No. 40
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
October 12 – 18, 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
More than 55 scarecrows
fill the streets of Wayne this
year during the 5th Annual
Scarecrow Show and the
favorites will be chosen by a
vote of the public.
See page 4.
Tickets are now on sale
for the 2017 Northville
Holiday Home Tour, present-
ed by the Northville
Community Foundation set
forNov. 17 andNov. 18.
See page 5.
Vol. 132, No. 40
Vol. 70, No. 40
Vol. 70, No. 40
Vol. 17, No. 40
The JORY Foundation,
started by Romulus resident
Robert McLachlan, has host-
ed a few fundraisers and qui-
etly helped children in the
community.
See page 2.
Vol. 132, No. 40
Vol. 70, No. 40
Vol. 70, No. 40
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
World renowned photog-
rapher Monty Nagler will be
the juror for the 6th Annual
Artist's Exhibition at the
Three Cities Art Club show
atWestlandCityHall.
See page 4.
Little super heroes, fairy
princesses, and other ghouls
and goblins are invited to
Canton Leisure Services
annual Trick or Treat
Parade from 5-8 p.m. Friday,
Oct. 27.
See page 3.
Vol. 17, No. 40
Tickets for the annual
Inkster Legends Annual
Christmas Giveaway raffle
are now on sale. The raffle
funds groceries and gifts for
100 less fortunate Inkster
families.
See page 2.
For the fourth year, the
PlymouthLibrarywill partic-
ipate in StarWars Reads Day
from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 14.
See page 5.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will
arrive in the Belleville area
during a lighted parade dur-
ing the Winter Fest celebra-
tion Dec. 2 and parade
entries are now being
accepted.
See page 3.
Six major Westland parks
are slated for large scale recre-
ational improvements, thanks
in part to funding assistance by
the State of Michigan and
WayneCounty.
State Rep. Robert Kosowski
announced last month that he
had secured a $300,000 grant
from that State of Michigan for
funding of park improvements
at Voss Park on the east side of
Westland. Westland City
Council members have also
approved an intergovernmen-
tal agreement with Wayne
County to utilize parks millage
funding from fiscal years 2015-
2017 in the amount of $101,050
for park improvements.
Parks scheduled to be
improved include Voss Park at
30600 Palmer Road will have
two of the existing four base-
ball fields converted into four
new Little League football
practice fields equipped with
an equipment storage garage,
new spectator bleachers and
park signage. The remaining
two baseball fields will receive
new fencing, foul poles,
dugouts, bleachers and updat-
ed lighting. The existing bas-
ketball court will be removed
and re-sited on the south end
of the park. All parking lots
will also be repaved. This
project is being funded by the
$300,000 grant Kosowski has
secured from the State of
Michigan.
Also set for improvements is
Jaycee Park at 6200 N.
Wildwood where the parking
lot will be repaved and new
baseball diamond fencing will
be installed at all three base-
ball diamonds andwill include
new dugouts, benches, foul
poles and safety capping along
the outfield fencing. This proj-
ect was funded with $83,399 of
the millage allocation along
with $14,068 from the city capi-
tal outlay fund.
Work has already begun on
this project.
Rotary Park at 601 Hanlon
Ave. will see recreational
improvements this year with
the removal and replacement
of the current baseball fencing,
dugouts and foul poles. The
project will be funded with
$55,964 from the capital
Members of the Romulus
Community School District
Board of Education have
approved two ballot issues for the
Nov. 7 vote.
School officials recently sent a
letter to area voters explaining
the ballot questions and the rea-
soning behind the request.
According to the district letter,
the “Hold Harmless” levy author-
ization will not increase taxes
over the amount property owners
paid last year. The Hold
Harmless millage asks for
approval of a maximum levy of
2.5 mills - while the previously
authorized levy was more than
twice that, at 5.1314 mills. Last
year, officials said, Romulus
Community Schools levied only
1.3137 mills, which is the expect-
ed continued result should voters
approve the request.
The “Sinking Fund”, currently
at .75 mills, would increase to 3
mills if approved by voters. This
would be an increase of 2.25mills
above the amount currently
assessed. This increase is critical
to maintaining district buildings
and facilities, school officials
said. Nearly $20 million in
repairs have been identified in
district buildings and are neces-
sary to ensure students are in a
safe, productive learning envi-
ronment. Those repairs include:
major roofing, parking lot, plumb-
ing, andwindow repairs; replace-
ment of fire suppression systems
in all buildings; technology
upgrades and infrastructure
improvements; major building
maintenance repairs and repair
to football/soccer/track area.
Estimates to fully repair are
between $500,000 and $1 million.
Due to a recent safety inspection,
the football stadium will close at
the end of this season if neces-
sary repairs andnot completed.
In response to claims of dis-
trict funding from the Wayne
County Enhancement Millage,
officials said that much incorrect
informationwas being circulated.
“This county-wide millage,
collected by Wayne County
RESA, was approved by voters
across the county in 2016. The
city collected $1,633,016 for the
county to distribute to school dis-
tricts on a per-pupil basis. The
Romulus Community School
District received $998,949, most
The “Sinking Fund”, currently at .75 mills,
would increase to 3 mills if approved by voters.
”
See
Parks,
page 4
See
Forums,
page 2
Write-in
candidate
joins race
in Plymouth
‘Every Second Counts’
Local fire departments host open houses this week
Westland is among the sev-
eral area communities partic-
ipating in Fire Prevention
week Oct. 8 - 14 and Mayor
William R. Wild is encourag-
ing all Westland households
to develop a home evacuation
plan and practice it. A home
escape plan includes working
smoke alarms on every level
of the home, in every bed-
room, and near all sleeping
areas. It also includes two
ways out of every room, usu-
ally a door and a window,
with a clear path to an out-
side meeting place, like a
tree, light pole, or mailbox
that's a safe distance from the
home.
This year's Fire Prevention
Week theme, "Every Second
Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!”
works to better educate the
public about the critical
importance of developing a
home escape plan and prac-
ticing it, Wild said. The
Westland Fire Department is
working in coordination with
the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA), the offi-
cial sponsor of the Fire
Prevention Week for more
than 90 years, to reinforce
those potentially life-saving
messages
In a typical home fire,
occupants may have as little
as one to two minutes to
escape safely from the time
the smoke alarm sounds.
That's why home escape plan-
ning is so critical in a fire situ-
ation. It ensures that every-
one in the household knows
how to use that small window
of timewisely, notedWestland
FireChiefMichael Stradtner.
“Developing and practic-
ing a home escape plan is like
building muscle memory,”
said Stradtner. “That pre-
planning is what everyone
will draw upon to snap into
action and escape as quickly
as possible in the event of a
fire.”
“Home escape planning is
one of the most basic but fun-
damental elements of home
fire safety, and can trulymake
the difference between life
and death in a fire situation,”
said Lorraine Carli, National
Fire Protection Agency vice
president of outreach and
There are now five candi-
dates seeking the four open
seats on the Plymouth City
Commission.
Dave Latawiec has declared
himself as a write-in candidate
for one of the expiring terms on
the commission. He will face
incumbent commissioners Dan
Dalton and Oliver Wolcott along
with candidates Ed Krol and
Nicholas Moroz. Those four
would have assumed the avail-
able terms prior to Latwiec's
entry into the race.
Voters will make their choice
in the general election set for
Nov. 7. The top three candidates
based on vote totals will serve
four-year commission terms and
the next highest vote getter will
serve a two-year term. Current
commissioners include Suzi
Deal, Colleen Pobur and Mike
Wright.
Both Mayor Dan Dwyer and
Commissioner Joseph Valenti
opted not to seek re-election to
the commission this year.
Latawiec, a first-time com-
mission candidate, currently
serves on the Plymouth
Historical Museum Board of
Directors and is a past-president
and active member of the
Kiwanis Club of Colonial
Plymouth. He has been a
Plymouth resident for about
seven years. He and his wife,
Kelly, have five children and 10
grandchildren.
See
Safety,
page 6
School millage information forums set
Photo by Don Howard
The City of Westland
has recently begun a
comprehensive makeover
of the city's parks and recreation assets
”
Grants fund improvements to Westland parks
