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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
March 6, 2014
B
ELLEVILLE
- C
ANTON
- I
NKSTER
- N
ORTHVILLE
Simple Soup supper will present development plans
Canton trustees OK purchase of 7 police vehicles
The Belleville Downtown
Development Authority is asking
the community to help decide:
What's next for Belleville
Downtown on theLake?
Several Belleville High School
students will present their ideas for
downtown Belleville projects dur-
ing a simple soup supper beginning
at 5:30 p.m. March 13 at Belleville
High School Commons. Attendees
will vote for their favorite idea pre-
sented and proceeds from the sup-
per will help fund the winning
project.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and
supper will be served at 6 p.m.
Presentations and voting will take
place during supper. The winning
project will be announced after
dessert. The meal is being pre-
pared by Angel Food Catering, a
local business.
Admission is $15 or two for $25;
tickets are available at Belleville
City Hall, Belleville High School,
the Chamber of Commerce, and at
the door. RSVPs to the DDA or
(734)
646-0504
at
dda@belleville.mi.us are appreci-
ated.
Similar grassroots fundraising
soup dinners have taken place
across theMichigan and theUnited
States to help small groups looking
to make a difference in their com-
munity with modest financial sup-
port. DDA Administrator Carol
Thompson heard about the Soup
Project at a Michigan Municipal
League seminar on Placemaking
for 21st CenturyCommunities.
“It seemed like an idea that
could work well in Belleville, and
would enhance the city and DDA's
partnership with Belleville High
School NewTech,” she said.
“For the past two years, New
Tech students, as part of their 10th
grade Economics and Literature
course, have developed some
unique and intriguing entrepre-
neurial ideas for downtown
Belleville businesses,” Thompson
said.
“The City of Belleville and DDA
are excited to hear what these
young leaders propose next.
Please come out and support
them,” she added.
Canton Township trustees have
agreed to spend $155,894 for seven
newvehicles.
Five of the cars will replace
existing police vehicles and two
others will be added to the police
department fleet.
Included in the purchase were
two Ford Police Interceptors, one
Ford Explorer, one GMC Terrain,
two Chevrolet Impalas and one
Ford Taurus. The cars will be used
by patrol officers, the rapid
response unit, the detective
bureau and a deputy police chief.
Some of the vehicles being
replaced will have nearly 200,000
miles on the odometer, officials
said.
The purchases will be made
through Signature Ford of Perry,
Shaheen Chevrolet of Lansing and
Red Holman Buick GMC of
Westland. The township takes
advantage of special pricing
through county and state bidding
procedures, officials said.
The new vehicles, approved last
month, will arrive at the police
department with 60-90 days, offici-
ating said.
Computers and other equip-
ment and technology will be
removed for the older cars and
installed in the newvehicles.
Chamber
sets meeting
Clothing give
a way set
The 15th Annual Business
Community Networking Mixer is
planned for 6-8 p.m. March 25 at
Inkster ValleyGolf Course.
The annual event is sponsored
by the Inkster Chamber of
Commerce and will include music
and a deluxe buffet dinner. Tickets
for chamber members are $20 and
non-member tickets re $25.
Tickets can be purchased by
mailing checks to Inkster Chamber
of Commerce, P.O. Box 596, Inkster,
MI 48141. For additional informa-
tion, contact the chamber office at
(734) 552-1391. RSVPs will be
accepted throughMarch 18.
The golf course is located at
2150Middlebelt Road in Inkster.
Art smart
The Northville Art House members have
announced that Robert Schefman,
renowned Fine Artist/Sculptor/ and
Foundations Department Chair and
Associate Professor at the College for
Creative Studies, has been chosen as the
juror for the Northville Art House West of
Center show. West of Center is a nod to
the Art House's location as well as its mis-
sion to bring the community something
unexpected, edgy, and compelling - an
eclectic, contemporary art exhibit that
showcases a wide range of accomplished
pieces, a spokesman said. Applications
with jpegs on CDs must be hand-deliv-
ered or shipped to the Northville Art
House to arrive by 5 p.m. Saturday, April
12. Cash prizes wi l l be awarded.
Applications are available on the Art
House
website
at
www.NorthvilleArtHouse.org. For addition-
al information, e-mail Exhibits@North
villleArtHouse.org.
Middlebelt Baptist Church in
Inkster will once again be the site
of a clothing give away, proving
free clothes for those inneed.
The event is planned from 9
a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday, March 8
at the church.
The church has been offering
the clothing giveaways for several
years. Items are donated by church
members.
There will be clothing for chil-
dren, women and men available
Saturday and there is no charge for
any of the items which are clean
and in good repair.
The church is located at 943
Middlebelt Road in Inkster.
For more information, call (734)
728-3838.
Total loss
Two residents and the family pet were able to escape the devastating house fire
Monday on the 6800 block of Ardsley in Canton Township. Firefighters were dis-
patched to the home at about 5:02 p.m. and used multiple hose lines to attack the
blaze. A second crew of firefighters entered the home and reported heavy smoke, zero
visibility the rapid deterioration of the structure. Firefighters were forced out of the
home due to the instability of the structure, according to fire department reports, and
worked to extinguish the blaze from outside while protecting surrounding homes and
structures. The home eventually collapsed onto itself, reports said. The displaced fami-
ly is being helped by their church, the Salvation Army and the Canton Firefighters
Charity Foundation. Fire Chief Joshua Meier said the cause of the blaze remains under
investigation but is believed to have been accidental.
Photos by Scott Spielman