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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
May 3, 2012
C
ANTON
- P
LYMOUTH
- N
ORTHVILLE
‘Healthy Summer’ launched
Volunteers work at 38 homes
Health reporter Lila Lazarus will help
Canton Leisure Services and Saint Joseph
Mercy Health System celebrate the first
Healthy Summer program from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. Saturday.
The kick-off will take place at St. Joseph
Mercy Canton, located at 1600 S. Canton
Center Road, as well as at the Summit on
the Park, located at 46000 Summit Parkway.
In addition, information and activities will
also be available on the path between the
two facilities.
“One of our department priorities is to
promote an active and healthy community,”
said Canton Leisure Services Director
Debbie Bilbrey-Honsowetz. “This terrific
partnership with St. Joseph Mercy Canton
provides an opportunity for families to take
advantage of some wonderful health initia-
tives right in their ownbackyard.”
St. Joseph Mercy Canton is offering a
number of free health screenings including:
bloodpressure testing, skin cancer andhead
and neck cancer screenings, body mass
index (BMI), asthma and allergy informa-
tion.
“As the largest health care provider in
Canton, we're committed to helping the com-
munity kick-off their summer activities in a
fun and healthy environment” said Kathy
Kasperek-Korelis, executive director of
ambulatory services at St. Joseph.
The popular Health Exploration Station
at St. Joseph Mercy Canton will be open for
tours and play and the urgent care will host
a teddy bear clinic, so visitors can bring
stuffed animals to bemended.
St. Joe's “Farmer Dan” will be outside
handing out seedlings and information
about The Farm at St. Joe's housed at St.
Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor - the only hospital-
based farmin the country.
Free yoga, Zumba and turbo kick classes,
and information on bicycle safety can be
found outside. At the Summit, the pool will
be open from 1 - 5 p.m. to participants of the
event, featuring its ever-popular lazy river.
Refreshments will be provided and all
activities are free. Register to win Tigers
baseball tickets, a three-month pass to The
Summit, and an iPad 2.
For more information, call (734) 394-5460
or
visit
Cantonfun.org
or
www.stjoeshealth.org/kickoff.
In an effort to provide a clearer
understanding of the ongoing budg-
et challenges facing Northville
Public Schools for the 2012-13
school year and beyond, two com-
munity forums being sponsored by
the Northville Board of Education
this month. The meetings are
scheduled 7-8:30 p.m. May 10 at
Hillside Middle School and May 14
atMeadsMillMiddleSchool.
“Michigan's current economic
climate and school funding struc-
ture - which Michigan public
schools rely on for 90 percent of
their funding - are creating extraor-
dinary budget challenges for our
district as we struggle to manage
resources and protect the learning
that takes place in our classrooms
every day,” said Northville
Superintendent of Schools Mary
Kay Gallagher. “For the past
decade, reductions in the state's
funding allocation, coupled with
recent steep increases in mandato-
ry retirement contributions have
resulted in a significant decline in
real dollars forK-12 education.”
Under Gov. Rick Snyder's cur-
rent budget proposal for the 2012-
13 school year, Northville Public
Schools faces the continued loss of
$470 per student. This is in addition
to the cost impact of offering full-
day kindergarten (due to pending
legislation) and an increase in the
district's mandatory state retire-
ment contribution equal to
between $155 and $170 per student,
she said “With nearly $9.8 million
in budget reductions for the district
since February 2010, there are no
easy answers or painless steps to
take at this point in time,”
Gallagher added. “Students and
their families, teachers, adminis-
trators, and support staff have all
experienced the impact of these
budget reductions. We continue to
look for potential areas for rev-
enue-generation as well as cost-cut-
ting, and are mindful of the impact
increases in class size and class
configuration have already had on
our students, staff andparents.”
The forums will include a 30-
minute presentation, after which
board of education members and
district leaders will be available to
meet with participants in small
groups and answer questions. In
addition, representatives from the
Northville Council of PTAs
Legislative Action Network will be
on hand to share the impact of the
budget proposal and other pending
legislation.
The same information present-
ed at the forums also will be avail-
able beginning May 10 on the dis-
trict
website,
www.northville.k12.mi.us.
Students and their families, teachers,
administrators, and support staff have all
experienced the impact of these budget reductions.
”
Northville schools sets informational public budget meetings
More than 121 volunteers took part in the
Plymouth Community United Way spring
Rake~N~Go last Saturday.
Volunteers cleaned the yards of senior cit-
izens and people with disabilities in
Plymouth, Plymouth Township and Canton
Township. The morning began with a free
continental breakfast made possible by
donations fromPanera Bread, Einstein Bros
Bagels, Busch's Fresh Food Market,
Absopure, Kroger #670, Kroger #671, Kroger
#703, Hiller's Market, and Comcast. The
Salvation Army Plymouth Corps hosted the
breakfast.
Teams of volunteers from churches, Boy
Scout troops, service clubs, families, corpo-
rations like Johnson Controls and Chrysler
Group, Plymouth High School Football
Team, Canton High School National Honor
Society, and Home Depot all helped out dur-
ing the day-long beautification effort which
provided aid to those unable to take care of
spring yardwork at their homes.
Home Depot, Five Mile and Beck, provid-
ed the yard waste bags for the 38 homes
where volunteersworkedduring the day. For
information about giving and volunteering,
visit www.plymouthunitedway.org.
Members of
t
h e
P l y m o u t h
H i
g h
S c h o o l s
football team
h e l p e d
spread 12
yards of dirt
in the front
and back
yards of a
C a n t o n
home.