■ 4- ) ;• Treasurers: N o holiday IV tax bill gifts BYPAULGARGARO Tax bills from Plymouth and Plymouth Township are off to a late start this season and have left many .! citizens wondering whether they’re in for a complimentary holiday tax break. iy i . ' Ending the mystery in the township, i . Supervisor Maurice Breen issued the warrant last Friday for Treasurer Mary Brooks to distribute the 8,000 tax bills .to- Plymouth . Township residents. Despite the delay, Brooks is confident that township residents will be able to pay their taxes before the end of 1987. This year’s billing delay can be attributed to a ease of untimely paper shuffling in the Michigan House of Representatives. The millage for the Plymouth District Library had to be added to this year’s tax authorization, following the Nov. 3 voter approval of the library’s 0.4-mill increase. The millage applies to both Plymouth city and township residents. Winter taxes also include millage for schools, police and fire, Wayne County and Huron-Clinton Metro Parks, along with the Dunning-Hough Library millage. Unfortunately the library millage increase was dropped from the two tax bills up for certification in the House of Representatives." The mysterious deletion caused the delay of tax billing in both the township and the city, Brooks said. - | “ I’m not sure how this happened,” said Pat Thomas, director of the Dunning-Hough Library. “Two years iigo when we passed our first millage, we were allowed to file for state cer­ tification after the September deadline. JWe assumed that we were okay.” The reason the library millage was initially dropped is unclear to both the Kristen THwrzt, of Canton, .won the 1987 Christmas Coloring Contest with this entry city and township clerks and to Pat Please see page 46 'A group of Penniman V I!S l 1 l Avenue residents started BY DAN NESS Office o f Public Services. a neighborly tradition Sunday. See Although some motorists have been jumping the “ It’s really closed, but people are still using the pa*« 14. gun, Sheldon Center Road in Canton is not yet road,” Ollila said. “ They expect to get that signal open, county roads officials said. ; installed on Friday. ” H 7T C U * Hundreds of The connector road, between Sheldon and ____M W I M i : holiday wishes i.: County workers painted traffic striping on the are contained in The Crier’s Letters to Canton Center roads, is waiting for electrical wor k Santa Plus section, beginning after to be done by Detroit Edison for a traffic signal, paved surface last Friday, Ollila said. Once the pax* 18. Kids will enjoy creating their which will be installed at Sheldon and Sheldon traffic , signal is installed later this week, county jown cover to the section by connecting Center roads, according to Earl Ollila, assistant workers will remove the barricades to open the the dots to Stephen Wroble’s design. engineer for maintenance for Wayne County road, Ollila said. w r, s e e p a g e 5 0 THK COMMUNITY CRIKR: l)*rtmt»r 16, U»7 P(„ m m i a > ■c n mX n 2 c z i n -tH n BY DAN NESS x The search for a Canton superin­ tendent has been narrowed to two candidates, according to Dan Durack, 3r Canton personnel director. X The committee interviewing can­ didates for the newly-created position screened six people before deciding on' $ the two remaining candidates, Durack said. The committee - Trustee Robert Padget, Thomas Yack and Phil LaJoy - was joined by consultant firm Bartell and Bartell, Ltd. in its interviews for the position. “My guess is at this point it’s going to be after the first of the year” before a candidate is presented to the board of trustees fora vote, Duracksaid. The board would probably call a special meeting for the review, he said. The committee wanted to get more background information on the two candidates before presenting a can­ didate (or both) to the board for H eart-to-heart chat consideration, Durack said. Little Michelle Rylmlsky enjoys a fender moment with Canton. Wonder what Michelle wants for Christmas? The board voted 4-3 to hire a full­ SanlaClaus during the recent free lighting ceremony'in (Crier photo by Jim Craft) time superintendent to handle the day- to-day operations of the township on F o r Plym outh shops August 25. The board had directed an implementation committee to look into, the procedures regarding the hiring of a superintendent in September of 1985. Shopping trends erratic That committee reported back to the- BYPAULGARGARO fast,” said owner Jackie Powers. still a question. board about one year later. Opinions On this year’s holiday “We’ve experienced a substantial “If business is slower, I really don’t Preceding the August 25 vote, a shopping trends vary among down- percentage increase in sales this believe that it has anything to do with public vote pn the matter had been . town Plymouth merchants. season.” the stock market. It would have to be proposed and then scrapped after the While Plymouth continues to be a Powers attributed her sate increase for other reasons,” Kosteva said. state attorney general's office ruled a stomping ground for holiday shoppers; to the store’s growing reputation and Across the street at Sacks of Forest special election would be improper. a few storeowners have noticed some .dieniel. Weather and economics, she AvenueL~ Patricia Mee notes that The four trustees - Padget, Stephen peculiar patterns at work in this year’s maintained, • have made little dif­ business has been a '‘little sluggish. -■ Larson, John Preniczky and Loren consumer fleet. ference. “I was Bennett - voted in favor of the “it’s been very erratic - very On Forest Avenue, store owners are was saddened by the turnout at superintendent system while Super­ the Chijstmas Walk (on Dec. 6 ),” said strange. It’s been hectic on the also rolling with the holiday flow, Mee. ‘jit didn’t bring in as many visor James Poole, Clerk Linda weekends and light during the week,’’ though some are undergoing varying Chuhran and Treasurer Gerald Brown said .^Debbie Exe, manager of the sate experiences. shoppers as it has in past years.” voted against the move. Willow Tree, a women’s clothing store. Pam Kosteva, owner of the Cheese Mee added that Sunday continues,to The salaries of the supervisor, clerk “Who knows - we had ‘Men’s Night’ and Wine Barn, admits that at this be a busy day, and despite the smaller : and treasurer’s positions will be in here last Thursday and nobody point it’s impossible to compare her number of shoppers through Sacks, reduced to part-time in conjunction showed. holiday sate to those of last year. those who come usually buy. with the November 1988 elections as “We’re running pretty close to last “It’s hard to evaluate my sales . “So far, I don’t see the weather as a part of the move. The superintendent year, but the buying patterns have been because I do a large commercial basket factor, | said Mee.- “Maybe the stock will not have, a vote on the board'of completely different,’’ said Exe. “It’s business,” said Kosteva. “I’m ahead market :has had some effect. It’s hard trustees.. > like they held back at the beginning on my commercial sate, but retail is to say for sure.” and now they’re coming back. It could 1 be the weather.’’ Down the street at The Mole Hole, holiday sales have slumped slightly compared to years past. T w p. cops near co n tra ct “We’re doing well, but we’re down from last year,” said store owner BYPAULGARGARO Maria Shaw. “It’s starting to. come on The first , contract in the history of the Plymouth Township strong now and I think that we’ll make police department was to have been voted on last night. up for our slow start. Township police officers in the Police jofficers’ Association of “ 1 really think that the stock market Michigan (POAM) union and the Plymouth Township Board of situation scared a lot of people, even though it may not have directly af; * Trustees were working on an agreement of the terms of the fected them,*’ said Shaw. “But, people document last week. ! are starting to charge up a storm now, The police officers were to meet late Tuesday afternoon for a which is an indication that they’re no discussion of the contract terms. Trustees were scheduled to longer afraid. ” discuss the progress of the collective bargaining agreement with Shaw expects her final sales per­ the POAM in a closed session that same night'. centage to equal that of last year. Next door, at the Little Professor on Deputy Chief of Police Chip Snyder described the contract as the Park bookstore, sales have been up “ including all of the rules of the work Environment” for police Shim ngtree and the shop is experiencing its best officers on the Plymouth Township force:. Canton residents enjoyed the tree holiday sales in the store’s four year Township police officers became Unionized in April of 1985, lighting ceremony recently at the history. nearly six months after the formation jof the Township police “We didn’t start out slow, we • township administration building. department. (Crier photo by Steve Betzhold) started out fast and we’re still going i* 4 .* 4 V 4 V a ’, IT.#.'?.*. • % v c 4 q v v ^ < n o t e s The Plymouth Community Chorus staged “A Christmas Homecom­ THK COMMUNITY CKLKK: December 16.