Virginia Tech

My prayers go out to everyone effected in the tragic event that happened yesterday. I wish all the students, faculty, and parents the best in the coming year; and I hope they all find a way through it. I do agree that the student body will unite and come back in the fall stronger than ever before. God Bless.

Summer Movies

Kick Ass movies to see this summer(07):

1. Spiderman 3
2. Ocean's Thirteen
3. Transformers
4. Pathfinder
5. 28 weeks later
6. Pirates of the Carribean: At worlds end
7. Fantastic Four
8. Hot Fuzz
9. Hostel Part II
10. Fracture
11. Shooter
12. Vacancy
13. Evan Almighty
14. Knocked Up
15. Harry Potter
16. The Reaping
17. The third Bourne film

Blades of Glory!!!!!

"Wow", thats all i can say after this movie. This movie was freakin awsome! Most of the time it seemed just like Talladaga Nights but it was still one of the best movies ever. The way Will Ferrell says things is just hilarious. He is one of the funniest people of all time. I cant think of a movie he was in that was bad. I would definetely recommend this movie to everyone! One of the funniest movies of the year.

What I've Learned So Far From My Research

So far from my research I have learned a great deal. I have read everything that has to do with this issue of a new park. I know the size of the park, and the size of parcel of land that the city is trying to acquire. I also know that Novi tried to get this state grant last year, but was denied. They are trying again this year, but I havent noticed any extra attention towards it. This means that the city and community members are not putting an honest effort towards getting the construction of this park started.

I also found out that the same state grant that we are fighting for just issued our city almost $900,000 to preserve an entirely different area by creating a park. Thats right, they gave us money but to use on the construction of a different park; one that is very close to all the other parks in Novi. We needed this money to go to the creation of the park that is suppose to be on 10 mile and Wixom rd. This is a developing area with lots of new homes that need a park nearby for the kids to play.

Second Blog Draft

As of right now my tentative thesis would be that the residents of Novi need to increase their effort for this park. The state grant for the park is very attainable, they just need to put in a better effort to show the state how bad they want this park, and how important the park is to the city.

My opinion is that this park would be very beneficial to the city because of population growth, and because there is no park near the area where they want to build this new one. After reviewing some of the council minutes, I saw that there wasn't anyone attending who was really pushing for this park. If no one in the city is really putting in a big effort for the park, then the city will not concentrate on the issue as much as the other issues which are being pursued by a lot of community members. The community needs to up its participation in this issue so that they can get the state grant, and start building the park.

Sources:
Free Press
Detroit News
Michigan.gov
Along with these articles, I will be using some of the statements that were said during city council meetings. I will be getting these sources from the city council minutes archive which is found at the Novi City Website.

Novi Wants Another Park (Final Draft Photo Essay)

The city of Novi has had an eye on a semi-large piece of land where the city would like to build another park. Last year, the city applied for a state grant in order to fund the project but was denied. The city plans to try again for the grant this year.

This is a picture of the area that the city of Novi is trying to get a hold of, for the construction of the park.

If Novi got the grant, they would use it to build a 269 acre park that would have hiking, and other recreational activities. Novi already has three public parks and numerous recreational facilities that belong to the schools. I do not see what one more park will bring to the city, that the other three parks don't already have. The three parks that belong to Novi offer tons of recreational activities to the public, which is why Novi does not need to build another park.

This is a picture of the huge wooden play-sturcture that is right at the entrance of CSP.
Inside CSP there are nine baseball diamonds, and durring the summer there are always baseball games being played on all nine diamonds.

Power Park which is the second park in Novi is a little smaller than CSP, but it still has six baseball diamonds, two volleyball courts, two play-structures, and a trail for walking through the woods.

This is a picture of one of the six baseball diamonds located in the center of the park.

This is a picture of the beginning of the trail that goes through the woods. In the foreground is the pond that is located inside of the park.

Rotary park is a smaller and more quiet park then the other two, but still has a play-structure, a picnic area, and a couple of tennis courts.

Right at the entrance to Rotary Park is this boardwalk, which runs along 9 mile road, and offers a change to the usual concrete sidewalks.

This is just a picture of one of the playgrounds that belong to the Novi School District. These playgrounds also add to the number of recreational facilities that Novi already offers.

Novi has three parks that offer almost every activity you can think of. They offer baseball diamonds, soccer fields, picnic areas, and trails for people to go walking. There is no need for the city of Novi to construct another park especially one that is 269 acres.

First Blog Draft

I decided to do my final research paper on the same topic as my photo essay. Basically there is a large piece of land located on 10 mile and Wixom rd in Novi, and the city wants to get a grant from the state so that they can build a park that will offer recreational activities like biking and hiking. The city applied for the grant last year but was denied. They plan to try again this year, and held a public meeting to sign a petition for the park. When a city applying for a grant gets a petition, it forces the state to spend a little more time on the decision, and will increase Novi's chance of getting the grant.
I will change up my stance on the issue for the research paper. In the photo essay I argued against the park, but in the Research paper I will argue for the park. As I was doing some searching for information on the grant, I found an article stating that Novi is building another park which is right by the three other parks that they have. I will argue for this FIFTH park because this park would be further away from the other three, and will benefit the residents in that area. They should not have to drive further to get to a park, just because Novi built four parks all within 2 miles of each other.

If you are interested in further information about this topic please visit this site, and let me know what you think about the whole situation.