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B & B COLLISION DECEMBER 17, 2025 • Vol. 38, No. 26

Holiday shopping season brings traffic to downtown MACOMB PLACE PROJECT NEARS COMPLETION IN MOUNT CLEMENS

BY DEAN VAGLIA dvaglia@candgnews.com

MOUNT CLEMENS — Between the dazzling lights of Walnut Street and the bustling thoroughfare of Southbound Gratiot, those who have recently perused Mount Clemens’ downtown might have noticed something new: an opened Macomb Place.

“We will be opening the street this week (of Dec. 8), but we had to wait for DTE to put in the lampposts, which is going on right now in the snow and everything else,” said Michelle Weiss, coordinator of the Mount Clemens Downtown Development Authority.

On the evening Dec. 9, much of Macomb Place appeared to be ready, minus barriers at the ends and obstruction rocks and seating placed throughout the roadway on pallets.

Janice Trimpe’s sculpture “Apple of my Eye” was back on the sidewalk while signage for drivers was placed along the ex-

ABOVE: Harrison Township is ready for the holiday season with thousands of twinkling lights decorating its trees, library and township hall.

ABOVE INSET: Fern’s wish to “Chewy Claus” was to light up her town. She is pictured here with her owner Aspen DeMonaco and Santa Claus.

Photos by Erin Sanchez

FERN HELPS LIGHT UP HARRISON TOWNSHIP

BY ALYSSA OCHSS aochss@candgnews.com

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — The holiday season has arrived, and Harrison Township is lit up with the help of “Chewy Claus” and one special duck.

At the Harrison Township tree

lighting on Dec. 4, residents and public officials celebrated the holidays and thanked Fern the duck for her wish to light up the town, submitted to the online retailer’s Chewy Claus outreach.

Averyn Hunter won the township’s “Flip the Switch” contest by completing five random acts of kindness. Her name See LIGHTING on page 2A

See SHOPPING on page 12A

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hadn’t really taken on the role of waterfowl up until my college years,” DeMonaco said.

DeMonaco works at a public high school. Fern makes appearances at their events including homecoming, football games and more. She said the kids love when Fern attends events.

“It just makes their day, just lets them be kids again,” DeMonaco said.

DeMonaco advised people to not feed waterfowl bread and instead use things such as dried oatmeal, frozen peas, watermelon or cracked corn. She also suggested that people should do their research before owning a waterfowl or a bird.

To find out how to submit a letter for Chewy Claus, go to chewy.com.

Call Staff Writer Alyssa Ochss at (586) 498-1103.

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Residents enjoyed the lights, crafts and more at the tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 4.

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was added to a drawing after she completed the tasks.

Fern is a Pekin duck, and she was rescued by her owner Aspen DeMonaco when she found her abandoned.

“At the time, I had been doing a lot of research on dumped waterfowl, but I never expected to find my own,” DeMonaco said.

She said she found Fern standing by a building at a park with no food or water.

“She almost looked like she was waiting for a bus, and it was really sad because she was waiting for whoever dropped her off to pick her back up,” DeMonaco said.

At the time, Fern was around four weeks old and since then she’s become really fond of DeMonaco and people in general.

DeMonaco said it took a week for Fern to warm up to her and her surroundings. Fern lives inside DeMonaco’s house with other pets.

During Fern’s very first Christmas, DeMonaco said she took her to see Christmas lights in Harrison Township and that she was excited seeing the dancing colors. DeMonaco’s cousin had told her to write to Chewy Claus.

“I had submitted a few letters from the range of animals that I had,” DeMonaco said. “She hadn’t won anything specifically from Chewy Claus when she initially had submitted but a few months later, her wish was granted to come true for this year.”

Fern’s wish was to light up her town for the holidays.

DeMonaco said it was special for them to be picked, and it couldn’t have come at a

coordinate how it happens and when it happens,” Savage said.

Lights started going up on Monday of that week and she said everything is very similar to what happened the previous year.

This is the first time having a food truck and heated tent.

However, she did say there are more lights this year because of Chewy.

“Now our biggest problem is figuring out how to live up to this year next year,” Savage said.

There were reportedly about 36,000 lights in the display.

DeMonaco has owned birds before including parrots and she’s been rescuing animals all her life. She started studying waterfowl in 2019.

“I’m very well-versed on animals but I

Grati

from page 1A

better time of year. She said her experience with Chewy has been good and that a lot of the employees adore Fern and love her from all over the country.

“I even say that if Fern and I go on a road trip, I mean, they’re going to be one of our first stops,” DeMonaco said. “They just made this experience an unbelievably — everything you could have ever imagined.”

Lisa-Marie Curti, brand activations lead at Chewy, said the Chewy Claus contest is the pet version of Santa and it has been going on for around four years.

“We’ve created a way for pets to write in for their version of Santa,” Curti said.

“Essentially, we fulfill tens of thousands of wishes every year.”

Curti said with every wish submitted to Chewy Claus, they donate five meals to pets in need. If submitted through their app, the company donates an additional five meals and if a pet owner defers their wish to a pet in need, they donate five more meals.

Over the years, they’ve had over a million pets submit their wishes to Chewy Claus. This year, they’ve fulfilled thousands of wishes, but they granted a couple other big wishes for pet owners across the country.

Fern’s was one of them.

One pet’s owner has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS, in her mid 30s. The pet’s wish was to walk with his mom again because she is wheelchair bound.

“We granted the wish and we custom created a leash that attaches to her wheelchair so that she can independently take her dog for a walk,” Curti said.

Jessica Savage, Harrison Township Parks and Recreation director, said Chewy contacted her after they spoke with DeMonaco.

“They called me and asked me to help

Kelly Rd

Lighting

SECOND FRONT PAGE Communities, organizations respond to cryptocurrency scams

@JournalCG facebook.com/MountClemensJournal candgnews.com • (586) 498-8000

3A/ JOURNAL • DECEMBER 17, 2025

BY DEAN VAGLIA AND BRIAN WELLS dvaglia@candgnews.com, bwells@candgnews.com

MACOMB COUNTY — It’s a new verse, same as the first. Much more digital and a fair bit worse.

As the limits of technology are pushed further, so too are the frontiers of scammers looking to make their money off of the misfortune of others. Yesterday, there were bad checks and a handshake. Today, people are tricked into turning their life’s savings into bitcoin or another cryptocurrency and sending it away to who knows where but a deceiver’s virtual wallet.

“We’re hearing about them all the time through our office,” said Sheila Cote, director of the Macomb County Office of Senior Services. “In fact, recently we heard of a family (where) the husband ended up getting involved in a crypto scheme and lost their entire life savings. They’re of retirement age and now they’re looking at trying to get back

to work. Unfortunately, it’s very common.”

According to Cote, these scams targeted at seniors prey on the vulnerabilities that come with being an older adult in society.

“They’re often isolated and they may be lonely, and the criminals that are targeting older adults are very skilled at convincing them that they’re their friends, that they want to help them, that they have a way of making them rich fast, that they should invest their savings in these situations,” Cote said. “There’s psychology behind it in which these criminals use to engage older adults … they are not necessarily skilled in terms of technology, so that puts them at risk as well.

There’s many variables that put older adults at risk, but isolation and loneliness tends to be high on the list.”

Scammers can take on almost any disguise online, pretending to be anything from a delivery company with a delayed package notification to a potential romantic inter-

ABOVE: Cryptocurrency ATMs are a core part of scams using the digital currencies. Cities in Michigan are regulating crypto ATMs to fight back against scammers.

Photo by Brian Wells

LEFT: Sterling Heights Police Department Capt. Colleen Hopper speaks to the Sterling Heights City Council about an ordinance to regulate cryptocurrency ATMs on Dec. 2.

Screenshot taken from Sterling Heights City Council meeting broadcast

See SCAMS on page 15A

MCSO, Warren Police Department create drug crime task force

BY DEAN VAGLIA AND BRIAN WELLS dvaglia@candgnews.com, bwells@candgnews.com

MACOMB COUNTY — If there is anything criminals care less about than the law, it is jurisdictional boundaries.

In order to more effectively combat drug crime across Macomb County, the Warren Police Department has been given countywide jurisdiction from the Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office as part of a narcotics task force.

“Collaboration and working together strengthens the law enforcement community and I believe makes our community safer,” Sheriff Anthony Wickersham said. “Over the years, we’ve participated in and still do participate in many multijurisdictional task forces … Combining our resources and putting law enforcement together to attack and deal with certain issues throughout the community, I believe, is the best practice in law enforcement today.”

Under the terms of the collaboration announced in October, the two departments are able to strengthen their existing ties through sharing surveillance and intelligence as part of coordinated enforcement operations against suspected narcotics criminals.

See TASK FORCE on page 7A

Facebook photo by the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office

Warren Police K-9 officer Argo sits near a pile of drugs seized at the Blue Water Bridge as the result of a multijurisdictional investigation on Nov. 25.

JOURNAL • DECEMBER 17, 2025

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CRIME

WATCH GPS tracker found

MOUNT CLEMENS — On Dec. 8 at around 9 p.m., Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office deputies spoke with a 56-year-old Mount Clemens woman about a case of suspicious circumstances.

On Dec. 5 at around 2:30 p.m., the woman found a GPS tracker in the bed of her truck. She disassembled the device and gave it to deputies.

Deputies told the woman to report any further suspicious incidents.

Fraudulent investing

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — On Dec. 8 at around 1 p.m., Macomb Coun-

COMMUNITY

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Volunteers needed for homeless point-in-time count

MACOMB COUNTY — Macomb Community Action is currently seeking volunteers for its point-in-time count, an annual census of those who are experiencing homelessness in Macomb County.

Volunteers can elect to participate in the 2026 count in either of two shift options — the late-night shift beginning on the night of Wednesday, Jan. 28 from 9 p.m. to midnight, and the early-morning shift on Jan. 29 from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.

“We’re encouraging residents across Macomb County to come together for this important event,” Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said in a statement. “The Point-in-Time Count provides essential data that helps guide our efforts to address homelessness, but it also reminds us of the real people behind those numbers. By volunteering, you can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our neighbors who need our support.”

Volunteers gather data about those encountered, including gender, race and ethnicity for all persons. Additional data will be gathered if the person interviewed voluntarily provides the information. This could consist of veteran status, age, whether the person is “chronically homeless” or if the person is experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence, disability status, HIV/AIDS or those who have a substance use disorder.

ty Sheriff ’s Office deputies spoke with a 59-year-old Harrison Township man about a fraud case.

While chatting on a cryptocurrency website, the man was told to join a WhatsApp group with other members, and he reportedly invested $75,000 using the site.

The site provided statements for investments that showed major returns, but access to the full statements required additional payments.The man left the site and reported it as fraud.

False alarm bomb threat

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — On Dec. 8 at around 7:45 a.m., the Clinton Township Police Department received information about bombs planted at Wyandot Middle School.

Officers arrived and coordinated an evacuation of students and school personnel,

Volunteers are provided with information about “hot spots” — where homeless people are known to be — in order to complete the count.

“Getting a better understanding of homelessness on a local level helps us be more effective in our efforts to address this important issue,” Macomb Community Action Director Edward Scott said. “We hope Macomb County residents will once again turn out to be an important part of the solution.”

For more information, interested individuals can send an email to Kristin.DeFranco@macombgov.org, or you can call her at (586) 817-2049. To register to volunteer for the count, go to https://bit.ly/47TFJVX

Consumer’s Energy providing senior assistance

JACKSON — As the cold of winter moves in, utility company Consumer’s Energy is reminding Michigan seniors that bill assistance and safeguard services are available.

Programs include shut-off protection and $4 monthly electric bill credits that are available to most households headed by someone age 65 or older.

“Consumers Energy is committed to serving all of our customers, including ensuring that our seniors are using all resources that keep them safe and comfortable in their homes,” Brian Lewis, Consumers Energy’s executive director of customer service and programs, said in a statement. “We hope to spread the word that Consumers Energy can help our friends and neighbors, no matter their needs.”

Senior citizen bill credits allow seniors

and other departments provided resources to search the school. No bombs were found, and the Clinton Township Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau is actively investigating this case. No arrests had been announced as of Dec. 10.

Other departments and agencies involved in the response included the Macomb County Sheriffs’ Office, the Roseville Police Department, the Royal Oak Police Department, the Michigan State Police, the Macomb County Communications and Technology Center and the Clinton Township Fire Department.

Stolen airbag

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — On Dec. 3 at around 7:30 a.m., Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office deputies were called to the 24000 block of North Elda Court to investigate a case involving a stolen airbag.

to receive a $4 monthly credit on electric bills at their primary residence. The credit cannot be combined with the low-income assistance credit or residential income assistance. Any issues with receiving the credits can be resolved by calling (800) 477-5050.

The winter protection plan protects people 65 and older against shut-off and high payments during the wintertime. Enrollment runs from November through March.

The shut-off protection plan is an 18-month protection from shut offs and is available to seniors age 65 and older. Enrollment is year-round.

Consumers Energy offers assistance and connections to resources through an array of programs. Customers can learn more at ConsumersEnergy.com/Assistance.

Value City Furniture bankrupt, closing stores

COLUMBUS, Ohio — American Signature, Inc., the parent company of Value City Furniture and American Signature Fur-

Deputies spoke with a 31-year-old Harrison Township woman. On the morning of Dec. 3, she awoke to find her previously undamaged cat with a smashed window and the steering wheel airbag missing from the car.

The woman wished to press charges.

Suspicious intruder

MOUNT CLEMENS — On Dec. 2 at around 6:30 p.m., Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office deputies spoke with a 49-year-old Mount Clemens woman about a case of suspicious circumstances.

Around 2 a.m., a video camera caught footage of a man outside of her home in the 220 block of Riverside Drive. The footage showed the man pull on the driver’s side handle of her car before leaving.

The car was not damaged, and the woman was given a report number.

— Dean Vaglia

niture, announced on Nov. 23 that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Value City retail locations, such as those at 33801 Southbound Gratiot Avenue in Clinton Township and 50400 Gratiot Avenue in New Baltimore, are holding store closing sales given the company’s trajectory.

“For nearly 75 years, American Signature has served as a family-owned furniture destination that communities could rely on to provide style, quality, and value,” Rudy Morando, co-chief restructuring officer for American Signature, said in a statement.

“In the face of the ongoing macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted the entire home furnishing industry, the Company has carefully evaluated its options to assess the best path forward in the current operating environment. Through that review, we determined that entering a court-supervised process will provide the best opportunity to maximize value. We deeply appreciate our team members, customers, and partners and are determined to serve them throughout this process.”

— Dean Vaglia

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Trustees voted to postpone further discussion of the merger plan to the Dec. 22 township board meeting.

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Trustees voted to approve the renewal of DIRECTV’s franchise agreement to operate within the township. The vote became an opportunity to talk about the “sausagemaking” of such agreements and how they affect the township.

“This is an agreement we have with all of the cable providers in our community,” Clinton Township Supervisor Paul Gieleghem said. “This is what allows us to actually build the infrastructure and hire the staff that allows us to operate a public access cable channel. As the market and streaming services change and people are cutting cable … streaming services are not paying a franchise fee, but the cable providers still have to.”

The agreement with DIRECTV continues the video service provider fee of 5% and the public, education and government channels fee of 1.5% of gross revenues or whichever rate is charged to Comcast for the PEG fee.

Trustees later approved a right-of-way access permit to Ezee Fiber Texas, LLC. The request, made under the Metropolitan Extension Telecommunications Rights-of-Way Oversight Act process for telecommunications services providers seeking to operate in the township, was previously denied at the Nov. 3 board meeting.

Call Staff Writer Dean Vaglia at (586) 498-1043.

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CLINTON TOWNSHIP — A plan to merge two township departments has seen its first major public review, but further action will take place later.

At the Dec. 8 Clinton Township Board of Trustees Meeting, professional services firm Plante Moran presented the results of its study on the potential administrative merger of the township’s senior center and recreation departments. While a prior board expressed interest in merging the departments under one department head with two assistants, Plante Moran was brought in to examine the potential effects of the merger compared to the status quo.

“The conclusion up front is that there would be a savings enabled through that, and it’s to the tune of ($202,862),” Plante Moran Senior Manager Scott Patton said. “The majority of those savings come from that position that is currently vacant (senior center director) and then there’s other services that are kind of the back-office type of functions as well … What was not on the table and what we did not do was look at service delivery itself; so the programing, zero analysis around the programs that are offered. What the public sees (during) the day would be the same under both scenarios.”

The report finds that Clinton Township is an outlier among surrounding communities for having senior and general recreation activities under separate organizations, and for funding these programs from a general fund budget rather than a millage. Recommendations from Plante Moran call for: streamlining operations between departments; restructuring the senior center’s membership policies for better data management; adopting a financial sustainability policy; working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Community Development Block Grant obligations for the senior center building; normalizing senior center staffing to reflect operating hours; incentivize online registration for activities; and considering whether the senior center gift store and the hairstylist are necessary.

Questions from the board came down to how the combined department would handle the needs of senior and family/childrenfocused recreation (which would be handled by separate assistant directors and teams of

7A

JOURNAL • DECEMBER 17, 2025

Task force from page 3A

“It’s a force multiplier,” Wickersham said. “We’ve had sheriff ’s deputies here. The benefit now that the Warren officers have is they’ve been deputized, so they now have jurisdiction throughout the county. Things that are going on in Warren will be handled by our task force with members of the sheriff ’s office and Warren officers. Whether we’re going into Macomb Township or going up to Richmond or going down to Eastpointe, we’re all going to be able to work together and investigate these crimes throughout the county.”

Warren Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said the idea for the collaboration came from a meeting between the two agencies.

“We started having discussions with high-ranking members of the Macomb County Sheriff ’s department about some of the challenges that they’re seeing countywide and some of the challenges that we’re seeing within the city of Warren and a lot of our challenges aligned,” he said.

Both departments were seeing an increase in narcotics activity, including overdose deaths, which brought about the idea to

work together in an attempt to curb it.

“We thought that it would be a great idea for the two largest law enforcement agencies in the county to combine and form a unit that was devoted to addressing narcotics complaints, both countywide and in the city of Warren,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins said the collaboration would address drug-related problems by having officers from the Warren Police Department work with deputies from the county to identify problems and share resources. While his officers would work mainly within the geographical boundaries of Warren, they would also be available to help in other parts of the county, including in instances that they think might lead to problems in Warren, he said.

Hawkins said there are currently two detectives from the department working with the task force. No additional personnel was needed, meaning the program operates at no additional cost to the city of Warren.

Since the inception of the task force, Hawkins said they have already seen a number of arrests and have been able to develop cases against other alleged offenders. On Nov. 25, officers with the task force, including Warren police K-9 Argo, assisted the St. Clair County Sheriff ’s Office in locating 177 kilograms of cocaine at the Blue Water

Bridge.

According to a St. Clair County press release, the seizure involved officers from the Port Huron Police Department, St. Clair County Sheriff ’s Office, Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, the Warren Police Department, Ontario Provincial Police and Canada Border Services Agency.

“Thank you to the law enforcement officers involved in this case for their dedication to disrupting the dispersal of narcotics into the community,” St. Clair County Sheriff Mat King said in a statement. “The St. Clair County Sheriff ’s Office prioritizes community safety and multi-jurisdictional task forces allow departments to achieve more by combining skills, resources and knowledge.”

The task force with the Warren Police Department is not the first such program undertaken by the Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office. The Macomb Auto Theft Squad investigates a number of automobile related crimes across the county including carjackings, stolen vehicles, chop shops, odometer fraud, insurance fraud and more. Member departments of the Macomb Auto Theft Squad include the Macomb County Sheriff ’s Office, Center Line Public Safety Department, Clinton Township Police Department,

Roseville Police Department and Sterling Heights Police Department. A full-time assistant county prosecutor is assigned to the team as well.

Beyond auto thefts, Wickersham is also working to find the budget to establish a crime suppression unit that would use both county and community-level law enforcement resources.

“Once we can get that approved and get that unit up and running, that crime suppression unit would target the crimes that are going on anywhere here in Macomb County,” Wickersham said. “Whether it’s business (breaking and entering,) armed robberies, home invasions, (the unit would) develop suspects and stakeout areas and try and suppress crime here in Macomb County.”

The drug task force is described by the sheriff as “kind of like a pilot” program with results reviewed every six months or so, but Wickersham is positive about how the program has been working out.

“From what I’m getting from feedback from the personnel, it’s working out great,” Wickersham said. “The police officers that Warren sent are excellent officers and great investigators, jumping right in with our staff.

They’re working good cases and things are happening.”

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JOURNAL • DECEMBER 17, 2025

8A

PREP BASKETBALL MATCHUPS TO WATCH SPORTS

METRO DETROIT — Boys and girls high school basketball is back as programs all over Michigan aim to start the season on a high note.

Games began for prep basketball at the start of December and now, to end the calendar year, teams are looking to win showcase and classic games before conference play begins.

Marquee Matchups

BOYS Hamtramck at Ferndale Dec. 20 at 7 p.m.

PRIME Basketball Showcase at Ferndale The PRIME Basketball Showcase will be a great opportunity to highlight some of the best talent in Michigan early in the 2025 season. Hamtramck was a postseason team a year ago and Ferndale is led by one of the best prep players in the state. Junior forward Eden Vinyard has already gotten off to a solid start this season and will look to lead Ferndale to a postseason run while exploring

his collegiate recruitment.

GIRLS West Bloomfield at Detroit Mumford Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m.

Mount Clemens Classic at Mount Clemens High School Mount Clemens will host two postseason teams from a year ago in the school’s yearly classic. Detroit Mumford reached the second round of the District playoffs in 2024 and West Bloomfield established itself as one of the best teams in Michigan. West Bloomfield finished 2024 with a 19-9 record and went on an incredible run that got them to the final four, before a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Belleville.

Games to watch

BOYS Brother Rice vs. East Lansing Dec. 28 at 7:50 p.m.

Motor City Roundball Classic at Ferndale

File photo by Erin Sanchez

Greg Grays finishes at the net for Brother Rice against St. Francis de Sales. Brother Rice won 58-55.

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Auburn Hills Avondale at Freeland Dec. 20 at 5 Louis O’Neal Classic at Saginaw Valley State University Avondale is coming off of a 16-8 season in 2024 where the team finished in second place in an always competitive OAA-Red Division. Freeland went 22-4 last season and made the state quarterfinals.

See BASKETBALL on page 9A

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Brother Rice is consistently one of the best teams in the state and will look to carry its momentum from a 22-3 season last year into the 2025 campaign. East Lansing is the defending state champion from 2024 after a 28-1 season.

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9A

JOURNAL • DECEMBER 17, 2025

from page 8A

In 2024, Goodrich finished with a 19-6 record and made it to regionals. Waterford Mott, the host of the event, went 22-4 a year ago and made the regional finals before losing to a heavily publicized Orchard Lake St. Mary’s team.

GIRLS Troy at Rochester Dec. 18 at 7:00 p.m.

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‘I FEEL IT HAS EXTRA LOVE IN IT’ BAKING CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com

METRO DETROIT — The smell of Christmas cookies baking in the oven is a childhood memory for many who gather around kitchen counters with rolling pins, measuring cups and cooling racks to make their favorite holiday treats.

While growing up, Raychel Galba spent many Christmas seasons with her sister, Kristina, and cousins baking homemade cookies for the holidays. Their aunt, Tami Galba, started the tradition, where the cousins not only produced gooey and delicious treats of all kinds, but also a lifetime of memories that could fill a stocking from here to the North Pole.

“It’s been more than 30 years and my sister and I have kept it going.

The older you are, you get nostalgic,” said Galba, of Shelby Township.

“Normally we do it before our family Christmas party, which is the Saturday before Christmas.”

Galba and Kristina, along with Kristina’s children, Ben, 20, and Amilia, 9, will be “baking” spirits bright when they make about 15 dozen homemade cookies this month to give as gifts to family and friends.

“My mom puts them in tins,” Galba, 43, said. “Everyone loves the homemade cookies. It puts a smile on their faces. I feel it has extra love in it.”

One holiday staple for the Galbas are the sugar cookies they roll out, cut and decorate into different shapes of Santa Claus, Christmas trees and more. In recent years, the foursome added snickerdoodles and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies to their recipe collection.

“We do Almond Joys with coconut, and Christmas bark,” Galba said. “We change it up. We do varieties, dark chocolate and peppermint, graham crackers and milk chocolate. Sometimes I do a s’mores one.”

Galba’s all-time favorite Christmas treats are the Corn Flakes wreaths that melt in your mouth. The family puts on Christmas music while baking. The playlist usually starts with Elvis Presley, followed by traditional holiday tunes that fill the house with melodies. It can take the crew up to seven hours baking, decorating and visiting. The freshly baked cookies are made all in one day.

Across town, in Eastpointe, Patty Giorlando, her husband, Ken, and their six grandchildren will again bake batches of Christmas cookies this year. It’s a tradition they started with their own four children that has carried over to a third generation.

“We pick a weekend and a day for them to come over,” Giorlando said.

Giorlando, 60, said she gets the refrigerated dough ready ahead of time. The kids then roll out the dough and make stars, angels, snowmen, trees, gingerbread figures, a Christmas bell and a holly leaf. They put their own finishing touches on the sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles of green and red. Melting Hershey’s Kisses onto pretzels, snowballs and peanut butter blossoms are other family traditions.

“It’s fun to shop for the different candies and the different decorations. Sometimes we make Rice Krispies Treats and use cookie cutters to cut those. We go until they get bored and tired,” Giorlando said. “I love to bake and spend time with the grandkids. It’s building memories, but it also teaches them how to bake, how to have fun and how to be creative.”

See BAKING on page 11A

ABOVE: In a photo from a few years ago, Patty Giorlando with three of her six grandchildren — Ben, to her left; Addy, next to Ben; and Liam — make Christmas cookies. “I love to bake and spend time with the grandkids,” Giorlando said. “It’s building memories, but it also teaches them how to bake, how to have fun and how to be creative.”

LEFT: Ben, left, and Addy Giorlando use different cutouts to create Christmas cookies during a past baking session. The kids are older now but still bake every season.

Photos provided by Ken Giorlando

RIGHT: Amilia Galba, who is now 9, rolled out Christmas cookie dough a few years ago.

Amilia, her brother Ben, mom Kristina, and Aunt Raychel Galba have a family tradition of baking holiday cookies every season.

Photo provided by Raychel Galba

11A

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The family listens to the sounds of the seasons as the cookies bake in the oven. Ken is usually in charge of the Christmas playlist with music that includes everything from country music to old-world music to the classics like Frank Sinatra and Ray Conniff. “‘Alvin and the Chipmunks’ is one we play for sure,” Giorlando said. “Some songs they know and they sing along.”

The Giorlandos have another food tradition that occurs before Thanksgiving.

They get together with relatives to make cannoli shells from scratch. Giorlando’s sisterin-law, Sharon Litz, made aprons for everyone to wear while in the kitchen. Spending time together is something they treasure.

Some students in James Ford’s culinary classes at Macomb Community College will bake holiday treats at home this season. One student is even making Grinch cookies that Ford can take to an event.

“In the classes I teach, the most popu-

0145-2551

from page 10A

lar cookies seem to be what Grandma and Mom used to make. The recipes were passed down from family,” he said. “Peppermint is a popular flavor this time of year.”

Ford, a certified pastry chef and culinary professor at MCC, offered a number of tips to help bakers while whipping up treats.

“The main thing is to keep your kitchen organized. Have everything in its place,” he said. “I would prepare stuff ahead of time. It helps you be efficient.”

One recommended baking practice is placing the ingredients on a quarter-pan-size tray so they stay in one place. Ford advises keeping ingredients at room temperature unless something needs to be chilled. He also reminds bakers to check on how the butter needs to be for the recipe.

“Where butter is involved you have to watch the method: cold, melted or softened,” he said.

Wait for the cookies to cool to begin frosting them, and stay near the stove while baking so the cookies don’t burn.

“A lot of time, people get distracted at home,” he said. “Have someone back you up.”

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C & G Newspapers publishes 21 papers in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties: Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle • Farmington Press • Fraser-Clinton Township Chronicle • Grosse Pointe Times • Macomb Township Chronicle Madison-Park News • Mount Clemens-Clinton-Harrison Township Journal • Novi Note • Rochester Post • Roseville-Eastpointe Eastsider Royal Oak Review • Shelby-Utica News • Southfield Sun • St. Clair Shores Sentinel • Sterling Heights Sentry • Troy Times • Warren Weekly West Bloomfield Beacon • Woodward Talk • C & G Special Edition (Grosse Pointe/Macomb Co.) • C & G Special Edition (Oakland Co.)

Editor: Brian Louwers | (586) 498-1089 | brianlouwers@candgnews.com Reporters: Dean Vaglia | (586) 498-1043 | dvaglia@candgnews.com Alyssa Ochss | (586) 498-1103 | aochss@candgnews.com Sports: Scott Bentley | (586) 498-1090 | sports@candgnews.com Artroom: (586) 498-1036 | ads@candgnews.com

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12A

Shopping from page 1A

pected right of way. Additional touches including an archway near the Pine Street Red parking lot, street striping and parking kiosks are expected to be installed over the rest of the winter. Streetlights specifically for the stage are expected to come in later.

Weiss, in light of the Downtown Revitalization Project’s progress and what it has taken to get here, has only thanks for its supporters.

“We were very blessed … to get the kind of money we were able to get from grants,” Weiss said. “As we were going after grants, they were looking at how we were spending our grant dollars, and I think that’s why they wanted to give us more opportunity. And certainly, we know how tired our downtown was. It had been a long, long time and it may be again a long, long time before we can do it again.”

The near completion of the Downtown Revitalization Project comes amid one of the busiest trafficked downtown shopping seasons in recent years, according to Placer.ai tracking data provided to Weiss by Macomb County. The Mount Clemens Santa Parade on Nov. 22 was the busiest event on record according to Weiss with the data showing people spending three to five hours in the city, with some people sticking around until about 4:30 p.m. While Weiss has a hand in the parade’s success as both an organizer and the DDA coordinator, she gives credit to the day’s favorable 50-degree weather for making it easier for people to stick around.

Following the Santa Parade was the week of Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Record Store Day and Small Business Saturday, a

Photos by Dean Vaglia

ABOVE: Janice Trimpe’s sculpture “Apple of my Eye” has returned to Macomb Place, located outside of Black Cat Coffee on the afternoon of Dec. 9. Movable barriers are stored behind it, still packed on pallets.

RIGHT: The lights of North Walnut Street mark the holiday season in downtown Mount Clemens. commercial weekend for the local businesses. Diane Kubik, owner of Max & Ollie’s Vintage Boutique located on Macomb Place, felt positive about the weekend.

“Small Business Saturday is always one of the better days of the year — always,” Kubik said. “This year, Black Friday was great, too. It was a wonderful weekend.”

Weiss says shoppers stayed in the city for around two hours on the weekend with more than 20,000 people passing through the city over the combined Santa Parade and holiday shopping weekends.

“My data showed that here on Cherry Street we had several thousands of people coming and shopping down there as well,” Weiss said. “I can’t speak for every business, but the audience was here. If you had a product that they might be looking for or wanting to just check out for future Christmases, we definitely had them here.”

One business, Bohemian Goat on the corner of North Walnut and New streets,

reported a slower shopping season than expected.

“So far it’s been a little slow,” Bohemian Goat co-owner Giselle Godin said.

“Black Friday and Small Business Saturday did better than most days. They were good days. Last year and this year they were a little slower than what they’ve been in the past.

Overall Black Friday and Small Business Saturday were pretty good. It’s the rest of the time that we have been really struggling ... I think a lot of it is the economy. I think a lot of it is people are shopping online. Maybe even that there’s still some construction happening in Mount Clemens that might be scaring people away a little bit.”

Kubik believes many one-time shoppers are changing their gift-giving behaviors.

“I think people are being more conscious of how they’re spending their money,” Kubik said. “I don’t think that it’s become such a gift thing anymore. I think people are being more thoughtful about what they’re

giving.”

The owners also reflected on their experiences during the peak of construction in the summer. Max & Ollie’s was one of the few businesses to completely close during the peak construction months, but it was for a flood caused by plumbing issues rather than anything tied to the Macomb Place work. The vintage reseller had to move their items off-site and closed until October, but fellow businesses teamed up to build the “Max & Ollie’s Treasure Hunt” to keep the shop’s goods flowing throughout the town.

“Thrivent, which is a financial adviser group, put together ‘Max & Ollie’s Treasure Hunt,’” Kubik said. “Local businesses took five treasures, some of them took a rack of clothes of our stuff (and) put them in their stores. They were for sale, but there was also a treasure map that people checked off, and you got entered into a drawing when you See SHOPPING on page 14A

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14A

Shopping

from page 12A

checked so many. That was a really wonderful way to connect the whole community and get people to walk around and sell a little bit of our treasures because we went four months without income.”

Meanwhile, Godin found the temporary closure of the New Street parking lot as the source of a parking access issue.

“All of the street parking in our area was completely taken up, mainly by the courts,” Godin said. “Parking was a big issue. We weren’t really anticipating that … It’s getting better (with the lot reopened). So far, the holiday season isn’t what we had hoped it to be, unfortunately.”

As for the data, Weiss says that overall traffic to the downtown was down by less than 1% compared to 2024’s data over the duration of the project.

What kept so many people coming through the area, despite the noise and dust?

“I think a lot of people were curious right from the very beginning, and even the construction guys … were shocked how many people were coming down,” Weiss said. “You have a lot of people who lived here most of their life, if not all of their life, and they just wanted to see what we’re doing. The fountain was an icon. It was built in

1982. A lot of our downtown was tired and so they were curious.”

The data also shows visitors have increased household incomes. Weiss points to the steady traffic as a sign that Mount Clemens’ downtown is a “destination” for shoppers looking to buy and experience what the city has to offer.

The future

As Macomb Place moves closer to reopening and the warmer weather still feels so soon departed, Weiss and the downtown business owners have their sights firmly set on plans for 2026.

“I’m already working on May and June,” Weiss said. “We are starting to book our bands for our Uptown Friday Night concerts … We hope to have everything back to normal. I can tell you, having had to move (the) Made in Michigan (event) this past summer and cutting it in half, it did not hinder the numbers. The numbers were the greatest numbers we had ever had and most of my artists said it was the best show they’ve ever done.”

Many events for 2025 were moved to Main Street due to Macomb Place being closed. One thing complicating repeating that relocation is the looming Main Street Revitalization Project, which is set to take place over 2026 and 2027. Kubik welcomes the possible return of events to Macomb Place.

“(Events are) crucial,” Kubik said. “We have the everyday bread and butter, but then that’s like, ‘Okay, let’s eat steak’ … They’re all very significant and you just never can tell (which event will be the best.) It’s weather.

It’s a lot of different factors that can go into an event being great. Most of them are very, very good for us.”

Godin finds the prospects of the Main Street project to be “scary.”

“That’s a little scary,” Godin said.

“That’s right outside our front door … The Bohemian Goat hosts the Urban Street Fair, and we do that on Main Street, so it’s a little scary. I think that a lot of our traffic comes from main street, so I don’t really know what to expect and I don’t know if they plan on shutting the road down completely or what that’s going to look like or exactly when the timetable for that is, so it’s all a little intimidating.”

In a way, Godin’s fears about the project amount to another potential challenge in

PUBLIC NOTICE CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF HARRISON NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE HARRISON TOWNSHIP ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS WILL HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026 AT 7:00 P.M. IN ROSSO MEMORIAL HALL, 38255 L’ANSE CREUSE ROAD, IN SAID TOWNSHIP, FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING AN APPEAL BY: CASE #02-26-ZBA:

PURPOSE OF REQUEST:

BY REASON OF:

NOTICE To the residents of the Charter Township of Harrison, County of Macomb, Michigan.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Clerk’s Office for the Charter Township of Harrison will post, for public inspection, the Agenda for Township Board Meetings and a Synopsis of the approved Meeting Minutes at the Clerk’s Office located at 38151 L’Anse Creuse Road, and to the Rosso Hall bulletin board located at 38255 L’Anse Creuse Rd. The Agenda and a full text of the Minutes will be available on the Township Website, www.harrisontownshipmi.gov and, upon request from

what the co-owner calls a “hard city” to do business in.

“It feels like a hard city. It’s a hard city compared to other downtowns,” Godin said.

“I do think the DDA does what it can, and the businesses really join together and support each other. I think we all have ideas on what we think would make things better, and the good news is that part of it does seem to be improving all of the time.”

Despite concerns for the coming projects and what roughness they may entail, Godin maintains a positive outlook on the city’s future.

“Overall, I think that Mount Clemens is heading in a great direction,” Godin said.

“It’s been a long, long, long time coming, so I just really want people to give Mount Clemens a chance and come check out and see what we have going on. I know we don’t have a ton of retail businesses at the moment, but we’re working on it. I think it’s worth checking out.”

Boat Town Liquor – 35550 & 35542 Jefferson Ave Property #17-11-36-229-002 & property #17-11-36-229-034 Harrison Twp., MI 48045 (V-1) Building placement, parking placement, and parking space variances.

Charter Township of Harrison Code of Ordinances Article 14, Section 14.17 – V-1 village district Article 9, Section 9.03 (e, 9) – Minimum number of off-street parking spaces.

Article 9, Section 9.04 (a, 1) – Parking standards in the V-1 or V-1A village districts.

Notice is further given that the Charter Township of Harrison Zoning Board of Appeals may modify or change the variance(s) as requested, including granting of variance(s) for said purpose, which may create another and different variance(s) from the requirements of the above cited Charter Township of Harrison ordinance, all within its discretion and as otherwise permitted by law. Any interested person(s) may appear or be represented at said meeting.

Additional information or comments, written or oral, will be received at the Harrison Township Offices, 38151 L’Anse Creuse Rd, Harrison Twp., MI, 48045 (586-466-1461) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday.

the Clerk’s Office.

Adam Wit, MMC, MiPMC, Clerk

Individuals with disabilities or impairments who plan to attend this meeting should contact the Planning / ZBA Department at (586) 466-1461 or email pc-zba@harrison-township.org if auxiliary aids or services are needed.

Charter Township of Harrison 0190-2551

Published: Journal 12/17/2025

Published: Journal 12/17/2025

PUBLIC NOTICE

0155-2551

CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF HARRISON

CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF HARRISON

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT THE HARRISON TOWNSHIP ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS WILL HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2026 AT 7:00 P.M. IN ROSSO MEMORIAL HALL, 38255 L’ANSE CREUSE ROAD, IN SAID TOWNSHIP, FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONSIDERING AN APPEAL BY:

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the HARRISON TOWNSHIP PLANNING COMMISSION will hold a PUBLIC HEARING on THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2026 AT 7:00 P.M. in Rosso Memorial Hall, 38255 L’Anse Creuse Road, Harrison Township, to hear and consider comments, both verbal and written, relative to the following:

CASE #01-26-ZBA:

Gregory Yezback – 38680 Venetian Property #17-12-22-154-002 Harrison Twp., MI 48045 (R1-C)

Applicant:

Huron Pointe Excavating – North River Rd.

Purpose of Request:

Temporary Special Land Use to use property as a marine construction staging yard.

By Reason Of:

Charter Township of Harrison Code of Ordinances Charter Township of Harrison Zoning Ordinance Article 14.00 Zoning Districts Article 11, Section 11.14 Temporary structures, tents and uses

Notice is further given that the Charter Township of Harrison Zoning Board of Appeals may modify or change the variance(s) as requested, including granting of variance(s) for said purpose, which may create another and different variance(s) from the requirements of the above cited Charter Township of Harrison ordinance, all within its discretion and as otherwise permitted by law. Any interested person(s) may appear or be represented at said meeting.

Properties in Question:

#17-12-16-101-006 Harrison Twp, MI 48045 (Zoned WF)

Additional information or comments, written or oral, will be received at the Harrison Township Offices, 38151 L’Anse Creuse Rd, Harrison Twp., MI, 48045 (586-466-1461) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND / OR COMMENTS, WRITTEN OR ORAL, WILL BE RECEIVED AT THE HARRISON TOWNSHIP OFFICES, 38151 L’ANSE CREUSE ROAD, HARRISON TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN, 48045, (586-466-1461) BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8:00 A.M. AND 4:30 P.M., MONDAY - FRIDAY.

Individuals with disabilities or impairments who plan to attend this meeting should contact the Planning / ZBA Department at (586) 466-1461 or email pc-zba@harrison-township.org if auxiliary aids or services are needed.

Individuals with disabilities or impairments who plan to attend this meeting should contact the Planning / ZBA Department at (586) 466-1461 or email pc-zba@harrison-township.org if auxiliary aids or services are needed.

Published: Journal 12/17/2025

Published: Journal 12/17/2025

PURPOSE OF REQUEST:

BY REASON OF:

Requesting a 16 ft. rear yard setback variance.

Charter Township of Harrison Code of Ordinances Article 4, Section 14.09 – R1-C single family residential.

Article 16, Section 16.01 (H, 1) – Nonconforming lots, uses, and structures.

0154-2551

ANY INTERESTED PERSON (S) MAY APPEAR OR BE REPRESENTED AT SAID MEETING.

0260-2551

15A

JOURNAL • DECEMBER 17, 2025

COMMUNITY

CALENDAR

Art Center, 125 Macomb Place in Mount Clemens, theartcenter.org, read story at candgnews.com

DEC. 18

DEC. 17

Retro game night: For ages 8-12, 6 p.m., ClintonMacomb Public Library - Main Branch, 40700 Romeo Plank Road in Clinton Township, register at (586) 226-5030, cmpl.libnet.info/events

DEC. 17-21

Trivia night: Compete in teams of eight or be placed with group, includes unlimited pizza, salad and pop, 6:30-8 p.m., Total Sports, 40501 Production Drive in Harrison Township, presented by Harrison Township Public Library, (586) 329-1261, htlibrary.org/events

Holiday craft: Teens can make hot glue gun icicle ornaments, 6 p.m., Harrison Township Public Library, 38255 L’Anse Creuse St. (Suite A), registration required, (586) 329-1261, htlibrary.org/events Holiday Art Market: Find handmade gifts and seasonal decor (including some by young entrepreneurs), also see solo exhibit “Mary’s Garden” with 40-plus floral watercolors by Mary R. Hartman, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 17-20 and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 21, Anton

Scams from page 3A

est asking for gifts and donations. When successful, the result of these scams can be devastating.

“We’ve had couples that have lost their house,” Cote said. “They need housing now.

They have to look at low-income or subsidized housing because they have lost so much. For an older person, you can imagine the stress on their health as well as their finances. It really takes a toll on their quality of life.”

In light of the increasing frequency of scams using cryptocurrency, communities across the region are looking for ways to stop them or at least make sure seniors are aware that cyber fraudsters may be afoot.

At its Dec. 2 meeting, the Sterling Heights City Council voted unanimously to move forward with an ordinance aimed at protecting consumers against cryptocurrency scams.

The ordinance introduces new licensing and operational regulations for virtual currency machines, including the requirement to obtain a specialty license endorsement through the city clerk’s office, which must be done by March 31, 2026. Machines must also require a photo ID for transactions, display fraud warnings and disclosures, produce receipts and maintain a customer service hotline. Additionally, first-time users will face transaction limits of $1,000 in a 24-hour period to reduce risks.

The city must also be allowed to make yearly inspections of the machines, and a license must be displayed on the machine.

Sterling Heights Police Capt. Colleen Hopper, who introduced the ordinance, said the approach is focused on protecting vic-

DEC. 19-21

‘The Nutcracker’: Performance by Macomb Ballet Company, 7 p.m. Dec. 19, 1 and 7 p.m. Dec. 20, and noon and 5 p.m. Dec. 21, also sensory-friendly

tims, since most of the perpetrators of cryptocurrency scams are overseas.

“We want to prevent our seniors and our residents from falling victim to these scams. We believe this ordinance will help do that,” she said at the Dec. 2 Sterling Heights City Council meeting.

In a press release sent by the city ahead of the meeting, it was stated that Sterling Heights has 27 machines operating within its borders. The Sterling Heights Police Department has investigated 23 fraud cases tied directly to the machines, with losses totalling more than $542,000.

Hopper said she was told this is the highest number of machines in any of the surrounding areas.

“The FBI notified me that this is the highest amount in any community in this area, Macomb County or Oakland County, and because of that we have more scams than any other city or county around us,” she said.

The Sterling Heights ordinance follows the lead of Grosse Pointe Farms. The eastern Wayne County community made history on July 14, 2025, by approving the state’s first ordinance regulating the depositing, signage and registration of cryptocurrency ATMs. The ordinance’s limits for new users include a $1,000 maximum transaction limit within the first 24 hours, a $5,000 transaction limit over a 14-day period and verbal confirmation for transitions over $500.

Mount Clemens City Commissioners have discussed the possibility of passing an ordinance similar to Grosse Pointe Farms following a Nov. 17 meeting where a Citizen Hero Award was given to a community member who intervened to stop a resident from being scammed at a cryptocurrency ATM. In Macomb County, the Office of Senior Services hosts the Macomb County El-

performance at 1 p.m. Dec. 19, Macomb Center for the Performing Arts on Macomb Community College Center Campus, 44575 Garfield Road in Clinton Township, (586) 286-2222, plus holiday lunch and sweets, story time with Clara, themed craft, meet-and-greet and photos with characters, and keepsake or party favor during “The Nutcracker Tea,” 11 a.m. Dec. 20, Lorenzo Cultural Center on Macomb Community College - Center Campus, 44575 Garfield Road in Clinton Township, (586) 445-7348, macombcenter.com, read story at candgnews.com

fireworks and entertainment, 9:30 p.m., Main Street in Downtown Mount Clemens, downtownmountclemens.org/events

ONGOING

Visit Santa: Select times and dates until Dec. 24, The Mall at Partridge Creek, 17420 Hall Road in Clinton Township, (586) 226-0330, shoppartridgecreek.com/events

DEC. 31

Widowed Friends breakfasts: 10:30 a.m. every second Monday of month, Big Boy, 16880 Hall Road in Clinton Township, RSVP to Victoria at (586) 566-7936, widowedfriends.com

Macomb County New Year’s Eve Gala: Includes

To view more Community Calendar and to submit your own event, use the QR code or visit candgnews.com/calendar.

der Justice Alliance. The group of over 80 professionals works to find out how and why elder abuse occurs in the county. It also supports committees that promote scam education and seniors that have fallen victim to scams.

“We meet regularly to look at cases and how to support the victim and wrap services around them so they don’t get scammed again or we can stop the bleeding and try to put holds on their accounts and really support them through the reporting and prosecution process,” Cote said.

The alliance is currently working to better educate law enforcement and other community members thanks to a four-year $750,000 grant through the U.S. Department of Justice.

Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido also runs scam prevention courses and provides a booklet about the issue titled “Stopping Crimes Against Macomb Seniors.”

Lucido says that scam victims should report their case to authorities as soon as they realize it. Only one out of 24 cases of scams targeting seniors is reported, according to Cote.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Lucido said.

“Don’t be ashamed. Don’t be afraid … Time is of the essence, which means you have an obligation to get on the phone or go into your local law enforcement agency and report it. Even if it’s a family member or a loved one, and that happens a lot. It happens too much and too often. Please go in and report it. Let the people who identify these things get the information quickly and as clearly as possible so they can start work on a solution to get you your money back … If it is a family member and you feel like you’re being taken advantage of, then Adult Protective Services will step in and smoothly

transition you out of a situation that’s bad and put you into a better situation to take care of yourself.”

Time is of the essence in scam cases due to the many technological hurdles that cases present to investigators and prosecutors seeking convictions.

“Just trying to go ahead and identify who the scammer is if it’s online is very difficult, because they could be scamming from around the corner of your house or they could be scamming from out of state or they could be scamming from out of the country,” Lucido said. “And then they go and set up these bank accounts or depositories where the money that you have goes into these accounts, and then they close the accounts out so you can never retrieve the money or have it traceable to whoever got the money … We do look at IP addresses with computers to see who it traces back to and we try our best to hurry up and get those individuals so at least we have a fighting chance to try to nail down the individual and nail down the money.”

For Cote, the best way community members can prevent scams is to keep an eye on the vulnerable people around them.

“Are they suddenly not paying their bills?” Cote said. “Are they foregoing their medication? Do they look disheveled when they do see them? Just taking the time to ask more questions. It’s our responsibility as a community to protect and look out for our older adults … Not just law enforcement, not just Adult Protective Services, but all of us that come into contact with older adults.

Let’s not push them in a corner and not listen to them … Pay attention and if you see something, say something and report it.”

Call Staff Writer Dean Vaglia at (586) 498-1043. Call Staff Writer Brian Wells at (248) 291-7637.

Kids New Year’s Eve Event: Includes activities, early ball drop and mini fireworks display, 4-9 p.m., Discovery Center of Macomb, 54 Cherry St. in Mount Clemens, downtownmountclemens.org/events

s y a d i l o H

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6. Rascal 9. Ho-hum 13. “Pomp and Circumstance” composer 14. Tropical constrictor 15. Forgo 16. Tequila source 17. + or - atom 18. Reason by deduction 19. *Trade war “weapon,” pl.

21. *2025 MLB World Series winners 23. ____-tzu 24. C&H crop 25. Dunce 28. Western necktie 30. Catch in a snare 35. Ginger cookie 37. Master of his castle 39. Use a razor 40. British slang for donkey 41. Arch and ball locations 43. Winglike 44. March celebrants 46. *Arthur Sze, 2025 ____ Laureate 47. Dam-like structure 48. *BeyoncÈ’s “Cowboy ____,” 2025 Grammy winner 50. King Kong and Curious George, e.g.

52. Like a fox 53. What Pinocchio did 55. *Florida Panthers won this org.’s ‘25 championship 57. *”Wicked: ____ ____” 61. *Late environmentalist and chimpanzee expert 65. German submarine destroyer 66. *2025 Ryder Cup loser 68. Manuscript sheet 69. Brazilian coins 70. Roll-your-own one, for short 71. To the left, on a boat 72. Orpheus’ instrument 73. Geological time period 74. They are cut by Federal Reserve DOWN 1. At room temperature, bar order 2. Algae, sing.

3. Petri dish filler 4. Raise trivial objections 5. Ready to be assembled 6. Avian wader 7. Farm sound 8. China’s goodwill “____ diplomacy”

9. Collision, onomatopoeically speaking 10. *Taylor Swift’s “The ____ of a Showgirl” 11. Affirm solemnly 12. Third-person possessive pronoun 15. Makes broader 20. Why do they fall in love?

22. *Aryna Sabalenka’s seed 24. Auto contents 25. Pertaining to osmium 26. *2025 Academy Awards Best Picture winner 27. Faquir, alt. spelling 29. Pilot’s stunt 31. Spring event 32. Pneumonia symptom, pl.

33. Be of use 34. *Blue Origin’s 2025 singing passenger 36. Boll weevil, e.g.

38. *____Seek 42. Shorthand typist,

for short 45. Serfs 49. 2016 Olympics host, for short 51. Ram’s horn at a synagogue 54. Draw a conclusion 56. Parkinson’s disease drug 57. Roll up 58. Heed

59. Lion sound 60. Dorothy’s last name 61. *Lady of “The Mayhem Ball” 62. Tons (2 words) 63. Lira, pl.

64. Land parcels 67. *Gary Oldman received this honorific in 2025

4B - JOURNAL, December 17, 2025

www.candgnews.com

EEK

F THE W O E M I R C • WEEK

HE T F O E M I R C • NEWSWORTHY OF THE WEEK INCIDENTS REPORTED TO LOCAL POLICE, AS COMPILED BY C & G REPORTERS

Police complete DoorDash order

GROSSE POINTE SHORES — Officers pulled over a 30-year-old Detroit man in the area of Lake Shore and South Deeplands roads for speeding — traveling 60 mph in a 35 mph zone — at 2:38 p.m. Nov. 15. Because the driver had an expired registration and lacked insurance, police needed to impound his vehicle. The driver — who was in the process of delivering a meal to an address on Sunningdale Drive for DoorDash — asked officers if they would complete the delivery, since he no longer had a vehicle. Officers agreed to bring the meal to the customer, who wasn’t far from the traffic stop, as a courtesy. The driver was cited and released at the scene.

Officers respond to injury accident

GROSSE POINTE SHORES — Police responded to the scene of a personal injury accident in the area of Lake Shore Road and Fontana Lane at around 9:29 a.m. Nov. 5 after a 21-year-old Bloomfield Hills man is said to have driven his vehicle — a Ford Escape — inside a parked landscaping vehicle. Officers said they had to break the man’s passenger-side window to get him out of the vehicle through the window.

The driver, who was uninjured but still evaluated on the scene by medics, told officers that he had been taking a video of the lake with his cellphone when he crashed, showing officers the video he recorded.

Officers said they recovered orange traffic cones that the landscaping crew had apparently placed around the trailer that the driver pushed into the trailer with his vehicle. No one from the landscaping crew had been inside the trailer or landscaping truck when the accident occurred. The driver was cited for failure to stop within an assured clear distance and distracted driving causing an accident.

Speeder stopped

GROSSE POINTE SHORES — Police said a 77-year-old St. Clair Shores man zipped past a patrol vehicle going about 50 mph in a 35 mph zone in the area of Lake Shore Road and Lake Shore Lane at around 5:43 p.m. Nov. 16. For reference, the public safety officer indicated in a report that he was driving 37 mph. The driver also failed to use his signal when changing lanes, police said. The driver was able to provide police with his license, registration and proof of insurance. He was given a warning, police said.

Larceny suspect sought

GROSSE POINTE PARK — An unknown suspect stole two RedMax leaf blowers worth $500 from a vehicle parked in front of a home in the 1300 block of Berkshire Road at around 12:50 p.m. Nov. 26. The victim witnessed a male suspect leave the scene in a white Ram 1500 Rebel pickup truck.

Broken bike rack

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — On Nov. 22 at around 10:15 a.m., a 69-year-old Macomb Township woman spoke with Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies about property damage that occurred in Harrison Township.

On the prior day, the woman parked her car at the Crocker Boulevard McDonald’s and went on a bike ride. When she returned from the ride, she found the bike rack on her car to be badly damaged.

The woman wished to be reimbursed if a suspect could be found.

Food truck scam

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — On Nov. 17 at around 4:10 p.m., a 49-year-old Harrison Township woman spoke with Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies about a fraud case.

The woman runs a food truck and finds vending opportunities online. On Oct. 4, she paid $220 to someone claiming to have a job for her at an event in Ferndale.

When she went to the Ferndale job on Nov. 15, she learned she did not have a spot at the event and sent the money to a scammer. The woman wished to press charges.

Hit and run

MOUNT CLEMENS — On Nov. 12 at around 11:50 p.m., Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies were sent to the 80 block of Beyne Street for a hit and run report.

Deputies spoke with a 60-year-old Mount Clemens woman who said her Chevrolet Malibu sedan was struck by a passing car. While she was getting bags out of her car, the suspect car drove south from Robertson Street and struck the Malibu’s door, pushing the woman inside of the car.

The woman wished to press charges.

12:30 a.m., Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the corner of North Avenue and Ferrin Place for an incident.

Deputies spoke with a 30-year-old Clinton Township woman. The woman had previously been removed from county property due to being belligerent.

After being told by the deputies that she could no longer stay on the property, the woman kicked the grill of the Ford Explorer police cruiser. She was arrested and taken to the Macomb County Jail.

ed to the 55000 block of Shelby Road for a fraud complaint at 11:30 a.m. Dec. 2. Upon arrival, the officer met with the victim, who said she was trying to update her YouTube TV subscription and used Google to look up the phone number. The person on the other line ended up being a scammer who talked the woman into providing sensitive banking information that allowed the scammer to scam her out of almost $4,000 from her bank account. Detectives were investigating.

Police seek caffeinated crook

Drunken men arrested for disorderly conduct after fighting in random backyard

ST. CLAIR SHORES — At 10:03 a.m. on Nov. 28, a case of larceny was reported in the 22000 block of Amherst Street.

The victim, a 69-year-old man, visited the police station and stated a package was missing from his porch. He ordered a coffee machine, and it was reportedly delivered on Nov. 25. When he checked the front porch, however, it was gone.

The coffee machine was worth $99.

Man wanted for using counterfeit money

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Police officers were dispatched to the CVS Pharmacy at 46960 Van Dyke Ave. for a counterfeit money complaint at 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 2. Upon arrival, they met with a store employee who said that at around 5:30 p.m., a man came in and paid for an item with $220 in counterfeit money.

The officer was able to get a vehicle description from video surveillance. Detectives connected the suspect to other counterfeit transactions out of Canton. The investigation was ongoing.

Police arrest drunken driver

MOUNT CLEMENS — On Nov. 12 at around 4:10 p.m., Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to the 30 block of Rosebud Lane for an animal bite incident.

Deputies spoke with a 49-year-old Mount Clemens woman. At around 4 p.m., she was walking her brown terrier mix dog when an unknown white dog emerged before her, biting her and her dog.

A neighbor helped restrain the dog and helped deputies put the white dog into the patrol car. The dog was brought to Mount Clemens Animal Control.

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — An officer observed a passenger vomiting while hanging out of a vehicle in the area of Mound and 23 Mile roads at 2:40 a.m. Nov. 27. When the light turned green, the driver accelerated at a high rate of speed and had a hard time maintaining the vehicle within the lines of the roadway. The officer conducted a traffic stop and met with the driver and passenger. Upon meeting the driver, the officer could smell a strong odor of intoxicants coming from the vehicle. The driver admitted to having two beers before driving, police said. The driver exited the vehicle to conduct roadside sobriety tests. After a preliminary breath test, the driver was arrested for operating while intoxicated, lodged at the Macomb County Jail and released once sober.

Kicking the cruiser

Woman scammed out of $4,000

Animal bite

MOUNT CLEMENS — On Nov. 12 at around

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — A police officer respond-

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Police were dispatched to the 53000 block of Westwood Park, near 24 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue, for two men fighting at 3:10 a.m. Nov. 29. While en route, the caller stated that he did not know the two men fighting in his backyard. Upon arrival, the officer had to break up the fight. Both men had been drinking and showed signs of intoxication. They were both issued disorderly conduct tickets and transported home.

Check fraud

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — On Nov. 20 at around 1:30 p.m., Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies spoke with an 84-year-old Macomb Township woman about a case of alleged check fraud.

On Nov. 6, the woman wrote a $150 check to a lawn care company. On Nov. 20, a man tried cashing a check at a Warren credit union using her checking details.

The check, for around $960, was confiscated as potential fraud.

Phone mailing scam

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — On Nov. 17 at around 1 p.m., Macomb County Sheriff’s Office deputies spoke with a 71-year-old Macomb Township woman about a case of fraud she was reportedly caught in.

About a week prior to the report, the woman was contacted by a male caller claiming to be from a telephone company with an offer for a new phone.

Per his instructions, the woman purchased a $75 phone the following day and called the man to have it activated. The man told her to send him the phone in order to activate it.

When she asked the man on Nov. 13 about when the phone would be returned, the man told her shipping was delayed. It was at that point she realized the scam — buying a phone and sending it to someone — and ended her call.