No. 02
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
Jan. 14 – 20, 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 Commission
on Aging and Friends of the
The Northpole Classic will
host the annual golf outing
Jan. 30.
See page 4.
The
Northville
Educational Foundation
awarded 49 teachers and 20
projects
across
the
Northville Public Schools
District with Innovative
Grants totaling $27,892.66
lastmonth.
See page 2.
Belleville Downtown
Development Authority offi-
cials have reduced contribu-
tions to each city festival and
event to $1,500 this year and
to $1,000 for 2017-2018.
See page 2.
Vol. 131, No. 02
Vol. 69, No. 02
Vol. 69, No. 02
Vol. 16, No. 02
Members of the Romulus
City Council authorized
additional improvements
Monday to the Romulus
Civic League facility on
Wahrman Road at no cost to
taxpayers.
See page 3.
Vol. 131, No. 02
Vol. 69, No. 02
Vol. 69, No. 02
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The new Westland City
Hall has been honored by
the Downriver Branch of the
American Public Works
Association and will now be
considered for state and
national honors.
See page 4.
The proposed new 120-
foot cell tower behind the
Abundant Life Church of
God does not have the bless-
ing of several neighbors.
See page 2.
Vol. 16, No. 24
The foster grandparents
who participate in the
Inkster Legends basketball
camps are one of the key ele-
ments in the program, said
Legends Director Fred
Smiley.
See page 4.
Plymouth Township attorneys
were in the Michigan Court of
Appeals last week seeking to
overturn a decision by the Chief
Judge of the Wayne County
Circuit Court ordering them to
return a 190-acre parcel of land
toCity of Detroit.
Lawyers representing the City
of Detroit argued that the city has
owned the land since 1919 and
lost it in an improper foreclosure
transaction. Their arguments
prevailed in a court proceeding
and the township was ordered to
return the property to Detroit in
a decision last year. Township
officials hired former Michigan
State Attorney Mike Cox, now in
private practice, to aid in the
arguments before the three-mem-
ber appeals panel last week. The
oral arguments were heard by
Presiding Judge Michael J.
Talbot, Judge Mark J. Cavanagh
and JudgeKirstenFrankKelly.
“…Plymouth Township is not
an innocent third party. The
Township engineered the fore-
closure by failing to send proper-
ty tax bills to the City despite the
fact that the City at all times was
owner of the Subject Property.
Plymouth Township then pur-
chased the Subject Property for
back taxes andnowseeks amulti-
million dollar windfall at the
expense of the City,” Detroit
attorneys claimed in a court
motion.
Plymouth Township obtained
the land in September 2011 for
$606,150. The contested property
is located at Five Mile and Ridge
roads, the site of the former
Detroit House of Correction, also
known as DeHoCo, which closed
in 1986.
Detroit attorneys filed an affi-
davit in January 2013 with the
Wayne County Register of Deeds
in hopes of reversing the transfer
of the property without legal
action. Law Department repre-
sentatives say they met with then
Plymouth Township Supervisor
Richard Reaume and Clerk
Plymouth
Township
Treasurer Ron Edwards will
face Mark Clinton, a 27-year
township resident is the first
declared challenger for the
position in the November
election.
See page 5.
See
Land,
page 5
The fact remains, however, that
Plymouth Township does not come across as
an innocent party to these proceedings.
”
In remembrance
Tributes to Dr. King are planned
NextMonday, areamunicipal
offices will be closed and com-
memorative events scheduled
throughout the area in remem-
brance of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., a leader of the civil
rightsmovement in our country.
Dr. King, pastor of the Dexter
Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery, AL, was a strong
worker for civil rights and was a
member of the executive com-
mittee of the National
Association
for
the
Advancement of Colored
People, the leading organization
of its kind in the nation. Early in
December of 1955 he accepted
the leadership of the first nonvi-
olent demonstration of contem-
porary times in the United
States, the Montgomery, AL bus
boycott which lasted 382 days.
That boycott led to the Dec. 21,
1956 Supreme Court decision
declaring laws requiring segre-
gation on buses as unconstitu-
tional. During the days of the
boycott, King was arrested and
tortured, his home was bombed
and he was subjected to person-
al abuse, but he emerged as an
unparalleled leader of the civil
rightsmovement.
As the president of the
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, Dr. King traveled
more than six million miles and
spoke more than 2,500 times
between 1957 and 1968 in his
battle against injustice. He was
the author of five books as well
as numerous articles. In these
years, he led a massive protest
in Birmingham, AL, that caught
the attention of the entire world,
providing what he called a
“coalition of conscience” and
inspiring his “Letter from a
Birmingham Jail”. He directed
the peaceful march on
Washington, D.C., of 250,000 peo-
ple to whom he delivered his “I
Have a Dream” address; he con-
ferred with President John F.
Kennedy and campaigned for
President Lyndon B. Johnson;
he was arrested more than 20
times and assaulted at least four
times; he was awarded five hon-
orary degrees; was named Man
of the Year by Time magazine in
1963, and became not only the
symbolic leader of American
blacks but also aworld figure.
At the age of 35, Martin
Luther King, Jr., was the
youngest man to be awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize. When noti-
fied of his selection, he
announced that he would turn
over the prize money of $54,123
to the furtherance of the civil
rightsmovement.
On the evening of April 4,
1968, while standing on the bal-
cony of his motel room in
Memphis, where he was to lead
a protest march in sympathy
with striking garbage workers of
that city, he was assassinated.
James Earl Ray was convicted
March 10, 1969 of killing Dr.
King after entering a guilty plea
to forgo a jury trial. He died in
1998 while serving a life sen-
tence inprison.
Congressman John Conyers,
D-Detroit, introduced legisla-
tion for a commemorative holi-
day four days after Dr. King's
death. When the measure
became stalled in Washington,
more than sixmillion signatures
supporting the bill were submit-
ted to Congress. It took 15 years,
Westland Mayor William R.
Wildwas sworn in as Chairperson
of the Conference of Western
Wayne (CWW) last week.
“I am truly honored to serve
the 18 communities in Western
Wayne County that make up this
consortium,” said Wild. “We meet
monthly to discuss issues such as
legislation, transportation, public
safety, substance abuse preven-
tion, community and economic
development, employment and
the environmental health of the
region.”
The conference board of direc-
tors comprises the chief elected
officials fromeach of the 18 mem-
ber communities. The bi-partisan
board members work collectively
to discuss mutual issues, share
information and generally
improve the quality of life for the
nearly 700,000 residents who live
in the area, according to an offi-
cial statement fromthe group.
Member communities include
the cities of Belleville, Dearborn,
Dearborn Heights, Garden City,
Inkster, Livonia, Northville,
Plymouth, Romulus, Wayne and
Westland, and the townships of
Canton, Huron, Northville,
Plymouth, Redford, Sumpter and
VanBuren.
“This position complements
an initiative I started last year to
mobilize mayors in the state,”
said Wild. “We are all facing
issues at the state-level that
impact our cities and communi-
ties. It is imperative that we col-
laborate and create solutions to
the challengeswe encounter.”
The Conference is the access
point for funneling information to
local units from county, state and
federal agencies. In this capacity,
the Conference of WesternWayne
will monitor state and federal leg-
islation for impact on local gov-
ernment. In addition, conference
personnel work as a liaison
between local government and
many service organizations by
representing members on various
committees andboards.
Despite the diversity of size,
economic development and pop-
ulation density, member commu-
nities have beenworking together
- working regionally - to enhance
this area of Wayne County for 35
years, a spokespersonnoted.
“We are fortunate to have
many strong leaders in Western
Wayne County likeMayorWilliam
Wild, who has volunteered his
time, effort and experience to the
benefit of all the Conference of
Western Wayne communities,”
commented Jordyn Sellek, execu-
tive director of the Conference of
Western Wayne. “Because of the
strong leadership of our 18
Conference of Western Wayne
leaders, 700,000 people choose to
call western Wayne their home. I
look forward to working with
Mayor Wild in moving our region
forward and congratulate him on
his selection as the chair of the
Conference of Western Wayne,”
she concluded.
See
Tributes,
page 6
Wild takes helm at Western Wayne Conference
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Court battle for DeHoCo land continues
