A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
October 20, 2016
B
ELLEVILLE
- C
ANTON
- W
ESTLAND
Parkway road beautification under way
Scary ‘Spellbinder’ to spin spooky stories
School board selects candidate to fill vacant term
Streetscape beautification has
already begun along Central City
Parkway inWestland.
The road construction is near-
ly complete in the area between
Ford and Warren roads allowing
workers to begin the streetscape
installation.
The streetscape is part of the
overall plan for the beautifica-
tion of the area. The first phase
of the improvements included a
facelift for the roadway to reme-
dy the deteriorating surface and
provide safer travel, as well as to
provide additional pedestrian
walkways across the roadway.
With this phase coming to a close,
the city has shifted focus to the
streetscape improvements,
according to a prepared release
from the office of Mayor William
Wild.
Plans for the streetscape proj-
ect were prepared by OHM
Advisors after discussions with
city officials and the public were
utilized to define the overall proj-
ect goals and identify community
needs. The plans include more
than 170 trees, a mix of about
1,100 ornamental shrubs, grasses
and perennials, as well as a vari-
ety of additional features used to
create an identity along the cen-
tral corridor of the city.
“It is a very exciting project
for the community, and we
appreciate the opportunity to
continue our relationship in
working with the City of
Westland,” said Ben Weaver, a
landscape architect withOHM.
The Tax Increment Finance
Authority (TIFA) in the city is
overseeing the project. Through
a public bid process completed
last month, TIFA officials select-
ed W.H. Canon Landscape Co. to
complete thework.
W.H. Canon employees began
work Oct. 13. They plan to have
the concrete poured, brick laid,
and the bulk of the trees planted
by mid-December and complete
the balance of plantings and the
detail work next spring.
“We are excited to see this
project come to fruition,” com-
mented Wild. “We worked very
hard to improve safety condi-
tions, beautify the area and listen
to feedback from our residents
onwhat theywould like to see.”
There will be no traffic inter-
ruption during the project. The
street will remain accessible to
vehicular traffic, including emer-
gency vehicles at all times,
according to a spokesman.
The Spellbinder is set to
appear again this year with a
whole new repertoire of
creepy, scary ghost stories for
those brave enough to attend
the evening of spine-tingling
tales.
The Canton Historical
Society will present the 4th
Annual Evening of Ghost
Stories told by 35th District
Court Judge Ronald Lowe
from 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 at the
Cady-Boyer
Barn
in
PreservationPark.
Lowe, known in his avoca-
tion as The Spellbinder, has
been telling scary stories his
entire life and comes from a
family of storytellers. Both his
parents, his aunts and other
members of his family all took
pride in their ability to bring
stories to life.
Lowe became a professional
storyteller more than 25 years
ago when he told his first story
publicly at The Stone Circle in
Elk Rapids. In his profession
as an attorney, Lowe often
incorporated storytelling in his
trial work. At the courthouse,
he often uses it in the corpo-
rate environment to teach from
the bench and in his adminis-
trative capacity.
Lowe has been a long-time
featured storyteller at this
annual event.
The tales, full of ghosts, gob-
lins and all things spooky are
suitable for ages 8 and older
and will take listeners on an
adventure full of frightening
twists and turns and featuring
lots of things that go bump in
the night. The fright level
intensifies as the evening pro-
gresses.
Cider and two donuts are
included with the ticket and
will be available while sup-
plies last.
Tickets are $4 per individ-
ual and can be purchased at
the Summit on the Park, locat-
ed at 46000 Summit Parkway
and at the door. All proceeds
benefit the Canton Historical
Society.
Children must be accompa-
nied by an adult and parents
are responsible for the direct
supervision of their children
during this special event. For
additional information, visit
g. Preservation Park is located
at 500 North Ridge Road in
Canton.
April Crawford was sworn in
during the regular meeting last
week as the newest member of
the Van Buren Public School
Board of Education.
She will fill the incomplete
term of long-time board member
Martha Toth who resigned last
month as she was moving out of
state. That term expires at the
end of this year.
Current members of the
board considered applications
from nine candidates for the
unexpired term of Toth, who
most recently served as vice
president of the board. One of
those applicants, Joseph
Baynesan, expressed his disap-
pointment in not securing the
position and told the board
members that currently there is
a lack of diversity on the panel
and that while there is a large
minority population in the
schools, that demographic is not
represented on the board where
no one of minority descent
serves.
The boardmembersmade the
selection based solely on the
applications submitted by candi-
dates anddidnot interview them
personally before making the
selection. Trustee SherryFrazier
suggested that this made the
selectionmore difficult.
Board members were given
the applications by president
Brent Mikulski and asked to
choose their top three choices,
Crawford was listed by four of
the six board members among
their top three. The board voted
to appoint Crawford to the seat
unanimously based on her cre-
dentials.
Crawford, who was not pres-
ent at the meeting, is a resident
of Van Buren Township and
serves as a Clinical Case
Manager for the Third Judicial
Circuit Court of Michigan Family
Division inDetroit. She earned a
bachelor of arts in social work
and master of arts in Special
Education/MAT with a special-
ization in the Emotionally
Impaired. She and her husband
have three children, two of
whom have graduated from
Belleville High School and a
thirdwho is still a student there.
She is working toward her
state teaching certification.
LOOKING FOR HOUSING???
LOW INCOME PUBLIC HOUSING WAIT LIST ANNOUNCEMENT
The Romulus Housing Commission (RHC), pursuant to HUD regulations,
will open the 1, 2, 3 & 4 bedroom wait lists effective Monday,
November 14, 2016 and will remain open until the date indicated below:
RomulusHousingCommission, 34200BeverlyRoad, Romulus, 48174 (1, 2, 3&4bedroomwait lists)
NOTE: Applications will be distributed on November 14 and 15, 2016 (10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.)
No other applications will be distributed after 5:00 p.m., November 15, 2016.
Applications will only be accepted on November 21 and 22, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
each day. The Romulus Housing Commission 1, 2, 3 & 4 bedroom wait lists will close at
5:00 p.m., November 22, 2016.
No additional Romulus Housing Commission
Applications will be accepted after 5:00 p.m., November 22, 2016 until further notice.
**Income Guidelines Apply**
1 Person 2 Person 3 Person 4 Person 5 Person 6 Person 7 Person 8 Person
Extra Low
14050 16050 20160 24300 28440 32580 36730 40890
Very Low
23450 26800 30150 33450 36150 38850 41500 44200
Income
Low Income
37450 42800 48150 53500 57800 62100 66350 70650
PLEASE NOTE:
Applicants already on waiting lists for other housing programs must apply
separately for this program and such applicants will not lose their place on other waiting list
when they apply for public housing.
For more information, contact the Romulus Housing Commission at (734) 729-5389.
