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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
January 2, 2015
B
ELLEVILLE
- N
ORTHVILLE
Early-morning fire destroys Northville home
Pedestrian remains
critical after accident
Masons’ grant includes conditions
House demolition gets OK
No injuries were reported
when fire destroyed a home in
the Maple Hills neighborhood of
NorthvilleTownship lastMonday.
Fire officials said the home, on
Fairfield Court, north of Six Mile
Road and west of Haggerty Road,
was reported on fire during a 9:20
a.m. call to the township 911 line.
Firefighters arrived within three
minutes of the call, according to
fire department reports, to find
the blaze out of control in the
home.
Northville Township Public
Safety Director John Werth was
also on the scene and said that
the first two fire units to arrive
found the two-story home fully
engulfed in flames at the rear of
the house. Firefighters fought the
blaze for more than an hour and
received assistance from the
Livonia Fire Department in con-
taining the fire to only the home
involved.
Initial estimates indicated the
home was a total loss. The cause
of the blaze remains under inves-
tigationby fire officials.
A Van Buren Township man remains
in critical condition after being struck by
a car onChristmasDay.
Van Buren Township Police were
called to the area of the South Interstate
94 near Denton Road at about 9:53 p.m.
Dec. 25 where an accident involving a
motor vehicle and a pedestrian had been
reported. Responding officers reported
that BrianLemble, a 41-year-old resident
of Indiana, was driving eastbound on I-94
Service Drive when he struck Billy
McFarley, 39, who had beenwalking east-
bound on the service drive.
McFarley was treated by fire depart-
ment safety personnel and Huron Valley
Ambulance paramedics at the scene
prior to being transported to St. Joseph
MercyHospital.
He remains in critical condition at the
hospital, according to police reports.
The Van Buren Township Accident
Investigation Team responded to the
scene to investigate the incident and col-
lect physical evidence. Anyone with
information or questions about this inci-
dent is asked to contact Lt. Kenneth
Floro at the Van Buren Township
Department of Public Safety (734) 699-
8915.
The grant from the Masonic Lodge in
Belleville to fund the training of a new
police officer comes with some condi-
tions.
Belleville Police Chief Hal Berriman
explained the terms of the grant offer,
which was intended for a specific officer
candidate, to members of the city council
at a recentmeeting.
The Masons Lodge members have
agreed to pay the tuition for the police
academy, and the salary of the potential
officer at the academy, for a specificmem-
ber of their lodge, who is now a reserve
officer with the city. City council members
had voted Nov. 3 to accept the offer of the
Masons, but did not have this information,
according toBerriman.
The candidate is not being identified
until he has been accepted into the police
academy, Berriman told the council mem-
bers.
The potential officer would begin
classes in January and will have to suc-
cessfully complete the Michigan
Commission on Law Enforcement
Standards (MCOLES) requirements,
apply to the Schoolcraft Police Regional
Academy and complete written and phys-
ical tests, as well as a drug test, before
being admitted, Berriman said.
Currently, Belleville has a vacant part-
time patrolman position in the police
department, Berriman confirmed.
The Northville Art House will present
Between Landscape and Place, an exhibi-
tion of paintings by JohnDempsey.
"We move through a variety of industri-
al, post-industrial, modern and post-mod-
ern environments and then work to
resolve landscape and nature within this
cacophony of place. These compositions
are offered to the viewer to visually
explore and chronicle that complex rela-
tionship," Dempsey said.
The paintings are composed in order to
confront a variety of environments and
perspectives at once. They bring together
a number of complex contemporary
spaces for the purpose of an immediate
comparison. The exhibit opens with a
reception from 6-9 tonight and continues
through Jan. 31 during Art House hours,
noon-5 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon
until 4 p.m. Saturday.
Admission is free. The Art House is
located at 215 W. Cady St. in Northville.
Formore information, call (248) 344-0497.
A Northville home built in 1900 will be
razed to the ground.
The home, located at 222 South Wing St.,
was described as an eyesore and consid-
ered unlivable by building officials in the
city. It has been vacant for the past eight
years and the roof and kitchen ceiling in the
rear of the home have collapsed, officials
said.
Members of the Northville City Council
agreed by a 5-0 vote to pay $12,240 to have
the home, owned by the city, razed by
MilfordSalvage Iron andMetal.
There are currently no plans for any new
construction on the site which had once
been designated as the location of the possi-
ble expansion of the Northville Post Office.
That expansion did not take place and the
land is currently listed in the city master
plan for residential use, such as condomini-
ums.
No date for the demolitionwas provided.
Art House plans exhibition
Brooklyn Naval Yard by John Dempsey