MHSAA NOW: The weekly newsletter

by Becky Andrus | Sep 20, 2021 | High School Sports

MHSAA NOW: The weekly newsletter of the Michigan High School Athletic Association

THIS WEEK

We finish this week with salutes to our first “Performance of the Week” – Josie Bloom from Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – and to the Burton Atherton football program as it continues a successful comeback. We also preview this week’s football action and say good-bye and well done to a highly-respected and accomplished boys basketball coach.

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AROUND THE STATE

1st & Goal: 2021 Week 4 Preview

For the last 20 years, we would have entered Week 4 of football season discussing how many teams would have to win the rest of their games to guarantee making the playoffs. But the six-wins-and-in era is done (and never existed for 8-player), and there’s still plenty of time for every team to impact its destiny.

Performance of the Week: Notre Dame Prep’s Josie Bloom

The Sept. 8 match between host Pontiac Notre Dame Prep and Bloomfield Hills Marian featured two of the elite programs in Michigan – Marian is the reigning Division 1 champion and Notre Dame Prep made the Division 2 Semifinals last season, and both entered the evening undefeated.

Felix Leaving Hillsdale Having Blazed Path to Statewide Success, Respect

Every time Jordan Bollin would prepare his Dundee Vikings boys basketball team to play Hillsdale, he would rename all of his plays. That’s because Brad Felix, the longtime Hillsdale coach, knew them all. “He had his teams so prepared,” Bollin said.

‘Game Changers’ Making Major Strides to Revive Atherton Football

Terrieon Robertson had a choice to make this spring. The Burton Atherton senior could leave his school for an opportunity to play football elsewhere, or he could stay and risk the chance that Atherton’s low numbers would lead to a cancellation of his final season. After meeting with new Atherton coach Randy Young, that decision was easy.

Be the Referee: Catch or No Catch

Be The Referee is a series of short messages designed to help educate people on the rules of different sports, to help them better understand the art of officiating, and to recruit officials. Here is this week’s segment – Catch or No Catch – Listen

Unforgettable 5ive: 2021 Football Week 3

MHSAA Football Week 3 Unforgettable 5ive

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This Week In High School Sports: 9/15/21

This week’s edition highlights a matchup of undefeated volleyball powers, awards Game Balls to high achievers in soccer and football, explains what is and isn’t a catch in football, and pays respects to a recently-deceased builder of Michigan high school tennis as we know it today.

GAME TIME

Girls Tennis (UP) · Finals: Sept. 29-Oct. 2
Boys Tennis (LP) · Finals: Oct. 14-16
Girls Golf (LP) · Finals: Oct. 15-16
Boys Cross Country (UP) · Finals: Oct. 23
Girls Cross Country (UP) · Finals: Oct. 23
Boys Cross Country (LP) · Finals: Nov. 6
Girls Cross Country (LP) · Finals: Nov. 6
Boys Soccer · Finals: Nov. 6
Girls Swimming & Diving (LP) · Finals: Nov. 19-20
Girls Volleyball · Finals: Nov. 20
Football 8-Player · Finals: 19-20
Football 11-Player · Finals: 26-27

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Health Division Awarded National Accreditation

by Becky Andrus | Sep 20, 2021 | Regional News

Health Division Awarded National Accreditation

County’s Public Health Team Meets All Standards for Accreditation

Pontiac, Michigan – Oakland County Health Division’s robust relationships with community partners, commitment to improvement and growth as an organization, and skill in promoting the value of public health is getting national recognition. The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) cited these as the Health Division’s top strengths when it awarded the Health Division its coveted national accreditation today.

During the PHAB accreditation process, partners described Oakland County Health Division as reliable and innovative and always ready to meet the changing needs of the community.

“I’m so proud of our public health team,” County Executive Dave Coulter said. “Meeting the high standards of PHAB’s national accreditation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic reassures our residents, partners, and local officials that our public health services are top notch and responsive to the needs of our community.”

Oakland County Health Division met all the standards for accreditation. The Health Division received perfect scores in health equity, data collection and use, environmental health, lab services, emergency preparedness, access to care, and workforce. It also had high scores in quality improvement/performance management and planning.

“Going through the national accreditation process has helped our health department become better connected to the community and our partners, more knowledgeable about our community’s needs, more focused on quality improvement, and more dedicated to health equity and addressing the root causes of poor health,” Oakland County Director of Health & Human Services Leigh-Anne Stafford said.

The national accreditation program, which receives support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, sets standards against which the nation’s governmental public health departments can assess and continuously improve the quality of their programs and services. More than 80 percent of the U.S. population now reap the benefits of being served by a health department that has undergone PHAB’s rigorous, multi-faceted, peer review process to ensure it meets a set of quality standards and measures.

“The value of becoming nationally accredited through PHAB extends far beyond the interior walls of the health department,” said PHAB President and CEO Paul Kuehnert, DNP, RN, FAAN. “People living and working in communities served by these health departments can be assured that their health department is strong and has the capacity to protect and promote their health. Just going through the accreditation process itself helps health departments pinpoint the areas that are critical to improving the work they do for their communities.”

To learn more about Oakland County Health Division programs and services, click on the Health Division’s website at oakgov.com/health or by contacting Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 or [email protected]. For up-to-date public health information, follow @publichealthOC on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Public Health Accreditation Board

The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) was created to serve as the national public health accrediting body and is jointly funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The development of national public health department accreditation has involved, and is supported by, public health leaders and practitioners from the national, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels. For more information, contact PHAB Communications Manager Janalle Goosby at [email protected]. Learn more about PHAB and accreditation at www.phaboard.org, and by signing up for the PHAB e-newsletter.

PHAB Accreditation Press Release FINAL 091621.pdf

AG Provides Update on Fight Against Robocalls

by Becky Andrus | Sep 20, 2021 | Regional News

Media contact:
Lynsey Mukomel
517-599-2746

MEDIA ADVISORY
Monday, September 20, 2021

Attorney General Nessel Provides Update on Fight Against Robocalls

LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who has made fighting robocalls a top priority, released an update on telecom companies’ progress in implementing the Anti-Robocall Principles she signed onto in 2019.

Since September 2019, companies that agreed to these principles have identified more than 52 billion spam or spoofed numbers calls, authenticated the caller ID numbers of hundreds of billions of calls, and blocked more than 32.5 billion spam, spoofed, or illegal calls. There is more work to do, however. Already this year, 391,453 Americans have filed reports with the FTC about robocalls, reporting totals of at least $356 million in losses. These numbers underscore the need to continue to fight back against the scourge of robocalls.

“Cracking down on robocalls has remained a priority since the start of my tenure,” Nessel said. “While we’re making progress, I recognize there is much more work to be done by this office and my colleagues across the country to shut down these operations. We will continue to protect Michigan consumers and pursue illegal robocalls to the furthest extent of the law.”

Early last year, Nessel led a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general in calling on US Telecom and its Industry Traceback Group to continue its collaboration with state attorneys general by bolstering technological capabilities to improve enforcement against illegal robocallers.

In addition, Nessel reached a settlement with a California-based Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) voice service provider, MODOK LLC, to exit the VoIP telecom industry and begin winding down its operations.

The agreement marked the first time a state attorney general was able to permanently shut down a VoIP service provider and bar its ownership from working in the industry.

The Department’s developments in this area also led to criminal charges against a pair of political operatives who had orchestrated a series of robocalls aimed at suppressing the vote in the November general election.

The Anti-Robocall Principles required companies to:

offer customers free call labeling and blocking tools,
implement network-level call blocking,
combat caller ID spoofing on their networks with STIR/SHAKEN technology,
confirm the identity of commercial customers,
analyze and monitor high-volume network traffic consistent with robocalls,
investigate suspicious calls and calling patterns on their networks, and
cooperate in traceback investigations and aid law enforcement.

Enforcement actions have increased as a result of these efforts by the telecom companies that signed onto the Principles. Since the Principles were established:

The Industry Traceback Group (ITG), working alongside state attorneys general, ran 4,769 tracebacks, about three times as many investigations as were conducted prior to the Principles.
The ITG identified 319 domestic and foreign providers as originating the majority of robocalls.
Law enforcement and government agencies, including state attorneys general, have sent more than 162 civil investigative demands and subpoenas to the ITG alone.
Law enforcement and government agencies, including state attorneys general, have sent additional civil investigative demands, subpoenas, and warning letters to the companies that do business with robocallers and with those that help these illegal and fraudulent calls reach consumers.

Industry Traceback investigations and governmental enforcement actions will continue. Help bolster investigations in Michigan by reporting your robocalls online.

You can learn more about Nessel’s enforcement efforts and robocall initiatives on the Department’s website.

Nearly $32,000 raised for Fostering Futures Scholarship

by Becky Andrus | Sep 20, 2021 | Health and Wellness

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 18, 2021

MDHHS CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112, wheatonb@michigan.gov

TREASURY CONTACT: Ron Leix, 517-335-2167, [email protected]

Nearly $32,000 raised at ninth annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund event in Detroit

More than 480 foster youth eligible to receive college scholarships

LANSING, Mich. – More than 480 foster youth are eligible to receive college scholarships following the ninth annual Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund Benefit Dinner organized by the Michigan Education Trust (MET) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

Friday evening’s event at the Roostertail along the banks of the Detroit River was attended by approximately 150 guests who raised $31,615 for scholarships through MET, the Michigan Department of Treasury’s 529 prepaid education program. So far this year, MET has raised $38,969 for the scholarships.

Both the fundraiser dinner and raffle will benefit youth who have experienced foster care in Michigan. A partnership between MET and MDHHS makes Fostering Futures Scholarships possible.

“I am proud of the hard work and effort our staff put in each year to make the Fostering Futures Scholarship possible,” said State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks, who spoke at the event. “The extraordinary generosity of our sponsors, donors and guests make the dream of college a reality for students exiting foster care. These dollars provide some help with college costs when there may not be many other options available.

Close to 11,500 youth are in the Michigan foster care system run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Nationally, fewer than 10% of former foster youth nationally enroll in college after high school and fewer than 3% eventually earn a degree.

During his remarks at the event, Demetrius Starling, executive director of the MDHHS Children’s Services Agency, noted the challenges that youth who experience foster care face in going to college and the important role that the Fostering Futures Scholarship can play.

“Too often these young people are not able to go to college,” Starling said. “Youth that want to go to college deserve an opportunity to pursue a higher education. Some of these young people are here tonight. Please hear me when I say this: We are so proud of you! You are strong, resilient, and capable.”

Carolyn Clifford, anchor for television station WXYZ Channel 7, emceed the event. Keynote speaker Robert E. Thomas – a Detroit native who was in foster care as a child and has experienced success as an engineer and community leader – received the “Making A Difference” award. Thomas also is a foster care consultant.

The Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund provides former foster care students who may not have adequate financial resources to attend college with a scholarship. During the 2021-22 academic year, 487 students at 58 different institutions are eligible for support.

Anyone who could not attend Friday’s event can make donations to the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund by visiting www.FosteringFutures-MI.com. Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund is a Section 170 (c) non-profit organization. All contributions are eligible for an income tax deduction.

Since 2012, fundraising efforts have totaled more than $1.3 million, with funds awarded as scholarships in the year they were raised.

Above, keynote speaker Robert E. Thomas received the Making a Difference Award at the Fostering Futures Scholarship fundraiser in Detroit. He is shown with, from left, Robin Lott, director of the Michigan Department of Treasury Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning, and Diane Brewer, executive director of MET.

Final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of year starts Saturday

by Becky Andrus | Sep 20, 2021 | Transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

CONTACT: Dan Weingarten, MDOT Office of Communications, 906-250-4809
[email protected]

Final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of year starts Saturday

Fast facts:
– The final Adopt-A-Highway cleanup of the year is Sept. 25-Oct. 3.
– Adopt-A-Highway volunteers collect more than 60,000 bags of litter annually.
– Sections of highway are still available to adopt. Go to www.Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway for more information.

September 20, 2021 — Motorists should be on the lookout as thousands of Adopt-A-Highway volunteers in the popular Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) program fan out across the state to collect litter along highway roadsides from Saturday, Sept. 25, through Sunday, Oct. 3.

This is the third and final scheduled pickup period of the year.

Every year, Adopt-A-Highway volunteers regularly collect more than 60,000 bags of trash. The popular program began in 1990 and has grown to involve more than 2,900 groups cleaning 6,000 miles of highway.

Beginning Saturday, volunteers wearing high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests will clear up their adopted stretches of highway. MDOT provides free vests and trash bags, and arranges to haul away the trash.

Getting involved in the program is easy. Volunteers include members of civic groups, businesses and families. Crew members have to be at least 12 years old and each group must number at least three people. Groups are asked to adopt a section of highway for at least two years; there is no fee to participate. Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups are recognized with signs bearing a group’s name posted along stretches of adopted highway.

Sections of highway are still available for adoption. Interested groups should check the MDOT Adopt-A-Highway website at www.Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway for more information and the name of their county’s coordinator, who can specify available roadsides.

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