NEWSPAPERS n o i t i d E l a i c e Sp
OCTOBER 2, 2024 candgnews.com
Macomb County and Grosse Pointe papers
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
On Sept. 17, a group of Kaiser Elementary School students play the game gaga using the pit that Roseville High School junior Lucas Sides made for his Eagle Scout project.
MACOMB COUNTY UNCLOGS DRAIN FILLED WITH DECADES OF DEBRIS BY ERIC CZARNIK eczarnik@candgnews.com
MACOMB COUNTY — A drain project that is expected to wind up soon should reduce the odds and effects of flooding along Van Dyke Avenue, north of 18 1/2 Mile Road, according to Macomb County officials. Macomb County Public Works Office officials say the area around the Vokes Relief Drain, along Van Dyke, between 18 1/2 and 19 Mile roads, has been known to flood, especially as a result of heavy rains. The county says it took up the task of checking out and fixing the drain after Sterling Heights city officials heard flooding complaints. Work on the project reportedly started in 2023, though heavy rain has been blamed See DRAIN on page 4A
Photos provided by the Macomb County Public Works Office
TOP: Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller stands beside the Vokes Relief Drain near Van Dyke Avenue and 18 1/2 Mile Road in Sterling Heights. ABOVE: A worker vacuums the offending material.
Students go ‘gaga’ over new game that Eagle Scout built BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com
ROSEVILLE — There’s a new game in town, and the students at Kaiser Elementary in Roseville Community Schools have gone “gaga” over it. The popular activity of playing gaga was made possible at the school when Roseville High School junior Lucas Sides made a wooden pit specifically for the students to play the game. Sides, a member of Boy Scouts of America Troop No. 1407 out of St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Clair Shores, built the gaga pit as his project to become an Eagle Scout. The Eagle Scout project is the final requirement to obtain the highest rank within the Boy Scouts of America organization. There are many steps to earning the rank of Eagle Scout, including making a presentation before the Eagle Board of Review. Gaga, similar to dodgeball, is fast paced and played inside a wooden pit shaped octagonally. Eight players can play at one time. Using a soft foam ball, the players can dodge, strike, run or jump while trying to hit their opponents with the ball below the knees. If you are hit, you are out for the rest of the game. It’s a game often played at Boy Scout camps. Over the summer, Sides built the gaga pit at Kaiser. His younger brother, Alex, an eighth grade student at Roseville Middle School, helped out, as did several troop members who assisted with sanding the wood. Lucas held various fundraisers See GAGA on page 10A