A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
June 4, 2015
B
ELLEVILLE
- C
ANTON
- I
NKSTER
NOTICE OF
A PUBLIC HEARING ON
TRUTH-IN-TAXATION
ROMULUS
COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
36540 Grant Road
Romulus, MI 48174
A Public Hearing on its proposed 2015-2016 tax levies
will be held by the Board of Education of the Romulus
Community School District on:
Monday, June 22, 2015
at 5:45 p.m.
in the
Board of Education Office
36540 Grant Road
Romulus, MI 48174
COPIES OF THE PROPOSED L-4029 WILL BE
AVAILABLE FOR REVIEW IN THE ROMULUS
ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE BETWEEN THE
HOURS OF 8:00 A.M. AND 4:00 P.M. ON JUNE
19, 2015
Romulus Board of Education
Publish:
June 4 2015
NOTICE
The Romulus Board of Education will conduct a Regular meeting on June 22, 2015
at 6 p.m. to approve the 2015-2016 Budget. The meeting will be held in the Board of
Education Office at 36540 Grant Road, Romulus, MI 48174.
Copies of the Budget will be available for review in the Romulus Board of Education
Office between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on June 19, 2015.
Publish: June 4, 2015
Federal permit OK’d for Horizon Park improvements
Library founder
marks birthday
Park spending OK’d
Legislators set meetings
It's been a long wait but the
kayak launch and other
improvements planned for
Horizon Park in Belleville
shouldbegin this summer.
After several delays and the
need for a Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission permit,
the kayak launch should be
under way this month. The
planned improvements will be
funded by the Downtown
Development Authority utilizing
a Michigan Department of
Natural Resources Grant of
$120,700 toward the total cost of
$197,071.50.
The work will be performed
by the low bidder, Blue Ribbon,
and was accepted by the DDA
several months ago while await-
ing approval from the federal
agency. That approval was nec-
essary as the lake has a dam,
subject to federal approval of
any changes or construction at
the site which could affect that
structure.
Officials said that the frame
of the kiosk at the park has been
removed for refurbishing and
that some landscaping work has
already been started. Work will
not interfere with events
planned at the park such as the
upcoming Kona Run June 19 or
the Strawberry Festival as the
contractors' equipment and
machinery will be staged out-
side the park and there will be
no traffic detours due to the
work.
Some of the larger pieces of
the structure will be launched
into the lake at other sites and
floated down to the site of the
new launch, officials said.
The improvements are sched-
uled to be complete this sum-
mer.
A familiar name in Inkster
marked a special occasion last
month when Leanna Hicks
marked her 95th birthday on May
14.
Hicks, for whom the Inkster
Public Library is named, spent
more than 35 years working to
improve local libraries and pre-
serve local history. Through her
service on the Inkster Historical
Commission, she led the efforts in
hundreds of acquisitions and
improvements at both the Inkster
library and the community histor-
ical collections. She is also the
founder of The Friends of the
Inkster Library.
Hicks, prior to her retirement,
held positions with the Wayne
County Federation Library and
the Wayne County Library
Commission.
Leanna holds degrees in
Journalism and Social Science
from
Eastern
Michigan
University and Wayne State
University. She retired from
Burroughs Corp. in Plymouth,
decades ago.
She has received countless
humanitarian awards from insti-
tutions such as the YWCA, Girl
Scouts of America, Veterans
groups, NAACP, Gamma Phi
Delta Sorority, Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority, City of Inkster Parks and
Recreation
and
Inkster
Christians in Action, among many
others.
Numerous tributes and
awards from the federal govern-
ment, the State of Michigan,
Wayne County and the cities of
Inkster and Detroit have honored
Hicks for her outstanding efforts
to better her community.
This year, during her birthday
celebration at the Imperial
Nursing Center in Dearborn
Heights, she was presented with
commendations from State Sen
David Knezek and State Rep.
Julie Plawecki, honoring her
achievements.
Inkster Public Library
Director Denise Bearre was on
hand to help celebrate the birth-
day of the woman for whom the
city library is named.
Hicks has been actively
involved in the Springhill
Missionary Baptist Church of
Inkster formore than six decades.
A widow, she and her deceased
husband, George, are the parents
of four children; Chester, Duane,
George Hicks III and Sherry
Byrd. She has 14 grandchildren,
nine great-grandchildren and
three great-great-grandchildren.
Director of the Leanna Hicks Inkster Public Library Denise Bearre, right, Dosye Thompson, library board
vice president, and Lillie Allen wished Leanna Hicks a happy 95th birthday last month.
Patriot Park, a 134-acre site
near Ford and Ridge roads, will
see $112,000 of improvements,
thanks to funding from Wayne
County.
Members of the Canton
Township Board of Trustees
agreed last week to spend the lat-
est $112,377 portion of the Wayne
County parksmillage to construct
two new athletic fields, irrigation
and a limestone access path at
the park.
The completed park will offer
hiking trails, athletic fields for
soccer, lacrosse and other sports
in an effort to serve the new
homes expected to be construct-
ed in the area By Pulte Homes.
The developer plans to install a
12-foot wide walking trail at the
park that will also accommodate
a neededwatermain.
Canton Leisure Services
Director Debra Bilbrey-
Honsowetz said Patriot Park
could become the last large com-
munity park in the township.
“It will certainly be our largest
community park and, probably,
because of the way development
is occurring, the last significant-
size community park,” she told
the trustees. “It's going in an area,
the northwest quadrant, where
we don't have a lot of amenities.”
Township Supervisor Phil
LaJoy said that the park could
take up to two years to complete
as funding becomes available.
start of each school year for
underprivileged students.
Rotary International is one of
the oldest service organizations
and has the motto, “Service
AboveSelf”.
During Liberty Fest, the Rotary
Club will be hosting the Adult
Beverage Tent, which is spon-
sored by Liberty Street Brewing
Company from 4-10 p.m.
Thursday and Friday and from
11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Saturday
near the Canton LIVE! Stage.
There will be a selection of craft
beers and hard ciders. Festival-
goers must be 21 years or older
to enter the tent.
There will be more than a
dozen other charitable and civic
groups be at various sites during
the Liberty Fest offering items at
the Market Place or at booths
promoting their causes.
For more information on any
of these non-profit groups, visit
or
call (734) 394-5460.
Prosecutor Robert Donaldson
and approved by Johnson who
found enough evidence to send
Melendez to trial in Wayne
County Circuit Court on all three
charges.
The only testimony offered
during the preliminary hearing
came from Dent, 57, the man
seen on a police cruiser video-
tape of the incident being yanked
from behind the wheel of his car
at gunpoint, thrown to the
ground in a chokehold and bru-
tally beaten by Melendez. The
videotape shows Melendez hold-
ing Dent in a choke hold with
one armwhile striking himin the
head 12-16 times with a closed
fist. Melendez has one of Dent's
arms pinned behind his back as
he continues to strike him on the
right side of his head. The video-
tape shows another officer arriv-
ing at the scene and kicking Dent
while another repeatedly uses a
taser on himas Melendez contin-
ues to strikehim.
The incident became an inter-
net sensation when Dent's attor-
ney, Gregory Rohl, released the
tape to the media. Police reports
of the incident originally claimed
that Dent ignored a stop sign
after being seen in a known drug
trafficking area of the city. Dent
admitted he drove about four
blocks before realizing that
police were attempting to stop
him.
He said, contrary to police
reports, that he made no threats
against officers. Melendez also
claimed to have found a bag of a
white powder in Dent's car, an
assertion he and his attorney dis-
pute, claiming the videotape
shows Melendez planting the
suspected cocaine in the car.
Dent was originally charged
with resisting arrest and
obstructing officers and posses-
sion of cocaine. Wayne County
Prosecutor Kym Worthy dis-
missed those charges when she
viewed the videotape of the
arrest, which did not accompany
the original request for awarrant
sent to her office by Inkster
police. Johnson had earlier dis-
missed the resisting arrest
charges when she viewed the
videotape.
Dent was hospitalized for two
days as a result of his injuries,
which included a broken eye
socket. At the hearing, he told the
court that the injuries left him
with some memory impairment
and occasional difficulty in
thinking straight.
He also told the court that
Melendez choked him “so hard I
couldn't breathe.”
Melendez' attorneys ques-
tioned Dent's medical tests
claiming that results of a screen-
ing at Garden City Hospital
showed cocaine in his urine.
Robertson, however, said that he
wanted to make it very clear that
blood tests performed by the
Michigan State Police forensic
laboratory showed no opiates or
drugs inDent's system.
Melendez will now face
arraignment on the charges June
10 in circuit court.
Festival
FROM PAGE 1
Court
FROM PAGE 1
To advertise
in
The Eagle
call
734-467-1900.
Wayne County Commissioner Richard LeBlanc,
State Rep. Julie Plawecki and State Senator David
Knezek will resume their monthly coffee hour
events In Inkster in September. The meetings,
which usually take place the second Monday of
each month at the Leanna Hicks Public Library,
will be postponed until September due to library
summer operating hours. Citizens who have ques-
tions or concerns in the meantime are encouraged
to contact any of the elected officials by mail, tele-
phone, or email:
SenatorDavidKnezek
Mail: POBox 30036,
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: (855) 347-8005
Email: sendknezek@senate. michigan.gov
Representative JuliePlawecki
Mail: POBox 30014, Lansing, MI 48909
Phone: (517) 373-0849
Email:
.
CommissionerRichardLeBlanc
Mail: 500GriswoldSt., 7thFloor, Detroit, MI 48226
Phone: (313) 224-8855
Email:
