No. 34
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
August 23 – 29, 2018
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
Tai Chi, a gentle form of
exercise, that can help main-
tain strength, flexibility and
balance is being offered in
Wayne through the senior
services department.
See page 8.
Members
of
the
Northville City Council
approved an inter-govern-
mental agreement with
Wayne County to fund
repairs at Fish Hatchery
Park.
See page 6.
Vol. 133, No. 34
Vol. 71, No. 34
Vol. 71, No. 34
Vol. 18, No. 34
A father has been charged
with second degree murder
and involuntary manslaugh-
ter in the death of his 7-year-
old daughter killed by a vehi-
cle inRomulus.
See page 3.
Vol. 133, No. 34
Vol. 71, No. 34
Vol. 71, No. 34
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
As
part
of
the
Neighborhood Makeover
Program in Westland, nomi-
nations are being accepted
for city beautification
awards.
See page 8.
Two private sales resulted
in calls to the Canton Police
last week as a buyer and a
seller each found themselves
victims of crimes.
See page 5.
Vol. 18, No. 16
The 21st Annual Inkster
Legends Basketball Camp in
Inkster earlier this month
was, according to Director
Freddie Smiley, “another
success.”
See page 2.
Users of the Plymouth
Township website and
Smartphone applications
will notice some differences
as the applications have
beenupgraded.
See page 6.
The annual Battle for
Belleville will take place
tomorrow as military vehi-
cles and reenactors fill Main
Street.
See page 3.
Members of the Wayne City
Council were expected to take
action this week on the surpris-
ing findings in an independent
report citing rampant discrimi-
nation and mismanagement at
city hall.
The investigation, triggered
by an allegation of a “hostile
working environment,” was per-
formed by an outside legal firm
which prepared a 105-page
report submitted this month to
city council members. The
report, labeled as highly confi-
dential, was discussed by mem-
bers of the council during a spe-
cial meeting at city hall last
week. While the report conclud-
ed that the allegation from an
unnamed member of the city
administration which initially
prompted the investigation did
not meet the legal definition of a
hostile working environment,
the person was, in fact, subject-
ed to actionable discriminatory
treatment, as were most or all of
the other city hall staff mem-
bers. The report further cites
the management failures and
flawed conduct of the city man-
ager and suggests the council
take immediate remedial action.
Initial complaints alleged
against former Councilman
Christopher Sanders, the only
person specifically named in the
report, were addressed by the
investigator with the city hall
employees. According to the
findings, none of the 17 persons
interviewed during the investi-
gation expressed any wrongdo-
ing on Sanders' part, and leveled
no criticism of his conduct other
than he did visit city hall more
than they might expect. The
investigator also found no basis
for unsubstantiated claims from
a local attorney regarding
Sanders' behavior at city hall
The report further cites the management failures and
flawed conduct of the city manager and suggests
the council take immediate remedial action.
”
See
Report,
page 7
Mary Jo Suchy said she is very excited
about the future of the Belleville Area District
Library, which she has directed since 2015.
Suchy, who grew up in Dearborn Heights,
came to the Belleville library in 1987, after
serving as assistant director for several years.
“I got my start way back in the day as the chil-
dren's librarian,” she said.
“I enjoyed the job and wanted to do some-
thing to contribute to society,” she recalled of
her first job shelving books at the public
library inDearbornHeights.
“I especially enjoyed working with the pre-
school children (at Belleville),” she said.
“They had such wild imaginations and were
very open.” She said she liked developing the
children's collection, too.
“I do my stint at the reference desk, now,”
she said. Suchy holds a master of library and
information studies degree from the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, along
with a bachelor's degree in English from the
University ofMichigan-Dearborn.
She and colleagues are especially excited
now about a major building project with
hopes tomove to the new, larger facility in the
fall of 1919 and finish work in the spring of
2020. The current downtown Belleville build-
ingwill be leveled for parking.
“We have a lot going on with the building
project. I joke with people that my meetings
havemeetings,” Suchy saidwith a smile.
“We're going to have a media center in
Sumpter” in addition to the downtown
Belleville main building. The media center
will house technology to help with computer
training and photocopying as well as being a
drop-off and pickup point for books, she said.
Voters in Belleville, Sumpter and Van Buren
Township approved about $14 million for the
project inNovember 2016.
Suchy said her favorite library activity is
“helping people findwhat they're looking for.”
That could be finding a voting precinct or
sorting through government websites “that
are sometimes difficult to look at. Whatever
will help them through their day or life.” That
also includes recommending books.
“I don't see print ever going away,” said
Suchy, citing studies that readers comprehend
and retain printed material better than
online. She prefers print books, but also uses
her tablet to look at some news.
“If I want to look into something in more
depth, it's easier with a book,” she said. Her
library uses more online materials now for
reference questions, and she sees DVDs and
CDs becoming less popular in the future.
She likes the welcoming approach at the
Belleville facility. “We certainly endeavor to
be that. More welcoming. We want to be a
place where people feel comfortable. I feel
In a surprise move last week,
the Northville Township Fire
Department moved firefighters
and equipment out of Lake
Pointe Fire Station 2 and ended
a short-lived inter-governmental
agreement with Plymouth
Township.
Fire safety was a hot-button
election issue in the 2016
Plymouth Township election
and the majority of the success-
ful candidates were those who
promised to re-open the fire sta-
tion that serves the largest town-
ship subdivision, increase fire
department staffing levels and
provide new and safe equip-
ment. Voters overwhelmingly
replaced five of the seven mem-
bers of the board of trustees.
Following the election,
Plymouth Township Fire Chief
Dan Phillips presented a report
to board members and revealed
life-threatening response times
in the township. Phillips esti-
mated the cost to reopen the
Lake Pointe Station-2 at
$590,000, calling for the hire of
six additional firefighters.
By July 2017, board members
agreed to the hiring of three
new firefighters and OK'd an
agreement with Northville
Township to allow the two town-
ships to share Station 2. Three
new firefighters were sworn in
on Sept. 11, 2017. The new plan
called for each township to have
two emergency vehicles and two
firefighters on duty at the station
to respond to emergencies in
both communities. Since that
time, various upgrades to equip-
ment and radios have been
approved
in
Plymouth
Township where board mem-
bers also agreed to hire three
additional firefighters by the
end of 2018.
The fire station was re-
opened Sept. 29 by officials from
both communities. During the
last 11 months, the two fire
departments shared the build-
ing, responding to calls in the
respective communities, with
few exceptions where mutual
aidwas requested.
“Re-opening Station 2 will
improve emergency response
times throughout both commu-
nities, saving lives and protect-
ing property,” Township
Supervisor Kurt Heise said at
the opening ceremony.
Northville Township Public
Safety Director Todd Mutchler
said sharing the Plymouth
Township fire station was good
experience and that Northville
was very appreciative of the
opportunity. Mutchler said that
after almost a year of monitor-
ing the performance and service
delivery from the Lake Pointe
location, the department
noticed an increase in response
Driver is
charged in
hit-and-run
Preface?
Belleville librarian looks
forward to new facility
Desmond Robinson, 47, has
been criminally charged in the
hit-and-run death of a Wayne
County Sheriff's Department
sergeant last week inWestland.
According to police reports,
Sgt. Lee Smith, 55, was jogging
on Hines Drive between
Inkster and Merriman roads at
about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug.
14, when he was struck and
killed by a vehicle traveling at a
high rate of speed. Following a
non-stop investigation by
numerous law enforcement
departments, Robinson was
arrested by Westland police at
about 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 16,
inGarden City, according to the
office of Wayne County
ProsecutorKymWorthy.
Witnesses described the
vehicle that struck Sgt. Smith
as a small black SUV with
round headlights, which was
Belleville Area District Library Director Mary Jo
Suchy is excited about major library expansion
plans.
See
Library,
page 3
Report finds discrimination at Wayne City Hall
See
Charges,
page 7
See
Station,
page 6
Julie Brown
Special Writer
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Northville leaves Plymouth Township fire station
Sgt. Lee Smith
