4/10/24 C & G Special Edition — Oakland

Troy welcomes new semi-pro women’s team

BY BRENDAN LOSINSKI

Some of the area’s best and brightest soccer players will be hitting the field in Troy with the start of a new semi-professional soccer team, the Troy City Women’s Football Club.

The team was begun by coach and trainer John Arndt. The team will play games at Troy High School or the Evolution Sportsplex in Auburn Hills.

“It’s a semi-professional team,” explained Arndt. “We’re playing in two leagues: the United Women’s Soccer League and the Michigan Premier Soccer League. We’ll play about 20 games this summer. … We got sponsorships. The girls put in a certain percentage of money, but sponsorships and fundraising brought in most of the money. We had about 10 sponsors from in and around Troy.”

Arndt wanted to begin the team because he saw a lack of opportunities for young women to play in the area.

“I’m a soccer trainer, and I train out of Five Star Sports in Troy, and John R Training is the name of my business,” said Arndt. “I train a lot of high school and college girls, and there was always a call for a soccer team in the city. It’s very popular with

Spring Stroll offers free family fun in downtown Birmingham

BY MARY GENSON mgenson@candgnews.com

BIRMINGHAM — Local retailers and restaurants are coming together to offer special giveaways and sales incentives for all ages at the annual Spring Stroll event, sponsored by Warby Parker. This event will take place in downtown Birmingham 11 a.m.-2 p.m. April 13.

This event is free, but registration is required. To register, visit ALLIN Birmingham.com/strollregister.

Upon registration, attendees will receive instructions on how to check in for the Spring Stroll. At the event, attendees will receive a bag for collecting swag from local businesses, an

people

A new high school and college semi-professional team starting in Troy, the Troy City Women’s Football Club, will begin this year. The Troy City Women’s Football Club will be based in Troy but will feature top-tier high school and college players from around the community.

Adults and children are invited to participate in this year’s Spring Stroll in downtown Birmingham.

Photo provided by the Birmingham Shopping District

Soccer

here. There wasn’t one before, and I think it’s a great time for women’s soccer right now. I sent out a form, and about 120 people responded. This is a soccer-rich community.”

Among the players on the team and those who Arndt has trained is Keira Boskovich, a sophomore at Lourdes University.

“I’m one of the team captains. … I’ve actually been training with John for about five years,” she said. “He’s helped me through a lot of injuries. I had a horrible experience playing on a summer team last year, so when we brought it up that he might coach a team, it was something that a lot of young women in the community jumped on.”

Updates on the team are available on Facebook by searching “Troy Women’s Football Club.” Ticket prices at games are estimated at $5.

“I’m looking forward to the first year and I hope we can support our players. I want to get the word out that this is something new that they should support,” said Arndt. “It’s a semi-pro team. They don’t get paid. It is college girls that are coming

back from their college teams so they can get games in during the summertime. It helps them prep for their college teams in the fall. There are a few high school girls on the team as well.”

Each league’s standing is based on statistics, particularly the number of wins from each team.

“You play a specific amount of games. Depending on the stats, you can play for a first-place position,” said Boskovich. “The MPSL, you win a trophy based on those stats earned throughout the season. Your win-loss ratio is, obviously, the most important stat. For the other league, it’s a similar system.”

Boskovich hopes the team will keep her skills on point during the offseason but also hopes to build something special with the Troy City Women’s Football Club.

“Personally, I kind of hope to stay up on fitness and build the team into something. As a captain, it’s important to encourage the younger girls. I want to learn a lot that I can apply to my college team as well,” she said. “I hope we achieve the best we can. It’s a long summer, but we’ve all put in the work. I want to create a bond and keep playing together and maybe open some doors. I hope we win. I hope we succeed, but I hope we

can achieve more together as well.”

She added that, so far, community response to the team has been incredibly positive.

“Just from the sponsors we’ve spoken to and the community who have responded, people are excited to have a women’s team here. The established teams are either far away or not accessible,” said Boskovich. “I think John wanted to have this opportunity here for people who weren’t getting what they needed from what was currently established. I’m from Clinton Township, but this allows me to play in a way I wasn’t able to before.”

Boskovich credited Arndt with being a strong leader for a team and praised his skills as a trainer.

“I think the level of closeness sets this apart. He opens up his training to everyone. He takes the time to come to our games before we were on his team. He is very encouraging and posts about our achievements. A lot of players have gotten close to each other through him,” she said. “John is one of a kind when it comes to coaching. He has built this all by himself. We help him, of course, but he took this on and made it into something incredible. The time and energy he puts in is

amazing. I cannot wait to get to a coaching session with him. I don’t think he’s coached college or club, but he is a great coach. Other coaches are just on their phones or don’t care about their players’ personal lives or their mental health. John does.”

Arndt believes there’s a definite need for a women’s team like this in the community and says he knows just the squad to meet that need.

“I want the public to come out and support and empower these women,” Arndt said. “As athletes, we have combined our efforts. There is a men’s club as well, Troy United Football Club. It’s been around at least five years. We are brother-sister clubs, so we will be coordinating together and giving back in the community together. We want the city to support us. Nowadays, with Title IX being around for 50 years or so, supporting women is a huge deal. They deserve the same recognition as the men.”

Oakland County launches new countywide radio system

BY KATHRYN PENTIUK kpentiuk@candgnews.com

OAKLAND COUNTY — Oakland County first responders can now be anywhere in the state and contact their home base or communicate with other agencies through radio with the implementation of

the county’s $61 million radio system from Motorola.

“How many of you have ever dropped a call on your cellphone? Come on, by a show of hands?” Dave Coulter, Oakland County executive, asked attendees of the press conference held March 27 at Southfield City Hall. “It’s frustrating. It’s irritating. But

imagine that you’re a first responder, and you’re on your radio system, and you drop a call. That’s not just frustrating or irritating. It can be dangerous, and it can prevent you from doing the job that you’ve sworn to do.”

The new P-25 system is an upgrade to the county’s 20-year-old radio system, which was implemented in 2005. The county has

been using this new system since January 2024. It allows for seamless radio communication across Oakland County, even where it was previously unavailable or was interrupted due to dead spots within the county.

The new system is integrated into the Michigan Public Safety Communication

See RADIO on page 4A

Artist makes paint pigment out of food in BBAC exhibition

BY MARY GENSON mgenson@candgnews.com

BIRMINGHAM — Until April 18, the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center, 1516 S. Cranbrook Road in Birmingham, will show an exhibition with the work of Roscoe Hall II titled, “Eidetic Recipes.”

Annie VanGelderen, the BBAC’s president and CEO, said she discovered Hall while watching him compete on season 18 of “Top Chef.” She connected with him through social media, leading to this exhibition three years later.

Hall is a multimedia artist based in Birmingham, Alabama, not to be confused with the Michigan city where the BBAC is located.

As an accomplished chef and artist, he finds an intersection between art and cooking through his work.

For instance, he uses a gram scale to measure out paints so he can track how to get a particular color again. He also uses dehydrated food to create unique paint pigments that describe the region the piece is depicting. He said that for this particular collection, sweet potatoes were useful ingredients in his paint pigments. He also uses materials such

See ART on page 9A

LEFT:“A Kitchen In Demopolis,” by Roscoe Hall II, is featured in the BBAC exhibition.

ABOVE: “Trinity,” by Roscoe Hall II, includes Mashama Bailey’s Creole sauce recipe.

Photos by Roscoe Hall II provided by the BBAC

Radio

from page 3A

System and connects 2,231 public safety agencies and 126 dispatch centers around the state, which are also operating on the system. According to a press release from Oakland County, the new system supports 41 fire departments, 34 police agencies, seven public safety agencies and 20 dispatch centers in the county.

The funding comes from 911 surcharges on phone bills and $5 million from the Oakland County Board of Commissioners’ general fund.

During the press conference, it was stressed how significant this technology change will be during the NFL Draft in Detroit later this month.

The countywide radio system equips first responders with over 6,000 new radios and 20 upgraded 911 dispatch centers, including one in Southfield.

Southfield’s new dispatch center was updated in November last year and seats up to seven dispatchers.

Southfield Police Lt. Teresa Young emphasized the importance of this new radio system.

“Radio communications is one of the most important aspects of officer safety outside of outstanding training,” Young said. “In Southfield, we discovered that our old radio system was not meeting our officers’ needs, and over time, it was a real officer safety issue. Officers were consistently losing signal within city limits. They lost signal every time we had to leave the city, and we had no way of communicating or listening to radio traffic of surrounding jurisdictions.”

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard addressed transparency concerns and explained that the new system is encrypted.

“Our last system was encrypted, OpenSky. We believe it’s important to be encrypted because our adversaries are not dumb. They’re utilizing scanners to listen to response. We know that the teams in Mumbai were listening to and actually watching video coverage of what the police were doing to thwart their deadly efforts. And so if we don’t have the ability to communicate our strategy, let’s say it’s a hostage situation — without them knowing what we’re about to do — that’s going to put lives at risk.”

Bouchard added, “For the average person that just wants to hear what’s going on, I understand that interest, but the dangers associated with us not being able to have our strategy, our response and our capability private in the moment when it’s happening can cause lives to be lost.”

For more information, visit oakgov.com and search “Enhanced Public Safety with New Radio System.”

ABOVE: Southfield’s dispatch center was one of the 20 dispatch centers in Oakland County that received updates. The new dispatch center fits up to seven dispatchers.

RIGHT: Oakland County celebrates the launch of the new $61 million radio system from Motorola outside of Southfield City Hall.

Photos by Patricia O’Blenes

The Exterior Painters Celebrate 20 Years of Transforming Properties, Neighborhoods

Nothing transforms a property and makes it shine brighter than a fresh coat of paint. It’s simply the best and most cost-effective investment you can make for your home draped in the colors of yesterday.

The Exterior Painters have been revitalizing properties for 20 years.

“We specialize in just exterior painting, and the reason why we do that is we believe that repetition is the mother of all skill,” said owner Brian Scott. “For 20 years, that’s all we’ve been doing is outside work. When it comes to that, we do wood replacement and siding replacement. It makes us the perfect fit for homeowners who don’t want to re-side their whole house.”

The Exterior Painters replace damaged siding and boards as needed, but they’re not looking to push for a full siding replacement.

“It gets people by another 10 years and transforms the look of the house, bringing it to the next color trends of today,” Scott said.

“Another thing we do that makes us unique, we have a full-time color consultant,” Scott added. “For most people, that’s the hardest, most stressful part, choosing what color they want. Our consultant comes out and

meets with the homeowners and gives them an idea of what the new color trends are so they can make a good color choice that complements their landscaping, brickwork and architectural features.”

The Exterior Painters also specialize in brick staining.

“A lot of younger people are buying houses. We’re taking it from grandma’s house of the ’50s, ’60s or ’70s and bringing it to that HGTV look,” Scott said.

Power washing the siding — and for an additional charge, soft washing the roof if needed — can also make a big difference in terms of curb appeal.

you’re getting a bigger bang for your buck.”

It’s a win for everyone, from the crews The Exterior Painters employ and pay well to the homeowners who see their neighborhoods transformed. The company paints 30 houses a week on average in Macomb, Oakland, Wayne and Livingston counties, and boasts a five-star Google review average.

charge, soft washing the roof if needed — can also transformed through fresh paint, “It’s the cheapest home to get.”

Scott said his crews often see their work spread from house to house in a neighborhood as the properties are transformed through fresh paint, siding repairs and much-needed washing.

“Compared to other home improvements,

“With us you’re buying certainty. We don’t ask for a large deposit, and you don’t have to worry about anyone running off with your deposit,” Scott said. “We stand by our work. We provide a warranty and proven results by taking care of everybody in the community. We’re Nextdoor’s No. 1 preferred contractor in Rochester two years in a row. It’s that certainty factor. You know what you’re going

“It’s the cheapest home improvement you can do without breaking the bank,” Scott said.

The Exterior Painters are located at 2365 Avon Industrial Drive in Rochester Hills. To request a quote or for more information, call (248) 844-8888.

BENEFIT CONCERT TO BE HELD IN MEMORY OF BERKLEY GRADUATE

BY MIKE KOURY mkoury@candgnews.com

BERKLEY — A special benefit concert honoring a former Berkley student who died by suicide will be held later this month.

The concert held in memory of Alyssa Marie Zino will begin at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14, at the First Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, located at 529 Hendrie Blvd.

Zino was a 2018 graduate of Berkley High School, where she was heavily involved in the band program and played clarinet. She attended Kalamazoo College but died by suicide in February 2022 during her senior year.

“She was just a funny, smart, loving girl,” Zino’s mother, Mary Robertson, said. “She was a delight. She really was. I mean, she was well liked by teachers and well liked by peers and just a really delightful human being and a kind person.”

Helping others was a strong interest for Zino, according to her mother. She interned with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center and had a lot of interest in social justice.

“She was just kind of a fierce advocate for others,” she said. “I think she would like this. I hope she would.”

Robertson said there are three goals to the concert: to honor her daughter’s memory, to raise funds for the Berkley Schools music program and to raise awareness for suicide prevention.

“She was lucky enough to be able to have private lessons, and we were able to get her a nice clarinet, and she was able to go to some summer camps, and I want other kids who might not be able to do that to have those chances, because it really makes a big difference,” she said.

A specialist in suicide prevention, Mayim Meyers, from Jewish Family Service, will be on-site before and after the concert to distribute literature and answer questions.

Robertson said music was central to Zino’s life, and Robertson knows what a big difference music can make in many kids’ lives.

“There are plenty of kids that the arts are kind of where they find themselves,” she said. “Like the academic world may not come so easily, but the arts are where they can feel like they’re good at something and be able to express themselves, and it’s just so important.”

Alan Posner, the band director at Bloomfield Hills High School, previously taught Zino when he was working for Berkley Schools. Posner called Zino one of his best students who was incredibly skilled and driven.

“She always had a very dry, dry sense of humor and personality, but also very focused. When I left Berkley … she gave me a couple jokes because she always thought I had the worst jokes ever. So she thought I should get some better jokes. So I thought that was always

See

Photo provided by Mary Robertson

Alyssa Marie Zino, a 2018 Berkley High School graduate, loved music and was very involved in the school’s music program.

Local church works to bring purified water to people of Guatemala

BY CHARITY MEIER cmeier@candgnews.com

NOVI — Members of Faith Presbyterian Church in Novi have made it their mission over the last 10 years to bring purified water to the people of Guatemala. In February, five members of the church went to the country to install a water purification system at a school.

The area they visited has running water, but it is unfiltered and therefore contaminated with bacteria. The people cannot afford bottled water, which costs approximately $5 for 5 gallons. The majority of people in the area are coffee bean farmers and are lucky to make $20 a week, according to Mark Turner, a missionary with Faith Presbyterian. As a result, they are forced to utilize the unclean water and are susceptible to diseases from it.

“Many people think they could just boil the water and make it pure. Well, that’s true, but where do they get the wood from?” Turner said. “The other thing is they don’t understand that it is not when the water comes to a boil, it’s 10 minutes after it comes to a boil that everything’s killed. So it’s not a reliable way for them to get pure water. Then, of course, they have to have clean vessels to put it in or it’s contaminated again.”

Turner is responsible for initiating the church’s involvement with Living Waters of the World. He said the church has had involvement with several other missions in Guatemala, including medical care, abandoned women and drug problems, for 25 years. It was during another mission that he asked their medical team how things were going, and they informed him that they were seeing numerous cases that were a result of contaminated water. He said he decided that they needed to do something about it so that the medical team could deal with things that weren’t as easily preventable.

“I’m just the average person that has a passion for bringing clean water, because everybody should have clean water,” said Turner.

Since then, Faith Presbyterian has gone on six mission trips to the country and installed seven water filtration systems in the area, as one was installed in 2022 with the missionaries participating virtually as a result of the pandemic. During each weeklong trip, the missionaries teach the people how to install and operate the filtration system, how to bottle and sell the water, and what the purified water should be used for.

“The water is dear because it’s costly, so you have to take care of the water that’s in the bottle. So, you only use it for if you are eating or drinking, cooking, brushing your teeth, anything going into your mouth or caring for a baby, “ said Sue Randall, one of the missionaries. “If you were giving a baby a bath, you would use purified water, but if you yourself were to take a bath, you would not use purified water. That would be a waste. If it were here and readily available, like it is in the States, where you can just go turn on the tap or the garden hose and it’s all good, then you’d use it for everything, but that’s not the way it is there.”

Turner’s team consisted of five people including himself: two certified in the

puri-

installation of the system, two to educate people on how the purified water should be used, and one manager.

“I realized what an impact I could make,” Randall said of her reason for choosing to do this missionary work. “It’s not just going and making a home for a family. You’re setting up a business for them to operate and share with the community, and then you’re bringing clean water and health into the homes of anybody that participates and purchases the water.”

Two local operators will have the job of running the filtration system as a business. The business See

on page 10A

ABOVE: Missionaries Mark Turner, back row, right; and David VanZoest, back row, left, of Faith Community Presbyterian Church in Novi, pose with some of the people they are helping to obtain

fied water in Guatemala. RIGHT: This water filtration system was installed at Xhequistel School.

Photos provided by Mark Turner

Stroll

from page 1A

event map and an optional activity sheet.

As attendees are browsing local businesses for the latest spring merchandise, they will encounter promotions and giveaways from participating businesses.

In the past, most stores have offered giveaways during the Spring Stroll, but this year, most stores are offering shopping incentives and promotions that can be used on the day of the stroll. Some stores are even offering return incentives, in case someone wants to come back and shop at a later time.

“Last year was a huge success. We had over 30 participating merchants, and we expect this year to be the same,” Birmingham Shopping District Public Relations and Marketing Specialist Erika Bassett said.

Gazelle Sports store manager Matt Broadwell said they participate in the Spring Stroll every year.

Art

from page 3A

as a burlap sack from Alabama peanuts in his work.

The theme of this collection of work is “the Black Belt region.”

“I wanted to capture my contemporaries throughout the southeast to tell a story of what the Black Belt states look like,” Hall said.

One of his pieces is titled “Trinity.” In it, he depicts his friend Mashama Bailey, the first Black woman to win the “Outstanding Chef” James Beard Foundation Award. Among her many accomplishments in the culinary industry, Bailey is the executive chef and partner of The Grey in Savannah, Georgia.

Inspired by the regional produce of Savannah, Hall used turmeric and hibiscus to make an oil pigment.

Concert

from page 6A

really funny and touching, that she would give me a present and that’s what it was.”

Posner, who considered Zino a friend, said music was very important to her and an outlet for how she expressed herself.

“She always wanted to perform at a very high level,” she said. “When the band

“We want to do everything that we can to support the Birmingham Shopping District. We get a lot of support from them, so we want to make sure first and foremost that we’re always supporting them,” Broadwell said.

During the event, Gazelle Sports, 99 W. Maple Road, will have a coloring station for kids and will be handing out treats.

“We’re at this corner, and we get a lot of support from the local community, so anytime we can do something like this and give back, we want to make sure that we’re visibly participating in it,” Broadwell said.

The BSD encourages attendees to linger before and after the event to enjoy a meal at one of downtown Birmingham’s restaurants. If the weather is nice, guests might consider walking to Shain and Booth parks to enjoy their family-friendly amenities.

“Spring is a wonderful time to get out and about after the winter months. Our downtown is walkable and welcoming with its convenient parking options, centrally located parks and variety of shops, all of which

Bailey is known for her foie gras and grits recipe, which includes a Creole sauce that Hall said is his favorite part of the dish. In his piece, “Trinity,” Hall includes the ingredients of the Creole sauce alongside the painting of Bailey.

“It’s such a powerful piece that she just deserves to have a wall all by herself,” VanGelderen said.

VanGelderen said she is excited to potentially introduce the local area to an outof-state artist. She said that while his work is unique to where he is from, it has a universal message.

“It’s very thoughtful, and there are definitely lots of layers that are incorporated in the paintings that have much deeper meanings,” VanGelderen said.

To see Hall’s work in person, visit the BBAC before April 18. More information on the exhibition can be found at bbartcen ter.org.

didn’t do well or she wasn’t doing well, she was tough on herself, but she always strived to do her best. I think it was a release for her as well, like a way to cope with stress and anxiety that I know she dealt with. … You can tell she really loved it and really engaged with it at a very high level.”

Donations will act as tickets for the concert, and proceeds will go toward the music program for Berkley Schools.

contribute to the success of this strolling event,” Bassett said.

Visitors are welcome to park in the downtown’s five municipal parking structures where parking is free for the first two hours. More information on parking can be found at ALLINBirmingham.com/park.

In addition to this spring event, the BSD has a full lineup of summer events that will also be free and family-friendly.

“We’re always looking for ways to invite people from near and far to enjoy the variety of offerings that we have here in downtown Birmingham,” Bassett said.

For more information on the Spring Stroll and other BSD events, visit ALLIN Birmingham.com/events and follow their social media accounts @BirminghamShop pingDistrict on Facebook and @bhamshop ping on Instagram.

Water

from page 8A

will provide the operators with an income as well as pay for a new filter for the system annually. Turner said the operators charge the community at the rate of 75 cents to $1 for 5 gallons, which is significantly cheaper than the commercial rate and therefore much more affordable. The operators also commit to giving away 20% of the purified water they make, as there are still people who cannot afford to pay for it even at the much lower rate.

Turner said that during his recent trip to Guatemala, he spoke with some medical missionaries from Texas who asked him why they were installing water filtration systems, and they were surprised to hear that there had been an issue with the water in the area causing illness, as they said they hadn’t seen any cases related to unclean water all week.

“So now the medical teams can focus more on their serious problems and not on what we can cure with good water,” Turner said.

He said the medical mission is near to where they installed their first and most-lucrative-thus-far filtration system, and he said that he believes that it was because of the impact that site had on the community that the

medical team didn’t find any water-related issues this year.

“I’m not saying there isn’t any issues in the community, but I’m saying it’s made a big difference,” Turner said.

He said all the filtration systems that they have installed are successful to different degrees. He said one produces over 200 bottles a day, and some make 10 bottles a day. He said it just depends on the operating partners, what the community needs, and how good of an entrepreneur they are.

The installation that was recently done is currently doing well and providing water for the students and their families. The site has to be certified by the government in order to provide the water to the general public. Unfortunately, the certificate takes about one to two years to acquire.

Faith Presbyterian has committed to installing at least 10 systems and therefore plans to return to Guatemala next year. In order to fund the cost of the $8,000 system and the other expenditures of the mission, the church, located at 44400 W. 10 Mile Road, will hold an annual fundraiser at 6:30 p.m. on Cinco de Mayo with a performance of Broadway tunes by John Bogden, the church choir director on piano and organ; Tim VanRiper, the assistant choir director, on vocals; and harpist Dicky Lee for a free-will donation.

Great Loan Rates WE CHAMPION YOUR SPRING GOALS WITH

Whether your goal is a new car, boat or RV, home improvements or consolidating debt, let us be your financial champion. Our market-leading loan rates and personalized guidance will help you achieve those goals.

Apply today.

Open to all Michiganders.

msgcu.org/loan

with a home standby generator.

Make power outages a thing of the past with a home standby generator.

Trusted Protection During Unpredictable Weather

The frequency in severe weather has led to an increase in power outages. More than ever, you need to be prepared. Without power, your everyday modern essentials are rendered useless. Think about it, you’ll have no lights, heating or cooling, or refrigeration. You can’t even charge your cell phone. But when you have a Generac home standby generator, you will have power when you need it the most. It’s time to get serious about preparing your home.

Trusted Protection During Unpredictable Weather

Call or go online today for more information

Trusted Protection During Unpredictable Weather

The frequency in severe weather has led to an increase in power outages. More than ever, you need to be prepared. Without power, your everyday modern essentials are rendered useless. Think about it, you’ll have no lights, heating or cooling, or refrigeration. You can’t even charge your cell phone. But when you have a Generac home standby generator, you will have power when you need it the most. It’s time to get serious about preparing your home.

The frequency in severe weather has led to an increase in power outages. More than ever, you need to be prepared. Without power, your everyday modern essentials are rendered useless. Think about it, you’ll have no lights, heating or cooling, or refrigeration. You can’t even charge your cell phone. But when you have a Generac home standby generator, you will have power when you need it the most. It’s time to get serious about preparing your home.

Call

or go online today for more information

Call or go online today for more information

The frequency in severe weather has led to an increase in power outages. More than ever, you need to be prepared. Without power, your everyday modern essentials are rendered useless. Think about it, you’ll have no lights, heating or cooling, or refrigeration. You can’t even charge your cell phone. But when you have a Generac home standby generator, you will have power when you need it the most. It’s time to get serious about preparing your home.

Call or go online today for more information