Attorney for class-action lawsuit against WSU says contingency fee should be refunded
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: News
The lawyer for a Wayne State student who filed a lawsuit against the university last week said the action stems from the university not returning the contingency fee it levied on students last fall.
"We believe that when the university imposed the contingency fee, it was imposed as safeguard if the state didn't meet its financial obligation," said Gregory Hanley, the attorney representing Jason Moss, the student who filed the lawsuit.
"Since we now know that the state did meet its obligation, the contingency fee should be returned to students."
The $5.3 million lawsuit also claims that if the university did not breach its agreement with students, WSU "falsely labeled the Contingency Fees as 'contingent' and falsely represented the actual tuition increases for the fall 2007 semester."
Moss filed the lawsuit claiming that WSU defrauded students by collecting the contingency fee, along with a nearly 13 percent tuition increase last July. The contingency fee cost undergraduate students $13 per credit hour and $29 for graduate students. It was adopted to guard against further budget cuts by the state of Michigan. The state had delayed payments of about $25 million in August.
The state of Michigan restored the funding to Michigan universities, including WSU, later that year.
If the contingency fees aren't "contingent," then the actual tuition increase for the fall 2007 semester was over 19 percent, "which is substantially in excess of the represented 12.8% increase the University portrays in its marketing materials and in other public statements," according to the lawsuit.
Hanley said that the university has 21 days after the lawsuit was served to respond to the allegations.
He said the court will now decide whether the case can proceed as a class-action lawsuit.
If the case goes to court as a class-action lawsuit, Hanley said it will be filed on behalf of all WSU students who paid the contingency fee during the fall 2007 semester.
Hanley is a complex civil litigation attorney based in Royal Oak. He graduated from WSU in 1986 as an economics major and from the WSU law school in 1989.
"I'm disappointed that my alma mater didn't do the right thing here, by giving the money back to students," he said.
WSU Board of Governors Chairman Eugene Driker said he thinks there is "no basis" to the lawsuit.
"The board passed a resolution that stated, if the state restored the money they took from us, the second installment would be cancelled," he said.
Driker said the second installment of the contingency fee would have applied to Winter 2008 courses. Aside from Driker's responsibility as board chair, he is one of the founders and a senior member of the Detroit law firm Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker P.L.L.C.
"We eliminated the second installment," he said. "The board did exactly what it was committed to do."
Driker said the money is needed because WSU's needs are not being met by the state of Michigan.
"They are simply the funds we need to keep the doors open and the faculty paid and the students in class," he said.
Driker said WSU referred the lawsuit to the Office of the General Counsel.
Other state universities chose to refund students after they received payments.
Ferris State University also issued a contingency fee for the Fall 2007 semester. On Dec. 14, the FSU Board of Trustees announced that it would refund more than $1 million to students.
Instead of issuing a contingency fee, Michigan State University increased tuition midyear.
The State News, the student-run publication at the university, reported that MSU's Board of Trustees decided to refund all students $26 plus a $2.25-per-credit-hour fee for classes taken in the fall semester.
A Feb. 5 editorial in The State News began, "If MSU decided not to refund its students an unnecessary extra per-credit fee, there would be hell to pay."
Monday, February 25, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Relief organizations provide assistance for Forest Arms residents
Relief organizations provide assistance for Forest Arms residents
Short- and long-term shelters are being sought for the apartment complex's residents
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
EDITOR'S NOTE: To view more photos, visit thesouthendnews.com/fire
A five-alarm fire that erupted in the Forest Arms Apartments early this morning destroyed the roof and much of the fourth floor of the 72-apartment complex. Several local relief organizations were on hand to assist residents and first responders to the scene.
George Aren is the director of disaster services at the Salvation Army's Eastern Michigan Division. As a Detroit Fire Department chaplain, he was called to the scene of the fire at 4:45 a.m. He said the fire was "burning heavy" by the time he arrived, and the roof was already ablaze.
"The fire department always calls us when they're fighting a three-alarm fire in the city," he said.
Aren said the Salvation Army works hand-in-hand with the American Red Cross to provide emergency services to displaced victims. His first service, he said, was to serve food to residents, police, paramedics and firefighters from the red Salvation Army van.
"We served hot chocolate, coffee, rolls, treats, and water," he said. "We cooked up some hot dogs later in the morning."
Aren, whose three children attended WSU, said he was impressed by the attitude of the residents.
"We didn't meet a kid down there that wasn't appreciative of what was going on," he said.
Aren said in addition to disaster services, the Salvation Army will assist residents in need with finding long-term shelter, clothing and other services. Residents should call Colleen Austin of the Salvation Army at (248) 443-2242, ext. 347.
Residents can also get help with finding short-term shelter from the American Red Cross.
The Southeastern Michigan chapter of the American Red Cross is located at 100 Mack Ave., just east of Woodward Avenue. Brian Peckinpaugh, media representative for the local Red Cross, said residents should register at the Red Cross for assistance with housing, food and other needs.
"Families and residents are being interviewed by case workers right now," he said. Peckinpaugh said over 15 residents were interviewed by 10 a.m.
"Once we find out their needs for food, shelter and the like, we issue them debit cards. That way, they can purchase what they need to help them through this time."
Residents can call the Detroit chapter of the American Red Cross at 1.800.552.5466. Donations are accepted to the American Red Cross Southeastern Chapter. Visit www.semredcross.org for more information.
Residents also expressed concern that their possessions would be guarded in the aftermath of the fire.
Monique Bronz, a first-floor tenant, said she left almost all of her possessions, including pay stubs and other documentation, when she escaped the building.
"I'm afraid that if someone isn't watching the building, everything will be looted," she said.
Firefighters were instructed to leave all possessions inside of the apartment building. Capt. Steve Varnas of the Detroit Fire Department said police will secure the building to protect residents from vandalism or theft.
"We will also have a day, very soon, where residents can go through the building and find their possessions."
However, he cautioned that residents must be patient.
"It's not safe for residents to enter the building right now," he said. "Other portions of the building could still possibly collapse."
Short- and long-term shelters are being sought for the apartment complex's residents
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
EDITOR'S NOTE: To view more photos, visit thesouthendnews.com/fire
A five-alarm fire that erupted in the Forest Arms Apartments early this morning destroyed the roof and much of the fourth floor of the 72-apartment complex. Several local relief organizations were on hand to assist residents and first responders to the scene.
George Aren is the director of disaster services at the Salvation Army's Eastern Michigan Division. As a Detroit Fire Department chaplain, he was called to the scene of the fire at 4:45 a.m. He said the fire was "burning heavy" by the time he arrived, and the roof was already ablaze.
"The fire department always calls us when they're fighting a three-alarm fire in the city," he said.
Aren said the Salvation Army works hand-in-hand with the American Red Cross to provide emergency services to displaced victims. His first service, he said, was to serve food to residents, police, paramedics and firefighters from the red Salvation Army van.
"We served hot chocolate, coffee, rolls, treats, and water," he said. "We cooked up some hot dogs later in the morning."
Aren, whose three children attended WSU, said he was impressed by the attitude of the residents.
"We didn't meet a kid down there that wasn't appreciative of what was going on," he said.
Aren said in addition to disaster services, the Salvation Army will assist residents in need with finding long-term shelter, clothing and other services. Residents should call Colleen Austin of the Salvation Army at (248) 443-2242, ext. 347.
Residents can also get help with finding short-term shelter from the American Red Cross.
The Southeastern Michigan chapter of the American Red Cross is located at 100 Mack Ave., just east of Woodward Avenue. Brian Peckinpaugh, media representative for the local Red Cross, said residents should register at the Red Cross for assistance with housing, food and other needs.
"Families and residents are being interviewed by case workers right now," he said. Peckinpaugh said over 15 residents were interviewed by 10 a.m.
"Once we find out their needs for food, shelter and the like, we issue them debit cards. That way, they can purchase what they need to help them through this time."
Residents can call the Detroit chapter of the American Red Cross at 1.800.552.5466. Donations are accepted to the American Red Cross Southeastern Chapter. Visit www.semredcross.org for more information.
Residents also expressed concern that their possessions would be guarded in the aftermath of the fire.
Monique Bronz, a first-floor tenant, said she left almost all of her possessions, including pay stubs and other documentation, when she escaped the building.
"I'm afraid that if someone isn't watching the building, everything will be looted," she said.
Firefighters were instructed to leave all possessions inside of the apartment building. Capt. Steve Varnas of the Detroit Fire Department said police will secure the building to protect residents from vandalism or theft.
"We will also have a day, very soon, where residents can go through the building and find their possessions."
However, he cautioned that residents must be patient.
"It's not safe for residents to enter the building right now," he said. "Other portions of the building could still possibly collapse."
Recalling the horror: Acts of heroism stand out
Recalling the horror: Acts of heroism stand out
Residents, DFD credit building managers and quick response with saving lives, structure
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
Despite this five-alarm fire, DFD officials reported no injuries aside from one individual unaccounted for.
Media Credit: Kelly A. Southard / For The South End
Despite this five-alarm fire, DFD officials reported no injuries aside from one individual unaccounted for.
Frank Jeney's quick reaction made the most of a horrific situation.
Detroit Fire Department Capt. Steve Varnas said Forest Arms management was alerted to a fire shortly before 3:45 a.m.
When Jeney, the manager, knocked on the door of apartment 412, the resident reportedly shouted that he was sleeping.
Jeney opened the door anyway.
"And when he opened the door, there was a blast of black smoke and heat," Varnas said. "It sounded like the guy was banging around in there. And the manager did the right thing-he closed the door."
Varnas said Jeney and the assistant manager raced through the apartments on the 4th floor, alerting residents to exit the building.
"These two guys are heroes," he said. "They started on the fourth floor, and then went down to the third floor, then the second, then the first. They got everybody out of there."
POLICE RESPONSE
Cmdr. John Serda of the Detroit Police Department's Central District said he arrived on the scene at 6 a.m.
"At that time, the whole top floor was fully engulfed in flames. It's a U-shaped building, and that side had also caught fire," he said.
FIRSTHAND HORROR
Resident Andrei Danilicic woke up shortly before 4 a.m. in his second floor apartment.
"I heard the sound of glass breaking, and I thought it was someone breaking into a car," he said. His apartment, which is located below unit 412, began to fill with smoke.
"Then, I realized there was a fire, and that sound was glass in the apartments above me breaking," he said.
Danilicic said all of his possessions are still in his apartment.
"I was only able to escape with the clothes on my back," he said.
Detroit police and fire crews said they will secure and monitor the building to protect tenants' possessions.
Resident Monique Bronz also said she woke up in her first-floor apartment around 4 a.m.
"The lights went out right then, and all I could grab were my clothes and cell phone," she said.
BUILDING WOES
Varnas said 105-year-old apartment building, which rents out 72 apartments, sustained significant damage.
"There is a total collapse of the roof on the front, back and center, and fire damage on the 4th floor," he said. The lower three floors sustained smoke and water damage. Varnas said further damage could occur if more sections of the roof collapse or if water inside the building freezes.
"It's not the worst I've ever seen," said Varnas, a 30-year veteran of the Detroit Fire Dept. "The building could be rehabbed, and the owner is insured."
He confirmed that smoke alarms inside the Forest Arms Apartments worked correctly and alerted residents to the fire.
"They didn't have a sprinkler system in a building this old, but they did have fire doors in the stairwells of every floor, to trap the fire," he said.
Water damage from the rescue operation will also challenge efforts to rebuild the apartment complex. Hali Stone is co-owner of the Amsterdam Espresso coffee shop on the first floor of the apartment building. The building also houses the People's Records shop.
Stone said she heard of the fire at 6 a.m. As she watched the rescue efforts this morning, water gushed through the bottom crack of the coffee shop's front door.
While her store is insured, Stone said she fears that she may permanently have to close the coffee shop.
"We don't know when we'll get back into the building, or how much damage there is. Beyond us, if the building is closed, we're entirely dependent on the tenants of this apartment building," she said.
The intersection of Forest Ave. at Second Ave. is still closed to non-emergency vehicles.
Residents, DFD credit building managers and quick response with saving lives, structure
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
Despite this five-alarm fire, DFD officials reported no injuries aside from one individual unaccounted for.
Media Credit: Kelly A. Southard / For The South End
Despite this five-alarm fire, DFD officials reported no injuries aside from one individual unaccounted for.
Frank Jeney's quick reaction made the most of a horrific situation.
Detroit Fire Department Capt. Steve Varnas said Forest Arms management was alerted to a fire shortly before 3:45 a.m.
When Jeney, the manager, knocked on the door of apartment 412, the resident reportedly shouted that he was sleeping.
Jeney opened the door anyway.
"And when he opened the door, there was a blast of black smoke and heat," Varnas said. "It sounded like the guy was banging around in there. And the manager did the right thing-he closed the door."
Varnas said Jeney and the assistant manager raced through the apartments on the 4th floor, alerting residents to exit the building.
"These two guys are heroes," he said. "They started on the fourth floor, and then went down to the third floor, then the second, then the first. They got everybody out of there."
POLICE RESPONSE
Cmdr. John Serda of the Detroit Police Department's Central District said he arrived on the scene at 6 a.m.
"At that time, the whole top floor was fully engulfed in flames. It's a U-shaped building, and that side had also caught fire," he said.
FIRSTHAND HORROR
Resident Andrei Danilicic woke up shortly before 4 a.m. in his second floor apartment.
"I heard the sound of glass breaking, and I thought it was someone breaking into a car," he said. His apartment, which is located below unit 412, began to fill with smoke.
"Then, I realized there was a fire, and that sound was glass in the apartments above me breaking," he said.
Danilicic said all of his possessions are still in his apartment.
"I was only able to escape with the clothes on my back," he said.
Detroit police and fire crews said they will secure and monitor the building to protect tenants' possessions.
Resident Monique Bronz also said she woke up in her first-floor apartment around 4 a.m.
"The lights went out right then, and all I could grab were my clothes and cell phone," she said.
BUILDING WOES
Varnas said 105-year-old apartment building, which rents out 72 apartments, sustained significant damage.
"There is a total collapse of the roof on the front, back and center, and fire damage on the 4th floor," he said. The lower three floors sustained smoke and water damage. Varnas said further damage could occur if more sections of the roof collapse or if water inside the building freezes.
"It's not the worst I've ever seen," said Varnas, a 30-year veteran of the Detroit Fire Dept. "The building could be rehabbed, and the owner is insured."
He confirmed that smoke alarms inside the Forest Arms Apartments worked correctly and alerted residents to the fire.
"They didn't have a sprinkler system in a building this old, but they did have fire doors in the stairwells of every floor, to trap the fire," he said.
Water damage from the rescue operation will also challenge efforts to rebuild the apartment complex. Hali Stone is co-owner of the Amsterdam Espresso coffee shop on the first floor of the apartment building. The building also houses the People's Records shop.
Stone said she heard of the fire at 6 a.m. As she watched the rescue efforts this morning, water gushed through the bottom crack of the coffee shop's front door.
While her store is insured, Stone said she fears that she may permanently have to close the coffee shop.
"We don't know when we'll get back into the building, or how much damage there is. Beyond us, if the building is closed, we're entirely dependent on the tenants of this apartment building," she said.
The intersection of Forest Ave. at Second Ave. is still closed to non-emergency vehicles.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Forest Arms blaze controlled
Forest Arms blaze controlled
DFD begins investigation; no confirmed cause despite rumors
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
EDITOR'S NOTE: To view more photos, visit thesouthendnews.com/fire
A five-alarm blaze that engulfed the Forest Arms Apartment building at the corner of Second Avenue at Forest Avenue this morning is now under control, firefighters said.
"The firefighters have gone through the building. All but one resident have been accounted for," said Capt. Steve Varnas of the Detroit Fire Department. Two residents were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Varnas said no firefighters were injured while battling the fire, which escalated from a box alarm, or standard fire, to a five-alarm blaze in less than two hours. He said that it's luck that no one was injured in the situation.
Varnas said firefighters will begin a full investigation into the cause of the incident. He disclosed that the fire began in room 412, on the fourth floor of the building.
Several residents said that the tenant, who was reportedly facing eviction, began the fire and barricaded himself in his room.
The room was leased to a 47-year-old man.
The fire department was unable to confirm his name or account for his whereabouts.
DFD begins investigation; no confirmed cause despite rumors
Ashley Woods
Issue date: 2/6/08 Section: News
EDITOR'S NOTE: To view more photos, visit thesouthendnews.com/fire
A five-alarm blaze that engulfed the Forest Arms Apartment building at the corner of Second Avenue at Forest Avenue this morning is now under control, firefighters said.
"The firefighters have gone through the building. All but one resident have been accounted for," said Capt. Steve Varnas of the Detroit Fire Department. Two residents were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
Varnas said no firefighters were injured while battling the fire, which escalated from a box alarm, or standard fire, to a five-alarm blaze in less than two hours. He said that it's luck that no one was injured in the situation.
Varnas said firefighters will begin a full investigation into the cause of the incident. He disclosed that the fire began in room 412, on the fourth floor of the building.
Several residents said that the tenant, who was reportedly facing eviction, began the fire and barricaded himself in his room.
The room was leased to a 47-year-old man.
The fire department was unable to confirm his name or account for his whereabouts.
Evolution:
Media Credit: Bowdeya Tweh
South End editors published many stories against the criminalization of marijuana. These words ran as a headline to a story supporting the drug's legal use.
Evolution: Radical changes, unbiased reporting color newspaper's history
By Ashley Woods
Issue date: 12/12/07 Section: 40th Anniversary
September 1967 was, by all accounts, a month of chaos.
The riots in Detroit had ended two months earlier, but the nation's fifth-largest city was still smoldering. Time magazine estimated in 1967 the damage done to the city totaled $500 million.
The Vietnam War was in full swing.
During a Sept. 17 taping of the Ed Sullivan Show, a young guitarist named Jim Morrison and his band, The Doors, defied CBS censors and sang the word "higher" in their No. 1 single, "Light My Fire."
The Daily Collegian would soon disappear and The South End emerged. The first issue, distributed on Sept. 28 of that year, featured drawings, advertisements, poetry and a manifesto proclaiming a new era of journalism on the Wayne State campus.
"We do not consider this a 'newspaper' like The Detroit News or The New York Times," the essay said. "We are a communication medium, and we hope to exploit the various and multi-dimensional method of reaching other people."
The South End quickly became a newspaper chronicling the burgeoning student protest movement in Detroit. In the fall of 1967, articles on the National Students Association Congress, Students for a Democratic Society and the Young Socialists' Alliance were prominently featured in the newspaper. The paper also devoted significant space to protests against the treatment of graduate students and recruiting for the war on campus. Several staff members, like 1968 editor in chief John Watson, worked outside the newspaper in the civil rights and labor movements.
"Wayne State was like rad[ically] central," former South End reporter Tim Kiska said. "And The South End was rad central for rad central."
He started working at the paper in 1970.
"At that time, the Vietnam War was going on, and Nixon was still in office," Kiska said. "The paper would post full-size posters of radical leaders such as Malcolm X and Bobby Seals of the Black Panthers."
Vince Kern, who served as managing editor of the paper in 1986 and editor-in-chief in 1987, said The South End was not a traditional newspaper and it served as a radical voice for the campus community.
However, the radical voice faded over time as career-minded journalists joined the staff.
"And I was one of them, being less interested in being a voice of radicalism, than establishing a true-to-journalism environment at the newspaper office, so it could train and help propel people's careers into journalism," he said.
Charles Maldonado, editor-in-chief for The South End in 2006, said he felt that the 21st century incarnate of The South End lacked a specific political agenda.
"It's gone back and forth through the years," he said. "Sometimes, I'd feel like we were rewriting press releases for the university. Some days, we were at odds with the WSU administration."
Maldonado said the paper's reputation of bias followed him through his tenure as editor-in-chief.
"A lot of people thought I had an agenda," he said. "I was equally called a raging liberal Commie or an ultra-conservative Zionist. I figured that if everybody hated me, I must be doing a good job."
Many editors in chief remembered their tenure at the newspaper for the unique combination of late nights, missed classes and many, many cups of coffee.
Kern said he found it difficult to balance his priorities during his year as managing editor.
"Not only was I the editor in chief of the newspaper, I went from my first year being managing editor and having two or three freelance beats, and working full time at a scrapyard," he said.
"The pressure was very overwhelming," Maldonado said. "I didn't go to class, really. I worked about 70 hours a week."
Kiska linked the lessening of activist journalism at The South End to the unique situation of Wayne State students.
"It's easy to overblow this stuff," Kiska said of WSU's radical factions. "It's a lot like today. You had people that just wanted to get their BA and get into the real world. A lot of people would say, 'Yeah, I'd like to protest, but I need to keep my job and make tuition.'"
Patricia Maceroni, The South End's editor in chief in 1985, knows the cost of taking a stand. The newspaper's publication board fired her in October 1985 for refusing to print military advertisements in the paper.
"The more we looked into what was going on in Nicaragua, with the Contras, it was a stand we really needed to take," she said. News of her dismissal was included in the Oct. 7 edition of the New York Times.
Maceroni, who filed a lawsuit to protest her dismissal, said WSU President David Adamany was trying to negotiate military contracts with the College of Engineering and the WSU School of Medicine when she refused the advertisements.
"The paper was just faltering," Maceroni said. "No one felt comfortable stepping up to the gate. The staff was demoralized by what happened."
She was reinstated later in the school year, provided she accepted the military advertisements. But Maceroni had a different strategy.
"We ran the ads on the editorial page," she said. "And we ran them right next to these really graphic, violent pictures from Korea and Vietnam."
"The military ended up yanking the ads anyway," she laughed.
Despite her battle with the university, Maceroni said she only had good memories of her six years working for The South End.
"Alvin's was like the second office," she said of the Cass Avenue bar. "We would work in the afternoon, and go to Alvin's for drinks and dinner almost every day, and then wander back to the office."
"Once the paper was finished - and it had to be finished - that's when people would kick back," Kiska said.
But he said that putting out the daily paper always came before partying.
"The biggest problem for staff members is sleep deprivation, not alcoholism or drug abuse," Kiska said.
"It was like living the life you always wanted to live, without any responsibility," Kern said. "We weren't married; we didn't have kids; we didn't have homes. It was the opportunity to do what you always wanted, and just immerse yourself in that life."
Finding A New President
FINDING A NEW PRESIDENT
BOG establishes presidential search committee in emergency meeting
Ashley Woods / For The South End
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: News
At an emergency public meeting last Wednesday, the Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve a resolution to create a Search Advisory Committee to elect a new Wayne State University president.
The committee will be responsible for advertising the open position and soliciting applications, as well as interviewing and recommending candidates to the Board of Governors. The board has to ultimately approve any candidate.
The board also voted 8-0 to appropriate $400,000 in funding from the Contingency Reserve Fund to finance the search process.
WSU President Irvin Reid resigned from the university Sept. 26 effective at the end of the academic year. The search committee hopes to elect a new president before the 2008-2009 academic year begins next August. To protect the confidentiality of the candidates, all committee meetings, records, and candidate identities will be kept private.
Board of Governors representatives to the Search Advisory Committee are BOG Chairman and Committee Chair Eugene Driker, Committee Vice Chair Jacquelin Washington, BOG Vice Chairman Richard Bernstein and Diane Dunaskiss. The committee also includes representatives from the medical school, faculty, administration, union, and local community leaders.
Two public town meetings will be held to allow the WSU committee to have a say in the selection process, said Driker.
The first meeting will be held in the BC room at McGregor Hall on Oct. 31 at 2:00 p.m. The second meeting will be held on Nov. 8 in the Green Auditorium at Scott Hall at 4:00 p.m. More information about the format of the meetings was expected to be announced soon.
"I think we want to wait to hear from the community before we begin the process," Driker explained. "We're opening it up to public opinion before deciding who the ideal candidate would be."
"We're looking for someone to fill President Reid's shoes," commented WSU Student Body President Cindy Chidi, who serves on the committee. She said the elected candidate must continue the university's capital campaign and work to increase WSU's significance regionally and nationally.
"I'm also looking for someone who speaks for the students…someone who will work on maintaining or stopping the rise in tuition costs," Chidi said.
"I expect that we'll get a good mix of candidates," said Dr. Jorge Chinea, the academic director for the Center of Chicano and Boricua Studies. "I hope to listen to as many people's opinions, and examine as many possibilities as we can, to try and see every candidate who is out there."
He said he thinks the next president will need to have experience in a multicultural, multiracial city such as Detroit.
"I also think we need someone who will continue to move Wayne State forward, in terms of becoming more of a 24/7 school," Chinea said.
Adrienne Kabanuk, a junior English major, said she also thinks WSU's leader will need a financial background.
"Obviously, we can't rely on the state right now for money," Kabanuk said. "The great thing about Wayne State is that it's affordable. But in bad financial times like these, we really need to make sure everyone can afford to go to college here."
Adam Krause, a senior English and Linguistics major, said he thinks Reid's tenure focused more on attracting students to live on campus then on the commuter student population.
"The needs of the majority, like parking, aren't being addressed. Instead, they keep building dorms. In the end, I really think we just need somebody who can be more receptive to students and faculty. We need a forum for students. Wayne State needs to empower them."
"I can't tell you what I think of Irvin Reid because I really have no idea what he stands for," agreed Kabanuk. "I would like to see someone elected who has a bit more presence in the student body. The administration is just inaccessible here most of the time."
Chidi said WSU will soon put up an online message board so students can vocalize what sort of leader they desire to become WSU's next president.
"Although I'm the only student sitting on the search committee," she said, "I need the questions and the comments of the student body. This is an active decision, and all 33,000 students need to describe the sort of candidate they would promote."
More information on the search for WSU's next president is available at www.bog.wayne.edu/.
BOG establishes presidential search committee in emergency meeting
Ashley Woods / For The South End
Issue date: 10/24/07 Section: News
At an emergency public meeting last Wednesday, the Board of Governors voted unanimously to approve a resolution to create a Search Advisory Committee to elect a new Wayne State University president.
The committee will be responsible for advertising the open position and soliciting applications, as well as interviewing and recommending candidates to the Board of Governors. The board has to ultimately approve any candidate.
The board also voted 8-0 to appropriate $400,000 in funding from the Contingency Reserve Fund to finance the search process.
WSU President Irvin Reid resigned from the university Sept. 26 effective at the end of the academic year. The search committee hopes to elect a new president before the 2008-2009 academic year begins next August. To protect the confidentiality of the candidates, all committee meetings, records, and candidate identities will be kept private.
Board of Governors representatives to the Search Advisory Committee are BOG Chairman and Committee Chair Eugene Driker, Committee Vice Chair Jacquelin Washington, BOG Vice Chairman Richard Bernstein and Diane Dunaskiss. The committee also includes representatives from the medical school, faculty, administration, union, and local community leaders.
Two public town meetings will be held to allow the WSU committee to have a say in the selection process, said Driker.
The first meeting will be held in the BC room at McGregor Hall on Oct. 31 at 2:00 p.m. The second meeting will be held on Nov. 8 in the Green Auditorium at Scott Hall at 4:00 p.m. More information about the format of the meetings was expected to be announced soon.
"I think we want to wait to hear from the community before we begin the process," Driker explained. "We're opening it up to public opinion before deciding who the ideal candidate would be."
"We're looking for someone to fill President Reid's shoes," commented WSU Student Body President Cindy Chidi, who serves on the committee. She said the elected candidate must continue the university's capital campaign and work to increase WSU's significance regionally and nationally.
"I'm also looking for someone who speaks for the students…someone who will work on maintaining or stopping the rise in tuition costs," Chidi said.
"I expect that we'll get a good mix of candidates," said Dr. Jorge Chinea, the academic director for the Center of Chicano and Boricua Studies. "I hope to listen to as many people's opinions, and examine as many possibilities as we can, to try and see every candidate who is out there."
He said he thinks the next president will need to have experience in a multicultural, multiracial city such as Detroit.
"I also think we need someone who will continue to move Wayne State forward, in terms of becoming more of a 24/7 school," Chinea said.
Adrienne Kabanuk, a junior English major, said she also thinks WSU's leader will need a financial background.
"Obviously, we can't rely on the state right now for money," Kabanuk said. "The great thing about Wayne State is that it's affordable. But in bad financial times like these, we really need to make sure everyone can afford to go to college here."
Adam Krause, a senior English and Linguistics major, said he thinks Reid's tenure focused more on attracting students to live on campus then on the commuter student population.
"The needs of the majority, like parking, aren't being addressed. Instead, they keep building dorms. In the end, I really think we just need somebody who can be more receptive to students and faculty. We need a forum for students. Wayne State needs to empower them."
"I can't tell you what I think of Irvin Reid because I really have no idea what he stands for," agreed Kabanuk. "I would like to see someone elected who has a bit more presence in the student body. The administration is just inaccessible here most of the time."
Chidi said WSU will soon put up an online message board so students can vocalize what sort of leader they desire to become WSU's next president.
"Although I'm the only student sitting on the search committee," she said, "I need the questions and the comments of the student body. This is an active decision, and all 33,000 students need to describe the sort of candidate they would promote."
More information on the search for WSU's next president is available at www.bog.wayne.edu/.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Aspiring writers are given a chance at recognition - Features
Aspiring Writers are given chance at recognition
By Ashley Woods
For The South End
By day, Patrick Smith, an IT professional and a Woodbridge resident, works on a master's degree in computer science at Wayne State University. His few, stolen moments are spent penning a manuscript of autobiographical fiction, titled "Window to the West."
"I know it's hard to make a living as an artist or a writer, but that's what I really want to do," said Smith, 34. "I'm going to try to get published."
Like-minded writers can join Smith at the Detroit Creative Writing Institute's Fall 2007 Workshop, sponsored by the Detroit Institute for Creative Writers.
According to workshop leader Peter Markus, the classes aim to "expose students to the cutthroat nature of the publishing world while developing their talents."
In an intimate workshop setting, students will be guided through all aspects of the manuscript process, from editing to query letters and proposals to an analysis of the writers' market. The workshop will conclude with a trip to a literary agents' conference in New York City to meet one-on-one with publishing industry agents. The workshop runs weekly from September 19 to October 17.
"It always takes a second or third eye to see all the missed opportunities in a book," said Markus, the Spring 2007 writer-in-residence at the Institute of Creative Writing. He said many young writers aren't open to the possibilities an editor sees, which can lessen the quality of their writing.
"That's where a good workshop can come into play, or at least a reader who will say, 'Yes, this is pretty terrific, but there are parts here that aren't as good as they could be.' He made me realize that, what I considered insignificant, just my experience growing up, was my life story, and I should tell that story," explained WSU law school graduate Tony Paris, who now works as a labor rights attorney.
Paris also attended the Spring 2007 Workshop led by Markus, which focused on writing about places, specifically Detroit and the metropolitan region. Paris said the workshop led him to write more personal and political essays and gave him the confidence to begin writing songs for his garage-rock band, The Sons of Adray.
"The writing is so different than what I was doing in law school," he said. "But what I like about my job now is that it's about stories, and Markus taught me how to look for those stories."
The workshop concept was the creation of Mariela Griffor in 2003. Griffor co-founded the Institute for Creative Writing at WSU.
"There was a tremendous need for informing writers in the Detroit area about the publishing world and its issues," she said. " Everybody knew a bit about magazines and newspapers, because Wayne graduates so many journalists, but nobody really knew anything about publishing people with marketable work."
She said the workshop combines different disciplines of writing to foster creativity among students. Griffor, who also operates Marick Press, a poetry publication focusing on Midwestern writers, said she hopes to continue the workshops in the future.
"We're facing a challenge because the interdisciplinary studies program is closing," she said. "I've been in contact with different departments...No matter what, we're going to try to keep the programs independent of what happens to the department."
Griffor and Markus both cautioned students to keep in mind that workshop attendance does not guarantee publication. Markus requires students to bring a working manuscript to attend the workshop.
"I don't really address the issue of publishing very much with very young writers," Griffor said "Publishing is not the point."
The workshop method of discussing stories requires students to develop a thicker skin.
"If you're not stubborn, you're not going to succeed." Griffor said. "You need to have a certain amount of perseverance. The amount of rejection you're going to face is . . . huge."
She said the conference in New York City, while daunting, is a great experience for any writer.
"There are so many different people there representing the world of publishing...and they're available for questions, and panel discussions," she said.
Since publication isn't a guarantee, Smith said, participants are motivated in other ways.
"There's not a lot of literature coming out of Detroit," he said. "I think that's going to change, but it's only going to happen organically."
Smith said he feels that participation in workshops could help build a scene for writers in Detroit. He recommended workshops at Detroit's Scarab Club and open mic nights at Midtown's Beans & Bytes for aspiring young writers to hone their craft, as well as creative writing classes taught by Professor Christopher Leland.
Markus said the workshop was a pleasant experience for all of the writers who gathered at the Undergraduate Library.
"My favorite student last spring was a gentle old man by the name of Charles Novack," Markus said. "He was in his 80s, I believe, and had more stories in him than anyone else I have the good fortune to know."
Novack, an immigrant to Detroit who became the chief engineer for the People Mover, recently passed away.
"I suppose the failure there, of course, was that he didn't live quite long enough to get all of those stories written down," Markus said. "The real pleasure is the doing, the sentence-making and the sense of finding your way as you go."
He advised committed writers interested in developing their talent to take advantage of the workshop.
"To rush into print just so you can say 'I'm published' is silly and ultimately meaningless," he said. What's meaningful is entering into a text that hopefully is unlike any other text yet written. That, for me, is the point of all this, of any workshop."
The workshop meets weekly from September 19th-October 17, from 6:3o p.m. to 9 p.m. All sessions will be held in the third floor Community Room of the Undergraduate Library. Tuition is $200. Space is limited to the first 25 writers. Please contact Mariela Griffor at 313.407.9236 for more information.
By Ashley Woods
For The South End
By day, Patrick Smith, an IT professional and a Woodbridge resident, works on a master's degree in computer science at Wayne State University. His few, stolen moments are spent penning a manuscript of autobiographical fiction, titled "Window to the West."
"I know it's hard to make a living as an artist or a writer, but that's what I really want to do," said Smith, 34. "I'm going to try to get published."
Like-minded writers can join Smith at the Detroit Creative Writing Institute's Fall 2007 Workshop, sponsored by the Detroit Institute for Creative Writers.
According to workshop leader Peter Markus, the classes aim to "expose students to the cutthroat nature of the publishing world while developing their talents."
In an intimate workshop setting, students will be guided through all aspects of the manuscript process, from editing to query letters and proposals to an analysis of the writers' market. The workshop will conclude with a trip to a literary agents' conference in New York City to meet one-on-one with publishing industry agents. The workshop runs weekly from September 19 to October 17.
"It always takes a second or third eye to see all the missed opportunities in a book," said Markus, the Spring 2007 writer-in-residence at the Institute of Creative Writing. He said many young writers aren't open to the possibilities an editor sees, which can lessen the quality of their writing.
"That's where a good workshop can come into play, or at least a reader who will say, 'Yes, this is pretty terrific, but there are parts here that aren't as good as they could be.' He made me realize that, what I considered insignificant, just my experience growing up, was my life story, and I should tell that story," explained WSU law school graduate Tony Paris, who now works as a labor rights attorney.
Paris also attended the Spring 2007 Workshop led by Markus, which focused on writing about places, specifically Detroit and the metropolitan region. Paris said the workshop led him to write more personal and political essays and gave him the confidence to begin writing songs for his garage-rock band, The Sons of Adray.
"The writing is so different than what I was doing in law school," he said. "But what I like about my job now is that it's about stories, and Markus taught me how to look for those stories."
The workshop concept was the creation of Mariela Griffor in 2003. Griffor co-founded the Institute for Creative Writing at WSU.
"There was a tremendous need for informing writers in the Detroit area about the publishing world and its issues," she said. " Everybody knew a bit about magazines and newspapers, because Wayne graduates so many journalists, but nobody really knew anything about publishing people with marketable work."
She said the workshop combines different disciplines of writing to foster creativity among students. Griffor, who also operates Marick Press, a poetry publication focusing on Midwestern writers, said she hopes to continue the workshops in the future.
"We're facing a challenge because the interdisciplinary studies program is closing," she said. "I've been in contact with different departments...No matter what, we're going to try to keep the programs independent of what happens to the department."
Griffor and Markus both cautioned students to keep in mind that workshop attendance does not guarantee publication. Markus requires students to bring a working manuscript to attend the workshop.
"I don't really address the issue of publishing very much with very young writers," Griffor said "Publishing is not the point."
The workshop method of discussing stories requires students to develop a thicker skin.
"If you're not stubborn, you're not going to succeed." Griffor said. "You need to have a certain amount of perseverance. The amount of rejection you're going to face is . . . huge."
She said the conference in New York City, while daunting, is a great experience for any writer.
"There are so many different people there representing the world of publishing...and they're available for questions, and panel discussions," she said.
Since publication isn't a guarantee, Smith said, participants are motivated in other ways.
"There's not a lot of literature coming out of Detroit," he said. "I think that's going to change, but it's only going to happen organically."
Smith said he feels that participation in workshops could help build a scene for writers in Detroit. He recommended workshops at Detroit's Scarab Club and open mic nights at Midtown's Beans & Bytes for aspiring young writers to hone their craft, as well as creative writing classes taught by Professor Christopher Leland.
Markus said the workshop was a pleasant experience for all of the writers who gathered at the Undergraduate Library.
"My favorite student last spring was a gentle old man by the name of Charles Novack," Markus said. "He was in his 80s, I believe, and had more stories in him than anyone else I have the good fortune to know."
Novack, an immigrant to Detroit who became the chief engineer for the People Mover, recently passed away.
"I suppose the failure there, of course, was that he didn't live quite long enough to get all of those stories written down," Markus said. "The real pleasure is the doing, the sentence-making and the sense of finding your way as you go."
He advised committed writers interested in developing their talent to take advantage of the workshop.
"To rush into print just so you can say 'I'm published' is silly and ultimately meaningless," he said. What's meaningful is entering into a text that hopefully is unlike any other text yet written. That, for me, is the point of all this, of any workshop."
The workshop meets weekly from September 19th-October 17, from 6:3o p.m. to 9 p.m. All sessions will be held in the third floor Community Room of the Undergraduate Library. Tuition is $200. Space is limited to the first 25 writers. Please contact Mariela Griffor at 313.407.9236 for more information.
Revamped DIA tells stories in new ways
Revamped DIA tells stories in new ways
Page A-1
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
The Detroit Institute of Arts is poised to reintroduce itself as a world-class art museum when it opens its doors to the public Friday.
More than six years of renovation added 30 percent more gallery space to the museum, at an expense of $158 million. A new marble exterior glows in the sunshine, and a newly designed entrance on John R Street will serve tour groups. The Van Goghs and Rubenses, removed from storage, are as glorious as ever.
What’s more, the DIA staff installed more than 5,000 pieces of art in new areas of
the museum. The original theme-based galleries, with names such as “Splendour by the Hour” and “Grand Tour of Italy,” express the DIA’s hope to capture the imagination of the public.
“We’re the largest significant institution to make this kind of break,” said DIA Director Graham W.J. Beal, who led the transformation. “We’re trying to rethink those relationships between the art and the audience.”
“Splendour By the Hour” will allow visitors to picture a day in the life of 16th and 17th century Northern European aristocrats. It was life, as one sign notes, filled with fourhour lunches, feverish spending sprees and little responsibility.
Paintings, sculptures, vases, furniture, china and tapestries are collected together for perusal.
“Most of these objects were requested by someone, hundreds of years ago, for a reason,” Beal said. “There’s human reason for this artistry. Now, they can look at the stories that come from the works of art themselves.”
Visitors can imagine themselves at a languorous French luncheon when they take a seat at the virtual dining table. At the press of a button, servants in grey uniforms and caps set virtual courses in front of the viewer. A first course of steamed stuffed artichokes in butter sauce is followed by a massive roast pig. Prompts on the screen point the viewer’s attention to the porcelain dishes used for serving, identical to the dishes behind glass cases in the gallery.
The galleries also became more kid-friendly with the inclusion of new features such as “Eye Spy.” A visual clue, such as a a drum, is shown on a sign. Lifting the picture, a text clue is offered. “A young boy keeps rhythm by tapping my top/Creating sounds of rata-tat.” Kids can search through the gallery for the mysterious object, which appears in a painting of a 17th century French drummer boy.
“We made the ‘Eye Spy’ game for kids, but every adult I’ve taken through the galleries so far plays, too,” DIA Public relations Manager Pamela Marcil said.
Also new to the galleries are multiple viewpoint labels. Visitors can browse three different interpretations by leading scholars of selected pieces.
“It’s to show the general public that there are so many different ways to access art,” Marcil said. “If you’re a connoisseur, and you’re here to look at art, it won’t get in your way.”
“It’s the kind of thing that makes specialists cringe,” Beal said of the user-friendly galleries. The DIA staff teamed up with curators and educators from around the country to rewrite explanatory labels for visitors; most of whom, as Beal noted dryly, “lack an art history degree.” Signs showing art words, like “neoclassicism,” include phonetic pronunciations and simple definitions. “It’s one more way to bring art to the masses,” Beal said.
That visitor-friendly approach also extends to the museum’s architecture.
The DIA was “an astonishingly difficult place to get around,” Beal said. The original museum was built in 1927, and the north and south wings had not been renovated since the 1960s. Architect Michael Graves and the Smith Group in Detroit teamed up to make the museum walkable. The construction includes “spines,” as Beal called them; two massive corridors running north-south through the building, which serve as concourses for museum guests.
“If we make the building easy to get around,” Beal said, “we’re bringing the art and the people together.”
The architects removed the black granite, some of which was falling off the walls, from the north and south wings. Insulation, vapor barriers, and triple-pane glazing on windows were added to protect the art.
“People used to say that we were heating the Cultural Center in the winter, and cooling it in the summer,” Beal joked. He said he hopes the innovation will result in lower energy bills for the building.
The Kresge Court, once home to the DIA’s cafeteria, is now revised as a space for groups and events. DIA staff said it will be available for weddings in the future. A new cafeteria space will serve up museum favorites such as soups and sandwiches, along with Mediterranean fare and sushi. The museum shop also was expanded.
The DIA will open with an official grand opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday at the Woodward entrance. For 32 hours, the museum will offer free admission to visitors. Dancers, live jazz, local artists, and a basket weaver will be on hand to complete the experience, as well as griots, which are traditional African storytellers.
Yoga classes and fencing demonstrations also will be offered. “Art After Hours” kicks in from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. with DJs, Coney dogs and slider burgers.
Chicks for Charity hatch plans to help out others
The Oakland Press/JOSE JUAREZ
Don Woodward, left, and Sheryl Kossick stand in front of a home which will be used by recovering addicts.Woodward works for the Grace Centers of Hope. Kossick is co-founder of “Chicks for Charity,“a group that is helping with decorating the interior of the home.
PONTIAC
Chicks for Charity hatch plans to help out others
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
Standing in a dilapidated, turn-of-last-century home at 70 Seneca St. in Pontiac, Sheryl Kossick sees the possibilities.
“This will be the boys’ room,” she says, gesturing to the blue and white walls. “We’re going to give it a Detroit Lions theme.”
Kossick, owner of Ivy Hill Interiors and a resident of Commerce Township, spends many Saturday mornings repainting and furnishing homes on Seneca Street. As co-founder of Chicks for Charities and president of its Oakland County chapter, she convinced 27 women to donate their free time..
“Anything that comes up as a charity event,” she said. “We did a bowling tournament for breast cancer in Novi last week, and we raised $10,000. We sent 2,100 pairs of shoes to Guatemala, we’ve made welcoming baskets for immigrants in Ann Arbor. We may work with companion dogs for the handicapped soon.
“We have no limits,” Kossick said. “Whatever comes along, we’ve decided to do.”
But the Seneca Street residences, owned by the Pontiac recovery and rehabilitation center Grace Centers of Hope, are her most immediate priority.
“I had gone to a fashion show at Grace Center last year,” said Kossick. “They had acquired 14 homes for graduates to move into after they leave the shelters.”
Kossick thought the homes needed a decorator’s touch. The homes were unpainted and unfurnished.
“They were in desperate condition,” she remembered. “I thought, being an interior decorator, that I could help.”
Kossick met Don Woodward, who directs the rehabbing of the Seneca Street homes. Six years before, Woodward was a prescription drug addict with a twodecades-old habit. “I was dying,” he said. He entered the Grace Centers of Hope two-year rehabilitation program in 2002.
“You learn life skills here,” he said of the program. “And then you move to Seneca Street, and you’re part of a community.”
Woodward remarried and began a second career at a reconstruction company. He also lives on Seneca Street, where his free time is spent preserving the century-old residences.
“We do the rewiring, we bring in master plumbers, and the city of Pontiac works with us to get all of the permits,” he said.
He calls Kossick and the Chicks for Charities, “our heroes.”
“I think it means so much to the women who live here ... that someone would reach out to them, without even knowing them,” he explained.
The homes house about 80 people, including 27 children whose mothers attend the rehabilitation program.
“The mothers really need to learn how to be mothers,” said the Rev. Kent Clark, who runs Grace Centers of Hope.
“It’s not just the women who need help. These children have moved every six months of their lives, they’ve been sold to the crack man for sex, they’ve been left alone, and they’re disattached. And we need to teach them how to attach again.”
He said the presence of the Christian nonprofit organization changed the neighborhood for the better.
“This place was a hotbed of crackhouses, prostitution, and it was falling apart,” he said, gesturing to the row of immaculate, brightly painted homes. “Now, it’s one of the safest streets in Pontiac.”
At 70 Seneca St., where two mothers and their children will soon move, volunteers installed drywall and began painting the banister. Members of the community donated appliances, furniture and computers.
Kossick said she was surprised by the “overwhelming response” of Chicks for Charities.
“We donate our time — it’s not about money. Big corporations can give checks. And we have fun painting and redecorating!” she said.
Men and women must keep jobs and pay rent in order to stay in Seneca Street .
“They deserve it as much as anyone else,” said Kossick. “Our goal is to make them proud ... to make a place they can be proud to come home to.”
FYI
Grace Centers of Hope is accepting volunteer applications for its projects. Call (248) 334-2187, Ext. 16, or visit www.gracecentersofhope.org.
Have no fear, Oakland's 'Dog Czar' is here
Have no fear, Oakland’s ‘Dog Czar’ is here
Page A-1
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
Lois Esuchanko’s license plate reads ‘DOGMTHR.’ A half-dozen stuffed puppy dolls are visible in the rear window. Her kitchen is filled with puppy crates, chew toys and dog snacks. But she was at a loss for ideas when it came to saving Chuck.
“If the wind blew, he would run back into the house,” Esuchanko said. “He was afraid of everything.”
Esuchanko and her husband, Joe, adopted Chuck, a stray German shepherd their son had found last May. They didn’t know how old he was or where he came from. But it was clear he had a past.
“He was so scared, and so aggressive. We couldn’t let anyone in the house. I couldn’t even let the dogs walk past him while he was in the crate,” she said. When their other two pet dogs were loose, Chuck would bark and slam his body violently against the walls of the crate.
“We weren’t getting anywhere with the aggression,” Joe Esuchanko said. What’s more, their house in Troy backs up to an elementary school.
“What are we going to do?” he said he remembered asking. “We don’t want that kind of liability.”
Lois Esuchanko said two animal control agencies advised her to euthanize Chuck. Desperate, she visited the Web site for the International Association of Canine Professionals, and found a listing in Troy for a company called Alternative Canine Training. The owner, Vladae Roytapel, advertised on his Web site that he specialized in helping troubled dogs.
The Dog Czar
Roytapel was an award-winning dog trainer in the former Soviet Union. He trained dogs for the Red Army and the KGB before coming to America. In 2006, he appeared on the “Late Show with David Letterman” and led Letterman around the stage on a leash. His home training uniform consists of high-waisted khaki pants, sneakers and a maroon Western-style shirt with “Dog Czar” emblazoned on the chest.
“People call us as the last resort,” he said. “For the dogs that, so you say, are already on the way out.”
Roytapel wouldn’t guarantee the Esuchanko family that he could help Chuck until he had seen him. When he did, the trainer wasn’t exactly enthusiastic.
“I entered the house,” he said. “And I thought, ‘This is the last chance.’ ”
Protecting yourself
Experts agree people should take precautions to protect themselves from some aggressive pets. On Sept. 12, a 4-month-old infant in Warren was killed by a Rottweiler. On Sept. 13, Edward Gierlach, 91, and Cheryl Harper, 56, were mauled to death by a pack of American bulldogs in Livingston County.
Larry Obrecht, division manager for the Oakland County Pet Adoption Center, said the proximity of the two events was a coincidence and did not indicate a trend.
“These are just unbelievable tragedies,” he said. “They were paired together because of the close relationship in time. We have not experienced any significant upticks in dog bites or violent attacks. I think that’s coincidental.”
A 2001 survey by the Centers for Disease Control revealed that nearly 368,000 people visit emergency rooms yearly to be treated for canine bites. Obrecht said Oakland County residents who observe a dog running loose should contact the animal shelter’s complaint line at (248) 391-4103.
“State law maintains that you maintain your dog on your property, and it has to be on a leash,” he said.
C.J. Bentley, a behavioral specialist for the Michigan Humane Society Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care, said people who spot an aggressive dog should try to remain calm.
“Avoid eye contact,” she said, “and keep the dog in your line of sight.”
She said she sometimes walks with a folded-up umbrella to protect herself.
“If you point it in the direction of an aggressive dog, and it expands, the noise that it makes can scare them away or break the dog’s concentration. Plus, it creates a visual barrier between you and the animal.”
Bentley also said running away from the dog is a bad idea.
“For a lot of dogs, that’s quite the stimulant,” she said. “They see you run, and they immediately think, ‘Oh boy, this is going to be fun.’ ”
Bentley said pet owners worried by the behavior of their canine can call the Michigan Humane Society Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care help line at (248) 650-0127.
She said sometimes aggressive behavior can be attributed to other causes — such as an abscessed tooth or a thyroid imbalance.
Aggressive behavior
“The household was like downtown Beirut,” Roytapel said of his first visit to the Esuchanko home. “Dogs were barking like AK-47s.”
The trainer said he believes aggressive behavior develops in many canines allowed to bark or pull on their leashes.
“If the dog is barking inside or outside, he is telling the world: ‘Stay away, I am the police officer on duty,’ ” Roytapel said. “Your typical pet owner, they try to talk the dog out of it. The dog, he thinks they’re barking together.”
“Dogs aren’t much different than people,” Obrecht said. “We’re all kind of born needing a lot of help growing up, and a lot of things through the course of our lives change our personality and our disposition.”
“The first 16 weeks of a dog’s life — that’s the critical development period,” Bentley said, adding all dog owners should invest in training classes for puppies.
In the obedience classes Bentley supervises at the Michigan Humane Society chapter in Rochester Hills, pet owners are instructed to gently yank their puppies’ collars, tug on tails, hold paws and reward good behavior with snacks.
“We specialize in positive reinforcement for behavior modification,” she explained. “One of the worst things you can do is scare them or hurt them when you train them.”
Teaching old dogs new tricks
The obedience class at the Esuchankos’ house included three dogs, instead of one.
“In order to train (Chuck),” Roytapel said, “I need to restructure all pets.”
During the first lessons, he taught the animals to remain silent when a guest entered the house. They learned to follow Joe or Lois Esuchanko out the front door — unleashed — to go for a walk. In the past, the dogs would race out of the house, ahead of their masters.
Teaching Chuck to sit and lie down also required new tactics. “I use a high voice to praise the dogs, imitating how a dog’s mom would,” Roytapel said. “And I growl, in a low voice, when I command.”
When Chuck failed to listen, Roytapel curved his hand into the shape of a jaw and felt a pressure point, the way a dog’s mom would nip at a misbehaving puppy. And he taught the couple how to assert their authority over the pack. The trainer had a few more tricks up his sleeve. He brought his two dogs, Elki and Mika, to the Esuchanko house to teach Chuck to socialize. “The first time, Chuck tried to attack the German shepherds,” Lois said. By the eighth visit, all three dogs laid down together on the lawn. Lois Esuchanko shook her head. “That would have been impossible a few weeks ago,” she said.
A good dog
Thanks to the efforts of the Esuchanko family, there seems to be one more wellbehaved canine in Oakland County.
“They are very, very special,” Roytapel said. “They belong to the elite. They are responsible pet owners.”
“He took to me, too,” said Lois Esuchanko. “I was never afraid of him.”
On the front lawn of their home, the Dog Czar stared down at Chuck, who sat patiently at his side.
“See how good he is?” Roytapel asked. He changed his voice to imitate the high pitch of a dog’s mom. “Chuck! That’s a good dog!” Then, his smile faded. He leaned over the dog’s shoulder and growled softly.
Chuck laid down immediately, tucking his nose into the grass.
If you go
Oakland County residents who observe a dog running loose should contact the Oakland County Pet Adoption Center’s complaint line at (248) 391-4103. Pet owners worried about the behavior of their dog may call the Michigan Humane Society Rochester Hills Center for Animal Care’s help line at (248) 650-0127.
Parade of Pink Offers Hope
FARMINGTON HILLS
Parade of pink offers hope
Breast Cancer 3-Day walkers come from near and far to honor those who’ve battled the disease
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
Last summer, Jane Solomar found a lump in her breast. “It was a small mass, and eventually, we learned it was benign. But that’s why I’m here.” Solomar of Warren stood in a circle with her team, the “Three-Day Dawgs,” at Pioneer Park in Farmington Hills. Her teammates came from Waterford Township, Fraser and even Houston, Texas to join the Michigan Breast Cancer 3-Day.
The Michigan Breast Cancer 3-Day is one of 11 such 60-mile walking and camping weekend events nationwide. Proceeds benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund.
From Friday to Sunday, the park was just one the first of many pit stops along the course, which runs from Farmington Hills through Farmington, Plymouth, Livonia, Dearborn and Dearborn Heights. To join the race, the 2,300 participants were required to pay a $90 registration fee and raise $2,200 in pledges and donations. In addition, 400 crew members commit to working round-the-clock for four days straight to support the walkers. Last year, the Michigan charity weekend raised $5.9 million to support breast cancer research and outreach. It’s also a way for cancer survivors, supporters of research, and friends of those fighting the disease to connect.
“There’s a lot of fun, and a lot of camaraderie,” said Shelley Davidson of Oxford, a registered nurse manning the First Aid/Self Care table at Pit Stop 1.
Many participants register to walk in teams. Noonie Kowalski of Oxford and five of her female co-workers formed the Wojo’s Greenhouse team in May. She said the team spent months raising money through charity events, such as card nights and a garage sale.
“We also did a fund-raiser at (bd’s Mongolian Barbeque) restaurant,” Kowalski said. “We sold tickets to the event, and they let us get behind the grill and cook the food!”
The team trained all summer on the Paint Creek Trailway in Rochester.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” said teammate Susan Bork of Oxford, “and not just because my clothes no longer fit!”
Emily Dowgiallo of Dearborn lost her godmother to breast cancer five years ago. Last year, she walked the Michigan Breast Cancer 3-day alone. This year, she has four friends, including Mary Abraham of Dearborn, her former kindergarten teacher, to help her along. All five women have relatives and close friends who were diagnosed with the disease.
“It’s not easy,” said Dowgiallo, of the three-day walk. “But it’s nothing compared to what they go through.”
Carolyn Ruge, a Toledo resident and breast cancer survivor, traveled to Michigan with her daughter and a friend to participate in the “closest walk that I could find.” Ruge, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2005, said she enjoyed the physical exercise.
“It’s not bad overall. I’m a little tired, but it’s OK. I just don’t have the stamina I used to have before I went through treatment.”
When they weren’t fund-raising, many participants spent time creating pinkthemed outfits for the weekend. Pink cowboy hats, tutus, feather boas, bandanas and Mardi Gras beads were just some of the accessories.
Teams often design their own Tshirts, many bearing the names of personal friends and family who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Noonie Kowalski said her walking team picked unusual lime -green color because the entire team works at Wojo’s Greenhouse of Oxford. “We’re giving the race a green thumbs-up for the cure,” she said, laughing.
Once they arrived at Pit Stop 1, the women were greeted with sandwiches, bananas, liquids and shade. Diane Lewey of Dearborn said she began work as a member of the crew at 5:15 Friday morning. “We set up all these tents in the dark,” she said.
Even before two of her aunts were diagnosed with breast cancer, Lewey said she was interested in volunteering.
“We all have breasts, and we all don’t want to die,” she said.
'We'll be hurting big time'
Photo special to The Oakland Press/ASHLEY WOODS
Tom Balaki hands change to Tricha Presti of Bloomfield Township inside the Somerset liquor store Thursday afternoon. Balaki, who owns the store, said shutting down liquor and lottery sales will hurt local business owners.
‘We’ll be hurting big time’
State shutdown to hurt party stores
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
Oakland County party store owners will be hit hard as the state government prepares for a possible partial shutdown of government services on Monday.
Lottery ticket sales and distribution of packaged liquor will be prohibited during the shutdown. Casino gambling; state park and welcome center operations; and Secretary of State offices would also close.
“We don’t sell liquor, but we sell lottery tickets. We make around $400 or $500 per week. That’s a few grand coming in every month. It’s a lot of money,” commented Tom Jabiru, owner of the Double Barrel Party Store in Waterford Township.
Jabiru has owned the Double Barrel Party Store for eight months. He said he believes the last year represents the toughest economy for small business owners since he opened his first store about 20 years ago.
“What can you say?” he asked. “There are no jobs. No one has any money.”
As a lottery salesman, Jabiru makes a 6 percent profit on all lottery tickets sold, as well as a 2 percent return on all store redemptions under $600.
Andi Brancato, spokeswoman for the Michigan Lottery, said the lottery will record $740 million dollars in profit for the 2007 fiscal year.
“All the money, 100 percent, goes to the School Aid Fund,” she said. “Obviously, we hope people will continue to play the lottery once the budget is finalized.”
If a partial shutdown begins Monday, “the distribution system for spirits will be completely shut down,” said Ken Wozniak, director of executive services for the Liquor Control Commission. He added that party stores, as well as bars, restaurants and other establishments that sell liquor will all go dry after they sell their allotted stock.
“We won’t be able to fulfill our role as wholesaler,” Wozniak explained. Michigan, along with 17 other states, directly regulates the sale of liquor by purchasing spirits directly from distillers. The commission then resells to individual establishments at a 65 percent markup. In 2006, the liquor control commission recorded a gross profit of $170 million for the sale of spirits.
“We hope it won’t be longterm,”Wozniak said. “There are a lot of layoffs, people that could be severely affected. … That’s the human issue.”
“It will be affected,” said Tom Balaki, of his party store, Somerset Liquor. “With all the stress from the lack of government, maybe people will start drinking more.”
He has owned Somerset Liquor, on the corner of Crooks and Big Beaver in Troy, for 21 years. He said tourists from the hotels in the surrounding area frequent his party store, as well as white-collar workers from the offices nearby.
“People used to come in, spend $30. … They spend half that, now. We’ll be hurting big time,” he said. “We don’t make a lot of money.”
He also questioned the wisdom of shutting down liquor and lottery sales when the state is already struggling to offset the $1.75 billion deficit expected when the new fiscal year begins Monday.
“They’re down in the basement now,” he said. “In terms of a budget, they’ll be in the bottom of the ocean soon.”
Area Jews to mark Day of Atonement
Area Jews to mark Day of Atonement
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
At sundown tonight, Jews across Oakland County will gather for Yom Kippur (yohm KEEpoor), the holiest of holy days in the Hebrew calendar, also known as the Day of Atonement.
“Every single day, there is a certain level of godliness revealed to the world,” said Rabbi Herschel Finman, of Oak Park. “On the day of Yom Kippur, there is a tremendous revelation of godliness — the most of any day in the year.”
Yom Kippur marks the last day of the High Holidays, also known as the Ten Days of Repentance. The High Holidays began with the celebration of the Hebrew New Year on Rosh Hashana.
“We want to start off the year right, with a clean slate,” said Finman, a rabbi, author and professor.
The Day of Atonement is a solemn holiday, a time for observant Jews to fast, pray and visit synagogue. Some Jews refrain from work or driving cars. But first, they feast.
“As much as there is a commandment to fast throughout Yom Kippur,” said Finman, “there is an equal commandment to eating the day before.”
He said typical foods include bread dipped in honey, fish and kreplach, the Jewish dumpling. All of these foods symbolize some aspect of the Jewish faith.
“With a kreplach, the noodle is on the outside, but the really delicious part is on the inside. The Almighty, like the meat within the kreplach, is hidden from us. But, inside of us, lies the best part.”
Robert Brown, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council who lives in West Bloomfield Township, said his family will attend services tonight to celebrate the eve of Yom Kippur.
Kol Nidre, or “all vows,” is a prayer recited in Aramaic at the beginning of the Yom Kippur evening service. The service takes the form of a legal proceeding. Observant men don the tallit, a four-cornered prayer garment.
“In order to forgive the vows that you may have taken to God, or promises that you wish to annul, you have to go before a court to annul that,” he said.
After reciting the Kol Nidre prayer, Brown and his family return to their home.
“We don’t do much else, but sleep, meditate and spend time together as a family, discussing our plans for the upcoming year and how we will continue to dedicate ourselves to our faith.”
Many Jews return to synagogue Saturday for more services.
Todd Mendel, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council and a resident of Birmingham, said the time in synagogue is “humbling and serious.”
“You ask yourself how you did last year. Were you a good person or a bad person? Did you seek forgiveness from those whom you wronged?”
Mendel, a father of three, said his children all participate in the holiday.
“My oldest kid is now at a point where she has fasted for the past few years. She attends about half of the services.”
He acknowledged that, for younger children, a day of fasting and prayer may be adapted.
“My younger children attend maybe a quarter of the services. And they observe a modified fast.”
The idea of not eating or drinking on a holiday may seem strange to non-Jews, but Rabbi Finman said fasting is an integral aspect of Yom Kippur. “It’s the only biblically mandated fast day,” said Finman. “The tone is not one of negativity. It’s expected of us that we do the commandments joyously.”
Mitchell Wagner, a program associate for the Hillel Organization of Metro Detroit, said he fasts so he can concentrate on his personal faith.
“Not eating is going to allow me to focus on the past year, atone for my sins, ask God for forgiveness and also to ask my fellow humans for forgiveness.”
When his family gathers at sundown Saturday night to break their fast, he said, “We typically eat breakfast foods, like bagels and lox and blintzes.”
Mendel said Yom Kippur is a day of reflection.
“How many times during the year do you sit down, and call a time-out? And not do anything, except ask yourself, ‘How did I do with people, and with the relationships in my life? How did I treat my family? How did I treat my friends?’” he said.
Wagner said he believes the fate of the upcoming year is decided during the 10 days of the High Holidays.
“It’s said that the Book of Life is being written by God. God is deciding, in the next year, who will live, and who will die. Who will grow wealthy, and who will suffer. He’s asking, who will endure the challenges of the coming year?” he explained.
“On Rosh Hashana,” Wagner added, “the Book of Life is written. And, on Yom Kippur, the Book of Life is sealed.”
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
At sundown tonight, Jews across Oakland County will gather for Yom Kippur (yohm KEEpoor), the holiest of holy days in the Hebrew calendar, also known as the Day of Atonement.
“Every single day, there is a certain level of godliness revealed to the world,” said Rabbi Herschel Finman, of Oak Park. “On the day of Yom Kippur, there is a tremendous revelation of godliness — the most of any day in the year.”
Yom Kippur marks the last day of the High Holidays, also known as the Ten Days of Repentance. The High Holidays began with the celebration of the Hebrew New Year on Rosh Hashana.
“We want to start off the year right, with a clean slate,” said Finman, a rabbi, author and professor.
The Day of Atonement is a solemn holiday, a time for observant Jews to fast, pray and visit synagogue. Some Jews refrain from work or driving cars. But first, they feast.
“As much as there is a commandment to fast throughout Yom Kippur,” said Finman, “there is an equal commandment to eating the day before.”
He said typical foods include bread dipped in honey, fish and kreplach, the Jewish dumpling. All of these foods symbolize some aspect of the Jewish faith.
“With a kreplach, the noodle is on the outside, but the really delicious part is on the inside. The Almighty, like the meat within the kreplach, is hidden from us. But, inside of us, lies the best part.”
Robert Brown, a board member of the Jewish Community Relations Council who lives in West Bloomfield Township, said his family will attend services tonight to celebrate the eve of Yom Kippur.
Kol Nidre, or “all vows,” is a prayer recited in Aramaic at the beginning of the Yom Kippur evening service. The service takes the form of a legal proceeding. Observant men don the tallit, a four-cornered prayer garment.
“In order to forgive the vows that you may have taken to God, or promises that you wish to annul, you have to go before a court to annul that,” he said.
After reciting the Kol Nidre prayer, Brown and his family return to their home.
“We don’t do much else, but sleep, meditate and spend time together as a family, discussing our plans for the upcoming year and how we will continue to dedicate ourselves to our faith.”
Many Jews return to synagogue Saturday for more services.
Todd Mendel, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council and a resident of Birmingham, said the time in synagogue is “humbling and serious.”
“You ask yourself how you did last year. Were you a good person or a bad person? Did you seek forgiveness from those whom you wronged?”
Mendel, a father of three, said his children all participate in the holiday.
“My oldest kid is now at a point where she has fasted for the past few years. She attends about half of the services.”
He acknowledged that, for younger children, a day of fasting and prayer may be adapted.
“My younger children attend maybe a quarter of the services. And they observe a modified fast.”
The idea of not eating or drinking on a holiday may seem strange to non-Jews, but Rabbi Finman said fasting is an integral aspect of Yom Kippur. “It’s the only biblically mandated fast day,” said Finman. “The tone is not one of negativity. It’s expected of us that we do the commandments joyously.”
Mitchell Wagner, a program associate for the Hillel Organization of Metro Detroit, said he fasts so he can concentrate on his personal faith.
“Not eating is going to allow me to focus on the past year, atone for my sins, ask God for forgiveness and also to ask my fellow humans for forgiveness.”
When his family gathers at sundown Saturday night to break their fast, he said, “We typically eat breakfast foods, like bagels and lox and blintzes.”
Mendel said Yom Kippur is a day of reflection.
“How many times during the year do you sit down, and call a time-out? And not do anything, except ask yourself, ‘How did I do with people, and with the relationships in my life? How did I treat my family? How did I treat my friends?’” he said.
Wagner said he believes the fate of the upcoming year is decided during the 10 days of the High Holidays.
“It’s said that the Book of Life is being written by God. God is deciding, in the next year, who will live, and who will die. Who will grow wealthy, and who will suffer. He’s asking, who will endure the challenges of the coming year?” he explained.
“On Rosh Hashana,” Wagner added, “the Book of Life is written. And, on Yom Kippur, the Book of Life is sealed.”
Marathon to help fight Crohn's and Colitis
Pam Barclay of Oxford, 26, who has ulcerative colitis and has had many of her internal organs removed, will be competing in The ING Half-Marathon, scheduled for January 27 in Miami.
OXFORD
Marathon to help fight Crohn’s and colitis
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
Anyone running their first half-marathon would have a reason to be nervous.
Pam Barclay of Oxford, 26, who has ulcerative colitis and has had many of her internal organs removed, said she is nervous, but remains positive about competing in The ING Half-Marathon, scheduled for January 27 in Miami.
“I’m excited to do my best,” Barclay said. “It’s just about participating — it’s not about finishing.”
Barclay will run 13.1 miles as the “Honored Teammate” for the Michigan chapter of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America team. The “Team Challenge” program brings together people with Crohn’s and colitis diseases to raise funds and awareness for the two forms of inflammatory bowel disease.
Barclay was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis disease when she was about 13 years old.
“The similarities between both diseases, the vagueness, really make Crohn’s and colitis difficult to treat,” she said.
Symptoms include weight loss, diarrhea mixed with blood, and cramping. She grew ulcers in her large intestine, which began eating through her other organs. At age 14, she underwent surgery to remove her large intestine and rectum, as well as parts of her pancreas, liver, and small intestine that were damaged by the colitis.
“It was horrible,” Barclay said of her years in high school after the surgery. “I had an ostomy bag, and my hair fell out from the steroids. I was 14 years old, I weighed 68 pounds, and I wasn’t even 4 feet tall.”
By joining “Team Challenge,” Barclay and her teammates agreed to participate in weekly training sessions with medical professionals and long-distance runners for coaches. “I still have problems with my kidneys, so I’m nervous about that,” she said. “I also have arthritis in my joints.”
Brad Kegebein, 25, is one of three coaches for the 20-person running team.
“We’re up to 60-minute runs on Sundays now,” he said, “as well as running four miles every Tuesday and Thursday.”
He said the training, which includes tips on technique, stretching and even proper footwear, is designed for the varying levels of ability within the group.
“I would say Pam is in the highest level of runners on the team,” he said. “Some of the other girls are still sick, which affects them.”
“I needed to become more of an advocate for ulcerative colitis,” said Barclay, who joined CCFA after her younger brother was also diagnosed with the disease two years ago. “It’s an embarrassing disease, and that’s why no one talks about it. Okay, so we have problems going to the bathroom.”
To fit in at school, Barclay said she pretended she wasn’t ill. “It’s not commonly known. People understand cancer and heart disease. They don’t understand ostomy bags.”
Barclay, along with the other “Team Challenge” participants, pledged to raise $3,500 in donations for the trip. So far, she’s raised less than $500.
“The worst case scenario is, I put it on my credit card,” she said. Donations are accepted through the team’s fund-raising page at http://www.active. com/donate/MI08MICH.
Nervous or not, Barclay said she’s excited to run her first half-marathon. “If you had asked me at age 14 if I would ever run a (half-marathon), I’d say no way!” she laughed. She said she’s also anxious to improve awareness of these diseases.
“In reality, Crohn’s and colitis are out there,” she said. “Over a million people are suffering. It’s time we stop living in silence, and start living out loud.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist to speak at OU
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist to speak at OU
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
“I’ve spent a portion of my life — all of my working life since Sept. 11 — trying to understand Bush’s White House,” said reporter Bob Woodward.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist will appear Tuesday at Oakland University to deliver the Fourth Annual Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities. The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m.
Woodward, who co-wrote the “Watergate” stories with Carl Bernstein in 1972, will comment on his 2006 book “State of Denial,” the third book in his “Bush at War” trilogy.
“My main effort right now is doing these books,” Woodward said.
The book series examines the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq through in-depth interviews with current and former White House staffers and Washington insiders.
The first two, “Bush at War” and “Plan of Attack,” were both No. 1 national bestsellers. However, they received lackluster critical support for their sympathetic portraits of President Bush and his staff.
“State of Denial” marked a change of tone for Woodward’s series. Though he maintained, “I’ve interviewed President Bush more than any other reporter,” both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney declined to be interviewed for “State of Denial.”
As a reporter, Woodward said he is “too old to be shocked.”
Nevertheless, he said the two and a half years he spent investigating “State of Denial” were full of unpredictable instances. “The most unexpected moment was seeing the secret charts showing that violence was escalating,” he remembered.
The charts showed 800-900 terrorist attacks were occurring weekly in Iraq, a rate of four terrorist attacks every hour.
“Meanwhile, the White House is telling people that we’ve turned the corner.”
“State of Denial” offers more insider information. Colin Powell is asked to resign as secretary of state. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is characterized as controlling and egomaniacal. The Bush administration is portrayed as incompetent at rebuilding Iraq.
But Woodward said he doesn’t have a political agenda.
“I’m not taking a political position to support — I’m reporting a story,” he said. The journalist also said he believes “State of Denial” was validated by recent history.
“Rumsfeld was relieved of his duties,” he said. “The White House admitted mistakes were made, and they changed the strategy by beginning the surge.”
He said the lecture will detail current issues regarding the war in Iraq.
“We have to figure out, how did we get into this situation, and how is this going to end?”
Woodward, who also serves as the assistant managing editor for The Washington Post, twice contributed to journalistic efforts that were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In 1973, he and Carl Bernstein were recognized for the “Watergate” stories, which resulted in the conviction of several White House aides, as well as the resignation of President Richard Nixon. He was also the lead reporter for the Post’s articles on the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, which won the National Reporting Pulitzer in 2002. He has authored or co-authored 11 No. 1 national best-selling books.
Arts & Apples has full weekend lineup
Art & Apples has full weekend lineup
By ASHLEY WOODS Special to The Oakland Press
Photographing crime scenes inspired Beverly Benson Wolf to begin a new career in digital photography. “I had a need to learn how to photograph, and I enrolled in adult education classes,” said Wolf, a retired captain from the Waterford Police Department. Since then, the 2006 Detroit 73rd International Salon of Photography awarded her “Best of Show” for large color print photography. Her original photograph, “Golden Morn,” will hang in the dining room of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s residence until July 2008.
Wolf is just one of more than 250 artists appearing at the 2007 Art & Apples Festival, running Friday through Sunday at Rochester Municipal Park.
Sponsored by the Paint Creek Center of the Arts, the festival also features live music and dancing, two food courts, activities for kids and their famous homemade apple pies.
“It’s a beautiful setting, with trees, and the Paint Creek running through the park ... and there’s all kinds of events for families,” Wolf said.
For Rochester resident and full-time watercolor painter Rick Burger, the 42nd annual Art & Apples Festival is a time-honored tradition. “I’ve been involved with the fair since the mid’70s,” he said.
Burger, a former GM employee, teaches classes from his studio in downtown Rochester. He said the festival was ranked in the top 10 art fairs nationwide during the mid-1980s, but the slow Michigan economy now makes earning a living difficult for some artists.
“People do buy more traditional artwork at the festival versus contemporary, and I do traditional watercolor,” he said.
To Barbara Markham, selling her watercolor paintings at the Art & Apples Festival is just one more blessing in a series of miracles. On her birthday, five years ago, the former Utica art teacher suffered an aneurysm.
“It took 6 1 /2 hours of brain surgery for them to save me,” she said.
She spent the next 18 months relearning how to talk, walk, count — and paint. In 2003, she presented her first art show. Markham said she has now sold more than 200 watercolors.
“I feel they are very fresh ... they use a lot of bright colors: red, yellow, green,” Markham said.
Exposing children to art is another mission of the festival. The Kids Art Zone, created especially for youngsters, includes “make-and-take” art projects and a life-size Kids Art Maze. Back by popular demand is the My First Art Purchase tent. For $5, budding aficionados can purchase their first pieces of art, which are donated by art vendors and Detroit Institute of Arts resident artists. A special artist demonstration by the DIA also is planned.
There’s more to the festival than painting and sculpture. The new Interactive Activity Zone will include a rock climbing wall and the Henry Ford Rouge Motor Factory, where fairgoers can view the makings of a car from scratch. Dozens of food stands will serve desserts and meals.
The first Community Apple Pie Bake-Off, at 10 a.m. Saturday, will crown one cook the Art & Apples Apple Pie Champion.
This year’s festival celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester. The nonprofit center is funded by the Art & Apple Festival..
“The money raised by the festival goes directly to our operating budget,” said Karen Cuthbertson, special event director for the center. “It’s our largest fund-raiser. And we need it to keep the classes going, the doors open and the lights on.”
An estimated 100,000 visitors are expected over the weekend, especially as Sunshine Art Magazine recently ranked Art & Apples Festival in the top 35 art fairs nationwide, she said.
Cuthbertson said more than 25 nonprofit organizations will work with the Art & Apples team this year, creating art for a cause.
“We’re very proud that Arts & Apples can help other nonprofits, as well,” she said.
A photo by Beverly Benson Wolf called “Golden Morn” will hang in the dining room of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s official residence.Wolf is one of the artists featured at Art & Apples this weekend in Rochester.
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