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More than 10 members of the Plymouth
Township Professional Fire Fighters
Association Local 1496 raised $2,146 during
the annual Fill theBoot driveMay 30.
Plymouth Township Fire Department
employees stood in front of the local Kroger
and Busch's stores greeting customers and
raising funds to help local families affected
byMuscularDystrophy.
“For six decades, fire fighters have
fueled MDA (Muscular Dystrophy
Association) mission to find treatments and
cures for life-threatening muscle diseases,
and this year's Plymouth Township Fill the
Boot results are a perfect example of the
true dedication Local 1496 has toward sup-
porting the families we serve,” said
Executive Director Robin R. Rhea. “We're
grateful for the support of these inspiring,
selfless individuals who provide life-saving
help that will fund research, advocate for
children and adults affected by muscle dis-
ease, and rally our community to fight
back.”
Funds raised through 2014 Plymouth
Township Fill the Boot event will help sup-
port MDA programs of worldwide research,
specialized health care services, and day-to-
day support - which includes sending chil-
dren affected by muscular dystrophy and
related muscle diseases to a weeklong, bar-
rier-free MDA summer camp at Camp
Cavell inLexington, MI.
As the Muscular Dystrophy Association's
largest national sponsor, the IAFF fuels
MDA's mission to find treatments and cures
for life-threateningmuscle diseases.
The IAFF is a major contributing spon-
sor of the MDA Show of Strength Telethon,
and IAFF contributions from charity base-
ball games and other local events help sup-
port MDA's efforts to raise awareness and
provide professional and public education
about neuromuscular diseases.
IAFF support for MDA began in 1954
when the organization committed by procla-
mation to support MDA until a cure is
found.. The IAFF raised $100,000 for MDA
in 1955, and $1million in 1970, and fire fight-
ers continue to raise the bar in their
fundraising efforts. In 2013, more than
100,000 fire fighters participated in Fill the
Boot events across the country and raised
$26.2 million. To date the IAFF has raised
$530million forMDA.
The International Association of Fire
Fighters represents more than 300,000 pro-
fessional fire fighters and paramedics who
protect 85 percent of the nation's popula-
tion. More than 3,200 affiliates and their
members protect communities in every
state in theUnitedStates and inCanada.
A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
3
June 26, 2014
C
ANTON
- P
LYMOUTH
The Village Theater at Cherry Hill is
teaming up with the Michigan Shakespeare
Festival to bring special performances to
Canton next year. For three weeks in the
summer of 2015, from July 29 - Aug. 16, 2015,
theMichigan Shakespeare Festival will pres-
ent its 2015 Season lineup, which will consist
of two Shakespearean plays and one classi-
cal comedy, inCanton.
“I am thrilled beyond belief that the
Michigan Shakespeare Festival will be
expanding to the Canton Village Theater
next year,” said Canton Arts Coordinator
Jennifer Tobin. “The festival will give our
residents the opportunity to see professional
Equity actors performing classic theater in
repertory; not an easy thing to find short of
driving an hour or more. This will also be
the opportunity of a lifetime for our resident
arts groups to witness classical theatre being
professionally produced - as they rub elbows
with the best of the best inMichigan.”
The Michigan Shakespeare Festival's offi-
cial 2015 season will be announced on open-
ing night June 19. The festival will begin the
2015 season by rehearsing, previewing and
opening performances at the Potter Center
in Jackson, then moving the productions to
TheVillageTheater at CherryHill.
“Our hope is that we develop a long-term
relationship with the Michigan Shakespeare
Festival that serves to educate and enlighten
our community,” said Canton Township
Supervisor Phil LaJoy. “Ultimately, wewould
like to put Canton on the map as a
Shakespeare lover's destination and add this
to our growing lineup of popular annual cul-
tural offerings.”
“As the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, I
think we have the responsibility to share
theseworks with asmany people as possible-
-andwith the expansion of the 2015 season to
The Village Theater, we will be able to bring
our amazing company closer to audiences in
Southeast Michigan, said Artistic Director
Janice L. Blixt. “We couldn't be happier
about our partnership with Canton and The
VillageTheater at CherryHill.”
Founded in 1995, The Michigan
Shakespeare Festival has produced for 20
years in Jackson. Starting as an outdoor festi-
val in Ella Sharp Park, the company moved
indoors to their current home at the Potter
Center on the campus of Jackson College in
2003, allowing for higher levels of technical
and professional performances, as well as
audience comfort. That same year the group
received the designation as The Official
Shakespeare Festival of Michigan by the
stateLegislature.
Ticket sales for the Canton performances
of the 2015 season, including season Flex
Passes, will be announced this autumn and
available through The Village Theater at
Cherry Hill box office. A Flex Pass will
include one ticket to each production, and
show dates and times can be chosen at the
time of purchase, or at a later date.
The Village Theater is located at 50400
CherryHill Road inCanton.
For additional information, visit www.can-
tonvillagetheater.org or call (734)394-5300.
Shakespeare Festival includes Canton
Local fire fighters help ‘Fill the Boot’ effort
Workers blamed in roof fire
One man was treated at the scene of a
roof fire at the Golden Gate Shopping
Center in Canton last Sunday, but no other
injurieswere reported.
According to reports fromthe public safe-
ty department, a 911 call was received at
about 8 a.m. on June 22, reporting a fire at
the shopping center, located on Lilley Road,
south of Joy. Responding fire fighters report-
ed heavy smoke from the roof of the build-
ing and were told by dispatch that there
could be workers trapped in the roof sec-
tion.
Firefighters wearing protective gear,
including self-contained breathing appara-
tus, forced entry into the business and found
fire in the attic. They used the department
100-foot ladder truck to safely gain access
onto the roof to cut ventilation holes, which
allowed heat and smoke to escape from the
attic.
All employees and patrons of the occu-
pied businesses were evacuated with assis-
tance from Canton police officers. One
rooftop worker was treated on scene by fire-
fighter/paramedics for minor burns but
declined transport to a hospital, according
to official reports of the incident.
Several businesses within the shopping
center suffered smoke damage, officials
said. The fire was ruled accidental in
nature, having been started by workers
using a torch to make repairs to the roof,
according to official reports.