Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record

City petitioners claim power abuse

Editorial Staff Sep 28, 2022 2 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorSaugatuck’s old vs. new guard may have been showing in an 84-signature petition calling for city council to rectify an abuse of power submitted Sept. 22 for inclusion in Monday’s meeting agenda packet.Signers include three candidates running for…

Saugatuck volleyball picks up win

Editorial Staff Sep 28, 2022 1 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports Editor HOLLAND—The SAC volleyball match between visiting Saugatuck and Black River on Thursday, Sept. 22, was a true back-and-forth affair.In the end, it was the Trailblazers who claimed the 25-12, 21-25, 25-17, 22-25, 15-13 victory.“We jumped out…

Mike’s Musings: Forget fossil fuels, solar power-nuclear energy is best

Mike’s Musings: Forget fossil fuels, solar power-nuclear energy is best

Editorial Staff Sep 28, 2022 3 min read

In attempting to break through the logjam between clean air advocates and those who think our reliance on fossil fuels will not go away any time soon, we have forgotten what I think could be an important alternative- nuclear energy.Green…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Sep 28, 2022 6 min read

   It was a fizzle of a year for tomatoes, as most of my neighbors agree, and now in the waning days of September I am pulling the vines to add to the pile of yard waste waiting for the city…

Douglas cuts $21K severance with ex-ZA

Douglas cuts $21K severance with ex-ZA

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 2 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Douglas City Council Monday approved a $21,127.02 separation agreement with Aug. 15-fired zoning and planning administrator Nick Wikar. Members braced, perhaps not coincidentally, for a 272-page planning commission agenda involving four public hearings two nights later.…

Stop-marina update set Sept. 27

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 2 min read

The Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance will host a town hall meeting Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Saugatuck Center for the Arts at 6:30 p.m. to update residents on its efforts to stop developer NorthShore of Saugatuck from creating a private…

Saugatuck, Douglas council races set

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 2 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR City council elections Nov. 8 stand to be lively with seven candidates in Saugatuck and five in Douglas seeking four open 2-year seats in each. In Saugatuck Township, a parks millage request will be on the…

Douglas police have busy August

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 3 min read

BY SCOTT SULLIVAN EDITOR Douglas Police Chief Steve Kent updates city council monthly on department calls answered. During August 180 were in city limits, three not. Noteworthy incidents, the Chief listed: • At 9:55 Friday, Aug. 12, I (Kent) was…

Obituary: James Tamblyn, 69

Obituary: James Tamblyn, 69

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 2 min read

Jim Tamblyn surrendered life peacefully on Sept. 15 at age 69, due to complications of pancreatic cancer, in his home in Douglas.He was born in 1953 in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and raised in Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisc. From a…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 5 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorNew WaysI was a child of the ‘burbs. Backyard patios, bug zappers, crabgrass … Who knew one of my Penasee Globe roles would be agriculture editor?Paul, who’d proceeded me at that Wayland newspaper, could write. The son of…

Smiles bright at Harvest Ride

Smiles bright at Harvest Ride

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 1 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorSaturday’s 11th annual Lakeshore Harvest Ride drew some 600 riders to raise $40,000 for the planned 20-mile Blue Star Trail from Saugatuck to South Haven.From Douglas’s Schultz Park bikers took Riverside southeast to 62nd Street west, a 126th…

Douglas Hall in scrape

Douglas Hall in scrape

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 1 min read

Maintaining historic structures isn’t cheap. Douglas’s century-plus-old former Dutcher’s Lodge/now City Hall last week received sanding and power washing on its south (facing Center Street) and east (facing Union) walls in preparation for a council-OK’d fresh paint coat, which given…

Saugatuck boys cross places fourth at Holly Invite

Saugatuck boys cross places fourth at Holly Invite

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 4 min read

By Jason WesseldykSports EditorHOLLY—Four members of the Saugatuck boys cross country team earned medals at the Holly Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 17, by placing in the top 35.Those solid individual efforts helped the Trailblazers place fourth in the 19-team field…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 5 min read

      Not too long ago some wise guy or girl came up with the nutty idea that there ought to be age limits on politicians.  Just as here in Michigan and a few other states elected officials can be “termed out,” after…

Mike’s Musings: If only dreams of space flight were true

Mike’s Musings: If only dreams of space flight were true

Editorial Staff Sep 21, 2022 3 min read

Watching a rocket launch into space never gets old for me. Last week I had the opportunity to view three nighttime launches, thanks to Space X’s aggressive launch schedule to send Starlink satellites in to space. Living on the Space…

Blue Star

Blue Star

Editorial Staff Sep 16, 2022 5 min read

By Scott Sullivan Editor New Home Muskegon. Last pancake house on Apple Avenue aka M-46. East-west cars streaming, tears, too much packing, 13 years here. The paper pulpit I’d helped start died largely of my doing. I’d picked up part-time…

Pet lovers seek to save Wishbone House

Pet lovers seek to save Wishbone House

Editorial Staff Sep 16, 2022 5 min read

By Scott SullivanEditorWishbone House isn’t the fanciest place in Douglas. It fills an ex-video store at 165 Blue Star Hwy. selling thrift donations and, oh yes, 27 discarded cats seeking homes and love.Success for three staff who draw minimal pay…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Sep 14, 2022 4 min read

We were in Canada when the news came that Queen Elizabeth II had died. A friend and fellow Anglophile texted so I would know about it.A few hours later when Madame Dewey and I got back to our room and turned…

Mike’s Musings-Signs that keep us guessing

Mike’s Musings-Signs that keep us guessing

Editorial Staff Sep 14, 2022 3 min read

My son can attest to one of my biggest pet peaves- road signs that don’t make any sense. We drive a lot of miles together, and occasionally we find useless signs placed along roadways at taxpayers’ expense. I would be…

Life as Performance Art

Life as Performance Art

Editorial Staff Sep 7, 2022 8 min read

    King Charles I of England detested coffee, and especially coffee houses.  If he had had his way, coffee would be forbidden in his realm, and coffee houses would slither into the recesses of history.    It had nothing to do with the smell…

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.