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If it sounds too good to be
true…it probably is.
That may be the lesson officials
in Plymouth Township are inter-
nalizing as they realize the great
“deal” they authorized for the pur-
chase of 323 acres of land last year
was, in fact, too good to be true.
Particularly since the real owner
of the property, the City of Detroit,
filed an affidavit with the Wayne
County Registrar of Deeds in
January, in the first step to reclaim
190 acres of the property, which
was erroneously included in the
sale of land to the township due to
some mistakes in the township
assessor's office.
This action leaves the township
with 133 acres of land, about 77 of
which is in a flood plain or is a
declared wetland, for which offi-
cials spent $606,000 of taxpayers'
money.
Obviously, the big plans for an
industrial or technical park at the
site of the old Detroit House of
Corrections is going to be an uphill
battle, waged through swampland
and mud in an insect and reptile
infested bog if it is to be built on
the current parcel the township
owns. This isn't prime property, by
any stretch.
We are the first to admit that
mistakes happen. We face ours on
an almost weekly basis, but the fail-
ure to properly record the owner-
ship of these two separate parcels,
which seems to have been obvious,
is puzzling, at best. When the tax
bills were not paid, it seems a bit
curious that someone would not
have realized the error, either the
corporation, Demco 54, that was
being billed for taxes on both
parcels, or someone in the town-
ship or county offices when the tax
revenue didn't arrive. We cannot
pretend to understand the systems
and procedures followed, but the
office of the Wayne County
Treasurer has said very clearly
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
March 14, 2013
It has been a long, long time
since I was a student in a high
school American Government class,
but I do remember a couple of
things. One of them is that there is a
minimum age limit for serving in
the U.S. Congress. Too bad it doesn't
apply to maturity as well as chrono-
logical age, because then it might do
some good.
I'm thinking after watching this
latest fiasco in our government that
maybe we ought to impose some
serious psychological testing before
these overgrown children are even
allowed to campaign for office.
Somebody should tell these
undisciplined juveniles who are
presently squabbling in what they
obviously think is a school play-
ground that they have a serious
responsibility to us and that we
ought to come first, before their
damn political party loyalty or plans
for re-election.
This whole sequester thing has
my hair on fire anyway. Now, I know
it was supposed to be a plan so radi-
cal that nobody on either side of the
political aisle could live with it and
was supposed (there's that word
again) to force these immature nin-
compoops to come to terms on a
plan agreeable to both their politi-
cal parties. I know.
But, like just about everything
else in that little spit of land sur-
rounded by reality called D.C., it
didn't work. So here we are, await-
ing cuts in so many job sectors and
fields that even the staunchest sup-
porters of both sides agree is going
to plummet our country back into a
downward recession spiral.
Nice job, you incompetent fools.
I mean really. Good work, there.
What are you going to do next, set
yourselves on fire? Hold your
breath until you turn blue? Lay
down on the senate chambers floor
and kick your feet and scream?
Do you pubescent fools realize
that you are, each and every one,
the target of ridicule and criticism
from even those
who supported
you? Even your
campaign man-
agers and office workers are rolling
their eyes at this lunacy. What is
wrongwith you?
Itmust be some kind ofmass hys-
teria that has every single one of
them in throe….what else would
allow any reasonable, thinking per-
son to be a party to this foolishness?
Either that or whichever country
is ourmost serious enemy right now
(oh, choose one, Iran, South Korea,
China…or maybe we'll just lump it
all together as Al Queda) has found
a way to inject some mind altering
chemical into the D.C. water supply
turning even the few mature, think-
ing and intelligent elected officials
into these squabbling, finger-point-
Oneman canmake a difference.
That was our thought recentlywhenCantonTownshipwas
named as one of the safest communities in the country with a
population of more than 75,000. The achievement was based
on crime statistics and other data reported to federal agen-
cies.
We applaud the township for winning the designation, but
frankly, we were surprised that Canton didn't rank even high-
er on the list, considering the attitude and dedication to pub-
lic safety and service at every level of township administra-
tion.
The current members of the township board of trustees
have followed in a long line of those who took their responsi-
bilities for public service seriously and who have established
a public safety department that is considered a model
throughout the state. Public safety has long been a top priori-
ty in Canton which has a well deserved reputation for excel-
lence and ethical conduct. When the Canton police or fire
department is mentioned in conversation with other munici-
pal officials, the reaction is one of respect and praise for a
well-run, professional department with the highest stan-
dards.
While we may be revealing the extent of our history with
the township, we remember when this wasn't the situation.
Likemany other communities of the time, Cantonwas suffer-
ing severe growing pains and no clear direction or philoso-
phy of public safety had been established back in the early
80s.
That was about the time the board of trustees hired John
Santamauro as the police chief. With the full support of
board members, including names lost to many by now,
Santamauro established some of the highest qualifications
for new officers in the state and demanded the complete and
full adherence to a paramilitary code of conduct and per-
formance. He demanded respect and offered that same con-
sideration to those who worked with him and for him. He
stepped on toes in his determination to create a department
that provided both service and protection to the taxpayers.
When he was eventually named public safety director for the
township years later, his management style and demand for
excellencewere already being emulatedby the fire chief.
By that time, he had also educated the administration and
members of the township board of trustees, showing them by
his example what a truly accomplished and well-run public
safety department meant to any community. He demonstrat-
ed the importance of good, solidmanagement of resources.
As current Township Supervisor Phil LaJoy said recently,
“Public safety is a key to growth in any community.”
Santamauro also believed in transparency in government,
in a strict professional code of ethics and very clear policies
and procedures so that everyone knew precisely what was
expected of them at all times and in every situation. That is
still the case in Canton Township where former long-time
Supervisor Thomas Yack shared that belief in ethical con-
duct and transparency in government.
Those seeds of good management, respect and responsi-
bility are now deeply rooted in every department in Canton.
While the accolades for the safety in the community may
have been based on the performance of the police and fire
department, every facet of the township can take pride in this
He demonstrated the
importance of good, solid
management of resources.
”
One man’s leadership really made a difference
Too good
to be true
Do you pubescent fools realize that you are,
each and every one, the target
of ridicule and criticism from even
those who supported you?
”
Obviously, some parental supervision is needed
See
Canton,
page 7
Letters
Congratulations are due
To the editor;
Our
Zebra
Battalion
Commander Dionte Burton
received his appointment to attend
the United States Military
Academy at West Point earlier this
month. This appointment is the
culmination of years of hard work
and dedication by Cadet Burton.
He has continuously improved his
academic standing and physical
fitness to earn this honor. Cadet
Burton is not only our battalion
commander, but also a member of
our raider team, commander of the
drill team, a varsity athlete, and
member of the Wayne High
Student Senate.
"I am honored to receive this
appointment," said Burton, "and I
fully intend to follow through,
receive my commission as an offi-
cer in the United States Army, and
make theArmymy career." In addi-
tion, Burton will be given the
opportunity to address the House
of Representatives and the Senate
of the State of Michigan on April
11. The raider, drill and JLAB
Teams will be honored that day for
their accomplishments over the
past years.
Also, our leadership team is
competing in the National
Leadership Competition again this
year. The Wayne JROTC
Leadership team (Rachel Hyams,
Nathan Hurd-Laskowski, Douglas
Chuong, and Nichole Rogers) com-
peted against 1,366 teams, and
placed first in the Cadet Command
7th Region of Michigan, Indiana,
Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. In
addition to placing first in the
Brigade this year, Wayne finished
in the top five in the nation for the
past three years. They have
secured a slot at the National
Leadership Bowl, and will com-
pete at George Mason University
in Virginia in June against 40 final-
ists in the National Leadership
Bowl.
WAYNEPRIDE!
StevenE. LaHaine
First Sergeant (Ret.), USArmy
Senior Army Instructor
Army JROTCBattalion
WayneMemorial HighSchool
See
Brats,
page 7
See
Plymouth,
page 7