Trenton Mayor Gerald Brown Comments on Harrassed Terminally Ill 7-year-old and Other Recent News

During the past week, as I was preparing for my annual State of the City, I was thinking of topics to talk about and I seemed to be focusing too much on negative concerns related to the economy that we have been experiencing for the past three to four years.  

I thought it best to briefly speak about the negative effects of the recession that we have endured thus far, because our residents still need to know just what our city government is up against during these difficult times.  

Then I began thinking about the many good things that have occurred or are about to occur, that makes the community of Trenton the desirable place to reside, educate children and enjoy the many services that are provided to Trentonites. The first event that came to mind actually started out as a negative, but turned out to be a heart-warming story.  

Unfortunately, back in the fall of 2010, a 7-year-old girl by the name of Kathleen, who suffers from terminal juvenile Huntington's disease, was subjected to a series of harassing actions by adults who reside on one of our north end Trenton streets. This was not only cruel for this little girl, but it was also embarrassing that this occurred within our city limits.  

The positive that came out of this despicable action was that it resulted in family friends like Michelle Yerigan, who rallied residents of Trenton and other communities to support the little girl, her family and the research for the Huntington's disease. The actual rally ended up in Elizabeth Park. It started out to be a rally with an expectation of 100-200 people, but word got out quickly and the expected number of participants grew to the point that the park was the only venue that could handle it.  

As it turned out, more than 1,000 people were in attendance and it was a happy day for all involved. Even Kathleen and her family made appearances for everyone to see. The park was decorated with signage and blue balloons (the color of Huntington's disease awareness) and had a carnival atmosphere. Yes, this was a positive event in Trenton.

John and Gail Craven decided to get involved in a War Monuments project at our Veteran's Memorial Library and put together a committee to start a fund raising effort to purchase several granite monuments for recognition of Trenton military personnel, who died in the many wars that our country has fought in. They achieved the bulk of their $33,000 
goal in a very short time. That was just another example of how this community can band together and result in great positive news for Trenton.

Dr. Noel Jackson, the owner of a Trenton dental business, came up with an idea to create the Downriver Desirable Dozen to donate $1,000 per month to a local cause or charity to assist in their ventures.

This money would have been used for advertising of his business, but he feels better about giving the money and the recipients certainly feel good about it too. It is hoped that this type of philanthropy will catch on with other commercial establishments and many more worthwhile recipients will benefit it. It was another wonderful positive news event in Trenton.

Mr. Randy Fritz, the Executive Vice President for Fritz Enterprises and Huron Valley Steel, after viewing last year's Trenton fireworks, contacted my office unsolicited and said that his family would like to contribute enough money for our fireworks that would in effect nearly triple the size of this coming year's fireworks. Because of this generous donation, everyone who knows about the Fritz family offer, are very anxious to be at the upcoming special fireworks presentation. Perhaps it will be an annual offer by the Fritz's, but we will deal with that one-year at a time. A great business helps the community in Trenton.

I could go on and on about the positive things that happen in Trenton and what makes this city the desirable community that it is, but space for this commentary is probably limited.  

I will conclude with our Parks and Recreation motto in the magazine that they put out yearly, and that is, 
"Be a Tourist in your own Town.”

Trenton is truly a nice, safe, community that has many services for its residents that are not enjoyed by many other cities throughout Michigan. We thrive on the positive events happening here.

Jerry Brown

Mayor, City of Trenton