NEWSPAPERS Special Edition
16
Southfield native Selma Blair accepts key to city
BY MIKE KOURY mkoury@candgnews.com
SOUTHFIELD — Selma Blair has come a long way from her roots in Southfield to be a Hollywood actress, but she returned to the city in order to accept one of its biggest honors.
Blair, known for her roles in “Legally Blonde,” “Cruel Intentions” and “Hellboy,” was given the key to the city of Southfield by Mayor Kenson Siver during a special luncheon on May 16, which also was proclaimed as “Selma Blair Day.”
“(Southfield has) meant so much to me as the only city I ever lived before I grew up,” she said during the presentation. “It’s the only city I was ever loved in by my mom and my sisters and the city around me.”
Blair, 52, has received a number of honors in her life, including being named one of Time magazine’s People of the Year in 2017, a Glamour’s
ABOVE: A child scales the Oakland County Parks rock wall during the OAK (Outdoor Adventure Kickoff) in the Hills event at Spencer Park May 17.
RIGHT: The OAK in the Hills attendees learn about wildlife from various nature groups in the boathouse shelter.
BELOW: People of all ages try out kayaking at Spencer Park during the OAK in the Hills event.
ADVENTURE AWAITS
Photos by Patricia O’Blenes
Southfield Mayor Kenson Siver presents Selma Blair with the key to the city May
during a luncheon at the Westin Southfield-Detroit.
Photo provided by the city of Southfield
HELP URGENTLY NEEDED AS SITUATION IN HAITI WORSENS
BY ANDY KOZLOWSKI akozlowski@candgnews.com
METRO DETROIT — A mission group to Haiti that includes churches in Sterling Heights, Southfield and more is sounding the alarm on the plight of the country — the poorest in the Western Hemisphere — as gangs have captured the town of Mirebalais, once a safe haven.
A letter by Kesner Gracia, an Episcopalian priest in Haiti, described the scene in April.
“Haiti has become a veritable human slaughterhouse,” he wrote. “In Mirebalais, the streets are littered with corpses. … Unspeakable scenes of terror unfold before our very eyes.”
Haiti Outreach Mission, a Troybased nonprofit, has been wiring funds to partners in Haiti since it’s no longer safe to travel there. Projects include medical and dental clinics, a lab and pharmacy, water purifiers, and funding for food, shelter and supplies.
People can help by donating to HOM, which also urges churches to help.
Five local churches are already involved: St. Blase Catholic Church in
HAITI on page 6A
OAKLAND COUNTY FOOTBALL CLUB HAS NEW OWNERSHIP AND NEW EXPECTATIONS
BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com
ROYAL OAK — Oakland County Football Club is under new ownership this year and is aiming for a playoffcaliber season.
It’s now the team’s 10th year and the 2025 season looks to be a fun one. The new ownership group has dedicated itself to making game days an event for everyone.
“At the games, we always prided ourselves in having lots of activities for both hardcore soccer fans and young children and those new to the sport,” OCFC Media Director Robert Kerr said. “And that’s taken to a whole nother level this year.”
The new owner, Dennis Weiss, is also committed to widening the net and reach of where the team gets its players from. There will still be local talent, but there’s now a
SPORTS
representation from around the country in an effort to make the team as talented as possible.
“Michigan has some of the best talent; there’s also been some players from across the country that have been brought in,” Kerr said. “(That will) really elevate the level of play.”
The club has been trending in a positive direction for quite a while now in terms of attendance and talent, but this year it wants to take a big jump.
“A new owner, that’s actually more localized, wants to build off of what was already created, taking what (Weiss) calls a great foundation and is building upon that. It’s exciting,” Kerr said.
Photos by Valerie McNeece
LEFT: Dr. Dominque Monde-Matthews, founder of Haiti Outreach Mission, treats a young patient during a trip to the country in 2012. Many families have been displaced following recent events there. ABOVE: Tom Maza and John Messina, volunteers with Haiti Outreach Mission, assist a patient at a clinic during a visit in 2012.
OCFC player Ryan Van De Winkle dribbles away from a Union FC Macomb opponent May 17.
Photo by Donna Dalziel
Farmington High, Rochester High take home state titles for esports
BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com
ROCHESTER — Oakland University hosted the semifinals and finals for the 2025 Michigan High School Esports League Spring 2025 Championships on May 10, where both Farmington High School and Rochester High School took home state titles.
There were five events throughout the weekend, and five different schools took home state championships.
The racing game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was won by Richmond High; the car soccer game Rocket League was won by Rochester High; the shooter Fortnite was won by Detroit Catholic Central High; and the fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was won by Farmington High, at the high school level, and Pierce Middle School, at the middle school level.
“The turnout for this year’s event was really awesome,” said Nicholas Bank, the esports coach at Rochester High. “There was a lot of cool people that were just spectating. There were a lot of schools that played out of their minds.”
The Rochester team that took home the Rocket League state title included Elijah Watson, Ty Keller,
Andrew Taylor and Alex Crum. The team had a perfect season last year before falling short of a state title, and this year made it a mission to have another perfect year but finish the job.
“We were going into the tournament last season as the No. 1 seed, but unfortunately lost in the finals to Hartland,” Banks said. “Going into this championship with again a perfect season, and this time with a chip on our shoulder. … We’re taking this home.”
That they did. The growth this group has experienced together has been a huge reason for the team’s success.
“There was a lot of synergy between the team members,” Banks explained. “They were always on the same page. That’s what I think set them apart.”
The contest for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also saw a team out for revenge in 2025, with Farmington High taking home first place after falling short a season ago.
“I was extremely stressed. … I was really looking forward to this, though. Super fun,” said Jason Kazensky, a senior and team captain at Farmington High. “We got it done, and I’m glad I got to do it with some of my really good friends.”
One of the biggest motivators for Farmington
director@saintfranciscamp.org Check out our website or call us for information on a typical day at camp, week long
etc.
The Farmington High team poses after winning the state title for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Photo provided by Abby Goosen, MHSEL
OCFC
Playoffs are on everyone’s mind.
“The goal of the season is to double attendance and make it to the playoffs in the 10th season,” Kerr said. “So, both a high standard on the field and away from it.”
Players and coaches on OCFC are a determined group that is in lockstep with the goal to make the playoffs.
“The goal as a team, and we’ve obviously sat down and worked that out, is playoffs. That’s important,” OCFC head coach Steve Walker said. “You want the guys to have had a good experience.”
OCFC’s roster is mostly filled with college-level players who are trying to get playing time away from school. This is a great opportunity for the players to see the field and develop over the summer.
“Summer soccer is a lot different than any of the others. … They’re trying to keep themselves in shape and sharp for next season,” Walker said. “Or, they’ve moved on from college and they’re trying to go to the next level as a pro.”
There’s a lot of excitement around the team this year, and two games into the sea-
son it already feels different from years prior, and the fans realize it.
“Oakland County is a very unique club. I think it has a phenomenal fanbase,” Walker said. “The fans live and breathe the club. They’re at everything we do.”
It’s a new era of Oakland County Football Club and there’s a belief that the trajectory will only continue to point upwards from here on out.
“The new guys (Weiss and President Domonic Troia) have been absolutely brilliant,” Walker said. “They’ve completely revolutionized the club and moved it in the right direction… and hopefully in a couple of weeks I’m talking about making it into playoffs.”
At press time, OCFC was 1-1 and will take on Northern Indiana FC at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 31, at Royal Oak High School Stadium, 1500 Lexington Blvd. For tickets and more information about the team, visit oaklandcountyfc.com.
Sterling Heights; St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield; Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Northville; St. Clare of Assisi Episcopal Church in Ann Arbor; and Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Detroit. A sixth is outside of Michigan: St. Bernard Catholic Church in Billings, Montana.
Dr. Dominique Monde-Matthews, HOM’s founder, said the people of Mirebalais have left their homes.
“The priests know where the camps are and they’re bringing them supplies. They’re also trying to continue schooling so the little ones have some normalcy,” she said. “By helping them stay alive, we hope they can return home someday.”
Another world
John Messina, a parishioner at St. Blase in Sterling Heights, has gone to Haiti with various groups 28 times.
“I remember the first trip in 2000,” he said. “It was like walking into a heatwave — just overwhelming.”
The town of Mirebalais is perched on a plateau in the mountains near the capital of Port-au-Prince, home to an estimated 200,000. Driving there is perilous, with blind switchbacks along sheer cliffs.
Aid workers say that once in town, outsiders are hit with the stench of sweat and garbage mixed with burning charcoal — the primary means of cooking in a place with no power.
Tightly packed houses line the winding streets. The homes are made of cement block
with metal roofs. Light flows through small windows with no screens. There are no furnaces or air conditioning.
There is no municipal water supply, either. Potable water is sold in 5-gallon jugs or smaller. A Haiti Outreach Mission store helps filter and disinfect the water.
Even before the gangs grew in strength, electricity was unreliable, created by hydropower strained by low levels in the river. HOM has tried to offset this with solar panels at the clinics and priest residences.
Yet despite the challenges, the Haitians endured.
‘They were still giving’
Aid workers describe the people of Mirebalais as warm and welcoming. Their faith keeps them strong, with many walking miles to church in their bare feet so their shoes won’t be dirty when they arrive.
Messina recalled driving with a priest to a church in the mountains — actually a blue tarp strung over some trees above an altar — and having to park on the road with rocks behind each wheel so it wouldn’t slide back downhill. He noticed a group of young adults following them.
“We found out they just wanted to make sure we got there safely,” Messina said. “After Mass, they clung to us and didn’t want us to leave. One gentleman went out and he brought a bushel of coconuts. He was apologetic about the condition of the roads and opened a coconut for each of us. He said, ‘This is a refreshment for you on your way back down the mountain.’ They don’t have enough food for themselves, but they were still giving to us.”
In Mirebalais, laundry is done in the
river with lye soap, laid across bushes to dry, and then smoothed with a metal iron filled with charcoal. Much of their time is dedicated to hygiene.
“We usually have rice, but one day they included drumsticks. And I saw a cleaning lady take one that we’d already eaten, and she started chewing on the gristle,” he said. “That was the first time I realized hunger.”
‘Difficult to walk away’
Monde-Matthews is a Haitian native who still has family there. She and her husband, Roger Matthews, founded HOM in 1998 after their honeymoon in her homeland. Backed by six U.S. churches, the group also works with two in Mirebalais: St. Pierre Episcopal Church and St. Louis Catholic Church.
HOM helped St. Pierre convert a building into a clinic staffed by a doctor, dentist, nurse and others. A lab was added later. When the clinic’s generator needed repairs, HOM replaced it. HOM also sent a compressor for the dental clinic and paid for provisions to feed kids. When mission trips were still possible, the group would also bring fluoride and medicine.
HOM also supports schools such as Monsignor Remi Augustin School — originally an orphanage built with money from St. Blase. The water purifiers nearby were funded by HOM and maintained by St. Louis.
Recently, HOM paid for solar panels at the St. Pierre clinic and St. Louis rectory. The panels are more reliable than the power company and cheaper than diesel.
But there’s much to be done, Messina said.
“The people line up outside the clinic the day before we arrive and wait all through the night. And the sad thing is when we leave, the line is just as long,” Messina said. “It’s difficult to walk away. I don’t know anyone who’s gone who wouldn’t be willing to go back.”
‘The biggest thing we give them is hope’ Now, much of the city is abandoned. HOM estimates there are about 10,000 people displaced nearby.
“When the gangs started taking over Port-au-Prince, the refugees wound up in Mirebalais, and we helped them. Now, the tables have turned, and the people of Mirebalais are refugees. And one wonders if the gangs will march farther and get them again,” said Monde-Matthews. “It’s so sad.”
In his letter, Gracia, the Episcopalian priest in Mirebalais, said that “misery, for its part, is intensifying.”
“Bellies are empty. Children are crying from hunger. Parents, who left without taking anything with them, are powerless to hear their children’s cries,” he wrote. He urged Americans to give what time and money they can.
“Every gesture counts,” Gracia said. “Solidarity can save a life.”
Messina agreed.
“The biggest thing we give them is hope,” he said.
Donations to HOM are tax deductible. To donate, click the “Donate” button at haitioutreachmission.org, or write a check to “Haiti Outreach Mission,” 5700 Crooks Road, Suite 100, Troy, MI 48098. To learn more, call (248) 385-7411 or visit haitiout reachmission.org.
Once I get the right diagnosis for the cause of your heel pain, I will provide you with a tailored treatment plan, which outlines exactly how we can fix your heel pain and keep you free from future foot pain. If you are ready, call me for an appointment to start your journey back to normal life, free from heel pain.
Esports
from page 4A
High was the fact that the team members were all seniors. Kazensky, Madison Doctor, Delano Marinelli and Sean Campbell will all go out with a state title.
“Going into the first set, we were all pretty confident. But our main goal was basically to win at all costs because it’s our last year. We’re all seniors,” Marinelli said. “We just wanted to take home the title and bring home something to our school. End esports for us on a good note.”
The year for Farmington High was not without its ups and downs, however. The team fought through some rough patches of the regular season to get to this point, which makes it even sweeter.
“We had a lot of challenges with the regular season,” Doctor said. “But we united as a team and were able to strategize. … We were able to take out Novi and get the finals.”
Ultimately, the group left an everlast-
ing mark on the program and will be a team that the next generation of esports players at Farmington High can really look up to.
“This is not something that’s just a fun thing for them. They’re learning leadership skills and learning to train our junior varsity team,” said Lauren Kendall, the coach at Farmington High. “Seeing them take home the gold was just a really impressive feat. … They do their best to make sure that their … esports team and club will carry on after they’re gone, and it’s really just amazing to see.”
The turnout and the results for this year’s MHSEL were fantastic, and the league is headed in a great direction. This year showed that the market and stigma around gaming is only improving.
“I’m hoping that not only this win, but a lot of people seeing how exciting esports can be can kind of clear that stigma and (encourage people to) at least want to try it out,” Banks said. “Being involved with video games … is a valid escape.”
For more information on the Michigan High School Esports League, including how to join, visit www.mhsel.org.
JUNK REMOVAL
The Rochester High team celebrates after winning the Rocket League state title. Photo provided by Abby Goosen, MHSEL
RETRO RIDES REV UP LOCAL CAR SHOWS
BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com
METRO DETROIT — “This is quite a group. I was here last week. There were 374 cars,” Shelby Township resident Tom Konicki said. “There are quality cars here. Cars that are so rare. Beautiful cars.”
Konicki was talking about the Fun Time Cruzers, back on the road for another season of hot rods, muscle cars and vintage vibes. For almost 20 years, the Cruzers met at Lakeside in Sterling Heights. When the mall closed last year, it put the brakes on their weekly car shows.
Start those engines because the group found a new home from 4 to 8 p.m. every Monday until September at NAPA Auto Parts, located on Van Dyke Avenue, north of 21 Mile Road, in Shelby Township. President Ken Savage said it took nine months to find a new location.
It all began in 2005 when Savage’s son worked at Lakeside Mall and a store owner wanted to start a weekly classic car show. He recruited Savage and his son to help, but after a year, he left the group. Savage kept the Cruzers’ motor running.
“When I began, there were just 50 cars. It started going more and more. I have 600 cruise emails now,” said Savage, a Shelby Township resident who owns a Grabber Blue 1970 Ford Mustang convertible.
Fun Time Cruzers posts musical photo slideshows available on YouTube. Every week, Savage — with help from other members including Jerry Benoit, of Chesterfield Township, and Dave Gmerek, of Clinton Township — holds an awards ceremony with local businesses as sponsors. Categories range from “Coolest Cruze 2025” to “Best Original/Restored Cruzer” to “Best Corvette.” At the May 19 event, Madelyn Upleger won “Best Orphan Cruzers” for her 1999 Plymouth Prowler.
“That means they don’t make it anymore,” said Madelyn, who attended the weekly show with husband Dale Upleger.
Dale once owned the Prowler but gave it to Madelyn when he purchased a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette C8.
“She loved it and she didn’t want to sell it,” Dale said. “OK, we’ll keep it.”
TOP RIGHT: Madelyn and Dale Upleger, of Rochester Hills, attend the Fun Time Cruzers car show May 19 in Shelby Township. Madelyn won “Best Orphan Cruzers” for her 1999 Plymouth Prowler. Dale owns a 2022 Chevrolet Corvette C8.
Photo by Maria Allard
BOTTOM RIGHT: The Michigan Military Technical & Historical Society Museum will host a classic car show from 9 a.m. to noon on the third Saturday of every month through Oct. 18. The event is open to all classic car fans with no fee or preregistration. The museum is located at 16600 Stephens Road in Eastpointe. Photo by Liz Carnegie
See CAR SHOWS on page 9A
Car shows
from page 8A
“I always wanted a Prowler,” Madelyn said. “We saw them at a car show, and I fell in love with it.”
Both cars garner a lot of attention when on the road.
“I think it’s because of the color,” Dale said. “It draws the eye to it.”
The Rochester Hills couple, who have three children and two grandchildren, have been married 64 years.
For more details about the Fun Time Cruzers, call (586) 260-3459 or check the website at funtimecruzers.com.
There is at least one classic car show every night in metro Detroit where chrome shines and engines purr. Here is a list of other weekly and monthly car shows that we know of in the C & G Newspapers coverage area.
Mondays
• Jimmy’s Tavern behind the National Coney Island, located on Van Dyke Avenue north of 12 Mile Road, in Warren. It begins at 11 a.m. and it lasts all day.
• Lumberyard Pub and Grub, 26700
Schoenherr Road in Warren, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Tuesdays
• The Ukrainian Cultural Center, 26601 Ryan Road in Warren, from 5 to 8 p.m.
• Cruisers also will spin their wheels at the Ram’s Horn at Garfield and Utica roads from 5-8 p.m.
Wednesdays
• Classic car owners can drive into Sandbaggers Sports Bar and Grill, 25615 Van Dyke Ave. in Center Line, from 5 to 8 p.m. Organizer and Warren resident Paul Gutkowski, owner of a 1968 Mercury Cougar, said the car show brings in anywhere from 25 to 45 car owners each week.
“We just hang out, look at all the other cars and get to know each other,” Gutkowski said.
Gutkowski also runs the Pauly G’s Car Cruis’n Page on Facebook, where he lists various car shows happening in the area. Check the page for more car shows not listed in the C & G Newspapers guide.
Thursdays
• Car enthusiasts will mingle from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Big Boy restaurant located on West Maple Road in Troy.
• Beginning in June, antique automobiles will line the pavement at St. Margaret’s Catholic Church, 21201 E. 13 Mile Road in St. Clair Shores, from 5 to 8 p.m.
• The Stahl’s Automotive Collection at 56516 N. Bay Drive in Chesterfield Township will hold cruise nights from 4 to 7:30 p.m. every Thursday, minus the third Thursday of the month.
• Culver’s, located at 66227 Van Dyke Ave. on the Romeo and Washington Township border, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Fridays
• Weekly car shows at the Walter F. Bruce Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 1146, located at 28404 Jefferson Ave. in St Clair Shores, will begin in June. The events will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. in the back of the facility, between the building and Lake St. Clair.
• Twisted Axles will meet from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Lucky Leprechaun Pub, 32456 Gratiot Ave. in Roseville.
Saturdays
• Gearheads can get an early morning fix from 7 to 10 a.m. at Parking at Pasteiner’s Cruise-In at 33202 Woodward Ave., one block north of 14 Mile Road, in Birmingham.
• The Michigan Military Technical and Historical Society will hold monthly car shows from 9 a.m. until noon on the third Saturday of the month. The museum is located at 16600 Stephens Road in Eastpointe.
Sundays
• Eddie’s Drive-In, 36111 Jefferson Ave. in Harrison Township, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Charity drive
• For more than 30 years, the nonprofit Friends of Mount Clemens has organized the Mount Clemens Cruise in downtown Mount Clemens at the center of Main Street and Market Street. Money raised has provided Kroger gift cards for families in need and helped many charities, including the city of Mount Clemens Santa Parade, Turning Point, the Mount Clemens Lions Club and the Macomb Food Program. This year’s two-day Mount Clemens Cruise is set for June 6-7. This year’s event will feature a car cruise, awards, live entertainment and special attractions. For a complete schedule of events, visit mountclemenscruise.com.
13650 E. Eleven Mile Rd. Warren, MI 48089
Women of the Year recipient in 2023, a New York Times bestseller for her memoir “Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up” and the Competition Contestant award from the People’s Choice Awards in 2022.
Blair told C & G Newspapers that getting a key from her hometown means just as much as any of those honors.
“The People’s Choice Awards was a huge moment to realize, ‘Oh my God, people actually ever think of me,’” she said. “This was my only home before college. I never lived anywhere else. Same house, and I loved this city. … I got to really develop a lot of my foundation here. … It means so much to me.”
Siver said it was exciting to be able to present Blair with the key, something the city doesn’t do often.
“We were very pleased to have her come back to her roots and then not only just come to visit, but to work on our behalf for her championing as an MS survivor and also as a supporter of the arts,” he said. “When we talked to her months ago about this visit, she was very enthusiastic about it.”
Blair spent the first 21 years of her life in Southfield before moving to New York City to attend New York University. She returned to her home state to study, and later graduate, at the University of Michigan. From there, she spent several years auditioning for TV shows and movies before getting her breakthrough role in “Cruel Intentions.”
The luncheon where Blair was presented with the key to the city was for Yoga Moves MS, a nonprofit organization that provides yoga classes and health education for people living with multiple sclerosis, a disease that Blair was diagnosed with in 2018 and for which she has been an advocate ever since. The organization was founded by Mindy Eisenberg, a former neighbor of Blair’s who also has MS.
“When I came out with my diagnosis, I didn’t realize there were so many of us, I mean, so many people that loved people like us or were sick of people like us and didn’t know how to handle (it),” Blair said to the luncheon attendees. “Coming out and talking about it and hearing people’s stories has been some of the most enriching times of my life connecting with people. I do spend a lot of time isolated at home — in a very lovely way — but it can be a lot.”
Blair said performing yoga has helped keep her attitude in a better place during her MS journey.
“You can do such nonaggressive movements,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be
pounding on your joints and things. It’s just about learning to center yourself and to stretch and breathe into it. And I think anybody that can move a little can still practice yoga. It’s a very forgiving practice.”
When Blair was diagnosed, she could have taken her time and stepped away from the public to deal with her MS and the new challenges that awaited.
Instead, as she self-admittly is someone who is very forthcoming with just about anyone, she decided to become one of the public faces of the disease
“It just didn’t sound right to me,” Blair said of keeping her diagnosis quiet. “I wound up telling someone to thank them on Instagram, and people caught wind a bit and it was out there. And I was so heartened by all the people that, kind of, it resonated with them. And there’s so many people that wanted visibility and wanted information too, you know? It was refreshing for some people to see someone they might have known on-screen (with MS) … and to think that I could be any comfort or anything, that just meant so much to me.”
Blair has been relapse-free from MS for a couple of years now, but she stressed that cases of MS are different for everyone. One universal thing that many MS-diagnosed people share, however, is overwhelming fatigue.
It’s something that Blair suffered from since she was a child. She stated she probably has dealt with MS symptoms since 1977.
“You can get really overwhelmed, and that’s kind of how I feel all the time,” she said. “Even though I’m relapse-free and doing really well, that is kind of always there. Like, ‘When will I lie down?’ Because the more tired I am, the more other things will show symptoms, even though I’m doing really well, but there’s just some brain damage left that happens with MS, even when you’re doing better.”
Blair said she wants to continue to advocate for those with MS, especially in her hometown. Later that day, after receiving the key, she hosted the Friends of the Southfield Public Arts’ Art & Vintage Fashion Show fundraiser with students from the Southfield High School for the Arts & Technology dance team modeling over 40 articles of vintage clothing from the 1940s through 1970s. The vintage clothing was provided by the Berkley store Fantoni.
“I really want to champion other people in the place I came from,” Blair said. “That’s how I learned more about myself, because I was sick for so long that I didn’t really know who I was, and then to realize, ‘Oh, it’s not in my head,’ that was such a change in my life.”
CLARKSTON, MICHIGAN
