By Scott SullivanEditorDouglas City Council Monday OK’d buying the now largely-empty “old hospital” property at 415 Wiley Road east of Blue Star Highway for $1.5 million eyeing in the next 2 to 5 years consolidating municipal services on that site.The 7.8-acre commercial corner parcel ringing an 18,000 square-foot single-story brick building that could be retrofitted, Read More…
Saugatuck/Douglas Commercial Record
City manager interviews begin
By Scott SullivanEditorDouglas City Council, apprised July 24 fourth-year city manager Rich Labombard would resign effective Aug. 25, has wasted little time seeking at least an interim successor.Members Aug. 3 interviewed interim candidate Susan Montenegro (shown at left) and learned from Mayor Jerry Donovan at Monday’s regular council meeting the city had received applications from Read More…
Life as Performance Art
I am delighted to see that some of our elected officials have decided to spend at least part of their summer vacation time holding hearings to investigate UFOs – Unidentified Flying Objects. They are hard at work, and I appreciate it since we write their salary and benefits checks. I especially like it, because as long Read More…
Mike’s Musings: Technology upgrades will make voting easier
More and more I am told I must provide anything of importance digitally. Heck my Facebook feed is crowded with people purportedly able to make my life easier with the new A! Technology. That’s why when it comes to voting I am so perplexed as to why our voting professionals have not done more to Read More…
Douglas clerk retires, manager resigns
By Scott Sullivan Editor Rich LaBombard is out after four years as Douglas city manager. He emailed council July 24 he was resigning effective Aug. 25, and members accepted it Monday, first day after veteran clerk Pam Aalderink retired, turning her reigns over to deputy clerk Laura Kasper, who will for now serve as interim. Read More…
Learn about historic church architecture Aug. 9
Love history and architecture? A free lecture by historian Paul Trap Wednesday, Aug. 9 at 7 p.m. will deal with “The Five Little Wood Churches” created by celebrated Michigan architect Gordon W. Lloyd at one of them, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 252 Grand St., admission free. Doors will open to the Saugatuck-Douglas History Center and Read More…
Fennville feats ‘can-do’ cannery women
Rebecca Crane, whose family knows something or two about apples, will share stories from Fennville’s own “clock watchers” at a dedication for Kalamazoo artist Richard Light’s “Clock V” bronze sculpture in Hutchinson Park adjacent to clock tower and U.S. Post Office Thursday, Aug. 17, at 5:30 p.m. Light’s intent was to tell the story of Read More…
New LCC head lives, loves music
John-Kevin (JK) Hilbert is new Lakeshore Community Chorus artistic director, succeeding retired ensemble co-founder Nancy Plantinga. “There is no greater experience on earth than singing with other voices in a chorus, creating beautiful unisons and glorious harmonies,” says the new director, charged with setting the chorus’s musical tone, designing concert offerings, conducting rehearsals and performances. Read More…
Obituary: Shirley Meyer
Shirley Meyer, 82 The sons of Shirley Faye Meyer announce her passing on July 20, 2023 in Holland, Mich. Shirley was born on May 17, 1941, in the small town of Des Arc, Ark. — the daughter of cotton sharecroppers Lawrence Sipes and Jessie Foust Sipes. She was the youngest of seven children. Shirley first Read More…
Maggie’s Pantry
By Maggie ConklinMushroom FarmerLast year the dear husband and I were gifted “leftover” shiitake mushroom spoors from a friend in Alabama.It took us a couple days to drive home and we tried our best to keep the spoors cold in a cooler, but the ice kept melting. It was free so we weren’t too concerned.We Read More…