Tuesday’s city commission meeting, Mayor Tom Lowry and commissioners agreed to place $300,000 into the capital-improvement fund the city created as a result of the financial windfall. Though a specific use for the money has not …

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department was called earlier this month to Shimmel Road in response to soccer goal posts stolen from the Pathfinder Center. The metal posts, which featured orange, mesh netting, were stolen between Sept. 19 and Oct. 3.

A 65-year-old crossing guard on duty near Hoppin Elementary in Three Rivers was injured after being struck by a car last week. Three Rivers police said the victim, a Three Rivers resident, was at the intersection of North Main and Armitage streets when she was struck by a northbound vehicle around 7 a.m. Tuesday. The victim was returning to a …

The new dean of finance and administration at Glen Oaks Community College was introduced at Wednesday’s board meeting. Bruce Zakrzewski previously worked in finance and administration positions at Lake Michigan College, and a pair of Indiana-based businesses in the South Bend region before that.

The city of Three Rivers and Three Rivers Community Schools both landed a handsome windfall Tuesday from St. Joseph County’s largest employer. During a ceremonial check presentation at Three Rivers-based American Axle & Manufacturing, Mayor Tom Lowry was given $400,000 from American Axle officials. The city will retain $300,000 of the amount, while the $100,000 balance was earmarked for the …

Members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education are in the early stages of planning to find a new superintendent after Roger Rathburn retires at the end of the 2013-14 academic year. During their twice-a-month meeting this week, board members agreed to designate a Nov. 19 work session as a time to include presentations from firms that specialize …