“THE FACE OF ANN ARBOR” — VOLUME 3, NUMBER 21
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Costco
may be
built
in fall
Project
dependent on
master plan
By Eric Anderson
Special Writer
Pittsfield Township is
close to finalizing plans that
would bring a Costco to the
township, which would also
provide road improvements
and opportunities for eco-
nomic growth, officials said.
The township came one
step closer at the April
21 Planning Commission
meeting when planners
recommended rezoning the
plot of land at the corner of
Ellsworth Road and Airport
Boulevard in Pittsfield to
allow for the construction of
a Costco.
Remaining is approval of
a township master plan that
supports ventures such as
the construction of a Costco.
This would allow Costco
development representa-
tives to present final plans
for approval from the town-
ship.
According to Supervisor
Mandy Grewal, this means
construction could begin as
early as this fall.
“If they choose to, con-
struction could start in the
fall,” she said. “It’s depen-
dent on passage of the mas-
ter plan. We do not want this
to be in any sort of disjunc-
tion with the master plan.”
Grewal said development
of this initiative, which
began in April 2010 when
Costco representatives
initially approached the
township, was done in close
partnership with Costco,
residents from Pittsfield and
PLEASE SEE COSTCO/2-A
Parks
snag
grant
Funding will
help new,
young golfers
By James David Dickson
A2 Journal
This summer Ann
Arbor’s Huron Hills Golf
Course will be one of 15
sites nationwide to benefit
from a $12,000 grant to run
a pilot program to train
young, would-be golfers.
The program is called
SNAG, which stands for
Starting New at Golf.
SNAG’s “G-Ball” program
is intended as a training-
wheel of sorts for golfers as
young as age 5.
Three-quarters of the
grant will be provided in
G-Ball equipment –– spe-
cial golf clubs with bigger
heads, golf balls the size of
tennis balls, big, sticky tar-
gets used to teach aim. The
rest will be used for public-
ity and administrative costs,
said Doug Kelly, director
of golf for the City of Ann
Arbor.
Ann Arbor will offer
PLEASE SEE GRANT/3-A
75¢
4-A SECOND FRONT
Veterans pay
homage to ‘Huey,’
‘Huey
raise funds Today’s
$111
coupons are worth up to ...
Page 3-A Inside
Citizens Police Academy
Thursday, May 26, 2011 takes veil off courthouse.
Page 5-A
On the
Calendar Page 9-A
RAIL
Sports
Pioneer/Saline baseball
game halted because of
rain.
Page 1-B
ON THE WEB
Photos by James David Dickson
Artist Mary Thiefels and John Vance stand by “Veterans Mural”, which Thiefels created behind the Alley Bar at
112 W. Liberty St. in Ann Arbor. Vance was a collaborator on the project.
Tale of 14 faces
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Links provided on the A2
By James David Dickson money had been raised, Journal home page.
A2 Journal including some $2,000
from the Main Street Area
“You see those guys up Association, but execution Weave the Web:
there, those faces? They’re didn’t move as quickly. Make sure to click
prisoners of war,” the Things were “dragging on www.heritage.com
young man explains to his along,” Thiefels said, until around the clock for
female friend. Vance returned to town the most in-depth cov-
“Nah, dude, those guys from Japan to live with his erage of Washtenaw
were killed at war,” his aging mother. He wanted to County. One of our
friend attempts to clarify. get involved with muralists “Most Viewed” stories
is “Promising hockey
“You might be right, and Thiefels’ name soon
man, I heard something came up. player Ian Jenkins dies”
about that,” a third man Vance reached out to
chimes in. “See the MLK Thiefels. When he got on
quote? Makes perfect board and really helped
sense.” shape the project. He
Mary Thiefels hears imported all of the head-
the different theories and shots into a computer and Check out
laughs. She’ll sometimes came up with schematics our video:
come out to the alley about what the mural
■ 2 for U
behind the Alley Bar at should look like on the
112 W. Liberty St. in Ann wall. ■ Man tries to lure
Arbor and just listen to the The eyes of each veteran, youngsters into pickup
way her mural has taken
on a life of its own in the
10 months since she and
more than anything, are
what Thiefels is drawn to
in the piece.
■ Michigan Gov. Rick
Snyder on state budget
■ Blues and Ribs
collaborator John Vance “Some of them are Festival
unveiled it last summer. happy. Some are really
“Veterans Mural,” as the striking and had the Online poll:
work is called, depicts 12 Thousand Yard Stare. Some
local veterans of the U.S. of them smile. Some look Make sure to visit
military, whose service thoughtful or have some www.heritage.com each
ranges from World War II pain in their eyes. They all week to participate in out
to Afghanistan and Iraq. have stories,” Thiefels said. online polls.
It’s the result of two years
of efforts on the part of
Of course, the 12 veter-
ans aren’t alone on that
Thiefels and her collabo-
rators, from fundraising
alley wall. Just underneath
the mural are two stencils,
to securing a location to the first depicting Tony
shaping the concept to final Montana, Al Pacino’s char- Click on the “jobs” tab
execution: taking close-up acter in “Scarface,” and the
on the home page of our
photos of the 10 men and second a portly, cartoonish website
h e ror
i t ago
g edirectly
. c o m to
two women featured, paint- take on Al Capone. The http://jobs.heritage.com.
ing their likenesses and juxtaposition between the “Veterans Mural” behind the Alley Bar was created in
honor of 12 local veterans.
installing everything. criminal masterminds,
The project came about
when Laura Russello, a
who only served them-
selves, and the men and on that alley wall. She and on in recent years in Ann INDEX
longtime friend of Thiefels’ women who chose to serve Russello explained that Arbor. It’s more along the
and then-executive director their country, can play they wouldn’t go out of lines of graffiti than art
Second front Page 4-A
of Michigan Peaceworks, strange on first sight. their way to cover up any –– several serious artists
Editorial Page 6-A
decided she wanted to cre- in town couldn’t name a
ate a work that would show single person who owns up Death Notices Page 12-A
that being pro-veteran and The project came about when to making stencil art –– but
anti-war is no conflict. the collaborators all say it Sports Page 1-B
She and Thiefels worked Laura Russello decided she wanted has a right to be there.
through the concept and “Eventually, it all blends Calendar Page 9-A
tweaked it significantly to create a work that would show together,” Russello said.
A2 Live Page 10-A
before deciding on the
dozen close-ups. that being pro-veteran and anti-war Thiefels, Vance and
Russello all believe that
One earlier design had
a young girl blowing the is no conflict. She and Thiefels the stencil art has a place
there, perhaps even more
petals off of a dandelion,
but Russello and Thiefels
worked through the concept and than the mural because the
stencils were there first.
decided the image wouldn’t
have been strong enough.
tweaked it significantly before The mural has been
nicked up a bit –– someone
They began researching
local veterans who might
deciding on the dozen close-ups. drew a moustache on one
of the men and someone
want to be in the project, made Mara Boyd appear to
in the hope of attracting Russello said that the of the graffiti, but that a have a runny nose –– but News Tip Hotline:
veterans from a variety of original owner of the Alley large mural would prob- more than anything it has 877-995-NEWS (6397)
eras and perspectives. Bar wanted the mural, in ably do the trick. Printed on recycled paper
The idea was set, and the part, to cover up graffiti Stenciling has caught PLEASE SEE FACES/2-A