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FERNDALE SCHOOLS REOPEN
Ferndale Schools

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FERNDALE SCHOOLS will begin the 2021-2021 school year in-person. While we are very excited to welcome our students back to school we are taking extra precaution to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and community.
We know how important having our students in the classroom is, and we are dedicated to doing everything we can to ensure we are able to offer in-person instruction for the entire school year. Below you will find some of the safety precautions we are taking for this school year.

Masks
To start the school year, the Oakland County Health Division has mandated mask wearing for all students and staff. This is an important safety protocol.
Daily Health Screening Discontinued
At this time we do not anticipate requiring a daily health screening to enter school. We continue to encourage families to inform school personnel of absences and COVID-19 positive cases, or exposure to a positive case within your family. We will then follow quarantine and close contact tracing protocols as required by the Oakland County Health Division.
Classroom Distancing & Assigned Seating

All students will be assigned seating in all classes. Each classroom will be different depending on the size of the room and the number of students. We will provide the maximum amount of space that is possible. We will also continue to enhance ventilation by keeping windows open when possible. Our HVAC system will continue to be set to take in the maximum amount of air from the outside to provide the best ventilation possible.
Busing / Transportation
Masks are mandatory for everyone riding the bus per CDC guidelines. Students will have assigned seating on the bus as well. We will continue to keep windows open as we did last year to ensure maximum ventilation. Students will also use hand sanitizer as they enter the bus.

Personal Protective Equipment
The District has purchased PPE including face shields and paper masks for students and staff to use as needed. n • These are just some of the saftey measures we are taking. For more information on Ferndale Schools return to the classroom, visit: www.ferndaleschools.org/welcomeback • For more information on Ferndale Schools Safety Protocols, visit: www.ferndaleschools.org/welcomeback/safety • For more information on how the Oakland County Health Division is combating Covid in K-12 schools, visit: www.oakgov.com/covid/resources/education/Pages/k-12.aspx







By Kevin Lamb
By Shannon O’Brien & Dave Cotrill Photos by Nathan Khalsa
THIS LAND EXTENDS SOUTH TO 8 MILE RD, AND FROM PINECREST RD WEST TO ROYAL OAK TOWNSHIP. It has quite a colorful history in Ferndale. The entire parcel is currently owned by the Detroit Axle Company, which sits on 8 Mile Rd. immediately west of the property. Axle’s co-owner, Mike Musheinesh, wants to work with the community to best utilize a good portion of this last natural space in Ferndale. A footpath used by the Potawatami, from what is now called the Detroit River into what is now called the State of Michigan, became known as the Saginaw Trail about 200 years ago. A man named Jebez White, who apparently never recorded any land purchase, settled for a time on a sandy ridge along a portion of this trail where the parcel of land now sits. We know through historical accounts available at the Ferndale Historical Society that Jebez White was most likely a squatter on the land, and around year 1821 opened a tavern on this site in
order to house weary travelers. Jan Froggatt of the Society, along with volunteers, has received permission to walk the Standing on the south side of Ferndale High School and looking south, one cannot help but notice a land this Spring to look for any possible sign of the original location of White’s tavern. Fast forward to the 1940s, when the Ethyl Corporation purchased the property and opened a chemical research facility. They existed on the site until the mid‘80s, leaving in their wake underground tanks used to store various chemicals and scattered dump sites tall tree line stretching across the property. The tanks have since been removed but the ground is contaminated, and therefore east to west. A chain-link fence eligible for Brownfield Redevelopment Funds which separates the high school grounds are used to clean up contaminated sites. A division of the auto supplier Hayes Lemmerze then from the 34-acre parcel of land purchased the property, conducting business there these trees grow upon. until 2007. The property was sold to Renu Recycling 2012, resulting in the demolition of all the buildings in onsite, including an Albert Kahn-designed building facing Eight Mile Rd. In 2016 Pinecrest Holdings LLC purchased the land via land contract, with plans to develop the northern
portion of the land into a housing development and destroying the forest and existing field. News of this development, after decades of transgressions upon this property, prompted local residents to form a group coined the Southwest Ferndale Neighborhood Association (SWFNA). Concerns ranged from the unknown contaminants existing on the property to the destruction of the last natural space in Ferndale. The SWFNA attended city planning meetings and held joint meetings with the city, while flyering affected parts of Ferndale and Royal Oak Township for increased awareness and attendance.
ON A BRIGHT MORNING IN DECEMBER OF 2018, AN ANONYMOUS ARTIST erected a family of four life-sized giraffe sculptures on the land along with the written message,
Large, handmade signs appeared for a short time along the Pinecrest corridor, expressing dismay at development and support for green spaces. The giraffes were taken down by the City and the developer. In June of 2019, Pinecrest Holdings LLC withdrew, selling six acres of the land to Detroit Axle.
Detroit Axle’s plan to expand operations to the six acres of the 8 Mile frontage sitting adjacent to the east side of the current facility was abandoned due to the contamination on the property, and after a stand of mature hardwoods was accidentally razed. After resident and city outcry, Musheinesh payed restitution for the lost trees. The incident created a deeper awareness of community concerns and the gift that trees and fields are to the community. In August 2020, Axle Holdings purchased from Pinecrest Holdings L.L.C. the remaining forest and meadow of the original 34 acres. Musheinesh wishes to preserve a good portion of this added property, stating that any building done by Axle Holdings will be closer to the 8 Mile Rd frontage. He would love to see the giraffes back on the land, with a message of
The site is currently labeled as a brownfield and is being monitored for contamination. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a brownfield is defined as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse or which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.” Once the contaminants are known, it’s possible to know how to best remediate the land. One way to clean up a brownfield is through bioremediation. Bio-remediation is the process of either naturally occurring (intrinsic) or deliberately introduced (engineered) micro-organisms or other forms of life, to consume and break down environmental pollutants to clean up a polluted site. This is the most desirable in terms of nature preservation. Another form of remediation involves removing layers of soil, an idea which has local residents concerned about possible transmission of contaminants through dust and wind. The long-term future is uncertain in terms of preservation or development until testing is complete and all contaminants are identified. DOROTHEA PULLEN, A LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF ROYAL OAK TOWNSHIP, loves the forest visible from her yard. She harkens back to the 1940s before Ethyl Corp built on the land, recalling walks along a dirt road that led from Pinecrest, through the woods to Pasadena St in Royal Oak Township. She recalls catching “garter snakes and pollywogs.” A tall, graying man, also from the Township, showed up at a City meeting thanks to the flyers distributed by the SWFNA. He lit up while speaking of the observable wildlife living in the forest, saying fondly that “in the springtime, there are gorgeous flocks of birds that land in the field.” A long-time resident of Ferndale recalls seeing Ferndale High School being built, and has fond memories of the nearby forest that has managed to survive throughout the decades. The SWFNA took a keen interest in the contents of the forest. The City of Ferndale had a tree inventory conducted during the development consideration process. Some of the trees of interest are Red and White Oak, White
Mulberry, American Elm, Black Cherry,
Serviceberry, Black Gumm and Eastern Red Cedar. Wildlife spotted on and near the land have included red fox, a small herd of deer, red-tail hawk, bats, screech owls and a variety of song birds. Vegetation includes white and black raspberries and a variety of grasses. Maybe especially around the turn of the last century, a different level of awareness and foresight would have created policy and action to protect and preserve portions of the natural world existing in this area which is increasingly recognized as enhancing the quality of life for all. We have an opportunity right here in Ferndale to work toward this end. The land exists, and Mike Musheinesh is willing to work with the community for a healthy and positive outcome. The future of this historic 34 acres begins now. n

