WLKM Radio 95.9 FM

A jury has awarded more than $14 million in damages to the family of a 49-year-old southwestern Michigan man killed in an accident involving a garbage truck. The Kalamazoo County Circuit Court jury decided Friday that Republic Services, City Star Services Inc. and William Ormerod III will pay nearly $14.5 million to the estate of Lary Blahnik. The Plainwell man …

Tax Day is coming. Both state and federal income tax returns are due on April 15. The Michigan Department of Treasury is reminding taxpayers that all state forms and instructions they need to finalize their 2014 tax returns are available on Treasury’s website at michigan.gov/incometax. Officials say E-filing income tax returns has become a preferred method of filing for millions of taxpayers, …

A new poll from the Lansing-based polling firm EPIC-MRA shows very little support for Proposal 1 on the May ballot, which would increase the state’s sales tax by one-percent to pay for roads, schools, and local governments. Roger Martin is part of the Safe Roads YES! Campaign pushing for adoption, and isn’t too worried about the numbers because he says there …

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is reporting its third flu-associated death this year, as the number of flu cases caused by Influenza B strain increase. The adult who died last week was under the age of 65 with underlying health conditions, said Steve Todd, the tri-county health department’s health officer. The agency declined to state the victim’s gender and …

A driver and passenger in a vehicle involved in a police pursuit remain at large after the suspect’s car was found crashed in Kalamazoo County. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies began pursuing the vehicle shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday on M-60 near U.S. 131. The pursuit continued north into Park Township and the vehicle was found wrecked …

An Indiana man was arrested on drug and weapon charges following a traffic stop last weekend in Sturgis. State police said a vehicle the man was driving was stopped for an equipment violation at 5:30 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Clay and John streets in Sturgis. The 27-year-old driver, an Elkhart man, was found to be in possession of …

The Three Rivers Lions Club has announced that tickets for the “Bruce C. Snook Citizen of the Year” banquet honoring Al Heivilin are now on sale at Ridgeway Floral in Three Rivers. The April 28 banquet honoring Heivilin will take place at Belle Époque, 54 Railroad Drive, in Three Rivers. Event organizers said the evening will begin with a social …

A truck driven by Robert Gonser III, 21, of Constantine, hit another truck Wednesday night last week on Covered Bridge Road. St. Joseph County Sheriff ’s deputies arrived at the scene and found Gonser’s truck to have substantial front-end damage, resulting after the truck traveled through the curve too quickly. The air bag was deployment and Gonser was wearing a …

I enjoy working crossword puzzles, especially puzzles found in this newspaper. There are some that I find challenging, and, luckily for me, there are some that are not that much of a challenge. I feel that by doing crossword puzzles, my mind gets some exercise. Like my father and my sister, I use a pen when working a puzzle. I …

An outbreak of the parasite cryptosporidiosis at Centreville High School’s agriculture educaton program sent one student to the hospital and infected 12 others, according to the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency. The outbreak is contained and the hospitalized student has been released. The outbreak came in early March in the co-op vet/ag science program run through St. Joseph Intermediate School …