A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
October 13, 2011
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
‘Distinguished’ young
women being sought
Schools honor legislator
Distinguished young women in
Wayne and Westland are being
sought for a scholarshipprogram.
The former Wayne-Westland
Junior Miss program has been
renamed the Distinguished Young
Women of Wayne-Westland as part
of a state and national scholarship
program now called Distinguished
Young Women of Michigan and
America. This is the same scholar-
ship program which has been in
existence for 50 years and awards
scholarship money around the
country.
The program is preparing for
the Distinguished Young Women of
Wayne-Westland Scholarship
Program and seeking applicant
who are high school seniors gradu-
ating in 2012 living in either Wayne
orWestland.
The local program will take
place Nov. 12 at John Glenn High
School. The winner of this event
will go on to represent Wayne-
Westland at the Distinguished
Young Women of Michigan State
Program on Jan. 28 in Saline.
Contestants will be judged based
on academic achievement, talent,
self-expression, physical fitness
and interview.
Local director Brooke VanBelle
will host an informational meeting
at 5 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 16, at
Pointe Counterpoint Dance Center
in Garden City. The dance studio is
located at 32807Manor ParkDrive.
For more information about this
event or to RSVP, contact VanBelle,
at (734) 674-4447 or email dyw-
ww@hotmail.com. Information is
also available at www.ajm.org.
State Rep. Kurt Heise, R-
Plymouth, was honored as aFriend
to Public Education by the Wayne-
Westland School Board at the Sept.
25meeting.
“At a time when school funding
was being cut across the board,
Kurt Heise stood up for the par-
ents, students, and taxpayers of our
district,” said Gregory Baracy,
school superintendent. “As a par-
ent himself, Kurt believes our kids
deserve a quality education, and
he'sworked tirelessly for them.”
Heise was singled out by the
board members for his efforts to
restore $3 million in funding for
the Wayne-Westland School
District in the 2011-12 budget.
Heise also voted against the pro-
posed K-12 budget earlier this year,
believing it hurt funding for strug-
gling districts likeWayne-Westland.
“I am deeply honored by this
recognition by the Wayne-Westland
schools,” said Heise, whose district
includes the city of Wayne. “I
appreciate the sacrifice and dedi-
cation of the district's staff, teach-
ers, and parents and will do all I
can for the people of Wayne as we
move Michigan forward, and work
to bring stable funding and value
back to parents and children.”
Scary stuff
About 50 scarecrows, built by various business owners, service groups and individuals in Wayne, line
Michigan Avenue West in the downtown area, beginning at Second Street and ending at Elizabeth. The
project was promoted by the Wayne Ripple Effect and the Wayne Parks and Recreation Department. The
scary straw creatures have been on display since Oct. 1. Unfortunately, there have already been reports
of theft of some of the creations and vandalism to other efforts.