Mold Remediation in Bloomfield Hills, MI

There are only a few hours left for someone to claim a $250,000 Powerball prize before it goes to the state School Aid Fund! The ticket expires at 4:45 p.m. today.

The winning ticket from the March 11, 2024, drawing was sold at the Kroger store, located at 4099 Telegraph Road in Bloomfield Hills. The winning ticket matched the four white balls and the Powerball drawn: 01-03-07-16-66 PB: 05 to win a $50,000 prize. Thanks to the Power Play, the prize was multiplied to $250,000.

The winner should contact the Lottery’s Player Relations division at 844-917-6325 to schedule an appointment to collect the big prize. The prize must be claimed at the Lottery’s headquarters in Lansing.

Powerball tickets are valid for one year from the drawing date. The prize must be claimed by 4:45 p.m. on March 11.

If the prize isn’t claimed before the ticket expires, the money will go to the state School Aid Fund.

Powerball plays may be purchased for $2 each at Lottery retailers across the state and online at MichiganLottery.com. A “Power Play” option that multiplies non-jackpot prizes by up to 10 times to a maximum of $2 million may be added to any Powerball play for only $1. For an additional $1 per play, Double Play may be added to a Powerball ticket, giving players a second chance to win up to $10 million in the nightly Double Play drawing.

The Powerball drawing takes place at 10:59 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday and may be watched live online at: http://www.powerball.com. Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, Washington D.C., U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

A Muskegon County educator known for preparing his students for life beyond high school has been honored with an Excellence in Education award from the Michigan Lottery.

The award winner, Brian Milliron, is a high school social studies teacher and coach at Whitehall High School.

The Michigan Lottery established the Excellence in Education awards in 2014 to recognize outstanding public-school educators across the state during the school year.

Winners of the weekly award receive a $2,000 cash prize. At the end of the school year, one of the weekly award winners will be selected to receive the Lottery’s Educator of the Year award and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.

Each winner also is featured in a news segment on the Lottery’s media partner stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in Grand Rapids, FOX 47 in Lansing, WNEM-TV in Saginaw, and WWTV-TV in Traverse City. The news segment featuring Milliron will air this evening.

“Preparing students for life beyond high school is critical to maintaining successful communities throughout Michigan and beyond,” said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli. “Brian’s commitment to helping students prepare for whatever is next in their journey is inspiring.”

Milliron’s experience in high school inspired him to become an educator and his students motivate him each day.

“My high school teachers were my coaches and I loved the interaction during my high school days and this was a driving force to get me into the profession. My love for the social studies content was due to high school teachers like Ron Spitzer at Buckley Community Schools and Dr. Roger Durham at Aquinas College. I am well aware of how lucky I am to be able to teach and coach at Whitehall with some of the brightest kids in the state along with some of the best teachers in the state. Preparing students for their post high school career is an important job that I take seriously.”

Milliron was nominated for the award by his daughter.

“Brian Milliron has been a social studies teacher and coach for the last 19 years and has always gone above and beyond for his students. At school, Brian teaches seniors in Government and AP US History, coaches the Varsity Girls Basketball team and the JV/Varsity Quiz Bowl teams. Brian is dedicated to helping his seniors that are going into the work force, the military, or higher education. Outside of school, Brian participates in a number of organizations to improve his teaching and knowledge. He was the 2018 James Madison Fellow for Michigan, a four-term board member on the Michigan Council for the Social Studies, works as a Docent for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, and has been the VFW District Teacher of the Year for the past four years.”

Milliron earned a bachelor’s degree Aquinas College, and master’s degrees from Grand Valley State University and Ashland University. He has been an educator for 19 years, the last six in his current position.

Excellence in Education award nominees are evaluated on the following criteria:

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Photo provided by Scott Merchant

| Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published March 3, 2025

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BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Bloomfield Hills High School has hired former Lawrence Tech University and Chippewa Valley High School head coach Scott Merchant to be the school’s next football coach.

Last week, the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Famer made his return to high school football official. Merchant takes over a team that went just 1-8 (0-6 in the Oakland Activities Association Blue division) last season and finished last in the OAA Blue.

“I sat in the stands last season as a father,” said Merchant, who helped lead Chippewa Valley to a Division 1 state title in 2018. “My goal is just to come in here and to be a positive contributor. I just want to give these young people the best high school football experience they can have.”

One of the biggest factors in Merchant’s decision to apply for the position was the fact that Bloomfield Hills is home. Merchant’s daughter won a soccer state title with Bloomfield Hills in 2022 and he has a son who is currently on the varsity football team.

His wife also works in the Bloomfield Hills district.

“I’ve never been able to coach in the community I live in,” Merchant explained. “It was about family and home for me… It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be able to coach in my own backyard.”

Merchant has made it a focal point that the team is going to have a positive impact in the community off the field, and the program has immediately hit the ground running.

In Merchant’s first week as the head coach, the team started planning on going to local elementary schools to read to young students for National Reading Month in March, and has more events planned throughout the year.

“I also want them to get involved in the flag football program we have here,” Merchant said. “We’ll be doing a camp, hopefully, in the summer too, if I can get that scheduled.”

The impact that Merchant wants to have on the city and the community is also a big reason why Bloomfield Hills had mutual interest in bringing him on board. Aside from the long list of on-the-field accolades, the school knew that he would be a great fit for the program’s culture as well.

“The fact that he is a community resident and is very familiar with our high school, our community, and our student athletes… it’s just a great fit,” Bloomfield Hills Athletic Director Mike Cowdrey said. “He’s going to be front and center in the community.”

On the field, it will be an uphill battle for the team, but that’s something that the new coach welcomes. The goal is not only to build up a program, but to get to a point where Bloomfield Hills plays itself out of the OAA Blue.

“I’d like to see us grow to a point where we’re hopefully able to move up in the OAA,” Merchant said. “But we have to be competitive in the (OAA) Blue before that becomes a realistic expectation.”

All in all, Merchant is trying to build a culture. He wants Bloomfield Hills to become a community that’s proud of its football team and is excited about it.

“Ultimately, you want your players… to come back and coach with us,” Merchant said. “Because that’s how you build tradition… I had a lot of my former players come back to Chippewa (Valley) and coach, and it was a great experience.”

Cowdrey understands what having a successful football program can mean for a community.

“When you have a public school that has a successful program, the energy that that can create throughout the community is second to none,” Cowdrey said. “It’s something that we have lacked the last few years. Hopefully, he can reinstate that and generate some excitement.”

When speaking about the excitement surrounding Merchant leading the program, Cowdrey put it best.

“He can generate excitement,” Cowdrey said. “He’s a big-name hire.”

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Pickleball players will soon have a new place to volley, dink, and rally in Bloomfield Township.

Pickleball has been named America’s fastest growing sport, with nearly 50 million players and a projected 4.4 billion market size by 2033.

Ace Pickleball Club is helping to satisfy the demand for more courts by taking over flex and retail big box spaces across the country to provide indoor courts for year-round play. In 2024, the national pickleball franchise opened 11 new locations across the country in just its second year of operation. The company plans to open an additional 25-30 clubs in 2025.

Locally, the pickleball franchise plans to open its second facility in the state — in Bloomfield Township — this fall. Ace Pickleball Club’s first Michigan location is slated to open in Grand Rapids in April.

Real estate developer Matthew Sosin is bringing the latest pickleball franchise to the township, with plans to repurpose an existing building located at 2285 Franklin Road, off Hulett Drive.

“We’re really excited,” Sosin said.

“I would anticipate being open in September.”

The new 32,250-square-foot pickleball club will occupy the eastern portion of the building and will include 11 indoor courts, an 1,800 square foot mezzanine, as well as a snack and seating area.

Ace members can always find a fun, competitive game at the club thanks to open play, which developers say will always be available on courts for all skill levels.

“By designating courts for beginner, intermediate, and advanced players, APC’s clubs foster a more inclusive environment,” Conor Hawks, vice president of franchise growth at APC, said in a statement. “Members don’t need reservations or a set roster of friends to play. Instead, they drop in whenever it suits them, rotating into matches quickly and easily.”

The club will offer memberships — which include everything from unlimited open play and court reservations to social mixers, tournaments, clinics and more, at no extra cost. Each club location also offers a variety of programs and events for members and guests — including clinics, tournaments, social mixers, round robins, glow-in-the-dark nights and private events.

Nonalcoholic beverages, like water and Gatorade, and snacks, like energy bars, will be available for purchase inside the building. No alcohol will be served.

“We try to focus on pickleball — that’s it,” Sosin said of the food and beverage offerings. “If people have birthday parties or corporate events, they’ll bring in pizza or wings from an outside party.”

Bloomfield Township Deputy Director of Planning, Building and Ordnance Andrea Bibby presented the site plan and special land use permit to the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees Feb. 24.

The property is zoned “Research Park,” and Bibby said recreational use is allowed. Sports facilities, she noted, are considered special land uses in the Research Park District and require approval from the Board of Trustees.

“There are other similar indoor park facilities that are located north of Square Lake Road off Franklin. We’ve got the Detroit Skate Club and we’ve got the Bloomfield Tennis, (so) this would just be another indoor sports facility in that location,” she explained.

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved the site plan and special land use permit for the club Feb. 24.

“It seems like it’s in a great location up in that research park area with other similar athletic-type functions, (so) it looks great to me,” Trustee Valerie Murray said.

“With pickleball there’s always a concern about the noise, but it’s all enclosed, so it looks good.”

Trustee Neal Barnett thanked Sosin for bringing the pickleball club to the township.

“I think it’s an outstanding use of the facilities and a great location. It’s certainly going to bring a lot more recreational opportunities to our residents and the surrounding communities,” he said.

“I think it will do very well.”

Ace Pickleball Club, 2285 Franklin Road in Bloomfield Township, will be open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit acepickleballclub.com or email bloomfieldmi@acepickleballclub.com.