No. 51
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
December 22 – 28, 2016
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
The Wayne Chamber of
Commerce announced the
recipients of several annual
award winners during the
annual Holiday Luncheon
which took place recently.
See page 4.
The Northville Township
Board of Trustees unani-
mously approved the
appointment of Richard
Allen to fill the vacancy on
the board left by the sudden
deathofMarvinGans.
See page 3.
Vol. 131, No. 51
Vol. 69, No. 51
Vol. 69, No. 51
Vol. 16, No. 51
Students at Romulus
Community Schools have
taken the adage, “It is better
to give than to receive” to
heart and are putting those
words into action.
See page 5.
Vol. 131, No. 51
Vol. 69, No. 51
Vol. 69, No. 51
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The “All American
Holiday Decorating Contest”
is now under way in
Westland and will continue
until midnight on Saturday,
Dec. 24.
See page 4.
Greg Hohenberger has
been named as the new
director of Canton Leisure
Services. He will replace
Debbie Bilbrey-Honsowetz,
who retired inDecember.
See page 2.
Vol. 16, No. 51
A new Little Free Library
has been constructed at the
Booker Dozier Recreation
Complex located at 2025
Middlebelt Road.
See page 4.
It took the new officials in
Plymouth Township only 3
minutes to approve the sale
of the controversial snow
machine purchased by the
previous administration.
See page 3.
The Belleville Area
Chamber of Commerce
Awards Dinner, Holiday
Party and Silent Auction is
planned for Jan. 21, 2017.
See page 5.
Security videos obtained
from the Plymouth Township
Police Department have given
rise to numerous questions and
concern regarding the actions of
two former elected officials who
spent the last 20 hours of their
terms shredding documents and
removing items from their town-
ship offices.
According to video evidence
obtained through a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request
by The Eagle, former Township
Treasurer Ron Edwards and
former Township Clerk Nancy
Conzelman were recorded
removing unknown materials
and numerous large clear plas-
tic bags fromtownshiphall.
Both former officials, defeat-
ed in the November election,
were required by law to vacate
their offices in the municipal
premises by noon Nov. 20.
Several time-stamped surveil-
lance devices show the pair
exiting and re-entering the
building during a 20-hour peri-
od from 3 p.m. Nov. 19 until 9
a.m. Nov. 20. Each appears leave
carrying bags or items and then
returning almost immediately
thereafter through the front
entrance door near the police
department.
Also appearing on the sur-
veillance tapes are other
unknown individuals who
appear to be assisting the for-
mer officials in their marathon
venture. Motion-activated secu-
rity video frames include
images of a small dog going in
an out of the building along with
a jogging female, apparently
aidingConzelman.
At the end of the security
footage, shortly after 9 a.m.
Monday morning, Edwards is
seen turning off the lights and
carrying out what appears to be
a chrome plated shovel.
Last month, after being on
the job for only six days, newly-
elected Township Supervisor
Kurt Hiese told members of the
Plymouth Concerned Citizens
group that he and the other
recently elected officials had
discovered an unusual number
of missing records and files in
their respective departments.
He theorized that the records
may have been digitized but
said the incoming officials
found many empty file drawers
and records binders, which
caused some inconvenience and
frustrationduring the transition.
There was no indication of
the disposal of the numerous
bags and other items removed
from the township offices but it
appears that all the items were
removed from municipal prop-
erty.
John Werth stood in front of the
Northville Township Board of Trustees
one final time and took a short breath.
He had just finished extolling the
virtues of a police department that is cele-
brating its 50th anniversary, having
evolved from a one-person staff to one of
the most highly regarded agencies in the
State of Michigan. There was just one
more thing to do.
“Mr. Manager,” he said, his voice break-
ingwith emotion, “my tour is done.”
With that, he made official his retire-
ment from the department that he had
served for more than 30 years, first as a
patrolman, then a sergeant, chief of police
and finally director of public safety. Both
departments have evolved as the town-
ship itself has changed since Werth start-
ed May 31, 1985, and are well-poised to
meet the challenges of the future said
Township Manager Chip Snider. Snider,
the former township police chief and
director of public safety, promoted Werth
to the chief position and has worked
closelywithhimfor nearly two decades.
“His legacy is strong,” said Snider.
“He's left a tremendous department
behind him. We've worked together, we've
mourned together, we've suffered together
and some of that was difficult-but it was
all worth it to get towherewe are tonight.”
Northville Township was still largely
an institutional community when Werth's
father, recently retired from the Detroit
Police Department, moved the family
there in 1978. When Werth joined the
police department seven years later, the
Northville Psychiatric Hospital was still
open and active, the state mental hospital
was still in operation and the Robert Scott
Correctional Facility was under construc-
tion. Those facilities are closed now,
awaiting development or already torn
down.
Meanwhile, the population in the town-
ship nearly doubled. Beginning during his
time as police chief in 2001 and public
safety director in 2007, Werth helped raise
the bar in both departments, pushing edu-
cation and training and bringing
Advanced Life Support to the community.
When he was elected president of the
Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police
(MACP) last year, he pushed for the adop-
tion of standards that would make the
township department an accredited
agency. It is now in line to become the first
department in Michigan to be accredited
through the MACP standards for the
accreditation of police departments-stan-
dards which he helped adapt based on a
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Officials spent 20 hours emptying offices
Motorists in Wayne would be
well advised to obey the speed
limits and traffic laws as there is
a newsheriff in town.
Members of the Wayne City
Council recently approved an
agreement with the Wayne
County Sheriff's Department to
patrol the city streets and issue
tickets for traffic infractions. The
intergovernmental agreement
was approved by a unanimous
vote of the councilmembers.
Undersheriff Daniel Pfannes
attended the recent city council
meeting and explained the new
agreement, noting that the sheriff
deputies would be primarily
patrolling the main streets in the
City of Wayne in an effort to aug-
ment the current traffic controls
in place with the city police
force.
Police Chief Alan Maciag said
that the county officers would
patrol and issue citations under
the local statutes.
There will be no cost to the
city for the patrols, Pfannes
explained, and currently the
county department has contracts
for similar patrols in neighboring
communities includingWestland,
GardenCity andRomulus.
“As the officers have time,
they will do traffic stops and con-
trols,” Pfannes said. Under the
new agreement, 50 percent of the
fines for traffic infractions would
come back to the city and the
other half go to the sheriff's
department.
Pfannes, no stranger to the
area, served with the Westland
Police Department for 25 years
prior to his appointment as
undersheriff in Wayne County in
2007.
The Wayne County Sheriff's
Department is the third largest
law enforcement agency in the
state.
There was no opposition to
the intergovernmental agree-
ment which will become effec-
tivewithin the next fewweeks.
County sheriff will patrol Wayne streets
Fond farewell
Northville honors 30-year
career of safety director
See
Werth,
page 3
Retiring Public Safety Director John Werth, at podium, surrounded by members of his
department told the Northville Board of Trustees "My watch is done," at his final meeting
last week. Photo by Shaun J. Nicoloff
Surveillance cameras at Plymouth Township Hall recorded Ron
Edwards and Nancy Conzelman emptying their offices for more
than 20 hours Nov. 19 and 20.
