12/3/25 C & G Special Edition — Macomb/Grosse Pointes

NEWSPAPERS Special Edition

December 3, 2025

candgnews.com

Macomb County and Grosse Pointe papers

Groups work to ensure there is ‘No Child Without a Christmas’

BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com

The holiday season is upon us, and families all over are preparing for the next few months of fun, food and gifts. But some families are wondering how they are going to pull it off for their children.

To help, local charities and nonprofit organizations come together each year to supply families in need with gifts and food for the holiday season.

For the 31st year, the Troy Police Department is hosting “Operation Blue Sleigh,” a program aimed at helping families in need in the Troy area have the best holiday ever.

Officer Greg Pokley, with the Troy Police Department, said that the team is helping 41 families this year.

Pokley said that 95% of the families selected are identified through the school system and can include kids who are on the free lunch program, or those that teachers know need help the most. The other 15% are chosen by road patrol officers who notice families in need.

“Operation Blue Sleigh encompasses our gift card drive, Shop with a Cop, and then adopt a family,” Pokley said. “This year I have 41 families and that number keeps going up every year.”

During the Shop with a Cop portion of the program, officers take the kids through Walmart and buy the kids a gift with a $100 gift card provided by Walmart.

“We have 41 families and 41 sponsors, generous, generous sponsors, throughout

See CHRISTMAS on page 9A

class Nov.

FITZGERALD SCHOOL PROGRAMS BENEFIT FROM GRANT MONEY

BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com

WARREN — Fitzgerald Public Schools is getting a boost for two of its programs through grant money the district recently received.

On Nov. 11, it was announced the district received a $2,500 grant from the Detroit Lions Foundation to support its Fitzgerald High School girls flag football team, and a $48,000 grant from the Margaret Dunning Foundation to support the high school’s auto technology program.

Flag football is a noncontact version of American football. Players wear belts with detachable flags. The game is played by pulling off a ball carrier’s flag to end a play instead of tacking the opponent.

See FITZGERALD on page 10A

Food pantry established at Fox Elementary

BY DEAN VAGLIA dvaglia@candgnews.com

MACOMB TOWNSHIP — With the cost of food going up and inflation on people’s minds, students at one Chippewa Valley school will soon be able to get food they need regardless of the economic situation at home.

A food pantry is being established at Fox Elementary School. The idea to set up the pantry came from Denise Mansfield, owner of the Mansfield Insurance Group and a parent of former Fox Elementary students.

“She reached out to us and wanted to know if we had any need for students with this grant that they were able to apply for,”

Fox Principal Frank Bellomo said. “(Mansfield) wanted to know if there was a need for a food pantry that we would keep here at

school for students that had a need for snacks and different food items that they might not have the availability to bring from home. I had told her that we always have kids that might not have a snack or food throughout the day and that we could definitely find a use for that.”

The grant Mansfield was able to apply for and secure was a $2,000 grant from Michigan Farm Bureau Family of Companies, which Mansfield Insurance Group is an agency of.

“Michigan Farm Bureau has a huge food insecurity initiative as part of our mission as a single-state insurance operator, and we feel very strongly about food insecurity,” Mansfield said. “Being such a big agricultural insurance company — I think we insure 84% of the agriculture in the state — we have a strong tie to food.”

With Michigan Farm Bureau providing grants for start-

See FOOD PANTRY on page 5A

Warren police: Program to curb domestic violence showing results

BY BRIAN WELLS bwells@candgnews.com

WARREN — Four months after first announcing it, the Warren Police Department is seeing success in an initiative aimed at combating domestic violence in the city.

The initiative, called Operation Cycle Break, aims to reduce the number of domestic violence calls by enhancing victim safety, streamlining the justice process and ensuring

Program

greater offender accountability.

Officials said the initiative is built on four key pillars: victim protection and empowerment, swift justice and deterrence through understanding consequences, making resources accessible and creating pathways for change, and holding offenders accountable and preventing further harm.

In a Nov. 18 press conference, Warren Police Commissioner Eric Hawkins said the department has seen progress thus far.

“Four months into this program, we are already seeing significant and positive changes that reflect our dedication to protecting victims, holding offenders accountable and making this community safer,” Hawkins said.

According to research conducted by Wayne State University, which has partnered with the department in the program, domestic violence has dropped by nearly 7% compared to previous years, Hawkins said.

Hawkins said 259 domestic violence offenders have been through the program since its inception, of which 64% were taken into custody the same day as the incident. He added that less than 5% of offenders have offended again, marking a 57% decline in recidivism.

“What that means is that the rate of retraumatization has dropped dramatically,” Hawkins said.

As part of the program, following an arrest, offenders are being arraigned sooner — usually within one day of arrest — according to 37th District Court Judge John Chmura. Additionally, as part of their bond, defendants are required to undergo counseling.

“I think it’s having an effect,” Chmura said. “I’m noticing at the pretrial that it’s changed the demeanor of a lot of the defendants. It’s often the case, the defendants would have a defiant attitude. Their attitude was, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong. The problem is with the complaining witness, not with me. Back off. Leave me alone.’”

That attitude, Chmura said, seems to have softened.

“They’re starting to understand that the problem is with them. The counseling is starting much earlier and it’s having an effect on plea negotiations,” he said.

Sharma Davenport, president and CEO of Turning Point Macomb, a nonprofit that supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, said the program was a long-overdue initiative. Since the beginning of the program, she said, survivors

are treated with “dignity.”

“Survivors are protected every step of the way, which is why you are now seeing more survivors that are willing to come forward and press charges. Survivors tell us they feel safer, they feel seen, they feel supported,” she said.

Hawkins said the idea for the program came out of the department’s desire to do something transformative.

“We wanted to have a program that went beyond the reactive and went beyond the symbolism, which are very important, and it’s very important that departments continue to do that. But we wanted a program that could yield some substantive benefits, some tangible benefits, some things where we can actually make an impact in actually breaking the cycle,” he said.

While officials touted the program’s success, a report compiled by Wayne State University’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice showed areas that needed improvement, particularly in the number of cases dismissed.

According to the report, of the 259 offenders that went through the program in the four months, 28% of the cases were dismissed.

“The high dismissal rate among DV cases points to a need for strong victim-prosecutor coordination to support cooperation through the court process,” the report states.

The report also states that 44% of offenders had prior arrests for violent behaviors, and 30% had access to weapons.

Hawkins said the data is not leading to any changes in the program yet, but that it is allowing the department to refine its approach.

“We’re not making any changes to our program at this point, but what it has done is raise our awareness, particularly with our lethality assessments,” he said.

While the report showed areas that needed improvement, Hawkins said he hopes the program can serve as a model for other communities.

“I’m hoping that others are watching. I’m hoping that other police departments, both within the state of Michigan and outside of the state of Michigan, are watching what’s happening here and seeing how we’re saving lives and breaking this generational cycle of violence in families,” he said. “I truly believe that once they see what we’re doing, that this will become a model for other police departments.”

Food pantry

page 3A

ing community food banks and Mansfield maintaining a connection with Bellomo, the idea of using the insurer’s grant in the community fell into place. The need for such a resource became only clearer as the federal government shutdown, which was not a factor when Mansfield began pursuing the grant, saw federal employees furloughed and federal food assistance programs dry up.

“I firmly believe that at a basic level our bellies should be fed,” Mansfield said. “You can’t pour from an empty cup, and children are some of our most vulnerable, so I feel if I had the ability to help, I wanted to. I feel strongly as a commitment, as someone who protects families in the community through proper insurance, it just falls in line with my mission of making sure the community is strong. Whether it’s auto insurance, life insurance or filling the belly, I have a unique opportunity to go the extra mile.”

The $2,000 grant is intended to fund the food pantry for its first year. Along with buying the food that will be available in the pantry, the major capital expense that the grant will cover is buying a small refrigerator

to expand its available items beyond shelfstable packaged foods.

“One thing (Mansfield) and I had talked about was the idea to have some items that could possibly be refrigerated,” Bellomo said. “(We are) trying to find items for kids that are snacks but also that are healthy for them, too, during the day.”

It is early days for the Fox Elementary food pantry — as of mid-November there has yet to be a room in the school dedicated to the pantry — but school faculty already have an idea of what they need. Bellomo asks anyone in the community that is willing to donate food to bring healthy, prepackaged food to the Fox Elementary front office.

With $2,000 already in hand to get the food pantry going, Mansfield intends to apply for additional Michigan Farm Bureau grants to fund the pantry as long as possible.

“Of course, it will rely on the need and the support of the elementary to keep it stocked,” Mansfield said. “This will be our first go-around with them, and we’re excited to see how far we can take it. I don’t intend to stop being able to help support them, but this is our first-year initiative.”

Fox Elementary School is located at 17500 Millstone Drive in Macomb Township.

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Cookies with Mrs. Claus provided by Roseville High School Culinary Students

Goody bags while supplies last

NEWS & NOTES

Clinton Township Kiwanis taking part in ‘Wreaths Across America’

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — The Clinton Township Kiwanis Club is taking part in Wreaths Across America by laying wreaths on the graves of veterans at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township on Saturday, Dec. 13.

One of the largest Wreaths Across America events in Michigan, the Dec. 13 event will have Brig. Gen. Leah Voelker, base commander of Selfridge Air National Guard Base, serving as the keynote speaker. State Rep. Joe Aragona, R-Clinton Township, will emcee.

Those looking to support the event by funding wreaths can reach out to Kerry Jantz at (586) 610-3511 or Barry Burnham at (586) 703-4435.

NEIGHBORS IN THE NEWS

Celebrating a centenarian

WARREN/SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Thanksgiving won’t be the only celebration this week.

Jean Moeller, who was born on the holiday in 1925, will turn 100 years old Nov. 26. A party is being planned in Shelby Township, the same city where she and late husband Herbert raised their eight children.

Originally from Pasadena, California, Jean later moved to Warren, where she was named valedictorian of the Warren High School Class of 1943. She and Herbert met as neighbors and were married for 63 years.

Jean now resides in Lewiston during the summer and Auburn Hills in the winter. She has 17 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren.

Garre Rae Croswell, her second-oldest daughter, said her mom is a great cook and baker, an accomplished piano player, and an avid reader. She has a passion for gardening and is a longtime member

Jean Moeller

of the Michigan Nature Association. She enjoys word puzzles and has a good sense of humor. And “if you play cards with her, she wants to win,” she said.

“She says she is really 18 with 82 years of experience,” Garre Rae said. “(She) says age does not matter unless you are cheese or wine.”

— Jason ClanCy

PAC-MAN IS OUT FOR BLOOD

METRO DETROIT — The video icon PAC-MAN is helping the American Red Cross.

The nonprofit organization has teamed up with Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc., to recruit blood donors. Anyone who donates blood until Dec. 7 will receive a classic pair of Red Cross x PAC-MAN socks and a one-of-a-kind PAC-MAN Gashapan collectible, both while supplies last.

Donors of all blood types are needed. To make a blood donation, visit RedCrossBlood.org, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, or call (800) RED CROSS. See RedCrossBlood.org/PACMAN for additional details.

PAC-MAN is celebrating its 45-year anniversary this year.

Donating blood takes about an hour, including talking to a health official about your medical history to ensure you are a good candidate. Blood transfusions are given to patients in a wide range of circumstances, including serious injuries such as car crashes, surgeries, child birth, anemia, blood disorders, cancer treatments and more.

Through the end of November, the Red Cross is providing free A1C testing, commonly used to screen for prediabetes and diabetes. The test measures an individual’s blood sugar level over the past three months. While no fasting is required for the test, blood donors should eat a nutritious meal ahead of their appointment. To receive A1C results, donors must make a successful blood, platelet or plasma donation and have not received an A1C result with their donation in the past 12 months.

CANDLE LIGHTING TO REMEMBER PASSED CHILDREN

ST. CLAIR SHORES — A Worldwide Candle Lighting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 14 this year, honoring and remembering children who have died.

The event will be held at St. Margaret of Scotland Church located at 21201 13 Mile Road. The event will feature special readings, music, the announcing children’s names and the candle lighting starting at 7 p.m. Contact Kathy Joerin at (586) 293-6176 or kjmac21@aol.com, or Rhonda Esler at (586) 354-8072 or gesler6527@aol.com to have your loved one’s name read during the event and to receive a special ornament. Attendees are invited to bring a picture of their loved one to the event.

It’s Christmastime in the city

BY MARIA ALLARD allard@candgnews.com

DETROIT — An art project that College for Creative Studies student Brandi Witek helped design made the cut just in time for the holiday window shopping season.

Witek, of Warren, is among several CCS students making spirits bright with “Windows on Woodward” along a section of Woodward Avenue, between Grand River Avenue and Clifford Street in Detroit.

Windows on Woodward was done through a collaboration between CCS and Bedrock, a real estate developer focused on city building initiatives in Detroit and Cleveland. According to the company, Bedrock’s work includes creating iconic cityscapes, rehabilitating historic properties and making space for the community.

Witek and CCS classmate Miracle Hubbard Wray, of Detroit, created custom Christmas decor for 6 Salon, a full-service hair and makeup salon located at 1441 Woodward Ave. The idea was to create a holiday scene to celebrate the season while also bringing shoppers inside the retailer. The artistic students kept in mind their client as they got to work on their display.

“It’s a luxury hair studio. Their brand is elegant,” said Witek, a 2020 Cousino High School graduate. “We had to create without covering up what they were doing (inside.) It’s really cool.”

Using a window cling, bow and other materials, the pair made the salon’s front window

See ART on page 8A

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Detroit Historical Museum opens new Red Wings centennial exhibition

BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com

DETROIT — The Detroit Historical Museum opened the Detroit Red Wings at 100: Becoming Hockeytown exhibition to the public on Nov. 20.

The exhibition features artifacts from the Detroit Historical Society’s collection, the Red Wings’ archives and from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“It’s an honor to see a century of Red Wings history brought to life at the Detroit Historical Museum,” Ilitch Sports + Entertainment Senior Vice President of Brand Marketing Asia Gholston said in a press release. “Every decade has its own defining moments, and this exhibit gives our fans a special opportunity to celebrate the passion, pride, and legacy that have defined 100 years of Red Wings hockey.”

Detroit Red Wings at 100: Becoming Hockeytown will occupy parts of the City of Champions Gallery, the New Motor City Showcase and the Detroit Artist Showcase. The exhibition filling three different galleries at the museum is unique and highlights the team’s extensive history.

Visitors will see memorabilia and photos from Olympia Stadium and Joe Louis Arena, information and artifacts from players in Red Wings history, and history related to the team’s earlier names — the Detroit Falcons and the Detroit Cougars. There are also interactive parts of the exhibition, including flashing Joe Louis Arena lights and the sounds of the organ from Olympia Stadium.

Detroit Red Wings at 100: Becoming Hockeytown will be on display all season long. The Detroit Red Wings were an integral part in the development of the new exhibit, according to the press release from the Detroit Historical Society. The museum parking lot is available for $10 a day.

For more information on tickets, hours and the Detroit Historical Society. Visit detroithistorical.org.

resemble a Christmas present being unwrapped. They also decked the halls inside by creating a large wreath made of wooden scissors. They used epoxy glue to achieve a festive look.

“Behind the wreath is a large piece of form core that looks like wrapping paper being torn open,” Witek said. “There’s fairy lights to add an interesting visual effect to it. It’s very exciting. I like the city down here. I’m very proud my work is being seen by so many people. It was so unexpected.”

Witek’s major at CCS is communication design and strategy. She first became interested in art when attending Carter Middle School in Warren.

The idea behind Windows on Woodward was to create a facade that is not only eye-catching but brings potential shoppers inside the stores.

“We like to do various initiatives throughout the

retailer 6 Salon as part of the “Windows on Woodward” project with Bedrock.

year especially during the holidays,” said Rhonda Rouse, senior tenant experience manager, Bedrock. “The Windows on Woodward is really special downtown. It gets people down here shopping and dining. We are excited to bring the students and businesses together.”

There is a total of five businesses highlighted in Windows on Woodward with about 10 students involved. The other tenants are Born in Detroit, Bonobos, The Lip Bar, and Woodhouse Day Spa.

“The festive, walkable window showcase amplifies Detroit’s next generation of talent as they shape the city’s future,” Rouse said. “The project gave the students realworld experience.”

The student designers and the retailers collaborated on the decorations and met periodically for several weeks during the project. Bedrock provided the students with a budget, and they also were encouraged to find donated items.

An unveiling with the media was held Nov. 13. The College for Creative Studies is located at 201 E. Kirby St. in Detroit.

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Christmas

the city of Troy,” he said. “That can include businesses or just residents in Troy that want to donate to families in need.”

Sponsors of the program essentially adopt a family in need. The families send Pokley a wish list which he then sends over to the sponsors.

“I recommend (to the sponsors) sending roughly $100 per person that is in the family. I divide the families into small, medium, and large so that way the sponsors can pick what size they want, because it will give them an idea of what their budget will be,” he said.

Once all of the gifts are collected from the sponsors, the Troy Police Department hand delivers the gifts to the families at home on Dec. 22.

“We get a bunch of police cars, and we have some large vehicles that are blue, and we load up the vehicles and deliver them to each house that morning,” he said. “The officers get a kick out of that. They love doing that.”

During this time the Troy Police Department is also accepting donations, in-

cluding money and gift cards. He said they recommend grocery store gift cards.

“We know that the kids, sometimes their best meal is when they are at school, and over the holidays, when they are on break, they don’t get that same food,” he said. “So we ask for grocery store gift cards, and we provide those families with gift cards as well as the sponsors providing the gifts.”

‘No Child Without a Christmas’

In St. Clair Shores, the Goodfellows have been providing holiday help for 99 long years, according to president of the St. Clair Shores Goodfellows organization, Mike Cook. The Goodfellows motto is “No Child Without a Christmas.”

Each year, the Goodfellows gather volunteers to sell newspapers on city street corners and collect food donations from the surrounding schools.

The newspaper sale is always on the first Saturday in December, which this year is Dec. 6. Volunteers fill the streets from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. selling newspapers for donations.

With the money collected from the newspaper sale, Goodfellows volunteers purchase food and gift cards.

Schools around St. Clair Shores also

collect nonperishable items to donate, according to Cook. That food is then put into food baskets that are delivered by volunteers to needy families in the St. Clair Shores area.

“We collect nonperishable food through the holidays and then we have a help line that needy families can call and request help, and we interview those families and for every child under the age of 16 we give out a gift card so that parents can go buy Christmas presents for the kids,” he said. “Along with that on Christmas Eve morning, we take the food that was collected by all of the schools and deliver that to the needy families on Christmas Eve morning.”

Cook said that the food baskets even include turkeys to ensure the families have a full Christmas meal.

“We want them to have everything they need for a Christmas dinner so we go out and purchase turkeys so they have turkeys and stuffing and cranberries and all of the good stuff to go along with it, so they can have a nice Christmas dinner,” he said.

Cook said that prospective families that need Christmas help can call the Goodfellows hotline at (586) 980-0400. They start taking calls the day after Thanksgiving.

Being such a big part of these families’

lives is a heartwarming experience according to Cook, who has been with the Goodfellows for around 38 years now.

“Everybody deserves to have a nice Christmas. All children deserve to have a nice Christmas. It’s heartwarming when we can show up at someone’s house on Christmas Eve morning and bring them food and bring them the things they need, you know, maybe for some reason, they are less fortunate that year,” Cook said. “It doesn’t mean they are bad people, or they have had issues. Something has happened in their life that they need help. They may have lost their job, had an injury, they may have been hospitalized for something. So they have had an event in their life that they need assistance. And if we can help them just to brighten their day a little bit, it makes it all worthwhile.”

For more information about the Troy Police Department, go to troymi.gov. For more information about Goodfellows organizations in metro Detroit, go to detroit goodfellows.org.

For Christmas help from the St. Clair Shores Goodfellows, call (586) 980-0400. Donations can be made at any time at the St. Clair Shores Goodfellows, located at 26700 Harper in St. Clair Shores.

Fitzgerald from page 1A

The district’s Athletic Director JuWan Shakespear said the grant money will be used to provide various workout tools. The grant money is much appreciated.

“Anything we can do to give the kids more opportunities,” he said.

The Fitzgerald girls flag football team consists of 18 players in grades nine through 12, and they play against other schools, including South Lake and L’Anse Creuse North. Flag football is played in the spring. Shakespear hopes the athletes learn discipline and perseverance, develop a competitive edge and “they should be having a little fun.”

Richie Sackett is the Fitzgerald High School auto teacher and Jeff Bruni is the auto service coordinator. Gary Stevens is the school’s principal. With the auto grant, staff will purchase a new 14,000-pound hoist and a coolant exchanger for the program. The current hoist at the school is 25 years old.

The auto technology program is part of the Southwest Macomb Technical Education Consortium SMTEC, which welcomes students from Fitzgerald, Warren Woods Tower, Lincoln and Center Line high schools. Five classes are offered, including automotive technology I, II and III. Next semester the district will offer a new course, intro to auto.

The auto class is set up to resemble a service station inside the school’s auto tech building on the Fitzgerald campus. Students learn how to perform a number of services, including basic maintenance, oil changes,

electrical, engine repairs, brakes, alignments and suspension. Students use hand tools, jacks, wiring and study preventative maintenance, basic electricity, and cooling system service.

Engine performance, electrical systems practical experience in the diagnosis and repair also are covered. The students study online about 50% of the time and 50% of the time is spent performing hands-on work when servicing cars in class. In class, students have the opportunity to become certified in the area of automotive.

“With support from the Margaret Dunning Foundation, Fitzgerald continues to bridge the gap between education and the workforce, giving our students practical experience that leads to certifications, apprenticeships, and successful automotive careers,” Fitzgerald Public Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Jensen said in a prepared statement.” We believe in our mission: ‘inspiring, empowering and preparing today’s learner to become tomorrow’s leader,’ and we are excited to help students today get ready for tomorrow’s careers.”

According to a district press release, the Margaret Dunning Foundation was founded by Dunning in 1997. She was born in 1910 in Redford Township and moved with her mother to Plymouth in the 1920s. Dunning was a successful businesswoman, philanthropist and civic booster. She supported many Plymouth nonprofit organizations and was a classic car enthusiast who owned a 1930 Packard 740 Roadster. Dunning died in 2015 at the age of 104. For more information, go to margaretdunningfdn.org.

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