In a press release, the Office of St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite reported that a suspect was taken into custody Tuesday following a reported break-in which included reported gunshots. Deputies responded to a Nottawa Township trailer park following a report of shots fired. According to the release, the subject attempted to break into an occupied residence, firing a single shot before fleeing on foot.
Author: Dave Vago
One by one, representatives of the St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) have been meeting with townships around the county to discuss next year’s road work priorities. Each year, SJCRC accomplishes a variety of paving, pavement sealing, reconstruction, and bridge work projects around the county. Some of those projects are funded entirely by SJCRC’s own funds, some are partially covered by outside grants, and some are shared in equal parts by the SJCRC and the townships. At a Wednesday meeting of the Park Township board, Township Supervisor Ed English provided an overview of potential projects for 2021.
Abench sculpture that has been a fixture in downtown Three Rivers for over a decade now has a […]
Following an Executive Committee meeting Tuesday, members of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners held their second workshop to plan the 2021 Fiscal Year budget. At the previous workshop, held two weeks prior, commissioners sought to address a significant potential shortfall, and directed County Administrator Teresa Doehring and Finance Director Angie Steinman to ask each of the county’s various department heads to submit their own savings proposals.
Three Rivers and the surrounding area has a large community of current and former military service members. In honor of Veterans Day 2020, Watershed Voice reached out to find out about some of their lives and service careers. Staff spoke to three veterans representing three branches of the U.S. military, and who served during three different times. These are their stories.
Randall Miller pled guilty in St. Joseph County 45th Circuit Court Tuesday for the murder of Lori Norman on March 25, 2019. Norman was found unresponsive in her home, and police who responded at the time were unable to revive her. An autopsy report issue afterward suggested she may have died from strangulation. In addition, she had a variety of cuts and bruises she may have sustained at the same time. Appearing on Tuesday before Judge Paul Stutesman, Miller accepted a deal from St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough in exchange for his guilty plea on a charge of second-degree murder.
During the City of Three Rivers’ annual Organizational Meeting Monday evening, City Commissioners approved a measure to sell the former Carnegie Library building to the Carnegie Center for the Arts (CCA) and to excuse the Three Rivers Woman’s Club (TRWC) from any remaining obligations regarding its current lease of the building. Mayor Tom Lowry cast a “no” vote for the sale.
Members of the Lockport Township Board of Trustees approved St. Joseph County Equalization Director Josh Simmons to serve as the County’s new Designated Assessor at a regular meeting Monday evening. The other 15 townships in the county must also approve Simmons’s appointment to the position, which was required in a change to state laws two years ago. The position exists to take over a township’s property assessment duties in the event that the regular assessor has failed to perform in compliance with state requirements and the trustees do not step in to intervene.
At an annual organizational meeting Monday evening, members of the Three Rivers City Commission heard about a year’s worth of work and progress from the city’s various department heads, ranging from the fire and police chiefs to the mapmaker and the grant writer. Commissioners also passed a series of measures to set various procedures for the coming year. City Manager Joe Bippus said the city has gotten “a lot of things accomplished” in the past year, and has been “very resourceful,” delivering “quality services” to the public through diligent frugality and with “very little waste” of money or other resources.
Three Rivers functions in much the same way that it has for years. People still work in specific places that everyone knows about. The town’s citizens shop in stores and visit businesses where they are as likely as not to see someone they know. They take part in social and civic activities and groups, some of which have been around for quite a while. Whether we are aware of it or not, life in Three Rivers centers on its factories, which have changed a lot over time, but which have set many of the same economic and social patterns for generations.
Downtown Three Rivers’ annual Christmas Around Town (CAT) event is just a few weeks away, and organizers have assembled a collection of pandemic-friendly activities that families can participate in despite this year’s unusual circumstances. A few other events on Main Street were cancelled earlier this year, but with proper time to plan, the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority and Main Street Program (TRDDA) and the downtown merchants are ready to host festivities again on the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving.
An outdoor “Main Street Commons Social District” may be coming to downtown Three Rivers soon. At a regular meeting of the Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority and Main Street Program (TRDDA) Friday, board members voted to approve recommending the district to the Three Rivers City Commission for approval. The district is a new opportunity under the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) to permit patrons at certain drinking establishments to consume alcoholic beverages outside.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) said in a Friday morning bulletin it plans to fully close a section of Highway M-216, known locally as Marcellus Road or Marcellus Highway. The closure will last two days and will take place from 7 a.m. on Monday, November 9 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10. The closed section will be between Pulver Road and Bent Road in Flowerfield Township, a short distance west of U.S. Highway 131.
At a special meeting Thursday, the Three Rivers Board of Education (BOE) began an annual evaluation for Superintendent Ron Moag. Evaluation-related activities took place in closed session, and no action was taken pertaining to the evaluation. The purpose of the first meeting was for Moag to present a portfolio of his work and accomplishments. A follow-up meeting will conclude the evaluation process. Also at Thursday’s meeting, a pay increase vote was retaken to correct a conflict-of-interest error in a previous vote on Monday. In other TRCS news, two schools reported positive COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
St. Joseph County Sheriff Mark Lillywhite said he will be hosting Victim Advocate Training by the Michigan Sheriff’s […]
Normally, Glen Oaks Community College (GOCC) announces the recipients of its Special Recognition awards during its spring commencement ceremony. However, after the ongoing pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 ceremony, GOCC President Dr. David Devier said the college “made the decision to include the 2020 graduates as part of the May, 2021 commencement ceremony.” In the meantime, Devier said, “the college wishes to announce several individuals who are being recognized this year.” Devier’s announcement came in a press release issued by GOCC Tuesday. There is a total of five awards. Four of the awards each has one recipient, while one award has two recipients.
The St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) voted Wednesday to pay half the total amount to replace sprinklers damaged by road work equipment in White Pigeon Township earlier this year. Residents in the Wahbememe subdivision had sprinklers installed outside their own property lines and within the property of adjacent, county-owned throughfares when road work required use of a grader, which uses a long, narrow, horizontal blade to scrape roadbed surfaces level. After discussion, commissioners agreed to pay half the replacement costs and to warn that items placed in roadway property in the future could be subject to damage without compensation. Commissioners also approved health plans, received updates on road work, and conducted an annual evaluation for Managing Director John Lindsey.
At a regular meeting of the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners Tuesday, commissioners approved an expenditure of $53,000 toward planning and design services for the proposed renovation of the county’s Courts Building. The design work will be performed by Tower Pinkster Design Services. The Courts Building is an annex to the county courthouse.