Allegan County News & Union Enterprise

OHS drumline participates in W. Michigan Drum Bash

OHS drumline participates in W. Michigan Drum Bash

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 4 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor BYRON CENTER—Earlier this month, the Annual West Michigan Drum Bash took place at Byron Center High School.Among eight high school drumlines invited to participate in this prestigious event? None other than Otsego High School.“It was an…

OPS elementary students receive special performance

OPS elementary students receive special performance

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 3 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Students from Otsego Public Schools’ three elementary buildings—Alamo, Dix Street and Washington Street—recently took a field trip to Bulldog Stadium.The reason? To watch the high school marching band perform its halftime show along with teaching the…

PHS students use VR to learn about Holocaust

PHS students use VR to learn about Holocaust

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 1 min read

Students in Mrs. Trahan’s Holocaust class at PHS were granted a remarkable opportunity to enhance their studies through virtual reality. Thanks to a scholarship from the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center, the museum loaned VR headsets to the class.…

Otsego cross country teams claim Wolverine Conference titles

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 2 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor PAW PAW—It was a double win for the Otsego cross country teams at the Wolverine Conference Championship Meet on Tuesday, Oct. 14.The Otsego girls dominated, winning with 18 points to finish just three points away from…

Allegan volleyball upends Trailblazers

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 1 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor SAUGATUCK—A standout performance from Camdyn Drozd helped carry the Allegan volleyball team to a 25-21, 25-11, 25-17 win over host Saugatuck on Thursday, Oct. 16.Drozd racked up 12 kills and 13 digs, both of which led…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 7 min read

By G.C. StoppelEighty years ago this month a new kitchen appliance revolutionized cooking thanks to a young engineer who had worked late into the night on projects for the military.Percy Spencer had dropped out of school when he was 12…

November 4th elections affect several municipalities

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 7 min read

By Gari Voss Calling all resident who live in the cities of Douglas, Fennville, Holland Wards 4/9 and 5/11, Saugatuck, South Haven, and Wayland. Also needed are residents of Casco, Fillmore, Gun Plain, Hopkins, Leighton, Overisel, Salem and Wayland Townships.…

ESA decries loss of early childhood program funding

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 4 min read

By Gari Voss The budget signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer may have been lauded by some, but the early childhood programs across Michigan took a huge hit. All of the funding for the Great Start Collaborative programs were cut. Translated,…

BOC approvcs construction firm for medical facility improvements

BOC approvcs construction firm for medical facility improvements

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 2 min read

By John RaffelCorrespondent Acting on a late addition to the Board of Commissioners (BOC) agenda at last Thursday’s nighttime annual meeting, former commissioner James Storey said the body approvedan agreement with Beckering Construction to manage the improvements to the county’smedical…

Mike’s Musings: Why Michigan Should Say “No” to Ranked-Choice Voting

Mike’s Musings: Why Michigan Should Say “No” to Ranked-Choice Voting

Editorial Staff Oct 22, 2025 5 min read

As Michigan stands at a crossroad on whether to adopt Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) statewide, voters and policymakers ought to pause and ask: what problem is RCV truly solving — and at what cost? The case against this change is stronger…

Allegan swim & dive team picks up victory over Hastings

Editorial Staff Oct 15, 2025 2 min read

The Allegan girls swim & dive team earned an 85-75 victory over Hastings on Tuesday, Oct. 7.With such a small roster, the Tigers knew every swim would matter—and they rose to the challenge, according to head coach Carol Gephart.“The girls…

Otsego captures second consecutive regional crown

Editorial Staff Oct 15, 2025 3 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor EAST LANSING—Prior to last season, the Otsego girls golf team had never won a regional championship.Now the Bulldogs have captured back-to-back regional titlesParticipating in the Division 3 regional at Michigan State University’s Forest Akers East on…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Oct 15, 2025 5 min read

I put on a DVD of George Clooney’s film “Good Night and Good Luck” the other evening. Although 20 years old, it is just as relevant, if not more so, today.It’’s the story of U.S. news reporter (radio, journalism and television), Edward…

Mike’s Musings: A time to celebrate, hostages have been released

Mike’s Musings: A time to celebrate, hostages have been released

Editorial Staff Oct 15, 2025 4 min read

I don’t care how bad your Trump Derangement Syndrome might be, you have to give the man credit for orchestrating a deal that released the 20 living Israeli hostages from the grips of Hamas on Monday.On Monday, the world witnessed…

Sylvia’s Place a champion of domestic violence victims for many years

Sylvia’s Place a champion of domestic violence victims for many years

Editorial Staff Oct 15, 2025 8 min read

By Gari Voss October is domestic violence awareness month. The color is purple and is associated with the fight to end domestic violence. The Allegan City Hall staff including the City Police have joined a county-wide effort to bring awareness…

SHARK founder names names of other alleged cockfighters in area

Editorial Staff Oct 15, 2025 2 min read

By Elizabeth FersztContributing Writer In another twist in the cockfighting story that has been developing since July of this year, SHARK founder Steve Hindi now says that he has the names and addresses of nine (9) other alleged cockfighters who…

Otsego Library benefits from Eagle Scout Project

Otsego Library benefits from Eagle Scout Project

Editorial Staff Oct 8, 2025 3 min read

The Otsego District Public Library saw significant improvements to its outdoor spaces thanks to the leadership and service of Eagle Scout candidate Amelia Helen Tuttle of Troop 191, Lakeshore District, Michigan Crossroads Council.Amelia’s project, titled Library Landscaping, focused on enhancing both the safety…

Plainwell royalty

Plainwell royalty

Editorial Staff Oct 8, 2025 1 min read

Plainwell Community Schools held its annual homecoming festivities the week of Monday, Sept. 29. And as always, the week culminated with the crowning of this year’s royalty.Alyssa Weldon (left) was named this year’s queen, while Andrew Hampton was named this…

Plainwell hosts informational meeting for Battle of the Books

Plainwell hosts informational meeting for Battle of the Books

Editorial Staff Oct 8, 2025 2 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Battle of the Books has become an annual tradition for area elementary school students.A quiz-bowl-style competition designed for students in grades three through five, Battle of the Books features three rounds of seven questions based on…

Hamilton, Otsego, Allegan compete at D3 invitational

Editorial Staff Oct 8, 2025 3 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor HOLLAND—The annual Holland Christian D3 Midseason Invitational took place on Saturday, Oct. 4, and three local teams were among included in the 12-team field.Hamilton had the best showing of that trio, placing fifth with 212 points.…

By Mike Wilcox
Owner/Publisher

Every year, as the Christmas season draws near, I’m reminded just how generous our communities can be. For nearly two decades, Wilcox Newspapers has hosted what’s become one of my favorite traditions: our Annual Christmas Wish Program.

It started simply enough. We asked readers who were struggling to write in and tell us what would make their Christmas a little brighter. The idea was to connect local families in need with local people who wanted to help. Over the years, it’s grown into something truly special—and this year, we’re doing it again.