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.

 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.

St. Joseph County Sheriff Brad Balk said Hughes, whose listed address was Airline Road in Sturgis Township, was riding his bicycle westbound, against oncoming traffic, on the south shoulder of U.S. 12.

Hughes lost control of his bicycle east of Shimmel Road, fell to the roadway and into the path of an eastbound vehicle driven by Sarah Hardesty, 88, a Klinger Lake resident with a Sturgis address, Balk said.

Hughes was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m.

Balk said based on the circumstances of the accident, it appears there will be no charges filed against Hardesty.

Brown and Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson were the top two vote-getters from a pool of six Republican candidates for the state post. During a subsequent vote, a pool of more than 1,000 delegates chose Johnson by a margin of only 115 votes.

Brown, who is in his eighth and final year as a state senator due to term limits, had the endorsement of incumbent Terri Lynn Land.

Johnson, meanwhile, will go on to face Democrat Jocelyn Benson, in the November general election.

The Michigan Republican Party will stage its convention starting Saturday in East Lansing.

Brown, 56, is one of six Republican candidates for the state position. He received a major boost this week when term-limited incumbent Terri Lynn Land gave her endorsement and support to Brown.

Whether Brown gets the GOP nod will depend on the vote of the 1,074 delegates who will choose their party’s pick for Secretary of State and a number of other state posts.

State Democrats chose Detroit resident Jocelyn Benson, a Wayne State University assistant professor of law, to represent their party for the Secretary of State in the November general election.

Brown, a former member of the Sturgis City Commission and St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners, is term limited as a state senator.

Saddler, who has served as Precinct 4 commissioner for three years, made the announcement during Wednesday’s Sturgis City Commission meeting. Her resignation is effective Oct. 1.

A replacement to fill the remaining year of her term will be sought by the commission.

During Tuesday’s special meeting, Mayor Al Balog and commissioners signed off on the two measures without much debate. The treatment plan that was ultimately approved was one of four options – and the second least-expensive – that city leaders faced. The $743,000 project will help develop a permanent chlorination procedure, as mandated earlier this year by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

The $3.3 million infrastructure-improvement plan calls for replacement of four-inch-diameter water mains along West, Maple, Eighth and River streets. They will be replaced with mains ranging from six to eight inches in diameter.

A MDNRE grant will cover 40 percent of the $4 million cost, while the balance will be subject to a low-interest loan of about 2.5 percent to be paid back to the state. Work on the projects will begin next summer and last into the fall.