No. 44
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
October 27 - November 3, 2011
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
The Wayne County
Department of Public Health
will offer flu vaccinations for
residents at a clinic in Wayne
to prevent an outbreak of
influenza.
See page 3.
City councilmembers have
approved a $180,000 study to
determine the viability of the
infrastructure of the city-wide
sewer systemto avoid future
breaks andproblems.
See page 4.
Three days before they
leave for New York to march
in the Macy's Thanksgiving
Day Parade, the Plymouth
Canton Marching Band mem-
bers will have one last
fundraiser to help with
expenses.
See page 5.
Organizers of the Northville
Art House Reel Michigan Film
Festival are already planning
a repeat of the event for next
summer and already accepting
originalMichigan filmentries.
See page 5.
The Belleville Historical
Museum is currently prepar-
ing for the 16th Annual
Festival of Holiday Trees and
has changed to new hours
according to director Katie
Dallos.
See page 2.
Vol. 126, No. 44
Vol. 64, No. 44
Vol. 64, No. 44
Vol. 11, No. 44
Vol. 11, No. 44
Vol. 126, No. 44
Vol. 64, No. 44
Vol. 64, No. 44
The City of Inkster has
begun to aggressively market
foreclosed homes and proper-
ties acquired from Wayne
County to get residents back
into the community.
See page 5.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Things will be looking a lot
brighter at The Wayne County
Family Center inWestland this
week, after a paint color
makeover by crews of volun-
teer painting contractors.
See page 3.
The jury is still out on a recent
study of the viability of combin-
ing the courts in Dearborn
Heights, Garden City, Inkster,
Wayne andWestland.
Each of the five communities
has approved paying an equal
portion of the $48,000 fee to hire
a consultant to prepare an analy-
sis and implementation plan for
the consolidation of the district
courts in the five cities, accord-
ing to Westland Mayor William
Wild.
Wild said in a prepared state-
ment that he and 18th District
Court Judge Sandra Cicirelli had
taken part in the ongoing discus-
sions with the district courts and
both recommended approval of
the study expense to members of
the city council.
Wayne Mayor Al Haidous
agreed.
“We know the state is going to
do a study to evaluate the courts.
We just want to be ahead of the
curve and be a part of the deci-
sion. We want to be involved in
the process and do what's in the
best interest of our community,”
he said.
Haidous said he was well
aware that Gov. Rick Snyder has
stated that revenue sharing
funds from the state will be
based, in part, on efforts of local
communities to consolidate serv-
ices and cut expenses.
“We know some judges are
going to be eliminated, we just
want to have our say with the
state,”Haidous said.
He added that several years
ago there was a proposal to com-
bine the Wayne court with
Westland or Plymouth, but offi-
cials were able to get that idea
off the table. “We don't have a
common border with Plymouth,”
he said. “It wasn't good for our
community.”
Wild's statement indicated
that the study the cities are fund-
ing will look at potential cost sav-
ings and implementation costs in
addition to staffing levels, tech-
nology and legal requirements,
among other factors.
“The goal of this study will be
to identify if andhow the consoli-
dation of the local district courts
could have a positive effect on
local budgets,”Wild said.
Haidous said he was most
concerned with not reducing the
quality of service to the commu-
nity.
“I don't know what the state
will decide, but we all want what
is best for the community,”
Haidous said. “We can get a
sense of direction from this
study.”
It's bound to be a 'marvelous'
evening.
Four local women, three from
Inkster and one Westland resident,
will be honored by the community
when the City of Inkster celebrates
the 50th anniversary of the
MarvelettesNov. 11.
Two members of the original
group, the first to ever bring a gold
record to Motown with their rendi-
tion of Mr. Postman, have died, but
three others will be in attendance
for the celebration, along with their
songwriter, GeorgiaDobbins.
Proceeds from the event will be
used for community scholarships,
explained organizer Dee
Richardson, who along with Mayor
Hilliard Hampton and Police Chief
Gregory Gaskin helped bring the
event about.
“It will be a great evening,” she
said. “The Contours will be here,
the Vandellas, and other well
known entertainers will be per-
forming.”
Also expected are Romeo
Phillips and Shirley Sharpley,
teachers from Inkster High School
who encouraged the talent of the
young students in the early 1960s.
“Mr. Phillips was the choir direc-
tor back in the day,” Richardson
said. “He encouraged them and
taught them harmony. And Mrs.
Sharpley, the music teacher, actual-
ly is the one who insisted they go to
Motown. She drove themdowntown
for their first audition.”
Expected at the event are
Inkster residents Juanita Motley,
Wanda Young and Katherine
Anderson-Schaffner, three of the
original five Marvelettes.
Georgeanna Tillman and Gladys
Horton have both died, Richardson
said.
“We want to honor them. They
were a part of the original Motown
sound, and their songs are immedi-
ately recognizable,” she said.
“These are local Inkster people
who made a real mark in the enter-
tainment world.”
The group also earned a gold
record for Don't Mess With Bill,
another songwrittenbyDobbins.
Richardson said that Sandra
Watley, a member of the Watsonia
ParkAssociation, first suggested the
anniversary celebration. One of the
remaining Marvelettes lives in the
neighborhood, and she suggested
the event as a way to bring some
positive energy to the city.
Richardson said she was asked
to help organize the event several
times but felt she was too busy.
Gaskin, she said, finally persuaded
her.
“We've got the Viking Pride
Alumni Club involved in working
on this now, too,” she said. The
scholarships will be available to
anyone who applies, she added,
and will not be limited to Inkster
residents.
Richardson was also recently
informed that producers and a
crew from TV One will be in atten-
dance to videotape the event for the
Unsung programwhich will air at a
later date.
“My understanding is they are
going to do biographies of all of the
Marvelettes and their careers,”
Richardson said.
Tickets are $10 if purchased in
advance and $15 the night of the
event. The celebration and enter-
tainment will begin at 6 p.m. Nov. 11
at Inkster High School in the audi-
torium.
The school is located at 3250
Middlebelt Road.
Advance tickets are on sale now
at the Inkster Public Schools
Administration Building, Cannon's
Inkster location and the Stardust
Lounge, Richardson said.
For more information about the
event, contact Richardson at (734)
595-6593 or B. Cooper at (313) 505-
1140.
A Canton police officer and
two firefighters have joined an
elite group of western Wayne
County officers certified in
SpecialWeapons andTactics.
See page 4.
Canton volunteers
make a difference
We know the state is going to do a study
to evaluate the courts. We just want to be
ahead of the curve and be a part of the decision.
”
Consolidation of 5 local courts studied
Simply ‘Marvel’ous
City to celebrate 50th anniversary of local group
The Marvelettes
There are 35 people inCanton
Township who made a differ-
ence in their community recent-
ly.
The volunteers offered their
time Oct. 15 to help clean and
refurbish historic Kinyon
Cemetery during national Make
ADifferenceDay thismonth.
The effort was coordinated by
Canton Leisure Services as part
of the national day of service and
volunteerism. The estimated
participation in the effort across
the country was about 3 million
volunteers working in their own
local communities, a spokesman
noted.
In Canton, the volunteers
helped clean up the 2-acre ceme-
tery, located on the southeast
corner of Gyde and N. Ridge
These hard-working Make A Difference Day volunteers tackle fallen
leaves that blanketed historic Kinyon Cemetery in Canton Township.
See
Cemetery,
page 4