Fennville Schools’ mechanic achieves third perfect bus inspection
By Jordan WilcoxAssistant Publisher For the third time in five years, Fennville Public Schools lead mechanic, Dave Johnson, has achieved a perfect school bus inspection score.Perfect inspections are rare and very hard to achieve. Less than 5% of Michigan school…
Mike’s Musings: Even county governments spend unwisely: Case study, Allegan County
Our government, whether it is at the local, county, state or federal level, makes numerous decisions on how they spend taxpayers’ money. Some we can agree with, some we can’t. I would like to think with the advent of social…
Life as Performance Art
Sixty years ago a classmate said something insulting and demeaning. It left me with a choice: I could either turn his nose to 12 or tattle to the teacher. I chose the latter and right after school he turned my…
Otsego Library hosts various Valentine’s Day events
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us.And at the Otsego District Library, there are events scheduled for patrons of all ages to help celebrate.The Valentine’s events kick off on Saturday, Feb. 8, when the library is hosting…
Paper Gator contest provides ODL opportunity to win prize money
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor When Andrea Estelle took over as director of the Otsego District Library nearly 12 years ago, one of the first projects she tackled was getting involved with the PaperGator Recycling program.The partnership between the library and…
Plainwell seeks participants for upcoming Art Hop
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor On Friday, March 7, the City of Plainwell will host its annual Art Hop, which highlights the work of local artists in downtown boutiques, shops, restaurants and pop-up spaces.And in preparation for the events, organizers are…
Saugatuck trio leads Trailblazers to win over G-A
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor GALESBURG—Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger; Luke Skywalker, Princess Lia and Han Solo; Shrek, Donkey and Fiona; Alvin, Simon and Theodore; the Three Musketeers.That is a list of some pretty terrific trios.And in its SAC…
Obituary: Michael Alfred Melms
Michael Alfred Melms, 79, of Allegan, passed away on Wednesday evening, January 22, 2025, after a prolonged battle with cancer. He was born May 19,1945, in Detroit, Michigan, to the late Alfred and Edith (Parry) Melms. Mike was a long-time…
Obituary: Scott Arthur Lanxon
Scott Arthur Lanxon, a man of adventure and the outdoors, passed away peacefully on January 20, 2025, in Ashley, Michigan, at the age of 69. Born on May 20, 1955, in Holland, Michigan to his late parents, Garrett and Evelyn…
Obituary: James J. Larson
James J. Larson, age 71, passed away on December 6, 2024, after a months long battle with cancer. Jim was born in Kalamazoo on December 22, 1952, the second of three children born to David and Janet Larson. He moved…
Glenn School to be awarded AED at Never Forgotten Game
By Gari Voss The Wes Leonard Heart Team came to birth from the tragedy of Wes Leonard collapsing after making the game winning shot for the Fennville High School basketball team. No one knew exactly what to do and attempts…
Allegan City Council opens door to marijuana events and welcomes new intern
By Gari Voss Allegan City Council’s January 17, 2025’s business began with the First Reading of Ordinanc-es 525 and 526, which is a zoning text amendment that would allow for temporary marijuana events. They moved forward to adjusting the meeting…
Mike’s Musings: Defund NGO’s, and do it now
If you’ve been watching the crisis at our southern border, you might wonder what has happened to the millions of illegal immigrants that crossed the border the last few years. Where do they go, and how are they supported you…
Life as Performance Art
By now we have all seen bleak photos from the fire zones in southern California. Thousands of homes, busi-nesses, churches and schools have been reduced to rubble.Other places have been so badly damaged they may have to be pulled down.…
Unified Champion Schools program expands in Otsego
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor The Unified Champion Schools program is expanding at Otsego Public Schools.The program, which started at Otsego High School two years ago, is now also being offered at Dix Street Elementary and Otsego Middle School.A Special Olympics…
OHS National Honor Society sponsors Share the Warmth event
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor The recent arctic blast sent temperatures in the area crashing to or below zero degrees.Times like that serve as a reminder of how important it is to have the proper outdoor clothing during the harsh Michigan…
Allegan falls to South Haven
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor SOUTH HAVEN—Too much Ly’Nique Cunningham.Yep. That pretty much sums it up when it comes to the Allegan girls basketball team’s game against host South Haven on Friday, Jan. 17.Cunningham scored 27 points to account for nearly…
Otsego’s Lane Blanchard joins dad in 100-win club
By Jason WesseldykSports Editor Like father, like son.That age-old adage certainly holds true for the Otsego father-son duo of Jesse and Lane Blanchard when it comes to the wrestling mats.During the Three Rivers Super Duals earlier this month, Lane Blanchard—a…
Obituary: JoAnne Dolhay
JoAnne Dolhay of Kalamazoo, died on Monday, January 13, 2025 in her home. Born November 5th, 1946 in Allegan, Michigan, she was the daughter of the late Joseph and Dorothy Herpst. JoAnne’s life was defined by her determination, quick wit,…
Brrrrrrr…now that’s cold!
By Jordan WilcoxAssistant Publisher Allegan turned into a winter wonderland overnight as snow blanketed the city and temperatures slipped into the negatives.On Sunday, Allegan saw its warmest temperature of the month, 40 degrees. However, overnight, temperatures sharply dropped down by…
