News

Three Rivers notifies Constantine of ordinance non-compliance

Constantine Village Manager Mark Honeysett said municipal officials recently received a notice indicating the village is not in compliance with the Three Rivers Sewer-Use Ordinance. Cited violations include failure by the village to adopt an ordinance that complies with the city’s sewer-use ordinance, and lack of an inter-jurisdictional agreement between the municipalities with regard to sewer treatment. Three Rivers also …

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Centreville fills final council seat

Centreville Village Council has filled the seventh of its seven seats with a longtime resident. Matt Swanwick was appointed to the panel during the council’s Monday meeting. He was one of three candidates to apply for the seat left unfilled after last month’s election. Trustee Gary McClain dissented on the motion to appoint Swanwick, as McClain had nominated previous council …

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Commissioner Dobberteen ends 20-year run on board

An unprecedented run ended Tuesday, as St. Joseph County commissioner John Dobberteen attended his last meeting as an elected member of the board. His 20-year tenure on the county board is believed to be the longest in the county’s history. It will officially end Dec. 31, but Tuesday was the board’s final meeting of 2018. A 59-year-old Sturgis resident, Dobberteen …

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Arson suspected in White Pigeon fire

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating the circumstances behind a fire believed to have been deliberately set last weekend in White Pigeon Township. Fire officials were called at 5:15 a.m. Saturday to an unoccupied residence in the 16000 block of Fawn River Road. It was determined that the fire was started intentionally. The fire was limited to a front porch, as crews …

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Update – Recreational marijuana

Michigan marked the beginning of legal, recreational marijuana last week and is the first state in the Midwest to allow marijuana for more than medical purposes. Retail shops are still months away and must involve state regulators, but the St. Joseph County prosecutor’s office has announced it is ready to dismiss possession cases. Residents 21 years of age and older …

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One injured in Cass County crash

A Cass County teenager was injured after she was involved in a one-vehicle accident earlier this week in Violinia Township. Sheriff Richard Behnke said deputies responded shortly before 12:30 p.m. to an area in the vicinity of Church Street and Goff Lake, where the 16-year-old girl drove off the roadway. She was traveling west on Church Street when the incident …

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White Pigeon Schools approve contracts

Members of White Pigeon Community Schools Board of Education last week approved three administrative contracts for the current academic year. Receiving a one-and-a-half-percent raise were associate superintendent Carrie Erlandson, assistant principal/athletic director Eric Kistler and Central Elementary principal Shelly McBride. In other action, Erlandson reported on a legislative bill seeking to move toward letter grades for schools. She expressed concern …

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CTE students qualify for state competition

The CTE medical occupations class, based at Centreville High School, had 20 of its 24 students qualify for the state competition after they took part in the Health Occupations Students of America-Future Health Professionals regional competition Dec. 7. HOSA is one of many career technical student organizations that provides opportunities for CTE students to compete against each other at regional, …

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Two arrested after break-in

Two people were arrested last week following a break-in at a residence in the 12000 block of Riverside Drive in Constantine Township. Sheriff’s deputies said the owner, who lives at a different address, drove past the unoccupied home around 4 p.m. Friday. He noticed a porch light had been turned off and when he went inside to investigate, he heard …

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Teacher evaluation bill approved by State House

Sponsored in part by state Rep. Aaron Miller, a plan to ensure teacher and administrative evaluations are not unfairly based on student growth and assessment was approved by members of the Michigan State House last week. Since a law enacted prior to the 2015-16 school year, 25 percent of year-end teacher and administrator evaluations have been based on student growth …

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