South Lyon

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2004

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COMMUNICATIONS
NETWORK

MPA Voted one of the bestweeklies in Michigan

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Your hometown newspaper serving South Lyon for 124 years

votutne 124 Numier a

South Lyon, Michigan

Look insideforyour

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SHEET
: Classifieds
Greensheetclassifleds.com

Obituaries

Nabeeha Azar, 99
Joseph Barber, Sr., 80
Mabel Johnson, 95
Josephine Russo Warren, 89
Randy Yarbrougb, 47
Z.. Page 6A

Pie Contest

Enter our pie contest!

Last year, dozens of folks
whipped up their favorite pie for
the Heralds first contest. In honor
of National Pie Month, were
doing it again. Entering is easy!
Simply bring in your pie by noon
Monday, Jan. 24, which is the day
pies will be judged. Winners will
be announced in the Jan. 27 edition of the Herald. Be sure to
include with your pie your name,
address, phone number, the name
of your pie and its recipe. Also,
let us know if your pie should be
refrigerated. Pies will be judged
on filling, crust, overall appearance and, of course, taste. Give us
ajingle at (248) 437-2011 to let
us know you plan to enter so we
can be prepared to receive your
pie. Good luck!

Business
On the move

500

hometownilfecom

ThursdayJanuary 20, 2005

Find out why a downtown

watch shop is moving to another
at
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Dog helps
kids read

2005 HomeTown Communications NetworkTM

Families find hope amid autism

By Kate Phillips
STAFF WRITER

The dog wiggled with delight as 6-year-old Alexa VanOrd

and her mom Trish stroked her. Alexa came Saturday to the
Salem-South Lyon District Library for a new dog assisted
reading program.
Any inclination to
stop petting was
halted by pleading doggy-brown
eyes. In fact, this
pet therapy dog,
Abbey, has been
trained to make
eye contact with
humans theres
instant communication and the
beginning of a
irresistible connection.
The human to
dog connection is
what makes pet
therapy
work.
Abbey spends a
lot of time in
nursing homes
and Alzheimer
Photo by KATE PHILLIPS
care facilities with Virginia Brewington now uses
her
owner,
her Doberman pinscher, Abbey,
Virginia
Brewington of as an enthusiastic reading
South Lyon. The partner for literacy coaching.
patients
often For the last four years the duo
listless or discon- have been helping patients
nected from their make progress physically and
surroundings
mentally at nursing homes and
connect with the Alzheimer facilities.
dog in a way they
cant connect with caregivers and family mcmbers. The
results are actual physical exercise plus an emotional lift.
It forces people to bend and reach and stretch to pet
Abbey, said Brewington. The bending and stretching is so
good for them.
But just seeing the dog, they light up. Most of them start

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Photo by HAL OCULO

Matthew Mosley relaxes with his mother, Becky Hall. Becky said that the challenges of haying an autistic child are balanced by the simple pleasures of life, including when a child

says 1 love you to a pthent.

Autism on rise
Local student

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically

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Township resident Alexia recalled

telling Nicholas that they were
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locdi nusinessinin who is sci
up more than chicken and tacos.
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Contact Us
South Lyon Herald
101 N. Lafayette
South Lyon, Ml 48178

Classifieds:
888-999-1288
Newsroom:
248-437-2011
Fax:
248-437-3386
Home Delivery:
888-840-4809

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gram for hospital patients in the l980s but has gained recognition as an effective treatment. According to a study published in a medical journal called Psychiatric Services, of
230 patients, 100 percent of those treated with pet therapy
showed measurable reductions in anxiety, compared to little
change in the rest. More than 600 hospitals across the nation
use some form of pet therapy. Increasing numbers of fac~li
ties have hired therapists that use animals to achieve specific
physical therapy goals.
Back in 2001 Virginia Brewington started pet therapy as a
continuation of her compassion for children in need. Shes a
retired caseworker and supervisor for the Family
Independence Agency~Brewington began to see the potential
for pet therapy during her time as a Michigan Humane
Society volunteer. She couid tell that Abbey, who she had
rescued in 1998, had the sweet disposition and the willingness to learn needed for the job.
Continued on page 2A

Index
Community Calendar
Qlassifieds

~IassNotes

18A
1D

4A

community Focus
Libraries

7A
13A

Qpinions
Seniors on the Move
Sports

16A
4B
lB

Movies

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14A

53174 44444

CLLUIf~L1 HL t~i4L1L.

By James Mitchell
STAFF WRETER

lexia Weber wants to

wrap her arms around her
_L_ Sson Nicholas without
causing panic, but thats impossible.
He loves her, but autism built its
wall. Simple hugs hurt him in some
unexplainable way, and they have
learned to love without hugs and
holding. She knows the foods that
may send him into a panic or how
the buzz of fluorescent lighting
may trigger a tantrum.

14

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Money in the bank

Rustic
renovation

Salem gets due

in $2~1Mcheck

think we have set up a gocid working relationship.

Roperti said that the money
wont be spent on annual expenditures
it is being invested to
By Kate Phillips
earn what could be substantial
STAFF WRITER
interest revenue. He said that the
annual budget will depend on the
By Annette Jaworski,
Saiem residents can breathe monthly gas recovery revenue,
SPECIAL WRITER
easy after several million dollars instead. The first check to cover
arrived last week and is already in December gas recovery is expectWhen most people passed the
the bank. Clean Air Inc., who ed to arrive this week.
Holtmans home in Northfield
recently purNow that we have our monthThwnship~they saw a modest
ly revenue back, the expenditures
chased
Gas
ranch in need of tender loving
will go up, but I wouldnt say, sigPhoto by HAL GOULD Recovery
care. Jeanette Holtnian saw the
Systems
delivnificantiy Roperti said. We plan
same, but her husband, Mark, The Hoitman familys renovated home is picture perfect
ered the check,
to do some things that weve put
envisioned something entirely dif- nestled on five acres of pine trees. The owners peroff for a while. Several gravel
personally, last
ferent a log cabin, After an formed most of the renovations themselves, turning an
week. The cheek was penned by roads will be prioritized for
extensive renovation/build, the ordinary ranch house into a contemporary cabin.
ORS in January, for the amount of upgrades. so they can be easily
homey ranch looks more like a
$2,iO1,835.14~
maintained. Our parking lot here
resort chalet nestled among five tion, but the home bears no resem- blocks, or big man Lincoln logs,
The money judgment was at Township hall really needs to
acres of wooded pines.
blance to the initial structure.
as Jeanette calls them are themas- awarded in September by be redone. We wontbe adding on
Ive always liked the look.
Its got that lodge appeal to it, sive logs, which were trucked in Washtenaw Circuit Court Judge to buildings, or adding employees
Logs are warm and inviting. Ive he observes.
from the Upper Peninsula small Melinda Morris. The township or anything thats significant?
always wanted to live in a log
He came up with the design town of Gladstone. When these had taken action to recover the
Roperti will now hanmwr out
home and now I do: said owner and I pretty much said go to it arrived by truckload, the entire amount owed under its landfill gas the 2005 budget and present it to
and designei Mark Holtman. The Jeanette Holtman said. He did family pitched in to unload, recovery contract and to restart the Board of Trustees at the Feb. 8
entire project was a year in the just a greatjob with it hes a per- including all of their six children, monthly payments.
meeting for input and possible
making.
fectionist~Its amazing how many says Jeanette. The home contains
Clean Air representatives, revisions. The board is expected
He describes it as a log cabin people stop by and want to come two types of logs depending on including the local manager in to vote on the budget in March,
home with a contemporary twist. in. I think its unique because its where they were used, including Salem, talked to township offi- before its April 1 effective date.
Years of ideas and searching a log home.
full round or hand peeled logs, cials about beginning a fresh relathrough log cabin magazines and
She credits her husbands cre- and veneered or half logs.
tionship.
Kate Phillips~is a reporter for
even a trip to Isle Royale helped ative vision. He explains its not
The exterior of the log hojne
They said that they are looking the South Lyon Herald. She can
to inspire the design. Holtman so much that hes creative, but contains three gables giving it ~ forward to working with us, and be reached by phone at (248)437regret what happened in the past: 2011
or by
e-mail at
used some of the existing struc- that he finds ideas.
Of course, the basic building
ture such as wails and the foundaContinued on back page said Supervisor Fred Roperti. I kphillips@ht.homecomm.net.

Local family turns

common ranch into
contemporary cabin

..

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Continued on page 19A.

a em
Township

1
sisii witii utners aitci the nieai.
When he finished eating, Nicholas
promptly went to the car, demanding to go home.
These are typical obstacles for
parents of autistic children. The
stories vary but the frustration
remains. One restaurant is OK;
another is not. What used to be a
favorite food is no longer a welcome sight. Alexia said the situation is not the same one faced by
parents contending with a nonnal,
stubbornchild.
Its not that they just dont
want to eat something: Alexia said.
They cant?

oiogiLIsI cdisoriddi thai atteLts

the functioning of the brain, autism
impacts the normal development of
the brain in the areas of social
interaction and communication
skills. Children and adults with
autism typically have difficulties in
verbal and non-verbal coimmuniea~
tion, social interactions, and leisure
or play activities.
They are sometimes prone to
panic, or to taking instructions literally and refusing to deviate from
a prepared plan. Matthew Mosicy,
the 16-year-old son of South Lyon
resident Becky Hail, will travel in
one direction on Griswold Road,
but the return trip must be on a
separate thoroughfare. Salem
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