A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
2
September 7, 2017
W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Rolling along
Bicycle club competes for award
Armed robbery suspect charged
WhenBrianEwanciwbought a bike last
year in an effort to get some exercise, he
had no idea he would soon be joined by
nearly 100 otherswith the same goal.
Ewanciw, 45, and a friend were dis-
cussing their bike riding and decided it
might be fun to form a club of people to
join them and add a little more interest to
their physical fitness effort.
“We got on the internet to see if anyone
would be interested in joining a club and
the first week maybe nine people showed
up,” Ewanciw said. “Now, I think we have
about 100 members.” All the riders don't
show up at 7:30 every Thursday when the
Wayne Bicycle Club meets in front of
Wayne Theater onMichigan Avenue., but a
healthy number of themdo, Ewanciw said,
along with joining in the special rides the
club does in places like downtown Detroit,
on Belle Isle and a planned ride in
Lansing next month. The Thursday rides,
however, are dedicated to the streets in
Wayne.
The Wayne Bicycle Club is now one of
four finalists in the Michigan Municipal
League 2017 Community Excellence
Award competition.
The cycle club members will now com-
pete for the top award during the group
conventionSept. 13 through 15 inHolland.
Ewanciw enlisted the support of Wayne
city officials in publicizing and supporting
the club, but all financing is through par-
ticipation and from club members. No city
funds are used to support the club.
Rides are usually about 2 hours long
and in Wayne have focused on historic
homes and recently, theDetroit Institute of
Arts Inside/Out program. Club members
have created t-shirts and sweatshirts to
promote their public and club pride.
Membership and ride schedules are pro-
moted through the City of Wayne official
website, Facebook and other socialmedia.
The club has created a sense of pride in
the community, Ewanciw said, and contin-
ues to promote community involvement.
The club encourages participants to
explore the area during organized rides
which have included Huron Clinton
Metroparks, Open Streets Detroit Belle
Isle, along with the local Wayne rides.
Ewanciw said the biking has obviously led
to an increase in the physical fitness of the
members but also to a boost in volun-
teerismamong the cyclists.
It even increases business in the city
when the cycling members stop along
routes to buy a beverage, snack of just
shop.
“We call it our bike family,” Ewanciw, a
Wayne resident for about 12 years, said. He
moved his business to the city about 7
years ago from Ypsilanti where he had
been offering technology and computer
services for about 13 years.
The theme of the entry into the
Municipal League competition was
“Bicycling means business and friendship
in Wayne, Michigan.” Ewanciw said that
members of the city administration and
city employees have joined in the club
rides.
“There are ways to engage the citizens
in the community without spending a
penny,” Ewanciw said. The cycling club
has allowed local officials and city employ-
ees and local residents to become more
involved in their community and opened
up another avenue of communication.
“The club is bringing back a sense of
pride that has not existed for some time,”
Ewanciwsaid in the award application..
“I guess I can only say that I was elect-
ed to serve all the people of Wayne. As
long as the citizens want me to serve, I
will do so with honesty and integrity,
working toward the survival and advance-
ment of our community.”
Ron Roberts, who first announced the
recall effort at a council meeting last
month said the group is not giving up the
effort.
“We are prepared with other lan-
guage,” he said. “We will be downtown
Tuesday to submit that to the commission.
“One way or another, Sanders is going
to face a recall,”Roberts said. He claimed
the “entire city is clamoring for a recall
based on socialmedia comments.”
The latest petitions will be considered
by Election Commissioners Cathy M.
Garrett, Freddie G. Burton and Eric
Sabreewithin 10 to 20 days of submission.
Sanders, 48, who has served on the city
council since November of 2015, has
hired noted election attorneys John D.
Pirich and Andrew M. Pauwels of
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn to
represent himin thematter.
Roberts said that recall group would
have 60 days after approval of the lan-
guage on the petitions to gather 1,300 sig-
natures of registered voters in Wayne
agreeing to put the recall question on the
ballot.
“With the legal restrictions, which say
it can't be less than 90 days after the signa-
tures have been accepted, it would be on
the ballot inNovember of 2018,” he said.
An Inkster man has been arrested and
charged in the armed robbery of a
Westland smoke shop.
Westland policewere called to the Sara
Smoke Shop at 1367 S. Wayne Road at
about 10:40 a.m. Aug. 25 responding to a
report of an armed robbery. Witnesses told
officers at the scene that a man had
entered the store with a gun and demand-
edmoney.
Officers immediately began searching
the area of the store and a man matching
the description witnesses provided police
of the suspect was subsequently ques-
tioned by an officer. After the officer
spoke to the man, he was able to locate
evidence that tied the suspect to the
crime. The suspect, identified as
Christopher Jablonicky of Inkster was
arrested on
charges of
armed rob-
bery.
Jablonicky
was arraign-
ed Aug. 17
before Judge
E l i z a b e t h
Disanto on
two counts of
armed rob-
bery.
The
judge set his
bond
at
$30,000 cash
or surety. He was due back in court today,
Sept. 7, for a probable cause hearing on
the charges.
Recall
FROM PAGE 1
The Wayne Bicycle Club members, finalists for a state award, meet at the Wayne
Theatre every Thursday evening.
Christopher Jablonicky
