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No. 49
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
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December 11–17, 2014
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
Employees in Wayne City
Hall are being moved to
Vandenberg Elementary
School while necessary
repairs are being made to
the city hall roof.
See page 3.
The City of Romulus
entered into a grant agree-
ment Monday night that
could bring new equipment
and provide training for five
fire department officials at a
reduced cost.
See page 5.
To encourage donations,
the Salvation Army Red
Kettle Campaign has come
up with bell ringing competi-
tions this year for volunteers.
See page 5.
Northville High School
history teacher Joe Cislo
joined an elite group of edu-
cators last week when he
was awarded a statehonor.
See page 2.
The Van Buren Township
Department of Public Safety
is continuing an investiga-
tion into an attempted child
abduction reported last
Wednesday, Dec. 3.
See page 5.
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Vol. 67, No. 49
Vol. 67, No. 49
Vol. 14, No. 49
Vol. 129, No. 49
Vol. 67, No. 49
Vol. 67, No. 49
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Wayne County Parks and
the Friends of Nankin Mills
will host the annual Family
Holiday Fest and Mill
Lighting from 3:30-5:15 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 13.
See page 3.
The 44,000 square-foot
expansion of the IKEA store
in Canton will include 40,000
square feet of solar panels
on the roof.
See page 2.
Vol. 14, No. 49
Officials in the City of
Inkster approved final allo-
cations for the $220,347 fund-
ing received through the
Wayne County Community
Development Block Grant
Program.
See page 3.
Supporters and organizers of
the recall effort against four
Plymouth Township elected offi-
cials met some strong tactics
from the opposition last week as
they gathered for their first pub-
lic organizationalmeeting.
Several
residents
in
Plymouth Township reported
receiving anonymous ROBO
calls with a recording that
claimed the grassroots citizen's
activist group attempting to
recall four township officials, “is
a movement to raise our taxes
by over $40 million.” The
recording also claimed that the
recall group is an effort to “build
a performing arts center,” a
claim that the group soundly
denies and cites as blatantly
untrue.
Organizers said the reasons
for the recall have nothing to do
with any proposed recreation
center and are based solely on
the performance of the four tar-
geted officials: Township
Supervisor Richard Reaume,
Township
Clerk
Nancy
Conzelman, Treasurer Ron
Edwards and Trustee Kay
Arnold.
Sandy Groth of the Plymouth
Township United Citizens group
said, “They are lies intended to
exploit, manipulate and scare
the weakest among us; most
notably our senior citizens.”
Groth said the $40 million men-
tioned in the ROBO call was a
cost for the PARC recreation
project (Plymouth Arts and
Recreation Complex). “People
wanted a feasibility study for a
TheCity of Romuluswill start
theNewYearwitha newvision.
Members of the city council
will meet in a study session at 6
p.m. Jan. 5 to discuss the results
of the Envision Romulus vision-
ing plan process that took place
this the summer.
“This is the first public pres-
entation since we've approved
the vision process,” said Mayor
Leroy Burcroff. “From there
we'll be taking it out and intro-
ducing the data schools and
other community groups.”
He said other Romulus
boards like the planning com-
mission, recreation commission,
Tax Increment Financing
Authority (TIFA) and more
would be invited to the 90-
minute study session, aswell.
Burcroff proposed the
Envision Romulus process in
May, and the city scheduled
meetings during the summer,
gathering input from residents,
business people, school officials,
civic leaders and others in order
to help shape the future of
Romulus. The Envision
Romulus plan includes ideas on
planning, land use and policy in
the city.
“I've been passionate that we
need a vision to help plan our
community's future,” said
Burcroff. “It's so important to get
everybody included in the
process of shaping the commu-
nity.”
Throughout the process,
Orchard, Hilz and McClement
(OHM) the firm contracted to
work with the city on the plan,
gathered information fromprior
planning studies, the U.S.
Census, mapping sources and
community meetings and
forums. OHMalso surveyed peo-
ple inside and outside of
Romulus to gauge the reputa-
tion of the city, strengths, weak-
nesses and opportunities.
Residents were asked about
their ideas for the future and
what kind of community did
theywant to live orwork in.
“This will influence our mas-
ter plan, our recreation plan
and our capital improvement
plan,” Burcroff said. “This will
be our vision of where our city
wants to go.”
Those who drafted the new
ward or precinct voting charter
amendment in the City of Wayne
will be asked to make their
intentions clear in an effort to
implement the new procedures
recently approvedby voters.
Voters approved the new vot-
ing system along with term lim-
its on elected officials in
November, but City Clerk
Matthew Miller has notified
members of the city council that
he needs more information to
implement the new plan. Miller
also proposed the hiring of a
consultant from GIS Capability
to help correctly configure the
seven voting precincts and six
wards in accordance with state
election laws. Miller said that
the state requires the wards be
contiguous and have no more
than 3,000 voters. Miller said
that the number of residences in
a district isn't always indicative
of the number of voters. He said
changing a precinct boundary
can have a huge impact on the
number of voters in a district.
See
Voting,
page 3
”
This is the first public
presentation since we've
approved the vision process.
”
They are lies intended to exploit,
manipulate and scare the weakest among us;
most notably our senior citizens.
See
Group,
page 5
‘Intent’ of new ward voting to be probed in Wayne
Officials to discuss ‘Envision Romulus’ survey results
Recall group calls opposition tactics illegal
Don Howard
Staff Writer
In the family
Volunteers mark 25
years with foundation
Community service is a family affair for
one long-time Plymouth/Canton family cel-
ebrating a quarter century of involvement
with theCantonCommunityFoundation.
Paul Denski recalled that he was first
approached about helping the fledgling
Canton Foundation back in 1989 by a
board member. The foundation was in the
infancy of the organization and looking for
people who would dedicate time to help-
ing the community.
“Reluctantly, I attended a meeting and
found out what makes a community: car-
ing people with a common commitment to
help in any way the place that they call
home,” said Denski. “We all shared our
concerns and what we thought were the
things we could do to enhance the place
we live. I couldn't help but be drawn to the
causes that everyone agreed needed to be
addressed.”
As the foundation celebrates 25 years in
the community, Denski is still amember of
the board of directors and still active in
helping make a difference in the commu-
nity. “It has been a pleasure to meet and
work with the leaders in the community
that went out of their way to help in ways I
never could have dreamed when I first
joinedCCF,” saidDenski.
Denski and his wife, Kathy, have com-
mitted themselves to giving back to the
community during the past quarter centu-
ry. Not only have they made that personal
commitment, but they have passed that on
to their three children.
In 2003, the couple established The
Denski Family ScholarshipFund.
“The decision behind why our family
chose to create the scholarship fund came
easy,” said Paul Denski. “Our daughters
were both active as cheerleaders when
they attended Plymouth/Canton High
School. During their four years of dedica-
tion to the sport we were given a full per-
spective of how big the commitment to the
sport of cheerleading truly was. With the
creation of The Denski Family
Scholarship we can help give other cheer-
leader athletes the opportunity to be rec-
ognized for the hard work they put forth
when participating in the sport of cheer-
leading, as well as their commitment to
their academics and their intention to
help others in their community.”
Today, volunteering with the Canton
Community Foundation is a family affair.
The Denskis recently recruited their chil-
dren to join committees at the foundation.
“When my wonderful father volun-
teered me for this year's Foundation Golf
Committee, I thought, 'How am I ever
going to fit this intomy already busy sched-
ule?,'” said Denski's son, also named Paul.
“But being involved, and the fact that they
were willing to work around my schedule,
I enjoyed it very much and can't wait until
next year!”
Along with young Paul being on the
Golf Committee, daughter Kendall, a
kindergarten teacher, was a perfect match
for this year's Scholarship Committee, and
daughter, Eren, a Special Events Manager,
serves on theEvents Committee.
The whole family is pulling out all the
stops this year and Paul and Kathy have
been named co-chairs for the upcoming
25th Anniversary Gala, which is planned
for the Henry Ford Museum on March 7,
2015.
“I know my life has been enhanced by
just being a part of the foundation, and I
am proud to have been able to help others
as part of this organization,” Paul Denski
said.
For more information about creating a
fund at the Canton Community
Foundation, contact Beth Meade at (734)
495-1200 or email atbmeade@cantonfoun-
dation.org.
Active community philanthropists Paul and Kathy Denski (center) surrounded by their
son, Paul M., at left, daughter-in-law Megan, Paul W. Jr., Kathy, son-in-law, John Schultz
and twin daughters, Kendall and Eren.