Basic HTML Version
No. 3
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
January 15 – 21, 2015
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 Main Street
program recently asked for
donations from supporters to
continue their work in the
downtown area of the city.
See page 2.
Patrons of the Romulus
Public Library will have
access to the world's largest
supply of digital magazines
thismonth.
See page 3.
City of Plymouth officials
received some good news
last week from the outside
auditing firm charged with
the review of financial activi-
ty and reporting practices.
See page 4.
The
Northville
Educational Foundation is
looking for a little help from
some friends in their pursuit
of their collection goal of
$50,000.
See page 5
.
A routine traffic stop in
Belleville Jan. 3 led to the
arrest of a Taylor man with
more than half a pound of
marijuana inhis car.
See page 3.
Vol. 130, No. 3
Vol. 68, No. 3
Vol. 68, No. 3
Vol. 15, No. 3
Vol. 130, No. 3
Vol. 68, No. 3
Vol. 68, No. 3
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Dr.
Curtis
Ivery,
Chancellor of Wayne County
Community College, will
deliver the keynote address
at the Martin Luther King,
Jr. Day Ceremony in
Westland.
See page 2.
Canton firefighters credit-
ed working smoke alarms
with helping save the life of a
2-year-old in one of two
house fires they battled last
Friday.
See page 5
.
Vol. 15, No. 3
After a two year hiatus,
the free child identification
program will return to
Inkster this Saturday.
See page 4.
The 15-year-old Northville
High School student accused of
calling in a threat of violence to
the school Dec. 18 is facing two
felony charges in Wayne
County Circuit Court.
The call came to school
administrators from the State
of Michigan Ok2Say tip line the
morning of Dec. 18. Northville
Township Police said at the
time that the “threat was
deemed credible due to nam-
ing specific students, weapons,
explosives and a specific time
frame.
“A lock down of the 2,500 stu-
dents and staff was initiated to
ensure their safety,” according
to police reports of the inci-
dent.
The school remained in
lockdown for 90 minutes as
police searched for evidence of
a weapon or any type of explo-
sive. Two students were inter-
viewed by police that day in
connectionwith the incident.
The accused student was
arrested by Northville Police
on Jan. 6 and remained in the
Wayne County Juvenile
Detention Facility until his pre-
liminary court hearing on the
charges Jan. 7. Hewas released
into the custody of his parents
following the hearing.
He has been charged by the
Wayne County Prosecutor with
making false terroristic threats,
a felony punishable by 20 years
in prison if convicted and the
false report or threat of a bomb
or harmful device, which is a
four-year felony, if convicted.
Northville Township Police
said that their office, the
Northville Public Schools, the
Michigan State Police and the
Detroit office of the FBI were
involved in the investigation
that led to the identification
and arrest of the student.
“This was a cooperative
effort,” said Northville
Township Public Safety
Director John Werth. “We take
false threats and accusations
very seriously and investigate
them until someone is held
accountable.” Because the stu-
dent is a juvenile and charged
as such, no further information
or identification was revealed.
His next court appearance will
be closed in an effort to contin-
ue to protect his identity.
Northville Public Schools
Superintendent Mary Kay
Gallagher said, “Ensuring stu-
dent safety is among our high-
est priorities. In responding to
a potential imminent threat, we
act first to secure the safety of
all students, with appropriate
follow-up measures taken to
confirm the accuracy of infor-
mation reported. We cooperate
fully with the authorities in any
matter involving student safety,
and followour due process pro-
cedures to ensure that we act
based on accurate information
and with due regard to the pri-
vacy rights and protection of all
those involved.” Her remarks
were in a prepared statement
sent to all district parents.
“We appreciate the work of
the Northville Township Police
Department and the local FBI
office in collaboration with
Northville High School staff
and administration throughout
the lock down and subsequent
investigation,” she added.
According to Gallagher, the
district will continue to rein-
force appropriate use of the
Ok2Say resource for confiden-
tial reporting of information
that impacts school and student
safety, while also emphasizing
that the program has the
authority to investigate false
reports.
Vining Road in Romulus is
bordered by fields, Metro Airport
and industrial parks-and one of
the key areas for development in
the city.
Already the proposed site of a
325,000 square foot regional
retail outlet, it is one of the main
areas where the city will focus
development efforts, according
to the Envision Romulus plan
discussed in a city council study
sessionMonday night and during
Mayor Leroy Burcroff's state of
the city address Tuesday.
“This is going to be the road
map, or the vision to take us for-
ward,” said Burcroff. “We've just
got to get better andbetter.”
The EnvisionRomulus plan is
a major effort that got under way
in May and involved the feed-
back of more than 600 residents
and non-residents through stake
holder meetings, public meet-
ings, a community survey and
online input. About 400 residents
took part in an extensive phone
survey and 100 non-residents
were also polled through a 16-
mile radius, from Monroe to
Farmington Hills, about their
thoughts and impressions of the
city of Romulus.
“We wanted input not only of
what the citizens thought of this
community but what other peo-
ple thought of us,” said Tim
Keyes, director of economic
development forRomulus.
The plan identifiedmore than
100 action steps to be taken
under four key vision initiatives:
•Grow the local economy
•Enhance the local image and
brand
• Improve the transportation
infrastructure
•Expand recreational activities
Vining Road was identified as
an area that could attract region-
al development, such as enter-
See
Vision,
page 3
”
We take false threats and accusations
very seriously and investigate
them until someone is held accountable.
”
This is going to be the road map,
or the vision to take us forward.
We've just got to get better and better.
‘Vision’ for Romulus is new economic development
15-year-old faces felony terror charges
Lights, camera...
and ACTION
Students’ airport movie
will premiere next week
The preview of an inde-
pendent film Jan. 22 is expect-
ed to draw a large crowd of
students from the Plymouth
CantonEducational Park.
Probably because students
there wrote, produced and
directed the film.
The project was a collabora-
tive effort with students from
the
Plymouth-Canton
Educational Park television
and film class and included
hands-on participation from
Salem High School, Canton
High School and Plymouth
HighSchool students.
Students Ryan Apley and
Dylan Wilson were at the fore-
front of editing and composing
the indie film, Mettetal
Airport: The Jewel of Canton
and Plymouth, while more
than 50 people contributed to
the cinematic effort.
Professional cinematogra-
phers Lars Hjelmroth and
Randy Holloway provided
technical consultation to the
students
“The project went slowly
because we tried to have
teaching moments,” said
Holloway. The shooting com-
prised both winter and sum-
mertime airport scenes and
included showcasing special
events at the airport. The ven-
ture also included public serv-
ice announcements that aired
on local television and commu-
nity cable networks.
“The goal of the project was
to share some of that general
aviation history from Mettetal
Airport and to showcase the
location for future aviators.
Furthermore, the project will
have shelf-life as a movie short
to be used as an educational
asset,” said Raymond Rolak,
one of the supervising produc-
ers.
Student research found that
in the 1930s, the Mettetal air-
field was already active as a
popular crop dusting grass
landing strip. The rich avia-
tion history was a strong com-
munity asset that helped busi-
ness growth in Western Wayne
County after World War II.
Canton was an agro-communi-
ty then and the corn capital of
Michigan. The Stinson
Airplane factory on Van Born
Road in the Wayne and
Romulus municipalities also
factored heavily in the devel-
opment and status of the air-
port, according to the details of
the film.
Since the 1920s, the
Mettetal family operated the
airfield along with the agricul-
tural hot-houses on Lilley
Road. After World War II,
Robert Mettetal returned from
Pacific service and was the
fixed
based
operator.
Currently the site is managed
by the State of Michigan,
Department of Transportation-
Office of Aeronautics.
The short film project was
narrated by University of
Michigan graduate and long-
time film educator Janet
Sutherland. One of the
archived highlights was docu-
menting that Michigan Gov. G.
Mennen Williams, landed at
Mettetal Airport to participate
in the annual Plymouth 4th of
Alina Klin and Ernestine Lyons reenact in front of Richard
Hensley's World War II training plane at Mettetal Airport.
Some of the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park students who
took part in the Mettetal Airport history and docu-drama project
included Dylan Wi lson, left, Cameron Anstess, Alex
Berenzansky, Anthony Andrus and Logan McGlinn.
See
Movie,
page 5