No. 24
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
June 15 – 21, 2017
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
Officials from Wayne
Main Street are looking for a
few good men and women to
serve on four standing com-
mittees of the organization.
See page 5.
The Play Fore Education
Golf Classic sponsored by the
Northville Educational
Foundation is planned for
June 20 at Northville Hills
Golf Club.
See page 6.
Vol. 132, No. 24
Vol. 70, No. 24
Vol. 70, No. 24
Vol. 17, No. 24
Students at Barth
Elementary School in
Romulus received a visit and
were honored by the Dean of
Congress John Conyers last
week.
See page 3.
Vol. 132, No. 24
Vol. 70, No. 24
Vol. 70, No. 24
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The Rotary Club of
Westland presented scholar-
ship to graduating students
of John Glenn, Wayne
Memorial and the William
D. Ford Technical Center
again this year.
See page 5.
Members of Delta Sigma
Phi, Gamma Tau Chapter, of
Eastern Michigan University
were recently honored for
their volunteer service with
CantonLeisureServices.
See page 7.
Vol. 17, No. 24
Deandre
Merkie
Simmons, 42, of Inkster is
facing multiple charges in a
traffic accident that claimed
the life of a 73-year-oldSouth
Lyon man and injured two
others.
See page 3.
A plan to re-open a long-
closed fire station in
Plymouth Township using a
joint plan with Northville
Township has prompted
some concerns.
See page 2.
Visitors to Van Buren
Charter Township later this
month will find some new
faces hoping to help them as
part of a new student sum-
mer employment program.
See page 7.
The Plymouth Township
Police Department is showing
signs of recovery after a probe
by U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) into the accounting prac-
tices used by township officials
for federal drug forfeiture
funds.
The federal investigation
that continued for nearly three
years in the midst of a depart-
mental sex scandal and several
whistleblower lawsuits has
ended, according to Police
Chief TomTiderington.
Missing funds, incomplete
reports, inaccurate and faulty
records and a failure of gener-
ally accepted accounting prac-
tices prompted both the state
and federal government to take
punitive action against
Plymouth Township including
a freeze of $185,000 of drug for-
feiture funds and the withhold-
ing of nearly $400,000 of funds
due the township.
Federal officials had threat-
ened to extinguish Plymouth
Township from the program
which has generated $1.9 mil-
lion since 2010 if immediate
corrective action was not forth-
coming.
Last week, Tiderington
announced that he had
received a letter dated May 18,
from the Office of the Inspector
General, Money Laundering
and Asset Recovery Section,
releasing frozen drug forfei-
ture funds that were seized in
April 2016.
“Plymouth Township Police
Department is now a compli-
ant Equitable Sharing
Program participant…” stated
Don Howard
Staff Writer
See
Funds,
page 6
Romulus
council
adopts new
budget
Plymouth Township
Police Department
is now a compliant
Equitable Sharing
Program participant…
”
Drug forfeiture funds returned to township
Celebrate
Weekend festivals fill area with family fun
The six-horse Clydesdale team will appear in the Belleville National Strawberry Festival Parade on
Saturday representing the Huron Clinton Metro Parks.
From Northville to
Belleville and Canton
Township, this will be festival
weekend throughout the area.
The 41st Annual Belleville
National Strawberry Festival
will take place beginning
tomorrow, June 16, with six
venues offering attractions
throughout the weekend.
Main Street in downtown
Belleville will offer a juried
craft sale, a carnival midway
sponsored by the Belleville
Area Chamber of Commerce,
vendors and a children's area
featuring a White Tiger
Exhibit.
Main Street will also be the
site of the annual Strawberry
Parade which will begin at 11
a.m. on Saturday. A special
attraction, among many others
this year, will be the team of
six Clydesdale horses repre-
senting the Huron-Clinton
Metroparks. The famous team
is from the Greenwood Farms
Clydesdale Horse Farm, a
family-owned and operated
farm. The Clydesdales pull a
completely restored wagon
that advertises the 13
Metroparks. Greenwood
Farms employees will be on
hand to interact with the pub-
lic and answer questions
about the Clydesdale breed
and help pose photographs
with thehorses.
The Strawberry Queen and
her court will also ride in the
parade along with numerous
other costumed characters,
floats andbands.
The Belleville Area
Chamber of Commerce is also
sponsoring the carnival at St.
Anthony Catholic Church
where there are strawberry
baked goods for sale, a raffle,
lots of live entertainment, chil-
dren's games and helicopter
rides. There is also a pancake
breakfast and Polish dinner
available at St. Anthony's on
Sunday, along with many
other attractions and enter-
tainment.
St Trinity Episcopal church
will have the annual baked
goods sale under way all
weekend with Strawberry Pie,
cheesecake and many other
treats along with their famous
sloppy joes. There is also a
craft showat the church.
There are attractions at
Belleville
Presbyterian
Church including tours of the
originalMarthaMaryChapel.
The festival offers free
shutter service from free park-
ing at the Belleville
Presbyterian Church on
BellevilleRoad.
Canton Township is cele-
brating the 26th annual
Liberty Fest which began at 1
p.m. today with rides and
attractions opening today in
Heritage Park, behind the
Administration Building on
CantonCenterRoad.
The festival includes carni-
val rides, games, and special
attractions including the
International Festival which
See
Festivals,
page 4
Romulus residents will see
the samemillage rate during the
2017-2018 budget year-at least
for their city taxes.
Members of the city council
approved last month the regular
budget for the next fiscal year
which will become effective July
1.
“From my experience, there's
no perfect budget, but I think
this is a very good budget,” said
RomulusMayor LeRoyBurcroff.
The approved general fund
budget shows about $21 million
in expenses over about $18.3
million in revenue, which neces-
sitated a $2.653 million transfer
fromthe general fundbalance.
“Unfortunately, some of our
costs continue to go up,”
Burcroff said. “We're battling the
economy. We're bouncing back,
but it's not bouncing back the
way people think the stock mar-
ket does.”
A combination of Proposal A
and the Headlee Amendment
puts a cap on potential increases
in property taxes every year to 3
percent or the rate of inflation,
whichever is less. So, while
property values climb, munici-
pal revenues do not keep pace.
Also, the Michigan legislators
have been reducing state shared
revenue paid to local communi-
ties in an attempt to balance the
state budget.
“All of the communities in
Michigan are dealing with the
same broken system,” Burcroff
said.
The budget sets aside more
than $3.5 million for local and
major roads and includes
$576,000 in Community
Development Block Grants-fed-
eral funds distributed through
Wayne County to fund programs,
projects and services in low
income areas. It also provides
funding for a sophisticated body
camera system for the police
department.
Burcroff said pending devel-
opment will add additional
money to city coffers, as well.
The proposed Project Mercury,
which could be official as soon
as July, will bring about 1,600
jobs to the community through
an 865,000-square-foot distribu-
tion center on 85 acres of land
off Ecorse and Vining roads.
There are residential projects in
the works, and interest in some
of the empty downtown building,
too, he added.
One of the highlights of the Canton Liberty Fest is the fireworks display which closes the three-
day event Saturday evening.
