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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
June 5, 2014
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
- I
NSKSTER
Adams tapped for Inkster fire chief position
The 5th Annual Westland Farmers' Market opens
for the 2014 season today, according to Mayor William
Wild. The market will be open from 3-7 p.m. every
Thursday throughOctober, he added.
This year also marks the grand opening of a new
location for the market starting in July, at Central City
Park, located at the intersection of Ford Road and
Central City Parkway. Until the market building is
available at the new location, it will continue to take
place in the city hall parking lot off Ford Road as in
past years.
“I look forward to the market's opening every year
because it has become a celebration of our local com-
munity in Westland - from the local vendors and rich
culture, to increasingly health-conscious residents
witha commitment to buying local,” saidWild.
Last year, a program was implemented to provide
bus services to the market from six locations through-
out the city. That will continue this year. Every other
week on the second and fourth Thursdays, there will
be entertainment and activities for the whole family at
themarket, too.
The Westland Chamber of Commerce will manage
the market for the 2014 season and vendor applica-
tions are still being accepted. Those interested in
becoming a vendor should contact Mary Vellardita at
the Westland Chamber of Commerce, (734) 326-7222,
for further information.
In addition to a new location, the Farmers' Market
website is in the process of integrating with the newly
re-designed City of Westland website. Residents can
also stay up-to-date on the Market on Facebook, at
www.Facebook.com/WestlandFarmersMarket.
“Last year the market was really able to further its
commitment to customer service, and I think the new
location opening in July will build on the momentum
from last year,” saidWild. “I amexcited to see themar-
ket's continuedpositive impact on the community.”
Inkster will have a new chief of
fire operations beginning July 1.
While Wayne-Westland Fire
Chief Michael Reddy will keep his
title of fire chief for the city, day-to-
day operationswill be the responsi-
bility of John Adams the current
assistant fire chief/fire marshal for
the City of Westland. Adams will
retire from the Wayne-Westland
department June 30.
Adamswill be paid by theCity of
Inkster, but will report to Reddy
through the end of the year. Inkster
will no longer pay Reddy for his
services as chief under the new
contract arrangement already
approved by members of the
Inkster andWestland city councils.
Finances are the primary rea-
son for the new title for Adams,
leaving Reddy as the fire chief of
record.
Inkster was awarded a $347,036
Competitive Grant Assistance
Program while Reddy was chief of
the department. That state grant
will be used to pay for a feasibility
study, training for Inkster firefight-
ers, gear and equipment to ensure
compatibility with other local
departments and some technology
improvements.
Long-term, Inkster is expected
to join a proposed fire authority
which will cover several munici-
palities. Voter approval in any of
the communities involved would
be required. When Wayne and
Westland merged their fire depart-
ments, more than $940,000 was
awarded to them from the same
state funding program.
Officials all agreed that the
impetus for the fire mergers and
the proposed fire authority was an
effort to reduce costs and improve
fire services and public safety for
residents.
No prospective date for the new
authority has been announced.
Return to sender
Wayne shop fixes tractor 5
decades after original sale
Dennis Hermatz of Wayne
Lawn and Garden got quite a sur-
prise last week when a tractor he
sold 49 years ago was brought back
into the shop for
somework.
Ken Groesbeck,
the current owner
of
a
1965
W h e e l h o r s e
Tractor sold to St.
Norbert's Church in
Inkster back in
1965, hauled the
tractor back into
the Wayne Road
business recently to have a
rototiller attachment of the same
era installed on the machine.
Groesbeck said he was astounded
when he called theWayne store for
help in purchasing the rototiller
attachment for the aging tractor.
“It was so large they wouldn't
ship it to me, so I called Dennis
Hermatz at Wayne Lawn and
Garden and he said 'Sure, have it
shipped here andwe'll take care of
it for you.' I couldn't believe it.”
Groesbeck said.
Groesebeck, now retired from
Ford Motor Co., was a member of
St. Norbert's, andwouldhelp out at
the church doing maintenance,
yard work, and playing the organ.
He and his family joined the
church when they moved to
Inkster in 1976, he said, and the
church, which closed in 2004, was
a big part of their lives. He said
they had many family events there
and his children were baptized at
St. Norbert's.
“I was still working, but I would
help out with whatever they need-
ed when I could,” he said. “The
church secretary
would call me
when the custodi-
ans needed help.”
Groesebeck was
also the back up
organist at the
church for many
years, and then
served as the regu-
lar organist for
eight years before
the churchwas closed.
When the closure was
announced and the church was
getting rid of equipment and fur-
nishings, officials told Groesbeck
that the tractor he had been using
for years to help cut grass and
maintain the property was his.
He's been using the machine since
and, other than regular tune ups,
hasn't had any problems.
He decided recently that he
could use the rototiller attach-
ment, but thought he might have
some difficulty finding one for a
tractor nearly half a century old.
He found the part, and then ran
into the shipping problem which
Hermatz helpedhimsolve.
“They have the part, delivered
today,” Groesbeck said,” and I'm
going to take the tractor over and
have them put it on. I think it will
be a surprise for Dennis, to see a
tractor he sold so long ago come
back into the shop,” he said.
I think it will be a
surprise for Dennis,
to see a tractor he
sold so long ago
come back
into the shop.
”
Farmer’s market
opens Friday