News

A Sturgis-based business was awarded a 12-year tax abatement this week by members of the city commission. Midwest Plastics Engineering Inc. on Wednesday was granted the abatement for an investment in new equipment. The addition will help retain 40 jobs at the facility and create 10 new positions, company officials said. It is investing more than $190,000 in four injection-mold …

Officials plan to test about 300 students and staff at Kalamazoo Central High School after a male student was found to have tuberculosis. Testing will begin Monday. Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services official Linda Vail says the chances that others at the school contracted tuberculosis are “very, very slim.” Public schools Superintendent Michael Rice says staff members were told …

A half-dozen female students have been arrested following a fight at a Kalamazoo high school. Kalamazoo Public Schools Superintendent Michael Rice says “six girls got into a fight and wouldn’t stop.” Loy Norrix High School has a police liaison officer. Rice says Kalamazoo city police also were needed to help break up the Thursday morning skirmish.  (AP)

The Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority was named one of three recipients statewide in a competition staged by the Michigan Main Street program. DDA Director Christy Trammell was notified Tuesday that the community was accepted into the Select Level of the program, which is overseen by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Trammell said the Michigan Main Street program is …

State Rep. Matt Lori has announced the St. Joseph County Grange Fair will receive a $20,000 state grant to put a new roof on the show arena at the fairgrounds. The county is participating in the County Fairs Capital Improvement Program, which provides Michigan’s county fairs with funds for proposed enhancements to fairgrounds across the state. Lori said considering nearly …

Jewelry and a .22-caliber handgun were reported stolen from a residence in Park Township earlier this week. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were called Tuesday to a residence in the 55000 block of Wilbur Road after the owner discovered the break-in around 4 p.m. Access was gained through forced entry.

St. Joseph County Sheriff Brad Balk and Undersheriff Mark Lillywhite have returned a federal prisoner to Kentucky. The two left early Tuesday with Nathan Lumbard, who was sentenced in St. Joseph County last week on charges stemming from the May 2009 arson of Welch’s Steak and Ribs in Sturgis. He has one year of federal prison time to serve before …

The Three Rivers Wastewater Treatment Plant was recently awarded recognition by the American Public Works Association. Plant Superintendent Doug Humbert accepted a plaque from a representative from the association’s Southwest Michigan Branch. The recognition centers on the treatment plant’s recent improvement project being named the association’s 2013 Branch Award for Public Works Project of the Year. The Three Rivers plant …

Members of the Colon Community Schools Board of Education have agreed to whittle a list of 19 superintendent candidates to eight or nine finalists by next week. Board president Ernie Baker during Monday’s monthly board meeting suggested the measure as a way of working with a manageable number of candidates to succeed Lloyd Kirby, who retired in August. The board …

The St. Joseph County Intermediate School District has authorized a May 6 request to restore nearly three-tenths of a mill to the maximum rate of 2.75 mills previously approved by the county’s voters. The restoration of the Headlee Reduction request fell by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent last August. At stake is more than $633,000 to be …