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PAGE 6 ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN January 19, 2023

PLYMOUTH - SUMPTER
PLYMOUTH - SUMPTER

Local legislator named chair of education committee

State Rep. Matt Koleszar (D- Koleszar understands the critical
Plymouth) was named chair of ” issues facing our schools, and he
the House Committee on There is a lot of work ahead of us, will listen to the voices of his fel-
Education earlier this month. and it is an honor and a privilege low educators when it comes to
Koleszar served as president of crafting education policy. We
his local Michigan Education to be entrusted with this great responsibility. look forward to working with
Association chapter at Airport Rep. Koleszar, as well as lawmak-
Community Schools where he ers from both parties, to improve
taught social studies and English tive to end the downward spiral across the aisle make him the our schools and provide
for 12 years before joining the non-educators created. There is ideal choice for chairman of the Michigan educators with the
Legislature in 2019. a lot of work ahead of us, and it is Education Committee. I'm proud resources they need to help
“As a teacher, I worked an honor and a privilege to be to appoint him to that position every student succeed.”
through an ever-changing and entrusted with this great respon- and excited to see the results he Koleszar represents the 22nd
increasingly challenging land- sibility. I look forward to working produces for students in every House District, which includes
scape that the Legislature creat- with our partners in education in corner of our great state,” said the public school districts of
ed for our public schools,” said every corner of this state, so we Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit.) Livonia, Northville and
Koleszar. “From the budget cuts can once again return Michigan “We are thrilled with Rep. Plymouth-Canton. He graduated Matt Koleszar
during the Snyder administra- to its position as a top 10 state for Koleszar's appointment as chair from Saginaw Valley State
tion to counterproductive stan- education and destination for of the House Education University in 2006 with a bache- in English studies for teachers.
dardized testing requirements to educators.” Committee,” said Paula Herbart, lor of arts degree in secondary Koleszar maintains his
the security risks our students “Matt's experience as a president of the Michigan education and history and from Michigan teaching certificate
face within the classroom, I teacher and legislator and Education Association. “As a for- Eastern Michigan University in and resides in Plymouth
chose to run for state representa- proven track record of working mer teacher himself, Rep. 2011 with a master of arts degree Township with his wife, Kim.
State police announce increased speeding enforcement

Since the COVID-19 pandemic snow, slush and slick road condi-
began more than two years ago, ” tions that make speeding even
law enforcement agencies across more dangerous and crashes
Michigan have reported an Speeding continues more likely.”
alarming rise in speeding and In Michigan, the number of
fatal crashes. to be a traffic crashes rose from 245,432
To combat this trend, dozens critical issue in 2020 to 282,640 in 2021, an
of municipal, county and increase of 15 percent. There
Michigan State Police law in Michigan. was also a rise in fatalities (1,131
enforcement agencies across in 2021 compared to 1,083 in
Michigan will conduct overtime 2020), she said.
speed enforcement through Feb. According to the National
28. Highway Traffic Safety
In 2021, there were 237 speed- Michigan Office of Highway Administration, local roads are
related fatalities on Michigan Safety Planning, said the goal of more dangerous than highways
roads, an increase of 18.5 percent increased enforcement is to for speeders. In 2020, 87 percent
from 2020, when 200 people died. change these risky driving behav- of all speeding-related traffic
Nationally in 2020, 11,258 fatali- iors and save lives. fatalities occurred on non-inter-
ties involved crashes in which “Speeding continues to be a state roadways.
one or more drivers were speed- critical issue in Michigan that Recent insurance industry
ing, an 18 percent increase from leads to many needless crashes, studies show that approximately
the 9,478 fatalities in 2019, serious injuries and fatalities on 112,000 speeding tickets are
according to state police reports. our roadways,” Bower said. issued each day, or about 41 mil-
Katie Bower, director of the “With the arrival of winter comes lion per year.
Driver is

killed by

fast train

An 89-year-old Sumpter
Township man was killed last
Wednesday, Jan. 11, when a train
struck the vehicle which he was
driving. The man was pro-
nounced dead at the scene,
according to police reports.
The accident took place as
the man was driving on
Rawsonville Road south of
Bemis, according to official
reports of the incident. The
investigation is ongoing, officials
said and is being handled by the
Washtenaw County Sheriff's
Department, Railroad Police
and Michigan State Police.
While the roadway was closed
for several hours, it reopened
the same day to vehicular traffic,
police said. The 89-year-old was
the only occupant of the vehicle.

Emergency

siren is now

operational

That loud, piercing shriek
now being blasted from Sumpter
Township emergency siren num-
ber nine is music to the ears of
many local residents.
The siren had been inopera-
ble since last August, caused pri-
marily by supply chain delays in
receiving replacement parts nec-
essary for repair of the alarm.
The siren, located at Sherwood
and Arkona, is now repaired and
back online, officials said.
All 14 of the township emer-
gency sirens are tested at noon
on the first Friday of each
month, officials said and are no
cause for alarm, but ensure the
efficiency of the alerts in case of
a natural disaster.
For more information, call the
non-emergency line at the
Sumpter Township Police
Department, (734) 461-6898.