A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
July 30, 2015
I
NKSTER
- W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Westland City Hall
is state award finalist
Gas station shooters arrested
Wayne ROTC wins top honors
The City of Westland has been chosen
as one of four finalists for the Michigan
Municipal League (MML) Community
ExcellenceAward.
Since 2007, the Community Excellence
Award has been dubbed the “most presti-
gious” community award. The purpose of
the competition is to identify some of the
most creative place-based projects in
Michigan that are having positive impacts
on communities.
Westland's Big Box Retrofit was chosen
as finalist through a public online vote
and then judged by members at the
league. The city used funding from a Tax
Increment Finance District to fund the
conversion of an empty big box store into
the newWestlandCityHall.
The four areas that projects could be
submitted to included: Funding for the
Future; Michigan in Motion; Place for
Talent and Strength in Structure. There
were a total of 16 projects in the semi-
final round and one project was chosen
fromeach category. Westland prevailed in
the Strength in Structure categorymoving
the project to the final round as one of the
final four.
“The city is honored to be chosen as a
finalist for this award,” said Mayor
William R. Wild. “This project has
allowed us to streamline many of our city
services under one roof, and it has stimu-
lated tremendous growth and develop-
ment in the Shop andDine District, bring-
ing in new private investment and new
opportunities eachday.”
The City will present the project at the
Michigan Municipal League convention
in Traverse City, Sept. 16-18. Those who
attend the conference will have a chance
to vote for their favorite project and help
determine the next winner.
For more information about the award
or to learn more about the Westland proj-
ect, visit cea.mml.org/.
Two men have been arraigned on
charges resulting from a shooting at a
Marathon gas station on Inkster Road in
Inkster at about 8:30 p.m. July 20.
Police and theWayne County Prosecutor
have not released the names of the suspects
in the shooting but confirmed they were
arraigned on charges including Assault
With Intent to Murder, Felonious Assault,
Felony Firearm, Felon in Possession and as
Habitual Offender for one of the suspects.
They were denied bond and remain in cus-
tody, according to police.
Detectives from the Michigan State
Police Special Investigation Section origi-
nally surmised that the incident may have
been some kind of deal gone wrong, but
would not comment further on the case.
The victim was shot in the face outside a
vehicle where a pregnant woman was seat-
ed while several other witnesses were in
clear view of the incident, according to
police reports. The victim was rushed to a
nearby hospital where he was reported in
very critical condition, police said.
A surveillance photo from inside the
store was released as part of the effort to
identify the two suspects and detectives
canvassed the neighborhood seeking identi-
fication of the suspects. The Detroit
Fugitive Alliance Team assisted with the
investigation by locating and arresting the
two suspects after detectives were able to
identify the pair. Police said that both sus-
pects confessed to the shooting. The “shoot-
er” assisted detectives with the recovery of
the firearm that was used during the inci-
dent.
Formal criminal charges were filed July
24.
Wayne Memorial High School has the
top Reserve Officer Training Corps
(ROTC) Cadet in the state.
John Willet was awarded the honor at
the 2015 Michigan JROTC Cadet
Leadership Challenge during which 20
Wayne Memorial cadets traveled to
Alpena to train with 500 cadets from
throughout the state.
Cadets rotated in leadership positions
at the Joint Forces Training Center and
were evaluated by officers as they trained.
They were scored in rappelling, rifle
marksmanship, drill, water safety, math,
science, river rafting, and land navigation.
The cadets slept in military barracks
except for the one night they each spent
in thewoods onbivouac, and ate in amess
hall for the eight day training exercise.
Jonathan Dennis, Willet, and Jose
Herrera were named top male cadets in
their company, and Kayla Johnson was a
runner-up for top female cadet. Lizbeth
Cortez was a top first year cadet in her
company while Shakira Huckabee and
Oscar Cortez were named Company
Commanders for the graduation ceremo-
ny.
Willet received his top cadet award
during graduation day ceremonies. Willet
is also a member of the state champion
boys bowling team and a varsity soccer
player. He carries a 3.4 GPA, and is a
model of positive behavior atWayneHigh,
said Steven E. LaHaine, the senior army
instructor of the Wayne Memorial High
School battalion.
“He (Willet) is truly an example of the
scholar, athlete, leader model that JROTC
strives to produce,” LaHaine said.
