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about who I am and what I could
have accomplished.” Werth said in
his statement.
“I never walk away from failure;
on the contrary, I study it for its hid-
den value. It is well known that I
share an important belief that
Plymouth Township wants and
deserves a better, more effective
and efficient government,” he
added.
Werth has lived in Plymouth
Township since 2001, his parents
and other family members have
lived there for nearly 30 years.
Werth said the ongoing fire
department issue in the township
is only a symptom of the lack of
effective leadership that he per-
ceives in the current administra-
tion. He was also critical of the
actions of the current administra-
tion in refusing to allow residents
to vote on a 1-mill assessment to
fund the department.
“Residents should not have to
go to court to protect themselves
from the actions of their elected
officials,”Werth said.
“It is certainly not in my prac-
tice to skirt the law and operate in
a questionable area. Therefore it is
with great regret that I withdraw
my name from consideration for
the office of supervisor for
Plymouth Township,” the state-
ment concluded.
In March, legislation was intro-
duced in Washington to modernize
the Hatch Act. Senator Daniel K.
Akaka
(D-Hawaii)
and
Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-
Maryland) introduced the legisla-
tion and were joined in the Senate
by cosponsors Senators Joseph
Lieberman (ID-Connecticut), Carl
Levin (D-Michigan), and Mike Lee
(R-Utah).
Levin said, “This legislation will
allow hard-working employees of
state and local government who
are covered by theHatchAct to run
and serve as elected officials in
their communities. It is past time
that we clarified the Hatch Act so
that these highly qualified individ-
uals can have an opportunity to
run for public office.”
two more weeks before Kersten
made his ruling that written briefs
shouldbe filed.
Also charged are former
Romulus Det. Sgt. Richard Balzer,
former Det. Donald Hopkins and
former Det. Richard Landry who
all face felony racketeering
charges that carry 20-year prison
terms upon conviction. Former
Det. Jeremy Channels and former
Det. Larry Droege each face
charges of misconduct in office
and could face 5-year prison terms
if convicted.
The prosecution alleges that the
men used more than $40,000 of
drug forfeiture funds to buy alco-
hol and drugs and pay prostitutes.
They are also accused of corrup-
tion in office and obstruction of
justice.
Every day, one in three parents
is forced to make a choice between
groceries and diapers for their chil-
dren.
That sad statistic emerged from
a 2010 study by Huggies, which
demonstrated the struggles many
families endure to provide this
basic need for their children, as
essential to health and well-being
as food and shelter.
In an effort to help the Detroit
Area Diaper Bank, the Summit on
the Park in Canton Township is
sponsoring a diaper drive through-
out the month of May. The diaper
bank is an area non-profit group
dedicated to meeting the unmet
need for diapers in the most vul-
nerable populations -- babies from
low-income households, the elderly
andpeoplewithdisabilities.
“With the high expense of dia-
pers, more and more parents are
having to make the choice between
buying groceries and buying dia-
pers,” said Canton Township
Recreation Specialist Jennifer
Provenzano. “These struggling
families may have to cut back on
other expenses or leave their child
in a diaper for longer periods of
timewhich often can lead to rashes
and infections.”
Visitors to the Summit are asked
to drop off packages of new,
unopened disposable diapers
throughout themonth of May in the
pack-and-play in the Summit lobby,
located at 46000 Summit Parkway
in Canton. These packages will be
distributed to families in need
throughoutMetroDetroit.
“Currently, there is no assis-
tance for diapers,” said Marybeth
A. Levine, founder and executive
director of the Detroit Area Diaper
Bank.
“Assistance programs such as
WIC, Food Stamps or Medicare do
not provide or pay for any diapers,
so these types of drives go a long
way to filling a crucial community
need.”
For additional information
about this Diaper Drive, call (734)
394-5460 or visit Cantonfun.org.
The 17th Annual Wayne County
Parks fishing Derby is planned for
8 a.m. Saturday, May 19 at
Waterford Bend Park inNorthville.
More than than 800 rainbow trout
will be released in the river for the
angling bonanza.
A fishing license is not required
for the derby, however participants
must bring their own gear. This
event is co-sponsored by the
Vietnam Veterans of America
Plymouth/Canton Chapter 528 and
Northville Parks and Recreation
Department and donations from
EppingerManufacturingCo.
On site registration will take
place from 7:30-8 a.m. and fishing
for children 12 and younger will
begin at 8 a.m. and continue until
10 a.m. At 10:30 a.m. prizes will be
presented to the young fishermen
after which fishing will be open to
all ages.
Waterford Bend Park is located
at the corner of Six Mile and
NorthvilleRoads inNorthville.
For more information on this or
anyWayne County Parks event, call
(734) 261-1990.
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2
May 10, 2012
Werth
FROM PAGE 1
Hearing
FROM PAGE 1
Fishing Derby planned
Diaper drive under way in Canton
Kevin M. McNamara (D-Canton)
will seek re-election to the Wayne
County Commission serving the
redrawn 11th District which
includes Belleville, Huron
Township, Romulus, Sumpter
Township, Van Buren Township,
Wayne, and a southern portion of
Westland.
Currently, McNamara serves as
chair of the youth services commit-
tee of the Wayne County
Commission, a standing committee
adopted in 2011 to ensure that
youth programs continue to be
funded appropriately, especially
juvenile services. He also serves as
vice chair of the committee on pub-
lic services, which oversees county
roads and bridges and parks and
recreation operations. McNamara
serves as a member on the ways
and means committee; public safe-
ty committee; technology task
force; and the transparency in
Wayne County Government task-
force. Additionally, he is a member
of the Wayne County Head Start
GoverningBoard.
McNamara is a delegate to
SEMCOG, the southeast Michigan
regional planning agency, where he
serves on the executive and
finance committees. He is also
active on committees which over-
see transportation and infrastruc-
ture projects. He has served on the
commission for six years.
A current resident of Canton
Township, McNamara is in the
process of moving his residence
into the redrawn district. The coun-
ty commission districts were
redrawn as a result of the 2010 U.S.
Census which showed that the orig-
inal district population grew by
12.9 percent, largely fueled by the
growth in Belleville, Canton and
VanBuren.
Kathy Browne, founder, presi-
dent and CEO of local beautifica-
tion non-profit Green!USA,
www.green-usa.org, is asking for
donations of flats of deep red petu-
nias for Green!USA's two adopted
planters on Forest Avenue and
Main Street and Penniman in
downtown Plymouth. Donors will
receive a 501 (c) (3) tax donation let-
ter from the non-profit. To partici-
pate, contact Green!USA at (734)
455-7620.
Browne is also organizing
Green!USA's first yard and garden
raffle for May 19, the Downtown
Development Authority planting
day.
“You can win an hour of my
national, state and local award-
winning garden design time, val-
ued at $100 at Association of
Professional Gardeners' rates, to
help you spiff up your business
landscape or home yard for the
season, and help beautify down-
town Plymouth at the same time,”
Browne said.
Tax-deductible donations go
directly toward Green!USA's flow-
ers, perennials and evergreens to
beautify downtown Plymouth
through the two adopted planters.
The prize limit of $100 is set by
State of Michigan rules for charita-
ble gaming.
Register to win at Westchester
Barber Shop at 580 Forest Ave.,
near Deer Street, until 1 p.m. on
planting day, May 19. Chances will
also be available at Saxton's
Garden Center on Ann Arbor Trail
until 1 p.m. the same day.
Green!USA's May 19 raffle draw-
ing take place at The Burger Spot
on Forest Avenue at 1 p.m. Winners
neednot be present.
Commissioner will seek re-election
Kevin M. McNamara
John Werth
Browne is also announcing Green!USA's
first yard and garden raffle
for May 19, the Downtown
Development Authority planting day.
”
Green effort needs flowers