Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Valentina Djelaj has taken an active role in speaking out against domestic violence.
A Shelby Township woman took to activism after tragedy. Valentina Djelaj decided to speak out against domestic violence after her father killed her mother and then turned the gun on himself several years ago. “I wasn’t sure how to grieve because it was unprecedented for me,” Valentina said last year. "I was going to sit in the corner and cry but I said to myself, 'I am too upset about this now, and I’m going to do something.' I was further empowered. 'I will do research and devote my career about this and prove you.'" She is also a full-time volunteer at Turning Point, which provides programs and resources that enable victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence to regain control of their lives. Djelaj is one of many people making…
Friday, August 31, 2012
Here's how Danielle Ziaja is making a difference in Oakland and Macomb counties.
On the Friday before her senior year at Detroit Country Day was set to begin, Danielle Ziaja of Rochester Hills had a hair appointment, a senior photo shoot and some summer calculus homework to finish up. She is, in many ways, a typical 17-year-old. Except for the 1,300 crayons, 185 bars of soap and 3,282 tubes of toothpaste that were packed into the back of her parents' Yukon. On Friday morning, Danielle unloaded the crayons, soap and toothpaste, along with thousands of other personal care and school supply items, onto a cart bound for a warehouse at the Lighthouse of Oakland County. The shipment capped off a summer of similar donations across Oakland and Macomb counties — 31,026 items in all. "People who talk about being worried about …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Former Shelby Township Police Chief Bob Leman stumbled upon an unconscious elderly woman Tuesday laying in fetal position outside her home while campaigning door-to-door.
While campaigning door-to-door Monday afternoon for the position of Shelby Township Supervisor, former township police chief Bob Leman stumbled upon an unconscious elderly woman, and was able to revive her and call for help. Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Leman was walking from home-to-home on Lakeside Street, which is near 24 and Dequindre roads. Leman said he was looking down at his clipboard to make sure he had the right address as he approached a home. "As I came up to the porch and at the corner of my eye, I saw what I thought was a large rock. As I got closer, I realized it was a person who was in fetal position and unconscious," said Leman. While Leman waited for 911 to arrive, he said he was able to get the woman to respond and sit up…
Thursday, May 10, 2012
A 22-year-old Shelby Township woman who endured the 2008 murder-suicide of her parents talks about overcoming her fears and making it her life's work to educate the world about domestic violence.
Four years after Valentina Djelaj’s father murdered her mother and then turned the gun on himself in the St. Therese Lisieux parking lot in Shelby Township, the 22-year-old domestic violence survivor will speak before 500 women at the 2012 Turning Point Spirit of Leadership Luncheon. Djelaj, the guest speaker, will tell her story about how domestic violence tore her world apart and how she is putting the pieces back together through education and activism at the May 17 fundraiser at MacRay Banquet in Harrison Township. Turning Point also will honor four local women who have collectively focused their energy and talents on crucial issues and helped their communities. The women honored are Alisha Baker, Customer Service Manager, Dupont; …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Shelby Township Fire Chief Gene Shepherd talks openly with Patch about his two-year battle with a rare form of cancer.
Shelby Township Fire Chief Gene Shepherd is living proof of his personal mantra: Finish what you start. On Dec. 7, 1987, Shepherd was 31 when he took a job as an EMS medic and firefighter in Shelby Township. “It’s pretty easy (to remember the date) when you get hired on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. It’s like when you get married you never forget the day you were hired,” said Shepherd. On Dec. 7, 2012, 25 years later—to the date—Shepherd said he plans on retiring from the Shelby Township Fire Department. “In life in general: you start something and try to get through it. I don’t like leaving things open ended,” he said. Despite being diagnosed in 2010 with clear-cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, the 56-year-old chief hasn’t let …
Monday, March 5, 2012
Police called the 20-year-old Chesterfield man's attempt to stop a man accused of a violent robbery heroic.
Every day, chronic pain from rheumatoid arthritis throbs in Kyle Poole's body. At 20, Poole needs a hip replacement due to degenerative joint disease. He's had arthritis since age 4 and experiences physical limitations in adulthood. But, on an unexpected winter night in Chesterfield Township, he momentarily overcame his health obstacles and did something police call heroic—chase after a robber armed with a knife. Drive-thru stop is far from norm Around 10:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Poole and fiancée Jessica Burnia, 21, were leaving a corn-hole toss game in Mount Clemens with friends. He craved a McChicken sandwich; she was thirsty. So, they decided to swing by the drive-thru of the McDonald's on 23 Mile Road near Interstate 94, where Poole used to …
Thursday, March 1, 2012
International medical mission doctor makes it her new life mission to bring free health and dental care to local homeless and low-income families.
While transporting thousands of dollars in medicine to Haiti during a medical mission, Doctor Kim Getzinger, and a group of local doctors and dentists, realized the need for free health care was great at home, too. Gettzinger said there are 127,000 people in Macomb County who are living at or below 200 percent poverty levels, and of those people, less than 25 percent receive health care. “Through going on these missions, we thought, if we’re going half way around the world, we could also do it here,” she said. That’s when the idea came to Getzinger, an Emergency Room doctor at Beaumont and her husband, Jef, a family practice doctor who owns Shelby Township-based Schoenherr Family Practice, to open a free medical and dental clinic at their …
42.627413
-83.032441
Trinity Lutheran Church and School of Utica
45160 Van Dyke Ave, Utica, MI
/articles/medical-missionary-brings-free-health-and-dental-clinic-to-utica-church
1531460
/locations/6491007
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Shelby Township Christian ministry student opens satellite church in Rochester before graduation.
For 22-year-old Mike Stiner, it was early in his teenage years that he knew he wanted to touch people’s lives through ministry, but it was in Stiner’s early twenties that he found the way to make his dreams come true. Stiner found his calling when he was introduced to the teachings of pastor Steven Furtick of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. “He was energetic, and passionate and believes in his message,” Steiner said about Pastor Furtick after watching a video clip of his service for the first time. After visiting the North Carolina mega-church in person, Stiner said the warmth of the congregation drew him in even further. “The way that the whole thing works above and beyond the message is the way we greet people, and Pastor Steven …
Monday, January 9, 2012
Fitness 24 is gaining local attention for it's Mixed Martial Arts steel cage and lineup of fighting classes taught by professionals, but it's also garnered some national attention.
Fitness 24 in Utica is starting to get a big following among local fighters for it's steel Mixed Martial Arts cage and lineup of fighting classes taught by professionals, but it's also garnered some national attention from ABC. Manager Greg Wier said ABC camera crews with The Revolution, a show about health and fitness, have been in-and-out of the 24-hour facility for the past few months chronicling a Macomb Township woman's health transformation. For the past few months, Angela Patrick has been working with a Fitness 24 personal trainer six days a week. Wier said Patrick has lost over 50 pounds and often brings camera crews to tape a video weight loss diary to the gym as she works out twice a day. The Revolution was created by the …
Friday, December 2, 2011
Shelby-Utica Patch introduces you to Sara Lentz, a super volunteer, mother and outstanding community member to residents.
When I asked people on Facebook to nominate a person in the community who is an ordinary person doing extraordinary things through their volunteer work in the community, I received an overwhelming response: Sara Lentz. So who is Sara Lentz? Just to give you an idea, she’s a courageous, determined Shelby Township resident who describes herself as above all else a dedicated mother, wife, part-time paralegal for a Detroit litigation firm, Parent Teacher Association President at Crissman Elementary School, church volunteer, UCS advocate, little league coach and former Downtown Development Chair—just to name a few. It sounds overwhelming to juggle all that, but Lentz said she’s doing all this to inspire her children to put forth the same …
42.68778
-83.02775
Crissman Elementary School
53550 Wolf Dr, Shelby Township, MI
/articles/shelby-volunteer-passes-father-s-pride-for-commuinty-to-children
1532389
/locations/5908111
42.687985
-83.054219
St. Kieran Catholic Church
53600 Mound Rd, Shelby Township, MI
/articles/shelby-volunteer-passes-father-s-pride-for-commuinty-to-children
1531359
/locations/5908112
Erin
11:53 am on Saturday, September 1, 2012
This is awesome. Way to go Danielle! more ›