Howmany Mexican men does it
take to put together aChinese bed?
More than the crew of five I had
move my furniture last week, obvi-
ously. I realized there was a prob-
lem the first night I tried to sleep in
the aforementioned bed only to
look overhead and see that the
wooden canopywas upside down.
Upside down.
Let me preface all this whining
about the horrors of moving with a
word about these guys who did the
heavy, and I mean heavy, lifting.
They were great. They smiled the
entire weekend, did whatever we
asked them to do, including haul-
ing two refrigerators up a very
steep flight of stairs, in 90 degree
heat, without complaint. Despite
the significant language problem,
evidenced by the upside down bed,
they were great. Nothing got bro-
ken, nothing was lost and all my
possessions were treated with
great care. These guys were the
only goodpart of the experience.
I don't ever want to endure any
of the other parts ever again. Take
it two steps past exhaustion and it
might be an apt description of my
current physical condition. I knew
it had reached critical mass when I
tried to make copies at the office in
themicrowave.
It didn't work. Neitherwas I able
to start my car with the ring of
Allen wrenches I had borrowed
from a friend to install towel racks.
And believe it or not, the refrigera-
tor is not the best place for storing a
hammer.
My beloved spouse's idea of
packing is to throw whatever he
can reach into a box. There, done.
No label, no organization, no clean-
ing, no putting like items in the
same carton or at least items from
the same room together. That's for
sissies.
His packing is akin to the scene
from the Steve Martin movie, The
Jerk, when Martin walks through
the house just grabbing anything he
spies along the way. “This is all I
need, just this ashtray and this
chair and this phone….” Well, you
get the idea.
One very clever acquaintance
suggested that I put HIM in an
unlabeled box and let the movers
dowhatever theymight withhim.
It was a good idea but he got out.
That carton
tape isn't as
strong as they
claimin the commercials.
Lest you think I'm being a bit
harsh, a little background.
First we moved the office from
our location in Wayne to Forest
Street in Plymouth. It took a week
of back breaking labor, but we got
all our offices set up and estab-
lished while still managing to pub-
lish a paper. We were actually pret-
ty organized and really love our
new place----lots of room, lots of
natural light.
That same weekend, however,
we moved our home from
Farmington Hills to Plymouth.
Humane Society models offered
To the editor;
It's model year-end closeout
time at the Michigan Humane
Society (MHS), and right now, all
makes and models of its Certified
Pre-Owned dogs and cats are
priced to move! For a limited time
only, when you adopt an MHS
Certified Pre-Owned Pet - or one of
their brand new models - you'll get
such a great deal, it will be hard to
drivehomewith just one.
During this limited-time offer,
the adoption fee for all MHS dogs
and puppies is $150, while the cat
and kitten adoption fee is just $10
(or $30 for felines adopted at one of
MHS' PetSmart offsite partner loca-
tions). That's right - you could drive
home with a 2011 Beagle, a 2010
Labrador or a 2007 Shih Tzu for
just $150. Or, choose from a wide
variety of feline models - from a
2011 turbo kitten, to a larger-model
cat the whole family will love - for
one lowpayment of $10.
These certified pre-owned Pets
and new models come with a thor-
ough multi-point inspection that
includes spay or neuter surgery,
age-appropriate vaccinations, and
more, as well as the unbeatable
MHSmoney-back adoption guaran-
tee.
Adoption hours at the three
Michigan Humane Society "show-
rooms" in Detroit, Rochester Hills
and Westland are 10 a.m. until 5
p.m. Monday throughSaturday, and
from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays.
(PetSmart off-site adoption partner
hours vary by location.) You can
also check out dozens of current
models online at www.michiganhu-
mane.org/adopt. For more details,
call 1-866-MHUMANE (648-6263)
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
throughFriday.
The Michigan Humane Society
is a private, nonprofit organization
which cares for more than 100,000
animals each year, while working
to end companion animal home-
lessness, provide the highest quali-
ty service and compassion to the
animals entrusted to our care, and
to be a leader in promoting
humane values.
NancyGunnigle
Communicationsmanager
MichiganHumane Society
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
S
EPTEMBER
1, 2011
Hiring in
Wayne is
‘curious’
Members of the Plymouth Township Board of Trustees
rejected the petitions of a citizens' group seeking a ballot ques-
tion last week amidstmuch contention and controversy.
We've heard several versions of the story, and been provided
reams of background, although none of it from anyone in the
township. When we called, we left messages, but are still wait-
ing for any return call. Probably some communicationproblem.
For those who haven't had occasion to drive through
Plymouth Township recently, there are red-colored signs read-
ing “We Support Our Firefighters” cropping up like dandelions
in spring across area lawns.
They are in response to a reported plan of the township
administration to close a fire station, reduce the firefighters
staffing by half and eliminateAdvancedLife Support as a serv-
ice for residents. Conflicting accounts of the plan are almost as
prevalent as the signs. Some say the board members have
detailed the plan publicly, others say no such plans have ever
been made official. The entire issue is fraught with conflicting
stories, gossip, innuendo and irreconcilable 'official' state-
ments.
A member of the group attempting to get the question of a
dedicated millage to fund the township fire department on the
ballot said there were about 700 of the signs out and more on
request from area residents. More than 3,500 residents signed
the petitions which requested that the township board author-
ize the placement of the question of a 1-mill fire department
levy on theNov. 8 ballot.
The group wasn't asking the board members to support or
deny the question, and the petition language is clear that sign-
ingmeans only that the resident is in favor of having the option
of voting on the issue.
Seemed pretty reasonable, as do the well-spoken, logical
members of the group who really aren't asking for anything
more than the right to be heardby those they elected anddirect
their representatives in the direction themajoritywishes to go.
At the meeting, the board members said they hadn't had
time to look at the petitions carefully since they had just been
made aware of them the preceding Friday. Someone was well
aware of them long before that, obviously, since several of the
signatures were questioned and theWayne County Registrar of
Deeds contacted about proper ownership of parcels of proper-
ty, attempting to determine if the signaturewas that of the regis-
tered owner.
Themeeting did getmore than contentious and erupted into
a shoutingmatch as emotions ran high. Many in the community
are concerned that the $1 million spent to train the firefighters
in Advanced Life Support will be wasted, and that lives will, in
fact, be lost without this emergency room on wheels service.
Others claim this is a red herring by the firefighters unions
attempting to better their bargaining position.
It appears to us that the unions have offeredmore andmore
concessions to the township, which must fill a $1 million short-
fall in the fire budget created when the City of Plymouth left
the joint operating agreement with the township.
It also appears that this has become a very personal issue
The meeting did get more than contentious and
erupted into a shouting match as emotions ran high.
”
People deserve to be heard by Plymouth board
The rather irregular hiring of a
new director in the City of Wayne
is a curious thing.
Last week, a sitting councilman
was named as a new department
head in the city, approved by his
fellow city council members with
whom he has been serving and
making decisions on city issues for
years.
Aswe said, a curious thing.
We also find it curious that two
part-time city jobs were combined
to create this city administrative
position, requiring payment of full
benefits and legacy costs.
We are certainly not questioning
Mathew Mulholland's credentials
or qualifications for the job, but we
are more and more uncomfortable
with the manner in which the hir-
ing was posted, or not posted, and
the interview and hiring process
conducted. The mayor, city manag-
er and all but one dissenting coun-
cil member are comfortable with
the procedure and the action
taken. They have publicly stated
that they feel Mulholland was the
most qualified candidate for the
job and the most experienced. His
experience on the council, it is
claimed, will be a benefit and he
can begin to perform effectively
immediately.
That may well be the case. What
we find even more curious, howev-
er, is the number of times we have
heard Mulholland state, or agree
when others state, that seeking
candidates from outside the cur-
rent candidate pool in the commu-
nity is a necessary and beneficial
thing. He has reiterated that fresh
ideas and new procedures can be
gleaned from people with experi-
ence outside the community and
that a vast and wide net of appli-
cants should be sought and inter-
viewed for any position.
On that, we soundly agree with
him.
Hewasn't the one, however, who
The Marquis de Sade invented moving
See
Petitions
, page 7
See
Moving
, page 7
See
Hiring
, page 7
Letters