Dearborn lost a longtime friend, community supporter and advocate for education Friday when Alberta Muirhead died.

Muirhead, a former business owner, was a charitable woman who found many ways to give back to the community she loved so dearly. Muirhead was the namesake of Dearborn’s Teacher of the Year award, which began in 1997.

Funeral services will take place at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at Howe-Peterson Funeral Home in Dearborn. Visitation will take place from 4-9 p.m. Sunday and 1-9 p.m. Monday. Howe-Peterson is located at 22546 Michigan Ave. Interment is in Woodlawn Cemetery.

Alberta Muirhead and Russ Gibb at a 2007 fundraiser for Oakwood Hospital.

For those of you who may not know Alberta Muirhead, she and her husband John were founders and longtime owners of Muirhead’s, a Dearborn shop that started as a toy store in 1946 and developed into one of the most successful department stores in the Detroit area.

In 1983 Mr. Muirhead passed away, and in 1990, after 43 years in the retail business, Muirhead decided to close her store at Michigan and Military and dedicate her energy to a longstanding passion for community involvement and “giving back”. She later donated her building – that still bears the Muirhead name – to Oakwood.

Below is what the Dearborn Press & Guide was reporting today.

She was also a good friend to the Dearborn Animal Shelter. She received the Big Heart Award from the organization in 2006. She was a charter sponsor for the Friends’ Black Tie & Tails, served on the New Shelter Advisory Board, and generously supported animals in need.

In late 2007, Muirhead gave a $500,000 gift to the Oakwood Healthcare Foundation to support nursing education.

The contribution will create the Muirhead Scholars Program in honor of John and Alberta Muirhead. This endowment fund will assist the best and the brightest employees within the Oakwood Healthcare System in pursuing their advanced Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degrees. The full-ride scholarships is awarded annually to Oakwood employees.

“I believe, regardless of what position you are in life, you can do some good, ” Muirhead said after announcing the gift. “There are so many people out there who need help. And I think anything you can do is worthwhile.”

The East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority’s Artspace Artist Market Survey deadline has been extended until Feb.1

So if you know of any artist or arts organization, please send them a note and ask them to fill out the survey.

The East Dearborn Development Authority (EDDDA), in partnership with the City of Dearborn, continues exploring a new and creative approach to a potential economic development project with Artspace, the nation’s leading nonprofit real estate developer for the arts.

The Artspace mission is to create, foster and preserve affordable space that serves the needs of artists and arts organizations of all disciplines. These activities contribute to the continued growth of the arts community thus enhancing the cultural and economic vitality of the surrounding community. This results in these nationwide projects being community driven.

So how do you take the survey? Go to www.ArtSpaceDearborn.org (which will be live through February 1, 2011 – it only takes 10 minutes to complete, you do NOT have to be a Dearborn resident and also be sure to click to “Submit” button at the end to ensure it is processed.)

All of our lives are touched by art; look around and see the greatness it fills in our lives. Dearborn has a deep rooted and well established arts and cultural community with many existing cultural resources.

The arts and cultural industry is one of growth and has a direct economic impact on the community. Nonprofit arts and cultural organizations support more jobs then other fields, such as accountants, lawyers, public safety officers or teachers. The arts and culture industry attracts audiences, increases tourism, spurs business development and generates revenue.

With its distinct and vibrant marketplace of people, food and cultures as well as the $70 million mixed use development completed at Michigan and Schaefer, East Downtown Dearborn is well positioned to support an innovative and creative project such as the proposed Artspace.

So if you’re an artist (or you know an artist) working in any discipline (graphic design, sculpting, dance, music, writing, fashion design, painting, theater, crafts, etc), you need to participate in this survey. The results will help Artspace developers understand the living, studio and business space preferences for the creative community in metro Detroit, and demonstrate to funders how important new space is to artists and organizations in the region.

And if you’re not an artist but work with a cultural arts organization or business that serves the creative community (coffee shops, art supply and paint stores, galleries, theater companies, book stores, publishers, design firms, social service organizations, etc), your input is wanted, too.

Please visit the Artspace website at www.artspace.org to learn more about the organization and its success in other communities.

Commissioner Gary Woronchak , D-Dearborn, has been elected chairman of the Wayne County Commission for the 2011-12 term.

Gary Woronchak

Woronchak was elected at the commission’s organizational meeting Tuesday, Jan. 4. He succeeds Edward Boike Jr., D-Taylor, who served as chair for the previous term and retired from the commission at the end of December. The 15-member commission elects its officers at the first meeting of each two-year term.

Also elected to leadership positions Tuesday were Commissioner Alisha Bell, D-Detroit, who will serve as vice chair, and Commissioner Laura Cox, R-Livonia, who was elected vice chair pro tem. The 15-member commission elects its officers at the first meeting of each two-year term.

As chairman, Woronchak will be responsible for the commission’s $9.4 million budget and its employees, as well as scheduling and running meetings and appointing members to standing committees and special task forces.

Woronchak, 55, is beginning his fourth term on the commission, representing Dearborn, Allen Park and Melvindale. Prior to being elected to the commission in 2004, he served three terms in the state House of Representatives. Before government service, he worked more than 20 years as a newspaper editor.

Dearborn is strengthening its vicious dog ordinance, following several recent incidents in which dogs seriously injured people in southeast Michigan.

The city is tackling the issue by focusing on owners’ responsibility for their dogs’ behavior rather than issuing breed-specific restrictions.

The Dearborn City Council earlier discussed updating the vicious dog ordinance to specify a ban on pit bulls (similar to what other cities have done) but backed off of that approach, agreeing with Friends for the Dearborn Animal Shelter that dogs causing problems could be any breed. However, under the ordinance it is possible for a court to order vicious dogs be euthanized.

In addition to emphasizing that Dearborn requires all dogs be kept on a leash whenever they are not on their owners’ property, the Dearborn City Council approved revisions at its Jan. 4 meeting to the Animals Chapter of the City Code.

City officials have developed a two-tier ordinance that is not breed-specific and implements measures that can help decrease instances of dog attacks or threats.

The tiers in the ordinance differentiate between two types of threatening animals — “dangerous dogs” and “vicious dogs” — and specify owner responsibilities in each case. Violations require specific steps to take place and there are penalties for non-compliance.

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What’s in a name? The owners reopening a restaurant on Dearborn’s east side will soon find out.

In the same building that started the La Shish restaurant chain in 1989 and helped popularize Middle Eastern cuisine in metro Detroit will soon reopen under the same name, or so a sign hanging outside the restaurant suggests.

The restaurant chain – all 11 stores – went out of business following bad publicity involving its fugitive owner, Talal Chahine, who federal prosecutors linked to terrorism, along with other charges, including evading $6.9 million in federal income taxes.

We do not yet know who is reopening the restaurant — “The New La Shish” — (at the corner of Michigan and Oakman) but the name selection could be a double-edged sword.

While the La Shish name has baggage because of its fugitive creator, it also has brand awareness. Say the name to nearly anyone and it is instantly associated with good Middle Eastern cuisine.

Building a brand, no matter the business, takes time and money . . . and then a lot more of both before you can breakthrough the clutter in a city like Dearborn that is crowded with plenty of good Middle Eastern restaurants.

The La Shish name for a restaurant certainly has recognition. The question is what do potential customers associate the name with these days.

Time will tell . . .

Dearborn police are issuing a neighborhood crime alert after a recent rash of home break-ins in west Dearborn.

News of the break-ins has been the topic of many a conversation between homeowners living in the area targeted by thieves. The five known homes burglarized so far are located on each side of Telegraph, between Michigan Avenue and Ford Road.

Dearborn Police tell WDIV, Channel 4 news that the number of break-ins could rise as families return from holiday trips.

If you have any information, please call Dearborn police at 313-943-2240.

The Dearborn Fire Department and Oakwood Healthcare System are using the latest technology to treat cardiac patients in as little as 40 minutes—less than half the national standard time.

And that’s good news for Dearborn residents because the faster a cardiac patient can receive treatment, the better his or her odds of making a full recovery—without long-term damage to the most important muscle in the human body.

Using Bluetooth technology, paramedic crews can transmit data directly to the cell phones of hospital physicians, who can analyze it wherever they are and respond accordingly. The information can be transmitted in as little as zero point-three (0.3) seconds, said Jeff Beutner, Dearborn Fire Department Battalion Chief, Emergency Medical Services.

“The hospital is looking at the same thing our paramedics are looking at,” he said. “In essence, we’ve not only brought the emergency room to the patient, we’ve also brought cardiology into the fold, too.”

Whether EMS is evaluating patients in their living room or in the ambulance, Beutner said, it’s like “we’ve got the emergency room physician and the cardiologist standing right behind us. It’s really having a huge impact on patient care.”

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Thousands of hungry people in metro Detroit will benefit this winter from local donations from customers and staff of Dearborn’s Westborn Market and its stores in Berkley and Livonia.

During the past month, this independent gourmet grocer’s three stores collected donations totaling nearly $14,400 for Forgotten Harvest, a mobile food rescue organization in metro Detroit.

For several years, Westborn Market has been an active supporter of Forgotten Harvest and collected holiday donations to help feed the hungry. Special recognition was given to Westborn’s Berkley cashier Patricia Labbate who helped raise nearly $2,000 of the total received.

“This generous donation will help us rescue and deliver more than 75,000 meals to people right here in our community,” said Susan Goodell, executive director of Forgotten Harvest.

Westborn Market helps Forgotten Harvest in other ways throughout the year, including the non-profit’s annual Champagne Cruise fund-raiser held each summer during the Woodward Dream Cruise.

“Even in a tough economy, we can always rely on our customers and staff to be extremely generous to help those less fortunate,” said Mark Anusbigian, president of Westborn Market and a member of Forgotten Harvest’s Advisory Board. “While there are signs of optimism about Michigan’s economic recovery, we know the need is still very great, especially during these winter months.”

Westborn Market has stores in Dearborn, Berkley and Livonia. Location information is available at www.westbornmarket.com or by calling 313-274-6100.

Happy Holidays from DeepsaidWhat.com. While things may not be quite perfect for each of us or the city we call home, certainly we each can take a moment to recognize all the special gifts around us.

For me, being blessed with a wonderful family, very special friends and a city I am proud to call home, it is that time of the year that we should all remember the goodness of human kind and what potential we have to assist one another in the little moments and in the big moments.

It’s worth keeping in mind a quote from the visionary U.S. architect and city planner, the late Daniel Burnham, as we approach 2011 here in Dearborn.

“To love one’s city and have a part in its advancement and improvement is the highest privilege and duty of a citizen.”

Merry Christmas and happy New Year.

It’s taken a while to make its way to Dearborn (we raised it long ago as a “copy with pride” idea) but the city will finally be offering a new pay-by-cell-phone metered parking system.

For those without cash or those not wanting to race back and forth feeding a meter, this is great news for west Dearborn patrons and business owners.

City officials will make the announcement Monday at a ribbon cutting at the Bryant Library.

“This convenient service is another example of the city’s commitment to be responsive to customers and to businesses,” the City of Dearborn says in a prepared statement.

We raised the idea of copying-with-pride back in August 2008 when downtown Petoskey, Michigan went to a paid parking system that uses your cell phone. That system allows drivers to call a phone number listed on the parking meter. They then register personal info (credit card and car’s license plate) and enter the meter’s number using the phone’s keypad.

Equipped with an electronic record of the parking fee schedules associated with that meter, computers then charge the correct amount — plus a 25-cent “convenience fee” — to the driver’s credit card.

When the driver is finally ready to leave, another call ends the billing and generates an electronic receipt that can be sent to the driver’s cell phone or to a pre-registered e-mail address.

The first lot to get the new system will be Parking Lot H, which is on West Village Drive (south of Michigan Avenue), between Mason and Monroe.

The ribbon-cutting will be attended by Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., Garret Snook from Parkmobile USA, the company implementing the cell phone system and Scott Mooney from Republic Parking, the company that now manages paid parking in Dearborn.

Also on hand will be members of the Dearborn Parking Advisory Commission, the West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority.