No. 39
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
October 5 – 11, 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
If the idea of the Healthy
Wayne Walking Club is to get
residents out and active,
Lynn Higgs, 80, is ahead of
the game.
See page 4.
Northville Township
Police Lt. Michael Burrough
graduated from the 269th
session of the FBI National
Academy Program at
Quantico, VA., Sept. 15.
See page 3.
Vol. 132, No. 39
Vol. 70, No. 39
Vol. 70, No. 39
Vol. 17, No. 39
Hundreds of area resi-
dents are expected to attend
theHealth andWellness Fair
at the Romulus Senior
Center next week.
See page 4.
Vol. 132, No. 39
Vol. 70, No. 39
Vol. 70, No. 39
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Westland Mayor William
R. Wild has been elected to
serve on the Michigan
Municipal League Board of
Trustees.
See page 5.
Noted
motivational
speaker Anthony Ianni will
bring “The Relentless Tour,”
to Canton Township, Friday,
Oct. 13 at the Summit on the
Park.
See page 3.
Vol. 17, No. 39
The
Inkster
Fire
Department has been
awarded a federal grant of
$1,682,760 to hire nine new
firefighters who should be
on the job within the next
180 days.
See page 2.
Township officials, fire-
fighters and residents from
Northville and Plymouth cel-
ebrated the re-opening of the
Lake Pointe Fire Station last
week.
See page 5.
Wayne
County
Community College will host
WesternWayneTaste&Taps,
a fundraiser for the college
scholarship fund from 1-5
p.m. Oct. 14 at the Belleville
campus.
See page 2.
Computer coding classes will
continue at the Jefferson Barns
Community Vitality Learning
Center inNorwayne.
Members of the Westland
City Council have approved a
$38,000 contract with Quadrant
2 Education for the continued
management of programming
and teachers at the center to
provide computer coding
instruction and tutoring.
Funding for the contract will be
provided by a $42,200 Michigan
State Police JAG grant recently
awarded to the city.
The grant will allow the
Learning Lab at the center to
continue regular hours from 4-7
p.m. Monday through Thursday
and add a summer program of
enhanced coding events. The
additional $4,200 the grant pro-
vides will be used for equip-
ment and city expenses.
The Westland Police
Department Community Police
Officers are also an integral part
of the program, interacting with
students on a regular basis.
"Having Quadrant 2 as a
managing partner has been
enriching for many students
who have utilized the learning
center," commented Mayor
William Wild. "Last year, the
program saw a 35 percent
increase from the first year and
we expect the usage to continue
to rise."
All students, ages 10 - 18 are
welcome to participate in the
Learning Center. There is no
cost to participate.
For more information, con-
tact the Learning Center at:
or call (734) 595-0288.
The subject of safety and
PCB contamination was not
addressed by officials fromDTE
Energy who spoke to the
Plymouth City Commission dur-
ing their regular meeting last
week.
The presence of dangerous
fumes and contamination was
not mentioned during discus-
sion of the fire and explosion
that shut off power to more than
4000 residents for two days and
destroyed the main electrical
sub-station. Contamination was
a critical concern for the fire
chiefs and firefighters alike who
responded to the fire, according
to several sources in the area
departments.
Forty-three area firefighters
and a 12-man Wayne County
Hazardous-Material team
attended the explosion and fire
when black smoke from burning
oil could be seen for miles. The
source of the fire, according to
DTE spokesmen, was a decades-
old power transformer that sat
outside of the sub-station and
next to the Plymouth Cultural
Center. Firefighters were able to
contain the transformer fire,
andprotect the adjacent sub-sta-
tion building and Cultural
Center. The oil capacity within
the transformer, said to be up to
1000 gallons, remains unknown.
Regional Director of
Operations Ryan Stowe along
with Senior Manager Satvir
Diol, apologized to commission-
ers for “any inconvenience.”
Stowe described the problem as
an “unspecific transformer fail-
ure.” Plymouth Mayor Dan
Dwyer, who extended the invita-
tion, thanked the executives for
the fast response and round-the-
clockwork at the sub-station site
onFarmer Street.
Two days after the fire, work-
ers in Haz-Mat protective gear
were observed at the site shovel-
ing heavy ash and oil soaked
Grant will fund Norwayne classes
See
DTE,
page 6
Election
forums
planned
Don Howard
Staff Writer
Down on the farm
Maybury opens corn maze, pumpkin festival
If it is autumn then it must
be time to visit Maybury
Farm.
Each year, Maybury Farm
in Northville hosts the corn
maze and the Great Pumpkin
Festival. This year the new, U-
Pick Pumpkin Patch has been
added to the events at the
working farm.
Cindy Kern, the farm man-
ager, said that this year, the
corn maze promises to be one
of the very best that Maybury
has ever created. “It is 10
acres of thick, lush corn that
has been cut into a farmscene
and is sure to challenge adults
and kids alike.”
“The corn maze will take
an estimated hour and a half
to complete but 10 check-
points located throughout will
help guide your way
through…if you answer the
question at each checkpoint
correctly, that is,” she said.
Those who find all 10 check-
points can enter to win a
grand prize that is awarded at
the end of the corn maze sea-
son.
This year, for visitors with
small children, or those who
would prefer a shorter chal-
lenge, the maze will offer a
shortened version that brings
visitors back to the entrance
about half-way through. For
those who want to try some-
thing a little spookier, howev-
er, the Maybury Farm corn
maze is open until 10 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays so
brave visitors can attempt to
find their way through in the
dark with just the moon and a
flashlight to guide theirway.
Following the challenge of
the corn maze, visitors can
enjoy cider and donuts from
Parmenter's, along with other
tasty treats.
The newMaybury FarmU-
Pick Pumpkin Patch is a great
place to find the perfect
pumpkin, Kernnoted.
“Remember, October is
also the last month to visit
with the Maybury Farm ani-
mals before the farm closes
for the season. The barn will
be open until 7 p.m. each
Friday throughSunday.
Groups who wish to visit
Maybury Farm during regular
business hours do not need to
make advance reservations.
For groups of 25 or more who
would like to schedule a
Voters in both the Romulus
city and Romulus Community
Schools District elections can
learnmore about the candidates
and issues at upcoming public
meetings.
Romulus Community Schools
will host a series of Town Hall
meetings regarding the upcom-
ing school millage questions on
the Nov. 7 ballot while the
Romulus Civic League has
planned a Meet the Candidates
meeting from 5-7 p.m. Saturday,
Oct. 14.
The Meet the Candidates
meeting will take place at The
Romulus Civic League, 11495
WahrmanSt. inRomulus.
Light refreshments will be
provided at themeeting which is
open to the public who will be
invited to ask questions of the
candidates.
Mayor LeRoy D. Burcroff and
Clerk Ellen Craig-Bragg are
unopposed in their bids for
reelection while Treasurer
Stacy Paige is being challenged
byUrsulaL.Wester.
Voters will be asked to choose
seven from the field of 14 city
council candidates that
includes: Kathy Abdo, John
Barden, Tomeka Boles, Harry
Crout, Sandra Crout, Edward
Martell, Jess D. McAnally, Paris
McCarthy, Celeste Roscoe, Tina
M. Talley, William Wadsworth,
Sharon L. Walker, Eva Webb and
Virginia Williams. Abdo,
Barden, Roscoe and Wadsworth
are incumbents.
The next school millage Town
Hall meeting is set for 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 18 at Halecreek
Elementary School. District rep-
resentatives will explain the
need for the two proposals, Hold
Harmless andSinkingFund.
The current Sinking Fund
expires next year and the Hold
Harmless, a renewal/reduction
from 5.1314 to 2.5 mills, expired
last year. If approved, it will
expire in 2016.
The Sinking Fund is an
increase from .075 mills to 3
mills. It is expected to cost tax-
payers about $3 for every tax-
able $1,000 inproperty value.
The funds can only be used
See
Forums,
page 6
See
Farm,
page 3
DTE claims no PCB at fire site
Workers load debris into barrels marked PCB following the fire and
explosion in Plymouth last month.
