At a Public Safety Commission meeting Wednesday, Chad Hayse, who was appointed interim police chief upon the January retirement of former Chief Rick Cadez, was reinstated to his former position, a reversal from the commission’s decision Tuesday night to fire him for reasons that have not been released.

At a special city council meeting later that day, councilors reinstated him to his chief position, his lawyer, Royal Oak-based David Gorcyca, said. Gorcyca said he is reviewing the city charter to see which decision is binding.

“He’s now caught between the police commission and the council,” Gorcyca said Friday. “He currently holds two positions.”

Gorcyca called the police commission a “kangaroo court,” and alleged that Hayes’ due process, contractual and union rights were violated.

Calls to City Clerk Diana Zarazua and City Administrator Jim Beri were not returned by press time.

Photo by Andrea Poteet

Baker Elei Abouaziz prepares paczki Tuesday for the rush of Fat Tuesday buyers at Yum Yum Tasty Donuts in Melvindale. Buyers came throughout the day to purchase the traditional Polish donut-like pastries, a staple of Fat Tuesday indulgence.

News outlets across the country are reporting on a parent’s reaction after her 11-year-old son, a student at Strong Middle School, was assigned a mock journal in which students were asked to imagine their lives as slaves in the pre-Civil War South.

District parent Jessica Gibson said the assignment made her bi-racial son, Taylan, feel “embarrassed to be black.”

Gibson said she told her son not to do the assignment and asked for an alternative assignment, which she said they denied.

Melvindale-Northern Allen Park school district officials declined to comment on the assignment.

Photo by Andrea Poteet

By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE — The toy department of Taylor Wal-Mart looks like a war zone.

Teens in Santa hats and excited children occupy every square inch of space. Toys are everywhere and shopping carts have been abandoned because they can’t fit through the cramped aisles.

So for 9-year-old Shelbie Boutin and her Melvindale High School chaperone Alondra Hernandez, 15, it’s the perfect time to hit the beauty aisle for the nail polish and black eyeliner on her Christmas list.

“Now this is a girl’s dream,” Shelbie says as they enter the nearly vacant aisle.

Hundreds of teen volunteers and elementary-aged children from Melvindale-Northern Allen Park School District filled the Taylor Wal-Mart Wednesday as part of the district’s annual Angel Project.

Now in its 18th year, the project uses funds from corporate donations by Ford Motor Co. and Wal-Mart, along with private donations and school fundraisers to give each low-income child from the district $45 to spend on anything they’d like in the store.

Mel-NAP Director of Operations Rick Morley said many students buy only for themselves and others for their families, but the items they choose are as unique as they are.

“It’s everything you could imagine a child buying,” Morley said. “It could be pet food if they have a pet at home that doesn’t have food. It could be cereal if that’s what they wanted.”

Children are nominated for the program by school staff and community members, Morley said, but no one gets turned away. This year 150 shoppers, each with a high school student to assist them, participated in the program – six bus loads in all.

Morley said one of the best gifts for the children is time spent with the teens. Some of them save their own money all year to donate for the trip, others befriend their elementary school shopper and request to be partnered with them again the next year.

“It’s just about the one-on-one time,” Morley said. “For a lot of them, spending time with the high school students makes their day.”

Teen volunteer Bianca Garcia, 15, said she had fun shopping with 10-year-old Tara Framack, even though they couldn’t find the Orbeez, orb-shaped toys that expand in water, that Framack wanted.

“It was something cool to do,” Garcia said. “I thought it would be nice to help people who needed things.”

Hernandez said she was excited to help out this year after volunteering for the trip last year.

“I’m happy to come and help with the kids,” she said. “And the kids are really excited to come.
A lot of them don’t even buy for themselves, they buy for family members.”

Shelbie initially had items for her 18-year-old sister on her list, but that changed when she saw her favorite item of the haul – a deluxe makeup box for $15 – which she quickly added to arms piled full of colored hair extensions, clothes and candy.

“My sister can have the eye liner and nail polish,” Shelbie said, hugging the box against herself. “I won’t use that.”

City Councilwoman Stacy Striz won her bid for mayor over incumbent Valerie Cadez. Striz netted 760 votes to Cadez’s 526.

Incumbent Kally Hess will join five new faces on the council. Hess netted 720 votes to earn a seat along with Carl Louvet (677 votes), Medina Balderas (622 votes), Wheeler Marsee (661 votes), Nicole Barnes (651 votes), and David Cybulski (649 votes).

Unsuccessful challengers were Michael Haftel (478 votes), Jorge Martinez (468 votes), Jeannine Ansley (441 votes), Betty Lindlbauer (428 votes), Lisa Snipes (425 votes) and Renee Buckberrough (422 votes).

In the treasurer race, Karen Lowe beat out Sally Ann Amadio 732 to 468.

Challenger Diana Zarazua will replace incumbent City Clerk Norrine Peeples, winning 761 to 452.

For the Melvindale-Northern Allen Park School District race, Jim McGuckin and Matthew Rader ran unopposed, earning 1,593 votes and 1,304 votes, respectively.

Incumbent Norine Peeples has served as city clerk for the past year. She also works as a motivational speaker, ordained minister and business consultant and has lived in the city for about six years.

When she took the office, she made history as the first black resident elected to a city office, a designation she said is close to her heart.

She said her love for the city and its residents led to her decision to run again.

Challenger Diana Zarazua said she hopes to use her 15 years of administrative experience to serve residents of the city where she has lived for 10 years.

She works part-time as an administrative manager and bookkeeper at an architectural firm in Detroit and raises three children under 10. She is currently attending Wayne State University to earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Jeannine Prohownick Ansley served on the council for eight years until 2007. She has worked for the Environmental Protection Agency and was the executive director of Friends of the Detroit River.

She said win or lose, she plans to continue to work to better the community, including luring new businesses to the city, and marketing the city’s boat launch and civic arena during their off-seasons.

“We can take this town and revitalize it,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of little things we can do to make life better.”

Carl Louvet is a 26-year resident of the city who serves as a parks and recreation commissioner and launched an unsuccessful campaign for city council in the last election. He is a league representative for Melvindale Junior Football and is president of the Melvindale Athletic Club. He works as an artifact rigger.

If elected, he said he would work to enhance transparency and comunication in city government.

“We need some change,” he said. “And I’m heavily involved in the community and I think I can do some good.”

Michael Haftel is a 21-year resident of the city launching his third campaign for a city council seat. He is a navy veteran and has sat on the city’s planning commission and currently works as an IT product manager for a consulting firm. He said he hopes to use his experience to improve his community, especially in fighting urban blight.

“I’m not coming into this as just any old person who decided I wanted to get invoplved,” he said. “I do have some skill that I’m bringing to the table.”

Candidates Nicole Barnes and Kalley Hess did not respond to emails seeking comment by press time.

Current phone numbers could not be located for candidates Lisa Snipes, Renee Buckerrough, Betty Lindlbauer, Medina Balderas, Jorge Martinez, Wheeler Marsee, and David Cybulski.

Jim McGuckin and Matthew Rader are running uncontested for two school board seats.

Mayor Valerie Cadez faces off against current council member Stacy Striz for the position.

Cadez has served as mayor for the past four years, and has also served as city clerk and on the city council. She also is chairwoman of the Downriver Community Council. She has been married to Police Chief Rick Cadez for 38 years.

She said she chose to run again because she feels the city needs experienced and informed leadership in challenging financial times.

“I have a passion and pride for the city of Melvindale and will keep working hard to further the progress that has already been made,” Cadez said.

If re-elected, she said she would focus on maintaining a strong police force, keeping the city clean with continued ordinance enforcement, and seeking grants to improve the parks and recreation program.

“I believe that integrity is the most important quality that a leader can possess,” Cadez said. “I will not compromise this and will continue to provide strong, mature and honest leadership at all times.”

Striz has worked at Dearborn Public Schools for the last 11 years and coaches Melvindale Little League Baseball. She is also cheerleading director for the Melvindale Junior Football Club and serves on the city’s finance committee. She also attends the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she is pursuing a degree in Elementary Education.

Striz did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment to this story by press time.