The Millers receive honors

Florence Township residents Henry and Martha Miller were recognized over the weekend by the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy for their land-preservation efforts.

During a two-hour open house at Park Township Hall Saturday afternoon, the Millers were saluted for the 347 acres of land in Park Township donated to the Kalamazoo-based agency. A stipulation of the donation requires that the land not be designated for any use in the future other than farming. The stipulation is consistent with the mission of the Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy.

County Commissioner Rick Shaffer read a proclamation recognizing the Miller’s contributions toward land preservation. Last year, the Millers turned over 953 acres of farmland to St. Joseph County for a similar preservation-backed effort, overseen by the St. Joseph County Farmland Preservation Program.

SJ County receives audit report

St. Joseph County’s Board of Commissioners on Tuesday accepted a special audit of the county’s Register of Deeds office. In addition, commissioners agreed to accept a number of recommendations suggested by the Jackson-based auditing firm Rehmann Robson.

The audit was authorized after Register of Deeds Cynthia Jarratt was charged in May with embezzlement.

The recommendations adopted at the suggestion of Rehmann Robson’s findings include a revised deposit process, a notice for offering a receipt, securing cash drawers in the office and an approval process to handle voided transactions.

Planning continues for trails

St. Joseph County figures prominently in a regional plan to identify prospective trails for non-motorized uses.

A meeting led by the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission on Thursday in Kalamazoo showed the results of a one-year effort to gather feedback from residents in a nine-county region. The input led to the identification of nine major trails for non-motorized uses and a number of local routes for the same purpose.

The Southwest Michigan Planning Commission gathered its input from St. Joseph County residents during an evening session at Glen Oaks Community College back in December. Based on ideas noted then and in conjunction with neighboring counties, routes identified as priorities that include St. Joseph County are:

*A trail from Sturgis that would head north through Centreville, Mendon and Vicksburg, then into Kalamazoo and further to Grand Rapids. Portions of trails are in place, so the route could ultimately end in Traverse City.

*A path that would run parallel to M-60 between Niles and Three Rivers.

*A route that would follow U.S. 12 and be a part of a multi-state network between Milwaukee and Detroit.

Suzann Flowers, of the Benton Harbor-based Southwest Michigan Planning Commission, said the priority concepts will be passed along to the Michigan Department of Transportation, which will use the information for future planning. Flowers said agencies that seek federal funds for developing projects such as non-motorized trail systems stand a better chance of success if proposed routes are included in a formal plan.

A look at the routes is available through a link at swmpc.org.

Road work in the county

The St. Joseph County Road Commission will begin its annual single-seal program throughout the county on Monday, July 19th.

The agency plans to conduct the single-seal maintenance on 63 miles of hard-surface roads in St. Joseph County. A single seal is a layer of liquid asphalt emulsion and a layer of stone applied to a hard-surface road as part of routine care to preserve county-maintained roadways.

A portion of the project is being funded through federal stimulus dollars: Featherstone Road between M-66 and Klinger Lake Road in Sherman and Florence townships, and Bent Road between M-216 and Dutch Settlement Road in Flowerfield Township.

Road Commission officials said signs will be placed ahead of work zones in an effort to alert motorists to the presence of workers and the application of loose stones on the roadway. Some delays and temporary road closures may be imposed in order to eliminate the risk of vehicles being sprayed with liquid asphalt during the sealing process.

Results – Sheriff’s auction

Saturday’s auction of forfeiture items secured by the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department grossed almost $20,000, Sheriff Brad Balk said.

It took nearly five hours to auction off a variety of items that the department had accumulated for more than four years. Auctioneer Fred Schwartz, of Sturgis-based Schwartz Auctions, said 376 people registered for a bid card.

Balk said he underestimated the number of people who would attend the event and noted that the net amount raised will be used by the department’s undercover drug-investigation team to support ongoing cases.

White Pigeon Has Youngest School Board Member

            White Pigeon Community Schools Board of Education has a new president and two new board members.

            During its monthly meeting Wednesday, the board supported the motion of Joe Komis serving as president. He replaces longtime president Bev Souter, who chose to not seek re-election after a lengthy tenure on the board.

            Other positions resolved Wednesday were Michael Krajniak (KRAY-zniak) as vice president, Paul Roe as secretary and Dan Cropsey as treasurer.

            Cropsey was sworn in Wednesday, as he won a contested race in the May school board election. Joining Cropsey as a new board member was 18-year-old Joe Taylor. A Mottville Township resident, Taylor was voted to the board four weeks before he graduated from White Pigeon High School in late May.

            Taylor is believed to be the youngest school board member ever in St. Joseph County. He started working Tuesday at American Axle in Three Rivers and coaches middle school football in White Pigeon. Taylor also plans to take classes part time at Glen Oaks Community College this fall.

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