No. 27
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
July 2 – 8, 2015
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
Members of the Wayne
City Council opted to contin-
ue the search for a new city
manager following the inter-
view of five candidates by a
committee.
See page 5.
Kimberly Garrett of
Romulus has been charged
with second degree murder
in the auto accident that took
the life of an 8-year-old
Westlandboy.
See page 4.
Plymouth
Township
Supervisor Shannon Price
took more than an hour last
week to answer critics dur-
ing a meeting of the
Plymouth
Concerned
Citizens group.
See page 3.
Whimsical Wonderland,
the 22nd Annual Garden
Walk in Northville will take
place from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Wednesday, July 9.
See page 3.
Members of the Van
Buren Public Schools Board
of Education were ques-
tioned about teacher morale
and the resignation of a pop-
ular principal during a
recentmeeting.
See page 2.
Vol. 130, No. 27
Vol. 68, No. 27
Vol. 68, No. 27
Vol. 15, No. 27
Vol. 130, No. 27
Vol. 68, No. 27
Vol. 68, No. 27
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The Westland Rotary
Club recently presented the
annual club scholarships to
several Wayne-Westland stu-
dents who will be entering
college this fall.
See page 5.
Nathan
Harris,
a
Plymouth High School grad-
uate, was recently awarded a
$2,000 scholarship from the
Canton Lions Club to help
with his college education
expenses.
See page 2.
Vol. 15, No. 24
Jahan Satati Green of
Inkster is facing seven felony
charges including human
trafficking in what authori-
ties have called a slavery
operation.
See page 4.
Participants
in
the
Northville
Community
Foundation Independence Day
Parade will be making some
American Memories when they
step off from the corner of
Griswold and Main Street at 10
a.m. Saturday.
The 75 or so entries will
include dignitaries, marching
bands, entertainers, drummers,
antique automobiles, the tradi-
tional pet parade, floats and a
special parade of decorated
bicycles. There will be vintage
cars, veterans groups, fire
trucks and floats from various
churches, businesses and com-
munity groups marching the
mile and a half parade route to
the cheering of about 20,000 or
so folks who come to downtown
Northville every year just to see
the parade.
The theme of the parade this
year, American Memories, will
be prevalent on all the entries,
explained
Foundation
Executive Director Jessica
Striegle, who noted that it takes
months of planning and weeks
of work by the volunteer com-
mittee to make sure that the
parade comes off perfectly. The
Northville
Community
Foundation has been present-
ing, organizing and directing
the event for the past 15 years.
This year, Striegle followed the
blueprint of former Director
Shari Peters who retired earli-
er this year, and has kept to the
winning formula that has made
the Northville parade one of
the most popular throughout
the area.
“Many people don't even
realize that it is the Foundation
that sponsors and organizes the
parade,” Striegle said.
Even before the foundation
took on the task, Northville was
known for some very special
attractions in the parade.
Dr. WilliamDemray, who has
been emceeing the parade for
the foundation along with radio
personality Lisa Berry for the
past 10 years, remembers when
the parade first began and one
local businessman hired ele-
phants from out of state to
march down the middle of
MainStreet.
“It's always been a great
event,” Demray said. Berry said
The Kiwanis Good Morning
U.S.A. Parade in downtown
Plymouth will mark the final
appearance of the Fred Hill
Briefcase Drill Team, a commu-
nity tradition for more than 30
years. The besuited, briefcase-
carrying team, last seen in the
Detroit Thanksgiving Day
Parade, will perform for the last
time in the July 4 parade down
MainStreet inPlymouth.
Plymouth attorney Scott
Kappler, a member of the drill
team, led the organizational
efforts for the parade this year
and said that it had been part of
Hill's life for more than 30 years
and that many are sad to see it
end. Hill also organized the
Plymouth parade for many
years and Kappler worked with
him on the task for about 5
years. Kappler organized the
event before Hill took over and
is nowback on the volunteer job.
“I don't know why I said I
would do it, but I am loving
every minute of it,” Kappler
said.
There will be 80 entries in
the parade this yearmarching to
the theme of Dream Big, includ-
ing the Briefcase Drill Team,
five marching bands and two
Fife and Drum-type groups,
clowns and other entertainers,
Kappler said.
“We can truly call ourselves
an international parade because
one of the marching bands is
fromWindsor,” he said.
The parade will start down
Main Street from Theodore at
the railroad tracks and travel
about a mile and a half to
Hartsough, Kappler said. It
takes about 35 minutes, he esti-
mated.
This year, Kappler said, U.S.
Senator Debbie Stabenow will
be marching in the parade as
will a special delegation of
about 10WorldWar II veterans.
“That's an unusually large
contingent of vets,” Kappler
said, “most of whom are from
the community.”
“This event could not happen
without the sponsors and the
help of the city,” he said, “not to
mention the volunteers who
spend somuch time on it.”
Members of the Kiwanis Club
of Colonial Plymouth work
throughout the year establishing
See
Northville,
page 3
See
Plymouth,
page 3
Former Canton Township
Treasurer and Plymouth-
Canton Community Schools
Board of Education member
ElaineKirchgatter died June 25
inher Carmel, INhome.
Mrs. Kirchgatter, 74, suc-
cumbed to acute myeloid
leukemia.
She and her husband, the
late Richard Kirchgatter, were
the parents of three daughters,
June, Jill and Joy.
Mrs. Kirchgatter was
involved in the former
Plymouth Youth Symphony, 4-
H, the Plymouth Community
Arts Council and St. John's
Episcopal Church. She served
on the Plymouth Canton
Community Schools Board of
Education and was the Canton
Township Treasurer for 16
years. She opted not to seek
reelection in 2008.
Public service came natural-
ly to Mrs. Kirchgatter, her fami-
ly said. As a child growing up
near Rochester, N.Y., her father
served on the local school
board and her mother volun-
teered for many community
organizations. She and her hus-
band moved to Canton
Township in the early '60s
where he opened his veterinary
practice. Mr. Kirchgatter was
activewith theCantonPlanning
Commission, the Plymouth
Rotary Club and the Canton
Chamber of Commerce. He
died of cancer in 2003.
Mrs. Kirchgatter moved to
Indiana about a year ago to be
close to her daughter and
grandchildren. She had been in
hospice care.
A family member said that
the time and date for amemori-
al service for Mrs. Kirchgatter
at St. John's Episcopal Church
in Plymouth would be
announced at a later date.
Cremation rites will be
accorded, according to the fam-
ily.
Wayne County Parks is set to
transform the Hines Park-
Nankin Mills area into a giant
75-foot by 150-foot mud pit play-
groundnext week.
From11 a.m. until 1 p.m. next
Tuesday, July 7, children, ages
12 and younger will have the
opportunity to get down and
dirty in one of themessiest play-
grounds southeast Michigan has
ever seen.
“Mud Day is the one day of
year that kids can have fun in
the mud” said Wayne County
Executive Warren C. Evans.
“Every child should experience
Mud Day at least once,” Evans
added.
Thousands of youngsters will
charge into the mud at 11 a.m.
Youngsters will be separated
into age categories for events
such as, “Mud Limbo” and
wheelbarrow races. Also, the
2015 King and Queen of Mud
will be crowned.
Children should wear old
clothes and shoes and bring a
clean change of clothes. There
are no showers on-site, however,
a clean-up area is availablewith
hoses to aid in rinsing off the
mud. Parents are also advised
to bring a supply of towels.
Plastic bags will be provided to
ensure that all dirty clothes are
properly contained for the trip
home.
Kona Ice will be on hand to
sell lunch items and flavored
ice to the participants and their
families.
The Hines Park -Nankin
Mills Area is located on Hines
Drive, east of AnnArbor Trail in
Westland. Sponsors for Mud
Day include: ITC Holdings,
Community Alliance Credit
Union, UAW Region IA, Fox 2
News, Friends of Wayne County
Parks and the Western Wayne
CountyHMRT.
For more information on
Mud Day or any other Wayne
County Parks event, call
(734) 261-1990 or visit
Canton mourns passing of former treasurer
County Mud Day is set
for Tuesday in Westland
Parades mark Independence Day
American Memories is
theme in downtown Northville
Plymouth marks final
march of briefcase drill team
