During a special meeting Thursday, the Board of Education (BOE) said it found Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) Superintendent Ron Moag to be “effective.” The statement came at the end of a closed session that lasted well beyond two hours. Thursday’s meeting concluded a two-meeting process wherein BOE members conducted Moag’s annual performance evaluation, facilitated by Rod Green of the Michigan Association of School Boards. During closing comments, BOE members also discussed the status and future of online instruction in the district.
Author: Dave Vago
The annual Christmas Around Town event in downtown Three Rivers will see some further modifications to its program in light of pandemic health orders from the state earlier this week. Some features will continue as planned previously, while others will be postponed or cancelled pending further developments from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
A special meeting of the Park Township Planning Commission scheduled for this evening will now take place entirely online. On the township’s website, an announcement states that due to a pandemic-related health order issued last Sunday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the meeting will take place using the Zoom online meeting platform. The announcement includes information on how to participate.
Deputies from the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department (SJCSD) are investigating a vehicle-pedestrian incident that occurred early Wednesday morning in Nottawa Township. According to a press release by Sheriff Mark A. Lillywhite, the incident occurred on Shimmel Road near Timm Road at approximately 5:50 a.m., when a pedestrian walking southbound on Shimmel Road was struck by a northbound pickup truck. The truck continued on after the collision without stopping.
With additional closure orders in place and pandemic case numbers continuing to spread, Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) announced on Wednesday evening that it plans to close additional school buildings later this week. On Sunday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new order that required high schools around the state to close. TRCS subsequently closed the middle and high schools to in-person instruction on Monday, taking all classes to a virtual setting. Elementary schools will now also be subject to closure.
A short stretch of Lutz Road heading south from Three Rivers may be up for reconstruction soon. Garrett Myland, Assistant Manager and Engineer for the St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC), said in a report Wednesday he is pursuing a longer-term project to have Lutz Road rebuilt in its entirety from Highway M-86 all the way to U.S.-12. Working toward that larger goal, Myland is seeking a handful of grants to help rebuild the road’s first two miles from M-86 south to Fairchild Road in 2021.
Jack Coleman, who recently ran for the seat of 59th District Representative in the Michigan legislature, has a new position in St. Joseph County. At a regular meeting Tuesday evening, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners (BOC) appointed Coleman to an upcoming vacancy on the St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC). Coleman will replace John Bippus in the position, which turns over after January 31.
Following a regular meeting of the Three Rivers City Commission Tuesday night, representatives of several city boards and staffs held a joint meeting and presentation on current planning and development activities in the city. The meeting is required going forward as part of something called the Redevelopment Ready Communities process (RRC), which is a program of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). The RRC process is designed to help municipalities around the state improve their processes, laws, and planning documents to better facilitate and manage development.
At a regular Board of Education (BOE) meeting Monday evening, Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) principals and administrators discussed current performance amid ongoing pandemic measures. Through a series of presentations led by TRCS Curriculum Director Nikki Nash, principals from each of the TRCS buildings discussed where current performance measurements stand among students, and what measures they are taking to improve student engagement and results.
The St. Joseph County Commission on Aging (COA) joins a growing list of other agencies announcing curtailments of services in compliance with an order issued Sunday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For COA, the order means temporary cancellation of all group activities at its Three Rivers and Sturgis enrichment centers while the HHS order is in effect starting Wednesday, November 18. The HHS order expires on December 8, 2020 but could be subject to extension.
In a press release Tuesday, the St. Joseph County staff announced the Historic Courthouse building will be closed to the public beginning November 18 and continuing through December 8, 2020. The closure comes following a COVID-19 related order issued Sunday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS order is in response to a statewide spike in COVID-19 cases that began several weeks ago.
The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners and the Three Rivers City Commission will both hold regular meetings as planned this evening, Tuesday, November 17, 2020. In lieu of face-to-face meetings, both will be conducted via the Zoom online meeting platform, which is also accessible by telephone. There will be public comment opportunities at both meetings. Following are summaries of discussion and action items at each.
In response to a directive by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Three Rivers Community Schools announced it will be closing Three Rivers High School and Three Rivers Middle School starting this Wednesday and continuing through December 8. In a Monday press release, TRCS Superintendent Ron Moag said school will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, November 17, to allow teachers and staff time to prepare for a transition. Virtual instruction for students affected by the closure will commence Wednesday.
At the end of last week, COVID-19 statistics for St. Joseph County stood at 1,752 to date, including 28 cases resulting in death. The numbers, displayed on the Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency (BHSJ)’s coronavirus tracking webpage, mark a rapid increase since early October.
Thomas Stambaugh, the perpetrator in the hit-and-run killing of Laura Jacobs in the Three Rivers Meijer parking lot last June, received his sentence Friday. During a hearing in St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court, Stambaugh faced Judge Paul Stutesman and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Robare, represented by his attorney, David Marvin. Stutesman received a prison sentence after he pled guilty to the killing last month.
In the face of rapidly rising COVID-19 case numbers, Glen Oaks Community College (GOCC) is stepping up its response by minimizing in-person interactions on its Centreville Campus. College President David Devier and other administrators provided an update during a regular meeting of the GOCC Board of Trustees Thursday morning, and Devier provided a further update on additional restrictions through a statement issued later on Thursday.
At a regular meeting of the Park Township board Wednesday, citizens and board members discussed an in-process application to have a property rezoned for commercial use in an area that is currently mostly residential. The applicant is the Nottawa Gas Company, which would like to purchase a new property along M-60 near North Fisher Lake Road and relocate there. A group of residents opposes approval of the rezoning application.
Michigan winters produce unending demand for an important product: warm socks. While many people take them for granted as an afterthought in the grand scheme of apparel, for those in need, good socks can be a critical resource during an icy winter. In a press release Thursday, the Three Rivers Woman’s Club (TRWC) announced it is not only continuing but expanding its “Socks for the Sole” campaign, which it founded one year ago. The campaign collects donations of socks for those in need.