News

State police arrested a 28-year-old Constantine man early Sunday on charges that include a weapons-related offense. Troopers were called at 1:20 a.m. to the 11000 block of Millers Mill Road in response to an intoxicated subject threatening to shoot people. The incident started after the suspect had a dispute with his neighbor, authorities said. The suspect retrieved a loaded shotgun …

A pedestrian was killed last week after she was struck by a semi truck in Park Township. State police said Alyona Springer, 20, of Three Rivers, died at the scene of the incident. Authorities responded at 12:30 a.m. Friday to a location along U.S. 131 near Heimbach Road. The semi was traveling northbound on U.S. 131.

A Kalamazoo man involved in a three-vehicle crash last week in Mendon Township has died. A vehicle driven by Winton Bernier, 79, was in a collision on Prairie Corners Road at Nottawa Road. Authorities said Bernier was driving east on Prairie Corners and failed to stop at the Nottawa Road intersection. A southbound truck on Nottawa Road, which has the …

Three Sturgis men and an Indiana woman are in the Cass County jail, each facing charges in connection with a New Year’s Day armed robbery in Marcellus. Arrested were Bradley Dewayne Shears, 19; Michael Zach Strong, 20; and James Robert Jones II, 17, all from Sturgis; and Kayla Sue Cockburn, 20, of Middlebury. They were charged with conspiracy to commit …

Longtime St. Joseph County Intermediate Board of Trustees member Elizabeth O’Dell was re-elected Monday to another six-year term. A Sturgis resident, O’Dell received five votes, with challengers Brandon Kent, also of Sturgis, receiving two. Leonidas resident Sherman Greider picked up one endorsement. One representative from each of St. Joseph County’s nine school districts was eligible to cast a vote for …

A recently assembled group is working on petition language in hopes of recalling four members of the Three Rivers Community Schools Board of Education. Members of TR Cares are targeting Waneta Truckey, Carl Barth, David Kutz and board president Mike Bosma. Board members Erin Nowak, Diana DeGraaf and Pete Bennett are not eligible to be recalled because they are within …

A 2015 John Deere tractor was stolen earlier this week from a business in Park Township. The St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Deputy responded Monday to the 16000 block of Heimbach Road after employees arrived to work and noticed the tractor missing. Deputies said the suspects at some point over the weekend drove up to the business and cut a wire …

Members of the Centreville Village Council agreed Monday to pay a portion of the cost of damage from a recent sewer backup at a residential property. The sewer issue led to further discussion regarding future solutions and prevention. Charlene Beals showed the council photos, videos and estimates of damage caused by a backup that occurred May 9 at her mother’s …

Authorities have recovered the bodies of two friends who apparently drowned while fishing in a lake in southwestern Michigan. The bodies were found Thursday, a day after the pair disappeared while in a boat at Bankson Lake in Van Buren County, southwest of Kalamazoo. The sheriff’s office identified them as 20-year-old Calvin Chao, a student at Western Michigan University, and …

Two weeks after Colon Board of Education members debated the idea of a shared superintendent with Bronson Community Schools, their counterparts in Bronson had an opportunity Monday to further discuss the potential arrangement. Jay Newman, interim superintendent of Colon Community Schools, presented the possibility of the two districts sharing the services of superintendent Teresa Belote. Newman said both districts attend …