Two years ago, when a fire destroyed the house of Dearborn City Councilman Robert Abraham, the family’s Labrador Retriever, Dublin, was killed. Abraham, his wife Mary Ann, daughter Mary Kate, and sons Brandon and Jared were not home at the time of the fire but felt the tremendous loss of their family pet. When friends and neighbors offered their assistance, they recommended donations to the Dearborn Animal Shelter

On Sept. 10, almost two years from the anniversary date of the fire and with the family’s house restorations recently completed, the Abrahams will host an “Open House for Hope’s Heroes” to benefit rescue animals with special needs. The event is being hosted together with Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter.

Councilman Robert Abraham

“You can always replace your house and your possessions, but you can’t replace a pet who has been a member of the family,” Abraham said. “We decided soon after the fire that we wanted to do something special for the Dearborn Animal Shelter, which benefits so many in our community.”

The public is invited to attend the open house which will be held on Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the family’s home located at 510 Crescent Drive in Dearborn. Dinner and refreshments will be served along with entertainment and special prizes.

“We are very grateful to the Abrahams for generously opening their home to benefit animals who need extra special care,” said Kelle Sisung, development director of Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter. “In the past two weeks, dogs have been rescued with collars embedded in their necks. We’ve also had a spate of dogs who are heartworm positive. Hope’s Heroes funds truly help us provide hope.”

Reservations to attend are requested by Sept. 3 via email to rabraham.cpa@gmail.com Contributions of $50 per person are suggested with all donations welcome. If unable to attend, donations can also be made online at www.dearbornanimals.org

Dearborn’s Master Plan workshops for residents continues Wednesday at the Dearborn Hills Golf Course.

Residents are invited to guide the future development of the city through participating in these public workshops. The survey process was completed Aug. 1 and interested residents may participate in these special workshops.

Wednesday’s meeting is the third in a series and begins at 7 p.m. and runs until 9 p.m. This workshop is focused on neighborhoods in the northwest part of the city.

Input will be used in the creation of Dearborn’s new master plan, which will be a vision for the future of transportation, land use, the economy and environmental and cultural stewardship.

The master plan will help determine the physical characteristics of the city and facilitate the type of community residents want to see for the long term.

The remaining schedule is as follows:

Summation workshop: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20 at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Club Room One, 15801 Michigan Ave.

The city of Dearborn is joining with The Henry Ford and the Dearborn Area Ministerial Association (DAMA) to present a Remembrance and Unity Candlelight Vigil on the 10th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001.

The ceremony is open to the public and will be at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11 on the lawn of the Henry Ford Museum. A community candlelight vigil was held in the same location in 2001.

DAMA is seeking short and heart-felt reflections from the public to be read at the ceremony. Deadline for submission is Monday, Aug. 22. See below for DAMA’s press release.

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The city of Dearborn removed the foundations that were to be used to build additional condos in West Village Square.

The city of Dearborn has ripped out the rotting foundations that were to be used to build condominiums on in West Village Square, removing an eyesore for nearby residents.

Known as the Abbey Lane condos, just off of Mason in what was the former overflow parking lot for Jacobsen’s department store, the foundations were poured sometime in 2008.

The development was part of the project by developer Burton-Katzman, who the city sued for failing to complete the West Village Commons project on Michigan Avenue. The condo development was part of the unfinished project.

While the city had to pay for the removal of the foundations, a lien will be placed on this property for the city to recoup its costs when or if the property is sold again.

The removal of the foundations is good news for the residents of the Abbey Lane condos who will now have a green space to use for the near term. However, it is an expense (however small) that some readers of Deepsaidwhat.com are questioning, particularly given the city’s financial situation.

“More mismanagement by the city!,” wrote one reader. “The neighborhood begged the city to put less density on that 1.7 acre lot! The neighborhood begged the city to consider 36 units rather than 48 units in that development and to make more green space and PARKING between the units. The city was too bullheaded and tax revenue hungry to listen. So they went with 48 units, built 36 units and stuck it up the neighborhoods’ collective arses! Now they have to pay to remove two of the units foundations to create a green space at the end of the development which makes no sense whatsoever. These same baffoons that are in office now are the same ones that wouldn’t listen to the neighborhood . . .”

Another reader had this to say: “ . . . in the city’s pursuit to be in the real estate business, they (we taxpayers) are now going to have to pay the costs to rip out all of this prepared building slabs to make way for a “green space”. Nice job once again City of Dearborn leaders!! Remember this when voting day nears.”

They are valid arguments. On the other hand, Dearborn city leaders have an obligation to properly maintain our city, even in tough economic times. No one can deny that the green space now at the corner of Michigan and Brady is far more attractive to look at than the abandoned motel that once occupied that piece of land. The city paid for that demolition, too.

There are many more vacant buildings along Michigan Avenue that need to be demolished to help clean up West Dearborn. If this city is going to attract new residents and businesses, looking the part is a good first step.

The public is invited to attend a free photography lecture-workshop series to be presented by award winning Dearborn photographer Teresa Lousias. The series is part of the Oakwood Arts for the Spirit program and will be held in the Rotunda Room of Oakwood Common, located at 16351 Rotunda in Dearborn.

The four-part lectures and workshop series will be held from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesdays and include:

Photography Travel Lecture, August 31

“The Art of Seeing” Workshop, September 7

“The Zen of Photography” Workshop, September 14

Framing and Exhibiting Your Photos Lecture, September 21

 Photography workshop participants will have an opportunity to showcase their photos at an Exhibition Day event to be held in the Rotunda Room at Oakwood Common on Sunday, October 23, 2011.

“This will be a fun and informative experience that will help to enhance your photography knowledge,” said Delfina Mauricio, Activity Director for Oakwood Common.

For more details and to make a reservation, please call 313-253-9597 or send an email to donna.brandt@oakwood.org.

About Oakwood Common

Oakwood Common offers one and two bedroom apartments located within a beautiful 29-acre retirement community that includes exquisite landscaping, nature trails and scenic views along the historic Rouge River Gateway in Dearborn. Oakwood Common apartments, available with flexible payment options, offer exceptional amenities for independent living and can be readily customized. Assisted living and a comprehensive rehabilitation and skilled nursing center are also available for those with additional needs. For more information and to arrange tours, call 800-642-4663 or visit www.oakwoodcommon.org

The building that once housed Kroger in East Dearborn will soon have a new tenant that will offer retail and some groceries, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., says.

Not all of the 56,000 sq. ft. building will be used, at least not initially. At a Council meeting this week, O’Reilly said about 40,000 sq. ft. will be used as retail/grocery and the remaining space would be set aside for future use.

City officials aren’t yet naming the tenant moving into the new building but we have heard the new occupant is connected to the Cash & Carry chain store at 6661 Chase Road. It appears the former Kroger building is a better location for the Cash & Carry than the Chase Road building.

The new store could open for business in about one month, O’Reilly says.

Iversen's is opening a second location in West Dearborn, just off of Michigan and Military.

Some good news for those with a sweet tooth. Iversen’s , one of Dearborn’s best-known bakeries for cakes and cookies, is opening a second location in West Dearborn on Michigan Avenue called Iversen’s Express.

In the strip mall owned by Norm Newman (yes, you read that right), Iversen’s – a family owned Dearborn business for 50 years – plans to open in September. We haven’t had a chance yet to talk to the owners of Iversen’s but we did hear the Outer Drive location (22041 Outer Drive) will still do most of, if not all, of the heavy baking on a daily basis.

With the Biggby Coffee shop just two doors down, we can’t think of a better combination . . .

Military Avenue in Dearborn will be closed beginning on Aug. 8 and lasting through Aug. 22 from just south of Alexandrine to 100 feet south of the Rouge River Bridge.

The road closure is to allow for sewer and water main construction.

The city originally planned to start the construction just before Dearborn Homecoming (Aug. 6 and Aug. 7)  but made the good decision to postpone the work until after that busy homecoming weekend.

Detour signs will be posted.

Family Dollar will soon open a store in West Dearborn.

Dearborn’s ACO Hardware and LaPita restaurant will soon have a new retail neighbor on Newman Street.

While we can debate whether it’s the right kind of retail for West Dearborn, the addition of a Family Dollar store to fill a long-vacant building (not owned by Norm Newman who has his share of vacant buildings in our town), might help ACO and other businesses in this particular strip mall.

The owners of Family Dollar have been talking about moving into the former fabric store for about two years, according to one city official. We mentioned two months ago it was coming here.

Now, it appears the owners are a bit more serious having installed a Family Dollar sign on the building. Along Michigan Avenue, a new fixture has been installed to hold another sign for Family Dollar.

Inside the vacant building  there isn’t much going on just yet.  But it probably won’t be long. Installing shelving to stock rows and rows of made in China products shouldn’t take long . . .

Many Dearborn nonprofit groups participate in Homecoming to raise money for the Dearborn community and beyond, including the Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive and the vegetables that support their renowned Free Corn on the Cob booth.

Dearborn’s annual Homecoming festival takes place August 5-7 at Ford Field Park, and even though it is in its 32nd year, many people may be surprised to learn that the event has always been a major fundraiser for Dearborn nonprofit groups.

So when you are buying pierogis, Italian sausages, hot dogs, dippin dots, lemonade, waffle fries or other treats, you are also supporting nonprofit causes that strengthen our community.

More than 30 nonprofit groups participate in Homecoming, with more than 20 involved directly in fundraising.

In fact, all the food and beverage booths outside of the carnival area are exclusively organized and staffed by nonprofit groups, and the money raised in the booths goes to the organizations.

Combined, these groups raise about $70,000 each year for causes that benefit the Dearborn community and beyond.

Among those are: supporting veterans in need, rescuing abandoned animals, providing scholarships, assisting people who are visually impaired, supporting youth sports programs, supplementing funds for high school activities, helping children injured by burns or giving a boost to unemployed families.

This year, the City has teamed up with the Dearborn Community Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of cultural arts and recreation, in an effort to emphasize Homecoming’s charitable aspects.

The Dearborn-based nonprofit groups involved in Homecoming are as follows:

American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA), Dearborn Area Board of Realtors, Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, Dearborn Chapter Order of DeMolay, and the Dearborn Commission on Disability Concerns.

Also, Dearborn Community Arts Council, Dearborn Education Foundation, the Dearborn Exchange Club, Dearborn Federation of Teachers and the Dearborn Firefighters Burn Drive.

The Dearborn High Athletic Booster Club, Dearborn Lions Club, Dearborn Outer Drive Kiwanis Club, Dearborn Youth Football Association, Divine Child Men’s Club, Edsel Ford High School Booster Club and the Fordson Varsity Alumni Club.

Father O’Kelley Knights of Columbus, Fort Dearborn American Legion Post 364, Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter, Italian American Fraternal Club of Dearborn, the Lebanese American Heritage Club and the Michigan-Dearborn Alumni Legacy Foundation.

The Polish League of American Veterans Post 75, Stout Middle School PFSO, The Going Green Foundation, VFW Post 2107 Men’s Auxiliary and the Henry Ford Community College’s radio station WHFR.

Religious institutions also take part: Fairlane Alliance Church, Guardian Lutheran School, St. Clement Orthodox Church, The American Moslem Society and Warrendale Community Church.

More details of some of the groups’ community activities:

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