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No. 38
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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September 25 – October 1, 2014
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
Funeral services took
place Tuesday at St. Mary
Catholic Church in Wayne
for former Wayne Police
Chief John Colligan, 67, who
diedSept. 18.
See page 5.
A city-wide drive for
donations to help the
Michigan
Veterans
Foundation and the Detroit
Veterans Center is now
underway inRomulus.
See page 6.
A pair of cousins has been
bound over for trial in a
series of home invasions
including crimes in Canton
andPlymouth townships.
See page 3.
Fishermen of all shapes
and sizes will be reeling in
more than 800 rainbow trout
at the 19th Annual Wayne
County Parks Fishing Derby
inNorthvilleSaturday.
See page 7.
More than 90 guests
attended the Belleville Area
Chamber of Commerce
Annual Awards Dinner last
Friday when local business-
eswerehonored.
See page 6.
Vol. 129, No. 38
Vol. 67, No. 38
Vol. 67, No. 38
Vol. 14, No. 38
Vol. 129, No. 38
Vol. 67, No. 38
Vol. 67, No. 38
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Westland is one of the 50
best cities to live in across
the country, according to a
newsurvey by 24/7Wall St.
See page 5.
In
celebration
of
Michigan Aviation Month,
the
Canton-Plymouth
Mettetal Airport will be host-
ing an open house this
Saturday, Sept. 27.
See page 4.
Vol. 14, No. 38
Wayne
County
Commissioner Richard
LeBlanc and State Rep.
DavidKnezekwill be hosting
their normally-scheduled
Coffee Hours in Inkster in
October.
See page 7
.
The body discovered in a
Plymouth Township storage
yard has been identified as that
of a 22-year-old Warren woman
missing since June 16.
The body of Theresa
DeKeyzer of Warrenwas discov-
ered by police investigating her
disappearance last Thursday in
a 55-gallon drum in a trailer at
Travel Trailer Storage on Ann
Arbor Road. Warren investiga-
tors were led to the storage yard
by tips from two separate wit-
nesses and secured a warrant to
search the premises based on
that information. Plymouth
Township and Westland police
were called to the scene along
with officers from the Michigan
State Police, who provided tech-
nical assistance.
Westland officers were on
site as a person of interest in the
death is Scott Wobbe, a
Westland resident, and
DeKeyzer's boyfriend, who was
reportedly the last person to see
her alive. Her family reported
her missing on June 19 and
Wobbe told officers that he
dropped her off on June 16 near
the intersection of Lozier and
Nine Mile Road in Warren and
had not seen her since that
time. DeKeyzer had accused
Wobbe of domestic abuse on
June 15, according to police
reports, and she was reportedly
found in the same clothes and
earrings she was wearing when
she was photographed by
Warren officers at the time she
made the assault complaint.
She told police that Wobbe, in a
drunken rage, grabbed her shirt
and dragged her out of his car
and punched her in the face,
according to police reports.
Wobbe is currently facing
drug-related charges in
Westland following a July 3
search by police of his home in
connection with the warrants.
Police reportedly found no evi-
dence linking him toDeKeyzer's
death, but did find various ille-
gal drugs in the home.
Wobbewas arrested on a pro-
bation violation in Midland on
July 2 and is currently incarcer-
ated in the Midland County Jail.
His probation stemmed from
his conviction in February for
aggravated assault and drug
charges in Midland, according
to police.
The plastic storage drum in
which DeKeyzer's body was
found had a plastic garbage bag
on top of it and a concrete seal
at least a foot thick, according to
witnesses at the scene. State
police officers used an X-ray
machine at the storage lot to
positively determine there was
a body inside the barrel, wit-
nesses said.
The office of the Wayne
County Medical Examiner per-
formed an autopsy on the
remains after removing the
body from the sealed barrel,
identifying the victim as
DeKeyzer on Friday, based on
two tattoos and jewelry.
A memorial service for for-
mer Plymouth Canton School
Board member Flossie Tonda
will take place at 6:30 tonight at
the school named for her on
Warren Road in Canton
Township.
Mrs. Tonda, 88, died Sept. 11
in Lyon Township where she
relocated from Florida, follow-
ing many years in Canton. She
and her family moved to Canton
in 1969where she became active
in the First Presbyterian Church
of Plymouth. Her interest in
education led to her participa-
tion in her children's school and
she became a representative on
the district-wide Safety
Committee, where she served as
president. Her accomplish-
ments there included the sky-
walk for students across Joy
Road.
In 1974, Mrs. Tonda became
president of the school district
Community Council and from
that post, was appointed to fill a
vacancy on the board of educa-
tion by the other members of the
board. She remained active with
her children's local school,
Campfire Girls, the safety com-
mittee and the Canton Planning
Commission.
Mrs. Tonda realized the need
in the community and organized
and opened the school district
clothing bank to provide aid to
families inneed.
Her first election to the
Plymouth-Canton Board of
Education came in 1976 and she
served on the board for more
than 10 years. She was also the
president of the Canton Country
Festival and she founded the
CantonRepublicanClub in 1980.
Mrs. Tonda is also remem-
bered for her activities with the
Dion Nursing Home where she
recruited volunteers in Wayne,
Oakland and Livingston coun-
ties. She also served on the
Canton Advisory Committee for
Oakwood Hospital and served
as president of the Wayne
County
School
Board
Association.
Her dedication to her com-
munity and school district was
lauded in 1982 when she was
named Canton Woman of the
Year.
Mrs. Tonda moved to Florida
and was living there when the
decisionwas made by the school
board members to pay a lasting
tribute to her accomplishments
and tireless work on behalf of
education and children by nam-
ing the newest school in Canton
in her honor. That school,
Flossie B. Tonda Elementary,
was dedicated to her in 1994 and
will be the site of her memorial
service tonight. The school is
located at 46501 Warren Road in
Canton.
Mrs. Tonda is survived by her
daughters, Tina (Mark) Servies
and Toni (Frank Noverr) Tonda;
a stepdaughter, Pamela Tonda;
sisters, Ginny (Don) Anglin and
Donna Tonda; grandchildren,
Tammy (Matthew) Trasky, Kurt
(Tina) Series, Tracy (Alex)
MacDonald, Andrew Space and
Tyler Space; her great-grand-
children, Teagan, Grace and
Emma; many nieces and
nephews, andmany friends.
Mrs. Tonda was preceded in
death by her parents, her hus-
band, Tony Tonda, her twin sis-
ter, Florence Dloury, a brother,
Jack Self, and sisters, Dorothy
Jahnke, Ada Pickering and
CatherineSelf.
Memorial contributions can
be made to the Plymouth-
Canton Community Schools
Tonda Memorial Fund, 454
South Harvey St., Plymouth, MI,
48170.
Condolences can be shared at
www.casterlinefuneralhome.
com.
City of Wayne residents will
see their annual assessment for
street lighting increase from $48
to $72.50. The new cost will be
per parcel in the city for residen-
tial property andwill be collected
for the next five years.
The charge for industrial and
commercial properties will be
based on linear feet of frontage
andwill range from$225 for up to
100 feet to $2,300 for businesses
with more than 1,000 feet of
frontage. Commercial assess-
ments range from$150 to $1,500.
The new assessments,
approved by a unanimous vote of
the city council members, will
appear on winter tax bills in the
city usuallymailed inDecember.
City officials said the current
street lighting assessment, enact-
ed about three years ago, has gen-
erated approximately $420,000
toward the cost of operating the
street lights in the city. That is a
shortfall of about $200,000 for the
year, officials said, necessitating
the increased assessment.
The vote on the assessment
took place following a sparsely
attended public hearing on the
issue, during which only six resi-
dents commented, all critical of
the
proposed
increase.
Comments included the sugges-
tion that the city turn off the
lights and have residents rely on
porch lights on their homes or
doing without the lights altogeth-
er. The council members were
chided by one resident for failing
to increase the assessment three
years ago at a rate commensurate
with the operating expense of the
lights. The same resident
claimed that at the time of that
assessment officials told the pub-
lic that it would be the last raise
in the cost for operating the
lights.
Mayor Al Haidous responded
that council members had
approved the assessment amount
they thought was needed at the
time.
Councilmembers disagreed
with speakers who claimed that
the lights did not deter crime and
said the lighting is necessary for
safety and security in the city and
will help stop the decline inprop-
erty values.
Following
the
vote,
Councilman John Rhaesa sug-
gested the city investigate the
efficiency and cost of upgrading
to LED lights, a move suggested
by one resident during the public
hearing.
Rhaesa did acknowledge that
DTE has a lifetime contract with
the city and owns the poles on
which the lights are mounted.
“We need a solution to that,” he
said.
Residents of the Parkview
Estates subdivision in Canton
Township have asked county
school officials to transfer their
children from the Wayne-
Westland schools into the
Plymouth-Cantondistrict.
Petitions signed by 75 resi-
dents who live on Lancelot and
Amber Drive in the subdivision,
located in the southwest section
of Canton Township, were filed
with the Wayne County Regional
Educational Service Agency
(RESA) on Aug. 25. The petitions
cited the welfare of area chil-
dren, economics, academics and
convenience, along with private
schools, as reasons for the trans-
fer request.
A decision on the request
could come as early as Oct. 15,
when the RESA board meets,
according to Wayne County
superintendent Chris Wigent.
Officials from both the Wayne-
Westland and Plymouth-Canton
school districts have opposed the
transfer.
Wigent said that the request
Wayne council OKs new $72.50 street light assessment
Parents petition to leave Wayne-Westland school
”
Flossie B. Tonda Elementary,
was dedicated to her in 1994 and will be
the site of her memorial service tonight.
See
Petition,
page 5
Body found in storage drum identified
Area mourns death of Flossie Tonda
Warren Police Commissioner Jere Green holds a photo of Theresa
DeKeyzer whose body was found in Plymouth Township last week.
Photo courtesy of Mike Campbell/WWJ Newsradio 950