The Communicator

Photo of the Day

2008-02-12T16:56:01-05:00

February 22th, 2008: Signs of spring?

Photo by Jascha Wilcox, hosted by Flickr.com.

To see previous selected photos of the day, click here.

Explain your opinion in full! Write the.communicator@gmail.com, and see your submission on this website.

Poetry Night

2008-02-12T16:43:00-05:00

Every poet has a reason to perform, and for every poet it is different. Some do it to realize something in themselves, some to have an audience, and others to learn.
Glenna Benitez, a CHS sophomore read in Poetry Night in Ann Arbor this past January. “It was a really nice experience,” she said. “Everyone at Poetry Night is super encouraging and it’s a really fun thing to be a part of.”
When Poetry Night started on December 10, 1999, it was named The End of the Millennium Poetry Explosion, and it was the start to Ann Arbor’s contribution to the poetry scene.
When I agreed to read in Poetry Night, at first it was because I was asked to. Throughout the next month, I knew I wanted to because the two minutes I spent on stage would contribute to my growth as a person. Afterward, I realized that a big piece of performing is for communication.
Dennis Kim, (a.k.a Denizen Kane) one of the featured performers of the show, praised some of the high school poets in the show for sharing their personal stories when he came on stage.
After every poetry event I go to or participate in, I remember that a big part of being a writer is being brave. Jeff Kass, a Pioneer teacher and director of literary programs at the Neutral Zone also commended several poets on stage for the guts they have to read.
Almost everything Kass does is connected to poetry. In 1998 when he moved to Ann Arbor, he started the VOLUME Youth Poetry Project, modeled after his brother’s San Francisco organization Youth Speaks. It has been a great success.
“Little by little, we built it up from where two or three people used to come to Thursday night workshops at the beginning to our sort of peak days about four years ago when we used to have 25-30 people come every week,” Kass said. “We’ve fallen off a bit since then, but hopefully we’ll be able to build it back up.”
This year, two poets who performed were Dennis Kim from San Francisco, who is an accomplished poet, hip hop artist and fiction writer, and Aracelis Girmay, a teacher from New York who came out with her first book, “Teeth,” last year.
Kim had the bravery to do something different on stage. He played his guitar and sang about a fight he had witnessed outside a high school. He read a fiction piece about four brothers- one of many he has been working on. Kim does an excellent job of connecting with his audience.
When Girmay came on stage, she was not shy. She told a quick anecdote for each piece she read and made every story vivid. She even gave an amusing demonstration of what her astigmatism makes a jump-roper look like to her. Girmay made her performance feel relaxed and almost like a conversation, rather than her reciting poem after poem.
“Aracelis was my favorite of the adult people,” said Cody Pan, a patron of poetry night for several years.
Poetry Night was the first big event of the year, but poets will be busy throughout 2008. The youth poetry slams are in March, where students compete to fill one of six slots on the 2008 Ann Arbor youth poetry slam team. And to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, VOLUME will put out a collection called Decibels. The book will have 10 years worth of poetry from VOLUME youth poets and it’s alumni. It will debut on May 17 at the Ann Arbor Book Festival.
This year, Poetry Night had more high school poets than in the past. Every kid in the show has a different reason for choosing to perform, but everyone shares the bravery to get on stage.

A Quorum of Forums

2008-02-12T16:36:00-05:00

The Town Meeting is dead. It passed away over the summer, unloved and with little fanfare. In its last days it had been a shadow of its former self, artificially kept alive with forced attendance and a series of student committees. Few mourned its passing. Thus, the 2007-2008 school year at Community High School began with an unfilled gap in place of student government. Not until nineteen weeks into the first semester did the first organized attempt at creating one surface.

Tentatively called “Forum Council” by the School Improvement Team (SIT), with whom the idea originated, the governing body was to have a completely different structure from the old Town Meeting. The meeting that the SIT called on January 15th was not created with any intention of discussing school-wide issues from the get-go, but only to establish some rules and procedures for doing so in the future.

No burning issues seemed to be on anyone’s mind anyway, apart from discontent over how the so-called “banner decision” of several weeks past was made. Many of those in attendance felt a need to be involved in the decision-making process out of a sense of responsibility. “This is my education, my school,” Martin Stobby said. Robin Holland did not plan to speak during the meeting. “If they ask me to, I will,” he said. He came more to find out about specific issues at Community.

The SIT wrote its Working Draft of Principles for Governance on November 13th and passed out copies to each forum, intending for them to be read aloud and discussed. In some forums there was a lengthy discussion, while in others, the issue was passed over briefly. What happened in each room largely depended on whether there was someone who was interested in the principles. Sarah Olson, for instance, brought up the issue in her forum and was also chosen as the representative to send to the meeting. Generally, the word got out.

On January 15th the group that was to lay out the foundations for whatever student government would be, met. Not after school like the Town Meetings but during forum itself. Roughly 42 students, or about two from each forum, showed up over the course of the meeting, with the only staff presence being Marion Evashevski, sitting in the back of the room and typed up the meeting’s minutes. SIT members sat at the front, and there was a sort of four-point agenda written on the blackboard behind them.

Dylan Cinti of the SIT began with a simple clarification. “This is a work in progress. This is not student government,” he said. It was not yet student government by the time the meeting ended, either, with participants agreeing to meet again later to finish hammering out the basics.

Paul Princen added that the whole reason that the Forum Council was called was “to give the student body a formal voice.” At the beginning, they read over the Principles of Governance draft that had been passed out to everyone upon entering the room. After they had finished, Lauren Banka was the first one to speak. The proposals, she said, were “very … not concrete.”

SIT members explained that the principles were only a working draft and were meant to get the discussion going. As intended, heavy debate ensued, with about three to five students’ hands raised at any given time. Cinti emphasized that the student government could have real power, a lot of real power, if it were to “go into this with a lot of initiative” while acting within limits.

“It’s not like we’re going to go off and paint the school pink,” Cinti added.

“That would be awesome!” Banka said.

Austin Hughes, an SIT member and a sophomore, began the discussion more formally. “What do you guys think you want out of this organization?” he asked.

Most of what followed seemed to center around the second principle: “All parties impacted by a decision should have some voice; sometimes that voice is representative.” Whether there should be a small rotating group elected from the student body or a large plenary session attended by delegates chosen by each forum was one of the central questions.

Lilia Epstein-Katz, a senior, suggested that the school should elect a student government consisting of about eight people, as it would be more efficient and responsive. Students might not have real input if they had to come and make themselves heard over an entire crowd. “You have more of a voice if you have less people representing you,” Epstein-Katz said.

Noam Samuel, another senior, disagreed. “I think a small group of people making decisions is kind of against the spirit of Community,” he said.

Others shared a similar sentiment. “I think having eight people representing a whole school is kind of ridiculous,” David Falkner, a Junior, added.

Some, however, were concerned that having a small, dedicated group would be the only way to keep people from losing interest in the process, as happened with Town Meetings. “Should we make it required that people participate?” Sevde Felek, a junior, ventured.

“I think all you need is one person from each forum,” Hugh Belden, a junior, said. Ariel Goldstein, a senior, suggested a bicameral system consisting of one body with forum-based representation and another with grade-based representation, acknowledging his theft from the American legislative process.

Some felt that one of the main problems with Town Meetings was a lack of concrete subject matter. “We have to know what issues we’re going to be talking about,” Conor Woodcock, a sophomore, said.

After the discussion continued for some time longer, Aidan Brawn, a junior, said: “I feel like we’re stuck too much on what kind of body we’re going to have. We have to get a certain amount done today.”

The topic changed slightly to the question of whether representation on the student government should be based around the different forums or the different grade levels.

“Forums should be the ones to actually decide things,” Samuel said, describing them as central to Community.

Some pointed to the content of the students present at the meeting, stating that the room was filled mostly with seniors and juniors. Epstein-Katz felt that freshmen don’t yet care about the affairs of the school, and that a separate representation for their grade would disenfranchise the more interested upperclassmen.

“One of the most important ideas of Community is that it’s not about grade, ever.” Banka said. “I mean, I wouldn’t want to talk to everyone in my grade.”

After the meeting, though, Hughes observed that active underclassmen might be excluded if representation was based solely around each of the forums. He was excited that people had such strong opinions, however. Though somewhat upset that not everyone was always open-minded, Hughes was happy because people wanted to learn what others had to say.

As the time approached 3 o’ clock, usually the latest forums will ever stay, people started to leave one by one. The group sensed that the discussion was nearing its end and resolved to meet again, for as long as it would take to set up a process for student government. Jascha Wilcox was the last to speak. “I haven’t said a thing yet,” he began. He said that Town Meetings fell apart because there was never any concrete agenda of what issues were going to be discussed. He hoped that the same would not happen with Forum Council.

Afterwards, Helen DeMarsh, a sophomore, said she thought the meeting was somewhat disorganized because it was the first one. But she saw the need to have a student government with a definite set of rules to function by, pointing to the banner “fiasco.” “No one had any idea what sort of organization we had until it happened,” DeMarsh said.

The next meeting, on January 31, was smaller, with about 23 people showing up. The group approved several proposals by majority vote, settling the question of the basis for representation on the council. Students felt they knew the opinions of people in their forums more than those of the others in their respective grade levels, so a forum-based representation would make more sense. The group voted that one person, with a one-semester term, should be elected or somehow chosen from each forum. Worried that freshmen and sophomores would go underrepresented, they also approved a measure allowing for open-mic sessions at the beginning of each meeting, with possible seats allotted to organizations like the BSU or GSA, and anyone allowed to attend as an observer.

“If you came every time, it would be like having a seat on the council,” Mollie Ruth, a junior and SIT member, said.

Sevde Felek, another junior and SIT member, felt that the representative system would be more responsive to the desires of each forum. “Representatives are simply there to bring what forums think to the meetings,” Felek said.

Ruth said that the structure for the meetings came partly from the way the meetings of the school board itself are set up. Whether they would have any power was another question. Ruth suggested that the body could pass non-binding resolutions on decisions that it could not influence, such as proposed budget cuts, and could actually vote on lesser issues, such as another banner decision.

“Forum Council is really more to be there if there’s a problem,” she said.

Leaving Community

2008-02-07T00:15:00-05:00

When Community High School’s first semester finals were over, the 450 students burst through the doors for their highly anticipated weekend. But for a small number of students, it was a different experience. It was the last time they ever walked out of those doors, and it had nothing to do with graduation.

They had decided to withdraw from Community High School forever.

Originally established in 1972, Community has always been a unique “alternative” school in the Ann Arbor Public Schools System. It was founded on the experimental idea of a “school-without-walls,” and has always been a strong contrast to Pioneer and Huron High School. Although there are consistently more applicants than spaces available, this doesn’t mean all students are content with their decision to enroll.

Community boasts an open-campus policy, no bells and personal academic relationships with teachers, but the school doesn’t offer everything. “I have to leave because I want to take advanced courses. It’s a big deal to me,” says Elizabeth DeMonte, a Community sophomore. DeMonte has been a CHS student since her freshman year, and has made the decision to enroll at Huron full-time. “My classes here were easy. I’m pretty sure at Huron, I’ll get the challenge I’m looking for.”

As a student athlete, Huron’s athletic teams also played a part in DeMonte’s decision. Because she plays Huron Field Hockey and is a member of the swim team, she often misses team meetings during lunch. She also misses out on team spirit. “Athletics are really valued there, and I’d like to be around my teams.” As a Huron student, she’ll have to move around a lot less. “It seems like I’m always rushed to get somewhere.”

John Boshoven, one of Community’s guidance counselors, doesn’t feel that the absence of accelerated classes should be an issue at Community. “Instead of pretend college classes, we offer real ones,” Boshoven says. He believes that there are more benefits to a curriculum like Community’s. When it comes to teaching, “heterogeneous grouping” provides an easier system and enriches the learning environment. “We don’t skim-off students at Community. We embrace diversity, and kids learn from each other that way.” Community Resource Classes (CR’s) and College Courses are also available to students looking for a challenge. Boshoven calls accelerated classes “canned curriculum” and believes the Community options better prepare a student for college.

Although DeMonte is leaving to follow her educational needs, one of the most common reasons kids leave Community is because of friends. Drew Stapleton, a Community junior, felt that the school was shrinking ever since his freshman year. “It’s hard to meet new people when you know everyone already,” says Stapleton, who plans to be a full-time Pioneer student next semester. After dual-enrolling during his sophomore year, Stapleton enjoyed his classes but not the “back-and-forth.” A year later, he made the decision to leave for good. For most students, withdrawing from Community is a permanent decision. But not for Stapleton; his mother is a Community High staff member, allowing him a special privilege to return.

Boshoven is generally skeptical when a student wants to leave for “social reasons”. He advises those students to get involved at CHS first and try to embrace the school. But Boshoven also understands the appeal of a larger student body. “Some kids just want to be with more kids, and that’s at the big schools.”

Raphael Kronenberg is not leaving Community in order to be with more kids; he’s leaving to be with no kids. “Next semester, I’m going to design and implement my own home-school program,” says Kronenberg, a sophomore. Although he spends a portion of his day at Community, Kronenberg is technically a Pioneer student. If it were his decision, he would have been full time at CHS, but he did not get in through the lottery system. “I was disappointed, but it wasn’t the end of the world.”

After struggling with the rigid structure of Pioneer, Kronenberg made the decision to withdraw from the Ann Arbor Public Schools System. “I think I’ll get a lot more out of my own program because I’ll be learning what I want. Community is a great school, but not for me. This path is what’s best.” As for the social aspect of a home-school program, Kronenberg’s not worried. “It will be different, but it’s not going to be difficult. I’ll make an effort to see my friends.”

In previous years, semesters would pass without a single student deciding to end their time at Community. With at least four students leaving, this semester’s total is high for CHS. Boshoven assumes it has to do with the low level of commitment. If they get in, many freshmen will come to Community just to try it out. “If it doesn’t work, they can just go to one of the big schools. No harm done,” explains Boshoven. Despite the many rumors circulating middle school hallways, CHS has an excellent reputation. It was the only school in the AAPS district that received an “A” on its annual report card.

When a student leaves Community, regardless of their reasoning, Boshoven can only hope they have made the right decision. Their decision is irreversible and their names are added to the end of the wait list. There are around 200 kids in line per grade.

But there is happiness at the end of the process too.

When a student leaves, one more is let in. “Someone else is really happy to get that spot, and we’re glad to give it to them,” says Boshoven. The popularity of Community has been on the rise, and more and more students want to attend. Boshoven understands that everything depends on the individual. “When it comes to school, it’s all about finding the right fit. Where you’re happiest, you’ll do better.”

Spicin’ Up Future Stars

2008-02-06T21:17:00-05:00

Standing on a stage, in front of hundreds of people, including numerous friends and family members, is a girl who doesn’t know if she is going to win. She knows that she did an amazing thing a few minutes ago, but is it really enough? Is it enough to win Future Stars 2008?

She stands with four other finalists, who all have the chance to be crowned Future Star champion.

The judges are deliberating. The crowd is chanting numerous names, one of which is hers.

“Sonya! Sonya! Sonya!” they chant.

Future Stars is the Pioneer Theatre Guild’s imitation of the hit Fox TV show American Idol. At the beginning of the competition, Sonya Major, a junior at Community High School, only had one goal: to reach the finals. She didn’t know if it was possible, but she thought it was definitely worth a shot.

The semi-finals were where it all began. She had four chances to beat out 28 other contestants in order to advance to the finals.

After not getting into the finals on the first night, Major refused to lose hope. She still believed that she was going to make the finals.

On the last day of the semi-finals, Major had an unbelievable night: she got into the finals, for two songs.

It was finals night, and Major couldn’t have been more happy. She had reached her goal. What she didn’t know was that it was about to get a whole lot better.

When Major was out on the stage in the semi-finals, she wasn’t thinking about the competition. She sang like no one else was there, like the theater was empty. It was just the music and her.

“I kind of forget it’s a competition until I turn around and the judges start talking,” Major said.

Before it was time for the concert to start, Major admitted that she was a little nervous and didn’t really know what was going to happen out on stage, but was “pumped” to just be in the finals.

Major’s first song was with a group of girls who did a rendition of the Spice Girls’ song “If You Wanna Be My Lover.”

Major was “Sporty Spice” and represented her well, garnering huge cheers and amazing reviews from the judges. Major was joined by the other “Spice Girls”: Posh Spice (Ashley Park), Sporty Spice (Olivia Bassett-Kennedy), Baby Spice (Rachel Mann), and Ginger Spice (Olivia Songer). All of them came together to give a thrilling performance.

But that song was not what Major was the most excited for. Her song was coming up—the song that she hoped would earn her a Future Star crown.

Although she was really nervous, Sonya was excited and anxious more than anything.

As Major and her backup singers were about to go on stage, they all leaned in, as if they were in a football huddle, and Major said to them all: “Let’s Dixie Chick this.”

She got out onto that stage and let everything go. Her performance in front of more than two hundred people was unbelievable. And just her luck, it was the last performance of the night, the performance that would stick in the judges’ minds the most.

Major performed the song “Not Ready to Make Nice,” by the Dixie Chicks. After she finished the crowd went crazy.

Everyone was rooting for her, standing up in awe of how wonderful she sounded.

There she stood, along with four other contestants, waiting for her name to be read by the hosts as the winner.

The hosts took one big last breath before they read the winner on the envelope they were holding.

“DOROTHY YARRINGTON!” the hosts screamed in the microphone.

Yarrington, a senior at Pioneer High School, went into this competition as a student favorite to win it all. To go along with her very strong singing performance, Dorothy also had a fan section that outnumbered all the other contestants’ sections, both of which heavily contributed to her victory.

But you would think that after getting to the finals and being one of five final people being considered to win the whole competition, Major would be at least a little upset about not winning. But she was not upset, not even a little bit. She was just happy to be in the finals, and even more happy to be in the final five people to be considered crowned Future Stars Champion.

Walking out into the hallways of Pioneer High School, you could not tell whether she had won or not. She was smiling uncontrollably and hugging everyone she knew in an energetic way that gave the impression that she had just won the lottery.

But Major didn’t win Future Stars 2008. Instead of being crowned Future Star 2008, she was crowned by her own friends and family the most amazing singer that they had heard.

Standing in front of more than a hundred of friends and family, Sonya Major couldn’t hold back a smile. A smile that said: “I was just in the finals!”

Images hosted by Flickr.com

Valentine’s Day

2008-02-06T21:10:00-05:00

“Joel asked me out a day after he dumped his old girlfriend, but I waited to say no until the day after he asked. I couldn’t wait any longer,” recalls Natalie, an 8th grader who has had at least 7 boyfriends. But this boy is the winner, according to her. “Now I have a Valentine!” she says. Although she has spent between 2 days to 2 months with each of these special boys, she’s never had a Valentine on the actual day.

“This is my first one!” she says excitedly, “I don’t usually pay attention to Valentines Day, but I do this year.”

Natalie has watched for years as her friends have had valentines, receiving gifts such as rings, necklaces, chocolates, a giant candy heart, and a singing frog. This year is different year though. She is one of only two girls, or maybe 3, “if Nondi and Dondez get back together,” that will have a boy to smother her with gifts. Although she has no idea what presents Joel has in mind for her, “I want something that shows he knows me well,” she admits.

This day of love has become quite popular among middle schoolers. Some kids’ happiness depends on whether or not they have someone special on the day. At first Natalie claims that “Valentines Day is like a Hallmark holiday; it doesn’t really matter.” But on second thought, she realizes that “If we broke up before then, I would probably get really depressed on Valentines Day.”

While middle schoolers could be worrying about school work or preparing for high school, they are busy preparing for and worrying about Valentines Day- all year long. The drama in middle school is already so abundant, it seems as though they don’t need the drama of this day. But in the back of most of their minds, they know it’s fun and worth it if they can scramble to find someone special (or at least semi-special) by February 14th.

Holiday Gift Guide Cont.

2007-12-18T02:31:00-05:00

The stores mentioned in the article are below:

Kerrytown Market & Shops:

Vintage 2 Vogue

Princess Designs

Mudpuddles

407 N. Fifth Avenue

Farmer’s Market

Ann Sheppard

Dogma Catmantoo

208 N. Fourth Ave

Heavenly Metal

207 E. Ann St.

Peaceable Kingdom

210 S. Main St.

Acme Mercantile

111 West Liberty

Ten Thousand Villages

303 S. Main St.

Tortoise & Hare

209 E. Liberty and 2631 Plymouth Rd.

pictures by Blythe Moreland and Quinn Burrell

Community Ketch-Up

2007-11-26T16:27:00-05:00

Indicting Whiting

2007-10-23T15:37:08-05:00

BP North America has recently obtained permission to increase pollutant discharges into Lake Michigan from its oil refinery in Whiting, IN. The new permit is the result of a request from the company to increase its effluent mass of TSS (total suspended solids) and ammonia from 3646 to 4925 pounds per day and 1030 to 1584 pounds per day, respectively. BP made this request to further its “Project CXHO,” in which it will obtain and process greatly increased amounts of Canadian Extra Crude Heavy Oil. According to BP, this is the result of a dwindling supply of oil in Texas and the other mid-continent states.

An economic incentive

“It’s a modernization of the refinery, to ensure a stable supply of crude oil,” said Valerie Corr of BP Press Relations. “This project would allow us to refine more crude oil.” Canadian crude oil is derived from bitumen, a heavy, tar-like, extremely viscous organic liquid. This substance, in which oil-solid separation is difficult to achieve, contains higher concentrations of metals (copper, lead, mercury) and nitrogen. The increased discharges of TSS and ammonia are explained by these properties: the higher amount of concentrated metals increases the total discharge of solid material, and the oxygenation and decomposition of more nitrogen requires more ammonia. TSS includes both these concentrated metals and sludge, which is the solid material left over when water goes through a treatment plant. After the crude oil is refined, the remaining material is sent to a wastewater treatment plant, treated, and dumped into Lake Michigan. The refinery discharges approximately 21.4 million gallons of wastewater into the lake every month.

BP is investing three billion dollars to renovate the Whiting plant and increase its current production of gasoline and diesel by 1.7 million gallons per day. This project will “increase the diversity and security of oil and other petroleum products in demand by customers in the Midwestern United States” (BP press release, 24 August 2007). BP’s justification of this project is the socio-economic benefits it will provide to Whiting and Indiana. The modernization of the Whiting refinery is expected to create 70 new jobs with average salaries of $26.61 an hour by 2011, and 2,500 part-time construction jobs. According to BP, there is no doubt that this project will create favorable economic growth, the benefits of which will outweigh any environmental concerns.

“We urge you to reconsider”

In a July 18th letter, Senator Richard Durbin (D-Il) and Illinois Representative Rahm Emanuel wrote: “While we fully recognize and support the economic growth that will come from the expansion of the refinery in Whiting, we respectfully urge you to reconsider your decision to dump tons more ammonia and “sludge” into Lake Michigan. As a company that strives to set an example of environmental stewardship, we encourage you to make those changes necessary that will eliminate the need to further pollute Lake Michigan.”

Before this permit was granted, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) carried out careful investigations of the refinery’s facilities and wastewater treatment plant. BP’s permit application had to be considered on a “case-by-case basis,” because some of BP’s requests were based upon exceptions to the rules. In accordance with Indiana law, if “the increase in mass discharged is not related to an increase in discharge flow, a requested increase in a mass effluent limitation is evaluated on a case-by-case basis.” This means that the levels of pollutants in the effluent wastewater can increase, as long as the total amount of discharged wastewater does not. BP has engineered the Whiting refinery so that the levels of TSS and ammonia can increase, but the total amount of released wastewater will remain the same. There are no regulations for determining the “appropriate increase in mass when the increase is not a result of an increase in flow” (IDEM’s BP Fact Sheet). Thus, the levels of pollutants in the total discharged water are not regulated and may go significantly over the limits.

IDEM also granted BP permission to use a “mixing zone,” which dilutes polluted water by mixing it with clean water in a designated area of the lake. According to Indiana law, water quality standards may be exceeded in mixing zones; therefore, a higher amount of pollutants than is allowed may be present in a mixing zone. Mixing zones are not allowed in Indiana without approval from IDEM. This permit also goes against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Antidegradation Act, which prohibits any lowering of water quality in outstanding national resource waters (ONRWs). Lake Michigan qualifies as an ONRW.

BP’s proposed increases of TSS and ammonia are 110% and 226% of EPA’s limits on those pollutants, respectively. Because of these figures, stated in Tables 13 and 14 of Advent-Environ’s antidegradation analysis, “BP has determined that there is a potential for the Lakefront WWTP [wastewater treatment plant] to have difficulty complying with TSS [and] Ammonia” regulations. The analysis also revealed that the levels of copper, lead, and mercury in BP’s effluent “show a reasonable potential to exceed water quality standards.” The limitations set by IDEM on these pollutants will not become effective for three years, and mercury levels will only be checked semi-annually. Advent-Environ is a wastewater management group from Brentwood, TN.

BP’s permit request was submitted on 30 November 2006. IDEM asked the company to provide a better reason for why they needed to raise their outflow of pollutants, and why they were not doing anything to improve their wastewater treatment plant. BP responded that they did not have enough space on the grounds.

The company currently reduces its total suspended solid discharge by recycling some of its effluent wastewater to the refinery cooling towers. However, this process creates higher concentrations of cycling metals in the water, which is directed back down to the wastewater treatment plant and into the lake. Therefore, Advent-Environ concluded: “It is not an environmentally friendly option to recycle discharge back to the cooling towers,” and no alternatives have been proposed. Plans for more advanced ammonia treatment equipment were canceled because of excessive erosion in the past; BP retains its less advanced equipment. BP has not commented on the relationship between the focus on its oil refinery and its plans to further the use of solar and wind energy.

“It is our goal to cause no harm”

BP must monitor the toxicity of its effluent wastewater but is under no obligation to reduce it, according to page 34 of its permit. Its increased releases of TSS and ammonia and its almost unregulated mercury and lead discharges are mixed up into the lake environment, our drinking water, and the habitat of Great Lakes animals. The concentrated metals in TSS are harmful to animals: mercury damages the kidneys, stomach, intestines, and can cause mutations; ammonia causes gill hyperplasia in fish, which thickens their gills and makes it difficult to breathe. Lead exposure, in its minor forms, can cause anemia, headache, kidney and nervous system damage, and abdominal pain.

According to Corr, “It is certainly our goal to cause no harm to the lake. We comply with all standards set by EPA.” But many are not so sure that this is the case—Durbin and Emanuel among them. In their letter, they continued: “We cannot allow the Great Lakes to be treated as a dumping zone for industrial waste. We have appealed to federal authorities to block the State of Indiana’s approval of this new permit allowing additional dumping in the Lake. We also plan to work with our many colleagues around the region, and their millions of constituents, to ensure that this expanded dumping will not come to pass.”

Many of their “colleagues” agree. “We believe that it is inappropriate for the state of Indiana to release increased amounts of pollutants into Lake Michigan, ” said Elizabeth Austin, Communication Director in the office of Pat Quinn, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. “It is inappropriate to affect not only Indiana, but Illinois and all the states and Canadian provinces that border Lake Michigan. We believe it is wrong to reverse the decades of progress that have been made in cleaning up the waters in our Great Lakes.”

America’s Oldest Usher

2007-10-17T22:41:00-05:00

When the bell rang at 3:00 p.m. during baseball season, Paul Maceri and his cousin would bolt out of his Detroit junior high school and race home to catch the afternoon ball game on the radio. The year was 1927.

Flash forward 80 years, and Maceri still climbs and descends the Comerica Park stairs in the boiling midday sun during every Tiger’s home game. At 92, he is the oldest active usher in the country.

His interest began in 1924, when Maceri’s gym teacher took him to a baseball game. He was in his third year of grammar school at the time and Ty Cobb was the manager of the Tigers. He did not know much about the game then, but he did know it was the start of a lifelong love.

Maceri quickly made up for his lack of knowledge at his first game. He memorized batting averages, wins and losses, positions, weights and heights. As he grew older, though, it became apparent that the need to support his family would overtake his desires for a career in baseball. He took a job driving trucks for Ford Motor Company. “I liked it, but I didn’t like it like baseball,” Maceri said, “[There is] nothing like baseball.”

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, it was an opportunity for Maceri. He was called into service and played in an army fast-pitch softball team in Honolulu, Hawaii. The island newspapers called him “Cy,” for no reason Maceri could discern, but the name stuck and his wife still uses it to address him today.

After playing ball in the army, Maceri knew he could not go back to his job with Ford Motors. Luckily, his nephew knew about an ushering job with the Tigers. In 1970, Maceri got an interview and was hired on the spot. He knew it was the right job for him, and loved the perks: he could talk to famous ballplayers and managers before and after games.

Sparky Anderson, manager of the Tigers from 1971-1995, was one of those heroes. In 1984, Maceri put his arm on Anderson’s shoulder and asked, “What are you gonna do this year?”

“We’re going all the way,” replied Anderson, and Maceri believed him. That year, the Tigers won the World Series.

Maceri was also able to talk to Al Kaline and Jack Morris, a wild Tiger’s pitcher in the 1970’s, and said that he learned the players’ personalities. The ushers knew not to talk to Morris after a loss, but after a win he would be more than happy to autograph their baseballs.

The casual atmosphere of the games changed in 2000 with the move to the new Comerica Park. Ushers were no longer allowed to talk with baseball players, and if they caught a ball they could not keep it or they would be fired. Through everything, he was positive; it was worth it to be there for the game.

Maceri patrols his section each game, says hello to regulars and helps newcomers find their seats.

“I got the best fans in the world. They treat me great,” Maceri said of those who sit in his section, “Every time they leave, they say, ‘Paul, you’re coming back.’”

Even Comerica Park has recognized his longevity. In 2004, the digital screen announced “Paul Maceri Day,” in honor of his commitment and acknowledged him officially as the oldest active usher in the United States. He was 89.

Maceri’s wife, Rose Marie, says her husband often spends more time at the ballpark than with her, but she’s fine with that. He even spent their 50th anniversary ushering for the Tigers. “His first love is baseball, his second love is me. Isn’t that crazy?” she said.

“No, she is my first love,” he corrects, “but I do love baseball.”

So do his four children, four grandchildren and great-grandchild.

At 92, Maceri thinks he will work a couple more years and quit. He wants to be there in 2009, which his wife points out is their 60th anniversary.