March 31, 2023
Bi-Weekly Executive Newsletter
Dear Friends,
This isn’t something I’ve haven’t done before, but I feel compelled to – for a second newsletter in a row – to talk a little bit more about my State of the County speech, which was held earlier this month at the Berman Center for the Performing Arts in West Bloomfield.
We talked to a group of young people before the speech, and they shared their stories in a video. They are doing such remarkable work in their communities that I just had to give them some additional attention. They are role models. They are generous and thoughtful. And they give me such great hope for the future.
Take Zoe Touray, a graduate of Oxford High School from Pontiac. Along with a group of her remarkable classmates, she turned the tragedy of that horrible day at Oxford High School into foundations that are helping students who are going through the same thing that they experienced. They traveled to Uvalde, Texas in the wake of another incident of senseless gun violence and death and offered empathy and solace and an afternoon of fun to those traumatized students.
Or Jamie and Justin Hung, twins from Troy High School, who any time they have a day off from school, volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. Jamie said it best: “Young people have this fresh new energy, and when they pour the energy into something meaningful like volunteering, it’s really powerful and young people have the power to change the world.”
Alec Dorf, a junior at Bloomfield Hills High School, turned the pain of losing his mother, Lisa, into the “Lisa Project,” that offers peer-to-peer mentoring to other students who are going through similar struggles. “I felt very alone,” he said. “And I wanted to make sure no one else had to go through that alone.”
And Avery Schwartz, an 11-year-old from Commerce Township, started the “ultimate kindness project” during the pandemic when so many people were feeling isolated and fearful. He started “Hug Buddies,” to create and mail a paper cut-out version of a hug to people who might need a boost. “If you’re feeling lonely or having anxiety, hugs can help a lot,” Avery said.
These students and so many more exemplify the values of public service: community, respect, inclusion and gratitude that are inscribed on a new Challenge Coin we handed out during the State of the County speech. I hope that the coins and these fantastic students will remind and inspire all of us to acknowledge our collective responsibility to each other, to our county and to our values.
With gratitude,
Dave Coulter
Oakland County Executive
Veteran Pilot Guides Young Pilot Through Risky Landing
On March 24, the landing gear had fallen off of pilot Taylor Hash’s single-engine plane soon after her take-off at Oakland County International Airport in Waterford. Pilot Chris Yates noticed her plane was missing this critical piece and radioed the control tower who made Hash aware. The air traffic controllers closed the runway to other planes and created an open channel for Yates to instruct Hash through the emergency landing. After this experience, the pair plan to fly together soon
Coulter Names Loftin Oakland County’s First Chief Public Defender
County Executive Dave Coulter has appointed an accomplished attorney as Oakland County's first chief public defender. Paulette Loftin has dedicated most of her 15 years in law practice to indigent criminal defense including as the indigent defense coordinator for 50th District Court in Pontiac, 51st District Court in Waterford, and Lapeer County District and Circuit Court.
"Paulette has a passion for indigent defense combined with the knowledge and skill needed to meet the challenge of building Oakland County's first public defender's office," Coulter said. "She is well regarded by other defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges."
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