One of the St. Joseph County Road Commission’s (SJCRC) leading staff recently received the top award in the state for a rural road engineer. At a regular SJCRC meeting Wednesday morning, board members learned that Assistant Director and Engineer Garrett Myland received the “Rural Engineer of the Year” award from the County Road Association of Michigan (CRA). An award also goes to the “Urban Engineer of the Year,” but for the “Rural” title, Myland won over engineers in similar positions all around the state.
Category Archive: Local
A group of hardworking volunteers has already begun to plan the 2021 64th annual Three Rivers Water Festival. This year’s Festival will return following the first-ever cancellation of last year’s event, made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three Rivers City Commissioners Clayton Lyczynski and Alison Haigh questioned whether Three Rivers Downtown Development Authority Chair Andrew George should be reappointed during Tuesday’s commission meeting. Lyczynski cited George’s involvement in a suit filed against the city concerning a petition to place a marijuana ordinance on last November’s ballot, questioning George’s “integrity” and “desire to do what’s best for the city.”
The Kalamazoo City Commission voted unanimously Monday to withdraw from Southwest Michigan First’s “Council of 100” partnership, before City Commissioner Erin Knott passed a motion to also withdraw $10,000 in annual funding to the agency over former state House Speaker Lee Chatfield’s anti-LGBTQ views. Chatfield was recently named CEO of the Kalamazoo-based economic development agency.
The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners discussed the possibility of returning to in-person meetings after Tuesday’s virtual meeting was interrupted by internet trolls in a practice called “Zoombombing” or “Zoom raiding.” Unidentified persons briefly hurled racist and homophobic epithets at commissioners and those in attendance before Chairperson Dennis Allen temporarily stopped the meeting.
The U.S. had a mental health professional shortage before the pandemic, and Southwest Michigan was no exception. Every county in Southwest Michigan had been designated as a mental health professionals shortage area by the Healthcare Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
WSV’s Beca Welty writes, “February in southwest Michigan might seem like an impossible time to enjoy your favorite meal on the deck of your ideal restaurant, but Martell’s in Kalamazoo has transformed that dream into a reality. Like a few of their sister restaurants in the Millennium group, Martell’s has installed cozy igloos for outdoor dining, and I was one of the lucky few to indulge in the experience.”
The Three Rivers Police Department responded to two separate incidents of motor vehicle theft this week, both of which resulted in the recovery of the vehicles in question.
St. Joseph County Prosecutor Dave Marvin addressed the St. Joseph County Commission’s executive committee Wednesday concerning an exception to the county’s hiring freeze, a request Marvin has submitted more than once during his first two months in office in an effort to get his house in order.
WSV’s Michael “Hogey” Hogoboom writes, “Truly, Starbucks is not your place to go for quality artisan coffee. You’ll never hear a coffee connoisseur mention the Seattle-based chain as their favorite place. It’s really more of the gateway toward good coffee in most people’s experience, and again—isn’t that similar to Budweiser? Many beer drinkers tried a domestic lager long before summoning the courage to try their first IPA.”
The NODE (Niles Outdoor Dining Experience) has been voted “Kalamazoo and Southwestern Michigan’s Best Outdoor Dining” by MLive and its readers. Over the weekend, Watershed Voice caught up with Niles Mayor Nick Shelton via email to learn more about The NODE, and the impact it has had on Niles’ restaurants.
A decision on the abandonment of a section of Haybridge Road by the St. Joseph County Road Commission (SJCRC) has been delayed pending review by Florence Township officials. The section under consideration runs eastward from Sevison Road, and ends at a condemned bridge over the Fawn River. On the other side of the bridge, Haybridge Road continues past a connection with Block Road, and ends at Engle Road. That section would remain active if the abandonment goes through.
Southwest Michigan has officially administered more vaccinations than its number of COVID-19 cases, a trend in line with the rest of the United States.
A downtown Three Rivers storefront has added shelves of dry goods, pantry essentials, and refrigerated and frozen foods to its selection. World Fare, a volunteer-run nonprofit store that has made its home on Main Street for 17 years, mainly carried fair trade home goods, décor, jewelry, and gifts until recently.
WSV’s Kay Davis writes, “During my first visit to (Sturgis’ Timm Preserve), the exposed roots and ground were wet and looked slippery. That day was warm with heavy, misty air which caused a steady tapping in the tree leaves and thick vegetation, similar to the Star Wars scene in which we were first introduced to Yoda. The fact I recognized it as such was the indicator that my entire walk on that summer day would be associated with the original movie trilogy.”
In a reflection of statewide pressure to reopen winter athletic programs and other school activities, the Three Rivers Board of Education (BOE) adopted a resolution in support of lifting statewide restrictions that are currently in place. The resolution asks Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to approve restarting school winter athletic programs. BOE President Erin Nowak clarified that the resolution would not actually reopen Three Rivers Community Schools (TRCS) sports programs and other extracurricular activities, but instead would ask the state to lift restrictions.
Longtime Executive Secretary Pat Kulikowski is retiring after “nearly 34 years” of service for St. Joseph County. As a result of Kulikowski’s impending retirement, the St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners approved a request for an exception to the county’s hiring freeze from County Administrator Teresa Doehring to fill the vacancy.
The St. Joseph County Board of Commissioners and the Three Rivers City Commission will both hold regular meetings as planned this evening, Tuesday, February 2. Read this local meetings primer for what to expect.