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No. 7
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
February 12 - 18, 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
Despite the continued
and ongoing discussion and
efforts of members of the city
council to cut expenses, the
budget deficit Wayne has
grown by more than
$150,000.
See page 4.
Captain Joshua Monte of
the
Romulus
Police
Department recently gradu-
ated from the FBI National
Academy at Quantico, VA.
See page 5.
The student radio station
of the Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools will
sponsor the seventh annual
Record Show Feb. 21 at the
SalemHighSchool cafeteria.
See page 3
.
The baseball team at
Northville High School is
looking for contributions to
help bring the traveling
Vietnam Wall to the school
grounds to celebrate Armed
ForcesDay.
See page 2.
Members of the Van
Buren
Downtown
Development Authority
(DDA) have approved some
revisions to the contract for
the newly-hired assistant
director.
See page 5
Vol. 130, No. 7
Vol. 68, No. 7
Vol. 68, No. 7
Vol. 15, No. 7
Vol. 130, No. 7
Vol. 68, No. 7
Vol. 68, No. 7
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
A $5 per hour increase in
fees prompted members of
the Wayne Westland
Community Schools Board
of Education to shop for new
legal representation.
See page 4.
A childhood fascination
with military aviation has
brought
one
Canton
Township native “full circle”
in his career as an archivist
at the naval museum in
Florida.
See page 3.
Vol. 15, No. 7
Twowomenwho admitted
threatening a 30-year-old
Inkster resident with a chain
and handgun were recently
sentenced in Wayne County
Circuit Court.
See page 5.
Residents in both the city and township
of Plymouth will be asked to approve public
safety millage requests during the Feb. 24
election.
This will be the first time the City of
Plymouth has asked for a dedicated millage
to fund public safety, according to Police
Chief Al Cox who spoke about the upcoming
vote at a meeting of the Plymouth Noon
RotaryClub recently.
According to Cox, if voters approve the
requested 1.5 mills, the city will be able to
hire one more full-time officer at a first-year
cost of $75,934 and three part-time fully
sworn certified police officers at a first-year
cost of $168,408. Themillage would generate
about $637,023 annually, according to city
documents.
In Plymouth Township, residents will be
asked to renew two millage questions which
will expire in December. Proposal 1 is for
0.5631 mills and Proposal 2 for 1.6348 mills
totaling 2.2979 mills which will generate
about $3.7million annually to pay for police,
fire and emergency medical response, along
withdispatch services.
Each mill of tax equals about $1 of tax
revenue for every $1,000 of State Equalized
Value (SEV) of a home, usually about half
the assessedmarket value of the property.
In Plymouth Township, that would
remain at about $2.20 for each $1,000 of tax-
able value and in the City of Plymouth, a yes
vote would add about $1.50 for every $1,000
of taxable value to current tax bills.
In Plymouth Township, the annual public
safety budget is estimated at about $8.9 mil-
lion with the current millages paying about
$3.7million. Officials have said they are con-
fident the millage renewals will be
approved by voters as the request is not a
tax increase.
Public safety in both communities has
been at the center of controversy since the
two disbanded the shared community fire
department in 2011. The township currently
claims the city still owes more than $3 mil-
lion in retirement costs for the time the joint
department was in operation. City commis-
sion members recently approved the hiring
The new Ralph Savini Fire Station No.
1 is now officially open in Westland.
The new, $3 million facility, located on
Central City Parkway, has a state-of-
the-art training room and is more ener-
gy efficient than the 50-year-old station
on Ford Road. Mayor William Wild and
Fire Chief Michael Reddy cut the rib-
bon on the new building which Reddy
said is strategically located to provide a
high level of response for fire and EMS
emergencies. Reddy said the new
location will provide greater coverage
and reduce response times in the com-
munity. The station is named for for-
mer Westland Fire Chief Ralph Savini.
Photo by Don Howard
Judge Mike Gerou of the 35th
District Court in Plymouth has
ordered the couple accused of
attempting to murder all four
members of the 15-year-old girl's
family to stand trial on seven
felony counts each.
Gerou heard evidence in the
case last Thursday and
reviewed several text messages
sent the night of the attempted
murder purported to be
between 15-year-old Roksana
Sikorski and her 23-year-old
boyfriendMichael A. Rivera.
“They knew what was going
on. Forethought was going into
this,” Gerou said when he sent
the two to Wayne County Circuit
Court to face the charges. They
will eachbe arraignedFeb. 12.
During an earlier hearing,
both the defense attorney for
Sikorski, Leslie Posner, and
Wayne County Assistant
Prosecutor Jennifer Tink,
accepted the findings of a psy-
chological examination of the
girl which determined she is
mentally fit to stand trial.
Wright W. Blake, the attorney
for Rivera, said that the testimo-
ny at the hearing was enough
evidence to send the pair to
trial.
He said, in a later interview
that the defense claim that
Sikorski felt threatened by his
client was “absolutely ridicu-
lous.”
During the hearing, Sikorski's
11-year-old sister and 13-year-
old brother each testified
regarding the attacks on the
night of Oct. 17. The 11-year-old
said that she woke up to find
Roksana pressing a sharp knife
to her throat. “She said, 'I love
you,' and she kissedme and then
she left the room,” the girl said.
The 13-year-old boy, still
recovering from the attack, testi-
fied via a video link. He told the
court that he woke up to find his
sister going through the dresser
inhis room.
“She slicedmy neck,” he said.
He testified that he tried to flee
to an adjoining bathroom and
that his sister first cut him as he
was at the bathroomdoor.
“She cut me one time and
when I tried to shut the (bath-
room) door, she cut me twice,”
”
They knew what was going on.
Forethought was going into this.
”
This will be the first time the City of
Plymouth has asked for a dedicated
millage to fund public safety...
Teen and boyfriend to face trial in murder plot
Voters asked to OK public safety millages
Soup Swap
Empty Bowls effort will
aid Salvation Army pantry
The bowls may be empty now, but after March 7, they will help
feed many hungry families throughout the Plymouth, Canton and
Belleville area.
The Plymouth Empty Bowls project, a benefit to help fill the
Plymouth Salvation Army food pantry, began with the first paint-
ing session last week. Aspiring artists of all ages gathered at the
Salvation Army Church at located at 9451 S. Main St. to paint a
handmade bowl for the third annual Soup Swap, set for March 7.
On hand to helpwith this event weremembers of theRotary Club
of Plymouth A.M., the Kiwanis Club of Colonial Plymouth and the
VillagePottersGuild.
The painting sessions will continue from 10-11:30 a.m. and
11:30 a.m. 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, and from3:30-5 p.m. and 5-6:30
p.m. Feb. 16.
The cost of the painting session is $15 per person or $15 for the
first twomembers of the family and $10 for each additional family
member. If one person would like to decorate more than one
bowl, the cost is $10 for each additional bowl with a limit of four
bowls, organizers said.
The "artists" will return to the Plymouth Salvation Army
church to pick up their bowl on Soup Swap day. They have been
asked to bring non-perishable food items to swap for a serving of
soup in their bowls. The food items will be used to help restock
the shelves in the foodpantry. The soup this yearwill be prepared
by the Over the Grill Gang Chefs' Club and the Plymouth Canton
Educational ParkCulinaryTeam.
To register for the Soup Swap bowl painting sessions or for
more information, call Sandy Kollinger, Volunteer and Special
Events Coordinator for the Plymouth Salvation Army Church, at
(734) 453-5464. The 11 a.m-1 p.m. March 7 Soup Swap is open to
the public, - no reservations required, and plenty of bowls will be
onhand to exchange for items to fill the pantry.
See
Vote,
page 2
See
Plot,
page 2
Kate Rosevear, a member of the Rotary Club of Plymouth A.M.
draws a family crest on her handmade bowl for the third annual
Soup Swap to benefit the Plymouth Salvation Army Food Pantry.
Westland dedicates new central fire station