No. 21
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
May 21 – 27, 2015
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
The last criminal charge
facing Wayne City Council
candidate Christopher
Sanders, 46, has been dis-
missed by Wayne County
Circuit Court Judge Alexis
Glendening.
See page 4.
Seventeen local residents
recently graduated from the
inaugural Citizens Academy
hosted by the Romulus
Department of Public Safety.
See page 5.
Letters soliciting dona-
tions for the annual Fourth
of July celebration have
prompted questions about
using public funds to pay for
the private party included in
the event.
See page 6.
Voters in the City of
Northville will have an extra
issue on the Aug. 4 primary
ballot asking for approval of
a 2.25 mill road repair mill-
age.
See page 6.
The Belleville Area
Council for the Arts awarded
the 2015 Senior Art
Scholarship to Somerton-
PheonixDeGraffenreid.
See page 5.
Vol. 130, No. 21
Vol. 68, No. 21
Vol. 68, No. 21
Vol. 15, No. 21
Vol. 130, No. 21
Vol. 68, No. 21
Vol. 68, No. 19
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
It was a solemn crowd
that gathered recently in
Westland City Hall to mark
the dedication of two memo-
rial plaques for deceased
firefighters.
See page 4.
The Canton Board of
Trustees recognized several
Canton Leisure Services
staff members for their life-
saving rescues at the Summit
on thePark.
See page 3.
Vol. 15, No. 16
Tips from the public led
Michigan State Police to a
suspect in a recent armed
robbery in Inkster, according
toMichiganStatePolice.
See page 5.
The City of Inkster will pay
FloydDent $1.37million indam-
ages following his brutal beating
by a police officer during a traf-
fic stop last January that drew
national attention.
Interim Police Chief Joseph
Thomas, Jr. said that he felt the
awardwas fair and a step in put-
ting the incident behind the
police department, the city and
all those people involved.
“It was an incident that
everyone wishes had not hap-
pened,” Thomas said. He said
that both the City Treasurer
Mark Stuhldreher and the city
attorneys should be commended
for the way they negotiated the
settlement.
“Mr. Dent and his attorney,
Gregory Rohl, were also human-
istic in their approach to this.
They know the city of Inkster
doesn't have a lot of money,”
Thomas said. “This is a win-win
in a losing situation.”
Thomas, who has been with
the department only about a
month, said he was surprised by
the receptionhe's received.
“I didn't expect a lot of push-
back, but I didn't expect this
level of cooperation, either,” he
said.
Thomas replaced former
chief Vickie Yost who resigned
April 22 in the immediate after-
math of misconduct in office,
mistreatment of a prisoner and
assault charges filed against one
Inkster officer and the suspen-
sion of two others in the Dent
incident. Thomas added that he
felt the department “has done
due diligence” in the investiga-
tion of the beating incident.
“People expect us to hold our
officers accountable and that is
what we will do. But we are not
on any witch hunt, here. These
officers are people, too. We have
mothers, fathers, grandmothers
who work in this department.
They are good people who do
their jobs well. They are good
police officers andwe don't want
them painted with a broad
brush,” he said.
The new chief said he came
to the department with an open
attitude and one of listening to
what the officers had to tell him
and to say.
“We have standards, rules,
regulations andwewant the offi-
cers who do their job every day
and do it well to know that we
will stand behind them and
compliment them when they do
their jobswell.
“But we have also sent a
”
It was an incident that everyone
wishes had not happened...
This is a win-win
in a losing situation.
Inkster beating victim receives $1.37 million
An announcement of the end
of the recall effort against three
Plymouth Township officials is
expectednext week.
Sandy Groth, one of the
organizers of the recall effort,
said that while the group was
able to collect 15,000 signatures
from residents in favor of the
recall ballot question, theywere
not able to collect the signa-
tures within the time allotted by
election law.
“Unfortunately, we weren't
able to get the required number
of signatures per candidate in
any one 60-day period, but we
knew going in we had an uphill
battle,” she said.
The recall was aimed at
Township Treasurer Ron
Edwards, Township Clerk
Nancy Conzelman and Trustee
Kay Arnold. Former Supervisor
Richard Reaume was also the
target of the recall effort but
resigned his office and moved
to Florida before the signature
deadline.
Groth said that she felt that
the recall effort accomplished a
great deal in the time the
activists attempted to obtain the
signatures. She said the group
collected about 3,700 signatures
per official.
“We stood together and
refused to allow our elected
officials to conquer and divide
us,” she said. “We found com-
mon ground, things we believe
in that we can continue to
speak for and fight for,” she
added.
Groth said she was very
proud of the number of volun-
teers who put in so many hours
collecting signatures, people
who went out in inclement
weather and were tireless in
their efforts to “help change
township government.”
Groth said the group,
Plymouth Township United
Citizens, will be changing focus
and will be working on keeping
residents informed about the
2016 elections. The group will
maintain the PAC bank account
and continue to use the funds
they collected in efforts to edu-
cate voters about candidates
and issues in the election next
year.
“We haven't gone away,” she
said. “We need to focus on what
we accomplished. We had the
opportunity to educate citizens.
That's huge. It's a really big
accomplishment,” she said.
“We're tired. But we're not
gone,” she added.
See
Settlement,
page 5
”
We haven't gone away.
We need to focus on what we accomplished.
We're tired. But we're not gone.
Township recall group to end efforts next week
Plymouth community mourns Margaret Dunning
Margaret Dunning, 104, a
beloved figure in Plymouth,
died last Sunday, May 17 while
in Santa Barbara, California,
after suffering injuries in an
accidental fall.
Mrs. Dunning was renown
throughout the community for
her kindness, intelligence and
generosity. She was a friend to
many throughout southeast
Michigan and was the founder
and benefactor of the
PlymouthHistoricalMuseum.
“Once in a person's life can
one meet, and have as a
friend, a lovely woman who
will impact you in so many
ways with her vitality, love of
people, pride in her communi-
ty, anddedication to causes.
“Margaret was truly caring,
down to earth, unpretentious
and giving of her time. The
board, staff, volunteers, and
Friends of the Plymouth
Historical Museum will feel
the loss of her presence for
years to come.
“She has counted among
her friends the world, celebri-
ties, rajas and us. How privi-
leged we have been for the
opportunity to knowMargaret.
“We will dearly miss her--
our friend, our adviser, and
our mentor.,” said Janet Burns
of the Plymouth Historical
Museum.
Ms. Dunning was born June
26, 1910 the daughter of
Charles and Bessie Dunning,
on a farm at Plymouth Road
and Telegraph in Redford
Township. She would have
celebrated her 105th birthday
nextmonth.
Her father taught her to
steer his Model T when she
was 8 and she ran “smack into
the barn.” Shewas 12 when he
died and she got her driver's
license and his Model T.
became her first car. She and
her mother moved to the
home on Penniman Avenue
where Ms. Dunning continued
to reside.
She graduated from
Plymouth High School in 1929
and attended the University of
Michigan for 2 years before
the Great Depression forced
her to leave college tohelpher
mother in the family-owned
bank where she started at the
bottomrung, as a teller.
Ms. Dunning volunteered in
Plymouth's Red Cross motor
pool duringWorldWar II, driv-
ing a truck. In 1947, she pur-
chased Goldstein's Apparel on
Main Street in downtown
Plymouth, renaming it
Dunning's Department Store.
She sold her business in 1968
and became a community
philanthropist.
From 1962 to 1984, Ms.
Dunning served on the board
of Community Federal Credit
Union, including 19 years as
president. During her tenure,
the Credit Union increased its
Margaret Dunning exhibited her perfectly restored 1930 Packard 740 Roadster in auto shows
across the country until her death this week.
Margaret Dunning volunteered
in Plymouth's Red Cross motor
pool during World War II.
See
Dunning,
page 6
