Park council honors five civilians
who aided police work last year

The Grosse Pointe Park City Council honored civilians who helped police at its Monday meeting (March 8). Director of Public Safety David Hiller and Mayor Palmer Heenan presented Detroit residents Nicholas Oakes, Nathan Oakes and Bill Gaetz with Public Safety Civilian Commendations for their collaborative efforts to catch a thief. read more...

New emergency siren to wail
for weather safety in the Park

Grosse Pointe Park residents will soon hear a different siren within the community. Speaking before Monday's City Council meeting, Director of Public Safety David Hiller gave an update on the newly installed emergency siren system on Kercheval between Balfour and Nottingham. The system will soon begin a series of tests.

“We will be meeting within a week with the other communities to determine the best ways to test it, as well as activation, whether we can do multiple or individual activation,” said Hiller. read more...

With big-store orders of tasty pastry,
Just Delicious is just (more) successful

Twenty years ago, Jen Stockwell and Darcy Towns were asked by a friend to cater a party of 350 people.

“Never having done it before, we took about three days, spent a ton of money and made appetizers – 1,500 for this group,” Stockwell recalls.

The catering business took hold and they together did 167 parties for 10,000 people in total. read more...

Off council, but still in the game,
Shirley Kennedy keeps serving at 83

Grosse Pointe Park resident Shirley Kennedy lost her city council seat this year, but she doesn't feel defeated. At 83, she says she's not tired and not done serving the city.

“I don't have any problem filling in my time,” said Kennedy, who still holds leadership positions at various Grosse Pointe foundations and Mariners Church in Detroit. read more...

High-minded rhetoric lifts Park council,
which then considers a rat committee

Monday evening’s Grosse Pointe Park City Council meeting followed the rule of three.

Three city council members took the oath of office along with their mayor. Three parties gave their points of view regarding a yearlong struggle over a chimney at 1263 Whittier. And there were three major orders of business. read more...

Millages pass, but few new faces
in quiet municipal elections

A municipal election short on contested races concluded with few surprises and much relief for educators, who face steep state funding cuts but were at least rewarded with a continuation of existing tax millages.

Two millage measures, one for operating funds and another for building and physical-plant maintenance and improvements, passed decisively by 3-1 margins. Their passage was welcomed by board members, who already have to reconcile $4 million in funding cuts delivered during the state's brutal budgeting process. The money generated by the two millages accounts for 25 percent of the Grosse Pointe Public School System's budget. read more...

Last-minute mail attack targets
Park council candidate Laurie Arora

Laurie Arora must be making someone nervous in her campaign to gain a seat on the Grosse Pointe Park City Council. Over the weekend she found herself the target of an ugly mailing sent to voters, one that called her a "top advisor" to Detroit City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr., and explicitly linked her to Detroit's problems. read more...

Residents smell a rat in Park's
pest-control practices, and tell council

Grosse Pointe Park residents Nancy Gutierrez and Patricia Rivera waited through an entire city council meeting to tell the city administration they believe it poisoned their pets.

Gutierrez said two dogs recently died after ingesting commercial-grade rat poison, and four more were sickened. Among the dead was her pet Ralphie, and Rivera’s dog Cha Cha is one of the sick. The two said the city’s Department of Public Works carelessly distributed this substance in the Lakepointe alley near their homes. read more...

Rescuer needs a rescue

No one was injured when a Detroit Fire Department EMS truck left East Jefferson Boulevard off Harvard Road in Grosse Pointe Park Thursday afternoon (Oct. 15). Public Safety Director David Hiller said the crash involved no other vehicles, and that the truck hit a tree. The patient being transported was safely transferred to another ambulance. The crash is still under investigation. Photo by Larry Peplin.

Park council candidates face voters
at League of Women Voters forum

Three Grosse Pointe Park City Council candidates met Wednesday evening (Oct. 14) at a forum in the municipal building to answer questions from residents.

The forum, hosted by the League of Women Voters of Grosse Pointe, included incumbents Daniel Corrigan Grano and James Robson, and challenger Laurie Arora.

Spectators submitted questions on note cards. read more...