Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record

Township greenlights auto, brewery plan

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20242 min read

Transforming the current Ihle Auto Service building into a brewery and placing a new car repair shop at 6525 Blue Star Hwy. won Saugatuck Township Planning Commission approval Oct. 15. Planning chair David Ihle, who recused himself from discussions, and…

Obituary: Robert ‘Page’ Neve

Obituary: Robert ‘Page’ Neve

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20243 min read

Robert ‘Page’ Neve, 79 Robert “Page” Neve, age 79, of Fennville, passed away Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 at his home under the loving care of his wife, Jeanie, and Corewell Health Hospice. The son of Forrest and Mary Elizabeth (Winkler)…

Obituary: Robert Lampen

Obituary: Robert Lampen

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20242 min read

Robert Lampen, 87 Robert (Bob) James Lampen died peacefully at home on Tuesday Oct. 8 in Fennville at age 87 after a brief battle with esophageal cancer. Bob is survived by his significant other, Judi Atman of Holland; son Douglas…

Obituary: Gary Diepenhorst

Obituary: Gary Diepenhorst

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20241 min read

Gary Diepenhorst, 84 Captain Gary Lee Diepenhorst, beloved father and friend, peacefully passed away at his home at the age of 84 on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024.  Gary was born and raised in Saugatuckand graduated from Saugatuck High School.  He…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20244 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorHunter’s MoonThe year’s largest supermoon, the October Hunter’s one — came and went last week.“With the leaves falling and the deer fattened,” says the Farmer’s Almanac, “it is time to hunt. Since the harvesters have reaped the fields,…

North Shores advances inland condos plan

North Shores advances inland condos plan

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20242 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorThe Saugatuck Township Planning Commission Oct. 15 granted North Shores of Saugatuck preliminary site plan approval for a 21.42-acre, eight-condominium development north of 135th Avenue.North Shores, whose principal is Holland-based Padnos Inc. president Jeff Padnos, owns more than…

Council clicks on Clark by split count

Council clicks on Clark by split count

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20244 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorA split Saugatuck City Council Oct. 17 tapped Joe Clark to fill a seat vacated Sept. 24 by Logan White, who resigned from council because he is moving out of town.Mayor Lauren Stanton, mayor pro-tem Helen Baldwin, Scott…

Life as Performance Art: Life as Conspiracy theories

Life as Performance Art: Life as Conspiracy theories

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20246 min read

     Just before he left the White House for the last time, President Eisenhower warned the nation about the dangers and threats of the Military Industrial Complex.  To simplify it, the military was always looking for new and better weapons,…

Mike’s Musings: Move made me realize how important one vote is

Mike’s Musings: Move made me realize how important one vote is

Editorial StaffOct 23, 20243 min read

I had the opportunity to watch SWING VOTE, a 2008 film starring Kevin Costner, that was about a down on his luck, fired from his job, alcoholic in New Mexico, that had the voter machine eat his ballot as he…

Trailblazers fall to Schoolcraft

Editorial StaffOct 17, 20242 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorSCHOOLCRAFT—In the fourth quarter of the SAC football game between visiting Saugatuck and host Schoolcraft, Trailblazer Norm Bos found the end zone on a 7-yard run.That was enough to enable Saugatuck to avoid the shutout. But it…

Obituary: Peter Lenzo, 68

Obituary: Peter Lenzo, 68

Editorial StaffOct 17, 20242 min read

Peter Lenzo died peacefully at home after bravely facing decades of seizures and their repercussions while still managing to live and love to the fullest and to transform his intellect and heart and soul into beautiful and meaningful art. He…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial StaffOct 17, 20244 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorBlowupIt was a tough week for Tropicanas. LasVegas blew up the Tropicana Oct. 9, then Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., hours later.The former hotel and casino, the Sin City Strip’s last…

City eyes Airport easement, landfill sites

City eyes Airport easement, landfill sites

Editorial StaffOct 17, 20244 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorSaugatuck City Council Oct. 9 discussed a proposed conservation easement affecting 45.33 acres on the east side of its 170-acre Old Airport property.Members also learned more about a tentative pact giving neighbor Saugatuck Township six months to conduct…

Mike’s Musings: My fear of “Bambi” makes me a nervous Driver

Mike’s Musings: My fear of “Bambi” makes me a nervous Driver

Editorial StaffOct 17, 20243 min read

The social media memes showing vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz fumbling with loading his shotgun at a pheasant hunt reminded that this is the time of year when my mind sometimes wanders to “Bambi” and the confrontations I have had with…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial StaffOct 17, 20244 min read

I read an online religious news service article saying hunting was a form of conservation fulfilling God’s instructions to Adam and Eve to take dominion over the earth. That is an interesting perspective.For many years The Commercial Record printed a…

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…