Archive - Nov 2010

I had my quiet Thanksgiving with my Dear Partner J. We decided to just stay home together and cook. Cooking together is as much as date as anything for us. J, of course, organizes everything. I just don the apron and help where help is needed, unless the parents are around. Then there are just too many cooks in the kitchen. We have a galley kitchen, so two people moving about in the kitchen at a time is about max for us.
While I have garnered a reputation for burning things like rice and pizza, when it’s just J and I and my sole focus is the food I can hold my own. I somehow manage to make some great things. Last time we had a quiet, just the two of us, Thanksgiving I made some pretty delightful crème fraiche biscuits and a delicious pumpkin pie. This time, I made a ginger cranberry chutney and chopped the sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts for some of the other fixings.
I guess I consider myself a fair-weather cook, like fair-weather sports fans. I enjoy the act of cooking when I’m not trying to stuff it between a full day of work and carting a kid to some kind of activity. I do that kind of cooking, too, but that’s when I lose focus and am apt to burn things.
Nothing was burned on Thanksgiving, except the marshmallows on the sweet potatoes, but that was on purpose with a crème brulee torch. Yes, we have one of those just lying around in our kitchen. I thought I’d share a photo of our meal. I was truly fantastic and fun. I suppose I should insist on just such a date night at least once a month.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

Three of Tecumseh High School’s records fell at the Division 3 state swim and dive meet at Holland on Saturday, Nov. 20, with the Indians recording their best finish ever as a team under coach Sarah Eubanks (2000).

The Holland Aquatic Center was filled to near capacity with excited fans cheering their favorite team or individual on. Tecumseh’s followers were able to add to the roaring crowd’s cheers having the Indians place in the top 16 in all but one of the events they qualified for.

Tecumseh recorded a seventh place finish overall with 98 points and broke its 200-yard Medley Relay school record twice, on both Friday and Saturday, to finish as the state’s runner-up in the event. The Indians’ team of senior Allie Merritt, sophomore Rachel Waite, freshman Marlene Kelley and junior Danielle Sloan recorded the school’s fastest time ever in the race with 1:51.39.

“We were hoping for a top 10 finish as a team so it worked out pretty well,” said Tecumseh swim coach Eubanks. “It was very exciting.”

Last year, the Indians finished 11th overall as a team with 74 points.
The Indians were ranked third in the 200-yard Medley Relay going into the finals so their goal was to improve and beat the No. 2 ranked team, Detroit Country Day. East Grand Rapids won the race in an amazing 1:48.82.

All of the Indians’ individual times were career bests. Waite followed the opening event with a fourth place finish in the 200-yard IM with a new school record time of 2:11.59. She also placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke in a school record time of 1:06.99. She had already owned both records.

Merritt took fifth place in the 100-yard backstroke with a career best time of 1:00.79 and placed 12th in the 100-yard butterfly in 1:01.50.

Sloan also competed in the 50-yard freestyle and placed 15th in 25.64.

By MICKEY ALVARADO

In the late 1920s and early 1930s Tecumseh and Clinton’s high school football teams faced each other annually in a traditional Thanksgiving Day game that fans looked forward to each year as the final contest of the season.

The newspaper archive of the Tecumseh Herald dates back to the late 1920’s and an article from the Nov. 21, 1929, edition promoted “the old rivalry contest” between two “friendly enemies,” stating it should be another thrilling encounter after having the ‘27 and ‘28 contests end in scoreless ties.

Tecumseh was victorious the two previous competitions, defeating Clinton 7-0 in ‘26 and 6-0 in ‘25. The last time Clinton won the contest was by a score of 21-6 in ‘24.

The ‘29 game was played on the Tecumseh’s Athletic Field beginning at “2:30 o’clock” on Thursday, Nov. 28, in front of a huge crowd with chilling winter winds on a frozen field. Tecumseh’s 11, led by coach “Red” Wilson, recorded a top-heavy score of 26-7 to retain bragging rights for another year. Tecumseh lost only to Hudson (27-6) and Blissfield (13-6) that season.

Clinton went down to defeat at home in the 1930 holiday battle as well with Tecumseh recording a 19-0 victory.

By JIM LINCOLN

City officials in Birmingham, Mich., have their eyes on Kevin Welch as one of four candidates to fill the city manager’s post. The candidates will meet with officials in Birmingham during a two-day interview process scheduled between Dec. 10-12. A decision is expected before the end of December.

Welch said he applied for the position in October and was informed that he was a candidate later that month. He said there were many similarities between Tecumseh and Birmingham, including the quality of life and attraction as a destination.  In a prepared statement, Welch said:

“The City of Tecumseh residents, elected officials, employees and businesses have been very supportive of me in the position as City Manager. I am very proud of the community and the people I serve. While my family and I remain very happy here in Tecumseh, the position of Birmingham city manager presented itself to me as well. Like Tecumseh, Birmingham is a very desirable place to live and work.”

Welch said he has spoken with the consulting firm The Mercer Group Inc., hired by Birmingham to lead the search for candidates.

“While I work through the interview process at Birmingham, I will remain as dedicated and focused on Tecumseh as I always have been. Leaving Tecumseh would be an extremely difficult decision to make and one that will not be decided easily,” Welch said.
If Welch is chosen for the job, he will succeed outgoing city manager Tom Markus, who has held the position for 22 years. Markus has been hired as city manager in Iowa City, Iowa.

Birmingham is an affluent community in Oakland County with a population of 19,000.  The annual salary for the Birmingham city manager is listed at between $110,000 to $128,000. Welch is currently earning a salary of $91,957.

By DEB WUETHRICH

The Tecumseh Board of Education voted 4-2 (Kevin Packard was absent) to use a portion of the $42,167 proceeds from a recent auction toward the completion of the concession stand/multipurpose building being constructed next to Tecumseh Indians Stadium. The motion was to place $36,589 of the proceeds raised through the dispersal of obsolete equipment and fixtures into capital improvement funds to complete the building. Of that total, $5,000 is “forward funding” of a donation the district will receive from First Federal Bank. Also, fund raising efforts are expected to continue to help reduce the costs.

Board members Karen Januszek and Jimmie Rice voted no on the issue following discussion where some concerns were raised. TPS Chief Financial Officer Bill Wright estimated that the total cost of the project will come in at between $280,000 and $300,000 when completed. Funds were also donated through buy-a-brick campaigns, band booster events and private donations, and much of the labor was donated.

“I think part of the issue is the [concession] building wasn’t part of our original plan,” said Rice. “The intent was that it was originally going to be built by donations. From that time, there’s been conservatively at least $100,000 out of school funds to supplement that fund raising. You can say that’s good or you can say that’s bad, it was compromising at best. That’s why I think there’s some hesitation in putting another $30,000 there. That’s money that wouldn’t necessarily have been spent if we just hadn’t let it get started at all. I’m in favor of that building, but some of the hesitation is coming from those facts.”

By CRISTINA TRAPANI-SCOTT

On Wednesday, Dec. 1, Carter Rehabilitation and Aquatic Centers in Tecumseh and Adrian are welcoming anyone in the local area to enjoy a catered lunch with proceeds going to benefit Hospice of Lenawee.

Carter Rehab Marketing Director Candace Birdsall said that this is the second year that the rehabilitation center has hosted such a fundraiser. “We did it for the United Way last year,” she said.

The center chose Hospice of Lenawee this year because of the service it provides to the community and to people directly associated with Carter.

“A lot of the families who are associated with Carter know someone who has gone through hospice,” said Birdsall. “They’ve all had good things to say about hospice.

The luncheon is $8 and is being catered by Sherry Tuckey of Tecumseh Big Boy. It includes a sandwich, two sides, dessert and beverage. Proceeds will go toward the Hospice of Lenawee capital campaign for its new $5 million residential facility. Those participating can either order to dine in at Carter or have a carryout lunch. WLEN also will be doing a live broadcast from Carter Rehab and the station will hold its own drawing. There also will be a bake sale running at the center throughout the day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with those proceeds also going to Hospice of Lenawee.

Advanced tickets for the luncheon can be purchased at Carter Rehab. Birdsall encourages advance ticket purchases so she can get an idea of how much food is needed. Those who don’t want lunch can purchase a $1 heart that will be hung on the wall at Carter.