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An English teacher at Sturgis High School has been named the recipient of the 2012 John E. Oster Award. Stephanie Harker Schau, a 1985 graduate of Sturgis High School, was presented the award during a Monday luncheon sponsored by the Sturgis Rotary Club. Created by Oster’s widow, Jo Ellen, the John E. Oster memorial recognizes teaching excellence in Sturgis Public …

A pair of Sturgis men were arrested on drug-related charges following a search of their residence Tuesday. The men, ages 40 and 39, face charges of maintaining and operating a methamphetamine lab, possession of meth and maintaining a drug house. They were arrested in the 200 block of Susan Street after the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit executed a …

Five incumbents returning to the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners were sworn in for their two-year terms by County Clerk Pattie Bender this week. Rick Shaffer, John Dobberteen, Al Balog, Don Eaton and Robin Baker were sworn in during a brief ceremony prior to Tuesday’s county commission meeting. Balog, Eaton and Baker ran unopposed in the August primary, while …

Two members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners were honored Tuesday for their dedication to the seven-member board. Larry Walton and Jerry Ware were recognized with proclamations, as Tuesday was the last meeting for the pair before the commission shrinks to five members starting Jan. 1. Walton joined the board in July and Ware has been a member …

Hohner Funeral Home and its staff are hosting a vigil and prayer service to remember victims of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre. The hour-long program starts at 6 tonight and takes place at Hohner’s Arnold Street location in Three Rivers. Pastor Bob Anderson will lead in prayer. Director Gabe Adams said a register book will be available, and cards or …

Sheriff Brad Balk said deputies were called to a Lockport Township residence shortly before 7 p.m. Monday in response to a subject who passed away from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Balk said the victim was a 13-year-old boy who died at the scene, inside his residence.

Here’s a reminder that the Constantine Board of Education will stage a special meeting today to review policies and procedures stemming from the recent investigation of sexual conduct demonstrated by a pair of 5-year-old boys. Set for 5:30 p.m. at the high school library, the meeting will include a look at policies applied during the police investigation of the incident.

Members of St. Joseph County’s Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Board took a few moments Tuesday discussing the significance of services for people with mental-health needs. During the board’s monthly meeting in Centreville, Executive Director Liz O‘Dell said while gun control is a popular discussion stemming from last week’s shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, the …

With Christmas a week from today, and New Year’s Day the week after that, this column will be published a day earlier for the next two weeks. In other words, there will not be a Commercial-News published the next two Tuesdays. Another item worth noting; For the next two weeks, the only people who will have their garbage picked up …

Sturgis police are investigating an armed robbery that took place Sunday in the 200 block of South Clay Street. A department media release indicated the suspect, described by police as a black man in his 20s, took cash and other items of value from the victim and fled the area on foot. The suspect and the victim were acquaintances, according …