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No. 42
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
October 18 - 24, 2012
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
There will be Zombies
walking the streets of Wayne
Oct. 26 during the Downtown
Wayne Zombie Pub Crawl, an
annual costumed event the
Friday beforeHalloween.
See page 5.
Hundreds of dresses,
underwear and boys' shorts
are on the way to orphanages,
churches and schools in Africa
following a Sew-A-Thon last
monthat aRomulus home.
See page 3.
Construction is almost com-
plete and classes have official-
ly begun at the new 47,000
square foot Plymouth Scholars
Charter Academy in Plymouth
Township.
See page 4.
Thornton
Creek
Elementary School students
will soon be enjoying $50,000
of new inclusive playground
equipment, the grand prize in
a recent essay contest spon-
sored
by
Landscape
Structures.
See page 4.
Citing safety concerns, the
Belleville City Council voted
unanimously to keep Main
Street in downtown Belleville
open to traffic onHalloween.
See page 3.
Vol. 127, No. 42
Vol. 65, No. 42
Vol. 65, No. 42
Vol. 12, No. 42
Vol. 12, No. 42
Vol. 127, No. 42
Vol. 65, No. 42
Vol. 65, No. 42
The National Kidney
Foundation of Michigan is
bringing a 16-week National
Diabetes Prevention Program
to Inkster from 6-7 p.m. on
Tuesdays beginningOct. 23.
See page 2.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Several residents have
already attended town hall
meetings to discuss the plans
for a new Westland City Hall.
The next Town Hall meeting,
open to the public, will take
placeNov. 13.
See page 5.
An unidentified Plymouth Township man
was shot and killed by a City of Plymouth police
officer late Sunday evening following a con-
frontation at a home onLilleyRoad.
According to a statement from Plymouth
Police Chief Al Cox, the city officer went to the
scene of a disturbance at a home at 8845 Lilley
Road just before 11 p.m.. The city officer was
the first on the scene, according to reports,
while officers from Plymouth Township had
already been dispatched to the disturbance
call. The identity of the man and the officer
involved were not being released at press time
and the incident was under investigation by the
Michigan State Police, who declined comment
until the investigation is complete.
The yellow-brick home is opposite Sparr's
Nursery and was the rented residence of the
deceased, according to neighbors, who said the
home is owned by Dennis Sparr. Neighbors in
the area said they knew the deceased only in
passing and were not sure of his name. One
neighbor said he had been told the man was in
a band and was a relative of Sparr, but that
informationwas not verified.
Dennis Sparr refused comment on the inci-
dent..
An employee who works at the neighboring
gas station said she knew the man as a friendly,
regular customer. She described him as a
handyman and said that the last time he was in
the store he made a point of telling her he had
just returned from Chicago and had suffered
what he described as a nervous breakdown.
She said he also told her doctors had pre-
scribed some “experimental drugs” for him.
A source close to the investigation said that
the current theory is that the deceased, who
they claimwas known to police fromearlier dis-
turbances, suffered from some mental prob-
lems. The disturbance involved may have been
the breaking out of windows at the home as
therewas broken glass at the property.
The man was allegedly brandishing a tire
iron at the officer whom he attacked when the
fatal shot was fired. According to reports, the
officer was not injured in the incident. The
man was pronounced dead after being trans-
ported to a local hospital fromthe scene.
There is no official confirmation of any of the
reports pending the StatePolice investigation.
The Oakwood Red October
Run attracted its largest crowd
ever onOct. 6.
The event, now in its 22nd year,
brought 1,503 participants from
Michigan, Canada, Ohio and other
states to the City of Wayne, where
they had the option to compete in
a 10Krun, a 5K run or a 5K walk.
The event also featured a one-
mile Junior October run for chil-
dren of all ages.
The topwinnerswere:
• 10K run - women: Deborah
Abrams, from Clermont Florida,
with a time of 42:10
• 10 K run - men: John
Trojansek, from Windsor, Canada,
with a time of 32:58
• 5K run - women: Suzanne
Larsen, from Fenton, MI, with a
time of 17:26
• 5Krun - men: KeithErichsen,
from Farmington Hills, MI, with a
time of 17:22
Rick and Shelly Huber, a hus-
band and wife walking team from
Montrose, took the top honors in
the 5K walk. Shelly Huber fin-
ished in 32:44, while Rick Huber
crossed the finish line in 28:23.
Other notable participants
included Beth Wood, IHM, an 83-
year-old nun fromDetroit who ran
the 10K for the third time, winning
her age group; several JROTC
students from Wayne Memorial
High school, who ran the 10K and
5K runs; a group of teenagers
from Oakwood's Inkster Teen
Health Center who trained for
and completed their first 5K; and
a group of young students from
Wayne's Taft Galloway Lower
Elementary School who partici-
pated in a summer training log
program followed by the Kids' Jr.
October 1mile.
Harrison Hensley, a Michigan
running community legend who
has competed in more than 2,000
races, took part, aswell.
For full race results, visit
www.oakwood.org/redoctoberrun.
Real BarBQ of Canton is
going pink to support National
Breast Cancer Awareness
Month. One dollar from entrée
priceswill go toGilda's Club.
See page 4.
Championship Track and Field
athletes Jeff and Tiffany Porter
have another honor to add to their
large collection of trophies,
medals and ribbons.
The husband and wife were
honored by the Canton Board of
Trustees recently with an official
resolution honoring their partici-
pation in the 2012 Olympics in
London, England.
The Porters received the recog-
nition from the board of trustees
for their athletic accomplishments
as well as for serving as positive
role models to young athletes in
the track and field arena.
“We are pleased to honor these
local athletes for their outstanding
Olympic achievements and dedi-
cation to their sport,” said Phil
LaJoy, Canton Township supervi-
sor. “To be an athlete who quali-
fies for and competes in the
Olympics is quite an accomplish-
ment and we, as a community,
could not be more proud to have
this couple reside in Canton,
Michigan.”
Tiffany Porter, a five-time
NCAA champion in the 60 and 100-
meter hurdles, made her Olympic
debut at the 2012 Summer Games
as a member of Great Britain's
track and field team and placed
fourth during the 100-meter hur-
dles semifinal event. This comple-
mentsmedalswon at several inter-
national competitions, including
this year's World Indoor
Championships in Istanbul,
Turkey. Porter, who holds dual cit-
izenships in Great Britain and the
United States, married fellow hur-
dler Jeff Porter in 2011. The cou-
ple met while studying at and run-
ning for the University of
Michigan. In May, Porter received
her doctorate of pharmacy degree.
Jeff Porter, adding to a reper-
toire of international competitions
including the Adidas Grand Prix
and Pan American Games, made
his Olympic debut with the 110-
meter hurdles event at the 2012
Summer Games. Porter finished
fifth during the semifinals. This
2006 NCAA indoor champion in
the 60-meter hurdles has also won
threeBigTen individual crowns.
Police shooting under investigation
Road warriors
Red October Run brings
runners of all ages to Wayne
Canton board honors local Olympic champions
Olympians Jeff and Tiffany Porter display Canton Board of Trustees res-
olution in their honor.
Photo by Dick Swisher
Students from Taft Galloway Lower Elementary School in Wayne
trained throughout the summer and took part in the Junior October
Mile.
John Trojansek (#308), from Windsor, Canada, gets off to a good start
with the rest of the 10K runners on Saturday. Trojansek won the event
with a time of 32:58.
Abby Jones, 7, and brother, Morgan Jones, 5, made it through the 1-
mile Red October Run. Their father, Ryan and grandmother, Kathy, ran
in the 10K event.