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No. 6
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
February 5 - 11, 2015
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
Members of the Wayne-
Westland
Community
Schools Board of Education
elected new officers to serve
for the next year at their last
meeting.
See page 4.
The City of Romulus will
spend most of the
Community Development
Block Grant funding on
recreation staffing and eco-
nomic development in the
downtown area.
See page 5.
APlymouthTownship res-
ident said he has been
forced to resort to the court
system to settle a dispute
regarding an incorrect water
bill.
See page 3.
Students throughout the
Northville Community
Schools District celebrated
the life and teaching of Dr.
Martin Luther King through-
out themonthof January.
See page 2.
Tony D'Onofrio was elect-
ed as president of the
Friends of the Belleville
Area District Library for the
fourth time during the annu-
almeeting last week.
See page 2.
Vol. 130, No. 6
Vol. 68, No. 6
Vol. 68, No. 6
Vol. 15, No. 6
Vol. 130, No. 6
Vol. 68, No. 6
Vol. 68, No. 6
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Home values have
increased by about 12.06
percent in the City of
Westland according to the
Wayne County Assessment
and Equalization depart-
ment.
See page 4.
A 24-year-old Canton
Township man is facing
charges in the breaking and
entering of two Jet's Pizza
stores and an attempted
break-in at a third.
See page 3.
Vol. 15, No. 6
Wayne
County
Commissioner Richard
LeBlanc, State Rep. Julie
Plawecki, and State Sen.
DavidKnezekwill be hosting
monthlymeetings in Inkster.
See page 5.
Nine areas in Plymouth Township may
be eligible for a little help from Wayne
County in repairing the roads in their neigh-
borhoods.
The township is eligible for about
$750,000 of county funding to be used for
local road improvements, according to an
announcement fromWayne County officials.
In Canton Township, the county will spend
$1.5 million in the first round of improve-
ments to local roads.
The grant money is part of the Wayne
County Local Roads Initiative program, a
$14 million programwhich includes all nine
townships within the county boarders.
Counties are responsible for road repair
within their boundaries and do not receive
state gas tax revenue to pay for road
improvements. In Plymouth, several com-
munities have expressed an interest in cre-
ating a special assessment district, or SAD, a
tax mechanism that allows property owners
to pay for road improvements over timewith
a dedicated amount added to their property
tax bills. The program is administered by
the township which usually borrows the
funds to pay for the improvements and then
bills the property owners a portion of the
amount based on the cost and amount of
roadway on respective properties. The
township usually charges an administrative
fee for the service and interest on the loan.
To form a SAD, a majority of the homeown-
ers in the area must agree to pay the costs
and the plan must be approved by township
officials.
In Canton, 20 neighborhoods groups
requested funding for street repairs under
the program. Township officials requested
that homeowner associations submit their
requests, including the cost of the improve-
ments, for a lottery-type drawing.
Supervisor Phil LaJoy drew 13 applicants
during the lottery, using the entire amount
allocated toCanton.
Amounts of aid in each of the townships
was determined by population data in both
Plymouth and Canton Township and was
announced as a two-year program.
Plymouth Township officials discussed
the use of the grant money during a regular
meeting and said that the five neighbor-
hoods with paved roads in poor condition
and four areas where roads are gravel-cov-
ered would receive first consideration.
Possible areas would be Plymouth Colony,
Plymouth Gardens, Eastlawn and Finch
subdivisions and the Woodlore, Deer Creek,
Plymouth Commons and Ridgewood Hills
West subdivision andLitchfieldRoad .
In Canton, the areas expected to see use
of the funds are: Forest Brook,
Meadowbrook,
Century
Farms,
Oakvale/Stonegate, Fairways West, Willow
Homes, Nowland Estates, Canton Country
Acres, Huntington PlaceNo. 1, RiverWoods,
SalemManor, Royal Pointe andGlengarry I.
To utilize the grant funding, the areas
would need to form a SAD, and property
owners would likely pay the majority of the
costs. The fewer such districts formed, the
larger the amount of countymoneywouldbe
available for others, according to Plymouth
Township Supervisor Richard Reaume,
who said it was unlikely that homeowners in
all nine areas would be willing to take on
the cost of the road repairs throughaSAD.
The grant program was announced as a
two-year effort and township officials said
they are hoping there will be additional
funding available for street repairs next
year.
The cause of an early morn-
ing fire at a mobile home park
which claimed the life of a
woman last week does not
appear to have been caused by
any suspicious circumstances.
Following a 911 call at about
4 a.m. last Wednesday, Canton
Township Fire Department per-
sonnel and equipment were dis-
patched to the Wagon Wheel
MobileHomePark.
Initial reports from the
neighbor who made the emer-
gency 911 call indicated that
flames were visible from a
mobile home in the park.
When fire department per-
sonnel arrived, they reported a
portion of the mobile home was
engulfed in flames, according to
fire department reports of the
incident.
Firefighters initiated an
aggressive attack on the flames
and entered the back of the
mobile home to perform a pri-
mary search for occupants.
Entering the home, the firefight-
ers encountered heavy fire con-
ditions, according to the reports,
and due to the rapidly deterio-
rating conditions and the insta-
bility of the structure, the fire-
fighters were forced to exit the
home and begin a defensive
attack against the blaze.
After the fire was extin-
guished, firefighters removed a
portion of the roof to gain entry
for a secondary search through
the rubble during which the vic-
tim was discovered. The body
was so badly burned that fire
officials could not determine
the sex of the victim at the
scene.
The female victim was later
identified but at the request of
the family, no further informa-
tion is being released. It was
unclear as to whether the
woman was a resident at the
mobile home or a frequent visi-
tor. It appeared shewas alone in
the home when the fire
occurred.
The initial investigation
revealed there were no working
smoke detectors in the home,
according to Canton Fire Chief
JoshuaMeier.
”
The initial investigation revealed
there were no working
smoke detectors in the home...
”
The grant program
was announced
as a two-year effort...
Mobile home fire claims one life in Canton
County to help fund township street repairs
Lights, camera...
K A B O OM
Belleville alumni’s movie
features local ‘celebrity’
Some familiar local faces can be seen in
a new movie available now in Christian
bookstores across the state.
Not all of themhuman.
Kaboom, a 2½-year-old Belgian
Malinois trained by Michael Burkey of
Michigan Dog Training in Plymouth, por-
trayed a misunderstood wandering dog
and had four scenes in the filmwhich was
written by Alan Maki, a 1968 Belleville
HighSchool graduate.
Maki, who was elected to the Belleville
Distinguished Graduate Hall of Fame in
2001, also stars in the 90-minute family
movie titled “Mr. What,” filmed in Canton
Township andTecumseh.
The storyline is about a man named
Mattiesko Wuopio (Mr. What) who has
spent 22 years in prison for a crime he did
not commit. Upon apprehension of the
real criminal, Mattiesko is released, only
to find continued harassment everywhere
he turns. He seeks redemption through
his ailing father, who is suffering from
Alzheimer's disease, a stray dog (Kaboom),
and an endearing little boy, portrayed by
12-year-old actorMikahScott Carter.
Burkey was the on-set animal trainer as
well as the stuntman taking the bite from
Kaboom in one scene when the canine
actor had to use his teeth to protect Mr.
What.
Kaboom, whose real name is Kaboom
Du Loups Du Soleil, was only about 7
months old when the filming took place.
Burkey saidKaboomwas cast in themovie
after Maki saw photos of the pup on the
Michigan Dog Training website practicing
protection techniqueswithBurkey.
“All his (Kaboom's) basic training was in
place but when we would get to the set to
find out what it was he needed to do that
day, I had about 10 minutes to figure out
how to use those basic commands to make
it happen. It was like putting a puzzle
together,” Burkey said. “I shouldn't have
worried. He nailed it every time.”
In one scene, the dog meets a stranger
See
Movie,
page 3
Writer and lead actor Alan Maki, left, director and cinematographer Shaun Maki, dog
trainer and animal behaviorist Michael Burkey, Kaboom, assistant animal trainer Annie
Zhao Yang and Josh Tuberville, who plays a deadbeat dad, on the set of Mr. What.
Canine actor Kaboom poses for a publici-
ty photo.
Kaboom in his final scene during the win-
ter shoot in Canton Township.