St Joseph County

First-degree premeditated murder

St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough Thursday morning signed a two-count complaint charging Portage resident Andy Brown with first-degree premeditated murder and felony firearm. The charge is in connection with the Oct. 2 shooting death of Sturgis accountant David Locey at Locey’s Sherman Township office. Brown, 36, was already in custody on a charge of embezzlement. McDonough said the embezzlement …

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Teen airlifted to hospital

A 17-year-old Sturgis-area resident was airlifted to an Indiana hospital after the vehicle he was driving was struck by an SUV Wednesday in Nottawa Township. State police said the Sturgis teen was driving north on Nottawa Road around 4:30 p.m. an eastbound vehicle driven by a 26-year-old Three Rivers man failed to stop at the intersection of Findley Road. The …

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Deciding on millage increase

Members of the Mendon Community Schools Board of Education may be in position to decide whether to pursue a 1-mill increase request. Following a public forum Wednesday regarding the proposal, the board may act on the small amount of feedback it has received about the idea when it meets for its regularly scheduled meeting Monday. Superintendent Rob Kuhlman gave an …

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Leonidas School recognized by state

Leonidas School has been recognized by the state as a Reward School for the 2013-14 academic year. One of 347 schools in the state to earn the honor, Leonidas School received the claim as part of the state’s Elementary and Secondary Education Flexibility Act. Reward School recipients are recognized by falling into one or more of the categories High Performance, …

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Employees recognized

Seventeen St. Joseph County employees were recognized Tuesday for reaching milestone years of service. The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners acknowledged employees who had reached the 10-, 15-, 20- and 25-year plateau. The 25-year category featured three recipients: Det.-Sgt. Jim Hart, patrol officer Pete VanCamp and IT director Dan Wing. The group of 20-year employees consisted of Mike Minger, …

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Gunshots unfounded

Immaculate Conception School and nearby Three Rivers Health were briefly in lock-down mode Tuesday morning in response to a citizen’s claim of gunshots heard in the vicinity. Law-enforcement officials responded around 7:50 a.m. to an area in the 1100 block of Hill Street after a citizen reported hearing gunfire. A search of the perimeter was conducted but officials later concluded …

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Parent lunch successful

About 150 adults participated in “Take Your Parent to Lunch” day at Mendon Elementary School Wednesday. The idea was proposed by Darci Kirby, food service director for the district. She said the concept was a way to recognize National Food Service Week and also a way of promoting an event that would bring parents into the school for a rare …

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Concerns for County Conservation District

Concerns about the potential demise of the St. Joseph County Conservation District were raised during Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting. In light of Monday’s 2014 budget work session, during which commissioners proposed not funding the conservation district, John Nelson addressed the five-member commission. Nelson, vice-chair of the Conservation District Board, questioned why the district is also possibly …

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Cans for Cats

Animal Rescue Fund’s Feral Control Project is sponsoring a “Cans for Cats” event during the month of November. ARF officials are asking the public to collect returnable cans and bottles from work, school and home and donate them to the agency. The feral control project helps to sterilize free-roaming cats in an effort to reduce the cat population in St. …

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Project finished

A summer-long project in the village of Centreville finished last week. Thanks to a state grant of more than $400,000 awarded last fall, the installation of sidewalks along the village’s busiest streets leading to Centreville Elementary and Centreville Jr./Sr. High schools has been completed. The $416,000 Michigan Department of Transportation grant was one of six issued to Michigan communities as …

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