Cass County

DOWAGIAC, Mich. - A Cass County teen was in court Thursday, a day after his arrest for having guns at school. 17-year-old Phillip Kocsis was arraigned on 7 counts and is being held in the Cass County Jail on $100,000 bond. In court, it was learned that witnesses told police Kocsis had a number of weapons in his SUV for about a week, bringing them to and from Dowagiac Union High School. Police on Wednesday searched Kocsis' vehicle and found a rifle, shotgun, ammunition for both weapons and a knife.

CASS COUNTY - The Edwardsburg Fire Department was dispatched to the scene of an explosion and fire in the 67000 block of Oil City Road Tuesday afternoon. That explosion destroyed one home and severely damaged another. Luckily no one was hurt. Phyllis Toney, who lived in the house that exploded, was in her front yard working at the time of the explosion. Her house quickly caught fire and one of the walls fell onto a neighboring home, setting it on fire. Everything she owned was destroyed.

CASS COUNTY - The hard knocks keep coming for a Cass County woman. Last year WSBT talked to her after her home was burglarized. On Tuesday night a fiery explosion destroyed her home, and her neighbor's house as well. It happened in the 6700 block of Oil City Road, northeast of Edwardsburg. Both homes are likely a total loss. Investigators have not ruled out gas as a cause. After 25 years in her home, Phyllis Toney has to start over. Everything she owned perished.

MASON TOWNSHIP, MI - A FedEx worker is in fair condition after a crash Saturday afternoon on Cassopolis Street near U.S. 12. This happened around 2:15 p.m. Police say Charles Ingersol, a 60-year-old Illinois resident, tried to pass a car illegally on Cassopolis when he hit a FedEx truck driven by 48-year-old Indiana resident Stephen Delieghter and his passenger, 38-year-old David Trethewey. Delieghter attempted to avoid the collision and crashed into a tree resulting in injuries.

The family of a Cass County woman says they believe she died of fungal meningitis after receiving tainted back pain injections at an Elkhart clinic. They now join a growing list of people across the United States who have lost loved ones in an outbreak linked to tainted steroid shots. Marsha Martin, of Bristol, is still waiting for autopsy results, but she says doctors all agreed that her mother, 89 year old Pauline Burema, was one of the victims of a national meningitis outbreak.

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.

CASS COUNTY - An incident involving a toy gun that put a Cass County high school on lockdown has been forwarded to the prosecutor. Police were called to Dowagiac Union High School Thursday morning about a possible gun. They placed the school on lock down and started searching the school. Police say it turned out it was an airsoft toy gun. Officers say they have identified everyone that was involved.

NILES - An official WARN notice has been released for Hess Industries in Cass County. The notice says the company may close in August but in fact it shut down Wednesday, leaving 135 people without work. WARN offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. According to the WARN notice, Hess Industries experienced a lack of funding from lenders that would lead to the closure later this summer.

A 14-year-old Three Rivers teen died Monday evening as a result of a diving accident on Welburn Road in Newberg Township in Cass County. Adam Learn died just after 5:30 p.m. Cass County police say he and two of his teenage friends were swimming in a private pond with a diving platform. One jumped from the top of the platform and landed on Learn feet first. The medical examiner has ruled the death an accident. Friends set up a Facebook page in his memory, “Rest in Peace Adam Learn” via http://www.facebook.com/WSBTNews#!

Police say a 29-year-old Edwardsburg man was killed just before 2 a.m. when his car left the road and struck a tree. The Thanksgiving morning crash happened on Conrad Road just south of May Street in Cass County, say police. A passing driver noticed the wreck and called 911. The deceased is Caleb A. Marcin. Police say he was traveling at a high rate of speed when the crash happened. They also say alcohol was involved. Seatbelts were used and airbags did deploy, say police.