COLDWATER — The Branch County Conservation District recently announced their upcoming 69th annual meeting and 11th annual Conservation EXPO to be held Feb. 25.The events will take place at the Branch Area Careers Center, 366 Morse St., Coldwater, from 8:30 a.m and 2:30 p.m. The keynote speaker this year will be Joe Rogers, assisted by Barb Rogers and Joanne Williams, from the Wildlife Recovery Association. They will present “An [...]
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69th annual meeting, 11th annual Conservation Expo set for Feb. 25
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Leutheuser meets with constituents
HILLSDALE — A dozen constituents met with State Representative Eric Leutheuser to share their concerns Saturday morning at Biggby Coffee inside Market House in Hillsdale.The coffee hour was the first of two scheduled during the month of February. The second event will be at 8 a.m. Feb. 18 at the Coldwater Biggby Coffee location.Leutheuser said he wanted to hear from his constituents before things begin to ramp up in Lansing.“I think this morning’s [...]
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Top pie decision tough
READING — The top five pies at this year’s Reading American Legion Tip-Up Festival pie competition were baked by return competitors and winners.Last year’s fourth-place finisher, Penny Clark, took home awards for the first- and fifth-place overall pies this year.Her buttermilk pecan cream pie took first place, while her caramel pecan apple pie took fifth place.This year’s second place winning pie was made by 11-year-old Landen Clabaugh, with [...]
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Vending machine thief jailed
COLDWATER — Katherine Johnson, 37, was transferred to Branch County to face charges of vending machine theft and malicious destruction of property, after state welcome center machines were robbed in November 2016.Clayton Henderson, 37, of Union City, will face the same charges as a habitual offender, once he is through with charges in Calhoun County.The couple were seen on video surveillance doing more than $1,000 in damage to vending machines, then removing $70 in cash. [...]
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Probation for drug test scammer
COLDWATER — Branch County District Court Judge Brent Weigle has a warning for businesses and probationers, after an attempted to beat the court drug testing system.Ryan Rudy was ordered in January to serve 93 days for domestic violence after a probation officers found him with a container he was attempting to use to submit a fake urine sample.The container had a temperature strip on it, so the probationer submitting the sample could make sure it matched body temperature [...]
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Ninth person charged in interstate theft ring
HILLSDALE — Another Indiana resident tied to thefts along the state line, John Grigsby, of Merrillville, Indiana, is in custody in Hillsdale County as of Sept. 19, 2016.Grigsby will face charges of breaking and entering a storage building on East Territorial Road at Crampton Road near the Merry Lake sewer retention pond. He did not steal anything because there was nothing valuable in the building to steal.Security footage led Michigan State Police troopers to identify [...]
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Blossom Road bridge repairs underway
BRANCH COUNTY — Work is underway to replace the bridge on Blossom Road where it crosses the outfall of Oliverda Lake and Spencer Creek.Most of the money for the project is funds left over from the construction of the Athens Road bridge last summer. E.T. MacKenzie of Grand Ledge brought the Athens Road bridge in under the $1.76 million bid.Branch County Road Commission Chairman Gary Malcolm said the county would lose the funds if not spent. The total cost of the project [...]
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Watson gets a break in re-sentence
COLDWATER — Alex Watson, 23, had hoped to walk free from the Branch County Jail after he was resentenced by Branch County Circuit Court Judge Bill O’Grady.Instead, he may have to wait a couple months in prison. Judge O’Grady said the prosecutor and Michigan Appellate Defense Counsel agreed to a re-sentencing, after the issue was raised of when Watson was notified that he would be treated as an habitual felon.The notice came too late before trial under the [...]
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Chester found with drugs
COLDWATER — Coldwater Police spotted Jesse Chester, 30, flushing meth and syringes down the toilet when they went to a West Chicago residence to arrest her on a Friend of the Court child support warrant Sunday night.Chester will face charges of possession of meth as a second-time drug offender — a 20-year felony — after officers found residue on a pipe used to smoke the drug. The woman also tested positive for meth when she was booked into jail.Chester told [...]
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Sherwoon barn broken into
COLDWATER — The rural thefts that have been plaguing the southern part of Branch County have now moved north.Michigan State Police are asking for help in finding the person or persons responsible for a break-in at 860 Dunks Road in Sherwood Township on or before Jan. 22.The suspect took various tools, furniture and antler mounts from a pole barn located at that address. The theft was discovered on Jan. 22.Anyone with information on the larceny or possible suspects [...]
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Sauk production features newcomers
JONESVILLE — The Clampett family rides onto The Sauk stage for some hillbilly hilarity starting Thursday.Performances for “The Beverly Hillbillies” start with an 8 p.m. preview Feb. 9 at the Sauk Theatre, 240 E. Chicago St., Jonesville. Subsequent performances are Feb. 10-11, Feb. 16-18 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 12 and Feb. 19.Tickets are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors (55 and up) and students (with identification); and $8 for children (12 and under). The Feb. 16 [...]
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Mells avoids jail in gift card scam
COLDWATER — A two-year, nine-month delay in prosecution by Michigan State Police kept Aaron Mells, 27, of Detroit, out of jail and prison.Mells was a passenger in a car stopped on I-69 in May 2014. Inside was hundreds of stolen gift cards, plus over $1,000 in purchased merchandise, with receipts.An MSP trooper assigned to the Hometown Security Team — a state police unit tasked with stopping drug trafficking on the interstates — pulled the speeding car over. [...]
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Former Coldwater man killed in Ohio
NEWARK, Ohio — Police in Licking County, Ohio, are searching for a driver who fatally struck former Coldwater resident William Lee Goodman III, 24, in Newark, Ohio, late Sunday night and then left the scene.Emergency crews responded just before 11:30 p.m. to a report of a person struck on Route 16 in Newark. A passerby discovered Goodman and called 911, police said in a news release.Goodman was initially transported to Licking Memorial Hospital, then flown to Ohio State [...]
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Trustees cap fire truck contribution
COLDWATER TOWNSHIP — Township trustees capped their offer of help for the Coldwater Fire Department to purchase a new grass truck at $30,000.After bids for a new four-wheel-drive pick-up, fully equipped to go into woods and fields to fight grass fires, came back at $105,000, the CFD asked both Girard and Coldwater townships to up their contributions to $35,000 each.The current city grass truck cannot be used and was taken out of service, after it was deemed too dangerous. [...]
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Trail proposed between Coldwater, Quincy
COLDWATER TOWNSHIP — Quincy Village Manager Eric Zuzga wants to see a 5.2-mile linear trail for biking or walking between Coldwater and Quincy.“Quincy Rotary is really the spearhead group at this time,” Zuzga said, adding that they are committing $125,000 toward the “Coldwater Quincy Linear Trial.”He is now approaching others to back what is estimated to be a $4 million project, “a big number,” which could be eligible for grants, [...]
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Township wants to solve abuses
COLDWATER TOWNSHIP — It happened again Tuesday night, illegal dumping at the Coldwater Township recycling dumpsters off Sprague Street.“It’s becoming a real problem with the abuse,” Supervisor Don Rogers said.A person in a light colored SUV was caught on surveillance video filling the recycling bins with non-recyclable items and construction debris.Rogers said if it doesn’t stop the township will be forced to take more restrictive [...]
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2017-18 school year to start before Labor Day
BRONSON — Aug. 22, 2017 was approved at Monday's board meeting as the start date for the 2017-18 Bronson school year.Districts in the Branch County Intermediate School District, were able to come to a consensus on an early start date, pending approval by local teachers unions.Having calendars align between Bronson, Coldwater and Quincy is necessary because of the Branch Area Careers Center. The districts are applying for the early start date because of their involvement [...]
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Suspect waives extradition on Utah charges
COLDWATER — Reyfus Graves, 36, waived extradition back to Utah Wednesday, after he was arrested by the Michigan State Police Fifth District Fugitive Team Tuesday in Coldwater.Graves was working here after he absconded on bond from Emery County, Utah, where he is charged with two counts of attempted murder from April 2016, as well as discharging a firearm into a vehicle and discharging a firearm into a building.Graves, who was living in Hillsdale, did not appear for a pre- [...]
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COLDWATER — Just before 9 a.m. Tuesday morning Coldwater Firefighters were called to the Coldwater Executive Suites offices on U.S. 12 for an active gas leak. MI Gas Utilities arrived on scene within a half hour to shut off the gas to the building. Coldwater City Police and Branch County Sheriff's Deputies blocked off all entrances into the parking lot to the north of the building and evacuated employees.
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Developers redesign project to answer complaints
COLDWATER — After hearing complaints from residents in the Pearl Street Historic District, NRP Properties of Cleveland redesigned its planned Coldwater Garden Apartments to take into consideration the issues raised.The Coldwater Planning Commission, in January, tabled a request to rezone the former Fremont Street School land from single family A-1 to multi-family A-3 until its February 20 meeting.In a new site plan filed with the city, the developer of the 9.25 acre site, [...]
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