‘story of the year’ revolved around a key financial source
TRANSCRIPT
3020 Caniff, Hamtramck, MI 48212 • (313) 874-2100Volume 12 No. 2January 10, 2020
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Breaking news… Aswe went to press Thurs-day, it was announcedthat former Hamtramckmayor and former WayneCounty treasurer Ray-mond Wojtowicz died onWednesday, Jan. 8.
He was 90 years old.Our condolences go
out to the Wojtowiczfamily. He served asmayor from 1970 to1973, and went on to becounty treasurer for 39years before retiring in2015.
For funeral informa-tion, go to page 6.
Current county treas-urer Eric Sabree had thisto say about Wojtowicz’spassing:
“I was saddened tohear of the passing offormer Wayne CountyTreasurer Raymond J.Wojtowicz.
“In 2011, TreasurerWojtowicz gave me theopportunity to workunder his leadership inthe Treasurer’s Office.My condolences andprayers go out to the en-tire Wojtowicz family dur-ing this difficult time.”
And Wayne County
By Charles SercombeNow that 2019 has
come to pass, it’s timefor our annual “Story ofthe Year.”
And what a year it was:there was the city’s long-standing housing discrim-ination lawsuit that wasbuttoned up by the finalthree houses, out of 200,that were built, or aboutto be built.
Longtime educator TomNiczay retired as schoolsuperintendent, and hisreplacement was a firstfor the district and the na-tion: Jaleelah Ahmed be-came the firstYemeni-American womanto hold such a position.
In politics, there was aseismic shift on citycouncil, with the electionof three new councilmem-bers and the ousting of
three incumbents.Former Police Chief
Max Garbarino made adramatic -- and for some,controversial -- comebackin a newly-created posi-
tion, a sort of liaison of-ficer for the police depart-ment and the community.
But the number onestory, the one that hadthe biggest impact – at
least financially for thecity – was that of the GMPoletown plant.
What a wild roller-coaster ride it was over
‘Story of the Year’ revolvedaround a key financial source
Continued on page 2
By Charles SercombeThe family of a 25-year-
old Hamtramck woman isdesperately seeking herwhereabouts.
According to a report byWXYZ Channel 7, CamayLowe left her mother’shouse on Trowbridge St.over three weeks ago -- onthe morning of Dec. 17.
At the time, the lastthing she said is that shewould be “right back.”
That never happened.The family is not aware
of her being in trouble orbeing in a relationship.
She is described asbeing 5-feet, 5-inches tall,weighing about 115-125pounds, and having a lightcomplexion with long blackhair. She was wearingblack stretch pants, ahooded jacket and Timber-land boots.
There is a cash reward ofup to $2,500 for informa-tion that leads to findingher. To do so, call 1-800-SPEAK-UP, or go online towww.1800SPEAKUP.org.
You can also call theHamtramck Police Depart-ment at (313) 800-5269,or 911.
Familysearchingfor daughter
By Alan MadlaneBack in November, ex-
actly one week beforeThanksgiving, the WayneCounty Treasurer EricSabree once again gavethanks to area veterans,via the hosting of theirthird annual Veteran’s Re-source Fair.
The all-afternoon eventwas held at the Bellagio
Banquet & ConferenceCenter in DearbornHeights.
The Nov. 21 event waslabeled a success, at-tended by some 400 veter-ans and their families.
The purpose of the fairwas to again provide assis-tance and information onhealthcare, employment,
County treasurerhosts resource fairfor local veterans
Continued on page 2
Formermayor dies
The future of the GM Poletown plant is our “Story of the Year” for 2019. GM hadthreatened to close the plant, which would have been financially devastating toHamtramck.
Camay Lowe
Wayne County Treasurer Eric Sabree (right) intro-duces Marine Corps Sergeant Major Ronald L. Greenof the Marine Corps at a recent veterans event.
the plant’s future.The saga actually
began in November of2018, when GM suddenly– and unexpectedly – an-nounced it was closingfive north Americanplants – including the De-troit-Hamtramck Assem-bly plant, as it is formerlyknown.
Why did this matter somuch?
GM had been payingHamtramck about$700,000 a year, in aspecial payment plan, inlieu of paying propertytaxes.
If the plant were toclose, the city would nolonger have that revenuestream coming in eachyear. Hamtramck’s an-nual operating budget is
about $16 million, andthe loss of $700,000 ayear would have been ahuge financial blow.
City Manager Kathy An-gerer didn’t varnish thetruth.
“The GM plant closureis devastating financiallyto the city,” Angerer said.“This doesn’t include theimpact on local busi-nesses or families in ourcommunity.”
But as the year pro-gressed, GM suddenlyannounced it was goingto spare the plant (whichhad just been built in theearly 1980s) and wouldproduce electric vehiclesthere.
Great news, right?Well, then the prover-
bial monkey wrench was
thrown into the mix.UAW workers went on
strike at all of GM’splants and facilities, inorder to get a new em-ployment contract.
Contract negotiationswith the union had bro-ken down, and the unionused the age-old tactic ofgoing on strike.
As the strike continuedfor a few weeks, GM didanother turnaround, andannounced it was goingto close down the Pole-town plant.
For city officials, it was“hello” financial crisis,once again.
Our head spinningdidn’t stop there, how-ever.
Once the strike wassettled, GM announcedthat the Poletown plantwill remain open after all.
Got all that?Of course, that was not
going to be the end of thestory.
In short, it was “hello”financial crisis, redux.
The catch was, GMwould need up to twoyears to retool and recon-figure the plant to be ableto produce electric vehi-cles.
That means all of theunion employees aregoing to be laid off.
And that means, thespecial deal with payingthe city about $700,000a year will be suspendeduntil production returns.
So, once again, city of-ficials have to figure out away to carry on withoutthis important revenuestream, albeit it only tem-porarily.
The solution to thischallenge has yet to behammered out.
But a key to this balanc-ing act just might be theongoing labor negotia-tions with the city’s fire-fighters.
Watch this developingstory closely, folks.
2 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 Friday, January 10, 2020
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Hamtramck Housing Commission(HHC) does not discriminate on thebasis of race, color, religion, nationalorigin, sex, handicap or familial status
Toddler TimeThursdays11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Stories and songs forchildren 5 and
younger followed byplaytime.
Parent Hub and GrubWednesday, Jan. 1511:30 am – 1:00 pmHear about resources
that support our families and enjoy a
free lunch! Childcare provided
Presented by GREATSTART WAYNE
Please call 313-410-4588
to register for this important event.
Movie NightTuesdays @ 4:00 pm
Family friendly moviesand free snacks.
Building ClubWednesday,
January 15 and 223:30 – 4:45 pm
Creative play withlego, zoob,
megablocks, andmore!
Ages 3 and up
Homework Help andSAT Test Prep
Fridays, 3:00-5:00 pmLocal DECA studentswill be offering freehomework help and
SAT preparation.Sign up by calling
the library: 313-733-6822
Book TalkThursday, February 13
@ 6 pmDespite It All We
Never LearnWith author
Kenny KarpovSave the date!
For more information about events at the library call (313) 733-6822, or visit its
website at http://hamtramck.lib.mi.us whereyou can also access the online catalog.
The library is located at 2360 Caniff.
This week at the library...
Get Out on
the Hamtown!
Samaritans Community FoodAssistance Program
for Hamtramck Residentsand Surrounding Areas
Bring proof of income, and picture ID
8625 Jos. Campau11am-12pm
Every 2nd Monday of the Month
MEN’S HAIRCUTS
313-875-8972Best quality for the best prices.Prices Starting at
$109517 Jos. Campau— Hamtramck —
Call for Hours
‘Story of the Year’ revolvedaround a key financial sourceContinued from front page
housing and utility assis-tance, and more.
Sponsors included twoarea banks, First Inde-pendence and PNC, aswell as ICNAR Relief, aMuslim charitable organi-zation.
Attendees were able tosocialize as well as pickand choose from amongroughly 50 informationalbooths.
While Congressperson,and former SouthfieldMayor, Brenda Lawrencewas helping establish thecentral information table,honorary Co-chairpersonsDebbie Dingell andRashida Tlaib were makingtheir presences felt too.
Some local elected offi-cials were also present,and recognized, includingDearborn Heights Coun-cilperson Bill Bazzi, 19thDistrict Court Judge GeneHunt, and Wayne Countyveteran services official
Kwesi Betserai.The keynote speaker
was Sgt. Major Ronald L.Green; Executive Directorof the Michigan Veteran’sFoundation Tyrone Chat-man served as emcee,and welcomed everyone;and Wayne County Treas-urer Eric Sabree himselfled off with some openingremarks.
After all the schmoozing,there was a follow-up tal-
ent show for the secondyear, but to see it you hadto make your way over tothe John Dingell VA Med-ical Center at 4646 John RSt. on Wayne State’s cam-pus.
If you missed it all, takeheart – as successful as itwas this time around,they’ll almost certainly beback next year about thesame date for another go.
County treasurer hosts resourcefair for local veteransContinued from front page
By Alan MadlaneCat fans came out in
droves recently, as localcat rescue charity HCATonce again served up itsannual spaghetti dinnerfundraiser.
And they were lickingtheir paws by evening’send, as small servings ofred velvet cake and M&Mcookies were dished out.
The group again heldtheir dinner at the MooseLodge on Conant at Dore-mus.
The group has been ac-tive for decades.
The dinner is typicallyheld on the first Friday ofDecember at the lodge,and consists of all-you-can
eat spaghetti (meat sauceor vegetarian), salad, rollsand butter, and desserts.Soft drinks may be in-cluded as well. The sug-gested donation was $10.
And every bit goes to-ward the beasties.
The large round tableswere fairly full on thisnight. A call to co-founderChris Wilinski wasn’t yetreturned by the time wehad to go to press, to getthe actual numbers, but at-tendance appeared tohave been strong as ofaround 6 p.m. (the dinnerwas scheduled from 5 to 7p.m.).
If you missed this one,well, judging from the re-
sults it would seem prettylikely that they will do it allagain next year.
If you missed out, neverfear, there’s still a way foryou to help them out, ofcourse, and that’s by sim-ply donating. It’s a bittricky, because when youput the search term“HCAT” into Google, youget a ticker symbol for astock, so make sure to put“Hamtramck” into yoursearch as well.
Sounds like a purr-fectholiday idea to us.
Annual cat rescue fundraiserwas a ‘purrfect’ night out
Senior &VeteransDiscounts
Veterans gather at a recent event to help them getin touch with various resources for healthcare, em-ployment and housing.
Friday, January 10, 2020 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 3
Second Front Page
It’s Time to Pray, Please Join Us
We are a Multicultural Parish FamilySunday English Mass 9 a.m.
Sunday School 10 a.m.Everyone is Welcome to Worship with Us
Holy Cross Parish Polish National Catholic Church2311 Pulaski, Hamtramck • Very Rev. Jaroslaw Nowak, Pastor
313-365-5191 www.HolyCrossPNCC.com
We are an ActiveParish Serving the
Community
Celebrating 97 Years of Traditional, Catholic, and Democratic Church
January 11 – Soup Kitchen 2-4 pm Everyone Welcome!
January 27 – Mass for the People on our Prayer List 7 pm
StJosephsHealthcare.comHamtramck • 313-874-4500
Leadersin Short-Term
Rehabilitation
Providing quick recovery and quality care through our comprehensive rehabilitation program.
HENRY FORD MEDICAL CENTER
Hamtramck
We offer early and late appointments. The ability to message your doctor online. Same-day primary care when you’re sick.
HENR Y FORD IS HERE FOR YOU WHEN YOU NEED US
To schedule an appointment, call (313) 972-9000 orvisit henryford.com/sameday for same-day care options
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Henry Ford MyChart• Message your doctor online• View your test results• Renew your prescriptions
By Joe MyrickThe Review Special Writer
What happens whenyou throw a children’s toyinto a prison cell?
Same thing that hap-pens to a prisoner insideof a prison cell: nothing.Like a prisoner, the toyjust sits on the cold, hard,steel ground of a gray,dreary four-sided roomaway from the bulk of civi-lization and, eventually,decays.
But what if you turn theprison cell itself into a“toy cell”? Cover thatcold, hard, steel groundwith dozens of toy arti-facts from yesteryear?
Lace that same gray,dreary four-sided roomwith silly string hangingabove an array of vibrantcolors? Well, if you’re Alli-son Runyan, you justbrought those toys to life.
On Nov. 2, Hamtramck’sHatch Art Gallery held itsUprising art show openingreception. The works in-cluded in the exhibit re-mained on display untilNovember 30 (except forone special piece, whichwill remain on displaythrough January).
That work is titled “IfYou Throw a Toy in Jail”(aka “The Jail Cell”), byartist and art teacher Alli-son Runyan.
This “toy jail” takesviewers down on a nostal-gia trip featuring decades’upon decades’ worth ofhistory shared betweenbeloved toys, plush dolls,and action figures all in-terconnected and, insome ways, trapped in anintricate, colorful web ofstring.
Much like how a spidertraps its prey in a web, ora prisoner is trapped in-side of a jail cell.
The toy jail breaths awhole new life of its ownwhen we consider thatHatch’s building itselfused to be the local po-lice station, while theroom Toy Jail sits in usedto be an actual jail cell.
That information did notdirectly inspire Runyan’sintentions to create thetoy jail, though she admitsin this exclusive interviewit was hard to remove her-self from that information
once the creative processcommenced.
Runyan -- an artist andart teacher who comesfrom a long line of artists,teachers, musicians, andentertainers in her family-- was first approached byChris Schneider (who runsHatch) to bring her artisticprowess to the Uprisingexhibit back in May. Upris-ing was established tohighlight artists promotingsocial commentarythrough their art work andScheneider felt that Run-
yan would make a perfectcandidate.
Schenider originally ex-tended the offer to Run-yan on May 11 at 11:30p.m. (yes, she recalls theexact date and time frommemory) via a Facebookmessage.
Without hesitation, Run-yan gave an enthusiastic“yes” before even askingfor the full details, or evenasking why Schneiderthought she’d make sucha great fit. Once she fi-nally understood the pa-rameters of the event,she was ready to get towork.
After much planning andbrain-storming (with assis-tance from friend and art
therapist Aly Stinson, whoRunyan bribed with foodto help her with the instal-lation), the “toy jail” wasborn. But this is far fromRunyan’s first major instal-lation for an art show.
With a degree in FineArts from the College ofCreative Studies, Runyanhas made her presenceknown in both the Detroitand Hamtramck artscenes with several proj-ects over the past fewyears.
Among her media and
techniques are painting,crayons, printmaking,drawings, collage, sculp-ture, molding and evenlive performance art, no-tably with her PrincessPenelope character whoRunyan is in the processof adapting into a chil-dren’s book.
Apart from being born toartists and teachers her-self, Runyan admits sheentered her fields of workso that she could helpchildren connect to artthe same way she hasever since the age of 7.
“I wanted to be thatkind of person for anotherkid,” she says, while ex-plaining her double life asan artist and an artteacher. “I can inspire …Kind of guide that journeyfor other students.”
Runyan’s child-like en-thusiasm for her craft,combined with an envi-able energy level, hasdriven a consistent stylein her art that is alwaysbursting with colors,humor, and an eclecticsimplicity that both chil-dren and adults can relate
to. Which is, after all, the
whole point of her art.She says she wants to
produce art for all ages.Nothing too “serious” or“overwhelming,” butdown-to-earth and fun in away that stimulates theeyes as much as it doesthe mind. This latest ef-fort, “If You Throw a Toy inJail,” is no different.
Again, Allison Runyan’stoy jail exhibit will be fea-tured at Hatch Art throughthe end of January, so besure to go and give it alook if you haven’t al-ready.
Also, for anyone inter-ested in inquiring about herservices, or wanting to fea-ture her work in your ownexhibition, she can be con-tacted via Instagram: @Al-Runyan23, by email:@ a l l i s o n . r u nya n 2 3 ,@gmail.com, or on her web-site at allisonrunyan.com.
At this ‘jail cell,’ it’s not madefor people – just toys
Commissioner Alisha Bellsent us an email saying:
“Mr. Wojtowicz servedthe County of Wayne withdistinction from 1976 to2015. He was a dedi-cated fiscal steward, over-
seeing billions of Countytax dollars during his longrun as Wayne CountyTreasurer.
“He was a steady andstabilizing hand, helpingguide Wayne Countythrough some very toughfinancial times during histenure. Our prayers goout to his family.”
Continued front page
Quick Hits
Artist Allison Runyan has an exhibit at the Hatch ArtGallery.
What happens when toys are sent to jail? You’ll haveto find out for yourself.
By Walter WasaczI recently spent three
weeks in Europe, where Iwalked a lot -- and talkednearly as much as a pan-elist and moderator atconferences in two Ger-man cities, Dortmund andBerlin.
I also spent a weekendin Hamburg and two daysin Amsterdam. My timespent was intense andfulfilling. The panels onwhich I participated wereabout night culture andcreative, after-dark eco-nomics: largely followinga model set by Berlin, afree-thinking, no curfew,24/7 city since 1949.
(Ironically, it began asan American cold warstrategy to keep late-nightdrinkers in theBritish/French/U.S. sec-tors in West Berlin ratherthan lose them to bars inthe Soviet sector. Ironicbecause U.S. cities cur-rently lag far behind in tol-erance for the kind ofnight culture economypracticed in Berlin, Ams-terdam and growing num-ber of European cities.)
Detroit’s role in theBerlin story of the past30 years - roughly sincethe fall of the Berlin Wallin November 1989 -- issignificant.
It begins in the culturalunderground, where De-troit techno artists pro-vided the perfectsoundtrack for reunifica-tion: a propulsive, word-less, seemingly endlesselectronic dance musicexperience that brought a
divided city (and countryand continent) together indisused, forgottenspaces. No closing timesmeant the party couldlast the entire weekend,sometimes even longer.
In “Der Klang der Fami-lie (The Family of Sound),”a fascinating oral historyof the emergence oftechno lifestyle in theBerlin of the early 1990s,one participant saidthese euphoric weekendswould begin ‘on Thursdayand end on Wednesday.’Yes, if you're counting,
that's a seven-day week-end. Another said the fu-ture, then symbolized bythe fast approaching year2000, “glittered” in theimagination.
Today, Berlin is a vastlydifferent place. Popula-
tion is increasing at arate faster than any majorcity in Europe, touristscome by the tens of thou-sands to visit every week-end for art, music andfood; and to see exhibi-tions of cultural, politicaland social history -- evenin cold, rainy late-Novem-ber and early December,when the sun is rarelyseen and sets by 4 in theafternoon.
The local economy isbooming, nearly all of iton a walkable (or cy-clable) street level. Thequality of daily living inthe former tattered andworn East Berlin -- inMitte and PrenzlauerBerg, where I stayed in afriend's flat -- is approach-ing London and Parisequivalency. It is not yetas expensive but it's get-ting there, which causesworry among long-timeresidents that a still big-ger squeeze of gentrifica-
tion is inevitable.I could walk in any direc-
tion and within blocks getstrong coffee and deli-cious cakes, breads andfruits for breakfast; Viet-namese, Syrian, French,Palestinian, Spanish,Turkish, Greek, Italian,Polish, Hungarian, Aus-trian, Georgian (from theCaucauses, not southernU.S.) food for dinner.
German food? Yes, that too, but the
quarters in redevelop-ment are more interna-tional and multiculturalthan national; in fact,non-German first lan-guage speakers are verylikely the majority in theseinner-city neighborhoods.
Markets, large andsmall, corner shops andpharmacies are also ac-cessed easily on foot orbike. For longer trips, theunderground and aboveground (U-Bahn and S-Bahn) rapid transit net-work will get you mostanywhere in this 340 sq.mile city (more than dou-ble the size of Detroit, in-cluding Hamtramck andHighland Park) with crack-ling efficiency.
Trams and buses areequally efficient. Driving a
4 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 Friday, January 10, 2020
Continued on page 5
Kosciuszko MiddleSchool News
The PBIS theme for themonth of December wasto be safe.
Congratulations to thestudents of the monthwho explemfied beingsafe: Ibrahim Musaed,Abu Sabith, Md. SafwanSadi, Lemuel Sawyer, IrisCerimovic, ShinhaChanda, Ashraf Alduais,Derrick Wells, ShahadatHussain, Abeer Rahimee,Waeal Dhaifullah, AlaaOmar, Marissa Vukaj,Antwon Green, BenjaminArnautovic, MohammedZilani, Abir Chakraborty,Arnel Musanovic, Shay-ma’a Kassem, JasmineBegum, Suhaib Saleh, AliAl-Ghazali, Aisha Almas-mari, and Ishrat Rah-man. Keep up the goodwork!
Upcoming Events• January 20 -- No
school for students andstaff. Dr. Martin LutherKing Jr. Day.
• Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. Day Breakfast spon-sored by HPS and TheConcerned Women ofHamtramck.
The breakfast will take
place at the HamtramckCommunity Center from9-11:30 a.m. The adultticket prices are $20,
children ticket prices $10and a table for 8 peoplewill be $150.
Tickets are available atHPS district office or anyHPS public school. HPSstudents will be perform-ing at the breakfast.
• January 22 -- Ham-tramck High School Se-mester Exams. Half dayfor Hamtramck HighSchool (HHS.)
• January 23 -- Ham-tramck High School and
Kosciuszko MiddleSchool (KMS) SemesterExams- Half day for HHSand KMS. Records day in
afternoon for HHS andKMS.
• January 24 -- Ham-tramck High School, Hori-zon and KosciuszkoMiddle School (KMS) Se-mester Exams- Half dayfor HHS, Horizon andKMS. Records day in af-ternoon for HHS, Horizonand KMS.
• January 24 -- Half dayfor all elementaryschools. Records day inafternoon for all elemen-tary schools.
• January 24 -- End of2nd Quarter and 1st se-mester.
• January 30 -- ReportCard #2 distributed.
Recreation DepartmentFor information about
recreation activities, giveus a call at (313) 892-2635. Follow us on Face-book for the mostup-to-date information:
www.Facebook.com/HamtramckRecreationDe-partment.
Compiled byJanice Gandelman
Did You Know?
The Hamtramck Review is OnlineNever miss an issue!
www.TheHamtramckReview.com
Together we rise: lessons from Berlin
Kosciuszko Middle School students of the monthpose for a photo.
In Berlin, the nighttime economy plays a key role.
For every $100 spent in locally owned business,$68 returns to the community
source: the350project.net
Friday, January 10, 2020 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 5
Review: Opinion Page
FUNERAL DIRECTORYWhen the need arises, these caring professionals are ready to help.
2687 Caniff, Hamtramck(313) 365-5240
Continuously owned and operated by the Krot Family since 1935Alexandra Krot, Manager
David A. Krot, Public Relations
Jurkiewicz & Wilk Funeral HomeMICHAEL A. WILK, DIRECTOR ROBERT A. WILK, DIRECTOR
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In Our Opinion
It looks like the newyear, 2020, has startedoff with quite a bang.
The country still re-mains deeply politicallydivided, and it nowlooks like it is possiblethere are further compli-cations in the Mideast.
But in Hamtramck,things are looking basi-cally optimistic: The GMPoletown plant hasbeen saved, which willmean the city will con-tinue to collect a size-able revenue streameach year, at least in acouple of years when
the plant gets back tofully running.
We also have threenew councilmemberson city council, and itwill be interesting tosee how that plays out.
If there is one thingwe can count on, Ham-tramckans know how tosurvive. No matter howgloomy things might ap-pear – especially whenit comes to finances –the city manages towork its way through.
And no matter how po-litically divided we canbe here in town, in gen-
eral we manage to riseabove our differences.
There is a lot going onin the world today. Thatcan be a distraction formany of us.
But our focus shouldalways be on makingHamtramck a betterplace to live.
We are confident ourelected officials can seepast any differencesthey may have, and, inthe end, work together.
Residents deservethe best.
A new year, and areason to be optimistic
The Hamtramck ReviewPublished every Friday
3020 Caniff, Hamtramck, MI 48212 Phone: 313-874-2100 Fax: 313-874-2101
www.hamtramckreview.com • email [email protected]: John Ulaj • (248) 866-1110 • [email protected]: Charles Sercombe Office Manager: Jean IngenthronSales Manager: Dave Sweet Copy Editor: Alan Madlane
This newspaper is not responsible for mistakes in advertising beyond the cost of the space involved.
The Review's 2020 Official City Business Directory is about to hit thestreets. It includes the phone numbers of
local area businesses from A to Z. Advertisers, get on board for a unique
opportunity to have your message delivered to10,000 households and businesses in Hamtramckand the nearby areas of Detroit in February 2020.
Call Dave at (313) 874-2100Hurry! Deadline is Jan. 31, 2020
Identified… The na-tion’s Defense Depart-ment recentlyannounced that it identi-fied a 19-year-old soldierkilled during the KoreanWar is Army Pfc. John A.
Shelemba of Ham-tramck.
He was killed July 20,1950 in a battle at Tae-jon, South Korea. Hecould not be identifiedthen, and was eventually
buried in the NationalMemorial Cemetery ofthe Pacific, known as thePunchbowl, in Honolulu.
The Defense Depart-ment has been disinter-ring unidentified soldiersin recent years, andthrough extensive testsmade an identification.
Our thoughts go out tohis family. And speakingof his family, does any-one know if they still livein the area?
If so, give us a call at(313) 874-2100, oremail us at: [email protected].
car and parking it are theleast appealing options.People's bodies -- fit, trim,lean -- reflect a lifestylebased around constanturban activity.
So what can Ham-tramck and our biggerneighbor Detroit (the non-profit Detroit-Berlin Con-nection is the group Irepresented at the confer-ences) learn from2019/2020 Berlin?
Plenty. I would avoid apples and
oranges comparisonsoften made between thedecline and depopulationof our region in the lasthalf of the 20th centuryand Berlin's hot and coldwar history of the last 100years. Instead focusing onsmart, simple and univer-sal things that can be ap-plied here, someimmediately without muchcost, others with fore-thought and planning.
• Soft lights. It's apleasure to walk in Berlinat all hours in part be-cause of warm lighting il-luminating the sidewalksand streets. This comesfrom overhead city light-ing and from shops andresidential buildings.
This is in contrast tothe absence of any light-ing in these same areaswhen I first visited in2004. Application toHamtramck: all the harshbright lights that line Jos.Campau, Caniff and Co-nant can be replaced bysofter lighting. Amster-dam's red-light district,strewn with neon red,blue and yellow hues,also provides healthy ex-amples to complementnight time walking.
Houses in residential sec-tions of Hamtramckshould be encouraged tokeep the lights on (or onmotion-activated timers)for safe walking at allhours. Warm light trans-lates into “you are wel-come here, you’re in asafe space.”
• Parallel sidewalks,one for walking, one for cy-cling. This is important inBerlin because there is acritical mass of both footand bicycle traffic usingthe main avenues andside streets throughoutthe day and night. Walkersand cyclists can crash intoeach other easily (youlearn the rules of sidewalkseparation quickly inBerlin and Amsterdam).
How to apply locally:when construction beginson the Joe Louis Green-way next year the lanesmust be protected, notonly from potential car-bi-cycle conflicts, but the in-teraction of both with foottraffic. The stretch of Jos.Campau north of Caniffhas plenty of width to runprotected lanes to Car-penter and north into De-troit to McNichols, wherethe greenway begins tohead west. To see allmodes of urban transit intheir proper lanes can bea beautiful thing.
• Winter markets. Sure,we have the Winter Glow,but why not organize thebusiness community andinsert a commercial ele-ment to the holidayparty? Or do it in combi-nation with Paczki Day orduring the HamtramckMusic Festival (this yearheld the last week of Feb-ruary)? Winter markets in
Berlin, Hamburg and Am-sterdam are plentiful thistime of year, brighteningthe darkest months ofthe season with lights,food, drink and music, at-tracting people of allages.
• Togetherness. It mayseem quaint, even naive,to suggest an idea so fun-damental to humangrowth is likely theessence of Berlin's suc-cess story. The city ap-pears to have capturedthis genie in a bottle dur-ing its 30-year journey ofself-discovery and recov-ery. Detroit helped, un-cannily, by bringing itsown healing, creativespirit to a divided, dispir-ited Berlin 30 years ago.
The discussion I moder-ated, between Detroitersand Berliners, showedthis spirit of togethernessremains part of the city'sliving history. The chal-lenge ahead is to keepthis spirit alive as thepopulation and economygrow, no easy task. Howto apply here: build lead-ership, stability and unityby creating communitypartnerships across mul-tiple generations, races,languages, religions, gen-ders, sexual orientations:all human resources richwith possibilities to moveus forward in bold, adven-turous ways. The futurewill be productive if werise in it together. Divided,we fall.
Walter Wasacz is a Ham-tramck native and co-founder of the nonprofitnight economy advocacygroup the Detroit-BerlinConnection
Together we rise: lessonsfrom Berlin Continued from page 4
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6 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 Friday, January 10, 2020
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By Alan MadlaneDon’t let yourself suc-
cumb to the winter bluesor blahs.
Why not enjoy what yourlocal city recreation de-partment has to offer?Some of it is free, and allof it is at least a little bitinteresting.
Beats another nightbinge-watching MayberryRFD on your couch withyour pet iguana, I bet. Notto say that’s not a validlifestyle choice.
For ages 16-plus, thereare fitness classes,something each week-night from 6 to 7 p.m.Monday, it’s Zumba; Tues-day, how about a StepClass, along with someab work; Wednesday it’scardio and toning, alongwith some work on the oldsitter, aka glute work; andThursday, why not give
Belly Dance a try.They promise the
classes will cater to alllevels of fitness, and bestof all, the fee is only $5,and that’s the same forresidents and non-alike.Get a 10-class punchcardfor $35 and save 30 per-cent.
Over 55 years of age?Try their free 8:30 a.m.Monday-Wednesday-Friday“Kick Fit” classes on forsize, tailored to your agegroup.
Or why not put togetheran 18-and-over men’sbasketball team? $225for the season gets yourteam four hours of actionon Saturday nights from 6to 10 p.m.
Prefer to just work outon your own? If you’re aresident, you simply pay aonce-annual $7 buildingaccess fee ($0 if you’re
over 55; $10 if you’re anon-resident) and then $2per day to use the facility.Save money by purchas-ing a monthly pass for$20, or better yet an an-nual one for $100.
It’s just $1 to use thesauna.
Prefer racquetball orwalleyball as a recre-ational outlet? Rentcourts for racquetball for$5 per hour before 2 p.m.($7 after) or walleyballcourts for $12 per hour.Group rentals are avail-able too.
Next time, we’ll go overthe pool and open swimpricing.
There are a couple oftrips coming up to men-tion.
Registration begins Jan-uary 13 for a trip to seethe Pistons play LeBron
Keep busy this winter withthe recreation department
Continued on page 8
Leanne Zaliwski-CongerHamtramck Native/Specialist
Associate Broker • Multi-Million Dollar ProducerVisit www.DiamondRealty-Associates.com
GALA HOLIDAY CONCERTSaturday, January 25at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church,
the Polonaise Chorale of Hamtramck will performPolish and English Christmas carols during the
5:30 p.m. Mass and after Mass, under the direction of Antoni Maczka, organist at St. Florian
Parish. According to Polish custom, carols aresung every year from Christmas Eve right up toCandlemas on February 2. Admission is free.
3851 Prescott • Hamtramck • 313-891-1520www.ourladyqueenofapostles.com
WOJTOWICZRaymond J.Wojtowicz, 90,died January8, 2020.
Mr. Wojtow-icz was the husband ofthe late Delphine Wojtow-icz; brother of NormanDaniel, the late John Woj-towicz, and Don Michael;father of Susan (John)Liska, Christopher Woj-towicz, Dean (Sheila) Woj-towicz, the late Wesley
Wojtowicz, and Renee(Mark) Dudek; grandfa-ther of Jacob (Rebecca)Liska, Nathan Liska, Ash-ley (Thomas John) Marlin,Evan Wojtowicz, Griffin(Erin) Wojtowicz, JosephWojtowicz, Alexandra Woj-towicz, Marcella Dudekand Marcus Dudek; great-grandfather of Julianna,Jaxon, Jameson, Noraand October Liska; Ju-bilee, Felix and Fiona Wo-jtowicz.
Mr. Wojtowicz served
as the Wayne CountyTreasurer for 39 yearsand as the Mayor ofHamtramck from 1970to 1973.
Visitation will be Mon-day, January 13, 2020, 1- 9 p.m., at Jurkiewicz &Wilk Funeral Home,2396 Caniff, Ham-tramck, MI 48212. Mr.Wojtowicz will lie in-stateTuesday, January 14,2020 at 9:30 a.m. untilthe time of Mass at 10a.m. at Our Lady Queenof Apostles CatholicChurch, 11200 ConantAve., Hamtramck, MI48212. Private burialwill be at Mount OlivetCemetery, Detroit, MI.
The family asks thatdonations be made tothe Soup Kitchen at OurLady Queen of ApostlesCatholic Church.
FMICFood Ministries in Collaboration� �
SINCE WE ALL FALL SHORT OF THE GLORYOF THE LORD AND WE ARE ALL OUR OWNWORST ENEMY HERE IS A PRAYER YOU
CAN SAY BEFORE YOU START OUT EACHDAY HEAVENLY FATHER PLEASE
SAVE ME FROM ME
To make a tax deductible donation send to:
Harp of God MinistryFMIC
P.O. Box 11361Detroit, MI 48202
P.S. Send copy to friends
Friday, January 10, 2020 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 7
1 br. apartment, 3618Caniff, Hamtramck, clean,safe, all utilities + inter-net. 313-434-9759. 1/24
Hamtramck, 9709 De-quindre, 3 br. lower, clean,$550/mo. + sec. deposit,313-640-8243. 1/17
3869 Fredro, single fam-ily, 1 bedroom, call Palo orDianne, 248-818-6542,248-818-8378.
13446 Dwyer, single fam-ily, 3 bedrooms, call Paloor Dianne, 248-818-6542, 248-818-8378.
12829 St. Louis, 2 story, 5BR, upper and lower eachhave kitchen, bath, diningand living rm, Palo andDiane 248-659-2325.
2 br., possible 3, no pets,good for mature tenant,fenced in yard, utilitiesnot included, $600/mo. +$600 sec. dep., 1 yearminimum lease, call 313-743-4554. 1/10
2954 Goodson, 4 br., living,dining rm., kitchen, full base-ment, 2 car garage, turn-keyhouse, $125,000, 248-879-2521, ask for Pete.
Detroit, 3904 Eldridge, 2family, garage, lower level,2 br., living, dining,kitchen. Upstairs 1 br., liv-ing rm., kitchen, 586-634-2502.
New Al-Baraka, call 313-366-0500 or 202-664-2756.
Michigan Anti-Cruelty So-ciety is seeking a kennelassistant to help w/careand cleaning of animals.Must be at least 18 yearsold, with a valid driver’s li-cense. Apply in person at13569 Joseph Campau,Detroit. 1/31
Handyman for home mod-ernization and repair,Hamtramck area, 313-919-1241. 1/31
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By Charles SercombeThis week’s crime Log
covers Dec. 31-Jan. 6.Tuesday, Dec. 31
• At about 1 a.m., aperson was arrested afterleaving the scene of apedestrian accident thatoccurred in the area ofJos. Campau and Ye-mans.
• At almost 3 a.m., aperson was arrested aftera traffic stop for drunkdriving, and for beingwanted on a Hamtramckmisdemeanor warrant.
• A resident in the11600 block of GallagherSt. reported that fourtires being stored in theirbackyard were stolen.
• A resident in the3200 block of Jacob St.reported that their licenseplate was stolen fromtheir vehicle.
• A Holbrook Ave. resi-dent reported that theirproperty was damaged.
• A resident in the11600 block of Gallagherreported the theft of their2002 Chevy Malibu with aMichigan license plate:DMC-3278.
Wednesday, Jan. 1• A Detroit resident was
ticketed for obstructingpolice officers.
• A hit-and-run accidentoccurred at Buffalo andTrowbridge.
• A three-vehicle crashhappened on RooseveltSt.
• At about 4:30 a.m., avehicle struck two parkedcars in the 3100 block ofTrowbridge St. The driverand passenger switchedseats and attempted toflee the scene, but could-n’t drive off because theircar lost a wheel in thecrash. A Detroit residentwas arrested for drunkdriving, not having a dri-ver’s license (with 24 pre-vious convictions for thisinfraction) and for drivingwith an improper licenseplate. A Southgate resi-dent was also arrestedfor drunk driving and driv-ing without a license.
• A Caniff Ave. residentreported being the victimof domestic violence. Thesuspect fled the scene.
• Another domestic as-sault took place in the
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following first publication. Thenewspaper shall not be liable forfailure to publish an ad, for a typo-graphic error or errors in publica-tion except to the extent of the costof the ad for the first day’s inser-tion. Adjustments for errors is lim-ited to the cost of that portion ofthe ad wherein the error occurred.We reserve the right to classify,revise or reject any classified ad-vertisement.
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Coming eventsMONDAY, Jan. 27, 9 a.m. – Wayne County
Commissioner Martha G. Scott hosts a freeCommunity Coffee Hour every fourth Mondayof the month at Maine Street Restaurant,11650 Jos. Campau.
SATURDAY, Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m. -- GALA HOL-IDAY CONCERT at Our Lady Queen of ApostlesChurch, the Polonaise Chorale of Hamtramckwill perform Polish and English Christmas car-ols during the 5:30 p.m. Mass and after Mass,under the direction of Antoni Maczka, organistat St. Florian Parish. According to Polish cus-tom, carols are sung every year from ChristmasEve right up to Candlemas on February 2. Ad-mission is free.
Continued on page 8
HELPWANTED
Deadline for classifieds fornext week is Thursday at Noon
(313) 874-2100
3900 block of Evaline St.Thursday, Jan. 2
No incident report wasavailable for this date.Friday, Jan. 3
No incident report wasavailable for this date.Saturday, Jan. 4
• A Detroit resident wasarrested after a trafficstop for being wanted ona Hamtramck misde-meanor warrant.
• At a little after 2 a.m.,four Hamtramck residentsand one Detroit residentwere arrested in the areaof Holmes and Mackay forpossessing open intoxi-
cants in public, providingfalse information to policeofficers, for obstructionand for being wanted onvarious warrants.
• A Conant Ave. resi-dent reported being as-saulted by their neighbor.
• A resident from Ypsi-lanti was arrested fordrunk driving.
• A resident in the12000 block of OklahomaSt. reported that some-one broke out a window attheir residence.
• A Detroit resident wasarrested in the 5000block of Caniff Ave. for as-
sault.• A person was ar-
rested in the area of Jos.Campau and Jacob forbeing disorderly.Sunday, Jan. 5
• A Charest St. residentreported a break-in.Monday, Jan. 6
• A resident ofRochester Hills was ar-rested by Troy police offi-cers for being wanted ona Hamtramck warrant.
• A Detroit resident wasarrested after a trafficstop for driving without alicense and for beingwanted on a Hamtramckwarrant.
• A Trowbridge St. resi-dent reported that theircity-issued trash can wasstolen.
8 Hamtramck Review Phone (313) 874-2100 Friday, January 10, 2020
Continued from page 7
James, Anthony Davis andthe L.A. Lakers at LittleCaesar’s Arena on March22. Cost is $25 for anupper level seat. Shuttlein from the communitycenter at 5 p.m.
The Daddy-DaughterDance, for girls 13 andyounger and their fathers,will register from January6 through 31. The actualdate of the dance will beSaturday, February 8. Theprice and location are yetto be determined, but ob-viously should be set bythe time registration be-gins.
There are also a coupleof trips planned for the
55-and-over set. In Janu-ary, spend a day at thePlymouth Ice Festival, witha late lunch from the Whit-ney warming your belly.
Registration began onNovember 11, so not surehow many spots are stillopen for this, but it’s setfor Friday, January 10from 2 p.m. until 9 p.m. –a long day, but you’ll sleeplike a baby, we’re guess-ing. It’s $25 for residents,$35 for others.
In February, join yourneighbors on a fun junketto the Henry Ford, as inMuseum. Registrationstarts January 6 for aTuesday, February 11
date, from 10 a.m. to 5p.m.
A mere $20 (for resi-dents; add $5 for non-)gets you in to one of thefilms playing their beauti-ful theater, plus gets youa tour of the museum,with time out for you tobuy yourself lunch.
Both of these functionswill depart from the Sen-ior Plaza apartments onHolbrook west of Jos.Campau.
For more on all this,contact the Rec Depart-ment directly at (313)893-5520, extension 3.
Keep busy this winter withthe recreation departmentContinued from page 6