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No. 20
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
May 15 – 21, 2014
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
HYPE Athletics has offered
a plan to take over manage-
ment and operation of the
Wayne Community Center
with financial assistance from
the city.
See page 4.
Mayor LeRoy D. Burcroff is
inviting the community to par-
ticipate in a process to create a
vision plan for the future of the
city called "EnvisionRomulus."
See page 3.
A golf outing at the Grand
Hotel is only one of many
items listeners can bid on dur-
ing the 26th annual Radio
Auction at the Plymouth
Canton student-run station
Saturday.
See page 2.
Investigators concluded
that students may have felt
intimidated, but they were not
bullied during questioning by
Northville School District
administrators recently.
See page 2.
Members of the Van Buren
School District Board of
Education have decided not to
pursue an offer from AT&T to
lease property near Haggerty
Elementary School.
See page 3.
Vol. 129, No. 20
Vol. 67, No. 20
Vol. 67, No. 20
Vol. 14, No. 20
Vol. 129, No. 20
Vol. 67, No. 20
Vol. 67, No. 20
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
A new ordinance aimed at
protecting dogs from mistreat-
ment was introduced by mem-
bers of the Westland City
Council at a meeting early this
month.
See page5.
Rob Bovitz was officially
honored for his service to the
community with his induction
into the Canton Hall of Fame
last week.
See page 2.
Vol. 14, No. 20
The oily sheen on Johnson
Creek in Northville, one of the few
habitats of brown trout, has been
traced to a leak of transmission oil
into the waterway from Northville
Downs raceway.
Northville Fire Chief James
Allen said that on the night of April
25, an employee of the Michigan
Department of Environmental
Quality (MDEQ) walked by the
creek in Hines Park and noticed
the substance in the water. The
next morning, the substance was
traced to the bridge over Seven
Mile Road near the Sheldon Road
pathway, almost across the street
from Northville Downs. Fire offi-
cials on site discovered that the
substance was coming from a 10-12
inch pipe near Sheldon Road that
dumps into Johnson Creek, the
only designated trout stream in
Wayne County. Brown trout can
only survive in clean, cold water
and there is a recorded thriving
population of the rare species in
JohnsonCreek.
Further investigation by staff
members from the Michigan
Department of Environmental
Quality Southeast Michigan
District Office, City of Northville
and Wayne County determined the
substance was coming through the
stormsewer froma freight elevator
at the race track.
Investigators said that the eleva-
tor had leaked oil into the pit
below where a sump pump sent
the material into a storm sewer
which then sent it to Johnson
Creek. Officials estimated that less
than 55 gallons of the oil had
leaked into thewaterway.
Officials said that the pit at the
racetrack and the storm sewer
have been thoroughly cleaned of
the oil and that members of the
DEQ staff are working with man-
agers at Northville Downs to
ensure there is no repeat of the
accidental discharge.
There was no estimate as to the
effects of the spill on the brown
trout population.
Volunteers are expected to be
out in force this Saturday during the
annual Rouge Rescue event.
Annually, volunteers gather at local
sites to help open logjams, remove
trash and debris from the water and
banks, pull out invasive honeysuck-
le and garlic mustard from the
banks and, in some areas, replant
native growth. Organizers recom-
mend that volunteers wear long
sleeves, long pants and boots or
sturdy shoes to protect themselves
from poison ivy and uneven terrain.
Hats, bug spray and sunscreen may
be helpful items to bring, too, they
said. Gloves will provided at all
work sites and t-shirts will be pro-
vided to all volunteers.
All ages are welcome, organizers
said, but youngsters should be
accompaniedby an adult.
Sites this year include: Flodin
Park at Saltz Road and Morton
Taylor Road in Canton Township
from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. This site is
family friendly and all volunteers
are welcome. Projects at this site
will include Trail clean up, native
planting at pond, environmental
education activities, Birds of Prey
presentation, trail hikes and bird
house building.
This site is sponsored by Canton
Township Engineering Services.
For more information, call (734) 394-
5150.
Volunteers will also be at
Meadows of Canton located at Lotz
Road at the Fellows Creek crossing
between Palmer and Cherry Hill
from9 a.m. until noon.
This site, too, is family friendly
and projects will include river
cleanup, educational displays,
storm drain stenciling, bug hunting
Eddie Baranek, the author
of Taken Alive: The Sights'
Rock and Roll Diary, will
make a special appearance at
the Leanna Hicks Inkster
Public Library at 6 p.m. May
22.
See page 5.
If the City of Wayne is to avoid
submitting a deficit elimination
plan to the state, officials need to
find about $200,000 more in
spending cuts.
Originally faced with a predict-
ed deficit of about $1.5 million,
that number has now been
reduced to $731,000 by eliminat-
ing city staff, increasing the
street lighting tax assessment and
an increase in the predictedprop-
erty tax revenue for the city. In
addition, the city expects to see a
3 percent increase in state shared
revenue.
Included in the expense cuts is
the reduction of the city work
force by 14 full-time equated jobs.
The city will employ 74 people
with the new budget, a drop from
the current 88. One sergeant and
four police officers will be elimi-
nated from that department and a
deputy chief and two lieutenants
will retire from the fire depart-
ment and not be replaced. An
administrative position in the fire
department has also been elimi-
nated along with two foreman
jobs in the city Department of
PublicWorks.
Interim City Manager and
DPW Director Ramzi El-Gharib
announced his retirement effec-
tive next month. He will return in
July as a contract employee and
take on the responsibilities for
bothWayne andWestland. Hewill
oversee the Department of Public
Service and the engineering
department in Westland and the
DPW in Wayne in his new capaci-
ty.
Wayne will pay about $30,000
toward El-Gharib's new contract
and officials estimate that the
arrangement will save the city
about $180,000.
The loss in projected property
tax had been based on an antici-
pated decline in property values
in the city.
Property values were predict-
ed to decrease by another 5 per-
cent, but the actual figure as
reported by the county is 1.83 per-
cent, which will bring another
$231,658 in tax revenue.
City council members have
also approved a new increase in
the street lighting assessment to
place the burden of the $200,000
the city currently pays onto resi-
dents, who have been paying
about $400,000 for the street
lights, which cost the city about
$620,000 annually.
Jearalean Talley will tell you
that her life is inGod's hands.
All 115 years of it.
Talley will mark her 115th
birthday May 23, making her the
oldest woman in the U.S., accord-
ing to national records. She is also
considered one of the oldest peo-
ple in the world. Talley was born
May 23, 1899 in Georgia and is the
last of her 11 siblings, many of
whomlivedwell into their 90s.
Her daughter, Thelma
Halloway, and her five grandchil-
dren are expected to attend the
celebration of her birthday
plannedMay 25 at NewJerusalem
Missionary Baptist Church where
Talley has been a member for
decades. She and her husband,
Alfred Talley, moved to Michigan
in 1935 and she was widowed in
1988. She never remarried.
“Treat others the way you
wouldwant to be treated,” was the
advice Talley gave about her
longevity when she turned 111.
Her longevity, she saidwas “due to
the man upstairs. Ask him what
the secret is.”
Whatever happens next, Talley
says, “is inGod's hands.”
Talley is a 33rd Degree Eastern
Star and enjoys sewing and bowl-
ing, although she gave up her reg-
ular league when she turned 104.
A fellow church member and
acquaintance of Talley, Barbara
Underwood, said the entire
church membership is wishing
Talley well on her remarkable
birthday and said she felt Talley's
wisdomand experience have ben-
efited those lucky enough to know
her.
“We are all wishing her the best
and many more years of good
health, prosperity and hope on
this amazing milestone,”
Underwood said.
“May God continue to give her
wisdom, strength and grant her
many more happy days,” she
added.
See
Rescue,
page 4
Volunteers set for annual Rouge Rescue Saturday
Oil spill is traced to Northville Downs
Inkster woman celebrates 115th birthday
Wayne continues spending cuts to balance deficit
Jearalean Talley