1. shopping
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www.troy-somersetgazette.com
troy-somersetGAZETTE
Our 35th Year Serving Troy’s Business Community Every Monday
Monday, Dec. 22, 2014
Paths, Trails
& a Dog Park
Again on
City’s Agenda
Vol. 35, No. 16
Join the December
Blood Drive at Troy
Community Center
To supplement critically low
blood supplies in the area, the City of
Troy is sponsoring a Red Cross Blood
Drive on Friday, December 26 from 9
am – 9 p.m. at the Troy Community
Center (Room 305), 3179 Livernois.
The Community Affairs Office at
City Hall is now scheduling appointments at 800-733-2767 or 313-549-7058.
You may also sign up by visiting
www.redcrossblood.org. The access
code for the site is troy.
Walk-ins are welcome, but a photo
ID or Red Cross Donor Card will be
required at the time of donation.
Donors must be at least 17 years old,
weigh more than 110 pounds, and be
in good general health to donate.
“The blood needs of our community can only be met by support from
volunteer blood donors,” City of Troy
Community Affairs Director Cindy
Stewart said.
Get Your Year-end
Donations in to the
Salvation Army
Through Dec. 31, patrons are
invited to drop off their gently used
clothing, linens, home goods and
more to receive a 2014 tax receipt. All
34 metro Detroit thrift stores will be
open until midnight on the 31st. Plus,
this year, patrons will also have the
option of dropping off donations at 11
remote drop bins located in GardnerWhite furniture stores across the
metro area, making it easier than ever
for patrons to donate before the ball
drops!
Additionally, The Salvation
Army’s annual New Year’s Day sale
will run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on
Thursday, Jan. 1. Shoppers will
receive 50 percent off clothing, as
well as hourly spot sales across several departments throughout the day.
Inside
6
Classifieds
7
Traditions of Christmas
8
Perspectives by Pete Maurer
where only he and Krista Manfredi
remain of the original staff. So, if you
took auto shop in the old days, or
worked in the Co-op programs, you
probably now “Mr. Gottlieb.”
When the city surveyed residents
back in 2007, trails for walking and biking was their number one priority for
the Parks and Recreation Department’s
master plan. But the recession intervened and work on parks took a back
seat to maintaining city services.
In that survey only 19 percent of
folks called for a dog park. But that number has jumped to 48 percent today,
Kurt Bovensiep, Public Works manager,
reported at last Monday’s Troy City
Council meeting.
So, with an improved economy and
residents still wanting these amenities
in their own city, staff has taken another
look at what it might take to make it happen.
Bovensiep stressed this was not a
request for money, but rather a request
to explore how to get money for trails
and a dog park through grants, and perhaps partnerships.
The goal would be to connect trails
and paths in Troy to the Clinton River
Trail in Auburn Hills.
The trail team hopes to have a trail
from city hall to the proposed dog park,
which is across Livernois on 16-1/2
acres of city land just south of Zion
Christian Church. Then the path would
go from the dog park to Sylvan Glen
Park (think golf course on Rochester
Road).
See COUNCIL SEAT, page 2
See CITY COUNCIL, page 2
NINO SALVAGGIO INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE AND ITS CUSTOMERS HELP TO MAKE CHRISTMAS BRIGHT for
nearly 500 people at Grace Centers of Hope. For the last month, customers have been purchasing side items such as
sweet potatoes and green beans to donate to Grace Centers at the grocers three locations. In addition, Nino’s is donating 25 hams and 25 turkeys to serve as entrees. Pastor Kent W. Clark, CEO of Grace Centers of Hope (above, l-r), Kirk
Taylor, President, Nino Salvaggio International Marketplace, Mickey Dodge, Dir. of Food Services, Grace Centers of
Hope and Marc Berke, Senior Director of Major Gifts, Forgotten Harvest, oversee loading the donation last week.
Nino’s is a regular contributor to Forgotten Harvest. This year alone, they have donated approximately 300,000
pounds of food to the nonprofit.
Gottlieb Claims Seat on Troy City Council
First there were six finalists from
the original slate of 18 citizens who filed
to replace departing Councilman Wade
Fleming, who has been elected to the
Oakland
County
Board
of
Commissioners.
Council narrowed it down to a
slate of six – Steve Gottlieb, Padma
Kuppa, Paul McCown, James Peard,
Steve Toth and Scott Welborn – and set
their interviews for last Monday’s Troy
City Council meeting.
Each of the candidates were asked
exactly the same questions by the six
members of council. Fleming, who was
yet to resign, was not allowed to ask
questions, per the city charter.
At that point the city council meeting resumed, until quite a bit later in the
meeting. Now it was time to vote. First
the council members each got two
votes, that left Steve Gottlieb, Padma
Kuppa, and Paul McCown with three
votes each.
Next round, each council member
got one vote. That resulted in a tie
between Kuppa and McCown at 3-3. It
seemed like this wouldn’t be Gottlieb’s
night.
Council took a break, came back
and voted again. Still a tie. Another
short break. Should they wait until
January to decide? Maybe explore the
candidates a bit more? The charter gave
them 30 days to decide, so January 12
was still all right.
But Councilwoman Ellen Hodorek
said she felt they owned it to citizens
and to the candidates to make a decision. The others seemed to agree.
Here’s an idea, interjected
Councilman Ed Pennington, let’s go
back to the three final candidates and
give each council member two votes
again.
And, that is just what they did.
Gottlieb was back on the ballot. This
time, all of them gave that second vote
to Gottlieb, and the 3/3 split for Kuppa
and McCown continued.
With six votes Gottlieb was awarded the vacant seat on Troy City Council.
He’ll serve until next November’s general election, when he will have to run
again. In fact, most of council will be up
for relection next fall.
Council all agreed that this was a
very hard decision as all the candidates
were extremely well qualified.
Who is Councilman Steve
Gottlieb?
Well, first he’s a long-time Troy resident and one of the original teachers at
Athens High when it opened in 1974,
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Page 2
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“Christmas is a time when you get
homesick - even when you're home. “
—Carol Nelson
December 22, 2014
“He who has not Christmas in his
heart will never find it under a tree.“
—Roy L. Smith
A Dog Park Is High on Residents Request List
CITY COUNCIL, From page 1
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Another segment would go from
Sylvan Glen Park to Firefigthers Park and
could utilize two park parcels the city
owns, North Glen Park and Fire Station 2.
Then from Firefighters Park to the
Clinton River Trail.
While the development hopes to
have minimum routes in subdivisions,
remember this is a pretty well-developed
city. So some bike paths could travel on
residental streets.
Now all of this takes money, an estimated $2,950,000 for the trails and paths
component, and $327,000 for the dog
park.
Why so expensive. Well, Bovensiep
pointed out that unlike Auburn Hills and
Rochester Hills, Troy doesn’t have any
abandoned railroad lines right of way to
use as trails
He noted that statistics show that
people will walk, or bike, eight minutes
to get to a trail, so you really do need
access conveniently located. Paths have
to be 10 feet wide, and while they’re usually blacktop, there will be a lot of them
to put in.
Before drawing up plans for a Troy dog
park, staff visited 20 parks in surrounding cities, taking what they liked and
avoiding what they didn’t like in their
plans.
The Parks & Recreation Board has
already set up a development committee, headed by Steve Toth.
There would be parks for large and
small dogs, bathrooms for their owners
and plenty of parking. But there will also
have to be fences and paths and water
and the ability to rotate the fields if they
get too much use.
The city has these proposed amenities in the budget’s Capital Improvement
Plan, but only for 20 percent of the cost,
and not all in one year.
The team does believe that have
some other members of the community
are willing to step up to push the plans
along, like Phil Sanzica, a member of the
Troy Planning Commission and a member of the Oakland County Water
Resources Commission; and Gary Hauff
of
the
Troy
School
Board,
who also serves on the Parks & Rec
Board. Oh, yes, then there’s SEMCOG,
which calls us “the black hole of Troy,”
Council Picks Gottlieb To
Fill Fleming’s Seat Until Nov.
COUNCIL SEAT, From page 1
If you’ve wanted to build something in Troy over the past year, you
might have met him in his capacity as a
member of the Troy Planning
Commission, from which he will now
have to resign. Mayor Slater gets to
name his replacement.
As for how he sees his job as a councilmember, Gottlieb called it one of
stewardship. Keeping an eye on the
budget, maintaining the fund balance
and the city’s AAA bond rating are high
priorities.
It’s a non-partisan post and Gottlieb
said: “I try to look at all the individuals
and circumstances, based on the best
available information.” He noted he
doesn’t just check a box on a ballot and
will do “what’s in the best interest of all
the community residents...
“We are only here to service our residents; they are our customers.”
because we have not bike trails and
walking paths.
Bovensiep hopes they’ll all lend
support in the city’s efforts to fund that
other 80 percent.
Council seemed willing to let the
committee go ahead and look for money.
As Councilwoman Ellen Hodorek
observed: “This is customer driven.
Let’s see what we can come up with.”
A Christmas Candy Cane
The Christmas Candy Cane originated in Germany about 250 years ago.
They started as straight white sugar
sticks.
A story says that a choirmaster, in
1670, was worried about the children
sitting quietly all through the long
Christmas nativity service. So he gave
them something to eat to keep them
quiet! As he wanted to remind them of
Christmas, he made them into a 'J'
shape like a shepherds crook, to remind
them of the shepherds that visited the
baby Jesus at the first christmas.
However, the earliest records of 'candy
canes' comes from over 200 years later,
so the story, although rather nice, probably isn't true!
Sometime around 1900 the red
stripes were added and they were flavored with peppermint or wintergreen.
GAZETTE NEWSPAPERS, INC.
(248) 524-4868
FAX (248) 524-9140
P.O. Box 482 • Troy, MI 48099
www.troy-somersetgazette.com
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Claire M. Weber
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OFFICE
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Deadline. Classifieds close at 4 p.m.
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WELCOME TO THE RANKS – Mayor Dane Slater, right, welcomed the newest
member of Troy City Council, Steve Gottlieb, to the table at last week’s council meeting. The six remaining members selected Gottlieb to join their ranks
from a list of six finalists to replace Wade Fleming, who was elected in
November to serve on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners.
— photo by Cindy Stewart, City of Troy
We are taking your thoughts, letters
to the editor, and interesting tidbits of
news via the Internet. We’ll accept
messages for the next week’s edition
through Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m.
You can contact us at [email protected].
December 22, 2014
Some Things to Think About
HAPPENINGS... As the Tax Year Is Closing
Upcoming Somerset
Singles Events
In the new year you’ll want to be
there on Tuesday, Jan. 13, for the
SSSGC Dance at River Crest Banquet
Hall, 900 W. Avon Rd, in Rochester
Hills. Bring your friends and enjoy a
night of dancing with the best DJ in
town. Doors open at 7 p.m. Dancing
and socializing from 7:30 p.m. until 11
p.m. Members $6.00, Non-members
$10.00. All are welcome to attend. For
more information, call Bobbie at 586781-4056.
And don’t forget the Meet and
Greet on Tuesday, Jan. 20th, Hamlin
Pub, 55076 Van Dyke, (northeast corner of 25 Mile), with Happy Hour 4 - 6
p.m. Join SSSGC members and guests
at this active sports bar for half off
select appetizers, $3 well drinks, $5
martinis, 1/2 off wine and $6 for medium pizza with one topping. Meet and
mingle with friends. For more information, call Tricia at 586-419-7173.
Want to Learn More
About Computers?
The Sterling Heights Computer
Club will hold its January 2015 monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 6 at
7:30 p.m. The meeting location is the
Macomb Community College South
Campus, in the John Lewis
Community Center (Building K) at
14500 East 12 Mile Road in Warren.
Persons interested in meeting
other computer enthusiasts, in sharing information, and in keeping
abreast of the latest developments in
personal computing are invited to
attend. Also, there is always a question and answer session about equipment and computer programs.
Annual membership dues are $25.
For further information, contact
the Sterling Heights Computer Club
by calling 586-268-6586 (ask for Phil),
write to P.O. Box 385 Sterling Heights
MI 48311, send an e-mail to the club at
info@SterlingHeightsComputer
Club.org, or visit the web page at:
www.SterlingHeightsComputerClub.o
rg
The Renaissance Fencing
Club Hosts Open House
Lose Weight / Get in Shape Fencing is great exercise! According
to the FitBit calculator fencing burns
over 450 calories an hour
The Renaissance Fencing Club is
holding a tournament and open house
on Thursday, January 1st and will
have knowledgeable staff on hand to
explain the benefits of the sport and
discuss membership options to those
interested in learning this fun and
engaging activity.
The Renaissance Fencing Club is
located at 408 Oliver Street in Troy.
IT’S YOUR
MONEY
by
TIM PEARSON
ENROLLED AGENT
As the year winds
down and you are
enjoying the holiday season don’t forget
to review your income tax position as
there are a few things you can do at the
last minute to reduce your tax liability
and several others to watch out for.
If you are feeling charitable consider giving appreciated stock to your
favorite charity. This will avoid capital
gains tax on the appreciation and get a
tax deduction for the market value of
the stock.
Short on cash? Use your credit card
to pay tax-deductible expenses by
December 31. You can deduct the
expenses on your 2014 return even if
you pay the credit card bill in 2015.
If you want to increase your mortgage interest expense deduction this
year, make your January mortgage payment by December 31.
This year’s annual gift tax exclusion
is $14,000. You can gift up to that
amount to as many individuals as you
want without tax consequences. If you
are married both you and your spouse
each can consent to gifting $14,000 to an
individual for a total gift of $28,000. Gifts
are not deductible by the donor and not
taxable to the recipient.
Consider investing in a health savings account (HSA). You get a current
year tax deduction while providing a
savings account to pay your out-of-pocket medical expenses. Funds in the plan
are carried forward for use in future
years. On the plus side, you can make
your 2014 contribution any time up to
April 15, 2015. On the flip side, if you
take funds out for other than medical
expenses, those distributions are taxable.
Look at your portfolio and review
gains and losses. Losses can be used to
offset capital gains thus reducing your
taxable income. Losses in excess of
gains are limited to an annual deduction
of $3,000. Excess losses are carried forward into future years.
Be careful of the “wash sale” rule.
Your loss will be disallowed if you sell a
security and then buy back the same or
a substantially identical security within
a 30 day period before the sale and 30
days after the sale.
Take a look at your retirement plan
as this is one of the best ways to cut
your current tax bill.
This year you can put $17,500 into
your 401 (k). If you are age 50 or over
you can put in another $5,500 to a maxi-
mum of $23,000. SIMPLE retirement
plan limits are $12,000 for those up to 50
and $14,500 for those 50 and above. IRA
limits are $5,500 for those under 50 and
$6,500 for those 50 and older.
Don’t forget to take your minimum
required distribution (RMD) from your
IRA by years’ end if you are over age 70
½. If you just turned 70 ½ this year you
can either take your first RMD or wait
until April 15, 2015. If you wait you’ll
have to take two distributions next year.
Unless you’re still working, these rules
apply to other retirement plans such as
401 (k) s. Distribution rules don’t apply
to Roth IRAs.
If you got married or divorced this
year remember that your tax status is
what your marital status was on
December 31. If you are single you are
considered single for the entire year.
Conversely, if you are married you are
considered married for the entire year.
Further, if you haven’t done any tax planning don’t be surprised if you find unexpected changes in your income tax liability.
You can contract Tim Pearson &
Company, Inc. at 70 West Long Lake
Rd., Suite 118, Troy, Mi 48098. For
more information, call 248-720-0608
or Fax: 248-720-0611. The email
address is: [email protected].
■
“May Peace be your gift at
Christmas and your blessing all year
through!”
—Author Unknown
■
Page 3
“I will honor Christmas in my
heart, and try to keep it all the year.”
—Charles Dickens
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Page 4
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December 22, 2014
Troy Garden Club Salutes Volunteers at Holiday Luncheon
IT WAS A LARGE GATHERING OF LADIES WHO GARDEN at Big Beaver United Methodist Church as members of the
Troy Garden Club enjoyed their annual holiday festivities. Highlight of the day was honoring those whose volunteer
efforts have moved the club forward all year. So many members take part that this year the club named three outstanding volunteers, l-r, Karen Brant, Norine Garavanta and Mary Hrynik.
Troy Historic Village Is Alive With Christmas Music and Cookies, too
THE GIVING CHRISTMAS was celebrated at the village with visit to Mr. & Mrs. Santa Claus, above right, where Alexa
Beben, 2, wasn’t real sure about this adventure. Above, members of the Garden Club, including. l-r, Debbie Hancock,
Mary Schwark and Karol Carter, served cider and cookies to guests of all ages. And the buildings were filled with
music like the harpist, Pat Eisenberger, at Caswell House, at left, and guitar tunes in the general store and even carols from the International Academy East. Making Christmas cards was a fun craft at Poppelton School for little ones
like sisters Addison and Rachel Chapman.
December 22, 2014
The Custom of Poinsettias at Christmas
Poinsettia plants are native to
Central America, especially an area of
southern Mexico known as 'Taxco del
Alarcon' where they flower during the
winter. The ancient Aztecs called them
'cuetlaxochitl'. The Aztecs had many
uses for them including using the flowers (actually special types of leaves
some of the plants back to South
Carolina, where he began growing the
plants and sending them to friends
and botanical gardens.
One of the friends he sent plants
to was John Barroom of Philadelphia,
who gave the plant to his friend,
Robert Buist, a plants-man from
known as bracts rather than being
flowers) to make a purple dye for
clothes and cosmetics and the milky
white sap was made into a medicine to
treat fevers. (Today we call the sap
latex!)
The poinsettia was made widely
known because of a man called Joel
Roberts Poinsett (that's why we call
them Poinsettia!). He was the first
Ambassador from the USA to Mexico
in 1825. Poinsett had some greenhouses on his plantations in South
Carolina, and while visiting the Taco
area in 1828, he became very interested in the plants. He immediately sent
Pennsylvania. Robert Buist was probably the first person to have sold the
poinsettias under their botanical, or
latin name, name 'Euphorbia pulcherrima' (it means, 'the most beautiful
Euphorbia'). It is thought that they
became known as Poinsettia in the
mid 1830's when people found out
who had first brought them to
America from Mexico.
There is an old Mexican legend
about how Poinsettias and Christmas
come together, it goes like this:
There was once a poor Mexican
girl called Pepita who had no present
to give the baby Jesus at the
Au Courant
Interior Design Studio
— Rick Carmody
Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita
walked to the chapel, sadly, her cousin
Pedro tried to cheer her up.
'Pepita.' he said, "I'm sure that
even the smallest gift, given by someone who loves him will make Jesus
Happy."
Pepita didn't know what she
could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and
made them into a small bouquet. She
felt embarrassed because she could
only give this small present to Jesus.
As she walked through the chapel to
the altar, she remembered what Pedro
had said. She began to feel better,
knelt down and put the bouquet at the
bottom of the nativity scene.
Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst
into bright red flowers, and everyone
who saw them were sure they had
seen a miracle. From that day on, the
bright red flowers were known as the
'Flores de Noche Buena,' or 'Flowers of
the Holy Night'.
The shape of the poinsettia flower
and leaves are sometimes thought as a
symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which
led the Wise Men to Jesus. The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of
Christ. The white leaves represent his
purity.
The Poinsettia is also the national
emblem of Madagascar.
■
“Happy, happy Christmas, that
can win us back to the delusions of
our childish days; that can recall to
the old man the pleasures of his
youth; that can transport the sailor
and the traveller, thousands of miles
away, back to his own fire-side and his
quiet home!”
—Charles Dickens
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Page 5
'Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, - not
even a mouse:
The stockings were hung by the
chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would
be there....”
—Clement Clarke Moore
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Page 6 ■
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December 22, 2014
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July 22, 2013
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PERSONAL SERVICES
HELP WANTED
SNOW REMOVAL
Come to see Maya at Artistic Salon, 3636
Rochester Rd. for specials. Free haircut
for men. Free Haircut for women with the
purchase of color or highlights. New customers only. Call (248) 875-1049
Exp.1/30/15.
1/2
Drivers: Company Drivers Needed.
Excellent Driving Opportunity. $2000 Signon Bonus. No Touch Freight. Class A CDL
& 3 yrs Over-the-road Exp. Req. Must
Have Passport or Enhanced Lic! Log, Cell
Phone, MPG Incentives, Performance
Bonus, 401K, Insurance. $50 Clean
Inspection, Border Crossing Incentives
Plus Much More! TSD Logistics. Call: 800426-7110 x156 www.tsdlogistics.com
Live chat
1/1
Residential Snow Plowing
Seasonal Rates
Starting at $225
Call Dave
(248) 828-0055
HELP WANTED
Commercial Cleaners Wanted
Part-time evenings
Paid training
Own transportation required
586-759-3700
RECYCLE THIS
NEWSPAPER
t/f
MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE
17 Vera Bradley pieces. Several with price
tags still attached. All in new or almost
new condition. Whole lot $150. Call (248)
840-7592
1/2
3/4
Drivers w/CDL: Walk-Away Lease. Zero
Down, No Balloon Payment, 2 Year
Warranty. Contract Rates as high as
$3/mile - 877-936-0012
2/4
Owner Operators! Run dedicated loads.
Spring Hill, TN to Lake Orion, MI. CDL-A,
12 mo. Exp. Tabitha: 800-325-7884 x4
1/1
MR. MARVIN’S
WINDOW CLEANING
GUTTER CLEANING
• TRIMMING SMALL TREES
& SHRUBS
(248) 737-3713
HOME IMPROVEMENT
Carpets Re-stretched, repaired and
installed. Vinyl floors repaired too! Lifetime
guarantee. 32 years experience. Call
Steve, (248) 585-2650.
3/52
Lease w/Option to
Purchase in Troy
4B/4B, 4,500 sqft
Home - $3,600/month
+ Option Fee
4121 Ledgestone
Troy, MI 48098
Credit Issues are OK
Call Today!
TILE-4-YOU
Expert Installation
Ceramic Tile
248.301.1267
www.4121Ledgestone.com
CAN YOU PROVIDE A TEMPORARY
HOME FOR A DOG OR CAT?
EMAIL US AT
[email protected]
TO APPLY TO BE A FOSTER!
A New Leash On Life is a non-profit, no-kill
organization dedicated to rescuing dogs and
cats from high kill shelters in and around
Michigan. We rely on a network of fosters to
care fo ‘unwanted’ companion animals until
they can be place in loving, permanent
homes.
Food and Medical provided for your foster animals.
✯
✯
Michigan Humane Society Rochester Hills
adoption hours:
Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Wednesday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Visit www.michiganhumane.org for
pictures and descriptions
of many available pets!
with the sound
of the great
Highland Bagpipes
CALL FRANKLIN AT
248.399-1101 t/f
CLASSIFIEDS WORK!
CHARGE IT!!
Winter
ASTROLOGY
PSYCHIC FAIR
♥ RANDY ♥
Randy can’t wait to howl with happiness when you come to adopt
him! This 1-year-old Hound mix is a
social fellow who loves to be
around people. The adoption fee
includes sterilization, age-appropriate vaccinations, the MHS Adoption
Guarantee and much more. For
more information, visit or call the
MHS Rochester Hills Center for
Animal Care at (248) 852-7420
and provide the pet ID number,
794225.
MAKE YOUR WEDDING OR
SPECIAL EVENT UNIQUE
Professional • Licensed
• Residential • Commercial
(248) 689-7719
Looking
For Love:
QUICK CLASSIFIED AD FORM
Please put one word per box. Phone numbers and hyphenated words count as two words.
PLACE AD UNDER: ____________________
RICH MILOSTAN, Director
★
ASTROLOGERS/PSYCHICS
CARD READERS/PALMISTRY
Troy Masonic Center
★
$12.00
1032 Hartland Dr., Troy
2 blocks N. of Big Beaver Rd, E. off Rochester Rd
Saturday, January 3rd • 10am-4pm
$12.25
$12.50
$12.75
$13.00
$13.25
Novenaʼs $17.00 each
★
Admission $5
Special Readings $25
Rich is Also Available
For Parties & Private
Consultation
A novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions. (Novena is derived
from the Latin "novem", meaning nine.) As the definition suggests, the novena has always had more of a sense of urgency and neediness.
★
Call For Info
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Call and Charge by phone: 248-524-4868 or Mail Check or Money Order to:
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ATTN: CLASSIFIED SECTION • P.O. BOX 482 • TROY, MI 48099
December 22, 2014
Christmas Traditions Have Grown Over Time
In the time before the birth of Jesus
gave us the Christmas celebration, the
big day of the year was the Winter
Solstice. Those short days were yet to be
explained with modern science,
observed Troy Historic Village Executive
Director Loraine Campbell as she
addressed the Troy Kiwanis Club.
Christianity large numbers of pagans by
promising them that they could continue
to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians.
The also decided to declare December 25
Jesus birthday, although scholars still
debate when it might really be.
Even the Saturnalia habit of drinking and then singing naked in the streets
THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS was the topic of Loraine
Campbell, executive director of the Troy Historic Village, when she addressed
fellow members of the Troy Kiwanis Club at Maggiano’s last Tuesday.
But in modern times we have been
quick to adopt some of those pagan traditions. The yule log of Scandinavia,
where winter is really dark, they burned
the log for 12 days.
The Celtic Druids, perhaps as long
ago as 1500 BC, discovered mistletoe
growing in tree tops. They believed it was
the symbol for fertility and that it would
ward off evil spirits. Oh, they also used it
to poison their enemies.
Then there was Saturnalia. Roman
pagans first introduced the holiday of
Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 1725. In the fourth century the church
decided to incorporate Saturnalia into
their own holidays, hoping to bring the
pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting to
is thought to be the forerunner of going
Christmas caroling.
The Puritans knew of the pagan origins of Christmas, so they banned it in
Massachusetts from 1659 and 1681. Even
Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas in
England, and you remember what happened to him.
Why do we give presents for
Christmas? Well, it seems that Roman
emperors made their subjects bring
them gifts during Saturnalia. The
Catholic church brought it to Christmas
by changing the gifts many gave to Saint
Nicholas on his feast day of December 6
and told Christians to give gifts on
December 25.
Who brings those gifts?
Enter novelist Washington Irving,
who wrote a satire of Dutch culture enti-
STATE OF MICHIGAN
OAKLAND COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT
EX PARTE ORDER FOR SERVICE BY PUBLICATION
CITY OF TROY, a Michigan
Municipal Corporation,
Plaintiffs,
v
Case No. 2014-144331-CC
Hon. Martha D. Anderson
MICHAEL J. BEHUNIN and
KATHLEEN L. BEHUNIN,
husband and wife; Estate of MARJORIE E.
THORNTHWAITE, deceased, or
MARJORIE E. THORNTHWAITE'S
unknown heirs, devisees, legatees and assigns,
COMERICA BANK, a Michigan State Chartered
Bank,
Defendants.
_________________________________________________
City of Troy - City Attorney's Office
Lori Grigg Bluhm (P46908)
Allan T. Motzny (P37580)
Attorney for Plaintiff
500 W. Big Beaver Road
Troy, MI 48084
(248) 524-3320
[email protected]
_________________________________________________
At a hearing of said Court held
In the Courthouse in the City of
Pontiac, Oakland County, MI
on: DEC 09, 2014
tled “Knickerbocker History” in 1809; he
is the guy. The satire refers to the white
bearded, flying-horse riding Saint
Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa
Claus.
The legend expanded considerably
when Dr. Clement Moore in 1822 wrote
“The Night Before Christmas” as a gift to
his children. This was the dawn of the
reindeer pulling the sleigh and Santa
coming down the chimney to deliver
gifts. (It wasn’t until 1939 that Rudolph
was added by Robert May, as part of
Montgomery Ward’s advertising.)
But “The Night Before Christmas”
was a poem. What did Santa look like?
Illustrator Thomas Nast drew more than
2,200 cartoon images of Santa for
Harper’s Weekly. This did away with the
idea that Santa looked like a priest in
frock coat.
So put up the Christmas tree with its
tinsel and lights. It is yet another pagan
custom. Many pagan cultures worshipped trees and brought their boughs
into their home. It was Martin Luther
who is believed to have given us the
Christmas tree in 1510, complete with
candles. Prince Albert, a German who
married Queen Victoria. brought the custom to England in 1846, Campbell pointed out.
Don’t forget the nativity scene under
the tree. Credit that to St. Francis of
Assisi in Italy in 1223.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a
good night.
■
■
There’s Help Tracing Your Family History
On Tuesday, January 6, the
Oakland County Genealogical Society
is pleased to present a program titled
“Researching Your Family History at
the Archives of Michigan." Our speaker will be Kris Rzepczynski, a Senior
Archivist at the Archives. He will
begin by providing an introduction to
the Archives of Michigan, which is
located in Lansing, MI. Kris will then
explore, in more detail, the genealogical collections that are available for
both online and on-site family history
research. Please join us for this interesting and informative presentation.
We will meet at St. Stephen's
Episcopal Church, 5500 N. Adams
Road in Troy. It is located on the east
side of Adams Road about halfway
between Long Lake Rd. and Square
Lake Rd., where Westview Rd. intersects from the west. The meeting will
start at 7:00 PM and the public is invited. There is no charge. The church
has a flat entrance and ample lighted
parking.
For more information, please contact Irv Rabideau at 248-673-4339, or
via email at [email protected].
The OCGS website is www.ocgsmi.org.
Happy
Holidays
From Our Family
to Your Family!
Curtis L. Hunt, MD
Internal Medicine/Diagnosis
2888 E. Long Lake Rd. Suite 110
(248) 680-8400
www.curtishuntmd.com
Plan Your Wedding
With the Gazette
Monday, Jan. 26, 2015
Be a part of our elegant Bridal Issue.
Whether it’s a bouquet or a banquet, let them
know the products & services you offer.
PRESENT: HONORABLE MARTHA D. ANDERSON
CIRCUIT JUDGE
TO: Estate of Marjorie E. Thornthwaite or Marjorie E.
Thornthwaite's unknown heirs, devisees, legatees and
assigns.
IT IS ORDERED:
1. You are being sued by Plaintiff City of Troy in a
condemnation action in which the City of Troy is seeking to acquire ownership of a portion of property located at 6947 John R. Road, Troy, Michigan 48085.
2. You must file your answer or take other action
permitted by law in this Court, located at 1200 North
Telegraph Road, Pontiac, Michigan 48331, on or before
January 13, 2015.
3. A copy of this Order shall be published in the
Troy - Somerset Gazette newspaper once each week for
four consecutive weeks, and proof of publication shall
be filed with this Court.
/s/ Martha D. Anderson
Circuit Judge
AL
Page 7
Call For Special Rates
Deadline Jan. 19, 2015
Call (248) 524-4868
Page 8
■
■
December 22, 2014
Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa’s Helper
PERSPECTIVES
by
PETER MAURER
Christmas Eve
1966 started off
innocently enough;
church services ended at 8:00 and we
headed home to watch a little TV and
then head off to bed so that Santa
could make his stop without worrying
about running into four little Maurers.
The moment we pulled up the
driveway, however, Christmas Eve
took a decidedly different turn as the
headlights revealed that one of my
dad’s cherished Colorado spruce trees
that lined the property line had been
cut down.
After dad gave us a lesson in
vocabulary terms normally reserved
for truck drivers, and a quick admonishment from my mom, he drove off in
the car, pausing in front of each house
on the block to look in the front window to find out who took his tree.
(Eventually, my brother and I found
out, but that is another story and column.)
A half-hour later, dad returned,
unsuccessful in his search, and muttering under his breath. By then, whatever Christmas special was on television had ended, and after making sure
that we had left out cookies and milk
for Santa, and a bowl of sugar for the
reindeer, we headed off to bed, with
me fervently hoping Santa wouldn’t
forget the first thing on my Christmas
gift wish list – the James Bond sports
car with ejection seat.
Sometime during the night, I woke
up to the sound of banging outside my
window. Excited, I leaped out of bed
and ran to the window, but couldn’t
see out because it was fogged up.
Dejected, I went back to bed, but the
sound of Santa outside my bedroom
window continued all night. I was sure
he was leaving an obscene number of
gifts, so long was his stay.
In the morning, sure enough,
Santa had left gifts under not one, but
both the living room tree and the
library tree. But before we could even
open up a single one, we stood at the
front window and beheld what Mother
Nature can do when she is really upset.
Rather than the couple inches of
light snow we had been expecting
overnight, a blizzard had developed
and dropped well over a foot of the
stuff. In fact, when dad opened the
front door to retrieve the newspaper,
snow had drifted well over halfway up
the door. That banging outside my
bedroom window wasn’t Santa, but the
gutter swinging to and fro in the wind.
Unbelievably, my mom decided
that before we opened our gifts, we
would first shovel a little. Grumbling
like condemned prisoners denied
their last meal, we dressed up for the
task at hand, walked into the garage
and grabbed our shovels, and then
opened the garage door. Our jaws
dropped.
The drift that covered the front
LIONEL
®
door continued in front of the garage,
in places up to five feet high. We set to
it, and despite an entire day’s worth of
shoveling, we three had managed only
to clear the drift in front of the garage,
sidewalk up to the porch, and the
front porch. As the sun was setting,
my mom decided we had done all we
could and called us in to open our
gifts,
I got my James Bond car with
ejection seat, the submarine from the
TV show “Voyage To the Bottom of the
Sea”, and unbelievably enough, a typewriter.
I sat there dumbfounded, trying to
figure out what a nine-year-old could
possibly want with a typewriter. It
was the worst gift ever, making socks
and underwear seem desirable. But I
didn’t have to ponder the imponderable very long, because mom
swooped in, grabbed the typewriter
box from me and dropped it into my
brother’s lap.
She then took the gift my brother
had opened, some enormous plastic
aircraft carrier by the name of Big
Bertha, and handed it to me. Now
both Mark and I are staring at each
other, confused. My mom simply said,
“Well, I guess the elves made a mistake
with the gift tags.”
And like kids, we believed her,
although when I studied the tags a little more closely that evening, a
thought occurred to me. Maybe from
a birthday card, or a note to school, or
a shopping list, but I’d seen that writing before…..
Merry Christmas, everyone!
[[email protected]]
Does Your Vehicle Need a Title or Plates?
Secretary of State Ruth Johnson
reminds residents that all branch offices
and the Office of the Great Seal will be
closed in observance of the Christmas
and New Year's holidays.
The closures are: Wednesday, Dec.
24, and Thursday, Dec. 25, for Christmas
Wednesday, Dec. 31, and Thursday,
Jan. 1, for New Year's
The Department of State mails
notices to motorists 45 days before their
driver's license or license plates expire to
give them ample time to renew. Licenses
and plates that expire on a day when
state offices are closed, such as a holiday
Antonio s
’
I TA L I A N
Place Your Holiday Catering Orders Now!
1/2 OFF
Bottles
of Wine
(12-21 & 12-28 only)
3278 Rochester Rd. • Troy
4 Blocks North of Big Beaver
248.680.6500
SPECIAL
only
1295
$
Every Wednesday
(586) 264-5252
2505 E.14 Mile Rd.
Sterling Heights
(Between Dequindre and Ryan)
www.AntoniosItalianCuisine.com
Mon.-Thur. 11:00 am - 9:30 pm • Friday: 11:00 am - 10:30 pm
Saturday: Noon - 10:30 pm • Sunday: Noon - 9:00 pm
Welcoming
“Providing Excellent Care
With Compassion and Dignity”
Dr. Staci Hopkins
& Dr. Melissa Kennedy
to Our Team!
We Offer:
• State-of-the-Art Care
for Women
• Individualized Health Care
Plans for Every Patient
• Complete Range of
Obstetrical and
Gynecological Services
for Women of All Ages
EMPIRE TRAINS AND HOBBIES
Train Sets • Slot Cars • Models • Science Kits • Rockets • Kites
Puzzles • Hobby Tools & Supplies • Entry-Level RC • Games • Die-Cast
Telescopes • Collectible Toys • Games-Workshop • Coin Supplies
Doll House Miniatures • Train Repair & Parts
Hours: Tues.-Fri. 11 am-7 pm • Sat. 11am-6 pm • Sun. 12-5 pm
PRIME RIB
for a 10 ounce cut of Prime Rib
Accompanied by your choice of soup or
salad and pasta or potato and vegetable
Every Friday
While Supplies Last!
With headlight blazing, the Scout 2-4-2 races through the night to reach
its destination on time. Smoke billows from the smoke stack and a sharp
whistle pierces the air as this freight train comes to a quick halt before it
steams off again.
• Easy to assemble FasTrack™ including eight curved pieces, one 10”straight
and one 10”wall pack terminal section and wall pack power supply
• LionChief™ remote control unique to set
• Railsounds RC™ sound system with train sounds and user activated
announcements
C U I S I N E
Italian! As Only Mamma Can Make It!
NOW ONLY
$160.00
REG. $199.99
6-30183 Lionel 2-4-2 Remote
Scout Steam Set
or weekend, can be renewed the following day without penalty.
Most people renewing license
plates, driver's licenses and ID cards can
do
business
online
at
www..ExpressSOS.com or by mail. Easy
to follow instructions can be found with
the renewal notice. Additional services
can be done online as well.
License plate tabs can be renewed at
Self-Service Stations, many of which are
available around the clock. Visit the
Branch Office Locator at www.michigan.gov/SOS to find a Self-Service Station
near you.
Staci Hopkins, M.D. & Melissa Kennedy, M.D.
Troy/UnaSource
Rochester Hills/Wellpointe Bldg.
Lake Orion
4550 Investment Dr. • Suite 200
1701 South Blvd. East • Suite 200
1455 South Lapeer Rd. • Suite 208
248.218.4073
248.997.5805
248.232.0090
www.oaklandmacombobgyn.com