No. 12
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
March 22 – 28, 2018
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
Wayne police are continu-
ing the investigation into the
death of a 2-year-old child
last week who was in the
care of the ex-husband of his
biologicalmother.
See page 2.
Three new on-call fire-
fighters have joined the City
of
Northville
Fire
Department. Each holds var-
ious firefighter certifications.
See page 3.
Vol. 133, No. 12
Vol. 71, No. 12
Vol. 71, No. 12
Vol. 18, No. 12
Law enforcement cooper-
ation will reach a new level
in April as officers from
municipal public safety
departments join forces to
outshoot the Detroit Red
Wings Alumni team.
See page 5.
Vol. 133, No. 12
Vol. 71, No. 12
Vol. 71, No. 12
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Westland has named new
directors of several depart-
ments including parks and
recreation and economics.
See page 2.
State Rep. Kristy Pagan
has been honored by the
Michigan Recreation and
Park Association for her
local work with the
B.L.O.C.K. youth and teen
center inCanton.
See page 3.
Vol. 18, No. 12
A 19-year-old Inkster man
was injured when he was
“clipped” while walking too
close to a moving train in
Westland on Sunday after-
noon.
See page 5.
Salvador Salort-Pons,
Detroit Institute of Arts
director, president and CEO
since 2015, spoke to the
Plymouth Noon Rotary Club
last Friday.
See page 4.
The Belleville Area
Chamber of Commerce Tri-
Community Update is set for
next Wednesday when the
leaders of Van Buren,
Sumpter and Belleville will
speak.
See page 5.
A request for funding to
reconfigure traffic patterns on
Ford Road in Canton
Township has been rejected by
federal officials for the ninth
time.
Last week, the U.S.
Department of Transportation
announced plans for $500 mil-
lion in road, transit, maritime
and railroad projects across
the country as part of the fed-
eral
TIGER
program
(Transportation Investment
Generating
Economic
Recovery). The application
from Canton Township, which
cited potential job creation
and economic recovery was
not among the chosenprojects.
The plan from Canton
would cost $30 million, with an
agreement from the Michigan
Department of Transportation
to pay $18 million along with
the $12 million requested from
the federal program. The town-
ship would pay an additional
$8 million to complete the
reconstruction of the roadway.
Township Supervisor Pat
Williams said that while town-
ship officials were obviously
“saddened” by the rejection of
the grant application, “that is
not going to deter us.”
A study by the Michigan
Department of Transportation
concluded that the solution to
the traffic flow problems on
FordRoadwould be the recon-
figuration of the road with a
boulevard, separating oppos-
ing lanes of traffic. That
redesign would help control
the high number of crashes
reported on Ford Road by also
eliminating left turn lanes at
major intersections and creat-
ing boulevard turnaround
lanes. The study claimed that
these measures would reduce
both crashes and bottlenecks
that currently plague drivers
especially during high-volume
traffic hours.
The plan would continue
the boulevard from I-275 inter-
change on Ford Road up to
just before Canton Center
Road. The state study identi-
fied the FordRoad project as a
priority, officials said, but it is
not currently funded by any
state department.
Williams added that offi-
cials were “passionate” about
the project and Treasurer
Dian Slavens commented that
the townshipwould not give up
on the roadplan.
“We're just going to have to
try to find some type of rev-
enue, whether it's through the
state orwhatever,” she said.
Her vow to continue to pur-
sue funding was echoed by
Trustee JohnAnthony.
“We're not going to give up,
that's for sure,”Anthony said.
We're not going to give up,
that's for sure.
”
The federal charges filed last
week against former Plymouth
Township Director of Parks and
Grants Mike Mitchell may be
the first of several indictments
as a result of an ongoing corrup-
tion investigation.
According to documents filed
last Wednesday by Jeffery E.
Peterson, acting special agent in
charge of the Detroit Field
Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, Mitchell has been
charged with one count of theft
from a local government receiv-
ing federal assistance. The
charges were filed in what is
known as “information” which
usually means the defendant is
cooperating with law enforce-
ment and has negotiated a plea
deal in exchange for informa-
tion. The current charges carry
a maximum penalty of 10 years
inprison and/or a $250,000 fine.
Mitchell, 49, was appointed to
the newly-created position pay-
ing $63,277 annually by former
township Supervisor Shannon
Price. He created the job specif-
ically for Mitchell who had
served as an aide to Price dur-
ing his term as a Wayne County
Commissioner.
Mitchell also served as chair-
man of the 11th District
Republican Party and was a
well-known political party oper-
ative. Reportedly, he continued
in those capacities while work-
ing for the township.
Mitchell, who is now a resi-
dent of Rockford, IL, is accused
of stealing township property,
including a commercial lawn-
mower, a John Deere Gator util-
ity vehicle and other items of
equipment. The value of the
stolen items, discovered during
a warrant search of Mitchell's
Livonia home, was estimated at
$10,000.
That warrant was secured
based on information and affi-
davits police had obtained after
Mitchell was terminated follow-
ing a prolonged unexplained
absence fromhis job.
Following the primary elec-
tion in August of 2016 in which
Price was defeated, Mitchell
abandoned his position and did
not report for work. Records
obtained in a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request
by The Eagle last year show that
Mitchell was paid $2,353.85 on
Nov. 10, the date of his termina-
tion letter. He was paid a total of
$16,476.95 from July 31 until
Nov. 6, the final date in that pay
period. In addition, a seasonal
employee, Matthew Kidd , was
paid a gross total of $19,623.80
for 661.5 hours of work during
the months of October,
November and December of
2016, racking up more than 181
hours of overtime in the off-sea-
son fall and winter period. Kidd
was paid $22.44 an hour and
time and one half for overtime,
receiving an average of $1,635.31
weekly for his part-time job.
Kidd served at the pleasure of
See
Charges,
page 4
Ford Road funding again rejected
Special dedication
No reading required at new
Plymouth Men’s Book Club
The name Plymouth Men's
Book Club may bring to mind
stacks of novels and serious dis-
cussions - but for those in the
know, it just brings quiet smiles.
“The Book Club name is a
total ruse,” said founder Fred
Hill, who for years headed the
Fred Hill Briefcase Drill Team
and owned Plymouth clothing
stores. “We have nothing to do
withbooks.”
About 70 men gather on a
Monday evening every other
month to do charitable work
and to hear a speaker. Meetings
are 7-8:30 p.m. at Fox Hills Golf
& Country Club on North
Territorial Road in Salem
Township.
“We don't do money, we do
stuff,” said Hill, pointing with
pride to some 300 books collect-
ed for the C.S. Mott Children's
Hospital of Ann Arbor. Themen
also donated more than 1,000
pounds of nonperishable food
to Gleaners as well as hats,
scarves, and gloves for adults at
TheSalvationArmy.
“The guys get into the chari-
ty,” said Hill. “It's just a real
feel-good. It's going very well.”
The group has beenmeeting for
about a year.
The Briefcase Drill Team
retired, “so I think I needed
another idea. It's been very
rewarding. The camaraderie's
good, the joking around's good,”
Hill said.
Speakers have included
Chuck Gaidica, former WDIV
meteorologist; Lomas Browns,
formerly of the Detroit Lions;
Dr. MurrayHowe, son of Detroit
Red Wings great Gordie Howe;
and Salvador Salort-Pons,
Detroit Institute of Arts direc-
tor/president/CEO.
“I think we cover the spec-
trum,” Hill said of attendees.
“We have young guys, we have
retired guys, we have every-
body in the middle. We seem to
be growing. It's a good boys'
night out.”
He doesn't see a strong anal-
ogy with the Briefcase Drill
Team. “Maybe there's a compar-
ison in the camaraderie issue,”
Hill said. “We don't travel to
New York or Arizona. We did
that for 30 years.”
Dan Herriman of Plymouth
was with Hill in the Briefcase
Drill Team and is also active in
Kiwanis. “I enjoy the fellow-
ship,” saidHerriman, who has a
Plymouth Township property
management firm. “I take a bit
of heat from my wife about
being in an allmen's club.”
Herriman especially liked
giving clothing to The Salvation
Army. He joined “because Fred
Hill asked me,” and agrees all
men need some relaxing time
out.
“I think that's true for both
genders,” added Herriman,
whose wife likes time with her
girlfriends.
IanWaldo, 31, of Novi has an
investment company in
Plymouth, and likes the Men's
Book Club. Waldo is active in
Kiwanis, which does a lot of
charitable work for children,
and volunteers with a couple
other nonprofits.
“I like reading, but I like peo-
ple just hanging out,” Waldo
said. With a young family at
home, “that's another night out.
The fact that they do things for
people, it's a great group of
guys,” he said.
Waldo likes to live out his
Christian faith and also set a
good example for the couple's
young son. “Anything I can do to
give him a good example, 100
percent,” he said. “If everybody
acted in a loving manner, I
think there'd be a lot less hate.
Just trying to play a little tiny
part.”
Waldo encourages men of all
ages to join in. “It's awesome,”
he said. “It's well worth your
time. They do a really good job
at keeping it fresh.”
Men can learn more by
emailing plymouthmbc@gmail.
com. Food isn't served, but
there is a bar, Hill said.
Julie Brown
Special Writer
Fred Hill
Don Howard
Staff Writer
The current charges carry
a maximum penalty of 10 years
in prison and/or a $250,000 fine.
”
Officials hint at more charges in Plymouth
