The Glen Oaks Community College (GOCC) Board of Trustees held a planning retreat and regular meeting Thursday morning at the college. President Dr. David Devier and other administrators and staff provided updates on pandemic cases and measures at the college, as well as on several student funding programs provided with assistance from the State of Michigan. Devier also said Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the college’s 2021 budget at flat funding.

Following an alignment of several funding sources recently, St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) staff said the Langley Covered bridge will receive an extensive overhaul in 2023 at a board meeting Tuesday. Funding from the state legislature and the Southwest Region Bridge Council of Michigan (SWBC) will fund a significant portion of the work. SJCRC will provide some of its own funds and Managing Director John Lindsey said he hopes the County Commission will close a remaining gap.

Superintendent Ron Moag said a recent masking policy for all students and staff will remain in place at all Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) buildings. At a Board of Education (BOE) work session Monday evening, Moag said state agencies like the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continue to require them despite a Friday Michigan Supreme Court Decision pertaining to the legal legitimacy of pandemic-related Executive Orders from the Governor’s Office.

Keith Whitford grows pumpkins, but not just any pumpkins. In a garden along U.S-131 on the northwest edge of Three Rivers, Whitford grows oversized pumpkins. Beth Hubbard, whose family owns Corey Lake Orchards, has provided the use of an antique flatbed truck that once belonged to her father to display three of them at the entrance to her farm stand.