Nomination forms for the 2009-10 Alberta Muirhead Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored by Alberta Muirhead and coordinated by the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, are now available on the district website at www.dearbornschools.org or the Chamber website, www.dearbornchamber.org.

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.

Forms for the Alberta Muirhead Teacher of the Year Award are also available at all Dearborn Public Schools, and the district Administration Office, 18700 Audette.

Students can nominate new or veteran teachers whom they feel have made outstanding contributions to the teaching profession.

– Preschool through fifth-grade students are asked to describe how their teacher has created a classroom where learning is positive and fun.

– Middle school students (grades 6-8) will need to explain how their teacher connects classroom learning with everyday life.

– Students in high school must describe how their teacher is preparing them to be successful beyond high school.

Adults are allowed to assist in the application process, but nominations must come from students. Applications will be assessed on quality of the nomination, not on the number received. Award judges are members of the Dearborn Chamber Education Committee and are not provided with the teachers’ names. 

Teachers selected to receive the Teacher of Year award are being recognized as positive role models who consistently provide unique, productive, positive classroom experiences.

Teachers selected receive a $1,000 cash prize, a plaque commemorating their achievement, and will be part of a select group of Dearborn teachers who have been recognized by the community for their dedication and passion for teaching.

Completed forms must be turned in to the Chamber Office by March 26, 2010. Please mail both sides of the nomination form to the Dearborn Chamber of Commerce, 22100 Michigan Avenue, Dearborn, MI 48124, or fax to 313-584-9818.

Beginning Feb. 16, and for a limited time, Dearborn residents can order a tree to be planted on the easement in front of their home for just $25.

The Parks Division of the City of Dearborn’s Department of Public Works offers this program. Orders will be taken on a first call, first order basis for the 250 available trees.

Residents can choose from an assortment of trees; however, city personnel must approve the location of the tree.

Dearborn residents only are urged to call the Parks Division at (313) 943-2318 if they are interested.

Residents can either place an order or request a selection guide, which offers more information about the 10 types of trees that are available.

The following species of trees are available in 2010: Celebration Maple, Yellow Wood, Corzam or Corinthian, Japanese Pagoda, Katsura or Caramel, Maidenhair, Golden Rain, Hardy Rubber and Corktree. Spring Snow Crabapple is available only for areas where there are overhead wires.

Trees are planted by a contractor and have a one-year warranty. Planting will take place in early April and should be complete by early June.

The contractor is responsible for planting, mulching, staking, pruning, watering and cleanup after initial planting.

Residents are responsible for the follow up watering after the planting. It is highly recommended that residents retain the mulch ring around the base to keep the moisture and decrease damage from grass cutting.

Dearborn has been deemed by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City USA for the past 22 years. Cities with the “Tree City USA” designation must maintain specific standards, including a viable tree management program.

Dearborn residents with low to moderate incomes — with special attention for those ages 60 and older — can receive free tax preparation help from AARP volunteers. This service is offered by the City of Dearborn’s Senior Services Division.

Assistance is available in completing the following 2009 tax forms: Michigan Home Heating Credit, Michigan Homestead Property Tax Credit, state income tax and federal income tax.

Locations, dates and times for the free tax assistance is listed below. No appointment is necessary; however assistance is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

• Dearborn Senior Center (inside the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Avenue). 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays, through April 15. (This service will not be provided on Friday, April 2 – Good Friday.)

• Kennedy Plaza (5111 Bingham). 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.

• Hubbard Manor West (22077 Beech, at Mason). 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays, Feb. 19 and 26.

• Townsend Towers (7000 Freda, at Blesser). 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays, March 4 and 11.

Those considering taking advantage of the free assistance are advised to bring the following:  2008 tax returns, 2009 tax forms and records of all income (including Social Security, earned interest, dividends and pensions). Also bring receipts for health care costs, medical insurance premiums and tax payment receipts for city, school and county taxes.

Here is something all of us can do that could benefit our city’s Internet connectivity.

In case you missed it, Google announced Wednesday that it would build and test an experimental high-speed fiber optic network that could be available in several communities and reach as many as 500,000 people. The service, 100 times faster than what is available for many users today, could be available as early as next year, according to some news reports.

Consumers in those communities will be able to sign up for the service, which would offer connection speeds of 1 gigabit per second, Google said. Many high-speed home Internet connections operate at less than 10 megabits per second.

The possibility of becoming a city for Google to test its new network has already set off a flurry of interest among consumers and businesses. Residents in West Sacramento, Calif., Houston and Portland, Ore., among other cities, have already set up “Bring Google Fiber” groups on Facebook.

This is where all of us come in. We can submit an application as to why you think Dearborn would be a good testing ground. The application, sent to us by a reader, is pretty short and can be accessed by clicking HERE.

A worker installs one of the new decorative lamps along Ford Road.

In an effort to add curb appeal as well as light to the area, the City of Dearborn is installing 137 streets lights along Ford Road between Miller Road and Mercury Drive.

The Michigan Department of Transportation agreed to pay to replace the street lights that were removed during the Ford Road street work with standard street lights, but the City stepped in to add funds to allow for more attractive street lights, the city said Monday in a press releases.

The lights to be installed along Ford Road will have decorative polls and luminaries similar to those currently on Michigan Avenue.

The work is scheduled first for the westbound side of Ford Road at Miller and will head in the direction of Mercury. When that side is done, the work will head back on the eastbound side from Mercury.

“By making the area more attractive visually, we continue our constant efforts to keep Dearborn a desirable place to visit, live and do business,” said Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., took to the local papers and websites, including Deepsaidwhat.com, penning a column to respond to criticism over the police department’s investigation into an FBI shooting that the city had no role in.

In his column, the mayor points out that “the Dearborn Police had no involvement of any kind in the execution of the multi-agency operation.”

This is an important point; particularly since politicians such as U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit) was among those who criticized the Dearborn Police Department for having a role in the raid when it did not.

Mayor O’Reilly’s column begins below:

Dearborn Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr.

Any comments criticizing the Dearborn Police Department or their handling of the Investigation of the shooting at a warehouse near Michigan Avenue and Miller Road are inappropriate and ill-informed. The Dearborn Police Department under the leadership of Chief Ron Haddad has conducted the investigation of this unfortunate incident in a thorough and professional manner.

I must stress that the Dearborn Police had no involvement of any kind in the execution of the multi-agency operation. When a potential crime occurs in our City, it is the duty of our law enforcement agency to gather the facts and turn the results over to the appropriate Prosecuting agency. This is as true for an FBI shooting as for any other type. Our duty is to gather all possible facts relating to the incident from every possible source. Only after we are certain that we have examined all relevant information do we complete the report and forward it.

The incident in Dearborn can be described as a sting operation in a warehouse that was to apprehend persons fencing stolen goods or otherwise actively engaged in a criminal act. The FBI agents and other participating agents were there and armed in the expectation that the other parties in the transaction would also be armed. When the shooting victim and his associates arrive they were also armed. It is not difficult to understand the inherent danger in that situation. When the agents attempted to arrest the parties suspected of criminal acts, at least one party apparently refused to surrender. The agents claim that gunfire ensued at that time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Most people look for a reason to stay out of the kitchen.

Toni Johnson and Fred Pascaris have found a way to get back into the kitchen.

And that is going to make the palates of many people in Dearborn smile with joy.

Toni Johnson and Fred Pascaris are back serving homemade delights at the New Mercury Restaurant, 3765 Telegraph in Dearborn.

Say hello to The New Mercury Restaurant. The location has changed but the great food, good people and, yes, even the free advice is back.

Nearly four years after the original Mercury Coffee Shop at Michigan and Military closed, Dearbornites once again have a place to sit elbow-to-elbow over eggs in the morning or steaks in the evening.

“We are excited to be back here,” said co-owner Fred Pascaris, a cook at the original Mercury for some 13 years who also owned and managed several other area restaurants with his brothers before retiring in 1989. “We talked about opening a new restaurant many times after the Mercury closed and now here we are. We are going to give it our best.”

The New Mercury Restaurant is located at 3765 Telegraph in Dearborn.

Located at 3765 Telegraph, just north of Annapolis on the east side of Telegraph (in the building that once housed the Great Ham Company restaurant), the New Mercury will serve up a host of daily specials and delightful deserts, including Toni Johnson’s homemade pies and cannolis. Patrons will also be treated to homemade split pea and bean soup, roast beef, liver and onion on certain days and, of course, the famous coleslaw.

“I started cooking when I was 7-years-old in Italy,” said Johnson, who has lived in Dearborn since 1952 and worked at the original Mercury for 20 years. “I do everything fresh. I don’t open any cans for anything. I guess that is the Italian in me.”

The New Mercury doesn’t quite have the cramped coziness the original restaurant had with its horseshoe shaped counter but there is at least a counter. This one has 11 stools that patrons can mosey up to and catch the latest Dearborn news or you can slide into one of the restaurants many booths that ring the outer walls of the restaurant. And when you walk inside and see the smiling faces of people like Toni, Fred, cook Steve Selman, waitress Paula Barbas (both Mercury Coffee Shop veterans) and even Fred’s brother Gus (who once owned the Mercury and now “supervises” from his seat at the counter), it all feels good. It all feels very Dearborn.

Word that the New Mercury is now open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday has been spreading. Fred and Toni say about half of their customers since opening about three weeks ago were regulars at the original Mercury. Two of those customers are Mary Ray and her husband Mike, owners of Campbells Paint & Wallpaper in Dearborn.

“I have a list of people who will be as thrilled as I am to know that the Mercury is back,” said Mary Ray. “I am already ‘jonesing’ for the coleslaw and the Friday fish sandwiches, as is Mike for the tuna salad plate. I used to think of the Mercury as the ‘Cheers’ of Dearborn. Never entered the place without saying hello to someone I knew.”

Ray is one of a growing group of regulars from the original Mercury who are slowly rediscovering their favorite foods and catching up on conversations that ended when the original Mercury officially closed its doors May 1, 2006 after more than 46 years of business.

It is hard to explain why so many of us get so attached to little things in life, such as restaurants like the Mercury. Perhaps it’s the comfort food served by the friendly folks or maybe because it’s one of those places where you can escape to and know that someone there will lend you hand or give you an ear.

Whatever the reason, we are just happy to see it back.

(Below is a press release from the Dearborn Public Schools Education Foundation)

The Dearborn Public Schools Education Foundation will hold their annual Mardi Gras Fundraiser on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010, from 3:30 to 9:00 pm at the Dearborn Hills Golf Course, 1300 S. Telegraph. The fun filled evening will include entertainment, food, soft drinks, prizes, and a silent auction.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For ticket information contact Foundation Executive Director, Eddie Fakhoury, at 827-8790.

The Dearborn Public Schools Education Foundation is a group of private citizens, independent of the Board of Education, who raise money to fund teacher grants for innovative programs throughout our district. Since its inception, the Foundation has provided more than $1 million in grants directly to classrooms in support of learning. The Foundation is a charitable 501(c) 3 organization with full tax exempt status.

(Below is a press release from the Dearborn Animal Shelter)

Put your game face on for the Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter’s Cool Cat Casino Night – and take a swipe at a chance to win a $2,000 Walmart gift card!

Kelle Sisung, development director, Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter, awards a Casino night reveler with a gift certificate in one of the raffle drawings at last year's event.

From 7 p.m.-midnight on Saturday, Feb. 20, the shelter will host a night of gambling fun at Fr. Patrick O’Kelley’s Knights of Columbus at 23663 Park Street in Dearborn. This Western-themed event (cowboy hats encouraged!) will include chances to win at casino classics like Texas Hold ‘Em Poker, Black Jack and Let It Ride. Games will feature cash payouts for winners – all while helping to raise funds to care for homeless animals. Yee haw!

The biggest prize of all? A $2,000 Walmart gift card, generously donated by The Envelope Printery owner Dave Hamilton and the Dearborn and Taylor Walmart stores. A total of 2,000 raffle tickets will be sold for the gift card drawing. Tickets are $5 each and can be purchased during casino night, or in advance from the Dearborn Animal Shelter. Participants need not be present at the casino night to win.

The Cool Cat Casino Night will also include an open bar, appetizer buffet, live entertainment and door prizes. The centerpiece of the “chuck wagon buffet” will be a taco bar with all the fixins’ (vegetarian, too) donated by the Dearborn Heights Del Taco(Lisa Dufresne, managing partner). Tickets for this adults-only event are $30 in advance, or $35 at the door. Visit the shelter Web site to purchase tickets on-line (recommended) or purchase by phone or in person at the shelter.

Don’t miss this night of gaming fun – and many chances to win big, for yourself and for the Dearborn Animal Shelter.

The Dearborn Animal Shelter is located at 2661 Greenfield Road in Dearborn, and is operated by the Friends For the Dearborn Animal Shelter, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Main phone 313-943-2697 and on-line www.DearbornAnimals.org

Contact

Elaine Greene, Friends Executive Director

DASGreene@aol.com

313-943-2697

Dearborn’s Hyatt Hotel and the West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority’s (WDDDA) marketing committee are scheduled to meet Friday to discuss if there might be a way to offer hotel guests a shuttle service into downtown Dearborn.

Doug Friess, the Hyatt’s director of sales & marketing, approached the WDDDA with the idea back in October. The two are scheduled to meet Friday to determine whether such a connection could be made and how best to implement it in an affordable way.

One idea under consideration is to create a shuttle or trolley service between the hotel and downtown west Dearborn. Perhaps Councilman George Darany might consider putting his trolleys back into service.

A link between the Hyatt and downtown Dearborn is one of those ideas where you scratch your head and say, yes, why didn’t someone think of that sooner? Perhaps at some point a shuttle service could even include guests staying at The Ritz, just down the road from the Hyatt.

We think Mr. Friess might be on to something here and this could be a step in the right direction for our downtown.