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No. 7
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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February 13 – 19, 2014
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
Relay for Life organizers
have planned an organization-
al meeting beginning with reg-
istration at 6:30 p.m. March 6
at the Wayne Recreation
Center onHoweRoad.
See page 4.
Promotions of three
Romulus firefighters were
announced recently by Mayor
LeRoy D. Burcroff and Public
SafetyDirector JohnLeacher.
See page 3.
Members of the Plymouth
and Northville Fire Advisory
Board met last week in a regu-
lar bi-monthly session to dis-
cuss fire department business.
See page 2.
Laura Toy has officially
announced her candidacy for
the 9th District seat on the
WayneCountyCommission.
See page 5.
The Van Buren Township
Downtown Development
Authority (DDA) has agreed to
pay $17,000 toward the instal-
lation of sidewalks on the
Tucker Insurance property.
See page 3.
Vol. 128, No. 7
Vol. 66, No. 7
Vol. 66, No. 7
Vol. 13, No. 7
Vol. 128, No. 7
Vol. 66, No. 7
Vol. 66, No. 7
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Eric Monson was officially
sworn in Feb. 3 as the newest
member of the Westland
PoliceDepartment.
See page 4.
Canton Leisure Services is
offering a variety of job oppor-
tunities for both teens and
adults anymay hire asmany as
50 employees.
See page 5
.
Vol. 13, No. 7
Plymouth Township trustees
were expected to approve a
$50,000 settlement this week with
former police officer Brittany
DeFrain who sued the municipali-
ty for discrimination last June.
Two of the three Plymouth
Township police officers on paid
administrative leave since last
October as a result of subpoenas
issuedbyDeFrain's attorney inher
lawsuit, resigned last month. The
third, a sergeant responsible for
overseeing DeFrain and other offi-
cers, was reportedly terminated
last month, according to sources
close to the department.
Resignation agreements were
negotiated with the two officers by
Township Supervisor Richard
Reaume and included six months
pay, accrued vacation, holiday and
sick pay. The police union, part of
the Police Officers Association of
Michigan (POAM), was reportedly
not involved in negotiating the
terms of the resignations, handled
instead by Reaume and attorneys
for the municipal insurance com-
pany. Financial terms of the sepa-
ration of the third officer were not
available.
The disciplined officers were
suspended with pay in early
October for delinquency and dere-
liction of duty after the attorney
for DeFrain, Jeffrey Ellison, sub-
poenaed records that revealed
incriminating text messages and
emails between the officers.
DeFrain resigned under protest in
February, 2013 and subsequently
filed a lawsuit against the town-
ship for sexual discrimination and
marital status discrimination.
Reportedly, a $50,000 out-of-
court financial settlement was
reached with DeFrain which
needed approval from the board
of trustees. Ellison refused com-
ment on any aspect of the situa-
tion.
The disciplined officers were
suspended with pay in early October
for delinquency and dereliction of duty...
”
See
Police,
page 2
Lawsuit may be settled; 3 officers leave
To remember
Students create artistic
tribute to Sandy Hook
A Romulus police officer
wounded a fleeing suspect who
turned and aimed a handgun at
himFeb. 1.
Romulus officers stopped a
vehicle heading north on
Middlebelt Road Saturday night
for a traffic infraction, according
to police reports. The vehicle had
crossed into Westland before
pulling over. When the Romulus
officers approached the car, they
smelled marijuana, according to
police reports, and they asked the
two occupants to step out of the
vehicle. The passenger ran into a
nearby field and one of the
Romulus officers pursued him.
The suspect turned around and
had a gun inhis hand, according to
police accounts of the incident.
TheRomulus officer reportedly
fired several shots at the fleeing
suspect and wounded him in the
finger. The suspect, Allante Jones,
24, of Ypsilanti, was treated at
Oakwood Annapolis Hospital and
released into police custody.
Jones was arraigned Friday in
18th District Court on charges of
carrying a concealedweapon, felo-
nious assault, felony firearm, mari-
juana possession and resisting
arrest. A not-guilty plea was
entered on his behalf and the
judge set his bond at $50,000 cash.
Police said charges are pending
against the driver, a woman from
Ypsilanti, reportedly Jones' girl-
friend.
Romulus officer wounds fleeing suspect in Westland
The Leanna Hicks Inkster
Public Library is now open
after being closed for two
weeks in January for roof
repairs.
See page 4.
Students and staff at Wick Elementary
School recently remembered the victims of
the 2012 tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary
School inNewtown, Connecticut.
The children and staff members created
decorative paper snowflakes and planted
trees in honor of the 20 children and six
adult staff members who were shot and
killed by 20-year-old AdamLanza on Dec. 14,
2012.
The murders marked the second dead-
liest mass shooting by a single person in
American history, sent shock waves around
the world and affected children at elemen-
tary schools such asWickElementary.
Wick Principal ShaVonna Johnson
explained that students and staff planted
three trees as a sign of remembrance, hope
and brighter futures. Large, colorful paper
snowflakes were created to represent the
unique qualities that each child possesses.
Everyone also paused for a moment of
silence.
“It is through such tragedies that we can
learn to treasure even the smallest things in
life and to take time each day to tell those we
love how much they mean to us,” Johnson
said.
“Today, we will continue to remember by
not focusing on the events of that tragedy, but
instead on the preservation of life.”
Romulus Mayor LeRoy Burcroff was on
hand to tell students and staff how proud he
was that they did something significant to
remember the SandyHook victims.
Johnson credited fourth-grade teacher Jill
Pangle and first-grade teacher Lisa Evitts for
embracing the concept of remembering the
victims and talking about the significance of
the SandyHook tragedy.
The trees were donated by the TauOmega
chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority,
thanks to a request by fifth-grade teacher
and chaptermember SimonaMiller.
The concept of the snowflakes was based
on the book Snowflakes Fall by author
Patricia MacLachlan and artist Steven
Kellogg, longtime friends who collaborated
on the book as a message of hope for chil-
dren and their families following the Sandy
Children at Wick Elementary School made huge colored snowflakes to memorialize the students
and teachers killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting last year.
Photo by roger Kadau
Mayor LeRoy D. Burcroff poses with Wick students and some of the snowflakes they made in
memory of those killed at Sandy Hook.
Photos by Roger Kadau
Voters in the Plymouth Canton
School District will be asked to
approve an 18-mill non-home-
stead millage during an August
election.
The non-homestead millage
does not apply to homes or owner-
occupied residences but is
applied only to businesses and
other non-principal properties,
such as apartment complexes.
The current non-homestead
millage was first approved by vot-
ers in 2004 and will expire in July.
According to the original ballot
language, the millage, which
accounts for about 17 percent of
the district budget, can be levied
one more time without voter
approval. It will generate about
$25.2 million for the 2013-14
school year.
School board members opted
for the August date, which is a
municipal, county and state pri-
mary election, rather than pay for
a special school election inMay or
November. Administrators esti-
mated that the cost of a special
election couldbe $115,000.
The ballot questionwill refer to
the non-homestead levy as a new
tax, although officials said it is, in
fact, a renewal of the question
approvedby voters in 2004.
Officials said that the district
would begin an informational
campaign regarding the ballot
question to ensure that voters
understood the non-homestead
tax would apply to businesses and
commercial property, and not
homes.
Board members also indicated
that if the question were to fail in
August, during the scheduled pri-
mary elections, they could ask vot-
ers again for approval on the
upcoming general election ballot
inNovember.
See
Students,
page 3
The non-homestead millage
does not apply to homes
or owner-occupied residences...
”
School district to ask voters for millage renewal