October 23, 1997
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Haunted houses, festivals and other scary fun. El HomeTown IOMIU wi< Af|r>NH NI; f wriiyft. Thursday 0 October 23,1997 llllestlanft dDbserror Putting You In Touch With Your World VOLUME 33 NUMBER 40 WESTLAND, MICHIGAN • 92 PAGES • http://observer-eccentric.com SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS O 1997 HomeTown Communication! Network, Inc. IN THE PAPER $108 million bond issue proposed TODAY A citizens committee came to a Wayne-West The proposed bond issue would pay land school board meeting Monday evening to for repairs, renovations and new con SCHOOLS present a $108 million bond issue proposal, struction at the district's schools, as well as technology investments for each Council race: Six candi which would increase taxes in the school dis school. the proposal. dates for Westland City trict by 4 mills. The target date for the election is New construction is planned at Roo-. Feb. 16. sevelt-McGrath, Taft-Galloway and Council discuss the BY BETH SUNDRLA JACHMAN school district by 4 mills. That would Walker-Winter elementaries as well as STAFF WRITER cost the owner of a $90,000 house an The proposal includes repair and issues./A3 renovation items for all elementary, at Wayne Memorial and John GlenY* Wayne-Westland school officials and extra $180 a year for about 20-22 high schools and at the William D. parents say all the district's 29 build years, according to Patricia Brand, middle and high schools. Ceiling and flooring replacement, Ford Career/Technical Center. ings need repairs' and are considering assistant superintendent for business Mechanical system and electrical asking voters for a $108 million bond services. painting, window and door replace ment, remodeling and reroofing are system upgrades are also part of the issue to make improvements. The 43-member committee, made up proposal, including boiler replacement, A citizens committee came to a of parents from each school in the dis planned for most of district's school COUNTY NEWS buildings. Schools would also be temperature control updates, public Wayne-Westland school board meeting trict, other residents and school district address system and clock repair system Monday evening to present a proposal, staff members, has been working on brought into compliance with the r which would increase taxes in the the proposal for more than a year. Americans With Disabilities Act under Please see BOND, A4 FALL BACK Don't forget to turn your clock Bouncing around BACK one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 26 (or before you Family fun: go to bed on Saturday, Oct. 25). A few kids enjoy the dinosaur moon walk outside at Wayne- Westland's YMCA family fun night last Friday, Oct. 17. The festival Fall back: When daylight offered the savings ends Sunday, all dino bounc sounds of ticking should er, hot dogs, chips, bat: cease for an hour. That's loons and the advice of master clock a?i open repairman Paul family Mallie./klZ swim. The Y is at 827 S. Wayne Road. COMMUNITY LIFE Family ties: Adoption may have separated them when they were young children, but Nancy Chopp, sister Debra Salazar and twin brother Dennis Grable are togeth er again and looking for STAFF PHOTO BY BRTAN MITCHELL missing members of their birth family./Bl Franchise pact with Ameritech OK'd AT HOME BYDARREIXCLEM merly Continental Cablevision) for MediaOne officials have said they Ameritech contract, outlined several; STAFF WRITER Westland customers. welcome competition, although they key elements of the 15-year agreement; Creativity at place: An Sweeping "This is a great day for our communi stand to lose business from some cus on Monday: •/.' away the last ty," Councilman Richard LeBlanc said tomers who long complained about • Americast will serve the entire- upcoming preview for hurdles to cable Monday, as he and his six colleagues Westland's sole cable TV provider. city. I Cranbrook Holiday company compe gave sweeping apprbval to the con Westland subscribers face an 18- • The company will initially provide; Tables will show appetiz tition here, tract. month wait for Americast, but the a minimum of 81 channels, making it Westland City "Competition is only going to benefit delay could have been longer if the city competitive with MediaOne. ing vignettes of past Council mem everyone in the community," council hadn't gotten in line before other cities. • Construction will begin in one year- tables./DS bers Monday approved a 15-year fran president Sandra Cicirelli echoed. The council's 7-0 decision Monday for the new system, which is expected chise agreement with Ameritech New Ameritech expects to serve some signals an end to MediaOne's to serve some customers as early as; Media. Westland homes by spring 1999, and monopoly on the Westland market. spring 1999. ' ; Ameritech's cable TV service, Ameri company officials predict citywide ser John Pestle, a city-hired special ENTERTAINMENT cast, will compete with MediaOne (for vice by April 2000. counsel hired to spearhead the Please see CABLE, A2- Music: The Irish rock band U2 plays at the Pon- tiac Silverdome on Oct. Victim's father questions lack of street lights 31./E1 BY DARRELL CLEM prior to the assault, which occurred and hemorrhaging, Westland policy STAFF WRITER PARK BEATING after an exchange of words escalated Sgt. Jon Handzlik said. * The father of a 20-year-old Westland into violence, Westland police have David Sumey, in a telephone inter-: said. view with the Observer on Tuesday; man who was severely beaten on a old Kevin Baker suffered life-threaten dark, dead-end street bordering Hines Five Garden City teen-agers face declined to discuss the assault. .%* INDEX ing injuries after a group of teen-agers attempted murder and felony assault "I don't want to damage the case,"-l}8 Park said his neighborhood would be attacked them at 3:30 a.m. Oct. 4 on safer if it had street lights. charges for the attack, amid allegations said. ; *«' • Class Reunions C7 Floral, a dead-end street that borders they used bonfire wood, beer bottles But he said his son faces a long road, "We have no street lights," David Hines Park near Warren and Inkster. • Classified Index F6 Sumey, a resident of Deering, said. and their fists to hurt Sumey and to recovery. ;^* Real Estate F5 Floral is one street away from Deer Baker. "He's stable, but he has a lot of neii* "Everyone else pays the same city ing, where Robert Sumey lives at his Crossword F6 taxes as we do, and they have street Sumey has been in and out of a coma rological damage," the father said. father's residence. since the attack, and Baker also has "He's going to be in the hospital a long Jobs G6 lights." The victims and their attackers had His son, Robert Sumey, and 19-year- been hospitalized for skull fractures Home & Service J2 attended a bonfire party in Hines Park Please sec UQHT8, A3 Autos J3 • Opinion A20-21 • Sports CI • Calendar C8 REBIRTH: 8OUTH OF PALMER -0» • Real Estate Fl HOW TO REACH US 2 development plans boost 'real revival Newsroom: 313-953-2104 BY DARRELL CLEM revival" that he said has been sought for 15 years City officials attribute the renaissance to a Newsroom Fax: 313-591-7279 8TAFF WRITER south of Palmer. healthy economy find a trend by developers to try Spurred by,« new senior citizen apartment com E-mail: newsroom 6oeonllrto.com "Sometimes you have to dream," he said, "and it to revitalize areas that had been ignored for plex and a condominium plan, n rebirth of develop doesn't always come true right away." decades. Nightllne/Sports: 313-953-2104 ment is continuing south of Palmer Road in a long- The latest projects follow numerous other south- One new plan calls for a 120-unit senior citizen Reader Comment Una: 313-953-2042 stagnant section of Westland. of-Palmer residential and commercial develop apartment complex on the south side of Palmer Classified Advertising: 313-591-0900 Two new development proposals boost what ments documented last summer in an Observer just cast of Adams Middle School - located Councilman Charles Trav" Griffin called "a real scries. Display Advertising: 313-591-2300 Please see DEVELOPMENT, A2 Home Delivery: 313-591-0500 A5(W) The Observer & Eccentric/ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1997 -A*-* '£immdtj^& Get story on •£3 REBIRTH PALMER =*> Boy grows great pumpkin Halloween from page Al BY LAURIE HUMPHREY Success: BY BETH SUNDRLA JACHMAN STAFF WRITER Bubba, whose STAFF WRITER between Venoy and Wildwood. Brook of Westland, would occur In three short months, real name is Some upcoming events will Twelve one-story buildings on a 24-acre site, although 14 Bubba Jacks' summer project help children get into the Hal : Robert, and his would be built, covering just 20 acres would remain as open took on a new dimension —24 loween spirit. 1 percent of the 14.5-acre site. The space. inches wide by 21 ; inches father, Robert, A Halloween walk for small rest would remain as open Developers hope to sell the high. planted pump children and their families will space, Planning Director Tod condos for $150,000 to $175,000. According to Terri Jacks, kin and water offer a guided tour with story Kilroy said. "There's a trend for condo mother of the 4-year-old, the melon seeds last book characters along candlelit Known as Adams Senior Vil minium living in this price Westland pumpkin started off summer, in a pathways in Central City Park lage, the brick buildings would range," Councilman Charles like any ol' pumpkin. on Thursday, Friday and Satur _ remote corner of include 48 one-bedroom apart Pickering said.