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Ride With the 40 passes through county

WLKM — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:25:17 +0000

Participants in a cross-country motorcycle ride taking place in honor of the 40 victims of Flight 93 were greeted warmly as they arrived in St. Joseph County on Friday night.

A group of about a dozen people involved in the second leg of the “Ride With the 40″ campaign arrived at the Hillcrest Lounge and were met by Three Rivers Mayor Al Balog and more than 20 members of the Three Rivers American Legion Post No. 170 and other well-wishers.

The three Ride With the 40 motorcyclists and members recording video and audio segments for an upcoming documentary were then escorted by local fire departments to their hotel in Three Rivers.

One of the riders, Erich Bay, lost his wife in the 9/11 hijacking of Flight 93. The flight’s itinerary was from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco but it was crash-landed in rural Pennsylvania.

The Ride With the 40 event is a 10-day trip that started in Newark and will conclude the morning of Sept. 11 in San Francisco. Donations collected along the way will go toward the Flight 93 Memorial, which is to be dedicated at the crash site on Sept. 11, 2011.

Cutest Pet Picture Contest

WLKM — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:23:30 +0000

The Animal Rescue Fund of St. Joseph County is asking for the public’s help in providing entries for the annual Cutest Pet Picture contest.

All entries will be on display in Barn 42 at this year’s St. Joseph County Grange Fair. Photo entries must be postmarked by Sept. 14, be no smaller than 4-by-6 inches and no larger than 5-by-7 inches.

Organizers of the event ask that information on the back of the photo includes the sender’s name, phone number and pet’s name. In addition, a self-addressed, stamped envelope is required if the picture is to be returned.

Photos must feature pets only, no people in the photos.

The top three entrants will receive prizes. Fair-goers may vote for their favorite picture by placing 25 cents in a photo’s donation jar. All proceeds will benefit the Animal Rescue Fund, which spays and neuters dogs in St. Joseph County.

Harmony Fest is a success

WLKM — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:22:05 +0000

Sunday’s Three Rivers Harmony Fest had the benefit of nice weather to help draw a large crowd downtown for the 17th annual musical event.

Harmony Fest, which celebrates diversity in Three Rivers through music, is staged downtown and this year featured several musical performers. Headliner of this year’s 10-hour event was Lady Sunshine and the X Band.

Events and activities for kids took place over a two-hour period during the afternoon.

County Commissioners will meet

WLKM — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:20:55 +0000

The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners has a full schedule slated for its 5 p.m. meeting Tuesday.

Agenda items include: annual reports from Prosecutor John McDonough and Drain Commissioner Jeff Wenzel; discussion of a property purchase; and a review of the policy of business travel by county employees.

Tuesday’s meeting will take place in the third-floor commissioners room at the St. Joseph County Courthouse.

Alligator killed near Burr Oak

WLKM — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 02:01:30 +0000

A southern Michigan man who encountered a 34-inch alligator while picking corn said he clubbed it to death because he feared it could attack someone if left alone. But St. Joseph County’s animal control officer said Jeff Adamski’s reaction was a “little extreme.” “Hopefully, this guy doesn’t think he’s a hero,” Tom Miller said Friday. Responding to the screams of two women, Adamski said he grabbed a bar from his truck and killed the alligator last week in a field near the Michigan-Indiana border. “I backed away, and he darted at me,” Adamski told the Sturgis Journal, describing what led up to the killing. “I backed up faster and he darted faster.” Adamski, 45, said he has four children, and he killed the alligator to prevent it from attacking someone. “What if you took a 5-year-old kid in to pick corn and it latched on?” he said. Miller, however, was upset to hear about the death of the nearly 3-foot-long creature. “Thirty-four inches long — that’s easy to handle. That’s a one-hand grab. … They could have put a barrel on top of it and it wouldn’t be going anywhere,” he said. Miller, who is president of the Michigan Association of Animal Control Officers, said the alligator could have been taken to a private alligator sanctuary in Athens, 30 miles north. The alligator was probably someone’s pet that had been released or had escaped, said Steve Chadwick, a biologist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment. He doubts it would have survived the winter outdoors. Adamski said he asked his brother-in-law to come get the alligator and put it in a freezer. “I wasn’t done picking corn yet,” he told the newspaper. “And no one would have believed me. They’d say ‘What time did you start drinking?’ “ (AP)

Four More EEE Cases in St. Joseph County

WLKM — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:47:02 +0000

A press release issued Thursday by the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Health Agency stated that four additional horses in St. Joseph County have been diagnosed with Eastern Equine Encephalitis.

EEE is a virus that typically affects horses and can be spread to humans from the bite of an infected mosquito. Three human cases in Southwest Michigan this summer resulted in all three requiring hospitalization.

The press release does not indicate where in the county the infected horses were located or the fate of the animals.

As a precaution, the department is encouraging residents to reduce their exposure to mosquitoes. Repellant, wearing long pants and long-sleeve shirts all are simple but effective precautions, the agency stated.

Burr Oak Tries to Save Officer’s Job

WLKM — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:42:47 +0000

The village of Burr Oak may have to adjust its fiscal year budget in order to save the job of its part-time police officer.

Municipal officials said Tuesday the fund from which Officer Todd Lewis is paid could have a shortfall of about $2,500 before the end of the village’s fiscal year March 31. As a result, it may not have enough funds to pay Lewis after the start of the new year.

Village President Shawn Seeba said every option possible will be explored to find a way to keep the part-time officer.

Farm Field Day Set

WLKM — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:40:14 +0000

An on-farm educational field day will be offered Wednesday at Villa-Miller Farm, 17316 Fairchild Road.

Organized by the Branch and St. Joseph Michigan Water Stewardship Program, the St. Joseph County Conservation District and the Michigan State University extension office in Centreville, the event will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. A meal will be served from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m.

A variety of farm-related topics will be discussed, including weed-control programs in strip-till systems, corn diseases, and an update on the Western Bean Cutworm.

In addition, Villa-Miller Farm owner Henry Miller will show off dry and liquid bulk fertilizer and pesticide storage.

More information may be found at: stjoecountycd.com.

Pot Plants Seized

WLKM — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:34:26 +0000

Law-enforcement officials on Tuesday gathered nearly 500 marijuana plants growing in isolated locations around St. Joseph County.

Aided by two helicopters from the Air National Guard base at Grand Ledge, authorities on the ground were able to enter areas where marijuana was being grown illegally and seize the plants.

Organizers of the event said about 30 law-enforcement officials were involved in the day-long event, which covered all areas of St. Joseph County.

Three felony cases will result from the seized marijuana, police said.

Road Restrictions to be Lifted

WLKM — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:32:43 +0000

Officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation on Wednesday issued a press release that stated restrictions at a number of projects across the state will be lifted for Labor Day weekend. Speed and other restrictions will be lifted at 122 of 173 ongoing projects being overseen by the state agency. The restrictions will be lifted at 3 p.m. Friday and remain in place until 6 a.m. Tuesday.