The Noretta Dunworth School of Dance, the national award winning school in Dearborn that has been in operation for 70 years, has purchased the former Boys and Girls Club building on Telegraph and plans to open a studio in it.

It isn’t clear what will happen to the school’s current home at 2323 Monroe with the purchase of the facility on Telegraph, which has locker rooms, a gymnasium and much more space and available parking. The new facility isn’t open yet.

Noretta Dunworth began teaching dance at the age of 12 in 1940 in her parent’s basement with just a few of the neighborhood children. Today, the Dunworth School of Dance is one of the most honored studios in the country. Noretta Dunworth’s daughter, Lonnie, plans to continue that tradition with the expansion and purchase of the building on Telegraph.

“Noretta’s greatest success is in the quality and consistency of her successful students,” according to the dance studio’s website.“Not just in the state of Michigan, but also in all parts of the United States and Canada, her students now have their own dance studios and have been successful themselves.”

We wish them the best of luck on their newest Dearborn location.

East Downtown Dearborn will again host Jazz On The Ave at Dearborn City Hall Park beginning in July.

The free concerts — presented by the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA), V98.7 Smooth Jazz HD and WWJ Newsradio — are Wednesday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Bring lawn chairs or blankets and stake out a good spot for great music in the Park.

Plenty of neighborhood restaurants will be open nearby too, so grab yourself some tasty carry-out and make it a picnic dinner before the show!

Here’s the schedule to mark your calendars.

Wednesday July 13: Alexander Zonjic & Friends

Wednesday July 20: Universal Xpression

Wednesday July 27: Lin Rountree

Wednesday August 10: Straight Ahead

Wednesday August 17: Urban Jazz Collection

Wednesday August 24: Alexander Zonjic All Star(s)…special guest(s) to be announced soon!

The EDDDA gives special thanks to V98.7 Smooth Jazz HD and WWJ Newsradio, along with series co-sponsors including Oakwood Healthcare, the Dearborn Community Fund, the Times-Herald, Press & Guide and Metro Times newspapers.

PLEASE NOTE: In the event of inclement weather, the concerts will be moved inside the Arab American National Museum located directly across the street from Dearborn City Hall at 13624 Michigan Avenue.

The EDDDA regularly hear residents say they want more to do downtown after work, and merchants open in the evenings want reasons to keep customers coming later in the day. Last summer’s successful Jazz On The Ave concerts at City Hall Park show that people are willing to hang out in the neighborhood if offered fun activities to keep them here.

So as well as the Jazz On The Ave concert series, this year they’ll be putting on a Taste of Dearborn East event on September 14!

Stay tuned on their website at www.EastDowntownDearborn.com for any updates and always feel free to contact them at 313-943-3141

Dearborn’s 87th Annual Memorial Day Parade — the oldest continuous parade in Michigan — presents a special tribute to those who served and died in the Vietnam War, in this 50th anniversary year of the conflict.

The parade begins at 10:30 a.m. and travels Michigan Avenue from Greenfield Road to Schaefer and includes 80 military and community groups, five flyovers, special guests and military vehicles.

The Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council, led by 2011 Commander Craig Tillman, organizes the parade with support from the City of Dearborn.

The parade follows a solemn funeral procession beginning at 9:30 a.m. for three veterans who died without resources or family and whose remains have been left in Dearborn funeral homes.

After the parade, the traditional Remembrance Service will be at noon at the War Memorial on the grounds of City Hall.

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The Exchange Club of Dearborn joined with the Dearborn Police Department to present the annual Police Awards at a luncheon on May 17. Officers are recognized for their service to the community in a variety of ways. The top recognition is the Officer of the Year.

Shown here are (from left): Commander Jimmy Solomon, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly Jr., Officer of the Year Cpl. David Marshall, Commander Thomas Teefey and Exchange Club President Dennis Scanlon.

Also earning recognition was Sgt. Glenn Carriveau, Cpl. Joshua Urbiel, Officer Tim Stacy, Sgt. Jeffrey Mrowka, Lt. Neil Myres, Sgt. Richard Joynt, Lt. Mark Tobias, Sgt. Kevin Schaumburger, Cpl. Joy Ball, Cpl. Patrick Hayes, Cpl. Stanley Chiles, Cpl. Guerino Cerroni, Cpl. Michael Gracer, Cpl. Michael McNamara, Cpl. Steven Faith, Cpl. Joseph Kass, Cpl. Timothy McHale, Cpl. Brian Kapanowski and Cpl. Donald Kozlowski.

Start: July 15, 2011 8:00 am

End: July 15, 2011 3:00 pm

Cost: Starting at $99

Organizer: Dearborn Chamber of Commerce

Phone: 313-584-6100

Email: prichard@dearbornchamber.org

Venue: Dearborn Hills Golf Course

Phone: 313-584-6100

Address: 1300 S. Telegraph, Dearborn, 48124

For more info, click HERE.

Residents, businesses and visitors to Dearborn are encouraged to reserve Friday evenings to attend a free outdoor mini-concert series sponsored by the West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (WDDDA).

All concerts take place in the Muirhead Plaza, adjacent to the Bryant Library on Michigan Avenue. The concerts will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

Here is this year’s lineup:

• June 17: The first concert features the Big Band Sound of Al Tedrick Combo Featuring Bill Heart.

• July 1: Concert goers will be entertained by a return performance of the “Beat Club,” a Beatles Tribute Band. This band looks like and sounds like the lads from Liverpool.

• July 15: Big Will and the 360 Degree Band with be entertaining. Big Will is the former lead sing of the Sun Messengers.

• July 29: Justine Blazer’s Modern Country Sound will be featured.

• August 12: Metro Jazz Voices will perform selections from all eras of the Great American Songbook .From standards like “Pennies from Heaven” and “Over the Rainbow” to modern classics like “Me and Julio, Down by the Schoolyard.” The sound is comfortable and yearning, the harmonies sweet and fascinating.

• August 26: “Crush,” bringing the sounds of classic rock and more, will entertain from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

In case of rain, the concerts will be held in the Henry Ford Centennial Library auditorium.

The WDDDA recommends that concert-goers bring chairs and blankets for outdoor seating while they relax and enjoy the music.

Maps and other information are also available online on the WDDDA’s web site at www.DearbornwestOnline.com

Kate Moynihan's "Party Birds"

This Saturday, May 21, Village Picture Frame and Art Gallery in Dearborn will present artist Kate Moynihan, her “Party Birds” and other paintings between noon and 5 p.m.

Art Gallery owner Thomas Clark says patrons on Saturday can enter their name to win a framed Tulip Burst print by being present at 4 p.m. for the drawing. He also will have free refreshments. Clark’s gallery is located in the West Village Commons on Michigan Avenue, between Military and Howards streets.

Growing older without regrets is the motto artist Moynihan has followed for two decades by leaving a secure job as a registered nurse and plunging into the business world as a painter. “I didn’t want my career to pass and always wonder ‘what if.’” Twenty years later Moynihan is not only doing what she loves but is successful, as well.

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Kristyn Taylor, a reader of DeepsaidWhat.com, sent this column to us today. It is her take on some of the tough decisions our elected city officials must make about Dearborn’s operating budget. In this instance, it is about whether pools should be closed in order to trim the city’s $20 million budget shortfall.

She is urging all residents to add their voice to the budget discussion at the next budget workshop on Thursday May 19th at 5:30 p.m. in the Mayor’s Conference Room.

Her column begins below:

By Kristyn Taylor

Kristyn Taylor

Have you ever had an argument with someone over the color of the sky? It’s green, they claim. With no tornado in sight on a beautiful summer day, you know the sky is actually blue. Of course, in MI our sky is usually more grey than blue, but that’s not the point! You provide scientific evidence, pictures, and affidavits of 5,000 people who swear the sky is blue, yet your friend is convinced it’s green.

The entire conversation sounds completely insane doesn’t it?

Yes, but it is eerily similar to the year-long struggle between Save our Pools (SOP) and the City of Dearborn. Last year the city threatened to close and demolish 6 of the 8 outdoor pools. The residents came out in droves to tell them they were wrong. They had videos and pictures espousing the importance of the pools to everyone who lives in Dearborn. The Mayor changed his mind and the pools opened. It began to look like everyone agreed the sky was blue.

SOP went one step further and showed how inflated the numbers were that estimated the costs of repairing and renovating the pools. According to the NSA study, it would cost the city $1,277,700 to keep up all 8 of the pools over the next 5 years (averages $255,540 per year). Ryan Woods, of SOP, gave us a more realistic version of those numbers. According to his calculations, over the next 5 years it would cost just $183,400 (averages $36,680 per year).

I am no accountant, but those numbers don’t seem to add up.

Dearborn is in the hole. That, we can all agree on. The Mayor believes that one solution to this problem is to close the small pools and demolish them. This year, closing three pools is estimated to save the city $75,000. Demolition costs $20,000 per pool. The sky is green.

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The City of Dearborn wants residents to know that as part of its routine spring work, contractors this week will begin applying fertilizer and broad leaf weed control on all of the City parks and City rights of way.

All areas will be marked according to the Department of Agriculture standards. These areas include the medians, cul de sacs and easements that are maintained by the City.

All pesticides used will have a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that is available through United Lawnscape, the contractor applying them. The hours of operations are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and dependant upon park usage.

City officials say all areas are safe after the material has dried, which is usually within 2 – 4 hours depending on weather conditions.

An evening of improvisational comedy is on tap Friday, June 3 when Dearborn‘s Ford Community & Performing Arts Center presents “Whose Live Anyway?,” beginning at 8 p.m.

“Whose Live Anyway?” features four of the regulars from the Emmy-nominated TV show, “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” They are Chip Estes, Jeff Davis, Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops.

The four performers use audience suggestions and their own quick wit to present an evening of improvisational skits and musical numbers that will have you laughing from start to finish and leave you wondering how they do it.

Tickets, priced at $35-$49, are available on-line at www.dearborntheater.com and at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center box office, which is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For further information, call the box office at 313-943-2354.