BY AMANDA WILCZAK OU News Bureau The nonmedical use of prescription drugs has been classified by the Centers for Disease Control as an epidemic. On a daily basis, Scot Masi deals with the aftereffects of this prescription drug abuse. Masi, outreach and referral specialist/ data analyst for the St. John Providence Brighton Recovery center, speaks [...]
BY MEGAN HODDER OU News Bureau In a world of high-tech gadgets, old-school gaming still exists and is integrating new technology into gameplay. Garnering today’s headlines in the $67 billion video gaming industry are mega-sellers such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and apps such as Angry Birds. Then there’s Dungeons & Dragons — [...]
BY STEVIE THIEDA OU News Bureau Certain things in life evoke memories that take you back to moments of pure simplicity and happiness. The candy that you couldn’t get enough of growing up, for example. Vera’s Balloons-R-Fun in Romeo makes sure they’re not forgotten. “The candy that we sell here is a lot of the [...]
BY STEPHANIE SOKOL OU News Bureau It can be prepared in many ways, and taste is up to the brewer. Tea, the world’s second most popular beverage behind water, has soared in popularity during the past 10 years. Americans drank over 3 billion gallons of tea in 2011, 85 percent of that black tea, 14 [...]
BY CATHERINE O’ROURKE OU News Bureau Millions of shoppers head to the stores or get online on the day after Thanksgiving in a consumer ritual that’s known as Black Friday. Observed by 17 states dating back to 1980, it serves as an unofficial beginning to the Christmas season. The deals given by major stores cause [...]
BY ALEC BRZEZINSKI OU News Bureau Plow businesses were hurt by last year’s mild Michigan winter, which is why they hope for a white Christmas this time around. The Detroit area recorded 26 inches of snow last winter, the least amount since 1997 and well below the 69 inches that fell two years ago. [...]
BY CATHERINE O’ROURKE OU News Bureau Chris Lemieux, president of the Wheelchair Hockey League, loves sports, but has not always had a chance to participate. Growing up with spinal muscular atrophy stopped Chris from being able to partake in some of his favorite sports. It is a disease caused by a genetic defect that affects [...]
BY CATHERINE TWIGG and SHELBY REYNOLDS While swing dancing may have originated in the 1920s, people still enjoy swinging out to the nightclub for a good time. Rich Barkman is one of the many keeping this type of dance alive. He has been swing dancing since the early ’90s. “Love of the music makes [...]
BY CATHERINE O’ROURKE OU News Bureau The door is always open at the Macomb County Animal Shelter, where the staff prides itself in taking care of any animal brought to their door. “We take dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, snakes and anything else,” said Sherry Labelle, associate director at the shelter in Mount Clemens. “One time [...]
BY CATHERINE O’ROURKE OU News Bureau The texture, the taste — even just the sound of someone consuming peanut butter — disgusts Jennifer Kendrick of Sterling Heights. When she was young, her friends tormented her with peanut butter, causing extreme panic. “I got chased around my house and hid in my bathroom for 20 minutes,” [...]