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Owners of stray dogs picked up in Van
Buren Townshipwill no longer have to drive
to Westland to retrieve their pets which will
nowbe sent to theRomulus Animal Shelter.
Van Buren Township trustees agreed to
the change at the regular meeting earlier
this month. The Romulus service should
save the township about $2,400 a year and
provide good care for the animals, according
to informationpresented at themeeting.
The Van Buren Township shelter was
closed in 2011 and stray pets were transport-
ed to the Westland facility at a cost of $850
monthly. Use of theRomulus Animal Shelter
is priced at $650 each month, accounting for
the annual savings to the township. Romulus
Animal Control Officer Kim Matthews
answered questions from the board mem-
bers and regarding the change in facility and
the services at the Romulus shelter, which
was built almost entirely with donations and
in-kind services fromthe community.
Reggie Miller, a Van Buren Trustee, told
the board members that he toured the
Romulus facility and it was very clean and
had plenty of room to handle the animals
fromthe township.excellent
Miller said she was impressed with how
involved the community is with theRomulus
shelter.
Public Safety Director Greg Laurain, who
recommended the switch to Romulus, told
the board members that the Romulus shel-
ter on Wayne Road is closer and has a 24
hour, 7 day a week operations. He also
reminded the board that the Romulus facili-
ty is eligible for state grants for cooperative
community projects like communities shar-
ing a single animal shelter. The Romulus
shelter currently serves Inkster and Garden
City.
the agreement currently in place with the
Michigan Humane Society requires ade-
quate notice, so the change to Romulus will
become effective Jan. 1.
Matthews invited the public to the
Romulus shelter where, she said, there are
two full and one part-time animal control
officers. She said that the current adoption
procedures in Romulus would be extended
to Van Buren Township animals. The cost to
adopt fromthe shelter is $35.
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EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
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November 27, 2013
B
ELLEVILLE
- R
OMULUS
Van Buren to now use Romulus Animal Shelter facility
Goodfellows seek donations
Teamwork was one of the themes of the
2013 City of Romulus inauguration ceremony
Nov. 20 at theRomulus AthleticCenter.
Ten city officials elected Nov. 5 were for-
mally sworn in by 34th District Court Chief
Judge Tina Brooks-Green, including new
Mayor LeRoy Burcroff, City Clerk Ellen
Craig-Bragg andTreasurer Stacy Paige.
Also sworn in were the seven members of
the City Council: Mayor Pro-Tem John
Barden, Councilwomen Linda Choate,
Celeste Roscoe, Kathleen Abdo and Sylvia
Makowski and Councilmen William
Wadsworth andHarry Crout.
During remarks, many of the elected offi-
cials said working together will help move
the city forward. Burcroff noted that many of
those elected ran together as a team. He
pledged to work “openly and honestly” with
his fellowofficials.
“When you have a plan and get good peo-
ple together, you can get a lot of things done,”
“I want to emulate that at city hall…The cam-
paign is over. Nowwe've got work to do.”
Burcroff told the standing-room-only
crowd that he has hit the ground running and
is in the process of rolling out a 100-day plan.
Among those subjects onBurcroff's agenda:
• Creating and enforcing an ethics ordinance
to restore residents' trust and confidence in
government.
• Improving customer service from the city to
its residents and business people. He said the
city workforce will work with the goal of find-
ingways to provide solutions to needs.
• Appoint community-outreach employees to
assist small groups and individuals in the city.
The goal is to solve problems before they
become bigger problems.
• Involve Romulus people in the “communi-
ty” visioning process of improving the city.
• Work to create opportunities for business
and homes on undeveloped land in the city.
Burcroff said a development teamwill be cre-
ated in city hall to work with developer, work
on planning and demonstrate that Romulus
is “business friendly.”
• Increase parks and recreation sites and
activities. “We need it,” he said. “We need to
give our youthpositive things to do,” he said.
• Expand communications internally for city
employees and externally for residents and
business customers.
The newly elected mayor praised Bearing
Services, his employer for the past 30 years,
for allowing him to grow and help the compa-
ny, to serve the city for the past 16 years as a
commissioner and councilman and then to
campaign to becomemayor.
At Bearing, he said he learned how to put
together a “fundamental business plan.” He
said he would use his business skills to “help
the city, our department heads and our citi-
zensmove forward.”
“I look forward to working for you and
with you,”Burcroff said. “Togetherwe can get
some awesome things done.”
State Rep. Douglas Geiss served as master
of ceremonies during the inauguration event
and members of the Romulus Police
Department Honor Guard presented the col-
ors. Resident Stuart Kerr sang The National
Anthem.
Pastor Bob Harper of Romulus Wesleyan
Church presented the invocation and Pastor
Cindy Gibbs of Community United Methodist
Churchpresented a Scripture reading.
Outgoing veteran Councilman William
Crova and outgoing Mayor Alan Lambert
each presented a farewell address. Aly
Wojtylko presented a special musical rendi-
tion.
The inauguration was videotaped and will
be shown periodically on the City of Romulus
cable channel on Comcast. Photo highlights
of the ceremony can be seen on the city
Facebook page, www.facebook.com/cityofro-
mulus.
Chief Judge at the 34th District Court Tina Brooks-Green officiated at the inauguration of
new officials in Romulus recently. The mayor, city clerk and treasurer were sworn in individu-
ally by Green while the seven city council members took their oath of office as a group.
Officially sworn in are City Treasurer Stacy Paige (left), Councilwoman Sylvia Makowski,
Councilwoman Celeste Roscoe, Mayor Pro-Tem John Barden, City Clerk Ellen Craig-Bragg,
Mayor LeRoy Burcroff, Councilwoman Linda Choate, Councilman Harry Crout,
Councilwoman Kathy Abdo and Councilman William Wadsworth.
New city officials inaugurated in Romulus
Christmas is rapidly approaching, and
members of the Romulus Goodfellows are
hard at work seeking volunteers and finan-
cial support so they can provide for the
needy senior citizens and families of
Romulus.
The Goodfellows are planning their annu-
al Goodfellows paper sale on the streets of
the city on Friday, Dec. 6, and Saturday, Dec.
7. Funds raised go toward their holiday goal
of “NoChildWithout aChristmas.”
The Goodfellows' fundraising efforts pro-
vide the gift of a joyous Christmas to families
with children, many of whomwould not have
had anything on their table or under the
Christmas tree, noted Linda McNeil, a
trustee with the Goodfellows organization in
Romulus.
The Goodfellows date back to 1914 when a
man named Joseph Brady was deeply moved
by a cartoon he saw in The Detroit News.
The drawing by Burt Thomas depicted a
well-to-do gentleman holding gifts for the
poor with one hand along with the ghostly
image of a poor newsboy wearing a shirt that
said “the boy he used to be.”
The group remains under the direction of
Fire Chief David Allison, but has expanded
to include volunteers from various walks of
life. The volunteers stand in some of the
busiest city intersections, seeking donations
from travelers in return for a copy of the
annual full-color holiday publication.
“There is truly nothing more rewarding
than knowing you have provided a Christmas
to a family that would not have had one with-
out the help of the Goodfellows,” said
McNeil, a senior secretary in the City of
Romulus PlanningDepartment.
Donations to the nonprofit organization
can be made by making checks payable to
“RomulusGoodfellows Inc.”
Romulus senior citizens provide dona-
tions of canned goods, presents, scarves,
gloves and hats every year while community
organizations andbusinesses participate.
Residents interested in need of assistance
must apply by Nov. 29. Applications are avail-
able on the city website at
www.romulusgov.com. Questions may be
directed to the Romulus Goodfellows hotline
at (734) 955-4577.