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No. 21
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
May 23 – 29, 2013
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
Two candidates have filed
nominating petitions seeking
election as mayor of Wayne
and six candidates will seek
terms on the council.
See page 2
Twenty-three students from
Romulus High School were
inducted as new members of
the National Honor Society in
a ceremony April 16 in the
high school auditorium.
See page 3.
Wayne County officials,
area police officers and fire-
fighters and some elected offi-
cials helped break ground for
the
First
Responders
Memorial in Plymouth
Township.
See page 5.
While the majority of the
work is scheduled to be done
this summer, buildings in the
Northville schools are already
preparing for the technology
upgrades approvedby voters.
See page 5.
After a brief hiatus, the
Belleville Area Council for the
Arts Senior Art Scholarship
Programreturned for 2013.
See page 3.
Vol. 128, No. 21
Vol. 66, No. 21
Vol. 66, No. 21
Vol. 13, No. 21
Vol. 128, No. 21
Vol. 66, No. 21
Vol. 66, No. 21
It will be a celebration of
good things in the community
tomorrow night when alumni
of Inkster High School cele-
brate an all-class reunion.
See page 2.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Wayne County Parks will
close Hines Drive to all motor
traffic from 9 a.m. until 3:30
p.m. every Saturday through
Sept. 8 for the Saturday in the
Park program.
See page 2.
A Memorial Day Weekend
tradition continues as the
Canton Soccer Club hosts the
31st Annual Canton Cup
Soccer Tournament this week-
end.
See page 5.
Vol. 13, No. 21
Every employee of the Inkster
District School District has been
laid off, effective June 28 and
their insurance benefits will end
Aug. 30.
Those pink slips were appar-
ently one of the final decisions
made by Superintendent of
Schools Mischa Bashir before she
went to a special school board
meeting May 13 and submitted
her letter of resignation to the
board. Board Trustee James
Richardson said that four of the
board members refused to accept
Bashir's resignation, but she told
them that she is definitely leaving
the district July 12 and then left
themeeting.
In her letter of resignation,
Bashir said that it was only after
she accepted the job in the
Inkster district in August of 2011
that an audit disclosed a $10.5
million deficit. She went on in the
letter listing her accomplish-
ments during her tenure with the
Inkster schools. The district now
faces a $12 million deficit which
Bashir attributes to declining
enrollment.
Richardson, who has served on
the board for 14 years, also sub-
mitted his resignation although
he did not provide it to Bashir or
the other board members.
Because of his strong feelings
regarding the performance of
both the superintendent and
some other members of the
board, Richardson said he sent
his resignation letter, with his
carefully detailed reasons for
leaving, to the Wayne County
Regional Educational Service
Agency (RESA).
“I have concluded it is impossi-
ble to make sound decisions that
reflect the best interest of the chil-
dren under the current leader-
ship of our school board, presi-
dent and superintendent,”
Richardson said inhis letter.
He noted that he felt the layoff
notices sent to all employees and
the 108 teachers were unneces-
sary and that he hoped that most
of the staff members could be
rehired before school begins fol-
lowing the summer break.
Bashir said that the layoff
notices are a standard practice
and that staff would be inter-
viewed and rehired based on per-
formance, not seniority, before
school begins this fall.
Richardson said he did not
know if RESA would fill the
remaining months of his term or
if it would up for re-election on
the regular ballot.
In his letter to RESA,
Sean William Quigley, 37,
remains in jail following his
arraignment last week on charges of
terrorism and kidnapping relating
to the evacuation of Westland City
Hall and the 18th District Court
Monday, May 13.
Quigley allegedly entered
Westland City Hall on Ford Road
just past noon May 13 and insisted
on seeing Mayor William Wild. He
claimed to have 6 pounds of explo-
sives and brandished what
appeared to be some time of deto-
nator or blasting cap, according to
reports of the incident.
When informed that Wild was
not in the building, he took a city
hall employee hostage. She man-
aged to escape out a back door and
the other 25 people in city hall at
the time were safely evacuated,
police said.
Wild was attending funeral serv-
ices for firefighter Brian Woehlke
along with Westland Police Chief
Jeff Jedrusik and many other city
officials.
When dispatch received the 911
call, police immediately cordoned
off the entire section of Ford Road
and a bomb squad, Michigan State
Police andFBI agents also respond-
ed to the scene. A police negotiator
After serving the City of
Romulus for 33 years in various
capacities, Romulus Mayor Alan
Lambert announced last week he
will not seek a fourth term as the
top elected officer in the city and
did not submit nominating peti-
tions by the May 14 deadline with
the office of the city clerk.
Lambert has faced speculation
about his political future since
Michigan State Police executed a
search warrant at his home March
25. No charges have been filed and
state police officials will not com-
ment on the target or scope of the
investigation.
“After working for the communi-
ty that I love for the past three
decades, it's with a heavy heart that
I announce I will retire at the end
of my term,” Lambert said in a pre-
pared statement. “After talking
with my family, saying many
prayers and giving the decision
deep thought, I have decided to
retire and not seek a fourth term.
After 33 years of service, it's time
for me to spend more quality time
withmy family.”
A city primary election will take
place Aug. 6. to reduce the field of
15 council candidates to and
the mayoral candidates from four
to two. The General Election is
scheduled forNov. 5.
Lambert's career in public serv-
ice began in 1981, when he was the
youngest person ever elected to
serve on the Romulus City Council.
He served for seven years as a
Romulus councilman, leaving to
join the Romulus Police
Department where he worked
from1988 until 2001.
Lambert served on the Romulus
Board of Education from 1998 to
2001,and was elected president of
the board.
Lambert was elected mayor in
2001 and is serving his 12th year in
office. Since his election, one of
Themost recognizable piece of real-estate in
the City of Plymouth may look a bit shopworn,
neglected and rundown now, but that will all
change in the next fewmonths.
The Markham House, built in1903 by Daisy
Air Rifle Co. pioneer William F. Markham, at
the apex of Kellogg Park on the corner of
Penniman and Union streets, was once the
showplace of Plymouth. The house will be com-
pletely remodeled into apartments during the
next few months, according contractor to Bill
Richardson ofHowell.
The house was purchased by George and
Harriet Wilcox in 1911 and became known as
The Wilcox House. The couple raised their
three children in the home, one of whom was
Johnston “Jack” Wilcox, the founder of the
Wilcox Foundation, which continues to provide
funds to benefit the community. Stan Dickson
bought the home fromWilcox.
With its elaborate shutters and a grand,
wraparound porch, the Queen Anne style home
was an example of the finest workmanship of a
by-gone era. The 10-foot stained glass window
that was originally in the solarium on the first
floor was donated to the Plymouth Historical
MuseumbyWilcox before his death in 2000.
During World War II, the home was convert-
ed into five apartments. Today, much of the
home has been gutted and most of the original
woodwork removed, but plans are in place to
preserve the exterior and remodel the interior
into two luxury apartments, encompassing all
three floors. Dickson has asked the Plymouth
Historic District Commission to approve his
plans for the exterior of the home, in an effort to
preserve the historic importance of the iconic
structure.
The three-story home, which sits on 2.5
acres, will be split into two units. The first level
See
Mayor,
page 3
See
Schools,
page 2
See
Bomber,
page 2
Westland ‘bomber’ remains in custody
I have decided to retire and not seek a fourth term.
After 33 years of service, it's time
for me to spend more quality time with my family.
”
I have concluded it is impossible to make
sound decisions that reflect the best interest
of the children under the current leadership...
”
Welcome home
Historic Wilcox House
to be 2 apartments
Romulus mayor will not seek re-election
Mayor Alan Lambert
See
House,
page 5
School superintendent, board treasurer resign in Inkster
Sean William Quigley