Government

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners last week approved letters of understanding with seven different parties, including four units affiliated with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union. The agreements, along with a 3 percent raise, were reached with AFSCME employees from Probate Court, Friend of the Court, the General Unit and Family Division. In addition, …

St. Joseph County’s township supervisors were given a detailed summary of the county’s delinquent-tax fund during their quarterly gathering last week at White Pigeon’s township office. County administrator Pat Yoder was a guest at Thursday’s township supervisors meeting. The delinquent-tax account is one of a few matters he was asked to speak about. He said the county over the past …

A structural assessment will be conducted of the mill building at Rawson’s King Mill Park in Leonidas Township. During last week’s county commission meeting, commissioners approved Fleis and Vandenbrink to conduct a structural evaluation of the historical building. Human resources director Elishia Arver said the inspection will allow the county to debate future options of the building. Those options include …

About a dozen homes in Sherman Township were evacuated late Sunday after a thousand-gallon propane tank began to leak. Authorities said the tank slid off of its base due to soft ground and rolled down a hill around 9:30 p.m. The tank then struck a tree at the tank’s valve. Homes were evacuated in an area that included Banker Street, …

Firefighters sent to an apartment in Kalamazoo found a 47-year-old resident dead in a bedroom.  The cause of the fire and the woman’s death are under investigation. The Kalamazoo Public Safety Department calls the fire “suspicious.”  The fire was quickly extinguished Saturday night. No other apartments at the Clayborne Court complex were affected. (AP)

Sturgis police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred last week at a gas station on the west side of the city. Authorities said a woman entered Admiral, located at 501 W. Chicago, around 8 p. m. Thursday, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money. An undisclosed amount of cash was taken and the suspect drove away from …

A fire early Friday in the production area at LTi Printing in Sturgis caused significant damage to equipment. According to fire officials, smoke and water damage was heavy throughout the building, located at 518 N. Centerville Road. Meanwhile, LTi officials said they are conducting damage assessments and clean-up has begun. They hope the least-affected areas of the plant will be …

Driving too fast for conditions appears to be the cause of a single-vehicle accident that injured two people last week in Cass County. Sheriff Joe Underwood said deputies were called at 10:30 a.m. Saturday to a stretch of Harvey Street in Porter Township, where a pickup struck a tree. Upon arrival, deputies found Joshua Westphal, 26, of Vandalia, had lost …

State police are looking for a man who fled the scene of a hit-and-run incident last week in Fabius Township. The incident occurred shortly before 8 a.m. Friday on Corey Lake Road near Shafer Brothers Road. Troopers said the driver of a 2001 Buick Lesabre was traveling west on Corey Lake Road when he lost control and the vehicle left …

More than two weeks after the elections, the Democratic candidate for the 20th District State Senate seat State Representative Sean McCann of Kalamazoo says he will request a recount. The results of the election showed McCann losing to Republican State Representative Margaret O’Brien of Portage by a small margin. The Kalamazoo County Board of Canvassers says their count showed O’Brien won …