Metro

Memories Revisited

A Communal Boost

Vernor alumni to mark 55th
birthdays at school reunion.

Community-funded Sinai Center
to serve women's health needs.

Ann Arbor's Ellen Barahal Taylor, who grew up on Hartwell in Detroit, Maggie

Hessler of Evanston, III., (Hartwell) and Carol Karbel Blender of Beverly Hills,

Mich. (Littlefield) join in a rendition of "Here's To James Vernor School" at

the October 2001 reunion.

A

group of students who
with our friends at Vernor that will be
attended James Vernor
with us forever."
Elementary School in north-
Suzie Serwin Potter, Susan Wauldron
west Detroit will celebrate their 55th
Jerris, Carol Ward Bass, Jay Kozlowski,
birthdays together at a reunion on
Jody Shevin and Carol Karbal Blender
Saturday, Oct. 21, five years after their
are the "locals" on the planning com-
last get-together.
mittee. Now living out of state, class-
The former classmates will tour the , mates Stuart Karden, Fred Greenspoon,
elementary and junior high school in
David Wenner and Bill Adler are also
the afternoon and enjoy a buffet din-
contributing to the weekend celebra-
ner (7:30 –11:30 p.m.) at Andiamo's
tion.
Italia West in Bloomfield Township on
All weekend events will be for
Saturday evening. Casual gatherings at students born in 1951 and 1952 and
homes will be held on Friday evening
attended any part of their elementary
as old friends reacquaint themselves,
or junior high school years at Vernor.
and on early Sunday morning before
For information regarding the
they depart.
reunion weekend, including an invita-
Almost five years ago, a reunion was tion to the Saturday evening dinner,
held to observe their 50th birthdays.
. classmates may register on the Web
The weekend was filled with child-
site at Vernorreunion.bravehost.com .
hood memories and conversations
To be included in the Vernor e-mail
between some classmates who had
group and directory, forward home
not seen each other in more than 35
and e-mail addresses to Carol Karbal
years.
Blender: go73blue@aol.com .
At the last reunion, former students
The Saturday afternoon tour of the
sang "Happy Birthday" to Beatrice
school will be open to anyone who
Cohen, a favorite math and third-
attended Vernor. Anyone participating
grade teacher who passed away last
in the school tour only will be asked
year." Another highlight was the dona-
to make a contribution to the opening
tion of $3,400 in dictionaries, thesau-
of the school for the day. At the last
ruses, and a year of Kindergarten
reunion, parents strolled through the
Scholastic subscriptions to the cur-
hallways with their children.
rent students at Vernor.
The committee has contacted
"Being a part of the Vernor corn-
former teachers Eugene Zweig and
munity was a connection for life," said Sherman Adelman. Any other for-
Susan Wauldron Jerris of Huntington
mer teachers are encouraged to visit
Woods.
the Web site or contact Carol Karbal
Bernie Greenberg of Atlanta said,
Blender at the e-mail address above or
"There was a special bond we had
(248) 646-1680. L

24 June is

2006

H

uron Valley-Sinai Hospital
will open its new Sinai
Center for Women this fall
assisted by a $1 million grant from
the Jewish Fund. The new outpatient
center will expand screening, diagnos-
tic and health education services for
women.
The $2 million center will be cre-
ated from space that was designated
for future expansion when a major
hospital addition was built in 2004.
Construction of the Sinai Center for
Women will begin this month with
completion expected in December.
The architect is BEI Associates Inc. of
Detroit and the contractor is Lasalle
Contracting of Canton.
The Sinai Center for Women will
bring together screening and diagnos-
tic mammography, breast ultrasounds,
stereotactic biopsies and bone den-
sity testing in an expanded, specially
designed suite of examination, con-
sultation and procedure
rooms. A women's health
resource area will provide
print and audiovisual edu-
cational materials as well
as space for presentations
by physicians and health
Yellan
screenings such as blood
pressure checks.
"We are very grateful to the Jewish
Fund for supporting this expansion
of women's services;' said Robert
Yellan, president of Huron Valley-Sinai
Hospital. "Our mammography patient
volume has increased significantly,
creating a crowded situation for our
patients."
The Sinai Center for Women will
double mammography capabilities,
add digital mammography and create
a more private, comfortable environ t
ment for patients. "The Shiai Center for
Women will be a resource for health
education and a referral source for all
of our women patients' health needs:'
Yellan said.
"Huron Valley-Sinai
Hospital has done an
excellent job of helping
to perpetuate the Sinai
51
tradition of excellence in
health care said Robert
Naftaly
Naftaly, Jewish Fund chair.
"We are pleased to support the new
Sinai Center for Women and to help

Huron Valley-Sinai continue expanding
its services to meet the community's
changing needs."
The Jewish Fund, headquartered in
Bloomfield Hills, was established in
1996 from the proceeds of the sale of
Sinai Hospital to the Detroit Medical
Center. The Jewish Fund supports
nonprofit organizations that serve
the health care needs of both the
Jewish and general communities in
metropolitan Detroit, as well as prior-
ity programs of the Detroit Medical
Center.

Maas Honors Haas

The Benard L. Maas Foundation, in
cooperation with the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, has named
jazz pianist and composer Jeff Haas
the recipient of the 2005 Benard L.
Maas Prize for Achievement in Jewish
Culture and Continuity
Winner in the category
of individual achieve-
ment in performing
arts, Haas of Traverse
City is well noted for
his soulful blend of
Hebrew-infused jazz.
He has spent the last 25 years com-
posing and performing original music
that reflects his passion for Judaic, jazz
and classical idioms. Haas has been
involved in the creation of 90 original
compositions and five major commis-
sions. He received national attention
with the release of his recording, L'Dor
IlaDor — Generation to Generation,
an homage to his father, Karl Haas. In
1997, he received a commission from
the Federation to write an original jazz
suite that he titled HaGesher Chai —
the Bridge Lives. In 2004, he received
the Sara Hardy Humanitarian of the
Year Award for his work on tolerance
and human rights issues in northern
Michigan.
The Maas Prize and award of $3,500
was presented at a Special Community
Awards Celebration. The Maas Prize
is awarded biannually to honor indi-
viduals or organizations whose work
enhances Jewish life in Michigan. The
categories in I•vhich the awards are
given are performing arts, fine arts and
humanities. The 2006 award is being
given in the humanities category.