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New bosses keep Southgate Police Department moving forward DAVE GORGON Southgate Star

New Director of Public Safety Joseph Marsh and new Chief of Police Mark Mydlarz are moving forward with plans to keep the Southgate Police Department moving in the right direction.

Both longtime Southgate officers were appointed to their new positions in January. Marsh succeeded Jeffrey Smith, who was named administrator of the 28th District Court. Mydlarz succeeded Marsh as police chief.

In his new capacity, Marsh oversees both the Police Department and Fire Department and reports directly to Mayor Joseph Kuspa. Marc Hatfield remains the Southgate fire chief.

“We are very fortunate in Southgate to have people who can replace outgoing members in public safety,” said Mayor Kuspa. “These two gentlemen have done a wonderful job in their previous positions and I look forward to their years of dedicated service and wealth of knowledge in

Photos by Dave Gorgon

New Southgate Police Chief Mark Mydlarz (left), Mayor Joseph Kuspa and new Southgate Director of Public Safety Joseph Marsh

their leadership roles.”

Goals for the Police Department include providing a high level of service to the city, improving

Serving Downriver Since 1975

connectivity to the public, continuing training and improving on-the-job equipment, including body cameras, which are expected to go into use in

February.

Marsh said a major focus is placed on an accreditation process that features best practices and standards designed to make the department operate at peak capacity.

Working with an organization called Virtual Academy, officers will be given the opportunity to take virtual classes online so that the education can continue even during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

“You always want to keep improving and growing as an individual, as a police officer, as a department, so that you know what you don’t know,” Marsh said. “You constantly want to put yourself in a position where you can succeed.”

The department leadership said key components are making sure officers are doing their job safe and that morale is high. Marsh said a citizens police academy and a “cop on the block program” are programs that SEE POLICE, Page 15

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SOUTHGATE STAR • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • Page 3

ObituarY

Pat Andrews passes away at 83

Longtime journalist was well-known Downriver PAULA NEUMAN Southgate Star

Downriver lost one of its best-known and hardest working residents with the death of Patricia Andrews.

She died Dec. 22 at the age of 83.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell called Ms. Andrews a “Downriver fixture” and lamented her passing. The Dearborn Congresswoman is one of many leaders, journalists and residents paying tribute to Andrews, a renowned journalist who went on to work for the late U. S. Rep. John Dingell.

In her work and in her personal life, Andrews made it her mission to help people.

She graduated from Melvindale High School and Central Michigan University.

She taught in Vassar, married the late Ronald Pat Andrews with News-Herald staff members and Santa Claus.

Andrews, a renowned was an intern in Dingell’s office when Ms. Andrews “Don’t let anyone tell you that Pat was always easy coach and worked there. He shared this anecdote from 2008, to work with, because wasn’t always the case. She teacher, and when he worked for Greenfield Village: could be tough and even stubborn, but I think that moved to “I’ll never forget the night she worked so hard to anyone who worked with her came away an improved Trenton in save Christmas and Holiday Nights at Greenfield professional because of the impact that she had on the 1961.

Village in 2008,” Hinrichs wrote in an online tribute to people around her. I know I did, and I’ll be forever In 1970, Ms. Andrews, best known as Pat, went Ms. Andrews. “Our Christmas trees were stuck at the thankful for knowing Pat and her late husband Ron. to work at the News-Herald Newspaper, where she Canadian border, and Pat worked throughout the night The Andrewses were institutions Downriver.” served as a writer and editor until 2004. to get them cleared through customs and to Greenfield Scot Peacock, who was a photographer at the During those decades, she wrote countless articles Village so we could stock our tree lot for the Holiday News-Herald at the time Pat worked there, has fond about Downriver residents and events, and even started Nights program. memories of the time. a few happenings of her own, including the Miss “Pat meant so much to our entire region… Pat is “Pat was one of the most generous people I have Downriver Pageant and Soup Day, an annual benefit a true warrior and champion and she will be greatly known,” he said. “We worked together at the Newsfor the Salvation Army. missed. What a legend!”

Herald through the 80s and I feel privileged to have She also co-founded Women Celebrating LifeTaylor Communications Director Karl Ziomek, the known her.”

Downriver, which continues to help many local former Managing Editor at the News-Herald, who Former Wyandotte resident Michael Patrick Shiels, women fighting breast cancer with their expenses, worked with Pat for years said this: an author, travel writer and TV host, is one of many and served on the board of the Guidance Center in “Pat was an institution for decades at The Newswho posted online tributes about her.

Southgate. Many other local charities as well as arts Herald Newspapers, whether she was working out “Patricia Andrews will eternally remain a force in organizations were aided by Ms. Andrews and her of our Wyandotte, Grosse Ile or Southgate office. Pat Downriver media, politics and the social scene,” Shiels tireless efforts to promote their events and good works represented an era of local newspaper coverage that wrote. “She was a mentor, a thoughtful friend and a over the years. included a heavy emphasis on ‘society’ or features and connector of people. Her enthusiasm for family and In 2004, she began an eight-year stint working for entertainment news and opinion, and no one connected fun and her wry humor will live on in her admirers — the Congressman, and even there, although her work those dots like Pat Andrews. including me.” was mostly immigration issues, she helped support “There wasn’t a ‘mover and shaker’ that she didn’t Ms. Andrews is survived by her children, Sandra, local events from time to time. After retiring from know. Her Rolodex was full. She was the type of Christopher (Tracey) and Jennifer; three grandchildren, Dingell’s office, Ms. Andrews continued to write editor who was as comfortable talking food recipes, Alexandra, Allison and Alyssa; and her sister Judith articles about Downriver events and people for local important events, new businesses and/or the latest McKay. Memorial contributions can be made to news outlets. behind-the-scenes talk about key players in the region, Women Celebrating Life-Downriver at wcldownriver.

Ron Hinrichs of Riverview, president and CEO of but at the same time could lend to discussions on com and Cass Community Social Services of Detroit at the Southern Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, important breaking news. casscommunity.org.

Page 4 • January 25 — February 24, 2021 • SOUTHGATE STAR

Take care of your body during holidays and afterward Stress. Tension.

Fear. Worry. Doubt.

All feelings we have experienced throughout 2020.

As we pass the holidays, we just wanted to send a reminder to you, our incredible patients, to take care of your bodies so they’ll take care of you.

From your diet to exercise routines to adjustments and massages, be mindful of what you’re doing to fuel your body to keep it as strong and healthy as possible.

Things may look and feel different this year, but that doesn’t mean you and your family can’t feel your best.

Here are a few tips: • Limit sweets – We know it’s hard, and it’s fun to indulge every now and then, but too much sugar can have negative effects on your body and mind.

• Move, move, move – Exercise does wonders for body and mind. Get out and move as much as you can. Take family walks, park in the farthest parking spot at the market so you have to walk further, and take the stairs whenever you can. Little movements

add up.

• Get adjusted – Don’t let aches and pains keep you from doing the other things you need to do to stay healthy.

Epsom salt baths to soothe body and mind There are few things more relaxing than a warm bath at the end of a long day. But did you know that adding epsom salts to your bath might just make it even better?

Many athletes and trainers swear by the recovery benefits of epsom salts.

It is believed that an epsom salt bath can reduce muscle soreness and ease inflammation.

Epsom salt contains magnesium, an essential mineral. It is thought that soaking in a magnesiumrich epsom salt bath may provide pain relief, have detoxification benefits, and help you relax for more restful sleep.

Ultimately, it’s an easy way to add an extra level of relaxation to your self-care routine that may just ease

those aches and pains.

Nine inflammatory foods to avoid When struggling with chronic pain, such as arthritis, it’s important to be mindful of your diet and how the foods you eat could be affecting your pain and inflammation.

The following nine foods are known to increase the body’s inflammatory response: Sugar Saturated fats Trans fats (processed foods) Omega 6 fatty acids (such as corn and peanut oils) Refined carbohydrates MSG Gluten Aspartame (artificial sweetener) Alcohol If you’re suffering from chronic pain and inflammation, try reducing or cutting out these nine foods from your diet, while increasing the amount of fresh fruits, vegetables, and omega-3s you’re consuming, and you may find some relief. A chiropractic adjustment may also be able to help with your pain. ~ Cosineau Chiropractic

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SOUTHGATE STAR • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • Page 5

Downriver residents make Santa’s ‘Nice’ list over the holidays Val Dutton Southgate Star

Santa couldn’t write “Nice” big enough on his 2020 Naughty and Nice List when he learned how Downriver families remember their loved ones over the holidays, regardless of what is happening around them.

It usually involves fresh ingredients and old recipes. In other words: yummy food linked to the past.

Chuck Peacock of Wyandotte has the old penuché recipe used by his late grandmother, Nina Wiltsee of

was,” Peacock said. What he is certain of, though, is that the fudge-like concoction “is sinfully delicious.” And as addictive as those holiday dancing sugar plums.

“When I was a kid, I would happily eat myself sick on this stuff at Christmas time,” Peacock said. “Once she saw how much I liked it, (his grandmother) probably made it just for me – looking back, she had a tendency to spoil me and my brother.”

Vicki Dorland and her niece Mandy Silvani schedule a Christmas cookiemaking session annually at Dorland’s

Mandy Silvani and her aunt, Vicki Dortland make Christmas cookies every year.

Brownsville, PA, which he thinks she may have gotten from “a Pittsburgh newspaper.” “(The recipe) is at least third hand,” Peacock said. “Grandma made it during the holidays as early as 1949.”

There is some mystery attached to the recipe, which includes a note from someone identified as “Miss M. May Nickerson, of Quincy, MA”: This is the time of the year everyone will want penuché.

“I have no idea who Miss M. May Nickerson of Quincy, Massachusetts

Southgate home. The new gingerbread cookie recipe they tried recently “needs a few tweaks,” said Dorland, secretary at The First United Methodist Church of Wyandotte.

But no tweaks were necessary for the family classic: the Santa cookies that Dorland has made for 40 years, a sugar cookie “with extra flavor” coming from a little almond extract -- and a lot of holiday spirit, of course.

“It’s a fun thing that Mandy and I do SEE RESIDENTS, Page 6

‘Traveling’ Cheese Ball is a Renaud Family Favorite Pam Goscinski of Wyandotte can’t remember a family Christmas party in her lifetime that did not include the cheese ball made “famous” by her late father, James “Bud” Renaud, formerly of Trenton.

No one quite remembers the recipe’s origins, but Renaud began making it in the early ‘80s.

He liked to cook, Goscinski said, and his culinary repertoire ranged widely, from homemade sausage to tacos and a mac-andcheese dish.

The cheese ball always got rave reviews.

In fact, it became so popular that the “Bud Renaud’s Cheese Ball” recipe was widely dispersed. Published in two church cookbooks, it also found Pam Goscinski and her sister Caryn its way into the recipe boxes of Cablealways include their father’s friends, appeared without fail cheese ball at holiday parties. at the family’s annual church party and, even now, is simply expected at all Renaud holiday events.

“That cheese ball has traveled!” Goscinski said. She wonders how many families have adopted the cheese ball as a “must” at their holiday feasts.

Goscinski’s sister, Caryn Cable, also of Wyandotte, inherited the role of cheese ball maker when Bud died in 2008. She ensures that it takes its rightful place amid the appetizers, meatballs and the Jello salad offered buffet-style at Goscinski’s home when she hosts the Renaud Christmas event.

“Since our entire family looks forward to it and enjoys it so much, I just continue to make it each year,” Cable said. “It’s in honor and remembrance of my dad each Christmas.”

The cheese ball is more than a creamy spread on a cracker.

“There’s always the cheese ball at the parties,” Goscinski said, “so Dad always shows up.” She believes Bud would be honored to share the recipe with a larger audience.

“His famous cheese ball is his legacy,” she said. “Dad would be very proud.”

Bud Renaud’s Cheese Ball • 8-oz. brick of cream cheese • 1 stick of margarine or butter • ½ cup of chopped green olives • 4 green onions, chopped • Chopped walnuts, optional Combine the first four ingredients and shape into a ball.

Roll in the chopped walnuts.

Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

James “Bud” Renaud’s famous cheese ball

Page 6 • January 25 — February 24, 2021 • SOUTHGATE STAR

RESIDENTS Continued from page 5 together, from the time she was a baby standing on a ladder to see,” Dorland said. “We used to do them with my mom. She taught me how.”

All three grandchildren of the late Mary Robertson of Southgate got elbow-deep in the cookie dough at one time or another, but “Mandy kept it up,” Dorland said. “She’s a great baker.”

The Santa cookies aren’t easy to work, requiring a careful manipulation of toothpicks to release the dough from the intricate cookie cut-out, which Dorland inherited from her mother, along with very specific directions on how to decorate the Santas.

“You start with the hat, then the face and beard,” Dorland said. “Next comes the mustache. You do it in a certain order or they won’t turn out.”

Aunt and niece made 45 Santa cookies in their six-hour baking session this past December. “The whole time we are thinking of my mom,” Dorland said.

“Alverna Baxter’s Cherry Dessert” came into the large Dutton family in 1998, when the late Bill Baxter of Wyandotte married the widow Elaine Dutton, formerly of Riverview.

The holiday recipe from Baxter’s mother got mixed reviews by the clan.

The controversy was over whether it should be served frozen, as Bill had insisted, or thawed.

“It tasted the same to me whether it was frozen or thawed,” said Anna Dutton, one of Bill’s daughters-inlaw. “Its pink color is very festive, though.”

But there was never controversy in

the family over Bill; everyone loved the gentle man who ran the Baxter Hardware Store on Fort St. before retirement and treated Elaine’s nine grandchildren as his own.

“I made it every year when Bill came for a holiday dinner,” said Kelly Dutton, another of his daughters-inlaw. And she served it frozen.

For 85 years and spanning five generations, the Milewski family has made pierogis for dinner as part of their Christmas Eve wigilia, or vigil.

The tradition began with the arrival to Wyandotte from Poland by Tom Milewski’s busia, or grandmother, Maryanna Zegota, in 1920.

Candis Milewski, Tom’s wife, continues the tradition in her Wyandotte kitchen. Her two children, one who lives as far away as Colorado, do, also. “Two years ago, my grandchildren joined us to make pierogi,” Milewski said.

Candis doesn’t use the original recipe. Her mother-in-law was “very protective of her recipe and gave us the wrong recipe,” she said. “So, we came up with our own.”

A Christmas gift in disguise, perhaps, because she actually prefers her recipe. “Every family has its drama,” she said, laughing.

This year the family tradition was postponed until Dec. 27, since Tom had a medical emergency requiring hospitalization over Christmas Eve. “He was upset because he thought he had missed his Christmas Eve meal,” Milewski said. “We waited for him to come home … to celebrate.

The first thing Tom ate was the pierogi. That is the first thing he did when he walked in the door.”

Santa would consider that very nice, indeed.

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SOUTHGATE STAR • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • Page 7

Photos courtesy of the Woelkers family

Members of the Wyandotte Goodfellows thank the owners of Biddle Bowl for their contribution of $10,000 to the Goodfellows, who called it an amazing fete during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Downriver resident uses business to raise more than $10,000

Record-breaking generosity

For years, the operators of Biddle Bowl have been celebrated for raising funds for the Wyandotte Goodfellows, helping the group bring Christmas to children and families.

In 2020, the year of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the same family that owns the eight-lane bowling establishment in Wyandotte went above and beyond the call of duty.

Robert Woelkers, formally of Southgate and whose children are Anderson High grads, and sister Judy Sadler of Trenton and their family members and friends combined to raise more than $10,000 for the Goodfellows in a year that the charity’s volunteers were wondering how they were going to raise any funds because of the coronavirus.

Todd Browning, treasurer of the Goodfellows and city treasurer in Wyandotte, said the pandemic forced the cancellation of a number of annual fundraising efforts in 2020, which raised concerns about how to pay the Christmas gift-giving bills.

The Wyandotte Street Art Fair was cancelled so the Goodfellows could not raise money by “selling” parking lot spots for $5 apiece – the biggest of the fundraisers.

The famous newspaper sales on city street corner could not be held. Instead, newspapers were placed in various businesses locations with the hopes that people would take one and leave a donation if they could find them.

With the closure of so many businesses, including bowling centers, due to the concerns surrounding COVID-19, Biddle Bowl was unable to engage its league bowlers through 50/50 drawings, prize raffles and other donations throughout the bowling week, plus an annual Christmas fundraiser at the establishment.

For the past 14 years, bowlers have contributed to the cause, starting with $900 in 2007 and increasing the amount to $7,000 the past couple of years.

SEE GENEROSITY, Page 8

Page 8 • January 25 — February 24, 2021 • SOUTHGATE STAR

GENEROSITY

Continued from page 7

“We were afraid that it might be all that we would raise this year due to our closing from COVID-19, but we were shocked,” Woelkers said.

Without the in-house contests to provide the money, Woelkers and company decided to collect returnable cans and bottles – more than 60,000 in all.

They hit social media and asked bowlers and other Facebook followers to donate the returnables at a time when stores were not accepting cans and bottles due to the pandemic.

For months, they stored the 10-cent containers one by one wherever they could find space – in their garages, under the Woelkers deck at home and in a large storage area donated by Biddle Bowl business neighbor Bentley Banquet Center.

When stores began accepting the returnable containers again, Woelkers, his wife Valarie and Sadler made countless trips to the Meijer store in Taylor, the Kroger store in Southgate and a couple other places.

Woelkers said their plea for returnables also generated two checks worth more than $2,000 from “angels” Susan Lapage and Tim Collins.

As a result, the Biddle Bowl team was able to present two checks to the Goodfellows totaling more than $10,000 for the year 2020: one in July for $3,500 and a second in December for a second check for more than $6,500.

Browning said the funds and others raised by area businesses and individuals will be used to provide “no child without a Christmas” gifts for 2021.

“Even we can’t believe it,” Woelkers said. “We would like to thank all our customers, family, friends and friends of friends who without their help this would not be possible. We are going to continue collecting returnables during 2021 that can be dropped off any time in our storage containers at the side of our building on Labadie Street at 708 Biddle Avenue in Wyandotte.”

The family also thanked management at The Bentley for providing storage along with operators of Shoppers Valley, Discount Drinks and Mac’s Liquor for supplying boxes to use to collect the cans and bottles.

Woelkers said Goodfellows is Biddle Bowl’s charity of choice because of Ray Walters Jr., who bowled in a Monday night league for 30 years. Walters owned a hobby shop and brought in a giant stuffed animal to raffle off at the bowling center with all proceeds going to Goodfellows.

“My sister said, ‘we could help out here.’” Woelkers said. “We have a good customer base.

“We have always thought Goodfellows was a great local cause. Our experience has been good. They don’t hold back any money. They’re all volunteers. It just seems like a local cause. Because of that, we felt it was important.”

Also important: the ability for Biddle Bowl to reopen.

At first, Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced bowling centers, movie theaters and other entertainment venues could open for limited participation to help control the rise of coronavirus cases. Woelkers said bowlers are wearing masks and the bar is unable to open so far. Hours vary daily.

Browning said the Wyandotte Goodfellows were able to help 68 families and 197 children at “The only word I can say is ‘wow!’”

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Ryan Gorgon, grandson of Biddle Bowl’s Robert and Valarie Woelkers, helps load empty returnable containers to return to stores as part of the fundraising efforts for the Wyandotte Goodfellows.

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Page 14 • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • SOUTHGATE STAR

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POLICE

Continued from page 1 can improve relationships between officers and the public.

“Having good rapport with the public is very important to us,” he said.

“It’s part of our growth.

We’re all centered on providing the best level of service we can and growing and getting better.”

Southgate recently improved its policy on the use of force, which meets the conditions for certification under the guidelines of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police and the Department of Justice. The certification enables the police agency to qualify for federal grants over a three-year period.

“People want us to be open and communicate with them,” Marsh said. “We’re building relationships and have transparency here. Last year, when I sat down with individual groups during demonstrations, we had open dialog. We want to help facilitate more of that.”

Modernizations in the

department computer system should be implemented in April and May. “These are things that help us provide new and efficient service,” Marsh said.

The new public safety director said he would like to hire additional officers to grow the Police Department from its current staff of 37 officers to its budgeted manpower of 42, while growing the Fire Department from 26 to 28. The police officer count is down due to recent retirements. A recruitment effort will continue through such training locations at Oakland Community College and Schoolcraft College.

“I found that being a patrol officer was a fun job,” said Chief Mydlarz. “It was never boring. I really enjoyed it.”

To apply to become a Southgate police officer or firefighter, visit the city website and fill out an application. For more information, call a supervisor at (734) 2583045.

Joseph Marsh, new Southgate Director of Public Safety Born and raised in Detroit, Joe Marsh followed his stepfather Michael Climie – a retired Detroit police officer – into law enforcement.

“Growing up around police officers, I saw the camaraderie among them and what they did for the community,” Marsh said. “That was something appealing to me.”

After six years in the Marine Reserves, he joined the Detroit Police Department, serving three years before getting hired in Southgate. He has spent time as a field training officer, a background investigator, a member of the DEA Task Force and a shift lieutenant. He served a year as chief of police before his promotion in January to director of public safety, succeeding Jeffrey Smith.

In all, he has 21 years of law-enforcement experience.

Marsh believes in bettering himself through education. After spending his youth in Catholic schools, he has earned an associates degree in criminal justice from Schoolcraft College, a bachelor’s degree from Madonna University and a master’s degree from Michigan State University. In 2019, he completed the Eastern Michigan University School of Police Staff and Command executive leadership program.

Marsh and his wife of 12 years Purity have two daughters, 11-year-old Sophia and 10-yearold Ella.

Mark Mydlarz, new Southgate Chief of Police After living nearly all of his life in Southgate, Mark Mydlarz followed in the footsteps of his father, the now-retired Sgt. Gordon Mydlarz, and joined the Police Department in November 2000.

He started as a patrol officer, was a field training officer and a motorcycle officer and coordinated new hires in training. He also has been assigned to the Michigan State Police Downriver Area Narcotics Unit (DRANO) prior to his promotion to lieutenant in 2015. He was named chief of police in January, succeeding new Director of Public Safety Joseph Marsh.

Mydlarz earned a bachelor’s degree in public safety studies from Siena Heights University in 2020. Prior to that, he earned an associates degree at Schoolcraft College and attended the EMU School of Staff and Command.

“It’s important to protect and serve my hometown,” he said. “Living here a majority of my life, I feel a sense of looking out for my hometown and community and I want a safe place for my family and daughter.”

Mydlarz and wife Jasmine have a 13-yearold daughter Taylor, who attends Southgate Anderson High School.

Retiring director of public safety starts new position DAVE GORGON Southgate Star

Jeffrey Smith has retired as Southgate’s director of public safety after a 27-year career in law enforcement.

A week later, Smith started his new role as administrator of the 28th District Court, succeeding Jeff Meussner, who served seven years in the top administrative position in the Southgate court. Both are former chiefs of police in the city.

Smith was appointed to the new position by new 28th District Court Judge Elisabeth Mullins, who was elected in November to succeed the retiring Judge James Kandrevas, a former Southgate mayor.

Longtime court employee Wendy Hoagland has been named deputy

court administrator.

As court administrator, Smith is responsible for the overall operation of the court, ranging from the court budget to grants, from personnel to payroll – and all the reporting that comes with the job.

“I’m looking forward to the challenges that await me,” Smith said. “I’ve spent plenty of time in the court (as a police officer). Of course, it’s different when you walk in (for a case) and walk away as opposed to being involved in the operational side of the court.”

Smith had been director of public safety for the past four years, overseeing both the Police Department and the Fire Department. During the four years before that, he served as police chief.

A native of Trenton and resident of

Southgate, Smith decided to become a police officer while working in retail loss prevention for Meijer at the Woodhaven store. He said he got to know members of the Woodhaven Police Department who suggested he would be “a good fit” as a police officer.

He was hired by Southgate and worked in a variety of roles, including 15 years patrolling city streets on a motorcycle. He worked as a traffic safety officer, field training officer and supervisor. He was an instructor in radar and laser. He attended the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

“Southgate always came up as a good safe city,” he said. “They had an excellent police staff when I started and it’s still excellent today.”

Smith is credited with modernizing

the Police Department’s rules and regulations and making a variety of improvements to the police headquarters and jail. He upgraded the camera system in patrol cars and the security cameras around the police station and court, going from analog cameras to digital.

Smith has been married to wife Robin for more than 25 years. They have two adult children: son Michael, who graduated as a business major from the University of Michigan and has begun working in commercial insurance in Massachusetts, and daughter Kasey, who is studying radiology technology in her first year of college at Henry Ford College.

He enjoys riding his motorcycle and traveling.

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SOUTHGATE STAR • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • Page 15

Page 16 • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • SOUTHGATE STAR

Have an Event or Fundraiser? Let us know at 734-282-3939

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SOUTHGATE STAR • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • Page 17

dave gorgon Southgate Star

A love of nature led future Eagle Scout Sebastian Prunty to build bat boxes along the nature trails behind the senior center at Riverview’s Young Patriots Park.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 1795, Prunty guided the creation of the boxes, which provide shelter for bats, a species known to be in decline in the United States.

The project is one of the last steps before a Boy Scout can become an Eagle Scout, which is the highest rank in Scouting. Scoutmaster Kevin Bowlby of Wyandotte said Prunty is the 16th member of the troop to complete an Eagle project since he founded the troop in 2007 and the fifth in the last 12 months.

Prunty, a 17-year-old Riverview resident and a senior at Riverview Community High School, chose the bat boxes as his project after a conversation with Mayor Andrew Swift, who had several ideas for projects that would fill needs in the city.

“Since COVID-19 and the restrictions on places to go with groups, my friends and I started hanging out at the Southgate and Riverview nature trails,” Prunty said.

“The bat boxes the Mayor suggested seemed to fit in with my love of nature and will help bring bats, who not only help naturally control the insect population, but help pollinate plants and scatter seeds.”

Prunty’s mother Tonya Smith is advancement coordinator and assistant scoutmaster in the troop. She said an Eagle Scout project leader must come up with specifications and dimensions for the project, seek volunteers to help, assign tasks and guide the way.

Other Scouts and volunteers performed such tasks as cutting wood for the boxes, waterproofing, woodburning the name of the troop and “scoring” the wood, which creates deep grooves from which the bats can cling, followed by nailing the boxes into the trees.

Smith said Scouts and other

volunteers followed COVID-19 protocol, including wearing masks and having their temperatures taken before participating in the work.

She said Sebastian provided tables and hand sanitizer and assigned tools to the helpers.

“We’ve got a great Sebastian Prunty troop,” Smith said. “They always help each other out.”

The effort impressed Mayor Swift, who said, “Sebastian did a great job getting this Eagle project done with all the obstacles that COVID has thrown in his way.”

The Riverview Parks and Recreation Department signed off on the project.

Smith and her family moved to Riverview about five years ago from Elkridge, Maryland, where Sebastian was heavily involved since the fifth grade in Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts and heavily involved in his youth group at St. Augustine Catholic Church.

Smith called her son “a great kid.”

She said he helps out around the house and aids his grandmother, who is disabled. Besides school, he works full time at Tim Horton’s at Allen Road near Goddard in Taylor.

Prunty made a smooth transition to Scouting in Michigan. Smith said he was looking for a troop that was active outdoors and he hit the ground

running with Troop 1795, which is based in Southgate and includes 32 boys from all over the Downriver area and even into Dearborn.

“Our troop focuses on learning through fun,” said Scoutmaster Bowlby, who is an engineer with the Ford Motor Co. “We camp constantly – every month, 12 months a year, every year until COVID messed it up. The boys like that they are getting outside.”

Prunty said he enjoys the variety of things to do in Boy Scouts.

“One week, you’re camping in a tent deep in the woods and the next you’re flying in a single-engine plane as you work on your Aviation Merit Badge,” he said. “Scout(ing) gives you the chance to get a taste of things you might not be able to in school or other extracurricular activities.

I’ve been able to learn to shoot a rifle, build an instrument, learn about geology and become better at chess, and I get to decide if it’s something I’d like to pursue further.”

Bowlby said: “Sebastian is a natural leader. The other Scouts just naturally flock to him. If he decides we need to go on a hike, 20 people line up to go on a hike. If he decides he wants to play a game, everybody plays a game.”

“Working on rank advancements and merit badges has taught me discipline and how to finish what I’ve started,” Prunty said.

“It’s also taught me leadership skills and how to mentor and teach others.

It’s taught me to not only work alone on what you want to accomplish, but that you have to also work as a team at times. I think all of this will help with any future goals I have.”

Younger brother Reese, now 13, also is active in Scouts. He is beginning to work toward his Eagle rank. Reese, Sebastian and even their mother are members of the Order of the Arrow, which is the National Honor Society of the Boy Scouts of America. It consists of members who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers.

For more information on Boy Scout Troop 1795, send an email to Scoutmaster Bowlby at scoutmaster1795@yahoo.com.

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Eagle Scout project puts bat boxes in Riverview nature trail

Page 18 • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • SOUTHGATE STAR

Suggestions or Comments? We are listening at 734-282-3939

Southgate’s new Superintendent has a wide and deep resume PAULA NEUMAN Southgate Star

The Southgate Community School District’s new superintendent of schools, Sharon Irvine, brings a wealth of experience and a passion for all aspects of education to the district.

She began her career as an elementary and middle school teacher, and also coached volleyball and gymnastics.

“I chose to be a teacher to make a difference,” Irvine said. “I chose to go into administration because I noticed what a difference an administrator makes in a teacher’s ability to teach and children’s ability to learn.”

She was hired by the Board of Education in November to replace retiring Supt. Jill Pastor, who served the district for more than 25 years.

Irvine, an Ypsilanti resident, started her Southgate job Jan. 4. Before that, she was assistant superintendent of labor relations and personnel in Brighton; and before that, assistant superintendent, chief operating officer and human resources director in Warren. Before that, she was assistant superintendent for human resources in Ypsilanti after serving there and in Plymouth as a building principal.

Along the way, she earned a law degree from Wayne State University, but her career goal has never wavered from education. She has served as president of the Ypsilanti Board of Education, and she’s now a 2022 candidate for a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from Eastern Michigan University.

“I would say that my education experiences led me to seek a law

degree,” Irvine said. “One of the most important tasks of an educator is problem-solving through complicated legal and educational issues. My commitment to lifelong learning influenced my decision to supplement my education career with a law degree. The degree was especially useful in the field of human resources.”

During her last job post, Irvine earned praise when she served as the district’s chief negotiator with the teachers’ union during difficult contract talks, which ultimately led to agreement.

She’s an administrator, but she’s

also a supporter of unions.

“I believe in the organization of labor because it makes workplaces better,” Irvine said. “I fundamentally believe that our interests in quality schools align. Establishing mutual trust is the most critical part of the (negotiating) process.”

Her goals for the Southgate district are to strengthen the community and the district together — to “grow programs and opportunities for children, energize Titan pride and make the school district Southgate’s best choice,” she said.

Irvine’s first challenge will be getting elementary and middle school

students back into optional in-person classrooms starting Jan. 25.

“We will have layers of safety protocols to make it work,” she said.

Irvine grew up on a horse ranch in Stockton, Calif., and besides spending lots of time with horses, she took care of rabbits.

“I was in charge of our evergrowing fluffle (the name for a colony of bunnies) of rabbits,” she said. “That turned out to be a much bigger job than I expected.”

She was also “the bookworm of all bookworms.”

“I taught myself Spanish through books and records that I checked out of the library,” Irvine said. “I was known to check out the occasional gymnastics book and ask anyone around to spot me while I tried new things.”

Today, she’s an avid reader of history, and her interests are many and varied.

“I love watching football, playing the piano, karaoke, cooking, traveling and reading,” Irvine said. “As a young adult, I loved the cities. After 20 years of administration, I love the quiet solace of nature.”

What hasn’t changed over the years is her commitment to the education of children.

“I am passionate about the social, mental and physical well-being of children,” Irvine said. “I am also passionate about the relationship between schools and communities.”

What should Southgate parents know about her that they won’t find in her resume?

“I will care for their children as if they are my own,” Irvine said.

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CULINARY CAPERS

Photo courtesy Heyer family

Getting creative for causes Woman raises funds for senior prom, softball team and other community needs

A nurse from Southgate has been creatively using social media to raise funds for a high school prom, a school softball team and other community needs.

Becky Heyer, whose daughter Brianna is a member of the senior class at Southgate Anderson High School, has raised tens of thousands of dollars by auctioning off prizes on a Facebook page called “Spinning for fun for the Titan Class of 2021.”

The original goal was to raise enough money to fund a prom for Brianna and her classmates, assuming the COVID-19 global pandemic subsides and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer allows public gatherings by then.

The raffles have been a success. More than $23,000 has been raised toward a prom or a senior class pre-graduation banquet, plus $7,000 for the Anderson softball team, a donation to a Go-Fund-Me account to meet the needs of a Southgate family, Christmas presents for five Southgate families facing hardships, Christmas holiday hams for every police officer and firefighter in the city and Christmas poinsettias for Heyer’s co-workers at Beaumont Trenton Hospital.

Heyer has been in communication with the proprietors of the famed Roostertail club along the riverfront in Detroit who have agreed to provide an outdoor location for a prom in May, providing everything else falls into place.

“They are preparing for outdoor venues on their acreage, so fingers crossed a prom will be a go there,” Heyer said. “It’s looking more promising. It’s so exciting.”

She said she is hopeful that a senior banquet will take place later in May at Crystal Gardens just before the Class of 2021 graduates.

Heyer came up with the concept of the fundraiser at a time when members of her daughter’s class had not had any face-to-face interaction, including in the classroom, due to the pandemic.

Heyer’s Facebook fundraising has more than 1,200 followers who agree to pay a virtual fee on a per-drawing basis when they see something they want to win. Once an auction sells out, a wheel is spun using an app and the winner gets the prize.

Recent prizes have included jewelry, vacuum cleaners, gift cards for local restaurants, lottery tickets and cash.

In celebration of January as National Oatmeal Month, I’ve spent the last EVELYN two weeks testing CAIRNES recipes for America’s Southgate Star fifth most popular cookie — oatmeal. Other favorites, according to Spoon University, are shortbread, fourth; gingerbread, third; snickerdoodles, second; and, of course, chocolate chip, first.

In my quest for an outstanding oatmeal cookie, I baked 13 dozen batches of five different recipes, from soft to crisp, with and without raisins.

The best, according to my trusty tasters (and yours truly), was an addictive coconut oatmeal cookie with nuts, and the second-best, the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe on the lid of the Quaker Oatmeal box. The latter yields 4 dozen, so because I made the recipe twice, baking the batches 9 to 13 minutes, for soft to firm cookies, I had loads to give away or freeze.

OATMEAL COCONUT DELECTABLES (From Janice Grimshaw of Tampa, Fla.) 1 cup sifted flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup brown sugar, packed ½ cup softened butter 1 egg 1 tablespoon cold water 1 teaspoon vanilla 1½ cups quick oatmeal ¼ cup chopped nuts ½ cup shredded coconut Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into mixer bowl. Add sugars, butter, egg, water and vanilla; mix at medium speed 2 minutes. Add oatmeal, nuts and coconut and mix at medium speed about 1 minute. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased or parchment-lined cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake about 12 minutes until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack while hot. Makes 33 to 40 cookies.

VANISHING QUAKER OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES ½ cup butter (1 stick) plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened

¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar ½ cup granulated sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1½ cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt (optional) 1 cup raisins 3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or oldfashioned), uncooked Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well. Add oats and raisins; mix well. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonsful onto ungreased cookie sheets (I used parchment paper instead). Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets, then remove to wire rack to cool completely. Store tightly covered. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

••• Another oatmeal treat is the following recipe from the Betty Crocker website: APPLE CRISP WITH OATS Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

For Streusel: In a medium bowl, mix ¾ cup flour, ¾ cup old-fashioned oats, ½ cup packed brown sugar and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Cut in ½ cup cold butter, cut in pieces, using a fork or pastry blender, until mixture is crumbly. Do not overmix. Set aside.

For Filling: 6 cups peeled tart apples cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 6 medium apples) ½ cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon lemon juice In a large bowl, mix filling ingredients until well-coated. Spread in baking dish. Sprinkle with streusel.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes until topping is golden brown, juices bubbling along edges and apples are fork-tender. (I baked it about 15 minutes longer.) Cool about 20 minutes before serving.

HAPPY OATMEAL MONTH! Please consider sharing your favorite oatmeal recipe with Culinary Capers readers. Email it to Evycairns@aol.com

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SOUTHGATE STAR • January 25 ­— February 24, 2021 • Page 19

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