New head coach is ready for the next level
By DAVE MERCHANT
The Trenton Trojans Varsity football team has a new head coach. Steve Voss has officially taken over the reins.
“I have been on the coaching staff for Trojan football for the last four years,” Steve Voss said. “Prior to that, I was assistant coach to Todd Szalka for THS baseball, and before that, I coached a number of years in hockey at various levels, including high school.”
Applying for the position was not the easiest for Voss.
“It has been a difficult few months at THS since Coach Reginald Glon decided that he would be leaving the program,” he said. “Glon originally hired me when he became the head coach at the high school. He mentored me and I have learned a lot from him. I hate to see him go, and that is an under statement. Originally, due to that, I did not want to apply to be head coach. But after much thought, I just couldn’t leave the boys that I have been coaching who have not yet graduated.”
According to Voss, the Downriver League is very competitive. It’s very tough to win, especially with powerhouse teams like Gibraltar Carlson, Allen Park, and Southgate, just to name three.
“I am excited to be the coach of the Trenton Trojans and am looking forward to the challenge,” he said. “Head coach is very different from defensive coordinator, and Coach Glon has taken time to help me with that process.”
Voss does not teach at THS, but he is employed by the District as a Security Consultant. He retired from the Trenton Police Department as Police Chief in 2020.
“I have been married to my wonderful wife, Tina for 28 years. She is a special needs teacher at Lincoln Park High School,” he stated. “I have 2 adult children. My daughter, Sydney is 25 and is graduating from Toledo Law School in a month. She will be going to work for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office. My son, Anthony is 22 and graduated from MSU as a teacher and is currently a student teacher at Southgate”
Athletics have always been a part of Voss life.
“I played football, hockey, and baseball at THS and graduated in 1987,” he said.” I played football for legendary Coach Jack Castignola and hockey for Skip Howey.” Voss was a member of the 1986 State Championship hockey team.
Voss continued, “I then went to MSU and played LB. I was coached by George Perles and Nick Saban. I was a member of the 1988 Rose Bowl championship team.”
Working in the school helps him bond with the players.
“Fortunately, I do work part-time in the schools
and spend a lot of my time at the high school and junior high,” he explained. “It really gives me a chance to connect with the athletes in a school setting, and help keep them on the right path. Additionally, building strong relationships with high school staff is a key part of the program’s success. This season, that connection is growing even stronger, as several new members from the high school have joined the existing coaching staff.”
Voss reflected on the tough last second losses last season.
“Last year, we lost some games at the last minute. This season, we will be focused on how to finish
those games,” he said. “Last year, we were 6-4, and lost all 4 by a total of 6 points.”
Voss said the opener against Allen Park is a big game to set the tone. Trenton has a storied history Downriver.
“Over the last 64 years, the Trenton Trojans have had 4 head football coaches: Jack Castignola, Don Warner, Bob Czarnecki, and Reginald Glon,” he said. “Three of these four are in the coaching Hall of Fame - two in Michigan and one in Indiana.”
“This is a tough act to follow,” Voss admits, “I will do my best to honor these men because they all deserve the utmost respect.”
TURNING 65?
Great Lakes moment: Autoworkers’ long history of protecting our environment
By JOHN HARTIG
April 22, 1970 was the first Earth Day. On that day, two boats — one with an American flag representing American autoworkers and one with a Canadian flag representing Canadian autoworkers — met in the middle of the Detroit River to hold a wake, symbolizing the death of the river from pollution.
As is the custom in wakes, a floral wreath was placed on the water. The vice chairperson of the United Auto Workers (UAW) Downriver Anti-Pollution League, who’s referred to in documents from the Walter Reuther Library at Wayne State University only as Mrs. Peter Naccrato, quickly retrieved the wreath from the Detroit River.
“I don’t want the flowers to get contaminated,” said Naccrato.
For this first Earth Day, the UAW’s Downriver AntiPollution League issued a resolution stating: “We, the citizens of Michigan, especially those of us living along the Detroit River, realize that the pollution from American companies along the river affects not only us but our Sisters and Brothers on the Canadian side. We are demanding that our government take more stringent measures against corporations, municipalities, and other sources of pollution.”
Public outcry over pollution helped raise public awareness about environmental issues and put them on national agendas. This prompted political action to protect the environment by mobilizing large numbers of people to demand stricter environmental regulations. This environmental activism ultimately led to the passage of: The Canada Water Act of 1970; The U.S. National Environmental Policy Act of 1970; The U.S. Clean Water Act of 1972; The U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1972; The U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973.
This also led to the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and the Canadian Department of the Environment (now called Environment and Climate Change Canada) in 1971.
Today, over one billion people from more than 92 countries participate in Earth Day celebrations to continue raising awareness about the environment’s health and encouraging people to take action to protect the planet. You might be surprised to learn that autoworkers now have a 100-year history of protecting our environment.
In his book titled Making a Living: Work and the Environment in the United States, Chad Montrie notes that: “Starting in the 1920s a growing number of male autoworkers and other factory hands living in and around Detroit attended to a newfound sense of estrangement from the natural world by hunting and fishing. To support those activities, they formed or joined local sportsmen’s clubs, which held regular meetings and published monthly newsletters, and they established a state organization, the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, which worked with existing conservation groups to lobby the legislature on fish and game laws.”
Automobile and other factory workers’ firsthand experiences with water and air pollution put them at the forefront of efforts to control pollution and benefit from outdoor recreational pursuits like fishing and hunting.
Walter Reuther was president of the UAW from 1946, until he died in 1970. Under Reuther’s leadership, the UAW helped establish an autoworkers’ environmental consciousness that led to advocacy to prevent and control pollution. Indeed, it
was the UAW’s interest in promoting recreational and leisure activities for its workers, and the workers’ growing interest in protecting the environment, that led to the development of a working-class environmental consciousness and a labor environmentalism that we all benefit from today.
This can be seen in the 1967 statement, adopted by the UAW’s International Executive Board: “As we bargain for more time off the job in the form of more paid holidays, longer vacations and early retirement, we must also be concerned that this time can be utilized in the kinds of surroundings that will bring some measure of pleasure, satisfaction, and enjoyment to our members and their families. Our Union has demonstrated time and time again that its responsibility to its members does not end with the punching out at the time clock, and that the conservation issue is as vital to us as any we have previously undertaken.”
The first Earth Day was organized and led by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson from Wisconsin, who envisioned it as a nationwide “teach-in” to raise awareness about environmental issues. He recruited Denis Hayes, a young student activist against the Vietnam War, to organize campus teach-ins. Hayes and a coalition of environmental groups spearheaded
this nationwide “teach-in,” but a key supporter was the UAW which provided substantial financial and operational assistance, allowing the event to reach a large audience nationwide.
In his book Silent Spring Revolution, Douglas Brinkley noted that “Reuther led the UAW to become the most vocal organization in America demanding pollution control and nature conservation for workers.” Brinkley continued: “Without Reuther, there would have been no Earth Day.” Later in his career, Senator Nelson acknowledged that the UAW and other labor unions became important constituencies in the modern environmental movement.
When the UAW (now called the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) was founded in 1935, Canadian auto workers were initially part of the Canadian Region of the UAW. In 1985, Canadian autoworkers split from the UAW, forming the Canadian Auto Workers or CAW (now called Unifor, established in 2013). Today, both the UAW and Unifor remain champions of improving the lives of working people by advocating for better wages, health care and working conditions, including protecting the environment. Both these labor unions are leading the fight for a just transition so the shift to cleaner vehicles truly benefits workers and the environment.
UAW members are doing their part by fighting for and winning important just transition provisions through bargain-
ing and organizing at new electric vehicle and battery plants across the country. UAW members of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have used their power to win critical investment commitments, job security provisions and job quality standards to ensure workers are not left behind in the transition to cleaner vehicles.
The UAW Conservation and Resource Development Department works to educate members and the community about environmental issues. The group mobilizes grassroots support for policies that strike the proper balance between economic growth and protecting our natural environment.
In addition, the UAW has advocated for the renewal of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, supported policies that account for carbon emissions and labor standards when purchasing materials for public infrastructure, implemented training programs for health and safety training to UAW and community members, and developed a Green Door Environmental Technician Program that creates green jobs in Detroit.
A good example of autoworker advocacy resulting in action occurred in 2023 when the UAW won a historic commitment from General Motors to include battery production under the UAW’s national master agreement. This guaranteed that the General Motors conversion to electric vehicles would be a just transition in the clean energy revolution that brings good union jobs to communities across America.
Just last month, the UAW had another autoworker victory in organizing at an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee. UAW members at Local 1853 overwhelmingly voted to ratify their first local agreement with Ultium, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution. This agreement ensures fair pay, benefits and worker safety in the manufacture of EV batteries which is just as risky as manufacturing combustion engines. And, equally as important, this labor agreement sets a precedent for a brighter future for other autoworkers in southern states.
It is also worth highlighting that the 2020 United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), will be up for review in 2026 for potential renegotiation. The UAW has made improving worker and environmental protection one of its core demands on a renegotiated USMCA.
“The UAW is fully committed to helping build a just, new, green economy,” said Rachel Gumpert, assistant director of communications for the UAW. “As the UAW likes to say — we want bread, but roses too. The UAW wants to be part of dreaming bigger to ensure its workers, their families and communities have healthy environments and green spaces that provide recreational opportunities for all.”
Similarly, Unifor/CAW has always taken a robust position on protecting the environment from a labor perspective for its membership and local communities. In the 1980s, Unifor fought for and won the establishment of a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System that provides information on how to safely use hazardous materials in the workplace, including hazard identification, product labeling, safety data sheets and worker training.
Since 1999, Unifor has had a Joint Workplace Environment Committee made up of union members and management to find ways to reduce waste to landfills, reduce the carbon footprint, save money through pollution prevention, and improve community outreach.
Continued from PAGE 17
Since the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) that led to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Unifor has worked with others in the labor movement to lobby national governments on actions to ensure that all workers are fully prepared and protected and have a meaningful say in how the transition unfolds to cleaner vehicles. Seven principles guide this work on just transition: Respect for workers, unions, communities and families,Worker participation at every stage of transition, Transitioning to good jobs, Sustainable and healthy communities, Planning for the future, grounded in today’s reality, Nationally coherent regionally driven, locally delivered actions, and Immediate yet durable support.
In response, Unifor became a strong advocate for Bill C-50 respecting accountability, transparency and engagement to support the creation of sustainable jobs for workers and economic growth in a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy in the Canadian Parliament. This bill passed in 2024 and is now known as the Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act.
Locally in Windsor, Ontario, Unifor lobbied for and changed a provincial law to ban pesticides on school playgrounds and public parks. It also lobbied the Windsor City Council to purchase 18 electric buses made in Canada. Most recently, Unifor’s Windsor Environment Committee, including Local 444, supported Member of Parliament Brian Masse’s private member bill (C 248) to establish Ojibway National Urban Park in Windsor. On March 8th, Parks Canada received $36.1 million CAN in federal funding over five years to establish this national urban park, as well as $4.6 million per year to support its operations.
“The environmental advocacy work that began decades ago continues to inspire us as we educate members about their role in building a sustainable future,” said Joanne Hay, director of health, safety, and the environment at Unifor. “We are just as committed today as our union predecessors were 55 years ago. We know the key to creating a sustainable future is to ensure it works for workers.”
John Hartig is a board member at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. He serves as a Visiting Scholar at the University of Windsor’s Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research and has written numerous books and publications on the environment and the Great Lakes. Hartig also helped create the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, where he worked for 14 years as the refuge manager.
New chief takes the helm at GIFD
At their March 24th regular meeting, acting on the recommendation of the Fire Commission, the Grosse Ile Township Board approved Fire Marshal Robert R. Roscoe to be the next fire chief, replacing retiring chief John Camilleri. After 18 years of service, Camilleri is stepping back from the leadership position, but will remain as an EMT in the department.
Roscoe comes to the position, having served for 13 years, starting as a volunteer firefighter/EMT, and moving through the ranks as a sergeant, fire marshal, and lieutenant.
He’s certified in Michigan Fire 1 and 2, EMT-B, Ice Rescue, Open Water Advanced, Pump Operator, CDL-A training. Roscoe has served on the Downriver Dive Team for the past several years, and is a NFPA certified fire inspector, and Michigan state fire inspector.
He is a graduate of Schoolcraft College’s Firefighter School, earning his Emergency Medical Technician status at Wayne County Community College, and advanced Fire Inspector training at Schoolcraft. Roscoe and his wife Julia, have a teenage daughter and make their home on Grosse Ile.
SEE PAGE 4
GI middle school students relish week-long trip to D.C.
The 8th-grade class at Grosse Ile Middle School recently embarked on an unforgettable weeklong trip to Washington, D.C., filled with history, exploration, and fun activities. The adventure began with a visit to the Udvar-Hazy Space Museum, where students were able to explore impressive displays of aviation and space history. The group also participated in a night tour of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, offering a chance for reflection on the nation’s past.
The next day was action-packed, starting with a visit to the Spy Museum, where students engaged with interactive exhibits and learned about the world of espionage. This was followed by a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, where students witnessed the solemn Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Four GIMS students had the honor of placing a wreath at the tomb, paying tribute to the fallen soldiers.
The next day was action-packed, starting with a visit to the Spy Museum, where students engaged with interactive exhibits and learned about the world of espionage. This was followed by a trip to Arlington National Cemetery, where students witnessed the solemn Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
SEE PAGE 3
Riverview Gabriel Richard takes home first D3 state title
Riverview Gabriel Richard achieved a historic milestone, securing its first-ever MHSAA Division 3 State Championship with a dominant 79-63 victory over the Arts and Technology Academy of Pontiac (ATAP) on March 15th, . The Pioneers (25-2) showcased exceptional teamwork and a wellbalanced offensive attack, with five players finishing in double figures. Senior leaders Charles Kage and Bryce White led the charge, each contributing 18 points, followed closely by Luke Westerdale with 17, Drew Everingham with 16, and Nick Sobush with 10. The senior-heavy roster made the win even more
special, as these players capped off their high school careers with the ultimate prize: a state championship. The game got off to a competitive start, with Gabriel Richard holding a narrow 12-11 lead after the first quarter. However, it was in the second quarter where the Pioneers truly took control. An explosive 18-4 run stretched their lead and gave them a double-digit advantage that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. The Pioneers’ defense and disciplined offense were key factors in this surge, as they capitalized on ATAP’s missed opportunities and took full advantage of the Lions’ shooting struggles. ATAP missed several close-range shots, including multiple layups late in the first half when the Pioneers were up 32-20. These missed opportunities proved costly, as Gabriel Richard closed out the half with a 34-20 lead
SEE PAGE 14
Art and Literacy Night brings school community together
On Thursday, March 13th, Memorial Elementary School hosted a pirate-themed art and literacy night. The school was transformed into a pirate and underwater paradise using student artwork that was created during their STEAM class.
The night featured a variety of activities highlighting literacy and creativity. Each family received a pirate map to guide them through the night’s events.
Among those events were a student art show that showcased handmade sculptures, pirate selfportraits, student-drawn pirate maps, and underwater themed paintings. For the literacy portion, students and families engaged in literacy games for all learning levels that focused on each of the 5 pillars of literacy instruction: phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
The event was reminiscent of the school carnivals that use to take place at Memorial using fun games such as Tic Toc Crock and Walk the Plank. The pirate themed games were fun, engaging, and educational.
SEE PAGE 3
Winter Guard season in full swing
The Winter Guard season is officially underway, and the Southgate teams are off to a strong start.
At the recent Michigan Color Guard Circuit competition on March 16th at Stoney Creek High School, the Southgate Winter Guard teams gave it their all. Southgate Anderson Winter Guard (SAWG) placed 3rd in
Scholastic A with a score of 65.600. This year, SAWG is competing up a level, qualifying them for Worlds in April. The team has been pushing themselves through new routines, showing remarkable dedication and hard work.
The Southgate Titan Winter Guard finished 10th in Scholastic Regional A with a score of 57.100. Meanwhile, the Southgate Viking Winter Guard secured 4th place in Junior Regional A with a score of 47.200.
SEE PAGE 10
Southgate florist showcases talent at floral
expo
At the Great Lakes Floral Association Floral and Event Expo, Jedidiah Daddow, a certified florist and owner of Floral Designs of Southgate, was one of the featured design presenters. He conducted a floral workshop, sharing his expertise with attendees and demonstrating his creative approach to floral arrangements.
With just over six years in the floral industry, Jedidiah has already made signficant strides in his career. As a certified florist through the Great Lakes Floral Association, he credits the certification
program as a key factor in his professional development. The program has been instrumental in helping him refine his skills and grow within the competitive floral industry. His work has been recognized in several publications, including a bouquet featured on the cover of The Professional Florist magazine and he has also contributed an article to the same publication.
SEE PAGE 9
Vibrant performances highlight Wyandotte Figure Skating Showcase
The Wyandotte Figure Skating Club and Wyandotte Learn to Skate Program proudly presented Dynamic Duos, Buddies, Friends and Family! at the Yack Recreation Center. The performances took place on Friday, April 4th and Saturday, April 5th,
and were sanctioned by the U.S. Figure Skating (#75783).
The opening number, Encanto, was coached by Teresa and Stephanie, showcased skaters Gianna DePalma, Jaida Elliot, Abbey Heer, Emma Henri, Miranda Hunter, Lorelai Kubiak, Rebecca Kubiak, Aidan Kennedy, Addison Somerset, and Alexis Zuziak. In a similar energetic spirit, the High Freestyle Trolls routine featured the same group of skaters, capturing the fun and flair of the Trolls theme.
SEE PAGE 14
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Clare M McMillan
Clare M McMillan Wyandotte, MI 48192
Clare M McMillan CFP®, AAMS™
CFP®, AAMS™ Financial Advisor
734-285-0224
Advisor 565 Oak Street Wyandotte,
565 Oak Street Wyandotte, MI 48192 734-285-0224
