• * lomeTown COMMI'NICATIONS NETWORK HUesllnno dDbscrver Your hometown newspaper serving Westland for 35 years Thursday, June 1,2000 hometownnewspapers.net 75e Volume 35 Number 104 Weatiartd, Micfitjjan O2000 MorrnTown Communication* Network™ AT HOME Dear Readers: Woman reports rape, beating A redesigned At Home section makes. its debut today in' your Westland Observer. Differing accounts are given of a weekend sex­ wood Hospital/Annapolis in Wayne. dant pulled her back and began • Today's cover story on backyard ponds ual assault in Westland. Brian Hurst of West- The woman told police she was walk­ assaulting her," was written by At Home Editor Ken Abram- land denies attacking a woman he is accused ing along a street with a male friend The woman accused her alleged «yk and features information from area when the suspect - an acquaintance of attacker of pulling off her pants, under­ residents and landscaping companies who of raping and trying to kill. The woman was her estranged husband •- drove up in a. wear and shoes, raping her and chas­ specialize in pond installation/design and ' treated for extensive injuries. pickup truck. ing her after she managed to get out of some tips for those handymen and women BY DARKELL CLEM Hurst could face life in prison if con­ The woman said the pickup driver the truck to flee. who want to build their own pond. • STAFF WRITES victed of criminal charges for an attack claimed to have been sent by her hus­ "The defendant chased her down and The new section is a broadsheet like dclein®oe.homecbmin.net that allegedly occurred between 1 a.m. band to pick her up. kicked her in the back;*'the' woman the other sections in your HomeTbwn and 3 a.m. Monday. He is accused of "Shie then got into the truck and they alleged in a police report. Observer. This means larger photographs A Westland man. is accused of raping beating, kicking and trying to kill the drove away," according to a police The attacker continued kicking and and more local news about gardening, and trying to kill a 48-year-old woman on Monday after he drove her to a woman, who suffered three fractured report of the woman's account. "The punching the. woman" after she fell to home decorating, home improvement and defendant drove into the woods at Har­ the ground, and then he fled in his landscaping. Many features that our ;ead- Wooded area near Harrison and Pow-. vertebrae, injured ribs and bruises. era, on the city's southeast side. "She's ina lot of pain," Westland rison and Powers, then demanded oral truck, the report said. ers look forward to each" week such as sex. She refused. He tried to force her The victim went to a house to seek "The Appliance.Doctor" and "Market-, Brian Hurst, 42, denied attacking police Sgt. Michael Terry said. the woman and told police he paid her Even so, the victim was released head downwards, The (woman) then help from the male friend with whom place* continue. grabbed the door handle, but the defen- ' At Home is designed for people who $20forse5c. Monday after being treated at Oak- ''"-: ~~~' Please MK,Af enjoy and care for their home, who like to entertain friends and family and who have hobbies such as gardening, cooking, home electronics, photography and decorating. The mission of At Home -with its color cover photographs and inviting design - is to help our readers enjoy the good life in their hometown. - We welcome your,comments and sug­ hopefuls gestions. Ken Abramczyk can be reached • at (734) 9&3-2112 or kabramczyk@ oe. homecomm.net, I can be reached at (734) 953-2100 or by e-mail at srosiek© oe.'hofnecomm. net. : Sincerely, ' BY DARRELL CLEM STAFF WRITER dclemQoe.homecomm.ne't Susan Rosiek, Publisher Four candidates are vying for two Wayne-Westland school board seats in a June 12 election that some watchers describe as one of the district's most hushed political races ever. "Definitely it is. one of the quietest," Fire strikes board Trustee Ed Turner said Wednes­ day. ' Lightning is suspected of causing a Ixjca! media attention aside, the race fire Wednesday evening on Farming- has stirred little interest even though ton Road south of Cowan. The call on voters will choose two trustees to help a fire at the single-family home came steer public education for 15,000 stu­ in around 6:30 p.m., said Westland dents. Deputy Fire Chief David Carignan. Uvonla school race, A2 Carignan, who was on the scene, said a neighbor told fire officials she . Voter* "'ill rhnost- from appointee saw lightning'strike the home. Richard Kisiminger, political newcom­ "It did quite a bit of damage," he PHOTO BY RONALD POWSXY ers LeeAnna Denistbn and Cindy said. "The majority of the roof was Solemn occasion: Parade participants pause to remember the people who gave their lives for Schofield, and three-time board candi­ burned down." date Marshall Wright. The two top Carignan described the residents as their country'. A number of veterans' organizations participated in the Sunday event. vote-getters'will win four-year terms. "extremely upset." The home was occupied, at the time of the fire. Turner said he'd like to attribute the quiet atmosphere to public satisfaction Firefighters worked .with a compa­ with the district. ny to board up the home and remove valuables. Carignan estimated dam­ Parade remembers sacrifice "But I still say there's an awful lot of age as high as $100,000 "when you apathy in our district," he said. "A lot take into consideration the contents." of people just aren't aware of what goes BY JULIE BROWN foreign war," he said. That includes parade. "Memorial Day only comes on. I'd like to see much more parental The Westland Fire Department STAFF WRITER dad Chris Belmont of Westland,'a once a year," Belmont said. "You've involvement;with the kids' education, received mutual aid from other com­ [email protected] Vietnam War veteran. got to be out here, rain or shine." and that ha.s to start with school !>oard munities, as firefighters elsewhere he day dawned cold and rainy, Belmont is 'commander for the He agreed Vietnam veterans are elections." '.'.••' were dealing with downed electrical but that didn't dim the enthusi­ Bova Post of the Veterans of Foreign. receiving long-overdue recognition. wires that were arcing. Deniston, Eisiminger, .Schofield' and asm of participants in the local Wars. Many veterans' organizations "We're a living history book." Wright shared their views on questions One firefighter went to the hospital T r Memori?.! D?> p<» r«H*» SjinHav and their auxiliaries participated . Vietnam veterans need to pass posed-by the Observer in the newspa­ after, the fire. He had been ill for sev­ "We're having a parade for all of Sunday, along with marching bands their knowledge onto younger people, per's May 21 edition. They aiso stopped eral days, Carignan said, and, fighting our fallen comrades," said Christo­ from Wayne Memorial and John Belmont said. by last Thursday for .separate, personal the fire drained his energy, "He's fine. pher Kuzma of Westland, waiting in Glenn high schools, Scouts and cheer- Nearby was Westland Mayor- interviews: They gave him a lot of fluids." the Kmart parking lot for the leading groups the Spiriters and Robert Thomas, who marched in the What follows is a synopsis of the lat­ Carignan was unsure of the living: parade's 1 p.m. start. Cheer Angels. parade, "Just to show support for est round of questions and the answers arrangements the family made. Kuzma, 23, is a former Marine now Belmont served in Vietnam in. them," Thomas said. given by Deniston, 34, a homemaker; in the Army Reserves. He marched 1968-69. He marched Sunday -to sup­ "They need the recognition," the Kisiminger. 40. a real estate associate with the Cpl. Edward J. Bova VF,W port all my brothers that couldn't be inayor added. "1 think we take it for broker; Schofield, 41. office manager Post 9885 in the Wayne-Westland here today and remember their sacri­ granted." for a family-run property management HomeTown Classifieds parade, fices.'" He cited plans to move the veter­ business; and Wright, 52, an elemen­ WORK! "I have the utmost respect for any The weather was a concern, but' ans memorial in Westland to A near- tary- school teacher in Detroit. ' Marine, or anyone who served in a organizers pushed ahead with the • Please gee PARADE, A3 Question: Why are you running for school board? Denistbn has three children,'ages 1 to 8. She has been active in programs affecting.her children, who range from "I give the Observer & autistic to gifted. "I want to be part of Eccentric classifieds a full what makes the-school'district better." endorsement. The O&E ad Man, 26, dies in highspeed accident she said. "I want to be part of the solu­ for my car pulled in a lot tion at a higher .level." Westland police suspect that alcohol Annapolw Dilworth was crossing from lnkster Eisiminger also has three children more calls than ads I in thv district, "so I have my own. vest­ may be involved in a Friday morning, The 2:21 a.m. accident killed Dil­ into Westland when he lost control of ed interest in the school district " placed in other publica­ high-speed accident that killed a 26- worth and injured passengers Jeissika the Explorer and hit a curb, sending Kisiminger also said he comes from a tions." year-old man on the city's southeast Dukes.