FEBRUARY 2009

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SHENANDoAH 

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CONTENTS FEBRUARY 2009 

THE CHALDEAN NEWS VOLUME 6 ISSUE I 

27 33 

41 42 

on the cover 

24 clouded by debt 

By Joyce Wiswell 

Will Shenandoah weather the storm? 

features 

22 connect. click. community. 

The Chaldean News is proud to introduce 

our redesigned website 

28 Obama’s Community 

Connection 


Peter Dagher key part of transitional team 

30 Chaldeans and the City 


Detroit mayoral hopefuls answer our questions 

33 Celebrating the Epiphany 


Dozens of babies baptized in annual rite 

sports 

27 Sports Roundup 

By Steve Stein 

departments 

8 From the Editor 

10 YOUR Letters 

11 guest column 

By Neb Mekani and Mike Sarafa 

The truth about Shenandoah 

12 Noteworthy 

14 Chai Time 

16 Halhole 

21 Religion 

21 Obituaries 

35 Chaldean Palate 

By Crystal Kassab Jabiro 

Larco’s of Troy 

36 One on one 

By Crystal Kassab Jabiro 

Chaldean ‘Momma’ makes 

her mark on reality TV 

37 Chaldean For Kids 

By Melody Arabo and Margaret Shamoun 

Happy Valentine’s Day! 

38 High School Highlight 

By Caroline M. Bacall 

West Bloomfield High School: Laker Pride 

40 Classified Listings 

41 Events 

Friends and Family Hockey Night 

New Year’s with St. George 


from the EDitor 

History in the making 

pubLiSHED by 

The Chaldean News, LLC 

EDitoriAL 

EDitor iN CHiEF 

Vanessa Denha-Garmo 

mANAgiNg EDitor 

Joyce Wiswell 

CoNtributiNg WritErS 

Caroline Bacall 

Crystal Kassab Jabiro 

Steve Stein 

Art & proDuCtioN 

CrEAtiVE DirECtor 

Alex Lumelsky with SKY Creative 

grApHiC DESigNErS 

Zina Lumelsky with SKY Creative 

Joseph Sesi 

pHotogrApHErS 

David Reed 

Wilson Sarkis 

opErAtioNS 

Interlink Media 

DirECtor oF opErAtioNS 

Paul Alraihani 

CirCuLAtioN 

Brenda Koza 

CLASSiFiEDS 

Brenda Koza 

SALES 

Interlink Media 

SALES rEprESENtAtiVES 

Silvana Gorial 

Lisy Starr 

mANAgErS 

Vanessa Denha-Garmo 

Martin Manna 

Michael Sarafa 

SubSCriptioNS: $20 pEr yEAr 

tHE CHALDEAN NEWS • 

005 NortHWEStErN HWy., 

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pH: 28-55-850 

Publication: The Chaldean News (P-6); Published 

monthly; Issue Date: FEBRUARY 2009 Subscriptions: 

12 months, $20. Publication Address: 30095 Northwestern 

Hwy., Suite 102, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; Application 

to Mail at Periodicals Postage Rates is Pending at 

Farmington Hills Post Offi ce Postmaster: Send address 

changes to “The Chaldean News 30095 Northwestern 

Hwy., Suite 102, Farmington Hills, MI 48334” 

It is a rare moment when 

you are part of history in 

the making and even more 

of a rarity to say you have witnessed 

it. Some of you still 

talk about where you were 

when President Kennedy was 

shot. More of us alive today 

still live with the anxiety and 

fear that was brought on by 

the attacks of 9-11. Never did 

we think airplanes would be 

used as weapons to kill thousands of 

people on our own soil. Now another 

generation has witnessed history as 

the majority gives a minority an opportunity. 

So many people never believed that 

they would be alive to see the fi rst black 

man sworn into offi ce as President of 

the United States. But they 

witnessed history in the 

making just last month. 

Whether you voted for 

Barack Obama or not, this 

time will be reminisced 

about in years to come, 

written in text books and 

taught in classes. Whether 

he proves to be the right 

choice or bad choice as 

this country’s leader, history 

was made. 

And like many stories – big or small 

– we bring you the Chaldean angle to it. 

There is one here as well. Joyce Wiswell 

features a community man who worked 

closely on the Obama campaign, and 

in her story he shares his insight about 

the 44th president. 

Here in Michigan are Christian refugees 

who have also lived through history, 

recently as victims of the war in 

Iraq. We saw the capture of Saddam 

Hussein as well as his execution on 

vanessa 

denha-garMo 

editoR in chieF 

television but these people 

lived through the destruction 

and demise. 

It was history in the making 

for Christian Iraqis. 

We also witnessed history 

in the making when, for 

the fi rst time, a seated Detroit 

mayor was behind bars on 

the day Barack Obama won 

the presidency. One African- 

American man, who should 

have been at the forefront during this 

historical moment, sits behind bars. 

One African-American leader is locked 

up while another African-American is 

elected to lead this country. One would 

say, in some way, he missed history being 

part of history in the making. 

Also in this issue, we cover the lead 

candidates in the race for Detroit mayor. 

The question we want to know is not 

only who is the best to lead Detroit, but 

who will work best with the Chaldean 

community, especially the business 

owners in the city? 

On a smaller scale, many of us witnessed 

a dream in the making, and that 

was the construction of Shenandoah 

Country Club in West Bloomfi eld. Since 

its inception, the club has faced some 

challenges and setbacks. In this issue 

Joyce Wiswell reports on Shenandoah’s 

fi nancial troubles, and Neb Mekani 

and Mike Sarafa offer an op-ed piece 

about the future of the club. 

One could even say that the launch 

of The Chaldean News in 2004 was a 

historical moment for us as a community. 

It is a publication that not only brings the 

news on a regular basis but it will serve 

as a document for future generations. 

History is being made on a regular 

basis in a small way and we document 

it every month in our issues. 

Now we launch the new Chaldean 

News website that will bring more 

up-to-date and current news with a 

click of the computer. It will serve to 

enhance our monthly publication and 

constantly keep you abreast of the 

happenings in our community and how 

mainstream stories have affected us 

Whether you voted for barack obama or not, this 

time will be reminisced about in years to come, 

written in text books and taught in classes. Whether 

he proves to be the right choice or bad choice as 

this country’s leader, history was made. 

as Chaldeans. 

We are a historical people – ancient 

in fact – living in modern times. 

We have been written about in books 

over centuries, including the fi rst chapter 

of the Bible. In one way or another 

all of us are a part of the world’s history, 

whether we were alive to witness 

events or not. 

May we learn from our past and 

plan for the future and always be proud 

of who we are as a people — a historical 

people! 



your LEttErS 

it’s obvious: 

Buy american 

I am an Engineering 

Senior Manager 

at Chrysler LLC 

and have been proudly 

employed there for more 

than 17 years. I and many of 

our recent Chaldean generation 

engineering professionals are 

employed by the Domestic Big 

Three or suppliers and depend on them 

for our livelihood. In my case alone, I 

have fi ve family members tied to the 

U.S. auto industry. 

It saddens me to read the “Car 

Trouble — Industry Blues Spread 

Throughout Community” article [January 

2009] and the secondary economic 

impact it’s having on our community 

outside the auto business (liquor 

stores, doctor’s offi ces, banks, hotels, 

restaurants, etc.). 

Our community’s wealth and prosperity 

was built by the U.S. auto industry 

and all that it has provided to us 

when our grandparents fi rst stepped 

foot on this great country in the early 

1900s. No one can deny that the U.S. 

auto industry built the foundation for the 

pillars that our Chaldean community 

stands for today. 

We all need to step back and ask 

ourselves, “what would happen to my or 

my parents’ or brothers’ or sisters’ business 

or job if the Big Three no longer 

existed?” The answer is not pretty nor 

do we want to imagine the potential devastation 

it will have to the Detroit Metro 

area, let alone the U.S. economy. 

When you put the “credit crunch” 

issue that is plaguing the industry as a 

whole to the side, the rest is up to us as 

consumers. The fact is our community 

has as much blame as the rest of the 

car consumers in this country with purchase 

of foreign-built cars over those 

made in the U.S. If you want to confi rm 

my statement just observe the ratio of 

foreign versus U.S. cars next time you 

attend a Chaldean function or when 

you go to one of our churches for Sunday 

mass. 

There are also those in our community 

who own foreign cars and will 

take the hypocrite approach and criticize 

the U.S. automakers and quality of 

their products. We quickly forget how 

dependent our liquor stores or gas 

stations are on the customer base 

that is employed by the Big Three and 

extended enterprise. I have personally 

witnessed these conversations and 

quite honestly it upsets me knowing it’s 

not true. The U.S. auto worker, its salaried 

leadership and suppliers are some 

of the hardest-working and dedicated 

people you will ever know. Those 

reading this letter who are engineering 

professionals employed by the Big 

Three or suppliers appreciate the passion 

and emotion in my voice, because 

outside of family we devote our life to 

our job and career. 

The perception that today’s foreignengineered 

and -built cars are better 

than U.S. for quality and safety is simply 

not true. U.S.-built cars have come 

a long way the past fi ve to seven years 

and are just as reliable and safe as foreign. 

How can our community help the 

U.S. auto industry and the economy 

that it relies so heavily on for its livelihood? 

The answer is simple and 

obvious. For those in our community 

who have always supported the Big 

Three, we sincerely thank you for your 

continued support. And for those who 

have purchased foreign cars in the 

past, please buy cars that are proudly 

engineered and manufactured by the 

Big Three when making your next purchase. 

I ask our community to rally behind 

the Big Three and make a 2009 new 

year’s resolution: If you are in the market 

for a new car, purchase one from 

the Big Three! 

– Hadeer Konja 

Farmington Hills 

Biting the hand that feeds 

I loved your cover story of “Car Trouble.” 

Kind of funny how many Chaldeans 

in the Detroit area drive tons 

of foreign cars, and when a Chaldean 

worker at Ford, like myself, and my father 

(a Ford retiree) who have told them 

for at least 10 years to drive American, 

we get strange looks or other responses 

that indicate our people still prefer 

foreign cars. 

Well, all I have to say is if you bite the 

hand that feeds you then you do not get 

fed, as is the case nowadays. Thank you 

for this article. A bumper sticker quote is 

beginning to surface in this area and it 

says, “Lost your job? Then sleep in your 

foreign car.” Same is also true for your 

business or store, etc. 

– Christian Yousif 

West Bloomfi eld 

‘horrific consequences’ 

I’m a Chaldean American and I’m ecstatic 

to see our people living the socalled 

American Dream. However, I 

believe we have compromised our principles 

as well as tradition and culture 

to live this dream, thus disallowing us 

to foresee the horrifi c consequences of 

adopting this westernized mindset to 

obtain this dream. 

When we view our Eastern heritage 

that our ancestors govern their lives 

from, our principles were intact, our 

tradition practiced, and we lived within 

our culture that assured us we would 

develop from that culture men, women 

and children who would be fi lled with 

wisdom, morality and obedience to 

God, that we could strive for a destiny 

that held “greatness.” 

Our children and grandchildren 

must not have their future destroyed 

by remaining asleep to this western 

culture that has people living in it acting 

other than themselves. No matter 

where we are on God’s earth, we must 

be the people that God intended for us 

to be, righteous! 

Remember last year when Governor 

Jennifer Granholm gave acknowledgment 

to the Chaldean people for 

providing employment for the citizens 

of Michigan? Why then are we struggling 

to survive, losing our homes, behind 

on our bills and putting material 

things before family? Money – the root 

of all evils! 

Let’s end the war in Iraq by telling 

our people the truth, and getting the 

American forces and their allies out of 

Iraq as soon as possible. 

May God bless our country and 

our people to unite as One Family, with 

One Common Objective, and give our 

Submission to The One God. 

I pray that I haven’t offended any 

readers, but if I have please forgive me 

for it wasn’t my intent. 

Remember, “Don’t nothing come to 

a sleeper but a dream.” Peace! 

– Jeremiah Suleiman 

Kincheloe 

Letters to the editor are welcome. 

Please keep your letter to less than 

500 words and include your city. 

The Chaldean News reserves the right 

to edit letters for clarity and length. 

Submit your letter via email to 

info@chaldeannews.com or mail to: 

The Chaldean News, Letters to the 

Editor, 30095 Northwestern Highway, 

Suite 102, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 


GUEST column 

The truth about Shenandoah 

By Neb Mekani and Mike Sarafa 

The truth is that, today, 

Shenandoah Country Club 

stands as a testament to 

the vision of our forefathers; it 

remains one of the main centers 

of activity in the community; and it 

thrives as one of the premier destination 

banquet halls and public 

golf courses in the metropolitan 

Detroit area. It is also true that it is 

overloaded with a debt structure 

that is not viable in the long term. 

neb mekani 

Special to the 

chaldean news 

Many clubs and community centers around the 

country suffered badly as the wheels came off the 

economic bus in 2008. The Detroit area has been 

hit especially hard as declining real estate values and 

high unemployment were exacerbated by a floundering 

auto industry. These events severely impacted 

consumer spending across the board 

which has taken a toll on the retail sector. 

A recent national study by the National 

Golf Foundation found that golf rounds 

are down by 22 percent and nearly 60 

percent of clubs operate at a loss. Amazingly, 

Shenandoah had its best year ever 

in terms of gross revenues in 2008. Also, 

most clubs have a waiting list to get out, 

meaning that their members cannot resign 

until someone is available to take 

their place; a provision that Shenandoah 

does not have but should. 

Even while picking up dozens of new 

members over the last couple years, overall 

membership numbers are on the decline. 

There were three main periods of attrition. 

The first occurred in late 2004 when 

Southfield Manor closed. Many members 

left due to the lack of proximity of Shenandoah 

to their homes or lack of interest in 

the new amenities being offered around 

the sports complex, swimming pool and 

proposed cultural center. The fact is that many simply 

wanted a coffee shop and weren’t willing to share the 

financial burden of a larger complex. 

The first year of operation of the new facility in 

2005 was a bust. Gross revenues missed projections 

by 40 percent. The club was top heavy with excessive 

management. An attempt was made to quickly 

and dramatically change the culture, habits and traditions 

of the club which, even though they were being 

implemented with the best of intentions, ended up 

backfiring. It was a difficult year. Members were approached 

for temporary loans that came due this past 

year but were not repaid. These events caused the 

board to have to raise dues causing another round of 

resignations. 

The third round came over the course of 2008 

as individual member’s businesses suffered, the 

stock market plummeted and commercial and real 

estate values declined. There can be no question 

Mike Sarafa 

Special to the 

chaldean news 

Times are tough — but Shenandoah is here to stay. 

that the economy has taken a toll 

on the community. 

We are not alone, however. 

The most prestigious clubs in the 

area are hurting as the “walk-away 

risk” of their membership becomes 

greater and greater. Golf courses 

are closing or being put up for sale 

all around us. (This actually helped 

Shenandoah as golf rounds in 

2008 slightly surpassed those in 

2007, reaching close to full capacity 

for Michigan golf courses.) Sources say two very 

prestigious Jewish clubs are talking about merging. 

Nonetheless, operations at Shenandoah are now 

stabilized under the leadership of Kamel Kassem. 

Since he joined us in 2006, the respective boards and 

he have been able to cut $1.5 million out of the operational 

costs. We know that service issues arise 

from time to time. We continue to try to improve in this 

area. It is an ongoing process made more difficult by 

the tough financial circumstances. On a positive note, 

the quality of food and consistency have never been 

better. Much of this is due to efforts of our head chef, 

Lee Sharkis. It remains true that there is not a better 

place to enjoy great Middle Eastern and continental 

cuisine in the area. 

Programs and activities are constantly in full swing 

whether it is children or adult basketball, soccer, indoor 

volleyball, pilates classes, kick-boxing classes, swimming 

lessons and more. On the social front, the New 

Year’s Eve Party was a huge success and Arabic Nights 

continue to be very popular. During the slow season, 

there is much to do from the Super Bowl Party, Valentine’s 

Dance, poker tournaments and other events. 

The point is that Shenandoah remains very vibrant. 

It is also true that it is not just a coffee house any more, 

and, if that is what one is looking for, Shenandoah is 

probably not for you. It is a true family club and community 

center. That was the vison, that is what was 

built and that is what exists. 

Of course, more could always be done in all these 

areas — membership, service, programs, etc. More 

could be done to drive revenues. And more is being 

done to cut costs such as the decision to move dining 

to the lower level for January and February. None of 

these things or even all of them together would help 

us dig out of this hole. We have just one problem: 

an unmanageable debt load for the existing operations 

and membership to support. 

We have hired a firm that specializes in turnaround 

and workout situations to advise us and negotiate with 

the banks. To date, all indications are that the banks 

want to work with us through this difficult period. What 

is still not clear is the final solution to the debt load. We 

know it has to be reduced and that there 

are only a couple of ways to get there. Everything 

remains on the table. 

There is no doubt that Shenandoah 

is struggling. As the membership goes, 

so goes it. If we could do it over again 

knowing what we know now, it would 

have been built smaller, less expensively 

and with greater care taken to avoid cost 

overruns and excessive change orders. 

The decision to redo and expand the 

lower level after it was already completed 

proved to be a huge financial detriment. 

This is water under the bridge. It has 

been four years. We need to move on and 

deal with the situation as it presents itself. 

We have lowered dues to make it more 

affordable for new members to join and 

current members to stay. We have an aggressive 

social membership program. We 

have gone to monthly payments to ease 

the burden on families that would like to be 

involved. You can now be a member for a 

mere $200 a month — absolutely one of the best deals 

in town and not much more than that family membership 

at Lifetime that you may or may not use. 

The current board and Finance Committee are 

working diligently towards a solution. It will take time. 

We’ve tapped some of the sharpest business people 

in our community for help and we are being guided by 

very knowledgeable consultants. While the truth is 

not pretty, it is not nearly as bad as some of the rumors 

out there. It is not very likely that those naysayers, 

who think the club will or want it to close, will get their 

way. It is more likely that future generations will be 

able to enjoy an even better place. 

But one way or another, Shenandoah will survive. 

Rest assured. 

That is the truth. 

Neb Mekani is president of Shenandoah and Mike 

Sarafa is a past president of the club. 


noteworthy 

Courtesy of the Detroit Jewish News 

lem of Christians fleeing the Middle East, 

paying Christian witnesses in a predominantly 

Muslim world, relations with Muslims, 

the role of Christians in civil and 

political life, lack of full religious freedom 

and Christians’ prospects for the future. 

Syrian Archbishop Basile Casmoussa 

of Mosul agreed that church 

leaders need to forge a concrete and 

clear plan for the future. 

“Otherwise we will always just 

be following our parishioners, and 

sooner or later we will be following 

them abroad as our churches and 

communities disappear from Iraq and 

transfer out of the country,” he said. 

Chaldeans Lend 

Support to Israel 

Area Chaldeans joined a pro-Israel 

demonstration on January 4 in West 

Bloomfield. “We all have to stand as 

one right now,” Lena Dabich told the 

Detroit Jewish News. “The world is 

fighting against these people – not just 

Jews. We have to support each other.” 

The event was in reaction to an anti-Israel 

protest the day before by Palestinian 

supporters of the Gaza conflict. 

Wear It with Pride 

A new bracelet lets people show their 

support of the Adopt-A-Refugee Family 

program. 

The blue plastic bracelet gives the 

website for the Chaldean Federation 

of America charity – www.adoptarefugeefamily.org. 

The bracelets are being sold on a 

donation basis at the CFA and at community 

events. 

Al Zara is co-owner of Ink Apparel, 

which donated the bracelets. “We 

chose blue because it’s similar to the 

color of the CFA logo,” he said. “We 

want people to see the bracelet and 

know right away that that is a person 

who supports the Adopt-A-Refugee 

program.” 

The company manufactured 1,000 

bracelets and hopes to make more as 

demand warrants. 

More Money Raised 

for Refugees 

More than 2,900 refugees were assisted 

in January by the Adopt-A-Refugee 

Family program from the Chaldean 

Federation of America. More than 

$45,000 was sent overseas in January. 

To date, $665,000 has been raised 

by the program, which supplies funds 

directly to Iraqi refugee families. Learn 

more at www.adoptarefugee.org, or 

call (248) 851-3023. 

Iraqi Bishops 

Seek Synod 

Iraqi Catholic bishops called on Pope 

Benedict XVI to convene a synod to 

address the mass exodus of Christians 

from the Middle East and the lack of full 

religious freedom there, Catholic News 

Service reports. 

The Bishops, in Rome for their “ad 

limina” visits to report on the status of 

their dioceses, spoke during a January 

22 press conference at Vatican Radio. 

Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of 

Kirkuk said a general synod dedicated 

to the challenges Christians face in 

the Middle East would help the church 

Chaldeans 

show solidarity 

with their 

Jewish 

neighbors. 

forge a clear plan of action for the present 

and future. 

“We can’t do anything by ourselves 

that would be as well-researched, -prepared 

and -analyzed” as it would be 

during a two- or three-week synod, he 

said. “We have no vision [so] a general 

synod would help us — all the Bishops 

— to better see and study [the issues] 

together with the help of experts and 

the Holy See.” 

A synod also would help the Bishops 

come up with ways to tackle those 

problems and prepare for the future, he 

added. 

“If there is no clear position or vision 

then Christians will no longer be present 

in the Middle East. Slowly they will leave 

this land that we call blessed but is now 

damned,” Archbishop Sako said. 

He said topics of top priority for a 

potential synod would include the prob- 

Christian 

Killed in Mosul 

The Christian owner of a car repair 

shop was killed execution-style in Mosul, 

police said on January 17, raising 

concern about the possibility of new 

attacks against the religious minority in 

the northern Iraqi city. 

The body of the 36-year-old man 

who was shot in the head was found 

on January 15, according to police and 

hospital officials, speaking to the Associated 

Press on condition of anonymity 

because they were not authorized to 

talk to the media. 

Another Christian man, an engineer 

in the city’s water department, was 

kidnapped in early January but was 

released four days later after his family 

paid a $50,000 ransom. 

Nobody claimed responsibility for the 

killing or the kidnapping, but they followed 

a pattern of violence and intimidation that 

sent thousands of Christians fleeing from 

their homes in Mosul in the fall. 

Bassem Balu, an official with 

the Democratic Assyrian Movement, 

sought to maintain calm, saying the 

motives for this week’s killing were not 

yet known. The movement is the largest 

Christian party. 

“For the time being, I do not think that 

this will slow the return of the Christians 

to Mosul,” he said. “I hope that this murder 

won’t signal the start of a new campaign 

against the Christians in Mosul.” 

Some Mosul residents have filtered 

back since the fall exodus, but others remain 

with relatives in the safer countryside 

or have sought refuge in neighboring 

Syria despite government pledges of 

financial support and protection. 

Reflecting the continued fear, Christian 

candidates running for the January 

31 provincial elections have not been 

campaigning in Mosul but were limiting 

their activities to Christian areas outside 

the city. 


Saad Tanyous, one of the candidates 

seeking a seat on the provincial 

council, said Christians were not even 

putting posters on the walls in Mosul. 

Silvana Gorial 

Auday Arabo 

Jibran “Jim” Manna 

Nancy Attisha 

Marten Brikho 

Nicole Hakim Yohn 

People 

Silvana Gorial has joined the Chaldean 

News as a sales representative. She 

most recently sold advertising space 

in Chaldean Commerce, the Chaldean 

Chamber’s annual directory; and before 

that was a mortgage consultant. 

Auday Arabo has been named to the 

newly created position of chief operating 

offi cer at the Associated Food and Petroleum 

Dealers. Arabo was previously president 

and CEO of the California-based 

Neighborhood Market Association. 

Janice Kizy has joined the Chaldean 

Chamber Foundation as a Tri-Lingual 

Therapist/Translator. Her previous 

employment with Hospice Advantage 

consisted of assisting terminally ill patients 

and their families. Her new role 

with the Foundation, made possible 

thanks to a state grant, is to provide 

mental health services to Iraqi refugees 

who have settled in the Metro Detroit 

area within the last two years. 

Jibran “Jim” Manna has been appointed 

a commissioner on the West 

Bloomfi eld Planning Commission. His 

term runs through 2010. Manna, a 21- 

year Realtor, is an Associate Broker at 

Keller Williams Realty and serves as an 

ambassador for the Chaldean American 

Chamber of Commerce in Membership 

Recruitment. 

Nancy Attisha has been named a 

Teacher of the Year by Walled Lake 

Schools. She teaches at Central High 

School. 

Marten Brikho has joined Troybased 

Colonial Life Insurance Company 

as employee benefi ts coordinator, assisting 

small business owners in fi nding 

low-cost healthcare coverage. He has 

been in the insurance business since 

2004. 

Sam Kas-Mikha has been indicted in 

the Martial Arts Hall of Fame by the World 

Council of Professional Martial Artists. 

Sam Kas-Mikha 

The honor places him in the ranks of the 

greatest of all martial arts masters. 

Actress Nicole Hakim Yohn has 

been named vice president of the 

Screen Actors Guild, Detroit Branch. 

She has served as the committee chair 

for the Detroit Branch’s Membership 

and Conservatory Committees, as well 

as the Screen Actors Guild’s 75th Anniversary 

Celebration Committee. She 

has performed in productions around 

the United States and in England, Ger- 


CHAI time 

chaldeans conNecting 

community events in and around metro detroit february 2009 

[Sunday, February 1] 

Super Bowl: Super Bowl party with 

buffet dinner and cash bar begins at 

5 p.m. at Shenandoah Country Club. 

Tickets are $50. (248) 454-1932. 

[Wednesday, February 4] 

Cigars: Smokandoah Chaldean Cigar 

Club meets at Shenandoah Country 

Club at 6:30 p.m. Non-members are 

welcome with a member. 

[Monday, February 9] 

Bible and Brew: Informal Bible study 

at Dick O’Dow’s in downtown Birmingham. 

8-10 p.m. Patrice@ecrc.us. 

[Saturday, February 14] 

Valentine’s Party: Ameed Asmaro & 

the Al-Shams Band and DJ Wiz provide 

entertainment. Party also includes 

dinner and super-premium bar. Tickets 

are $75 in advance, $85 at the door. 8 

p.m., Shenandoah Country Club; nonmembers 

welcome. (248) 454-1932. 

[Thursday, February 19] 

Industry Outlook: Chaldean Chamber 

of Commerce presents a look at 

the franchising business with networking 

and a panel discussion. 6-9 p.m., 

Shenandoah Country Club. Free for 

members, $20 for non-members. 

(248) 538-3700 or lakou@chaldeanchamber.com. 

[Monday, February 23] 

Bible and Brew: Informal Bible study 

at Dick O’Dow’s in downtown Birmingham. 

8-10 p.m. Patrice@ecrc.us. 

[Saturday, February 28] 

Arabian Night: Themed event takes 

place at Shenandoah Country Club in 

the Mixed Grille. (248) 538-3700. 

Bowling: Fundraiser for Adopt-a-Refugee 

Family includes bowling, auctions, 

raffles, pizza and soft drinks. 1-4 p.m., 

Country Lanes, Farmington Hills. 

(248) 851-3023. 



HALHOLE! 

[Births] 

Alana Rose 

Alana Rose Armenti was the first 

baby of the 2009 New Year in 

Summerville, South Carolina. She 

was born at 8:13 a.m. weighing 7 

lbs., 15 oz. and stretching out at 

19 inches. She is the first child 

of Chris & Jennifer Armenti and 

the ninth grandchild to Sabah & 

Maryann Garmo. Alana received 

a big write-up as a New Year’s 

baby in her local newspaper, the 

Summerville Journal Scene. 

Alana Rose 

Hailey Rita 

Big brother Luke is so excited to 

announce the arrival of his sweet, 

lovable and precious sister Hailey 

Rita. Hailey Rita was born on 

August 12, 2008. She weighed 

in at 6 lbs., 15 oz. and was 19 

inches long. She is the proud 

daughter of Raki & Nora Faouna. 

Our precious angel’s grandparents 

are Sabah & Amira Faouna 

and Akram & May Shaouni. Her 

godmother is Nillian Shaouni. 

Hailey Rita 

www.AdamandEveMI.com 

 

 

 

 

Brooklyn Heather 

Timothy & Avita Nafso are so 

happy and blessed to announce 

the birth of their angel Brooklyn 

Heather Nafso. Brooklyn was 

born on June 9, 2008 at 7:44 

p.m. at Beaumont Hospital in 

Royal Oak. She weighed 7 lbs. 

and was 21 inches in length. 

She is the eighth grandchild for 

Thamir & Faiza Nafso and the 

first for Thamir & Ikhlas Kashat. 

Godparents are Jada Nafso and 

Tommy Nafso. 

Cameron Jamil 

Cameron Jamil Atcho was born 

on November 1, 2008 to firsttime 

parents Neena & Jimmy 

Atcho. Grandparents are Ghazi 

& Pauline Kalasho and Hashim & 

Faten Atcho. 

Brooklyn Heather 

7421 Orchard Lake Road • West Bloomfield, MI 48322 

(Just North Of 14 Mile Road) 

248-562-7555 

Violet Ann 

A sister is a friend forever. Sophia 

is so excited to have a sister 

to teach her things and to always 

be there for her. Violet Ann Kainaya 

was born on September 17, 

2008 at 11:39 p.m. at Beaumont 

Hospital in Troy. Violet weighed 5 

lbs., 5 oz. and measured 18 inches 

long. Happy parents are Robert 

& Nora Kainaya. Violet is the 

fifth grandchild of Jalila Kainaya & 

the late Nashat Kainaya and the 

sixth for Moayad & Bernadette 

George. The proud and excited 

godmother is Natalie Shallal. 

Cameron Jamil 

Violet Ann 


Gia Marie 

We thank the Lord who has 

blessed us with a girl from above, 

a darling daughter for us to love. 

Big brother Preston is happy to 

announce the birth of his sister 

Gia Marie, born on September 

15, 2008 at 4:49 p.m. weighing 

7 lbs., 1 oz. and measuring 

21 inches. Joy-fi lled parents are 

Jason & Angela Brikho. Gia’s 

grandparents are Basim & Najiba 

Brikho and Saadi & Faiza Manjo. 

David Joseph 

God has blessed us with this bundle 

of joy. Proud parents David & 

Laura Mona are pleased to announce 

the birth of their fi rst-born 

child, David Joseph Mona Jr., 

on June 12, 2008. He weighed 

5 lbs., 8 oz. and was 18 inches 

long. David is the fi rst grandchild 

for Jamal & Thikra Nafso and the 

fi fth for Agoubi Mona and Basma 

Balou. Godparents are Renee 

Antoun and Steve Mona. 

Carly Ann 

We are proud to announce the 

arrival of our beautiful baby girl, 

Carly Ann. She was born to Andrew 

& Vanessa (Yaldoo) Manning 

on August 24, 2008 at 6:52 

a.m., weighing 7 lbs., 6 oz. and 

measuring 20 inches. Carly was 

born at Gulf Coast Hospital in Ft. 

Meyers, Florida, where her family 

now lives. Carly is the second 

grandchild for Gary & Ilen Manning 

and the third for George & 

Basima Yaldoo. Carly was baptized 

at St. Thomas Church by 

her proud aunt, Valerie Nagara. 

Jonah Joseph 

God has blessed us from Heaven 

above with a bundle of joy, a new 

baby boy! Noah and Lourdes are 

excited to announce the birth of 

their baby brother, Jonah Joseph 

Qonja. He was born on March 13, 

2008 at 2:39 p.m. He weighed 6 

lbs., 11 oz. and was 19.75 inches 

long. Proud parents are Karl & 

Crystal Qonja. Jonah is the third 

grandchild for both Zuher & Haifa 

Qonja and Naela Asmaro and 

Tariq Zetouna. Godfather is cousin 

and best friend Harry Bahri. 

Gia Marie 

David Joseph 

Carly Ann 

Jonah Joseph 

[Engagements] 

Molly and James 

Gary & Doris Jonna are pleased 

to announce the engagement of 

their son, James George Jonna 

II (grandson of James & Selma 

Jonna), to Molly Mae Moore, 

daughter of Keith & Jill Moore of 

Cheboygan, Michigan. A summer 

wedding is planned. The couple 

will reside in Ann Arbor where they 

will continue their pre-med studies 

at the University of Michigan. 

Molly and James 


HALHOLE! 

Christina and Randy 

Majad & Bahira Kasmikha are 

proud to announce the engagement 

of their daughter, Christina, 

to Randy, son of Ameer & Angel 

Thomas. The couple celebrated 

their engagement with family and 

friends on November 29, 2008. The 

wedding is set to take place in July 

2009 at Mother of God Church followed 

by a reception at Farmington 

Hills Manor. 

Christina and Randy 

[Weddings] 

Furat and Rawaa 

Ibrahim & Batoul Kassab are proud 

to announce the marriage of their 

son, Furat Kassab, to Rawaa Razouki, 

the daughter of Fouad & Amira 

Razouki. The wedding took place in 

San Diego, California on August 10, 

2008 in St. Peter Chaldean Catholic 

Cathedral with a reception at St. Peter 

Hall. The best man was Furat’s 

cousin, Jon Kassab, and the maid of 

honor was Rawaa’s sister, Raneen 

Razouki. The couple enjoyed their 

honeymoon in Hawaii. 

Jamie and Scott 

On August 26, 2008 Scott Hakim, 

son of Zouhair & Amira Hakim, and 

Jamie Orow, daughter of Hamid & 

Mesouda Orow & the late Naziha 

Orow, made a promise for life to continue 

their joy as husband and wife. 

They began their new life-long journey 

together in South Beach, Florida; 

Costa Rica, and Las Vegas. 

Stephanie and Jimmy 

Stephanie Jarbo, daughter of the 

late Anahid Jarbo, became the wife 

of Jimmy Jundy, son of Zahaa Jundy 

and Dhikra Thuwany, on August 20, 

2008. The wedding was held at St. 

Thomas Church and the reception at 

Penna’s of Sterling Heights. The best 

man was Justin Jundy and the maid of 

honor was Shivon Jarbo. The couple 

enjoyed a honeymoon in Hawaii. 

Melanie and Justin 

A life of caring, sharing a love of endless 

giving together … making their 

friendship so true, two hearts joined 

in love and united forever in love. 

With joy and happiness Nohada Yono 

& the late Yousif Yono are honored to 

announce the marriage of their son 

Justin, to Melanie, daughter of Nazar 

& Salama Nafsu. Their wedding ceremony 

took place on November 2, 

2008 at Mother of God Church and 

was followed by a reception at Penna’s 

of Sterling Heights. Justin and 

Melanie started their journey with a 

Hawaiian honeymoon. 

Furat and Rawaa 

Jamie and Scott 

Stephanie and Jimmy 

Melanie and Justin 



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RELIGION 

obituaries 

places of prayer 

chaldean churches in and around metro detroit 

THE DIOCESE OF ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE IN THE UNITED STATES 

St. Thomas Chaldean Catholic Diocese 

25603 Berg Road, Southfield, MI 48033; (248) 351-0440 

Mar (Bishop) Ibrahim N. Ibrahim 

www.chaldeandiocese.org 

MOTHER OF GOD CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

25585 Berg Road, Southfield, MI 48034; (248) 356-0565 

Rector: Rev. Manuel Boji 

Parochial Vicar: Rev. Wisam Matti 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays except Tuesday, 10 a.m.; 

Tuesday, St. Anthony prayer at 5 p.m. followed by mass at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, 

5:15 p.m. 

in English; Sunday: 8:30 a.m. in Arabic, 10 a.m. in English, 12 noon in Chaldean 

SACRED HEART CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

310 W. Seven Mile Road, Detroit, MI 48203; (313) 368-6214 

Pastor: Rev. Jacob Yasso 

Mass Schedule: Friday, 6 p.m. in Chaldean, Sunday 11 a.m. in Chaldean 

MAR ADDAI CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

24010 Coolidge Hwy, Oak Park, MI 48237; (248) 547-4648 

Pastor: Rev. Stephen Kallabat 

Parochial Vicars: Rev. Fadi Habib Khalaf, Rev. Suleiman Denha 

Mass Schedule: Weekday masses at 12 noon. 

Sunday 10 a.m. in Sourath and Arabic; 12:30 p.m. in Sourath 

ST. GEORGE CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

45700 Dequindre Road, Shelby Township, MI 48317; (586) 254-7221 

Pastor: Rev. Emanuel Hana Isho Shaleta 

Assistant Pastor: Rev. Basel Yaldo 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 10 a.m.; Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday: 8:30 a.m. in 

Chaldean, 10 a.m. in Arabic, 11:30 a.m. in English, 1 p.m. in Chaldean. Baptisms: 

2:30 p.m. on Sundays. 

ST. JOSEPH CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

2442 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy, MI 48083; (248) 528-3676 

Pastor: Msgr. Zouhair Toma (Kejbou) 

Parochial Vicar: Fr. Sameem Balius 

Mass Schedule: Weekdays, 10 a.m. in Chaldean; Saturday, 5 p.m. in English and 

Chaldean; Sunday, 8 a.m. in Chaldean, 9:30 a.m. in Arabic, 11 a.m. in English, 

12:30 p.m. in Chaldean. Baptisms: 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. 

ST. MARY HOLY APOSTOLIC CATHOLIC 

ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST 

4320 E. 14 Mile Road, Warren, MI 48092; (586) 825-0290 

Rector: Fr. Benjamin Benjamin 

Mass Schedule: Sunday, 9 a.m. Assyrian; noon Assyrian and English 

ST. THOMAS CHALDEAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 

6900 Maple Road, West Bloomfield, MI 48322; (248) 788-2460 

Pastor: Rev. Frank Kalabat 

Rev. Emanuel Rayes (retired) 

Parochial Vicar: Rev. Jirgus Abrahim 

Mass Schedule: Monday-Friday 10 a.m. in Sourath, Saturday 5 p.m. in English, 

Sunday 9 a.m. in English, 10:30 a.m. in English, 12:30 p.m. in Sourath 

ST. TOMA SYRIAC CATHOLIC CHURCH 

2560 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48335; (248) 478-0835 

Pastor: Rev. Toma Behnama 

Mass Schedule: Sunday 12 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 6 p.m. 

All masses are in Syriac, Arabic and English 

Margo Sitto 

Margo Sitto 

Margo Sitto was a truly loving woman. She was the 

second-oldest daughter born on November 1, 1928 

in Telkaif, Iraq, to Namu and Narmi Sitto. She was a 

sister to six, an aunt to 18 and their spouses and a 

great-aunt to 21. 

She never married and was THE aunt — the one 

who does everything she can for you and all her family. 

She always gave you the attention you wanted or needed, 

and she didn’t judge any of her family, but she always 

prayed for them so that God’s help would find us all. 

Margo traveled around the world. Many of her travels 

were religiously motivated, some were for fun. She 

went to Alaska, Greece, Portugal, Russia and Yugoslavia 

to visit the sites of the Virgin Mary. Also Rome, 

where she was invited to participate in mass by Pope 

John Paul — not just once, but twice! To celebrate 

her 80th birthday, she and her sisters-in-law with adult 

daughters traveled to Las Vegas. 

Margo was an amazingly energetic person with a 

happy vibe. And she truly enjoyed her life, not just for 

herself but for all the many nieces and nephews. She 

lived and cared for her mother and died due to a long 

fight with cancer. She also had the most impressive 

fruit garden, and she could cook — even better than 

her own mother. When a few of her family members 

became vegetarian, she always made sure there was 

a dish waiting for them; this was on a day-to-day basis, 

not only on special occasions, because there were always 

families at her house. She made sure that all her 

family felt welcomed and connected. 

Margo was definitely a fighter. She was first diagnosed 

20 years ago and was actually told she had five 

years to live and she fought it. She was a woman who 

also didn’t worry about herself and made herself and 

everyone around her happy. 

Her family will truly miss her as she was a true 

inspiration to live your life not for yourself, but for the 

people you love. 

Other 

Recent 

Community 

Deaths 

Mikha Y. Gorguis 

January 19, 2009 

Aziz Khamo Goriel 


Aziz Yousif Meshena 


Evleen P. Shamon 


Nassir Esho 


Yousif H. Nafsu 


Jamila Hermiz 

Hakim 


Philip Rayes 


Pius S. Shoraji 


Gourgia Jonna 

Odish 


Naima Behnam 

Franso 

December 29, 2008 

Stephen J. Kalabat 


Abed Jarjis Bashi 


Jamila Yaldo 


Edward Shamon 


Shooshi Garmo 


Kamila Mezi Kattola 


Shammamta Manni 

Sitto 


Sabri Savany Attisha 


John J. Kas-Mikha 



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some complained that the downstairs 

was not opulent enough, so the building 

committee decided to add the 

marble, fine woods and other features 

that mark the upstairs public areas. 

“They gutted a finished product,” 

Sarafa said, calling it “absolutely the 

wrong decision.” 

Rough Start 

Despite the gorgeous finished product, 

the club fell $3 million short of 

Left: Despite 

budget woes, 

the ballroom 

continues to be 

a popular spot 

for community 

weddings. 

Below: Will selling 

the golf course be 

in Shenandoah’s 

future? 

projected earnings in 

its first year of operation. 

Some believe it 

opened to the public 

before it was ready, 

with the result of 

inconsistent food 

and service and inefficient 

valet parking. 

clouded by debt 

Will Shenandoah weather the storm? 


Shenandoah board members say 

rumors of the country club’s 

death are greatly exaggerated 

– but there’s no doubt the West 

Bloomfield facility is facing serious 

difficulties. 

Shenandoah has defaulted on 

its two loans and membership has 

dropped to 660 (with about 550 

who actually pay dues) – a dramatic 

dip from the total of 1,018 when 

Shenandoah opened in February 

2005. Michael George, president of 

the Chaldean Federation of America, 

insists there is hope. 

“We will turn Shenandoah 

around,” he said. “We are not going 

to lose it under any circumstance. 

We’re going through a crisis like 

everyone else, but the members are 

very proud of the facility and will 

continue to participate.” 

Negotiations are currently ongoing 

with Charter One and Comerica 

banks, which hold two-thirds and 

one-third of the $20.5 million loan, 

respectively. Former board member 

Mike Sarafa said it looks favorable 

that the banks will allow Shenandoah 

to pay what it can afford over 

the next few years, rather than seize 

the property. 

Shenandoah, which is owned by 

the Chaldean Iraqi American Association 

of Michigan (CIAAM), has had 

problems from its construction days. 

“The plan kept getting bigger 

and bigger,” Sarafa said. “They tried 

to please everybody and the budget 

kept increasing.” 

The original construction contract 

was $17.5 million, said Jacob 

Bacall, past president and treasurer 

and a self-described “die-hard member 

by all means.” The final tally for 

construction was $21 or $22 million, 

he said. 

Meanwhile, the club incurred 

a few more million in debt by borrowing 

$600,000 from the Bank of 

Michigan and $500,000 from the 

Chaldean Church, and $30,000 each 

from 42 members in what essentially 

became a scheme of borrowing from 

Peter to pay Paul. The original loan 

agreement also required the personal 

guarantees of 23 members limited to 

$125,000 each. Today, Shenandoah 

owes close to $24 million in total 

debt, Bacall said. 

Cost overruns are to blame, as well 

as what many considered to be an unnecessary 

last-minute overhaul of the 

members-only areas that added $1.5- 

$1.8 million to the final tally. When 

members first viewed their facility, 

That led to poor word of mouth for 

a facility counting on lots of public 

bookings for weddings and other special 

events. 

Things started to turn around in 

2006, when a new board fired the original 

general manager and replaced him 

with Kamel Kassem, who is credited 

with bringing much-needed experience 

and professionalism to the club. 

Meanwhile, Shenandoah kept 

raising its dues each year, a trend that 

not only angered members but drove 

many to quit the club altogether. Another 

increase was planned for this 

year, but the board has instead dropped 

dues about 20 percent. They are now 

$2,400 per year for those older than 35 

and $1,800 per year for people under 

35 or 70 and older. (Rates were lower 

if the entire fee was paid up front rath- 

shenandoah continued on page 26 

A Brief History of CIAAM 

1961 

A group of 

Chaldeans decide 

to form a club 

1965 

Constitution and 

by-laws formally 

approved 

1979 

Ground broken 

for the Southfield 

Manor 

1981 

Southfield Manor 

opens 

2002 

Ground broken for 

Shenandoah 

2004 

Southfield Manor 

sold 

February 

2005 

Shenandoah 

opens 



shenandoah continued from page 24 

er than monthly.) This year’s food and 

beverage spending minimum is $900, 

a decline of $300. 

Most dramatic is the drop in buyin 

for equity in Shenandoah. In 2004, 

members paid $12,000 to buy in; that 

rate has steadily decreased since. Today, 

it costs just $3,000 for an equity 

share and there is no cost beyond 

dues to join as a social member. 

Those who bought in at higher 

rates are “obviously disappointed,” said 

CPA Jason Alkamano, past board treasurer 

and co-chair of the Finance Committee. 

“I bought in for $6,000 in 1998 

or 1999,” he said. “But you get in when 

you get in. There are no rebates.” 

Shenandoah cut costs by closing 

the member-only dining room 

in January and February, and, in a 

bid to grow membership, is offering 

social memberships in which people 

pay annual dues but not the buy-in 

sum, giving them use of the club but 

no equity or voting rights. 

‘Hard Feelings’ 

Developer Hikmat Zeer is one of the 

original 100 members of CIAAM, 

the club formed in the 1960s. He 

said he’s resigned from Shenandoah 

“but they haven’t accepted my resignation.” 

Nevertheless, Zeer said he is 

no longer paying dues. 

“I resigned because I was frustrated,” 

he said. “The club is in such a 

deep hole I don’t know if they can 

come out of it. I feel bad for what is 

happening to the club – this is hurting 

all of us and there are a lot of hard 

feelings with people dropping out.” 

Zeer believes Shenandoah does 

not offer its members enough in the 

way of amenities such as exercise facilities. 

“They should have made it a 

complete health club so the whole 

family can go there and enjoy,” he 

said. “Fifty percent of the money 

they spent is a waste.” 

Mike George said he understands 

why some members have left in these 

tough economic times, but said those 

who can afford the dues are making a 

big mistake by quitting. 

“Those who feel there is no value 

should go on the Internet and look 

at what other country clubs do and 

the services they offer,” George said. 

“Our rates and our requirements are 

so minimal that even a public golf 

course is more expensive than we 

are. Membership is 20 times more 

and dues are at least double, if not 

more, at other country clubs.” 

Alkamano said that while mistakes 

have been made, it’s important 

for people to put Shenandoah 

in the context of its times. “Maybe 

it should have been built in stages,” 

he said, “but when it was built the 

economy was good, membership was 

What’s 

Happening 

with the CCC? 

More than Shenandoah has 

people buzzing. What, many 

wonder, is holding up the opening 

of the Chaldean Cultural Center 

(CCC)? 

The state-of-the-art museum, 

which is housed in Shenandoah, 

was first expected to open in November 

2005. There have been 

numerous delays and for now, no 

tentative opening date will be set 

until all funds are in place, said 

CCC Director Mary Romaya. 

Thus far, $3.2 million has been 

raised or committed to the project 

through donations, fundraisers 

and grants. Romaya said another 

$1 million is needed and that a 

bank loan may be sought. 

strong and everyone was doing well.” 

Bacall said a “Rolls Royce” 

mentality is to blame for many of 

Shenandoah’s problems, with power 

brokers believing they deserve only 

the best facility – and wanting to 

show such a facility off to the world 

— despite the fact the funds are not 

there to back it up. 

“Egos made the club too big – 

much bigger than they could afford,” 

Bacall said. “By all means we needed 

to upscale our operation [from Southfield 

Manor] but not by that high. We 

were always profitable at Southfield 

Manor; we could learn a lot from it.” 

Dramatic changes are needed, Bacall 

said. He advocates selling the golf 

course to West Bloomfield Township, 

which he said has expressed interest. 

Less than 40 members are active golfers 

who play at least three times a week, 

he said. Selling the course would save 

as much as $500,000 a year in taxes, 

maintenance, upkeep and personnel 

costs, he said. Many golf courses in the 

state are suffering economic hardship 

these days, he said. 

“I would much rather lose my 

hand than my whole body,” Bacall 

said of the idea to sell the course. 

“All options are on the table,” 

said Current CIAAM President Neb 

Mekani, “but I don’t see a viable 

market for selling the course with 

the economic climate we’re going 

through. A few years ago that was in 

discussion with a few companies but 

nothing came to fruition.” 

Mekani believes Shenandoah will 

weather this storm. 

“With the community holding 

together I think we can get through 

this,” he said. “There is a strong 

enough core of dedicated individuals 

who are the glue that hold the community 

together.” 


SPORTS roundup 

‘ Dr. Crazy Legs’ gets physical 

By Steve Stein 

Medical student Nolan Karrumi 

wants to be an emergency 

room doctor someday. In the 

meantime, he wouldn’t mind putting 

some of his Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) 

opponents in the hospital. 

Well, not really. Karrumi says MMA 

fighters respect their opponent. 

“That’s the mark of a warrior,” he said. 

But Karrumi says he doesn’t mind inflicting 

some pain if it means getting his 

hand raised in victory after a match. 

The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Southfield 

resident, who competes in MMA as a 

lightweight, split his two amateur fights 

and has won his lone professional fight in 

his brief career. He beat Bruce Coulson 

by a decision in his pro debut May 15 at 

King’s Sport Centre in Grand Cayman. 

Karrumi, 29, is fighting in the Proving 

Grounds promotion and he’s training 

with UFC fighter James Lee in the 

Mash Gym in Redford. 

“Crazy Legs” (Karrumi’s MMA nickname, 

bestowed on him because he 

likes to kick) knows how to win. He was 

a sweeper on Madison Heights Bishop 

Foley High School’s 1997 Division III 

state champion soccer team, and he’s a 

two-time Chy Cup champion in the 

Chaldean Football League. “Dr. 

Daiwanna” (his CFL nickname) is a 

receiver in the flag football league. 

Karrumi’s soccer career didn’t 

end at Bishop Foley. He played 

left back for Orchard Lake St. 

Mary’s College, serving as captain 

for four years and earning 

All-American honors. 

Karrumi said competing in MMA 

hasn’t required a major transformation 

of his sports personality. 

“I’ve always been a physical player. 

That’s my nature. That’s why MMA is a 

good fit for me,” he said. 

He also believes his training as a soccer 

player helps him in MMA because he 

had to learn how to use his feet. 

While MMA fights are brutal — and 

often bloody — Karrumi compares 

them to a chess match. That’s another 

of his favorite sports, by the way. 

“We’re not a bunch of barbarians 

Nolan Karrumi emerges victorious. 

using each other as punching bags,” he 

said. “A match is all about strategy and 

tactics, being methodical. If your opponent 

is going crazy, all you need to do is 

let him tire himself out, and you’ve got 

him. You have to keep trying moves, and 

be thinking three or four moves ahead. 

And for every offensive move you make, 

you’d better have two defensive moves.” 

Karrumi said he could see his training 

as an ER doctor helping him in the 

MMA octagon someday. 

“There’s a lot of pressure during a 

match. You have to make split-second 

decisions, just like you need to do with 

a patient,” he said. 

Why is MMA so popular with fans? 

Karrumi points to several reasons. 

“There’s more to it than, say, boxing,” 

he said. “There are battles on the mat, 

lots of knockouts because of light gloves, 

and, I guess, the blood and gore.” 

Karrumi became involved in MMA 

while he was studying at the St. 

Matthew’s University medical school 

in Grand Cayman for about a year 

and a half. He’s been back home for 

about six months. 

“I decided to give MMA a try, to see 

what I was made of, so I went to an 

MMA gym,” he said. 

After beating some professional 

fighters who outweighed him by 20 to 

30 pounds, Karrumi said, he thought he 

was ready for sanctioned matches. 


obama’s community connection 

Peter Dagher key part of transitional team 


When Peter Dagher heard 

that Barack Obama was 

going to run for president, 

he knew he had to be part of 

the quest. 

Although he had worked on Bill 

Clinton’s campaign and served on 

his first White House transition 

committee, Dagher passed on an 

offer to campaign for Hillary Clinton. 

“I didn’t think Hillary could 

win,” said Dagher, a firstgeneration 

American whose 

mother is Chaldean and father 

is Lebanese. “But I knew 

if we put our heads down and 

stuck to our message, we 

were going to win it with 

Obama.” 

Dagher was named manager 

of Obama’s national 

campaign headquarters in 

Chicago in February 2007. 

“I thought about it for a 

day — do I really want to get 

back into this? — but I knew 

it was yes,” recalled the veteran 

of both of Bill Clinton’s 

presidential elections. “It was 90- 

hour weeks for the first eight weeks, 

then 55 to 60 hours. It’s never been 

below 55 hours.” 

When Obama was elected last 

November, Dagher became operations 

manager of the Presidential 

Transition Team. Now, he’s running 

for U.S. Congress to fill the 

spot left vacant by Rahm Emanuel, 

who is now Obama’s chief of staff. 

This will be Dagher’s second shot 

at the seat; he came in third in 

an eight-person race in 2002 that 

Emanuel won. 

The primary is on March 3 and 

the general election on April 7. 

Dagher was offered a post in the 

Obama administration but said he 

prefers holding elected office. 

“I would do a lot more good 

for our people than I could in the 

administration, and I do not just 

mean Chaldeans or Assyrians or 

Lebanese Christians, but the taxpayers,” 

he said. “I’ve already been 

told that if I don’t win I’m in with 

the Obama Administration, but I 

like working without a net and I 

don’t want to play with that.” 

In the Beginning 

Dagher said he liked Obama from 

the start when the then-candidate 

for U.S. Senate spoke to the Assyrian 

National Council of Illinois, 

about a month before the Iraq War 

started in March 2003. 

“This was before anyone knew 

who Obama was – there were only 

30 or 40 people in the audience,” 

Dagher said. “He said, ‘I’m not 

against all wars but I’m against this 

war,’ and everyone booed him. He 

said, ‘who is going to suffer the most 

once Saddam is removed? Who are 

the people in the weakest position? 

The weakest are the Christians.’” 

Obama went on to question the 

United States’ plan for Iraq once 

Saddam was removed from power, a 

plan that apparently never existed. 

“Here’s someone who did not have 

the same access to the intelligence 

as Hillary Clinton, but [she and 

the rest of Congress] all voted for 

this war thinking it was the politically 

expedient thing to do,” Dagher 

said. 

A Varied Career 

Dagher, 43, has had an eclectic career. 

In late 2004, he became an election 

coordinator and media liaison 

with the International Organization 

for Migration (IOM), a United Nations-sponsored 

group that assisted 

the Iraqi Interim Government with 

the country’s first-ever democratic 

election after Saddam fell. He has 

also been a special projects manager 

in the White House, where he 

implemented the 2000 Presidential 

Transition Act; a special assistant 

to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation; 

and a one-time operations director 

for the Democratic National 

Committee. 

Before joining the Obama campaign, 

Dagher was vice president 

for business development of National 

Source Energy Systems (now 

Seraph), which specialized in solar 

power and biofuels, where he managed 

marketing operations for several 

companies. 

To make an impact in Washington, 

fundraising is essential for any 

cause said Dagher, who believes the 

Chaldean community needs to pony 

up more when it comes to political 

campaigns. 

“With the amount of money our 

community has we should be able to 

place candidates in the major markets 

– New York; Chicago; Detroit; 

Modesto, California,” he said. 

The community also needs to put 

a common face before the world, he 

believes. Instead of political infighting 

among Christian groups and arguments 

over the terms “Chaldean,” 

“I would do a lot more good for our people than I 

could in the administration, and I do not just mean 

Chaldeans or Assyrians or Lebanese Christians, 

but the taxpayers…I’ve already been told that if I 

don’t win I’m in with the Obama Administration, 

but I like working without a net and I don’t want to 

play with that.” – peter Dagher 

“Assyrian” and “Syriac,” Iraqi Christians 

(the term Dagher prefers) could 

learn a lot from the Jewish community, 

he said. 

“At the end of World War II Jews 

had their differences between the 

Orthodox, Reform and Conservative 

movements,” Dagher said, but 

they banded together on key issues 

— establishing Israel as a homeland, 

creating the powerful lobbying group 

AIPAC (Israeli American Public Affairs 

Committee) and actively supporting 

candidates sympathetic to 

their causes. “They said, we’ll fight 

about the rest internally,” Dagher 

said. “On those issues, they pushed it 

and they got it done. 

“The Jews have laid out a plan 

for us; they are 50-60 years ahead 

of us,” Dagher added. “Assyrians already 

invented the wheel, why are 

we trying to reinvent it? We need to 

pick three, four, five things we agree 

on and then fund them. If we build a 

base in Congress, a powerhouse lobbying 

level, we will never have to 

worry about our people again.” 

Creating awareness starts with 

defining Iraqi Christians to the 

rest of the population, Dagher said. 

“Christians are lumped in with Arabs 

and that’s a problem,” he said. 

“We have not done a good-enough 

job in identifying ourselves.” 

Another page from the Jewish 

playbook that Dagher admires 

involves sending young people to 


work with key candidates around 

the country. When he worked for 

Clinton’s campaign in 1992, Dagher 

met a group of Jewish men 

from New York who routinely set up 

young college graduates with a salary, 

car and health insurance so they 

could volunteer with a presidential 

campaign. 

“The idea,” he said, “is to work 

your tail off and get hired by the 

campaign.” 

As the race progresses, candidates 

drop off and the volunteers go on 

to join the front-runner’s campaign. 

This worked with the Clinton campaign, 

Dagher said. “They started 

with one person but ended up getting 

a total of three — and two of 

them ended up working in the White 

House where they would get meetings 

for their people,” Dagher said. “Imagine 

what we could do if some of our 

organizations would put up $10,000 

or $20,000 each election cycle.” 

Raising such an amount could 

be done “in a minute” in Metro 

Detroit’s Chaldean community, Dagher 

maintains. He plans to come to 

Detroit and meet with community 

leaders with the goal of getting 100 

people to each contribute $2,300 to 

a campaign, the maximum allowed 

by federal law. 

“No matter what happens I will put 

them in a room and lock the door and 

they will kill me or I will kill them,” 

he said. “I am sick of hearing about big 

houses and new Ferraris. Write that 

check and you’ve taken the initiative 

to say, ‘we are politically active and we 

can help members of Congress.’” 

The candidate, in turn, will remember 

Chaldeans, Dagher said. 

“They will think, ‘I never had dolma 

in my life but when that vote comes 

up [that benefits the community] I’m 

going to remember them.’” 

More than money stands in the 

way of his plan, however. “So many 

in our community want their kids to 

become doctors or lawyers,” he said. 

“How about a three-month stint in 

Washington to do an internship on 

the Hill?” 

Getting out the vote is also essential. 

“This is not the country for citizens 

– this is the country for those 

who vote,” Dagher said. “Why get involved 

with people who don’t vote?” 

A Ready List 

If the community were to advocate 

key issues, Dagher has a list at the 

ready: “The protection of minority 

rights for people back home; asking 

for a homeland or autonomous region 

in Nineveh; educating the federal 

government about who we are and 

not letting the Arab American Institute 

define us; and educating ourselves 

about the American process of 

having a voice in government.” 

He also believes the community 

needs to take a good look at its tendency 

to be clannish. 

“We are not preserving our heritage, 

we’re crushing it because we’re 

not defining ourselves. We’re becoming 

too insular,” Dagher said. “We 

need to open up. There is strength in 

intermarriage. You’re not ruining the 

culture, you’re teaching others about 

your culture like the Irish and the 

Italians did. By joining the melting 

pot you lose a few things but you gain 

that much more.” 

While Barack Obama seems more 

aware of the Chaldean community’s 

issues than his former rivals, there is 

still work to be done, Dagher said. 

Regarding the U.S. accepting more 

refugees and the issue of establishing 

an autonomous region for Iraqi 

Christians in the Nineveh Plain, 

“Obama has no position,” Dagher 

said. “We have the opportunity in 

the next year to educate him and his 

team.” 

But as the nation’s first African- 

American president, Obama is sure 

to be sensitive to ethnic groups, 

Dagher said. “He himself has been a 

minority at many times in his life,” 

Dagher said. “He understands what 

it’s like to be the weakest one in the 

room, so to speak.” 

Obama was a controversial candidate 

among many Chaldeans because 

he supports a woman’s right 

to choose abortion. “As a Catholic 

I have my problems with that too,” 

Dagher admitted. “People are saying 

he’s for gay rights, he’s for abortion 

– but he has also talked about the 

minority rights of Christians. Has 

Hillary Clinton? Has John McCain? 

Obama has said we have to lower the 

rate of abortions but do not make it 

illegal because it’s still going to happen. 

Killing people, driving drunk, 

buying pot – they are all illegal but 

they are still done.” 

People who shun the new president 

based on his liberal views are 

being short-sighted, Dagher said. 

“Obama will be the president for 

the next four years, maybe eight,” he 

noted. “If you have nothing to do 

with him, you are cutting yourself off 

from all he can do.” 


chaldeans and the city 

Detroit mayoral hopefuls answer our questions 

Barack Obama is the new president, 

but election season is not 

yet over – this month marks 

an important primary for mayor of 

Detroit to replace Kwame Kilpatrick. 

The top two vote-getters of the February 

24 primary will square off in a 

May 5 election – but the winner only 

gets to keep the seat until December 

31, 2009, when Kilpatrick’s term expires. 

Meanwhile, another primary 

will take place in August for the full 

four-year term. 

The Chaldean News asked leading 

mayoral candidates to answer 

some questions of importance to the 

community. Candidates were given 

a strict 75-word limit per answer. 

Answers that exceed that limit are 

marked by a … . 

Dave Bing 

Dave Bing, 64, is president of the Bing 

Group auto supply company and a Detroit 

Pistons Hall of Famer. 

1. Given Detroit’s many difficulties, 

why do you want to be the person 

in charge? 

Most of the problems facing our 

city were not developed overnight. 

They were caused by poor decisions 

made by career politicians. I am not 

a career politician. 

I have been not only a survivor, 

but a leader in the automobile supplier 

industry. I want to take those 

skills and apply them to the city. I 

am the only candidate with experience 

in creating jobs in the City of 

Detroit. 

2. What is your perception of 

the Chaldean community, and how 

do you feel they have contributed 

to the city? 

The Chaldean community in Detroit 

is one of our fastest-growing and 

important constituencies from both 

a civic perspective as well as a business 

perspective. Beyond the cultural 

diversity, this community’s contributions 

are countless, including numerous 

charitable contributions, as well 

as being the principal local retailers 

for Detroiters. 

3. Many Chaldeans had a tumultuous 

relationship with former 

mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, particularly 

store owners. How will you 

better this relationship? 

The Chaldean Community, particularly 

the “store owners and retailers,” 

have issues that are distinct to 

your community and as such know 

that I will provide special opportunities 

to receive your feedback. I will 

also assign one of my appointees as 

liaison to the Chaldean community 

who will report directly to me to assure 

that issues impacting your community 

are heard and addressed. 

4. Is it important to you to have 

Chaldeans appointed to your administration? 

Yes. My administration would definitely 

seek to have qualified Chaldean 

employees at the appointee and 

civil service levels. The Chaldean 

population in Detroit is one of the 

fastest-growing segments in the city. 

I need everyone’s best and brightest 

to move us forward. 

5. What are your specific plans 

to improve police response times, 

especially emergency calls from 

store owners? 

I will order the police to identify 

areas of the city that are the most 

vulnerable to specific types of crime 

and their occurrence. After the identification 

of crime “hot spots,” officers 

would be deployed in these specified 

areas during precise areas to quell 

crime before it happens. This plan 

would be to stop crime at its source; 

akin to a doctor who identified a cancerous 

spot on the body and removes 

it before it spreads. 

6. What are your top three priorities 

for the City of Detroit? 

I will concentrate on crime, jobs 

and restoring integrity to city government. 

The first priority will be 

getting a handle of the city’s budget 

situation, which is out of control. I 

will prioritize getting more officers 

on the streets to improve dismal response 

times. Additionally, I will 

utilize my job-creating experience to 

grow the city’s job base. Finally, I will 

have a zero tolerance for anyone who 

is ethically challenged in my administration. 

Kenneth V. Cockrel, Jr. 

Kenneth Cockrel Jr., 42, is currently 

Detroit’s interim mayor. He has been 

a council member since 1997 and was 

elected its president in 2005. 


why do you want to be the person 

in charge? 

As the current acting Mayor of 

the City of Detroit, I am already the 

person in charge. I want to stay in 

that position because I believe my 

experience as a County Commissioner, 

City Councilmember, and 

more recently current Mayor qualifies 

me to lead this city during these 

tough times. I have a proven track 

record of leadership and a vision for 

where this city must go. 




to the city? 

I have always had a good relationship 

with members of the Chaldean 

community and believe they 

contribute richly to the lifeblood of 

Detroit by providing quality shopping 

options for groceries and other 

services. 






I have already taken strides to improve 

this relationship by introducing 

my choice for Chief of Police to 

key business leaders in the Chaldean 

community and having him attend a 

meeting of the Chaldean Chamber 

with me in the fall of last year. 



Yes. I am currently looking for 

members of the Chaldean community 

to serve in my administration. 




store owners? 

The priority must be on improving 

police response time in general, 

not for one specific segment of the 

community. However, I have directed 

the Chief of Police to prepare 

a plan for improving police response 

time through thorough analysis of 

crime data that can be used to make 

deployment decisions. 



A) Addressing our budget deficit; 

B) Crime and Public Safety; C) Economic 

Development. 

Warren Evans 

Warren Evans, 59, has been sheriff of 

Wayne County since 2003. He is a former 

Wayne County administrator. 

1. Given Detroit’s many difficul- 


ties, why do you want to be the person 

in charge? 

I am a lifelong, third-generation 

Detroiter and have committed my 

adult life to making our city safer and 

more livable. I see becoming mayor 

as the next logical step in my service 

to my hometown. I want to take my 

life’s experience to fundamentally 

change how city government works, 

just as I have changed the Sheriff’s 

Office and juvenile justice in Wayne 

County. I am ready to lead our city 

out its current crisis. 




to the city? 

My perception of the Chaldean 

community is that it is not unlike 

many other ethnic groups in the City 

of Detroit; it is hard working, a vital 

part of the fabric of our community, 

and, at times misunderstood. The 

Chaldean community has become a 

very critical presence in the business 

community, but also has contributed 

greatly to the city’s social dynamic. 






Chaldean storeowners are a great 

asset to our community. They have 

invested in Detroit when many others 

have not, particularly in areas 

like the Seven Mile road strip east 

of Woodward, which continues to 

flourish. We need more such districts 

in our city if we are to have walkable 

communities. As mayor I will make 

it a point to support Chaldean businesses 

and personally visit them as 

often as my schedule will allow. 



I believe that it is vital for any 

healthy community to have a city 

administration that reflects the community, 

and the Chaldean population 

is an important part of our city. 

So, yes, I feel it is important to have 

Chaldean Americans play a role in 

my administration and to hold some 

high-level appointed positions. 




storeowners? 

Upon taking the oath of office, 

there are two things I will do immediately 

that should cause a significant 

reduction in response times for 

emergency calls. First, I would assign 

a team of 100 officers to the full-time 

task of rounding up the city’s most 

violent offenders, including armed 

robbers who prey on Chaldeanowned 

businesses. Second, I would 

make greater use of our reserve officers, 

who can provide added police 

presence in retail areas. 



My top priority is public safety. 

I firmly believe all other key issues, 

such as education and economic development, 

don’t stand a chance if 

people don’t first feel safe in our city. 

My other two priorities are, in fact, 

economic development/job creation 

and education, again, both of which 

hinge on public safety. This week I 

have laid out my plans for each of 

these areas, which are available in 

their entirety at warrenevansformayor.com. 

Freman Hendrix 

Freman Hendrix, 58, is former deputy 

mayor and an administrator at Eastern 

Michigan University. He lost to Kwame 

Kilpatrick in 2005. 


why do you want to be the 

person in charge? 

I care deeply about this city in 

which I have resided and worked in 

for the last 30 years – this city where 

I have raised my family. 

The crisis in leadership that has 

brought us to where we are today 

needs a mayor who has the right kind 

of experience and who has a vision 

and a specific set of plans that he can 

carry out to begin the long march 

back to prosperity. I … 




to the city? 

Thirty years ago, when the city 

was experiencing some of its most 

difficult economic times and major 

franchise retailers were leaving the 

city of Detroit, the independent 

grocer, represented primarily by the 

Chaldean community, stayed, invested 

in Detroit and became an integral 

part of the Detroit community. 

It is a decades-long relationship that 

I value and greatly appreciate. 






By opening the lines of communications 

between the Mayor’s Office 

and the Chaldean business community 

and having regular dialogues 

and meetings to address issues before 

they find their way into the media 

and become too difficult to resolve. 



Yes. To accomplish this, I would 

consult with the leaders of the Chaldean 

community to establish a pool of 

talent, from which I could hire qualified 

individuals not just for positions 

on the mayor’s executive staff, but also 

jobs throughout city government. 




store owners? 

I believe that every Detroit 

neighborhood deserves police protection 

and regular police patrols, 

and I know that some don’t get the 

attention they deserve because the 

Detroit police force has shrunk from 

3,000 officers on the payroll a decade 

ago to only 1,900 today. 

And, although the city’s population 

is smaller, our borders haven’t 

changed. We must do everything 

possible to put more officers on the 

street and use them more effectively. 

In short … 



My top three priorities as mayor 

of the city of Detroit are: 

1) Reducing crime through community 

policing; 2) Stabilizing 

neighborhoods by supporting community 

development and fighting 

blight; and 3) Establishing a business-friendly 

environment by reducing 

bureaucracy, fraud, corruption 

and regulatory processes. 

Nicholas Hood 

Nicholas Hood III, 56, is minister of 

Plymouth United Church of Christ and 

a two-term council member. He ran for 

mayor in 2001. 


why do you want to be the 

person in charge? 

I am running for mayor because I 

am deeply concerned about the direction 

of the city I was raised and educated 

is headed. Our school system is 

in shambles. The city lacks the basic 

amenities that most progressive cities 

take for granted such as a combination 

of national franchise restaurants, 

retail and independent commercial 

establishments. The crime rate in 

Detroit is still unacceptable. As a 

two-term city councilman I have the 

experience to lead the ... 




to the city? 

The Chaldean community plays 

an important and vital role in the 

City of Detroit – particularly with 

regard to grocery stores and other retail 

establishments and philanthropy. 

The Chaldean community also adds 

to the rich diversity of our community 

and has helped Detroit to be 

much more sensitive to racial and 

ethnic minorities than most American 

communities. 






I will treat every person and business 

fairly and equally. As mayor I 

will lower the cost of doing business in 

Detroit and direct city departments to 

be fair with code enforcement. I will 

direct the Economic Growth Corporation 

to make its resources available 

to the Chaldean community and other 

minority communities in Detroit so 

that business can grow. 

4. Is it important to you to 

have Chaldeans appointed to your 

administration? 

Yes, it is important to have the 

Chaldean community and the widest 

cross-section of our diverse community 

represented in my administration. 

My administration will be inclusive 

of minorities and others who 

have traditionally been excluded 

from the government. My adminstration 

will resemble a rainbow of 

races and ethnic groups. 




store owners? 

I support a redeployment of the 

police to be more proactive against 

neighborhood crime. I understand 

how devastating crime can be on businesses 

and individuals. I will direct the 

police chief to make emergency calls 

from citizens and businesses a priority. 

I will reduce the mayor’s security by 

at least one third. I will work to put 

more officers on the streets through 

grants and redeployment. 



1) Make the city safe, clean and 

well lit; 2) Make the city well educated; 

and 3) Balance the city budget. 


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celebrating 

the epiphany 

Dozens of babies baptized 

in annual rite 


Photos by Wilson Sarkis 

Msgr. Zouhair Toma 

(Kejbou) of St. Joseph 

in Troy has a 

way with babies. His touch 

instantly calmed the little 

squirming tykes growing impatient 

with their baptism ceremony, 

and they fully cooperated 

as he rubbed their heads 

with holy water. 

January 6 was a busy day for 

Msgr. Toma as it was for all the 

priests in the Chaldean Diocese. 

Scores of local Chaldean 

families chose the Epiphany 

– the day Jesus was baptized in 

the Jordan River by John the 

Baptist – as the day for their 

baby’s christening. More than 

100 babies were baptized that 

day in Metro Detroit’s Chaldean 

churches, said Fr. Manuel 

Boji of Mother of God in 

Southfield. 

“Today Jesus was baptized 

and I like for my son to have 

the same day,” said Sara Kakos 

of Sterling Heights. “It’s more 

blessed for him.” 

Five-month-old Joseph, 

resplendent in a white satin 

suit, seemed to enjoy being the 

center of attention from his 

grandparents, godparents and 

dad Maher. 

Joseph’s cousin, sevenmonth-old 

Channelle, looked 

like a tiny bride in her elaborate 

christening gown, darling 

cap and frilly socks. Proud parents 

Eddie and Linda Hana of 

Macomb beamed with pride 

during the ceremony. 

“We thought it would be 

special to have the baptism 

today since it is the day of Jesus’ 

baptism,” explained godmother 

Amanda Hana. 

Photographers and videographers 

were busy recording 

the event in the manner 

of Hollywood paparazzi. They 

occasionally crowded the altar 

for the perfect shot, only to be 

shooed back by Msgr. Toma. 

At the ceremony’s conclusion, 

applause and halholes 

filled the air. 

“January 6 is a feast day 

that sums up all the other 

feasts related to the birth of 

Christ,” Msgr. Toma explained 

afterwards. “On January 6 God 

returned his son to humanity, 

so this day is the highlight.” 

Msgr. Toma reminded the 

new godparents that their duties 

go well beyond the christening 

and said they should 

spend time with the child each 

January 6. 

“Even if you are on the 

moon you must come back to 

spend the day with the child 

to remind them of the promises 

given,” he said. “Bring a 

worthwhile present to remind 

them of the day they were reborn 

in Christ and started the 

journey of faith.” 

Fr. Boji said the Epiphany 

used to be considered more 

important than Jesus’ birth. 

“According to our liturgy, 

this day was celebrated with 

four or five hours of prayers a 

century ago or more,” he said. 

“We are trying to revive the 

meaning of the baptism with 

our families.” 

To this end, on January 6 

Mother of God also held its 

third annual mass for babies 

baptized during the prior year, 

an event that drew some 100 

children and their families. 

1. The scene at the 5 p.m. Baptism at St. Joseph. 

2. Godfather Rony Shamoun and baby Tony Shamoun 

3. Elena Alrais and godmother Elena Alrais 

4. Godfather Rany Daniel with baby Leonardo Daniel 

5. Ayden Jacob Dickow is christened as godfather Revon Dabish 

(left) and parents Ayad and Najla Dickow look on. 



chaldean PALATE 

Larco’s 

of Troy: 

Worth a 

Splurge 

By Crystal Jabiro Kassab 

This month, my hubby Mark and I 

trekked out to Troy to check out 

Larco’s Italian Chophouse. It 

was just a boring Tuesday night, and 

Mark was actually home from work so 

we got a babysitter. 

Larco’s looks nice from the outside 

on Big Beaver Road but the inside 

décor is bland — lots of grainy wood 

furnishings (like my ugly kitchen cabinets) 

and not much opulence. The little 

snowflakes hanging from the ceiling reminded 

me of an elementary classroom 

in winter, but I cared more about the 

food because I was starving. 

Our server brought us a bread basket 

as well as a plate full of humongous 

green San Marino olives and black Kalamata 

olives, with crumbles of fresh 

parmesan cheese to nibble on. Mark 

ordered his ordinary Grey Goose and 

tonic with a lime and I opted for a Velvet 

Kiss, which is basically a pomegranate 

martini. It was pretty strong so I sipped 

it slowly and didn’t order another. 

We ordered Grilled Portobellos for 

an appetizer. These big mushrooms were 

deliciously topped with roasted red peppers, 

gorgonzola and sauteed onions, 

and covered with a zip sauce. We didn’t 

think there was enough zip sauce and I 

thought they could have used more salt, 

but when I looked around for a shaker 

there wasn’t one … anywhere. I thought 

it would be a great insult to ask for one 

so I didn’t. Nonetheless, we would definitely 

order this unique portabello app 

again; it was amazing. 

Mark and I perused the two parts of 

the menu — Innovations and Legends. 

Larco’s has been in business since 1920, 

and their “legendary” fare has been on 

the menu from the beginning. Since then, 

fourth-generation Executive Chef Peter A. 

Larco has concocted “innovative” dishes 

with unique twists. It was no surprise that 

Mark and I ordered from the two different 

parts — he from the legendary “old-fashioned” 

menu and I from the contemporary 

and “new wave” list. Like oil and water. 

I remembered that Bree on “Desperate 

Housewives” once made Ossobuco 

for dinner so when I saw it on the menu, 

it tickled my fancy. Veal shank? Okay, I 

thought, I’ve had veal before and I liked 

it. It came with risotto, one of my favorite 

sides. Mark ordered the 14-ounce 

Grilled Ribeye Steak with vegetables. 

No fancy name or ingredients. 

Of course, it’s an Italian restaurant, so 

you know there are at least two courses 

before the main entree. I had the fresh 

and hearty Minestrone Soup, perfectly 

seasoned with just a dash of spice. Mark 

had the Mediterranean Salad and I’ve 

been imitating it ever since. It was pretty 

much a Greek salad, but no feta — gorgonzola 

or bleu cheese instead. All the 

ingredients — the lettuce, cucumbers, 

onions and so on — were very finely 

chopped with a perfect ting of vinegar. 

Then our waiter served us each a 

little plate of spaghetti. Larco’s pasta 

is homemade, which impressed me. 

It was an average meat sauce, yet it 

tasted really good. 

My Ossobuco was beautifully presented 

on a white plate, with a tiny little 

shrimp fork in the shank and little bits of 

carrots toppled over it. I didn’t know what 

the tiny utensil was for. Was I supposed 

to scrape out the “shikhta” in the shank? 

Was it even edible? Anyway, the veal, 

braised in a wine sauce, was so succulent 

it practically melted when I cut into it. The 

aftertaste was kind of unusual, but it was 

not enough to make me not finish it. (That 

Larco’s is an attractive sight on 

Big Beaver Road in Troy 

and the fact that it cost $35.) The risotto 

was fair, but nothing exceptional. 

Mark really liked his ribeye. It was 

medium-well and juicy, just how he 

likes it. The steak came with a plate 

of healthy steamed vegetables, but he 

was so full he hardly touched them. I 

tried a piece of his steak and it really 

was tender and tasty. 

We left no room for dessert so we 

just asked for the bill to make our journey 

home. It was a very costly meal, as 

in a Benjamin and a Grant, but it was 

kind of nice to have dinner alone without 

wiping noses or pulling crayons out 

of water. 

Larco’s Italian Chophouse is located at 

645 E. Big Beaver Road in Troy. Call 

(248) 680-0066 for reservations or log 

onto www.larcositalian.com. There is 

also another location in West Bloomfield 

at 6480 Orchard Lake Road. 


ONE-on-ONE 

‘momma’ says she’s misunderstood by millions 

By Crystal KassaB JaBiro 

For six weeks, NBC aired the 

mother of all reality shows. Literally. 

Khalood Bojanowski, 50, talked to 

The Chaldean News about her recent 

controversial appearance on “Momma’s 

Boys.” 

CN: What made you decide to go on 

this reality show venture with your son? 

KB: Jojo saw it online and we didn’t 

actually think we would get selected. 

After two days we got a call, and after 

two weeks we were gone. We didn’t 

really know what was ahead. 

CN: Do you think you were portrayed 

positively? 

KB: Absolutely not, it was negative. 

The producers Ryan Seacrest 

and Andrew Glassman set everything 

up and edited what they wanted to. 

They made me the star of the show. 

They would do stuff to rile me up. 

For example, the episode where the 

girls chose not to make cutlase or 

dolma was actually because Ryan and 

Andrew hid my recipes to make me mad. 

CN: You insisted that your son meet 

a Catholic girl. Was going on a reality 

show to fi nd a match for your son a 

“Catholic” thing to do? 

KB: No it wasn’t. None of those 

girls were there to fi nd love, they were 

all sleazes. I didn’t like any of those girls 

for my son. When it comes to my son, 

I’m going to be a sneak and fi nd out everything 

about the girl. And every mom 

thinks the same way, I just said it on TV. 

CN: In the introductory video, you 

said, “I can’t have a Jewish girl because 

I’m Catholic. I just can’t see that 

white and black thing. It has to be a 

white girl. I just want a nice Catholic 

girl who is not from a divorced family. I 

want her to cook, I want her to clean, 

be petite and pretty, and she does what 

I tell her to.” How do you respond to 

viewers who thought you were racist 

and shallow? 

KB: I’m not racist. It’s just from my 

experiences. I don’t like the average 

Khalood and Jojo Bojanowski 

back in Michigan 

American culture. It seems like Americans 

don’t care if their kids get pregnant 

or don’t go to church. And if that’s how 

they want to be, that’s fi ne. I respect it, 

but I don’t like it. I want my son to fi nd 

someone like us. Even Esther, the Jewish 

mom, didn’t want her son to be with 

a non-Jew, but lots of that nonsense got 

edited out. I’m very comfortable with 

who I am and I’ll tell you whatever you 

want to hear to your face. 

CN: You come from a mixed culture, 

right? 

KB: Yes, but we’re Catholic people. 

My father is Chaldean and my mother 

is German. I grew up in Iraq, and then 

moved to Highland Park when I was 

15. My husband Jerry is half-Italian 

and half-Polish. These groups are very 

similar, very family-oriented. 

CN: How do you respond to other 

Chaldean mothers who found your behavior 

embarrassing? 

KB: I’ve only been getting a bad rap 

from the Chaldean community. How 

dare they do that to me? We should 

stick together. It pisses me off to say 

I’m a disgrace because I’m very proud 

of my heritage. I’m very nice and I’m 

very approachable. I’ll never stab you in 

the back. You’ll see the knife coming. 

So whatever happened to Jojo? He 

is in Boston studying International Business 

and playing hockey on a $40,000- 

a-year scholarship at Nicholas College. 

And he’s single. 


chaldean for KIDS 

SWEETHEART: 

ha-bib-tee (feminine) 

ha-bee-bee (masculine) 

FEBRUARY MEANS 

Valentine’s 

cn_1208_0160 1/22/09 3:12 PM Page 53 

chaldean for KIDS 

Day 

By MeloDy araBo anD MarGaret shaMoUn 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

What better way to celebrate Christmas than learning some 

Chaldean words pertaining to the holiday? 

HEART: 

BY MELODY ARABO AND MARGARET SHAMOUN 

lloo-ba 

Snow: 

tell-ga 

WINTER: 

sit-wa 

CANDY: 

ha-lloy-a 

ANGEL 

OF LOVE: 

Chaldean for Kids is a series of books designed to teach the 

Chaldean language through English. Available titles include 

Volume 1 - Numbers, Colors, Parts of the Body, Prayers; 

and Volume 2 - Animals, Clothing, Food, Nursery 

Rhymes. All books are hardcover and include an audio CD 

to ensure correct pronunciation. hoo-ba 

Visit www.chaldeanforkids.com. 

Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. 

meh-llah-kha d’ 

PRONUNCIATION KEY 

h = 

s = 

t = 

th = 

th = 

hard h sound, 

no English 

equivalent 

hard s sound, 

no English 

equivalent 

hard t sound, 

no English 

equivalent 

hard th sound 

as pronounced 

in THE 

soft th sound as 

pronounced 

in THING 

gh = 

kh = 

rr = 

ll = 

gurgling sound, 

no English 

equivalent 

clearing of the 

throat, no English 

equivalent 

rolling r sound, 

similar to a cat 

purring 

soft l sound 

often found in the 

French language, 

no English 

equivalent 

All other letters follow traditional sounds and patterns found 

in the English language. All words were formulated by 

breaking sounds apart into syllables and choosing the most 

effective pattern for each to ensure accurate pronunciation. 

Chaldean for Kids is a series 

of books designed to teach the 

Chaldean language through English. 

Available titles include Volume 1 

- Numbers, Colors, Parts of the 

Body, Prayers; and Volume 2 - 

Animals, Clothing, Food, Nursery 

Rhymes. All books are hardcover 

and include an audio CD to ensure 

correct pronunciation. Visit www. 

chaldeanforkids.com. Copyright 2007. 

All rights reserved. 


HIGH SCHOOL highlight 

West Bloomfield High School: Laker pride 

By Caroline M. Bacall 

Past and present Chaldean students 

are able to live what their 

parents view as the American 

Dream — being in a place of social 

order in which every individual has an 

opportunity of success and is recognized 

for who they are, despite their 

background or position. 

Having access to America’s abundant 

resources is a big part of that 

dream. West Bloomfield High School 

was recognized by Newsweek/MS- 

NBC as being in the top 4 percent 

of U.S. Public High Schools for the 

2005-2006 school year. 

This year, some 50 new students 

are Iraqi refugees. Junior Ashley Jonna 

made the newcomers feel comfortable 

in their new environment by translating 

when needed and making sure 

they could find their way around the 

school. She said she’s impressed by 

how quickly the refugees learned to 

speak English. 

“They pick up so fast,” she said. 

“Within two months, they go from 

knowing a few words to being fluent.” 

To embrace diversity is to create 

unity, so WBHS has launched the 

Challenge Day workshop to unite students 

from every culture category and 

grade level through various activities. 

Crystal Kassab Jabiro, a seven-year 

English and Social Studies teacher, 

described the first-time program held 

this past December. 

“One example is 

‘crossing the line,’ where 

students are asked questions. 

One question asked 

was, ‘Who has never met 

their mom before?’ By 

Photo by Wilson Sarkis 

crossing the line, students 

find out things they never 

knew about each other. 

There was some hard, 

hard crying,” she said. 

Jabiro mentioned student 

Jamie Kakos as being 

instrumental in Challenge 

Day, adding, “She sets 

a nice example to Chaldean 

and non-Chaldean 

students.” Jabiro also spoke of 2006 

graduate Ronnie Kashat’s efforts in a 

past English course. “One of his papers 

was a reflection on the narrative 

of Frederick Douglass, and he did a 

marvelous job comparing his experiences 

as a Christian in Iraq to the 

author’s experiences as a slave.” 

Working hard and playing hard are 

part of the school spirit. WBHS Chaldeans 

have shown achievements in 

both extra-curricular activities in and 

WEST BLOOMFIELD HIGH SCHOOL 

4925 Orchard Lake Road 

West Bloomfield, MI 48323 

(248) 865-6720 

TOTAL POPULATION: 1,959 students 

CHALDEAN PERCENTAGE: 15 percent 

NOTEWORTHY CHALDEANS: Michael Nafso, 

Ashley Jonna, Stephanie Stephan, Jonathan 

Zora, Noor Naimi, Jamie Kakos, Jonathan 

Nafso, Aryanna Sharrak, Savine Zora, 

Bronte Savaya, Lauren Sitto, and Ryan Yono 

out of school, with a heavy involvement 

in sports. 

In addition to playing soccer as a 

freshman and sophomore and being 

the OAA-MASC (Oakland Activities 

Association — Michigan Association of 

Student Council) representative for student 

government, junior Michael Nafso 

participated in DECA, an organization 

that enhances marketing and management 

skills. Tests and role-playing in 

front of judges determine whether one 

qualifies at the state level. “I was in the 

quick-serve restaurant category,” Nafso 

said. “We had to find effective ways 

to market our business.” 

Anthony Samona spoke on behalf 

of his three brothers, all WBHS alumni. 

Randy Samona, a 2002 graduate, 

made it to the nationals and was one 

of the few on the WB DECA Wall of 

Fame his senior year. Andy, a 2004 

graduate, was also in DECA and in student 

leadership. Eldest brother Danny, 

a 2000 graduate, was class president 

his sophomore and junior year and 

played varsity football. 

Many former graduates installed 

the idea of Chaldeans being able to 

West Bloomfield High Chaldeans include: Jon Zora (top left), Anthony Hwier, Bronte 

Savaya, Michael Nafso, Lauren Etta, Andrew Samona, Birttany Savaya, Jomana Shayota 

(bottom left), Renee Jabero and Bianca Dabish. 

truly make a difference as a minority. 

The Kinaya brothers and Sean Jonna, 

WBHS alumni and advocates of Laker 

pride, individually participated in 

the wrestling, football and basketball 

teams. And it’s not just boys on the playing 

field: Former student Valerie Nafso 

played soccer all four years and senior 

Lauren Sitto is repeating that feat. 

Two out of the four class presidents 

are Chaldean — sophomore Jonathan 

Zora and freshman Aryanna Sharrak. 

Savine Zora is secretary of the freshman 

class, junior Ryan Yono was a part of the 

DECA program, and Bronte Savaya, 

also a junior, is in the National Honors 

Society for her exceptional grades. 

Senior Stephanie Stephan described 

her familiarity of WBHS as “a plus” when 

transferring from another high school. 

“With [epilepsy], I needed a good environment,” 

she said. “I met so many people 

and everyone was very friendly.” 


Shimoun, Yaldo, Kashat & Associates, P.C. 

A firm with knowledge and expertise 

During 2008, the Certified Public 

Accounting firm of Shimoun, Yaldo, 

Kashat & Associates promoted 

Tony Kashat, CPA, to junior partner and 

moved to its new offices at the Paramount 

Bank Building located at the corner of 13 

Mile Road and Northwestern Highway in 

Farmington Hills. 

The knowledge and expertise at the firm 

has been elevated by the makeup of the 

three partners and their supporting staff to 

a new level that is able to provide outstanding 

service to various businesses and individuals. 

The firm provides the most current 

and up-to-date business and tax advice in 

this volatile business environment, which 

has not been experienced since the days 

of the Great Depression. 

The new challenges for this upcoming 

tax season started when the new Michigan 

Business Tax was enacted to replace the 

old Single Business Tax. The new tax was 

created by Public Act 36 of 2007 with a 

January 1, 2008 date of enactment. It applies 

to all business activity after December 

31, 2007 for all companies doing business 

in Michigan. The new Michigan Business 

Tax is a combination of a gross receipts tax 

at a rate of .8 percent and a business income 

tax at a rate of 4.95 percent. There 

is also a surcharge of 21.99 percent that 

was added on at a later date to replace the 

services tax. This tax was enacted with 

credits that reward businesses who hire 

employees in Michigan, acquire assets in 

Michigan and spend money on research 

and development in Michigan. 

We have attended several seminars 

throughout the year in order to gain an 

understanding of the new tax. We have 

faced many challenges along the way. The 

forms were not available until January 2009 

and the law has had several revisions since 

the date of enactment. The major challenge 

was in calculating 2008 estimated 

payments for our clients without having 

any forms or instructions available to us. 

We were forced to use estimator programs 

provided by the State of Michigan on its 

website while making several assumptions. 

Some tax practitioners were advising their 

clients to pay their estimates based on the 

old SBT and its rules. Use of this analogy 

can be very costly in that the components 

of the Michigan Business Tax are different 

from the old Single Business Tax. 

We have found that some businesses 

are paying a great deal more while other 

businesses are paying about the same or 

less. The industries that were greatly affected 

by the new MBT are in the service 

industry with gross receipts greater than 

$350,000 such as doctors, lawyers, CPAs, 

etc. Also affected are high-income rental 

real estate entities. Another important aspect 

of the new MBT is the Unitary Business 

Group (UBG) filing, which requires 

businesses with common control to follow 

certain guidelines and file one unitary business 

group return. 

Shimoun, Yaldo, Kashat & Associates 

also offers: accounting and compilation 

services, real estate and business investment 

analysis, payroll check preparation 

and services, financial projections and 

forecasts, personal financial statements, 

assistance with processing business loan 

applications, and notary public. The firm 

also provides support in Federal, State 

and Local Audits for businesses and individuals. 

The firm also prepares Anti Money 

Partners 

Tony Kashat, 

Sal Shimoun and 

Al Yaldo offer 

unparalleled 

CPA services. 

Laundering Programs and handles Compliance 

Audits for businesses that are classified 

as Money Services Business (MSB), 

which have become very common. 

Over the years, the firm has established 

relationships with many banks and financial 

institutions to aid clients with their business 

and individual financing needs and other 

banking services. Al Yaldo continues to 

serve as a director on the Bank of Michigan 

Board of Directors. 

In addition to their busy schedules, Sal 

and Al are active members of the Chaldean 

Chamber of Commerce and have officially 

overseen the group’s elections since inception. 

Sal continues to serve on the 

Associated Food and Petroleum Dealer’s 

Finance Committee. 

Please call (248) 851-7900 to make an 

appointment. The firm of Shimoun, Yaldo, 

Kashat & Associates is located at 31000 

Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Farmington 

Hills, MI 48331(at the corner of 13 

Mile Road and Northwestern Highway). 

Tax Tips 

• E-file your returns 

to eliminate errors 

and expedite your 

refunds through 

direct deposit. 

• Make your IRA 

contribution by 

April 15, 2009 to 

be deducted for 

2008. The maximum 

contribution has 

increased to $5,000 

for 2008. For those 

50 years of age and 

over, the additional 

catch-up contribution 

is $1,000. 

• If you need to file 

an extension and 

you owe money, you 

must pay the amount 

owed or face penalties. 

An extension 

of time to file is not 

an extension of time 

to pay. 

• The business mileage 

rate for 2008 

is $.505 for 1/1/08 

to 6/30/08 and 

$.585 for 7/1/08 to 

12/31/08. 

• You may be able 

to receive a stimulus 

rebate recovery on 

your 2008 Federal 

Tax Return if you did 

not receive the 

rebate last year. 

• A first-time homebuyer 

credit of up to 

$7,500 is available 

to qualified individuals 

who purchased a 

principal residence 

after April 8, 2008, 

and before July 1, 

2009. 

• Standard deduction 

filers may be 

eligible for a deduction 

up to $1,000 for 

property taxes paid. 

• It is very important 

to seek a tax 

professional during 

these tough economic 

times when 

household incomes 

are lower in order 

to maximize your 

available credits and 

refunds that may not 

have been available 

to you in past years. 

advertisement 


CLASSIFIED listings 

CONDO FOR SALE 

CONDO FOR SALE 

HOUSE FOR SALE 

BUSINESS FOR SALE 

COMMERCIAL FOR SALE 

WEST BLOOMFIELD CONDO 

WALK TO SHENANDOAH 

COUNTRY CLUB 

Pleasant Lake. Detached Ranch. 

4 bedrooms. 2 Masters on 1st 

Floor. Spacious family room 

with high ceiling. Wet bar. 2 

new furnaces. Marble surround 

fireplace. Formal Dining Room. 

Library has built-ins. 

Large WIC & Jacuzzi in Master. 

Screened Porch off of Breakfast 

room. 2 Bedrooms & 3 full bath in 

WO. Lower Level with large 2nd 

family room and small kitchen. 

Wood floors and carpet. Great 

for growing family or out of town 

guests. Lake access. Home 

Warranty. Owner will help toward 

association dues. Small private 

complex, $459,000. Call Audrie 

Friedman, Max Broock Realtors 

(248) 644-4700 

(248) 417-0786 (cell). 

ATTN: REAL ESTATE 

INVESTORS 

2004 Florida rental condo 

reduced to SHORT SALE. 3 

miles from ocean, 5 colleges/ 

universities within 20 minutes. 

Motivated seller. $84,900. Call 

586-557-7472. 

HOUSE FOR SALE 

LAKEFRONT ON 

ORCHARD LAKE 

4 bedroom Ranch, 3.5 baths 

on 1.4 acres premium lot. (248) 

335-0104. 

www.5081.commerce.com 

EXPECT TO BE IMPRESSED 

3 Bedroom, 1.5 baths, 2,100 sq ft 

On All Sport Lake Front. 

Immediate Occupancy! $1,400 a 

month. For more information call 

Lisa at (248) 310-6677 or Connie 

at (248) 752-4444. 

RELAX IN YOUR BEAUTIFUL 

sunroom or patio overlooking 

a pond and play area with this 

lovely 4 bedroom home with 

office, formal living and dining 

rooms, 2.5 baths, granite 

countertops in kitchen, family 

room has cathedral ceilings 

and fireplace, 1st floor laundry, 

finished basements with 

garden windows. In Commerce 

Township, Walled Lake Schools. 

Asking price $279,900. Call 

Monty or Vicki at (248) 960-9380. 

BUSINESS FOR SALE 

MUST SEE!! 

3,000 sq. ft liquor store. 

Great Location, Newly remodeled 

Corner store. Short hours. 

For all inquiries call Ron 

(248) 931-1065. 

FRANCHISE INSURANCE 

OFFICE 

Located in Waterford with room 

for a second business. Prime 

location, corner of a major 

intersection. Call for details, 

(248)420-7844. 

PRICE REDUCED! 

Bakery & Pizza store since 1961. 

High traffic area in St. Clair 

Shores. Building and business 

included. A must see. Call Paul 

Melier at (586) 212- 3138. 

Equipment for Sale 

LIKE NEW 

Middleby Marshall P360 

Conveyor 

Pizza Oven. Digitally-controlled 

bake time. Natural gas. Dough 

Sheeter & Slurpee machine for 

sale. All in mint condition. All 

priced to sell. Call Ron at 

(248) 931-1065. 

A COMMERCIAL BUILDING AND 

three rental homes on 4 ½ acre 

+/-, 20,000 traffic count. Prime 

location for gas station, plaza 

and etc. Excellent development 

potential. Willing to split 

buildings from houses. For more 

information, call (248) 640-2517 

or (517) 431-2477. 

office space 

BEAUTIFUL 

FURNISHED OFFICE 

In Troy. Reception area with 

hardwood/fireplace, 2 conf. 

rooms, 3 separate offices, 8 

cubicles, approx 2 K sq feet. Call 

Steve at, 586-504-4455. 

PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS PROFESSIONALS

events 

1 2 3 4 

5 

6 

7 

friends and family 

hockey night 

8 

9 

Photos by David Reed 

The bitter cold was no match for the dozens of people who 

showed up to cheer on the Chaldean Hockey League at a 

special fundraiser on January 11 at St. Mary’s Ice Arena in 

Orchard Lake. Proceeds from the Friends and Family Night 

raised $4,800 for the Chaldean Federation of America’s 

Adopt-a-Refugee Family program. 

1. Alden and Zina Kajy 2. Joey Sheena 3. Wilson Kassab with daughters Julia and 

Scarlette and niece Willow Kassab 4. David Sarafa and Brian Najor 5. Mae Kouza, 

Michelle Laissia, Evit Sara, Carol Loussia and Niram Shina. 6. Carl Hakim and Denise 

Farida 7. John Petrous 8. Amanda and Tony Kassab with their children, Lucas and 

Charlotte 9. Robert Esshaki and Lawrence Kuza 


events 

1 

2 

3 4 

5 6 

7 

8 

1. Sami Herfy and Amani Alkhafaji draw raffle tickets 2. Dancing in the new year 3. Sunny Kada, Rita Ishak and Stephanie Habbo 

4. Vance Istifo, Vinsin Istifo, Christopher Batth, Michael Mansoor, Robert Badelalla, Ray Gabbara and Demere Asmar 

5. Nahida Bidawid with Frs. Basel Yaldo, Emanuel Shaleta and Ayad Khanjaro 6. Dhia Babbie 7. Lamia Sitto won this picture 

in the raffle 8. Karim and Naja Kenaya 9. Heba and Odai Bettroza 10. Angelina Kallo 

new year’s with st. george 

Photos by David Reed 

Spirits were high on December 31 at St. George’s New Year’s Eve at Penna’s of 

Sterling Heights. The party, attended by 380 people, was a fundraiser to pay off 

the church loan. “Spending New Year’s Eve with my close friends while simultaneously 

helping raise money for my church was indeed a rewarding way to kick off 

the New Year,” said Ray Gabbara of Sterling Heights. “The Parish Council 

members devoted countless hours preparing for this fabulous, formal party.” 

42 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2009 

9 

10

FEBRUARY 2009

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