No. 19
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
May 12 – 18, 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
Trevor Bauer, 18, of
Wayne, entered a guilty plea
and admitted he set the fire
that destroyed a building at
theEloisehospital complex.
See page 2.
Appointments of a new
deputy director of police
services and an interim
deputy director of fire servic-
es in Northville Township
became official thisweek.
See page 4.
Vol. 131, No. 19
Vol. 69, No. 19
Vol. 69, No. 19
Vol. 16, No. 19
When voters in Precinct 5
in Romulus choose a new
president this fall, many of
them will do it at a new
polling location, located in
theRomulus Senior Center.
See page 5.
Vol. 131, No. 19
Vol. 69, No. 19
Vol. 69, No. 19
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The new Westland City
Hall has been selected as
one of the National Public
Works Projects of the Year
by the American Public
Works
Association.
See page 2.
Amanda Campana has
been named as the newman-
ager at the Canton Farmers
market which will open for
the season this Sunday at
500NorthRidgeRoad.
See page 3.
Vol. 16, No. 24
Detectives from the
Michigan State Police
Special Investigative Section
are requesting information
from the public regarding a
shootingMay 3.
See page 2.
More than 20 business
owners signed a letter pre-
sented to members of the
Plymouth Liquor License
ReviewCommittee last week
protesting new businesses in
the city.
See page 3.
Diane Kullis, the current
federal and state grant coor-
dinator for the Van Buren
Public Schools, has been
named as the interim super-
intendent of schools.
See page 5.
Attorneys for the City of
Detroit have expressed their
frustration with attempts to
reach some agreement with
Plymouth Township officials in
an ongoing landdispute.
“I think it's time to re-evalu-
ate our legal options,” stated
Deputy Corporate Counsel for
Detroit Chuck Raimi last week,
following a decision by the
Michigan Supreme Court favor-
ing Detroit and denying the
appeal of the township in the
controversy.
Raimi adamantly denied that
any negotiation was ongoing
between Detroit and Plymouth
Township regarding a settle-
ment of taxes paid on land pur-
chasedby the township.
The City of Detroit and the
township have been battling for
several years about the erro-
neous tax sale of a 190-acre
piece of property that was once
the site of the Detroit House of
Corrections Prison Farm.
Detroit has owned the land for
nearly 100 years but when a por-
tion of the property was sold to
a local developer, the property
split was not correctly recorded
and tax bills for the entire 323
acres sent to the developer who
never paid any taxes on any por-
tion of the land.
Plymouth Township then
notified Wayne County of the
unpaid taxes on the parcel of
land and, based on that infor-
mation, county officials sent
delinquent tax notices and then
ultimately foreclosed on the
land. Following the foreclosure,
the county treasurer offered the
entire 323-acre parcel of and at
a tax sale and it was purchased
by Plymouth Township, the enti-
ty which initially reported the
delinquency.
The township paid $606,000
in 2011 for the land and has
paid property taxes of about
$102,000 on the property since
that time.
The City of Detroit subse-
quently sued the township for
return of the 190-acre section
erroneously recorded, noting
that tax notices were sent to an
incorrect address and that
municipally-owned land is
exempt from foreclosure pro-
ceedings under state law.
In 2015, Wayne County
Circuit Court Judge Robert
Columbo ruled in favor of the
city and ordered the township
to immediately return the prop-
erty to the rightful owner. The
Cuddly baby farm animals, hayrides,
face painting, demonstrations, crafts and
games are expected to bring crowds to
MayburyFarmMay 21.
Farm Fest, the largest annual event at
Maybury Farm, will take place this year
from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday, May 21.
The event will feature a wide variety of
activities including rope making, hayrides,
baby animals, face painting, children's
games and activities, story time and oth-
ers.
Northville Community Foundation
Executive Director Jessica Striegle noted
that the popularity of Farm Fest has been
growing annually due to the unique activi-
ties offered.
“Sheep and llama shearing, wool spin-
ning and cheese making are just a few of
the unique events,” she said. “And getting
up close and touching the baby animals is
always fun for both the children and even
the adults. They are probably our biggest
attraction.”
The foundation operates the fully-work-
ing farm which is open for visitors on a
regular basis.
This year, Striegle said, the farm has
partnered with the Plymouth Home
Depot, the Country Garden Club of
Northville, Taste: A Cook's Place, and the
Northville Art House to offer additional
activities for children, including a building
workshop, an art project and planting con-
tainer gardens. There will also be a scav-
enger hunt for the whole family during
FarmFest, Striegle said.
The schedule of events includes:
10 a.m.
FarmFest begins with children's
activities; spinning demonstrations and
hayrides all day; Home Depot Building
Workshop available to the first 100 partici-
pants, and sheep shearing demonstrations.
11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Children's gardening
activity with the Country Garden Club of
Northville
Noon:
NorthvilleHigh School Drumline
Performance
Noon-4 p.m.
Art project with the
NorthvilleArtHouse
1 p.m.
Cheese making with Mary
Spencer of Taste: ACook's Place
The cost of entry to Farm Fest is $4 per
person and children under the age of 2 are
admitted at no cost. Admission includes
the demonstrations, most children's activi-
ties, visiting with the animals and face
painting. Concessions and hayrides are
also available for purchase.
Sponsors this year include Community
Financial Credit Union, Northville Meijer,
Blackwell Ford andAisinGroup.
Maybury Farm is located at 50165 Eight
Mile Road in Northville, 1-¼ mile west of
Beck Road, ½ mile west of Maybury State
Park. Enter at the Maybury Farm sign, do
not enter the State Park. Parking is free at
MayburyFarm.
For more information, visit
orwww.facebook.com/maybury.farm.
Things are about to get gold-
en in theCity ofWestland.
The community will officially
celebrate the golden anniver-
sary of the city May 16 with day-
long events.
Westland officially became a
city May 16, 1966 and the cele-
bration of the anniversary will
include a Homecoming
Celebration at Westland City
Hall, 36300WarrenRoad.
TheHomecomingwill start at
11 a.m. with the opening of the
time capsule that was buried 50
years ago. There will be self-
guided tours, historical displays
and refreshments until 6 p.m.
At 3 p.m. there will be a mod-
erated discussion panel with all
the former mayor of the city
which will be recorded and
aired onWLND. At 6 p.m. there
will be a short meeting of the
Westland City Council including
several special presentations.
The night will conclude with a
reception from 7 to 9 p.m. dur-
ing which attendees can remi-
nisce under the stars while
enjoying hors d'oeuvres, refresh-
ments andmusic.
Other events scheduled for
the summer include the Kick
Off the Summer Party which
starts at 5 p.m. June 16 at
Central City Park. The event
includes free hot dogs, snacks,
water and giveaways. There
will also be children's safety
activities and the latest police
and fire equipment will be on
hand. Admission to the very
popular H20 Zone will also be
free. At 6 p.m. there will be a
special showing of Star Wars:
TheForceAwakens.
The premiere event in the
city, Blues, Brews and BBQ will
take place on Aug. 4 and 5 this
year. Headliner during this
anniversary year will be former
American Idol contestant and
Westland native Josh Gracin.
Visitors will be treated to music,
BBQ and craft beers during the
two-day event.
A special fireworks display
will mark the anniversary of the
city.
Don Howard
Staff Writer
See
Land,
page 3
Down on
the farm
Maybury sets annual
Farm Fest next week
The community will officially celebrate the golden
anniversary of the city May 16 with day-long events.
”
Cox doesn't return calls.
All we get are insults.
It's time we reassess our legal options.
”
Westland to celebrate 50th anniversary of city
Detroit attorneys deny land talks
