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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
6
May 16, 2013
Congratulations are in order.
While there have been well wish-
es and smiles throughout the
Plymouth-Canton Community
School District offices, the real con-
gratulations, we think, should go to
the voters who went to the polls and
to the students who will now enter a
newage of education.
Voters in the Plymouth-Canton
district approved sustaining the cur-
rent 4.1 millage rate, allowing the
schools to continue to collect tax at
the current rate, while providing
about $114.5 million in improve-
ments to the district facilities, equip-
ment and buses. Students in
Plymouth Canton, very soon, will
each be provided with an electronic
device, most likely a tablet, that will
be the school textbook of the future.
Teachers, too, will use the electronic
devices, bringing them into the cur-
rent climate of electronic communi-
cation and education.
We strongly supported the mill-
age when it was proposed, and feel
that even in this economic climate,
the schools needed to take these
steps to remain current and at the
top of the educational scoreboard.
We fully realize that there are many
residents who feel that declining
enrollment and an aging population
negated the need for this millage
and these upgrades. We didn't agree
andwe still don't.
One of the key elements of prop-
erty value is the viability and per-
formance of the local school district.
When the time comes to resell prop-
erty, the effectiveness of the schools
is crucial in attracting a buyer, even
one without children only looking at
their own resale values in the future.
It is a different world and stu-
dents today are learning at a differ-
ent rate and in a different way. To be
competitive in college and then in
life, they need every advantage a
technology based education can pro-
vide.
The other prevailing argument
against the millage was the closing
of Central Middle School in down-
town Plymouth, a place of historical
significance and sentimental value
to many people. Our views on that
could be considered as somewhat
harsh, but we feel that property
could be much better used than as a
tribute to days gone by.
Plymouth has attempted to pre-
serve so much history, and done an
excellent job of respecting the past
while moving toward the future, but
every building, every wall, every
structure cannot be preserved if
progress is to be accomplished.
We think many of the proposals
for the Central building are viable
andwould provide both a look at the
past and a step into the future.
Remaining a school isn't a prerequi-
site for that criteria.
So we do congratulate the district
and the voters on a choice that will
benefit the entire community for
many years to come.
It was my own fault. Really, it
was.
When my beloved spouse asked
what I might like forMother's Day, I
should have just left it at something
like new floor mats for my car or a
new grill pan, but no, noooooooo
siree. I had to open my mouth and
ask for something I really, really
wanted, thought he could do and
was certainly affordable.
I asked him to fix my favorite
lamp.
Sounds simple enough, right?
The three-way switch was broken
and I had been nursing it along jig-
gling the knob and twisting the bulb
for months. When the sparks flew
last week, I realized it was time to
actually replace the switch.
That or set the bedroom on fire
which would not, I am sure, please
the landlord.
Now, my electric skills end at
the turning of a radio knob. I even
had to get my coworker here to
showme how to turn down the vol-
ume on the office intercom music.
Imagine my chagrin when he said,
“Just turn the volume down on the
speaker.” He didn't add the epithet
I know he was thinking, for which I
amgrateful. Dumb, but grateful.
Anyway, I askedmy spouse to fix
the lamp as my Mothers Day gift,
thinking that by labeling it as such,
he might get to it, oh say, before
next Christmas. He has a procrasti-
nation gene unlike any I've ever
encountered, so I thought I was
being exceptionally clever here.
Yeah, well as my mother used to
say, “pride goeth before the fall,”
and she was almost always right. I
heard her words ringing inmy ears
as I picked up lamp parts from
around the living room, kitchen
and laundry room Sunday night
where they were scattered like the
desiccated, picked over carcass of a
holiday turkey.
It was ugly.
“The part you bought doesn't fit.
It doesn't have this little thingy on
the end here,” Mr. Edison
explained as he attempted to wave
some tubular whatsis under my
nose. “It's the wrong size or some-
thing. I tried to make it work, but I
need a different one.”
See, I should have seen this
coming. Really, I should. After all
these years and all the attempted
repairs, I shouldhave known.
No matter what my dearest one
takes apart to fix, there is always a
missing part, a wrong size whatsis
or a worn out hoochie that turns a
half-hour job into a week or month-
long extravaganza. We need special
tools, the right light, the next size
drill or something. Trust me, we
always need something we don't
have or can't get, necessitating an
epic production
of just about
any repair.
Once, when I
made the mistake of asking him to
fix the handle on the toilet, I came
home to plumbing parts looking
like just excavated dinosaur bones
littering the hallway and foyer of
my home.
That was explained by my
beloved as helping my 3-year-old
grandson understand how the toi-
let worked so he would no longer
be afraid of it.
Yep. The two of them took it
apart, gleefully. I had to wait three
days for a plumber to put it back
together, shaking his head and
rolling his eyes the entire after-
noon it tookhim.
So I figure the lamp isn't that
bad. I'm sure it will only be a few
weeks before he will find the
“right” part and put it back togeth-
er.
Anyhow, a woman can always
hope.
Meanwhile, I can always use a
flashlight to read inbed, I guess.
We didnot knowBrianWoehlke.
But wemourn his death as though hewere a friend or fam-
ilymember.
As Mr. Woehlke was laid to rest in amoving and emotional-
ly charged ceremony Monday, we could not help but grieve
with the rest of the community.
Mr. Woehlke was the Westland firefighter who lost his life
during a restaurant fire last week. When the roof of the build-
ing collapsed, he was apparently trapped in the debris that
fell on top of him as he attempted to do his job and ensure
that no one elsewas inside the structure or in danger of losing
their life.
Mr. Woehlke epitomizes, we think, the spirit of service
found at every fire station throughout our area. These men,
likeMr.Woehlke, are heroes. Every one of themruns toward a
burning building while the rest of us run away, as the old say-
ing goes. But it is true. These are the men and women who
take nothing for granted when they report for work daily. The
next call could be a grass fire or a smoking pot left unattended
on a stove. Or it could be a blazing, collapsing building into
which they will go, armed with hoses and air packs, to rescue
victims and attempt to battle back one of the strongest forces
innature.
Too often, thesemen andwomen are taken for granted and
the dangers they face minimized by the communities they
serve because we are so used to having the sense of security
they provide, we forget the real cost of suchpeace ofmind.
The odds, lately, are usually with these fire fighters, and
most of them know that. Fire fighting equipment and devices
have improved remarkably and a well-trained and educated
fire department can usually control just about any situation
intowhich they are called.
Usually isn't always.
Mr. Woehlke's death is proof of the danger and the chaos
these firefighters face. He was a well-trained professional,
working with some of the best trained and most experienced
and capable fire fighters in the area, and his life was still lost
as he attempted to do the jobhe loved.
What is it that drives these men and women to subject
themselves to this danger? A sincere desire to serve, a need to
accomplish something significant, a hope of making lives bet-
ter ormaybe all of those and othermore personal and individ-
ual reasons.
Whatever their motivation, these are the men and women
who really want to save you and yours when the horror of fire
strikes. These are the people who will come into a smoke-
filled, dangerous, collapsing building to find those who may
be trapped inside.
Mr. Woehlke lost his life in the pursuit of his job and his
job, by the very definition, was being a hero. At only 29, Mr.
Woehlke will long be remembered by the entire area for his
bravery and his dedicated professionalism during this hor-
rendous blaze.
Our hearts and thoughts are with Mr. Woehlke's parents,
his wife and daughter and his siblings and other family mem-
berswho are suffering his loss.
We also send our sympathy, respect and admiration to his
fellow fire fighters in the Wayne-Westland department and
throughout the areawho grieve for himas one of their own.
Every one of them runs toward
a burning building while the rest
of us run away, as the old saying goes.
”
Entire area mourns the passing of a fallen hero
Right
call made
by voters
Yeah, well as my mother used to say,
“pride goeth before the fall,” and she
was almost always right.
”
Lessons of experience should have been heeded
Letters
Doing The Most Good
To the editor:
With spring's arrival, metro
Detroit is blossoming once again.
People are emerging with the
warmweather to enjoy a ball game,
play in the park or simply walk
around the neighborhood. As we
reconnect with neighbors, it's also a
great time to rededicate ourselves
toDoing theMost Good®.
The Salvation Army Eastern
Michigan Division encourages
metro Detroiters of all ages to
make Doing the Most Good their
personal mission during our eighth
annual Doing the Most Good Week
from May 9-19. It's all about small
courtesies, big gestures and loads
of kindnesses in-between in mak-
ing a stronger commitment to help-
ing our neighbors anytime or any-
place. It's about making "doing
good" a priority in our lives.
So what does Doing the Most
Good look like in your life? Is it
donating your talents or resources
to a local charity? Is it visiting a
shut-in or reading to children? Is it
coaching a rec team or mowing
another's lawn?Even if you're short
on time and funds, there are oppor-
tunities galore to effortlessly do
good unto others throughout your
day . . . hold the door for a stranger
. . . brighten someone's day with a
smile . . . say 'thank you.' Think of
the combined impact we would
make throughout metro Detroit if
See
Letters,
page 7