News & Notes - 7/27/23 Grosse Pointe Times

Truly green bench added to garden
There are benches that are green in color, and there are benches that are environmentally green. A new bench at Elworthy Field in Grosse Pointe City is both.

The Conservation Committee of the Junior League Gardeners, a subgroup of the Junior League of Detroit, held a dedication May 23 at Elworthy Field for a bench they donated to mark the Gardeners’ 90th anniversary in 2022. The group collected enough plastic lids to create the bench and sent those to Green Tree Plastics in Indiana, which used the plastic to make the bench, which the gardeners purchased. Grosse Pointe City Department of Public Works employees installed the bench near the garden, which the gardeners help to maintain. The gardeners also plant and maintain a plot in the trial gardens at The War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms.

The JLD, which was founded in 1914, is a nonprofit women’s organization that trains women to be effective volunteers and has undertaken a number of projects to improve the lives of children and families in Detroit. The gardeners also make annual donations to community nonprofits. For more information about the gardeners or the JLD, visit jldetroit.org or call (313) 881-0040.

 

Don’t forget to vote
A primary election to whittle the field of candidates for Grosse Pointe Park City Council from seven to six will be held from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 8. All polling locations have been consolidated at Windmill Pointe Park. In November, Park voters will select a mayor and three council members from a field of the remaining six candidates. For more information about voting in the Park, visit the city’s website at grossepointepark.org. For more information about the candidates on the primary ballot, see the Grosse Pointe Times’ July 13 issue or visit the C & G Newspapers website at candgnews.com/news/elections.

 

Teacher receives Educator of the Year honor
Steve Geresy, who teaches TV production for Grosse Pointe South High School and Pierce Middle School, was named Educator of the Year by Digital Arts Film & Television, or DAFT, for his commitment to education and the Grosse Pointe Public School System’s video production program.

Geresy has been teaching broadcast journalism and TV production at South for 25 years and has more recently also been working with Pierce students. Additionally, he’s the person who records Grosse Pointe school board meetings, helms the district’s educational access channel and played a key role in adding closed captioning to the broadcasts.

“I am honored and humbled to be chosen as DAFT’s Teacher of the Year,” Geresy said in a press release. “It is a great recognition. This would not have been possible without the support of my family, mentors, my amazing colleagues, and current and past administrators. I appreciate the continued support of GPPSS for our elective programs. I am very fortunate to teach in such a great district.”

 

Learn about sign language, DNA testing
The Helm at the Boll Life Center, 158 Ridge Road in Grosse Pointe Farms, is offering two upcoming free classes through Wayne County Community College District.

Beyond Your DNA — which runs on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon Aug. 22 to Sept. 5 — will look at DNA testing, enabling participants to learn if it’s right for them and, if they’ve already taken such a test, how they can glean more information from it.

Learn the basics of American Sign Language on Tuesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. Aug. 22 to Dec. 5. Besides being a way to communicate with those who are deaf and hearing impaired, organizers say learning sign language is a good way to bolster fine motor skills and cognitive abilities.

Registration is required for these classes and can be made by visiting helmlife.org or calling (313) 882-9600.

 

Commissioners call for increased fireworks safety
The Wayne County Board of Commissioners is calling upon state leaders to repeal the looser restrictions on fireworks that were signed into law in 2012. Although municipalities can set hours during which fireworks can be used, they can’t ban any types of fireworks, including the aerial fireworks that Michiganders can now use on and around certain holidays, including July 4 and Labor Day.

Commissioner Ray Basham, D-Brownstown Township, sponsored the resolution.

“Specifically, we’d like to see a return to the normalcy that we had a few years ago,” Basham said in a press release. “The kind of fireworks being shot off by people today are louder and far more dangerous that what were previously allowed.”

On July 18, the commission approved a resolution that calls for a return to the more restrictive fireworks laws that were in place in Michigan before 2012, citing health, safety and quality of life issues.

“Some of these fireworks are especially dangerous in high-density communities like those we have in Wayne County and, of course, they are disturbing to pets,” Commissioner Sam Baydoun, D-Dearborn, said in a press release.

County Commissioner Tim, Killeen, D-Detroit — whose District 1 includes the five Grosse Pointes and Harper Woods — was one of the co-sponsors of the resolution.

 

Liggett welcomes new leader
On July 19, University Liggett School welcomed its new head of school, Thomas W. Sheppard.

“I am thrilled to be on campus and fully immersed in the community,” Sheppard said in a press release. “I’ve enjoyed meeting so many of the individuals who make University Liggett School exceptional, and I look forward to working in partnership with faculty, staff and families to build on our strengths and continue the remarkable teaching and learning for which ULS is known.”

Sheppard’s career in education began in 1991, when he was a teacher and coach at Perkiomen School in Pennsylvania. After that, he spent 22 years in enrollment and admissions positions at Trinity-Pawling School in New York, Stevenson School in California, and The Lawrenceville School in New Jersey.

In 2018, Sheppard was named head of school at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Jackson, Mississippi. For the last two years, he has served as interim head of school at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes Peninsula, California.

“We are thrilled to welcome Thomas W. Sheppard to campus as the new Head of School at University Liggett School,” said David Nicholson, president of the ULS Board of Trustees, in a press release. “His passion for education and commitment to academic excellence align perfectly with our school’s mission. We look forward to the transformative experiences he will create for our students and the innovative ideas he will bring to our community.”