Oakland County Community & Home Improvement Division (OCCHI) is looking to help families buy a home, provided they meet certain criteria. The Oakland County Home Buyer Program is aimed at helping low income families with good credit and a steady income take ownership of vacant, foreclosed single family homes as their primary residence.

Homebuyers with incomes at or below 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) are eligible for assistance. For example, a family of four earning up to $34,950 per year is eligible under this program. Homebuyers must also have a credit score of 620 or better, have a sustained income with a two year history, be lawfully in the United States, and have no history of bankruptcy or foreclosure within the last 36 months.

Applicants can obtain a Homebuyer Screening Form beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, November 9 by visiting the Oakland County Community & Home Improvement Division website at oakgov.com/chi or by calling 248-858-1529. Funds are limited and applications are processed on a first come, first served basis. OCCHI will obtain credit reports for completed applications at no cost to the applicant.

Oakland County can provide no-interest loans for down payment assistance, closing costs, home improvements or other financing. The homebuyer must prequalify for a fixed rate mortgage loan from a lending institution. This loan represents 51% of the purchase price. Oakland County will finance the remaining 49% of the purchase and rehabilitation costs up to $100,000. The homebuyer must also provide $1,000 to initiate the purchase. The homebuyer only pays on the conventional mortgage obtained from their lender. Payment on the down payment and home improvement loans is deferred until the property changes ownership.

Funding for the Oakland County Home Buyer Program is provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). This one-time emergency funding allows homebuyers to purchase foreclosed homes at a discount, and rehabilitate or redevelop the homes to stabilize neighborhoods impacted by foreclosure and abandonment and reverse the decline of neighborhood housing values.

The Oakland County Home Buyer Program covers properties in select Oakland County communities. Contact Farmington Hills, Pontiac, Royal Oak, Southfield, or Waterford directly to inquire about home buying assistance programs in their communities. For more information and to obtain a Homebuyer Screening Form, visit the Oakland County Community & Home Improvement website at www.oakgov.com/chi or call 248-858-1529.  

Holly Township monument salutes Jewish veterans.

Excerpt:

In honoring Jewish military veterans with a stone monument at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly Township, local vets were sending a message.

"Jewish people have served in every war this country has fought," Gerald Order, 65, commander of the Department of Michigan Jewish War Veterans, said at the unveiling today.

Organizer Stanley Eisenberg of Rose Township -- a 75-year-old veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard who served during the Korean War -- said the monument cost about $1,800 and was dedicated by the state's Jewish War Veterans and Ladies Auxiliary.

The monument stands knee high, along a paved path with other memorials near a quiet tree-lined waterfront.

"It's a place where we can come in prayer and thank God for everything he has given us, everything we have worked for, everything we have sacrificed our life for," said Bernard Feldman, 77, of Southfield, a Korean War veteran who served in the Navy on the USS Smalley.

Read the entire article here.

Halloween is over but this is a good piece of spooky history here in Oakland County.

Excerpt:

Horror movies are great, but the scariest stories are the ones based in reality -- especially if they're set in your hometown.

Davison-based filmmaker Jeff Jones spent a year investigating Oakland County's haunts with a camera, combining the footage into a film called "The Haunting Truth: Mid-Michigan’s Urban Legends and Paranormal Activity."

"I didn’t want to cut anything out of this movie; it could have been 2-2 1/2 hours, easily," Jones told the Davison Index. "But I had to cut it down to 90 minutes ... so it’s full of good stuff."

Read the entire article here.

Burgers on skates? Yes, please. Troy is now home to Sonic and burgers and skates.

Excerpt:

Kimmy Barnhart maneuvered backward and performed twists and turns -- all while wearing in-line skates and balancing a tray of drinks for first-day customers at Wednesday's grand opening of a Sonic restaurant in Troy.

The restaurant, on John R near Oakland Mall, features skating servers such as Barnhart, who can bring food right to customers' cars, and a menu that includes breakfast, burgers and Tater Tots. The restaurant also has walk-up windows. It is open nearly 24 hours -- from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily.

"I saw they were hiring and they asked me could I skate," said Barnhart, 25, of Warren. "I happened to have my skates in the car, and I was hired on the spot after skating around the parking lot."

Read the entire article here.

Farmington Hills Video Division gets kudos from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

Excerpt:

The Farmington Hills Video Division received recognition from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) at the organization's 24th annual Government Programming Awards held in October in New Orleans.

Videos that received NATOA Awards for Government Programming included:

Third Place Trophy - Documentary Profile: "Photographer- Dane Gussin" initiated by the City of Farmington Hills Department of Special Services.

Certificate of Honorable Mention - Public Health: "Breaking the Silence: Domestic Violence" produced in cooperation with the City of Farmington Hills Police Department and the Call to Action Coalition.

Certificate of Honorable Mention - Public Education: "ARC Watershed Management Planning” produced in cooperation with the City of Farmington Hills Department of Public Services and the Alliance of Rouge Communities.

"We celebrate the achievements of our City's video division," said Mayor Jerry Ellis. "Government access programming plays a big role in creating a stronger and more connected community."

Read the entire article here.

Light is shed on some Farmington Hills history thanks to new marker.

Excerpt:

Anyone driving toward the Vagnozzi Visitor Center in the historic Spicer house will no doubt notice the small pond on the north side of the road. But the story of how this pond came to exist has been a hidden chapter in Farmington Hills history, until now.

A historic marker now identifies the Stuart Little Pond, so named by the Spicer family, who donated the Heritage Park property and several historic buildings to the community. As the story goes, in the spring of 1953, 12-year-old Eleanor Olney Spicer, eldest daughter of Eleanor Goodenough Spicer, had been walking her dog, Stuart Little (named after the beloved children's book by E.B. White), when the toy Manchester terrier chased a small animal into a drain pipe, where he became stuck.

Read the entire article here.

Rochester area residents and young professionals are invited to an event at the Rochester Hills Public Library on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The event, a 2010 Economic Update and Forecast Panel Discussion will feature local experts discussing the 2010 economic outlook.

The event will feature local community leaders as they discuss the Michigan and Rochester area economies and what is being done to retain and attract young talent and businesses. Expected guest panelists include Dr. David Spencer the Executive Director of the Oakland University SmartZone Business INCubator, Nicholas Banda, Director of Economic and Community Development for the City of Rochester, and Dan Casey, Manager of Economic Development for the City of Rochester Hills.

The 2010 Economic Update and Forecast Panel Discussion will take place on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Rochester Hills Public Library is located at 500 Olde Towne Road in downtown Rochester. There is no charge to attend the event. Seating is limited. Reservations can be made by calling 248-651-6700 or emailing info@rrc-mi.com.

The Young Professionals of Rochester (YPR) was formed in partnership with the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Oakland University Alumni Association. YPR strives to provide leadership and mentoring opportunities by advancing professional and business development with a focus on civic, cultural, and educational interests for the benefit of Rochester, Rochester Hills, and Oakland Township

The Mission of the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce is to provide leadership and resources in order to advance business development in partnership with civic, cultural, and educational interests for the benefit of its members and the community. Founded in 1955, the RRCC is the principal voice of the Rochester business community, focused on fostering a favorable climate and promoting orderly and progressive development for this region.

Celebrating 50 years of innovation and opportunity, Oakland University is recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as one of the nation's 82 doctoral/research universities. The university is dedicated to delivering a distinctive undergraduate experience complemented by the strength of its graduate offerings and research accomplishments. Oakland offers 115 bachelor's degree programs and 90 graduate degree and certificate programs.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson announces that Oakland County Health Division nurses vaccinated more than 10,600 individuals against the H1N1 flu virus at the Palace of Auburn Hills clinic on Thursday November 5, 2009. A Health Division nurse inoculated one person every three seconds.

"I have to give credit where credit is due. George Miller and the county's Health Division workers had the foresight five years ago to practice vaccination clinics for a pandemic flu," Patterson says. "The results speak for themselves. In all Oakland County clinics, they have vaccinated just under 30,000 people."

Health and Human Services Director George Miller agrees. "The results do speak for themselves," Miller says. "We've had questions from the media why we are distributing the H1N1 vaccine in this fashion. Our numbers show that these clinics have been the most efficient way to vaccinate the target population."

Meanwhile, the majority of the vaccine released so far by the Centers for Disease Control to Oakland County is in the hands of private providers. "More than 75,000 of the doses we have received from the CDC to date have been distributed to private physicians and hospitals," says Kathy Forzley, Health Division manager. "But Oakland County residents should be aware that some physicians have opted not to carry any H1N1 flu vaccine at their private clinics."

Despite the thousands in line at Thursday's clinic, most individuals continue to show great patience. Some continue to find unique ways to pass the time. A member of the Palace security patrol got the wave going with people in line outside the building. A Rochester Hills man spotted an old high school classmate he had not seen in 20 years and passed his time reminiscing with his friend.

The Oakland County Executive's Office would like to thank the following organizations for their contributions toward another successful clinic: The Palace of Auburn Hills, The Auburn Hills Police Department, The Auburn Hills Fire Department, The Oakland County Health Division and volunteers from the Community Emergency Response Team.

Oakland County will continue its school-based clinics when the Centers for Disease Control releases more vaccine to the Health Division. For further updates on future H1N1 vaccination clinics, stay tuned to the Health Division website: http://www.oakgov.com/health.