January 22, 2020   Your source for All Livonia news. All the time. All ways positive.

Buyers: Come see what everyone has to offer! Early Bird admission is available from 8 - 9 a.m. for $2  per person. $1 admission after 9 a.m. and the sale ends at noon.

Sellers: Purchase table space to re-sell your child-related items and sports equipment. $30 for one table and a 10x10 selling space. Extra tables are available for $12 each. Contact Billy by email at [email protected] to register as a seller.

Cole, Newton & Duran CPAs is offering complimentary tax preparation services to all area reservist and National Guard members currently called to active duty as well as regular military currently receiving combat pay. Contact Bryan Besco, chief marketing officer, at Cole, Newton & Duran CPAs at (734) 427-2030 or [email protected] to schedule an appointment.

"We are very proud and honored to support the brave men and women who fight for our freedom to keep us safe," said Arthur Cole, managing partner of Cole, Newton, and Duran CPAs. "We are happy to help these courageous men and women with the preparation of their taxes. We thank these heroes and are grateful for their patriotism."

Erin Robinson is a student at Churchill High School. She has written an explanation of the 2020 robotics challenge and Musings is happy to share it with our readers:

The new FRC game for 2020 is Infinite Recharge. There are two alliances working to protect FIRST City from incoming asteroids. With only 2 minutes and 30 seconds until impact, the two alliances must charge their shield generator and protect the city. There are three ways to score points: scoring Power Cells into the Power Port, using the Control Panels to control the Shield Generator, and climbing onto the Generator Switch.

The field contains four scoring parts. The Shield Generator is angled across the middle of the field, with the Generator Switches (one for each alliance) hanging from either side. Each Control Panel is on the corner of the Shield Generator. Finally, the Power Port for each alliance is located on the opposing alliance wall. A Power Port has a low goal, a high goal, and an inner goal.

The game pieces this year are 7-inch foam balls, like dodge balls, called Power Cells.

Autonomous is back this year, for the first 15 seconds of the game the robots must run without drive team control or input. During the autonomous period, robots can earn points by crossing a line for 5 or scoring Power Cells in the lower, high or inner goal for 2, 4, or 6 points respectively. During tele-op, robots can earn 1, 2, or 3 points by shooting through the goals. After 29 balls are scored, the alliance must complete Rotation Control by rotating the Control Panel between 3 and 5 times in order to move to the next stage of the Shield Generator. After another 20 balls are scored, the alliance must complete Position Control by rotating the Control Panel to a color randomly determined by the field. Completing all stages of the Shield Generator earns the alliance 1 ranking point.

Robots may hang on the Generator Switch during endgame. Hanging is worth 25 points per robot and having a level Generator Switch is worth 15 extra points. If an alliance earns 65 or more climbing points, they also earn a ranking point.

Linked on the left is the official FIRST Infinite Recharge game video. If you want to learn more about the new game, check it out.

Claire Smith, also of Churchill High School explains just how busy the teams have been in the two weeks since the game parameters have been introduced:

During the past two weeks, the Warriors and Tyros have been working diligently on this season's robots. Both of the mechanical squads have built chassis and gearbox prototypes. The Warriors have also been working on two types of shooters. The two shooters are series, which uses four wheels on two axes moving in one direction to push out the balls, and parallel, which uses four wheels on two axes moving in opposite directions to push out the balls. Imagery squads for both teams, have started to collect robot name suggestions from the teams, talk about themes and pit award designs, and raise money for supplies at Donorschoose.com. What a great start to the season!

I ntroducing the Livonia Warriors Competition  Team:

Our Livonia Public School competition team is comprised of students from all three High Schools: Churchill High School, Franklin High School, and Stevenson High School. 

The Warriors were formed in 2009 and are now in their 12th season of FIRST Robotics Competitions.

 Since starting, the Livonia Warriors are proud to have qualified for the Michigan State Championships and the World Championship. 

They appreciate the support of terrific mentors including parents and representatives from some outstanding sponsors, such as AISIN Technical Center of America, Inc. and DENSO International America, Inc. and the Ford Motor Company. 

As a team, they are geared up and ready for the challenges and fun that are sure to come with this season's exciting competitions!

Introducing The Livonia Warriors Tyros Team

Why are they called the Livonia Tyros? The word tyros originates from the Latin word tiro meaning young soldier or new recruits. The Tyros are a rookie high school team. The team is made up of freshmen and sophomore students from Churchill, Franklin, and Stevenson. A majority of their members were formerly on a team during middle school. They say they are very lucky to be close to the Warriors, the veteran team, who has been kind enough to mentor them as they work on their robot. They say that half the time they have no idea what they are doing but by the time of the first competition they will prove that they are a force to be reckoned with.