Excitement in the air

Mobile Blog 1
April 30, 2010
I am outside Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor to get a general feel for the president's visit tommorow. Already you can tell security is tight. Just approaching the gates to the stadium I was asked what the purpose of my business is. Overall there is an excitement in the air that radiates with the students. A lot of students are excited the president is speaking directly to them tommorow.

Mobile uploads

The Chelsea Standard and Dexter Leader has set up their mobile blog just in time for President Obama's commencement speech at U of M! Check back with us throughout the morning as our editor, Daniel Lai, posts about his experience.

"That's some high quality H2O!"

Chelsea City Water Department assistant Craig McGregor attended the American Water Works Association’s regional meeting in Kalamazoo April 15, where samples of the city's drinking water were entered into competition.
The city's water competed against other municipalities from all over the region. The judging criteria included best appearance and best taste of municipal water at room temperature.
Chelsea's water also took first place in the regional competition in 2008.The City Water Department will enter into the state finals competition in August.

Earth Day snapshots in Dexter

Every school at Dexter Community Schools planted trees donated by Lodi Farms in honor of Earth Day. All of the students participated in digging and planting the tree. The students will also maintain the trees for growth.

Auction will benefit Chelsea Hospital

The 25th annual Chelsea Community Hospital spring auction will take place May 8 at the IBEW Local 252 Hall, 7920 Jackson Road. Proceeds from the event will help fund the equipment and facilities necessary to begin providing chemotherapy infusion services for cancer patients at CCH. To date, $300,000 of the needed $500,000 has been raised through generous donations from the community, the Chelsea Community Hospital Auxiliary, hospital special events, and
“It’s a Great Day to Be Alive” fundraiser held in Dexter in 2009.

The silent auction, raffle, strolling buffet, and dessert bar will begin at 6:30 p.m., followed by the exciting live auction at 8:30 p.m., conducted by auctioneer Steve Gross.

The event is themed “Rhinestone Cowboy,” and guests are encouraged to don their favorite cowboy gear. Prizes for best men’s and women’s costumes will be awarded. Scott Moore and Misha Strauss-Moore are this year’s auction chairpersons. The co-chairpersons are Kathy and Lou Magagna. Honorary chairpersons for the event are Patrick Conlin and Elaine Economou.

“The auction is a fun night to get together with fellow community members and support the hospital at the same time,” said Judy Stratman, director of development. “It’s a win-win situation when the guests have fun and support our new infusion center at the same time.”

Stratman emphasized that all the money raised in Chelsea stays in Chelsea.

“Our community has really stepped up to show their support for our new infusion center. We’re so grateful for their generosity and we’re pleased to tell them that every penny they donate goes directly to the betterment of our community hospital, here in Chelsea,” she said.

Many local community members and businesses have generously donated items for the event. Live auction highlights include trips to New York City, Savannah, Ga. and Cancun, Mexico, along with jewelry from La Jolla Fine Jewelry and a gourmet dinner prepared in your home by executive chef Bill Collins of Barton Hills.

Silent auction and raffle highlights include original artwork from local artists, golf at several local golf courses, Cedar Point tickets, bikes, recreational equipment, and more.Tickets are $100 each and can be purchased by calling Patty Roberts at 1-734-475-4040, Ext. 3542, or e-mail proberts@cch.org. After May 15, the entire auction program will be available online at www.cch.org/events

Blessing of the Bikes set for weekend

Listen up road hogs, the St. Louis Center's annual Blessing of the Bikes event takes place this weekend in Chelsea. For all of those who plan on cruising the blue highways this summer, I encourage you to stop by the St. Louis Center for an hour or two and receive your blessing for a safe riding season. In addition, your donation helps a worthy cause. It's two birds with one stone. Good food, good music and a great way to start off the summer vacation season.

If you want more information about this event, visit http://www.stlouiscenter.org/.

Heritage staff win SPJ awards

Three Heritage Newspapers reporters swept the sports columnist category in the Society of Professional Journalists Detroit chapter’s 2009 Excellence in Journalism Awards.

At a dinner held April 14 at the San Marino Club in Troy, Jana Miller, Mike Larson and Don Richter won first through third place, respectively, in the sports columnist category in print, Class B, with a circulation less than 100,000.

In addition, reporter Gerald LaVaute won third place for investigative reporting for his piece “Police Compensation Comparison.”

LaVaute is a staff writer for The View in Belleville and The Milan News-Leader.

Miller, a former Saline and Milan sports reporter, is a copy editor and reporter for The Manchester Enterprise. Judges noted that all three of her entries were award worthy. They were “Hush, hush controversy brings sex into sports,” “Academics and athletics can mix” and “Gender equity in sports.”

Richter, a former sports reporter for The Chelsea Standard and The Dexter Leader, now covers sports for The Saline Reporter and The Milan News-Leader. His winning piece was his farewell column to Chelsea and Dexter readers.

Larson, a sports reporter for The Ann Arbor Journal, a new publication launched July 9, 2009, by Heritage Newspapers, won for his column “Medal More than Award.” This is the first award produced from the A2 Journal. The other Heritage publications have a long history of winning journalism awards in the SPJ contest, as well as in the Michigan Press Association Better Newspapers Contest and Suburban Newspapers of America editorial contest.

This year’s competition was judged by the North Central Florida Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, SPJ Minnesota Pro Chapter and Chicago Headline Club.

More than 100 Excellence in Media awards were given to area journalists during the banquet.

Alice in Wonderland coming to Chelsea

Our freelance photographer, Burrill Strong, recently captured a few behind the scenes images of "Alice in Wonderland, Jr." as performed by The Chelsea Area Players Youth Theatre.

Here is the link to the photos:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Saline-MI/The-Chelsea-Standard-and-Dexter-Leader/286065689869?ref=ts

The Chelsea Area Players Youth Theatre presents “Alice In Wonderland Jr." at Beach Middle School, 445 Mayer Drive, Chelsea. Performances are April 16 at 7 p.m.; April 17 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.; and April 18 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students. They are available at Chelsea Pharmacy, online at www.chelseaareaplayers.org, by phone at 1-800- 838-3006, and at the door.

Weighty Tasks

There's nothing like personally trying something to really ram it home.

Today, after a lovely lunch at Common Grill catching up with a former newsy co-worker, I headed to the Chelsea fire station for a story.

Originally, I thought it would be an easy, two phone call deal, but the chief asked me to come to the firehouse to speak to him personally about it instead.

So I did.

And, if you've been reading this blog for a while, you know I have nothing but the utmost respect for my fire department.

I know, I know, it's the Chelsea Area Fire Authority, but, for the purposes of this blog, department it shall be.

Knowing most of the guys at the fire house and having seen them in action on numerous occasions, it's one of the many things that gives me peace of mind every night.

I don't want to give away the gist of the story but I had NO idea that these guys carry 75 pounds of stuff on their backs. Think about that. The gear, hats, masks and air tanks they wear are heavy.


Really heavy.


I guess in all my fire coverage, it never occurred to me how heavy.

Now I know.

Especially when I attempted to pick up an almost 100-pound bag that was filled with fire hose. Of course, I had no idea it weighed that much. On the outside, it didn't look that heavy.

But looks can be deceiving.

Even the air tanks they wear on their backs aren't like picking up a plastic bag overfilled with canned goods.

These babies are heavy, too.

And those bags they arrive with when out on a medical call?

They weight between 50-75 pounds.

Yikes.

Think about tromping up a couple flights of stairs carrying 50-75 pounds, adrenalin racing because there's a person in trouble.

Now I know that pumping adrenalin can give people super powers because I actually moved a car one time in this state, but, I wasn't wearing 75 pounds of stuff and carrying another 100 pounds.

And I was 30 years younger.

Today, just attempting to lift some of that stuff off the ground was a struggle.

And these guys carry some of this stuff multiple times a day.

So next time you see a fire truck with its bells and sirens whirling, thank your lucky stars that these guys can carry this stuff and please pull over and get out of their way.

It's a weighty job.

Chelsea Orchestra show sounds promising

As I am slowly becoming integrated into the Chelsea and Dexter communities, I am learning something new every day. There is definitely a lot going on these two communities. For instance, the Chelsea Orchestra is performing their hometown concert April 17 at the Washington Street Education Center. The concert takes place at 7 p.m.

The Chelsea House Orchestra consists of very talented musicians from Chelsea High School. Throughout the year and across the United States, CHO performs its own unique versions of “Celtic with a Kick” music to thousands of people at festivals, fairs and other public and private venues.

Under the direction of the award winning musical director, Jed Fritzemeier, the CHO provides an eclectic mix of music and movement with the majority of the music derived from traditional Celtic sources.

The Beach Middle School Fiddle Club, under the direction of Nathan Peters, will open the show with its own lively version of fiddle music.

Tickets are on sale now and are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Tickets can be purchased via e-mail at tickets@chelseahouseorchestra.org or in person at Chelsea Pharmacy,1125 South Main St.