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No. 24
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
June 13 – 19, 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
Wayne officials celebrated
the completion of a $1.14 mil-
lion project last week that
allows access down the Rouge
River underWayneRoad.
See page 5.
The Romulus Rotary Club
received the Greater Romulus
Chamber of Commerce
President's Member of the
MonthAward for June.
See page 2.
Several residents of Rolling
Oaks subdivision in Plymouth
Township remain unhappy
with the appearance, construc-
tion and safety standards of
Plymouth Scholars Charter
Academy.
See page 3.
Students and faculty at
Amerman Elementary School
in Northville are especially
happy on days when the sun is
shining brightly. They take real
power fromit.
See page 4.
The skies over Beck Fields
in Van Buren Townshipwill be
filled with brightly colored
explosions June 29 when the
annual fireworks display
returns.
See page 4.
Vol. 128, No. 24
Vol. 66, No. 24
Vol. 66, No. 24
Vol. 13, No. 24
Vol. 128, No. 24
Vol. 66, No. 24
Vol. 66, No. 24
Inkster police officers dis-
covered the bullet-riddled
body of a 46-year-old resident
just after midnight Sunday in
the area of Rosewood and
Eastern.
See page 5.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Local privy historian Tony
Panepucci will lead an archeo-
logical dig behind the 1830s
Miller's House at Nankin Mills
Saturday.
See page 5.
Canton police are searching
for the suspect in the armed
robbery of a 7-11 store located
at 43340 Warren Road on May
28.
See page 3.
Vol. 13, No. 24
The body of 40-year-old Van
Buren resident Demont Harris
was pulled from Belleville Lake
by members of the Van Buren
Dive Team at about 8:05 p.m.
Saturday.
The rescue workers were dis-
patched to the lake after a 5:27
p.m. emergency call to the Van
Buren Township Public Safety
Department from a boater on the
lake. The witness told police that
a boat occupied by two men had
capsized on the south side of the
lake, in the area of Huron River
Drive andMartinsvilleRoad.
The witness told the dispatcher
that one of the men from the boat
was safe on the shore but the sec-
ond occupant of the boat had not
reappeared, according to police
reports of the incident.
The Van Buren Township
Communications Division verified
the exact location of the incident
and dispatched police units, fire
apparatus, the Van Buren
Township Marine Division, the
Wayne County Sheriff Marine
Division, the Van Buren Township
Dive Team and Huron Valley
Ambulance to the location, police
reports said.
Police officersworkingwith the
two police boats on the scene
were able to establish the area
where the capsized boat had last
been seen and the Van Buren and
Wayne County dive teams initiat-
ed rescue operations at 5:57 p.m.,
according to police reports. Mr.
Harris' body was located in 19 feet
of water, about 100 feet from shore
after about two hours, reports stat-
ed.
Police said that the prelimi-
nary investigation of the incident
indicates that the boat fromwhich
Mr. Harris was fishing capsized
after taking onwater.
The Van Buren Township
Investigations Division is continu-
ing an investigation into the inci-
dent and is awaiting information
from the Wayne County Medical
Examiner related to the death.
Police said alcohol does not
appear to have been a factor in
the case.
Anyone having information
about this incident is asked to con-
tact the Van Buren Township
Police Department at (734) 699-
8930.
Michigan State Police Fire
Marshal's office will continue to
investigate the cause of an early
morning fire Sunday at the down-
town Plymouth Fire Stationwhere
damage was estimated to be more
than $500,000.
The fire was reportedly con-
tained to the apparatus bay,
attached to both the police station
and city hall. A newer model
Piercemini-pumper fire truckwas
destroyed and structural damage
reported to the building, which
was remodeled recently. City of
Northville Fire Chief Jim Allen
said that the fire may have started
inside the fire truck, but no defini-
tive cause would be established
until the state investigation is com-
plete in about twoweeks.
According to Plymouth City
Manager Paul Sincock, officers
from the adjoining police depart-
ment smelled smoke about 4 a.m.
and went into the fire department
area to investigate. The officers
reported that the building was
filled with heavy, black roiling
smoke and immediately called the
City of Northville Fire
Department which handles fire
emergencies in the City of
Plymouth. The City of Plymouth
ended a joint fire agreement with
Plymouth Township in January
last year and entered an agree-
ment with the on-call City of
Northville Fire Department to
handle fire emergencies.
On-call Northville department
personnel responded but deter-
mined that the actual apparatus
necessary to extinguish the blaze
was trapped inside the burning
building. Northville city firefight-
ers called Plymouth Township for
help and all four of the township
firefighters on duty immediately
responded.
Plymouth Township firefighters
were able to bring the fire under
control without calling for mutual
aid from surrounding communi-
ties. Northville on-call staff had
already removed an ambulance
and put a pumper truck removed
from the building into service to
fight the fire.
While waiting for help from
Plymouth Township, the on-call
Northville responders entered the
smoke-filled garage, without safety
gear, and managed to recover one
of the three parked fire vehicles.
Volunteers and on-call firefighters
were observed making several
trips in and out of the fire-filled
building, without any protective
gear or breathing apparatus by
witnesses.
Sincock agreed with Allen that
it appeared that the fire had start-
ed in the engine area of the fire
truck.
LuAnne DeBeliso, who lives
The Canton Liberty Fest will
again host an International
Festival from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 15, at theHeritage
ParkAmphitheater.
Festival-goers can stop by the
amphitheater stage to enjoy
music and dance that communi-
cates across cultural and linguis-
tic barriers from countries across
the globe, including: Bulgaria;
China; India; Sri Lanka; Africa;
Ireland; Spain; the United
States; Scotland; Tahiti; New
Zealand; South Korean; and
Polynesia.
“Our International Festival is
a great opportunity for audience
members to experience music
and dance fromaround the globe
in one centralized location,” said
Canton Arts Coordinator
Jennifer Tobin. “Audiences will
be delighted as the stage comes
alive with colorful costuming,
exotic instruments and stirring
rhythms when these talented
individuals share their heritage
and some traditions that date
back centuries.”
Performers expected to take
the stage, include sopranos Sonja
Srinivasan and Corinthia Sims
and baritone Benton DeGroot of
the Verdi Opera Theatre of
Michigan. They will perform
from 3:30 - 4 p.m. Other acts
include: Ealain Ceime School of
Traditional Irish Dance;
Harmony Town Barbershop
Chorus; Yantze Melody Group;
TimO'Hare School of Traditional
Irish Dance; Canton Chinese
Choir; sitar performer Monica
Prasad along with Prashant
Javkar on the tabla; Hoaloha
Polynesian Dancers and the
Mother City Ukes; students of
Parul Shah; K-Pop Club;
Plymouth Canton Chinese
Learning Center; Little Chinese
Angles - students of Josie Zhou;
Julie Gravel performing Spanish
songs; students of Chinmayee
Kulkarni performing Indian
dances; the Bulgarian Folk
Dance Ensemble Izvor; the
AlbanianFolkDanceGroup from
the
Balkan
American
Community Center; Suhasini
Mody and Group; Dance
Xplosion - students of Heidi
Worthly; as well as the New
Hope Baptist Church of Wayne's
Rhythmic Praise Dancers, Joyful
Noise Step Team and the
Symbols of SilenceMinistry.
The performances at the
International Festival are appro-
priate for children, adults, sen-
iors, and students. This global
celebration will also include cul-
tural exhibits on display featur-
ing worldly and exotic items for
sale.
Canton Leisure Services is
hosting three action-packed days
of family fun from June 13 - 15,
Heritage Park, located adjacent
to Canton's Administration
Building, west of Canton Center
Road between Cherry Hill Road
andSummit Parkway.
For more detailed informa-
tion, visit www.cantonliber-
tyfest.comor call (734) 394-5460.
Divers recover body from Belleville Lake
It began about 36 years agowhen
a local farmer suggested the area
celebrate the annual strawberry
cropharvest.
Today, it’s officially a national
event that spans an entire weekend
and includes a parade, entertain-
ment, lots of strawberry delicacies
and the involvement of the entire
downtown Belleville community. It
is also a fundraising event for near-
ly all the community service organi-
zations and the major fundraiser
for several local churches.
The event actually began in 1976
when the Belleville Area Chamber
of Commerce, several local straw-
berry growers and St. Anthony's
Catholic Church organized the first
festival.
This year there will be three
days of events with free special
events for the entire family, two
midways, three stages, a beer tent,
music and concerts, bingo, a craft
show and sale, lots of food, straw-
berry treats and, of course, the
StrawberryQueen.
The Belleville National
Strawberry Festival Parade will
National Strawberry Festival begins this weekend
Foreign flavor
Canton Liberty Fest includes
international entertainment
Chinese dancers perform enchanting traditional choreography in
vibrantly colorful costumes during Canton's 2012 International
Festival.
A 4 a.m. fire destroyed a fire truck
at the downtown Plymouth station.
See
Strawberry,
page 4
See
Fire,
page 3
Fire station blaze may cost $500,000