Incumbent Mayor Tim Durand beat challenger Billy J. Towle, earning 1,801 votes to Towle’s 749.

Elmer Trombley, Lynn Blanchette and Thomas Coffey earned 1,624 votes, 1,606 votes, and 1,529 votes, respectively, to win seats on the City Council. Challengers David Ryan and William J. Prucknic Sr. netted 969 and 747 votes, respectively. Voters cast 2,601 votes.

In the school board race, Gary O’Brien earned 1,011 votes to earn a seat alongside incumbent Amy Laura-Frazier, who earned 1,150 votes. James Makowski netted 677 votes. The terms are four years.

Incumbent Robyn Vitale ran unopposed for her seat and earned 1,467 votes. Her term is for two years. Voters cast 2,632 votes.

Durand, a 50-year resident of the city, has served as mayor since 1995 and before that as a city councilor since 1987. He also serves as a procurement counselor for the Downriver Community Conference.

He said as mayor, he has worked to combat reduced revenues by reducing staff by 25 percent since 2007 and sharing services such as Department of Public Works purchasing, recreation programs, and fire equipment with other cities.

Durand initially chose not to run for office and Councilman James Trombley filed to run against Towle, but Trombley withdrew from the race and Durand filed shortly before the deadline.

“I decided to run because of my desire to see Riverview continue to be a great city to live in and have children educated in,” Durand said. “I am not running with an ax to grind, but to make Riverview a better place.”

Towle, a frequent critic of Durand and the council, said he chose to run to combat the “deep trouble” – financial and otherwise – he sees the city heading toward under the current administration.

If elected, he pledges to be a “constant and vocal catalyst for change.”

“We need action now, not later,” Towle said.

Towle, who is employed with DCX labor, has lived in the city for more than 30 years. He graduated from Lincoln Park High School in 1964.

In addition to addressing the city’s budget and health care costs, Towle said he would abolish the “bully environment,” he sees among the current administration.

“Citizens are to be served with respect, courtesy and transparency,” he said.

Incumbents Lynn Blanchette, Thomas Coffey and Elmer Trombley are seeking their current seats. Challenging them are William Prucknic and David Ryan.

Prucknic, a 35-year resident of the city, has owned his own construction company for the past 30 years. He said he ran because he felt the city needed new, fresh ideas from political newcomers.

He said if elected, he would work to re-evaluate the current budget, combine city services and seek additional quotes for current services.

“I will listen to people and welcome fresh ideas,” he said. “I’m different than the other candidates because I can handle criticism.”

Ryan, a former aerospace engineer, said he ran for office because he felt the current administration was not listening to the concerns of many residents.

Coffey, Trombley and Blanchette did not respond to emails seeking comment for this story by press time.

In the school board race, incumbents Amy Laura-Frazier and Robyn Vitale are running against James Joseph Makowski, Vernon Lee Dunn Jr. and Gary Richard O’Brien Jr. for two four-year terms and one two-year term.

Photo by Andrea Poteet

By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
RIVERVIEW– In a grassy patch near the Rouge River in Northville, members of Tom Hughes’ science classes squint in the sunlight and swat at persistent mosquitos.

“This is nature,” Hughes tells them. “River water’s not gonna hurt you.”

Venturing into the river was a job reserved for Hughes in his waiters during a trip with his class and Riverview High School Chemistry teacher Laura Kremkus to collect and test samples of water and soil from the river to turn over to Friends of the Rouge. The group collects similar samples from 12 other area schools during the fall and upwards of 40 during the spring to send to local government bodies so they can monitor the river’s health.

“I think they get an appreciation for nature and how water impacts the environment,” Friends of the Rouge Program Manager Emily Hughes said, “how science can be applied for the real word.”

The students broke into groups to test the water samples collected by Tom Hughes for oxygen content, pH level, nitrates, phosphate, bugs and other attributes. Each student picked the group he or she wanted to be in.

Junior James Quick, 16, said he chose to be on the “bug hunt,” team because he was always drawn to bugs and especially wanted to learn about macroinvertebrates.

He said he was excited when he found out his class, none of whom had performed water sampling before, was going to sample the river.

“I was like, it’s a river, let’s go!” he said. “I’m just in it for the bugs.”

Natalie Schulte, 16 and a junior, said she was interested to see what was really in the river.

“I’ve lived here,” Schulte said. “It’s kind of nice to see what’s really in here.”

Kremkus said the sampling project, which the school has done for nearly 20 years, gives the students opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“A lot of students never get the opportunity to go into the environment and actually learn about what’s in the river,” she said. “They learn a lot about why we have to keep the river clean.”

Mayor Timothy Durand announced the idea at Monday’s city council meeting, after commending residents Michael and Miko Ceasar, who presented the idea to Durand after offering to donate the cost of new trash receptacles in Young Patriots Park.

The couple stopped Durand while he was riding his bicycle near the park a few months ago to comment on the deteriorating receptacles and paint on the Nike Missile Monument. When Durand told him the city did not have the funds to refurbish either, they offered to pay for both.

They are hoping others will follow their lead by “adopting” city-approved projects and covering their costs.

“It was really refreshing to have somebody stop you and actually have a solution for what needed to be done,” Durand said.

While soliciting bids on the repainting project they had estimated to cost about $1,000, city officials contacted local company G & M Painting, which offered a bid price they couldn’t refuse – $1, which Durand forked over during the presentation for the company and the Ceasars.

“Once they found out about the potential for doing something, they stepped right up to the plate,” Michael Ceasar said of the company, “and I’m sure a lot of other people would do that too if they knew what was available.”

No details have yet been provided on when the wish list program is to begin, but Durand said at the meeting he already has some ideas, such as replacing playground equipment in city parks.

The phone was stolen from the Riverview residence of District Technology Leader Donna Zick. Someone also took her husband’s cell phone and stole the family’s car, which Riverview police found crashed into a parked car at Brandywine and Heritage at about 5 a.m. that day.

Calls to Supt. Dennis Desmarais seeking comment on the impact of the theft on the district were not returned by press time.

No one was in the vehicle when it was found; its keys were on the dashboard.

Officers contacted Zick and her husband, who said they thought their car was in their garage, where they had left it the night before. She said she had left her keys in the car when she parked it in the garage at about 7 p.m. that night, but did not remember if she had shut the garage door.

After checking the house, the couple realized their cell phones and video game system also were missing.

There were no signs of forced entry.

Zick’s husband said he also noticed that someone had used his stolen cell phone to access his social networking account and written derogatory remarks on it. One of the messages said “ur car is down the street, close ur garage…”

A glove possibly used by the intruder was found on Heritage Street and taken into evidence.

Zick told police she heard a noise at about 4 a.m. but attributed it to her young children.

The phone was stolen from the Riverview residence of District Technology Leader Donna Zick. Someone also took her husband’s cell phone and stole the family’s car, which Riverview police found crashed into a parked car at Brandywine and Heritage at about 5 a.m. that day.

Calls to Supt. Dennis Desmarais seeking comment on the impact of the theft on the district were not returned by press time.

No one was in the vehicle when it was found; its keys were on the dashboard.

Officers contacted Zick and her husband, who said they thought their car was in their garage, where they had left it the night before. She said she had left her keys in the car when she parked it in the garage at about 7 p.m. that night, but did not remember if she had shut the garage door.

After checking the house, the couple realized their cell phones and video game system also were missing.

There were no signs of forced entry.

Zick’s husband said he also noticed that someone had used his stolen cell phone to access his social networking account and written derogatory remarks on it. One of the messages said “ur car is down the street, close ur garage…”

A glove possibly used by the intruder was found on Heritage Street and taken into evidence.

Zick told police she heard a noise at about 4 a.m. but attributed it to her young children.

No bombs were found after an investigation that began when two students found evidence of a bomb threat about 8 a.m. that day and reported it to the principal’s office, Deputy Police Chief Clifford Rosebohm said. He declined to give details about what that evidence was.

The principal called the Riverview Police Department, which called several other agencies.

Michigan State Police, the U.S. Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the threat with bomb-sniffing dogs after a lockdown drill was initiated and the building had been cleared of occupants, Rosebohm said.

“We worked closely with the school district to make sure all students were safeguarded and protected,” Rosebohm said.

Students were allowed to re-enter the school early that afternoon, Rosebohm said.

The threat still is under investigation; police have no suspects at this time.

“We’re looking at a number of things right now,” Rosebohm said.

Photo by Sue Suchyta

‘The laundry detergent that we make doesn’t create as much suds, and it doesn’t increase the population of algae and stuff, so the lake doesn’t dry out.’
— Savannah
Sass

By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
RIVERVIEW – Going green used to mean wearing team colors or feeling under the weather.

Now it describes an eco-friendly commitment, one that has earned Seitz Middle School in Riverview the designation of a Michigan Green School for the third year in a row.

Created by the Michigan Green School Act passed by state legislators in 2006, the designation is given to schools that engage in certain environmentally conscious activities. Criteria relate to resources, energy, the environment and other related projects, which include education and field trips.

To members of Seitz’s ECO HOPE Club, green means a fun way to spend time with friends while learning about earth-friendly practices in order to help make a difference in their school’s environmental footprint.

“I joined to help the environment and hang out with my friends at the same time,” said Maggie Wood, a seventh-grader who recently drew a winning poster in a contest marking a recent Riverview Land Preserve electronic recycling event.

Emily Douglas, a seventh-grader who took second place in the same contest, agreed.

“I thought it would be fun and I have some friends in here, and we try to do green stuff,” she said.

In addition to recycling, students have learned about ways to reduce energy consumption.

“My family, I always yell at them, ‘Hey, turn that light out!’” seventh-grader Savannah Sass said. “My family saves a big bag of bottle caps every week that we recycle here.”

“It’s actually pretty neat to see all the things that we can recycle,” seventh-grader Ana Pauli said.

In addition to the bottle caps, students recycle cork stoppers from wine bottles, snack bags, juice boxes and electronic and computer items and byproducts.

Faculty sponsor Debra Meeks said Seitz became a Michigan Green School by completing more than 20 of the requirements listed at www.michigangreenschools.us/20points.

The school initiated many recycling programs, some of which funded its other green initiatives. In addition to traditionally recycled materials like paper, students collect, clean and send previously unrecyclable material to TerraCycle Inc. in Trenton, N.J., where it is converted into products and materials. In return the school receives small cash incentives, which it uses to fund other green initiatives.

With a business plan officials call “eco-capitalism,” the company uses post-consumer materials to make new consumer products through “upcycling,” reusing waste materials that are otherwise difficult to recycle. It makes children’s backpacks from used drink pouches, as turns waste packaging into products like cell phone holders, laptop sleeves and messenger bags.

“When I go home after this club I tell my mom – who usually has a little bag of chips – to recycle that when she’s done, and put it in my recycling bin,” Pauli said. “Then I can bring it here and it will get shipped off with all the other ones.”
Pauli, who originally had thought about becoming a math teacher, now is thinking about becoming an elementary science teacher.

The ECO HOPE Club also started making environmentally friendly laundry detergent, which members distribute in repurposed traditional laundry soap plastic containers.

“I didn’t realize that regular laundry detergent actually killed the water that much,” Savannah Sass said. “The laundry detergent that we make doesn’t create as much suds, and it doesn’t increase the population of algae and stuff, so the lake doesn’t dry out.”

Meeks said students ask their customers to send in empty laundry detergent containers for reuse. The students sell the detergent they make for $3 a bottle, and make a small profit, which they use to support their other activities.

Club customers have said members’ fragrance-free, natural laundry detergent actually helps lessen eczema outbreaks among sensitive individuals who use it to wash their clothes. Meeks said members have shared their recipe, found online, with some original customers who now make their own.

Students looked at the school’s energy usage and sponsored an energy-free day April 13, measuring how much energy they saved and its estimated cost.

“Teachers didn’t use their computers, their ELMOs (document cameras), their LCD projectors, their lights were off,” Meeks said. “Luckily we had a nice sunny day for it.”

Teachers then documented how much they use their computers, and together with club members determined total energy used and the amount of money saved. They then relayed the information to the rest of the school. “I think it will make people more aware and more conscious of some of their energy usages,” Meeks said.

Each year students “vote” for an endangered animal to sponsor by putting coins in jars and this year voted to sponsor a giant panda. Last year they sponsored a Siberian tiger.

The money is sent to the World Wide Fund for Nature an international nongovernmental organization formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.

The school receives a symbolic stuffed plush animal to display in their school showcase.

Other group projects have included refurbishing some of the school’s library furniture instead of disposing of it and buying new. The school’s parent group provided the initial funding, and the ECO HOPE Club has been saving money to continue the project.

The club also subsidizes local field trips to gather recyclable materials.

“As you can imagine, rifling through trash is not the most glorious of jobs for them to do, but they keep coming back,” Meeks said. “I try to reiterate that this stuff, if we don’t recycle it, ends up in your backyard.”

The fact that the city operates a landfill makes that term even more literal, she said.

“I think that kind of strikes home with the kids as well,” she said.