No. 25
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
June 22 – 28, 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
July 7 is the deadline to
register for the 2017 Senior
Alliance Golf Classic which
will take place July 21 as a
fundraiser for Holiday Meals
onWheels for area seniors.
See page 7.
A citizens committee has
recommended the North-
ville Public Schools ask vot-
ers to approve $100 million
bond issue during the
upcoming November elec-
tion.
See page 4.
Vol. 132, No. 25
Vol. 70, No. 25
Vol. 70, No. 25
Vol. 17, No. 25
With voter approval of two
millage requests on the Aug
8 ballot, the Romulus
Community School District
will be able to make needed
repairs to facilities.
See page 3.
Vol. 132, No. 25
Vol. 70, No. 25
Vol. 70, No. 25
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Summer Bonanza is
planned from noon until 4
p.m. Saturday June 24 at
Westland Historic Village
Park when the Octagon
House and the McKee Barn
will be open.
See page 7.
Local audiences can view
professional actors from the
Michigan Shakespeare
Festival in three classic pro-
ductions this summer at the
Village Theater at Cherry
Hill.
See page 5.
Vol. 17, No. 25
State Rep. Jewell Jones
(D-Inkster) hosted a town
hall meeting last month with
residents across the district
to discuss issues.
See page 5.
The Plymouth Arts and
Recreation Complex is offer-
ing a trial session of a new
workout session which takes
place on top of but not in the
water.
See page 4.
A 44-year-old Belleville
man is facing first-degree
murder charges in a shooting
at the Tim Horton's parking
lot earlier this month when
Edward Allan Kuehn was
killed.
See page 3.
The Western Campus of the
Wayne County Community
College District has been
renamed in honor of Theodore
(Ted) Scott.
In a moving tribute to Scott
last week, members of the col-
lege board of trustees, area dig-
nitaries and college officials
gathered alongwithScott's fami-
ly and a host of friends to honor
him during the official renam-
ing of the campus.
Dr. Curtis L. Ivery, chancellor
of the college, spoke about
Scott's leadership and character
during the ceremony and said
that without Scott's involvement,
he had doubts that the college
wouldbe functioning today.
“I don't know if we (the col-
lege) would be here today if it
weren't for Ted,” Ivery said dur-
ing his remarks.
“I truly believe that you
could look for a hundred years
and never find a better person
thanTedScott,” he added.
Scott served as a trustee of
the college from January 1989
through May 26, 1999 - a trans-
formative time for Wayne
County Community College
District (WCCCD). Scott served
as chairperson from 1995 to
1999 and as chair of the
Academic/Student Affairs
StandingCommittee in 1994.
“We're proud to recognize
and honor the outstanding com-
mitment and contributions of
Ted Scott,” Ivery said. “Our mis-
sion at WCCCD is to create real
pathways to better lives through
higher education - a mandate
that Ted Scott put into action
with bold leadership strategies
that helped us to expand pro-
gramming, increase our enroll-
ment, and help ensure that our
focus remained on the commu-
nities that we serve.
“His insight and leadership
was invaluable and truly trans-
formative,” Ivery said. “We're
pleased to honor his tenure in
such a substantial way in the
community that he's served for
decades,” he said.
“Scott’s service on the
WCCCD Board of Trustees took
place during a period when the
district introduced a bold new
set of strategic directives to
introduce the then troubled dis-
trict to long-term, sustainable
and transparent growth built
around the needs of the 36 cities
and townships it served,” Ivery
said. Scott's leadership helped
the district achieved unprece-
dented growth in enrollment
and expansion of its programs
and offerings, marking
Plymouth Township Police
Chief Tom Tiderington shocked
some audience members at a
Plymouth Concerned Citizens
meeting last week when he
revealed there are times when
township police staffing may be
considereddangerously low.
Tiderington candidly told
meeting attendees that at cer-
tain times there are only two
patrol officers on duty to protect
the 28,000 residents, a popula-
tion figure that swells during the
day because of commerce and
two major intersecting express-
ways.
Tiderington and Fire Chief
Dan Phillips were the keynote
speakers for the bi-monthly
meeting of the non-partisan
group. The two speakers dis-
cussed the public safety vulnera-
bility in the event of a major dis-
aster in the township.
Tiderington detailed the
staffing levels for his platoons
noting that the national average
is 2.3 officers per one thousand
residents, which would be a rec-
ommended 65 in the township.
“Sometimes there's only two
officers on duty,” Tiderington
told the audience.
According to research data
conducted by Michigan State
University and published by the
United States Department of
Justice Office of Community
Policing Services there is no
standard benchmark to access
the appropriate levels for com-
munity policing. However, many
police departments use a per
capita approach to estimate the
number of officers needed.
The
International
Association of Police Chiefs rec-
ommends 1.8 officers per thou-
sand residents. Their recom-
mendation for a 25,000 to 49,000-
population community is 50 offi-
cers.
Plymouth Township current-
ly has a force of 30 police offi-
cers.
Tiderington said by contrast
The long-running controversy
regarding the management and
operation of the William Faust
Public Library has been sum-
marily ended by Mayor William
Wildwho last week accepted the
resignation of the library direc-
tor and the two remaining
library board members. Wild
also ordered sweeping person-
nel changes at the facility.
Mark Neal, who served as
president of the library board,
and vice-president Antoinette
Martin submitted their resigna-
tions toWild's office last Monday
as did former Library Director
SheilaCollins.
Wild met with the staff at the
library last Tuesday morning
and informed them of his deci-
sion to name Assistant Library
Director Sherri West as the act-
ing library administrator. He
instructed West to contact the
five librarians fired in March
and offer each of them a return
to their former employment. He
also instructed West to attempt,
if possible, to continue the
employment of the part-time
library aides hired since that
time.
His meeting with library per-
sonnel came on the same day
the employees were scheduled
to elect new officers of the
Services
Employees
International Union. The union
was adopted by a vote of library
staff members earlier this year,
and was integral in the ongoing
situations at the facility.
In aTuesdaymemo to each of
the members of the city council,
the city attorney and other city
officials, Wild explained the sit-
uation. He asked each of themto
consider some candidates for
nomination to the library board
and said that his goal is to have a
new board in place within 30
days.
The protracted issues at the
library came to a head when the
board opted to eliminate the five
librarian positions at the facility.
Those five displaced librarians
charged that the city, through
the actions of the library board,
was engaging in anUnfair Labor
Practice by punishing them for
their attempts to unionize at the
library. The board members
denied the accusations but their
actions, and those of Collins, had
been the subject of much contro-
versy during the past months.
The library board members
claimed that the staff reduction
would save the library $178,000.
During a meeting earlier this
See
Scott,
page 2
College campus officially renamed
Ted Scott honored for years of leadership, dedication
Westland Mayor William Wild, left, Wayne County Community College District Chancellor Dr. Curtis Ivery, college board Treasurer Sharon
Scott and honoree Ted Scott were all smiles at the campus renaming ceremony last week.
Photo by Dave Willett
Sometimes there's
only two officers on duty.
”
Chief says police staffing is ‘dangerous’
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Wild also ordered
sweeping personnel
changes at the facility.
”
See
Police,
page 6
See
Library,
page 7
Library board members, director resign
