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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
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ICHIGAN
P
AGE
5
December 26, 2014
N
ORTHVILLE
- W
AYNE
Educational foundation
awards $15,000 in grants
Wayne council members
divide budget negotiations
Wayne City Council names
Miller to fill vacant term
The
Northville
Educational
Foundation awarded grants to 11 teachers
and 12 projects in the district onDec. 8.
According to a spokesman for the foun-
dation, 24 applications for funding were
received.
The applications were reviewed by a
panel of seven judges and then scored
based on their innovation, how they
addressed curriculum standards in the
district, their ability to be replicated, the
number of students impacted and the
goals for the outcome of the project.
The top scores that fit within the
$15,000 budget allocatedwere selected.
Winners included a 3D printer for the
Media Center at the High School; special
technology to assist visually impaired stu-
dents at Cooke School and Northville
High School and pulse monitors to help
physical education students at Silver
Springs understand what it feels like to
exercise at their target heart rate.
“The Northville Educational
Foundation appreciates these teachers
who are willing to go above and beyond to
bring extra programming into their class-
rooms so that their students can better
experience what they are learning in text-
books,” the spokespersonnoted.
The projects will be implemented in
the classrooms beginning second semes-
ter of this school year andwill impact over
4,500 students this year alone. Many of
them will be able to be replicated year
after year, she added.
Divide and conquer seems to be the
strategy employed by members of the
Wayne City Council attempting to come to
grips with the serious budget deficit still
plaguing the community.
The budget was adopted as balanced
but in reality has a shortfall of more than
$500,000. An even larger deficit is predict-
ed for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
While the council members had been
addressing departmental issues at study
sessions, a new approach is now under
way.
Tomaximize their efforts and cut down
on time, individual council members have
been assigned to meet with city depart-
ments to determine any possible financial
reductions.
The plan, reportedly devised by new
Mayor James Hawley and Interim City
Manager David Murphy, will have council
members work with an assigned city
department or service on their depart-
mental portion of the projectedbudget.
CouncilmanSkipMonit isworkingwith
the fire department.
Councilwoman Susan Rowe will work
with the police department to attempt to
find solutions to the budget situation
while Councilman Al Damitio will work
with the finance departments in the city,
preparing a preliminary budget for next
year. Councilman John Rhaesa will work
on economic development in the city.
Councilman David James will work on
public services and related projects,
including the reconstruction of the roof at
Wayne City Hall. Hawley will take on the
parks and recreation budget and services,
including the Wayne Community Center
which has been operating at a loss for
many years.
Anthony Wayne Miller is the newest
member of theWayneCityCouncil.
Miller was appointed to the term vacat-
ed by James Hawley who was chosen to
fill the unexpired term of Mayor Al
Haidous who was elected to the Wayne
CountyCommission.
Miller has lived in Wayne for 26 year
and is currently a producemanager at the
Kroger store at Warren and Middlebelt in
Westland.
"I learned a lot of leadership and com-
munication skills, a lot of people skills,"
Miller said during his interview with cur-
rent council members regarding his
career in the grocery industry. "You have
to have that in a grocery store. I am very
self-motivated, compassionate and have a
strong work ethic." Miller also said he had
been attending city council meetings for
several years and consideredhimself civic
minded. He stressed the importance of
communicating important issues to resi-
dents in terms that were clear and under-
standable.
Councilman SkipMonit made amotion
to table the appointment for another 48
hours which was supported by
Councilman Al Damitio. Both said they
wanted more time to consider the
appointment. After some discussion,
Monit's motion was withdrawn and
Councilwoman Susan Rowe offered a for-
mal motion to appoint Miller. Monit cast
the only vote against the appointment.
Miller will begin his term at the Jan. 6
meeting and serve until the election in
November.
TEN HUT
Wayne Memorial High School ROTC cadets have been named the 2014-2015
Michigan-Wide JROTC Drill Champions. In the two competitions leading to the
championship performance, Wayne narrowly defeated incumbent champions
Lincoln Park at Centerline, and lost to Renaissance at the Grand Rapids
Competition. The same schools finished in the top three, with Wayne Memorial
name the champion this year. The win is Wayne's fifth in 11 years. Cadet
Command Sgt. Major Jesse Medlen's Squad placed first, as did Cadet Major
Nicholas Parraghi's Color Guard. Cadet First Sgt. Brie'Ona Nelson prepared the
first place inspection team, and Cadet Lt. Douglas Chuong's Platoon placed third.
Chuong said, "We had a slow start this year, but our success shows that persever-
ance and practice pay off." The victory gives the team momentum as they look
forward to the Brigade Championship at Fort Knox and the National
Championship in Louisville in the spring noted Cadet 1st Lt. Nicole Rodgers.