Cass County

Three people are seriously injured following a two-vehicle crash near Allenton, Mich., Wednesday night. Cass County authorities say Ralph Katzenberger, 49, of Elkhart, was headed westbound on Michigan 205 about 8:15 p.m. when he crossed the center line near Redfield Street. His vehicle then hit one driven by Michael Routley, 59, of Vandalia. Katzenberger was critically injured, the Sheriff's Department said. Routley and his passenger, Lorrie Routley, 57, also of Vandalia, were seriously injured.

CASS COUNTY -  In Cass County, a bad situation will likely get worse. "We are in a quandary," said Pete Fournier, commissioner with the Cass County Road Commission. "We can no longer spend money if we don't have it. " Voters rejected a property tax increase to fund road repairs that would have added about $50 a year in property taxes on a home with a taxable value of $50,000. He said he was surprised to see the measure rejected “at the level it was.” Throughout Cass County, the road conditions are bad and they are hard to miss.

A Cass County company that shut its door's last week with little warning is paying employees. Hess Industries Workers can come to the company building in Milton Township this afternoon between two and four to pick up checks.    This is according to a phone recording for employees Hess set up. If you have direct deposit, you don't need to pick up a check. It should be deposited in your bank account Tuesday. And employee health Insurance is good through June 30. Roughly 175 employees lost their jobs.

Police have captured a man suspected in an armed robbery of a Cass County laundromat on Friday. A car belonging to 39-year-old Edward Payson Wing was spotted Monday afternoon by police. He is believed to be responsible for the robbery of the Hilltop Laundry in Union last week. After being spotted, Wing drove his car into a cornfield then ran away in the area of Walnut Road near Sears Street in Calvin Twp . Michigan State Police deployed a helicopter and two K-9 units to look for him. He was arrested early Tuesday morning.

CASS COUNTY -- Five teenagers were sent to the hospital early Sunday morning following a car crash in Cass County. The Cass County Sheriff's Department reports that a 17-year-old male from St. Joseph, Mich. was driving westbound on Downey Street in Silver Creek Township just after 4:30 a.m. when he got distracted and struck a tree. There were four other passengers in his car, all aged between 16 and 17 years old. All five teenagers were taken to the hospital.

MILTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Cass County police say a 28-year-old Bristol man was killed in a one-vehicle crash Sunday morning in Milton Twp. This happened just after 3 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of M-60 at the overpass with U.S. 12. Emergency responders arrived to find Gregory A. Snyder lying in the roadway, away from his vehicle.   Police say the initial investigation shows he was heading eastbound on M-60 when he crashed into the left guardrail while going under the overpass.

DOWAGIAC, Mich. - Two people were hurt when a car they were in flipped over in Cass County early Sunday morning. It happened at Red Mill Road and Downey Street north of Dowagiac around 4:30 a.m. According to initial police reports, both people were believed to be trapped. One was said to be unconscious but apparently regained consciousness, and one may have suffered a broken arm or leg. When the call first came in, police were not sure where the rollover accident happened but got there within about 7 minutes.

SOUTH BEND -- A two month search for a Cass County murder suspect is over. Police arrested 19-year old Jaren Wade this morning at the Beacon Heights Apartment complex in South Bend.  Police say Wade shot and killed Darius Nickens outside a home on Grand Boulevard in Dowagiac in April. A neighbor told us he saw Nickens in a fight with another man before hearing gun shots. Wade is in the St. Joseph County Jail now facing seven charges, including murder.

VANDALIA, Mich. (AP) — The Cass County sheriff's department says it's investigating the death of a 3-year-old southwestern Michigan boy who apparently was kicked by a horse. The accident happened about 10:20 a.m. in Vandalia, about 75 miles south of Grand Rapids. Sheriff Joseph M. Underwood Jr. identifies the dead boy as Petr M. Klembara of Vandalia. Underwood says witnesses told deputies the boy was accidentally kicked by a horse. The sheriff says Petr was taken to Three Rivers Hospital, where he died.

NILES, Mich. - Michigan State Police are investigating a serious two-car crash in Cass County. Authorities say a vehicle driven by 45-year-old Larry Pierce of Niles failed to yield the right of way and turned in front of a truck. It happened around 6:15 a.m. Friday on East Main Street near Reum Road in Milton Township. Pierce was rushed to Memorial Hospital in South Bend where he was in intensive care. Police say both drivers were not wearing their seat belts.

CASS COUNTY - If you're planning to drive in Cass County over the next month, you could face some delays. A big road resurfacing project kicked off Wednesday morning. Crews will be repaving U.S. 12 from M-62 in Edwardsburg to Mason Street in Union and M-217 from the Indiana/Michigan state line to U.S. 12 in Union. Michigan's Department of Transportation says to expect delays because there will be single-lane closings. The work is expected to take more than a month, wrapping up June 28.

CASS COUNTY, Mich. - Just days after airing her cold case on WSBT, the Cass County Sheriff's Department has announced plans to look into the unsolved murder of Ada Haradine. Haradine, 39, lived on Crabtree Lane in East Lake Estates in Elkhart and disappeared from her home on May 8, 1985. Haradine was reported missing by her family, and it was 3 years later on May 12, 1988 when her remains were finally found just north of Union, Michigan in Cass County. She was last seen working around her yard around 3 p.m. A witness thought he saw her talking to a man near the house, but when her son got off the school bus around 3:20 p.m., he was unable to find his mother.

CASS COUNTY -  A Tuesday fire near the Indiana/Michigan state line destroyed a barn. Smoke filled the air as crews from four fire departments extinguished the fire on State Line Road in southern Cass County. The call came in around 9:15 a.m. Fire officials say the barn was a total loss and didn't take long for it to go up in flames. “It was fully involved, so most of the fuel was consumed,” said Porter Fire Chief Mike Holdeman. “Just a big water dumping at this time (of putting out the fire)

A person was killed and another has minor injuries this morning in a two-car crash on Redfield Road between Gumwood Road and Ironwood Drive in Cass County. This happened just after 7 a.m., according to police dispatch.Police say 27-year-old Alan Steven of Elkhart lost control on the snow-covered road and slid into an oncoming pickup driven by 35-year-old James Heiermann of Niles. Steven was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say he was not wearing a seatbelt. Michigan State Police are investigating.

Just how healthy is the county you live in? A new study breaks down nearly every county in the country. The Robert Wood Johnson report released Wednesday looked at 25 factors, including childhood poverty, obesity and smoking rates, as well as social and economic factors, like graduation and crime rates to rank counties. St. Joseph County, Indiana came in average, placing 43rd out of 92 counties. That's the same ranking the county received last year, which has some health providers concerned.

CASS COUNTY -  It's been six years since a 34-year-old artist was found shot to death in rural Cass County, and today, police are no closer to understanding why someone would murder him. The case has been reviewed by three different investigative task forces,  featured on Crime Stoppers and on America's Most Wanted. But the family of Kendrick Chapman has no justice. At the Kalamazoo home where Chapman grew up, his artwork adorns the walls, and there is a shrine to his memory in the living room.

Some of us have received more snow this weekend than others. Some areas have seen whiteout conditions. New Carlisle was among the places that did Sunday morning, along with parts of southwest Michigan over the last 24 hours. Driving has been slick in places and may still be, depending on where you are. WSBT meteorologist Matt Rudkin says these were the official snowfall totals from Saturday morning through late Sunday morning, numbers released by the National Weather Service and Emergency Management Agency: Hudson Lake (LaPorte County)

DOWAGIAC, Mich. - A Dowagiac man is behind bars after police say he led them on a high-speed chase before driving his car into a house. Around 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Dowagiac police tried to make a traffic stop on a vehicle for a speeding violation on East Prairie Ronde St. near McOmber St. The driver fled east and attempted to turn right onto McCleary St. Police say the car was going too fast, slid off the road into a yard and hit the front...

CASS COUNTY, Mich. - Police say a car crashed in Cass County after a Three Rivers, Mich. woman fell asleep at the wheel. Shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday, Cass County deputies were called to U.S. 12 and Vera Drive in Porter Township. Investigators say 40-year-old Ginnie Williams was heading east on U.S. 12 when she fell asleep. The car carrying her and her two children went off the road, hit a generator and a pole. Fortunately, the two kids, aged 9 and 7, were treated and released on the scene to family members without any injuries.

CASSOPOLIS - She refused to show her boss her Facebook page. Now a Michigan teacher's aide is receiving the backing of the state's biggest education union - they're filing a lawsuit on her behalf. Kimberly Hester says last April she posted a picture of a co-worker's pants around her ankles on Facebook. It showed just the pants, ankles and shoes. A parent found it offensive and reported it to the school district. Hester says the photo wasn't posted during work hours.