Shirley Grimes, 51

Shirley Ann (Young) Cutchall Grimes, 51, of Elkhart, Ind., passed away Wednesday morning, Feb. 24, 2010 at Elkhart Hospice House.

She was born July 7, 1958 in Three Rivers, the daughter of Kermit and Mary Lou (Allen) Young. She graduated in 1977 from Constantine High School.

She was formerly employed at American Electronics and Acousticom in Elkhart, Ind.; she enjoyed reading and spending time with her grandchildren.

She is survived by one daughter, Kendra M. (Donald) Reed Jr. of Elkhart, Ind.; three grandchildren; mother, Mary Lou Young of White Pigeon; two brothers, Terry (Cindy) Young of Mendon and David Young of Goshen, Ind. Her father, Kermit Young, preceded her in death.

Visitation will be held from noon — 1 p.m. Saturday, March 20, at the Open Bible Baptist Church in Elkhart, Ind. A Celebration of Life Service will follow at 1 p.m. at the church, with Pastor Dale Moore officiating. Elkhart Cremation Services is assisting the family with arrangements.

Burial will be in Constantine Township Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Lulu Hoover, 99

Lulu Carrie Hoover, 99, of Kokomo, Ind., died Feb. 26, 2010, at the Sanctuary at Holy Cross in South Bend, Ind., following a short illness.

She was born Feb. 18, 1911, in White Pigeon, Mich., a daughter to Herman and Alta (Grimes) Schmidt.

She had lived in South Bend since 1985, coming form Richland, Wash.

She was a widow and had workd as a waitress all of her life.

Surviving are a son, Wilbur L. (Marge) Dankert of Kokomo, Ind.; three grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a brother, Richard Schmidt of White Pigeon. She was preceded in death by her parents; and three beothers, Robert, Russell and Leland Schmidt.

There will be no visitation or funeral service. Entombment will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens in Richland, Wash.

Arrangements were handled by the Farrand Funeral Home of White Pigeon.

Friday night scores

          GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

Three Rivers 50 , Vicksburg 32

          BOYS’ BASKETBALL

Vicksburg 55 , Three Rivers 52

TR Health shows a net loss

“Dashboards” were part of the conversation surrounding the January financial statements during the February meeting of the Three Rivers Health Authority Board Thursday morning (February 25th).

The January reports show a net loss for the month of more than $273,000 ($273,529), an amount that was nearly $170,000 higher than the loss of just under $104,000 ($103,793) that was budgeted.

Steve Andrews, Vice President of Finance, said the performance was “pretty much volume driven” and added, “Obviously, (we’re) disappointed in our ability to adjust our staffing costs to those volumes.” He indicated that meetings with departments started two weeks ago, “looking at what we need to do to adjust to the volumes.”

Discussion regarding the subject revealed that “dashboards,” similar in concept to what drivers utilize in operating their vehicles, are being developed to provide information to better match staffing with volumes.

Bill Russell, President and CEO at Three Rivers Health, indicated that the hospital is in the process of putting together dashboards and said, “By March 31st, we will have a daily dashboard that will ultimately communicate to the entire workforce in this organization and have meaningful responses on a daily basis.”

Russell said, “What we’ve got to get away from is getting financials two weeks after the close of the previous month where you don’t have an opportunity. That’s retrospective. If it’s a current dashboard, which is the daily dashboard that we’re working on developing now, it’s not retrospective. It’s current. We can react to it on a timely basis.”

Andrews said, “This is not just clinical departments. It’s non-clinical departments as well.” And Russell said, “That’s one of our historical challenges. It’s got to be the entire organization.”

Andrews said, “February inpatient volumes are pretty consistent with January. We are seeing an increase in some of the outpatient, but, if you look at the stats, you can see that outpatient is down as well. So, obviously, (we’re) disappointed there.” However, he indicated that the anticipated loss for February may be less than January because of “other revenue that comes in that’s higher.”

Alva Mettler, 84

Alva Junior Mettler, age 84, of Sturgis, and formerly of Burr Oak, died Thursday morning, Feb. 25, 2010, at Fairview Living Centre in Centreville.

Alva was born June 20, 1925, in Branch County, a son of the late Alva A. and Hazel (Twadell) Mettler.

Alva grew up in the Quincy area, graduating from Quincy High School in 1943. He married Doris N. Johnson on Aug. 8, 1943.

Alva was a proud veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy as quartermaster on the battleship West Virginia in the Pacific Theater.

His early working years were primarily in Branch County, working as a meat cutter for A&P stores.

In 1953, Alva and Doris moved to the Burr Oak area, where he worked for Davidson’s Grocery.

lva was meat manager at Harding’s in Colon for more than 20 years, retiring in 1987.

In Burr Oak, Alva was active in the Good Fellowship Club and the Sports Boosters, was a Boy Scout leader, served on the Burr Oak School Board and was president of the PTA. He was a featured performer in community variety shows and emceed many local events through the years.

A member of the Burr Oak Methodist Church, Al served on many boards and committees for the church, but took particular joy in serving as manager of the church’s restaurant at the St. Joseph County Grange Fair.

Alva and Doris moved to Sturgis in 1992, where Alva enjoyed walking at Doyle Community Center, delivering Meals on Wheels, and playing cards at the Sturgis Senior Center. He loved fishing, especially if the trip included a grandchild.

Alva is survived by his beloved wife of 66 years, Doris, of Sturgis; children Alan (Mary) Mettler of Nashville, Mich., Rollin (Susan) Mettler of Sturgis and Patti (Kevin) Miller of Sherwood; seven grandchildren; Kimberly (Jonathan) Book, Corey (Beth) Mettler, Elizabeth (Scott) Kraemer, Jessica Blake, Lindsay (Wesley) Wriston, Andrea Mettler, and Jason Miller; and eight great-grandchildren; brother, Edward (Doris) Mettler of Largo, Fla.; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a sister, Dorothy Reed; and a brother, Kenneth Mettler.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 1-3 p.m. March 6 at the Burr Oak United Methodist Church. A memorial service celebrating the life of Alva Mettler will then take place at 3 p.m., with the Revs. Alan Mettler and Don Graham officiating.

If desired, the family suggests memorials be made in memory of Alva to the Burr Oak United Methodist Church, COA Sturgis Meal Site or the Michigan Parkinson Foundation. Envelopes will be available at the church on Saturday or anytime at the Schipper Funeral Home in Colon.

Private interment of the cremains will take place at a later date at Oak Grove Cemetery in Coldwater.

Loretta Janke, 89

Loretta M. Janke, age 89, of Mendon, passed away Monday, Feb. 22, 2010, at Heartland Health Care Center in Three Rivers.

She was born Feb. 4, 1921, in Star City, Ark., a daughter of the late Jona and Frances (Collier) Myrick.

Loretta had resided in Mendon since 1986, coming from the greater Chicago area, where she had lived since the early 1950s. On May 26, 1973, she married Earl T. Janke at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Chicago.

Mrs. Janke retired from the Sargent-Welch Scientific Company in Skokie, Ill., following over 25 years of dedicated employment. She was proud of the fact that during World War II, she built military aircraft for the government.

She was an active member of the St. John’s Lutheran Church in Battle Creek.

Loretta is survived by her loving and dedicated husband of 36 years, Earl Janke.

She was preceded in death by her parents; an adopted son, Gary Thurman; her first husband, Charles Lee; two sisters, Cora Frankenfield and Mary Kilgore; and two brothers, Jona Myrick and Tarver Myrick.

Friends may call from 2-4 p.m. Sunday at the Hackman Family Funeral Homes Hackman Chapel, Sturgis. Graveside services and burial will take place at 11 a.m. Monday at the Oak Lawn Cemetery in Sturgis. The Rev. Cary Grant of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Battle Creek will officiate.

Her obituary is also at www.hackmanfamilyfuneralhome.com, where personal messages of support may be left for the family.

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