No. 36
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
Sept. 14 – 20, 2017
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
Wayne Main Street was
recently awarded a grant
from
the
Greater
Metropolitan Area Realtors
Association for capital
improvements in Derby's
Alley.
See page 2.
Tipping Point Theatre
will open the 11th season at
the live professional theater
with Tony-award winning
comedy, Boeing, Boeing,
scheduled throughOct. 22.
See page 4.
Vol. 132, No. 36
Vol. 70, No. 36
Vol. 70, No. 36
Vol. 17, No. 36
The
20th
Annual
Pumpkin Festival in
Romulus begins tomorrow
night with a lighted parade,
live bands, children's enter-
tainment and old fashioned
games.
See page 5.
Vol. 132, No. 36
Vol. 70, No. 36
Vol. 70, No. 36
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Several road projects in
Westland, part of the mayor's
Neighborhood Makeover
Plan, are being completed
just as others are getting
underway.
See page 2.
Residents who attended
the roads forum in Canton
Township earlier this month
didn't get any good news
from the state, county or
local representatives on
hand.
See page 3.
Vol. 17, No. 36
Inkster Senior Services
will host the Fall Harvest
Celebration beginning at 1
p.m. Friday, Sept. 22 at the
Booker T. Dozier Recreation
Complex in Inkster.
See page 2.
Plymouth Township offi-
cially swore in three new
firefighter/paramedics on
Sept. 11 which will make the
opening of the Lake Point
FireStationNo. 2.
See page 3.
Superintendent of Van
Buren Community Schools
Pete Kudlak says the district
and four teachers who sued
have reached “an agreement
in concept”.
See page 5.
Contract negotiations are
presently under way with a
California educator chosen as
the next superintendent of the
Wayne Westland Community
Schools.
Following interviews with
six candidates, the members of
the board of education opted to
re-interview Dr. Shelley Holt
and John Albrecht, the current
assistant superintendent for
education services with the dis-
trict. Following those inter-
views, board members agreed
to offer the job to Holt, who has
reportedly accepted the posi-
tion.
Holt is the executive director
of student services for the
Fontana Unified School
District. She earned her doctor-
ate in urban education and
leadership from California
State University Sacramento
and her bachelor of arts in psy-
chology from the University of
California Berkeley. She has
been in her current job for
about two years.
If negotiations are success-
ful, Holt will replace Michele
Harmala who left the district
Aug. 31 to take a teaching posi-
tionwithMadonnaUniversity.
According to officials, Holt
plans to relocate to the district
alone and then have her family
follow her at a later date. No
start date for Holt was
announced.
In the interim, the members
of the school board approved a
resolution naming Deputy
Superintendent
for
Administration and Business
Services Jim Larson-Shidler as
the signatory for the district.
In a situation Northville
Township Manager Chip Snider
described as “a perfect storm”
last year, residents crowded
township hall last week seeking a
solution to the odor problems
fromArborHills Landfill.
The residents, many visibly
irate, attended the meeting
scheduled with representatives
from the Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality
(MDEQ) in an effort to explain
the role and responsibilities of
the state department in the situa-
tion.
Residents have been com-
plaining for several years about
the odors and rancid smells ema-
nating from the landfill located
about a mile from Ridge Wood
Elementary School. Residents'
concerns escalated at rumored
plans of an expansion at the 337-
acre facility operated by Advance
Disposal Services (ADS), which
have been dispelled by state offi-
cials as “off the table.”
The landfill has been operat-
ing since 1970, processing solid
waste from Washtenaw and
Wayne counties into one of the
largest and tallest landfill sites in
the state. According to Scott
Miller, district supervisor of the
MDEQ Jackson District Office, a
major malfunction of the gas col-
lection and control system result-
ed in the emission of intermittent
strong odors in January, 2016.
Northville
Township
Supervisor Bob Nix called the
special public meeting to allow
disgruntled residents to hear
first-hand what remedies, if any,
MDEQ is pursuing after a year of
issuing violation notices and tak-
ing “enforcement action” against
theArborHills firm.
“Our goal is to get the informa-
tion out,” Nix said to the stand-
ing-room only crowd, which
included supporters of Stop
Arbor Hills an environmental
nonprofit group formed in 2016
in response to the strong odors
and expansion rumors.
Last year residents also com-
plained about the truck traffic
through residential neighbor-
hoods hauling waste to and from
the landfill citing the odor, noise
and wear and tear on neighbor-
hood streets. Township police
have recently stepped-up
enforcement and began to issue
traffic citations to trucks travel-
District hires new superintendent
Community celebrations continue
It's about being a good neighbor.
Now we've got it fixed from an ownership
perspective-we're on a good track right now.
”
See
Landfill,
page 4
20th Annual Pumpkin
Festival set in Romulus
Victorian Heritage is
celebrated in Northville
The 20th Annual Romulus
Pumpkin Festival will begin
tomorrow and continue
throughout theweekend, Sept.
15, 16 and 17, in Romulus
Historical Park.
Some of the weekend high-
lights include a car show on
Saturday, a tractor and lawn
tractor show on Sunday, great
food, children's games and a
host of contests. There will be
pumpkin-themed events and
live musical entertainment all
weekend including Fifty Amp
Fuse on Friday night. Many of
the activities are provided at
no cost.
“This is a great opportunity
for the community to come
together and enjoy our down-
town” said Mayor LeRoy D.
Burcroff. “Our Historical Park
really shines during the
Pumpkin Festival and we
invite people from all over to
have fun and take advantage
of the events and festivities.”
The event traditionally
begins with the Romulus
Rotary Club sponsored
Parade of Lights when crowds
line Goddard Road to view
lighted vehicles including
everything from bicycles to
cement trucks.
This year, the Rotary
parade will begin at 8 p.m.
tomorrow, rain or shine. There
is no entry fee or pre-registra-
tion but no entries without “an
abundance” of lights will be
A celebration of the histo-
ry of Northville begins tomor-
row throughout the commu-
nity.
The Northville Heritage
Festival, celebrating 150
years of the community, is
planned for 5-11 p.m. Friday,
Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. until 11
p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16 and
from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 17.
This is the 29th year of the
annual event, formerly the
Victorian Festival, presented
by the Northville Chamber of
Commerce.
The Heritage Festival will
begin Friday with the tradi-
tional Victorian Parade when
local residents dress in
authentic Victorian attire and
stroll through downtown in
tribute to the founders of the
community. The festival will
continue with events
throughout the weekend
including community non-
profit booths with goods and
food for sale, live entertain-
ment at several locations
throughout downtown, a Kids
Zone, crafters, horse and car-
riage rides and the always
popular Heritage Festival
Saloon.
As part of the celebration,
Northvillewill commemorate
the 150th anniversary of the
incorporation of the village.
To celebrate this milestone,
the city will celebrate with a
Dr. Shelley Holt
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Landfill odor protests continue
See
Heritage,
page 4
See
Pumpkin,
page 5
