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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
February 28, 2013
I
NKSTER
- W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Skyfall
Annual Marshmallow Drop
is scheduled at Attwood Park
Fire department merger proving profitable, efficient
It's a once a year event and it will return
for the 34th time this year.
The Annual Marshmallow Drop is
planned for 10 a.m. Friday, March 29 at
AttwoodPark inWayne.
The event is free and will be sponsored
this year by Cross Pointe Community Church
and organized by the Wayne Westland Parks
andRecreationDepartment.
A spokesman noted that there will actual-
ly be three drops this year. The first will be
for walking toddlers up to age 4 and for chil-
dren with disabilities. The second drop will
be for children ages 5-7 and the third
reserved for children 8-10 years old.
Children can scramble to gather the
marshmallows as they fall from a helicopter
flying over the park and then turn themin for
prizes.
Following the Marshmallow Drop, the
recreation department from the two commu-
nities will host the Annual Bunny Breakfast
from 10:30 a.m. until noon. The event will
take place at the Wayne Community Center
and ticketswill be $4 forWayne-Westland res-
idents and $5 for non-residents. The break-
fast will include pancakes, sausage, juice and
an arts and crafts project for children.
Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first
serve basis to the first 215 buyers at the
Wayne Community Center located at 4635
HoweRoad inWayne.
For more information about either event,
call (734)721-7400.
The merger of the Wayne and Westland
fire departments seems to be proving prof-
itable for both communities.
During a recent meeting of theWayne City
Council, Fire Chief Michael Reddy reported
an increase in revenue from the department,
based, he said, on the two rescue units now
assigned to fire stations in the communities.
Reddy told the Wayne officials that he
expects to see a 50 percent or more increase
in EMS revenues. He said that the depart-
ment should easily increase billable runs by
one-third or half. The runs are the transport-
ing of patients to hospitals for which the fire
department bills the patient's insurance car-
rier or the patient personally. Those fees will
increase dramatically, Reddy said, and could
become a profit center for the communities.
Reddy explained that the available
resources such as trucks and equipment
have now been reallocated which has result-
ed in shorted response times and more flexi-
bility in the transporting of patients who can
now be taken to additional hospitals, if they
request them.
"Therewere limited resourceswithout the
merger," Reddy told the council members.
Reddy also noted that there is a projected
$60,000 in revenue from the department with
the new vacant home, blight and business
inspection ordinances recently enacted
which will be enforced by the fire depart-
ment.
There is also the savings of funding only
one fire chief, rather than each city funding a
department leader.
Discussion during the meeting also
touched on the anticipated formation of a
separate Western Wayne Fire Authority
which would include the Garden City Fire
Department withWayne andWestland.
An expanded emergency dispatch opera-
tion was also discussed which would see the
dispatch operations from Wayne Westland
Garden City and Inkster handled at the
WestlandPoliceDepartment.
That merger remains under discussion
andhas not been approved, officials said.
Wanted
Inkster Police are still seeking the identity of two suspects in the armed robbery of a tax preparation business
on Kean Street near Michigan Avenue and John Daly Road at about 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 14. Police are search-
ing for a man and woman who attempted to rob the business, which is located in a home. One of the sus-
pects shot a security guard during the incident, according to Inkster Det. Anthony Delgreco. The injuries
were not life threatening and the guard, who returned fire at the suspects, is recovering, Delgreco said.
Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to cal Delgreco at (313) 563-9856.