The San Francisco 49ers, in town Sunday to play the Detroit Lions, are planning to practice Saturday at Dearborn High School’s football field, DeepsaidWhat.com has learned.

San Francisco is 4-1 and plays the undefeated Lions at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Ford Field in Detroit.

The 49ers are scheduled to practice at my alma mater between noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday. Dearborn Police will be at the field to keep an eye on things and manage any crowds that may gather if the practice is held.

Now Dearborn High School can brag that they really do have the best football field in Dearborn, good enough for the five-time Super Bowl champ 49ers to ask to use.

Go Lions!

Dearborn is asking residents to rake loose leaves into the street the day before your trash day/Public Service Days for pickup beginning the week of Oct. 24.

It’s that time of year again. Collection of loose leaves raked into the streets is scheduled to begin the week of Oct. 24 and end on Friday, Dec. 2, depending on the weather.

To make it easier for crews to pick up the leaves and to keep the streets safer, residents are encouraged to rake leaves into the street only on the day before their neighborhood’s Public Service Days.

Public Service Days are the same as trash collection days.

Vehicles must be removed from streets on these days from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Contractors paid by residents to rake leaves must follow the same guideline and should not rake leaves into the street until the day before the appropriate Public Service Day.

Below are the rules as outlined by the City of Dearborn:

For example, if your trash day/Public Service Day is on a Monday, you should try to rake your leaves into the street on a Sunday. If your trash day/Public Service Day is on a Wednesday, you should try to rake your leaves on Tuesday.

Due to the volume and size of Public Service Day districts, crews may not be able to pick up all the loose leaves in a neighborhood on the designated Public Service Day/trash collection day.

City crews will return to the area the next week on Public Service Day, starting where they ended with the previous collection. For example, if your trash day/Public Service Day is on a Tuesday, crews will be collecting leaves on a Tuesday and then return the following Tuesday to continue in your neighborhood.

For a weekly leaf collection schedule, call the Leaf Hotline at 943-2444.

Avoid raking leaves into the street too early, as leaves left to pile up in the street for days before scheduled collection can present traffic and safety hazards.

Preferred method: Bag leaves for curbside pickup every week

Leaves also can be disposed of by putting them in 20-32 gallon containers marked “Yard Waste” or in paper landscape bags for curbside pickup on regular trash collection days every week until Dec. 16.

Bagging them or putting them in the proper containers on the curb will ensure that they are picked up every week on your trash day. In contrast, loose leaves raked into the street in front of your house are only picked up as crews can get to them.

The City’s curbside yard waste collection program ends on Dec. 16.

Yard waste stickers to mark your containers are available at City Hall. Paper yard waste bags do not need stickers.

Leaves in plastic bags or in cardboard boxes will not be picked up.

Former Dearborn Civil Service Commissioner Marjorie Powell is seeking a court order to prevent Dearborn city officials from trying to eliminate the city’s Civil Service system through a Nov. 8 ballot question.

In a lawsuit filed by Dearborn attorney Morris Goodman, plaintiff Powell claims the city of Dearborn is in violation of Michigan law and is seeking an injunction to have the question removed from the ballot.

The Nov. 8 ballot question asks Dearborn residents to decide on a measure that would eliminate the city’s civil service system, a governing commission that oversees city employee matters, including hiring, promotions and rate of pay. While commissioners are not paid, the city’s human resources administrator, who reports to the appointed commission, earns a six figure salary.

Elected city leaders claim the commission is redundant, duplicating the protections provided by unions. Powell and her lawyer say the ballot question is “disingenuous” and in violation of state law.

“It is clear the real reason that the City of Dearborn wants to change from a Civil Service System to a Human Resources Commission is to rid itself of Marjorie Powell, the litigation in case (she has against the city) and Human Resources Administrator Valerie Murphy Goodrich,” the lawsuit states.

“. . . By eliminating the Civil Service Commission, both Powell and Murphy-Goodrich would also be eliminated so they could not be in a position to thwart attempts to appoint unqualified political cronies to positions of power within Dearborn city government.”

The wording of the ballot proposal says:

“The Dearborn Civil Service System as defined in Chapter 11 of the Dearborn City Charter was created before city employees formed 8 distinct labor unions to represent their interests in negotiating contracts that cover wages, benefits and work rules. The provisions in these contracts take precedence over the Civil Service policies. Dearborn is one of the few Michigan cities that still has a Civil Service Commission. If necessary, the City Council could create a Human Resources Commission by ordinance to oversee any employment issues for City employees.

“Shall the Dearborn City Charter be amended to eliminate the Civil Service Commission by repealing Chapter 11?”

According to the lawsuit, the city is in violation of Michigan law because the ballot question cannot be more than 100 words and “shall consist of a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the amendment or question in language that does not create prejudice for or against the amendment or question . . .”

In addition, the lawsuit points out that most larger Michigan cities do indeed have a Civil Service Commission, including: Detroit, Grand Rapids, Warren, Flint, Sterling Heights, Lansing, Livonia, Westland, Troy, Southfield, Kalamazoo, Wyoming, Pontiac, Taylor, St. Clair Shores, Saginaw, Royal Oak, Dearborn Heights and Muskegon.

“To say ‘Dearborn is one of the few Michigan cities that still has a Civil Service Commission’ is disingenuous and needs and explanation,” according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also notes that a new City Charter was passed by voters in 2007 that “maintained and even strengthened the prior Civil Service Commission provision.”

This could get messy. Stay tuned . . .

The Dearborn Historical Museum wants your best Dearborn story.

What if you could buy a book featuring your favorite story about living or growing up in Dearborn? What if you could help write the book?

That’s the idea behind a new project just launched by the Dearborn Historical Museum to collect 300 stories from residents and former residents – and publish the results in time for Christmas shopping.

“This is the quickest turnaround for any book deal I ever heard of,” said L. Glenn O’Kray, vice chairman of the Dearborn Historical Commission, who is supervising the project for the museum. “We’re asking people to write us a very short story – about 900 words — and get it to us by Thursday, October 20. We’d like to have the book ready for sale by November 15.”

The goal of the project is to create a book that will help provide a “sense of place” about Dearborn, its culture and history, according to O’Kray.

“Of course we’re also hoping that people will want to see their names and their stories in print,” O’Kray added. “This could be an important fund raiser at a time when the Historical Museum is in deep financial trouble.”

All proceeds from sales of the book will go to support the museum, which has begun a membership drive to help keep its doors open after city funds run out during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.

(more…)

Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad will meet with residents at a town hall meeting on Nov. 4.

The Dearborn Police Department and Chief Ronald Haddad will be holding a series of town hall meetings to discuss crime prevention and any other topics that might be on the minds of residents.

Representatives from the Dearborn Police Department will also explain the specific ways the department serves the community.

The following is a schedule of the free Town Hall Meetings:

• 7 p.m. Wednesday, October 19

Bryant Middle School, 460 North Vernon St.

 • 7 p.m. Thursday, October 27

City Council Chambers, Dearborn City Hall, 13615 Michigan Ave.

The final town hall meeting is scheduled for Nov. 2 at Dearborn Public Schools Administrative Building (Ten Eyck), 18700 Audette. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m.

Items on the agenda for the Town Hall meetings include:

• Meet Police Chief Haddad

• Learn about crime patterns in your neighborhood

• Police vehicle display

• Free child identification kits

• Crime prevention material and tips

• Sign up for NIXLE

• Open discussion

Starting November 1, Dearborn Police will step up enforcement of nuisance vehicles stored on private property to preserve the quality of neighborhoods and remove safety hazards.

To avoid a $500 fine, police are encouraging residents who have a title to an unwanted vehicle to take advantage of the City’s amnesty program by calling Rusko’s Towing at 313-274-4550.

The unwanted vehicle will be towed away without cost.

Residents who want to keep their vehicles are encouraged to move any that meet the definition of a nuisance into storage inside an enclosed structure. This includes vehicles that are disassembled, stripped, dismantled, can’t be driven or are in a state of disrepair.

Vehicles found to be inoperative for any reason could be in violation of the nuisance ordinance, known as City Ordinance 13-2.

This applies to property owners who store, or allow to be stored, a nuisance vehicle.

After November 1, vehicles found to be in violation of the nuisance ordinance will be tagged by the Police Department. Residents will have 72 hours to remove or properly store the vehicle.

After that, the homeowner may be responsible for towing/storage and a misdemeanor violation punishable by a fine up to $500.

“When you’re finished working on your car, push it back in the garage,” said Police Cpl. Mike Nelson. “Leaving them out is neighborhood blight.”

Nuisance vehicles also can be dangerous.

They often have broken glass, sharp metal protrusions or are mounted on blocks or jacks that might become unstable.

Because they frequently block access for fire equipment to adjacent buildings and structures, nuisance vehicles also constitute a fire hazard.

They can serve as a breeding ground for insects and rodents.

Back in August, we wrote about a new grocery store moving into the building that once was home to a Kroger store in East Dearborn.

On Monday, the new store at 13661 Colson St. near the corner of Schaefer Rd. and Michigan, celebrated its grand opening.

Called Dearborn Fresh Supermarket, the new 50,000 sq.-ft facility features a wide range of traditional & international groceries, fresh produce, fresh meats & poultry. It is much more than your average grocery store.

The Dearborn Fresh Supermarket also features an Oasis Cafe for lunch on the spot, bulk food section, Tim Horton’s, Sweet Dreams Cakes & Pastries, a sushi bar, Hashem’s Nuts & Coffee Gallery, a flower shop, a pharmacy with a cell phone shop and a fashion accessory store.

“As our country plunges into deeper debt and higher rates of unemployment, we believe that a personal business initiative and an entrepreneurial spirit may well maximize the strength of our falling economy,” said Fuad and Kamal Turfah, the co-owners of the store, in a press release.

We wish the store the best of luck. Dearborn Fresh is open 7 days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

There were lots of questions about Dearborn’s city calendar at Monday night’s City Council meeting so we thought we’d remind readers again about what needs to be done if you’d like to receive a free city calendar for 2012.

Residents who want a calendar mailed to their homes must have their order in by Nov. 4. The preferred method to order is through the city’s website, www.cityofdearborn.org

The direct link to the request form is HERE. Ordering the calendar at www.cityofdearborn.org ensures accuracy and reduces the cost to taxpayers.

As an alternative method only, residents without Internet access can order a calendar by calling 943-3003 and leaving a mailing address.

As a cost-saving measure, it is no longer mailed to every household automatically.

The 2012 City Calendar will also be found at www.cityofdearborn.org in January and can be viewed or printed in its entirety or by individual pages.

Those who order a calendar should receive it in the mail before Dec. 23, 2011. Additional copies will be available in December at public buildings while supplies last.

The Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter (FFDAS) will host the 11th anniversary of their annual Black Tie & Tails fundraiser dinner and auction event on Friday, October 21st, at the historic Dearborn Inn.

Going green this year, the event highlights the ultimate recycling gift of finding homes for adoptable animals. Many aspects of the event this year incorporate green-friendly initiatives from eco-printing invitations, hosting the evening in a Leeds certified venue and donating any leftover food to a local food bank.

“We are concerned with leaving gentle pawprints everywhere we step as an organization, including in the care of animals,” said Elaine Greene, executive director of FFDAS.

Black Tie & Tails is the premier fund-raising event hosted by FFDAS. Since its inception Black Tie has raised over $850,000, which has directly benefited 20,000 rescues. This year, the organization strives to achieve the $1,000,000 mark for an 11 year total. The proceeds are much needed funds for the shelter, as a steady stream of homeless kittens and puppies continue to flow through its doors.

This elegant evening for four-footed friends is emceed by Dan Miller, Fox 2 sports director and FFDAS adopter. It includes: a champagne reception, hors d’ oeuvres, dinner, dancing, silent and live auctions, and a “green”carpet promenade for adoptable animals. For the first time, auction items can be previewed online.

The evening event is sponsored this year by MaryAnn Wright and Bob Sayles. Special guest stars include honorary co-chairs Congressman John and Mrs. Debbie Dingell, Detroit Lions quarterback Drew Stanton and Mrs. Kristin Stanton and Detroit Lions long snapper Don and Mrs.Alix Muhlbach.

Tickets for Black Tie & Tails are $175 per person. The event will take place from 7 p.m. until midnight at the Dearborn Inn. Tickets are available online or by calling the Dearborn Animal Shelter.

Learn more about this and other upcoming events, volunteering, donating or to view the Shelter’s adoptable animals online. The Dearborn Animal Shelter is located at 2661 Greenfield Road, Dearborn, and is operated by the Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Main phone: 313-943-2697 and on the web www.DearbornAnimals.org, you can follow the Shelter on Facebook or Twitter.

Oakwood is moving its headquarters into this building at 15500 Lundy Parkway in Dearborn.

Oakwood Healthcare Inc. in Dearborn has signed a long-term lease with Ford Land for a new headquarters building in Dearborn at 15500 Lundy Parkway, Crain’s Detroit Business is reporting.

According to Crain’s, the health system will move 650 employees to the 135,000-square-foot, two-building facility in the coming days.

The move will save Oakwood 20 percent per square foot and provide an additional 25,000 square feet of building space for its nonclinical corporate staff. Oakwood is currently at 18101 Oakwood Blvd., Crain’s reports.

Oakwood is home to more than 9,000 employees and 1,300 physicians and is the second-largest employer in suburban Wayne County.

For more information about Oakwood Healthcare, visit oakwood.org