Get on your mark, get set, GO! Shamrocks Cael Johnson, Connor Beebe, Kameron Sill, Natalie Ott, Elidia Zuniga were among several Rock runners who got off to a good start during the Laker Coed Invitational at Riverview Park. The Berrien…

First Church of God offers to purchase Student Activity Center By Debra Haight J-E Correspondent Eau Claire Board of Education members are looking at the future of the district’s Student Activity Center (SAC). The district has not been regularly using…

 —Four generations of the family work at producing 130 products— Pat Veine, left, and Garry Zick, president of the company, display a section of their retail shop. Veine works in retail and sales, and is also working on route expansion…

Love Creek County Park on Huckleberry Road in Berrien Township will allow a limited number of deer hunters to participate in a controlled hunt this year to help manage the park’s deer population, Director Derek Pelc reported. “The hunt is…

By Tom Kimmel Even the letters to the editor in the WSJ are full of good advice and so here from the Sept. 12-13 issue: “Today, I have more liquid assets than I ever thought possible. I tell those interested…

By John R. Nay This is a general commentary column, but recently I was thinking about my topic selection. I could offer statistics on my topic choices since I’ve been writing for the Journal Era, but I don’t want to…

By Brian E. Strayer A few years ago, a retired friend and I watched the movie “Dunkirk” (2017) about the amazing rescue between May 26 and June 4, 1940, of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers trapped between Hitler’s…

Sunflower seeds are popular with both birds and people. by Journalist Jay Our winter visitors and residents are beginning to arrive! White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows are moving into the area. Hopefully it can be a good winter for the Red-breasted…

Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Police Officer James Wyss reported that Valerie Turner, driving a Freightliner owned by Made It Logistics of Fort Worth, Texas, stated that she swerved to avoid hitting an animal and then lost control of her vehicle, overturning…

The 47th annual Chapel Hill United Methodist Church’s annual Arts & Crafts Show will be held October 3 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the commercial barns at the Berrien County Youth Fairgrounds in Berrien Springs. Approximately 270 artists…

Superintendent Dr. Thomas Bruce reported on the first two weeks of school at the recent Board of Education meeting as classes began Aug. 31, and CARMI Design representatives reported on projects that were done over the summer. “We’ve had a…

By Debra Haight J-E Correspondent Recent action by the Berrien County Commissioners has made the future of the former Berrien General Hospital property even more uncertain. The hospital building on Dean’s Hill Road has been vacant since the Sacred Heart…

Villwocks Outdoor Living will welcome families from across Southwest Michigan for its Fall Family Festival on Thursday, October 22, from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. on M-139 in Berrien Springs. The free community event will bring together local businesses and organizations…

By Journalist Jay If you’re lucky enough to have a wetland, pond, or persistent wet area on your property, there is a very good chance you have cattails there. The cattail is an emergent plant commonly found on the edges…

By Brian E. Strayer Let the Cat Out of the Bag Have you ever noticed that cats, unlike dogs, seem to enjoy hiding inside bags and boxes? Over the course of my childhood, we had at least a dozen cats…

By John R. Nay Seeing that Page One(1) above-the-fold photo in last week’s Journal Era prompted a mix of emotions in me – all negative. The picture of the vandalism at the new park facilities left me unhappily surprised, saddened,…

By Tom Kimmel The other day I ran into—figuratively speaking—the Berrien Springs public works people who are best known for plowing snow and putting up Christmas decorations in town and who drive out to one of my farms regularly dumping…

By Tom Kimmel Well, that last week’s introduction to this complex subject was almost too exciting for me to handle, particularly as I had a temporal incongruity in the middle of it all.  We will keep wading through, but first…

“Smile: It’s Autumn!” By John R. Nay Regular readers of my ravings probably noticed last week that something happened at the bottom of three columns of my article. I know that at least a few people noticed it. These things…

By Brian E. Strayer Kick the Bucket If someone told you that a mutual friend had “kicked the bucket” last week, what would you think? Doubtless you would consider their use of that phrase an insensitive way of informing you…