No. 16
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
April 19 – 25, 2018
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
Participants in the recent
Wayne
Westland
Distinguished Young Woman
program were awarded
$8,600 in scholarship fund-
ing.
See page 4.
The Northville Township
Police Department is collect-
ing crucial information from
parents about autistic chil-
dren in the community to
quickly get it to responding
officers.
See page 3.
Vol. 133, No. 16
Vol. 71, No. 16
Vol. 71, No. 16
Vol. 18, No. 16
Everyone in the City of
Romulus is invited to take
part in the 20th annual
Citywide Clean Sweep on
Saturday, April 21.
See page 2.
Vol. 133, No. 16
Vol. 71, No. 16
Vol. 71, No. 16
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
An innovative approach
to the flooding caused by
rainstorms at the Jefferson
Barns Community Vitality
Center in Westland has paid
off for the community.
See page 4.
The B.L.O.C.K. Youth &
Teen Center and Chicks 4
Charity are teaming up to
host a special trivia fundrais-
er to benefit the Lead
#LikeAGirl scholarship pro-
gram.
See page 5.
Vol. 18, No. 16
A class in healthy cooking
is planned from 3-6 p.m.
Sunday, April 22 at Sharon
SDAChurch in Inkster.
See page 2.
The Plymouth District
Library will mark the 20th
anniversary of the current
building from 1-3 p.m. April
29.
See page 3.
More than 300 visitors
viewed the month-long 2018
Quilt Exhibit at the
Belleville Area Museum in
March.
See page 5.
Canton Township residents
will, beginning May 1, see an
average 6.35 percent drop in
water and sewer bills.
“This is cool,” said township
Trustee Steve Sneideman. “I like
being able to do this.”
Sneideman's thoughts were
echoed by other officials at the
Tuesday, April 10, township
Board of Trustees meeting. Each
year, township staff prepares an
analysis of proposed rates and
charges for water and sewer
services based on the true cost-
of-service.
In discussing amending the
township Utilities Ordinance to
reflect the savings, Supervisor
Pat Williams noted, “Wait until
May first to fill your pool this
year.”
Clerk Michael Siegrist said,
“Good job,” in praising staff that
did the research. “It's long-term,
long-range planning.” Added
township Treasurer Dian
Slavens, “It's wonderful news for
the residents of Canton.”
The Board of Trustees also
heard the first reading of a for-
mal ethics ordinance, to replace
a policy enacted in 2009. “This
has the force of law. It creates a
civil misdemeanor,” explained
Siegrist.
The ordinance, a first in the
township, includes a ban on gifts
from vendors, potential vendors,
licensed individuals and busi-
nesses. Public resources are not
to be used for personal/political
benefit, and there is to be no per-
sonal gain frompublic position.
Siegrist also noted the ordi-
nance covers stronger language
on conflict of interest, including
See
Ethics,
page 6
Wait until May first to
fill your pool this year.
”
More than 1,500 volunteers
are needed next month to save
the lives of children facing star-
vation.
As part of the Kiwanis Club
Kids Coalition Against Hunger
project, 1,500 volunteers are
needed to package half amillion
meals for hungry and needy
children here and throughout
theworld.
The 2018 Greater Plymouth
Service Project will host a grand
food packaging event to benefit
the Kids Coalition Against
Hunger at the Plymouth Arts
and Recreation Complex
(PARC) in downtown Plymouth.
The event will take place from 8
a.m. until 3 p.m. on Saturday,
May 12. The entire community
has come together to raise more
than $70,000 in charitable dona-
tions from local service clubs
including the Rotary, Kiwanis
and Lions; NorthRidge and Our
Lady of Good Counsel churches;
the Plymouth Chamber of
Commerce, the Community
Foundation of Plymouth,
Plymouth Arts & Recreation
Complex; local businesses and
many private citizens. The
George and Mary Smith family
donated $10,000 which paid for
35,714 meals. A donation of $250
pays for 839 meals and can be
the difference between life and
death by starvation for children
inmany third-world countries.
This is the third year of the
service project, said Chairman
Groundbreaking set for Romulus courthouse
Groundbreaking for the
largest public project in the City
of Romulus is planned for 3 p.m.
nextMonday.
The public is invited to the
ceremony which will mark the
beginning of construction for
the new 34th District
Courthouse which will be locat-
ed just west of the current court-
house at the Romulus
Municipal Complex.
The two-story, 50,000-square-
foot courthouse will continue to
serve five communities - the
cities of Romulus and Belleville
and the townships of Huron,
Sumpter and Van Buren - plus
DetroitMetropolitanAirport.
The new facility will be more
secure and will replace a single-
story, 26,000-square-foot facility
that is often overcrowded and
considered inadequate to han-
dle a caseload that surpassed
87,000 in 2017, officials said.
The new courthouse and a
rebuilt Veterans Memorial to
the north of the building have
an anticipated completion date
of August 2019.
The $17 million cost of the
project will be paid for by its
users, said Chief Judge Tina
Brooks Green. About five years
ago, the court began assessing a
$20 fee per ticket toward the
anticipated debt reduction on
the bonds that will finance the
project through the City of
Romulus. There will be no cost
to taxpayers unless they get
cited for a ticket, officials said.
The partners on the court-
house are the 34th District
Court, the City of Romulus,
AUCH Construction Co. and
Partners in Architecture. All
three judges - Green of Huron,
Judge Brian Oakley of Romulus
and Judge David Parrott of Van
Buren - are involved in the
process, along with Court
Administrator and Magistrate
AlanHindman.
Romulus Mayor LeRoy D.
Burcroff said the courthouse
will be a beautiful addition to
the community and a much-
needed replacement for the cur-
rent facility, which was built in
1974.
Green said the new facility
will be the largest public project
in Romulus history. She said it
will be more energy efficient,
more high tech andmore secure
for the 45 employees and cus-
tomers.
“We are busting at the
seams,” said Green, the senior
judge with 24 years of experi-
ence. “We don't have enough
space. We have people in
makeshift offices. We've turned
back rooms and closets into
offices over the years.”
The new courthouse will
have a central lockup facility
that can be accessed by all four
of the planned courtrooms.
Currently, some prisoners have
to be escorted through the main
public area, creating a security
issue.
“Youwill know this is a court-
house,” Green said. “We have
tried to incorporate a judicial
look and feel. We'll be moving
out of a 1970s-era facility and
into something that has a lot
more glass. We're trying to do
everything as green and energy-
efficient as possible.”
Hindman, who has worked at
the court for 39 years, said the
current facility averages 148,700
people in the building annually.
He said parking will expand
and lighting will be enhanced at
the new court, the building will
be more user-friendly and cus-
tomers will have the option of
paying tickets at a kiosk.
The groundbreaking comes
50 years after the start of the
34th District Court, which
serves 13 police agencies: the
five municipalities, the airport,
the Michigan State Police, the
Wayne County Sheriff's
Department, the Department of
Natural Resources and the
An artist's rendering of the new 34th District Court and Veteran's Memorial in Romulus.
See
Court,
page 2
Canton lowers township water rates
Plymouth Feed the Hungry project planned
Julie Brown
Special Writer
See
Project,
page 3
More than 1500 volunteers are needed for the Greater Plymouth Service Project set for May 12 this
year. Last year, 1550 volunteers packed meals during the event.
