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.

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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Longtime Dearborn resident David Good, chairman of the Dearborn Historical Commission and author of Orvie: The Dictator of Dearborn, sent us the column below.

A former editor at The Detroit News, Good writes about the city’s master plan survey and the importance of filling out the online survey and allotting a few dollars to the category of “civic institutions” as a way to let our city leaders know that preserving one of Dearborn’s gems, the Historical Museum, is a priority.

Residents have until Aug. 1 to complete the online survey.

Good’s column begins below.

David Good

 “You have $100 to spend on public improvements in the City. How would you split your money?”

That’s one of the key questions in a master plan survey posted on the Dearborn city web site (www.cityofdearborn.org) as part of an effort to get residents involved in guiding “the future development of the city.”

If you’re a good citizen and fill out the survey by the Aug. 1 deadline, either online or on paper, chances are you’ll put most of your $100 on everybody’s usual priorities: police and fire, roads and parks. But if you don’t allot at least a few dollars for the category of civic institutions, you’ll be giving city officials a clue that it’s OK to let one of Dearborn’s least-known gems, the Historical Museum, close its doors.

As explained by Chief Curator Kirt Gross in the current issue of the museum’s quarterly publication, The Dearborn Historian, the museum is facing a “perfect storm” of increasing expenses and declining city revenues. In past years Dearborn has provided more money for historical museum operation than any other city in Michigan. But the daunting budget problems facing cities everywhere led Mayor Jack O’Reilly, always a strong supporter of the historical community, to look for ways to make the museum entirely self-sufficient within three years.

In June the City Council shocked museum supporters by slashing funding by about two-thirds for the new fiscal year – and cutting off city financial support altogether after next June. Unless the master plan survey helps convince city officials that the museum means more to the city than they think it does, the funding cuts means the museum will have to cannibalize money that was earmarked for a storage/exhibit building. And when that money begins to run out, the next steps will be to trim staff even beyond current record-low levels, sell off items from the collection, end the education program that shows second-graders what pioneer life was like – and finally close down the museum’s buildings.

In the meantime, the museum will have to drop plans to convert an old Quality Inn Motel building near Garrison and Brady into a facility to house the museum’s extensive collection of historical artifacts. You’ll recognize the motel building, which shares a wall with the museum’s office building, by the plywood sheeting that covers one entire north face of the former motel.

One bit of gallows humor prompted by the current financial troubles is a tongue-in-cheek suggestion to cover the drywall with a mural and perhaps a slogan like “We’re history.”

Needless to say, museum officials are already planning a fund-raising campaign, but these are dicey times to be asking people to donate money for a historical museum.

Maybe the best hope right now is a plan to include an advisory question on the November ballot to ask voters how they feel about more money for the museum.

In the meantime, for the first time since the Historical Museum opened its doors six decades ago, it is now offering individual memberships to those who have supported its activities and programs in the past. At the same time, the museum announced it will be asking first-time-ever fees for subscriptions to the Dearborn Historian and for admission to museum buildings.

Officials anticipate making every individual in the Dearborn historical community a card-carrying associate member of the museum – at no charge. Along with membership cards, the museum will be offering expanded opportunities to volunteer and to elect a higher level of support to the museum. Associate members who wish to upgrade their memberships by donating to the museum will be eligible for such additional benefits as a subscription to the Historian and discounts at the museum shop.

While all this is going on, museum officials are counting on residents to take the first positive step and fill out those master plan surveys, checking off the boxes that indicate support for culture and history – and by all means allocating as much as possible of that survey’s not-so-imaginary $100 for civic institutions like the Dearborn Historical Museum.

The third of six free outdoor jazz concerts in East Downtown Dearborn is this Wednesday (July 27) at Dearborn City Hall Park beginning at 7 p.m

The free concerts — presented by the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority (EDDDA), V98.7 Smooth Jazz HD and WWJ Newsradio — will all be held 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.

Tonight’s free concert features Lin Rountree.

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 of the remainder of shows:

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.

Libraries, property inspection, parks, swimming pools and recreation, as well as youth and senior programs could become unaffordable luxuries without state help, according to the Detroit Free Press.

In an editorial in Monday’s paper, the Free Press says private citizens can make a difference as evidenced by residents in Romulus. The fund-raising efforts of the Friends of the Romulus Library reopened the local public library after it closed on May 1 due to a millage defeat.

“Everyone should applaud the Friends of the Romulus Library, whose fund-raising efforts reopened the local public library after it closed on May 1 due to a millage defeat,” the Free Press writes. “Their work demonstrates what engaged private citizens can do when cities fail to provide needed public services. Elsewhere in southeast Michigan, other citizens groups have also stepped up and provided money and volunteers to restore programs for seniors and others.”

The editorial also suggested a survey be sent to residents for input on what services to keep. Dearborn did this earlier, sending surveys to 2,000 residents with dozens of questions.

“In the short-term, local governments can help with multiyear budgets that set narrower priorities. Local leaders should talk to — even poll — citizens about what services they consider essential, as SEMCOG has recommended. Many municipalities in southeast Michigan — including the Grosse Pointes, Warren, Wayne, Garden City, Farmington Hills and Ferndale — have already conducted citywide surveys that ask residents to prioritize and rate municipal services.”

For the full editorial, click HERE.

The Dearborn Library this summer is once again offering a Food for Fines program, giving  patrons a $1 reduction in overdue book fines in exhange for donating a non-perishable, non-expired food item.

Patrons may donate non-perishable, non-expired food items from Aug. 1 – 12.

All Dearborn Libraries will be accepting canned or boxed food items in exchange for reductions in overdue library fines.

There is no limit on the number of items donated nor amount of fines cleared, but the donation can only be used for overdue library materials. Patrons cannot apply the donation program to pay for lost or damaged materials.

All donated food will be given to the Dearborn Firefighters for distribution to families in need through the Burn Drive program.

Check any Dearborn Public Library for further information.

Judge Mark Somers

District Judge Mark Somers pens a column in this weekend’s Dearborn Press & Guide, directing his comments at Dearborn lawyer Morris Goodman who earlier called for his resignation in an earlier column in the paper.

Somers doesn’t change his position on any of the earlier decisions he has made.

“I’m not running from decisions I made four and five years ago,” he writes. “The first: Eliminate a position everyone knew we didn’t need. Replace a $67,000-a-year “deputy” administrator with a $40,000 executive secretary. For the 12 years we had an “assistant/deputy” administrator instead of a secretary, we spent $230,000 more than we should have in base salary alone. Isn’t eliminating wasteful government spending a good thing?”

Somers ends his open letter with these words and invites all readers of the Press and Guide to come to the courthouse and see how things are run rather than relying on a column from a lawyer who once endorsed him.:

“Regardless of your opinion of the outcome or of who among us has done the real damage, at least give me my due for positive achievements on the bench. I’ve handled over 20,000 criminal misdemeanor and 2,000 felony cases and thousands more civil matters with only 3 decisions reversed on appeal, presided over the drug court since 2005 and conducted more jury trials than any other Dearborn judge. The last five years, I’ve collected more than $812,000 more in fines, costs and restitution than one of my colleagues and more than $1,394,000 more than the other. Since 2005, I’ve sentenced offenders to 25,143 days service on the “alternative workforce,” saving $880,000 in jail costs while providing valuable services from cleaning parks and roadways to helping the animal shelter and shoveling snow for seniors. (The other two judges combined for 9,737 days since 2005 and only 116 days this year, effectively abandoning use of this valuable program.) . . .”

I will continue to work, I will continue to toil and I will continue to serve.

Regards,

Judge Mark Somers

For the entire letter, click HERE.