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ASSOCIATED NEWSPAPERS OF MICHIGAN PAGE 6 July 19, 2012
Like a breath of fresh air this
month, we saw an elected official
do the correct and ethical thing
during a city vote.
We commend Belleville Mayor
Kerreen Connelly for abstaining
from a vote last week to prevent
even the appearance of wrongdo-
ing or any whisper of conflict of
interest. Connelly is the director of
the Wayne County Facilities
Management Division and when
the vote came up at the Belleville
City Council meeting to increase
water and sewer rates in the com-
munity, she abstained as mainte-
nance of the sewer system is part
of her professional responsibili-
ties.
Good for her. While we watch a
few officials in other communities
take advantage of andwork the sys-
tem for personal and monetary
gain, here's a woman who takes
her moral responsibility as an
elected leader seriously. We only
wish officials in other communi-
ties, where it seems to be accept-
able to actually do business with
the municipality while sitting on
the city council, would follow her
example. In Wayne, a city council-
man actually voted on city permits
for an event his business was spon-
soring.
Connelly's actions, shore up our
confidence that the others like her
in elected offices who have not fall-
en prey to the lack of ethical forti-
tude are in themajority. Themoral
ambiguity that seems epidemic in
some communities of late has not
yet reached epidemic proportions.
We suspect that she, like some oth-
ers, would not tolerate an overt vio-
lation of her city charter by a sit-
ting council member, much less
defend those actions. We are fairly
confident that should there be
even a hint of influence peddling
or personal financial gain through
the parochial information provid-
ed to city officials, she would make
every effort to correct that unto-
wardbehavior.
By taking this stand, without
fanfare, Connelly has demonstrat-
ed the kind of conduct she expects
from everyone on the council and
Do you remember summer
camp as a kid?
I do. My parents had to find
something to do with me and my
energy during the months that
school couldn't serve as a babysit-
ter while they worked, so summer
camp was a great option. As I look
back on it, as an adult, I realize all
the things that were, um, somewhat
irregular about some of our “activi-
ties” during those long, inter-
minable weeks away from my
childhood friends.
When I got this latest little bit of
comic relief from my sister, I
laughed right out loud. I hope you
enjoy it asmuchas I did.
DearMum,
Our camp counselor told us to
write to our parents in case you
saw the flood on TV and got wor-
ried. We are OK. Only one of our
tents and two sleeping bags got
washed away. Luckily, none of us
got drowned because we were all
up on the mountain looking for
Adamwhen it happened.
Oh yes, please call Adam's moth-
er and tell her he is OK. He can't
write because of the cast. I got to
ride in one of the search and res-
cue Jeeps. It was great. We never
would have found Adam in the
dark if it hadn't been for the light-
ning.
Counselor Ted got mad at Adam
for going on a hike alone without
telling anyone. Adam said he did
tell him, but it was during the fire
so he probably didn't hear him. Did
you know that if you put gas on a
fire, the gaswill blowup?
The wet wood didn't burn, but
one of the tents did and also some
of our clothes.
Matthew is going to look weird
until his hair grows back.
We will be home on Saturday if
Counselor Ted gets the bus fixed. It
wasn't his fault about the crash.
The brakes worked okay when we
left. Counselor Ted said that with a
bus that old, you have to expect
something to break down; that's
probably why he can't get insur-
ance.
We think it's a super bus. He
doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if
it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride
on the bumpers. It gets pretty hot
with 45 people in a bus made for
24. He let us take turns riding in the
trailer until the policeman stopped
and talked tous.
Counselor Ted is a neat guy.
Don't worry, he is a good driver. In
fact, he is teaching Horace how to
drive on themountain roads where
there aren't any cops. All we ever
see up there are huge logging
trucks.
This morning all of the guys
were diving off the rocks and swim-
ming out to the rapids. Ted would-
n't let me because I can't swim, and
Adam was afraid he would sink
because of his cast (it's concrete
because we didn't have any plas-
ter), so he let us take the canoe out.
It was great.
You can still see
some of the
trees under the water from the
flood.
Counselor Ted isn't crabby like
some camp counselors. He didn't
even get mad about the life jackets.
He has to spend a lot of time work-
ing on the bus so we are trying not
to causehimany trouble.
Guess what? We have all passed
our first aid merit badges. When
Andrew dived into the lake and cut
his arm, we all got to see how a
tourniquet works.
Steve and I threw up, but
Counselor Ted said it was probably
just food poisoning from the left-
over chicken. He said they got sick
that way with food they ate in
prison. I'm so glad he got out and
became our camp counselor. He
said he sure figured out how to get
things done better while he was
doing his time. By the way, what is
a pedal-file?
I have to go now. We are going to
town to post our letters and buy
some more beer and ammo. Don't
worry about anything. We are fine
and tonight it's my turn to sleep in
the counselor's tent.
The League of Women Voters, despite the opinion of some
local politicians, is nothing like a group ofNeo-Nazis.
We thought we would make that clear since apparently
there are some elected officials who believe that it is accu-
rate to put the two groups in the same classification. One is
an organization dedicated to bringing information about vari-
ous candidates of all parties to voters and never supports or
opposes any candidate. The sole purpose of the other is to
promote a particular political viewpoint and often, candi-
dates
That comparisonwasmade last weekwhenTheLeague of
Women voterswas denieduse of PlymouthTownshipHall for
a candidates forum. One Plymouth Township trustee
informed the group vice-president that to allow theLeague to
host this open forum would then force the township to allow
Neo-Nazis touse the building.
We think that is third-grade logic andunclear thinking.
Particularly when we look at the policy several other local
municipalities have adopted which does not allow any group
promoting a specific political agenda to use municipal build-
ings for any function. That, we think, is a reasonable effort to
respect the political views of the entire community which
funded the construction of these buildings. We don't feel that
the taxes paid by devout Republicans should be used to
promulgate the views of their Democratic opponents, or vice-
versa. Likewise, we don't think buildings funded by taxes
paid by Christian Scientists or Quakers should be used to
promote aNeo-Nazi platform.
Leaders in Northville, Canton, Westland, Inkster,
Belleville and Romulus got it right. Those in Wayne and
PlymouthTownship, not somuch.
Not too long ago, officials inWayne also disallowed the use
of their city hall for a candidates forum sponsored by The
League of Women Voters. They based their refusal on the
same poor logic and unclear thinking that was in evidence
last week in Plymouth Township, with a little political ego
added to themix.
The candidates forum planned by The League of Women
Voters for this month was cancelled after Plymouth
Township Supervisor Richard Reaume abruptly rescinded
The right
thing to do
See Vote, page 7
Letters
Police offer noise tips
To the editor;
We are very fortunate to live and
work in such a safe and pleasant
community, here in the City of
Plymouth. Most of the residents get
along with their neighbors and con-
sider them friends. However at
times people can get on each oth-
ers' nerves, because while
Plymouth is a great place to raise a
family, the homes are very close
together. The yards are not very big
and especially during these unusu-
ally hot summer days, it does not
take much for neighbors to get on
eachothers' nerves.
These are a few gentle
reminders from the police depart-
ment about being considerate to
our neighbors. If you plan on hav-
ing a summer party, possibly a
reunion or maybe, a graduation
party, please consider your neigh-
bors. Try and keep your music at
an acceptable level. It should not
be heard from more than 75 feet
from the source (radio, stereo or
band, etc.). If the party is going late
into the evening try and keep the
conversation and noise (example-a
pool) to an acceptable level.
Barking dogs can also be an
annoyance to your neighbors. If you
have a dog and it is barking for a
long period of time, especially late
at night or early in the morning,
please be courteous and bring the
dog inside your home.
The City of Plymouth does have
a local ordinance for disturbing the
public peace (Ord. #2011-01-17-11).
If neighbors cannot agree on a res-
olution involving one of the above
formentioned scenarios or another
noise issue, the ordinance can be
enforced and a citation may or
couldbe issued.
Let's all be considerate of our
neighbors and hopefully all
Plymouth residents have a great
summer.
Ofc. TonyAngelosanto
City of PlymouthPolice
Crime PreventionBureau
Treasurer called 'puppetmaster'
To the editor;
After the mess in Plymouth
Township last week with the
League of Women Voters, it
We will be home on Saturday
if Counselor Ted gets the bus fixed.
It wasn't his fault about the crash.
”
Leaders in Northville, Canton,
Westland, Inkster, Belleville and Romulus
got it right. Those in Wayne
and Plymouth Township, not so much.
”
The worst, or best, letter from camp ever
Political antics deny public’s right to know
See Letters, page 7
See Rights, page 7