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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
January 31, 2013
I
NKSTER
- P
LYMOUTH
Harrison ukulele lessons and Carolyn
Omine, the lead writer for The Simpson's
TV show, are only two more who add talent
to the project.”
The full-length comedy took Kohne
more than four years to complete, but he
claims it was a labor of love.
“The movie has taken on a life of its
own,” Rolak said, “and the soundtrack is
selling beyond all expectations.”
“The story is about aman child who has
no interest in any kind of job and the
employment agent tasked with turning him
into a success story for his company,” Rolak
said. “It is really a lot of fun and everybody
enjoys it.”
Betweenhis baseball andmovie careers,
Rolak was involved with the sports founda-
tion at San Jose State in New Mexico and
then moved back to Detroit where he
worked in aviation industry in-flight servic-
es with Republic, Northwest and Delta air-
lines. His love of “the game” never dimin-
ished and he also did professional sports
broadcasting and produced a number of
anthologies for national broadcast.
Rolak is going to merge his two loves
with a program at the Plymouth District
Library at 7 p.m. Feb. 11, called Baseball In
The Movies, a multimedia production cen-
tered onbaseball films.
“There have been more than 200 base-
ball films going back to the 30s,”Rolak said.
He will display some rare baseball
movie posters and movie artifacts. There
will be a prize awarded, he said, for the
best or most unusual baseball cap in the
audience.
There is no cost for Rolak's presentation.
The Plymouth District Library is located at
223 S. Main St. Pre-registration is request-
ed at (734) 453-0750.
Information about the soundtrack and
DVD of Get A Job is available at
GetAJobMovie.com.
Entries are now being accepted for the
Damaris Fine Art Scholarship Award by
thePlymouthCommunityArts Council.
The $1,000 scholarship was established
by the Schulte family in honor of Dee
(Damaris) Schulte, artist, educator and for-
mer arts commission board member.
Dennis Jones will again serve as juror for
the competitionwhich is open to Plymouth-
Canton school district high school seniors
who have displayed outstanding abilities in
visual arts and plan to continue his/her
education in this field. Seniors from
Canton,
Plymouth,
Salem,
Starkweather/Feigel are eligible to submit
entries.
Students should submit a minimum of
three to a maximum of five pieces of art.
Each piece, as well as the portfolio, must be
labeled, and at least one piece of artwork
must be framed. Students will also be
required to submit two letters of recom-
mendation, a statement about the work
being submitted, a one-page essay describ-
ing how art affects their life and a recent
photo.
The artwork will be judged on originali-
ty, creativity, and use of material. Artwork
will be professionally juried. This award is
open to all students who are entered in the
Plymouth-Canton schools annual art show.
Student artists should contact Lisa Howard
at (734) 416-4278with any questions or to set
up an appointment for portfolio drop off.
The opening exhibit reception for all
artists who submitted portfolios for consid-
eration, will take place from 6-8 p.m. May 4
at the Plymouth Community Arts Council,
774 North Sheldon Road, Plymouth,
www.plymoutharts.com.
The event is free, open to the public and
refreshmentswill be served.
Movie
FROM PAGE 1
A deficit reduction plan for
Inkster Public Schools sent to the
state Department of Education
includes a provision to allow a pri-
vate charter school to operate
InksterHighSchool.
If approved at the state level, the
school district would no longer pro-
vide education to students in
grades nine through 12, but oversee
the operation of a charter school in
the current high school building.
The plan was adopted by a 4-2
vote of the board of education
members with Trustee Cecelia
Benson abstaining from the vote.
No votes were cast by trustees
Cornelius James and James
Richardson.
According to Superintendent of
Schools Mischa Bashir, the district
currently faces a $12 million deficit
due to factors including rising
health insurance, Social Security
contributions, retirement costs and
seriously declining student enroll-
ment. She said the high school
costs the district about $9 million
annually to operate but the district
receives only $6 million in per
pupil allowance from the state for
the 936 students.
"We have a structural deficit
which means we can't cut our way
out of it," she said.
The deficit plan, received by the
state Jan. 21, is tentative and no
measures could be taken regarding
a charter school prior to approval
of the plan at the state level, Bashir
stressed.
"If it is approved, the board will
assemble a committee…to review
proposals of interested charter
providers," she said. "But this is all
new and everything is contingent
on approval fromthe state."
Bashir said the district would
continue to operate as a kinder-
garten through eighth grade
provider, allowing a charter school
to provide education for grades
nine through 12.
"But this is all tentative," she
said. "Nothing can be done until
approval fromthe state."
Richardson said he cast his no
vote on the plan because he felt he
needed much more information.
He said James voiced his need for
more information, too.
"If this happens, I think we
would be the only city in the state
without a high school," Richardson
said. "We've been doing a lot of cut-
ting, but this is our fault. We didn't
make the right decisions," he said.
Richardson added that he had
been promoting a plan to outsource
busing for several years, but could-
n't get agreement from the board
for his plan, which he claims could
have saved as much as $3 million a
year.
Richardson said that the issues
and controversy on the board
regarding the superintendent have
filled him with "anger and disgust".
He said the board previously had a
deficit plan approved by the state
which the current superintendent
did not follow and that she failed to
report to the state as part of that
plan.
He detailed several expenses of
the superintendent and criticized
theway inwhich shewas hired and
the number of staff people she
brought with her from Pontiac
where she previously worked and
the salaries they are paid.
"James and I, we blame our-
selves," he said. "This is the board's
fault. This is what happens when
you don't follow procedures and
mistreat people. The state is ham-
mering us down, but nothing is
being said about her (Bashir's)
spending. The schools are failing
andwehave failed our kids.
"In my 12 years on the board,
this is the worst I've ever seen it. I
am actually sick about it. I may be
leaving the board in another month
or so because of it," he said.
District proposes ‘chartering’ Inkster High School
Art scholarships offered