Government

Two Three Rivers residents, ages 37 and 60, were taken to the St. Joseph County Jail after they were charged with retail theft following an incident Tuesday at Wal-Mart in Three Rivers. A department media release said the women were charged with third-degree offenses.

Members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners wished their constituents a Merry Christmas and offered thanks to county workers for a job well done in 2013. During the close of Tuesday’s meeting – the final commission meeting of the calendar and fiscal year – commission chairman John Dobberteen also thanked Pat Yoder for staying on as the county’s …

A Three Rivers man was charged with obstruction last week after he failed to leave the premises from which he was evicted. Three Rivers police said the 34-year-old man had gone to the Eighth Street residence to collect personal property from the homeowner. After receiving his belongings, the man refused to leave the property, police said. The incident took place …

Two members of the St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation Commission were reappointed to the 10-member panel this week. During Tuesday’s St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners meeting, Steve Houts and Jeffrey Knautz were re-appointed to three-year terms. Houts, a commissioner, is a Fabius Township resident. Knautz, who currently serves as president of the commission, lives in Centreville.

State Rep. Matt Lori is congratulating the Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival for receiving a state grant to support continued operation of the annual event. The Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs recently announced a $5,000 grant to support the festival. The Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is a week-long celebration of the arts every May featuring visual …

Officials from the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority will find out in March whether their recently submitted application is approved by the Michigan Main Street program. DDA director Christy Trammell said the nine-chapter application was sent to the Lansing-based agency Dec. 5. She said it took more than three months to complete the application, which, if accepted, would put the …

Barns in the 18000 block of Centreville-Constantine Road in Fabius Township were broken into between 6 p.m. Dec. 10 and 8 a.m. the following morning. A variety of tools were stolen, according to state police. Residents are reminded to always lock their homes, out-buildings and vehicles to becoming a victim of theft.

A hit-and-run crash in Sturgis Township is being investigated by state police personnel from the White Pigeon detachment. According to a department media release, a 66-year-old Three Rivers resident was driving west on U.S. 12 shortly after 4 o’clock Monday afternoon when his vehicle was struck by a northbound pickup at Balk Road. The older-model pickup was a green Dodge. …

A Portage police officer shot a man armed with a knife Tuesday, who was a suspect in a stabbing, according to city officials. The suspect was taken to a local hospital, and his condition was not known. Deputy Chief Dan Mills says police responded to a report of a stabbing at 12:45 p.m., when they found a female stabbing victim, …

The family of a missing Western Michigan University medical student is asking for the public’s help finding 30-year-old Teleka Patrick. Her Lexus was found December 5th on the side of I-94 in Portage, Indiana, several hours after she had last been seen in Kalamazoo in the parking lot of Borgess Medical Center. Patrick’s family spent the weekend putting up roughly …