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SSOCIATED
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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
P
AGE
4
March 15, 2012
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Inside out
Detroit Art Institute brings
artworks to downtown Wayne
Moody’s upgrades rating
Child identification event
set for March 23 in Wayne
Wayne residents won't have to travel to
downtown Detroit to see some of the most
revered artwork in the collection of the
Detroit Institute of Arts.
The city was selected to be part of the
museum Inside Out program, begun last year
tomark the 125th anniversary of the facility.
According to a spokesperson from the
museum Inside|Out aims to connect with
audiences outside the museum walls, treat-
ingmetroDetroit as a grand, open-air gallery.
Each work is displayed in an ornate frame,
accompanied by an information plaque.
Some of the reproductions will be installed
on walls and others on free-standing posts,
she said.
“We are thrilled to be able to bring some
of our most significant works of art to our
local communities in the places where peo-
ple do business and spend their leisure
time,” said Graham W. J. Beal, DIA director
when the program was announced.. “These
are very high-quality reproductions and we
hope people will be surprised and pleased
when they see them.”
Scheduled for exhibit in Wayne are
Talking Oak by William Maw Edgley which
will be installed at Goudy Park; Konigsee by
Willibald Wex at the State Wayne Theater
and Snake Dragon, a Mesopotamian-Neo-
Babylonian work will be in the pedestrian
walkway near Jus' Shooz.
The Wreck, by Eugene Louis Gabriel
Isabey will be displayed near Leo's Jewelry
and Gifts and The Country Lunch by Jean
Francois De Troy will be displayed near the
Dorsey School. The Recitation by Thomas
Wilmer Dewing will be at the Wayne Public
Library and Mosquito Nets by John Singer
Sargent will be installed at the Wayne
HistoricalMuseum.
As part of the program, the Detroit
Institute of Arts will offer free admission
passes for four toWayne residents onMay 20.
Aphoto identificationwill be required.
Maps will be available in city hall detail-
ing the location of each installation, accord-
ing to themuseum.
Moody's Investors Service has upgraded
the bond rating in Westland to Baa2 from
Ba1 and assigned a positive outlook to the
citywater and sewer systemrevenue debt.
Mayor William R. Wild announced the
improved rating and said it was based on the
system's improved financial outlook, man-
ageable debt ratio and stable residential cus-
tomer base. In 2011 and with a goal of
improving the bond rating, city leaders took
steps to increase cash reserves, to pay off a
wastewater bond and to reduce expenses
through staff attrition and cutting other oper-
ational costs,Wild said.
“The credit bureaus look for a good work-
ing relationship between city council and
the administration in addressing the city's
finances,” Wild said. Moody representatives
were impressed with the development of a
five-year rate analysis that is reviewed annu-
ally by council members, Wild and key staff
members in an effort to stay abreast of eco-
nomic factors impacting the health of city
finances. Wild also acknowledged Plante
Moran's Westland team for the help in
restructuring thewater and sewermodel.
The Keeping Kids Safe Project will visit
Jack Demmer Ford inWayne this month and
offer a free digital fingerprint and photo pro-
gramfor children.
The identification program will take
place from 1-5 p.m. March 23 and from 9:30
a.m. until 2 p.m. March 24 at the dealership,
located at 37300 Michigan Ave. across from
theFordplants inWayne.
Children of all ages are welcome at the
weekend event. The child's photograph will
be taken along with their fingerprints. The
system uses a digital inkless fingerprint cap-
ture device and the photo and prints are
included as part of the child's file given to
the parent or guardian.
No record of the visit are maintain, a
spokesman stressed, and no personal infor-
mation of any kind will be taken from the
children. All personal profile information is
completed by parents in the privacy of their
own home. The only record of the visit will
gohomewithparents for safekeeping.
The effort is in response to the number of
children reported missing each day in the
U.S., a spokesman said. Police officials have
said that time is critical in the recovery of
missing children and time can be lost in
gathering current photographs, fingerprints
and statistical information.
The records from the Keeping Kids Safe
Project can be provided directly to authori-
ties anywhere to instantly aid in an investi-
gation of amissing child.
This is the 4th Annual Keeping Kids Safe
Project at Jack Demmer Ford and there will
also be community groups on hand with
child safety information.
For more information, contact Bob Faust,
(734) 721-1831.
Sharon Scott has been
re-appointed to the
Westland
Downtown
Development Authority for
a four-year term.
Mayor William R. Wild
made the re-appointment
and the members of city
council confirmed Scott at
a recentmeeting.
Scott is a long-time
Westland resident and is
thewife of retiredWestland
Fire Chief Ted Scott. The
couple have three daugh-
ters and five grandchildren.
Scott served on the
Wayne-Westland Board of
Education in 1982, the
Westland City Council from
1992-2000 and was elected
to the Wayne County
Community
College
District Board of Trustees
in 2008. In addition to the
DDA, Scott also serves on
the Wayne-Westland Credit
Union Supervisory Board,
and the Wayne High
Alumni Association Board.
She is active in the St.
John's Episcopal Church of
Westland Vestry, Altar
Guild, E.C.W., church social
groups, Inreach and
Foyers.
“It is a pleasure to have
this opportunity, Sharon
and Ted have been active
in the community for many
years and Sharon is a
tremendous asset to the
DDA,” statedWild.
Her term will expire
Feb. 23, 2016.
Scott reappointed
Sharon Scott