the
TOWER Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017
Volume 89
Issue 16
@thetowerpulse
A weekly tradition since 1928 Grosse Pointe South 11 GP Blvd. Grosse Pointe Farms, MI 48236
[DIVERSITY] PHOTOS BY LAUREN THOM ’18
Diversity. Unity. Strength. Flip to page 4 for a special on diversity in South.
Mindful student helps Unique library solve home invasion club in the books JOHN FRANCIS ‘18 | Supervising Editor There’s always an extra spring in one’s step on their way home from a day of final or midterm exams during the very stressful week of half days and all nighters, staying up studying or cramming that math note card. As soon as I hung up with Add in some headphones and a good 911, I called my dad, and tune and one is in Joey he was in shock. All he said Ambrozy ’18’s shoes. Walking home down was I’ll be home in a secMcKinley, just about a ond. block from his home, SAM NEHRA ’18 he noticed something unusual unfolding at a neighbor’s house. “I look over, and I see some odd man walk out of the Nehra’s house, and I’ve known the kid (Sam Nehra ’18) my whole life. I didn’t know about this guy though,” Ambrozy said. Feeling suspicious about the man, Ambrozy stayed on the other side of the street. He kept the stranger in sight, while noticing an overflowing backpack on the man’s shoulders. “About 15 seconds later his backpack opened and all this stuff started falling out. The main thing I had seen (falling out) were gift cards,” Ambrozy said. “I’m like ‘OK he’s picking that stuff up, whatever.’ Then at the same time a car pulls up, the white truck, and he leaves in it. He left all the cards on the ground, but he did have the backpack still.”
THE SCENE | Nehra’s house is on McKinley. His house was robbed during midterms week. PHOTO BY JOHN FRANCIS ’18
Soon after the truck fled the scene, Ambrozy went up to the gift cards on the ground, gathered them and proceeded to contact Nehra. “I was in Ms. McCulloch’s room getting some help before the midterm and I got a text and he (Ambrozy) said someone robbed my house,” Nehra said. “By 11:41 I was at my house and the robbers had already left. I wasn’t really scared for myself but more for my brother who was sleeping the whole time.” Luke Nehra ’20-- Sam’s younger brother-- was home
during the entirety of the home invasion. Due to Luke being home for the incident, the two men are being charged with home invasion in the first degree, due to someone being home while the break in occurs. Luke was in the basement of the house, and simply disregarded the footsteps upstairs, thinking it was probably his dad stopping home. “I went upstairs and looked and everything was gone,” Sam recalls. “As soon as I hung up with 911, I called my dad, and he was in shock; all he said was ‘I’ll be home in a second.’” Officer Paul Raygaert of the Farms Police Dept., speaking on behalf of Sergeant John Bruno, the arresting officer, gave insight to the police report regarding the arrest of the thieves. “As the vehicle passed Sgt. Bruno, he observed that the vehicle was bearing a paper type plate which was duct taped to the rear bumper,” Officer Paul Raygaert said. “The vehicle went northbound on Meriweather at a high rate of speed, then Sgt. Bruno was able to catch up to the vehicle on Mack Ave.” The truck made a final turn into the parking lot of the Riverview Health & Rehab Center located past the McDonald’s. Sgt. Bruno blocked the only exit with his car and shined his headlight. After running ID checks on both men, he realized the driver had a suspended license and the passenger had an outstanding felony warrant in Clinton Twp. for burglary. The Grosse Pointe News reported that the two men’s names are Anthony Edward Marino and Brian John Patterson. They both face a trial ahead with punishments ranging from 1 to 20 years in prison, and fines are applicable up to $20,000. These charges are among many others the two men have pending or are now being charged with due to the break in. According to Sam Nehra, these men had worked on the Nehra home doing work on the windows. I went upstairs and The thieves managed to locate a hid- everything was gone. As den key just outside soon as I hung up with 911, the door, and made I called my dad, and he was their way through in shock; all he said was the house. “We ran upstairs ‘I’ll be home in a second.’ and looked at all the rooms. Everything SAM NEHRA’18 had gotten ransacked, sheets on the ground, closets opened. Everything was everywhere,” Ambrozy said. The family has felt a significant impact from this incident. “We used to have an alarm system, but we turned it off. We didn’t think we needed it, but now it’s back on as of two days ago, and the key is gone too,” Sam said.
THIS WEEK AT SOUTH...
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Student Count Day will determine school funding for the 20172018 school year.
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RACHEL HARRIS ‘18 | Supervising Editor In the center of the South library, under the flags and sunlight streaming through the windows, is a table decorated with an array of books, each individually wrapped in Valentine’s Day wrapping paper. This “Blind Book Date” table was created by the library’s new Teen Advisory Board, a group of students that spend time in the library and wish to use their creative talents, Advisory Board member Morgan McVicar ’18 said. McVicar said she had been spending a lot of her time in the library helping librarian Courtney McGuire, who suggested starting a library club for students. According to McGuire, the board’s first project involved donating books to South’s Adopt-a-Family organization during the holiday season. “We just started at Christmas time gathering different books that were in really good shape or were brand new, and we packaged them up and we delivered them to every Adopt-a-Family room for students,” McGuire said. “They might get nice, wonderful toys, but we still need to promote the love of literacy and reading, and actually many of the kids had put that on their list.” Students who were on the board helped McGuire bring in books to donate, package them and deliver them to classrooms, McGuire said. After the holidays, the board began transitioning into the idea of the “Blind Book Date” table. “If students want to, they can take a chance at a blind date of a book, and we’ll have a brief description, like a few adjectives (on the wrapping paper),” McGuire said. “They can take a chance and see if they might fall in love with it, or they may come back and it might not be the right mix.” The board will be wrapping books and including the description of the book on the outside, Payton Murray ’17 said. These books will be on the center table in the library, and students are able to pick out a book to read for over mid-winter break. Along with these two projects, the board will be organizing crafts in the library for students to take a break from their studies and do, McVicar said. “I set up a table in the library to make ornaments out of reusable books that we have,” McVicar said. “There is a cabinet of books, and it says to use them for art crafts, and no one really knows that you can actually rip pages out and use them for crafts. We’re going to be doing a lot more crafts with those books so that they can get reused.” For Murray, seeing McVicar and McGuire enjoying a craft prompted her to join and helps to relieve stress from school. According to McVicar, the board is open to anyone who wants to join during 1st lunch on Mondays in the library computer lab. “If you want to show up one week and not show up the other, then that is fine too,” McVicar said. “It’s a non-commitment type of thing, and it opens you to not only the books, but other crafty ideas of how to help other people.” McGuire said students are also able to come spend time in the library during tutorial due to before and after school often being a busy time for students. “To me, I think sometimes you guys just need a break,” McGuire said. It’s just an open space where you guys can come and hang out. It’s whatever the kids are in the mood for. Whenever you have time or the interest, come hang out.
BLIND BOOK DATE | Students can stop by the library and pick up a “Blind Book Date” mystery gift-wrapped book for the holidays. PHOTO BY PHOEBE MIRIANI ‘18
The varsity girls hockey team takes on Ann Arbor Skyron at 5:30 p.m. at East Side Arena.
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The class of 2018 is holding a lasertag outing from 4-9 p.m. Tickets are sold during lunch for $10 per game.