The majority of Dearborn residents rate the quality of life in their city as excellent or good, believe they are getting their money’s worth for their tax dollars and would favor as a cost-save City Hall being open for just four days a week with longer hours, according to the results from a phone survey recently released by the city.

About 400 registered voters took part in the survey, with 83 percent saying the quality of life in Dearborn was excellent or good, while only 1.1 percent found it poor or very poor.

The survey was conducted by Shreck & Associates in February and the results were shared with city council at their Monday meeting. Of those surveyed, about 37.3 percent reside in East Dearborn, 30.3 percent live in Southwest Dearborn, 25.3 percent in Northwest Dearborn, 3.3 percent in Springwells and 4 percent the South End.

According to the survey:

• 41.3 percent were unable to list any dislike with the city or its services
• 6 percent ranked taxes as a dislike
• 5.8 percent ranked culture as a dislike
• 5 percent disliked the rate of commercial development
• 3.5 percent ranked empty houses and home upkeep as a dislike
• 2.8 percent rated parking as a dislike

Concern about crime was minimal, as just 1.5 percent of respondents mentioned it as an issue, according to survey results.

As the survey was conducted via landline phones, residents who only have cellular phone service were not included in the survey.
“This survey is slanted slightly toward an older demographic,” Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., told the Dearborn Press & Guide. “It’s still perfectly valid, but it’s something we need to keep in mind.”

In addition, the survey found:

• 71 percent of those surveyed agreed they get their money’s worth for tax dollars
• 14.5 percent said they did not get their money’s worth
• 13.5 percent were not sure
• 40 percent said the city no longer has the money to provide the services it did in the past
• 84.3 percent would support, as a cost-save, City Hall being open four days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. rather than the current 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. five days per week.

How could the City save money?

• 4.9 percent suggested reducing city services
• 4.1 percent said eliminate or cut back on underutilized facilities
• 3.4 percent said close pools
• 3.1 percent said eliminate Homecoming
• 2.8 percent said reduce staff
• 2.8 percent said sell or close Camp Dearborn

Those surveyed also rated direct mail as the best way for the city to communicate to residents, with about two thirds saying so. Just 5.3 percent mentioned they wanted to receive more information via the Internet. Some 8.8 percent said they would like to conduct more city business online. Those surveyed under the age of 45 said they would like to use the Internet for City business (18.5 percent), while 62.5 percent of respondents 18 to 25 years said they would.

On Fairlane Town Center residents were split on shopping there when they needed to go to a mall:

• 43.8 percent said they regularly shop there
• 55 percent do not
• 1.3 percent were unsure

When asked why they didn’t shop at Fairlane:

• 11.5 percent said they preferred other shopping venues
• 8.8 percent mentioned crime or safety reasons
• 8 percent don’t drive or get out much
• 7.8 percent don’t like Fairlane
• 6.5 percent mentioned the clientele or culture of the mall as a reason (age, race, ethnicity)
• 3.5 percent simply don’t like malls

What is best about living in Dearborn? According to the survey, city services ranked first (29.3 percent), following by safety and community and then schools.

Dearborn’s Joe Ricci Dodge, 14765 Michigan Ave., is among the 789 dealerships that Chrysler LLC says it will seek to slash by June 9, according to the court document listing the names of the dealerships.

According to the Detroit Free Press, some of the 789 dealers will try to stay in business, selling used cars and offering auto services. Joe Ricci Dodge is among some 40 dealerships in Michigan on Chrysler’s closure list.

With the dealerships now identified, Chrysler must sell the 44,000 vehicles sitting on their lots in the next few weeks without driving prices to fire-sale levels for remaining dealers, the Free Press reports

According to the Free Press, Chrysler said it would move the inventory from the rejected dealers to those that stay open and try to sell most of it over the next four to six weeks. But it’s unclear who gets the money from the sale of those vehicles.

Chrysler’s Steven Landry, executive vice president of North American sales and marketing, told the Free Press there would be no compensation to dealers who owe various amounts to Chrysler Financial for that inventory.

The Women’s Association of the Dearborn Orchestral Society (WADOS) will hold its 28th Annual Heritage Home Tour in Dearborn on Saturday, May 16, from 10 am – 5 pm.

This year’s event will feature the homes in Golfview Oaks Subdivision, just south of Ford Road and west of the Dearborn Country Club.Women’s Association of the Dearborn Orchestral Society

Advance tickets are $13 and $15 at the door. Call (313) 565-2424 for more information.

Founded in the fall of 1962 by 60 charter members dedicated to supporting the Dearborn Symphony, WADOS has grown over the past 40 years to more than 250 women and men. WADOS provides important financial support and volunteer services for the Dearborn Symphony, helps build knowledgeable and supportive audiences, and provides educational opportunities for students and adults.

WADOS raises funds through many projects and events. The Heritage Home Tour is one of those events.

Get ready for some heavy duty campaigning this summer as enough candidates have filed to serve on the Dearborn City Council to force a primary on August 4.

Below is a list of the candidates as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. The Dearborn City Clerk’s office will spend the day today to confirm the validity of the signatures on the other petitions. Candidates have until Friday to withdraw from the race.

The race for mayor so far includes Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., and Michael Prus. Councilman Doug Thomas did file a petition for the position but the clerk’s office still is checking on the validity of the signatures on his petition. Thomas also filed to run for his council seat. The petition for that position was valid.

For the first time since being elected to City Clerk, Kathleen Buda will be running unopposed after John Jay Hubbard withdrew his petition for the race.

The top 14 vote getters in the August primary will proceed to the general election in November. The council candidates include:

1. Robert Abraham (I)
2. Joseph Agius
3. David Bazzy
4. Terry Burke
5. Khalil Dakhlallah
6. Patrick D’Ambrosio
7. George Darany (I)
8. Mark Dawdy
9. Stephen Dobkowski, Jr
10. Sharon Dulmage
11. Rabih Hammoud
12. George Hart
13. Nancy Hubbard (I)
14. Patrick Kiernan
15. Scott Marquette
16. Brian O’Donnell
17. Suzanne Sareini (I)
18. Ali Sayed
19. Molly Sharp
20. Mark Shooshanian (I)
21. Nancy Siwik
22. Hussein Sobh
23. Thomas Tafelski (I)
24. Doug Thomas (I)
25. Adrenne Wygonik

Tom P. Tafelski has finally made it official, announcing he indeed would be seeking a third term as a Dearborn city councilman.

Currently council president, a position that goes to the highest vote getter, Tafelski is one of the last of Dearborn’s seven member council to officially declare he would seek reelection. (Doug Thomas hasn’t said whether he will seek reelection for his council seat or a run for mayor, yet. He has pulled petitions for both.) The final day to file petitions to run is Tuesday, May 12.

There had been chatter around town that Tafelski might try a run against sitting Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., but at the end of the day that proved to be just that – talk.

On Tuesday we will learn just how many of the candidates who pulled petitions to run for city council will actually remain in the race.

Nancy Siwik, who unsuccessfully ran for council in the last election, appears to be throwing her hat in the ring again. Siwik, an owner of Jedtco Corporation in Westland, is a member of the Dearborn Plan Commission and owns a bed and breakfast at 22331 Morley.

Also said to be gathering the needed 100 signatures to appear on the ballot in November is Joey Agius, owner of the Double Olive bar on Michigan Avenue.

Michael Berry, who ran a solid race for council in 2005 and had pulled a petition to run this time around, is unfortunately said to be reconsidering a run because of job and family commitments. That’s too bad because we think he would have been a strong candidate.

In addition to Siwik, Agius, Berry and the seven council members seeking reelection, the others again include:

1. David W. Bazzy (former Charter Commission member)
2. Khalil Dakhlallah
3. Mark J. Dawdy
4. Stephen S. Dobkowski Jr. (former Charter Commissioner later removed from office because of unpaid property taxes)
5. Sharon Dulmage (former school board member)
6. Andrew Giordano
7. Bradley Hajec
8. Rabih Hammoud
9. George Hart (a former state senator who long ago retired from politics. He turns 82 in May)
10. Trinette L. Jordan
11. Vincent Laing
12. Scott J. Marquette
13. Maureen A. McIlrad-Noland
14. Brian C. O’Donnell
15. Mark. A Otlewski
16. Ali Sayed (runs Hype Athletics in conjunction with Dearborn Rec. Dept.)
17. Kristyn Taylor
18. Raymond T. Trudeau (former Charter Commissioner)
19. Adrenne M. Wygonik (wife of 19th District Judge Richard Wygonick)

Radio show host and comedian Steve Harvey presents his no-nonsense, foolproof guide for women on understanding men during a book signing June 10 at Borders in Dearborn.  Even if you decide not to purchase the book, listening to Harvey will be a hilarious night. Worth attending for that alone.

Henry Ford Community College’s 18th annual Mike Adray Memorial Golf Tournament provides funding scholarships to HFCC for deserving local high school students.

Morning and afternoon golf packages are available. The golf package includes 18 holes of golf, breakfast, lunch, dinner and evening activities, including wine tasting, entertainment and a silent auction.

The morning golf package is $200.00 and the afternoon golf package is $250.00. Call 313-845-9889 or www.adraygolf.com or email adraygolf@hfcc.edu

We have talked a lot on these pages about the many different elements that give Dearborn that homey feel even though it has a population of some 100,000 people. We can thank Dearborn’s strong neighborhood associations as being one of the key contributing elements that keeps Dearborn feeling special to so many of us who call this city our home.

Runners hit the streets Saturday in Dearborn Hills for the neighborhood's 2nd annual 5k Fun Run. For more photos from the race, click the photograph above.

Nowhere was this more evident than on Saturday morning along the tree-lined streets that comprise what is known as the Dearborn Hills neighborhood. On the streets were nearly 100 residents and non-residents, some running and others just watching, who showed up before 9 a.m. to take part in the Dearborn Hills Civic Association’s 5k Run. It was the second time for the run and the number of attendees this year compared to year-ago were up dramatically.

But to achieve a successful neighborhood event requires a lot of dedicated people to donate their time, along with some help from local businesses, which was the case here. Kearns Brothers, Panera Bread and the Dearborn Hills Golf Course, all great Dearborn businesses and neighbors, stepped up with donations and help. So did the Dearborn Police.

A big thanks goes to Dan Webster, my colleague on the Dearborn Hills Civic Association board, and his three daughters (avid runners themselves), who did the bulk of the heavy lifting to keep the Association’s 5K run on track, along with many other association members. And an extra thanks goes to Rob Seeley, our president, who carried this event over the finish line when bureaucratic obstacles began emerging, nearly stopping the race before it could even begin.

With the success of the second race under our belt, you can be sure there will be a third one, even bigger and better than this one around the same time next year.

For a list of the runners and their race times, click HERE

Each year students in Dearborn High School’s video program (WDHS) produce a full length feature video. This year is no different and tonight at 7 p.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center the world premier of  “Dare to be Amish” will be shown.

Dearborn Mayor John B. O'Reilly, Jr. shaved his moustache for his role in the student video, Dare to be Amish.

The video is a story of a simple, sincere, Amish teenager that is banished from the Amish community. He then stumbles upon the unexpected world of cheerleading at his new high school, against the wishes of the squad.

Tickets can be purchased at the door for $7.

Moviegoers will recognize many Dearborn locations in the video, including Greenfield Village, who allowed the students to tape on their grounds. There also is an appearance by Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. who plays Judge Yoder, the leader of an Amish community, who serves as a kind of mayor, judge and priest.

To keep to the Amish look, O’Reilly, who has a theater background, shaved his moustache for the part.

“The film class is really a great program and the students do a wonderful job each year with their movies,” O’Reilly earlier told the Dearborn Press & Guide. “I’m glad to have this opportunity to be part of their efforts. I know I’ll get questions, but it’s all worth it.”

For more about the feature video, click HERE.

Nowlin nearly lands starring role in upcoming Hollywood movie.

Dearborn schools nearly landed a starring role in an upcoming film being directed by Rob Reiner, aka “meathead” from his days in the sitcom “All in the Family”.

The G-rated movie called “Flipped” is about second grade friends growing up together who then struggle trying to understand the awkwardness they begin to experience as feelings for each other grows stronger. Filming for the movie begins this summer in Michigan.

Production teams were in town last week looking at Nowlin Elementary and O.L. Smith Middle School. After looking at several Dearborn schools on three separate occasions, the production team fell in love with Nowlin, located near Grindley Park and O.L. Smith, immediately adjacent to the elementary school, because the schools so perfectly fit the time period for the movie.

Smith was built in the early 1950s, Nowlin in the 1940s.

But when Reiner came to town to make the final decisions on locations last week, he chose a school in Saline because it was closer to another location in Ann Arbor where a good portion of the movie will be filmed. Production crews simply did not want to make the drive between a movie set in Ann Arbor and one in Dearborn, school officials were told. (Now we know why he was called “meathead” for all those years.)

The good news is that the production team said they would keep Dearborn schools at the top of their list of potential future movie locations because the buildings are so well maintained.