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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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AGE
4
August 8, 2013
B
ELLEVILLE
- R
OMULUS
Nobody said it was going to be easy
And the six new Van Buren Township
Paid-On-Call Firefighters who were intro-
duced to the township boardmembers at the
July 16 regular meeting are proof that their
new jobs camewitha level of difficulty..
The new firefighters faced a battery of
evaluations including a written examination,
an oral board panel interview, an in-house
physical agility course, a background check,
a psychological examination and a follow-up
assessment, an interview with the fire chief
and a drug screening and medical examina-
tion before being offered an opportunity to
serve the with the community fire depart-
ment. The successful candidates were intro-
duced to the board members by Fire Chief
Dan Besson who commented that the excel-
lent reputation of the Van Buren department
was the reason firefighterswere eager to join
the ranks.
The six new firefighters are Ryan Smith,
Dustin Cox, Kurt Driscoll, Stephen Jones,
DavidKail andBronsonCampbell.
Ryan Smith is a resident of Sumpter
Township about a ¼ mile from the Van
Buren Township border. He said he wanted
to join the department because he has a high
level of respect for the Van Buren Fire
Department where several of his friends are
members and he wanted to be part of a team
committed to helping others. He works for
his family's carpet business in downtown
Belleville.
Smith was highly recommended and was
ranked the highest of all the candidates by
the oral board panel. He is assigned to Fire
Station 1.
Dustin Cox also lives in Sumpter
Township with his family. He is currently a
junior at EasternMichiganUniversity pursu-
ing a combined degree in accounting and
Criminal Justice. He was also highly recom-
mended by his co-workers, peers, and refer-
ences. Cox is also assigned toFireStation 1.
Kurt Driscoll is a Plymouth resident who
is strongly considering a move closer to Van
Buren Township to help facilitate his transi-
tion to paid on-call firefighting. He currently
is working on his Associates Degree in fire
science at Schoolcraft College. He has
already attended the fire academy, holding
the necessary certifications, and has a State
of Michigan Emergency Medical
Technician's license. During the academy he
earned the top physical fitness award. He
just completed a paramedic class. He previ-
ously worked for the Plymouth Community
Fire Department. Cox is assigned to Fire
Station 2.
Stephen Jones lives just inside the west
Dearborn border and, likeDriscoll, is consid-
ering a move closer to Van Buren Township
to commit himself to the department. He has
already completed the fire academy and has
his state license as an Emergency Medical
Technician. He works part-time as a
Paramedic for Rapid Response, a private
ambulance service, and also previously
worked for the Plymouth Community Fire
Department . Jones is assigned to Fire
Station 2.
David Kail lives in Canton Township with
his wife and family and said he has always
had a passion for the fire service. He previ-
ously was with the Hamtramck Fire
Department until the city financial crisis
threatened layoffs and unemployment for
him and several of his colleagues. He uti-
lized his Emergency Medical Service experi-
ence and took a job with Huron Valley
Ambulance before settling into his current
job as a paramedic at the Oakwood Canton
Emergency Room. He has about 7 years of
EMS experience in addition to his fire back-
ground. He is also assigned toFireStation 2.
Bronson Campbell is a Van Buren
Township resident and is returning to the
Van Buren Fire Department where he was
employed as a firefighter from 2004 until
2006. After leaving the department, he
returned to school and earned his state
license as a paramedic and has used his fire
and EMS skills at his security department
job at the former Visteon Saline Plant.
Campbell is assigned toStation 1.
Pumpkin Festival bingo that sup-
ports the shelter.
“I wanted to do a little bit more
this year,” Jake Kardys said. “I
wanted to raise a littlemoremoney.
It's terrible that they wind up with
so many animals. It's hard for them
to provide food for the animals and
pay all of their expenses.”
Kardys, who owns a motorcycle,
decided to donate a heavy duty
scooter that can be ridden by an
adult. Ticket sales have taken off.
He said many of his customers are
buying tickets.
The Kardys' two dogs are a
Cavalier King Charles and a
“mutt.” They found the latter as a
muddy puppy out in the cold in the
middle of winter about 13 years ago
in Dearborn Heights. They posted
fliers “all over,” but got no
response, so they took home
“Buddy” and raisedhim.
“We have children,” Jake said,
“but our animals are our children
now. The kids are grown.”
Wadsworth said he appreciates
everyone's support for the animal
shelter, his pet project in the city.
He noted that the Kardys do good
things for people, too. Recently,
they purchased a new refrigerator
freezer for theHelpingHandThrift
Shop to replace an appliance that
was inneed of repair.
“Jake and Marlena do a lot for
the City of Romulus and the
Animal Shelter,” Wadsworth said.
“They do so many things that peo-
ple don't even know about. They
help families down on their luck
and somuchmore.”
A mechanic for 34 years, Jake
Kardys said his goal was to open a
business in his hometown of
Romulus - a goal he reached with
the opening of Jake's Auto & Truck
Repair.
“We wanted a business in our
hometown, so we moved into that
first building (on Goddard) when it
became available,” he said. “Then
we opened the second business at
Five Points. We're Romulus resi-
dents serving Romulus residents
andbeyond.We loveRomulus.”
Formore information on the raf-
fle, call Jake's Auto & Truck Repair
at (734) 955-2960 or (734) 992-2163.
Raffle
FROM PAGE 1
Romulus Police are seeking
assistance in their investigation of
the rape at Halecreek Elementary
School last week.
According to police reports, offi-
cers were called to the school at
16200 Harrison Road at about 5:30
p.m. July 31 following a report that a
girl had just been raped.
Officers interviewed the victim, a
14-year-old female Romulus resi-
dent, who told them she was at the
school waiting for some friends,
when she was approached by the a
man wearing a dark colored mask.
She said the man produced a knife
and held it to her throat and told
her that he would kill her if she
yelled or screamed. The man held
her arm and forced her to walk to
the north side of the building where
he forced her into an area behind a
wall out of public view. He then cut
off her bra and raped her, the victim
told investigators.
She said the man fled on foot
after the assault and she went into
the school seeking help.
The suspect is described as a
white male, approximately 5-feet, 8-
inches tall weighing about 170
pounds. He was wearing a dark
blue or black hoodie, dark shorts
that were below the knees and blue
tennis shoes, possibly size 11,
according to police reports. The vic-
timtold officers themanhad a dark-
coloredmask covering his face.
Surveillance photos from the
school security camera showed a
person matching the victim's
description. Police investigators
described the man as a person of
interest in the case and ask for help
from the public in identifying the
man.
Any information about the inci-
dent or the identity of the man in
the photos should be referred to the
Romulus PoliceDepartment at (734)
941-8400.
Romulus police are seeking the identity of this person of interest in an
assault at Halecreek Elementary School last week.
Police seek suspect in rape of teen near school
Van Buren welcomes 6 new fire fighters
Complete election results from Romulus were unavailable at press time. They will be published next week.