Commissioners tap Dunham to lead broadband expansion
By John RaffelCorrespondent ALLEGAN – The Allegan County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution at its meeting last week setting broadband expansion, water and wastewater infrastructure as priorities for the use of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation from…
Funding issues plague health department, state may have solution
By John RaffelCorrespondent ALLEGAN – Allegan County Board of Commissioners chairman Jim Storey reported the state legislature last week approved $1.2 billion in healthcare aid for Michigan residents, including funding for COVID-19 early treatment and various testing supports.A total of…
Snowfest returns to Marion after two year hiatus
By Steve Landon On a snowy day way back in 2001 a bunch of area vintage snowmobile enthusiast gathered to show and race their sleds at the Marion Fairgrounds / Veterans Memorial Park, it would mark the first time since…
Obituary: Robert “Rob” Miller
Robert “Rob” Miller, age 65, of Haines, Alaska, (formerly of Clare) passed away suddenly on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at his home. He was born the son of Duane and Betty (Severson) Miller on Feb. 16, 1956. He graduated from Clare…
Obituary: Jeffrey R. Witbeck
Jeffrey R. Witbeck; age 67 of Beaverton; formerly of Shepherd, passed away Saturday, February 6, 2022 at his home with family by his side. Jeff was born March 9, 1954 the son of Robert and Gladys (Kenny) Witbeck. He enjoyed…
Obituary: Paul Kevin Morgan
Paul Kevin Morgan age 67 of Marion passed away at Autumnwood of McBain on Sunday, February 6, 2022. He was born on February 19, 1954 in Mt. Clemens to Sylvan Henry and Betty Lou (Ragsdale) Morgan.Paul moved to the Marion…
May I Walk With You? Synod 2021-2023
Pope Francis has called the whole church to participate in Synod 2021-2023. A synod is simply an assembly of the People of God-the Church. Generally, synods have been gatherings of Bishops and clergy, along with others of special expertise. With…
Postcard from the Pines: What’s that got to do with the price of butter and eggs?
In each of my numerous computers I’ve kept a document file titled ‘IGA’. It was/is for the purpose of collecting and saving Marion Food Market/Bernie’s IGA Foodliner advertising, photos, clippings and memories. I’ve been at it a long time, but…
Pat’s Bits & Pieces: Valentine’s Day Monday
I was nearly 19 before I got my first heart-shaped box of chocolates from a boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. I was totally thrilled.Of course, I got loads of elementary school style “Valentines” (which were required) from classmates from Kindergarten days…
Farwell girls tame Harrison in season opener
by Ben MurphySports Writer The Farwell girls basketball team built an early double digit lead in its season opener with Harrison Wednesday night. The Lady Eagles didn’t play quite as well as the night rolled on, but still managed to…
Marion girls hang on for season opening win
by Ben MurphySports Writer It was a good start to the new season for the Marion girls basketball team Tuesday night. The Lady Eagles, playing at Manistee Catholic Central held a lead for most of the contest, and hung on…
Late Darren Acton named Irish Fest Grand Marshal
By Pat MaurerCorrespondent For the first time ever, Clare’s famous Irish Parade will have a posthumous Grand Marshall.Darren Acton, who wore many Civic Hats throughout his life in the Clare Community and “volunteered” for a multitude of events and fundraisers,…
One injured in Clare High Rise fire
By Pat MaurerCorrespondent A Gateway Village Apartments resident was injured last Saturday when a fire started in her apartment on the third floor of the High Rise., located at 235 Gateway Village Drive.The Clare Fire Department was called to the…
Faces in the Crowd: James “Jimmy” Johnson
Jimmy Johnson, the son of George and Bonnie Johnson, grew up in much the same way many locals do:Living in town, riding bikes with friends, and hanging out at the local basketball court.He’d listen to some of his dad’s stories,…
Douglas seeks to clear PCB block holdup
BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall” has nothing on the ex-Douglas Haworth Plant. Melching Demolition, which in December began razing the 150,300 square-foot ex-factory and two utility buildings above ground at 200 Blue Star Hwy.,…
Township Defranco operations coordinator
BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Resident and planning commission member Daniel DeFranco has been hired by the Saugatuck Township Board as operations coordinator on a month-to-month basis to fill the staffing gap left when members parted ways suddenly with ex-manager Joe…
Township weighs multi-color brand
BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Could the above be Saugatuck Township’s new logo? The board, after close to six months of deliberating, was slated Wednesday, Feb. 9 — too late for this week’s Commercial Record print deadline — to decide. The…
City ranks Felkers, Main projects tops
BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR So little money, so many needs. Douglas City Council, not alone facing said situation, has prioritized a Main Street water main and Felkers water, road and sewer issues tops amongeight projects members have discussed addressing in…
New vendor to float Douglas boats
BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Douglas will have a new kayak and stand-up paddleboard rental vendor at Wade’s Bayou after 18 years. Council Monday approved granting St. Joseph-based Third Coast Surf Shop a 3-year lease to operate out of the waterfront…
Mike’s Musings: A day I don’t want to repeat
Sometimes it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. One of those days was last week, when I boarded anairplane in Orlando to Detroit.Now all I had heard days before is how this once-in-a-decade blizzard was blanketing Michigan. Iassumed…
