Oakland County

The Oakland County Health Division is looking for volunteers to read to young children in the Division's intake offices during the WIC application process. The process typically takes several hours and the Health Division is hoping to get volunteers to read to the children in between the various appointments necessary to finish the setup.

WIC is a supplemental food and nutrition program for women, infants and children up to five years of age. The WIC Ready to Read Partnership promotes early childhood reading through WIC agencies. The Friends of the Troy Public Library are donating children’s books to this partnership and are helping to get the word out.

Volunteers must be at least 18 years old. If you are interested, please contact the Oakland County Health Division at 248.858.5607.

Now that your own garden is growing, see nine of the other most beautiful gardens in Troy by participating in the Troy Garden Club/Woman's National Farm & Garden Association 37th Annual Garden Walk on Wednesday, July 13 (rain or shine). Gardens will be open from 9:30 am to 3 pm and 5 pm to 8:30 pm.

This year's theme is A Tapestry of Gardens, featuring Plein Air Artists painting in the gardens and garden-themed quilts on display. There will also be an Arts and Crafts Boutique, Raffle, Plant and Fabulous Finds sales, and a Student Art Exhibit at the Troy Historical Museum, 60 W. Wattles from 9 am to 7 pm. If you didn't make it to the royal wedding, wear your best garden party hat to the Walk and you may win a fabulous prize.

Featured sites include A Garden for All Seasons; Flowers, Ferns and Forest; Garden of the Sun and Moons; A Garden of Outdoor Rooms; Friendship Gardens (the united gardens of three neighbors); and a Serenity Waterfall Garden.

A highlight of the Walk is the rare opportunity to visit the Midwest Woodland, Prairie and Meadows, part of the beautiful Kresge Foundation Sustainable Landscape, on the grounds of the Foundation’s headquarters. This 2006 addition to the 87-year-old headquarters serves as "a model for environmental conservation." The landscape design preserves the historical fabric of the Midwest prairie and restores the land to its native prairie vegetation. Two constructed wetlands manage most of the site’s storm water. Wildlife visitors include egrets, blue herons, hawks, muskrats and foxes. A butterfly garden was added in 2010. Plant markers and informative signs are present throughout the grounds.

Advance tickets are $10, available at the Troy Historical Museum, Uncle Luke's, Telly's Greenhouse, and Auburn Oaks Garden Center.  Tickets can also be purchased for $12 the day of the Walk at the Troy Historical Museum. 

For more information visit the Troy Garden Club's website or call 248.540.4249. And to see some of the student artwork before the day of the walk, visit the display in the lobby of the Troy Public Library. This year's winner of the Garden Club's 3rd Annual Art competition is Elizaveta Bondarenko, a junior at Troy High School.

Are you looking for work? Do you need basic computer skills to help you apply for jobs?

If so, you will want to attend the Troy Public Library’s free, two-week program, Computer Skills for the Job Seeker, which runs from 10 am to 2 pm, July 11-22. This program includes 30 hours of hands-on computer training, and plenty of one-on-one assistance, to bring your skills up-to-date and improve your job search. You will learn how to

• organize your computer files;
• create an electronic resume in Word;
• communicate with employers via email;
• apply for jobs online; and
• stay in contact using social network websites.

Click here to print an application, or click here to fill out an application online. (Note: Preference will be given to Troy residents.) The training is limited to 16 students, and taught by the Library's award-winning Technology Department staff.

For more information, contact the Phillip Kwik, Head of Public Services, at kwikpj@troymi.gov or phone 248.619.7577.

Computer Skills for the Job Seeker is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Troy Public Library. For more information about the Friends, go to www.friendstpl.org.

Now that good weather has finally returned to Michigan, take advantage of the Troy Public Library's extensive collection of gardening and landscaping titles to give your yard a fresh new look.

Whether you are a seasoned green thumb or are just learning how to design and plant a garden, we have resources to help you. Check out the gardening display at the top of the ramp in the Adult area of the Library, or ask a staff to help you locate books for your exact needs. 

And before you leave the Library, make sure to take a look at the Troy Garden Club's display in the lobby near the meeting room. You will see award-winning artwork by area high school students who participated in the Garden Club's 3rd Annual Art competition. This year's winner is Elizaveta Bondarenko, a junior at Troy High School, whose grand prize award of $100 was sponsored by Troy attorney Joshua D. West. Her winning entry is displayed here. Congratulations to Elizaveta and all who participated!

Here is your chance to shine as a photographer. Enter the Catch It! Prep Sports Photo Contest sponsored by the Oakland Press. Beginning on Friday, October 15 and continuing on through April, one photo will be chosen from entries sent to the newspaper's sports department. Winners will receive four lower level tickets and will be recognized each month at a Detroit Pistons home game.

Photographs must be taken at a high school prep sports game and the entrants must include their name, address, phone number, email address, sports game, and date the photograph was taken. You must be 15 years or older and have your parent's approval to enter the contest.

Do you need to get a copy of your birth certificate? Applying for a marriage license? Looking for court records? Thanks to the Oakland County Clerk & Register of Deed's Office, you can save a trip to Pontiac by ordering these documents online and having them delivered to your home.

To help spread the word about this service, the Troy Public Library is participating in the Oakland County Clerk's Office Library CARD (Convenience & Access to Records and Documents) Project. This Project distributes brochures and manuals to libraries in Oakland County to help show computer users how to access and order records online.

If you need help obtaining a record, come to the Library to pick up a brochure or ask Library staff, who will be happy to assist you.