No. 12
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
March 19 – 25, 2015
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
Members of the Wayne
City Council were expected
to consider an ordinance
allowing voters from the
entire city to vote on council
representatives fromindivid-
ual precincts.
See page 5.
Members of the Romulus
Citizens for Social Change, a
community activist group,
are currently collecting bot-
tled water for the residents
of Flint.
See page 2.
Cheri Ott of Plymouth has
joined the Lakeshore
Division board of the
American Cancer Society,
Inc. Ott, a retired General
Motors executive, is a cancer
survivor.
See page 3
.
Northville Rotary Club
members are hosting an
Empty Bowls event to help
fund the Kids 4 AfghamKids
Program from 6-7 p.m.
tomorrow
at
First
PresbyterianChurch.
See page 4.
It took seven years, but
David Goerlitz finally got his
car back from the Belleville
Police Department along
with a judgment for $50,000
in storage fees the city must
pay.
See page 4.
Vol. 130, No. 12
Vol. 68, No. 12
Vol. 68, No. 12
Vol. 15, No. 12
Vol. 130, No. 12
Vol. 68, No. 12
Vol. 68, No. 12
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The request for a security
guard from staff members at
the William P. Faust Public
Library in Westland has
been approved.
See page 5.
Canton Public Safety
Director Todd L. Mutchler
welcomed new police officer
ZiadElias, to the department
lastmonth.
See page 3.
Vol. 15, No. 12
Inkster officials and the
public celebrated the official
grand opening and dedica-
tion of the new Inkster
Justice Center earlier this
month.
See page 2.
Members of the Plymouth Township
Board of Trustees will meet at 10 a.m.
Saturday to name an interim board presi-
dent while the process of appointing a new
township supervisor begins.
Last Sunday, beleaguered Plymouth
Township Supervisor RichardReaume sub-
mitted his formal written resignation to
township officials, including Township
Clerk Nancy Conzelman, as required in the
township charter. In his two-page e-mailed
letter, Reaume listed seven categories and
touted innumerable accomplishments dur-
ing his 10-year tenure. He was first elected
in 2004, reelected in 2008 and again in 2012.
His current term does not expire until
November of 2016.
Reaume's letter did not specifically
address any of the current controversy or
the recall action against him and three
other members of the board. He stated only
that he had given the matter a great deal of
thought and that “at age 65” this was the
“right time” for him to retire. Reaume's
departure had been the subject of conjec-
ture for months, particularly after he sold
his Plymouth Township home this summer
and purchased two condominium units in
Florida. He has been living in a township
bed andbreakfast for severalmonths.
Reaume's administration has been
fraught with conflict and controversy
recently surrounding a protracted federal
investigation of accounting practices relat-
ing to drug forfeiture funds in the police
department. Currently, the Department of
Justice has frozen about $1.4million in drug
forfeiture funding, pending the outcome of
the ongoing probe.
Reaume has also been criticized for his
approval of a controversial $2million recre-
ational plan for the township that includes
an elaborate all-weather pavilion, an out-
door amphitheater with granite benches
and a $20,000 snowmaking machine.
Residents have been protesting the plan
”
Current State Rep. Kurt Heise
has expressed his interest
in the $111,384 position...
Plymouth Township supervisor resigns post
Judge sentences ‘evil’ shooter to 27 years
Police arrest 4 suspects in retail fraud ring
Shoplifting incidents in
Westland, Canton Township,
Dearborn and Garden City
have been the work of five
Inkster residents, according to
an ongoing investigation by
Westlandpolice.
Four suspects in the thefts
have been arrested and
charged following a call to
Westland police at about 7 p.m.
March 1 from the Kmart on
SouthWayneRoadwhere store
employees told officers that
five individuals entered the
store and stole four televisions.
During the ensuing investi-
gation, Westland police were
able to identify the subjects
and detectives executed a
search warrant at an Inkster
residence where two of the
stolen televisions were recov-
ered, along with other property
that had been reported stolen
in other shoplifting or retail
fraud incidents throughout the
area.
Westland officers arrested
four of the individuals they
In a plea deal with prosecutors, 22-year-
old Andrew J. Nutt of Westland, will spend
27 years in prison for the killing of Plymouth
Township senior citizenKennethLaBita.
Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Mark
Slavens indicated from the bench last
Friday that he was inclined to dismiss the
plea bargain and proceed with a trial for
felony murder and premeditated murder
charges against Nutt whom he called “a
coward.”
Slavens said during sentencing that the
crime is “one of the most despicable acts
that I've ever seen.” He told Nutt that his
actionswere “evil.”
In exchange for his guilty plea to second-
degree murder and use of a firearm in the
commission of a felony, prosecutors dropped
themore serious charges.
Prosecutors had informed Slavens just
prior to sentencing of threats Nutt made
against his former girlfriend and co-defen-
dant Miriah Pisarski, 20, of Wayne. The
threats, prosecutors said, were made during
recorded phone conversations Nutt had
while in theWayne County Jail. Pisarski was
sentenced by Slavens to serve 2-5 years in
prison for her role in the killing and robbery
of LaBita in his home last October. LaBita,
76, was shot once in the head and cash and
firearms taken fromhis home. His body was
discovered by Plymouth Township police
officers called to his home on Gilbert Street
east of Haggerty Road by neighbors, who
suspected a problemwhen LaBita's dog was
left outside for two days and his garage door
remained open. Police later found about
$4,000 at Nutt's home when they executed a
searchwarrant during the investigation.
Pisarski also accepted a plea deal from
prosecutors which included her agreement
to testify againstNutt.
See
Resigns,
page 3
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...
Disney’s Mary Poppins to be
staged at Canton Village Theater
Local actors will take to
stage at the Village Theater in
Canton March 26-29 with the
Broadway version of Disney's
MaryPoppins.
Based on one of the most
popular Disney movies of all
time, Disney's Mary Poppins
takes audiences back to
England, 1910 to look in on the
troubled Banks family. Using a
combination of magic and com-
mon sense, nanny Mary
Poppins teaches young Jane
and Michael how to value each
other again, taking them on
many magical and memorable
adventures with the help of the
jack-of-all trades, Bert.
"This show is timeless and
great for the entire family," said
director Brandon Waldemayer
of Canton, a graduate of the
Plymouth Canton schools, and
theater education student at
Eastern Michigan University.
"After over 2500 performances
onBroadway, I amso excited to
bring such a dynamic, whimsi-
cal show toCanton."
The production includes 14
musical numbers and a cast of
more than 40 young perform-
ers ranging in age from6 to 16.
Familiar aspects of the show
include songs A Spoonful of
Sugar, Supercalifragilistic-
expialidocious, and Chim
Chim Cher-ee. The production
uses "double casting," a process
of assigning two performers to
each lead and feature role.
Because of a combination of
local talent and demand for
tickets, the multiple perform-
ances allow several opportuni-
ties for each cast to perform
and double casting helps keep
the performances energized
for the audiences every night,
Waldemayer said.
Kari Schoen of Plymouth
and Sophie Szczotka of Canton
were selected to rotate for the
role ofMaryPoppins
In addition to the public
performances, Forever After
Productions will present two
performances for local school
children to attend. "The school
shows are an important part of
what we do bringing this level
of theater performance to
young people who may not oth-
erwise have the opportunity to
attend a touring production"
said producer and choreogra-
pherDebbyAsh.
Forever After Productions
is a community theater compa-
ny based in Plymouth. Since
2009, they have produced over
25 full-stage musical and dra-
matic productions throughout
metro Detroit including the
Power Center in Ann Arbor,
The Berman Center in West
Bloomfield, and The Village
Theater inCanton.
Tickets are $17 and are cur-
rently on sale for all six per-
formances set for 7 p.m. March
26t and 27 and at 2 p.m. and 7
p.m. March 28 and 29 and can
be purchased at
foreverafter.com or by calling
Forever After Productions at
(734) 547-5156. Groups of 15 or
more are $15 per ticket. The
Village Theater at Cherry Hill
is located at 50400 Cherry Hill
Road inCanton.
Cast members include, from left, Brenden Kaiser as Michael
Banks, Kari Schoen as Mary Poppins, Courtney Perttula as Jane
Banks and Lloyd Platis as Bert.
Sophie Szczotka
See
Arrest,
page 5
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Kari Schoen
