Mica Jones lists off the supplies she'll be bringing with her to the Midland Country Club. "The paper roll, tape, glue gun, pins, scissors," she said, adding, There will be a few things that have to be touched up. Jones is talking about a paper dress red, of course she created for the Go Red for Women conference scheduled for Friday at the country club. She made the dress in October at her home, and will transport it to the event herself. A red dress is the icon for the national Go Red for Women movement, launched in 2004 by the American Heart Association to draw attention to women and heart disease. Jones was asked by local Go Red for Women committee chair Melissa Anderson to design a paper dress for the Midland event, at which her husband Dr. Robert Jones, will be part of a medical panel.
Ever since Midland native and H.H. Dow High School graduate Matt Heinz made the decision to join the special election to replace Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, his life has been a "whirlwind." He made the final decision to run Tuesday. "It's been kind of a whirlwind since that time," he said Friday over the phone. Heinz, an Arizona state representative serving the Tucson area, said he has been discussing the issue with his family for the past two weeks. "Everything is continuing to evolve very rapidly," he said.
As she gears up for competition in the Dow Corning Tennis Classic, Russian tennis professional Vesna Dolonts took time Friday morning to appear at the Wake Up Midland Chamber of Commerce breakfast. Dolonts has ranked as high as 86th in the world in women's tennis and has competed in all four grand slam events. She's making her first appearance at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic at the Midland Community Tennis Center. "From this moment, I will come every year," Dolonts told an audience of about 300 attending the morning chamber event at Valley Plaza Resort's Great Hall.
Midland County Sheriff Jerry Nielsen wants children to be safe on the internet. He's offering parental internet monitoring software to any parent who wants to make sure their kids are safe when using the internet. "It's really an eye-opener when you look at some of the things that have happened out there. And how easy it is to really get into a mess that you really can't get out of," Nielsen said. The program is called Computer Cop. It works by placing a disk inside the computer. Then the software scans the computer's hard drive for any inappropriate images or language that a child might've seen on the internet. Parents can use this information to talk to kids about what they're doing on the Web. "I have heard that it's helped the parents get into discussions with their children as to some of the things that's going on in their computer. And it's really helped them, and they feel it makes it much safer," Nielsen said.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency missed its self-appointed deadline to release the official and complete study on dioxins. The EPA had promised to release the study by the end of January. It has been working on the study of dioxins since 1985. Members of the Lone Tree Council, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Bay City, said they were disappointed but hopeful that a study would be released soon. Thousands of individuals and organizations all across the United States have urged the release of the study.
Steve Elmer will have to wait, although he did get a phone call from Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly. Elmer is only a junior, so he was only a spectator Wednesday when three of his Midland High teammates signed letters of intent to play college football next season. Andrew Wylie was the centerpiece of the trio, signing with Eastern Michigan University. Fellow offensive lineman Joe Vieu and receiver David Walter signed to play for Division II Michigan Tech.
Magic Johnson made his name in basketball, but the former Michigan State and Los Angeles Lakers star is making a bid to add Major League baseball to his resume. Johnson, who is a part owner of the Dayton Dragons minor league team, is part of an ownership group that is in the running to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers. Johnson's group, which includes former baseball executive Stan Kasten, was one of approximately 10 bidders to advance to the second round of bidding. "We made the first cut, and we're in the second round," Johnson said Monday while visiting Saginaw to announce a partnership between his company, Sodexo Magic, and the Saginaw School District.
The Dow Chemical Co. on Thursday will release its fourth quarter earnings report. The Midland-based chemical giant in October released strong third quarter results, with increased earnings and sales compared to the same period in 2010. Shares were up 24 cents from the third quarter in 2010, to 69 cents per share for the 3rd quarter of 2011. The third quarter of 2011 also marked record sales for the company at 15.1 billion, up 17 percent from the previous year, with volume growth being led by its sales in China where the company achieved record sales.
Want to be a part of choosing the Great Lakes Loons' Fifth Anniversary Team? Get on a computer and vote. Every week until the Loons' opening day home game on April 9, fans can vote on the website www.loons.com for the player they feel has been the best Loons' player at his particular position over the team's first five years. Loons' President and General Manager Paul Barbeau is excited about this and other upcoming promotions, as nearly five years have passed since the Loons made their debut as a minor league baseball team at Dow Diamond in Midland in April 2007. "It really has flown by," said Barbeau, who was hired in the spring of 2006 just as Dow Diamond was beginning to be built. "It doesn't seem like too long ago that we were just starting up and building our staff and making all of our plans.
Although Danielle Blackhurst's hair salon has been open for several months, she's seen recent milestones that remind her the business still is new. In November, she hosted a ribbon cutting with the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce for her new business, Dani B's Studio for Hair at 4308 N. Saginaw Road between Stacker's Grill and Nature's Gift Organic Market. She'd opened her doors in May. "It took awhile," she said. "I wanted to get everything going before I had a ribbon cutting." Just days ago, she put up her road sign. Then she added her second employee, a sign that she's growing. It's her plan to go slowly and steadily.