NEWSPAPERS Special Edition
New ordinance to allow solar panels in Sterling Heights
BY BRIAN WELLS bwells@candgnews.com
STERLING HEIGHTS — A new ordinance has been introduced that will allow residents in Sterling Heights to install solar panels — with restrictions.
At its Aug. 19 meeting, the Sterling Heights City Council unanimously voted to adopt a new ordinance allowing solar panels to be installed on properties in certain zon-
ing districts in the city.
The new ordinance, which was presented by City Planner Jake Parcell, will allow for roof-mounted, ground-mounted and building-integrated solar systems, with height and setback restrictions to reduce glare from panels.
“It has to be designed and located in order to prevent reflective glare. That’s something the sustainability commission was very involved with,” Parcell said. “That way peo-
ple in the public right-of-way and adjacent property owners aren’t having glare created from solar.”
The ordinance was drafted by the Sterling Heights Sustainability Commission in 2024 and in February of this year, they made a recommendation that the City Council adopt it. Before coming before the council, it was reviewed by the Planning Commission in July, which voted unanimously to send it to the council.
The ordinance allows residents to install solar panels in a variety of fashions, including roof-mounted units, which Parcell said most people are familiar with. They would be permitted on principal and accessory buildings such as sheds and garages, he said. Solar panels mounted in this way would not be required to sit flush against the structure but cannot exceed 10 feet above the roof.
“So if you think of a commercial or an
See SOLAR on page 10A
Kaden
The Village gets colorful and creative for Art Takeover
BY K. MICHELLE MORAN kmoran@candgnews.com
GROSSE POINTE CITY — The Village is going to be bursting with creativity this month.
Art Takeover — a public display of original artworks throughout the business district — will return for its third year, running Sept. 11 to Oct. 4. A record number of 85 artists — with roughly 250 works in 35 businesses and Village spaces — are participating this year. Art Takeover organizer Michelle Boggess-Nunley, an artist and owner of Posterity Art & Framing Gallery, said the works are juried.
“We have a lot of new businesses on board,” Boggess-Nunley said. “We have a ton of art. It’s going to be a great show.”
An Art Takeover kickoff celebration will take place in The Village from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11. It will feature live entertainment by musician Eugene Strobe, Renaissance Festival and circus performer The Amazing Flec,
caricatures by Emad Tammo, live painting by some participating artists and a band not identified yet at press time that will perform in The Village Plaza.
About half of this year’s artists are returning from a prior Art Takeover, but Boggess-Nunley said there are also “a lot of new artists this year.”
Art Takeover — which Boggess-Nunley conducted in other communities before she acquired Posterity and brought the event to Grosse Pointe City — is intended to not only showcase the diverse talents of Michigan artists, but also to create greater awareness of The Village and its businesses.
“Obviously, we like to do events that bring people into our businesses and bring people into our stores, and Art Takeover does that in a unique way,” Main Street Grosse Pointe Executive Director Cindy Willcock said. “Everybody loves art. It’s a way to engage visitors. Not only will they see great art, but maybe they’ll see busi-
RIGHT: Mark Zapico’s art will be included in this year’s Art Takeover.
BOTTOM LEFT: Works like this one by Yazmin Aguilar will be on display.
BOTTOM RIGHT: Regina
is one of the artists whose work will be featured
Images provided by Michelle Boggess-Nunley
‘It’s better for this to be a garden than a vacant lot’
SOUTH WARREN COMMUNITY GARDEN BEARS FRUIT TWO MONTHS AFTER CREATION
BY BRIAN WELLS bwells@candgnews.com
WARREN — The organization behind the Eastpointe Community Garden is helping to launch another one in Warren.
Since getting its start in 2012, Urban Seed has helped provide community-driven resources to help combat food insecurity and improve health and create local connections. In June, they started a second garden in Warren, on Toepfer Road east of Schoenherr Road.
The idea to start a community garden came after Jeff Matheus, who serves as a board member for Urban Seed, and Lauren Shandoval visited the garden in Eastpointe in 2023.
“It feels like people are just kind of going to and from work a lot of the time. It doesn’t seem like they have a lot of opportunity for recreation or something that beautifies or enriches their day right within the sphere of where they live,” Matheus said.
Shandoval said they wanted to create a space where residents could hang out without having to buy things.
“Part of the appeal was creating a space for people in the city, particularly this part of the city, to be able to congregate, hang out and do stuff together and meet their neighbors,” she said.
Family markets, garden centers rooted in hometowns
BY MIKE KOURY mkoury@candgnews.com
METRO DETROIT — Creating a lasting business in a community can be quite difficult. Growing that business can be even more stressful.
Some of the longest lasting businesses in metro Detroit are its family markets and garden centers, founded decades ago. Many still can be visited at their original locations.
Impressively, there might not be many other businesses that have lasted longer than Kutchey Family Market. It has been part of the fabric of the city of Warren since the early 1800s. The original farm and store were located at 3202 East 10 Mile Road.
It was eight years ago when David Kutchey decided to sell that land and open a market at 27825 Ryan Road to sell produce and an expanded inventory of flowers and gardening supplies. The land was formerly home to Young’s Garden Mart & Christmas Fantasy, another longtime family farm business in Warren.
Kutchey said they always wanted to stay in Warren when looking for a new spot, as the community has always supported the business. They want to support the community, too.
“We just obviously enjoy the community and we’re so well known in the community,” he said. “People know us from being here for the original farm on 10 Mile. Being there for over 170 years, it’s just been a staple in the community … I don’t want to start all over. We have an excellent reputation and people know us and they trust us, and they know they can get good quality produce when it’s in season. So it was the right thing to do to stay here.”
Over in Troy, Uncle Luke’s Feed Store found its home
TOP: Jeff Matheus, a board member for Urban Seed, tends to a bed of vegetable plants at the new south Warren community garden Aug. 27
ABOVE: John Hofmann, president and treasurer of Urban Seed, looks at a tomato plant.
Volunteers tend to the beds at the South Warren community garden.
Photos by Brian Wells
Standing in front of his produce and previous awards, David Kutchey holds the historical marker for Kutchey Family Market.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
Markets
in the city around 100 years ago in the 1920s selling their products to locals in one form or another, originally as Stiles Feed Store. The market operated out of a shed next to the current location as a farm outlet and hardware store.
The market eventually found its current home at 6691 Livernois Road in 1946, opening as “Uncle Luke’s Print Shop.” It has been there in Troy ever since.
Longtime employee Gil Tufts said their longevity in Troy has been due to their loyal customers.
“That’s the secret to our business,” he said. “I’ve got one lady that travels from Petoskey down here, and probably some further. … If you don’t have a loyal customer base and you don’t treat your customers right, you’re not going to be in business and that’s something we always strive to do here.”
Troy also is home to Telly’s Greenhouse & Garden Center at 3301 John R Road, where it was founded in 1978.
Telly’s Greenhouse kind of fell into the family’s lap, according to owner George Papadelis, as they had been neighbors next to an old woman with a greenhouse who then died in 1976. Papadelis’ father, Gust, bought that land in 1977.
Papadelis said the business got its start when, as a kid, it was suggested he and his brother grow plants in the greenhouse and sell them to make money for a family trip to Greece. They then painted a sign and sold flowers from the side of the road, making $1,000.
The business eventually grew and became what it is today, where it took on the name Telly’s, which was the name of Gust Papadelis’ Greek restaurant.
Since its beginnings, Telly’s has grown to include multiple locations in Michigan but currently has its base of operations at
its Troy location and in Shelby Township, where they bought several acres of land 15 years ago to grow their flowers and plants. That’s where they do more than 90% of their growing.
That being said, Papadelis said they plan to stay at their Troy home.
“We’re staying here at the Troy location because it’s an excellent location and we’ve developed a property well to accommodate the store and, quite frankly, I feel like we’ve done a lot to promote gardening in the area and sort of get people to appreciate it more and enjoy it more,” he said.
Papadelis said the city of Troy has grown around them, as has the need for plants from a reputable and family-owned garden center.
“We just grew along with that need,” he said. “As the market changed, we adapted to it because the same person that was growing the plants was selling the plants, which is me. So things have changed an awful lot since, of course, we started almost 50 years ago, but we’re still all about plants that we grow, and we love doing that and we’re good at it and we’re very service-oriented. Customers expect to see me here and they expect to get their questions answered accurately and, in most cases, passionately.”
In the case of Kutchey Family Market, the business has made such an impact in Warren that it was designated with a historical marker.
Kutchey said the designation was something that made him proud that he could continue his family’s legacy in Warren.
“It makes me very proud that I can continue on the family legacy that my great grandfather and my grandfather and my father and all them, that when they settled on 10 Mile and that was the original property, and then they started farming, that I can continue that and bring people good quality fruit and vegetables … and continue the legacy and keep supporting the community that supports us,” he said.
Garden
from page 3A
The lease for the property is only for one year, which Shandoval said was heavily enforced before they signed it.
“This is very much like a trial run to see how we do and how many people are interested,” Shandeval said. “Our hope for the future is that we can either renew the lease or be able to purchase the property at some point so that we’re able to maintain it long term.
Conditions of the lease included not being able to store equipment on the property, which John Hofmann, Urban Seed’s founder and treasurer, said caused them to scale back on how much of the property would be used.
“We have to maintain this, and we’re unable to have a lawn mower on location, so we have to rely on volunteers to bring in lawn mowers so that we can continue to maintain the property,” he said. “Originally, we were going to be looking at this full three quarters of an acre, and then at the last minute, we had to reassess what we would be actually capable of maintaining so that it would be a success for this first year.”
The garden was approved in June, which Hofmann said is late in the gardening season. Despite these limitations, he said the garden has seen success — in both the
amount of produce grown and the connections being formed in the neighborhood.
“I don’t think that we’ve had a single person express any distaste for the program,” he said. “Even people that aren’t interested in getting involved have stopped to say, ‘I really appreciate that this exists. It’s better for this to be a garden than a vacant lot.’”
As of Aug. 27, Hofmann said they’ve given away 72 pounds of produce and have logged 365 volunteer hours.
Hofmann said bringing Urban Seed to Warren after starting a garden in Eastpointe felt “impossible,” but despite uncertainties around the future of the Warren garden, the support from residents and other organizations — including the Macomb County Health Department — feels encouraging.
“Even if we were to go away, the amount of residents that have taken ownership of this program, they would continue to maintain this, regardless of what anybody had to say,” he said. “They love the fact that (the garden) exists. And for us as an organization, I think we’re really excited to continue to build it out and share all of the information that we have.”
Produce grown on-site is available to the community at no cost.
Hofmann said the garden currently has about 15 regular volunteers, but they’re always seeking more. For information on how to get involved, go to urbanseed.info/volunteer.
Bill Randazzo, garden manager at the Eastpointe Community Garden, tends to a bed of vegetable plants at the new community garden in south Warren Aug. 27.
Photo by Brian Wells
Jerry Naumann, of Berkley, brought his backwards trailer to this year’s Woodward Dream Cruise Aug. 16 and the Berkley CruiseFest Classic Car Parade Aug. 15. Naumann’s camper looks like it rides backward while pulling a 1985 Ford Ranger pickup truck.
Setting
Classic Cars for the Cure
Sept. 20
DETROIT/CLAWSON — The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute will hold its third annual Classic Cars for the Cure from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at a private garage at 1330 N. Crooks Road in Clawson. Funds raised will support cancer research at Karmanos in Detroit.
The event will include a strolling supper by Forte Belanger, live 1950s and ’60s music by Stella and her band Intrigue, a performance and swing dance lessons from the Oakland University Dance Team, and dessert served in a 1950s diner. Guests, too, can learn more about Karmanos’ research.
Attendees are asked to wear cocktail attire or 1950s and 1960s-style flair. Al Trombetta, Classic Cars for the Cure automobile curator, has gathered 25 rare classic cars from museums and top collectors to showcase. The event is personal for Trombetta, whose mother died of lung cancer.
Debra Partrich, of Bloomfield Hills, is a member of the Karmanos Cancer Institute Board of Directors and also a cancer survivor who underwent treatment at Karmanos.
BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com
METRO DETROIT — When it comes to car cruises, Jerry Naumann knows how to make a grand entrance.
For many years, the car enthusiast drove an upsidedown GMC 1984 Rally van that attracted crowds from St. Clair Shores to downriver communities. After owning it for several years, he sold the vehicle to a gentleman in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where the upside-down van currently rests.
But the wheels behind Naumann’s cruising days are still spinning. A couple of years ago, he purchased another offbeat vehicle that looks like a camper riding backward while connected to a 1985 Ford Ranger pickup truck. Naumann drove the memorable trailer in this year’s Woodward Dream Cruise Aug. 16 and made an appearance at the Berkley CruiseFest Classic Car Parade Aug. 15 where he “had a blast.”
Here’s the twist: the trailer isn’t really a camper but is
“If it weren’t for a doctor doing research to find a cure for the cancer I had, I would not be here today. I would not be able to watch my grandsons grow up, spend more time with my family, enjoy trips with my husband, or be around with my friends,” she said in a prepared statement. “That’s the most important thing. Just to be present. This event is a wonderful evening full of classic cars, dancing, music and just a lot of fun. And we are raising dollars for research. Research that will hopefully someday cure cancer.”
Helping to make Classic Cars for the Cure a success is Franklin resident and event sponsor Jeff Kopelman. His wife, Sandy, was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer but lived for 4 1/2 years because of the cancer treatment she received from Dr. Robert Morris and the Karmanos staff. Tickets cost $250 each at karmanos.org/cars25.
— Maria allard
Partrich
Kopelman
Photos by Liz Carnegie
Camper
from page 6A
manufactured to look like one.
“It’s just vinyl siding and it has a 2-by-2 framework,” Naumann said.
With a 1998 Chevrolet S-10 Blazer floor plan with drivetrain, a front and back seat, and steering wheel, it appears as if the Ford Ranger is backing up with the trailer behind it. But it’s really the trailer driving forward while pulling the Ranger behind it.
“Pretty much the body was removed off the ’98 Chevy Blazer and the seats were left there. The camper is bolted to it. It just drives itself. The Blazer is what pulls the whole framework of the camper,” Naumann said. “You can see the dashboard and the engine is all intact. The four wheels actually propel this camper.”
Naumann said the engine from the Ford Ranger was removed to make the ride lighter. The camper can drive by itself, but Naumann always has the Ranger with it so spectators can get the full illusion.
“The same guy that did the van for me did this,” Naumann said. “I saw this about three years ago up in Flint at Back to the Bricks. Very nice, high-end cars go there.”
While en route, Naumann often
“When driving down the road, you love to see people, especially little kids, smiling and pointing
it,” Jerry Naumann said. “I just love seeing the expression on their faces and the fact they enjoy it.”
keeps the speedometer at 40 mph. There is no radio, and the air conditioner doesn’t work, but the windows bring in fresh air.
Naumann attaches a wire between the two vehicles so the Ranger’s taillights and turn signals work.
“That way people see when they’re coming up behind the truck if I’m turning
or breaking,” he said.
The camper stands about 7 1/2 feet in height. Naumann gets a kick out of driving the rig around town. When people see him driving by, they pull out their cameras to take photos and videos.
“It’s that shock and awe, I guess,” Naumann said. “When driving down the road,
you love to see people, especially little kids, smiling and pointing at it. I just love seeing the expression on their faces and the fact they enjoy it.”
Naumann lives close enough to the Berkley CruiseFest Classic Car Parade on 12 Mile Road that he can see people as they mark their spots with lawn chairs and canopies to get a good view of the event. He loves to see so many spectators come to town, which he said boosts the economy and puts Berkley on the map. The same goes for the Woodward Dream Cruise, which stretches through several communities in Oakland County.
Naumann has always been interested in cars, something that was in the family’s DNA.
“I restored many cars and painted many cars,” he said. “My dad was into cars and my older brother was into cars.”
Along with the backward camper, Naumann owns two Plymouth Prowlers: a 1999 model and a 2001 model. The ’01 Prowler has 130,000 miles on it.
“That one, I drove all over the country just to events,” said Naumann, who belongs to the online Plymouth Prowler Enthusiasts car club.
This year, the club met up in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Last year, the Prowler peeps got together for camaraderie in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Photo by Liz Carnegie
at
SENIOR SOFTBALL LEAGUE CROWNS UPPER DIVISION CHAMPION
BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com
SHELBY TOWNSHIP — The Sterco Refractory Steel Co.’s men’s senior softball team has taken the title in the Shelby-Warren Senior Softball League for 2025.
The group finished in first place on the season with a 17-4 record, and also went 3-1 during the double-elimination postseason that ended with a 11-6 victory in the title game on Aug 20.
“We have several very good players that are in the Michigan USSSA Hall of Fame on the team and we have one guy that’s also in the national Hall of Fame (Chuck Maiorana),” Sterco Refractory Steel co-manager Oscar Zamora said. “The league is very competitive, but we’re all friends at the end of the day.”
Two years ago, Zamora and co-manager Nick Martinico played on a team that was consistently at the top of the league, but due to schedule and field conflicts, the group saw a lot of its players disperse to other teams. This season, the team tried to go back to its roots and get their original squad back together.
“Martinico and I collaborated in the offseason and thought, ‘Why don’t we try to get our old team back together?’ We contacted our players and most of them came back,” Zamora said. “We thought it would be nice to get the band back together. We just enjoy playing with each other so much on the field.”
Bringing in a lot of the team’s previous players also allowed Sterco Refractory Steel to use a lot of different guys throughout the
season, which in this league is needed.
“When it comes to senior softball, at some point during the season there’s going to be an injury or two,” Zamora said. “And we were lucky enough to have good players to be able to fill into the different positions when somebody pulled a hamstring, turned an ankle, had a sore arm. It all goes with the territory of being over 55, which is the minimum age for the league.”
Aside from winning on the field, this league means a lot to players and their families, too. The turnout for games is large, and is filled with kids and grandkids to watch
family members play.
“It’s such a nice feeling to get out there. The wives come out and watch or the family and grandkids come out and watch,” Zamora said. “Everybody just knows each other and they get along well. We enjoy it so much.”
The league is full of guys that not only know each other, but have played softball or baseball with each other for many years. Part of what makes it such a special environment is the fact that some of these players have competed against or with others for decades.
“We’ve known each other for a long time,” Martinico said. “We’re competitive. Yeah, we want to compete, but the friendship part of it is a big part of it, too.”
The epitome of the competitive-yet-fun atmosphere was the championship game itself. The final score was 11-6 and the game saw a handful of highlight plays from the two best teams in the league.
“What a great game it was. There were diving catches made by the outfielders, and I don’t think there were any errors,” Martinico said. “There were a lot of people there
Sterco Refractory Steel Co.’s men’s senior softball team celebrates after becoming the No. 1 team in the Shelby-Warren Senior Softball League for the 2025 season.
Photo provided by Madelyn Zamora
See SOFTBALL on page 10A
Art
from page 1A
nesses they didn’t realize were here.”
Besides people from the Pointes and surrounding communities, Art Takeover has been found to draw visitors from farther-flung communities.
“We get thousands of visitors just for Art Takeover,” Boggess-Nunley said. “It has brought a lot of new visitors to The Village. It’s nice to see it working.”
Adding to the experience is the fact that visitors can vote for their favorite Art Takeover artist. The winner will receive a solo exhibition at Posterity in 2026. Ballots must be submitted in person and can be dropped off at Posterity, Savvy Chic or Half-Moon Outfitters in The Village. There also will be a scavenger hunt throughout the duration of Art Takeover that visitors can take part in for a chance to win merchandise and gift certificates to local businesses.
Willcock said they’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from visitors who came to the previous Art Takeovers.
Boggess-Nunley said she’s had the same experience.
“We get emails every year about how much people really liked the event,” BoggessNunley said.
A map to the artwork locations is printed in the Sept. 4 issue of the Grosse Pointe Times.
“We have so many new stores in The Village,” Boggess-Nunley said. “The way to get people into The Village is through Art Takeover.”
Any artworks sold during Art Takeover are sold without commissions, meaning the artists take home the full purchase price.
“It’s a great time to buy,” Boggess-Nunley said. “All of the proceeds go to the artists.”
Posterity is located at 17005 Kercheval Ave. in The Village. For more about Art Takeover, visit posterityartgallery.com or call (313) 884-8105.
CANDGNEWS.COM
industrial building that has it on the roof, they’re allowed to tilt up to a maximum height of 10 feet,” he said. “That way, it can kind of catch the sun at its appropriate angle.”
The recommended angle for a roofmounted solar panel in Sterling Heights is 30 degrees, he said, so they don’t anticipate them to be tilted to a very significant degree.
Under the new ordinance, groundmounted solar panels will also be allowed, though they cannot exceed 15 feet in height, or 10 feet in height in residential lots less than a quarter acre. They must also be placed in the side yard and may be subject to a three-foot rear and side setback.
Integrated solar devices will also be allowed under the new ordinance.
“So there are shingles and other types of technology that actually can be solar panels now, and they lie flat, flush on the roof, so they’re integrated into the structure itself, rather than placed on top of the existing structure,” he said. “This would be allowed in any zoning district where the underlying building is allowed.”
Parcell also said solar panels would be allowed on carports. However, Sustainability Commission member Nathan Inks said
Softball
from page 8A
watching. It was a great game.”
Every year, the Shelby-Warren Senior Softball League plays a relaxed and fun game with everyone in the league to mark the end of the season. This year, the game will have over 100 players, and will take place at Jimmy John’s Field in Utica.
“Everything is kind of geared towards
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they wouldn’t be allowed on residential carports.
“If anybody’s familiar with Michigan State University’s parking lots and what they’ve installed for their carport solar up there, this would allow solar panels that are actually forming the carports themselves, as opposed to going on top of an existing carport,” he said.
Inks said these would likely be seen in industrial sites or large commercial sites. These would not be allowed in any residential districts, he said.
However, Parcell said, all solar systems would need a permit.
While Mayor Pro Tem Liz Sierawski said she thinks it’s a “brilliant” idea, she asked if the solar panels would generate any heat.
“Our neighbors are going to have this reflective thing, and is it going to create a little heat, wind or heat area cushion right in front of or behind their home?” she asked.
Parcell said he doesn’t believe they generate any heat.
Councilman Michael Radtke Jr. said he was happy to support the ordinance.
“I think it’s very smart. It basically mimics accessory structures throughout our community,” he said. “If you can put up a shed, you can now put up a solar array, and I think that that makes a lot of sense. It’s almost kind of like an ordinance in a box.”
having fun and yet still being a little competitive,” Martinico said. “As the league goes, it’s the camaraderie. I got everyone on my team to participate (in the Jimmy John’s Field game).”
The Shelby-Warren Senior Softball League continues to be a great community and the Sterco Refractory Steel men’s team will look to get the band back together next year for another championship run. Games are played at Mae Stecker Park in Shelby Township and Halmich Park in Warren.
