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No. 6
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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February 7 - 13, 2013
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
More than 80 people attend-
ed the Wayne Ripple Effect
meeting recently to help chart
the future of the downtown by
completing a survey of their
top three priority projects.
See page 5.
Dozens of Romulus police
officers and firefighters were
honored during a special
Hometown Heroes Service
recently at Romulus Wesleyan
Church.
See page 3.
The next distribution of
emergency food by Plymouth
Community United Way is
scheduledThursday, Feb. 21.
See page 4.
Artwork and essays created
by Northville Public School
students honoring the life and
legacy of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., will be on display at
the Northville District Library
thismonth.
See page 2.
The Van Buren Public
Schools will pay a total of
$185,000 to demolish the
Elwell School building, includ-
ing the treatment of any haz-
ardous substances at the site.
See page 7.
Vol. 128, No. 6
Vol. 66, No. 6
Vol. 66, No. 6
Vol. 13, No. 6
Vol. 13, No. 6
Vol. 128, No. 6
Vol. 66, No. 6
Vol. 66, No. 6
A new amnesty program
which began last week at the
Inkster district court allows for
a “Fresh Start” and many of
the fees owed by defendants
will bewaived.
See page 7.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Wayne
Metropolitan
Community Action Agency will
host the 17th Annual Walk for
Warmth from 9 a.m. until noon
atWestlandCenter onFeb. 23.
See page 5.
Residents throughout the area
who thought they were supporting
the Detroit Zoo with a tax they
approved in 2008 were surprised
to learn last week that more than
$200,000 of that tax revenue was
captured and used in their local
communities.
Now, nine Wayne County com-
munities are suing the county
treasurer and two tax authorities
to ensure that their right to with-
hold the dedicated zoo millage,
and the Detroit Institute of Arts
millage approved in November, is
legal.
The capture of the one-tenth of
onemill translates to about a dime
for every $1,000 of taxable value of
a home, but it obviously adds up.
Local communities have been
diverting the funds through Tax
Increment Finance districts, a
state mechanism that allows local
municipalities to establish dis-
tricts or areas within their borders
where a portion of any increase in
property taxes can be captured
and used by the municipality.
Many of these TIFA districts are
managed by Downtown Develop-
ment Authorities.
In Belleville, for example, the
DDA captured $3,214.94 of new
zoo tax revenue in a TIFA district
in 2008. In 2010, the city captured
another $2,847.26. Belleville has
joined the lawsuit.
Canton Township diverted
$13,377.73 of the new zoo tax in
2008, but has not reported any cap-
ture since that year.
Northville, which has also
joined the lawsuit, has diverted
money every year since 2008 when
a reported $2,824.39 was taken. In
2009, Northville diverted $3,232.13
and in 2010, $2,933.43. The last fil-
Fridays were extra special
at Canton Charter Academy in
the month of January as stu-
dents wore hats to raisemoney
for childrenwith cancer.
See page 4.
PlymouthTownship has not had
an independent professional eval-
uation of the fire department, a
usually routine procedure for
insurance purposes, since 1998.
The evaluations, which provide
risk and casualty ratings for insur-
ance carriers, are usually per-
formed by the Insurance Service
Office, Inc. (ISO). Considered the
most important tool in the insur-
ance industry is the Public
Protection Classification (PPC)
program of ISO that provides criti-
cal information about municipal
fire-protection services throughout
the country. Municipalities are
given a 1-10 rating, with 1 repre-
senting exemplary public protec-
tion while a rating of 10 indicates
that the area fire program doesn't
meet minimum criteria. The
Plymouth Township rating in 1998
was 5.
In general, the price of fire
insurance in a community with a
good PPC is substantially lower
than in a community with a poor
PPC rating, assuming all other fac-
tors are equal. Major factors in the
rating, according to ISO, are emer-
gency response call times, avail-
able fire equipment and vehicles,
community water pressure, the
staffing ratio to the coverage area
and training.
ISO conducts detailed on-site
assessments of municipal fire-pro-
tection capabilities and according
to their web site, collects informa-
tion for more than 46,000 fire pro-
tection areas across the United
States. ISO claims on the company
website that virtually all U.S. insur-
ers of homes and business proper-
ty use ISO Public Protection
Classifications in calculating pre-
miums.
At a board meeting last month,
Plymouth Township Fire Chief
MarkWendel submitted his annual
statistical report of fire depart-
ment data that broke down fire
incidents by fire station and shift,
including types of incidents,
alarms and number of patients
transported. The average response
time he reported to the board of
Several pet owners in Central
Park South, northwest of Geddes
andBeck roads, have stoppedwalk-
ing their dogs in the subdivision
after several malicious attempts on
their animals' lives.
Since last October, pets have
ingested sharp metal objects hid-
den in sausage, whitefish, ham,
candy andmeat and left in the area
for dogs to find.
Anastasia Bremmer's two dogs
found the treacherous treats last
October while out for an early
morning walk. The food is often
buried under a few leaves and
placed at the base of a tree,
Bremmer said, and in the dark it is
often too late to see what the dog is
chewing before injury occurs.
Her two dogs underwent abdom-
inal surgery to remove sewing nee-
dles with the eye portion removed
atHuronValleyHumane Society.
“Those people were great. They
did a fantastic job,” Bremmer said,
of the staff and veterinarians who
treatedher dogs.
She now drives her pets out of
the area for walks and has encoun-
tered neighbors doing the same
thing to protect their dogs.
Another resident who has two
small dogs also takes his pets to
another area or park for walks after
he, too, found the metal-laced food.
He also reported the incident to the
CantonPolice, as didBremmer.
“This stuff isn't just thrown out of
a car or something. It is very care-
fully placed where the dogs will
find it, usually between the side-
See
Survey,
page 4
See
Pets,
page 4
See
Tax,
page 2
Clarification of the situation is imperative,
many city officials said, because of the recently
approved .2 mills for the Detroit Institute of Arts...
”
Local communities file suit for zoo tax
Dangerous dog ‘treats’ still being found in Canton
Rusty Oswalt simply couldn't
stay retired.
After white supremacists
assaulted, pistol whipped and
threatened to set himon fire inhis
Wayne shop in 1995, he closed his
art business, Ancient Treasures,
andmoved onwithhis life.
“That was the fourth time they
came at me, they threatened to
douse me with gas and burn me,”
he said.
That retirement lasted more
than a decade, during which time
Oswalt continued to produce art-
work for friends and as a hobby.
Recently, his close friend James
Latham coaxed Oswalt back into
producing his unique style of stat-
ues and artwork for the public.
The two are now partners and
have a full catalog of examples of
Oswalt's artwork at their newbusi-
ness internet site www.treasure-
softheancients.net.
Oswalt continues to produce
the works out of his Winifred
Street home in Wayne where the
66-year-old artist has lived for 22
years.
“I missed it,” he said of the art-
work, which made it easier for
Latham to persuade him to join in
the internet art venture. Oswalt
was a Master Tool and Die Maker
for 45 years, which helped him, he
said, with the precision and detail
required inhis art.
“What I do is unique. There is
nobody else who does what I do,
with the techniques I use. When
I'm gone, there won't be anybody,”
he said.
His artwork replicates ancient
Egyptian, Greek andRoman statu-
ary and art pieces and he also
does Asian style art.
“I do anything people want.
Tell me what you want, I can do
it,” he said. Sales now are mostly
to homeowners looking for statu-
ary for gardens or specific indoor
spaces.
“My work pretty much sells
itself,” he said.
Oswalt said many of his friends
and acquaintances attempted to
discourage him and Latham from
starting up any kind of business in
this economy, particularly with
the experiences he had at his
WayneRoad store.
“There are still lots of good
people out there,” he said.
He plans on donating a large
statue of the Virgin Mary to St.
Mary School inWayne soon, when
he is satisfied that the work is per-
fect.
“I guarantee what I do. If it isn't
good enough for me, it isn't good
enough,” he said.
Ancient art
Former business owner
revives lost art forms
In general, the price of fire insurance in a community
with a good PPC is substantially lower than
in a community with a poor PPC rating...
”
Township insurance risk study is 15 years old
Rusty Oswalt, left, allowed his friend James Latham to lure him out of
retirement and into a partnership in a new internet art business..