FACES

Erika Rice and Geoff Wickersham

Groves High School student-teacher duo Erika Rice and Geoff Wickersham were recently selected to be part of the Albert H. Small Normandy Institute program, which offers an intensive program for approximately 15 student-teacher teams to learn and deepen their understanding of the WWII D-Day Campaign of 1944 and the sacrifices made by young Americans to defeat tyranny.

Since last December, when they learned they had been selected for the 2023 program, Rice and Wickersham have been intensely studying and researching WWII materials as well as choosing a local WWII soldier to research and honor.

This summer they will travel to George Washington University in Washington D.C. for a series of extensive lectures and activities, then will visit historical sites in France that played vital roles in the D-Day Campaign and the liberation of Paris. Since students will stay with other students and teachers with other teachers, it also provides Rice and Wickersham with the chance to connect with contemporaries who share their passion for history.

Wickersham, a longtime history teacher, explains, “When I saw this opportunity, I knew it would be great for the right student. I had Erika as a student in AP U.S. History and Women’s History classes. She has an insatiable knowledge and passion for history. She is amazingly articulate and bright, and I knew she could handle the different types of high-level research required for the program.”

As a capstone project, each team selects a soldier with ties to their local area who participated in the Normandy Campaign and gave their life to help liberate France and defeat Nazi Germany. They learn about the service member’s life and write a biography and eulogy, which will become part of the cemetery’s archives. Rice will read the eulogy at their soldier’s graveside in the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-Sur-Mer. About 500 Michigan soldiers are buried at the cemetery.

With assistance from the Birmingham Historical Society, Wickersham and Rice selected Lieutenant Carlton Thompson as their hometown hero. According to Rice, Thompson was born in Jamaica and moved to Birmingham as a young child, where his parents ran a general store. He died in France during a reconnaissance mission when his plane crashed and he was ambushed. Amazingly, Wickersham and Rice were able to locate and meet surviving family members who helped them more fully understand him as a person. To add extra meaning to the experience, one of Lt. Thompson’s relatives may be joining them at the cemetery for the reading of his eulogy.

“This work is an important and lasting way to personalize and honor the sacrifice of all who gave their lives to help liberate Europe from fascism,” Wickersham said. Rice is looking forward to experiencing history come alive during the trip. “Being there and experiencing the history of it all and standing at the beach where it all happened will be super impactful. It will also be special to work in the archives in D.C. and do the work of a real historian.”

Wickersham puts the study of history in context: “It’s important for everyone to know history and how our government works – some types of ignorance are borderline dangerous. History sometimes echos and has similar patterns that we can learn from.”

After high school, Rice plans to study history and multimedia journalism in college, hoping to one day make history documentaries. The Bloomfield Hills junior’s desire to continue her studies in history is not a surprise. “It’s my passion. My dad fostered my love of history and my parents have always encouraged me.

“It’s important to learn about history such as D-Day invasion and Operation Overlord [the codename for the Battle of Normandy] in depth so it doesn’t happen again.”

Woodward/Maple building plan delayed

By Grace Lovins

The decision to approve the preliminary site plan and community impact study for a new six- to ninestory building, to be located at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Maple Road, was postponed by the Birmingham Planning Board on Monday, April 17, to resolve outstanding traffic and access issues.

Ryan Companies, a national construction, development and architecture firm, submitted plans for a nine-story, mixed-use building to be approximately 406,000 square feet. According to city planner Leah Bublitz, the development will consist of 210 residential spaces and a large retail area on the main level. Plans also show a three-level parking structure with a surplus of 67 spaces, Bublitz said, and an additional five spaces intended for compact car parking.

Plans for the building show there will also be amenity decks available for the residents living in the building. Matt Stevens, architect and project designer with Ryan Companies, shared that the decks will possibly house a fitness center, club room and potential sky lounge on the upper deck, and the lobby amenity space will likely have seating, a mailroom and leasing space, and a bike room.

Because the proposed development is over 20,000 square feet, a community impact study is required. Bublitz said that the community impact study had no significant issues to highlight, but the applicant will need to submit details for certain elements — the location of bike racks, how they’re going to mitigate noise and debris during construction — before the board is able to approve the final site plan and design.

Although most of the study showed no major areas of concern, the city’s traffic consultant, Brad Strader, noted that the transportation impact study needs revisions. Strader said the developers need to submit new simulated traffic models, or synchro models, and will have to provide an answer to the problem with traffic exiting on to Maple.

Currently, the plans show both an entrance and exit on Maple, but Strader argued that the exit wouldn’t be feasible given the street’s traffic. He suggested an entrance only or

Increases in water, sewer rates proposed

By Dana Casadei

Increases in both water and sewer rates for the 2023-2024 fiscal year were introduced by Noah Mehalski, township director of public works, at the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, April 10, along with recommendations to use cash surpluses for emergency repairs.

Mehalski presented three key recommendations for the board to consider: a 2.5 percent increase to water rates; a 3.5 percent increase to sewer rates, and the implementation of no fixed fee for secondary meter program participants, both those with existing secondary water meters, and those who plan to participate in the future.

He also recommended the utilization of the township’s $7 million in surplus cash reserves in the water and sewer fund to fund $4.4 million in emergency sewer projects, such as the Forest Lake sewer repair and Club Drive sewer repair, among others.

Mehalski discussed using an additional $3 million from the cash reserves to fund year-one of the meter replacement program as well, which is a three-year program based on the ability of the contractor to do the work.

This program would help replace the 52 percent of meters in the township that are over 15 years old, and would take advantage of the technological updates to meters, giving the township the data to better accurately reflect the amount of water passing through the pipes. This new data will be used to improve customer service and drive future rate considerations.

“I believe we have a very strong proposal,” he said. “It’s not perfect, by any means, but it’s our first step towards fairness and there’s more to come.” creating an exit that would only allow cars to turn right onto Maple.

Residents currently pay a fixed quarterly charge based on meter equivalent units (MEUs) and a volumetric charge based on the amount of water used, and Bloomfield Township has historically experienced a decline in water usage per customer account. Billing would be changed to a monthly charge.

The clock is ticking for this to be approved, as new water and sewer rates became effective April 1, and will be first applied to billing by the end of April.

Mehalski will be back at the next board of trustees meeting on Monday, April 24, for the approval of the recommendations of water and sewer rate approval, as well as public comment.

Developers will also have to meet with MDOT and SMART given that they are planning to relocate the bus stops on both Woodward and Maple. According to Strader, the applicant also needs to provide the SEMCOG Crash Analysis in the final site plan, given the number of accidents on Woodward and Maple, and also the pros and cons of relocating the bus stops.

Chair Scott Clein and board member Bryan Williams explained they were also concerned with the traffic leaving on to Maple and are uneasy about accepting the plan and study without an answer as to what the developers are planning on doing. Other board members also shared their concerns over a