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No. 50
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
December 19 – 25, 2013
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
Following interviews of two
potential candidates for the
job of Wayne city manager last
Saturday, members of the city
council opted to continue the
search.
See page 7.
The members of Romulus
Boy Scout Troop 872 donated
dozens of brand new toys to
the Helping Hand Thrift Shop
for distribution to needy chil-
dren at Christmas time
See page 5.
Three Plymouth Township
police officers on paid admin-
istrative leave since October
have yet to be charged with
wrongdoing or crimes.
See page 3.
The 3rd Annual Northville
Educational Foundation
Thanks for Giving campaign
will continue through Jan. 31.
See page 6.
Van Buren Township resi-
dents will be paying 2-percent
more for water and sewer
services next year following a
6-1 vote of the townshipboard..
See page 6.
Vol. 128, No. 50
Vol. 66, No. 50
Vol. 66, No. 50
Vol. 13, No. 50
Vol. 128, No. 50
Vol. 66, No. 50
Vol. 66, No. 50
McDonald's restaurant
owner Jon Campbell donated
300 breakfast meals last
Saturday to clients of Starfish
Family Services.
See page 5.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Students from St. John's
School in Westland helped
deliver 125 boxes of food they
had packaged for homeless
veterans to the Veteran's
Administration Healthcare
System.
See page 7.
The Summit on the Park
and the Canton Public Library
will be open during inclement
weather as warming stations,
according to the public safety
department.
See page 4.
Vol. 13, No. 50
Committee members from the
Plymouth Arts and Recreation
Complex (PARC) and numerous
community residents attended the
township board meeting last week
to again ask the Plymouth
Township Board of Trustees to
participate in a feasibility study to
save CentralMiddleSchool.
Members of the Plymouth
Preservation committee, Women's
League of Voters, Plymouth
Steeler Junior Football League,
Plymouth Arts Council, teachers
from Central Middle School, city
and township residents alike lined
up behind the podium to speak
during the public comments sec-
tion of themeeting.
The diverse group of about a
dozen residents asked for town-
ship officials to re-think the
options available for a recreation
complex at the site of the Central
Middle School and to consider the
city and the township as one com-
munity supporting the project.
When one committee member
asked for answers directly from
board members, Supervisor
Richard Reaume immediately
rappedhis gavel.
“You're out of order,” he told
Deb Madonna as she attempted to
See
Plan,
page 2
Inkster officials including City
Manager Richard Marsh and Chief
of Police Hilton Napoleon were on
hand along with Wayne County
Sheriff BennyNapoleon, andmem-
bers of the Michigan State Police
last week to announce new part-
nerships and policing initiatives
targeting the Inkster community.
The officials made the announce-
ment in the parking lot of the
Inkster Town Center located on the
south west corner of Michigan
Avenue and InksterRoad.
“While budget issues have had
an impact on all city services, it
continues to be our responsibility
to serve and protect the citizens,
visitors, and business owners of
this community. With these new
partnerships, and innovative initia-
tives, we will be able to better do
that, as well as provide a higher
police visibility, and maintain a
faster police response time for
those who call for police service. I
am excited and grateful that the
Wayne County Sheriff and the
Michigan State Police are provid-
ing these resources to our commu-
nity,” noted Inkster ChiefNapoleon
“I am committed to providing
the best services possible to resi-
dents of this city. I realize the need
to work together and partner with
other entities and we are moving
Weeks after a study session
devoted to the topic, the issue of a
general fund subsidy for the
Romulus Athletic Center (RAC)
caused some concern among
some local residents.
The Romulus City Council
voted unanimously to transfer
$350,000 from the general fund in
this fiscal year andnext fiscal year
to the RAC to keep it compliant
with the Deficit Elimination Plan
filed in 2009.
The transfers were necessary
due to a couple of large, unexpect-
ed maintenance items coupled
with a reduction of funding from
the Tax Increment Financing
Authority (TIFA) that had com-
bined to create a $572,000 budget
shortfall for the RAC this year,
officials said.
“This deficit was not caused by
mismanagement,”
said
Councilwoman Kathleen Abdo,
who added that she had received
several phone calls fromresidents
suggesting that. “It was a combina-
tion of things. The RAC needed
numerous repairs that were unex-
pected.” The center also lost city
funding when the city stopped
running some recreation pro-
grams through it.
The RAC opened in 2008 and
has not yet been fiscally solvent.
The Deficit Elimination Plan filed
in 2009 saw it climbing into the
black by the end of fiscal year 2014
through a combination of cost-cut-
ting measures and increases in
memberships and other revenues.
The deficit had been steadily
going down about $40,000 annual-
ly until 2013, when more than
$130,000 in repairs were needed
I'll probably never speak again
at a township meeting. I just can't believe
the kind of response I received.
”
I am committed to providing
the best services possible
to residents of this city.
”
See
Funds,
page 2
See
Patrols,
page 5
Township remains cool to Central school plan
Wayne County Sheriff, state police will patrol in Inkster
Subsidy to Romulus Athletic Center OK’d by council
Jack Frost is about to find out
just how tough, and generous,
runners canbe.
Three avid runners, Nick
Allen, Charlie Stamboulian and
Kyle Meteyer are organizing the
Rock the Clock 5K run through
downtown Plymouth planned for
Dec. 29.
The run will benefit the
Michigan Diabetes Children's
Association (MIDICHA) camp in
Fenton, which provides typical
summer activities for children,
but is designed to help thosewith
Type I diabetes. Children who
attend the camp are also coun-
seled about nutrition and how to
handle their diabetes effectively.
Meteyer's brother, Gerad, who
suffered from Type I diabetes,
attended the camp as a child and
worked as a counselor there as
an adult until his death from a
lowblood sugar incident in 2007.
"It was his home away from
home,"Meteyer said.
Following Gerad's death at 34,
his family established a charity
in his memory that provides
scholarships for underprivileged
diabetic youths to attend Camp
Midicha. The Gerad Meteyer
Foundation is a 501(c)3 IRS-regis-
tered charity.
To help fund the charity, Allen,
a 1999 graduate of Plymouth
Salem High School and a former
All-American Cross Country run-
ner at Wayne State University,
and Stamboulian, a high school
classmate of Meteyer's and also a
former Wayne State University
Cross Country runner, decided a
race under less than ideal weath-
er conditions might appeal to
runners.
The pair claim that navigating
the elements is one of the "cool"
parts of the race as they have
designed it.
"Almost anyone can run a 5K
in the summer, but the real chal-
lenge is standing up to Jack Frost
and saying, 'I am going to be fit
and finish this race, no matter
what!'" the pair said.
All the entry fees and other
proceeds from the Rock the
Clock race will be donated to the
GeradMeteyerFoundation.
The men have secured a num-
ber of local sponsors, including
Kilwin's of Plymouth, Running
Fit, Faurecia International, Tri-
covery Massage and Fitness of
Novi, Sun Heating and Air
Conditioning, Sideways of
Plymouth, Jimmy Johns, Dunkin'
Donuts, Sun and Snow Sports of
Plymouth, and Greek Islands
Restaurant of Plymouth.
Stamboulian and Allen have
invested hundreds of hours into
organizing the event, Meteyer
said, having to recruit sponsors,
secure permits, enlist partici-
pants, plot out a course, find vol-
unteers and all the other chal-
lenges of planning a 5K by them-
selves.
"The hope is that on race day,
participants can enjoy them-
selves with a walk or run through
the brisk December weather,"
Meteyer, whowas the head coach
of the Salem High School track
teamfor seven years, said.
Race registration is available
at rocktheclockrun.com. There
are prizes for each different age
group, from youth up to senior
citizens, and people may walk or
run. The race begins and ends at
Kellogg Park in the heart of
downtown and Kilwin's is provid-
ing gourmet hot chocolate for
participants, Meteyer, who now
teaches English at Salem High
School, said.
"There will be a warming tent,
too," he added.
Meteyer said the event is all
for a good cause and if 1,000 run-
ners participate, it will mean sev-
eral dozen scholarships for chil-
dren to attendCampMidicha.
"If we can positively affect just
one youth who is struggling with
physical or emotional issues
related to his or her Type I
Diabetes, then we've achieved
our goal," he said.
Nick Allen and Charlie Stamboulian, both avid runners, are organiz-
ing the Rock the Clock race through downtown Plymouth Dec. 29.
Gerad Meteyer
Rock the Clock
Race will benefit foundation
to help children with diabetes