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A
SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
4
October 18, 2012
C
ANTON
- N
ORTHVILLE
- P
LYMOUTH
New school still troubles
neighbors in subdivisions
School wins $50,000 prize
Construction is almost complete
and classes have officially begun at
the new 47,000 square foot
Plymouth Scholars Charter
Academy inPlymouthTownship.
The school located on North
Territorial Road opened Sept. 1 to
570 new students and a formal ded-
ication and open house took place
twoweeks ago.
Some neighbors, however,
weren't celebrating the opening of
the new facility.
Several residents of Rolling
Oaks subdivision, where the new
school is located, are still upset
about the construction noise, dirt
and inconvenience they experi-
encedduring the last fewmonths.
“It's ugly and it's out of character
for the area,” one resident said.
“We're very concerned about the
traffic inside and surrounding our
subdivision.”
Residents say the more-than-
two-story building along with the
playground and 150-car parking lot
could possibly hurt property values
in the subdivision.
Subdivision residents claimed
earlier this year that Plymouth
Township officials quietly
approved the development of the
school without properly notifying
the homeowners whose prime resi-
dential property surrounds the
sprawling 9-acre complex devel-
oped by the National Heritage
Academy of GrandRapids.
This past April, the objections of
17 residents fell on deaf ears at the
township planning commission.
Zoning changes facilitated by the
Plymouth Township Board of
Trustees and their agreement with
Livonia builder Leo Soave
Developments, LLC was listed on
the agenda.
Residents told the planning
commissionmembers they felt they
had no say as to what was going to
be built just outside their back
yards. Residents said they had no
idea a school was slated for the
property until, “The road-graders
woke us up early one morning, two
weeks after themeeting.”
In 2005, Township Supervisor
Richard Reaume agreed to a zon-
ing contract with Soave, who asked
for permission to change the zoning
classification. The published prop-
erty description labeled the project
as condominiums. Zoning regula-
tions in the township allow for the
construction of a school building in
property zoned for condominiums.
Residents said they now have
newconcerns.
Plans by township officials to
open a street in the middle of the
subdivision to accommodate the
construction of new condominium
homes, scheduled to be developed
by Soave, will create more con-
struction traffic and noise, neigh-
bors said.
The Plymouth Scholars
Academy now accommodates
kindergarten through sixth grade
students, but plans to include stu-
dents through grade eight. Jaclyn
Jeffery, who previously served as
principal at Keystone Academy in
Belleville, is the newprincipal.
Thornton Creek Elementary School stu-
dents will soon be enjoying $50,000 of new
inclusive playground equipment, the grand
prize in a recent essay contest sponsored by
Landscape Structures.
Thornton Creek was among the six win-
ners named last week in the contest which
required essay submissions describing how
the school would bring children of all abili-
ties together to learn, play and grow.
The contest, sponsored in partnership
with the National Association of
Elementary School Principals (NAESP)
Foundation, furthers their collective mis-
sion to enhance the lives of children with
inclusive play environments, according to
Pat Faust, president of Landscape
Structures. Landscape Structures is the
nation's leading designer and manufactur-
er of commercial play equipment.
Thornton Creek Elementary School has
a mission to share the responsibility of cre-
ating a safe and positive environment that
promotes self-esteem, mutual respect and
optimum student learning, and each mem-
ber of the school community is taught and
understands that everyone learns at differ-
ent rates, times and through different
strategies, according to principal Alison
Epler. Because Thornton Creek takes stu-
dents' learning opportunities from the
classroom to the playground, they realized
that it, too, needed to be more inclusive to
welcome the diverse population, she
added. No date for installation of the new
equipment was announced.
Plymouth Scholars Charter Academy in Plymouth Township
In the pink
Real BarBQ of Canton located at 42452 Ford Road at Lilley is going pink to support
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Wait staff will be adorned in specially
ordered pink t-shirts, while $1 dollar from entrees, including carry outs and deliveries
will go directly to support Gilda's Club Metro Detroit through Oct 31. "Many of our
customers or their families have been touched by breast cancer, so we are proud to
be able to support such a worthwhile cause," said RealBarBQ manager Jim Pinion.
Gilda's Club Metro Detroit provides a no-cost program for men, women, teens and
young children living with all types of cancer, as well as their families and friends. For
more information, call (734) 667-3996.