No. 33
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
August 18 – 24, 2016
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
For the 11th year, Cross
Pointe Community Church
will host the free annual
Family Fest and Car Show
planned from noon until 5
p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27.
See page 7.
Yankee Air Museum had a
very special passenger last
Wednesday afternoon during
flights of a bright red, open-
cockpit WACO YMF-5C
biplane aircraft.
See page 6.
Vol. 131, No. 33
Vol. 69, No. 33
Vol. 69, No. 33
Vol. 16, No. 33
A total of 431 individuals
attended programs at the
Romulus Library this sum-
mer, along with total of 197
others who participated in
the Summer Reading
Program.
See page 5.
Vol. 131, No. 33
Vol. 69, No. 33
Vol. 69, No. 33
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The Westland Mission:
Green team and representa-
tives from DTE Energy cele-
brated the final phase of the
conversion of mercury vapor
streetlights last week.
See page 7.
Roasted ears of corn will
once again be the main
attraction at the annual Old
Fashion Charity Corn Roast
hosted by the Canton Lions
Club from10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Aug. 27.
See page 3.
Vol. 16, No. 33
Detectives from the
Michigan State Police are
continuing their investiga-
tion into a shooting and rob-
bery of a man in Inkster last
week.
See page 7.
For the third consecutive
year, the students and staff at
the student-run radio station
at the Plymouth Canton
Educational Park are being
nationally recognized.
See page 4.
The Belleville Area Lions
Club in conjunction with the
Connection Church will host
an Inaugural Charity/
Donation only Corn Roast
andCar ShowAug. 27.
See page 3.
A 24-minute ambulance
response time may have con-
tributed to the death of a 63-
year-old Plymouth man, found
not breathing andunresponsive
in his home near the downtown
area.
A frantic 9-1-1 call for help
from a distressed family mem-
ber was received at the
Plymouth Township police dis-
patch center at 3:17 p.m.
although needed paramedics
with required Advanced Life
Support training and medica-
tions did not arrive at the scene
until 3:41, according to official
records of the incident.
The 9-1-1 recordings of the
situation were recently
obtained under a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) by The
Eagle and detail the actions of
emergency medical respon-
ders. Under the current
arrangement between the City
of Plymouth and the City of
Northville, the two communi-
ties utilize a paid on-call fire
department and rely on Huron
Valley Ambulance (HVA) for
patient transport and licensed
paramedics, a service the
Northville-Plymouth fire
department is not set up or
licensed to provide.
Less than one minute after
the 9-1-1 call reporting the
Plymouth man in distress, dis-
patchers paged the Northville
Fire Department on-call fire-
fighters to respond to theMaple
Street address where the
unconscious man was on the
floor and bleeding, according to
the recorded radio information.
At the same minute, dispatch-
ers radioed two City of
Plymouth police officers to
respond to the house, located
just blocks away fromPlymouth
City Hall where an ambulance
is housed in the normally
unmanned fire station. At 3:20
p.m. the officerswere at the res-
idence and two minutes later
commencedCPRefforts.
At 3:23 p.m. first responders
placed a call to dispatch inquir-
ing where HVA was coming
from and were told the ambu-
lance had arrived. HVA had
erroneously reported their
arrival two minutes before at
3:21.
At 3:24 p.m., seven minutes
after the initial 911 call, the first
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Other area departments operate
on the same or similar models as we do.
”
Response time questioned in death
Rescue effort
Inkster firefighters
clean up neighborhoods
Area mourns death of music educator Dick Kruse
See
Death,
page 4
Inkster firefighters faced a different
kind of heat last Wednesday when
Mother Nature sent temperatures soar-
ing into the 90s.
The high temperatures didn't faze the
firefighters and some volunteers who
approached a demolished building on
Cherry Street and accumulated dumping
in the area as they worked to collect and
haul away debris and improve the neigh-
borhood.
According the Fire Chief Chuck
Hubbard, this was the first of several
neighborhood clean up projects planned
and was an effort to let residents know
that the firefighters care about the entire
community.
“We had 100 percent participation
from the fire department,” Hubbard said.
He added that two city council members
and a group of young volunteers from a
local church also pitched in on the proj-
ect, along with several members of the
firefighters' families.
“Members of the city DPS and a hand-
ful of local citizens pitched in to volun-
teer,” Hubbard said. “This was a win-win
effort and hopefully it will be conta-
gious.”
The volunteers had to leave a pile of
debris at the site as they filled the two
dumpsters with all kinds of refuse they
discovered littering the area.
“This shows the character of this
department,” Hubbard said. “We don't
just respond to 9-1-1 calls, we're here to
help you in other situations.”
And those 9-1-1 calls certainly weren't
ignored either, as the same day, firefight-
ers used Advanced Life Support to save
two lives in separate emergency medical
runs, the chief said.
The entire Inkster Fire Department, along with Chief Chuck Hubbard, below left, and
family and other volunteers responded to Cherry Street to in a community clean-up
effort last week.
Photos by Sean Rhaesa
The Romulus community is
mourning the loss of legendary
music teacher and school dis-
trict booster Richard 'Dick'
Kruse last week.
Mr. Kruse, who worked with
the school district for more than
41 years, passed away on Aug. 5,
surrounded by friends and fami-
ly. Hewas 74.
“He touched a lot of lives and
a lot of hearts,” said Romulus
Mayor Leroy Burcroff, who met
his wife in Kruse's band room.
“He was a great guy and he was
passionate about putting
Romulus on themap.”
Mr. Kruse was born Nov. 10,
1941 in Schenectady, NY. He
attended the University of
Michigan School of Music and
toured Europe with U of M
Symphony band in 1962, as first-
chair clarinet, performing many
solos. He was inducted into the
U of M School of Music, Theater
andDanceHall of Fame.
Mr. Kruse worked with the
Romulus Community School
District for 41 years, first as
director of bands at Romulus
Junior High and later as head of
the Romulus schools music
department. He retired in 2000
and worked for another eight
years as the district public rela-
tions director. Most recently, he
worked as a field sales repre-
sentative and student recruiter
forMarshallMusic.
“He spent a lot of his person-
al time and money to ensure
that students learned how to
play an instrument,” said
Romulus Councilwoman Kathy
Abdo, a teacher at Romulus
High School. “He was an insti-
tution in this district for many
years.”
“Mymomused to call him the
music evangelist,” said resident
Tina Talley, “He put his heart,
soul, mind, body-everything-into
the kids and our community.”
Mr. Kruse was named The
City of Romulus' Person of the
Year in 1991.
The city honored Mr. Kruse
with a celebration of his life dur-
ing the sounds in Downtown
concert last Friday. Band alumni
members attended and there
was also a car show, in memory
of Mr. Kruse's locally-famous red
Corvette.
He is survived by his sister
Elaine (Stan) Banks, his nephew
Daniel Banks, and his niece
MariaBanks (JeffWilfore).
Funeral arrangements were
entrusted to the Crane Funeral
Home in Romulus. Interment
was at Memory Gardens
Memorial Park inAlbany, NY.
Those who wish may con-
tribute, donate, and support the
Romulus school bands in lieu of
flowers. Online guestsmay leave
condolences, share a photo, or
light a memorial candle by visit-
ingwww.cranefuneralhome.net.
Richard 'Dick' Kruse
