Page 1 - The Eagle 11 01 12

No. 44

NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST

75¢

November 1 - 7, 2012

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

A State of Michigan grant

will pay for nearly $800,000 in

improvements and equipment

for the newly combined

Wayne-Westland

Fire

Department.

See page 3.

Seventeen families, two

classrooms and more than 30

students have worked for the

past six months to create the

Romulus Elementary School

CommunityGarden

See page 5.

Plymouth High School jun-

ior softball standout Elaine

Gerou signed on to play with

the Lady Cardinals at

Concordia University next

year, one of only three recruits

signed.

See page 4.

Well-known author and

Northville resident Vageehe

Steele who died last May left a

$100,000 endowment to the

Northville Senior Center to

fundprogramming.

See page 2.

The Downtown Develop-

ment Authority will spend

$9,500 for the design of new

signs for the area. The project

will then go out for bid for the

installation of the signs.

See page 2.

Vol. 127, No. 44

Vol. 65, No. 44

Vol. 12, No. 44

Vol. 127, No. 44

Vol. 65, No. 44

This Saturday, Inkster resi-

dents will be provided with

information from several area

agencies about health and

aging during the second annu-

al HealthExpo.

See page 3.

For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.

Allen “Buddy” Shuh, a for-

mer Biggest Loser contestant,

and the owners of several local

businesses are sponsoring a

60-day weight loss challenge

beginning today.

See page 3.

Incumbent Plymouth Township Supervisor

Richard Reaume was caught on camera last

Friday removing the campaign signs of Rita

White, a candidate for Plymouth Township

treasurer.

Reaume was observed by an off-duty police

officer removing the signs from the area of the

Red Olive restaurant on Ann Arbor Road at

about 10 a.m. The officer phoned White who

immediately drove to the restaurant where she

observed the video of Reaume taking her signs

from the grassy area next to the road and

throwing them in a dumpster behind the busi-

nesses.

White said she called Township Clerk Joe

Bridgman on her way to the restaurant to

launch a complaint about Reaume's conduct.

According to the Secretary of State, unautho-

rized removal of campaign signs is a violation

of Michigan Public Act 269 which became

effective in 2002. It is considered a misde-

meanor.

Reaume reportedly had a conversation with

Bridgman when he returned to township hall

regarding White's call. Bridgman reportedly

told the supervisor it was illegal for him to

remove or touch another candidate's signs,

even with the approval of the owner of the

propertywhere the signwas placed.

Reaume, who claimed he had taken the

morning off from his duties at township hall,

then returned to the restaurant area. He said

he called White from the parking lot and dis-

covered she was on the scene. He said their

meeting was cordial and that he retrieved her

signs, and one urging a no vote on Proposal 2,

from the dumpster where he had thrown them

and returned themtoher.

White reportedly filed a complaint with the

Plymouth Township Police Department early

thisweek.

Reaume, a Republican, is seeking re-elec-

tion for a third term as supervisor. He is facing

Richard Sharland who is running as an inde-

pendent candidate.

White, a Democrat, is a former Wayne

County assistant prosecutor. She is campaign-

ing to become township treasurer, opposing

incumbent Ron Edwards who is seeking his

fifth termin the office.

Reaume attempted to deflect criticismof his

actions by noting that White did not obtain per-

mission from the property owner to add her

signs to the large number already at the site.

He said he had previously spoken with the

property owner and knew he would not have

allowed White to put the signs on his property,

which is leased to theRedOlive restaurant.

Canton Township officials

estimate the savings in costs

for snowplowing roads may be

as much as 90 percent after a

decision by the Michigan

Department of Transportation.

See page 4.

On May 31, 1975, Harold

“Buddy” Rice was involved in a

motorcycle accident that broke his

spine and left him paralyzed from

the chest down.

For more than 37 years, Rice

has been wheelchair-bound and

has relied on his wife of 50 years,

Bennara, to help him get in and

out of his house for infrequent

trips. Mostly, he has been home-

bound.

Their lives both changed last

week when volunteers from

UAW/Ford installed a wheelchair

ramp in the backyard of their

home in the 9300 block of

Chamberlain inRomulus.

The winding wooden ramp was

provided at no cost through the

Ray West Memorial Ramp Project,

an effort of United Way for

Southeastern Michigan. The ramp

allows Rice to roll his wheelchair

out of the back door, off the deck

and all the way down to the garage

without assistance.

“We are just so thankful,”

BennaraRice saidThursday as the

ramp neared completion. “I know

our prayers have been answered.”

Bill Helwig, AFL-CIO/United

Way labor liaison and chairman of

the ramp program, said the project

provides wheelchair ramps for

adults and children with physical

disabilities living at or below the

poverty level. The program honors

the late Ray West, a dedicated

labor liaison for the organization.

Helwig said that since the pro-

gram's inception in 1988, more

than 350 of the “best quality”

ramps have been built throughout

Wayne, Oakland and Macomb

counties. More than 200 have been

built in the last eight years. This

was the second ramp installed at a

Romulus home.

“These ramps greatly increase

the recipients' quality of life as

they allow individuals to maintain

an independent lifestyle and have

access to their communities,”

Helwig said.

Each installation takes three or

four days and relies on volunteer

labor to construct the ramp from

start to finish, Helwig said.

Materials are donated from vari-

ous sources, ensuring that there is

no charge to the recipient. The

majority of ramps are built by

labor unions. In this case,

UAW/Ford purchased the materi-

als and supplied the labor.

The ramps remain the property

of the Ray West Memorial Ramp

Project and can be removed and

recycled as the need arises.

Helwig said that because of the

high demand, there is awaiting list

of more than 200 people needing a

ramp. He said the Rices were on

White reportedly filed a complaint

with the Plymouth Township

Police Department early this week.

”

Candidate’s signs removed by supervisor

Ramped up

United Way program provides freedom for homebound resident

Romulus homeowners Bennara and Harold “Buddy” Rice celebrate the

installation of their new ramp with Mayor Alan Lambert, Bill Helwig II

(left), the AFL-CIO Labor Liaison for United Way for Southeastern

Michigan, and officials and volunteers with UAW-Ford who built the

ramp.

It's become as much a holiday

tradition as Santa and candy

canes.

The Annual Northville

Foundation Holiday Home Tour

will take place this year from 10

a.m. until 4 p.m. Nov. 16 and 17

and once again will feature five

privately-owned homes decorat-

ed for theholidays.