Environment

Power outages plague Oakland County residents

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For West Bloomfield resident Khalid Turaani, every time a big storm comes to town, he is usually one of the thousands of Michiganders who lose power. 

Turaani has had to improvise on numerous occasions during these outages, having to borrow a generator from a friend in order for his two freezers of food not to go bad. Turaani even said that there was a time where his family was relying on the fireplace for heat for two or three days back when over 1.3 million Michigan residents lost power in February. Turaani said he understands that there are circumstances in which nobody but Mother Nature is to blame for these outages but said his biggest issue when the power goes out is the lack of accurate time estimations from power companies like DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. “I know those guys are working as hard as they can, or I assume that they are,” said Turaani. “But they just don’t give you any kind of estimation of any kind, which is probably more frustrating than losing the power.”

​​There have been 1.3 million more power outages between the months of February and June this year compared to 2022 according to the Michigan Public Service Commision.

Business & Economy

Walled Lake’s only drive-up burger joint almost never happened

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A week before Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued the first stay-at-home order of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tim Sessions and his son, Jake Sessions, happened to be teaming up to buy the lakeside building that is now known as Big Dip Burgers. Tim Sessions said that after holding his head down for a week because of the shutdown, not being able to find contractors to work on the building, which needed a ton of work. Sessions decided to start working on it himself considering he had a background in construction. “I told myself, wait a minute, this is what I do,” Sessions said. “So I come in and start cleaning it.

Health

Walled Lake Central football coach takes no risks when practicing in hot weather

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When it comes to the safety of his football players, Walled Lake Central head coach John Perusse takes no risks. Perusse, who has been head coach of the team since 2019, knows that his knowledge is better suited for the football field, which is why he likes to keep the MHSAA Model Policy for Heat and Humidity with him when conducting workouts in the summer heat. “I couldn’t recite it to you by memory, but I always have a copy of it with me in my binder,” said Perusse. 

To help him follow these guidelines, Perusse makes sure to stay in close contact with the team’s athletic trainer, keeping her nearby on days where the weather isn’t forgiving. “We are fortunate enough to have a trainer, and she keeps all the tabs on this,” said Perusse. “She’ll even text me before practice starts that day like ‘hey, the heat index is expected to hit 97,’ which then she’ll remind me means we need to have a water break every 20 minutes or practice without helmets.” 

Colin Kerch, a graduate of the class of 2020 at Walled Lake Central, played football for all four years in high school as well as spending a year as a coach for the 2022 season.

Business & Economy

Walled Lake’s first dispensary offers something new to customers

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Jacob Hornback was enjoying a ride around Walled Lake on his motorcycle when a vintage coffee truck outside the Greenhouse of Walled Lake caught his eye, causing him to pull over and check it out. 

Customers gather outside The Greenhouse of Walled Lake’s coffee and donut truck. Photo by. Yousef Enayah

Hornback, who resides in Warren, said he enjoys exploring different areas and found himself being attracted to the truck because of the opportunity it gave him to enjoy the sunshine while also getting something to drink. “The umbrellas, the chairs, the outdoor seating, you don’t see a lot of places with this,” said Hornback, who has never stopped in Walled Lake before. “I’d rather be sitting outside if i’m riding around on the bike, it’s a nice summer.”

Owner of the Greenhouse and the coffee truck, Jerry Millen, said that his main goal when  opening up the truck was to enhance the experience of his customers.

Arts & Entertainment

Walled Lake hosts 12th annual fireworks festival

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Gabriel Lalonde, a native of Rochester, drove 40 minutes to Walled Lake for the first time for micro wrestling. He said he enjoyed much more. “Free ice cream, free music, free entertainment, everybody’s happy,” said Lalonde. 

Natives of Walled Lake are used to attending the city’s annual festival for the huge firework show that is put on, but this year, residents from neighboring cities came to see the Micro Wrestling Federation. The Micro Wrestling Federation is a group of dwarfs who are professional wrestlers that tour the country putting on organized wrestling matches for people. https://youtu.be/EjTqnokHQ4Y
Mayhem broke out following all of the micro wrestlers introductions.

Construction & Development

Walled Lake City Council honors the late Casey J. Ambrose

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Amazing, humbling and exciting are the three words Casey J. Ambrose’s son and Walled Lake City Councilmen, Casey R. Ambrose used to describe his feelings after the council decided on naming the campus after his late father. 

“That’s the same way it felt when I was asked to join the council,” said Ambrose. “It was just super humbling to know what this property could be and how far it’s already come.”

Members of the Walled Lake City Council felt that it was only right for the city’s public safety campus, which is located at 1499 E. West Maple Road to be named after the man who helped rejuvenate it: The late Casey J. Ambrose. After Mayor Linda S. Ackley proposed the resolution to name the city’s public safety campus the Casey J. Ambrose Public Safety Campus at Tuesday’s city council meeting, it did not take long for the council to unanimously agree to pass the resolution. Following a prior councils’ decision to purchase the property that is now known as the public safety campus years ago, the city learned the land had contamination issues and could not develop anything on the property with that contamination not taken care of. 

Spearheading this issue was Casey J. Ambrose. 

Ambrose, along with the city council at the time and current City Manager Dennis Whitt instilled plans to clean the property and get money for it through forfeiture funds that has put the city in a position to redevelop the piece of land. 

Ackley, who has served on Walled Lake City Council since 1979, and was elected as mayor in November 2013, has had a firsthand experience of how much the late Ambrose impacted the city and community of Walled Lake. “When Casey backed a project, believed in a project, you knew it,” said Ackley.

Business & Economy

Chicken wing franchise owner not worried about competition

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Ray Abdallah isn’t worried about the competition between chicken wing restaurants. Abdallah, the franchise owner of Commerce Township’s first chicken wing restaurant, Wing Snob, said the area is big enough for multiple chicken wing spots, referring to a Wingstop that opened up a mile down the road from his store. “I don’t think it’s going to take anything away from me or take anything away from them, the community is too big,” said Abdallah, who is in his first year of franchising this location. “They need more places to open and more businesses in here from so many different directions.”


Ray Abdallah on his journey to becoming a franchise owner of Wing Snob. With over 43,000 residents, Commerce Township continues to add new businesses in the area.