Basic HTML Version
No. 8
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
February 21–27, 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
Information is still being
sought by Wayne police in the
investigation of the stabbing
death of a 69-year-old man
found dead in his home on
Glenwood inWayne.
See page 5.
The Romulus Goodfellows
helped more people than ever
during the 2012 holiday sea-
son, although they had to tap
into their budget reserves to
do so.
See page 4.
As the Plymouth-Canton
school district prepares for a
May 7 bond election, school
board members are also pon-
dering the fate of Central
Middle School in downtown
Plymouth.
See page 3
.
A 96-year-old woman who
lived alone lost her life to fire
despite the best efforts of
Northville township firefight-
ers to saveher.
See page 2
.
Lt. Bruce VanGemert was
awarded the William G. Gage
Memorial Award for Fire
Service Excellence during a
Van Buren Board of Trustees
meeting.
See page 4.
Vol. 128, No. 8
Vol. 66, No. 8
Vol. 66, No. 8
Vol. 13, No. 8
Vol. 128, No. 8
Vol. 66, No. 8
Vol. 66, No. 8
Charges are mounting
against a 57-year-old Inkster
man accused of injuring a
Novi police officer with a knife
during the attempted theft of a
television fromWalMart.
See page 2.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The City of Westland may
soon refinance Taylor Towers
in an effort to create a fund for
capital improvements in the
city.
See page 5.
An arson suspect who fired shots at
Northville Township police officers was shot
and killed by a Michigan State Trooper last
week.
According to Northville Township Director
of Public Safety John Werth, police are confi-
dent that the deceased, Gabriel Vernon
Stevenson, 18, was responsible for three
arsons in the township since last December.
One of those arsons occurred Dec. 2 when
the side of a home onNapier Roadwas set on
fire. Werth said the subsequent police investi-
gation led police to believe that Stevenson
mistakenly set that home on fire and had
intended to target the house next door. That
house was set on fire Dec. 9 when someone,
who police now believe was Stevenson, broke
into the home, poured gasoline on the floor
and put a device in the microwave to ignite a
blaze. The device did not detonate, Werth
said, and there was no fire. The homeowners
did file a police report and claimed at the
time that they did not know who might have
targeted them.
Police now believe that Stevenson was tar-
geting the 18-year-old son of the homeowners
who admitted knowing Stevenson and having
had a physical disagreement with him last
summer.
Werth said the incident that resulted in
Stevenson's death began when two officers on
regular patrol noticed a suspicious vehicle
parked on Napier Road, north of Six Mile
Road at about 2:05 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12. The
locationwas near the home that had been tar-
geted.
The officers noted that the 1993 red Ford
Ranger pick-up truck had a plastic bag cover-
ing the license plate. The vehicle was unoccu-
pied, Werth said, but officers noticed that the
engine blockwas still warm.
When the patrol officers opened the
unlocked door of the truck, they immediately
noticed a strong odor of gasoline inside the
cab area. They began checking the surround-
ing area for the driver or occupants of the
The
Canton
Police
Department is asking for help
in identifying two men sus-
pected in the armed robbery
of the Family Dollar store on
JoyRoad.
See page 3.
Wayne Mayor Al Haidous was
unhappy with the recent report of
city Finance Director James
Ghedotte who predicts a deficit in
the city budget for the next two
years.
He was even unhappier, how-
ever, with a suggestion that the
city pass the expenses on to resi-
dents in the formof a tax increase.
“Everything is up for discus-
sion. We can't distract ourselves
with wishful thinking. We're not
passing it on to residents,” said
Haidous during the discussion.
“People pay enough taxes. Now
the state wants a 33 cent gas tax.
We have to figure our how we can
survive the next couple of years.”
Ghedotte told members of the
city council and department man-
agers that he expects that finances
in the citywill continue to decline.
“It won't get better, it will get
worse,” he told them and predict-
ed another 8 percent decline in
tax revenue for this year and an
additional fall of 5 percent in 2014.
Ghedotte predicted the citywill
see a $200,000 budget deficit for
the current fiscal year and could
face a deficit of $2 million in 2013-
2014,
One factor, he said, will be the
decrease in property values, pro-
viding less income to the city as
taxes decrease and charge backs
of $80,000-$100,000 for Wayne
County. Those charge backs occur
when property sells for less than
the value at which taxes are
appraised, usually half market
value.
The county sends the full tax
amount to the city, but if the value
is reduced, lowering taxes on the
property, that amount is adjusted
and the variance charged to the
local community.
Ghedotte said the city would
suffer from the elimination of the
Personal Property Tax. He said
the loss of that tax from Ford
Motor Co. alone would cause a
serious shortage in municipal rev-
enue.
“I don't have a crystal ball. I
thinkwe have at least a year and a
half of belt-tightening,” he told
officials.
Councilman Al Damitio asked
about a city income tax noting that
the city has a large number of peo-
ple who work in Wayne but are
not among the 17,400 residents.
That suggestion prompted
Haidous' strong disapproval.
“I'd rather feel the pain as a
municipality. People are losing
jobs and their homes, they'remak-
ing less. It's a mess Lansing creat-
ed for us.We have to address it.”
City Manager Robert English
said state law requires that any
city income tax on non-residents
be levied on residents aswell.
Department heads will meet
with English to discuss their
respective budgets and English
will present the city-wide budget
to the mayor and council for
approval inApril.
See
Shooting,
page 2
Northville arson suspect shot, killed
We can't distract ourselves with wishful thinking.
We're not passing it on to residents.
”
Wayne faces deficit budgets next 2 years
Vol. 13, No. 8
Reporting in
Soldier is welcomed home
from duty in Afghanistan
What a difference a year
makes.
When Jeremy Johnston
clocked into Oakwood Annapolis
Hospital in Wayne on Monday,
the paramedic technician found
a new Emergency Department
and electronic medical records
systemto get used to.
Johnston, however, is adept at
handling change in a fast-paced
environment. He spent the last
year deployed in Afghanistan as
a First Sergeant in the Army
Reserves 948thForward Surgical
Team; he was the highest non-
commissioned officer on the 20-
member unit.
Johnston returned from his
deployment near the end of 2012;
he has spent the past month get-
ting re-acclimated and spending
time with his wife, daughter and
young son.
"It took some time to get re-ori-
ented," he said. "I'm just looking
forward to going back to work
withallmy old co-workers."
A Forward Surgical Team is
similar to a M.A.S.H. unit, but
smaller and more nimble. They
are usually deployed near the
front lines, as was Johnston's
case. His unit was stationed in
Asadabad, about 5miles from the
Pakistani border.
"We go where the fighting is,"
he said. "It was weekly occur-
rence, getting bombed or shot at
or something like that."
Johnston has worked at
Annapolis since 2005. This was
the second deployment for the
Eagle Scout, whose service has
earned him a Bronze Star. He
said it's difficult to leave his fami-
ly behind-particularly during the
recent deployment when his
wife, Juliet, gave birth to his son
Athrun. Johnston was not on
leave during that occasion, but
was able towitness it via skype.
The staff at Annapolis hosted
a welcome back party for
Johnston last Thursday.
Eric Widner, division presi-
dent of Oakwood Annapolis
Hospital, said it was a privilege
to do it.
"As an American, I am deeply
grateful for Jeremy's service to
our country. As a health system,
we are committed to honoring
his service by supporting a pro-
gram which encourages a
healthy transition back into the
workplace," said Widner. "We are
proud knowing Jeremy is deliver-
ing excellent care to our
patients."
Jeremy Johnston has been spending time with his family, including
wife Juliet, daughter, Lucienne, 2, and son, Athrun, who was born
about 6 months ago. Johnston witnessed the birth via skype.
Jeremy Johnston's daughter, Lucienne, 2, welcomes him back at
Detroit Metro Airport.
Jeremy Johnston spent most of 2012 deployed in Afghanistan.