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No. 3
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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January 19 - 25, 2012
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 City of Wayne has
planned a grand re-opening
ceremony for the Ted D'Pulos
pool at 6 p.m. Feb. 1, just prior
to the annual city Winterfest
celebration.
See page 3.
Romulus police have
arrested a 41-year-old Canton
Township man in the brutal
death of a 57-year-old city resi-
dent whose body was discov-
eredby his son Jan. 7.
See page 4.
Reservations for the annual
State of theChamber breakfast
are now being accepted. The
event will take place from 7:30
until 9 a.m. Jan. 25 at The Inn
at St. John's.
See page 2.
Nine residents have sub-
mitted applications indicating
their interest in being consid-
ered for appointment to an
unexpired term on the
NorthvilleBoard of Education.
See page 2.
The Van Buren Public
Schools Board of Education
will make no formal recom-
mendation regarding the loca-
tion of a new Belleville area
library.
See page 3.
Vol. 127, No. 3
Vol. 65, No. 3
Vol. 65, No. 3
Vol. 12, No. 3
Vol. 12, No. 3
Vol. 127, No. 3
Vol. 65, No. 3
Vol. 65, No. 2
The Annual Business
Community Networking Mixer
sponsored by the Inkster
Chamber of Commerce is
planned from 6-8 p.m. Jan. 24
at TheAvenue.
See page 5.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
State Rep. Richard
LeBlanc, D-Westland, has
announced his candidacy for
theWayne County Commission
- 12th District. LeBlanc recent-
ly filed the required forms
with theWayneCountyClerk.
See page 5.
Sam Walton is set to do battle with Mother
Nature.
The smartmoney is onWalton this year.
This is the third year Walton and Signature
Professional Group have produced the
Plymouth Ice Festival and this year will mark
the 30thanniversary of the event in the city.
Last year, Mother Nature made it danger-
ously cold, keeping crowds down on the week-
end, Walton said. That was after 2010 when she
sent a dose of warm air and rain to thwart him
bymelting the sculptures.
This year, he's ready.
“We have enough back up ice that if we need
to keep carving sculptures, we can do it even if
the temperatures don't work out,” he said.
“I'mhoping for a beautiful mid-20s weekend
with a little sunshine. If that happens, I bet we
will have 100,000 people come through the
event,” he said.
The 30th Annual Plymouth Ice Festival offi-
cially begins at 3 p.m. tomorrow, Jan. 20, and
wraps up at 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22. The three
days will be full of events, demonstrations and
activities,Walton said.
The Dueling Chainsaws Speed Carving
Extravaganza will be back by popular demand
at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21. This year there will
be more sculptors, more speed, more ice, more
A home on Denton Road in
Canton Township was com-
pletely destroyed by fire last
Thursday, despite the efforts of
firefighters from three com-
munities.
See page 3.
The results of more than a year
of work will be unveiled this
month when officials in Northville
Township unveil the master plan
for the former Northville
PsychiatricHospital Property.
The 400-acre parcel between
Haggerty andNorthville roads will
be preserved primarily for recre-
ational uses, according to
Township Supervisor Mark Abbo.
He said the basic vision is to pro-
vide a nature preserve with plenty
of passive recreational amenities
such as walking, hiking and biking
trails.
“It's all low intensity, low-cost,”
said Abbo. “It's going to be a great
centerpiece for Northville
Township.”
The township will develop
about 350 acres of the property, he
said. The remaining 50 acres or so,
which is situated on the Haggerty
andSevenMileRoad corridor, will
become a commercial center.
Abbo said the developers are
working on designs for that, and
he hopes to see a site plan propos-
al some time this year.
The property has essentially
been vacant since 2003, when it
was closed down by the state.
Since then the township has fend-
ed off numerous attempts to over-
develop the site, culminating in an
annexation attempt that Livonia
voters rejected in 2008. In 2009,
township voters approved a 1-mill,
20-year levy to fund the purchase
of the property.
Since then, the township has
hosted several planning sessions
and met with focus groups to
determine the best uses for the
property. Ideas included anything
from the trails to a dog park,
Frisbee golf courses, a dedicated
nature center andmore.
“We wanted to hear from the
public,” said Abbo. “It was their
investment; wewanted to seewhat
theywanted.”
Abbo said the township is look-
ing to be as fiscally responsible
with the development of the prop-
erty as possible. The preliminary
planning and study has been fund-
ed with the proceeds of the equip-
ment salvaged there-such as the
miles of copper wiring strewn
through the tunnels between the
28 buildings on the site. The demo-
lition of the buildings will be fund-
ed through a Brownfield
Redevelopment Plan.
The meeting will take place at
7:30 p.m. on Jan. 26 at Northville
TownshipHall, which is at the cor-
ner of SixMile and Sheldon roads.
Abbo said the overall master plan
would be discussed and the town-
Plymouth police have followed
up on three tips in theDec. 29 hit-
and-run on Main Street, but have
determined that the reported
vehicle was not the one involved
in the injury accident.
According to Det. Lt. Jamie
Grabowski of the Plymouth
Police Department, all three tips
received were about the same
vehicle, which proved not to be
the car police are searching for.
The incident occurred at about
12:30 a.m. Dec. 29 near the inter-
section of Main and Mill streets,
in front of the Grecian Café,
according to police reports. A 30-
year-old resident of Plymouth
Township was walking on the
sidewalk when a late model light
colored Ford Escape went over
the curb and struck him. The car
then crashed into a light pole
before leaving the scene headed
southbound onMain.
According to Grabowski, a
patrol car was near enough to
have heard the crash and the offi-
cer saw the suspect vehicle leav-
ing the scene.
“The officer could have given
chase but he saw the victim on
the ground and stayed to try and
help him. That was certainly the
right choice on the officer's part,”
Grabowski said.
Grabowski said that he and
other investigators had talked
with the victim, who was trans-
ported to the Botsford Hospital
Trauma Center. Grabowski said
that the victim is expected to
recover fromhis injuries and had
been released fromthe hospital.
“He remembered very little
about the incident,” Grabowski
said.
“We showed him the surveil-
lance tape and he did say he
remembered seeing the vehicle
It's all low intensity, low-cost.
It's going to be a great
centerpiece for Northville Township.
”
We have enough back up ice
that if we need to keep carving
sculptures, we can do it even if the
temperatures don't work out.
”
Plans for 7 Mile property to be revealed
Investigation of Plymouth hit-and-run continues
Remembering the dream
Hundreds of people came out early Monday morning to
honor the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Romulus. One of
the largest celebration in the area, city and school offi-
cials and the Romulus Ministerial Alliance all helped
mark the occasion. Marchers walked 1-mile down
Wayne Road from Cory Elementary School, where they
were welcomed by co-chairman of the community cele-
bration the Rev. Arthur Willis of Pentecostal Baptist
Church, to Romulus High School, where the Rotary Club
provided a pancake breakfast. Speakers included Mayor
Alan Lambert and former University of Michigan basket-
ball captain David Merrit, along with musical tributes.
See
Festival,
page 2
See
Property,
page 2
See
Police,
page 2
Plymouth Ice Festival opens tomorrow