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No. 36
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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September 6 – 12, 2012
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
A record number of 285
children, 67 teens and 38
adults participated in the
Wayne Public Library
Summer Reading Program
this year.
See page 4.
Members of the Romulus
Rotary Club say there will be
more participants in the 2012
Parade of Lights than last year,
but there is always room for
more.
See page 3.
Meet the crew of seven
Noon Rotary Club members
who are responsible for organ-
izing the preparation of 11,000
chicken dinners beginning at
noonSunday.
See page 2.
Five homes spanning three
centuries of construction and
designwill highlight the
American Association of
University Women annual
Northville Home Tour Sept.
29.
See page 5.
The Back 2 School Blitz 5 in
Belleville recently was an
unqualified success according
to Laurie Aren, director of
Family and Community
Ministries for the Salvation
Army.
See page 5.
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Evangelist Bishop Rance L.
Allenwill be the speaker at the
Faithway Ministries Revival in
Inkster at 7 p.m. Sept. 12, 13
and 14.
See page 4
.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Wildwood Elementary
School in Westland was hon-
ored with the prestigious 2012
Robert and Patricia Muth
Excellence in Leadership
Award lastmonth.
See page 4.
The on-call Northville firefight-
er recently charged by Northville
Township police for unauthorized
use of emergency lights on his per-
sonal vehicle pleaded not guilty
Sept. 29 during a pre-trial hearing
before Judge James Plakas at the
35thDistrict Court.
Simon Wilkinson, 45, was
arrested in July when a woman
told the Northville Township
police dispatcher she wanted to
verify the identification of an offi-
cer who stopped her near her
home in Northville Township. She
described the car as a silverDodge
Magnumwith red flashing lights in
the windows. She stated she left
her Northville home in the area of
Parkside Drive and Glacier and
looped back around the block to
make sure her garage door was
closed. When she returned to her
street, the driver of the Dodge
Magnummotionedher to pull over
and roll down her car window. She
said the driver never actually
identified himself as a police offi-
cer and spoke with a British
accent.
He allegedly questioned her
about her presence in the area
and told her that she appeared
suspicious driving around the
neighborhood. He also told her,
she said, that there had been
break-ins in the area and he was
questioning her in reference to
those crimes.
She said that upon reflection
after the encounter she became
curious and her suspicions
prompted her call to the police
dispatcher.
Thewitnesswas not in court.
Wilkinson was identified and
arrested after a Northville
Township police sergeant remem-
bered he had spoken to a suspect
matching the description of the
driver when the man applied for a
reserve police officer position.
Wilkinson, also a police
reservist in Livonia, was previous-
ly scheduled for arraignment on
Aug. 15. His appearance was
rescheduled by his attorney
Gerald Gleeson who arrived just
before Northville Township prose-
cutor Greg Demopoulos was about
to request a postponement.
“It's not the defendant's fault if
his attorney doesn't show,” said
Demopoulos after waiting nearly
three hours. “He's wasting our
time.”
Plakas released Wilkinson on a
$10,000 personal bond until the
trial date and sternly warned him
that he was to have absolutely no
contact with the witness and if
there was another incident or vio-
lation the bond would increase by
tenfold to $100,000.
Gleeson acknowledged he was
comfortable with the $10,000 bond
and that he understood there
would be an upcoming trial man-
agement conference.
Wilkinson's silver Dodge
Magnum with police car wheels
and hidden LED strobe lights was
parked just outside the court-
house.
The Village Theater at
Cherry Hill will showcase
more than 20 works of contem-
porary artist Amy DiPlacido
now throughSept. 25.
See page 5.
State Rep. Dian Slavens (D-Canton) has sup-
ported a proposal that would increase access to
capital for small businesses and support banks,
community banks and credit unions that are
going to lend toMichigan small businesses. The
proposal would strengthen small businesses,
spur entrepreneurship and start-ups and put
people back towork, Slavins said.
“Michigan's small businesses are the
lifeblood of our economy. I support this pack-
age because it means that legislators in
Lansing understand howhard it can be to open
and start a business right now but we are also
taking it one step further and backing it upwith
real assistance.” She added.
“Michigan small businesses are struggling
today because big banks are refusing to give
small local businesses access to capital that can
help us create jobs and expand new opportuni-
ties,” said Cindy and John Dakis owners of the
Belleville Charhouse. “Small businesses are
key to spurring our communities, and these
proposals are the shot in the arm that we need
tomove our economy forward.”
The proposals also include supporting inno-
vators to bring their ideas to the marketplace,
providing more cooperation between the pub-
lic and private sectors to grow businesses at all
stages of development and increasing access to
capital. The new program will be transparent
and include strong accountability measures to
track its success. Similarly, the state's risk on
the investment would be tied to the success of
the lending institution as a whole to ensure
that taxpayers aren't on thehook for bad loans.
The proposed legislation Slavens supports
include:
• Reestablishing the venture investment credit
that creates tax credits for investors in seed or
early stageMichiganbusinesses
• Expanding small businesses' access to capi-
tal by investing endowments and trusts with
Michigan's small businesses
are the lifeblood
of our economy.
”
Legislator calls for aid to small business
See
Help,
page 7
‘Undercover cop’ pleads not guilty
Community spirit
Service clubs host events
during 57th Fall Festival
The grills have been scrubbed
and sterilized, tons of charcoal
and corn on the cob ordered and
700 student volunteers enlisted.
When the chickens arrive this
weekend, the Rotary Club in
Plymouth will be ready for their
56th Rotary Club Chicken
Barbeque, themain fundraiser of
the club. This is the 57th year
since the barbeque began, but
the club members skipped the
event in 1959. Since then, they've
managed to continue to improve
and refine the event.
According to Scott Wirgau,
chairman of the Rotary
Barbeque Committee this year,
the Rotarians will barbeque
about 11,000 half chickens begin-
ning very early Sunday morning.
The dinners, priced at $12, will
be packaged by club members
and volunteers and available
beginning at 11 a.m. at The
Gathering across from Kellogg
See
Festival,
page 2
Noon Rotary Club members Michael Dudley and Mike Sullivan spent
a recent Saturday morning scrubbing and sterilizing the grills to be
used to barbeque 11,000 chicken dinners on Sunday.
Photo by Dave
Willett
Simon Wilkinson