Allegan County News & Union Enterprise

Obituary: William Allen Simpson, 46

Obituary: William Allen Simpson, 46

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 3 min read

William Allen Simpson, 46, of Cutlerville, Michigan, went to be with his Lord and Savior on Thursday, August 25, 2022 at Holland Hospital. Born October 14, 1975 in Allegan, Michigan, he was the son of Janis Stora and William Simpson…

Obituary: Carol Lorraine Kollar, 80

Obituary: Carol Lorraine Kollar, 80

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 1 min read

Carol Lorraine Kollar, 80, of Allegan passed away Saturday, August 20, 2022 at her beloved cottage on Muskrat Lake. Carol shared many wonderful times with a large circle of friends and was always ready for an adventure. She was a…

Obituary: William Lee Reurink, 69

Obituary: William Lee Reurink, 69

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 1 min read

William Lee Reurink “Wilber,” age 69, lost his ten year battle with cancer and passed away peacefully, while surrounded by his family, Tuesday, August 16, 2022 in Wayland, MI. He is survived by his siblings Tom, Bob, Caroline, Mike, Cathy,…

Obituary: Harold L. Franklin, Jr., 87

Obituary: Harold L. Franklin, Jr., 87

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 2 min read

Harold L. Franklin, Jr., 87, of Dyersburg, TN, passed away on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, at West Tennessee Healthcare Dyersburg Hospital.Harold was born on October 12, 1934, in Lansing, MI, to the late Harold Franklin, Sr. and the late Marguerite…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 6 min read

     JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, also wrote the script for a play, and later a movie, he called The Old Lady Shows her Medals.  It is set right after World War One in London.  The plot is disarmingly simple: an…

Sorry, but I don’t want to pay for your loan

Sorry, but I don’t want to pay for your loan

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 3 min read

It’s so great to be a taxpayer in the United States. Our government continues to pile on the middle class with new tax after new tax.Now we are being told we must contribute to the $500 billion slush fund that…

Strong storms blow through county producing outages

Strong storms blow through county producing outages

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 2 min read

Jason WesseldykSports Editor For the second time in less than a month, a strong storm system ripped through the area.The most recent of those storms hit the Otsego and Plainwell between 3:30 and 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29. And…

Riverfront to lose zipline; moved to Events Center

Riverfront to lose zipline; moved to Events Center

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 3 min read

By Gari Voss Allegan Event announced that it would be removing the Zip Line from the Allegan Riverfront for use in an outdoor expansion to their Event Center on River Street in Allegan.In 2017, Allegan Event entered into a partner…

Weekend events plentiful as summer comes to close

Weekend events plentiful as summer comes to close

Editorial Staff Aug 31, 2022 7 min read

The last weekend of August 2022 found the Rollin’ On the River and Good Times at the Gazebo presenting their final Summer 2022 concerts. The Fire Department offered breakfast to hundreds while musicians offered music to shoppers at Village Market.…

Weaver leads Wayland boys to win at mini invitational

Editorial Staff Aug 24, 2022 1 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor WAYLAND—The Wayland boys cross country team eked out a win by the slimmest of margins at the season-opening Wayland Mini Invite on Monday, Aug. 22.The buoyed by the winning effort of Devin Weaver (17:48), the Wildcats…

Allegan swim wins opener

Editorial Staff Aug 24, 2022 1 min read

The Allegan girls swim & dive team came home with a 92-89 win over Portage Northern in its first meet of the season.Bella Festerling had the team’s only individual top honors, winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle, while also…

Pray for Alzheimer’s cure

Pray for Alzheimer’s cure

Editorial Staff Aug 24, 2022 3 min read

Of all the conditions or diseases, one might encounter, Alzheimer’s/dementia is in my opinion the worst.Many of us know a mother, father or a close relative that has suffered from this disease that saps almost all memory from a person.…

Life as a Performance Art

Life as a Performance Art

Editorial Staff Aug 24, 2022 7 min read

   Play, we are told, is the work of children.  Einstein wrote that when children play it is the beginning of all research. A classic example that philosophy might be the great American architect Frank Lloyd Wright.  As a youngster his mother sat…

Weekend festivals bring crowds to Allegan

Weekend festivals bring crowds to Allegan

Editorial Staff Aug 24, 2022 5 min read

By Gari Voss 2022 Fiber FestivalThe weekend of August 20-21, 2002 really began on Wednesday for the 2022 Fiber Festival at the Allegan County Fairgrounds. That is when folks first arrived to participate in the first of 59 fiber arts…

Mike’s Musings: Don’t be scam victim

Mike’s Musings: Don’t be scam victim

Editorial Staff Aug 17, 2022 3 min read

By Mike WilcoxPublisherScammers are everywhere these days, often where you least expect them.I ran into a group a couple nights ago while trying to call Spectrum to fix my internet.Spectrum wants you to make all inquiries online, so they do…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Aug 17, 2022 6 min read

By G.C. Stoppel A recent TV insurance commercial shows an older man trying to help young people not turn into their parents. Good luck with that one. Why run from their attributes and quirks when it gives you instant status as…

Students receive free backpacks, school supplies

Students receive free backpacks, school supplies

Editorial Staff Aug 17, 2022 3 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Otsego Summer Fun Nights—a collaborative effort between the City of Otsego, Otsego Public Schools and Otsego Main Street—provided free entertainment for families and free meals for children on Wednesday evenings during the summer.It also played a…

Downtown Plainwell’s sidewalk sales thrive despite rain

Downtown Plainwell’s sidewalk sales thrive despite rain

Editorial Staff Aug 17, 2022 2 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Merchants in downtown Plainwell were hoping for sunny, warm weather for the sidewalk sale event on Saturday, Aug. 13.Instead, they got rain and cooler-than-normal temperatures.But not even those less-than-perfect conditions kept customers away, according to City…

Football Preview:

Football Preview:

Editorial Staff Aug 17, 2022 15 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor ALLEGANAllegan football will enter a new era in 2022.After playing the 2021 as an independent, the Tigers are joining the SAC as members of the Lakeshore Division.Allegan previously played in the Wolverine Conference, where it had…

Obituary: Richard Steffen

Obituary: Richard Steffen

Editorial Staff Aug 17, 2022 1 min read

Richard Steffen passed away peacefully at his home on July 13, 2022 with his 5 children by his side. Richard was born June 15, 1935 and is survived by his children, Mark Steffen, Mike Steffen, Debra Moresco, Denise Nealy and…

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.