Resident seeks legislator's help
To the editor:
This is a copy of a letter I sent to
StateRep. Kurt Heise.
DearRepresentativeHeise:
As a neighbor and fellow
Plymouth resident I writing to you
to ask for your assistance regarding
a matter of literal life and death.
You were kind enough to listen to
me earlier this year and I thought
your response was sincere and
most helpful. I respectively ask for
your help once again.
Please help us, the citizens of
Plymouth Township keep our
EMS-ALS life support system
before it's too late, and there's an
unnecessary tragedy. And please
look into the private agenda of our
elected Plymouth Township Board
of Trustees who want so badly to
ignore the voice of our residents
for someunknown reason.
Plymouth Township has already
lost critical fire department staffing
due to conflict with the City of
Plymouth after they pulled out of a
long-standing joint agreement for
shared services. The almost $1 mil-
lion dollar shortfall is squeezing
the budget and the township offi-
cials are squeezing the firefighters
at the risk of compromising the
critical fire and EMS services. You
should be aware, there is no deficit
in thePlymouthTownshipbudget.
OK, so if you had to go to the
emergency room with an arrow
sticking out of your knee, how
wouldYOUexplain it?
Not so easy, is it? I mean, do you
admit you're a clumsy dolt or try to
think of some semi-reasonable
explanation for your injuries to sat-
isfy the nurse looking at you like
you used to look at your 3-year-old
after he painted the dog.
I mean, it's an arrow, not like it's
an ax or anything. That came later.
Well, that was then and this is
now and my wounds are mending,
so that's a relief and the concussion
is healing nicely. The skull fracture
wasn't all that serious and the vari-
ous hemotomas should simply dis-
sipate, or so I'mtold.
My sprained wrist still hurts,
though, and I am limping visibly
from where the ladder crashed
down on top of me, but those small
inconveniences will soon heal, too.
Anyway I hope so.
Are you getting the idea here? I
am very busy feeling way sorry for
myself and nursing every one of
my exaggerated afflictions for as
much possible sympathy as I can
elicit. I even wore my bloodied
bandages out grocery shopping,
hoping the goodness of my fellow
manwould let me cut into the front
of the line. No such luck.
Apparently my fellow inconsider-
ate shoppers have no human com-
passion and thought I was just
early for Halloween. Even my
mournful moaning, eye rolling and
sighs of pain didn't get me to the
head of the line. This kind of artifi-
cial (albeit convincing if I do say so
myself) suffering, not to mention
the time it took to get all these
damn bandages back on, should be
good for something, but noooooo.
No, I wasn't in some horrific car
crash or accident, I was just trying
to move my furniture into a new
residence, take care of all the
cleaning and maintenance that
goes with such a venture and wash
the windows that hadn't seen a
squeegee since
they were
installed three
decades ago.
Sounds easy enough, right?
Well, maybe if you're 20 or
30…but when old age is creeping
up on you, well, things get a little
more difficult.
My handsome and nearly per-
fect son is responsible for the hunt-
ing arrow embedded in my knee,
or so I am telling everyone who
will listen and many people two or
three times. Actually, he was kind
enough to let me store several
boxes and pieces of furniture in his
basement. When I went over to
pick up a few things, I tripped over
some of my own junk, fell into a
quiver of arrows he had sitting on
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
September 29, 2011
‘Friends’
deserve
thanks
The efforts of Sen Hoon-Yung Hopgood (D-Taylor) and State
Rep. Doug Geiss (D-Taylor) to stop the state from issuing per-
mits to reopen the hazardous waste wells in Romulus are
admirable. We applaud the legislators who have introduced
bills that would prevent those who submit fraudulent applica-
tions fromreceiving permits.
We just mourn the fact that our state offices seem so lacking
in common sense and consideration of the public welfare that
these measures should be necessary. Isn't it only reasonable to
prohibit the granting of a permit to an individual or company
that has committed fraud to apply for such approval?
It seems a sad commentary, indeed, on the state of our gov-
ernment that an individual can be implicated and named as
part of a bribery scheme to get these permits, and still be con-
sidered a viable candidate to receive them. In fact, according to
some state officials, the past misdeeds or criminal activity con-
nected to the permits cannot even be considered in the granti-
ng of the permit. Officials can only approve or deny the permits
based on the correct filings of the application. Public welfare
means nothing and counts for nothing in this evaluation of the
permit. The only factor considered is the correct completion of
the forms.
Hopgood and Geiss have introduced the legislation, House
Bill 4930 andSenateBill 646, in response to the permit applica-
tion of Dimitrios "Jim" Papas, the sole owner of Environmental
Geo-Technologies (EGT) A plea agreement in the FBI and U.S.
Attorney's ongoing investigation into a bribery scandal that
involves the injectionwells has raised concerns that Papasmay
have violated laws in receiving the right to acquire the facility.
That case involves defendants Monica Conyers and political
consultant SamRiddle, both now serving prison time. Conyers
obtained a letter of support for the well operation from her
husband, U.S. Congressman JohnConyers.
Shouldn't the state departments responsible for granting
these permits be allowed to consider such factors when hand-
ing out these permits? We think so. We think the federal agen-
cies responsible for environmental concerns should also be
looking at the impact these kinds of facilities have on the com-
munity before simply rubber-stamping permits to haul 240,000
gallons of toxic chemicals, neuro-toxins and carcinogens
through our communities and then pump them into rock for-
mations underneath our communities.
This is dangerous stuff and more than just whether the
paperwork is properly completed ought to be considered
before allowing anyone to operate such a threat to the public
welfare.
We've been against the reopening of these wells since they
were closed when inspectors found toxic chemicals above
ground and no properly credentialed operator at the site sever-
al years ago. We've railed against the very thought of having
these chemicals driven through our communities in tanker
trucks or on railroad cars, citing the very real threat of a leak, a
crash or an explosionwhich could send this liquid death to our
front door.
We think these bills are a good idea and hope that Hopgood
and Geiss find the support necessary to get them through the
Lansing red tape as quickly as possible.
We are horribly disappointed and discouraged, however, to
find that they are necessary.
Shouldn't the state departments responsible for
granting these permits be allowed to consider such
factors when handing out these permits?
”
My sprained wrist still hurts, though, and I am limping visibly
from where the ladder crashed down on top of me, but those
small inconveniences will soon heal, too. Anyway I hope so.
”
Need for legislation is sad commentary on state
There were about 70 of them
who gathered for an early break-
fast and then went to work recent-
ly, painting and repairing the home
of a disabledneighbor.
Among the crowd of Friends led
by Wayne resident Ed McMurray
were a large number of Junior
Reserve Officer Training Students
from Wayne Memorial High
School. These students are famil-
iar to most people in the area as
they are an elite group, led by
Steven La Haine, that continues to
win state and national JROTC
awards and titles. But they weren't
drilling, running obstacle courses
or any of the other military tactics
they have perfected. They were
wielding paint brushes, rollers and
other tools to help a neighbor who
needed it.
They had some terrific role
models at the event, too. Mayor Al
Haidous, City Manager Bob
English and several city council
members were there, working
right alongside the teens. After
they broke for lunch, donated by a
local pizzeria, they went right back
to work and got the entire home
painted, along with the outdoor
storage shed, and a great deal of
lawnwork completed, too.
This is the kind of activity and
event that speaks well of a commu-
nity and the people who live there.
Hey, these guys could each have
spent their Saturday in a dozen
other ways, some of them cam-
paigning for office. They spent the
day working hard and left splat-
tered, for the most part, with paint,
dirt and the assorted grime that fol-
lows a full day of difficult, back-
breaking labor.
Good for them. We congratulate
each of them and thank them for
the time, the effort and the good
will and community spirit that
prompted their participation.
McMurray has noted that some vol-
unteers showup year after year for
the project and that his sponsors,
who donate supplies, food and bev-
erages for the volunteers, are the
ones who continue to make the
effort possible.
We think he's right about that
and we think this kind of project
attracts a very special kind of per-
son.
These are people willing to do a
lot more that just talk about what
can be done tomake the communi-
ty better. These are people willing
to get their hands, faces and every
other part of themselves dirty to
make something good happen in
their city.
McMurray has every reason to
be proud of the effort and each of
the volunteers, from the politicians
and city administrators to the
retirees and high school students,
should be proud of the effort they
extended.
They didn't only paint a house,
they improved a life, and with that,
improved the entire community.
Battered, bloodied but finally on the mend
See
Letters
, page 7
See
Battered
, page 7
Letters