Water meters being replaced

The City of Three Rivers is continuing to work with Custom Mechanical Contractors of Middleville, MI to replace residential water meters throughout the City.

They work  for one month (Wednesday thru Friday each week) in a district, and move to another district for the next month. They are currently working in first district.

They will start their second month of work in third district on June 21, and will return to first district on July 21.

The contractor is currently going door-to-door, and mailing post cards to contact each resident. You can help with this process by calling the Department of Public Services at 273-1845, and providing your name, address, and telephone number. This will allow the contractor to contact you via phone and schedule an appointment.

Three hurt in collision

Two teenagers and a 12-year-old were injured after they were involved in a head-on collision at 11 a.m. Friday on U.S. 12 near Balk Road in Sturgis Township.

According to a media release, 17-year-old Trent Harker was driving west on U.S. 12 when he attempted to pass a vehicle and was met by an eastbound car. Harker swerved off the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision and the vehicle struck a tree.

Harker was extricated from the vehicle, while 18-year-old Bradley Shears and the 12-year-old passenger exited the car on their own. All three were treated at Sturgis Hospital for a variety of injuries.

Alcohol was not a factor; no indication was given regarding whether a citation was issued. The community of residence for the three was not stated.

Sturgis plant to expand operations

Officials from a folding-carton company announced last week plans to expand operations at its Sturgis plant.

Americraft Carton Inc. will be adding a new printing press to its South Street facility, company officials said. The 25,000-square-foot addition will house the high-speed, wide-format printing press

The company, which has 110 employees, has already seen facility expansions in 2000 and again in 2008.

The latest project is slated to be completed in December.

Chief mascot is safe

The Chiefs mascot in White Pigeon appears to be safe following a federal decision to dismiss a case in which the use of Native American names and images would be banned in 35 Michigan school districts.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights had sought the ban, which would have included White Pigeon’s use of Chiefs as the school mascot.

The federal order to drop the case was made based on the opinion that the use of Native American names and images do not cause harm to students in the districts where they are used.

White Pigeon school officials said they were aware of the February complaint. They said the Chiefs mascot is used as a tribute to Chief Wahbememe, and is embraced and respected in a positive manner.

Tour went well

A guided tour of the City of Three Rivers Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) early Tuesday evening (June 11) provided an opportunity to view the current operation of the facility and learn about the items completed during a $4.1 million plant improvement project.

Elected officials, community members, and local industrial customers were invited to attend the ‘project completion presentation and guided plant tour’ at the facility on Wolf Road at the south edge of the city.

In welcoming approximately 25 people who gathered for the event, WWTP Superintendent James Baker said, “My main goal tonight is to let everybody see the plant, see the progress that we’ve made with the construction project.”  He said the project was bid out in June of 2011 and completed in March of this year – ahead of the July 2013 deadline required by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).  Visitors had an opportunity to view a display showing project highlights, review a binder of photos from the project, look over plans for the work, and pick up literature provided by L.D. Dosca Associates, Inc. of Kalamazoo, the general contractor.  Baker then led the tour that provided attendees to see and hear about various aspects of the facility and the improvements that were put in place through the project.

Baker indicated the project included odor control components and said, “For the most part, we doubled our odor control capacity.”  And he said, “We’re pretty confident that most of the odors – if not all of the odors – have been resolved.”

Baker described the improvements as “a great project,” noted that – in addition to being  completed ahead of schedule – it came in under budget, and indicated the project went smoothly.

The plant improvements were designed by Jones & Henry Engineers, Ltd.

The WWTP has a capacity of 5 million gallons per day and operates at around 1.6 million gallons per day.

Schmidt’s Family Amusements in town

Schmidt’s Family Amusements is back in town with many fun rides and games for the young and daring during this year’s Three Rivers Water Festival!

The midway will open at 4 p.m. on Thursday (June 13) and will remain open until 10 p.m.; Friday’s hours are from noon until 11 p.m., and Saturday’s hours are from 11 a.m. until midnight.

Rides and games require tickets purchased at the midway site in the West City Parking Lot at a cost of $16 per person. For those wishing to save some money, advanced purchase “armband” tickets are now available for $13 until noon on Thursday, June 16. The armbands, good for unlimited RIDES on any ONE day of the festival, can be purchased on a cash-only basis at the Chamber of Commerce office and Harding’s Market.

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