Local fire chiefs talk about cooperation and consolidation between departments

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I've put together and uploaded two videos today based on my talks with Saline Fire Chief Craig Hoeft and Pittsfield Township Fire Chief Sean Gleason. I interviewed them for a story that will be appearing in an upcoming special section called What's Next. One video is on cooperation in general and possible consolidations in the future.



The second focuses on one of the topics, a specific example of cooperation, that will be featured in the full story: a box alarm system between Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township.



It was great talking to both Chief Hoeft and Chief Gleason.

A commendation to Milan High School student Alyssa Stuart writer for telling her story

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Like most others, I was amazed at the writing of Milan High School student Alyssa Stuart when she wrote about her experience of being bullied to the point of being assaulted earlier last week.

I commend Alyssa for her writing of what happened. It's tough for anyone to do, let alone a high-schooler. I was assaulted in high school, and not once did I feel the need to write about it in such detail to share my story. Especially with the way publishing is these days, it means the whole world can potentially have insight into what happened that day.

It takes writers such as Alyssa, who has written about bullying before, to help bring light to what happens in high school. It's been almost six years since I was in high school, but I'm certain some things have changed, while others have not. Unfortunately, bullying doesn't seem to have gone away, even with the loads of education against it.

Of course we will wait and see what happens, since someone has been charged in the case. Until then, it's best we look at how to help eradicate problems such as bullying, and use examples such as Alyssa's to do just that.

Special Olympics basketball is quite the game to watch

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Tipoff between the Hot Shots of Oakland County and the Green Wasps
of Washtenaw County at Saline High School Saturday.

There can be a stigma to the phrase "Special Olympics."

Unfortunately, the events have seen some very negative connotation over the years. Crude jokes, insults, you name it, it's probably been said by people.
But many of those people haven't seen some of the athletes, and man, can they play.
I attended the regional tournament this past Saturday for basketball at Saline High School, which is for teams in southeast Michigan. My brother has competed in the games in different events for years. He's competed at the state summer games in Mount Pleasant, the basketball tournament in Saline and Grand Rapids and the soccer tournament in Warren. It's been very important to him and many of his friends, who he competes with.
The tournament for most teams is a four-team bracket: winners play winners, losers play losers. My brother, who competes for a team in southeast Oakland County, played against teams from Brighton and Saline Saturday. After losing an early match to the team from Brighton, he and his teammates played against the Saline Green Wasps, a game I was excited to see them play, since Saline is now my turf in my family.
Some of these athletes definitely play elsewhere, and are quick and skilled. They really can leave on the edge of your seat when you watch.
After being shut out fin the fourth quarter, my brothers team squaked out a win against Saline 29-27 (They play four 6-minute quarters). It's a fun event during the day at Saline High School, with many area teams and local high school students and referees volunteering their time on a Saturday in March.
In case your curious what gameplay may look like at an game like this, take a look at the sequence I captured on my phone. Saline is in blue and yellow, and southeast Oakland County is in white: 

Wild turkey running around downtown Saline caught on tape!

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Maybe to me it's not uncommon, but I can't say I've seen this before.

Arriving at the Heritage Media office at about 7:30 a.m. today, I got out of my car and spotted a strange sight: a giant bird walking through the parking lot.
I quickly moved out of my car, moving carefully toward the back of the lot near the Key Bank drive-thru ATM. I spotted the bird walking toward the back door of Key Bank, and moved in a little closer to capture some footage. 
Needless to say, it started running and flew away, but not before I was able to capture the bird on film. Take a look:

IT workshop for women at EMU draws crowd of teenagers

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Last week I covered an interesting event at Eastern Michigan University, a workshop for middle school- and high school-aged girls focused on being safe online while also introducing them to the possibility of future careers in the IT and information assurance fields. Only about 12 percent of the workforce of these fields are women. This presents an opportunity as employers seek to develop a more diverse workforce. Among the speakers at the workshop was Debbie Dingell, wife of Congressman John Dingell, who spoke to the girls in attendance about both main topics. The workshop was titled Cyber Security in the 21st Century: Digital Divas. Click here for the full story with video.

National Victims' Rights Week

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The public is encouraged to attend the annual Victim Tribute planned as part of National Crime Victims' Rights Week. The event will be held Tuesday, April 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 34th Street in Sarasota. The tribute is hosted by the Sarasota County Victim Advisory Council and is designed to honor victims of all types of crimes while also recognizing the strength of survivors. Several area agencies will be on hand to offer information on available community resources. The event concludes with a solemn candlelight vigil.

National Drug Turn-in Event Saturday

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The community is invited to turn-in their unused and expired prescription medication during the Drug Enforcement Agency's National Drug Turn-in Event on Saturday. In addition to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office locations in Venice and Sarasota, citizens can also bring their unwanted medication to the Venice Police Department, North Port Police Department and Sarasota Police Department. Medication turn-in is always anonymous. ONLY solid dosage medicine such as tablets and capsules are accepted. Our goal is to collect "A Ton in '12," so encourage your friends and family members to clear out potentially dangerous medication that is no longer needed and could be harmful if it gets into the wrong hands. Other events are planned throughout the year, and the Sheriff's Office boxes are available year-round.