Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record

Douglas eyes bond to reset old hospital

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20242 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor Douglas City Council agreed Monday to hire Miller Canfield as legal counsel to help issue $4 million in improvement bonds to renovate 415 Wiley Road as a new city hall and police department. The city Aug.…

Saugatuck soccer sets record for wins

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20242 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorWith its 7-0 win over Lawton on Wednesday, Oct. 2, the Saugatuck boys soccer team set a record for wins in a season with 12.On Monday, Oct. 7, the Trailblazers added to that total.Hosting Schoolcraft, Saugatuck secured…

Obituary: Kathryn ‘Kit’ Lane

Obituary: Kathryn ‘Kit’ Lane

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20244 min read

Kathryn ‘Kit’ Lane was lovingly welcomed into Heaven gates on Oct. 1, 2024, following years of courageously battling Parkinson’s disease.Kit was born Friday, Oct. 13, 1939 to Mabel and Lawrence Erickson. She would grow up telling everyone that Friday the…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20244 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorDating BaseWhy do I need DatingAdvice.com? At my age I do only blind dates and carbon dating. Still, for us fossils, there’s always something new.The website says “hardworking” is the one word single women use most to describe…

Veep hopeful seeks catch here

Veep hopeful seeks catch here

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20241 min read

It’s not every day a Vice Presidential candidate swings by Saugatuck. But that’s what Republican hopeful JD Vance did Oct. 4, pausing while campaigning in West Michigan to go fishing with his son Vivek, 4. A security police presence spotted…

DES string spray precedes Oct. 18 Walk-a-thon

DES string spray precedes Oct. 18 Walk-a-thon

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20241 min read

Douglas Elementary School geared up for its annual PTO-sponsored Walk-a-thon fundraiser Friday, Oct. 18 with an in-school Silly String Celebration Friday, Sept. 27.The 113 students who raised more than $300 in Walk-a-thon pledges were invited out on the nearby baseball…

Douglas forum cites infrastructure needs

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20243 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorFive of six candidates for four open two-year seats on the Douglas City Council addressed issues at a Holland League of Women Voters-sponsored forum Oct. 2 in the Saugatuck-Douglas District Library.Incumbents Greg Freeman, John O’Malley, Neal Seabert and…

Mike’s Musings: Donate if you can, Helene a monster

Mike’s Musings: Donate if you can, Helene a monster

Editorial StaffOct 9, 20243 min read

We all are too familiar with it now. I am writing about the devastation that we witnessed in western North Carolina last week. Hurricane Helene, which swept through Florida quickly and then motored up to the Carolina’s within a blink…

Douglas plans Water Street work

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20241 min read

Douglas plans to close one lane of Water Street for bit valley gutter curb replacement Thursday, Oct. 3, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The city Sept. 25 announce it has hired Bruce’s Blacktop to pave about 450 feet of…

Saugatuck to retop asphalt streets

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20241 min read

Saugatuck city will conduct two to three weeks of asphalt repairs starting Monday, Oct. 7, the city announced last week. Receiving new topcoats will be: • Francis Street from Water to Butler streets and from Holland to Elizabeth streets; •…

Write in school board votes Nov. 5

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20241 min read

Voters for Saugatuck Public Schools board seats will have to write in candidates’ names during the general election Nov. 5. The district will have five seats available: four for four-year terms ending Dec. 31, 2028; and one two-partial seat ending…

Saugatuck soccer performs well

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20241 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorThe unbeaten streak reached four games for the Saugatuck boys soccer team thanks to a 7-0 road win over Bridgman on Monday, Sept. 30.That marked the second straight game in which the Trailblazers scored seven goals, as…

Obituary: Duane Newmeyer

Obituary: Duane Newmeyer

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20242 min read

Duane Newmeyer of Saugatuck, born Aug. 13, 1932, passed away peacefully at his home on Sept. 29, 2024. Duane was preceded in death by his parents Raymond and Cora Newmeyer and his life partner of 53 years Erwin Musloff. Surviving…

Bumper crop

Bumper crop

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20241 min read

What a year it has been for apples! Crane Orchards’ U-Pick options on M-89 west of Fennville have been bustling during sunny and pleasant early-fall afternoons. (Photo by Scott Sullivan)

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20243 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorLossWe’re not out of the woods on bird flu. Nor sky either. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development warns although deaths are down, we cannot relax our vigilance.MDARD Director Tim Boring says Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza…

Douglas drain work won’t come cheap

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20243 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorDouglas is seeking ways to meet costs to repair the Warnock Drain under Ferry Street, closed between West Shore Drive and Campbell Street since Aug. 2, and maintain its remaining four miles that run through town.City manager Lisa…

White out, city council seeks to fill empty seat

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20242 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorFirst-year Saugatuck city councilman Logan White’s Sept. 23 resignation because he had bought a new home in Holland left peers seeking a replacement for the remainder of his two-year term.It comes at an interesting time, with a Nov.…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20248 min read

    At one time or another, almost every child born in the United States has given at least a passing thought to the idea of being the President.  It is a noble idea, and more than anything else, it indicates…

Mike’s Musings: National debt crisis- here’s one lawmakers solution

Mike’s Musings: National debt crisis- here’s one lawmakers solution

Editorial StaffOct 2, 20243 min read

Readers of this column know I have been an avid proponent of balancing the federal budget. Our leaders simply refuse to turn off the money spending spigot, i.e., one has to only listen to the two presidential candidates and their…

Douglas fetes water rescuers

Douglas fetes water rescuers

Editorial StaffSep 25, 20243 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor When need called, they came. The six citizens who helped a man whose pickup truck plunged into the Kalamazoo River Aug.15 were cited by Douglas City Council Monday, Sept. 16, they being: • Richard Beaudreault,  •…