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No. 1
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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January 3 - 9, 2013
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
Two Westland families in
need of holiday help were
pleasantly surprised last week
by employees of the Wayne-
WestlandCredit Union.
See page 2.
Representatives of Rolling
Thunder Chapter 5 recently
thanked management of the
Belleville Walmart store for
allowing them to sell raffle
tickets.
See page 3.
The opening reception for
Raelee Edgar's first solo show,
Fast Lane Reflections, the art
of the automobile, will take
place from 6-9 p.m. Jan. 5 at
the Plymouth Community Arts
Council.
See page 6.
Nineteen teachers in the
Northville Public Schools
were awarded grants from the
Northville
Educational
Foundation lastmonth.
See page 4.
Classes were cancelled at
Belleville High School last
Friday due to rampant rumors
of potential violence against
students and the impending
end of theworldpredictions.
See page 3.
Vol. 128, No. 1
Vol. 66, No. 1
Vol. 66, No. 1
Vol. 13, No. 1
Vol. 13, No. 1
Vol. 128, No. 1
Vol. 66, No. 1
Vol. 66, No. 1
An independent investiga-
tor is needed to preserve the
Inkster Police Department fol-
lowing a vote of no confidence
in Chief Hilton Napoleon by
theunions.
See page 5.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The parents of a 3-month-
old infant were arrested at
Annapolis Hospital where
their son was taken by Wayne-
WestlandparamedicsDec. 19.
See page 3.
The Inkster Command Officers
Union has filed a unanimous vote
of no confidence in InterimPolice
Chief Hilton Napoleon with City
Manager Ronald Wolkowicz. That
vote of the membership was in
support of a letter of no-confi-
dence in Napoleon sent to
Wolkowicz Nov. 21 by the
Teamsters Local 214 which repre-
sents the 20 city patrol officers
anddetectives.
In the letter from the
Teamsters, signed by Chief
Steward Phillip Randazzo, inci-
dents dating back to Napoleon's
time as deputy chief are cited as
“interfering with a criminal inves-
tigation, endangering the lives of
officers, endangering his own life
and that of others, providingmate-
rial information prior to detec-
tives making contact with family
members, interfering with negoti-
ations with a barricaded suspect,
returning a firearm to an individ-
ual without proof that the individ-
ual could legally possess a
weapon and disregarding the
legal opinion of the prosecutor's
office and the district court judge.
“The 10-page complaint details
the dates and case numbers of the
incidents and goes on to accuse
Napoleon of untruths, a lack of
knowledge regarding departmen-
tal rules and regulations and con-
tributing to the negative percep-
tion of the Inkster Police
Department. The complaint letter
also cites a lack of concern by
Napoleon for city contracts, inter-
ference with an arrest, neglect of
duty and favoritism toward auxil-
iary officers.
Napoleon denied all the allega-
tions and said that the complaints
were “from a small group of indi-
viduals unhappy with decisions
made on their grievances.”
Napoleon, who has been the
interim chief for about a year,
added that there are procedures
for these grievances and com-
plaints of officers and that he is
not the only one making decisions
about them. “My decision is not
the last decision,” he said. He
added that the city manager is
upholding his view of the deci-
sionsmade.
“They have a right to their
opinion, but they ought to tell the
truth,” Napoleon said. “Just
The International Festival
will return to The Village
Theater at Cherry Hill Jan. 12
and will celebrate diverse cus-
toms and traditions with enter-
tainment, music and song.
See page 4.
Central Middle School in the
heart of downtown Plymouth may
soonbe closed to students.
Members of the Plymouth-
Canton Community Schools Board
of Education have agreed unani-
mously that the school building is
no longer viable for classes, partic-
ularly sincemore than half the 850
students at the school are resi-
dents of CantonTownship.
A recent estimate indicated
that required upgrades at the
building would cost in excess of
$26 million. The upgrades and
renovations would also require
the transfer of students from the
facility to another school building
during the estimated two years the
constructionwould require.
Board trustees have informally
agreed that a new school building
will be necessary, particularly in
light of the heavy student popula-
tion from Canton. Ninety percent
of students at Pioneer Middle
School reside in Canton and 88
percent of the students at East
Middle School in Plymouth
Township live inCanton.
Board members addressed the
issue at a recent meeting and
opted to survey residents in mid-
January in an attempt to see if a
bond issue would be approved by
voters. The surveywill be complet-
ed by Epic/MRA and include 400
random calls in an effort to gauge
community support for a new
school building or additions to cur-
rentmiddle schools.
The school district currently
owns land at Canton Center Road
and Cherry Hill, where a new
school could be constructed if
funding through a bond issuewere
approvedby voters.
Superintendent of Schools Dr.
Jeremy Hughes told board mem-
bers that he and the administra-
Members of the Wayne City
Council approved a site plan for a
new business at the corner of
Michigan Avenue and John Hix
Road.
The building at 38910 Michigan
Ave. West formerly housed several
different restaurants at different
times but will now become Black
Diamond/Pro Fireworks. The fire-
works business has another location
in Sterling Heights among the five
new locations opened last year in
light of the change in Michigan law
allowing the sale of fireworks. There
were concerns from some residents
regarding the business but
Councilman James Hawley said that
he had driven past the Sterling
Heights location twice to satisfy some
of his questions about the suitability
of such a business in the city.
Councilman James Henley also
had questions and accompanied
Hawley to the meeting of the plan-
ning commission when the initial
plan was approved. Both council
members agreed with the decision of
the planning commissioners in the
approval of the new business and
noted that the planning commission
haddone a “good job.”
Therewere concerns raised about
the business compliance with local
ordinances regarding the discharge
of fireworks. Fireworks sales are now
allowed by state law but local ordi-
nances can restrict the discharge to
legal holidays. City Manager Robert
English assured the council that the
administration would work with the
ordinance committee to prepare an
ordinance regarding discharging
fireworks inclusive of stipulations
regarding minors and those who are
intoxicated. He said such an ordi-
nance would be brought to the city
council for adoption and approval.
City Planner Matt Miller spoke in
favor of the move of the fireworks
company into the 2,800 square foot
building. Miller said that he expected
the new business to clean up the
facility, inside and out, and bring the
structure up to all building codes.
“We love Wayne. It has everything
that we want,” said James Stajos of
Black Diamond/Pro Fireworks. “It's a
great location on a high-traffic street
across froma huge assembly plant.”
See
School,
page 4
See
Police,
page 2
Napoleon also denied returning an
unregistered firearm to a woman based only
on her word, another allegation in the complaint.
”
Vote of ‘no confidence’ filed by
unions against Inkster police chief
Dream job
Local teen takes off for
career at Disney World
Fireworks store OK’d by Wayne City Council
Board agrees to vacate Central Middle School
Visitors at Disney World from
this area may feel a real connec-
tionwith one of the live characters
who stroll the park, greeting chil-
dren and signing autographs.
Victoria Simcheck, 18, well
known throughout the Northville
community as a mainstay at her
mother's Center Street business,
Salon Tre Bella V, left this week
for a full-time position at the
Disney amusement park which
she said is her “dreamjob.”
Shewill be one of themost pop-
ular Disney characters, one who
doesn't speakmuch but is a crucial
to the cast of the Disney classic
Peter Pan. Shemay also step into a
couple of other favorite characters'
costumes as needed and for two
days every month, she expects she
will don a fuzzy suit to delight all
the fans of a certain very popular
bear.
“I'm not allowed to tell people
which characters I will be,”
Simcheck said. “All I can say is
that I'm in the entertainment part
of the park. It's part of what they
refer to as keeping the magic
alive,” Simcheck said, “and I real-
ly understand that. I can't wait to
interact with the kids.”
Simcheck has been training for
a career as a dancer and enter-
tainer since she started dancing
lessons at 3, according to her
mother, Jessie, who owns the pop-
ular salon where the new Disney
cast member worked for the past
four years, since the shop opened.
Simcheck auditioned in both
Canton and Novi this year and
received a call back from the tal-
ent scouts at Disney almost imme-
diately. She then did a video audi-
tion for them and two phone inter-
views before being told she'd been
Victoria Simcheck
See
Dream,
page 6