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Two people died early Friday when their car hit a tree which had fallen across a highway 2 miles north of East Leroy in Calhoun County. The incident happened on M-66, north of H Drive South shortly before 4am. The victims were identifed as the driver, 48-year-old Kathi Thomason, and the passenger in her car, Howard Bergman, age 60.  Both …

St. Joseph County Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel issued 13 drain-maintenance permits to area farmers, and 132 soil-erosion and sediment-control permits in 2016. Wenzel appeared Wednesday before county leaders to provide his annual report during their executive committee meeting. He said soil-erosion permits were approved only after a site visit and review of plans. Thirty were issued in Fabius Township, with …

State Rep. Aaron Miller voted Wednesday in favor of a budget that provides additional funding for veterans courts. The House judiciary budget bill includes an additional $436,000 for specialty courts aimed at treating military veterans and active-duty personnel, bringing total funding to $936,000. Miller said the men and women who serve in the military make enormous sacrifices and often struggle …

Centreville Public Schools made official this week the employment of its next superintendent. Board members Monday offered and officially accepted a contract with Stephanie Lemmer. A Portage native, Lemmer will replace Rob Kuhlman after he concludes a seven-year tenure as superintendent in June. Lemmer, 34, has served as director of Head Start at Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency since 2013. …

Employees at DuPont Pioneer and Monsanto seed corn companies in Constantine recently held a friendly competition to see whose employees could collect the most items for the food pantry at Messiah Lutheran Church in Constantine. Pioneer won the contest with 1,480 pounds of items versus 1,220 pounds of items collected by Monsanto. Employees delivered what they had collected to the …

Michigan senators have voted to more quickly phase in a tax break for people who trade in their car for a new one. A 2013 law lets buyers subtract some of the value of their trade-in from the purchase price of a new vehicle for tax purposes. The change is being phased in until 2039. The Republican-controlled Senate unanimously approved …

St. Joseph County commissioners are prepared to take the unprecedented step of offering funds toward the restoration of what is generally considered the worst road in the county. During Wednesday’s executive committee meeting, commissioners agreed to consider a $50,000 allocation toward improving a six-mile stretch of Constantine Road. Commission chairman Allen Balog said the county board has never provided general-fund …

A sanitary-sewer overflow occurred this week in Constantine. The incident took place at 10:50 a.m. Monday in the 300 block of Water Street as a result of critical repairs being conducted on the infrastructure. Village officials said 3,340 gallons of wastewater overflowed from a manhole over the course of the 25-minute event. A contractor was brought in to vacuum and …

State Rep. Aaron Miller this week approved recommendations for the Michigan State Police agency’s 2017-18 budget. The state House endorsed a bill approved by the Michigan State Police Budget Subcommittee, which is chaired by Miller. Included in the plan is the addition of 100 new state police troopers across the state. Miller said there is a need for increased public …

The St. Joseph County Solid Waste Committee wishes to advise residents that the annual spring collection of household hazardous waste, electronics, paper, latex and paint takes place in three weeks. Committee officials said they like to give a few weeks’ advance notice so people with items to drop off can begin the process. A few notes about the April 22 …