Basic HTML Version
No. 38
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
September 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
One of the guys watching
the season premiere of Blue
Bloods next Friday night may
look very familiar to the other
patrons of US 12 American
Grill.
See page 5.
Officials in the City of
Romulus said they look for-
ward to a proposed expansion
project at the Special Tree
Rehabilitation
Systems
NeurocareCampus in the city.
See page 2
.
Members of the Plymouth
Township Board of Trustees
approved a plan for a new con-
dominium development in the
township at a recentmeeting.
See page 4.
The annual opening of the
Corn Maze at Maybury Farm
in Northville will be celebrat-
ed with Harvest Day planned
for 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21.
See page 3.
Van Buren Township resi-
dents who have had a difficult
time during the economic
downturn or on a fixed income
may be eligible for housing
rehabilitation assistance.
See page 6.
Vol. 128, No. 38
Vol. 66, No. 38
Vol. 66, No. 38
Vol. 13, No. 38
Vol. 128, No. 38
Vol. 66, No. 38
Vol. 66, No. 38
The 4th Annual Literacy
Day Extravaganza is planned
for 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21 at the
Booker T. Dozier Recreation
Complex in Inkster.
See page 6.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Blues, Brews and Barbecue
in Westland will feature one of
the best-known names in blues
music, some unique micro-
brews and several great barbe-
cue recipes this year.
See page 5.
Recently promoted Public
Safety Department command
officers received their new
badges and took the oath of
office during the Sept. 10meet-
ing of the board of trustees.
See page 3.
Vol. 13, No. 38
Plymouth Township Fire Chief Mark Wendel
has expressed grave concerns about the general
safety of both firefighters “and the public we
serve,” despite warnings from Township
Supervisor Richard Reaume not to create any
public record of his fears.
In a July 19 letter to Reaume, Wendel stated
his serious concerns about the ability of the
reduced fire department staffing and outdated
equipment to provide even an adequate level of
protection for Plymouth Township residents. In
the letter, Wendel states that Reaume instructed
him not to create any written record of his con-
cerns and “directed me not to contact any board
memberswithdepartment issues.”
The concerns Wendel addressed include the
lack of manpower, the lowest since 1979, EMS
response to medical emergencies, equipment
replacement, which has not happened in four
years, budget concerns, “and the general lack of
support from those making critical decisions as
it pertains to the general safety of the firefighters
and the publicwe serve.”
Wendel decried the lack of manpower and
stated in the letter toReaume that 12 firefighters
are now expected to perform a workload that
has increased by some 400 percent since 1979
when he was hired to bring staffing up to 15. He
also explained that “on multiple occasions, the
department has operated with only three full-
time firefighters on duty, effectively leaving only
one ambulance in service.” Wendel reminded
Reaume that the department does not meet the
National Fire Protection Association National
Standard for firefighter response.
He detailed the reasons the plan to hire part-
time on-call firefighters has not worked and stat-
ed, “This program has been costly and not effec-
tive and shouldbe discontinued.”
Wendel strongly criticized the current policy
of handing patients off to an ambulance service
for transport citing the interruption in care
See
Safety,
page 4
Tony award winning actor Greg
Jbara and movie producer Sally
Helppie will return their home-
townnext weekend for the premier
of their newmovie, Infiltrators.
Jbara and Helppie are both
graduates ofWayneMemorial High
School and will be joined at the
State-WaynePhoenixTheatres pre-
miere night by the movie's other
stars - Michigan-born Rocco
Nugent, plus Hallee Hirsh (You've
Got Mail) and Robert Picardo (of
theStar Trek - Voyager series).
The premiere takes place
Saturday evening, Sept. 28 on all
four screens and is presented by
Champions of Wayne, an innova-
tive and unique educational pro-
gram for students that involves
adult mentoring, customized aca-
demic goals and financial incen-
tives at Wayne Memorial High
School. The special premiere is a
fund raiser for Champions of
Wayne.
Jbara - who in addition to
numerous Broadway hits is a
series regular on the hit CBS-TV
crime drama Blue Bloods - and
Helppie, a Dallas-based lawyer
and film producer, teamed up to
make the urban adventure tale
Infiltrators.
The film - about modern day
treasure hunters battling for a hid-
den relic in a building that is about
to be imploded - recently pre-
miered at Cannes Film Market,
and thenDallas - wheremost of the
movie was shot on location. Jbara
plays Eric Volker, the leader of a
team of sophisticated bandits who
will stop at nothing to recover the
relic. He was intrigued by the
chance to play a character
described as “an elegant predator.”
Jbara andHelppie were also aided
by Wayne Memorial alumnus Gary
Shackleford, who composed one of
the songs for the film.
Helppie's brother, Richard
Helppie, a metro-Detroit entrepre-
On multiple occasions,
the department has operated with only
three full-time firefighters on duty...
”
The largest festival in the Romulus com-
munity will begin tomorrow night as the
Romulus DDA Pumpkin Festival starts off
with the Rotary Club sponsored Parade of
Lights. The 16th annual family festival will
continue through Sunday, Sept. 22 through-
out downtownRomulus.
Organizers said the festival features some-
thing for everyone and is expected to draw
thousands of participants from Romulus and
SoutheastMichigan.
City staff and dozens of volunteers have
been working for months to organize the
event. Some of the highlights following the
Parade of Lights tomorrow night include a
car showonSaturday, a tractor and lawn trac-
tor show on Sunday, food, children's games, a
carnival and a host of contests. There will be
pumpkin-themed events and a great lineup of
live musical entertainment all weekend long.
Many of the activities are provided at no cost.
The festival places emphasis on the histo-
ry of the city. Many of the events will take
place in and aroundRomulusHistorical Park
and the downtown Pavilion on Hunt Street.
There will be a number of old-fashioned
events for family and the city museum and
other historical structures will be open for
tours.
Hunt Street will be closed from Goddard
to Bibbins over the three-day weekend.
Goddard also will be closed from Moore
Street to the railroad crossing. For parking,
Johnston Lithograph has offered the vacant
field and the business parking lot located on
Hunt Street betweenBibbins andGrant.
The Downtown Development Authority
began funding
and organizing
the festival two
years ago, when it
returned to its
glory days. DDA
Director Maria
Lambert said that
since the festival
has something for
everyone, it will
bring the commu-
nity together in
celebration.
S o m e
Pumpkin Festival
highlights:
Parade of Lights:
The parade begins at
Romulus City Hall at 11111 Wayne Road and
travels west past crowds of spectators on
Goddard Road, ending at Progressive Hall.
There will be dozens of parade entries - each
containing lights. The Romulus Rotary Club,
which coordinates the parade, encourages
even more participation and is offering $100
cash prizes for the best entries in six cate-
gories. Entries will begin assembling at 6:30
p.m. in the parking lot at city hall. The parade
is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
Entertainment:
The Pumpkin Festival
See
Festival,
page 2
Pumpkin Festival
begins tomorrow
Fire chief expresses safety concerns
Star power
Tony award winner returns
for benefit, movie premiere
See
Star power,
page 5
Gregory Jbara plays smooth and
psychopathic treasure hunter, Eric
Volker.
Johnny Cruz plays Jimmy Romero, an ex-thief turned adventure-loving
‘urban explorer’, with Hallee Hirsh as Micki Thorne, his entrepreneurial
partner.