No. 3
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
Jan. 19 – 25, 2017
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
Wayne
County
Commissioner Abdul "Al"
Haidous took the oath of
office from Van Buren
Township Supervisor Kevin
McNamara at the Jan. 5 com-
missionmeeting.
See page 4.
The Northville communi-
ty is mourning the death of
long-time educator Dave
Longridge, 83, who spent
nearly 40 years with the
Northville Public Schools
District.
See page 5.
Vol. 132, No. 3
Vol. 70, No. 3
Vol. 70, No. 3
Vol. 17, No. 3
During the holidays, com-
munity members from
around Romulus came
together to raise money and
find resources to help a vet-
eran andhis family inneed.
See page 2.
Vol. 132, No. 3
Vol. 70, No. 3
Vol. 70, No. 3
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
The City of Westland is
seeking applicants to fill
vacant positions on the nine-
member volunteer Westland
Historical Commission.
See page 4.
Bridget DianCaplin, a for-
mer teacher's aide at East
Middle School, will serve
two years probation as a
result of her relationship
with twounderage students.
See page 3.
Vol. 17, No. 3
The Inkster Police
Athletic Activities (PAL)
League is hosting a kick off
fundraising dinner from 6-9
p.m. tonight at the Booker T.
DozierRecreationComplex.
See page 5.
Wayne
County
Commissioner
Joseph
Barone
(R-Plymouth
Township) took his oath of
office from his daughters,
Olivia and Isabelle Barone,
Jan. 5.
See page 3.
A plan to move the kiddie
rides to downtown Belleville
during the Strawberry
Festival drew sharp criticism
from the St. Anthony's
Festival Chairperson Sharon
Pokerwinski.
See page 2.
Members of the Wayne City
Council have temporarily post-
poned the implementation of
cuts to retiree health care bene-
fits although adoption of the
delay has apparently prompted
some confusion among oppo-
nents of themeasure.
The issue of cuts to benefits
for retirees has been a topic of
discussion and comment at reg-
ular city council meetings for
several weeks. The city first
implemented a new system last
year whereby the retirees were
required to pay 70 percent of
health care premiums while the
city paid 30 percent, a sharp
reduction in benefits about 250
city retirees hadbeen receiving.
The most recent plan cuts
benefits even more sharply by
providing each retiree a month-
ly “stipend” with which they can
purchase health insurance inde-
pendently in the marketplace.
Under the stipend plan, origi-
nally approved by members of
the city council in December,
the plan will provide retires 65
and older with $110 monthly to
pay for health insurance while
those younger than 65 and single
will receive $175 monthly.
Couples will be allocated $400 a
month for health insurance pre-
miums and a family will receive
a $485monthly stipend.
Proponents of the plan
including Mayor Susan Rowe
and City Manager Lisa Nocerini
said that the new plan would
save the city about $805,065
annually. The city currently
faces a $1.5 million deficit and
has been notified that it will be
out of cash by the end of this
year.
The stipend plan effectively
voided the retirement agree-
ments employees from the fire,
police, DPW, clerical and even
administrative departments and
would have become effective
thismonth.
A motion was introduced by
Councilman Chris Sanders to
delay the implementation of the
new stipend system and return
retiree health insurance bene-
fits to the 2016 level for 6months
until the city and a retiree com-
mittee reach an understanding
or agreement on the issue was
proposed at the regular city
council meeting two weeks ago.
The motion for a delay of imple-
mentation of the stipend plan
was approved by a 4-3 roll call
vote of the council with Rowe,
Councilman John Rhaesa and
Councilman Tom Porter voting
no while Sanders, and council-
men Anthony Miller, Ryan
Gabriel and Richard Sutton cast
the yes votes, delaying the
stipendplan.
Rowe called an “emergency
meeting” of the council mem-
bers last week to discuss the sit-
uation and any confusion about
the previous resolution to delay
the stipend plan. All four of the
council members who approved
See
Retirees,
page 4
After only three weeks in
office, newly-elected officials in
Plymouth Township are bracing
for what they say will be a diffi-
cult task in bringing township
records up to date and into com-
pliance with acceptable govern-
ment financial standards.
At the meeting of the board of
trustees last week, Treasurer
Mark Clinton recommended the
township engage a professional
accounting firm to provide addi-
tional services in the creation
and recording of past business
transactions. Clinton said the
extra consulting services were
necessary for the timely submis-
sion of the 2016 state audit.
Clinton expressed his serious
concern regarding the state of
records in the township and pro-
posed a resolution to seek addi-
tional professional assistance
from Plante Moran, the outside
auditing and accounting firm
usedby the township.
“I think everyone here is
aware that we went through a
painful audit. I'm very con-
cerned that we are going to run
into a problem in 2017,” Clinton
told the boardmembers.
Clinton said that his office
and staff are continuing to cor-
rect problems from last year and
that bank reconciliations have
not been completed since
March, 2016. Clinton said he is
working closely with Township
Clerk Jerry Vorva on reconcilia-
tion problems with the General
Ledger, where there was not a
clear separation of responsibili-
ty between the clerk and the
treasurer's office.
One example Clinton cited
was an unexplained overpay-
ment to Schoolcraft College in
the amount of $188,000. Another
was the return of $58,000 from
the Municipal Employees
Retirement System (MERS) for
unearned employee contribu-
tions, something that would have
We have to get through 20 years of dysfunction
in this building. Time is of essence, our accounting
practices are a mess-I'd like to move on.
”
Officials vow to correct financial shambles
It's a bad deal for everybody
but hard decisions have to be made.
We just don't have to be
hard people in making them.
”
Cuts to retiree health delayed in Wayne
A Plymouth kindergarten teacher
known for creating engaging, hands-on
lessons to make learning fun for her stu-
dents and for involving parents in their
children's education has been honored
with an Excellence in Education award
from the Michigan Lottery. The award
winner, Julie Dillon, teaches kinder-
garten at Isbister Elementary in
Plymouth. The school is part of the
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools
District.
The Michigan Lottery established the
Excellence in Education awards in 2014
to recognize outstanding public school
educators across the state during the
school year.
Winners of the weekly award receive a
plaque, a $500 cash prize, and a $500
grant to their classroom, school or school
district. One of the weekly winners will
be selected as the Educator of the Year
and will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Each winner also is featured in a news
segment on the Lottery's media partner
stations: WXYZ-TV in Detroit, FOX 17 in
Grand Rapids, and FOX 47 in Lansing.
For the Excellence in Education awards
program, the Lottery has teamed up with
Michigan State University basketball
coach Tom Izzo, who recently presented
Dillon with the award at the Breslin
Center.
“My love of kids attracted me to a
career in education. Their smiles melt
my heart,”Dillon said. “I amthe youngest
of nine children and since I can remem-
ber, I havewanted to be a teacher.”
Dillon said her favorite part of being
an educator is “building relationships
with my students and their families and
together seeing the progress each child
makes.”
Two parents nominated Dillon for the
Excellence in Education award with one
saying: “Julie Dillon personifies excel-
lence, dedication, and commitment in an
educator.”
“You can see how her positive energy,
enthusiasm, and efforts help students
make connections, both academically and
socially. At the first sign that a student is
struggling, she identifies how to work
with that student to encourage their suc-
cess. She genuinely wants each of her
kindergarteners to flourish!
“She's also in constant communication
with parents, making kindergarten an
exciting family experience. Mrs. Dillon
always goes above and beyond to make
sure her students (and their parents) have
a successful and memorable kinder-
garten year.”
The other nomination noted that
Dillon “makes learning come alive in her
classroom on a daily basis with fun,
engaging and hands-on activities. She
spends time outside of the classroomwith
her students too, meeting them for hot
cocoa at thePlymouth IceFestival or for a
pizza lunch to celebrate great reading
throughBook-It!
“She also attends school functions
such asmovie night, skate night, and liter-
acy night. She spends countless hours
preparing learning activities for her stu-
dents. She has fantastic communication
with parents through texts, emails, and
newsletters and provides many ways we
can support our children's education at
home.”
Dillon has earned degrees from
Michigan State University, Eastern
Michigan University, and Marygrove
College. She has been an educator for 22
years, all with the Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools. Outstanding public
school educators may be nominated for
an Excellence in Education award at
or
through the websites of the Lottery's
media partner stations.
High marks
Local teacher honored
with excellence award
Julie Dillon poses for a photo with her husband, Jim, after accepting her Excellence in
Education award from Michigan State University basketball coach Tom Izzo.
See
Records,
page 3
Don Howard
Staff Writer
