By: Alyssa Ochss | St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published May 11, 2023
St. Clair Shores social district starts this Saturday
Enjoy live music, yard games, great food and much more while supporting local businesses at the first social district event of the season in St. Clair Shores on May 13.
It will take place from 5 p.m. to midnight, according to the St. Clair Shores city website.
This event allows alcohol purchased at participating businesses to be carried around the designated commons area for the duration of the social district event.
Alcohol must be in specifically designed cups, and guests are not allowed to bring their own alcohol into the district. Visitors and nonresidents are welcome.
Firefighter loses battle with cancer
Battalion Chief Shawn Goldie, 51, passed away on the morning of April 28 according to a post on the St. Clair Shores Firefighters Facebook group. Goldie fought a brain cancer related to on-the-job exposure to carcinogens, the post said.
The St. Clair Shores firefighters offer their deepest condolences to Goldie’s family as they grieve with them, the post said.
“His memory and legacy will forever be a part of the fabric of our department and the community,” the post said.
The St. Clair Shores Police Department also offers their condolences in a post they made on April 28.
“A true professional and a hero until the end,” the post said. “He will be missed.”
At the May 1 city council meeting, Mayor Kip Walby conducted a moment of silence for Goldie and offered his deepest condolences to the family.
“This community was blessed to have Shawn Goldie as a firefighter in St. Clair Shores,” Walby said.
City Council approves architectural services contract for library renovation
On May 1, the St. Clair Shores City Council approved a request to award a contract for architectural services for the library renovation in a 6-0 vote.
Councilwoman Candice Rusie was excused.
City Manager Dustin Lent said in 2022 the library budgeted $15,000 and hired a consultant to renovate the library’s youth services room. Daniels and Zermack Architects were the hired architects in April 2022. Since then, the city has been awarded a grant for $1.5 million and the city received a donation of $181,844 from the Joyce A Robinson Trust for a new designated genealogy room, Lent said.
The city went out to bid for the architectural services and the two companies, Daniels and Zermack Architects and PLY+ were interviewed. Lent recommended to go for the lowest bid, which was PLY+ in the amount of $185,941.30. The difference between the two was around $65,000.
Rosemary Orlando, St. Clair Shores library director, said renovations include adding a genealogy area, moving the adult fiction collection, turning the adult meeting room into a teen and children’s area and much more.
Lakeview students to perform a modern take on literary classic
Lakeview High School students will present “Just Great: A Retelling of Some Book by F. Scott Fitzgerald” on May 12 at 6 p.m.
This play places characters from “The Great Gatsby” in a modern world where they are social influencers hosting a “1920s themed” house party. Madison Cooper, the drama teacher at Lakeview High School, said in an email that the play provides commentary on Gen Z’s overreliance on technology for socialization. She also said the modern scenes are placed together with scenes of conversations between F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda.
“Those familiar with the original story will enjoy seeing the tension between Gatsby, Daisy and Tom play out as the same characters step into the modern era,” Cooper said in the email. “Anyone unfamiliar with ‘The Great Gatsby’ will see Nicole Carraway grow increasingly disgusted with the toxic culture of social media, before taking drastic action to show ‘Jason’ that he’s worth more as an individual than the digital crowd he’s been trying to impress.”
This play will only be performed once, on May 12. Tickets are $5 at the door.
March Reading Month numbers are in
According to the St. Clair Shores Public Library newsletter for May and June, the numbers are in for the March is Reading Month butterfly activity.
During the month of March, patrons who checked out items from the library were allowed to stick a piece of square, colorful tissue paper to a butterfly cutout displayed in front of the library. In time, the butterfly filled up, creating a colorful pattern.
A total of 2,384 patrons checked out 16,637 items according to the newsletter.
The question for the month was, “How many people visited the library in 2022?” The answer to that question was 153,948 patrons, according to the newsletter.
“Thanks to all who participated and read!” the newsletter said.
Library OverDrive app discontinued
According to the St. Clair Shores Public Library Newsletter for May and June, the OverDrive app has been discontinued.
Patrons who have previously used the OverDrive app will need to upgrade to the Libby app, the newsletter said. The Library’s OverDrive website is still available by using the web code https://slc.overdrive.com.
According to the newsletter, the Libby app is not available in the Amazon app store, but it is available by going to libbyapp.com in the Kindle web browser.
“Libby offers many unique features for every reader in the community, including a unified bookshelf for all loans and holds, tags to track wish lists and favorite reads, push notifications, audiobook compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and direct in-app support,” the newsletter said.