A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
November 17, 2011
I
NKSTER
- W
AYNE
- W
ESTLAND
Concert begins church
founding celebration
Mayor blasts busing cuts
St. Mary Catholic Church in Wayne will
begin a year-long celebration of the 150th
anniversary of the church in 1862 with a con-
cert featuring renowned pianist and
Michigan nativeKevin Cole at 7 p.m. Sunday,
Nov. 27 at the church, located at 34530
MichiganAve.
Cole will perform a solo piano program
featuring themusic of GeorgeGershwin. The
concert will also feature the St. Mary Adult
Choir, performing songs from the late 19th
and early 20th centuryAmerican songbook.
The concert is free and open to the public,
but tickets are required. A free-will offering
will be taken at the event, and light refresh-
mentswill follow the performance.
Call the parish office at (734) 721-8745 or
email saintmary150@gmail.com for ticket
information and reservations.
Born in Bay City and a graduate of
Interlochen Arts Academy, Cole is consid-
ered America's foremost interpreter of
Gershwin's music and has performed with
orchestras throughout the country and
around theworld. Noted classical music crit-
ic Howard Reich of the Chicago Tribune
said, “When Cole sits down at the piano, you
would swear Gershwin himself was at work
… Cole stands as the best Gershwin pianist
in America today.” In addition to his piano
virtuosity, Cole is also an acclaimed musical
director, arranger, composer, vocalist and
archivist. He also has released four compact
discs featuring selections from George
Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and Christmas holi-
day vocal and instrumental favorites.
The observance of St. Mary's 150th
Anniversary will feature a variety of events,
including special masses, dinners, dances,
school reunions, the parishpicnic andmore.
Full details of the events are on the parish
websitewww.stmarywayne.org.
The proposed route cuts proposed for
the SMART system have prompted hun-
dreds of calls to Westland Mayor WilliamR.
Wild's office, he said.
With a growing deficit and labor negotia-
tions at a stalemate, SMART officials are
looking at the possibility of reducing hours
of service, and the total elimination of some
routes with less frequent stops. Several of
the routes in question run through
Westland, Wild said, specifically, routes 245,
250, 265.
Based on data from a 2010-11 survey of
bus riders by the Southeastern Michigan
Council of Governments (SEMCOG), on a
typical weekday approximately 1,500 pas-
sengers utilize SMART to and from
Westland. Of these, 62 percent are commute
trips. About 80 percent of these riders use
the SMART system three to seven days per
week. According to the survey, these num-
bers are typical of what is seen in most
SMARTcommunities,Wild added.
"These bus route cuts are not SMART for
the City of Westland. We've worked hard to
create more green options that are conven-
ient and enhance the mobility of our citi-
zens, and these cuts will hurt people and
the environment," Wild said. "I hope the
many issues that have caused the elimina-
tion of these routes can be resolved in a
timely and efficientmanner."
Wild urged citizens affected by the pro-
posed route changes to take the opportunity
to email complaints to publichearing@
smartbus.org.
Due to a computer error, the voting totals
in the election for an Inkster City
Councilman from District Two were
reversed.
Incumbent, Marcus Hendricks received a
total of 1,667 votes, while his opponent,
CurtiseneBarge received 1,065 votes.
A computer glitch reversed the total votes
of the candidates.
The Wayne County Election Committee
was expected to verify the results of the city
wide election this week, after a delay with a
voting machine in District One required the
hand-counting of some votes, according to
Hendricks.
Associated Newspapers regrets the error
and any misinformation or misunderstand-
ing itmay have caused.
Corrected vote tally approved
Strong finish
After two heartbreaking runner-up finishes, the Wayne Junior Reserve Officers Training
Corps (ROTC) ROTC Raider team rested, regrouped and retrained to meet the chal-
lenge of the National Raider Competition in Molena, GA. The cadets stepped up and
demonstrated what it means to have Wayne Pride, noted Steven E. La Haine, the sen-
ior army instructor at Wayne Memorial High School. The Raiders placed fifth in the 5
kilometer team run, the fitness test, and the Gauntlet (A 1.5 mile uphill road march with
rucksacks over rough terrain). They finished in the top six of the 1,650 troops nation-
wide for the fifth consecutive year. Participating students included: Aimee
Papineau,Brian Browning, Isabelle Letts, Stephanie Hyams, Jillian Matheson, Elysia
Decker, Zachary Woodworth, Marcus Jordan, Anthony Hardesty, Devin Person, Dionte
Burton and Darrin Hombirg.