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No. 32
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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August 7 – 13, 2014
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
Lindsey Wooten has been
named as the new Main
Street Project director in the
City ofWayne.
See page 2.
A Romulus police officer
is facing charges of
Felonious Assault and
Felony Firearmas a result of
a road rage incident which
occurred last spring.
See page 3.
Plymouth Community
United Way is partnering
with Macy's for the retailer's
ninth annual Shop for a
Cause charity event on Aug.
23.
See page 4.
The Northville Art House
will feature the work of
WanChuan Kesler in an
exhibit titled DongFeng
throughAug. 23.
See page 5.
Winners of the Summer
Reading Program at the
Belleville Area District
Library were recently
awarded prizes, including
Cedar Point tickets.
See page 3.
Vol. 129, No. 32
Vol. 67, No. 32
Vol. 67, No. 32
Vol. 14, No. 32
Vol. 129, No. 32
Vol. 67, No. 32
Vol. 67, No. 32
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Westland was named a
2013 Tree City, USA by the
Arbor Day Foundation in
recognition of the commit-
ment of the community to
effective urban forest man-
agement.
See page 2.
The Summit on the Park
will host an open house from
5-8 p.m. Aug. 20 to offer regis-
tration for fall programs and
celebrate Bartlett the
Beaver's birthday.
See page 5.
Vol. 14, No. 32
The Leanna Hicks Inkster
Public Library used funds
from a performing arts grant
to present educational pup-
pet shows for area children
lastmonth.
See page 4.
Developer
Plymouth
Haggerty Associates, LLC,
agreed last week to allow
Plymouth Township 14 addition-
al days to comply with a consent
judgment that will allow con-
struction of a new LA Fitness
health club on Ann Arbor Road
nearHaggerty.
Last week, Plymouth
Township officials met in a
three-hour closed session with
outside legal counsel, Timothy
Wilhelm of Johnson, Rosati,
Schultz and Joppich P.C., to
strategize legal options following
a warning by Judge Brian
Sullivan of the Wayne County
Circuit Court that the township
breech of the consent agreement
was “indefensible.” The town-
ship faces sanctions and penal-
ties if no out of court agreement
is reachedwith the developer.
The developer claims that the
latest round of delays have last-
ed more than a year and have
caused unnecessary expendi-
tures ofmore than $100,000.
Alan M. Green, the attorney
representing Plymouth Haggerty
Associates, LLC, the plaintiff in
the suit against the township,
told the court last month that the
LA Fitness facility is an author-
ized use in the Plymouth Towne
Center development but that
“one township official” is unrea-
sonably delaying progress and
approvals, calling those actions,
“nitpicking and abuse of discre-
tion that the administrative
approval provisions of the
Consent Judgment were intend-
ed to avoid.”
At issue is the placement of
the 126,000 square foot building
within the shopping center enve-
lope.
Township defense attorneys
argued the unnamed board
member wants a grocery store
and doesn't like a “stand-alone”
building, but wants the building
connected to the existing struc-
tures on the site. They describe
the developer's plan as a “major
reconfiguration.”
Green said the developer
strongly disagrees and referred
the court to the consent judg-
ment which did not dictate spec-
ifications of the fitness building.
“The consent judgment did
not dictate a specific design, nor
did it contemplate a precise
building footprint fixed in
stone.”Green said.
“The planning consultant
likes it, the planning director
likes it, the planning commission
and community development
Conductor and Music
Director Nan Washburn will
remain with the Michigan
Philharmonic for another three
years.
Orchestra officials announc-
ed that a new contract agree-
ment had been reached with
Washburn last week.
“We are thrilled to keep Nan
with the Michigan Philharm-
onic,” said Board President
Don Soenen, “Her unique and
innovative programming has
been a hallmark of the success
for our orchestra and we look
forward to many more award-
winning seasons with Nan at
thehelm.”
Washburn is entering her
16th season with the group. She
is the winner of numerous state
and national awards. In 2013
she was honored with the pres-
tigious American Prize for
Conducting.
“Ms. Washburn was selected
from applications reviewed this
summer from all across the
United States,” said The
American Prize organization in
a statement. The American
Prize is a series of competitions
unique in scope and structure
designed to recognize and
reward the best performing
artists, ensembles and com-
posers in the nation based on
submitted recordings.
“These recordings confirm
(Washburn's) excellent reputa-
tion,” judges said. “Her per-
formances are sensitive,
thoughtful, serious, gracious -
words that mark her self-evi-
dentmusicality.”
The American Prize in
Conducting for 2013 adds to the
array of national recognition
with which Washburn has been
awarded during her career. Her
diverse collection of accolades
was further enhanced this past
June, when she was awarded
an ASCAP Award for
Adventurous Programming of
Contemporary Music by the
League
of
American
Orchestras, the 19th time
Washburn was honored with
the award.
Previously, she has received
the New York Women
Composers' Distinguished
Service Award, the Girl Scout
Role Model Award, KQED San
Francisco's Outstanding Local
Hero Award, and the Women in
Leadership Award from the
City ofWestHollywood.
”
The consent judgment did not dictate
a specific design, nor did it contemplate
a precise building footprint fixed in stone.
Township faces sanctions on Aug. 15
Michigan Philharmonic, conductor sign contract
Members of the Plymouth
Fife & Drum Corps have been
entertaining tourists all week
during the group's Presidential
Tour of Virginia.
Four of the 11 scheduled
performances of the group took
place at the homes of United
States presidents; George
Washington's Mt. Vernon,
Thomas Jefferson's Monticello,
James Madison's Montpelier
and William Henry Harrison's
BerkeleyPlantation.
The group was also invited
to perform with three of the
premiere fife and drum corps
in the nation. They are sched-
uled to march up the Duke of
Gloucester Street with The
Colonial Williamsburg Fife and
Drum Corps on Saturday and
then perform at the Colonial
Historical National Park
Visitors Center with The Fifes
and Drums of York Town this
Sunday.
The Plymouth group was
also invited to Joint Base Myer-
Henderson Hall in Arlington,
VAwhere theywere treated to a
private performance from the
United States Army Old Guard
Fife and Drum Corps, escort to
the President. They in turn per-
formed for them and the two
groups then performed togeth-
er. Following their perform-
ance they participated in a
wreath laying ceremony at The
Tomb of the Unknowns in
ArlingtonNational Cemetery.
It has been nearly a decade
since Plymouth Fife &Drum
Corps spent their entire tour in
the state of Virginia; however,
the tour officially began with a
quick stop in Ligonier, PA to
perform at Fort Ligonier where
the musicians spent the night
and rested up for the remaining
drive to Virginia. Other notable
performance sites were at
Kenmore House, home of
George Washington's sister,
Betty, and her husband,
Fielding Lewis, and St. John's
Episcopal Church where
Patrick Henry ignited the
Revolutionary War with his
“Give Me Liberty or Give Me
Death” speech.
“We are extremely excited
about this year's tour as this will
be the first time we've ever per-
formed at Monticello and
Montpelier,” said Music
Director Jim Predhomme
before the group departed on
tour.
The fife and drum corps pro-
grams last about 30 minutes
and are followed by a brief
meet and greet allowing specta-
tors and children to try on their
uniforms, play their instru-
ments and hold the guard
equipment.
“That is always a crowd
pleaser,” a spokesperson said.
The music spans the 17th to
20th centuries with an empha-
sis on music played during the
Revolutionary War. The
Plymouth fife & Drum Corps
members wear historically
accurate replica uniforms of
General George Washington's
Life Guard, which gave extra
meaning to the Mt. Vernon per-
formance, she added.
To help support The
Plymouth Fife and Drum Corps
and for more information, visit
h t t p : / / www. g o f u n dme .
com/Please-Help-PFDC.
On the
road
Fife & Drum
Corps tours
Virginia sites
Members of the Plymouth Fife and Drum Corps aboard the tall ship Peacemaker in Virginia.
See
Lawsuit,
page 4
Conductor and Music Director Nan Washburn