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September 25, 2014
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Former Police Chief John Colligan mourned
Westland chosen for ‘Best Cities to Live’ list
City OK’s new LED lights
Funeral services took place
Tuesday at St. Mary Catholic
Church in Wayne for former
Wayne Police Chief John
Colligan, 67, who diedSept. 18.
Mr. Colligan, who grew up in
the Norwayne section of
Westland, spend his entire law
enforcement career in Wayne
where he was first hired as a
police officer in 1971 after serv-
ing in themilitary.
He was steadily promoted
until he assumed the rank of
chief in 1992 where he served
until his retirement in January
of 1998. He and his wife, Pat,
spent winters in Florida follow-
ing his retirement, but remained
Wayne residents.
His obituary on the Harry J.
Will Funeral Home website
includes many quotes from his
family who said that the world
lost a great storyteller, and an
evenbetterman.
“He lived a good, yet short,
life full of love, laughter and
beyond all, strength. He was a
hero to his daughters, a roman-
tic lead to his wife, a mentor to
his brother, and the guy every-
one loved to his nieces,
nephews, and friends. He was a
true Irishman, down to his love
of Notre Dame football, and
Jamesonwhiskey,” they noted.
Mr. Colligan, his family said,
was in charge of a city police
force, yet never seemed to win
an argument in a household full
of women, including his wife
and three daughters.
“He was clumsy with his
movements, yet graceful with his
love, and compassion. He was
loyal beyond measure, and
always gave the best advice. To
know him was to love him, and
there will be a void left without
him,” his children said. They
added that John Colligan is the
best man they have ever known,
and that they “are so grateful
they got to call himDad.”
Mr. Colligan is survived by his
wife, Pat Colligan; daughters,
Amy, Maggie and Katie Colligan;
a brother; Dennis (Joann)
Colligan; sister-in-law, Karen
Hutslar;, a brother-in-law, Bob
(Patti) Hutslar; nieces, Megan
Colligan, Jennifer Hutslar and
Shannon (Will) Hilliker;
nephews, Dan (Molly) Colligan
and Dan (Stephanie) Hutslar;
great-nieces, Lillian Colligan
and Jooleeana Hutslar; great-
nephews, Liam Hilliker, Patrick
Hilliker, Desmond Colligan and
IsaacHutslar.
Memorial donations can be
made in Mr. Colligan's name to
the Champions of Wayne at
Wayne Memorial High School,
3001FourthSt.,Wayne, 48184.
Westland is one of the 50
best cities to live in across the
country, according to a new
survey by 24/7Wall St.
Westland earned a spot on
the “America's 50 Best Cities to
Live In” list as selected by the
publication. Only two other
cities in Michigan grabbed
spots on the list, which was
publishedbyUSAToday.
Westland ranked as the 50th
Best Community because of its
low cost for high- quality living,
steady employment growth
and strong economy, and the
plethora of recreational oppor-
tunities. To qualify, cities had
to have a population of 65,000
or greater, in addition to scor-
ing well in a variety of cate-
gories.
“This is a great recognition
for our All-American City,” said
Mayor WilliamR. Wild. “There
is an incredible new surge of
energy going through our com-
munity now with over $20 mil-
lion of recent public improve-
ments, which include a new
city hall, a new fire station,
along with several recent park
and road improvements.”
“Westland residents should
be proud of earning a well-
deserved spot on this list,”
addedWild. “It's a testament to
our thriving community, a
vibrant economy with strong
local
businesses,
and
Westland's affordability and
safety for families.”
The report said of Westland,
“Even as Detroit remains in
bankruptcy, some of Wayne
County's other cities are not
just solvent but thriving.
“Westland was able to suc-
cessfully issue new bonds just
months after Detroit initially
filed for bankruptcy. Bolstered
by a low cost of living, steady
employment growth and an
unemployment rate of just 5.7
percent last year, Westland's
economy is fairly strong.”
To view the full list and read
more about how each commu-
nity was selected, readers can
check out the article on USA
Today'swebsite:
http://www.usatoday.com/sto
r y / m o n e y / b u s i -
ness/2014/09/17/24-7-wall-st-50-
best-cities-to-live/15736533/
John Colligan
Things are about to get brighter at the
WestlandSenior Center.
Members of the Westland City Council
approved a bid from America's Green
Line (AGL) for the senior center parking
lot lighting project at the Sept. 2 meeting.
The project aims to increase energy effi-
ciency and provide a needed update to
the lighting in the parking lot at the center
onNewburghRoad.
The project will be paid entirely out of
Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) funds, and will cost $22,830.
Senior Resource Director Barb Marcum
recommendedAGL for the project in a let-
ter toCouncil President JamesGodbout.
“The city looks forward to partnering
with a great local company in America's
Green Line for this senior center lighting
project,” said Mayor William Wild. “They
have a history of quality work and energy
efficient products.”
will now go to the Michigan Department of
Education for a decision.
Residents asking for the transfer said
that Bentley Elementary School, a
Plymouth- Canton school, is within one
mile of their subdivision while Walker-
Winter Elementary is four miles away, part
of the Wayne-Westland district. The resi-
dents said that they live in Canton
Township, use the township services but
are separated from the community by the
school district boundaries. The residents
referred to the boundaries as “forced segre-
gation” that “denies our children the ability
to truly belong to theCanton community.”
Residents also contend that their chil-
dren are being sent to a “less effective aca-
demic program” which places them at an
economic disadvantage and cited the
recent state test scores at Bentley which
they saidwere, on average, 20 points higher
than those at the Wayne-Westland school
their children attend.
Petition
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