No. 16
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
April 21 – 27, 2016
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
Six local churches will
participate in the Wayne
Westland CropWalk planned
for May 1 organized this year
by Wayne First Congrega-
tional Church.
See page 5.
Despite the protests of
several parents, some who
labeled The Bluest Eye as
“pornographic,” the book
will remain part of the
Northville schools curricu-
lum.
See page 6.
Vol. 131, No. 16
Vol. 69, No. 16
Vol. 69, No. 16
Vol. 16, No. 16
Romulus Middle School
students showed off their
spirit at the Family Career
and Community Leaders of
America State Leadership
Conference lastmonth.
See page 2.
Vol. 131, No. 16
Vol. 69, No. 16
Vol. 69, No. 16
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Westland Mayor William
R. Wild has been chosen as a
Taubman Fellow for 2016
and will study solutions to
public-sector problems at
HarvardUniversity.
See page 5.
The Canton Police
Department will join law
enforcement units from
across the county in the
national effort to remove
prescription drugs from
homes onApril 30.
See page 7.
Vol. 16, No. 24
A 39-year-old Inkster
mother remains hospitalized
following surgery for injuries
she received in a random
shooting at her minivan in
DearbornHeights.
See page 2.
Plymouth
Township
Treasurer Ron Edwards has
a big job ahead of him as he
attempts to raise $42,500 for
the annual township fire-
works display andVIPparty.
See page 6.
Delreesa Lyons, a student
at the Belleville campus of
Wayne County Community
College, was recently hon-
ored by the Henry Ford
HealthSysteminWyandotte.
See page 7.
Former Inkster Police Ofc.
William Melendez could com-
plete his 13-month to 10-year
prison sentence as early as July
as part of an alternative sentenc-
ing program or boot camp.
Melendez' move to the program
prompted criticism from Wayne
County Circuit Court Judge
Vonda Evans and outrage from
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym
Worthy.
Melendez, 47, was convicted
of brutally beating a 53-year-old
Detroit man during a traffic
stop, an incident that made
national news when patrol car
videotapes of the incident were
made public. Evans sentenced
him in February after his jury
conviction on charges of assault
with intent to do great bodily
harm and misconduct in office.
He was immediately remanded
to the Michigan Department of
Corrections to begin his prison
term at Bellamy Creek
Correctional Facility.
Last week, prosecutors filed
court documents objecting to
Melendez serving his time in the
para-military type prison boot
camp in Chelsea. They wrote in
the filing that Melendez' comple-
tion of the program, “will result
in the defendant being paroled
well before he has served his
minimumsentence.”
The boot camp program usu-
ally takes 90 days for prisoners
to complete but can go for up to
120 days, according to the
Michigan Department of
Corrections. “Upon successful
completion of the program the
prisoner will be paroled or
placed on probation, if deemed
appropriate.” Melendez could
be paroled or placed on proba-
tion after serving only six
months of his sentence as part of
the boot campprogram.
Melendez reportedly entered
the boot camp program and was
there for about two weeks last
month.
Evans amended her original
sentence April 4 including an
objection to Melendez' transfer
to the boot campprogram.
We argued at his sentencing that he should
serve far more than what he was given,
and this decision adds insult to injury - literally.
”
Boot camp for Melendez draws ire
A new program sponsored by the Conference of
Western Wayne will now allow local residents to text mes-
sages to the emergency 911 number.
Westland Mayor Bill Wild, chair of the Conference of
Western Wayne said the availability of text-to-911 emer-
gency services was now active. The new feature is part of
the Conference of Western Wayne (CWW) “Call if you can,
text if you can't” public safety program.
The announcement of the new service was made dur-
ing a press conference last week attended by law enforce-
ment representatives from the affected communities and
Heavy weight
National champion hopes
to inspire healthy living
It's never too late.
Proof of that adage seems to be personi-
fied by Ray Fougnier, who took up
weightlifting in his 70s, following his
retirement fromhis teaching career and as
the head of the American Indian program
at Cornell University.
Fougnier, now 73, brought four world
records back home to Plymouth last week
and was selected as the best lifter from all
competitors in the Amateur Athletic
Union
2016
North
American
Championships which took place in
Laughlin, NV.
Fougnier now splits his time between
Plymouth and another home inTennessee.
His sponsor in the weight competitions is
the Oneida Indian Nation where he grew
up on the Indian homelands in central
NewYork before pursuing his education.
Fougnier said he hopes his powerlifting
success will help inspire Native
Americans of all ages to embrace exercise
and healthy living. He won the men's 70-74
age division while setting new world
records for the class in the squat, bench
press, deadlift and total overall score cate-
gories.
His selection as the best lifter in the
entire event qualifies him for the World
Powerlifting Championships planned for
September in Las Vegas. That will be
Fougnier's third international champi-
onship event and he also holds state lifting
records inbothTennessee andMichigan.
Ray Fougnier, 73, shows judges his ability in the squat lift during competition last month
in Las Vegas. Fougnier set a new world record in the event.
Ray Fougnier, a Native American, started lifting in his early 70s. He also set a world
record in the dead lift event during the competition last month.
Texting to 911 service is now available in area
See
Sentence,
page 2
See
911,
page 8
Elected officials in Canton
Township have voluntarily
reduced their own salaries begin-
ning Jan. 1, 2017.
Following a review by Clerk
Terry Bennett and Trustees John
Anthony andTomYack, the seven
member board voted unanimous-
ly to cut their pay by 5 percent in
an effort to keep them compati-
ble with surrounding communi-
ties.
Township Supervisor Phil
LaJoy said the cuts make Canton
"competitive" and said the new
salaries are "fair amounts of
money." He added that officials in
Canton took a pay cut in 2008 and
that salaries have gradually
increased since then to the cur-
rent levels. LaJoy suggested the
three-member reviewpanel in an
effort to ensure that the township
salaries were in line with other
communities and respectful of
the pay cuts that employees in
the township have taken. The
vote on the salary adjustments
was adopted before the filing
deadline next month for candi-
dates for offices. LaJoy and
Bennett have both announced
that theywill not seek re-election.
Anthony said the new wage
scale was fair and noted that the
township employees had
"stepped up and took wage and
benefit cuts. It's only fair that we
match theway they handled their
contracts. It's fair all around," he
said.
Following the recommenda-
tion of the panel, the township
supervisor will make $116,295, a
decrease of $6,121; the township
clerk and treasurer will make
$99,586, a reduction of $5.241 and
the four part-time trustees will
make $12,094, a drop of $637
annually. The pay cuts will
decrease the township payroll by
$19,788 annually.
Canton officials will take 5 percent pay cuts
