(Source: KMS Photography press release)

KMS Photography in Dearborn will be offering a second spring session of Click! Photography for Women: Beginning Digital Photography. The course is designed for women to encourage creativity and learning in a relaxed environment.

Classes will be held Sunday evenings, April 25 – June 6  (there are no classes on May 9 or May 30) 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at KMS Photography Studios, 22312 Garrison St. Dearborn, MI

Course Topics Include:

Camera Operation – Find out what all those buttons are used for.

Basic Photography Terms – What is an f/stop anyway?

Composition – Learn techniques to take better photos

Plus, question and answer sessions after each class and individualized attention.

There will be opportunity for hands on learning because photography is an applied art and the best way to learn photography is by photographing, so make sure you bring your camera to class.

Cost: Only $125.00 for 5 weeks.  To book your spot please call Kristina at 313-278-7171

www.kmsphotollc.com

Hair Designs North, 841 S. Military in Dearborn.

It’s hard to image in this tough economy that any business can afford to give anything away for free.

But that is just what Hair Designs North in Dearborn will be doing on April 25 and April 26 at their store at 841 S. Military. Hair Designs North owner Al O’Sada, his wife, Joyce, daughter Kim Briffa and a host of others will be cutting the hair of unemployed Michigan residents for free.

“I am nervous and excited. That is the feeling I have now,” says Kim Briffa, a Fordson graduate who has worked at Hair Designs North with her parents for 26 years. “I hope we have a wonderful turnout. It feels good to be able to do this for people.”

The free haircut event, called “Hair Care”, will bring together celebrity stylist Maurice Tidy and some 16 other hair stylists from other Dearborn salons and one from Utica. All will be volunteering their time on Sunday and Monday to give free haircuts to the unemployed. Haircuts will be done on a first come basis.

The idea to offer free haircuts for the unemployed was hatched several months ago after Briffa ran into Tidy at, well, a hair event, of course. Tidy had held a similar program for the unemployed in Charleston, SC, the place he calls home, also calling it “Hair Care.” Briffa says she suggested a similar program be held in Michigan where unemployment also is running high. Tidy agreed and will be coming to Dearborn to take part in the two-day free haircut marathon.

Hair Designs North will be offering free haircuts to the unemployed April 25 & 26th.

With so much negative news lately around town, it is nice to see a local business such as Hair Designs North working so hard to try and do their part to help out-of-work Michigan residents make a great first impression.

Hair Designs North, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in Dearborn in January, is getting help from a number of other nearby Dearborn residents who have volunteered to help with this free event, too. Some of those helping (in no particular order) include:

Lynn Killion from Post Net in Dearborn, who Briffa says has printed flyers and anything else needed.

Hair stylists volunteering to cut hair include all of the staff at Hair Designs North, as well as those at Dearborn’s Mr. Franz Salon; Platinum Salon; Sylvia’s on Monroe and Hue Salon in Utica. Area high school kids have raised their hands to volunteer to wash and fold towels; another student is helping to take photographs of the event. Still other volunteers include, Dr. Linda M. Kinczkowski from Eastern Michigan University and Johanna Seidel.

Senate Coney Island’s Dearborn and Taylor stores are donating the food for the volunteers for both days of the event.

To help get the word out about the event, Hair Designs North reached out to Leslie Herrick in Mayor John B. O’Reilly’s office; Dearborn BNI; Dearborn Chamber of Commerce; Capitol Consulting, who provided the information to John Dingell’s office; Barb Jones from Century 21 and Mike Magnone, just to name some.

“I have had great response so far from other businesses wanting to help,” Briffa says. “I am still receiving more volunteers each day.”

So will some who aren’t unemployed come and try to get a free haircut? Briffa says she and her staff talked about that being a possibility but that was simply a byproduct of trying to do something like this on such a large scale.

“We are excited about doing this that and being able to give back,” Briffa says. “We need more of this giving back in our town. How did we get away from that? We see about 3,000 people a month in our salon and that is what we talk about, trying to figure out what else we can do to help each other.”

We’d say free haircuts are a generous way to help. Let’s hope it becomes more contagious.

The Dearborn City Council last night approved a new seven year, $33 million contact with Republic Waste Services for residential trash service, recycling compost and leaf collection.

The approval, much to the dismay of some city leaders, means the end of work for Waste Management, whose contract expires June 30. Republic was the lowest bidder for the contact.

Below is the official press release from the City of Dearborn:

A new contract for the pick up of residential trash and recyclable materials will introduce a more efficient curbside collection system, encourage even more recycling, reduce blowing litter and improve the overall look of neighborhoods on “trash day”.

The City approved a seven-year contract with Republic Waste Services for curbside trash, recycling and yard waste collection on Monday. The contract and the new automated collection system are effective in July.

All materials currently picked up will still be collected at the curb under the new contract.

All Dearborn households will receive two containers: gray for trash, green for recycling.

And, as part of the improvements, all Dearborn households will receive two containers for the storage and curbside pickup of their trash and recyclable materials. The trash container will be gray and the recycling container will be dark green.

These 96-gallon containers, known as carts, have wheels and handles so they can be easily maneuvered from storage areas to the curbside and back. They also have attached hinged lids to keep out pests, reduce odors and prevent blowing litter.

These two carts will be delivered to every Dearborn households beginning in mid-May, with all households receiving them by the end of June. Delivery will be to about 1,000 homes a day and take six weeks.

(more…)

Dearborn city council tonight is expected to vote on whether to award a seven year contract to Republic Waste Services for residential trash service, recycling compost and leaf collection, a deal valued at more than $33 million.

The approval would mean the end of work for Waste Management, whose contract expires June 30, and the beginning of a new waste and recycle pickup service for Dearborn residents.

Council will vote on whether to spend $2.7 million to purchase new trash bins, such as the one pictured here, for residents citywide.

Council members also will vote on implementing a new trash and recycling program that would provide each home with one large container for trash and one large container for recycling. Providing two new containers to each home will cost the city $2.7 million, a contact that would be awarded to Cascade Engineering for the residential waste and recycling carts.

The city put in place a pilot program last year to test the new larger trash and recycle containers with homeowners in East Dearborn. Neighborhoods there saw a dramatic decrease in litter and residents were very pleased with the new trash containers. City leaders are hoping for similar results if the council approves going to the new trash collection system on a city-wide basis.

“It is hoped that we will be moving citywide to a system like the one in the pilot area, with one large container for trash and one large container for recycling,” a spokeswoman for the city told us earlier. “The pilot area has experienced a dramatic decrease in litter with this system.”

(Source: League of Women Voters for Dearborn and Dearborn Heights (LWVDDH) press release)

The League of Women Voters of Dearborn-Dearborn Heights is presenting the movie “Blue Gold – World Water Wars,” based on the ground-breaking book by M. Barlow and T. Clarke of the same name.

The movie sheds light on the world’s rapidly approaching water crisis and suggests wars of the future will be fought over water, as they today are over oil, as the source of all life enters the global marketplace and political arena.

As Michigan struggles to maintain shoreline beauty and improve water quality, some places struggle to find drinkable water. Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. The film finishes with some problem-solving examples.

The public is invited to join the League on Thursday, April 29, 2010, 7:00 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 N. Military, Dearborn. Please contact 313-278-6476 for questions and to register so the League can plan seating and snacks.

Oversight of Henry Ford’s historic Fair Lane estate on the grounds of the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus is being turned back to the Ford family-run board that runs the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. The family gave up direct ownership of the Henry Ford Estate in the 1950s after Henry’s wife, Clara, died.

A designated National Historic Landmark, the estate will return again to the stewardship of the Ford family heirs and later undergo some major renovations.

The Detroit Free Press reports today that the Fair Lane estate will close for extensive renovations at some point in 2011 and reopen partially to the public in 2013 in advance of the building’s centennial anniversary in 2015.

The paper reports that university regents signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday that indicated ownership will be transferred to the board of the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House beginning July 2011. The estate will remain open to the public through at least Dec. 31, 2010.

“Both the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the Ford House share a vision that the estate should be operated to the highest standards of museum practice,” Ken Kettenbeil, UM-Dearborn’s director of communications told the Free Press. Kettenbeil said the Fair Lane Estate needed at least $12 million in renovations and “and for the university to take it on, we would have to re-evaluated our core mission — which is teaching and research.”

The University of Michigan-Dearborn system allocated $300,000 annually to the estate’s operations, Kettenbeil said.

Henry Ford’s Fair Lane estate is nestled along the Rouge River inside the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus. The automotive pioneer employed more than 500 masons, wood carvers and craftsmen beginning in February 1914 to erect the estate, which was constructed from Ohio limestone, according to the estate’s Web site.

Ford lived there for more than three decades until his 1947 death. When his wife, Clara, died three years later, the Ford heirs commissioned an auction house to sell off its furnishings.

Ford Motor Co. bought the estate from the family in 1952, and established its corporate archives there through 1957. That’s when it donated the mansion, its powerhouse and the adjoining acreage to the University of Michigan, which used it to establish the university’s Dearborn campus. For the full story, click HERE.

(Source: City of Dearborn press release)

The General Henry Dearborn Quilting Society is presenting “Quilted Pleasures: a Quilt Show” on Friday, April 23 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Saturday, April 24 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Admission is $3.

Enjoy quilts from artists Sheila DeRose and Kathy Connor and the Dearborn Historical Museum’s collection. Raffle tickets for a bed quilt made by society members and gifts will also be for sale.

The exhibits will be displayed at the Dearborn Historical Museum Commandant’s Quarters, 21950 Michigan Ave. at Monroe Street; and the McFadden Ross House, 915 Brady Street.

Please note that the Commandant’s Quarters is not wheelchair accessible. No baby strollers please.

For more information, call 313.565.3000.

(Source: City of Dearborn press release)

A variety of basic computer workshops will return to the Henry Ford Centennial Library throughout the month of May.

All workshops are free, but advanced registration is required.

Those learning to use a computer for the first time will be interested in the Basic Computers workshop. No computer knowledge or experience is required. Basic Computers will be offered on Monday, May 3 from 6-8:30 p.m. and Friday, May 14 from 2-4:30 p.m.

Internet Basics, a workshop targeted towards those who already have basic computer skills but want to learn more specifically about how to search and use the Internet, will be offered on Friday, May 7 from 2-4:30 p.m. and Monday, May 17 from 6-8:30 p.m.

Those interested in learning how to establish and use their own e-mail account can register for E-Mail Essentials, which will be offered on Monday, May 10 from 6-8:30 p.m.

Registration for each class begins one week prior to the class meeting. Visit or call the HFCL Adult Reference Desk at (313) 943-2330 to register or for more information.

Fliers containing the entire spring schedule can be picked up at the Reference Desk and the schedule is available on the library website at www.dearbornlibrary.org

Workshops are limited to 14 seats so register early.

Library card holders and Dearborn residents will receive preferential registration, space permitting; nonresidents will be placed on a wait list and will be notified shortly before the class date if any seats are still available.

All workshops will meet in the training room on the first floor (southwest corridor) of the Henry Ford Centennial Library, 16301 Michigan Ave.

(Source: City of Dearborn Press Release)

The Dearborn Community Arts Council and Dearborn first lady Christina O’Reilly cordially invite you to the Annual First Lady’s Tea, at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 1 at the Dearborn Hills Golf Course on Telegraph Road. Advance ticket sales are $ 35.

This is your opportunity to experience the charming, creatively decorated tables that were the talk of the town last year. A captivating afternoon luncheon promises to offer the finest teas, good company and the opportunity to experience the creative flair that is uniquely Dearborn.

Proceeds from this very special day benefit the Dearborn Community Arts Council and the Dearborn Senior Services Cultural Arts programming.

A unique addition this year is an incredible glass sculpture which was designed by Mayor John O’Reilly Jr.

It was crafted at the Dearborn Glass Academy and will be raffled off at the Annual First Lady’s Tea on Saturday, May 1. Raffle tickets for this sculpture piece are $ 10 each.

If you are interested in supporting DCAC and Dearborn Senior Services cultural programs by purchasing a raffle ticket, or attending the Tea, contact the Dearborn Community Arts Council at 313-943-3095 or by email at sgreene@ci.dearborn.mi.us

With the demolition and cleanup of the Orchard Street bungalow where hundreds of Chihuahuas were found this summer expected to be completed by Monday, April 19, Dearborn officials will now turn their attention to finding a way to collect the nearly $50,000 in costs for the work.

Prior to the demolition of the home and the garage on Thursday, crews had to remove some small amounts of asbestos and spray the home with insecticide because many neighbors were worried what might come out of the home once it started to come down.

Cleanup costs and the removal of the hundreds of dogs cost the city more than $40,000, not including the $8,000 and change in demolition costs. It is not clear how the city will ever collect those costs from Kenneth Lang Jr., 56. Lang is currently serving a five-year probation for the hoarding of the dogs. As part of the restitution listed for Mr. Lang following his criminal case, he was ordered to pay the city for the cost of the cleanup. 

A city spokeswoman says there is a lien on the property for the cost of the demolition so if the family tries to sell the property the city would need to be paid first.

Given Lang’s financial situation, it is unknown how he would be able to pay,  the spokeswoman says.