MDOT announces road project

The Michigan Department of Transportation has announced a six-week road project impacting traffic on U.S. 12 in Cass County.

MDOT’s Nick Schirripa said the agency starting Wednesday will be resurfacing U.S. 12 from M-62 in Edwardsburg to Mason Street in Union, and M-217 from the state line to U.S. 12 in Union.

There will be single-lane closures under flag control, Schirripa said.

The project is due to be completed June 28.

Man not injured after crash

An 80-year-old Three Rivers man was not injured after the vehicle he was driving ended up in a creek Wednesday in Fabius Township

The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Fred Soukup was driving west on Coon Hollow Road when he lost control of his vehicle around 5:30 p.m. and went off the roadway near Ferguson Road.

Deputies said Soukup’s vehicle overturned and landed on the driver’s side. Soukup was able to exit the vehicle with the aid of passing motorists. He was cited for failure to use due care and caution.

Sheriff investigating breaking-&-entering

Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department are investigating a breaking-and-entering incident that occurred last weekend in Leonidas Township.

According to a department media release, a barn was entered by the suspect and cigarettes were stolen from a vehicle parked inside. The suspect was confronted by a resident and fled the area on foot, westbound toward Correll Road.

Voters support increase in millage

Smoother roads will be appearing in Sturgis over the next decade, as voters Tuesday supported a 3-mill increase dedicated to street improvements and sidewalk repairs.

The 10-year millage is expected to generate about $6.7 million in all, thanks to voter support of the proposal, which passed by a 3-to-2 margin.

Mayor Ken Malone said the 3 mills will appear on the city’s summer 2013 tax bill. The increase will cost the average property owner in Sturgis about $100 a year.

Malone said roadwork from the millage money will begin before the end of the year.

Injuries following one-car crash

A 65-year-old Kalamazoo woman was treated for injuries she suffered last week following a one-car crash in Flowerfield Township.

Officials from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said Donna Rees was driving west on M-216 when she said she swerved to avoid striking a small animal and drove off the roadway east of Bent Road.

Witnesses told investigators they observed her speeding and driving erratically prior to the rollover accident.

Rees was cited for failure to drive with due care, police said.

March unemployment report

The March unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by half a percent compared to a month earlier.

The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 7.3 percent March unemployment rate was less than February’s 7.8 percent.

Furthermore, the March unemployment rate was 1.9 percent less than the same month one year earlier, when the figure was 9.2 percent.

St. Joseph County remained below the state unemployment average, which was 8.8 percent in March.

The agency said seasonal job additions in the fields of construction, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services contributed to the region’s unemployment drop.

At 5.9 percent, Barry County had the region’s lowest unemployment rate in March, while Van Buren County had the highest, with 9.6 percent.

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