Wyandotte Municipal Worker Pulls Resident From Burning Home

Jim Sneed ran into the house in the 400 block of Cedar after realizing a man was still inside.

As fate would have it, Jim Sneed took a side street on the afternoon of March 28 as he drove to his next appointment. The service technician from Wyandotte Municipal Services was en route to a house on Goddard as he drove down Fourth Street at about 2:15 p.m. As he passed Cedar, he happened to look down the street and noticed a house on fire. He high-tailed it the house in the 400 block and realized he was the first person on the scene. “I went up to the door and the door was open,” he said. “I heard a man in there coughing, so I went in and got him.” That proved to be more difficult that Sneed imagined. “It didn’t look bad from the outside looking in, but once you got in, it was bad,” he said Thursday while surrounded by fellow city …

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Wyandotte Teen Leads Collection for Classmate Struck by Train

Josie Klaiss led the way for Roosevelt High School to collect $1,362 for boy struck by train.

Josie Klaiss nearly broke down in tears when she heard that her classmate, Jacob Marion, had been struck by a train and was barely clinging to life. Klaiss, a 17-year-old senior at Roosevelt High School, said everyone at school was talking about the accident the next morning. “I overheard some people talking about doing a fundraiser for him, but no one really was sure how to do it or what to do,” she said. “I thought about it and figured I’d sit at a table in the lunchroom for the whole lunch period with a big poster in front of the table and collect money.” After a message went out on Facebook and an email sent around to school staff to alert their students, Josie and her friend, Nikki Dorris, were ready to go. Two days later, the girls …

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Nadia Brunt

12:36 am on Thursday, March 8, 2012

Nicole, can you get in touch with me? The Wyandotte Jaycees have been trying to get in contact with the family. Jacob volunteered with us this fall at the haunted house. Thanks so much! ~Nadia Brunt ManagementVP@WyandotteJaycees.org Thanks!!   more ›

Terminal Cancer Patient Selling Her Possessions

The sale is set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the PLAV Post No. 74 at 963 Oak St.

Wyandotte's Andrea Clary Vos is a fighter who has battled cancer for years. While her illness has now developed into stage four lung cancer, the 55-year-old said she's not going to let it get the best of her or change her path. She's determined to do a selfless act to help the same relatives who have been there for her over the years. Working under the credo of leaving behind “less of a mess (and) more of a legacy," the Wyandotte woman is hosting her own estate sale to find new homes for much of her worldly possessions. As a local antiques and collectibles dealer, she's accumulated a lot of items over the years. “I can't bear the thought of my family having to sort through all this ‘stuff,’” Vos said. “Besides, some of my “treasures” need …

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UPDATE: Cancer Patient Knows the Legacy She Wants to Leave

Wyandotte's Andrea Clary Vos is hosting her own estate sale so her family won't have to later.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally posted on Wyandotte Patch on Feb. 9. Today it was chosen for Huffington Post's Greatest Person of the Day feature. Andrea Clary Vos may be battling stage four lung cancer, but she said she’s more determined than ever to make sure she leaves behind “less of a mess (and) more of a legacy.” As a local antiques and collectibles dealer, Vos has accumulated a lot of items over the years. With the help of friends and family, she is hosting her own estate sale next month. The 55-year-old Wyandotte woman said she felt a little awkward about running her own sale, but knows she’s doing it for all the right reasons. “I can't bear the thought of my family having to sort through all this ‘stuff,’” she said. “…

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Autistic Wyandotte Girl Inspires Others Through Her Compassion, Talent

Trinity Rain Irby, 11, teaches about autism and caring through her artwork, acting and behavior.

Trinity Rain Irby uses her talents for writing, art and drama to teach people about autism, and she tries to make a difference in the world in other ways, too. The 11-year-old Wyandotte girl was diagnosed with autism and cerebral palsy when she was a year old. Since the age of 2, she’s been attending Burger School for Students with Autism in Garden City. She’s learned a lot in her decade-plus-one years, including some heartfelt lessons about giving. For her birthday a few months ago, she and her 16-year-old sister Zoe and her mom, artist Diane Irby, spent a week in Walt Disney World in Florida. Trinity Rain has been “obsessed” with all things Disney ever since, her mother said. But she also left the park, where the family stayed at the …

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Downriver Woman Makes National News With 'Little Dresses'

Rachel O’Neill operates her mission in a donated warehouse at Material Processing in Wyandotte.

Rachel O’Neill had no idea that taking a vacation to Africa to celebrate her 50th birthday would eventually land her on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams. Five years ago O’Neill, 56, of Brownstown, and her husband Michael planned an expensive holiday in Africa filled with safaris and swanky hotels. O’Neil said her vacation was fun and exciting, but the real reward came on her second trip to Africa. After teaming up with a mission group from her church, the Trenton Church of Christ, she went back to the place she said she had “always felt drawn to” and began serving the people of Malawi. In the Malawian tradition, women are responsible for a great deal of the day-to-day work, according to O’Neill, and right away she said she felt a …

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Patchilicious!

Jerry Sickon is a Sausage-Making Pro

The entire crew at the PLAV post in Wyandotte cooks up sausage to help disabled veterans.

Editor's note: This story originally ran on Wyandotte Patch on Dec. 6. It was chosen as the Huffington Post's "Greatest Person of the Day" feature on Thursday. Jerry Sickon of Wyandotte started cooking as a kid—the oldest of nine—helping his mother. “My mother did a lot of cooking, and I had to help her,” Sickon said. He liked it, and today, seemingly no task in the kitchen is too big for him to tackle. A few weekends ago, for example, he was leading a team of helpers making 550 pounds of sausage in the kitchen of the Polish Legion of American Veterans Post No. 7 in Wyandotte. He started making sausage at home about 10 years ago after taking a comprehensive course through the culinary arts department at Henry Ford Community College in …

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Brave Faces: Michigan Breast Cancer Fighters, Survivors Share Stories

They are our mothers, daughters, sisters, grandmas, husbands, uncles, friends and neighbors — and they all fought breast cancer. These brave Michigan men and women shared their stories with Patch.

We went looking for faces of survival. We found inspiration. Patch asked Michigan women and men who have fought breast cancer to share their struggles, tears and triumphs with us during October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer survivor Cynde Lebert, 59, of Canton, tells newly diagnosed women: “You'll be fine. You're alive and that's the most important thing.” Farmington Hills resident Dick Jaeger, 70, is one of the approximately 2,140 men diagnosed each year with breast cancer. "The answer is know your body and don't take anything for granted," Jaeger said. "Every day, I'm a cancer survivor," said Jean Bean, a 58-year-old mom, wife and interior designer from Rochester. "I don't obsess about it, but it's always there." Nancy …

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Clare Pfeiffer Ramsey

11:39 am on Thursday, October 27, 2011

Wow Stacy. We'll be sure to get this on our events calendar. Can you email me or marina.cracchiolo@patch.com with the details? And best wishes to Nichole!   more ›